Work Text:
“Which color do you want?”
Izuku laughs awkwardly as he tilts his head slightly to the side, “do I really have a choice?”
Uraraka’s eyes widen slightly as she squeezes his hands, “of course you do. These are your nails.”
“Can I choose not to get them painted-”
“Don’t be ridiculous Deku. I need practice painting nails and since you’re my best friend of course you’ll let me paint yours. Come on, look at mine. Look how messy they are. How am I going to get better if I don’t practice?”
Izuku sighs out, accepting his fate, “I thought we weren’t allowed to have our nails painted?”
“I use a pink that makes it look like a nude color and you wear gloves, so no one is going to talk to us about it. Which color?”
“In my hero uniform I wear gloves, in my everyday school life I don’t-”
“If you don’t choose one quick Deku I’m going to paint them this electric purple.”
“The pink then! Just like yours, so no one notices.” He spits out.
Uraraka giggles to herself as she picks up her pink nail polish, “aye, aye.”
She pulls one of Izuku’s hands forward and rests it on the table, taking the lid off of the polish next. The sharp smell fills the air and tickles Izuku’s nose. He scrunches it up while Uraraka grabs his pinky finger and paints on the first coat.
“You should have let me paint them purple. I could have taken it off later with some nail polish remover. Purple would have been cute on you.”
“Sure it would have. You can take this pink color off right after. I can’t believe I’m letting you do this to me.”
“Hehehehe, you’re a real good friend Deku. When was the last time we really hung out with just the two of us? This is giving us the chance to. We can play catch up and have girl talk.”
“Uraraka.”
“Fine, girl and boy talk. Anything happening that’s worth sharing with me?”
Izuku watches her paint his nail as he thinks about it, “... I bought some new shoes. They look exactly the same, but they’re newer. I think I might have just bought the exact same pair actually.”
“Deku! That’s not interesting!”
“I’m sorry, you asked what was new!”
“I asked what was worth sharing!”
“New shoes don’t fall into that category?”
“Of course not, that’s boring! Talk to me about the juicy stuff! How are you and Todoroki doing?”
Izuku’s cheeks flusters as he looks away, “wh-wha-what are yo-you tal-talking ab-bout?!”
“Come on Deku, there’s nothing happening there? No fights? No secrets? No drama?”
“Uraraka my love life isn’t a TV show! Shout- Todoroki and I are getting along just fine!”
“Boo,” Uraraka’s cheeks puff out as she pouts, “I still can’t believe the two of you are dating sometimes. No offense to your man, but he seems so… serious. Is it like kissing a wall?”
“I’m not answering that question.”
“A cold wall or a hot one? Does his quirk affect all of his body? When you hold hands does it feel warmer on one side?”
“Uraraka, I’m not talking about any of this.”
“Why not? You used to talk to me all the time about your crush on him, how come you’re being all hush hush now that you’re dating?... Could it be that he has no idea what he’s doing and it’s embarrassing? I can totally see that. Todoroki isn’t exactly a welcoming kind of guy.”
“Uraraka! Stop talking bad about my boyfriend!”
“Ah- Deku! You made me mess up! Don’t move!”
Izuku grumbles under his breath while Uraraka tries to fix her mistake. She finishes his one hand and moves to the other, pulling it forward when her best friend refuses to give it to her.
“I’m just asking Deku, I’m worried about you. If I need to have the talk with Todoroki and tell him how to take care of you then I will. As your best friend that is my job.”
“It’s nothing like that. Shouto- I mean Todoroki-”
“It’s fine Deku, you can call him by his first name. I still know who you’re talking about.”
“Shouto is a very good boyfriend. He takes care of me and treats me with respect. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Uraraka glances up and meets his eyes before concentrating back on her work, “eh- I suppose so. Todoroki doesn’t look like the horny type, more like the completely naive I don’t even know how to kiss type since he was so serious when we all first met. Were you his first kiss? Or his first boyfriend- lover- whatever? I could totally believe that if you were.”
“Uraraka I don’t think we’re speaking the same language because I keep telling you I don’t want to discuss this and you keep repeating the same questions.”
“No I can understand, I’m just ignoring you. Come on Deku, give me something. If you can’t talk about boyfriends to your best friend then who can you talk to? Do you talk about Todoroki to anyone?”
Izuku presses his lips together; that was a no. He didn’t like talking about this because one, it was embarrassing. Two, he’s never had a boyfriend before so he didn’t really know how to talk about it. Three, Shouto was kind of a private person, so he didn’t want to talk about him since Izuku thinks he wouldn’t like that. And four, he didn’t really have anything to complain about. In all the movies Uraraka has forced Izuku to see during girl talks they would either talk about how much they’re crushing on a boy or how much they hated their boyfriend when he did this or that. Izuku didn’t hate anything Shouto did. They had a really nice relationship going on right now and it was good.
… Uraraka was always there for him whenever he talked about how desperately he wanted to get closer to Shouto though. She listened to him gush, and complain, and wish he had more courage. She always supported him and would lend him a friendly ear. It was… kind of unfair of him to just suddenly stop talking to her about these sorts of things as soon as he started dating Shouto. It kind of felt like he was just… using her just a bit. Sure Uraraka still talked about her own unrequited love that she planned on changing in a few weeks (she had planned on asking her crush out once their finals were over). He still listened to her, and would always listen whenever she needed him to.
“... I’ll answer a few questions- nothing embarrassing though!”
Uraraka squeals and giggles, “deal! So, were you his first kiss?”
“That’s embarrassing,” he immediately shuts her down.
“Deku!”
“Fine. We… this is both our first time dating anyone.”
“So I assume that’s a yes, how sweet. If you guys get married then you’d be each other’s one and only.”
Izuku stutters as he chokes on his spit, “wha-ga-hu- URARAKA!”
“Hehehehe, what? I saw you doodle your name as Izuku Todoroki. Don’t play coy with me Deku.”
“I can’t believe you, I thought friends weren’t supposed to embarrass each other?”
“Friends aren’t, but best friends can do whatever the hell they want to do. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll embarrass me plenty of times in the future.”
Izuku shakes his head and can’t help but laugh a little bit at that one. He smiles at Uraraka, who meets his smile with one of her own.
“Alright, now for the serious part. Is it hard dating Todoroki?”
“What do you mean hard?” Her best friend asks, tilting his head.
“You know- he’s not really affectionate with you.”
“He is when we’re alone. We hold hands and things like that.”
“But Todoroki still seems kind of serious. Is he a bit slow for your needs? I mean- you know. He doesn’t seem very- um, what’s the word? Like- he doesn’t really seem like the type of guy who makes the first move. You ended up asking him out, right? Oblivious! There we go, he seems kind of oblivious to things around him that doesn’t include school or hero work. Do you have to ask him to kiss you or hold your hand?”
“Hmmm… it’s-... Shouto isn't oblivious. Sure we were awkward when we first started dating, but of course that was because we were both new at it. I feel like now we can kind of read each other because we’ve become more used to one another. Kind of like a well oiled machine!”
Uraraka stops painting and looks up, “are you seriously comparing your love life to a well oiled machine?”
“You know what I mean!”
“Hehehe, I do, I do, but I still think that’s funny. So Todoroki isn’t all that dumb when it comes to love. That’s good. If he ever doesn’t treat you right, or neglects you, or if there is ever anything you want to say to him that you don’t have the courage to say just let me know and I will handle everything.”
“Thanks Uraraka, I will be sure to keep that in mind.”
“Good. As best friends it’s my job to keep Todoroki in his place. If he ever hurts you I’ll send him flying so high into the sky he’ll go all the way up to outer space.”
Izuku giggles, “thanks Uraraka, but Shouto isn’t that type of person. I’ll be sure to warn him though to tease him.”
“Oooh, can I come with you? I’ve been working on my threatening face, let me rough him up a bit. You’re not good enough for my Deku! If you harm one single strand on his head I’ll make you wish you were never born! I hope you know how to sleep with one eye open! Don’t ever forget Todoroki… I know where you sleep at night.”
Izuku explodes into a fit of laughter as Uraraka practices her lines and soon his best friend starts laughing with him.
Izuku yawns as he turns the corner and starts jogging back towards the dorms. He can see the sun beginning to rise, letting him know that it was time to go back and get ready for school. He liked these morning runs, or should he call them late night since it was still dark outside whenever he went on them. Shouto tried to join him a couple of times, but he couldn’t really get used to waking up so early. On the weekends he joined him on his runs, Izuku leaving an hour later than normal just so his boyfriend could sleep more. He liked how quiet it was in the early morning. It relaxed his mind and let him think about whatever he wanted to think about.
For some reason this morning he thought back to that conversation he had with Uraraka the other day. Did it really seem like Shouto and him weren’t affectionate? Izuku always found himself blushing in front of his boyfriend all the time, and he always believed that people were looking and staring. If Uraraka had said that though it must have not been true. He feels like they are. In the beginning when they started dating that was completely true. Izuku couldn’t stare at Shouto for longer than three seconds, couldn’t touch him for longer than a second, or else he’d be jerking and forgetting how to breathe with his heart racing so fast it might jump out of his chest. Now that they were used to each other it was easier. Sure Todoroki doesn’t seem like he changed on the outside, but he really had in small, subtle ways. Maybe too subtle for anyone else to notice, but not for Izuku.
Shouto was a great boyfriend. He never felt the need to ask for anything because Shouto just always knew what to give him. Izuku liked to believe and hope that he knew what to give Shouto as well. He never complained about anything… would Shouto be the type to tell him if something was bothering him though in their relationship? Or would he keep quiet about it? Izuku frowns now as he makes it back home. No, they communicate. Both of them agreed that communication would be important since neither of them knew what they were doing. They talk to each other, so Shouto would tell him if he was unhappy… right?
Izuku tries to push the thought out of his head, but it stays with him as he showers and gets ready for school. Shouto meets him outside of the dorm, just like he always does, so they can walk to school together. He’s tired, eyes barely able to stay open, but he’s dressed up and clean. Wordlessly, as soon as Izuku walks over to him, he reaches for his hand and holds it tightly in his own.
“Morning Shouto.”
“Morning,” Shouto mumbles.
The two of them head towards school, planning on going to the cafeteria for breakfast before heading to class. Shouto’s head keeps bouncing up and down as he struggles to keep his eyes open and Izuku watches him with a cute smile on his face.
“Did you get much sleep last night?”
“I thought I did, but I’m still tired. Maybe eight hours isn’t enough.”
“Hehehe, it is for everyone else in the world.”
“Hmm, if you say so. How was your run?”
Izuku blinks as he recalls his thoughts from this morning, “it was good, as always. Hey Shouto… are you happy?”
“Yes, why?”
He answered that way too quickly. Izuku squeezes his hand and tries it again.
“No, I mean- are you happy dating me? Are you happy we’re together? Do I make you happy in this relationship?”
“Yes, why?”
“Shouto, stop answering so quickly! I really want you to think about it!” He pouts stubbornly.
“Why? There’s no need to think about it because I don’t have to think about it. You do make me happy Izuku. Our relationship has me waking up everyday with a smile on my face knowing that I get to see and be with you. I’m happy. I’m unbelievably happy.”
Izuku stops walking, his entire face turning as red as a cherry. He bites his bottom lip as he stares up at his boyfriend smiling at him. Soon his face gets closer and Izuku closes his eyes as they kiss.
“I love you Izuku,” Shouto whispers softly.
Butterflies fly around in his stomach, “I love you too Shouto.”
“Do I make you happy?”
Izuku doesn’t have to think about it as he nods his head up and down, “yes.”
“Nah- you answered that too quickly. Think about it.”
Shouto teases him and Izuku pouts as he pushes his shoulder. Shouto laughs out loud and wraps his arm around his waist, pulling him closer and pressing his lips against his temple.
“So how did everyone do on Midnight-sensei’s pop quiz?”
A collection of groans echo throughout the table as everyone complains about the surprise quiz no one was prepared for. Izuku listened to everyone else speak, not wanting to say that he wasn’t caught off guard since he knew most of everything that was on it. It wasn’t terrible for him, but seeing as how all of his friends were moaning about it he was going to keep that little part to himself.
“I don’t understand why teacher’s do this to us! We’re just kids!”
“They’re telling us to expect the unexpected and prepared for anything life throws at us.”
“Shut up Iida, it’s unfair. That’s what it is.”
Izuku chuckles to himself as he brings his chopsticks to his lips. Pork katsudon was the best meal ever invented. He could eat this every single day- he was eating this every single day. It was his go to meal and his absolute favorite. The school’s recipe wasn’t better than his mother’s, but it was much better than what Izuku could cook. Sadly he didn’t inherit his mother’s gift for cooking, but he wasn’t completely hopeless. He could make a couple of simple dishes; he had planned on making Shouto a home cooked meal for a date in the future. He’s been practicing making cold soba with his mother every weekend when he goes home to visit her. He wanted to make sure that his boyfriend wouldn’t die from his cooking, and hopefully soon his Mom will give him her approval so he can surprise him.
“Here,” Shouto says, his voice interrupting Izuku from his thoughts.
He was halfway done with his lunch, always getting the same thing as well every single day. His plate of half eaten cold soba was placed on top of Izuku’s tray. In return, his boyfriend quickly swallowed his food and picked up his lunch, placing the bowl of pork katsudon in front of Shouto. He doesn’t know when this started, he likes to think it was when he offered Shouto some of his lunch just so he could feed him, but nowadays whenever they go out to eat and order two different things they’ll eat about half of it before switching. It was just something they did and it was very sweet. Izuku liked eating what Shouto liked and learning what foods and tastes he loved. He also liked giving Shouto a chance to try something new, since no matter what restaurant they went to on their dates if they had cold soba Shouto ordered it without fail.
Izuku leans his head down on Shouto’s shoulder and nuzzles into his jacket for a quick second, “thank you Shouto.”
“You’re welcome Izuku.”
He happily ate the cold soba, slurping the noodles into his mouth. Shouto quietly chewed on the pork katsudon beside him, the two of them kind of in their own little world while everyone else complained how unfair their teachers were. Izuku glances around the table real quick as he switches his hands to hold his chopsticks. He wasn’t exactly ambidextrous, but he had been learning how to eat with his left hand for moments like these. He brushes his fingers against the side of Shouto’s pants and wordlessly his boyfriend takes his hand off the table and reaches down, lacing their fingers together.
No one notices the small smile that appears on Shouto’s face as he finishes eating his lunch. No one but Izuku.
“So Uraraka is totally going to ask Tsuyu out on Friday now that tests are over. I hope nothing bad happens, she planned her whole confession out. Tsuyu likes her, right? I mean I’ve seen the way she looks at her when no one else is looking, and she’s always agreeing to be partners with her, oh! And during the last battle training we had she had the chance to attack Uraraka, but hesitate. She hesitated Shouto! She has to feel something for her, I sure hope she feels something. If she doesn’t…. I’m going to have to stock up on a lot of ice cream and suffer through dozens of corny chick flicks.”
Shouto hums and nods his head as he listens to his boyfriend rant, “do you want me to ask Tsuyu if she has feelings for Uraraka?”
“What?! No Shouto, don’t do that! It’ll come out of nowhere- she’ll know something is up! That plan never works in movies and always ends in disaster! Can you imagine if I asked Uraraka to ask that of you? What would you have said?”
Shouto blinks as he thinks about it. The last thing he wanted anyone to know was how important and precious Izuku was to him. He didn’t want anyone knowing about his weakness- didn’t want anyone using Izuku against him and hurting the person he fell in love with. If Uraraka had stopped him out of the blue one day after class and asked him straight up if he had feelings for a certain green haired friend they had in common… Shouto would have lied and said no.
“I...I see your point.”
“Exactly! We have to pay attention to the subtext Shouto, that’s what I did with you.”
“Really?” Shouto asks, raising his eyebrow.
“Yeah. I mean Uraraka said it was obvious with how much better you treated me than everyone else, but it wasn’t until you willingly offered some of your soba to me, without me having to even ask, that I knew that I was special and finally worked up the nerve to ask you out.”
Shouto blushes slightly and scratches at his cheek, “... I’m sorry. If I had known about your feelings earlier I wouldn’t have waited so long to confess my own.”
“That’s the problem everyone in the world faces Shouto, unless they have a mind reading quirk or something… hey, if I hadn't made the first move Shouto… would you have ever asked me out?”
Shouto stiffens up a bit on their walk to the dorm. He brings his hand to his mouth, coughing behind it as he clears his voice and tries to come up with an answer.
“... Yes.”
Izuku doesn’t buy that and looks up at his face, “really?”
“I would have… eventually if you never did. I wouldn’t have picked up on any subtext, so it might have taken a while for me to work up the courage… hopefully before we became third years-”
“Third years?! Seriously Shouto? You never would have taken a leap of fate and asked me out? I’m hurt. I risked possibly ruining our friendship because I liked you so much. You wouldn’t have done the same?”
Shouto groans as he covers his face with his hand now, “it’s different- we’re not the same. Emotions don’t come as easily for me- I’m not used to having someone I care about. I would have, I know I would have, I would have loved you all this time from the sidelines and one day it would have became too much and-”
Izuku starts giggling seeing how worked up Shouto was becoming over this. First he did it to tease him a little bit, although a small bit of him wanted to know if Shouto would have made a move if he hadn’t himself. It pleased him that Shouto would have… even if it would have taken him years to do it. Izuku knows that he would have stayed in love with him as well. He’s happy that he was able to build up the courage and confess. It was because he had Uraraka cheering him on that he was able to. He has to remember that Shouto usually comes to him to talk about things. He probably wouldn’t have had anyone to encourage and support him on this, so maybe by their third year isn’t too bad.
“I would have been happy. No matter how long I had to wait, I would have waited for you Shouto. You would have been worth the wait.”
Shouto stops his rambling and looks over at his amazing boyfriend. He quickly glances around to see if there is anyone around and Izuku knows what that means. He really hopes his breath doesn't stink right now. Once Shouto confirms that the coast is clear he faces Izuku and places his hands on his shoulders. Izuku closes his eyes and leans up on his toes a bit, meeting the lips that are leaning in for him. His legs turn into jelly and he feels like he’s about to melt into a pile of goo as warm lips meet his own. He hears Uraraka’s voice whispering in his head, asking if Shouto’s touches felt different because of his quirk. It was embarrassing to tell her that they really did.
Sometimes they were warm, whenever they were desperate for each other they were burning, when the two cuddled up together and kissed lazily they felt cold, and sometimes a quick peck while no one was looking, they were sizzling. They all just depended really. Izuku didn’t think Shouto noticed. On one or two occasions when it actually burned to have his lips on him he tried consciously controlling it, but they were fine now. Another incident like that hasn’t happened in a while and Izuku couldn’t think of a worse punishment than not being able to kiss his amazing boyfriend.
“D-did you want to come do homework in my room?”
Izuku knows very well that they aren’t going to do homework if he comes over Shouto’s room and he has no problem with that at all. He licks his lips as he nods his head, eager for the make-out session that was sure to happen the minute they got inside of his room.
“Sure.”
“Are you nervous?”
“Extremely, but I’m also kind of irritated. Like I just want it to be over and done with now. Is that terrible of me?”
“I don’t know. I almost threw up when I tried to confess to Shouto. He thought I was really sick while I asked him out.”
“Hmm, I don’t feel throw up sick, but I definitely feel something. Do you think Todoroki would have rejected you if you had thrown up on him?”
Izuku snorts, “I never would have talked to Shouto again if I threw up on him.”
Uraraka snorts as well and shakes her head. She pours more polish remover onto a cotton ball and rubs it against Izuku’s nail, trying to get the polish she put on there a few days ago off.
“I think that would have made for a cute and funny get together story to tell all your friends. Yeah, I was so nervous that I threw up when I confessed, but we’re together now.”
Izuku rolls his eyes while Uraraka laughs at him.
“Please tell me you aren’t going to paint them again.”
“Of course I am silly. Did anyone notice your nails?”
“Not really. I kind of forgot about them myself until you said something today; I couldn’t tell the difference at all.”
“Well that’s boring. We’re going to have to change that, I’m getting my electric purple.”
“No you are not. Don’t you dare Uraraka, and don’t try to change the subject either. Did you want me to be on standby Friday for you? Tsuyu would have to be crazy to not say yes, but if on the 0.1% that she is insane I’ve bought all your favorite ice cream flavors and I’m prepared to watch as many sappy movies as it takes for you to feel better.”
Uraraka feels touched and sniffs lightly, “Deku, you’re really a good friend.”
Izuku smiles as he shrugs, “you’d do the same for me.”
“That I would. How have you and Todoroki been? Do I need to have a talk with him?”
“No. We’re still happy and in love.”
“I see. Don’t think I didn’t notice the two of you making out in the common area last night. You two weren’t that sneaky.”
Izuku groans as he blushes, “Uraraka!”
“Hehehe, I’m happy to see you two more affectionate with each other.”
“We’re always affectionate, we just don’t show it in front of others.”
“All I’m saying is that if I was dating Tsuyu I would be hugging her and kissing her like crazy for the world to see. Who is the one who takes control in your relationship, huh? The one who takes the most initiative? Is it you? I can’t imagine it being Todoroki... eh, maybe I can actually?”
“Uraraka, not this again please.”
“Come on, we’re best friends. I’ll be telling you all the dirty deets when I start dating Tsuyu.”
“You won’t have to tell me those, you can actually keep all of those dirty deets to yourself please.”
“Hehehe, don’t be such a prude Deku. Have you and Todoroki done it yet?”
“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation right now.” Izuku groans to himself.
“You have to answer one or the other.”
“I don’t know, it’s both of us? Evenly taking initiative? When I want to kiss Shouto I kiss him, and when he wants to kiss me he kisses me.”
“Ah, but what about when you want him to kiss you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Can you make Todoroki kiss you without having to tell him you want that?”
“Yes? I guess- why does that matter?”
“It doesn’t. I just wanted to know if Todoroki can read you as easily as I can. Remember in that last movie I showed you? How the couple was able to communicate without really having to speak? I was simply wondering if that was true or not, and if you and Todoroki were like that.”
“I swear you have to stop watching so many cheesy dramas.”
“Never, it’s my guilty pleasure.”
“You-” Izuku was about to lecture Uraraka, but pauses as he finally notices.
His head sharply snaps up and his best friend starts giggling, a bright smile on her face. Somehow, no Izuku knows exactly how because she was distracting him with their conversation, one of his hands was painted a very bright and electric purple on each one of his nails.
“You better get this off me right now.”
“I will… Sunday. I really want to see if anyone will notice tomorrow though.”
“Uraraka! That isn’t funny- I could get in trouble for this!”
“If you do I’ll treat you to lunch one day and even join you for detention, if you end up getting one.”
“Detention? No Uraraka, take it off!”
“Hehehe, sorry Deku, but this is definitely your color.”
“What’s wrong?”
Izuku has a giant pout on his lips, but he shakes his head at his boyfriend while he huffs out, “nothing.”
“Are you sure? It doesn’t look like nothing.”
“I’m just rethinking my best friend position, that’s all.”
Shouto raises an eyebrow, “should I be worried?”
Izuku pauses for a second and faces his boyfriend, “do I look any different to you?”
He blinks as he takes a step away and looks him up and down, “no, you don’t. Should you?”
… Really? Does he really not notice? Like he didn’t notice before? Does no one notice?
“Shouto when you see me what do you look at?”
“I-I’m afraid that I don’t understand the question.”
“What do you see when you look at me? What’s the first thing you notice about me when you see me in the morning?”
Shouto reaches out his hand and brushes his fingers against his cheek, “your freckles.”
“And then?”
Shouto raises his gaze higher and ruffles up his hair, “your curls.”
“And then?”
Shouto looks a little lower, pausing for a second before he answers, “... your lips.”
Izuku cheeks fluster, but he doesn’t quit, “and then?”
“What do you want me to answer Izuku?”
“Do you ever look at my hands?”
“Your hands? Why are you-...” Shouto pauses as he reaches for his hand and holds it up.
Finally! Shouto stares at his nails, brushing his finger over one.
“They’re purple.”
“Yup. And they were pink a few days ago, but you didn’t notice. No one did.”
“I’m… sorry?”
“Don’t be! It’s not your fault- Uraraka was the one who painted them. She was disappointed that no one noticed, so she painted them purple this time, and you didn’t say anything. I was wondering if you really didn’t notice or not. Do you ever look at my hands?”
Shouto didn’t know how to answer this question without getting him more worked up, “not… excessively. I can from now on every time I hold them and do this.”
He laces their fingers together and brings his hand up, pressing a soft kiss against the back of Izuku’s hand. It seems like that was the right answer, because not only does Izuku seem less mad and pouty, he actually smiles a little bit at him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t notice earlier.”
“Don’t be, it’s stupid. I need to learn how to say no to her.”
“Why is she painting them in the first place?”
“To get better at it. She actually did a pretty decent job this time, maybe I’ll have her paint yours next time.” He teases.
Shouto blinks, “okay.”
“Wha- really? Don’t ever tell her that, she’ll take advantage of you and probably paint them red and white.”
“Oh, that would be kind of funny. I wonder if anyone would notice that.”
Izuku shakes his head at his silly boyfriend and tugs him forward, continuing their walk to school.
“Probably not, I would though.”
“Of course you would, you would be there when she paints them.”
“No Shouto, what I’m saying is that I always notice things about you, so I would notice your nails almost immediately.”
Shouto doesn’t say anything to that, but he does squeeze his boyfriend’s hand tightly as he looks away from embarrassment. Izuku looks over at him and sees how he looks. He can read Shouto’s emotions just by looking at his face. He knows that he doesn’t want to be seen like this, which he ignores, but he can tell just by looking at him. He can also tell that Shouto really wants to kiss him right now, so he leans up and pecks his cheek real quick. He can tell what Shouto wants without him saying anything… does that go the other way? Uraraka is always making him over analyze things. It wasn’t like they weren’t a close couple if they weren’t able to, but still… it did peak his curiosity. Shouto seems to know what Izuku wants before Izuku knows himself, but could he figure out what he wants without him saying anything?
… He’s really curious now.
Experiment one.
Izuku stares down at the tempura plate that Shouto has on his tray. This one should be an easy one since they normally exchange meals, but Izuku didn’t get any side dishes so there was nothing to exchange the tempura for… and there was also only one tempura shrimp. He stares at it, his eyes zeroing in, before he looks up at Shouto and blinks innocently.
His boyfriend doesn’t notice, slurping up his soba noodles. Izuku sighs as he picks up his chopsticks and takes a bite out of his katsudon. He glances back at Shouto when he sees him reaching for his side dish and stares as he picks up a deep fried sweet potato. Shouto takes a bite out of it and looks at Izuku while he’s chewing. He offers him a bite, but his boyfriend shakes his head. Close, really close, but it was the wrong one.
Izuku waits for him to pick up the shrimp tempura before staring at him again. Shouto stiffens when he feels eyes boring into him. He glances slightly to his left side and sees his boyfriend staring over at him with wide, innocent, determined eyes. He lifts the tempura closer to his mouth and the eyes seem to get wider.
“Here.”
Shouto places the shrimp tempura on his bowl and Izuku’s eyes cheer up and sparkle. He smiles brightly at him as he reaches for it.
“Thanks Shouto! How did you know that I wanted it?”
“You looked like you were going to steal it from me if I didn’t give it to you.”
“Wha-Shouto!” Izuku exclaims, a giant pout on his face as he yells out his name drawing all of their friends’ attention.
That wasn’t fair! Or accurate at all! He thought he was only looking- he wasn’t going to steal it! He was lying and being mean to him right now! Stupid Shouto!
Experiment two.
Izuku wonders if Shouto is going to get this one. How do you convey that you want a hug? He was about to find out. After class on their walk back to the dorm Izuku reaches out for his hand-... and pauses. Hmm, maybe experiment two and three? Can he make Shouto hug him and hold his hand without asking? He was about to find out.
Brushing their fingers together would be too obvious and he doesn't want to be that obvious like he was at lunch time. So instead of that, Izuku brushes their shoulders together. Shouto glances down at him and bumps into him right back, a playful smirk on his face. Izuku doesn’t bother hiding his smile as he does it again. This time Shouto bumps into him at the same time, pressing their shoulders together as he laces their fingers together.
Success! He didn’t speak and didn’t touch his fingers, but he’s holding his hand right now!
Now how about that hug? Normally holding your arms out for someone meant that you wanted a hug, so Izuku wasn’t about to do that. Once they make it to the dorm, Shouto releases his hand to hold the door open for him. The two of them head for the elevator and push the button to call it down. Izuku turns his body over towards Shouto so he can be facing him. When his boyfriend glances at him he smiles really happily. Shouto smiles right back at him and the elevator doors open.
Hmm… that didn’t work… maybe he wasn’t smiling enough? Or maybe he was smiling wrong?... Izuku tries it again once they enter inside of the elevator. Shouto pushes the button to the third floor and Izuku fixes his smile. He tries not to do it so brightly, lightly curling up the corners of his lips as he looks over at Shouto out the corner of his eyes. Shouto meets his eyes and stares down at him. Huh? Still not enough, can a smile convey a hug? Izuku quickly looks down, averting his gaze, before he looks back over at Shouto and smiles again, this time showing teeth as he blushes a bit.
Shouto reaches out and wraps him in his arms. Success! Izuku giggles as he hugs his boyfriend right back. That was a bit trickery, but Shouto was able to tell. That totally counts!
His last experiment should be the easiest one.
There was a trick in getting Shouto to kiss him. It took him a while to notice it, but once he did he knew exactly what to do whenever he wanted a kiss and was too shy to do it himself. Izuku scratches the top of his head with his pencil, reading over formulas. He couldn’t concentrate since his mind was on this next experiment and he knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate until he found out the results.
“Can we take a break? My brain hurts,” Izuku asks, closing his book.
“Sure, I was getting tired of this anyway.”
Shouto scoots back and rests his back against Izuku’s bed, rubbing the bridge between his eyes. Izuku walks around his table and sits next to Shouto, resting his head on his shoulder. He slowly turns his head up and bites the bottom of his lip lightly. Shouto blinks as he stares down at him before he cuffs his cheek and leans down.
Easy peasy.
Izuku didn’t know why, but every time he bit his lips Shouto felt the need to kiss him and bite them for him. His tongue is warm as it sweeps over his bottom lip, his teeth lightly biting into his flesh begging for them to part. Izuku opens his mouth and tilts his head to the side, getting a better angle as his tongue meets Shouto’s.
This experiment was very, very, very successful.
Experiment… secret. Secret experiment.
Izuku was really, really, really curious about this one. He kind of was scared a little too, because curiosity killed the cat and all. If Shouto couldn’t guess it then he was going to drop the whole thing, but if he did…
Izuku waits until they finish their homework before trying this experiment. Once they pack up all their school work, and he moves his small table back into his closet, and the two of them are settled down cuddling on his bed he decides to try it. He feels like there are way too many things he can do to tell him what he wants without ever saying the words, so this time he’s going to do it a little different.
“Shouto? Can you tell what I want right now?”
“Hmm?” Shouto hums, his hand lazily running up and down Izuku’s arm.
He leaves goosebumps in his wake and Izuku shivers a little bit without warning. He rolls about a bit and lays on top of his boyfriend’s chest, resting his chin on his hand as he looks down at him.
“Just by looking at me can you tell what I want from you?”
Shouto opens his eyes and stares at his face. Izuku tries to give nothing away. His eyes are neutral, there’s a soft smile on his face, nothing special. He doesn’t try to give his body language away and lays very still… waiting for him to guess.
“A nap?”
Izuku giggles and shakes his head, “Shouto! That’s what you want, can you guess what I want?”
“Can you give me a hint?”
“Nope, you have to guess. I want to see if you can read my mind.”
“I didn’t magically obtain a third quirk that lets me read minds Izuku.”
“Please? Can you try, please?” He sticks out his bottom lip and flutters his eyelashes a bit.
Shouto groans lightly and sighs out, blinking at him. He stares long and hard at Izuku, at the ridiculously cute expression on his face, at those adorable freckles splattered across his cheeks, at his luscious lips that he wants to kiss right now, and that wild hair that- he wants to run his hands through and hold onto tightly while he kissed him into the bed. Oh to roll over on top of him and switch their positions, kissing him senselessly as his hands roam all over his body.
“Sex.”
Izuku’s eyes grow wide and his entire face turns red. Shouto’s own eyes grow wide as well as he can’t believe he just said that out loud.
“Wa-wait! Wait a second- that isn’t what I meant to say- that isn’t! I was thinking that- not to say you were- that was just the first thing that came to mind- I’m sorry-”
Izuku reaches his hand out and covers his mouth. His red stained cheeks aren’t fading in color and his boyfriend actually starts to bite his bottom lip that has Shouto’s brain frying out right now.
“C-c-correct.”
Shouto reaches for Izuku’s hand and removes it from his mouth, “really?”
“W-well we don’t have to-”
“I never said that. I never said that at all.” Shouto confessions, face turning red at how eager he sounded, “I… I just want to make sure that it’s something you want. It’s harder on you than it is for me.”
“Tomorrow is the weekend. I’ll have plenty of time to rest… only if you want too though.”
“I do.”
Izuku nods his head, “me too.”
The two of them avoid eye contact, embarrassment flooding through their system right now. Sex was something new to their relationship, but not extremely new. In the beginning the two could barely hold hands before looking away, but once that awkwardness disappeared it became easier to advance their relationship. Hugs and kisses came naturally and touches followed quickly after that; they were teenagers with no self-control or any clue how good it felt to be touched by the one you’re in love with. Light caresses turned into gently gropes, and then shirts came off, and soon pants, lips started going places where lips didn’t normally go, and sex had followed after that once the two of them studied up and talked about it making sure that it was something that they both were ready for.
They haven’t done it a lot, but each time they had was special. Shouto was really good at taking care of him. Almost too good to be honestly. They tried to do it only when they had a day off the next day, since after that first time Izuku discovered how hard it was to walk afterwards. It was never really discussed like this… it was just something that happened when they were fooling around, and when they both agreed that they wanted to go a bit further.
Shouto leans over and presses their lips together and Izuku closes his eyes, so happy and proud of his boyfriend. He can read his mind, exactly like he can. The two of them work on the same wavelength. Izuku really can’t help but smirk, planning to rub it in Uraraka’s face the next time he sees her. For now though, Izuku explodes in a fit of giggles as Shouto’s fingers dance across his rib-cage as he tries to get his shirt off.
“Hmm… it doesn’t look that bad. Deku was making it out like you couldn’t paint at all,” Shouto hums as he stares at his right hand.
Uraraka giggles, “did he now?”
“No, no, all I said was that you were practicing, she was practicing Shouto. I never said if she was bad or not.”
“But it was implied.”
“Shouto, baby, are you dating me or Uraraka?”
“You.”
“Then shut up.”
Uraraka snorts and starts laughing, messing up painting Shouto’s other hand, “sorry Todoroki, I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
“That’s alright, Izuku doesn’t really mean it.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Shouto looks over at him, staring into his eyes deeply, and smirks to himself, “because I can read his mind.”
“Oh, is that so? Deku once said that same thing too, that he could read your mind. So Deku, tell me, what is Shouto thinking right now?”
Izuku smiles at her as he gets up and walks across the room to where she’s painting his boyfriend’s nails on her bed. He joins them, wrapping his arms around Shouto’s back, and pressing a quick kiss against his cheek.
“How he wants a kiss.”
“And the verdict Todoroki?”
Shouto turns his head and kisses his lips fully, “you read my mind.”