Chapter Text
Sunday had come, and Mina was a curious mix of eager and nervous. Part of her wanted the afternoon to hurry up and pass so she could head out to the theater, and another part of her was absolutely dreading the moment.
She'd prepared as well as she could for the day, at least. On her way back from her impromptu shopping spree on Friday she'd picked up a couple of magazines with articles about dating advice and had spent a good chunk of Saturday pouring over them. Most of it had been useless, but there had been a few nuggets of gold hidden in the articles and Mina intended to milk them for all they were worth.
Aside from that, she looked absolutely fabulous. Her makeup was on point and her newly purchased outfit was the perfect mix of cute and casual, perfect for a date that might not really be a date. Or so she hoped, anyway.
Her outfit consisted of skinny jeans that complimented her figure excellently, a dark blue blouse that was both comfortable and fashionable, black flats, and her favorite pair of clunky sunglasses. A nice necklace and a few bracelets completed the look, and made her look excellent.
"Looking pretty fancy, Fluffles!" Tsune, Mina's older brother, said, sauntering into her room. "There something I should know about?"
He was almost six feet tall, not counting his rather dainty horns, and by far the tallest member of their family. Unlike Mina, he had classically human colored skin, though they shared the same black and gold eyes. He wore his bright red hair short, though he hadn't slicked it back that morning. That, coupled with the fact that he was still in his pajamas in the middle of the afternoon, told Mina that he was taking a lazy Sunday to himself and had probably dropped by her room to see if she wanted to come watch T.V. with him.
He dodged the pillow she launched at his head with ease, laughing at her poor aim. She was tempted to throw another one just to try and shut him up, but knew it would be useless. Instead she opted for glaring at him malevolently.
"Seriously," Tsune continued, "You've been in a tizzy all weekend, and now you're getting all dolled up for something. You got a date or what?"
Try as she might, Mina couldn't hide the bit of heat that crept into her cheeks at his words. Even if she knew her date with Midoriya wasn't exactly as romantic as Tsune was implying, it was still embarrassing to hear him say it.
He didn’t miss it either, a massive grin erupting onto his face. "Holy crap, you actually are going on a date! I thought it would never happen!"
"Shut up!" Mina snapped. "Just because no one wants to date you doesn't mean I can't have someone interested in me!"
"Hey! I have tons of girls interested in me, I'm just playing the field," Tsune said, fooling precisely no one. He'd been dateless for years now, and not for lack of trying on his part. Mina wouldn't be surprised if he had asked out half of his college classmates at this point. "I'm just surprised Midoriya finally worked up the balls to ask you."
Mina's brain ground to a halt at his words. How could he possibly know that? She hadn't told anyone in her family that she even had a date, let alone who it was with.
"How did you—"
"Mina, we've been listening to your talk about the guy for months now. I think the whole family knows he's head over heels for you. Even Tsubaru knows, though he thinks the whole thing is gross and has been avoiding you so he doesn’t catch cooties.”
Mina frowned. She had noticed that their little brother had been much more distant than usual, but she'd just assumed he was going through a phase or something like that. Now that she thought about it, though, he had been making gagging sounds around her whenever she mentioned she had been hanging out with Midoriya.
"Mom and dad?" Mina asked.
"Mom wanted to say something, but dad convinced her to let you work it out for yourself. Told me not to say anything either. Not that I was going to."
"Why not?"
"Cuz it was hilarious to watch you mooning over him and not realizing it!" Tsune said, breaking into uproarious laughter a moment later.
Mina elbowed him, earning a yelp of pain for her trouble. Tsune might have almost a foot of height on her, but her hero training had taught her to hit hard .
"Someone's touchy," Tsune said, rubbing his side, "What happened? He ask you out in the middle of class or something."
Her silence was apparently very telling, since Tsune started laughing even harder. A minute later he was on the ground, still wheezing in a combination of amusement and pain as Mina twisted his arm around behind him.
"That's freaking hilarious," Tsune gasped. "You need to tell me the full story when you get back. But, hey, grats on getting your guy, Fluffles."
"He's not 'my guy'" Mina said, "I don't even know if I really like him."
"Sis, I love you, but you're stupid sometimes," Tsune said.
He yelped in pain again a moment later as Mina tightened her grip.
"What was that?" she snapped.
"Will you let me go if I explain?"
"Fine," Mina replied, letting him go.
"Seriously, what are they teaching you at that hero school? I swear you used to be less violent."
"Learned it from a classmate," Mina said, thinking of Bakugou's usual antics. He was a bit over the top, but her friend had shown her that aggression could be pretty useful in the right circumstances. "Now talk."
Tsune shrugged. "Come on, Mina. You’re obviously fond of the guy. I've heard you talk more about him than anyone else in your class, and the way you talk about him… you like him, even just a little. He seems nice, too. Way better than those dumb celebrities you used to get crushes on."
Mina blushed a little at that. She immensely regretted sharing the details of her crush on the singer of her favorite band with Tsune all those years ago. She'd been young and naive, eager to talk about the guy she thought was so cool and amazing to anyone who would listen.
It was an embarrassing part of her past, and one she especially didn't want to think about in a context related to Midoriya. She might not be quite sure what she felt about him, but she definitely didn't want to start comparing him to a childhood crush, and especially not right before a date!
"Can we not talk about that?" Mina begged.
"Whatever. Point is, you like the guy, he likes you, and I think you're the only one who didn't know it. But hey, glad to hear he finally made it obvious for you. Make sure to bring him over soon so mom can meet him, and I can share all your embarrassing stories, like that time you melted through the kitche—”
Before he could finish that thought, Mina grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him bodily out of her room, slamming the door behind him. Even through the thick wood she could hear him cackling to himself before he headed off, probably to go tell the rest of the family about Mina’s upcoming date. She waited until he was gone, then dashed out of her room and out the front door as quickly as she could, pausing only to snag her purse on the way out.
‘Stupid brother’ she silently cursed. ‘ Don’t care how much trouble I get in, I’m going to put itching acid in all his shoes when I get home!’
He wasn't usually that bad. Under normal circumstances she would have needled him right back for all his comments, until they were both laughing at their banter. Today, though, she'd just felt too frazzled to get him back, hence all the smacking she had done.
But, as she made her way towards the train station, she had to admit that her irritation with her brother had done wonders to overwhelm any nerves she had been feeling in anticipation of what was to come. And now that she was moving, she could really only feel eager about seeing what the date would be like.
Midoriya was waiting for her outside of the theater, and to Mina’s utter surprise he had actually dressed up for the occasion. Not that she expected him to turn up looking like a slob or anything, but he was usually dressed pretty casually in shorts and one of his ridiculous t-shirts, when she saw him outside of uniform.
Today, though, he was wearing a dark green button up shirt, dark pants, and a pair of dress shoes. His hair was neater than usual as well, though it didn't seem like any amount of styling would truly tame his unruly locks, a reality that Mina knew all too well. He was even wearing a tie that had been done up correctly, though it was slightly askew at the moment.
He looked good, the shirt just tight enough to show off how fit hero training had made him, without looking like he was showing off. Honestly if it weren't for the nervous look on his face and the awkward way he was shuffling in place, he would have looked right at home on the pages of a magazine.
Mina wasn't the only one who noticed it either. She could see several passersby giving him appreciative looks, including a pair who were obviously a couple. No one had made a move, but it was obvious that a few were thinking about it.
A spike of something that Mina refused to call jealousy ran through her at the sight, and she picked up her pace a little bit until she was within earshot.
"Midoriya!" She called, waving her hand to make herself easier to spot.
He lit up the second he saw her, a massive smile blossoming across his face as he returned her wave. He even jogged a few steps over to meet her, seemingly unable to wait the extra second before greeting her.
"A-Ashido! You, uh, you look great!"
Mina flashed him a smile, though she could feel her cheeks heating up a bit at the compliment. Yet again, his earnest demeanor and the almost literal stars in his eyes as he stared at her made it abundantly clear that he really meant what he said. Mina knew she was cute, had spent years figuring out her personal style and how best to accessorize to make herself stand out for more than just her skin color. But knowing it and having someone so clearly enamored with her say it to her face were two completely different things.
"You too. I don't think I've seen you this dressed up since I-island. Although…" Mina reached forward, tugging his tie slightly into place. "There, that's better."
She glanced up to find that he'd gone fire-engine red. Mina went to pull away and apologize, but stopped herself. This was silly. He was just embarrassed because he liked her, she maybe, possibly liked him, and the whole "avoid touching him as much as possible" thing was getting on her nerves.
"Hey, Midoriya, if I start holding your hand, are you going to have a heart attack over it?”
“W-what? No! I… I just…”
“It’s okay,” Mina said quickly, “I’m joking. Sort of. But I like giving hugs and stuff, you know? My family does it all the time, even my stupid brother. So, knowing someone who doesn’t like being hugged or anything is kinda weird.”
“I like hugs!” Midoriya said quickly. “They’re nice. But I’m not very good at them.’
Mina cocked her head in confusion. “Not good at hugs? What does that even mean?”
“I don’t really know what to do,” Midoriya admitted. “I mean, I hug my mom all the time, but that’s different, and I don’t know what to do with my hands or how long it should be and then I get all sweaty and—”
Mina knew that tone of voice. He was getting into his mumble mode and would probably just keep freaking himself out if she didn’t interrupt him. Thankfully, he had provided the perfect opening for her to do just that.
“Well, guess you just need some practice then!” she chirped, wrapping her arms around him before he could react.
Predictably, he went as stiff as a board and blushed furiously. Mina could actually feel the heat radiating from his cheeks, but she ignored it as she continued to hold him fast.
“A-Ashido, why?”
“Shhhhhhh. You want to get better at hugs? Well, here’s your chance. Now hug me back, or I’ll just stay here, and we’ll miss the movie!”
To his credit, there was only a little hesitation in his arms as he slowly brought them down and around her back. He was tentative, gentle, especially with how strong Mina knew he really was. He was a sweetie like that, kind and caring almost to a fault and almost infinitely giving. And, contrary to what he seemed to believe, he was a good hugger.
Maybe a bit too good. She got so caught up in finally being able to hug him without worrying that she slightly lost track of time. So, when Midoriya’s phone suddenly went off, Mina nearly jumped out of her skin. She literally jumped too, bashing her head into Midoriya’s chin and coming alarmingly close to putting out one of his eyes with her horns.
“The, uh, the movie’s starting soon,” Midoriya said, rubbing his chin.
“Oh, right. Almost forgot about that,” Mina said sheepishly.
She felt like a complete idiot for forgetting something that important, especially with the movie theater right behind them and in plain view. Even if having his arms wrapped around her had been very nice…
Cutting that though off before it could go any further, Mina grabbed onto the first topic of conversation that she could think of.
“Wanna go get some popcorn?”
“Yeah, we should… make sure they don’t run out.”
Well at least she wasn’t the only one who was bad at this. But the line did make her laugh as she grabbed Midoriya’s arm and tugged him towards the theater for their movie.
The movie had been excellent, in Mina’s opinion. They’d had the theater nearly to themselves, since some big blockbuster had come out that weekend and most people had gone to see that instead. It had been nice, though, since they didn’t have to worry about other people crowding their seats or talking over the movie while they watched.
Admittedly, the movie wasn’t all that spectacular by modern standards. It didn’t have any impressive special effects, or Quirk-assisted stunts. It did have quite a lot of charm, though, and Mina enjoyed a good, classic movie, even if it wasn’t from her favorite genre.
Plus, she had plenty to keep her entertained throughout the showing. Watching Midoriya’s reactions to the classic flick had been an absolute treat, just like she had thought. He'd given the movie the same level of attention he gave to hero class, which was to say, all of it. He'd been so focused on the movie that he'd even grabbed her hand at one point while reaching for the popcorn, and he hadn't even noticed. Or at least, Mina assumed he hadn't noticed based on the lack of blushing and apologizing that had followed the grab.
He'd definitely noticed when she leaned on his shoulder part way through the movie, but he hadn't freaked out or tried to push her away, which Mina counted as excellent progress. Not that she really knew what her end goal with getting him used to physical contact was , but she was having fun doing it anyways.
That alone probably said something about her feelings surrounding Midoriya and the date, but she was doing her best to ignore any sort of serious introspection in favor of just enjoying the moment. It was far easier, and the last few days had proved to her that she was far better at the latter.
"So, what'd ya think of the movie?" Mina asked, stretching a little to get the stiffness out of her shoulders.
"It was really good!" he replied instantly. “The acting was amazing, and all the historical details were so neat to see. Everything was so different back then, it's hard to imagine what it was like to live through it."
Mina nodded in agreement. She wasn’t that great at history in school, but she did love seeing it come to life in movies and T.V. shows. She could actually stay awake through those, and it was way easier to remember them, even if that did come back to bite her in the ass sometimes. Apparently the movie 300 had taken a few more liberties than she had realized, and Aizawa hadn’t been happy to see some of them in her essay. That lecture had truly sucked, and she never wanted to repeat it ever again.
“Thank you so much for recommending it,” Midoriya continued, grabbing her attention once more.
“Awww, don’t mention it. I had fun too, you know!”
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said with a small, gentle smile. That faded a second later, though, and he started to look a bit nervous once more. “So, uh, there’s a restaurant near here that people say is really good. Would… would you like to go get some dinner?”
He had barely finished speaking when his stomach growled, loud enough to be heard over the general hubbub of the theater entrance. Several passersby chuckled, while Midoriya turned bright red with embarrassment.
Mina giggled too, but grabbed his hand to take a little bit of the sting out of it. “Food sounds lovely.”
It really did. Thanks to her stupid brother she hadn’t had time to grab anything to eat before leaving the house and she was ravenous at this point. The only reason her stomach wasn’t the one growling just then was all the popcorn she had stuffed herself with during the movie.
“I think you’ll really like this place!” Midoriya said, enthusiasm blooming once more. “The menu looks really impressive, and all of the reviews say the food is great, even the really upset ones.”
“Sounds like someone did his research. All this for little ol’ me?”
“Of course!” he said instantly. “You’re absolutely worth it. And I wanted to make sure that everything went well. I promised you.”
Mina flushed a little at the words. Yet again she had no idea where he’d gotten such a high opinion of her from. He’d seen her at her absolute worst, from bombing test after test at school, to getting her butt kicked time and again during sparring, failing the final exams in first year and having to take the make-up classes. He’d seen her dirty, exhausted, crying, hyper, bored out of her skull, scared out of her mind, and in so many unflattering situations that she couldn’t even remember them all. But somehow, in some way, he still seemed to be enamored with her and she could barely believe it.
"Guess you did," she said. "Well then, c'mon Midori! Let's eat!"
The restaurant was very nice indeed. Upscale, without being too classy for a couple of teenagers out on a date, and filled with plenty of people out enjoying their evenings. Mina had been able to smell the place from a block away, the smell of good food drifting on the wind far enough that anyone who arrived at the door did so drooling in anticipation.
Despite how busy it was, she and Midoriya were seated almost immediately at a small table near the back of the restaurant. It was even tucked slightly away from the rest of the tables, shielded behind some decorative plants that shielded them from the worst of the noise from the other patrons.
For a minute, Mina was confused as to why they had been given such a nice table so quickly. Then, when their waitress came back over with their menus, she pulled out a notepad and rather nervously asked both Mina and Midoriya for their autographs.
As it turned out, their waitress was almost as much of a hero fan as Midoriya was, and had seen both of them at the sports festival. She even remembered Mina for how well she had placed, rather than just for the cheerleader incident. That put a smile on Mina's face, and she resolved to get the girl's number before they left. The girls in 1A and 1B were great, but Mina could always use a new girlfriend to chat with.
"She has good taste," Midoriya noted, as the waitress happily skipped away with her autographs clutched to her chest.
"Sush you. You're biased."
"I am," he said. "But I'm right too."
"Why?"
The word was out of her mouth before she could think about it. But once it was, she felt no need to take it back. She wanted to know, wanted to hear it from his own mouth. She could finally get the answer to the question she’d been dying to ask since he’d first confessed.
"Why what?"
"Why me? Out of everyone you know, all the girls in class, why me?"
“Well there’s lots of reasons. I mean, you’re amazing Ashido! You're so funny and outgoing, and you always work hard at everything you do, even if you don’t succeed. It’s inspiring, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. But when we were preparing for the cultural festival, I realized I liked you as more than just a friend. I was watching you dance and I just had a moment where I couldn’t help but fall in love with you.”
He paused for a moment, the already apparent blush on his face deepening, and Mina thought that he was finished. Then, at a much lower volume, he continued.
“And… and you’re really, really pretty.”
Mina giggled at the way he said it. Only Midoriya could tell her she was pretty while sounding so apologetic about it, like he felt bad for finding her attractive. And he obviously did find her attractive, which was extremely flattering. She got looks from people from time to time, but only a few of them ever said they thought she was pretty to her face and the few who did were usually the kind of creepy guys she never, ever wanted to think about looking at her in that way.
But with Midoriya, it was different. She didn’t feel flustered at the thought of him looking or anything like that, but she did feel pleasantly warm. Maybe it had to do with the shy way he glanced at her, eyes half hidden beneath his hair and a faint blush on his cheeks, or maybe it was the absolute faith she had that he was looking in a respectful yet admiring way that made her okay with it. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t been checking him out earlier, at least a little bit. Fair was fair.
“Pretty huh? Do I get anything more specific, or just ‘pretty?’
“I like your eyes,” he replied with almost zero hesitation. “Sometimes, in the light, the irises look like they’re made of liquid gold and it always takes my breath away. And your smile too. It’s so warm and wonderful. And just… everything about you. I like you. A lot. Sorry, I know that’s cheesy, but it's the truth.”
Mina didn’t know what to say to that really. She’d been expecting him to just stammer and fail to come up with anything specific. But this was Midoriya, and he had a way of always surpassing her expectations.
Before she could come up with something witty to reply with, their waitress returned with drinks in hand, ready to take their orders. Mina, who hadn’t even so much as glanced at the menu, decided to trust in their waitress and take her recommendation, figuring it couldn’t be too bad in a restaurant this nice.
And then the girl was gone, and silence fell between them. Midoriya looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t quite muster up the courage to speak, which meant it fell to her to keep things going. Thankfully, that was something she could easily do.
“Hey Midoriya, thanks for inviting me out today. I’ve had a lot of fun, even more than I usually do when I spend time with you.”
“I really enjoyed it too,” he replied. “But, you didn’t find the movie too boring, even if you’d seen it before?”
“Nope! I don’t mind rewatching stuff now and then. Plus I got to see all the funny faces you made during it, which was great!”
“I-I didn’t look too weird, did I?”
“Hmmmm, not really. Mostly you just looked really invested in the story. It was pretty cute.”
He flushed at her words and ducked his head for a moment. Even with that, he looked so happy that Mina felt a smile tug at her lips. And it really had been cute to watch him drinking it all in like an eager puppy.
“Although next time I think we’ll have to watch one of my favorites. So, Midoriya, how good are you with horror movies?”
“Not… great,” he admitted. “B-but I’ll do my best! I’d love to see another movie with you, whenever you want!”
With a start, Mina realized she’d just agreed to a second date without realizing it. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it just sounded like a great time. And with that realization came another one. She had the answer to her question.
She liked Midoriya, as more than just a friend. Sure, maybe his courtship hadn’t been the fairytale romance that she had expected, but it was good, and sweet, and so very him. She had enjoyed every second of it, even if she hadn’t quite realized why at the time.
So, as she settled down for what promised to be an excellent meal with the guy she was quickly beginning to truly fall for, Mina couldn’t resist the temptation of a perfect line.
“Then it's settled. And Izuku? I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”