You looked at the clock on the wall of the restaurant.

7:38 pm.

He's running late. Maybe he's still at work.

You knew it would be a bit difficult but you decided to wait patiently.

"A huge explosion heard from the Iron factory. Witnesses say that-" You kept listening to the news that they were playing on one of the TV'S.

Maybe that's why he's late?

"Excuse me, Miss, are you ready to order?" One of the waitresses asked you kindly.

"Huh? Oh, not yet I'm waiting for someone." They nodded and went back to serving other customers.

As time flew by this all seemed too familiar.

Being alone at a restaurant, watching time slowly pass by,

"And here we are once again! Here on Japan News, I'm standing next to someone we all know and love, the number one Hero Deku! Can you please tell me-"

Heros on TV. Time passing by. All that was left was the call. The call that would go something along the lines of 'I'm held up at work so I'm gonna be late' or 'I'm not gonna make it, sorry.' and they would end up standing you up.

You carefully watched your phone, waiting for it to ring. It was already 8:34 pm.

He's not coming.

You let out a long sigh. You honestly thought that by not being an actual hero, that this would be different or that it would be easier.

As you stood up you overheard the hostess saying "Of course right this way." Followed by a very familiar voice saying "Thank you."

You turned in his direction and you could already hear the apology from a mile away by the look on his face.

With a final bow towards the hostess, Izuku looked towards you and before he could start rambling on about how sorry he was for making you wait, you held up your hand.

"The important thing is that you came nonetheless." You responded and took a seat. Izuku felt a wave of relief when you said that and let out a breath he was holding.

"I was caught up in hero work..." He mumbled sadly.

You let out a chuckle and gestured towards the TV. "From seeing Deku on the news, I knew you would be there a while."

"Sorry about that. But let's not talk about my work, how have you been?" You raised your eyebrows, a bit surprised by the change in subject. You were used to your date telling you all about their Hero filled day so it was refreshing to have a different kind of conversation.

I shouldn't give up on him so easily.

The night went on much better than you expected, you two would not stop talking and the food was great, not to mention Izuku insisted on paying the full bill.

"Thank you for coming!" The hostess waved goodbye as you two left the restaurant.

Izuku opened the front door for you but since you were so focused on his act of chivalry, you ended up bumping into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"No it was my fau- Kirishima?" You spoke somewhat surprised.

"Y/n." He had his eyebrows raised as he stared at you but then he noticed someone else leaving the restaurant with you. "Izuku?"

"Kirishima? What are you doing here?"

"I was gonna have dinner with my sidekicks since they did a good job today." He then turned his attention back to you. "It's been a while, huh?" He shrugged his shoulders somewhat awkwardly.

"Yeah..." Was all you could muster up.

"You guys know each other already?" Izuku asked sensing an awkward atmosphere. You scratched the back of your head in embarrassment.

"Well, ya see we used to date a while back." You answered not looking at either one of the boys.

"Oh." Was all Izuku could think of answering.

"How have you been?" You asked Kirishima wanting to end the conversation as quickly as possible.

"I've been doing well, Amajiki and the others miss having you around." He let out a chuckle.

"Right, I should say hi to them one of these days."

"Yeah, come by anytime." He then turned to the green-haired boy. "And how have you been doing Izuku? I bet hero work has been tough on you lately." Izuku could feel himself start to tense up.

"Yeah, working for Deku can be pretty exhausting these days." He let out a chuckle. Kirishima was confused at first but then realized what was going on.

"Right," He looked back at you with a soft smile. "So are you two...?" He urged you to continue.

"Oh! Well, I'm.." You were a bit embarrassed to say it out loud but Izuku decided to swoop in and proudly announce,

"Yeah, we recently started going out." Kirishima seemed surprised and nodded his head approvingly.

"Well, I'm happy for you two. Hey Izuku can I talk to you for a sec? It's about Deku's company." You took note of the 'it's a private hero thing' vibe he was giving off.

"I've gotta call Celest." You gave a small wave. 

"Tell her I say hi!" Kirishima smiled remembering the spunky redhead. You nodded with a thumbs' up and walked far enough to not hear the conversation, respecting their privacy.

Kirishima then changed his kind expression to a more serious one. "So I'm guessing you haven't told her yet, have you?" Izuku looked away and shook his head as he rubbed his arm.

"But I plan on telling her." He added. Kirishima let out a sigh.

"Listen Izuku, she's..." Kirishima glanced over at you, seeing you laugh as you talked on the phone with your best friend. "She's a great girl. She's really nice and considerate, please tell her soon." He looked back to his school friend, sincerity evident in his tone.

Izuku could see it in his expression, it was plain as day. "You really loved her, didn't you..." Izuku thought out loud making Kirishima blush.

"L-Look, all I'm saying is that the main reason we didn't work out is that I'm a Hero. Just as you are Izuku. Please don't bring her hopes up, she doesn't need to go through something like that again." He mumbled the last part but Izuku clearly didn't miss it.

"I will, I promise. And, thanks, you know, for looking out for her." Kirishima could see you slowly approaching them and showed you his signature smile.

"I should get going, they're probably waiting for me inside. It was nice seeing you again Y/n." You gave a slight bow.

"It was nice seeing you too. Good luck with your hero work." Izuku also said his goodbyes and soon enough Kirishima was gone.

"So how's Celest?" Izuku asked trying to lighten the mood.

"She's doing well. She told me that she had already sold the old place and now it's all hands on deck to get the new place we got to tip-top shape." Izuku let out a small chuckle.

"Looks like you've got a lot of work ahead of you." He reached out and took your hand in his. "What do you say we head to my place for a cup of coffee before you go?" You couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside when his fingers intertwined with yours.

"That sounds great."

-

"DID YOU JUST BLUE SHELL ME?!"

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR PUSHING ME OFF RAINBOW ROAD." Okay, you two did have coffee at first but once you two decided to start playing video games, things got a bit more intense.

"HA! I win!" You shouted obviously proud of the fact that you still got first place.

"Hey, I let you win." Izuku pouted as he looked at his avatar cry from losing.

"Sureeeee." You teased. "So what do you want to do now?"

"How about Uno?"

"Do you like arguing with me?" You couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Maybe we should take a break, maybe watch a movie?" You looked at the time on the clock and started rethinking your options.

"It's getting pretty late if you want I can take you home." Izuku offered. You knew that the busses weren't working at this time so you took the offer graciously.

"That'd be great." You gather your things and made your way out of the apartment with Izuku and towards his car.

It was a short ride home, and all too soon you were at your door saying goodbye. "I had a really great time today, thanks."

"Yeah me too. By the way, if you need any help with the shop just let me know, I'd be happy to lend a hand." You smiled sweetly towards his kindness.

"Thanks, but you've gotta focus on your work, I can't be distracting you."

"It's no problem really." Izuku would fidget around in place remembering what he talked to Kirishima about before. "So Y/n, I've been meaning to tell you something." He began, not making eye contact with you.

"Yeah?" You urged him to continue. You could tell he was uncomfortable making you slightly worried.

"You see I'm, well I actually there's this thing. Are you, um." He tried to find the right words but it was a lot harder than he initially thought. "Are you okay with me, you know, working for Deku? Him, him being a hero and all?" He physically gulped but you didn't understand why he was so nervous to ask you something like that.

"Well, I knew it would be a bit hard at first but," You leaned on the doorway, letting yourself get comfortable. "You may work for a hero but you aren't one so that makes it easier with your working hours and you don't have to constantly work 24/7." You shrug your shoulders.

Izuku really wanted to tell you, he really did but something inside him said not yet. Maybe his instincts? Or maybe it was the memory of the constant robberies and attacks he had in the back of his mind that were telling him to be cautious.

Maybe it's best to let the villain acts go down first and make sure she's safe before telling her.

"That's true." He responded finally looking at you in the eyes. A smile pulled on your lips as he started relaxing. "I'm, I'm really glad I met you Y/n."

"Yeah, same here." You walked over to him and gave him a small peck on the lips. "Thanks for today," Izuku was blushing harder than ever and you tried your best to stifle your giggling. "See you later." You walked back into your apartment and closed your door.

This girls' gonna be the end of me.

~ Celestial-red & MMSpaMEM ~