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“Oh no,” Shinsou said as he opened the door and saw Iida standing there holding a pristine melon, neatly wrapped in an open box, “What are you doing?”
“I brought a gift for your parents, as is only proper,” Iida replies, walking in and toeing his shoes off, “Do they like melon?”
“Who doesn’t like melon?” Shinsou asks, gesturing at the table, “Well, you really didn’t have to, but I guess you can just leave it here, and we can go—”
“No, I have some words I would like to reassure your parents with to, before we go,” Iida says, carefully setting the box on the table.
(While he is still pinching himself to make sure that Iida really did ask him out, sometimes Iida’s insistence on the right way to do things makes him want to pull his hair out.
It’s sweet, but it’s so embarrassing sometimes.)
“Seriously?” Shinsou asks, raising an eyebrow, “You’re asking their permission?”
“Well, I am informing them of the situation and also asking for their approval,” Iida replies, pushing his glasses up, “If they do not approve, then I will of course ask for input on the ways that I can further improve myself to become worthy of dating you—”
“Who is ever going to not approve of you?” Shinsou comments, reaching up to touch his cheek.
Iida chuckles, grabbing his hand, “I am glad you think so highly of me, but I really do think that Aizawa-sensei and Mic-sensei should have a chance to make their opinions known—”
“They love you, and let’s leave before Mic-sensei shows up to take five million pictures,” Shinsou says, gently shoving him toward the door.
Unfortunately, Iida is a wall of muscle, and while he loves that normally, it makes it really hard for him to shove his boyfriend anywhere he doesn’t want to go.
“I also have not formally met Eri-chan, and I feel it would be remiss to not greet her as well,” Iida says, folding his arms.
“I haven’t met your brother yet—”
“Oh, you must! Do you think we could set up a time next week, and you could come over—”
“Tenya—”
“Is that Tenya-kun?” Yamada’s voice calls out, “Hold on just a minute—”
Shinsou groans, stepping back, “Well, now we’re in for it.”
Iida smiles and pats him on the back, “I think it will be fine.”
“It’s not even necessary, and I just want to get to the zoo before it fills up,” Shinsou huffs, head-butting him lightly in the shoulder.
There is a clatter of sound equipment, and Yamada comes out of the study, phone in hand and giant grin on his face.
“Tenya-kun! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you outside of class; you here to take Hitoshi here to the zoo?” he asks as he snaps a picture of the two of them.
“Oh my god, Mic-sensei, please stop,” Shinsou hisses at the blonde man.
Iida nods, “I am! Is Aizawa-sensei here too?”
Yamada raises an eyebrow, “Don’t you see enough of him at the dorms? He’s napping, but I can get him up, if you need him.”
“We really don’t—”
“If you would please, Mic-sensei,” Iida says, flailing his arms at the table where the melon sits, “And Eri-chan as well. I have something to say.”
“Oh, do you?” Yamada asks, smile spreading still wider across his face, “Well, Eraser can’t miss that. Let me get them.”
As Yamada hurries away, Shinsou turns to Iida, “You know, we can still escape.”
“Nonsense, this is important, I want to make a good impression,” Iida insists.
“Haven’t they known you since you were like a toddler?” Shinsou points out, “Really they’ve known you longer than me.”
“Yes, but not in this context,” Iida says, hands chopping through the air, “They are entrusting their precious adopted son to me, and I intend to assure them that I understand the gravity and importance of the situation.”
(That’s—
Wow, it makes him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but also kind of like he wants to melt into the floor, and oh god, is that how he’s going to word it to Aizawa and Yamada?)
Shinsou flushes, “How do you even say stuff like that with a straight face?”
Iida looks confused, “You are important to me, and is that not what you say in this kind of situation?”
“Well—maybe if you’re in a drama—and don’t get me wrong, I kind of like it, but—”
There is a pitter-patter of feet, as Eri runs up to them, followed by a scowling Aizawa rubbing his eyes, and a cooing Yamada.
“Stand still, this is going to be the cutest group pic,” Yamada says, motioning for Eri to scoot a bit closer to them before he takes another picture.
(He feels like by the end of this, Yamada will have enough photos for a whole photo album.)
Eri tugs on Shinsou’s sleeve, and he crouches down so Eri can whisper into his ear.
“Is that your boyfriend, Hitoshi?” she asks, cupping her mouth and glancing up at Iida.
“Yeah,” Shinsou whispers back, also smiling at Iida, “Yeah he is.”
“I think I’ve seen him before, but I don’t remember his name?” Eri frowns a little, twiddling her fingers together.
Iida crouches down as well, “Nice to meet you, Eri-chan! I am Iida Tenya, and I am fortunate to be dating your brother right now.”
Eri looks at him and then cautiously sticks out a hand, “I’m Eri,” she says quietly, “You like Hitoshi a lot?”
Iida shakes her hand gently, glancing at Shinsou with a warm smile, “Yes, I really do.”
While Yamada was busy trying to take as many photos in as many angles as possible, Aizawa had wandered over to the table and was examining the melon.
“…Tenya. Did you mean to give us a Yubari melon?” Aizawa asks, holding up the melon.
Yamada lowers his phone to stare at the melon while Shinsou stares at Iida.
“You didn’t,” Shinsou breathes, glaring at his boyfriend.
Iida nods, “I did.”
“Tenya-kun,” Yamada says, also examining the melon, “While we of course are very pleased you are taking this seriously, a Yubari melon is a bit—”
“How much did you even spend?” Shinsou demands.
“I have been saving up,” Iida says, clearing his throat, “You are worth it. You are worth a whole crate of Yubari melons.”
(Maybe Iida’s secondary quirk is the ability to say super embarrassing things with a completely straight face, because Shinsou’s face is burning up, Eri has gone to the kitchen to get him a glass of water, Aizawa has raised an eyebrow, and Yamada looks like Christmas has come early.)
“What’s a Yubari melon? Is it good?” Eri asks, handing Shinsou a glass of water and looking from the melon to Yamada.
“A Yubari melon, Eri-chan, is the king of all melons,” Yamada says, gesturing at the melon in Aizawa’s hands, “It is heavenly, and a very generous gift.”
“Ohhh,” Eri says, scrambling up the kitchen chair to peer at the melon closer.
“I— a whole crate?” Shinsou asks, covering his mouth and attempting to recover.
“Oh!” Iida says, waving his arms around (oh now he looks flustered) I mean—ten crates? No, the full harvest—”
“Before we get into how many Yubari melons Hitoshi here is worth—and by the way, your last answer was correct—Mic said you had something you wanted to say to all of us?” Aizawa interrupts, setting the melon down gently.
“Indeed I do,” Iida says, squaring back his shoulders and taking out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket, “Aizawa-sensei, Mic-sensei, and Eri-chan, as you know, I started dating Shinsou Hitoshi a few weeks ago, but I have liked him for months, and I am extremely grateful that he returns my affections. It is therefore important to me that the people closest to Hitoshi-kun should be aware of how seriously I regard my responsibility toward his well-being—”
“Did you seriously write it down?” Shinsou asks, trying to grab at the piece of paper in Iida’s hands, “Oh my god, how long is it? It has multiple pages!”
“Shhh, let him finish, Hitoshi,” Yamada says, already lifting up his phone (Shinsou has the terrible feeling Yamada is filming this).
Iida dodges away from Shinsou’s grasp (because he’s stupidly tall, and once again something that Shinsou normally enjoys is being used against him), “—and that I will do my utmost to take care of him. Obviously since we are still high school students, our studies are paramount, and I assure you that we will continue to focus on honing our skills as heroes, and I will also not neglect my duties as class representative. As all of you should be aware, Hitoshi-kun and I have been raising a goldfish together—”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Shinsou asks, burying his face in his hands while Eri pokes at the melon.
(They’re never going to get to the zoo because Shinsou will have died of embarrassment before then.)
Iida looks up from his paper, “It shows how committed we are Shinsou-kun! Anyway, where was I…ah, and we will continue to look after Matsuri together, and I promise to take Hitoshi-kun to cat cafes at least twice a month so that he can get all the cat cuddling time he needs. In general, I swear to take good care of Hitoshi-kun as long as he will have me, and I hope that I have all of your approval as well.”
(If he wasn’t already besotted with Iida, that speech would probably have made him fall for him all over again, while of course kind of dying inside because Aizawa and Yamada are right there.)
Yamada turns his phone to Aizawa, “Well, Shouta, what do you think?”
Aizawa sighs and half-heartedly attempts to bat Yamada’s phone out of his face, “Out of all the brats in my class, I suppose if Hitoshi has to date any one of you guys, you are one of the best choices. It speaks well to both of your tastes, I suppose.”
“And you, Eri-chan?” Yamada asks, crouching down and positioning the phone in front of Eri.
Eri clasps her hands together, “Well—he brought us a fancy melon, and Hitoshi likes him a lot, and I guess he likes Hitoshi a lot too, so that’s good? Can we try the melon soon?”
“Of course, darling,” Yamada grins, pats Eri on the head, and positions the phone in front of his face, “And me, I loved that speech! I can’t think of anyone better to entrust our beloved Hitoshi to, and to all you precious listeners—”
“Who are you recording this for, Mic-sensei?” Shinsou hisses, trying to grab at the phone.
“It’s fine, Shinsou-kun, he wants to hold me accountable to my words,” Iida says, setting a calming hand on Shinsou’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Hitoshi, it’s not for the show, it’s just for posterity and maybe a few old friends,” Yamada says reassuringly, tossing his phone at Aizawa who catches it.
Iida frowns, “Wait, old friends like my brother?”
Yamada’s grin grows a bit shark-like, “Maaaaybe.”
Iida sighs, “Well, he thought I wrote too much, but that is probably fine.”
“Oh my god, did you rehearse it with your brother?” Shinsou asks, staring at Iida, “What am I asking, of course you did.”
“I thought it would be good to do a dry run first! And also, Tensei could provide feedback on what Aizawa-sensei and Mic-sensei would be most responsive to—”
“Why are you taking photos too?” Shinsou asks, glaring at Aizawa.
“Well, Hizashi’s already made such a big deal out of it, may as well commemorate the occasion,” Aizawa replies, lowering his phone.
“Are you okay, Hitoshi? You look like you’re running a fever,” Eri says worriedly, tugging at his pant leg, “Do you want more water? Would the melon help?
“Water is fine, Eri” Shinsou says with a sigh, “Be warned though; one day this is probably going to be you and whoever you bring home.”
“I feel like the speech is unique to Tenya-kun, although if anyone ever gave a speech like that about Eri-chan, I would also feel reassured,” Yamada comments, leaning over Aizawa’s shoulder as he hands him his phone.
Aizawa sighs, “You’re a good kid, Tenya. Take care of Hitoshi, and let me go nap before I have to grade again.”
“Thank you very much,” Iida says, bowing perfectly in front of them.
Shinsou grabs him by the arm, “Okay, now that we’ve established you’re perfect and you’ve given Mic-sensei and Aizawa-sensei enough blackmail material for years, now can we go to the zoo?”
“Of course!” Iida says with a big smile, reaching for his hand and curling his fingers around Shinsou’s.
(It’s still so new that he still gets a slight hitch in his breath whenever Iida holds his hand.)
“Take pictures!” Yamada calls out as they put on their shoes and go through the door.
“You don’t need anymore!” Shinsou calls over his shoulder.
(They do take some pictures at the zoo with the elephants, because they’re awesome, and Shinsou has no idea how Yamada somehow gets ahold of the pictures and prints them out to hang up around the house.
Eri’s new favorite fruit is now apparently melon, although she still really likes apples cut up like bunnies, thankfully for their budget. Iida still takes the time to go and buy up premium fruit every time he comes to visit though, and the fifth time he arrives with this time, a box of Kyoho grapes, Eri shyly presents him with a drawing of him, Shinsou, and Eri all surrounded by fruit.
“There, you got the gold stamp of approval, so can you please stop bringing such expensive gifts?” Shinsou asks, kissing the side of Iida’s head as he admires the drawing.
“Do you not like them?” Iida asks, looking up at him.
Shinsou lets out a breath, “Of course I like them, but—I feel weird that you keep giving me expensive gifts, but I haven’t given you anything.”
“You pay for food on our dates all the time,” Iida points out, “You took me to that amazing hole-in-the-wall beef stew place, and you got me those jogging shoes for my birthday.”
“Not quite the same,” Shinsou says, leaning against Iida.
“I am just happy you are with me,” Iida says, drawing an arm around Shinsou’s waist, “And—I just want to show you how grateful I am that I am with you.”
“You are such a sap,” Shinsou complains before turning his head and kissing him.)