Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku was trying really hard not to overthink things.

Easier said than done when overthinking may as well be his middle name!

The big day had finally arrived, and his nerves weren’t doing all that well. As he walked towards the class 1-A dorms carrying a large and somewhat heavy basket in each hand, Izuku decided to go over his preparations once again, just to have something he could focus on, and calm down.

The weather report had said that today would be perfect for what he had planned, and looking up at the blue, cloudless sky, he saw little reason to doubt the meteorological department’s presenters. The rains yesterday had been lighter than expected, so the grass should have dried up, though it wouldn’t have been too much of an issue anyway given the large, thick blanket he had brought.

In his regular morning runs, he had found the perfect location too. There was a path leading from the first year hero course student dorms into a section of the surrounding forest (still within campus premises), and would lead close to one of the forest training zones before looping back to the main building of the school. Barely a fifth of the way to the training zone, Izuku had discovered a beautiful little clearing that looked like it had been created exactly for what he had in mind. It was easy to overlook from the trail, thanks to a couple of bushes hiding the entrance to the spot in plain sight, so they should have privacy even in the unlikely scenario of someone coming along the path. The big trees surrounding the clearing would also provide cover should a freak shower appear out of nowhere.

Perfect for a simple first date picnic.

The real selling point, though, was the scenery!

From what he had seen of the Yaoyorozu Estate, and from some of the things he had heard about their family trips abroad, Izuku figured his girlfriend would feel right at home being surrounded by such a picturesque scene...

...unless the whole beast forest ordeal or the Pussycat’s training trail of hell during summer camp had ruined it for her, True to form, his brain threatened turning even the most serene visual into a writhing sea of disturbed emotional turmoil.

But, resolutely refusing to board that particular train of thought, Izuku quickly pivoted to the numerous supplies he was carrying with him, looking back at how he had worked so hard to get everything ready for this very day.

The stars of the show were the Katsu sandwiches based on his Mom’s recipe that he had been practicing. Not only had they gotten Mei’s stamp of approval, even impartial judges like Furasu-san had liked them very much. If they had turned out only half as good as his Mom’s then Momo would love them, that he was sure about.

Next was a healthier option to balance things out in the form of a broccoli salad. It was a bit of a risk, Izuku had to admit. Not everyone was a fan of raw broccoli. Even for him, it had very much been an acquired taste, thanks to his Mom. As a child, he had tried hard to weasel his way out of eating that particular side dish whenever she made it, but her repeated reminders that strong Heroes like All Might had to eat their veggies to stay strong and healthy eventually wore him down, and in time he had learned to appreciate it.

If the salad didn't land, Izuku had another palate cleanser up his sleeve. Having found some eggs in the fridge, he had decided to add some Tamagoyaki to the mix. Can't go wrong with sliced omelet rolls! Compared to the rest of his ensemble, it was a relatively simpler recipe, so he had gotten a little careless by letting it cook for a bit too long. While there was some browning that ruined the "picture perfect uniform yellow" of omelet rolls, it tasted excellent. He had to physically stop Mei from jumping for seconds, as there were only so many eggs he had, and he hoped Momo wouldn't get too offended by his poor presentation. 

Stepping around a loose cobblestone on the path, Izukyu heard soft rustling sounds from the baskets. Remembering what was making that noise, and where they were from, he smiled lightly. Joining Furasu-san on her shopping trip had paid off big time! Mei, sharp eyed as ever, spotted some Inari pockets on sale, which inspired him to add some Inari Sushi to the menu. They had gotten there just in time for him to get the last of their stock.

Another great find during their supply run was something Izuku stumbled upon in the baked goods section. The store got some delicious looking cotton cheesecake on offer, which he thought would make for a pretty good dessert. There were also some nice looking chocolate muffins that he got for Mei as a little token of his appreciation for her help.

The final thing he had gotten from the store was more of a spontaneous buy. Izuku really wanted to get Momo a little present that wasn’t edible so he took a little excursion into the cosmetics aisle, a choice he quickly came to regret. Unfamiliar as he was with make-up or perfumes, it dawned on him that his girlfriend was likely used to better stuff than what would be sold at a supermarket, possibly including higher end limited exclusives. When Mei loudly asked him across several aisles whether he needed anything else for his date, he got some surprising help.

At first, Izuku did not appreciate that she let the whole friggin’ store know, even if it wasn’t that crowded at the time. But there was a silver lining to his embarrassment. When Mei called out for him, a young lady employee of the store had been restocking some product in the cosmetics aisle. She did not need much beyond her words and Izuku’s tentative and unsure expression to put two and two together. After verbally confirming that he was looking for a gift, she handed him a bottle of perfume with a playful wink and Izuku was too nervous and embarrassed to question or reject it. Seeing the luxurious wavy hair and ear rings that the employee was wearing he figured that she was a pretty stylish person (despite being dressed down in the store uniform), so Izuku decided to simply trust her recommendation.

Last but not least, cooking dinner for everyone had gotten Izuku some leftovers to work with. Ito and his buddies had refused to even try anything he had made, instead deciding to get some pizza again. That left a lot of rice for him, which he decided to use to make Onigiri. He had to improvise a little with the fillings, but that was okay – having some variety in the types of rice balls shouldn’t be an issue. From what he had gathered during all the times he had lunch with his girlfriend, she very much enjoyed trying new things and there were decent odds that at least one of the flavors he had prepared would surprise her.

In short Izuku had done everything in his power to set this date up for success!

All that was left to do was to get to the 1-A dorms, pick up his girlfriend and get this show on the road.

Once he finally reached the front door of his destination, he couldn’t help but hesitate – not only because of his nervousness for the date, but also because of who else he might run into.

Intellectually, he knew that his former childhood friend would not be waiting in ambush behind this door. For all his faults, Bakugou’s desire to become a Hero should outweigh his hatred for him. Additionally, the fact that he was on pretty good terms with the rest of the class would mean that he would have people come to his defense should he come under attack anyways. The fear response that had been ingrained in him through a decade of abuse, though, wasn’t all that impressed by such trivial things as logic.

After taking a deep breath or ten, he didn’t really count, Izuku managed to get himself under control and knock. Despite his anxieties and nervousness flaring up, but he actually wanted this!

Shortly after knocking, Izuku was greeted by class 1-A’s resident punk rock fan opening the door and looking at him in surprise and said...

“Woah, dude, you’re here already? You’re pretty early!” 

“H-hi! There was something I needed to get from here before we head out.” Izuku explained. “Can I talk to Momo real quick?”

“Nah, man, Yaomomo’s busy getting ready in her room. Probably not a good idea to disturb her. What do you need? Maybe I can help?” The purple-haired girl offered.

“W-well, I wanted to take her out for a picnic and hoped to get some of her tea to go with...” If there was one thing he knew about his girlfriend’s preferences, it was her overwhelming love for tea. Unfortunately for him, that also meant that she had quite the refined palate in that regard, and all the blends he had heard her mention fondly were pricey. He could have afforded some, but without the experience to properly prepare it, all he’d get for his troubles was expensive, bitter leaf juice. With that in mind, he had figured that it would be smarter to focus his efforts on the food and simply let Momo brew some of her favorite tea before heading out.

“Ahhh, okay! If you want I can make a pot while she gets ready, should save you two some time.” Jirou offered him as she likely realized his reasoning. “I’ve seen her doing it often enough that I should be able to make it just how she likes it.”

“R-really?! That would be great, thank you!” Izuku gratefully accepted. Still, it made him wonder how much tea his girlfriend was drinking exactly. They haven't been in the dorms that long. Hopefully, she was switching it up with milder blends from time to time because that much caffeine could not be healthy!

With that Izuku followed the purple haired girl into their dorm and towards the kitchen island. Putting down the big and heavy baskets, he quickly fished out the large thermos he had gotten for the tea, while Jirou got a high-end electric kettle out from one of the cupboards. She also got a really fancy looking clay teapot with flower motifs engraved into it, before turning back to him and giving his thermos a look over.

“Sorry man, but I gotta do that in batches. No way Yaomomo’s little teapot can hold enough to fill that huge thing up in one go!” The purple haired girl told him, sounding a little apologetic as she started heating the water up.

“N-no problem! I’ve got time!” He stuttered out in reply, though he wasn’t being completely truthful. He really would rather get out of here sooner than later to minimize the risk of running into Bakugou. Izuku had enough on his plate trying to take care of his girlfriend, he did not need a verbal confrontation on top of it all!

Thankfully, they were mostly alone in the common room. The only other person in the room was Aoyama-kun, who was currently busy watching what Izuku assumed to be French morning news. He obviously did not understand a single word, but some quick timezone math in his head told him it should be sometime in the morning over there.

“Okay, now we gotta wait and let it seep for a bit.” Jirou announced after she had poured the water from the electric kettle into the clay teapot that contained an infuser with leaves that she had gotten from a small, dark green tea tin. After setting a timer on her phone she addressed him again. “So a picnic? Don’t you think two huge baskets may be a little overkill?”

“W-well, you know Momo, she’s got a healthy appetite.” Izuku replied awkwardly. “I’d rather bring too much than risk leaving her hungry.”

“Yeah, sure, but if you filled both of those things up then you might have enough food to make Yaomomo skip dinner!” The purple-haired girl exclaimed. “How much food did you buy?”

“I actually made most of the food myself.” Izuku revealed to the hero course girl. “I-it’s our first date, I kinda wanted to make sure its special.”

“Seriousyl dude?! How long did you slave away in the kitchen for all of that?” Jirou asked him in complete disbelief while gesturing at the two large baskets he had put on the kitchen island between them.

“It was quite a bit of work, I must admit but it was not that ba…”

“As-tu emporté du fromage?” Aoyama, who had stopped watching TV and had walked up to them without either him or Jirou noticing, interrupted.

“W-what?!” Izuku stammered out in surprise afterwards, while Jirou’s phone started beeping, forcing the girl to return her attention to the tea.

“Pardon. I wanted to ask whether you packed any fromage.” The half french boy said, unfortunately forgetting to translate a very important word in that sentence.

“I don’t know what that i…” Izuku tried to reply, but before he was able to finish, the blonde boy had already walked past him and started rummaging through the fridge. He guessed that Aoyama had decided that it would be faster to just show him.

While Jirou was busy filling his thermos with the first batch of tea and getting started on the second, Aoyama got several wedges of cheese in varying sizes out of the fridge before getting to work of cutting slices off them with utensils he got from the cupboard under the kitchen island.

“Dude, what are you doing? Can’t you see that he is already loaded up enough already?” Jirou asked her classmate after the next batch of tea was seeping in the teapot.

“There is always space for a little fromage and no meal is complete without it!” Aoyama confidently asserted as he continued cutting his cheese and assembling what looked to be a cheese platter.

“You’re the only one here that munches on cheese after every meal, Aoyama…” The purple-haired girl pointed out flatly to the blonde boy.

“True, but Mademoiselle Yaoyorozu does enjoy the finer things in life, so I’m confident she’d like having some cheese for an occasion like this.” Aoyama countered while he assembled the slices of cheese on a plate. “Also, I wish to show my own appreciation with this gift because…”

The blonde boy’s face, which seemed to be stuck in a perpetual playful smile until this moment, shifted into a worried frown before he addressed Izuku. “That day in the mall was… bad in many ways. It is still making waves around the world and I don’t think I ever thanked you properly for showing us the way to escape. Please accept this humble gift, mon ami! I’m sure both you and your copine will like it.”

With such a strong, heartfelt sentiment behind the gift, Izuku couldn’t find it in his heart to reject the proffered cheese platter. It took a little work to fit it into one of the baskets, though, despite the platter not being particularly large.

“Thank you Aoyama-kun! I don’t exactly know a lot about cheese but I’ll appreciate it nonetheless!” Izuku thanked the blond boy, whose playful smile from earlier had returned and seemed to be a little brighter as well.

“It was my pleasure. Enjoy your little rendezvous! If you need anything from me, I’ll be in my room.” Aoyama said as he got ready to leave.

“You might wanna get started on your English homework if you have time.” Jirou called after her classmate while he walked away.

“Urghhhh… I know.” Aoyama responded to that reminder with a more sour tone and expression, before mumbling to himself. “Pourquoi dois-je me familiariser avec l'anglais de toute façon?”

“Yaomomo usually likes to remind us when homework comes due and offer help with it if we’re struggling.” Jirou explained when her classmate left. “This weekend, though, her mind has been somewhere else so I want to make sure she doesn’t have a reason to feel like she has neglected her duties or some crap like that.”

“O-oh… sorry about that…” Izuku awkwardly apologized, figuring that their date plans might be the reason why Momo had been distracted.

“Nah, it's fine!” Jirou waved him off. “It’s better if she lives a little. She ain’t getting paid enough to be our Mom!”

Shortly after that the purple-haired girl’s phone went off again, signalling that this batch was done. After filling it into his thermos, Izuku estimated that one more batch of tea should be enough to top him off, which Jirou immediately started brewing for him.

As the final batch was busy seeping, Izuku’s attention was drawn to the return of the elevator that Aoyama had left in, revealing a sight that made him lose his breath.

Momo had just arrived!

She was wearing a burgundy blouse that was halfway between elegant and casual, paired with a slightly beyond knee length, cream colored skirt. What really stunned him, though, was her look from the shoulder up. For one, she was wearing her hair down, although she must have done something with it. Unless he was imagining things, it had more volume and luster than he had ever seen. Similarly, she seemed to have put a lot of effort into her makeup, even if it was more subdued than it had been back on I-island before the ill fated Gala event. 

“Kyoka, I need your opinion. Do you think my makeup is a little too…” His girlfriend started as she walked into the common room, before spotting him standing next to the kitchen counter. “Izuku?! You’re here early!”

“He showed up early to get some of your tea for the picnic he wants to take you on.” Jirou told while chuckling at his expense, when Izuku tried and miserably failed to get his mouth and vocal chords working again. Not an easy task when the world class beauty you are dating has just entered the room, in all her splendor! “And since you were busy, I offered to brew your tea. The sooner you can get going, the better.”

“So I assume our ploy to distract certain people was a success?” Momo cryptically asked her friend.

“Kirishima asked Mina to go for a run with him about an hour ago, so unless you run into them you should be safe.” Jirou started. “Camie got Toru occupied. She got a crapton of makeup and is apparently trying to find out what her face looks like. If you leave after the last batch of tea is ready, you should be able to get away without either of them noticing a thing.”

“Would that be bad?” Izuku wondered out aloud. Arranging such elaborate distractions for their classmates seemed a little… extra in his mind.

“Not bad per se, but rather…” Momo started, before pausing to find the right word.

“Annoying!” Jirou helpfully took it from there. “There is no way of telling how long those two would have kept you here yapping on and on out of excitement. So unless you’re fine with having literal hours taken out of your date, it's better this way.”

“While Kyoka may be exaggerating a little, she is right that they can be a little much and I’d rather avoid dealing with their enthusiasm for my love life. At least until after we have returned.” Momo added.

Any further discussion was prevented by the timer going off for the last time. Just to be safe, his girlfriend took a little sip to see if her classmate really had managed to recreate her current favorite brew exactly how she liked. To his relief the tea got Momo’s stamp of approval, meaning they would not have to start again from scratch, and could finally be on their way.

“Excellent! Before we head out, just let me check one more thing…” His girlfriend said before starting to rummage through the fridge for a moment. “Aha! We still have some left!”

The tall girl took a cardboard box out of the fridge that had the logo of that fancy Mochi shop on it that was in the area of the train station closest to U.A.’s campus.

“You sure you want to take them with you too? Your guy looks like he is loaded pretty heavily already.” Jirou noted while pointing at Izuku’s baskets.

“No, it should be fine. I went pretty light on the desserts anyway, so some mochi would be pretty nice!” Izuku waved the purple-haired girl’s concerns off, before trying and managing to fit the box in somewhere. “Alright, anything else? If not then we should get going!”

With that Izuku and his girlfriend said their goodbyes to the purple-haired girl, while Jirou herself wished them fun.

Once outside and with just the two of them there, Izuku wrestled his tongue into submission and stuttered his way into complimenting his girlfriend’s lovely look. “Y-ye-ahem-You look really p-pretty with your hair down, Momo!”

The tall ravenette smiled, seeing her boyfriend blush pink by his freckles. “Thank you, darling! You don’t look too bad yourself. Though I must say, I think your “pants” T-shirt has grown on me enough to miss it when you dress up.”

That broke the back of Izuku’s tension, as he snorted lightly and broke out in a chuckle himself. “Yeah, I tried, but my hair just wouldn’t listen. Then Mei told me to leave it alone, well, she said it a little differently, and I gave my poor comb a break.” 

“I hope she’s doing better. She did seem to be in better spirits after our sleepover.” Momo wondered out loud.

“Yeah, she’s back to herself. Especially since she took up the extra credit project. She’s likely lapping it up back at the lab.” Izuku smiled as he remembered Mei’s excitement about the project, how she had been the first to sign up and had looked forward to it everyday since. 

“That’s good to hear. I’m sure she’s gonna be fine.” Momo sighed, her smile mirroring Izuku’s. 

“Yeah, I hope so too… But let's get back to our plans for the day. Since things have been so busy recently, I thought a good relaxing picnic would be nice for our first date.” Izuku thanked his stars for being able to push aside all of his intrusive thoughts that cried ‘Lame’, and was even more grateful to see his girlfriend’s response.

“A picnic is a lovely idea! Do you have a good spot in mind?” Momo asked him eagerly, a beatific smile glowing on her face as she bounced lightly where she stood.

“There is a small clearing in the forest close by. It is near enough to comfortably reach on foot but also just far away to give us some privacy.” He explained, pointing with his bag laden hand towards its general direction.

“I see you prepared quite extensively for this!” His girlfriend replied while beaming him a smile. “Would you mind if I took one of the baskets off you? They do look very heavy.”

He tried to reassure Momo that it was fine and the weight didn’t bother him at all, but she was insistent, so he eventually handed her one of the baskets to carry, and they started walking down the path to their destination.

“These are indeed as heavy as they look!” His girlfriend noted after a few steps with the basket in her hand. “Am I right to suppose that your preparations for today are the reason why you didn’t come over to celebrate our licenses with us when I offered?”

“W-well, yeah, kinda…” Izuku awkwardly replied. “Also, I didn’t want to impose, you know? That was your celebration for your victory. I didn’t think an outsider like me had a place there…”

“You’re not a stranger to us, Izuku.” Momo countered in a friendly yet firm tone that made it clear that she wouldn’t accept any contradiction. “You’re my boyfriend and most of us cherish you like one of our own!”

“T-thanks, that's very kind of you to say!” Izuku awkwardly stammered out in response not knowing what to say. There had never really been a time before where a whole class of students actually liked having him around. Hell, even in 1-H it felt like the people there could just barely tolerate him, more than anything else. Although, Furasu-san seemed to have warmed up to him over time, thanks to his efforts of keeping Mei in check.

“And if you’re worried about the exception to that rule…” Momo started with her voice becoming much colder for a moment. “Rest assured I can have a little chat with him and ensure he knows the consequences an unwanted confrontation would bring.”

“I-I know! It’s just… after the cafeteria there is plenty of stuff that needs to be cleared up between us and that is not gonna be a fun conversation no matter what. In all honesty, I’m not eager to get to it anytime soon…” He admitted to his girlfriend as they walked.

“As much as I usually admire your attempts to remain cordial and diplomatic, they’re wasted in this case. There is nothing to be cleared up between the both of you, he owes you an apology! Whatever may have gone wrong in your… ‘relationship’ for a lack of a better term is not your fault!” Momo reminded him firmly. “I respect your desire for space, but please know that it saddens me that you seem to avoid our dorm house. I would have loved to have had you with us yesterday!”

“I can come over next time.” Izuku offered, though he still felt a little nervous at the prospect.

“I’m glad to hear that!” Momo replied, sounding warmer again. “At the very least I’ll be able to share this exquisite Mochi that we enjoyed yesterday with you.”

“Oh yeah, I recognized the logo on the box. It’s from that store close to the train station right? I’ve walked past it so many times but never gotten anything from there. Is their stuff good?” Izuku asked eager to change the topic.

“As I said, they are exquisite!” His girlfriend enthusiastically explained. “Uraraka spontaneously decided to order from them yesterday when some of our classmates decided that we should have an official little celebration of our success. Apparently she has also walked past this store many times and always wished her budget would allow her to try their offerings. With the recent raise to her allowance, she decided to indulge and ordered a large selection of their goods so she could share it with us all.”

“Oh wow, that sounds really nice of her!”

“Indeed, even if it didn’t work out exactly like she had wanted.” Momo continued with a giggle. “You see, Mochi is her absolute favorite treat and among them Green Tea is her preferred flavor. Once she tried one of them, there was no stopping her! She practically devoured all of the Green Tea Mochi before even one of us had a chance to try any of it ourselves. Mind you she had ordered more of that particular flavor to begin with precisely because she wanted to make sure there would be enough to go around for everyone. Suffice to say, after her rampage she ended up being stuffed so full that she had to skip dinner.”

“Oh dear…” Izuku replied, concerned.

“Don’t you worry, I exaggerated – not too much, mind you, but I did, for comedic effect.” His girlfriend reassured him, while still smiling. “She still ate a comical amount of Mochi, though, and spoiled her appetite in the process. I can’t blame her too much, they were indeed delicious treats and I plan to keep this store in mind myself, should I ever feel a craving for something like that in the future.”

That was a bit of a relief to hear. Uraraka was probably the first person his age in a long while to treat him like a human being when he first met her during the entrance exam. She had also been so nice to join him and Mei for the cavalry battle! In short he wouldn’t have liked for the nice brunette to have suffered from an upset stomach.

“Sounds good! I don’t know about you, but all that mochi talk really is making me hungry. Good thing we’re here now!” Izuku announced once they reached the familiar bushes that marked his destination.

The bushes really did a great job at hiding the way to the picnic spot he had chosen, even Momo had looked skeptical for a moment, before he showed her the way to easily step past them, and when they did, and walked into the clearing, her expression shifted to one of wonder.

“Goodness, Izuku! This place is perfect!” She exclaimed, making him really glad about his choice of location. “How did you find this place?”

“I go on morning runs occasionally and get past here frequently. One time I saw some plastic trash lying between the bushes and when I picked it up, I saw that the bushes weren’t as dense here as they looked from the path, and found this clearing.” He explained while spreading out his large picnic blanket.

“Picking up litter from the wayside? My, how responsible of you!” Momo giggled in response.

“What can I say, it’s ingrained as a habit now. That’s the side effects of using trash disposal for your training regimen!” Izuku joked in response before putting down his basket and taking a seat on the blanket.

His girlfriend followed suit shortly after, although she did ignore most of the available space on the blanket to sit down right next to him, leaving barely an inch between them. The radiant, innocent smile she beamed at him, combined with the physical closeness once again took his breath away.

“While we’re on the topic of training, I got some very good news to share before we begin.” Momo announced. “When I got the chance to congratulate Kendo-san on her class passing the provisional license exam, she let me know that she might be able to host your first training session this week. She still has some more prospective trainees to invite, but once she gets that done, she’ll let me know the details, so I advise you to keep your schedule clear.”

“Wow, really that soon? Is that okay? I would understand it if they wanted to rest up a bit after all the stress you guys went through.” He replied with surprise. While Izuku had known that his girlfriend had been going around organizing things in the background, but it had felt a little unreal that he really would get to start some sort of Hero training at all, let alone so soon.

Improvised Hero training by a student, true, but Hero training nonetheless!

“It is no issue! Kendo-san told me that she was dissatisfied with the performance of some of her classmates, who seem to be severely lacking in hand to hand skills and these weaknesses almost cost them the exam. She is eager to rectify this and these extracurricular combat training exercises seem to be the ideal format to do so.” Momo explained.

“Oh… okay… if I can help her out this way as well, then I’d gladly do it!”

“It is a mutually beneficial arrangement, indeed. Additionally, I’m confident Mei would love to use that opportunity to test some of her prototypes.” His girlfriend added.

“That might be a little difficult. There is a chance that she wouldn’t have time, what with her workshop duties. I’ll ask her about the schedule for that once I see her again and let you know.” He told Momo.

“Well, it shouldn’t be too big of an issue if she can’t join us for the first session, as much as I’d like her to be there with us.” Momo declared. "Anyway, enough of this topic for now. Carrying that heavy basket all the way here has me positively dying with anticipation of the culinary delights you have prepared for this occasion!”

“Then let’s have some food!” Izuku agreed before starting to unpack his basket.

Having been the one to pack these baskets in the first place, he finished laying out the contents of his one on the blanket way before his girlfriend, giving Izuku the chance to witness a very spectacular view.

With how close Momo was sitting to him and her basket being on the other edge of the blanket, she needed to reach for it. Tall as she was, the blanket was longer still, resulting in the basket being just out of her reach, even with her long arms. So she got up on her knees and leaned away, giving Izuku a good look at his girlfriend’s wiggling butt as she struggled to fish a container out of the basket. While said butt thankfully remained fully covered by Momo’s long skirt, from that position it did little to hide just how wide her hips were!

Gulping heavily at the sight, Izuku realised that he had forgotten to do something really important yesterday!

After that debacle at the pool, Izuku had vowed to himself to take precautions should he ever be in a situation again where he would get to see his girlfriend in… stimulating outfits –the most important of these precautions being to let off plenty of steam with the help of his miscellaneous folder nestled deep within his Hero analysis files the night before.

Unfortunately, the leftover rice from dinner yesterday had distracted him from carrying out his vow. Moreover, in his nervousness for the date, he did not remember to undertake this crucial bit of preparation all day. In short, he got hit by the full force of his hormones once again, despite the relatively innocuous scene in front of him. There was no need for any panties or skin to show themselves, his imagination easily filled in those details all by itself.

Izuku quickly averted his eyes, biting his lips to stop himself from entering fantasyland, and as Momo moved again, he desperately tried not to think how his girlfriend’s haunches would make for amazing handlebars. Thankfully, the way he was sitting shouldn’t make any movement in his pants too obvious.

He really needed to make sure he didn’t repeat this mistake before their training session!

“Oh my! These look positively delicious!” Momo cooed when she found the Katsu sandwiches in her basket.

“Those are the main course, I’ve got plenty of other stuff here to try out first.” He said in response to that, hoping that moving on to eating would allow his blood pressure to come down a little, or at least move to other, less conspicuous locations...

Sitting back up, Momo got her first good look at all the food Izuku had laid out. With what he understood as a surprised look, Momo asked him “Did you seriously make all of this yourself?!” .

“No, just most of it.” Izuku replied, modestly rubbing the back of his neck. “The recipes are from my Mom, so it’s more her work than mine.”

“Did she visit campus and actually help you prepare everything?” Momo asked, looking like she genuinely thought that was the case. “This is a lot, Izuku!”

“No, I made it myself in our dorms, but Mom gave me the recipes and plenty of tips on how to save time. Also, I made dinner for my class yesterday and got to reuse the leftovers from there.” He explained. “Plus, I figured it would be better to make too much rather than too little. You can take any leftovers back to your dorms, after all!”

“I suppose it is fortunate that I decided to have a light lunch today.” His girlfriend commented. “Still, how long did it take you to assemble that feast?”

“I wasn’t exactly checking the time, but most of yesterday, I guess. Minus the testing runs.” He replied.

“Impressed as I am with your efforts, there is something I wanted to clarify first.” Momo said before looking him straight in the eye, concerned. “Rendezvous are something we’re supposed to enjoy together and not a situation where you’re working yourself ragged just to please me.”

“I… just wanted to make this special, especially with how boring and ordinary my idea is…” 

“There is nothing wrong with a mundane activity like this. After the stress from the last few days I’ll gladly use the chance to relax a little with my boyfriend in such a stunning vista!” Momo pointed out, leaning over to him and gently putting one of her hands on his. “Also, I can’t help but feel a little worried about a trend that has been continuing for a while. Please know that our relationship is not dependent on continued acts of service on your part!”

“I-I know, I just can’t help but feel like doing things for you, especially with how hard you’re working to help me out with what pretty much everybody thinks is just a pipe dream.” Izuku replied, before going on to point something out with a little hint of pride. “Also, I didn’t break my promise! Sure all the cooking yesterday was hard work but I did not work myself ragged! Do I look like it to you?”

“I have to admit, I can’t argue against that. You don’t look tired or overworked at all!” Momo acknowledged with a satisfied smile, before leaning in further to peck him on the cheek and make his heart flutter. “A very encouraging trend!”

“P-plus, it was kinda fun working in the kitchen!” He added, after regaining control of his mouth that was frozen in a wobbly smile for a second. “I wouldn’t mind cooking for others in the future.”

“Oh, if that is the case, you might want to talk with Sato-kun. He is an excellent cook, we always look forward to it when he offers to make dinner for us!” His girlfriend suggested, before picking up an Onigiri. “But without further ado, let’s eat!”

With that they both started eating, with Izuku himself choosing one of the omelet rolls first. 

Momo, for her part, was greatly enjoying everything she tried. The hums of bliss and sighs of contentment she let out, usually with her eyes closed, the best possible reward Izuku could have gotten for his hard work. He felt his heart soar, seeing Momo get surprised by each rice ball, and savour their different flavours with aplomb.

It was a similar feeling to when Mei had gushed over his cooking as a taste tester. Their reactions were worlds apart — Mei’s being exuberant and loud, while Momo’s being relatively subdued, yet poised and positively adorable — but Izuku found both of them extremely heartwarming and cute in their own ways.

He should ask Mom for more recipes!

Then again, she’d probably use that opportunity to tease him again about not forgetting the most vital ingredient of all…

L-love…

She would most definitely ask him again to invite Momo over for dinner. In all honesty, he was not in a hurry to do that, especially since he could already tell that the dreaded baby photo album would be pulled out and an emotionally charged flood would drown them all. That being said, he did owe Mom and not just for the recipes. He was also a little worried about her feeling lonely, so he should at least make an effort to set something up.

For now, though, he’d rather enjoy the high of being able to cook his way into making this picnic date a success, at least he felt that way so far!

Having worked her way up through the snacks, Momo gleefully looked at the Katsu Sandos, and without any ceremony, picked one up and dug in. Her reaction was instantaneous, eyes shining as she chewed on her first bite, looking like she had ascended to a different plane of enjoyment altogether. Smiling at him sweetly, she gave him a heartfelt compliment “Goodness, Izuku! These sandwiches are sublime!”. Izuku committed that smile to memory while his heart decided jumping jacks weren’t enough, doing a backflip and skipping a beat all at once.

“Thanks! It makes me happy to hear my efforts paid off!” Izuku said before taking a sip from his cup that he had filled with some of Momo’s tea from the thermos. “That tea is pretty good too!”

“Ahh yes! Golden Tips Imperial is a blend my Mother recently tried and recommended to me and it has quickly grown on me to the point that it is one of my favorites!” Momo enthusiastically started explaining. “If you like this one, then I got a couple of different blends you might enjoy as well. I’m curious what your favorite would be!”

“Sure, why not?” Izuku agreed. While he liked tea, he was nowhere near an aficionado like his girlfriend. But, he didn’t mind her taking him into a deep dive on the topic. Even if it turned out that this wasn' t for him, he’d still learn more about her tea preferences, which would be useful down the line. He didn’t want to have to rely on Jirou to brew it the way Momo liked everytime, after all.

Plus, Momo was so adorable when she got excited explaining something!

Her explanation lasted nearly as long as the tea itself, after which, they moved on to dessert.

“Wow! I think I understand why Uraraka went crazy over these! They’re really good!” He exclaimed after trying some of the Mochi Momo had packed. He had gotten a nice traditional red bean paste one, and it was amazing! “I’ve walked past that shop so many times on my way to school, but I would never have thought that they’re that good. Please give my thanks to Uraraka too, it was a lovely treat!”

“Well, since her parents are quite insistent on continuing to give her the money she used to need for rent, Uraraka was stuck with a lot more money than she knew what to do with. She told us that she’d rather splurge on things she can share with everyone, instead of going on a shopping spree.” Momo recounted for him. “An admirable mindset, but we reassured her that she has every right to spend some money on herself. Her room could do with a little bit more furnishing for instance. Some of the other girls are also trying hard to convince her to go clothes shopping together to expand her wardrobe. I think it would serve her well as preparation for her future as a hero.”

“So you are planning to go on a shopping trip again soon? I hope you have more fun than when you tried to get a dress for Mei.” He added, remembering his classmate’s very vocal complaints about that particular shopping trip.

“I assure you, it wasn’t nearly as bad as Mei made it out to be. If it hadn’t been for the intense time pressure, it could really have been fun!” His girlfriend contested.

Things continued on like that, with them enjoying all the food and talking about lighthearted things. He was enjoying himself greatly, and after all the nervousness and stress of setting everything up, he finally allowed himself to relax, and as a result, Izuku let out a big yawn, much to his embarrassment.

“Oh my! It looks like all your hard work did take more out of you than expected.” said Momo, hiding a giggle behind her hand. Before Izuku could stammer out a reply, she put away all the food and the packets, before stretching out her legs. She gave him a very tender smile, and started patting her thigh.

Could this be?!

Slowly and hesitantly Izuku started to move into the position his girlfriend had indicated, unable to resist the temptation. When she continued to smile ever so brightly at him, he got the confirmation he needed and embraced her offer. Among all his fantasies of being in a relationship, this was one he thought he’d never ever get to experience.

The mythical lap pillow!

As he got closer and closer, blood began rushing into his ears, and he began to hear an imaginary drumroll getting progressively louder in his head. Finally, he got into position, and just as he was about to rest his head, Momo leaned down, a little red in the face herself. Putting her hands on either side of his face, she closed in for a long, drawn out passionate kiss that literally took all of Izuku’s breath and strength away. 

Breaking for air, she hummed, and Izuku squeaked. She giggled, and Izuku snorted, and they both started laughing. As they both relaxed into very red, smile bearing faces, Momo pressed her forehead into Izuku’s and softly whispered “Thank you for planning such a lovely date.” A minute of slow breathing and blushing later, he was gently guided down onto her lap.

“There we go! Are you comfortable? I figured you deserved a little rest after slaving away in the kitchen for my enjoyment and I heard that this is a particularly refreshing way to do this.” Momo grinned mischievously.

“I-it’s nice…” Izuku squeaked out with his cheeks still burning from the kiss, facing away from Momo. He had no idea who or what had given his girlfriend the idea of giving lap pillows, but words could not describe how grateful he was for them-slash-it!

Her thighs were unbelievably soft, and the lap pillow in particular was out of this world!

Both of them were left with a little bit of leftover restless energy from the kiss. Izuku got fidgety, while Momo chuckled internally, watching him be awkward and embarrassed in silence. But the silence did not stretch for too long. Shortly after, he felt what he thought was Momo’s left hand start to gently caress his head and stroke his hair. Izuku had no idea why, but it felt incredibly relaxing and made all the tension leave his body. Barely half a minute had gone by, when he involuntarily let out a relieved sigh.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this! But would you be so kind and hand me another sandwich?.” The indescribably soft girl requested of him.

Without hesitation or ado, Izuku reached out to the box with the Katsu Sandos directly in front of them, got one out, and tried handing one up to her. Looking up for the first time, he encountered yet another sight that made him have to bite his tongue, hard, to stop himself from squeaking yet again.

He couldn’t see her face. There were a couple of obstacles on his line of sight. A couple of large, very round, protrusions resting on Momo’s chest.

Boobs!

As she took the sandwich from him with her remaining free hand, Izuku turned his face away again, his cheeks burning even brighter than before, and his heart rate spiking, possibly hitting unprecedented levels for the day. Similar to her skirt with her ridiculous butt, her modest blouse could do very little to hide just how massive she was!

So much for relaxation!

The continuing head massage was still reeeaaaaalllyyyy nice, though it was starting to stimulate some unspeakable things inside him!

Things were actually getting into dangerous territory. Between her caressing his scalp and the softness of her thighs, Izuku feared that he might actually start to melt if he didn't get up again soon! But who knew when he’d ever get the chance to enjoy this heavenly situation again?

Quite the dilemma!

“It still amazes me how soft and fluffy your hair feels! Are you really not using anything special to get them this way?” His girlfriend asked him, as she ran her fingers through said hair with the eagerness of a child having discovered a new soft toy to play with.

“Nope, just a simple store bought shampoo.” He told her, starting to feel a little drowsy.

“Fascinating! Mina’s is similar, but she uses a special conditioner because of how her Quirk affects her scalp.” Momo noted, which caught Izuku’s attention, pushing away all his drowsiness in an instant.

Getting up from her lap, Izuku asked Momo for more details... “Does her Quirk work from her scalp as well?” Does she need a custom soap for her body too? Does the acidity of her quirk change with...” As he spoke,  he reached towards one of the baskets and pulled out one of his notebooks and writing supplies, seemingly by instinct rather than by conscious intent.

“She has implied as such once or twice, but never has she said anything specific.” Momo explained, before looking at his notebook with curiosity. “Is that the one about me and my classmates?”

“Y-yes! Do you want to have a look at it?” Izuku offered, feeling a little nervous. He knew Momo had been wanting to get a closer look at his notebooks for a while now, which is why he had decided to bring some of them for the occasion. Still, somewhere in the back of his head, the traumatic memories of how people used to react to both his muttering and note taking habits in the past remained, and he couldn’t shake the fear of her being disturbed by some of the stuff he had written down.

Flipping through the first couple of pages, Momo’s eyes widened in surprise as she saw yet more evidence of Izuku’s skill as an artist. Then she started reading his notes, and subconsciously nodded and smiled along his reasoning at various moments. Watching her go over his notebook like it was something from a museum made his heart flutter, not least because she had scooted over close enough to be practically stuck to his side. “You’ve made some astute observations here, and I just love the sketches you draw for everyone!” Izuku blushed at the visibly genuine compliment from Momo, who added... “This seems to be rather light on speculation, however.”

“Yeah, I try to keep my main notebooks based on factual information and very well reasoned speculation. All the crossing out of disproven theories and editing made some of them look really messy, so I decided to write my thoughts down into a scrappy notebook and transfer only the most plausible stuff over from now on.” Izuku explained.

“What brought about this change of methodology? From what you implied in the past you put all of your thoughts and theories to paper.” Momo asked him, tilting her head to the side, an action Izuku found cute enough to nearly start bleeding out his nose.

“I wanted them to look a little more… neat and organized because… because I knew you would get to read them sooner or later…” Izuku admitted shyly, while twiddling his thumbs.

Momo’s response was to laugh wholeheartedly while holding on to his right shoulder with her hand, before addressing him again. “Oh Izuku, dear, you must be kidding! All that extra work for that? You should know by now that I wouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Plus, everyone has messy notes, even me!”

“Nope! You're lying!” Izuku countered immediately, using a matter of fact voice and a ridiculously hilarious deadpan expression... “I’ve seen your notes. Your Kanji penmanship is basically a fountain spouting works of art left, right and center! If you hang them up in some art gallery, people would think they’re from some sort of calligraphy master, not a schoolgirl!”

The combination of his expression, his voice, and the absurd comment completely broke Momo, who began laughing uncontrollably, and hard. So hard, that she had to lean on him to stay upright. Izuku happily joined in her laughter, elated and somewhat proud that he was able to bring out this hitherto unseen side of her, and that he was the only one to see it. 

As they calmed down, Momo hit him playfully on the chest and slipped her arms around him in a sideways hug, her head leaning on his own. “Did you know that when I was younger, I used to take calligraphy lessons? My tutor used to say that I was a natural, and that my works would one day be worthy of an entire solo exhibition. You reminded me of that.”

Smiling fondly as she reminisced through her memories, Izuku found her overwhelmingly beautiful. It took all of his strength of will to keep his usual “I got hugged/kissed” catatonic state at bay, and he allowed Momo a moment, before continuing the conversation.

“See? Can you blame me for feeling a little self conscious about my scribbles?” Izuku half joked. It wasn’t really a lie, he did have some qualms about his own penmanship, and it may have had a small part in his initial doubts about showing Momo his notebooks. But, as far as doubts went, ‘bad handwriting’ couldn’t even compete with the sight of Bakugo tearing and burning his notebooks just because he felt like it. Thankfully, Momo’s reactions so far had been nothing but positive, and Izuku could literally feel his insecurity being stripped away, layer by layer. 

“Again, there is no need to feel like that. It is just a shame, I do enjoy hearing or reading about your theories!” The stunning beauty told him in response. “You have a real gift for analysis!”

“W-well, if you really want to see it…” Izuku started, getting his scrap notebook — which he had also taken with him — out. You never knew when you could stumble over some new information! Plus, she had announced her interest enough times that he figured she’d like to give it a close look.

Momo, elated to see the second notebook handed over to her, quickly laid both of the notebooks down side by side on the blanket in front of her so she could easily read and cross reference them if needed. As she read through them, Izuku was relieved to see that there was no disgust, rejection or alarm in her eyes, only unbound joy and excitement, which only got magnified every time she turned to him to ask about something that piqued her interest.

While his girlfriend was busy, Izuku couldn’t help but feel his heart grow warm as he watched her and realized that he really, really, really loved this girl!