Work Text:
Halloween means a costume party, which means that Minoru gets to get excited about seeing Tsuyu in a sexy costume (and the rest of the girls in his class, but he’s not dating any of them, so he keeps that to himself). He gets to see everyone in costumes all the time, but this is different and he feels like his entire life has been leading up to this.
Midoriya asks if the five of them are going to coordinate costumes, but the others laugh that off and Minoru is glad for that. It’s hard enough to find a decent costume that fits him that doesn’t look too childish, without having to follow a specific theme on top of it. And this way, he gets to be surprised by what they dress up as- not that he cares what any of them wear besides Tsuyu, of course.
The costume he eventually settles on for himself is the least childish, child-sized pirate costume he can find, though he takes a little while to adjust to having one of his eyes covered. It doesn’t make him look nearly as manly as he would have hoped, but he has to be grateful that he doesn’t look too much like a kid at the same time. All he can think about on is way to the party is what sorts of sexy costumes he’ll get to see that night, and he can barely contain himself as he imagines all the delicious possibilities.
Except when he gets there, and Tsuyu is already waiting for him in a not-particularly-sexy sailor costume, his heart sinks a bit. Really, he can’t think of much that any girl wouldn’t look sexy in, at least a little bit, but still. Her costume isn’t tight, her shirt covers her stomach, and she’s even wearing pants! He can’t help but mourn for the potential of such an outfit, if only she had gone with something more feminine, maybe with a skirt and stockings…
When he says as much to her, not wanting to keep anything from her, he’s met with a light smack to the back of them and a change of subject in response.
Other classmates filter in, including Tokoyami, who is wearing something that doesn’t seem too different from his typical hero costume, though Minoru decides against pointing that out, and Yaoyorozu, who is tragically much more covered than usual, and once again, Minoru mourns for wasted potential. What ever happened to girls taking Halloween as an excuse to wear next to nothing?!
When Midoriya arrives, he’s with Uraraka and Iida, and it seems that he must have really had his heart set on coordinating with someone, because all three of them are dressed as cops. Minoru can at least appreciate the fact that Uraraka’s costume involves a skirt, though it’s still far too conservative to count as a sexy cop, and she doesn’t have a single pair of handcuffs on her, as far as he can see.
They all quickly split up and go their separate ways, and the closer Midoriya gets, the clearer it becomes that the pants of his costume fit him well. Too well. Not that Minoru notices or anything.
“Are you guys having fun?” he asks, once he reaches them.
“Things are still picking up,” replies Tsuyu, “so we’ve just kind of been hanging out over here.”
“Shoji isn’t here yet?”
“He shouldn’t be too much longer,” says Tokoyami.
Minoru keeps quiet, trying not to look at Midoriya too much now that he’s right there, giving him an absolutely perfect view. It’s not like he wants to look at another guy, no matter how tight his pants may be.
“We could have just gone to a haunted house tonight,” Tsuyu says suddenly, and just the reminder of that day nearly has Minoru jumping out of his skin.
“no! No way!” he protests. “I’m never going back there!’
“It wouldn’t have to be the same one,” she replies, and he feels as if he could cry. Of course, the others just laugh, because they’re only teasing him, and he calms down quickly.
He hasn’t forgotten that terrifying experience, but what really haunts him about that day is just how close he let himself get to Midoriya and Shoji. It was all in the moment, because he was terrified and they were so close, but he hasn’t been able to get it out of his head since, and he’s been teased quite a few times for it. He only wanted in this relationship to date Tsuyu, and the fact that Midoriya and Shoji both have something with Tokoyami is no concern of his. They can do whatever they want, but he’s always told himself that he wants no part of it. But it’s getting harder to keep telling himself that.
To take his mind off things, he keeps his eye on the door to see when other girls arrive, but he’s let down by both Ashido’s and Jiro’s costumes. The former is in some sort of getup from a movie that came out the previous year- not very sexy- and the latter is, predictably, some sort of rock star- still not very sexy. He decides to take the fact that Hagakure shows up in something skimpy as a win, but he has to use his imagination just as much as he does with any of the other girls, so it’s not much of one.
Finally, Shoji shows up, apologizing for being late. His costume of choice is a ninja, which isn’t much different than his everyday clothes- or, at least, he’s wearing a mask like always- and his arms are completely exposed just like they always are, and Minoru doesn’t know why he’s staring so much. He gets to see Shoji’s exposed arms all the damn time, and he doesn’t want to look at some other guy’s arms anyway, and he doesn’t want to remember just how easily Shoji can pick him up or be impressed by that.
“It kind of dead in here, huh?” asks Midoriya. “I mean, there’s not really much going on.”
“Nobody really planned anything outside of a time and location, it looks like,” says Tokoyami. “Not that I’m much of a party guy myself…”
“Maybe we really should have gone to a haunted house,” says Tsuyu, giving Minoru a look, though he manages to keep his composure this time.
“I already told you, never again.”
“Were you guys teasing him about that before I got here?” asks Shoji in an amused tone.
“It’s not my fault I got scared!” he protests. “It was absolutely terrifying!”
“Oh, I think we all noticed that,” Shoji says. “At least, I very vividly remember you jumping-”
“Shut up!” he snaps. They’ve been through this several times before, and he gets more defensive each time. “It was scary! What do you want me to say?”
“If you’re sure that’s the only reason,” Tsuyu says, and even Midoriya has to fight back a smile when she does.
“I wish you guys would just let that go,” Minoru mumbles, more irritated this time than he normally is, and for some reason, he wants to blame that irritation on Midoriya’s tight pants and Shoji’s lack of sleeves- which, seriously, isn’t even different than normal!
“Come on, we’re all just kidding,” she says. “But you don’t have to be so embarrassed about it.”
“I’m not, I’m just tired of...of...I don’t know!” He’s getting too defensive now, and he scowls- with one eye, since the other is covered- and turns on his heel. “I’m gonna go outside for a little bit, it’s too hot in here.”
Even though Midoriya calls after him, he keeps going. He wants to be alone because he’s getting tired of feeling weird about their costumes and feeling weird about their relationship, and wondering why the hell he keeps thinking about how easy it is for the other guys to admit that they’re dating each other, too. Minoru has never admitted to anyone that he wants to be that open; in fact, he’s barely ever admitted it to himself, but he knows. He knows that he isn’t just in this to date Tsuyu, and that he’s not as exclusively into girls as he always told himself, but he doesn’t know what to do with that knowledge, and he doesn’t know how to come out and say it.
Minoru doesn’t know how long he sits outside by himself, but it never feels like the right time to go back inside. The longer he sits by himself, the more stupid he feels for causing a scene over nothing, so he doesn’t move, and he contemplates heading home and not ruining the night any further. He doesn’t know why he has to act like such an idiot, when he’s got something so amazing that he really doesn’t even deserve in the first place.
“Mineta?” asks Midoriya as he approaches him, and Minoru jumps. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine,” he says. “Just getting fresh air.”
“It’s been almost twenty minutes, and everyone was getting worried.” Midoriya sits down on the ground next to him. “You’re not missing much, though. I did some pictures with Iida and Uraraka because she insisted, and everyone kept trying to get us to do some goofy poses, but that’s about it.”
Very much against his will, Minoru thinks about what kind of poses he might have put Midoriya in, and the fact that Uraraka is an afterthought makes him want to scream. “I told you, I’m just getting fresh air. It’s no big deal.”
“I know there’s something bothering you. If we hurt your feelings-”
“You didn’t! It’s not like that…”
Midoriya sighs, and there’s a long pause. “If you really do want to keep things the way they are, I can talk to them, and we won’t mention it again, not even as a joke. I don’t want to hurt you, and that was never my intention, or anyone else’s.”
Minoru opens his mouth to agree to that, so very aware that he could say right now to stop, that he doesn’t want that, and that he would be free. But he also knows that he wouldn’t really be free, because even if they weren’t saying it, he’d still be thinking it, and he would still want it, and he’s wanted for so long to be strong enough to just admit that that is what he wants. Midoriya has always been a good friend, maybe one of the first true friends he made at this school, and if there’s anyone Minoru can trust, it’s him. Perhap that’s why he likes him so much, or maybe it’s how much he admires his strength, or maybe it has something to do with how damn nice he looks in those pants, and why is he still thinking about that ?!
“What if I...don’t want to keep things the way are?” he finally asks, in a very small voice.
“Then I’d say that was just fine,” Midoriya replies. “I do like you, you know.”
“I...like you too.” And there it is, out in the open. Admitting it feels easier than he expected, and there is no sudden, drastic change in the world around him. He’s just admitted that he likes a guy, and the world goes on just like always.
Midoriya leans down to him, a soft look in his eyes, and asks, “Is this okay?” Minoru nods, and he kisses a guy for the first time, and still, the world does not change. Perhaps he might have been making a bigger deal out of this than necessary.
They spend a bit more time alone together before Midoriya asks him if he wants to return to the party. “We don’t have to talk about this with everyone else until you’re ready.”
“After the party,” Minoru replies. “I think I’ve waited too long already.”
“Alright,” he says, and he smiles. “So, do you like Shoji too? Are you going to tell him?”
Minoru nearly reflexively denies it, but catches himself at the last minute. He doesn’t want to backtrack anymore; he just wants to keep making progress. “Yeah, I like him too...I guess I’ll have to tell him tonight too.”
“I’m pretty sure he likes you too, if that makes it any easier.”
Tonight has been a strange one for Minoru, and it’s only going to get stranger from here on out, but at least he’s finally facing his feelings, no matter how difficult that may be. And Midoriya has been supportive and he knows that Tsuyu will be, and that Shoji will be, because they always have been. Tokoyami is a bit harder to read, but they’ve become good friends lately, and since they’re basically both dating the same people now, Minoru supposes he doesn’t have anything to worry about from him either.
With all of this going on, the lack of sexy costumes at the party is soon far from his mind- though that might have something to do with the fact that he’s having an easier time checking out two guys in his group now.