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Lunch at U.A. was...
Predictably chaotic.
Denki was trying to convince Sero that fries tasted better dipped in milkshakes.
"They absolutely do."
"They absolutely don't."
"They absolutely-"
Jirō sighed.
"I'm begging both of you to stop."
At the end of one table...
Tenya Iida was setting out trays.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Then...
A seventh.
Ochaco looked over.
"...Iida?"
"Yes?"
"...Who's that one for?"
He answered without looking up.
"Midoriya."
She blinked.
"...He's not here."
"I am aware."
"You still got him a seat?"
"Naturally."
Five minutes passed.
The seat remained empty.
Ten.
Still empty.
Finally...
Iida stood.
"I shall return."
Ochaco tilted her head.
"...Where are you going?"
"To retrieve Midoriya."
Sure enough...
He found Izuku exactly where he expected.
Curled over a notebook in one of the empty classrooms.
Completely oblivious to the time.
"...Midoriya."
Izuku jumped.
"Iida!"
"...Were you aware it is currently the lunch period?"
"...Already?"
"Yes."
"...Oh."
Iida folded his arms.
"...Have you eaten today?"
Silence.
"...Breakfast?"
More silence.
"...Midoriya."
"I had coffee."
"Coffee is not breakfast."
"...It had milk?"
Five minutes later...
Izuku found himself sitting at the table with the rest of the class.
His untouched lunch waiting exactly where Iida had left it.
"...You saved my seat."
"Of course."
"...Why?"
Iida looked genuinely confused.
"...Because you sit there."
Izuku laughed softly.
"...Fair enough."
The next day...
It happened again.
The same table.
The same seven trays.
The same empty seat.
The same search party.
"...Midoriya."
"...Sorry."
"...Lunch."
"...Coming."
By Friday...
The entire class had accepted it as part of the routine.
Denki glanced at the empty chair.
"...Give it..."
He checked an imaginary watch.
"...Three minutes."
Almost on cue...
Iida stood.
"I shall retrieve him."
Sero laughed.
"Called it."
The following Monday...
Izuku actually arrived first.
He looked around the cafeteria.
Then noticed something.
One chair.
Empty.
Waiting.
He smiled to himself.
Without thinking...
He walked over and sat down.
A few moments later...
Iida arrived carrying his tray.
He stopped.
"...Midoriya."
Izuku looked up.
"...Hi."
A small smile spread across Iida's face.
"...You found your seat."
"...Seems like someone saved it for
me."
Neither of them mentioned it.
Neither needed to.
But from that day onward...
No matter how busy life became...
No matter how many hero notes Izuku filled...
Or how many meetings Iida attended...
There was always one seat at lunch...
Quietly waiting.
Just in case someone needed reminding...
That they didn't have to eat alone.
Before long...
The reserved seat became something of a class tradition.
Nobody questioned it anymore.
It simply...
Belonged to Midoriya.
Even if Midoriya himself occasionally forgot.
"...Three..."
Denki watched the cafeteria entrance
dramatically.
"...Two..."
Sero rolled his eyes.
"...One..."
Right on cue...
Iida stood from his chair.
"I shall retrieve him."
Denki pointed triumphantly.
"I am never wrong."
Five minutes later...
The two of them returned.
Izuku looked mildly embarrassed.
"...I lost track of time."
Jirō smiled.
"...Again?"
"...Maybe."
Ochaco laughed.
"You literally have a personal lunch alarm now."
Izuku glanced at Iida.
"...I guess I do."
A week later...
Training ran longer than expected.
By the time lunch finally arrived...
Everyone was starving.
The cafeteria buzzed louder than usual.
Izuku reached the serving line...
Then frowned.
"...Oh."
The tables were almost completely full.
Before he could start searching...
A familiar voice called out.
"Midoriya!"
He looked up.
Iida was already standing.
One hand resting lightly on the back of an empty chair.
"...Your seat is here."
Izuku smiled.
It was such a small thing.
A chair.
Nothing more.
And yet...
Seeing it waiting for him made something in his chest feel unexpectedly warm.
As he sat down...
He looked around the table.
"...You always do this."
Iida blinked.
"...Do what?"
"Save me a place."
"...Naturally."
"...Even when you don't know if I'll make it."
Iida looked genuinely puzzled.
"...I know you will."
"...Eventually."
The answer was so matter-of-fact...
It almost caught Izuku off guard.
That afternoon...
The class had a free study period.
Instead of heading straight for the
library...
Izuku found himself walking beside Iida.
"...Can I ask you something?"
"Certainly."
"...When did you start doing this?"
Iida thought for a moment.
"...The second week of first year."
Izuku stopped walking.
"...First year?"
"I noticed you had skipped lunch twice."
"...You remember that?"
"Of course."
He adjusted his glasses.
"As class representative..."
"I considered it my responsibility."
A tiny smile appeared.
"...After a while..."
"It simply became part of my day."
They resumed walking.
Izuku was unusually quiet.
Finally...
He asked,
"...Doesn't it ever inconvenience you?"
Iida looked genuinely surprised.
"Inconvenience me?"
"Mhm."
"You wait."
"You come looking for me."
"You organize where everyone sits."
"...That's a lot."
Iida smiled.
"...Midoriya."
"You say that as though making sure
my friend eats lunch is somehow a burden."
Those words lingered.
My friend.
So simple.
So sincere.
The next day...
Something unusual happened.
Before lunch had even started...
Izuku arrived at the cafeteria.
He was carrying two trays.
Iida arrived a few moments later.
"...Midoriya?"
Izuku smiled.
"...I got yours."
For perhaps the first time...
Tenya Iida was completely speechless.
"...You..."
"...You remembered what I usually order."
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck.
"...You always remember everyone else's routines."
"I thought..."
"...it was about time somebody remembered yours."
For a moment...
Neither of them moved.
Denki looked between them from across the room.
"...Guys?"
"...Your food's getting cold."
The spell broke immediately.
Iida cleared his throat.
"...Quite right."
"But..."
He looked at Izuku with a quiet warmth that hadn't been there before.
"...Thank you."
As they sat down together...
The reserved seat no longer felt like a
habit.
It felt like something much more personal.
A place had been waiting for Izuku
every lunchtime.
He was only just beginning to realize...
Someone had been waiting too.
The reserved seat never changed.
Same table.
Same chair.
Same routine.
By now...
The rest of Class 1-A unconsciously left it empty.
Nobody had ever discussed it.
They simply...
Knew.
One afternoon...
A group of first-year support course students entered the cafeteria before Class 1-A.
The room was unusually busy.
Every table filled quickly.
One student glanced toward the empty
chair beside Iida.
"...Is anyone sitting there?"
Before Iida could answer...
Ochaco smiled politely.
"...Actually..."
"...Yes."
The student looked around.
"...I don't see anyone."
Denki nodded.
"...He's just running late."
"...Again."
The student shrugged good-naturedly.
"Oh."
"No worries."
They found another table.
Izuku arrived less than a minute later.
Slightly out of breath.
"...Sorry!"
"I was helping Hatsume."
He looked toward the table.
The empty chair was still there.
Waiting.
Exactly where it always was.
He smiled.
"...You kept it."
Iida looked genuinely confused.
"...Naturally."
As lunch continued...
Izuku found himself watching everyone
around the table.
The conversations.
The laughter.
The easy familiarity.
Then...
Almost without thinking...
He asked,
"...Have you ever forgotten?"
Iida looked up from his meal.
"...Forgotten what?"
"...To save me a seat."
Iida considered the question seriously.
"...No."
"...Not once?"
"...Not once."
Izuku laughed softly.
"...How?"
Iida answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"...Because I know you'll come."
The words landed with surprising weight.
Not because they were dramatic.
Because they weren't.
They were simply...
Certain.
That evening...
Izuku couldn't stop thinking about them.
"Because I know you'll come."
It wasn't really about lunch.
It wasn't even about the chair.
It was about knowing someone had complete faith that he'd show up.
That there would always be a place waiting for him.
The following day...
Combat training ran well past lunchtime.
Everyone finished exhausted.
Hungry.
Sweaty.
By the time they reached the cafeteria...
Nearly every table was full.
Iida looked around.
"...Unfortunate."
"There appear to be no available seats together."
Izuku smiled.
"...Wait here."
A minute later...
He returned carrying two trays.
"...Come on."
Iida followed him curiously.
Instead of sitting inside...
Izuku led him out into the courtyard.
There...
Beneath a large tree...
Was a quiet picnic table.
Empty.
Peaceful.
"I thought..."
Izuku smiled.
"...I'd save you a seat today."
Iida stood still for a moment.
Then...
Very slowly...
He smiled.
One of those rare smiles that softened
his entire face.
"...Thank you."
They sat down together.
The breeze gently stirred the leaves overhead.
The sounds of the cafeteria became distant.
For the first time...
It wasn't Iida making space for Izuku.
It was Izuku making space for Iida.
As they ate...
Neither of them hurried.
Neither checked the time.
Neither worried about the afternoon's schedule.
Eventually...
Iida looked over.
"...May I admit something?"
"Always."
"I stopped saving you a seat because you needed reminding to eat..."
He paused.
"...Quite some time ago."
Izuku tilted his head.
"...Then why?"
A faint blush crept across Iida's cheeks.
"...Because lunch became my favourite part of the day."
Izuku's heart skipped.
Not because of what he'd said.
But because of how honestly he'd said it.
And somehow...
The seat that had always been waiting for him...
Had quietly become the place he looked forward to most too.
The next Monday...
Izuku arrived at the cafeteria early.
Not because he was especially hungry.
Because...
There was someone he wanted to have lunch with.
He carried his tray toward the familiar table.
The familiar chair.
And smiled.
Iida was already there.
"...Good afternoon, Midoriya."
"...Hi."
"You are seven minutes earlier than
usual."
Izuku laughed.
"...You've been keeping track?"
"I know approximately when everyone arrives."
"...Of course you do."
Lunch passed the way it always did.
Conversation drifted around the table.
Denki was loudly explaining why sandwiches tasted better when cut diagonally.
"They scientifically do!"
"There is no science involved," Iida replied.
"There absolutely is."
"There absolutely isn't."
Izuku laughed into his drink.
As everyone stood to return their trays...
Ochaco quietly smiled to herself.
Jirō noticed.
"...What?"
Ochaco nodded toward the two boys.
"...Look."
Jirō followed her gaze.
Without saying a word...
Izuku had picked up Iida's empty tray
along with his own.
Iida had automatically picked up Izuku's notebook from the table.
Neither of them had asked.
Neither of them had thanked the other.
They had simply...
Done it.
Jirō smiled.
"...When did that start?"
Ochaco shrugged.
"...I don't think either of them knows."
A few days later...
Heavy rain kept everyone inside during lunch.
The cafeteria felt unusually crowded.
Noisy.
Warm.
As Izuku approached the table...
A teacher stopped him.
"Midoriya."
"Could I borrow you for a moment?"
"Of course."
He glanced apologetically toward the table.
"I'll be there soon."
Iida nodded.
"We'll wait."
The conversation with the teacher lasted longer than expected.
By the time Izuku finally entered the cafeteria...
Almost every student had finished eating.
Only one table remained occupied.
Class 1-A.
One tray.
One student.
One empty chair.
Waiting.
"...You..."
Izuku blinked.
"...You all waited?"
Denki looked dramatically offended.
"Dude."
"We can't start dessert without you."
Mina nodded solemnly.
"It's illegal."
Sero added,
"Pretty sure it's in the school rules."
"It is not," Iida corrected automatically.
Then he looked at Izuku.
"...But we wished to eat together."
Izuku looked around the table.
Every single classmate had stayed.
Not because they had to.
Because they wanted to.
His eyes settled on Iida.
Who simply gestured toward the empty chair.
"...Your seat."
Later that afternoon...
The two of them walked back toward the dorms.
"...Can I ask something?"
Iida nodded.
"Certainly."
"...If I'd never shown up..."
Iida looked genuinely puzzled.
"...What do you mean?"
"If I kept missing lunch."
"If I forgot."
"If I got too busy."
He looked down at the path.
"...Would you have stopped saving me a seat?"
Iida didn't answer immediately.
Not because he was uncertain.
Because he wanted to answer carefully.
Finally...
He smiled.
"...No."
Izuku looked up.
"...No?"
"I would simply have continued coming to find you."
He adjusted his glasses.
"As many times as necessary."
A small laugh escaped Izuku.
"...You really are impossible."
"I have been told that."
"But..."
His expression softened.
"...Some people are worth being persistent for."
For a moment...
Neither of them spoke.
The afternoon sun warmed the path ahead.
And somewhere between one reserved chair...
A hundred shared lunches...
And one unwavering promise...
Izuku realized...
He'd never really been falling in love over meals.
He'd been falling in love with the certainty that, no matter how busy life became...
There would always be someone quietly saving him a place.
Several months later...
Graduation was beginning to feel real.
Agency meetings.
Work studies.
Career planning.
Mock interviews.
Everyone's schedules had become increasingly difficult to coordinate.
Some days...
Class 1-A barely saw one another outside of lessons.
Lunch had become… Unpredictable.
Some students ate early.
Others grabbed food between meetings.
A few simply skipped the cafeteria altogether.
The routine they'd shared for years had quietly begun to disappear.
One afternoon...
Izuku finally found himself with an unexpected free lunch period.
He hurried across campus.
More out of habit than anything else.
When he stepped into the cafeteria...
He looked around.
Most of the tables were full.
Students chatted excitedly about graduation.
Teachers discussed agency
placements.
The room buzzed with conversation.
Then...
He saw it.
Near the window...
At their usual table...
Sat Tenya Iida.
One tray.
One open notebook.
One empty chair beside him.
Waiting.
Iida looked up from his paperwork.
The moment he noticed Izuku...
A small smile appeared.
"...Good afternoon, Midoriya."
Izuku couldn't help laughing.
"...You saved me a seat."
"Naturally."
"...Even now?"
Iida adjusted his glasses.
"...Why would I stop?"
Izuku walked over.
The chair scraped softly against the floor as he pulled it out.
It felt...
Comfortingly familiar.
As though no time had passed at all.
They ate together quietly.
Talking about internships.
Hero agencies.
Graduation.
Future plans.
The conversation drifted easily from one subject to another.
Neither of them seemed particularly concerned by the silence in between.
Eventually...
Izuku looked across the table.
"...Can I admit something?"
"Certainly."
"I used to think..."
He smiled sheepishly.
"...that you were only saving me a seat because you were the class representative."
Iida considered that.
"...At first..."
"...Perhaps."
Izuku laughed.
"...I knew it."
"But..."
Iida's expression softened.
"...That ceased being the reason a very long time ago."
"...When?"
Iida didn't even need to think.
"...The day I realized..."
"...I looked forward to lunch because you would be there."
The words were spoken with complete
sincerity.
No embarrassment.
No hesitation.
Simply...
The truth.
Lunch eventually came to an end.
The cafeteria slowly emptied.
Students returned to classes.
Meetings.
Training.
The future.
Izuku and Iida carried their trays to the return counter together.
As they turned to leave...
Izuku glanced back toward the table.
The chair had already been pushed neatly back underneath.
Waiting for tomorrow.
Just as it always had.
He smiled quietly.
"...You know..."
"What is it?"
"...I don't think it was ever really about the chair."
Iida followed his gaze.
Then smiled.
"...No."
"...It wasn't."
The afternoon sun spilled through the cafeteria windows.
The two of them stepped out into the hallway together.
Their footsteps naturally falling into the same rhythm.
Neither hurried ahead.
Neither fell behind.
Some people expressed love through grand declarations.
Others...
Through dramatic gestures.
Tenya Iida never needed either.
He expressed it one lunchtime at a time.
One shared meal.
One quiet conversation.
One chair kept empty.
Day after day.
Year after year.
Not because he expected someone to arrive.
But because he wanted them to know...
That no matter how busy life became...
There would always be a place waiting for them beside him.