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Mina Ashido was very good at planning things.
Not the quiet, spreadsheet kind of planning, she left that to people like Yaoyorozu, but the bold, visual, impossible-to-ignore kind. The kind that relied on timing, confidence, and a deep understanding of the people involved.
Which was why, three days before Christmas, the Class 1-A common room looked… festive in a very specific way.
There were decorations everywhere, of course. Strings of lights. Paper snowflakes taped to the windows. A tree in the corner that leaned slightly to the left no matter how often it was fixed.
But clustered near the far end of the room, by the big window and the couch everyone avoided because it sat directly under an air vent, was Mina’s masterpiece.
Mistletoe.
Not just one sprig.
Several.
Small bunches tied carefully along the beam. A few hanging lower than usual.
One directly above the space where someone would naturally stop if they were called over from the doorway.
It was excessive.
It was obvious.
It was perfect.
“Okay,” Mina muttered, hopping down from the chair she’d been standing on.
“That should do it.”
From the couch, Kaminari stared openly. “That’s… a lot of mistletoe.”
Mina put her hands on her hips. “It’s Christmas.”
“It’s like,” Kaminari squinted, counting,
“six mistletoes.”
“Redundancy,” Mina said. “Heroes plan for failure.”
Across the room, Yaoyorozu adjusted the string lights she’d been fixing and looked over, blinking. “Mina… is there a reason you’ve concentrated all of that in one area?”
“Yes,” Mina said brightly.
Kirishima grinned slowly. “Ohhh. I get it.”
“You do?” Kaminari asked.
“Yeah,” Kirishima said. “Someone’s about to walk right into it.”
Mina’s grin sharpened. “Bingo.”
Right on cue, the dorm doors opened.
Izuku Midoriya stepped inside, scarf half-undone, notebook tucked under his arm. Snow clung to the ends of his hair, already melting. He looked tired in the soft, end-of-day way, shoulders slightly slumped, eyes focused inward as if he was still replaying training notes in his head.
He didn’t notice the mistletoe.
Mina did.
Her grin softened, just a fraction.
“Hey, Deku!” she called.
Izuku startled, nearly dropping his notebook. “O–oh! Hi, Mina. Um- hi, everyone.”
He took a few steps forward.
“Can you come here for a sec?” Mina asked, already backing toward her chosen spot.
Izuku nodded automatically. “Y–yeah. Sure.”
He followed her.
Step by step.
Then he stopped.
Slowly, Izuku looked up.
“…Oh.”
Above him, above them, hung mistletoe. A lot of it.
The room went silent.
Then-
“NO WAY,” Kaminari said loudly.
Kirishima leaned forward, eyes wide.
“Dude.”
Yaoyorozu’s hands flew to her mouth. “Mina!”
Izuku froze, face heating instantly. “I–I didn’t- I mean-!”
Mina turned to face him, hands clasped behind her back, rocking slightly on her heels like she was resisting the urge to bounce.
“Relax,” she said easily. “You didn’t do anything.”
“I- I should move,” Izuku said, already trying to step backward.
Mina stepped forward at the same time, blocking his retreat, not aggressively, just decisively.
“Hey,” she said, voice lighter but steady.
“It’s okay.”
Izuku stopped.
The class watched, collectively holding their breath.
“I did this,” Mina said, gesturing upward with one finger. “On purpose.”
The reaction was immediate.
“You WHAT?!”
“CALLED IT!”
“MINA ASHIDO!”
Mina shot the room a look. “Everyone gets one gasp and then silence.”
Amazingly, they listened.
She turned back to Izuku. Her grin was still there, but softer now, more sincere.
“I like you,” Mina said simply. “I’ve liked you for a while.”
Izuku’s brain visibly stalled.
“You-” His voice came out too quiet.
He swallowed. “You like… me?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “Romantically. That way.”
Izuku’s mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
No sound came out.
Mina waited.
She didn’t rush him. Didn’t fill the silence with jokes or bravado. She just stood there, giving him space even as the mistletoe hovered overhead like a spotlight.
“I know you overthink stuff,” Mina continued gently. “So I’m not asking you to say anything. I just… wanted to be honest.”
Izuku stared at her, heart pounding so hard it felt physical.
“And,” she added, glancing up at the mistletoe, then back at him, “I wanted an excuse to do this.”
She leaned in.
Confident. Deliberate. No hesitation.
Mina kissed him.
It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t dramatic. It was a warm, intentional kiss, soft pressure, a hand briefly resting at his shoulder like an anchor.
The common room erupted.
“OH MY GOD”
“SHE ACTUALLY DID IT!”
“THIS IS BETTER THAN MOVIE NIGHT!”
Izuku froze for half a heartbeat.
Then instinct took over.
He didn’t pull away.
He didn’t step back.
He stayed exactly where he was, breath caught, eyes wide, overwhelmed, flustered, very much there.
When Mina pulled back, she stayed close, studying his face carefully.
Izuku still hadn’t said a word.
That was okay.
She smiled, smaller now, a little nervous for the first time.
“…You okay?” she asked softly.
Izuku nodded.
Once.
Twice.
“Yes,” he managed, voice barely above a whisper.
The room exhaled.
Mina laughed quietly, relief threading through it. “Good.”
Kaminari made a noise like he’d been holding his breath the entire time. “I cannot believe we just witnessed that.”
Yaoyorozu looked stunned. “That was very… direct.”
Kirishima wiped at his eyes dramatically. “So manly.”
Izuku finally remembered they were not alone and turned the exact shade of a Christmas ornament. “E–everyone-!”
Mina slung an arm lightly around his shoulders, unapologetic. “Yeah. They saw.”
She leaned in, voice low, just for him.
“You don’t have to say anything. Really.”
Izuku swallowed, hands clenched at his sides. His heart was still racing, thoughts colliding into static, but beneath it all was something warm.
Something grounding.
“I just wanted you to know,” Mina said softly. “And now you do.”
She looked up at the mistletoe again, then back at him, smiling. “Merry Christmas, Deku.”
Izuku nodded again, cheeks burning.
“M-merry Christmas,” he echoed.
The class slowly began to disperse, still whispering, still buzzing, but giving them space at last.
Mina gently guided Izuku toward the couch beneath the mistletoe cluster, not pushing, just… there.
“You’re not mad, right?” she asked casually, like this hadn’t just happened in front of half the class.
Izuku shook his head quickly. “N-no. I’m just… processing.”
She grinned. “Yeah. I figured.”
Outside, snow continued to fall. Lights twinkled. The dorm hummed with warmth and quiet excitement.
And beneath far too much mistletoe,
Izuku Midoriya sat beside Mina Ashido, flustered, silent, and very aware that something had shifted.
Whether he was ready or not.