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It was early summertime in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on I-Island. The cool breeze off the ocean was a welcomed relief from the hot summer sun. The two heroes sat under the shade of an awning at the side of the testing field. Deku sat quietly across from her, watching as she tinkered with his leg bracers. Melissa had made some further modifications to the model that Hatsume had prototyped. It allowed him to drive One For All to a higher limit without putting more significant strain on the muscles.
Initially, she called him to come and fitted with the new gauntlets she had created for him, but the visit ended up extended. Deku didn’t mind though. He had become accustomed to his visits to I-Island taking more time than originally intended. Deku had always arrived with All Might. While All Might and David ran tests on his health and recalled the old days, Deku would spend time with Melissa. It had become like clockwork every summer and sometimes periodically throughout the year. In truth, Deku found himself looking forward to the visits. Not only was it an excellent opportunity to see the latest and greatest technology and equipment available for Pro Heroes and Sidekicks, but spending time with Melissa had become his favorite part.
When she would meet him at the airport, Melissa always welcomed him with a run-jump hug that he became accustomed to and anticipated. The first time, to her embarrassment, she knocked him over. She explained she was used to greeting All Might that way that she did it out of habit. Since All Might had become frail, she exuded her excitement of their visit entirely onto Deku in her greeting. It was from there that they would hang out together, listening to her explain and demonstrate the new tech just made the visit all the more exciting - because it was her. It was now the summer between Deku’s junior and senior year of U.A, and it was the first time that Deku came alone. All Might had enthusiastically encouraged him to visit outside of their scheduled one.
Since his initial visit that ended in catastrophe after the Wolfram Incident, Melissa and Deku emailed constantly. For a time, Melissa was concerned her father’s actions might be held against him. However, it was decided that David’s discrepancy was to be kept amongst the group. In the end, the entire terrorist incident was pinned on the actions of Wolfram and Sam and the device that caused havoc was left to its destruction.
When they first began corresponding, it was nerding out over Hero tech and Melissa asking about the wellness of All Might and himself. Then, Melissa started to send Deku pictures of the nonclassified projects she was working on and her day around the island. Deku would do the same, snapping photos on his cellphone of the events of his day, including his classmates and ventures he went on. They include commentary and recounts of their day, but eventually, phrases like “I wish you could see this in person” or “It would’ve been awesome if you could’ve been there too” began appearing. In the last year, they had regularly scheduled Skype chats, where they would talk over video. Nothing compared to being able to see her in person.
“There now,” Melissa said, handing the bracer back to Deku, “Try it these and put the gauntlets on, then give it a go!”
Deku nodded, taking the devices and putting them on his arms and legs, “Alright then.”
Deku took a few steps away from her before he began raising his power. Immediately, he felt the jolt of One For All coursing through his veins, causing them to glow within his skin for a moment before green lightning sparked from his body. Deku comfortably leveled the power to 10%, feeling no strain on his ligaments, “Awesome!” he exclaimed, turning back to Melissa, “These feel great, Melissa!”
Melissa smiled pointing to him, “Try kicking and punching, see how they feel.”
“Right, here goes!” Deku ran through a few fluid motions, kicking high before doing a backflip before bringing back his fist, pivoting away from Melissa, drawing his fist back as power spiked from within, “Texas Smash!!!”
Melissa squealed in delight as she held onto her seat, enjoying the windy backdraft of the attack, “That’s it! How do you feel?!”
Deku flexed his hands and gently rotated his ankles, then rolling into a calf-raise before settling, “I don’t feel a thing!”
“The devices are designed to let you execute your Smash attacks without much recoil on the muscles, however, they don’t restrict your power. The gauntlets should hold up a lot better than the ones I made a few years ago, too.” Melissa explained as Deku walked back over to her, sitting next to her as she took his scarred hand, gesturing to the gauntlets’ features, “It reduces strain on the muscles and allows for faster recovery time so you won’t fatigue as quickly either if you have to execute several Smashes within a short amount of time. As long as you’re not making attacks as strong as the United States of Smash so often then these should last you up to six months.”
Deku took his hand, pressing the release on the gauntlets and bracers, “You really thought of everything with these, didn’t you?” he carefully took the case beneath them and placed the accessories back inside before locking them again with his fingerprint, “You even made it so the case can only be unlocked by you or me, which means I don’t need to be so worried about them getting stolen.”
“And that case is titanium so even if they do get stolen, then good luck getting it open,” Melissa boasted, cheerfully, “I did set the interior to self-destruct if someone ever tries to force the case open. It means I’d have to rebuild them but I’d rather that then bad guys get your tech, Deku.”
Deku smiled, setting the case beside him, “So six months, eh? I guess I won’t be seeing you for that amount of time then, huh?” he jested.
When he looked back at her, Melissa’s face had become lightly flushed across the bridge of her nose into her pale cheeks, turning away slightly as she did. She pushed her glasses up with her fingertips, letting them linger for a moment before she spoke, “You can come to visit whenever you want, you know.”
The idea of coming to see her again without an urgent reason caused Deku’s heart to leap for a moment. He shook his head, dismissing his thoughts as a fleeting fancy. There was no way that she meant that in any other way then friendly.
“Y-yeah, of course,” he stammered, rubbing the back of his head as he felt his face become warm, “Things are going to get busy when school starts up again this year. Senior year is a big deal at U.A, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” She replied softly, “Papa told me all about it before.”
A few moments of silence passed between them before Deku took a deep breath. He felt his toes curl within his red boots as he gripped the edge of the bench to the point his knuckles turned white, “Hey Melissa, what are you doing after you graduate from the Academy here on I-Island?”
Melissa sighed, leaning back as she looked up at the blue sky, “They have an apprenticeship program that doubles as a college education, so I’ll be likely doing that for the next four years,” Melissa bit her bottom lip as she turned her gaze back to Deku, “What about you? What are you up to after you graduate U.A?”
Releasing his grip on the bench, Deku leaned forward, resting his elbows on his hands as he clasped his hands together, his eyes trailing to his scared one, “All Might is continuing mentoring me, but I have to figure out some sort of side-kick situation. Some of my teachers think I could go Pro after graduation, but I’m not banking on it. I’d rather do things the right way then skip a step and have it come back to haunt me later, you know?”
“Right.” Her voice sounded sad somehow.
His gaze shifted to Melissa, taking in the details of her being. By all accounts, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. Her jewel-like deep sky blue eyes with their full long lashes, soft jawline, with her tender smile and radiant porcelain skin. The way her long golden hair swept over her shoulder and cascaded down her back, appearing silky to the touch. A part of him longed to run his fingers through it, but he quickly shoved the thoughts from his head. Strangely, he enjoyed listening to Melissa speak, finding her American accent endearing, though she claimed it was awkward. Deku found himself unsure of how to act around Melissa sometimes, which was strange for him since he knew she was a dear friend.
Relationships were never Deku’s strong point. He had a mild infatuation for Uraraka in their freshman year, but that faded and was sealed when she began dating Kacchan in sophomore year. To his surprise, the two worked well together. Uraraka’s calming and nurturing personality added a much-needed balance to Kacchan’s abrasive and arrogant behavior.
That year was a whirlwind for Deku, but he and Hatsume dated towards the end of the school year and well into their junior year. The relationship eventually faded due to conflicting schedules and Hatsume’s desire to focus on her inventions. It was Deku’s first big heartbreak and he recalled that he had confided in Melissa over it. Of all people during that time around him, it was Todoroki who ended up helping him through the heartbreak, sharing a genuine connection and love for the young man, but the two realized it wasn’t meant to be. Deku had opened up to Melissa about that relationship as well. She listened to him without judgment and was caring in his time of need.
She was always kind, attentive, and supportive of everything he did. In turn, he showed her encouragement, enthusiasm, and genuine interest in her work. As they spoke of the future now, he felt his heart twist in disappointment. He knew better and that her future was on I-Island, so he didn’t understand why he was feeling the way he was.
Melissa was studying Deku as well. He had grown a few inches, now matching her height. Where most boys had made comments about how tall she was, Deku delighted in her wearing high heels or boots around him. He would often compliment her and never made her feel uncomfortable about the fact he had been shorter than her. She had always found him attractive, but age had made him handsome. His bright moss green eyes that ever had a passionate glint in them with their thick dark lashes, his high cheekbones and dotted with freckles, his sculpted jawline - she found it harder to not stare at him. Melissa found it endearing that he kept his dark green hair unruly, despite his growing popularity in the public eye. He was still Deku, with his dark-green full-body jumpsuit and All Might tribute hood carefully stored away in its case. She inhaled slowly as a sheepish smile formed on her lips, “But you know… I thought about applying to an external school… maybe somewhere in America like MIT or Berkley… or even in Japan… like maybe the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.”
Without him realizing, Deku’s eyes widened and a grin spread across his lips, straightening up and turning to her further, “Really?!” his excitement came out louder than he expected, causing him to blush immediately, “I mean, that would be really cool. Because then you would be in Japan. And really close, like really really close, I mean I’m probably going to be working at a Tokyo agency and going to a Tokyo university since that’s where All Might and my mom are. And it’d be really great if you were there too. And you could spend more time with me-- I mean everyone. I mean, after all, Tokyo is one of the major technology and engineering hubs of the world and I know that MIT or something might be more up your alley since you’re American. But it’d be really great if you came to Japan and were in Tokyo. Did I mention it’d be cool if you lived in Tokyo? We could hang out more- I mean you could hang out with everyone more - I mean there’s lots of people in Tokyo to hang out with and--”
“Deku,” Melissa interrupted, giggling as she did, she reached over for his scarred hand, holding it lightly in one hand while tracing it with the other. Deku swallowed his nerves, enjoying the sensation. Since his injuries, he had become self-conscious about his scars on his arm and hand, often wearing his black sleeve to cover the worst of them. Melissa did not shrink away or stare at them. Instead, she would touch them with gentle hands. Her caress was soft and endearing, and she had vowed to figure a way to either reduce their appearance or get rid of them all together one day. While he didn’t know if it was possible, the fact that she knew how they impacted his confidence and wanted to help made his chest feel warm. A slight pink flush appeared again on Melissa’s face, “You know that I like you, right?”
Deku pursed his lips together, feeling the rise in his body temperature as his heart began to race, “Y-you do?”
“I think Papa and Uncle Might know too,” she admitted, softly smiling as she did, “I think that’s why Uncle Might might not have come this time so we could spend more time alone together.”
He had to be dreaming, this couldn’t be happening to him, “Y-y-you think so?”
Melissa nodded, leaning towards him daringly as she did, “Deku… Izuku…” God, the way she said his name made him melt inside, “I know you’ve been through a lot over the last two years and I know that you had your heart broken twice and sort of recently. But I really value our time we get to spend together and the effort you put into keeping me involved in your life.”
Deku put his hand over hers, his thumb lightly brushing over the top of her hand adoringly, “I really like you too, Melissa. I really enjoy our time together and I always look forward to hearing from you or talking to you.”
Melissa scooted closer to him, leaning into him as she did, “So… what should we do now?”
“Well,” Deku began, “Is this the part where I ask you to be my girlfriend?”
Melissa couldn’t suppress her smile, her face lighting up with joy, “Yes!”
Deku moved his hands from hers, moving to wrap his arms around her, embracing her tightly as he buried his nose in her hair. As he inhaled her scent, Deku enjoyed her natural musk of warm lavender, the comforting aroma of her ingrained into his memory. When he pulled back, Deku placed his calloused scarred hand on the side of her cheek before running it back through her hair. It was so soft that it felt like gliding his fingertips through the folds of silk fabric. Sweetly, he moved forward, pressing a chaste kiss against her lips. He heard her sharply inhale as she reached up, gently touching the side of his face as she did. Daringly, Deku slid his hand to the back of her head, pulling her into him as he turned his head slightly, deepening their kiss as he did. Melissa sighed, parting her lips to allow his tongue to trespass against hers with innocent exploration. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself against him as she did.
“I don’t think I was telling the truth,” Deku murmured, in between their kiss.
“What do you mean?” she asked, pulling away slightly as she did.
Deku rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes tightly as he felt it become harder to swallow. He had to say the words; he wouldn’t be able to be satisfied if he left without telling her, “I don’t just like you, Melissa…”
Her eyes began to twinkle as her face turned pink, “What are you saying?”
When his emerald eyes opened to gaze into hers, she immediately saw what he was referring to, “I love you, Melissa. I know we’re young and there’s a lot of things we need to do, but I want you to know that I’m willing to work for this… for us.”
“Izuku…” Melissa whispered, nuzzling her nose against his, “I love you, too… we’ll figure this out somehow. I know we can.”
His hands moved to hers again, grasping them adoringly as he looked into her eyes, “How about we go out on a date tonight? A nice one… let’s get dressed up and go to one of the nicer restaurants on the island to celebrate.”
“Are you sure?” Melissa asked, brightly smiling as she did.
“Of course!” Deku exclaimed, scratching the back of his head as he did, “I just told the woman of my dreams I’m in love with her and she loves me back and I didn’t faint or do anything embarrassing.”
Melissa laughed, hugging Deku again, sliding down to rest her head against his chest, “I’d say that’s cause for celebration then.”
Deku held her tightly, kissing her forehead as he did, “What do you think about us wearing outfits similar to the ones we did when we met? I know I can’t fit in my old tux anymore.”
“Yeah, I might be able to fit into that old blue dress,” she jested, squeezing him affectionately as she did, “But I’ve got others that would work as well.”
They shared a laugh before Deku tilted her head up to look at him. As he looked into her eyes, Melissa felt her heart melt as they reflected the love within him for her. At that moment, he made her feel like she was the only woman in the world. When they kissed again, Deku and Melissa realized they shared the same hopes and dreams and would stand by each other no matter what the future would hold.