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"How are you doing that?" Midoriya asks, just when Hitoshi is formulating a plan on how to confess. It snaps Hitoshi out of his thoughts.
"Doing what?" A cool breeze passes through, and Hitoshi revels in it, feeling the air brush his shoulders. His gym jacket is tied around his waist, a look mirrored on Midoriya.
Midoriya tips his water bottle back, drinking it leisurely. There's no rush to answer. Above them, the leaves of the tree rustle and sunshine peeks through, filtering through like golden spots. Hitoshi is entranced for a moment, watching how the light dances around Midoriya's face, refracting in his bottle. When Midoriya wipes his mouth, he answers. "That."
Hitoshi looks down at the coin passing between his hands. He tosses it in the air and catches it, then rolls it across his knuckles. He snaps and the coin disappears from view. "This?"
It's cute, how open Midoriya's expressions are. His face is full of wonderment, smiling at Hitoshi's hands. "Yeah. It's really cool."
A couple of feet away, a water fountain gurgles and flows, ornate and modern, just like U.A. The small park they're in is on a secluded part of campus, a little farther beyond the dorms. "I learned it a long time ago. It just gives me something to do with my hands."
"It's mesmerizing." They lapse into silence again, but Hitoshi is acutely aware of Midoriya's gaze on him. He continues with his coin flourishes, reproducing the coin and tossing it around. He goes through the ones he remembers by heart, and then the ones he hasn't practiced as much.
The day is lackadaisical, passing by without a care. The sunshine is golden, and the rustling of the leaves and burbling of water fill the air in a way that they don't need to with words. It's calming. It's content. It's...
It's romantic, says the annoying voice in Hitoshi's mind before he can stomp it out. He frowns to himself.
His friendship with Midoriya is...not entirely what he expected. He expected to be annoyed by the boy. To have those friendly pleasantries fall away after the first week of Hitoshi's induction into the hero course. For some reason, he could see how Midoriya's kindness had no bounds and thought he could escape it.
He was wrong. Midoriya was warm to him, but instead of an onslaught of offers to hang out or incessant questions about his quirk, Midoriya approached him with a level of respect and normalcy. He'd say good morning to him, offer some conversational threads about some subjects, and leave Hitoshi alone if that's what he wanted. Sometimes he'd get into a tangent with Hitoshi, blabbering on and on and acting surprised when Hitoshi had listened to the whole thing. Sometimes Midoriya wouldn't speak to him for a whole day, only to seek him out when something random reminded him of Hitoshi. That intense eagerness to befriend Hitoshi did quell after that first week of orientation, but Hitoshi was a little surprised to find that he missed it.
Maybe it was reverse psychology. Maybe he was overthinking things. Maybe he secretly wanted that endless chatter, someone who thought of him in the back of his mind, someone who wanted Hitoshi by his side. So when he talked to Midoriya, sat with him at lunch, trained together, and hung out together, he did so while telling himself not to get attached.
And then he did.
So here he is, shoving down his feelings and enjoying every quiet moment he has with Midoriya. He didn't think he could have these moments. After the past year, it never occurred to him that he would have these small pockets of peace between the classes and training, after everything he did to get into the heroes course. That was another thing. Midoriya seemed to understand Hitoshi's difficulty and increased workload of the past year and current just to make it this far, in a way. If he didn't understand it, he at least respected it, studying with Hitoshi when he asked, sometimes offering random snacks during the day, and not minding any of the times that Hitoshi's accidentally fell asleep on his shoulder. He was looking out of him, in a way that didn't make Hitoshi feel like he was being coddled. And Hitoshi liked it.
Hitoshi likes being close to Midoriya. He likes just being in the boy's gravitational pull. He could understand how others were drawn to him, too, someone strong and kind and incredibly dorky. It was humbling and calming to be around him, sometimes. Like right now, it feels like the time has slowed down, like they've stepped out of the world of heroes and villains and school to stop existing for a second. Together. And Hitoshi wants to step back into that world with Midoriya, maybe holding hands.
Crap. Midoriya has got him waxing poetic. He should confess soon. And that thought immediately sets off the alarms in his head and chest.
Don't. Don't! DON'T! the alarms scream, and Hitoshi's head feels all wobbly for a second. It might ruin things! It could be disastrous! You'll never be able to show your face again!
He focuses more on passing the coin between his hands, faster and faster. One of the things that astounded him about Midoriya was his vast capability to forgive. He could forgive Hitoshi for falling for him, right? Midoriya's forgiven people for far worse.
He peeks over at Midoriya and is surprising to find the boy staring at him, not focused on the coin like he thought. There's something contemplative in Midoriya's stare, something cherished and secretive that disappears as soon as they lock eyes.
Hitoshi fumbles and the coin slips from his hand, falling to the ground with a roll before falling against Midoriya's shoe. Hitoshi leans down to grab it at the same time Midoriya does. "Shoot—"
"Sorry—"
Hitoshi reels back, sitting up with a hand to his aching forehead. He tries to rub away the pain and ignore the fact that he just knocked his head against Midoriya's.
Midoriya seems to take the awkward collision in stride, at least. "Ow!" Midoriya laughs, rubbing his head. His cheeks are just a touch pink, and Hitoshi feels breathless at the view. "Haha, sorry about that." He holds the coin out to him, flat on his palm, diverting his eyes.
Hitoshi takes it, trying not to burn up from embarrassment. He flubs it though, his fingers grazing as they linger on Midoriya's hand. He flusters, trying not to freak over how close he was again. Midoriya's hand closes quickly and he holds it to his side, looking away.
He contemplates to himself, rubbing the coin between his fingers, adding up Midoriya's gaze and his flustered appearance. His brain formulates a plan, half-baked, but better than nothing.
"Midoriya."
"Yeah?"
Hitoshi holds the coin up between two fingers. He smoothes his face out, hoping that the heat he feels on his face is just in his head. "Watch carefully. This is my best trick." He waits until Midoriya nods, then takes a deep breath.
He makes sure this trick is flourished, lots of exaggerated movements and extraneous, deliberate moves. He tosses the coin in the air, spins it on his fingertips, all things extra and showman-like. And throughout all of this, he secretly watches Midoriya, making sure his eyes are following the coin, exactly where he wants it. As it goes on, he feels his movements relax, his heart starting to calm. He's in control. He knows what he's doing.
Finally, he claps his hands together, showing the coin one more time in his right hand before moving it towards Midoriya in a throwing motion. Midoriya, to his credit, doesn't even flinch and therefore witnesses the coin disappear into thin air.
Hitoshi holds his hands up, wiggling his fingers. "It's totally gone."
Midoriya ponders for a second. "Did you throw it somewhere behind me?"
"No. Actually, you have it."
Midoriya blinks in surprise. "I do?"
"Yes. Can I see your hands?"
Midoriya holds them out for him. Hitoshi reaches, before pausing awkwardly and asking, "Can I—"
"Yes! I mean, yes."
Hitoshi tries not to read into Midoriya's eager response too much. He takes one hand and brushes his fingers over it, making sure to turn it over and check there too. He repeats it for the other hand, and he notes how Midoriya's hands feel, rough and strong. He notices how the fingers curl reflexively when he brushes against Midoriya's wrist. "Hm. Not here." He looks up. "Have you cleaned your ears recently?"
"Uh. Yeah?"
"Hmm." He reaches behind Midoriya's ear, feeling the boy shiver as he brushes the shell. Midoriya's green hair is soft, curls that tempt Hitoshi into grabbing onto them. He resists. "Not here either. Man, I can't believe you lost my coin." He tugs on his ear, too, for extra measure.
Midoriya giggles, a short and lovely sound. "It's kind of like magic, you know?"
Hitoshi hums in agreement. "I think there's only one more place to check, then." He places his fingers carefully behind Midoriya's neck, cradling his head. He feels Midoriya stiffen under his touch, skin warm, and he watches Hitoshi with a curious expression, eyes wide. He gathers his courage.
Hitoshi closes the distance between them, pressing his lips to Midoriya's. It's only a couple seconds, but he feels Midoriya's hand reach up and grab his wrist. His fingers curl around it, holding on, and it's a thought that runs in the back of his mind that Midoriya is kissing him back.
His heart is bursting out of his chest. Midoriya is so warm, pressing back against Hitoshi with a gentle energy.
Hitoshi pulls away, closing his eyes so as to not see Midoriya's expression. He places a hand over his own mouth before making the coin appear between his fingers again. He holds it out. "N-now, don't you know you're not supposed to put these in your mouth? They're dirty." He tries for that performer control in his voice, but it's sort of ruined by how breathless he feels.
There's no response. Hitoshi opens his eyes and sees Midoriya's stunned expression, half-lidded eyes and slightly parted mouth.
"Uh, Midoriya?" He holds the coin out to him. "Um, tada…"
A soft whisper, "Wow." He blinks a couple of times and then touches his lips.
Hitoshi rubs the back of his neck, looking away. Of all the times for Midoriya to be so stunned he's unreadable, it has to be now. Hitoshi feels that performer's facade quickly crumble as reality starts to come back. "Uh, so…I just made that up on the spot. I thought it would be easier than saying my actual feelings." The last part, the question of how Midoriya feels, dies on his lips along with his confidence. He clutches the coin in his other hand.
After a long pause, Midoriya breaks the silence. "C-can you check if there's any more?"
Hitoshi drops his hand. "Any...more?"
Midoriya flushes, turning red and then covering his face with his hands."Uh. Coins. inmymouth. I mean, I-I like you in more than friends and—Ah, nevemind that was a really dumb pick up line I'm sorry can you just disregard—"
Hitoshi shuts him up with another kiss, this one lasting longer as he has to pull Midoriya's hands away from his face. Midoriya kisses back more eagerly, and when he pulls away Midoriya leans forward, still following him for a moment before sitting back. "I didn't find any more," Hitoshi says, heart hammering in his chest.
This kiss seems to snap Midoriya out of his ramble, and he stares at Hitoshi. "I didn't expect you to," he confesses, eyes wide and earnest now. "I just wanted to kiss you again."
Hitoshi laughs, and somehow his hand finds its way to Midoriya's, holding on tight. The coin is pressed between their hands as they interlock, but Hitoshi doesn't care. "You know, I think I just figured that out."
Midoriya smiles, looking goofy and thrilled in the same way that Hitoshi feels. "Do you think you can teach me some of those tricks?"
Hitoshi leans forward, feeling his grin turn into a smirk. "You think you're up for the challenge? It takes a lot of practice."
Midoriya returns the look, and Hitoshi's heart is thrilled. "I'm a fast learner. Besides, something tells me you're gonna be a good teacher."