Work Text:
Izuku had been always been a somewhat shy soul.
Even now, at age 20, he still felt the same feeling of butterflies in his stomach every time he would be requested to be interviewed.
It was the same feeling he got every time a civilian asked him for an autograph; minus the feeling of pride and joy in his chest of course.
Mental scars from his childhood could definitely be attributed to some of that. However, he'd like to make it known that the Izuku of today was way more confident than the version of him a decade ago.
After all, he was an up and coming star in the hero industry.
Unless you were an underground hero, it was kind of a requirement for you to be at least somewhat competent in front of the cameras if you wanted to be popular.
No disrespect to his old sensei Eraserhead, but he couldn't exactly fulfill his dream of becoming the #1 hero if he was indeed an underground hero. (He still admired them though)
Which brings us to right now, in which Izuku tentatively accepted the offer from "Hero Haven Magazine" to come and model for them a little bit.
That's right. MODEL.
Now, the Izuku from the past would've never dreamed of ever being in this position, but being a largely popular pro hero did come with its perks. (If you could call it that.)
Obviously, Izuku was very satisfied with his body. Most men would kill to have the type of build he boasted, but he did have a bite sized bit of insecurity with the scars that littered his body. As a pro hero, it was a given that the typical hero would have a couple scars.
Unfortunately, Izuku didn't believe that his scars would be that visually appealing to the target audience.
"Girs dig scars, y'know?" Chimed in his girlfriend Ochako as she saw the look of worry and part regret in his eyes.
"Really? How do you know?" Replied Izuku with a tad bit of uncertainty in his voice. She was his girlfriend so he'd figured that she'd be a little biased.
"Through me and your little fangirls." Ochako muttered as she looked at him with a deadpanned look on her normally cheery face. If there was one thing she liked about her boyfriend's fangirls, it was the satisfaction of knowing that she had him all to herself. That, and the new found self-esteem he had picked up from all of the compliments he received about his looks.
He had grown to be quite a looker. Definitely different from the plain looking boy she met half a decade prior. (She still liked his plain-ness though!)
"Really? Geez." Izuku replied sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck instinctively.
"Just kidding, but seriously, show a little more excitement! You're going to have to be a little more charismatic in front of the press y'know." Both of them knew that she wasn't kidding, but he decided to let it go.
"Yeah...you're right." Breathed Izuku out with a sigh.
"I know! How about I model along with you! That way, you won't be alone and they'll pester you a little less. Besides, I think it'll be fun." Proposed Ochako as she took in how his emerald green eyes widened in surprise at her proposal.
"Really?! I-I mean, Y-yeah... If you want to." Izuku exclaimed with poorly hidden excitement.
"Mhm, now... Let's have a little practice. I'll call Camie over and we'll have her teach us proper "modeling etiquette." Stated Ochako as she used her fingers to make the universal sign of quotes.
Izuku forgot that along with her hero work, Camie was also a pretty popular and successful model.
Camie, as soon as she heard the word "modeling" be uttered from Ochako's lips, immediately made her way to the young couple's house and began teaching them all of her tips and tricks.
"Y'all are like, the hero couple of the decade and its barely even started. Have fun you two!" Camie spoke over the phone as the two arrived at the Hero Haven building.
It was now a week later, and the two were ready to start.
The photoshoot itself was very fun. Way more fun that the two had even anticipated. To their non-surprise, many of the photos had been with them two together.
Camie's words from earlier weren't empty ones. The two were quite literally seen as a power couple in the public's eyes.
Afterwards, the two had been interviewed by their media team. There were no cameras, so Izuku was much more comfortable answering questions than how he'd usually be.
A week later, after the issue had been published, loyal fans were greeted with the welcome surprise of Izuku and Ochako gracing the front cover of Hero Haven Magazine.
Mina even called Ochako and complemented the two on how well they did.
Izuku smiled as he skimmed through the magazine. Everyone had come away as winners as a result from their shoot.
Hero Haven gained a massive boost in sales, Izuku's self-esteem went through the roof (He also gained more fangirls, don't tell Ochako tho), and Ochako had begun to gain some of the recognition that he felt was long overdue.
All in all, it was an enjoyable experience that the two couldn't wait to experience again!