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This wasn’t a date.
It didn’t matter what Kirishima insisted. Nor did it matter that even Midoriya seemed to think that it was. Your plans with Iida tonight qualified as practically anything other than a date. It was simply two friends going to a drive-in movie. No more, no less. Simple as that.
That’s not a date, right?
Iida drove. He seemed to know way more about cars than you did, at least. It also helped that he actually had access to a car. You didn’t know nearly as much about them, but he seemed proud of its brand, or age, or something along those lines, and it was fun to hear him talk about it, so you nodded when he asked if you liked it and settled right into the comfy passenger seat.
The drive was a bit out of town, but it wasn’t too long before you pulled into a field, arriving a solid ten or so minutes before the film was set to begin. You went to ask him what movie you had decided on seeing, but when you finally turned to face him, he was looking… really good tonight. Did he dress up specifically for this? No, you just weren’t used to seeing him in casual clothes. It was so normal to see him in a school uniform, or the gym uniform, but tonight he was in a nice plain t-shirt and jeans.
No, no. You couldn’t think that. You were friends . Friends don’t check their friends out, no matter how hot they were. And this wasn’t a date, anyway, so it would be better not to get your hopes up.
…Still, you could appreciate it for a moment at least.
“What did we end up settling on again?” you finally willed yourself to ask. There were a few options that you were considering, but you ended up split between a romance and a horror.
“It’s called ‘Widow’s Weave’,” he answered. So, it seemed that you decided on the horror flick. It was something about arachnids, as you could infer from the name, but that’s all you knew of it. “It’s about a giant spider that’s hunting an island, I think.”
“Ah, alright.” With one more fleeting look, you turned back to where the movie would soon begin. You didn’t see his gaze linger on you for a brief moment, and you didn’t see the warmth that was rising to his face. Iida turned back as well, and you both sat and awaited the beginning of the movie.
///
You screamed, nearly jumping out of your seat. You were barely even a third of the way into the movie, and the jump scares were already beginning. Your hand instinctively went out towards him, and without looking away from the screen he grabbed it with his own.
While he didn’t have as visceral of a reaction as you did to the spider leaping out and devouring one of the characters, he was clearly shaken up too. You both sat there, entranced with the screen. It was because of this that it took some time before you noticed that you sat hand in hand.
Oh my god. You were holding hands with Iida. Does that mean this was a date? No, of course not. Friends could hold hands, right? And it certainly didn’t seem like he was asking you on a date when he invited you out.
///
Class on Friday was just ending, and everyone was packing up to leave when Iida came up to your desk. You were good friends, and often left class together, so it wasn’t like this was unusual. What was unusual is how nervous he seemed.
“Hi (Y/N),” he smiled at you. You couldn’t help but say hi and smile back – his was practically contagious. “Do you have any plans for this coming weekend?”
“No, nothing in particular.” You slung your bag over your shoulder and started heading for the door. “Why? Did you have something in mind?”
It took a moment before he followed you out. “Uraraka told me that there was a drive-in theater showing some films this weekend. Would you like to go see one with me?”
You glanced up to see him staring ahead as you walked down the hall. He was making even less eye contact than you came to expect with him, but that wasn’t entirely unusual. Iida was just like that, and you certainly didn’t mind. That’s just how he was. There was also no way that you would pass up an opportunity to hang out with him. “Yeah, that sounds great! What are we seeing?” you responded. He lit up at that, and the tension released from his shoulders.
///
You looked back down at your hands, and then up at him. More than halfway into the movie, and you were still sitting there together without a word. Either he didn’t notice, or he didn’t mind. Or he didn’t want to be rude, but you figured he was direct enough to tell you if you were making him uncomfortable. You hoped he was, at least.
Was there a way to send him a sign that you wanted this to be a date? The hands were one thing, but maybe something a bit more would be necessary. Neither of you were the best at communication, to be honest. The console dividing you didn’t stop you from leaning in and resting your head on his shoulder as best as you could. He shifted a bit, leaning towards you and dropping his arm down so that you could better lean against him.
Ohmygodohmygodohmygod you were actually holding hands with Iida. You couldn’t help the smile and heat that came to your face, and if you had looked up you would’ve seen him sitting there with the exact same expression.
The movie was coming to its climax, but neither of you were paying any attention to the spider devouring the town. All you could focus on was your hand in his, and whether or it counted as a “regular” friend occurrence, or if you were actually on a date.
Is this normal? Is this what friends do? You weren’t completely inexperienced in physical affection with you friends – honestly, a lot of them liked to cuddle on movie nights, and you’d all end up in a heap on the floor of your dorm, clustered around the screen. But something about this just felt… different, like both of you were trying to send signals, but neither could decode what the other meant.
None of that really mattered though. It was nice enough to be there in the moment, hand in hand, with your head on his shoulder, watching the credits of the movie scroll through. You hadn’t even paid attention to the ending, too caught up in worrying about your whole situation. He was surprisingly warm and comfy to lean on. You had always thought he would be… stiff, you supposed, given his whole personality and way of carrying himself. But here he was soft, and just nice to be with.
A few more minutes passed. Other cars were already leaving, but neither of you moved to lean away from each other. Eventually, the field was clear, and you sat in the only car still remaining.
“We should head back,” he said after a while. “We don’t want to break curfew, and it would probably be safer for us to be there rather than sitting here.”
“Of course,” you respond. Neither of you move to stop leaning on each other.
You looked up at him. It was hard to tell in the dark of the night, but you could’ve sworn that his face was at least just a bit red. If he were able to properly look down at you, you probably would have looked the same. He was still staring straight ahead, just like he did in the hallway on Friday. Every once in a while, he would glance down at your hands, and then go back to looking away.
“Iida?”
His head snapped up at this, and you were almost shaken off his shoulder by the tension with which he held himself. You sat up, finally, keeping your hands intertwined. He hesitated before finally responding, “Yes?” He looked at you now, and you found yourself wanting to be the one to avert your gaze.
Well, here goes nothing.
“Can I kiss you?”
He nodded.
He nodded! Oh god, what were you supposed to do? You closed your eyes and leaned over the console, slowly rubbing your thumb over the back of his hand. Your lips ghosted over his, and you could feel his breath in soft, nervous pants on your mouth. His free hand came up to cup your face, and the cool of it sitting in the night air was a stark contrast to the heat of your skin.
His lips were soft , and he was so warm , and everything felt so perfectly right in that moment. You could feel yourself melting into him, your grip on his hand tightening. If there was one thing you wanted to remember from that night, it was this – his lips on yours in that starry field, alone but safe. In spite of the console, you tried your best to lean in further. But even the two of you needed air at some point, and you finally parted.
Half of your body was still leaning across the seat, but you could put aside your discomfort for the feeling of being as close to him as you could. Your faces were still inches apart, neither of you wanting to pull away or speak. You stilled, savoring the moment, before finally sitting back down in your seat.
“I…” he trailed off, trying to collect what thoughts he could, before continuing, “I enjoyed that. Thank you.”
You laughed. “I enjoyed that too. You’re welcome.”
The two of you sat in silence for a moment longer, hands still intertwined. You glanced at the clock in the car. It was just past eleven, about two hours after your curfew. The fact that Iida wanted to go out this late at all was a treat in itself. He seemed to have the same thought cross through his mind though, because the moment his eyes drifted to the time, he went right back to his usual rigid self.
“We do really need to go back now. As much as I want to stay here, we shouldn’t be out this late in the first place, and…” he kept rambling on, but you gave his hand a light squeeze and he paused, looking away.
“Relax, Iida. We’ll be fine. I’m sure that, out of everyone, we wouldn’t get in too much trouble for being out a bit late.”
He nodded, probably trying to convince himself of your words more than agreeing with them, and moved to pull his hand away. You tried to hold on, but he slipped out of your grip. “I’m sorry, (Y/N),” he apologized, “but I need to have both hands on the wheel.”
///
The lights of the common room were still on, which meant someone was there and awake. Iida seemed more worried at this than you were, but you figured that if anyone were still up in the common room right now it would be–
“How was the date?” Kirishima poked his head up over the couch, smiling at the both of you. He certainly did not have an inside voice, and the both of you quickly shushed him. “Aw, you’re holding hands!” Both you and Iida scrambled apart at this, and he laughed.
“Not so loud!” you scolded him. “And for the record, it was very good.”
“Did you even watch the movie?”
You groaned, grabbing Iida’s hand again and dragging him behind you towards the elevator. The doors opened with a soft ting , and you stepped inside. After all of that, it was difficult to find something to say. Still, you decided to fill the silence.
“I really enjoyed tonight.” Yeah, because that sounds totally normal to say. “I, uh… I would like to do this again if that’s okay with you.” You were about ready to run back to your room at this point; was there any way you could have phrased that more awkwardly? Surely, he’d say no. He was Iida , class representative, and–
“I would love to.”
You looked up at him finally, to see him still staring at the button you had pressed. He was on the third floor, so it didn’t take long until the doors opened. You both stepped out and walked towards his door, stopping in front of it.
“You really mean that?”
“Of course.” He looked down at you, neither of you wanting to break away. You had to leave to go up to your room eventually, but you didn’t want to leave the warmth of him. With slight hesitation, he grabbed your other hand and leaned down a bit so that his head was on an even level with yours. “Can I kiss you?”
You nodded.