Chapter Text
Upon a warm summer afternoon, the sun was just barely beginning to dip below the horizon, with its warm rays spilling through the thick leaves of the trees along the local park bathing them in gold and pink hues, long shadows softly swaying with the slight summer breeze. A pair of students, the ever sparkling blond Aoyama Yuga and the social butterfly Ashido Mina strolled leisurely along the winding path, savoring their last moments together before the day came to a close.
What had started months ago as a casual stroll after class to unwind after grueling days of hero training had blossomed into an unspoken ritual for the pair, forged over countless afternoons. At the end of every Friday, they looked forward to these walks, a peaceful respite from the clamor of school life where they could steal these tranquil moments together in each other's comforting company. A rare chance to simply exist side-by-side, enjoying each other's presence and sharing a light conversation.
In this particular occasion, the horned girl was vividly recalling some certainly interesting moments from that day's hero training exercise. "Oh, you should have seen Kaminari today in the simulation!" she chuckled. "I might have accidentally managed to surprise him with my acid while his back was turned."
"Accidentally, you say?" Yuga raised a delicate brow, a bit skeptical. "It's safe to assume he didn't take it well, non?"
"You tell me!" Ashido threw her head back as unrestrained laughter came from her mouth, a huge grin blossoming onto her face. "The very second my acid made contact with that wall in front of him, he jumped like a scared cat then he turned as green as Midoriya's hair!" The young girl cackled, reenacting the memory of their electric friend with her hands wildly gesticulating in mock horror. "I thought he was going to hurl all of his lunch right there in the training grounds.."
"Poor Kaminari." A final peal of laughter escaped Mina's lips before gathering her composure with a satisfied sigh, wiping a tear from her eye. "He really needs to work on his reflexes, I have to say.. Lucky for him I was pulling my punches, or who knows what could have happened?"
Though he tried his best to follow along with the conversation, the young man found his gaze inevitably drawn to her radiant features. The way her eyes crinkled at the corners when her lips curved into that dazzling smile. How the fading sunlight caught the unique pink tones of her skin, causing it to seemingly glow from within. While he did not partake in such rowdy shenanigans himself, he found Mina's love for life to be utterly charming.
The young French chuckled softly at her words. "You certainly do have a gift for dramatics, mon amie."
Tilting her head back to catch his eyes playfully from beneath long lashes, she teased."Aw, you know you love it, sparkles." She nudged Aoyama affectionately with her shoulder. Leaning into him slightly, she allowed her arm to linger against his for a brief moment.
In that moment, Yuga felt his heart stutter within his chest. An unfamiliar yet wondrous fluttering sensation that momentarily stole his breath away. He had always known his friend to possess an infectious zeal for life that could draw the most difficult people towards her. But here, bathed in the dreamy soft illumination of sunset with the gentle whisper of cherry blossoms on the breeze, he was struck by the depth of her beauty - inner and outer. This vivacious, passionate, kindhearted soul who wore her heart on her sleeve and the one who could light up a room with her personality alone, the genuine Ashido Mina.
As if sensing his lingering gaze, the girl turned quizzical golden eyes towards him "So what's rocking in that princely head of yours?"
Aoyama felt a flush of heat rise to his cheeks as those dazzling gold eyes caught him staring, the young man averted his gaze with an abashed cough, hoping he could be cool enough to brush it off. "P-pardon, mademoiselle," he managed, not risking looking onto her direction, suddenly the park's grass became the most interesting thing around. "I did not mean to stare so brazenly. It's just that the view here is truly..."
Words failed him as his eyes flickered momentarily back to her, taking in rosy skin aglow with sunset, hair like spilling rays of dawn. "Beautiful.." a mere word clumsily tumbled from his lips before he could rein it in, his usual poise replaced with faint flustered panic. Mina's warm chuckle and brilliant smile in response caused that peculiar fluttering within his chest to intensify tenfold. She had him totally ensnared, like he had fallen victim of a spell.
At Aoyama's flustered response, Mina tilted her head inquisitively, wild strands of pink hair swaying with the subtle movement. "And what view is that?" A playful smile tugged at the corners of her lips, threatening to bloom in full at his expense. She took delight in teasing her friend many times in the past, somehow it never grew old.
Under such lovely scrutiny, he found himself to be briefly tongue-tied. He couldn't think of any excuse. Swallowing past a suddenly dry throat, his indigo gaze found hers as steadily as his racing heart allowed. "The view is simply...you, mon cher," he managed at last, "your smile is rather lovely.."
A darker pink flush rose in Mina's cheeks, matching her hues. "Flatterer," she scolded him softly, though her tone held no sting. Always did his compliments get under her skin in the best of ways. Reaching out, her slender fingers drifted gently through the space between them until hovering just above his palm, close but not quite touching in a fleeting caress. An unspoken question hung in the minimal distance, awaiting his consent.
"Well... I wonder, is it truly flattery if it's merely the truth?" Softly, slowly, he turned his palm to meet hers in a tender embrace, lacing their fingers in fulfilled promise. Aoyama's breath hitched at the whisper of her thumb caressing his knuckles - an intimate embrace more electrifying than any quirk. Side by side they wandered further down the winding park path, shadows deepening amongst the rustling trees.
All too soon, twilight's indigo shroud descended, bathing their surroundings in a fog of mystery. Yet within this realm beyond the ordinary, Aoyama felt more alive than ever before. His gaze flickered upwards briefly to where the inky veil above was just beginning to sparkle alight, as if sharing some personal secret only the stars above them knew of. But quickly his eyes returned to drink in the loveliness beside him, uninterrupted.
Mina was a really beautiful girl. It was a statement of truth, not merely an opinion. For Aoyama, to refute her what was in front of him would be an act of sheer foolishness, for her radiance was a self-evident fact, plain for all to behold.
The way her eyes shone with an inner light rivaling the very cosmos above, looking into her eyes proved to be akin to a galaxy, her molten gold irises seeming like a pair of fiery suns in the inkly black of her sclera, and how the graceful curve of her smile seemed to be sculpted by Eros himself to make hearts throb. Without even giving it a second to think, he whispered the first tender words that came to mind in.
The young french threaded their fingers tighter and murmured,"Les étoiles sont ravissantes ce soir... though one might even say that your own radiance puts even the brightest stars to shame, ma chérie."
With mere impish grin taking over her features, tongue poking between gleaming teeth, Aoyama was warned before she leaned in to dust a tender kiss against his burning cheek. Her lips lingered but a moment against his flushed skin yet the contact sent sparks skittering across every nerve.
Pulling back just enough to meet his starry-eyed gaze, vibrant tresses swaying with the motion, Mina rewarded him with a peal of musical laughter. "You're very cute when you're flustered, mon ami,"