Chapter Text
The dorm was small, with plain, cream colored walls and matching carpet. That is, except for the rather large mystery stain that had somehow ended up next to the outlet under the window. And the one on the floor in the corner by the door. When it was nearly empty like this, with the curtains drawn and the fluorescent light buzzing overhead, it almost evoked the feeling of a cheap motel room. Through the thin walls, Izuku could even hear his new neighbor chattering on with some family member or other as clear as if he were right there with them.
He grinned. It was perfect.
He set down another box with a grunt, crouching to catch his breath a moment and rub at his wrist when it gave a twinge of protest from all the physical exertion. When he pushed himself back up he started looking around his new home for the next year, pictures already forming in his mind’s eye of how it was going to look. He could put all of his posters over on that wall. There was just enough room in the small bookshelf he had bought for all of his comic books and games, and he could arrange his figures on top of it. Actually, they might not all fit. Maybe some of them could go on the desk instead?
It was at that point that he started regretting bringing so much stuff.
Before he could dwell on it, however, he was dragged him out of his daydreaming by the sound of the door creaking open. He whipped around just in time to watch his mother push her way in with yet another box labeled ‘clothes’ in her arms.
“Oh! Mom, let me get that!”
“Thank you.” She let out a breathless huff as he relieved her of her burden and went to set it with the others at the foot of the bed.
“That’s the last one, isn’t it?” Izuku asked, counting the boxes in his head to make sure.
“Oh. I guess it is,” she said softly, staring down at the little mountain of boxes with a frown.
He gave her a small smile. “Aw, mom.”
“I’m sorry! I just can’t believe my baby is finally going off to college.” She gave him a wobbly smile, her lip trembling with enough sheer force to break through her already questionably sound tear ducts and cause them to start overflowing.
He walked over to envelope her in a tight hug, swaying the both of them slightly in the middle of the room before breaking them apart so he could look her in the eye. Even after all these years, he’d only managed to beat her in height by a measly few inches.
“It’s really not that far,” he reminded her.
“I know, it’s just a mom thing.” She gave him a weak grin, reaching up to grip him by the shoulders. “Are you sure you have everything you need?
He nodded.
“Promise you’ll call and visit as often as you can?”
He nodded, wiping at the sudden wetness running down his cheek
“Make sure that you eat properly, I don’t want you having instant ramen for every meal. Oh, and -”
“Mom, I’ll be fine!” he laughed.
She sighed. “Sorry, sorry. I just… I’m just going to miss you so much!”
“I’ll miss you too.” He gave her a wet smile, gathering her up into another hug.
They stayed like that for a moment before he felt her take a grounding breath against his shoulder and pull away, though she still kept a vice grip on his arms. “Well, I guess I should leave you to unpack. Unless of course you want me to stay and help,” she added with a grin.
He gave her a warning look. “Mom…”
“I know, I know!” She let go of him to hold up her hands placatingly, though her smile remained, affecting Izuku as well with its infectiousness.
“Here, I’ll walk you out.” It was the least he could do to make up for turning her into an empty nester.
As they made their way down the hall, he couldn’t help but notice similar heartfelt farewells going on past every other open door, along with some... less emotional ones as well. They had to weave their way past more than one person of varying age hauling extra large boxes of stuff, but they finally made their way to the elevator, the both of them sharing a significant look of relief when they were past the throng and left to themselves for the brief ride down to the ground floor. Izuku hadn’t gotten his social anxiety from nowhere, after all.
On the way to the dorm’s parking lot he filled the silence between them with talk of what classes he was taking this semester, excitement coloring his voice. His mother listened intently, nodding and smiling and interjecting whenever Izuku remembered to give her a chance.
When they made it out to the car, which one of their neighbors had been gracious enough to lend them so that they had something to haul all of Izuku's things in, it seemed to finally hit both of them, the finality of it. They both stopped a few feet from the space that they had parked and just stared at each other, neither of them daring to speak for fear of bringing about the inevitable.
In the end, it was his mother who took the plunge and broke the silence. “I love you, honey. Call me if you need anything!”
“I will. I love you too, mom.”
There were more hugs, and even more tears, and then even more tears on top of that because the Midoriyas just fed off of each other that way. Then she was climbing into the car, and he was trying to ignore the pang in his chest as he watched her pull out and make her way down the block, only to disappear around the corner much too soon. It didn’t help when he thought of her having to make that trip all alone, only to come home to a silent apartment…
He shook those thoughts off. No, this was his moment! He was finally on his own, for the first time in his life. He’d been looking forward to this so much that he’d had his dorm furnishings picked out since high school graduation, and he had vowed not to let anything rain on his excitement.
He still made a mental note to call her later as he made his way back upstairs to get a head start on unpacking.
As he reached his door, he heard the one next to him creak open, and he glanced over just in time to lock eyes with another young guy whose hair was pulled up into a small ponytail that was way too bright a red to be natural. Upon seeing him, the redhead broke out into a grin.
“Hey! Guess we're gonna be neighbors,” he said. His loud, enthusiastic voice was familiar to Izuku’s ears for some reason, though he knew that he would remember someone so distinctive looking. After a few minutes of wracking his brain, it clicked that this must be the neighbor he heard talking to his family earlier, and everything seemed to suddenly fall into place.
Izuku nodded shyly. “Guess so!”
“I'm Kirishima Eijirou. Nice to meet ya.”
“I’m Midoriya Izuku. It’s nice to meet you too!” He wasn’t sure what it was, but something about Kirishima just put him at ease. Maybe it was just how the boy himself seemed to radiate friendliness, for which Izuku was grateful. It was going to make this whole new experience a heck of a lot easier on him if he was on good terms with at least one of his neighbors.
“I should probably get going. I was right in the middle of bringing stuff in,” Kirishima said. “But maybe I'll see you later?”
“Oh, yeah! Sure!” Izuku watched as the other walked past him down the hall, smiling for real this time. This was exactly what he had wanted from college. A fresh start, an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends and have new experiences. If he was right, then he may have already gotten his wish?
His heart was light in his chest as he made his way into his room again, pulling out his phone to shoot a message to the group chat that he kept with his three closest friends.
Deku - hey guys guess what, I'm moved in!
Deku - well not really, I still need to unpack but all my stuff is here!
He had made sure they were all online before typing, so the replies were instantaneous.
Uravity - That's great deku!
Iida - Congratulations, Midoriya!
Uravity - Hey since we're all settled in now we should go have lunch to celebrate!
Deku - yeah that sounds great!
Iida - I am available for lunch.
Deku - what about you @shouto ?
When there was no immediate reply Izuku set his phone on the desk, but not before turning on a playlist of his favorite top 40 pop to listen to as he grabbed a box at random from the top of the pile and tore into it. A cursory glance inside revealed that it was stuffed with his brand new bedding. Well, that was as good a place to start as any. Humming along to the catchy tune that was now quickly filling the tiny room, he shook out the bottom sheet and started wrestling it onto the bed.
Just as he was finishing up his phone buzzed a few times again. Quickly smoothing the top sheet down, he snatched it up and checked the chat.
Shouto - Sure
Uravity - A man of few words as always I see :P
Deku - how about we meet up at okamoto at noon?
Uravity - ohhh yes!!!
Iida - It’s settled, then.
Shouto - Nobody asked me
Shouto - But yes, okamoto sounds fine
Deku - see you all there! I’ve got a lot of unpacking to do first :(
Uravity - have fuuuuun!!
Deku - :( :( :(
After making sure he sent a sufficient amount of frowny faces, Izuku got to work.
As a matter of fact, he did end up having fun. The music he kept playing seemed to bend and warp the time around him, as it had a tendency to do, while he bounced around the room putting things away and brought his vision for his new home to life. It took the rest of the morning, but it seemed like it had been no time at all when twelve came around and it was time for him to head out. By then the majority of his boxes were folded up neatly in one corner waiting to be taken out to the garbage later. Placing the most recent one on the top of the pile, he dusted off his hands and turned around to survey his handy work.
The room was much more hospitable now. He had opened up the curtains to let in some natural light, and his various posters now covered up the drab walls and gave the place a much needed pop of red, blue, and yellow. It almost felt like his bedroom back home. As much as it could, anyway. He nodded in satisfaction. He could definitely make this his home for the next few semesters.
He still had two more boxes, but it was all stuff that could be taken care of later. Plus he had to meet the others, so for now he decided to call it good enough. He swept up his keys and wallet, shoving them in his pocket, and slipped on his shoes before letting his now growling stomach lead the way towards promised sustenance.
. . .
Okamoto was a small restaurant downtown that the quartet frequented often, mostly for the menu variety that meant they could all be satisfied. The price might have had a little to do with it as well. They were all poor college freshmen, after all. The place had a quaint hole-in-the-wall kind of vibe, with bricked walls and rustic wooden seating. It never felt too dingy though, and you could always hear - and smell - the delicious food sizzling back in the kitchen. Not many people even knew it was there besides regulars like themselves, so it didn’t get too crowded either, which was just a bonus.
When Izuku arrived he greeted the owner, ordering his usual, before heading to their favorite table in the back corner where his friends were already seated and chatting amongst each other.
“Hey, Deku!” Uraraka called, waving him over.
“Hey guys!” He sat himself next to her with a grin.
“How is unpacking going?” Iida asked.
Izuku shrugged. “Pretty good. I’ve only got a few boxes left.” At that moment the waiter came by with appetizers and a glass of water, which he took with a thanks.
“Wait, what? That’s crazy!” Uraraka stared at him as if he’d grown a second head. “I’ve only just started!”
Izuku just chuckled, giving a humble shrug, to which Uraraka responded by very maturely sticking her tongue out at him and scolding him for making them look bad.
“Oh, did you meet your roommate yet?” he asked her around a piece of vegetable tempura.
She lit up at that, hopping in place in her seat and waving her hands. “Yeah! She’s really great! Her name is Ashido and I can already tell we’re gonna be great friends! We have so much in common -”
At some point the rest of their food came while Uraraka told them about the girl that she had been roomed with. Izuku found it lucky that he had been able to snag a spot in the single dorms and didn’t have to deal with the gamble of a randomly selected roommate. He knew that she had only done it to save on the extra cost, but she seemed happy enough with the arrangement, at least.
As they ate, they all took turns enthusing about their new dorms and the classes that they were taking that semester. Iida in particular gushed to them again about getting into the same engineering program as his older brother, his chest puffed out with pride. Izuku didn’t miss the hint of regret that flashed across his face though, his smiles just a little bit too tight as he talked about Tensei, who was still recovering from a nasty car accident that had left him paralyzed just last summer.
“How is Tensei, anyway?” Uraraka asked.
Iida’s face softened at that. “Oh, very well. He’s up and about a lot more recently.”
“That’s really good to hear!” Izuku smiled. Iida had been so torn up about the whole incident when it first happened. It was difficult to think back on.
“He’s very proud of me, as well.”
“He should be! It’s a great program,” Uraraka chimed in, in an attempt to lighten the mood again.
Izuku nodded in agreement, and the conversation easily slipped back towards school. Though, he couldn’t help but notice that one of them hadn’t had very much to say on the subject so far.
“What about you, Todoroki?” Izuku asked, trying to bring him into the fold. “How’s the new apartment.”
“It’s very nice. Though, of course, anywhere away from my father can only be an improvement,” he replied before occupying himself with his food again.
Izuku nodded in understanding. “I’m so glad you decided to stay close by! I would have missed you.”
“Me too!”
“As would I.”
That drew a rare grin out of their usually quiet friend. “Thanks. I’m glad I did too.”
“Aw, I love you guys!” Uraraka gushed, reaching over to give Izuku a quick squeeze around the shoulders before rising to her feet suddenly, her water sloshing dangerously close to the rim of the glass in her hand. Across the table, Izuku could see Iida’s mouth moving, likely to tell her to sit back down even though there was literally no one in else there at the moment for them to disturb. Well, besides the staff, but by now they were all too well acquainted with their ragtag group’s antics to pay them any mind.
She raised her drink toward them, drowning out Iida’s protests before he even had a chance to get them out. “To our first semester as real adults!”
“Yeah!” Izuku stood to join her with his own glass, gently clinking them together. The two of them looked at their remaining companions with expectant grins, and they shared a brief look as if mentally discussing whether to indulge them or not. In the end, though, they both rose to their feet as well, and a chorus of tinkling glass resounded throughout the quiet restaurant, an ode to the unknown - but hopefully still exciting - new experiences that lay before them.
. . .
After lunch, Izuku waved his friends goodbye and spent a few hours finishing up his unpacking. While he was coming back from tossing all of the empty boxes in the recycling he met Kirishima in the hallway again, and he ended up spending the rest of the day chatting with him as he helped him with his own things. As it turned out, Izuku’s first impression of the other had been correct. Kirishima was as loud and boisterous and friendly as he had appeared, kind of like a big puppy in a way. Izuku could easily see himself becoming friends with him. He was also a premed like Izuku, specifically sports medicine, and they both looked forward to having many of the same classes together.
When they were done with Kirishima’s things he even invited him to stay for a few rounds of Super Smash Bros on his Wii, all of which ended in Izuku’s undisputed defeat at the hands of Kirishima’s greninja. He did manage to get one good victory in, though, before he realized how late it had gotten somehow and decided to head back to his own room.
“See you later! Don’t forget, we gotta go to the gym together sometime!” Kirishima said, sending him off with a playful shoulder punch.
Izuku chuckled. “Yeah, definitely!”
After making sure he kept his promise to call his mom, he went to bed that night with that lighter than air feeling bubbling up inside his chest again, still high on the realization that he was completely and totally free and independent. He could do literally whatever he wanted, the options were almost overwhelming. He could take a late night jog just because, or he could go blow all his money on junk food from that twenty-four hour convenience store he'd noticed across the street. He didn't even have to leave Kirishima’s room. They could have stayed up talking and playing video games all night if they really wanted to.
Izuku was still a creature of habit, though, and that habit was going to sleep early. He was not about to change that now just because he was in a new place. So, to bed he went, hoping that all of the excitement of the day would not prevent him from being able to get some rest.
Only to end up tossing and turning on his still unfamiliar mattress.
When he accepted that he was not about to get comfortable anytime soon he huffed and just flopped down onto his side, pouting into his dimly lit room as he felt the eyes of about eight different fictional superheroes staring down at him from his posters. He knew that it was going to take some time to get used to his new surroundings, but he hadn’t anticipated just how strong the alien sensations that crashed over him would be. His sheets were too stiff, a whiff of the plastic they had come packaged in still clinging to them even after a round in the wash, and though he was used to the noises that came with communal living from growing up in an apartment, these new sounds that surrounded him were all wrong, making them seem even louder than they probably were in reality. Instead of Mrs. Ashikaga’s grumpy old cat scratching at his litter box, Izuku heard a muffled video game soundtrack still playing from Kirishima’s room, and instead of Mr. Sasada’s quiet footsteps as he returned from his night shift, he would be startled back awake by his other neighbor’s phone buzzing with a new text every few minutes.
Everything was different and off, and it was distracting.
When he wasn’t able to drown any of it out, he gave in and ended up trying to distract himself by scrolling through his phone for a little while, but he never was good at just sitting still. It gave too much opportunity for his busy mind to wander. He soon got caught up in wondering how his mom was faring back at home, and thinking about his mom caused another, new emotion to start pooling heavily in his gut like liquid metal. It didn’t take a genius to put together that the feeling was homesickness.
He needed a distraction, a real distraction, or else he feared he might overload trying to process so many feelings. This was as good a time as any to get a better look around the building. Everyone was most likely settled in their rooms by now, and it would be nice and quiet, so he got up and slipped out, letting his bare feet lead the way.
Despite the fact that he was surrounded by other people, he felt more alone than ever as he made the journey through the empty halls. It was how he imagined it must be like to walk around a school at night, where you couldn’t shake the distinct impression that you had somehow taken a wrong turn and ended up somewhere that you weren’t meant to be. It was just a little bit eerie. Especially the main communal area, which had already been shut down for the night and was blanketed in darkness except for a single light that was buzzing away as if setting the scene for a slasher flick. At least it was quiet?
He couldn’t make out much in the near dark, but the room was carpeted, with large, wall-length windows that were currently curtained. To the left there were couches and tables for studying or eating or general hanging out, and to the right there was a small kitchen setup with a sink, microwave, stove, and a coffee maker. Izuku perked up at that. Maybe a warm drink would help.
It was one of those machines that used the little cups, and upon stepping closer it looked like there was already an assortment set out for anybody’s use. He hadn’t had the foresight to bring a cup or a mug with him, but searching the wooden cabinets overhead thankfully revealed a stack of disposable coffee cups instead.
There was only one problem. Some jokester had decided it would be a great idea to place them on the very highest shelf of the already very high cupboards, probably to spite Izuku specifically. Fantastic.
The tips of his fingers brushed the bottom cup, but it was just out of reach enough that he wasn’t able to grab a hold of it. Never one to back down from a challenge, he schooled his face into something like determination, thankful that there was no one there to witness his shame as he strained on his toes and tried again.
Or, so he thought.
“Need some help there?”
Izuku practically jumped out of his skin. He gasped - or rather, he gave a very embarrassing chicken squawk - and whirled around to face his unexpected company. They were still shrouded in darkness, but he heard a disembodied snicker at his overdramatic reaction.
When they stepped into the light, Izuku could finally see that the newcomer was a boy with wild bedhead flying every which way. He couldn’t help but note that it made him look like one of those mad scientists in cheesy B sci-fi movies. The harsh fluorescence illuminated his pale face, making the deep bags under his eyes stand out in harsh relief. Apparently, Izuku wasn’t the only one who was feeling restless tonight.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t expect anyone else to be down here,” he explained lamely.
“Just me,” the boy said. He came closer, causing Izuku to scramble sideways to give him some room, and reached up to effortlessly grab one of the cups with his superior height. “Here you go, shorty.”
Izuku frowned, caught between the urge to thank him and grumble at him that he wasn’t that short. Before he got the chance though, the mystery boy left as quickly as he came, disappearing once again into the shadows and settling on one of the nearby couches until only his hair was visible over the back. Izuku stared after him a moment, but shook it off and started pawing through the selection of coffees and teas in the search of any hot chocolate, wincing at the noise that was amplified by the large room. In an effort to stave off the awkward silence that was creeping in, he tried to make small talk as he worked. “I guess you couldn’t sleep either?”
The mass of hair shook in confirmation. “Insomnia.”
“Oh…” When he found what he was looking for, Izuku poured some water into the machine and let it turn itself on. “So, um… are you a first year too?”
A sigh. “This section of the dorms is for the first years only, isn’t it?”
“Oh. Right. Duh.” He laughed to himself.
Over by the couches, an artificial glow materialized seemingly out of nowhere, haloing his reluctant companion as he entertained himself with a phone or some other type of device. With his back to him, Izuku couldn’t tell. Taking the obvious hint, he decided to just finish his cocoa in silence. He hummed, his gaze swapping between watching as it slowly filled his cup and glancing over at the other as he tapped away at whatever he was holding.
When it was done, Izuku sat himself down at one of the nearest tables, blowing at his drink as he waited for it to cool off. The heat traveled through the paper cup to his hands and sent a pleasant warmth up his arms. After a few minutes he inhaled the sweet-smelling steam wafting off the surface, taking a test sip and letting it warm him from the inside out as well. It would have been relaxing, had it not been for the set of eyes he could feel peering at him every once in a while from across the room.
“Nice pajama pants.”
“Huh?”
Izuku could just make out his unexpected companion peering at him from over the back of the couch. “Your pajamas,” he repeated, his gaze falling to Izuku’s legs. “You like All Might?”
“Oh.” Izuku glanced down at his colorful bottoms bearing the symbol of his favorite comic book character. He’d forgotten that he was wearing these. He braced himself for a possible jab at the dorky choice of attire, but it never came. Instead, there was a genuine curiosity in his eyes. So, Izuku answered, “Yeah! He’s my favorite!”
“What’s your favorite movie?”
That was an easy answer. “Oh, the third one!”
That made the other scoff. “Seriously? Come on, they totally changed up the tone just to make it all ‘dark’ and ‘gritty.’”
Izuku was prepared for this response. “Yeah, but you have to admit, the writing was the most consistent out of all of them,” he said, taking another sip of his cocoa.
“Huh, I guess you’re right.” He heard the other hum in thought for a moment before letting out another one of those snickering laughs. “You’re kind of a nerd, aren’t you?”
There it was. Though, at least it came off as more friendly teasing than insulting, so Izuku accepted it with a shrug.
They fell into silence again after that, but this time it was a comfortable, companionable one. Across the room Izuku noticed his new acquaintance turn back to his screen, while he continued to enjoy his warm drink. The last that he saw of him was the back of his head, wild hair still standing at attention, as Izuku left him to his own devices and headed back to his room.
He realized a little too late that he hadn’t even gotten the guy’s name.
. . .
The encounter soon fell to the back of his mind, however, as the weekend arrived and he became occupied with finishing getting settled. The next few days seemed to zoom by in a blur of orientations and tours and excursions to the shopping district with Iida and Todoroki for last minute supplies and other necessities that they had inevitably forgotten. He lived off of snacks and meals from the convenience store - after sending a silent apology to his mother, of course. The dorm food just wasn’t worth the extra savings, but he made up for it by keeping his promise to Kirishima to become work out buddies.
He was so busy that by the time Sunday evening came around he had all but forgotten his late night meeting with the mysterious stranger.
That evening he sat comparing his schedule with Kirishima’s over a dinner of premade bentos, becoming pleased when they found they did indeed have a few classes together. Right next to their table two guys named Kaminari and Sero were bent over one of their phones and cackling to the point of tears over what Izuku had surmised were dumb internet videos. At some point Kirishima had become curious enough to peer over their shoulder and join in in cracking up at whatever they were watching, and Izuku excused himself to his room for the night.
Dorm life was... interesting, to say the least. In some ways, it was like his apartment. He was used to things such as having to share washing machines, for example. There was also a lot less privacy, though, what with the tight living space. He still didn’t know how he felt about the communal bathrooms. It had only been a few days, but already someone had left something in the microwave too long and the acrid smell had ended up taking over the common room for hours afterward. Then there was that one time he had come downstairs to find that someone had hung their laundry up to dry in front of the windows for some reason.
It was all a part of the experience, he supposed.
At least he was much more comfortable in his new room now. The new sounds and sights and smells weren't as new anymore, and after getting past that first night he was able to sleep a lot more soundly. Except, of course, when he had his first class the next day and he actually needed it.
He was just drifting off to sleep a few hours later when some very distinctive gasps and moans began floating over from the room to his right. His eyes shot open, his nose wrinkling in distaste. Seriously? Right now? He sighed. Maybe he could just ignore it. Squeezing his eyes shut, he rolled over and tried, but the twin panting and the rhythmic squeaking of the mattress just kept burrowing into his brain like an annoyingly catchy song. They were punctuated by the occasional laugh and hushed whispers of ‘shh, quiet!’ Izuku flopped onto his back and ran his hands down his face.
Well, at this rate he might as well get up.
He scooted to the edge of his bed and padded his way out into the hall and towards the elevators, careful not to alert the couple next door.
When he stepped out into the common room he was surprised to see the same boy from a few nights before, sitting there in the dark again in the exact same spot that he had been in when Izuku left him. If he didn't know better, he would have said that he hadn't moved at all in the past few days.
At least this time, he turned around to greet him instead of sneaking up on him. “Hey.”
Izuku waved. “Hi. You're down here again.” It wasn't a question.
“Told you, I have trouble sleeping,” the other boy responded. He looked up to lock eyes with Izuku, the power of his gaze stopping him in his tracks and holding him in place. “What are you doing down here again?”
Izuku blinked. “Oh. I, uh… I'm pretty sure my neighbor is having sex and it's… kind of loud, so…” He shrugged.
That caught the other’s attention. He blinked and stared at Izuku for a second as if trying to figure out if he was serious or not, and then suddenly he was trembling with barely concealed laughter.
Something about it made Izuku join in. It was clear that he wasn't really laughing at him, but the situation, and Izuku had to agree that it was pretty amusing. Soon the empty common room was echoing with both of their quiet snickering.
“You too, huh?” he said once he’d finally calmed down. “That’s why I come down here when I can’t sleep.”
Izuku nodded. It made sense.
Since he was down here, he decided to make some hot cocoa again. It was easy to find where everything was the second time, and soon he was placing another cup into the machine with a content smile as it whirred to life. His gaze kept being pulled to the other boy still seated on the couch, his back turned to him once again. “Um, did you want some?”
His head whipped around again, surprise in his eyes. “Uh, sure?”
Izuku smiled at him and grabbed another cup. “I didn’t get your name last time,” he pointed out.
“Shinsou Hitoshi.”
Izuku’s smile grew. “Midoriya Izuku.”
It turned out that Shinsou was playing whatever he had been the other night again, so when Izuku went over to hand him his drink, he finally got a look. He gasped. “Is that Pokemon!”
Shinsou sighed. “Yeah. I can’t beat this stupid gym leader.”
Izuku hummed, leaning over the armrest to get a better look at the screen, but when he realized that he was kind of invading the other’s personal space he backed off. “Oh, uh…”
Without missing a beat Shinsou shrugged, nodding his head toward the space next to him. He didn’t even take his eyes off the screen.
Izuku accepted the invitation and went to settle down beside him, making sure to keep a little space between them still. “Oh, no wonder! You’re using a psychic type against a dark type. You should use a fairy or fighting type instead.”
Shinsou paused to glance at him from the corner of his eye with a smirk. “Why am I not surprised you know that?”
He still took Izuku’s advice, though, and was able to finally clear the gym.
They sat there for a while after that, Izuku content to just drink his cocoa and watch as Shinsou played, though he did pipe in with more strategic advice every so often. At some point he realized that the distance between them had been decreasing ever so gradually, so he could see the screen better, of course, until eventually their shoulders were lightly touching. He worried that it would make Shinsou uncomfortable, but he didn’t seem to notice or mind.
They continued to talk even long after the game had been put away, and the cocoa was gone. He was surprised to learn that Shinsou was an art major, though he didn’t have a specific field in mind yet, and Izuku told him how he wanted to go into physical therapy, which had earned him another friendly jab. Shinsou was really funny, in a dry, sarcastic kind of way. Apparently he had just moved here from another prefecture for school, which explained why Izuku didn’t remember going to high school with him.
By the time Izuku finally realized how much time had passed, it was already two in the morning. He knew he was going to regret it later, but at the moment he couldn’t find it in himself to care much.