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I hate asking for help. I don't see. To the grinding of teeth, to launching the phone into the wall. Chesslovo, I'd rather go to All-For-One with a toothpick.
Speaking of villains - at work, asking me, on the contrary, is more or less normal. We are heroes, we are a team, damn it. Right now, I will tolerate Todoroki, then let him tolerate me. Then together we'll cover for Midoriya, who doesn't like to ask for help at all. Everyone was already squatting on his ears about this - nope, like against a wall.
I also fight with him because of this - yeah, and then I sit like this and stare at the screen. Because it was because of Izu… Midoriya had a question. And even while I'm thinking about him alone, I'm only driven more. And I'm not Midoriya to drive here.
But I still hate asking for help. As for Izuku, especially. I go around the apartment about ten times, on the way I throw a T-shirt into the washer and look into the refrigerator. Great, now I don't think about it. If I don't think about it long enough, maybe I can even manage. Maybe even himself.
Well, of course, I end up writing Uraraka. As always.
Hello. What are you doing?
It’s good that I sat down on the bed because she answers so-o-e ... More precisely, she throws off the photo. She has two clasped hands. One is clearly Chubby, with her thumb sticking out to prevent her Quirk from activating. I exhale sharply through my teeth. I know who she's holding hands with. And at what, paired baubles on their wrists? Are you a high school student or what? Oh, everything.
I tightly squeeze the phone in my hand so that it doesn’t fly where I don’t need to. Slowly... No, I don't count to ten. It only takes me more. I slowly and mentally draw out the lines of the letter on paper.
Dear Toga Himiko,
Go to hell, go to hell, get off my girlfriend already, and sit down like this for ten years.
Uraraka there, apparently understands that I will not answer her anything cultural and still writes another message. With words.
What do you need?
Well, is she angry too? I chuckle pretty. That's when you're not the only one pissed off - it really calms you down.
I write quickly before I change my mind.
Hey, you don't know what Izku's thoughts are about weddings?
Send.
Read.
I exhale and lean heavily against the wall. It slowly dawns on me that it wasn't very good to ask Uraraka about this. Does she seem to have had an Izuku crash (or whatever word Jiro uses)? And why did she, I wonder, set foot and exchange Izuku for this crazy one? No, seriously, I would never imagine Uraraka in this rom-com about a heroine and a villain.
If he himself had not ended up in a rom-com about childhood friends, yeah.
Okay, that's my fault too. There was no point in dragging her to the hospital with her, even if Izuku squeaked something about the support there. Whom to support - Toga Himiko? Maybe we’ll regret All-For-One, pat him on the head?
Uraraka doesn't answer for a long time. I again slide from righteous indignation closer to guilt. No, well, who else should I ask? Kirishima? It's Uraraka and Izuku best friends.
Phew, the phone is finally ringing. But the message is strange.
The secret to your incredible success:
1) amusement park
2) hold hands
3) sweet pancakes (crepes)
Your mother, your mother, your mother.
Dear Uraraka Ochaco,
First, what is this title? Secondly, I know what crepes are, thanks. Thirdly, are you sure Izuku likes this kind of bullshit?
I am not writing this, of course. I think, I think, I think. And I answer.
Thank you very much.
Because, most likely, Izuku likes this kind of garbage. And other things that terrify me. Slightly.
Seriously. A park? Crepes? Or maybe even paired baubles? What are we, two high school students? Maybe even kiss on the cheek, and then both ears turn red?
And of course, I'm going to look on the Internet, where we have amusement parks and those damn crepes. Even if I'm scared and guilty. Because Izuku deserves better.
And after kilometers of squandered photos of amusement parks and some advice about dates there, it breaks through me.
Izuku deserves better. To gently, so that all these pink snot, and by the hands, and on the cheek, and la-la-la. To confess to him normally, in the end.
Normal is three well-known words, damn them. How did you confess, Bakugou Katsuki?
Well, it looks like you yelled something like "Hey, you," and then you sucked. And not only sucked.
You-to-bi-scha.
Yes, it's not scary anymore. These are the depths of horror. Suddenly I find that I buried my hands in my face and give out something like “Y-y-y-y-s”. Well, fuck off now.
Get your mother together. Fucking hero. Izuku deserves better and you give it to him.
A park? Well, let's see what's closer to Masutaf, Izuku still lives with his mother. Crepes? Crepes. Reviews are great. Holding hands? We'll work on the spot.
Confession? Confession, mother. What to do with this fucking confession? No, I won’t rehearse in front of a mirror and don’t ask. Okay, that's in place too.
There is one more important thing - to write to Midoriya. Well, we have a date here. First, technically.
And of course, I start the message with the damn "Listen."
Hey, you. Do you want to go to the amusement park this weekend?
I send, I breathe. Gritting my teeth, I send another one.
This is a date.
Damn Mi… Izuku replies in some completely puppy-like manner.
Of course, I do, Kacchan!!! I'll be happy to go on a date with you.
And adds a sticker. Fuck knows what kind of animal it is, but her eyes are even bigger than Izuku's. Hey, I'm starting to miss All Might's stickers!
I answer briefly:
Then they huddled.
I'm giving him all the info. He answers something, I answer something. We finish classically:
Good night Kacchan!
Listen. Spkn chi.
And finally, I can turn off the damn phone, lie down on the damn bed and sleep like hell!
Fall asleep. Yeah.
Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it...
I'll figure it out. On the spot. With all this bullshit. I'll survive. Hero, fig.
Although, paired keychains with the Almighty are not such a total horror.
***
There is a soft noise coming from the living room. Mom usually goes to bed even before me, but today she has a drama. This is an important series, as I understand it. Two members of the mafia - but they are like the main characters, so the good ones - will try to escape from the bad mafia. They need to cross the East China Sea, end up in Shanghai, and then get to Hainan. No idea what kind of Hainan this is. I have no idea what this series hooked my mother with.
No idea why I didn't stay with her to watch the episode. Anyway, now I'm lying and staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow we have a date with Kacchan.
Date. Our first date.
Well, technically. What counts as a date and what doesn't? Because before that we went out together, and, for example, we were in that place with delicious milkshakes, and I was in love with Kacchan, and Kacchan was in love with me, and we guessed that it was mutual. At least they suspected. Slightly.
No, it definitely doesn't count... Because we didn't confess?
But we still haven't confessed. Technically.
The noise from the living room gets louder. It looks like a shootout or a chase has begun. If only no one died - otherwise mom would be upset. Even if it will be guys from the bad mafia, or special agents who are generally unclear what.
Well, yes. Nobody said, "I love you". Technically, Kacchan said, "I can't do this anymore." And I said, "Me too." Then we kissed, then...
My ears are red, my whole face is hot.
Then we talked a little more in the morning and then returned home from this trip. And then they didn't talk much. I have a job, he has a job. He's in a rented apartment in Tokyo. I am with my mother in Masutafu. In general, not that we would have discussed everything properly.
No, I understand everything without it. At least during the day. And in the dark, it is very easy to start driving. Even easier than usual.
I think it's relatively normal to be driven. The main thing is not to start to drive, that you are driven, and a few more drives from above. It is better to look at these thoughts with polite interest.
Hmm, well, let's figure out what Kacchan meant in your opinion.
Let's analyze his words: "Listen, I can't do this anymore." What could he do without?
A thought so delightfully nasty comes into my head that I don't immediately dismiss it. I examine it carefully, like Kacchan in childhood - a worm raised from the ground.
Delightful in its vileness, Kacchan meant that he could no longer live without sex. Then we had sex. Then… Everything.
I wasn't afraid of those worms that Kacchan picked up. Even if he shoved them up my collar. I always put them back on the grass. But this thought is not so much even disgusting, it is poisonous. This one needs to be killed before it stings anyone.
I throw it away, I bury it. This is so untrue it's not even funny. I remember what we talked about that morning. And even if I didn't remember (it didn't make much sense, to be honest), I remember Kacchan's eyes. Half - stunned happily. Half - not believing their luck.
Yep, fortunately. And I have him grief onion.
The door creaks. Wow, I thought - I didn’t even notice how the sounds from the living room subsided. How are these guys from the mafia, I wonder? Alive?
"Izuku, are you sleeping?" Mom asks.
I almost answer “yes” - that’s how I got caught all my childhood. Relax, and try to take a deep breath. Mom also sighs quietly and finally leaves.
She knows where I'm going tomorrow, and she knows that now it's not just a meeting with a friend. She seems happy for me, but more worried. I tried to give advice, and I was terribly embarrassed because it seems that I violated them all in advance.
Yes, things didn't go according to plan. (Not that I wrote everything in a notebook ... Okay, who am I kidding). More precisely, I failed at the first point - "Confess to Kacchan." Because technically or not technically, Kacchan did it first.
There doesn't seem to be any difference, but there is. Maybe I should just admit that Kacchan isn't the only one here - a competitive asshole.
(The question of what to see here as a competition is at least vague we will work on it later).
So, Kacchan was the first to confess, and also the first to ask me on a date. What can I do?
I can be the first to confess correctly!
A simple but sudden realization - I already rise on the bed. It is I who can say three words that we have not yet spoken!
“I… I love you, Kacchan,” I mutter quietly. Yes, like this. Louder now will not work - even mom will hear.
“I love you,” I say still quietly.
“I love you,” I say and lay back down. Now I can't even close my eyes. All that remains is to look at the ceiling again, at the T-shirt hanging neatly on a chair. On a backpack, collected in advance. I have already chosen a cap and shoes, they are in the corridor. About the cap, my mother will ask five more times if I haven’t forgotten exactly. And he will tell you to take more water with you.
These are very hot days. The hottest in Japan.
With the thought that Kacchan will probably forget to put on his cap, I finally fall asleep.
***
Having already arrived at the place, I understand that I forgot my cap. I automatically run my hand through my hair and decide I don't give a damn. Not for this, my mother gave birth to a blonde.
By the way, the old woman is already aware of what is happening here. And she obviously decided to tease me with this for the rest of her life. It's funny, yeah. She burns.
It's good that I moved out. Closer to work, some here do not get it. Midoriya is a long way off...
Okay, okay, I live apart from my parents, like a cool kid. Without a cap, but with dark glasses. They are my coolest too. At least in Japan.
I stand, in general, as a monument to the All Might, and wait for Mi ... Izuku. I notice it from afar.
Endeavor is my aunt, but he was going to war.
T-shirt with the inscription "Hero" - for heroism, hell is clear. Red sneakers are for confidence. A backpack with supplies in case of a nuclear winter. A hat with the Yuei logo on it - thank the eggs, not with All Might, only he was missing on our date.
And Izuku clearly wore shorts to demoralize the enemy.
Let's pretend I'm not the enemy here. Let's pretend I'm not going to stare at his knees.
— Kacchan! he waves with all his might as if he is about to fly away. - I'm not late, am I?
“No,” I answer, not looking at my watch. Stopudovo another fifteen minutes before the agreed time.
“Kacchan,” Izuku says, already slightly reproachful. You really forgot your cap.
I scratch the back of my head again, and he immediately pulls his emergency backpack off his shoulders and starts digging through it. Mumbles:
“Now it’s so hot, you can easily get a sunstroke, you need not wear dark clothes, drink more water ...
The water is in his side pocket, in a pink plastic bottle. The bottle is all in stickers - stars, hearts. Kitten with the caption "May the day pass meow-lowly." Eri gave him this crap or something. Useful crap.
“I forgot,” Izuku finally says, sniffling. I also forgot my spare cap.
Well, wow, we have a global tragedy.
“Shut up,” I reply. Christmas trees, sticks, an amusement park a hundred meters away, and he's digging around here.
“But Kacchan… Sunstroke…” he starts again.
I pull an outrageously pink bottle from my side pocket.
- I'll pour some water on my head - and it will be fine.
Said and done. As I snort, Izuku looks like I've done something both beautiful and terrible. Tipa bought him that ugly All Might pillow and then said, "I'll give it to him for his birthday." By the way, his birthday is coming soon...
But first, we go on a date, after all!
I give him the bottle and hold out my hand. Izuku's eyes widen like it's a bloody snake.
I inhale. I breathe out.
"Let's go already, shall we?" To the park,” I explain in a completely indifferent tone.
Izuku finally dies and hesitantly puts his hand in mine. And blushes the tips of the ears. And he looks at me with an ugly happy look.
Oh, what did I say about high school girls?
We walk to the painted entrance to the amusement park, and one thing is spinning in my head:
Dear Midoriya Izuku,
And how can I continue to be with you, if you are even embarrassed by such nonsense?
***
We... We're holding hands.
By the way, Kacchan has very beautiful hands. So, well, muscular. And he always wears those black sleeveless shirts. You can see everything, do you understand?
I try to look away, but it only makes things worse. Because a drop of water from my bottle is crawling down his neck.
It’s funny even to remember the period when I thought: “Well, maybe these are friendly feelings.” Of course, everyone sticks to their friends like that. On their strong muscular arms with such slightly rough palms that ...
- Where to first? Kacchan interrupts me. And well, otherwise who knows what I would have thought of.
“Um… Ferris wheel?” I blurt out. Because I had already played the idea of recognition on a Ferris wheel in my head ten times, and regretfully dismissed it as terribly banal.
“Wrong-correct,” Kacchan drawls with satisfaction. We'll go on the roller coaster first.
Hmm, that's where you don't admit it. Top 3 places, first.
“And then onto your wheel, if you like,” Kacchan adds, already a little awkward. Am I really that pathetic?
We go to buy tickets - more precisely, Kacchan makes his way to the box office. I try to keep up with him.
“And I… This… Also…” I don’t know how to say it, but Kacchan already understands.
“I will pay,” he replies. This is not his most reinforced concrete voice, but it is already useless to argue.
- And I ... I’ll also pay for something later! I blurt out, and in vain. Because Kacchan raises his eyebrows with some kind of completely incomprehensible expression and turns away.
Well, is dating really like being friends, only super awkward?
To be honest, I'm so embarrassed that it doesn't matter anymore. Let there be recognition of the Ferris wheel! In the end, it is better to confess tritely than not to confess at all.
Kacchan returns from the box office.
“Come on,” he says and again extends his hand to me.
And it's not awkward anymore. I'm just melting, melting like ice cream under this scorching sun.
***
I encourage Izuku to ride the rollercoaster for the second time. And the third. Because, seriously, these are not slides - but one name. Who works as a pro-hero, this is not a slide. And in general, they recognized me here and made a discount, so I want to get the most out of this garbage.
Squeeze out ... It's at least squeeze me out. The fucking sun has done its best, the fucking queues and the fucking forgotten cap. Well, yes, and black is better not to wear. Although I have an image in general.
We move to the side where it is quieter, and I begin to think about the third point of the operation - crepes. Yeah, I think the confession should be backed up with crepes. Well, these are important words, so it would be nice to give something to them. If not a ring, then at least a strawberry from a pancake. Wait, am I seriously thinking about this? Brrr.
The head does not cook at all in this heat. So it is better to postpone the third point of the operation for the time being. What did Izuku want?
- Where ... There ... Your wheel? - for some reason, the words can only be pronounced with effort.
Izuku, pleased, pleased, immediately start waving the map of the park.
“I have already scouted everything, Kacchan, first we will need to turn left, and there is a wider path, and behind it…
“Yeah,” Izuku nods cautiously because my ears are ringing for some reason. Nothing, I'll just wait for a second, and everything will be fine.
— Kacchan? Izuku turns around worriedly.
And then my eyes darken.
- Kachchan!
I more or less come to my senses already sitting on a bench. Izuku is running around.
“Kacchan, you still have sunstroke, Kacchan. Here, drink some water, or maybe soda?
“Gha… zirovki,” I give out, just for him to go away for a minute while I come to my senses.
I look up and see that I am sitting under a tree. Green. I slowly drink water from the bottle.
Here's a helpless bastard. I hate being like this.
Izuku comes back just at the speed of light - and manages to get not only a soda but also a cap. Probably with the emblem of the park.
I ignore the cap for now, take a cold jar, and put it on my forehead.
I breathe out:
“Listen, I love you so much.
And then Izuku shuts up. There is a difference between when he is silent and when he shuts up. Here it is felt that all his thoughts have stopped, and even his breath has stopped.
I open a sweaty can of soda and with a click, it hits me what I said.
Oops.
Well, they came.
It's too late to panic anyway, so I take a sip from the can and wait to see what Izuku will do. Perhaps now he will open his mouth and say ...
***
“Well, that’s not fair, Kacchan!
The words come out before I can think. Like Kacchan, a confession escaped.
What have I done, he won't understand, he's...
He carefully puts the jar on the bench and just as gently asks:
- Why?
And my stupid feelings are inflamed at full power.
- Yes, because you already confessed first! And he called me on a date first ... And ... And ... Yes, you also guessed first, for sure! I declare although I have no way of knowing about it.
“And you stole Hero #1 from me,” Kacchan says out of the blue, still completely calm. - And next year you will take away, I know you.
“We’ll see about that,” I say, and sniff like a child. As if he had caught a cold, in such and such heat.
Kacchan finishes his soda, thinking about something.
“Hey,” he says. - Yes, you are driven. Bullshit all these - three fucking words. Everything was clear to us without them.
I shut up and sniffle again. Now, because you can’t be like that, like that ... I would give him “Hero-cooler-than No. 1”. And a platinum cup with diamonds.
— Was it? Kacchan pushes.
- Well, of course! The voice still sounds a little offended. Here's the stupidity.
“H-hey,” Kacchan grins with his sly smile. What do you want on the Ferris wheel? To kiss there?
“No, no, no,” I wave my hands and almost do not lie. I was going to confess, but to kiss ... Only later.
“Come on,” Kacchan smirks even wider, although there seems to be nowhere wider.
“Kacchan, we are in a public place, there are a lot of people around…” I rattle, but Kacchan only throws:
- They will not lose.
And he takes me away - to the left, then to a wider path, then ...
And where am I going to go - he is holding my hand.
***
We do kiss in the booth of the Ferris wheel, though rather modestly, like we really are fucking high school girls. And no one kicks us out of the park, Izuku, do you hear?
So we hang out there until the evening, almost until closing. It's getting dark late now, but the sun is still noticeably moving somewhere to the west, and I remember point number three.
The crepe truck is near the park. Izuku looks at him like Santa Almighty's sleigh. By the way, they released such a figure, and it would be nice to find it, but the hell was swimming there. It's a pity because this level of stupidity is just right for Izuku.
He keeps staring and staring, now at the van, now at me. Clearly, he will have questions for Uraraka later. For me, that's also the question of how she knew.
“What are you looking at?” I can’t stand it. - Go buy crepes. You wanted to pay.
And the gratitude in Izuku's eyes is like I bought him the whole damn van.
He takes us two crepes - with ice cream and strawberries. Ice cream is a thing, but strawberries are, well, tolerable. We eat them sitting on a bench under green-green trees. And I still, gritting my teeth, as if this is a matter of life and death, I give him my last strawberry.
Izuku's eyes sparkle. They laugh. Green-green, like leaves in the sun.
He is holding a pancake with both hands. He leans closer to my ear.
- Kacchan, - quietly, quietly, goosebumps. - I love you.
And my thoughts stop, and blood cells and I categorically stop breathing.
And I need to breathe. To reply.
Come on, Bakugou Katsuki. "I love you too" - three human words. Not difficult at all.
“Listen,” I barely part my lips. Let's go back to the park, shall we?
“Come on,” Izuku replies, not entirely understanding.
“Do you think we can buy some All Might pairing before closing time?”
***
I know it sounds awfully snotty, but the night after the date, I dreamed of something so warm and joyful. And there was Kacchan. I'm sure.
***
After the meeting, I couldn't sleep for half the night. Because my neck was burned. That is why.