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His hands moved on their own, guiding the pencil over the cold pressed paper, tracing the outline that was so familiar to him. A bit of pressure on the side, and lighter as it reached the edges. Midoriya closed his eyes, because he already knew where every stroke, every upturn and downturn should be. It wasn't logic- it was instinct . He saw nothing but darkness, yet he adjusted his notebook on his own accord for better positioning. He was unaware of that happening, almost as though someone else was using his body. He was about to start shading the side of his hair when-
BAM.
His hands dropped the pencil and his eyes snapped open. He had lost his train of thought and disrupted the smooth flow of the pencil. Fuck. Inwardly, he groaned, not again. Just one full sketch. One full sketch is all I need.
Sighing, he picked up his school bag, and made his way to class. It's unfair, pouted Midoriya, walking from the lake to the classroom block. Kacchan gets a soulmate, Iida gets a soulmate- and even Monoma gets a soulmate. Why haven't I found mine yet?
"We're learning about soulmates today. Basically it's sex ed but in ✨plus ultra✨," deadpanned Aizawa, in a tone that conveyed he'd rather be anywhere but teaching this.
"Hell yeah, I'm the first in class to get one, you damn extras. Beat that!" scoffed Bakugou, a snide expression on his face.
"Wait...but you're my soulmate, that means I tied with you for fir-"
"Thank you , Bakugou and Kirishima. I do not acknowledge your opinions, neither do I care about your feelings or love life. Moving on. You are at the age where you're most likely to find your soulmate right now-"
"-did you meet Present Mic Sensei at our age?"
Aizawa glared at Denki so ferociously that if Kaminari's quirk was activated, he'd probably lose it permanently rather than temporarily. "Trust me, a bitch is tired and would rather sleep than teach students about soulmates. That's me. I'm the bitch. Now are we going to move on or are we going to talk about my love life?" he seethed.
No one said a word.
"Excellent," Eraser Head smiled dryly. "as I was saying, you are likely to find soulmates at your age. For your own safety, I've locked up all the cupboard and closet doors, so no random make out sessions."
Midoriya swore he saw Jirou cast her soulmate a guilty glance.
"As your parents or friends would have told you already, the closer you are to meeting your soulmate, the more specific your drawing will get. For example, if you are a month away from meeting them, you might only be able to draw their arms or eyes. But if you're two days away from meeting them, you might be able to draw their entire face. However, please don ' t let finding your soulmate distract you from hero training." Having said his piece, Class 1A's form teacher rolled himself into a sleeping bag, and proceeded to camp out under the teacher's table. "The rest of the lesson is free time."
Midoriya's classmates immediately turned to their desk partners and started whispering in hushed tones about their desired soulmates and what features they managed to uncover via the portrait done of them. Midoriya rolled his eyes. Screw fate and screw soulmates.
His day Royally Sucked. Midoriya tried to pay attention in class, he really did. But his entire day was a daze- he wasn’t able to pay attention in class or absorb anything Midnight or Cementoss said. He wasn't even able to fully harness One For All and ended up being trapped by Iida. His mind kept slipping to Aizawa Sensei’s talk on soulmates. From what he had heard, the majority of 1A (and even 1B) had already found their soulmates.
“Buck up, Young Midoriya,” grinned All Might after seeing Izuku’s dismal performance on the mock practical. “are you feeling under the weather?” Midoriya could only shake his head miserably, unwilling to let on the cause for his lack of focus.
As soon as class was dismissed, the green haired boy ran to the neighbourhood art store nearest his house. He bought whatever art materials he could find- watercolour, acrylic, charcoal, colour pencils, brushes, blenders, and even the brand of crayons Bakugou threw at his head when they were five. For good luck, Midoriya thought, adding them to his purchase.
“Is this for an art project in school?” the cashier asked kindly, not taking her eyes off the items she was scanning. She was rather pretty, her copper hair tied up in a messy bun to keep it from falling into her face while she was working. Midoriya felt like he was about to burst if he didn't tell someone, and quickly rushed out, “No. I actually want to try my luck at drawing my soulmate. Again.” The cashier’s eyes crinkled in amusement at the boy’s confession. “You’ve probably heard this before, but be patient. You’ll find your soulmate in due time.”
Midoriya bit back a growl of frustration. He wanted to know his soulmate now. Why did he have to wait any longer? “Of course,” the cashier continued, “you might be feeling left out if most of your classmates already have soulmates. However, it’s best not to rush it. Heck, I only found my soulmate when I was twenty. But it’s worth the wait when you meet them- trust me. Here,” she finished, handing Midoriya his purchase.
“Thank you for the advice, miss!” exclaimed Midoriya, bowing slightly.
“Good luck in finding your Mr Right, boy,” the cashier called out.
“T-Thanks!! Wait...how did you know I was gay?” said Izuku, pausing mid stride.
“You have Disaster Gay written all over your face,” giggled the cashier, waving goodbye to him.
Midoriya spread his newly bought supplies in front of him on his desk. He grimaced as he thought back to how much he had to pay for those- and the store he bought the items from were known for the cheap price they offered for what they sold. It seemed like he would have to get lessons from Uraraka on how to save his money. He picked up a paintbrush and held it delicately between his fingertips, closing his eyes and willing himself to draw his soulmate.
He waited for a few minutes. Nothing happened. No stroke of inspiration suddenly hit him.
He ended up doodling small hearts on the side of his worksheets, his mind wandering off to his soulmate. Midoriya already knew that his soulmate had unbelievably adorable bangs. There was also a line down his centre parting (maybe a split of the colours?) and his hair was layered. Fluffy, thought Izuku, before flushing scarlet and proceeding to pretend the thought hadn't just crossed his mind. Would his soulmate be kind? Humorous? Smart? Midoriya screamed into a pillow, flopping onto his bed. Why couldn't his soulmate just appear already?
The next day was no better. He tried to stuff all his art supplies into his pencil case just in case he suddenly got inspiration during lesson time, but to no avail. His pencil case was bulging disproportionately, on the verge of exploding. In the end, he decided to bring a separate tote bag- yes, a freaking tote bag, because Rule Number One Of The Midoriya Izuku Handbook: always be prepared.
He garnered multiple confused stares from his classmates, but chose to ignore them. (He saw Aoyama not-so-subtly mouthing I know, and whispered back, "How the fuck do you know when I don't even know what I'm doing?")
Plonking his tote bag down on his desk with a loud thunk and sliding into his seat, Deku squeezed his eyes shut and began visualizing his soulmate again. Long bangs, a sharp jawline, and-
"Oi oi oi, you shithead. What the fuck's your problem- slamming things here and there?" snarled a voice, effectively cutting Midoriya's muttering short.
"No time to talk, I'm a dead boy walking," said Midoriya with a straight face, getting increasingly irritated with his progress in discovering who his soulmate was. Namely to say, nowhere.
"Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw," snarled Bakugou, playing along. "hey, yo, UA High, tell me what's that sound- oh wait, it's just Deku being annoying as usual. Keep it down, will ya?"
"Sorry, Kacchan."
Midoriya sounded oddly defeated, and Bakugou opened his mouth, about to say something when he changed his mind and closed it. Narrowing his eyes, Bakugou stormed away.
During Eraser Head's class, Midoriya zoned out halfway, which wasn't usual for him. He looked around the classroom, and spotted Kirishima making spitballs and shooting them at Bakugou, who miraculously hadn't pulled an AP Shot yet, (another sign of love, Deku concluded.) Tokoyami using Dark Shadow to take notes, while he read a book under the desk. Ojiro was using his tail to play rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock with Shoji (Ojiro was leading 15-1) and Tsuyu was already asleep, head lolling on her table.
Midoriya decided that it wouldn’t hurt to use this time to try sketching his soulmate.
A dozen discarded papers later, Midoriya pointed his middle finger in a random direction, willing himself not to storm out of class. Try as he might, his hands refused to make the clean lines on the paper that would reveal more about how his soulmate would look like.
Five more minutes till the start of breaktime, thought Izuku, hyperfocusing on the clock at the front of the classroom. Every second gone meant a second closer to break time. Aizawa Sensei was droning on about something that had to do with a transfer student coming in next week, and that he was the child of one of the top heroes, but Midoriya didn’t care. He just needed to go to his thinking place and try to draw inspiration from there.
And finally the bell rang. Deciding to forgo lunch entirely, Izuku made a break for the lakeside.
The sun cast muted rays of sunlight onto the surface of the clear body of water, making it seem as though it was sparkling. The lake was a clear blue, which slowly transitioned to a breathtaking swirl of teal and aqua , gentle ripples occasionally appearing on the surface of the lake. Midoriya had no idea how deep it was- yet it seemed to be both bottomless and shallow at the same time. The scenery was just as beautiful as what it surrounded. The striking vermillion cardinal flowers scattered along the shore of the lake stood in stark contrast to the soft white petals of the water lilies that were still budding. The machalite coloured grass served as a carpet for anyone who went to the lake, and the trees with their smooth barks and canopy of luscious leaves as shade and shelter.
Midoriya sat under a japanese maple tree, sketchbook on his lap and paintbrush clutched loosely between his fingers. His palette and paint tubes lay haphazardly on the grass patch around him, and this time instead of waiting for something to happen, Midoriya experimented with trying to his soulmate's face shape.
Frustration built up in his throat like bile, and caused tears to prick at his eyes. He's Midoriya, of course he'll cry over this.
Midoriya rested his head against the trunk of the tree, ready to scream. Being able to draw his soulmate's hair meant absolutely nothing- he could meet his soulmate from a week to a year later. He threw his sketchbook onto the grass patch next to him, not caring where it landed.
"Oi, oi, oi. The fuck are you doing here?"
No response.
Bakugou threw an explosion shot onto the field, then smothered it before it could cause any major fires after thinking it out. Midoriya barely flinched.
He kicked the bark of the tree, hard enough for some of the birds nesting in the trees to fly away- in search of a less hostile environment, squawking and screeching as they escaped.
Deku still had that blank vacant, longing look in his eyes, not noticing Bakugou.
"I stole your All Might Hoodie and accidentally set it on fire."
Midoriya turned to Bakugou, a deadly calm in his eyes. "Bakugou Katsuki, prepare to die."
"Fuck," Bakugou cursed, raising an arm to defend himself. As much as he liked to insult Midoriya, he knew he wouldn't make it out alive when Deku used his full name. "I was joking, you asshole. Needed to snap you out of your fucking trance."
"Kacchan- don't joke like that! My All Might hoodie is precious as hell," groaned Midoriya, slumping back into his original position, squeezing his eyes shut.
Dropping his fist, Bakugou asked, "So? The fuck you moping around for?"
"None of your business, Kacchan."
"It's about soulmates, isn't it?"
Midoriya turned tomato red (again) and began muttering about how "he wouldn't understand anything" and "says Mr I-Already-Have-A-Soulmate".
"Look, Deku, you dumbass," Bakugou started, sitting next to Midoriya, who looked as though he had been told that his dream had come true and All Might was signing the adoption papers to legally adopt Deku as his child. (In awe and disbelief.) Because from what he was seeing, contrary to popular belief, Bakugou Katsuki had A Heart. "You won't find your soulmate immediately, you know that, right?"
The blonde paused, before continuing, "I literally never gave much thought to soulmates. I just thought it was some stupid thing people used to believe, trying to convince themselves Love was real. But the night before our entrance exam, I drew my soulmate. Honestly, I wasn't able to tell at first and thought I was just being dumb- but I felt this...this peace while drawing it, almost as though I had already found love, all I had to do was acknowledge it."
He let out a puff of breath. "That doesn't even make sense, does it? But yeah, I heard stories about the drawings and portraits made by people trying to find their soulmates, and I just thought that that was the one. And I didn't even know who the hell my soulmate was, even after drawing him. I used a fucking sharpie to draw a stickman with spiky hair. You can't be worse off than that. I had no fucking idea who the hell it was because my stickman drawing is that bad. Remember the crayon I threw at you? I used that to draw Kirishima. Guess it brought both of us good luck, huh? It didn't get better even after I met Shitty Hair. I couldn't recognize him from my drawing at all. That idiot got his soulmate drawing while he was trying to bake cookies for his mother because it was 'manly' and ended up drawing me with icing and used lemon meringues to fill in my hair. Lemon. Meringues. And guess what the dumbass did? He ate the fucking cookie. Stupid fuck."
Yet Bakugou said this with a fond expression on his face, saying the derogatory terms endearingly, as though one would when using pet names.
"And because Shitty Hair has a sucky memory, he thought Pikachu was his soulmate. That's right, that fucker thought Denki was his soulmate. You know, since aromantics and asexuals sometimes have platonic soulmates instead of romantic ones. But Kirishima is the embodiment of gay, so."
Midoriya had been quietly listening to Bakugou talk about his Soulmate Journey, lost in thought. "So did you get together immediately after you both figured out that his soulmate wasn't Denki and you were the one for him? What was the deciding factor?"
"Of course not, dumbass. We went on awkward dates and I hated that numbskull, but...he grew on me, I guess. I helped him study and we trained together. The moment I realized it would probably be when I stayed up late, STOP FUCKING GIGGLING, DEKU, TEN PM IS LATE- to bake him a cake for his birthday. And at that point, I thought, 'fuck, I love him, don't I?' and I may or may not have confessed to him as I gave the cake to him."
"That explains the awkward hand holding and blushing on that day," replied Midoriya dryly. "Let me guess- you blushed as you gave him the cake and went 'It's not like I like you or anything!'"
"How did you know- never mind, I did nothing of the fucking sort. So then we started going out together and...yeah. It wasn't very different from our lives before that, we just built on it. We're soulmates, but so what? Soulmates in name are just a bunch of baloney. It's when you actually stop Looking at the person and start Seeing them. Can you imagine a life with them? Will you accept them for their flaws and imperfections? Drawing them out doesn't mean anything. You just get to know what they look like. What really matters is their personality. I'm obviously the hotter one in our relationship, but Shitty Hair is kind, brave, and everything I want in a soulmate. So don't worry too much about not being able to draw your soulmate yet. It'll happen in its own time. What's important is that- you little shit, are you fucking taking notes on what I'm saying?"
Midoriya valiantly tried hiding his notebook behind his back, but it was a futile effort. But instead of making a move to Howitzer Blast Midoriya and his notebook, Bakugou just flopped on the grass. "You stupid nerd."
"Besides, if your soulmate's interested in whimpery, mopey, annoying crybabies, they'll come soon. They're probably looking forward to meeting you as much as you are to meeting them."
"K-Kacchan…that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me..." (touched Midoriya noises) Without bothering to stop to think, Midoriya did something even more dangerous than doing United State Of Smash 50 times in a row.
He hugged Bakugou.
He half- no, one hundred percent expected Bakugou to pull a Stun Grenade on him and destroy the entire area, effectively putting Midoriya back in the infirmary room (again).
Bakugou's arms hung limply at his side, too shocked to even try to kill Midoriya. The blonde raised his arms and wrapped them around Midoriya awkwardly. Bakugou was apparently capable of Gentleness. Surprise, surprise, Midoriya grinned.
"Don't tell anyone else about this or I'll fucking kill you," growled Bakugou.
"Yes, Kacchan."
"Good." Hesitating for a second, Bakugou eventually said, "hope you find your soulmate soon. With any luck, he'll be as irritating as you." Bakugou patted Midoriya's head and started walking back to their classroom, hands shoved in his pockets.
Midoriya really was touched. To think that Bakugou put aside his personal grudge to comfort Midoriya about not being able to identify his soulmate. With renewed hope and vigour, Midoriya sprinted back to class too, allowing himself to Breathe, to take a break from trying to find his soulmate. It'll happen in it's own time, Bakugou had said. What's to say it would? Or rather, what's to say it won't?
Midoriya decided to redirect his attention back to his studies. He caught up on his classes and took down notes for future revision, and tried to revert to his normal sleep schedule. Twelve midnight wasn't exactly healthy, but it was definitely better than the all-nighters he had been pulling while trying to find his soulmate.
And something strange happened. Ever since Bakugou went to the lakeside to Talk to him, Midoriya managed to draw more of his soulmate.
First came the face shape. His soulmate had amazing bone structure, to say the least. A day later, the left eye was sketched, followed by the right. His irises were beautiful, they seemed to give off a feeling that they were cold at first, but if you looked closer you would realize that he was appraising you- determining your worth, analyzing your strengths and determining your weakness. His eyes were heterochromatic, and exuded a certain intelligence. One was a breathtaking ice blue, the other so dark it looked like an endless, midnight abyss. And Midoriya sure as hell was falling into it. Into him.
The slight curve of his lips were mysterious, and Midoriya was unable to decide if it was a frown or a smirk, or simply an expression of boredom.
Then came the scar. Midoriya wished he never drew it, but he did. Tracing his finger gently over the charcoal shaded area, his heart gave a small jolt at the thought of what had happened to his soulmate for a blemish that serious to appear on his face. He really hoped his soulmate wasn't being bullied or abused. He wanted to be there for his soulmate, and swore on his life that he would support his soulmate if he ever did need it.
It had been exactly six days since Midoriya went to his thinking spot. He thus made a mental note to himself to go there during his break, but fate had other ideas. Not that Midoriya was complaining.
He stayed in the classroom for his break, intensely moving his pencil to and fro against the sketchbook's paper, and erasing lines with just as much ferocity. And at the end of the school day, he did it. He finished the entire portrait of his soulmate. (Albeit with Aoyama staring at him, trying to offer Midoriya more cheese crackers.)
Midoriya's soulmate was dazzling. From his body that looked as though it was the epitome of perfection, and his messy fashion sense (he cuffs his jeans, Midoriya almost cried), Izuku realized how much he was looking forward to meeting his soulmate. He hoped his significant other was nice.
He spent the rest of the day staring at his soulmate, imagining and fantasizing about how they would meet- and how well their personalities would mesh.
The day after, Midoriya went to class earlier than he should have. Considering he usually came at six in the morning, going to class earlier than he regularly did was literally arriving before the break of dawn.
Midoriya used the time before lessons to do cramming for his revision, rushed out some homework, and even found some short windows to squeeze in his hero analysis.
Slowly but surely, his classmates started filing in. Uraraka greeted him with a wide smile, Bakugou with a middle finger, and Kirishima with a fistbump. Soon, Aizawa Sensei arrived in his sleeping bag and began the lesson. Five minutes into it, there was a knock on the classroom door. The noise slowly subsided, before dying down completely, leaving a sharp silence waiting to be filled. The stillness was interrupted again by the rapping on the door, the sound intensified tenfold by the quietness.
"Come in. Unless you're Present Mic, then please stay the fuck out and wait till date night."
The oversized door opened. Midoriya could feel everyone's eyes trained on it, even Bakugou- who didn't care about things below his godly presence. Midoriya was no exception. For a certain reason, Midoriya felt like this moment should and would be Special. His heart pounded against his ribcage almost painfully, his fists gripping the edge of his desk so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
And He walked in.
Deku's heart leapt at the sight of Him- he knew from the moment he saw the red and white bangs. The boy was even more handsome in real life than on paper, the embodiment of attractiveness.
The boy’s heterochromatic eyes betrayed a hint of recognition as his eyes shot straight into Midoriya's, making the green haired boy's heart flutter and do multiple backflips. His mouth formed an "O" shape, and-
Before Midoriya was aware, he made a break for the front of the classroom, towards Him, towards destiny. Izuku hooked his legs around the boy’s midriff, losing his hands in his hair. It was as Midoriya imagined, his hair was soft and fluffy, and Izuku could spend hours running his hands through it. Then he swooped in for the kiss.
Midoriya had always thought that the kiss with his soulmate would have been like those in the shoujo manga he sneaked from Bakugou's room.
He was wrong. It was a million times better.
Caught like a deer in headlights, the transfer student held Midoriya in place, softly kissing back. The kiss was passionate enough to spark Midoriya's heart, but gentle enough that made him bite on the boy's lips harder, desiring more.
"That's not very plus ultra or hetero of you, but we're all gay here," Sero called loudly, effectively forcing the soulmates' to pull apart. Izuku let out a squeak of embarrassment, before brisk walking back to his seat and burying his face in his hands, wishing to crawl into a hole and never show his face to the world again.
"Thank you for welcoming our transfer student so warmly, Midoriya," said Eraser Head impassively. "Shouto Todoroki...is it? I'm sorry, but if you don't mind, none of us will greet you like Midoriya did."
“I don’t mind.”
Todoroki's voice was flat, yet colour seemed to seep through his calm, soothing tone.
Aizawa gestured for Todoroki to find a seat, and he complied, choosing the one next to Midoriya.
"Midoriya-kun, is it?" Todoroki stated unsurely, slinging his bag onto the chair.
"Yep!! Sorry for the, uh, show of intimacy though. I just got too excited," mumbled Deku, scratching his neck abashedly.
"It's fine. You're adorable, by the way."
Midoriya did not know how to Respond to that. "Happy birthday? I MEAN- ugh, wrong greeting, sorry," he groaned, slumping on his seat. "Thanks. How did you know me?"
Todoroki dug around in his carrier, pulling out an oil painting of Midoriya. Izuku was pictured with vibrant green hair, and a wide smile on his face, laughter and happiness dancing in his eyes. "I got my dad to search up the UA files to see if I could find you. Actually, no. I hacked into his computer so that bastard did nothing. You might know him as the hero Endeavwh- ah, Endeavor."
"It's beautiful," whispered Midoryia, wonder written on his face as he clasped his hands to his mouth.
"And so are you," quipped Todoroki, "I can't wait to get to know you better."
"Me too," Izuku breathed.
This time, Todoroki was the one who made the first move to eradicate the distance from their lips.