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"I DID IT!" Hanta practically screams the moment he slams the door to Mina's dorm closed, cutting off the rest of the world entirely, preventing anyone from hearing his triumph. Anyone but his friends, that is; they’re all sitting scattered across the room, but all of their eyes snap over to him instantly, shining in the light of his success.
"No way." Mina is the first to reply, stopping in her tracks to stare at him. After a brief pause, his news sinks in, and she leaps to her face with a massive grin on her face, whooping loudly.
"Finally!" Denki adds with a matching smile, jumping up as well and stepping towards Hanta, leaning in with an eagerness to know more. "Did he say yes?"
"Obviously, or he wouldn't be so happy," Katsuki snaps, but his lack of enthusiasm is entirely ignored by the rest of the group.
"Tell us everything," Mina demands with absolute seriousness, staring at him with wide, imploring eyes.
Hanta's thoughts seem to falter at the request. His heart is so light that he doesn’t even know where to start. All of his thoughts are running endlessly back to Todoroki.
After asking him, his mouth had dropped into an adorable o-shape. His eyes had sparkled as he accepted the request, and Hanta’s face has never felt so similar to a tomato in all his life.
"I mean, it wasn’t that remarkable, really,” Hanta admits with a sheepish laugh. “I asked him if we could go to that new manga shop that opened nearby, and maybe get a drink after. And he said yes," he repeats unnecessarily, still not quite believing the words dropping from his mouth.
"That’s super manly of you," Eijiro compliments, with a slap to Hanta's back that has him wincing through his smile.
"I’m surprised you had the balls," Katsuki mutters under his breath. Despite the words clearly intended to pop the balloon of elation in the room, Hanta's heart continues roaring within his chest. Coming from Katsuki, that's basically a well done. He didn't even sound threatening as he said it!
"Lighten up, Bakubro," Eijiro says warmly, making his way over to jab Katsuki in the stomach with an elbow. He grunts at the impact, but doesn't comment further.
"Anyway, I can't believe it! After all this time!" Mina squeals, focus immediately shifting back to Hanta, and his achievement of finally setting the ball rolling for a relationship he's wanted almost since the day he met him.
"I know," he agrees aloud as she throws an arm around him, offering him a congratulatory squeeze.
"You were crushing hard," Denki teases. "I'm glad it's finally coming to fruition, I think I would've bashed my skull in if I had to listen to you talk about his eyes one more ti-"
He doesn't get to finish his sentence as both Mina and Eijiro reach out to whack him. Denki begins whining as he cradles his arm, and harsh scolding ensues, but the grin on Hanta's face doesn't falter in the slightest.
All he can think is: finally!
───── ⊱ ❀ ⊰ ─────
"What do you think, Todoroki-kun? Do you want to come?" Midoriya asks with a smile.
Shouto frowns as he turns the offer over in his mind. There’s a strange thought in the back of his brain, something telling him that he can’t accept their offer.
He doesn’t even remember it until he asks, "When did you say it was?"
"Saturday, at ten in the morning sharp," Iida answers for him, swinging his arm to emphasise the punctuality required.
"Ah, I can't," Shouto declines with a shake of his head, the memory of why he can’t go returning to him in an instant.
He glances around at his friends, all piled in Midoriya's dorm, all of their faces drop. Shouto's own follows as his mind begins to race.
Was that the wrong thing to say? I already have plans, but is it expected of me to place my - arguably better - friends above him?
"Why not?" Asui asks. Her tone is more curious than judging, so Shouto feels invited to respond.
"I'm going out with Sero," he answers. In his mind, it's not a big deal (he goes out with friends all the time, after all), but to everyone else it's as if a bomb has been detonated in the room.
Midoriya and Uraraka gasp in unison, and Asui's eyes widen to the point of absurdity. Iida's brows furrow momentarily, but he seems to realise the same thing they do, too, for they then shoot into his hairline.
"Going out? Out out? Like on a date?" Uraraka questions immediately, leaning over to Shouto to stare at him.
"Um, I don't know what that means," Shouto excuses, shuffling back to escape the intensity of her gaze. The only obvious meaning for it is the current day, but he doubts that’s what she’s referring to.
"A date," Uraraka repeats, more insistently this time. Echoing the word certainly doesn't clue Shouto in as to her meaning, so he continues floundering.
"I think he mentioned something about a date?" he offers, trying to appease her, but it has the opposite effect. Another tidal wave of gasps ripples throughout the room, and all of the eyes around him light up.
"And you said yes?" Uraraka asks excitedly at the same time as Asui says, in a more sceptical tone, "Did you know it was a date?"
Overwhelmed by the words being thrown at him in unison, Shouto only answers one. "I said yes," he tells Uraraka. With a tilt of his head, he adds, "Why wouldn't I? We're going manga shopping."
"It's not just going out as friends," Midoriya cuts in, clearly attempting to coach Shouto. "I think he meant it differently." He says the words with utter sincerity, but Shouto still has no idea what he’s trying to say.
"Differently how?" Shouto asks as his frown deepens.
"Differently as in a date," Iida tells him, exasperation creeping in at the edges of his tone. Shouto's brows only knit together further.
"Isn't a date just a day?" Shouto had thought that's what Sero meant, but what if he was wrong? Are they even going out tomorrow anymore? Did he read any of their conversation correctly?
"No," everyone else answers firmly in unison.
"A date is for someone you like like," Midoriya emphasises. "Not just friends."
"Well, Sero likes me," Shouto points out.
Uraraka's face practically melts with relief. "Yes, he does! He has for ages!"
They only became friends relatively recently, but Shouto shrugs off the comment. He still feels as if he needs to provide more information, so he adds, "I like him, too-"
"Great!" Midoriya beams, clapping his hands energetically and cutting Shouto off. Iida seems to sigh in relief at the assertion that they like each other, allowing the tension to drain from his body.
"-he's a great friend," Shouto finishes.
Asui buries her face in her hands.
"No, if you're going on a date, it should be more than that," Uraraka tells him nervously. "More than friends."
"Best friends?" Shouto guesses, and now it's Iida's turn to express his feelings with a low groan.
Midoriya is the one who steps up, taking a steadying breath before beginning to coach Shouto. "No, like partners. Do you like Sero like that?"
Shouto ponders. He certainly likes Sero a lot, but he doesn't understand the use of the term 'partners' - does it mean in a school project sense, or as a pro-hero team-up? What are all these terms he rarely hears alluding to? What's the difference between liking someone and like liking them?
"I don't know," he answers eventually. "How do you tell?"
"Think about Sero," Midoriya instructs. "What do you like about him? Is it just his personality? Do you like his looks, too? Would you want to be more than friends?"
Shouto still doesn't understand what being more than friends with someone means, so he instead focuses on the other questions.
"He's very silly," he says eventually. "I like that. It's funny."
"Go on," Uraraka encourages.
"He is very dedicated to hero training," Shouto adds, though that could be said of anyone here. "He looks very cool when he swings with his tape."
"Does the action look cool or is it him?" Asui poses a question. "Would anyone look cool doing it, or are you drawn to him?"
Shouto, once more, finds he doesn't know. The only other person he's seen do anything even close to Sero's swinging is Midoriya. He certainly didn't look as cool, but how should Shouto know if he's drawn to Sero? What is it that should be sucking him in, and how can he determine if it's happening?
“I don’t know,” Shouto finishes lamely. Sensing his bewilderment, his friends stop the interrogation, but as soon as he retires for the night, as soon as he's alone, his head begins spinning again.
All of his friends seem to suggest something more between him and Sero. He seems to want something more, too, if this ‘date’ is any indication. It’s only as he’s lying in bed, kept awake by his thoughts, that Shouto puts it together.
Partners… as in romantic partners.
His heart begins racing at the thought, but not in a joyful, fluttery way. Not in the way it perhaps should be at the thought of romance. So many thoughts, too many to count, are warring to be at the forefront of his mind, and the battle is ruthless, and bloody.
What would his father think? His palms are sweaty and his heart is pounding at the thought of a boy. Is that not wrong?
Does he even like Sero in that way? Is that what he’s feeling? How is he supposed to tell?
It’s as if his excitement for their trip is zapped away in an instant, right before his eyes. Before, Shouto was eagerly awaiting the weekend. A new manga shop, and a large one at that, with plenty of options for him to browse. He and Sero would head to a café afterwards, and buy drinks. It was supposed to be light and fun, full of mirth and laughter. They were meant to spend the time as friends, with no complications whatsoever.
No feelings, no fuss.
Now, a pit of dread is forming within Shouto’s stomach. It is consuming everything around him whole, and he can’t seem to shake it off.
───── ⊱ ❀ ⊰ ─────
Sero is supposed to be getting ready, but the routine has been significantly devolved by his friends. Seemingly his entire wardrobe is scattered across the floor, overturned in a mission to find him an outfit, and the air is filled with arguments in hissing tones.
“The green shirt looks better,” Denki is insisting.
Mina scoffs. “No, that colour looks horrible on him-” She stops abruptly, and turns to him to add, “No offense, by the way,” before redirecting her attention to taking her stance against Denki. “The yellow one is actually flattering, it compliments his eyes perfectly!”
“It’s a fucking shirt!” Katsuki protests, and Eijiro pats him on the back. He, like Hanta, knows they won’t just let this go.
The harsh bickering continues, but Hanta’s eyes keep trailing back towards the clock. The time of his date is creeping closer and closer and, as much as he values their input, he doesn’t have time for this.
Hanta grabs a different shirt entirely, and retreats to the bathroom to change. Outraged cries follow him, but he tunes them out as he tugs the outfit on and splashes his face with cold water.
He meets his own gaze in the mirror, heart jackrabbiting in his chest from the potential of what awaits him. This is their first date, but it could be more; it could become a first kiss, or even develop into a proper relationship. Hanta is excited beyond belief, but he needs to keep a steady head if he's going to make the most of this opportunity to get to know Todoroki better.
Thus, he takes deep, exaggerated breaths. In, and out again. He fluffs his hair up, getting it just right before practicing a dazzling grin.
No matter how this goes, you just need to have fun, he reminds himself.
And he knows he will, especially since Todoroki will be at his side.
───── ⊱ ❀ ⊰ ─────
Keeping a cool head becomes immediately more challenging the moment Hanta lays eyes on Todoroki.
Today, he’s clipped a section of his white hair back, exposing his eye more whilst his scar remains covered. It’s unbelievably cute, and Hanta swears his palms begin to sweat from the sight alone.
“Hey,” he greets. It sounds awkward in the air between them, but Hanta doesn’t allow his smile to slip from his face.
“Hello,” Todoroki replies, and immediately sets off walking at a brutally fast pace. After a moment of his brain failing to catch up, Hanta starts to walk, too, having to almost run to meet Todoroki’s stride.
There’s something off, Hanta can tell immediately. Todoroki has never left anyone behind like this before, nor has he ever spoken so little when excited. Hanta expected to be greeted with a lengthy tirade of all the manga he plans on buying today, so when he receives silence instead, alarm bells begin ringing in his ears.
Was I overstepping by asking him out? he wonders. Maybe he didn’t want to come at all, but felt obliged. Maybe he felt pressured into this, or-
Hanta forcibly silences his thoughts there. He is supposed to be staying calm, and not ovethinking things. It's easier said than done, but he has no doubt this will all be much more enjoyable if the voices in his head are ignored.
As soon as he's close enough, it becomes apparent that Todoroki is suffering similarly to him. His face is screwed up like a ball of paper, and his eyed doggedly refuse to meet Hanta's own.
Although Hanta's heart picks up several paces at the sight, he instead focuses on other sensations. The sun beaming down at them, the light breeze ruffling his hair, all are far more pleasurable, so he directs his focus to them, instead.
There's just one more thing he wants to do to make this all the sweeter.
Hanta reaches out to take Todoroki's hand in his own. For a moment, it seems as if he's overstepped; his head swings around and his eyes widen at the sight of their interlocked fingers. Hanta prepares to retract his hand, kicking himself internally, but a flush begins to creep up onto Todoroki's face. Although he doesn't meet Hanta's eyes, he makes no attempt to move away.
Hanta grind, squeezing his hand fiercely with his own. Todoroki's grip tightens slightly in response, and Hanta's heart soars.
Their hands remain intertwined, despite the sweat slowly coating Hanta's palm from the heat of Todoroki's left side, until they arrive at the shop.
"It's huge!" Hanta remarks, craning his neck to get a proper look at the building. The window displays, filled to the brim with various volumes, practically beckon them both inside.
Todoroki is still tense, Hanta can tell. The moment they are inside - the moment other people are privy to their actions - he drops Hanta's hand as if it's burning him. Hanta's brows furrow, but he doesn't push it. He'll have to ask eventually why Todoroki is so antsy, but not here, not with all these people, and not when he's so clearly anxious about... something. After making a mental note to discuss it once they've left, Hanta turns to the shelves.
The two make their way through the shop, grins widening at each new floor they take in. Todoroki naturally gravitates towards the shoujo series, and he even convinces Hanta to buy a volume of one of his favourites. In return, Hanta shows him a shounen he knows Todoroki will love.
Despite their differences in taste, they discuss all the series they see that they know together. They debate the merits of the plot twists if they've both read them, or simply try to convince each other to pick a volume up of the ones only one of them follows.
Hanta ensures he remains restrained with his choices, even putting some volumes down if he decides it'd be too much to buy, but Todoroki doesn't seem to care about the money in the slightest. He is rich, Hanta supposes, and often offers to pay for things with his father's card, just to piss him off.
Hanta can't say he disapproves of the behaviour.
There are even figures and, although Hanta can't afford them, he has enough to pick up a blind bag that he deems safe enough to buy (there's only one character within it that he doesn't like, after all).
It doesn't take them that long to blaze their way through the shop, reaching the final floor seemingly before Hanta even has time to blink. As soon as they return to the ground floor to check out, it's as if the magic of the shop fades, and Todoroki's worries return in an instant. His brows furrow, and he stares determinedly at his feet, leaving Hanta to wonder what on Earth has happened.
As they got lost in the aisles of manga, Todoroki seemed weightless. He's not the type of person to laugh longly and loudly, but he snorted at Hanta's jokes under his breath. His smile wasn't huge and shining, but a small smirk of amusment. Despite it, he still looked as if he was glowing to Hanta, as if the sun was radiating from him, its rays reaching out to bestow warmth and light upon him.
He doesn't even look satisfied as he swipes his father's card to pay for his items, once more screaming wrong to Hanta. He still doesn't want to pressure him into talking about it in front of other people, though, so Hanta has no choice but to pay and stride from the shop, with Todoroki just on his heels.
He waits until they're a distance away to ask, "What's wrong?"
Todoroki freezes like a deer in headlights, before settling his face into blankness. "What do you mean?" he replies stiffly, answering Hanta's question with one of his own.
"I can tell something is bothering you," Hanta says. Todoroki winces at the words, so he hurries to add, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I'm not forcing! Just..."
Hanta trails off as he lowers himself to sit on the pavement. Todoroki's brows knit together in confusion, but, when Hanta pats the place beside him, he sits down, too.
"If you want to talk, I'm here," Hanta tells him seriously. He can't, nor would he want to, force him to talk, but he needs him to know the offer is there.
Todoroki's gaze drifts away from Hanta, and onto a point in the distance. It's as if he's looking, and not really seeing.
He doesn't speak. The silence is more like a pause - expectant and waiting. It lasts for so long, Hanta begins to think that Todoroki won't be sharing anything with him. He flushes in embarrassment at the supposed realisation of his unwanted offer, but then Todoroki takes a deep breath, and opens his mouth.
"Did you invite me here as a romantic gesture?"
Hanta blinks at that. His brain frantically turns the question over and over, trying to parse a response until his words finally sink in.
He didn't know this was a date.
All the hyping himself up, all the stress and the sweat, the relief after he finally asked him - it meant nothing. Todoroki didn't even know this was a date.
In hindsight, it makes perfect sense. Todoroki hadn't seemed nearly as flustered as Hanta had expected when he asked him. He simply frowned as he pondered the question, before answering in a calm and level tone.
"I- Yeah, I did," Hanta answers lamely, tacking a forced laugh on at the end. "Did you not- Didn't you know that?"
"No," Todoroki tells him simply, and Hanta swears he can hear his heart crack within his chest.
"Oh," is all he says aloud, but now it's his turn to avoid eye contact as he blinks furiously to keep his tears at bay. "Right."
Silence once more ensues, but now it's suffocating. For all of Hanta's crowing and his supposed victory, he didn't communicate his intentions at all.
Todoroki did not know this was a date. This supposed step forward in their relationship, which took so much courage to even attempt, wasn't taken by both of them. It's just him, alone with his feelings.
Stupid, a voice from within him chastises. Why would the prettiest boy in your class, perhaps even the entire school, want to go out with you?
Hanta isn't the strongest in their class, nor is he the fastest. He's probably not the funniest, and he's definitely not the most attractive. Why would Todoroki Shouto, of all people, end up with him?
He's so lost within scolding himself that he almost misses what Todoroki says next.
"How do you tell if you like someone?"
Hanta's head whips up. He tries to push down the hope that begins to bloom in his chest, tries to shove it away, but he finds he can't.
"Imagine they were dating someone else," Hanta suggests, heart racing. "How would you feel if they weren't open to a relationship with you?"
Todoroki's face scrunches up as he considers it. "But I still don't know. I think I'd be happy for you for managing to find contentment with someone, no matter who it is."
Hanta's heart is pounding harder than ever before. You. Not someone else, but him.
He may not be certain, but there's an inkling within Todoroki's chest that is drawing him to Hanta. It could be misplaced, it could be a desire for friendship, but Hanta doesn't allow the possibility to dampen his joy - not entirely, at least.
"Well," Hanta says slowly. His only other idea may very well be crossing a line, but he feels compelled to say it, nonetheless. "You could kiss me."
Todoroki's eyes widen, before darting down to stare at Hanta's lips. He shifts awkwardly, but from the fierce flush on Todoroki's face, he can tell he's interested.
"I've never kissed anyone before," Todoroki admits softly.
"Oh, well, you don't have to," Hanta rushes to assure him. Not matter how enticing the thought of their lips meeting is, a first kiss is something you only get one of. There's no taking it back, no making it belong to someone else.
If he truly isn't certain, if this is just an experiment, then no matter how much it pains Hanta, he needs to let him go.
Except Todoroki licks his lips nervously, and speaks up once more.
"I think I want to." He doesn't sound confident in the slightest, but he also doesn't sound repulsed.
"You think?" Hanta echoes, just to be certain.
"I know," Todoroki amends, and Hanta can't contain the relieved sigh that escapes his lips.
"Well, uh. Do you want to do it now?" Hanta is aware that the question is entirely redundant; they are both leaning towards each other in unison, entranced by the sight of the person before them.
Todoroki doesn't answer him with words, but rather by sealing their lips together.
Kissing Todoroki is unlike anything Hanta has experienced before. It's jarring to have half of his mouth meeting something warm and inviting, and the other half pressed against something shockingly cold. He finds the sensation isn't unpleasant in the slightest, simply because it's so undeniably Todoroki.
The kiss is slow, hesitant, but not unenthusiastic. Hanta shuffles his hand over to meet Todoroki's cold one, locking their fingers together. Todoroki leans even further forwards in response, his weight pressing up against Hanta as heat spreads over both of their faces.
Reluctantly, Hanta is the first to pull away, his lungs demanding oxygen and breaking up the kiss. He finds he doesn't mind when he gets to meet Todoroki's eyes instead, slightly dazed, but still shining.
After swallowing, Todoroki finally speaks up. "I enjoyed that very much. Let's do it again."
He begins leaning forwards once more but, as much as it pains him, Hanta places a hand on his chest to halt his progression forwards.
"Wait," he commands, still panting. "What does this mean? For us?"
Todoroki tilts his head, considering. "I like like you," he declares. "I know that now. Do you want to engage in a romantic partnership?"
Hanta bursts out laughing at the phrasing. Todoroki looks slightly hurt, but it melts away the moment Hanta answers, "Yes! Yes, of course."
Todoroki takes that as his cue to lean forwards, and lock their lips together once more.
───── ⊱ ❀ ⊰ ─────
"I can't believe you had a first date, a first misunderstanding, and a first kiss all in one day," Ashido cackles.
The moment they arrived back at the 1A dorms, they were cornered by, from what Shouto can tell, everyone, demanding to know the details of their date. He let Hanta take over and explain, doubting his own ability to get the story across correctly.
"Are you going for some sort of world record?" Kaminari adds in a tone Shouto can't quite place.
"No," he answers, when Hanta only rolls his eyes. Kaminari seems slightly taken aback by his response.
"That's not- Nevermind," he brushes it off, and Shouto just shrugs in response.
"Does it even really count as a first date?" Hanta wonders aloud with a heavy sigh. "It only became a date at the end."
Shouto frowns. He supposes it doesn't count, and he's responsible for it being that way, all because he didn't understand.
"Well," he says eventually. "We could always go on another first date."
Clearly, that was the right thing to say, for Hanta's eyes light up.
"Yes!" he agrees immediately with a crooked grin. "Let's! Next weekend?"
He throws an arm around Shouto and begins to lead him away from the crowd, throwing all sorts of suggestions at him. Bakugo begins to protest from behind them, loud enough to blot out all other noise within the common room.
"You can't go on a second first date!" he cries, sounding genuinely outraged by the suggestion. Or perhaps by their stupidity. Probably both.
Shouto just ignores him as the two step away. His thoughts are entirely occupied by the arm flung around him, and the comfort he's soaking up from Hanta's presence at his side.