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There are times when Midoriya Izuku wishes he could be more like Uraraka Ochako.
Uraraka isn’t shy like Izuku is. When anyone comes into the Kamui Wood Cafe, she’s there to greet them by name if she knows it and with a smile if she doesn’t. She strikes up conversations at the counter and never fails to make people smile.
Izuku just makes the drinks and remains, as always, too nervous to talk to anyone without becoming a stuttering mess.
It's eight o’clock on a normal Thursday night. The busiest part of the evening is over, even though there's another hour until closing. There are a few people at tables across the cafe, laptops out and coffee cups too large for the time of night already half-empty. It's quiet - the chatty people have all left by now and the only people here are the students who have papers due tomorrow.
Uraraka’s chatting with the guy sitting at the table closest to the counter. Apparently, they're in the same calculus class.
Iida’s wiping down the empty tables with almost automatic motions. He moves from one table to the next in seconds, spraying down the table with one hand and wiping it dry with a paper towel with the other.
And Izuku’s putting the finishing touches on a latte behind the counter. He's not good at latte art by any stretch, but he can make a pretty flower at the very least, and that's what he adds to every for-here order.
“Small latte with soy milk, for here!” He calls, sliding the mug down to the end of the counter.
Someone comes up to take the mug with a thank you and a smile. Uraraka probably knows her name, but Izuku doesn't, so he just smiles back and hopes it isn't awkward.
“Hey, Deku!” Uraraka calls from the register. “I'm going to put my music on, can you man the counter if anyone comes in?”
“Y-yeah, I think so!” Izuku calls back, sliding down the counter as Uraraka heads over to the speaker in the corner, phone in hand.
“Wait, are you changing the music?” Iida asks.
“Yes, your smooth jazz is putting me to sleep!” Uraraka laughs. “We still have another hour until closing, I can't last that long!”
“I have other music-”
“Like what?”
As if on cue, the jazz fades into silence and the opening riff of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” blasts through the cafe.
“Oh.” Uraraka nods, trying to hold back a giggle. “I see.”
The bell over the door jingles, catching Izuku’s attention. Uraraka’s been away from the counter for thirty seconds, obviously his luck is just bad enough to have someone walk in-
The man walking into the cafe is, to put it bluntly, really really pretty. Izuku has no idea how someone wearing something as plain as black Converse high-tops could look that pretty. He wears black Converse high-tops sometimes and there's no way he could ever look that pretty. Maybe it's the fact that the man’s wearing all black while looking more elegant than emo. That's probably due to the shoes and the black bomber jacket.
But that just makes Izuku notice his hair - red on the left, white on the right, neatly parted down the middle. And his face - there’s a scar over his left eye, but other than that, his skin is smooth and bright. And his eyes - the left blue, the right brown, both colors bold in a way that draws Izuku in like quicksand. And everything else about him.
God, he’s beautiful .
“Hi, welcome to Kamui Wood!” Uraraka shouts from next to the speaker, shooting Izuku a look.
The man nods and walks up to the counter and oh god why does Izuku have to be manning the counter now ?
“H-hi, welcome to Kamui Wood, w-what can I get started for you today?” Izuku tries and fails to keep his composure.
“Um, hi.” The man frowns - oh no he thinks Izuku’s weird and they’re going to lose a customer and it’s all his fault - and looks up at the options up on the chalkboard on the back wall. “Can I get a medium mocha?”
“Okay.” Izuku nods, watching Uraraka get back behind the counter out of the corner of his eye. “D-do you want milk or dark chocolate?”
The man pauses in thought. “...Dark.”
“And f-for here or to go?” Izuku asks.
“To go.”
Uraraka whispers something excitedly under her breath, but Izuku has no idea what or why.
“All right, we’ll whip that r-right up!” Izuku grabs a to-go cup and writes down the order, handing the cup to Uraraka.
The man goes to sit down at one of the tables and another customer comes in. The next order is a lot easier for Izuku to take.
“Medium mocha, dark chocolate, to go!” Uraraka singsongs, sliding the drink along the counter. There’s a black Sharpie in her hair that almost falls out as she talks, but she’s clearly trying to keep it hidden.
The man picks it up, looking at the cup with a frown before he turns on his heel and leaves the shop, bell jingling over the door as it slams shut.
Izuku doesn’t make much of it, finishing his shift without much trouble. He helps everyone close up, a little after nine when all the customers have left, and when the doors are locked, he walks home with Uraraka just like he usually does. They both exchange “See you tomorrow”s with Iida as he walks the other way down the sidewalk.
Uraraka has a spring in her step and a smile on her face that she’s obviously trying to hide. She’s seemed happy ever since she made that mocha, and Izuku has no idea why.
“Are you all right?” Izuku asks.
“Fine!” Uraraka flashes him a thumbs-up. “Just glad to be done, that’s all!”
Izuku has the weirdest feeling that she’s lying about that. “You know, you shouldn’t have caffeine so late, you aren’t going to sleep well.”
“It’s not caffeine, Deku!”
“Then what is it?”
“Don’t worry about it!” Uraraka laughs. “Really, if anyone needs caffeine right now, it’s you. Don’t you have a paper due tomorrow?”
“Yeah, but-”
“Did you finish it already?” Uraraka asks, eyes wide.
“No!” Izuku chuckles. “Definitely not. But I’ve outlined the whole thing, I just need to write it.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah.”
They walk in silence a little longer in the dark, barely encountering anyone on the street. The walk back to their dorm from the cafe isn’t a long one, but it always seems longer when there isn’t anyone around.
When they get inside, they take the stairs instead of the elevator, since Izuku’s room is on the second floor and Uraraka’s is on the third. It’s one more push after standing up for four hours, but it’s doable.
“Well, goodnight!” Uraraka grins. “Good luck on that paper!”
“Thanks.” Izuku smiles back. “See you tomorrow!”
“See you!”
Uraraka heads up the stairs as Izuku walks down the second-floor hallway to his room. He unlocks the door and puts his bag down on his bed before sitting next to it, leaning back against the wall.
He takes his phone out of the front pocket of his backpack for the first time in four hours. There are three texts waiting for him, each one given its own separate blurb on his lockscreen.
The oldest unread message is one from his roommate, Kirishima, who’s on a study date - knowing him, there’s a lot more emphasis on date. The next one is from someone in his chemistry class, asking him what he’s doing for the review.
The last text is from an unknown number, and his first thought is that it’s just spam or a wrong number. Around ninety percent of the time, that’s what it is.
But as soon as he opens the text, he knows this situation definitely falls into the other ten percent.
From: XXXXXXXXXX
9:04 PM
This number was written on my mocha at Kamui Wood, so I thought I’d say hello.
Izuku narrows his eyes at the text, trying to make sense of it, before he realizes what’s going on.
The Sharpie in Uraraka’s hair. The excitement in her voice when she yelled out the order. The smile she couldn’t shake when they were walking home.
Izuku screams into his pillow, extremely glad Kirishima isn’t home right now. He doesn’t know whether to be mad at Uraraka for embarrassing him or thankful for giving him the opportunity to talk to the man from the shop again.
What is he supposed to say? “Hi nice to meet you”? “Well this is awkward”? “I think my friend’s trying to set us up I’m so so so so sorry”? This guy probably doesn’t even know whose number he has. For all he knows, he might think he’s texting Uraraka right now.
Izuku groans. He has to at least sort that out.
To: XXXXXXXXXX
9:17 PM
Yeah hi!
He hits send before he can say anything else he’ll regret. He’s walking on thin ice right now and he knows it; any wrong move could ruin everything. He’ll introduce himself when it feels right.
His phone buzzes and he jumps.
From: XXXXXXXXXX
9:18 PM
Were you at the register?
That was easy.
To: XXXXXXXXXX
9:18 PM
Yeah
Izuku realizes right after hitting send that the guy thinks he wrote his own number on the cup, even though he didn’t. What if he thinks he’s too bold or too obvious or too much ? But he can’t clear that up without saying that he didn’t write the number himself but that would make him seem pathetic and why is Uraraka like this -
Another buzz.
From: XXXXXXXXXX
9:18 PM
Oh.
Izuku clutches the phone to his chest and lies back on the bed with a groan. What does that even mean? Is that a positive oh or a negative oh?
From: XXXXXXXXXX
9:19 PM
If you don’t mind, could we talk sometime tomorrow or the next day?
Izuku’s heart cannot handle any of this.
To: XXXXXXXXXX
9:19 PM
Totally, I’m working 5-9 tomorrow so you can stop by anytime!
Every four-hour shift, Izuku gets one fifteen-minute break. Is fifteen minutes enough to sort something like this out? He hopes it is.
From: XXXXXXXXXX
9:20 PM
Thank you.
Izuku still doesn’t know if that’s positive or negative or both or neither and his heart is racing at the speed of sound.
From: XXXXXXXXXX
9:21 PM
I’m Todoroki Shouto, by the way.
Izuku blinks. As stupid as it sounds, he didn't think Todoroki could have a name. Don't angels have names that can't be spoken in human tongues or something like that?
He's briefly tempted to slap himself in the face. This is real, it's happening, and he needs to get a grip if he doesn't want to ruin this chance.
To: XXXXXXXXXX
9:21 PM
I'm Midoriya Izuku, nice to meet you!!
He drops his phone onto the other end of the bed and brings his knees to his chest. Does he have a date tomorrow? Does that count as a date? Todoroki said he wanted to talk, what does that mean?
When Kirishima gets back, Izuku still hasn't worked on the paper.
“How are you?” Uraraka asks on the way to work the next day, like nothing’s wrong.
“Fine,” Izuku answers.
“Did you finish that history paper?”
“Yeah.” Izuku stayed up until three in the morning to finish it, but that counts.
“That's good.” Uraraka smiles. “Anything interesting happen last night?”
Izuku freezes in his tracks. “I don't know, you tell me.”
“Wait, did he actually call you?” Uraraka stops, too, eyes wide. “I didn't-”
“He texted me,” Izuku says, “He said he wanted to talk-”
“What, when?” Uraraka grins. “Does this mean you have a date?”
“I don't know, I'll find out tonight.” Izuku’s already freaking out and he hasn't even gotten to work yet. He's going to have to take the register the whole time because if he doesn't, he's definitely going to spill hot coffee on himself.
“Do you need a pep talk?” Uraraka asks. “If you don't want one from me, I can ask Iida to give you one, he's good at those.”
Izuku sighs. “I have no idea.”
“Sorry for springing this on you.” Uraraka’s smile turns sheepish and a little ashamed. “I thought it would help you get off on the right foot, but now you're nervous and-”
“It's fine.” Izuku gives her a smile in return. He definitely didn't have the guts to do what she did, but there was definitely a part of him that wanted to. And thanks to her, here he is. He's just scared. Really, really scared.
Uraraka gets to the shop first and rubs away the condensation on the window to get a look inside. “Iida’s in there, I'll ask him to give you some encouragement. Come on!”
Before Izuku can protest, Uraraka’s already dragging him into Kamui Wood with a strength no one except him and the people in her weight training class know she possesses. Of course she would take weight training for her required physical education elective. Of course.
“Iida!” She shouts, dragging Izuku back behind the counter toward the break room. “Deku’s going to talk to his crush tonight, so when he gets his stuff on, can you tell him he's going to do great?”
“...I'll try.” Iida nods, slightly confused but determined.
“Did you really have to reveal all that here ?” Izuku hisses. Iida’s not the only person behind the counter, Jirou’s here and so is-
“Wait, Midoriya, you have a crush?” Kaminari leans over toward him with a grin, still measuring out some milk for a drink. “I didn't know that!” He turns to Jirou and asks, “Did you know that?”
Jirou shakes her head. “You talk to him more than I do.”
“Who is it?” Kaminari asks, always the local gossip. “Are they coming here?”
“Can it, you're just freaking him out more.” Jirou gives Izuku a little smile. “Don't worry about it, you got this.”
“Thank you!” Izuku runs back toward the break room to clock in, put his backpack down, and slip on the standard apron, running into Kaminari and Jirou on the way out, both clocking out right at five. He heads to the register and takes his first order of the night, but not before Kaminari obnoxiously yells “Good luck!” as he walks out.
“I was asked to give you some encouragement,” Iida says in between orders, his voice noticeably calmer than both Kaminari’s and Uraraka’s. “Would you still like it?”
“Sure.” Izuku nods. “Fire away.”
“It's just a conversation,” Iida says, “You have plenty of experience with those.”
“Yeah, you took his order just fine yesterday!” Uraraka adds, “You didn't explode then, and you won't now!”
“You're also a generally likeable person, and for good reason,” Iida continues, “You managed to set this up-”
“And that means he at least kind of likes you!” Uraraka interrupts, “You're going to be fine, right, Iida?”
“Right.”
“Thank, guys.” Izuku fiddles with his hands and looks right at the door, just waiting for the bell to jingle and for Todoroki to walk in and for this to happen so it can be over and he doesn't have to freak out about it anymore.
When the bell rings, it's the only thing Izuku can hear.
Todoroki looks just as good today as he did yesterday, which shouldn't be a surprise but definitely still is. But there's something different about him today, and Izuku has no idea what it is.
“Want me to take over the register?” Uraraka whispers.
“Yeah,” Izuku whispers back.
Todoroki catches his eye and starts walking up to the counter and oh god this is actually happening -
“H-hi, Todoroki!” Izuku squeaks out.
“...Hi.” Todoroki frowns. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, totally!” Izuku nods erratically, stepping out behind the counter. “Back here.”
He doesn't even wait for Todoroki to follow him before he's walking back to the break room, heart racing in his chest. He's never been this nervous, this is all just moving so fast .
“I'm sorry,” he says as soon as the door is shut behind the two of them.
“For what?” Todoroki narrows his eyes in confusion. ”I was the one who asked.”
“No, it's not that, my-” Izuku sighs. “My friend wrote my number on the cup, she’s... like that sometimes.”
“So you don't-”
“Nonono, I just needed you to know before- before anything else happens.” Izuku is truly incredible at this why is he so nervous -
“Right.” Todoroki slowly nods. “About that.”
“Yeah?” This is the part where Izuku gets a no, he can just feel it-
“How does this weekend sound?” Todoroki’s cheeks are redder than they've ever been, and it might just be the room temperature but he definitely isn't cool and collected anymore.
Wait. “Like a date?”
“...Yes.”
Izuku doesn't know what to say. He could faint. How did this happen? “...Yeah, sure.”
“That was... simple,” Todoroki says.
“Yeah, really!” Izuku laughs. “Sorry this room is so stuffy, this was probably a lot more awkward than it needed to be.”
Todoroki shrugs. “It happened.” He's the first one to go for the door again, turning around with his hand on the knob. “I'll text you.”
“O-okay!” Izuku bobs his head up and down as blood rushes to his cheeks. How did he do that?
Things are easier when he gets back to the counter. Uraraka and Iida switch off register duty, and Izuku’s never realized the therapeutic potential of just making drinks for three hours. Iida’s phone is plugged into the speaker again, playing the same classic rock and smooth jazz as yesterday, and it's hard to believe it's only been one day since “Walk This Way”. But plenty has changed since then.
There are times when Midoriya Izuku wishes he could be more like Uraraka Ochako, but most of the time, having her around is enough for him.