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"I need a favour."
Izuku looked up.
Camie Utsushimi was leaning against the doorway of the common room with a smile that immediately made him suspicious.
"...What kind of favour?"
"The tiny one."
"...The fact you said 'tiny' makes me think it isn't."
She laughed.
"Fair."
"It's medium."
Five minutes later...
Izuku had learned two things.
Firstly...
Camie's old classmates from Shiketsu were attending a joint training weekend at U.A.
Secondly...
One of them was absolutely convinced she'd had a crush on him for years.
"I told him I didn't."
Camie sighed dramatically.
"He wouldn't stop."
"So..."
She smiled sheepishly.
"...I kind of..."
Izuku waited.
"...accidentally said I already had a boyfriend."
Silence.
"...Camie."
"I know."
"...You don't."
"I know."
"...And somehow..."
She pointed directly at him.
"...Now apparently I do."
Izuku blinked several times.
"...Me?"
"Mhm."
"...Why me?"
She counted on her fingers.
"You're nice."
"You're trustworthy."
"You don't make things weird."
"And..."
She smiled.
"...Everyone likes you."
He scratched the back of his neck.
"I'm not sure that's a reason."
"It's at least four reasons."
"So..."
She clasped her hands together.
"...Would you pretend to date me for one weekend?"
He looked genuinely torn.
"I don't like lying."
"I know."
"I don't either."
She sighed.
"I just..."
"...panicked."
He could see she meant it.
This wasn't a prank.
She genuinely didn't know how to get herself out of the situation.
"...Just one weekend?"
She nodded enthusiastically.
"I'll owe you."
"You already owe me."
"...True."
Saturday arrived.
Izuku had never been more aware of where his hands were.
Or his facial expression.
Or whether he was standing too close.
Or not close enough.
Camie, meanwhile...
Looked completely relaxed.
"...You're overthinking."
"I am."
"I can hear it."
"...You can hear thinking?"
"The vibes."
He sighed.
"...The vibes."
"The vibes."
As they walked across campus...
A group of Shiketsu students spotted them.
"There she is!
"Camie immediately slipped her hand into Izuku's.
"So..."
She whispered with a grin.
"...Boyfriend mode."
His entire body froze.
"...Boyfriend mode?"
"Just smile."
"I am smiling."
"...You're making your exam face."
"...I have an exam face?"
"Oh, absolutely."
She reached up and gently poked one corner of his mouth.
"There."
"Better."
The group approached.
One of the students looked between them.
"...So it's true."
Camie nodded cheerfully.
"Told you."
The student looked at Izuku.
"...You're Midoriya, right?"
He nodded.
"...Nice to meet you."
The student smiled.
"...Guess I was too late."
Camie squeezed Izuku's hand ever so slightly.
"...Guess so."
The conversation only lasted a few minutes.
Then the Shiketsu group headed toward the training grounds.
As soon as they were out of earshot...
Camie immediately let go of Izuku's hand.
"...Mission accomplished."
Izuku let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"...That was stressful."
She blinked.
"...Really?"
"I've never pretended to date someone before."
She laughed.
"...Neither have I."
"...You looked like you had."
"I improvise."
"...That explains a lot."
They continued walking.
A comfortable silence settled between them.
Then Camie suddenly tilted her head.
"...Can I ask something?"
"Sure."
"...Why did your hand fit so nicely?"
Izuku nearly tripped over absolutely nothing.
"...W-what?"
She looked down at her own hand thoughtfully.
"It was just..."
"...comfortable."
He stared straight ahead.
His face had turned bright red.
"...I hadn't really..."
"...thought about it."
She smiled to herself.
Neither had she.
Not until she'd let go.
And, rather unexpectedly...
Missed it just a little.
By lunchtime...
Izuku had discovered something.
Pretending to date Camie Utsushimi was… Exhausting.
Not because she expected grand romantic gestures.
Quite the opposite.
Because she was completely unpredictable.
They were walking between training grounds when Camie suddenly stopped.
"...Hang on."
Izuku looked over.
"What?"
She frowned thoughtfully.
"...We're walking too far apart."
He blinked.
"...We are?"
"Mhm."
She demonstrated by taking two steps closer until their shoulders almost brushed.
"There."
"...People do this?"
"Couples do."
"...Oh."
Five minutes later...
She stopped again.
"...What's wrong now?"
She looked him up and down.
"...You keep calling me 'Utsushimi.'"
"...That's your surname."
"I know."
"But if we're dating..."
She smiled mischievously.
"...Don't you think it'd be a little weird?"
Izuku froze.
"...I..."
"...Camie?"
She grinned.
"There you go."
"...That felt illegal."
She laughed so hard she had to lean against a nearby wall.
The joint training sessions went surprisingly well.
Until...
One of Camie's Shiketsu friends wandered over during a break.
"So..."
He smiled.
"How'd you two get together?"
Izuku immediately looked at Camie.
Camie immediately looked at Izuku.
Neither of them had prepared for this.
"...Uh..."
"...Well..."
The silence stretched.
Then Camie suddenly smiled.
"...Coffee."
The student frowned.
"...Coffee?"
She nodded confidently.
"We met over coffee."
Izuku blinked.
"...We did?"
She subtly nudged his foot.
"...We did."
He caught on.
"...Right."
"Coffee."
The friend smiled.
"...That's actually pretty cute."
As soon as he walked away...
Izuku whispered,
"...We've never had coffee together."
Camie smiled.
"...I know."
"We probably should."
"...To make the story true?"
She looked at him.
"...Exactly."
That afternoon...
They found themselves sitting in a small café just outside campus.
Camie took one sip of her drink.
Then laughed.
"...This is ridiculous."
Izuku smiled.
"...A little."
"We're having coffee..."
"...because we lied about having coffee."
"...When you say it out loud..."
"...It's very us."
For a while...
They simply talked.
Not about pretending.
Not about Shiketsu.
Just...
Life.
Camie learned about Izuku's
notebooks.
His habit of muttering when he thought.
His favourite childhood hero.
Izuku learned about Camie's photography.
Her love of sunsets.
How she collected unusual words because she liked the way they sounded.
"...'Serendipity' is one of my favourites."
She smiled.
"It sounds happy."
"It kind of is."
They stayed at the café far longer than either of them intended.
When they finally stood to leave...
Camie smiled.
"...Well."
"What?"
"Our fake first date..."
She looked around the cosy café.
"...turned into our actual first coffee."
Izuku laughed.
"I guess it did."
As they walked back toward U.A....
Camie glanced sideways at him.
"...Question."
"Hm?"
"If someone asks..."
"...Can we say our story started with coffee now?"
He smiled.
"...This time..."
"...I think we'd actually be telling the truth."
She beamed.
"...See?"
"I knew we'd catch up eventually."
For the first time since agreeing to help her...
The pretending felt just a little less like pretending.
And neither of them was entirely sure when that had started happening.
By Sunday morning...
Something had changed.
Neither of them could quite explain what it was.
They'd simply...
Stopped thinking so hard.
When Camie appeared beside Izuku before breakfast...
She smiled.
"Morning."
He smiled back.
"Morning."
No awkwardness.
No overthinking.
Just… Easy.
Training with the Shiketsu students resumed shortly after.
The exercises paired students from different schools together.
Camie and Izuku ended up on opposite sides of the training ground.
For the first time all weekend...
They weren't together.
During a break...
Camie wandered over to a group of Shiketsu students.
One of her friends smirked.
"So..."
"Where's your boyfriend?"
She instinctively looked across the field.
Izuku was talking with Todoroki.
She smiled without thinking.
"Over there."
Her friend laughed.
"You looked for him awfully quickly."
Camie blinked.
"...Did I?"
"Mhm."
"You didn't even have to think."
She laughed it off.
"...Guess I'm just committed."
But… For some reason...
The answer didn't quite convince even her.
Across the field...
Kirishima nudged Izuku with an elbow.
"...You're doing it again."
Izuku looked confused.
"...Doing what?"
"You keep checking where Camie is."
"...I do?"
"Mhm."
"Every couple of minutes."
Izuku frowned.
"I was just..."
He stopped.
"...Huh."
He had been.
Without even realizing it.
That afternoon...
The joint training finally came to an end.
Students exchanged contact details.
Promised to meet again.
Shook hands.
One by one...
The Shiketsu students began boarding their buses.
The weekend was over.
The same boy who'd started the whole misunderstanding walked over to Camie.
He smiled sheepishly.
"...Guess I owe you an apology."
She tilted her head.
"For what?"
"I didn't believe you."
"I should've."
He glanced toward Izuku.
"...You two are good together."
She smiled.
"...Thanks."
He laughed.
"...Take care of each other."
"I will."
The words left her mouth before she'd even thought about them.
The buses disappeared down the road.
Silence settled over the entrance to U.A.
Camie looked over at Izuku.
Then laughed quietly.
"...Well."
"...We did it."
He nodded.
"...Looks like it."
She smiled.
"...You're officially unemployed."
He blinked.
"...What?"
"You don't have to be my fake boyfriend anymore."
"Oh."
He smiled.
"...Right."
For some reason...
Neither of them sounded particularly happy about that.
They began walking back toward the dorms.
Not speaking very much.
Not because anything was wrong.
Just… Because something felt different.
Eventually...
Camie broke the silence.
"...Can I ask something?"
"Always."
She looked down at the path.
"...Did any of it..."
She hesitated.
"...ever feel fake to you?"
Izuku didn't answer immediately.
He thought back.
The hand-holding.
The coffee.
The conversations.
The smiles.
How naturally she'd looked for him.
How often he'd found himself checking where she was.
He smiled softly.
"...Honestly?"
She nodded.
"...I think the only fake part..."
He looked at her.
"...was why we started."
Camie stopped walking.
"So..."
"...What does that mean?"
He laughed nervously.
"...I'm still trying to work that out."
She smiled.
"...Good."
"...Why?"
"Because..."
She stepped a little closer.
"...I was hoping it wasn't just me."
For a long moment...
Neither of them moved.
The pretending had ended.
The feelings...
Apparently hadn't.
And somehow...
That was far more frightening.
And far more exciting.
Than either of them had planned for.
The following week...
Life returned to normal.
Classes.
Training.
Homework.
Hero studies.
Everything was exactly as it had been before the Shiketsu visit.
Except...
It wasn't.
Izuku still found himself looking toward the doorway of the common room around breakfast.
Almost expecting-
"...Morning."
He looked up.
Camie smiled as she walked in carrying two takeaway coffees.
"I guessed your order."
She handed one to him.
He looked at the cup.
"...This is exactly what I would've chosen."
She grinned.
"I know."
They sat together.
Talking about nothing in particular.
Neither of them mentioned the weekend.
Not because they were avoiding it.
Because they weren't quite sure what to call it anymore.
Later that afternoon...
Ochaco wandered over to Izuku while he was taking notes.
"So..."
"Hm?"
"Are you and Camie still... pretending?"
His pencil stopped moving.
"...I don't know."
Ochaco smiled knowingly.
"That's a very interesting answer."
Meanwhile...
At Shiketsu...
Camie was telling Seiji about the joint training.
He listened patiently.
Then asked one simple question.
"...So."
She looked up.
"...So?"
"When did you stop acting?"
She blinked.
"...What?"
"You've been describing your weekend for twenty minutes."
He folded his arms.
"You haven't mentioned pretending once."
She opened her mouth.
Closed it again.
"...Oh."
That evening...
Camie sent Izuku a message.
‘Coffee tomorrow?’
A moment later...
Another message.
‘Not because it's part of our fake story.
Just because I'd like to see you.’
Izuku smiled before he'd even finished reading.
‘I'd like that too.’
The café was quieter than usual.
The owner recognized them immediately.
"The coffee couple!"
Camie laughed.
"...Apparently that's us now."
Izuku smiled.
"...I don't mind."
She looked at him.
"...You don't?"
He shook his head.
"...Not really."
Their drinks arrived.
For a few minutes...
They simply watched people passing outside the window.
Eventually...
Camie rested her chin on her hand.
"...Can I admit something?"
"Always."
"I don't think I asked you to fake date me because you were convenient."
He looked at her curiously.
"...No?"
She smiled sheepishly.
"I think..."
"...you were the first person I hoped
would say yes."
He felt his heart skip.
He took a slow sip of his coffee.
Then laughed quietly.
"...Can I admit something too?"
She nodded.
"When you first asked..."
"I thought I was helping you out of an awkward situation."
"You were."
"I know."
He smiled warmly.
"...I just didn't expect helping you..."
"...to become my favourite part of the week."
Camie's smile softened.
"So..."
She asked gently.
"...What happens now?"
Izuku looked at the empty coffee cups between them.
Then back at her.
"I think..."
He reached across the table.
Not dramatically.
Just enough for his hand to rest beside hers.
"...We stop pretending."
She looked down.
Then, with a smile that could have lit the whole café...
She slipped her hand into his.
"...Finally."
Outside...
People hurried along the street without a second glance.
Inside...
Two coffees slowly grew cold.
Neither of them noticed.
Because for the first time since one tiny lie had started everything...
There was nothing left to fake.
Three months later...
Another joint training exercise brought U.A. and Shiketsu together.
This time...
Nobody seemed particularly nervous.
Least of all Camie.
She happily wandered across campus beside Izuku, their fingers loosely intertwined as they chatted about absolutely nothing important.
"...Do you think pigeons have
favourites?"
Izuku blinked.
"...Favourite what?"
"People."
"...I..."
He thought about it.
"...Maybe."
"I knew it."
Across the courtyard...
A familiar voice called out.
"...Seriously?"
The same Shiketsu student who had accidentally started everything stared at the two of them.
He looked at their joined hands.
Then at Camie.
"...Still together?"
She smiled brightly.
"Mhm."
"Very."
He laughed.
"...Good."
"I was rooting for you."
Later that afternoon...
He found Izuku alone while everyone else prepared for the next exercise.
"...Hey, Midoriya."
"Hm?"
"...Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
The student scratched the back of his neck.
"... Camie told us in the end you started out pretending, when did that stop?"
Izuku opened his mouth.
Then paused.
He genuinely didn't know.
He thought back.
The first time they'd held hands.
The first coffee.
The conversations.
The smiles.
The way she'd started appearing beside him every morning they had free.
Finally...
He laughed quietly.
"...Honestly..."
"I don't think I noticed."
"...I did."
Both of them turned.
Camie wandered over carrying two iced
coffees.
She handed one to Izuku without even asking what he wanted.
He accepted it automatically.
The Shiketsu student noticed.
"...You did?" Izuku asked.
She nodded.
"Mhm."
"I remember exactly when."
"...When?"
She smiled.
"...The coffee."
He frowned.
"Our fake coffee?"
She giggled.
"There wasn't a fake coffee."
"We went because we needed a believable story."
She looked at him warmly.
"...But halfway through..."
"...I stopped trying to make the story believable."
"I was just..."
She shrugged.
"...having a really nice first date."
Izuku looked down at the cup in his hands.
Then back at her.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"...I think I was too."
The Shiketsu student folded his arms dramatically.
"Right."
"So let me make sure I've got this straight."
"You pretended to date..."
"So people would believe you."
Camie nodded.
"Mhm."
"You accidentally went on a real date..."
"Mhm."
"You accidentally fell in love..."
"Mhm."
"And now you're actually dating."
She smiled proudly.
"...Pretty much."
He laughed.
"...That's ridiculous."
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck.
"...When you say it like that..."
"It really is."
As everyone began making their way toward the training grounds...
Camie naturally slipped her hand into Izuku's.
No audience.
No pretending.
No reason at all.
Except… She wanted to.
Izuku smiled.
"...You know..."
"What?"
"I'm kind of glad he didn't believe you."
She looked over.
"...Me too."
"If he had..."
He gently squeezed her hand.
"...I don't think I'd ever have had the courage to ask you on a real date."
She laughed.
"You didn't."
"...I didn't?"
"You accidentally wandered onto one."
He smiled.
"...Guess I did."
The training whistle echoed across the field.
Students hurried into position.
Camie and Izuku finally let go of each other's hands.
Only because they had to.
She smiled at him.
"...Boyfriend mode?"
He laughed.
"...I don't think it's a mode anymore."
Her smile softened.
"...No."
"It isn't."
It had all started with one tiny lie.
A borrowed title.
A weekend of pretending.
A relationship that wasn't supposed to be real.
But somewhere between shared coffees...
Unplanned smiles...
And hands that had become far too comfortable together...
The pretending had quietly disappeared.
Leaving behind something much better.
Because in the end...
The only fake thing about their fake relationship...
Was the name they'd given it.