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The first note Uraraka received was innocent and simple: a piece of folded up paper torn out of a notebook with the words, I think you’re very cute! messily written on it.
She examined it closely in surprise, her cheeks pinker than normal, but while it looked familiar and like a boy’s handwriting, she couldn’t figure out who it was. She was pretty sure she knew them since they knew her locker. However, when she swept her gaze around, there was no one obviously watching her for a reaction.
While thoroughly surprised, she was still flattered. It would’ve meant more if they told her to her face, but maybe they were shy. She could understand that. After all, how long had it taken her to confess to Deku about her feelings only for him to confess that he didn’t have time for relationships? And, true to his word, he hadn’t, not even when Todoroki admitted to her that he’d said something. The two of them had paired up in solidarity and ended up becoming closer friends.
Could it have been him?
Uraraka peered around the corner to look at Todoroki who was putting a rain jacket on. His impassive expression made it almost impossible to tell what he was thinking, but she’d gotten a little better at reading him. There was a slightly sour twist to his mouth and his eyes were narrowed a little more than usual. Ah, he must’ve had to go home for some reason. That always put him in a mood. He wouldn’t have left some little note like this before doing that.
Also, he wouldn’t leave a note like this period. If he liked someone in such a way, he would be upfront about it. She was pretty sure at least, and she had thought he might have an interest in Momo. She couldn’t really be sure, considering how far off her radar for feelings were with other people. So no, it wasn’t Todoroki.
She caught sight of Mineta and Kaminari chatting and narrowed her eyes. It better not be Mineta, and Kaminari was on thin ice for making a dumbass comment about her underwear showing last week when she’d been forced to take off her tights since they tore earlier that day. He caught eyes with her and blushed before hurrying away. Yup, he definitely knew it too. He’d tried to apologize, but she had been so mad at him that she barely heard it. Dumb as he could be, he would know better than to pull this now.
Sighing to herself, Uraraka put the note in her pocket and gathered the rest of her things. The mystery would have to be solved another day. Maybe she could try to sneak a look at the boys’ handwriting, but it was possible that it wasn’t someone from Class A or even her year.
It was also possible that it was just a prank.
Uraraka tried not to let her shoulders drop at the thought. It shouldn’t mean so much since it was a note, but the idea of being the target of a prank like this would hurt her no matter what. People wouldn’t be that mean here, would they? Whatever, she wasn’t going to think about it anymore. She was here to become a hero, not the star of some silly rom-com movie.
*
The second note was tucked in a textbook that she left in the common area of Heights Alliance a week later. She wasn’t sure how long it had been there since she didn’t find it until she opened her lit book in class, and it slipped out onto the floor. This was a used textbook, but surely she would’ve noticed any loose-leaf paper in it before now. Leaning over, she picked it off the floor and unfolded it.
You’re super kickass and I admire you a lot!
Uraraka raised her eyebrows. That felt like it narrowed the prospects down some, but she couldn’t be for sure. Who would like the fact that she could kick ass? Iida sounded like the type of person who would say the latter part, but he wouldn’t say the first part like that. Plus, he was one of her closest friends, and she would have known if he liked her in that way. Not only was he too committed to fitting into Ingenium’s title for a relationship, but he would’ve been upfront about his feelings too.
There was...Bakugou. He’d commented on her fighting skills a few times before. He liked anyone that put up a fight. She peered back at him warily. A note didn’t seem like his deal either. If he had a crush on someone, he’d likely blow up their desk and yell it in their face. This was way too subtle and shy for him. Plus, if anyone had less time than Deku and Iida for a crush, it was him. If he ever developed one, he’d squash it like a bug.
Who else could it be?
*
You’re as pretty as a star and sweet as mochi.
Okay, that one made her giggle. Tucked away in her gym bag, anyone could have put it there, but she had a feeling that it was someone that frequented the gym as often as her. As flowery as it was, she could not see it being written by Tokoyami, even if the whole “secret admirer” deal did have a mysterious edge to it. There would’ve been something darker about it too.
Uraraka spotted Ojiro on the opposite side of the gym. Maybe? They weren’t really close, so passing her unnamed notes might be his thing. He was kind of shy, but he was also very honorable, so he wouldn’t want to push himself on her. The notes didn’t feel pushy, but she could see how some girls might get annoyed with them. After all, she was really curious about who was writing them. This just didn’t seem like something he would do.
Oh! Maybe it was Sato! He knew how much she loved desserts since she helped test his creations. She had a terrible sweet tooth but rarely bought candy with her excess money. When Sato had witnessed her practically salivating over a dessert Momo ordered one time when they went out, he asked if she’d help him out sometimes by giving her opinion on stuff he baked. How could she possibly say no to that? His stuff was like heaven.
Smiling to herself, Uraraka put the note back in her bag. If he was too shy to say something, she wouldn’t bring it up with him. She considered Sato a good friend, but she wasn’t sure if she felt anything beyond that. Besides, there was a chance it wasn’t him, and she didn’t want to humiliate herself. She’d sit back and let nature take its course. She had other things to worry about while becoming a hero.
*
The notes were not being written by Sato, something which Uraraka found out a week later. Another one showed up in her locker ( You’re so kind and compassionate and you’ll make a great hero ) on a day when Sato was back at the dorms sick with the flu. It couldn’t have been him.
All the other notes had been nice, but there was something about this one that made her heart skip a beat in particular. In a strange way, she felt acknowledged. Sure, it was nice to be told that she was pretty and cute, even kickass, but this one really struck a chord in her. This was why she was here - this was what she wanted to do with her life - so for someone to bring it up felt really good and important.
Uraraka leaned against the lockers and looked at the note. It had to be someone she was close with, right? She was so curious, but a little nervous too. Whoever this was seemed to really like her, and she was afraid it might be someone she didn’t know or, perhaps even worse, someone she did and didn’t like that way. She didn’t want to hurt their feelings. Ever since her crush on Deku faded, she had been wary to wade into those waters again.
She was only a teenager and silly crushes were normal, but maybe she didn’t have time for stuff like that. It was foolish to indulge in them when many of her classmates weren’t bothering with them. She was wasting time. Why couldn’t she take this more seriously? She should simply shut off that part of her life and emotions and focus solely on heroics.
Uraraka stared down at the note and frowned. Who was she kidding? Her heart had fluttered at a note with a compliment written on it. She was so weak.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
“Eh?” Uraraka yipped in surprise, jumping upright and clutching the note in her fist. “Oh, hi, Deku. Did you need something?”
Deku peered at her in concern. “Yeah, I asked if you were okay?”
“Of course!” Uraraka said cheerily as she shoved her hand into her jacket and dropped the note inside. She wasn’t sure if he had seen it, but in case he hadn’t, she wanted to keep it a secret. She plastered a smile on her face. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know.” Deku frowned. “You looked sad.”
“Nope, definitely not sad,” Uraraka replied, shaking her head. “I was just, uh, thinking about today’s class. Aizawa really got one over me. I need to work on my mobility more.”
Even though he didn’t look like he believed her entirely, Deku let it be. He knew better than to push her when she didn’t want to talk about something. Besides, she wasn’t lying entirely. She had been thinking about their heroics lesson with Aizawa today before the note fell out of her locker, and she did need to work on her mobility. If she wanted to become a high-ranked hero, she couldn’t afford to let something as silly as a sweet note distract her from her goals.
*
There wasn’t another note. Uraraka found herself waiting, but it never came. Maybe the crush had faded for them too. Whoever was writing the notes had probably waited for her to realize who they were and show her true feelings, but she didn’t. They might have lost hope that she had an interest in them or that she was even worthy of a crush. It didn’t hurt, but she was kind of disappointed that she hadn’t figured out who had written them.
She was also a little embarrassed that she’d kept them.
Luckily, she had really good friends that always knew when she was in a weird down mood and how to cheer her up. It only took a few minutes with Kirishima before she forgot everything. He made her laugh and smile so much. People always remarked on how friendly she was, but the truth was he was the nicest and friendliest person she knew. Without even knowing she might be feeling down, he invited her to hang out with him, Mina, and Sero for a movie night.
The other two had left about twenty minutes ago, but she had stayed behind to watch one more movie. It was some dumb comedy that left the two of them in stitches to the point where she nearly floated herself from laughing. Deku, Iida, and Tsu were big fans of stupid jokes, but she rather liked them. She thought they were funny even if they didn’t always get the simple humor.
“Thanks, Kirishima,” Uraraka blurted during a slower scene.
He blinked at her in surprise. “For what?”
“For inviting me to join you all,” Uraraka said. “I really appreciate it.”
Kirishima fiddled with the controller of his gaming system. “Yeah, you seemed kind of down, and I knew the others were busy.” He peered at her sideways. “You can talk about it, you know - whatever’s bothering you. I know I’m not Midoriya or Tsuyu, but… I’m your friend too.”
Uraraka smiled. “I know you are. You’re a great friend.” She leaned her head against his shoulder briefly before taking a deep breath. “It’s kind of...dumb and embarrassing.”
“I bet it isn’t,” Kirishima insisted.
She pulled away from him. “You can’t laugh.”
Putting a hand over his heart, Kirishima swore, “I would never.”
“Okay, well…” Uraraka took a deep breath. “I randomly started getting these sweet anonymous notes, and they were really nice, but I couldn’t figure out who was writing them. They stopped, so maybe it was just a prank and someone is laughing at me falling for it-”
“They weren’t a prank,” Kirishima cut in.
Uraraka looked down at her hands and tapped the pads of her fingers together. “How can you be sure?”
“Because I wrote them.”
Whipping her head up to stare at him, Uraraka found Kirishima red-faced and looking at her nervously. The moment they connected eyes, he looked away from her, his cheeks somehow blushing even more. She didn’t know what to say or even think, except… It made sense. He trained with her often, very compassionate, and silly too. She glanced at his notebook lying on his desk and saw the handwriting. It was the same.
“But…” Uraraka furrowed her brow in thought. “Why would you leave me notes when you’ve said all that stuff to me before?”
“Yeah, but I always said it in like...a friend way.” Kirishima shrugged, still refusing to meet her eyes. She’d never seen him so shy before, but he did struggle with his confidence like she did sometimes. “You said it yourself: I’m a great friend. I wanted to tell you how I felt, but I was sure that you didn’t feel the same way about me.”
“And when I didn’t figure it out, you stopped.”
Kirishima shook his head. “It’s not that. I figured I might be wasting your time or distracting you. We’re here to become heroes, and here I am pining over you like some sort of puppy-”
“You are as cute as a puppy,” Uraraka interrupted, tapping her chin thoughtfully. That caught Kirishima’s attention. He snapped his eyes to hers, and she grinned at the surprise on his face. She was blushing too and her heart was racing, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. “I kept wondering who was writing the notes, but I never guessed you - I tried not to consider you at all - because I was afraid of getting disappointed if it was someone else.”
“Wha…?”
Uraraka folded her hands in her lap and gave a helpless shrug. “In case you weren’t aware, I try to avoid my feelings if it’s the last thing I do.”
Laughing nervously, Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, you do. That’s why I felt bad. I had this tiny hope that maybe you did like me, but it would only be a distraction and I was being selfish-”
She cut him off by pressing a finger against his lips. The touch shot a bolt of electricity through her. Both of them were very tactile people that like physical affection, but she’d never touched his lips before. It was an intimate gesture that made her heart race in a way that she had never experienced with someone else before.
“Can I be selfish?” Uraraka asked. He nodded, and she pulled her finger away. “Do you really like me?”
“Yeah!” Kirishima exclaimed. “You’re badass, sweet, funny, kind, beautiful-” He cut himself off when Uraraka bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Oh, it’s a lot nicer telling you in person than leaving you notes. I was worried that you would think it was someone else and like them instead.”
“I did think it might’ve been Sato,” Uraraka admitted. Kirishima groaned, and she hastily added, “But I’m glad it was you.”
Kirishima eyed her. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Uraraka held out her hand. After looking at it for a moment, Kirishima took it and threaded his fingers in hers. She hadn’t held hands with someone besides her girl friends in a while. Tsu and Mina both liked to hold hands and be silly, but Uraraka hadn’t held a boy’s hand since middle school. His was so much different from the boys back then. It was warm and rough with multiple callouses from fighting and training. It was gentle and kind even if it wasn’t soft. “Oh, hey, one more thing.”
“What’s that?” Kirishima asked curiously.
Uraraka grinned again. “You’re as sculpted as a statue and hot as wasabi.”
“Oh man!” Kirishima flopped back on his bed and threw his free hand over his eyes, but he didn’t let go of her hand. “I knew I sounded cheesy! I didn’t know what to say!”
“It was cute,” Uraraka cooed in between giggles.
“Please don’t tell anyone I did that.”
“Nope, I’m definitely telling the girls. They’ll think it’s so adorable. You’ll get bonus points!”
Taking a deep breath, Kirishima lifted his hand up to peer at her. “Bonus points?”
“Yeah, you’ll definitely get the stamp of approval from them,” Uraraka quipped.
“Okay, I like the sound of that,” Kirishima decided. He pulled himself back upright and held his arm out so Uraraka could scoot closer to him and nuzzle against his chest. Ever since the notes had appeared, she had tried so hard not to think about Kirishima. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. She hadn’t wanted to admit that she had a crush on him when she’d so determinedly squashed her crush on Deku. She didn’t want to get disappointed again.
It turned out that Kirishima felt the same exact way. Geez, crushes were ridiculous, but this time, she could be happy about the outcome.