Archive of Our Own

There are many things that Todoroki Enji is:

1. Soon-to-be valedictorian of his double honours degree in Economics and Law
2. Grudging heir to the Todoroki family's business empire
3. Voted most likely to be in Forbe's 30 under 30 to watch/remain a bachelor for life
   
   

A licensed pro-hero is not one of them.

He'd fought tooth and nail for it with all he could think of at fifteen, had tried everything in the book from written appeals to emotional blackmail. But in the end, there's no enrolling in UA's hero course without parental consent.

Enji would know. He'd tried.

*****

There are a few things that Himura Rei isn't:

1. Rude
2. Rebellious
3. A doormat
   
   

It often surprises people that the opposite of 1 + 2 doesn't necessarily equal 3. Sometimes, it can be a little difficult for her to put her foot down and say no. Most of the time, she still manages.

In this case though, Rei truly did believe it was worth a try.

It's the tail end of her freshman year in college. She's a member of the Corporate Sustainability Club. They're organising a large-scale conference with high-profile guests from the environmental, social, and governance sectors in Japan. Their teacher advisor was the one who'd suggested they bring in a student voice for the event.

"We don't want to fade into the background as the organiser, bringing all these great minds together without adding value to it ourselves. Why not get one of our faculty's top final year students involved? They could act as the moderator for the last plenary panel discussion on closing day, end it off right."

The seniors in the organising committee had listed the candidates. It'd been an intense debate. Itsuki, who's smart and eloquent enough but will probably ask and agree with whatever is politically correct. Fujika, who has amazing ideas but gets nervous and fumbles a lot when it comes to public speaking. Kaneko is a wildcard.

"Of course, the best in terms of overall star power and ability would still be Todoroki."

The club president says his name with a cross of a let's-not-try grimace and a star-struck sigh. An odd combination, but rather common among the female half of their faculty. Rei hasn't met him personally, but even she knows who he is.

"I think he'd come up with interesting questions and be bold enough to push for answers. His last debate was legendary." Literally. Apparently, he'd decimated the for team so badly that Professor Hirohito had stepped in for their rebuttal to take Todoroki on himself. " But... we all know that's not gonna happen." Collective nods. " So, I think we should go with the safe bet and ask-"

It's the way everyone's just agreeing with that that makes Rei's brows furrow. She hesitates for a few moments, then puts up her hand. "Sorry for interrupting, but..." She's slightly nervous about how they all turn to her. "If Todoroki is our first choice, then shouldn't we at least ask?"

In the worst case, he'll just say no, right? Is there something obvious that she's missing?

Her seniors exchange a look.

"You can try if you want!" Their treasurer, Riko, smiles, a little too bright and encouraging.

Rei kind of gets the feeling she's being patronised, or if not that then thrown to the wolves. It's not a feeling she's entirely unused to - as the only freshman student in a committee otherwise filled with sophomores...

Rei holds her tongue, nods, and smiles back.

Looks like she has a self-assigned task.

*****

"Todoroki!" Makoto yells.

"What?"

"There's some freshman girl at the door asking to see you. Said something about an email invite you didn't reply?" His dorm mate walks back in, smirking. "Hey, if it's a party invite? Don't say no. The girl's pretty cute, if I might say s-"

Enji brushes past him without answering.

*****

Rei kind of understands now why her seniors hadn't even wanted to ask. Her first impression-

(All right, her second impression. Her first impression was dark jeans and red hair and gunmetal grey piercings on his ears. Also, he's tall.)

And then he'd opened his mouth.

"I don't do these things." He says, straight to the point without confirming her identity, let alone offering any sort of greeting. He sounds bored.

Look, but don't touch. Eye-candy from afar. Rei's heard the gossip. She's starting to get why.

"These things, as in?" Rei asks in her best diplomatic tone. Just to make sure they're all on the same page; she'd heard mention of a party from the first boy who'd answered the door.

"Conferences, dialogues, forums." Todoroki lists out in a drawl, making no secret of his derision. "It's a huge waste of time and money. You gather a whole bunch of people for what's essentially all talk and no action. What's the point?"

(It stings a little, hearing him put them down like this. They've been working hard to organise this-)

If it weren't for how rude he's being, Rei might have just thanked him for his time and walked away. She nearly does, even amidst her shock. But something about the way he's not even deigning to look at her annoys her - as if she's wasting his time with this very conversation. It's not like she'd wanted to trek all the way to the seniors' dormitories to ask him personally.

(To think, she'd respected him.)

Rei keeps her cool. "They're good platforms for sharing updates and the latest happenings in the community. The best ones might even inspire others to action." She answers like he hadn't meant it as a rhetorical. "Of course, like you say, the quality of the outcome depends a lot on the participants. Isn't there anything you'd like to bring to the table, given the chance?"

No one can say she didn't try.

His eyes rove past her in a cursory glance.

"Not particularly." He shrugs, turning to leave.

(It's the way he seems so bored, maybe, that doesn't sit well with her. It's so unlike the him she'd seen in the recording of that debate. It's exactly like what they say - that he's brilliant in his coursework, but doesn't really care.)

"Do you even want to be here?" Rei finds herself asking. It's not like her to be so combative, but something about his attitude truly just-

Todoroki's eyes narrow as he fixes his gaze on her. A sudden piercing intensity, even though he hasn't shifted from his half-leaning position against the doorframe. It's the first time in this conversation that he feels present.

"As a matter of fact," he says slowly. "No. Some people just want to get their degree and go. But we can't always get what we want, can we?"

Another jibe at her for wasting his time.

(It just hits a little too close to home. The fact that he's taking so carelessly his time here at college - an education she doesn't even know if she'll get to complete. We can't always get what we want is a concept she's so very familiar with.)

"You're not the only one who's been forced into things you don't want." Rei says, her tone cool.

She doesn't wait to see his reaction before she turns and leaves. The door behind her closes with a resounding thud. She doesn’t care.

*****

Rei thinks she might have committed social suicide by making an enemy out of one of the most... the word she wants isn't popular, but she's seen plenty of people hanging around him. He looks like he only ever really tolerates them.

Maybe, she admits now that she's cooled down, she'd been projecting a little. Surely he has his own problems and reasons, the same way she has hers.

It's an encounter she's ready to put behind her.

She has greater things to worry about in life, like: how her mother's hinted in her latest call that a few families have expressed interest, that she should prepare to meet some of the candidates her father has screened. She'd tried to make an excuse saying her deadlines have been piling up recently; it's essay submission season so she might not be able to make the trip home so soon.

Her mother had agreed to pass on the message-

("You know it's your duty." She'd reminded Rei gently just before ending the call.)

But then, she'd known Rei had lied.

*****

Enji hates the pop songs they’re playing.

But this is the club that's nearest their college, and so it's one of their collective regular haunts. His course mates know better by now than to ask him to join in in anything other than drinks - if he's very bored, maybe the occasional competitive darts match.

"Todoroki-kun!" Kaneko smiles winningly.

That, alongside acting as secondary bartender.

"You do realise that if you burn all the alcohol away, there won't be much left to drink, right?" Enji says slowly. Still, he snaps his finger. The shots go up in pillars of flames.

Kaneko doesn't seem to care. "Thanks!" She chirps, levitating her tray of glorified candles in front of her as she goes back to her friends.

Itsuki slings an arm around his shoulders.

"Ah Enji, Enij. You need to come out of retirement. That kind of attitude is why you can't get a girl these days even with your looks and quirk." He mimics snapping his fingers. "Where's the pick-up lines? The: if you'd like, I can set your world on fire?" His impression at Enji's voice is terrible.

Enji shrugs him off, rolling his eyes.

"Right?" Makoto snickers. "Those are so wasted on you. You know, your quirk beats half those heroes out there when it comes to party tricks." He waggles his brows. "The kind of things you could get up to using fire in the bedroom-"

Enji forcibly unclenches his jaw.

(He's over it. Really. It'll take more than some girl and her random accusations to get under his-)

"It'd take more than a cool quirk for you to score any girl." Enji scoffs. They all laugh and "oooh" at Makoto, who fakes placing his hand over his heart only to stick him the middle finger.

Enji flips him one of his own.

(Is this all his life will ever amount to?)

Enji downs the rest of his gin in one gulp, to the cheers of his group because they all know what that means. His so-called friends are already more than one drink past sober, but fuck it. He doesn't really feel like being sober tonight.

He grabs another glass and stands up.

"Drinks on me." He says, because why the hell not?

Their entire group cheers and toasts.

Another night fades away in that alcohol-induced haze.

*****

"Oh my God Rei, you actually managed it!" The club president comes up to her in the middle of a corridor one day, excitedly grabbing both of her hands in her own. They get odd looks from some of the other students walking by.

Yay...? "Managed what?" Rei asks, confused.

"Getting our faculty's resident Mr Grumpypants to moderate!" She thrusts her tablet at Rei.

…Right. She's quite sure she hadn't.

"And not just moderate, but-" Rei scans through the reply to the email she'd sent out two weeks ago from their club's account. Sure enough, it's an affirmative. Curt and straight to the point, but much more professional than he'd been with her.

"He's offered a venue for us to rent at a very good rate." Miura beams. Rei nods, more cautious and sceptical than anything else. Reading through his wording again... honestly, it's more a condition for him agreeing to do it than an offer.

A good deed? She thinks not.

It's just a win-win deal.

*****

Rei debates not acknowledging it. It's not like he'd gone back to her to clarify anything before changing his mind. Her role had been minimal.

But as fate would have it, they meet again.

She's finishing up on a study session at her favourite alcove at the library. He walks in, searching for a seat. There are only two tables in this area. Three of the four seats - including hers - are already taken. She kind of expects him to walk away rather than sit opposite her.

He takes the free seat.

They don't really acknowledge each other, save for a nod she gives him that he does return. He takes out his laptop and gets to work. She goes back to highlighting and annotating.

The silence is... actually alright. But then he looks up when she starts packing up and their eyes meet. She has no idea what he’s thinking, but she feels awkward enough for them both.

"Thank you for accepting the invitation." Rei breaks the silence. "And... l apologise for saying some things that were slightly out of line that day."

Todoroki shrugs. "I was probably more rude."

(At least he's self-aware.)

Rei tries not to notice how his shirt tightens momentarily with his shrug. It's odd hearing him speak in an indoor voice.

"Don't read too much into it." He continues - and there's that already-familiar dismissive note back in his tone. "I just needed to break that hotel in."

She can't help but study him at that.

Which Todoroki Enji, she wonders, is the real one? The one who actively disparages this kind of event for being nothing but ineffective lip service, or the one who's completely fine with making use of them to promote his own interests?

Rei supposes it's not really her place to find out.

"I see." She says with a slight smile.

He goes back to typing, but not before sparing her a second glance. "I'd appreciate it if you could send me the full list of speakers and more details on the agenda beforehand." Fair enough; looks like he's appointed her as liaison between him and her club. "Do try to pick panelists who won't be an absolute bore." He truly is blunt.

(But somehow...)

It's leaning a bit more towards refreshing than frustrating today. She's starting to see a pattern.

"It's your job to make it interesting, isn't it?" Rei takes a chance and quips.

"I'm not a miracle worker." Todoroki answers dryly, glancing back up at her as he does.

Rei actually does smile this time.


She realises that she's been taking her time to pack when he takes the chance to ask her another question.

It catches her completely off-guard.

"What is it?" His eyes bore into hers, a terribly brilliant blue. "The thing you're being forced into."

(That's... none of your business.)

They aren't even friends. If it were anyone else, Rei would laugh and deflect the conversation to something else. She has, whenever her classmates ask her why she seems a bit down lately. But something about him just makes her want to-

(She looks around, at the other two students behind them who both have earphones on-)

"An arranged marriage." She challenges.

She waits for it - the shock, the judgement.

But there's none of that from Todoroki. His expression barely flickers as he nods. "I give myself a few years. My guess is 25. If I haven't found a suitable match by then, my parents will probably try to take things into their own hands."

The sneer in his voice drips with 'they can try, but I won't necessarily listen.' She wishes she had that option, but she'd take anyone over marrying...

Rei quirks her lips. "I don't think I have years."

Todoroki's eyes flash with something unreadable. It's not sympathy, God forbid. He also doesn't try to offer her any well-meaning but ultimately useless advice. If anything, she'd say it's closer to... grudging understanding?

She still can't believe she's having this conversation with him, in the middle of the library no less. But then no one else would have dared ask such a personal question so soon. She supposes there's truth in what they say - that it's easier to confide in a stranger than in a friend.

"What was your thing?" Rei asks, feeling brave.

He must have expected the question. An eye for an eye; it's simple give and take. But then his face clouds as he breaks eye contact, a storm that doesn't dissipate as quickly as it'd brewed.

It doesn't seem like he's going to answer. Rei nods politely and turns, ready to leave.

"...I wanted to be a hero."

It's startling enough to stop her in her tracks.

When Rei thinks hero, she thinks of All Might, that up-and-coming hero in America who the whole world has been raving about recently. She thinks of someone kind and altruistic and cheerful, who always has a smile on their face and encouraging words to say.

She doesn't think of someone like him.

(Still, if she lets herself imagine it...)

He's smart. He has the physique for it. His fire quirk is certainly powerful enough, the same way she knows her ice quirk would make the cut.

(She thinks of that spark of brilliance she'd seen in the recording of that debate; that look-at-me charisma he shines with when he actually tries.)

She thinks it's a shame the world won't get to find out what kind of hero he would have made.

But then, that world wouldn't have known this version of him, whatever else he chooses to be.

"There's more than one way to be a hero." Rei eventually says, choosing her words carefully.

Todoroki doesn't reply, his expression impassive.

She smiles at him once more before she leaves.

*****

Professor Hirohito sighs for the 18th time since the beginning of their pre-graduation teacher advisor-student career counselling session.

Enji's not sure why his professor is trying so hard when they both already know what he's going to be. Still, he sits and listens, maintaining some semblance of politeness. Hirohito is one of the staff he actually respects. Not all the faculty would have had the balls to break protocol in an exam just to give the other team a chance to re-group. Enji knows he'd got flak for it from the dean - but as vice-dean, he has the clout to hold his own.

"I think you'd do well in the bar." His professor continues trying to persuade him. "Aptitude is one thing. You have the mettle for it. Our country has a real need for more competent criminal lawyers and prosecutors likewise-"

Enji hides his grimace behind a sigh of his own.

(No. Just... no. Convicting them is one thing; to defend the very people he once wanted to throw behind bars? Unless they're actually innocent, maybe. But honestly, the whole concept of being downstream in the whole judiciary process...)

It makes him feel sick.

"When I'm sixty and have an heir to take over the family business, sure." Enji deadpans.

His professor sighs again. It's not disappointment in his gaze - Enji has been intimately acquainted with what that looks like since the tender age of 16 when he went home with his first piercing - but rather, the sort of concern he imagines a parent worried about whether their child will have a happy and fulfilling life would have.

Keyword is imagine.

"I don't mean to be presumptuous. I say this with no offense meant and all the waffling advice of an old man who's seen too many students walk in and out of these doors, but..."

Sigh number 20.

"I believe a purely corporate career would - no pun intended - extinguish your fire very quickly. There is no thrill in closing a business deal you already knew was going to succeed. You'd thrive better in a field that truly challenges you, with more human elements and heart-"

Tell me something I don't know, Prof.

"And I say this with no offense meant and the utmost respect," Enji smiles humourlessly even as his professor shakes his head. Sigh number 21. "But I'll be the judge of that, Professor. Rest assured, for all I might seem to act like it-" It's no longer just an act, is it? "I wouldn't let myself just waste away like you suggest."

"I do wonder about that, Todoroki." He looks at Enji with one of those looks of his. "Just remember it's never too late to change your mind. Once admitted to the Bar, always-"

Enji bites his tongue. "I'll keep that in mind."

He bows his head, then leaves.

*****

"Someone's busy texting." Her dorm mate smirks, applying her lipstick. "Finally got a boyfriend?"

Rei hides her wince. They don't know.

"It's just my father." She says, her tone neutral.

He's angry, because my mother isn't as good a liar as I'd hoped. He found out that I lied about my exam schedule. He wants me to commit to a date for an omiai, even more urgently than before.

Her dorm mate makes a 'lameee' gesture with her hand, then goes back to making kissy faces in the mirror.

For Rei's own sanity - and privacy, she leaves.

She can't put off calling her father forever.

*****

"Look, I told you I'll settle it."

"You had better. The last thing we need are watchdogs breathing down our necks for no-"

"It's not predatory pricing. I've checked the market rates. Even if it was, are you one to-"

"Enji. We've talked about this. Your personal mobile line is not secure. I have no idea what-"

The call ends on a sour note, as always.

"Mummy issues?" A voice rings out.

Enji swivels around with a snarl, ready to destroy whoever said that. It takes a moment for him to realise who the owner of the voice is.

She can be surprisingly snarky, he's realised. He wouldn't have expected it of someone like her. With how she looks... she could pass off as a stereotypical angel sans the wings. She's all smiles and polite nods and soft-spoken words on the outside; an 'easy', demure elegance that speaks of countless years of etiquette training.

He kind of likes being the only one to see her snarkier side. Rei, he thinks, not just Himura.

His anger quickly ebbs to a perplexed frown.

"What are you doing here?"

The back of the boathouse isn't exactly a popular location among students or staff. He'd come here only to take his call. There are more picturesque outdoor spots for relaxation; more secluded spots for couples to make out. He's quite sure it's not normal to be sitting alone in the shade of a tree, legs huddled to her chest.

But it's not the most sensitive question he could have asked, Enji realises quickly as he notices a few things - the slight puffiness of her eyes, the residual redness in them. The way her shoulders seem that much more rounded than usual.

She's cried recently. Very recently.

Rei quirks her lips. "Daddy issues."

Enji falls silent, watching her.

If he were a hero, maybe he'd know the right things to say. Maybe then he'd actually act on that sudden urge to protect her, even though he's not sure from what or how.

But he's not, and never will be.

"Sounds like we should start a club." Enji says anyway, his tone sardonic. He eyes the damp patch of grass she's sitting on with a critical gaze. With dew and not mud, thankfully. Even so-

She blinks when he steps forward with an aggravated sigh, only to crouch and press one palm flat against the ground. Surprise quickly fades to something almost annoyingly knowing as the water evaporates and the grass turns dry and crisp. The corners of her lips tilt upwards as he stands back up, dusting his hands off.

"You'll catch a cold." He maintains the same unimpressed tone. "At least choose a drier spot."

"I don't get cold easily." She says, smiling a little.

Enji has a hard time believing that, with how tiny and delicate she looks. Unless, of course, it has to do with...

"What's your quirk?"

Rei's smile reaches her eyes. She picks a fallen leaf up from the ground. Ice starts to creep along its veins, slowly but surely enshrouding it in a layer of frost. She crushes it in her hand.

(Intrigue. Just the slightest bit. The opposite of his...)

"Guess I wasted my efforts." He acknowledges.

"I wouldn't say that." She looks up. How one person can smile in so many different ways, Enji doesn't understand. "It looks like you brought the sun." She says, light and almost teasing.

He could take her meaning as literal - it just so happened that the clouds chose that moment to part. He feels the sun on his back as much as he sees the physical proof of it in the way her silver-white hair seems like it's trying its damnedest to drink in the sunlight and act like a halo.

But he knows better than that.

Whatever it is that she's playing at...

Enji narrows his eyes. He holds her gaze for another beat of silence, then turns to go.

*****

They text almost regularly for a while, in the lead-up to the conference. There's logistics to settle: panel speaker profiles and venue rental issues to send and settle.

(The occasional off-topic tangent.)

The conference is a success.

The event runs smoothly, ends on a high note.

He's a professional up there on stage. The participants who'd snuck off for food come back after hearing the difficult and even controversial questions he's asked. His ability to summarise and paraphrase is almost uncanny - cutting through the fluff to reach the crux of their points, forcing the speakers to either agree or clarify themselves. Plenty of audience members ask each other who he is, then nod in seeming recognition, "Ah, Daichi and Kaede's son. No wonder. They must be so proud of him."

Rei's both surprised and secretly impressed.

She tries not to think too much of it when their paths don't cross again for a while after that. Now that the conference is over, she’s run out of excuses.

She has more pressing things to worry about.

*****

"I'd like to introduce you to my daughter."

A polite bow.

"You'll find there's no better candidate for a wife than a Himura lady. Why, our bloodline can be traced centuries back, to the days of-"

A polite smile.

"My wife has taught her all there is to know about running a household and raising children. I daresay she's as close to a perfect wife and mo-"

(She wants to scream and run.)

*****

Smoke. Neon lights. The kind of music you'll have to shout or lean in close to get heard over.

The music is loud, but good – Enji will take rock and EDM over generic pop any night. The drinks are kind of shit, but they're not picky. They're four, maybe fourteen shots past good idea. Kichiro's made up this wild sob story for some girl he saw sitting at the bar when he got their last round. He's now progressing into the fantasising part.

"Dude, bro-"

"I'm not your bro-"

"Enji. Todoroki-sama. C'mon man, you gotta be my wingman." Kichiro grabs his arm. Enji glares at him. "It's gonna be the love story of the century. She'll pour her heart out to me, I'll comfort with her a really good night, and then we'll get marr-"

Makoto snorts. "Fuck. Stop being embarrassing. You know she's our junior, right? Enji knows her. She came over to knock on our door the other-"

That gets Enji to turn around.

It's like finding a polar bear in a desert. It's not her natural habitat; she stands out. It's the nearly dainty way she holds the stem of her glass, the floral blue dress she wears. She looks like she'd belong more in some fancy hotel lounge than-

"Trust me, marriage is the last thing you want to talk about." Enji says, tilting his drink back.

"Oh, even better! The marriage part is secon-"

He empties his glass, then stands up.

Itsuki chortles. "Better luck next time, mate. I think the man's finally got plans of his own."

The last part of that statement is directed at Enji, accompanied with a wide smirk that he ignores.

(A plan? Itsuki overestimates him.)

*****

"Should someone like you really be in a place like this?" A familiar but not like this voice asks.

Rei startles. It takes a few moments to fit it all together in her mind. How someone can look more relaxed in business attire than casual clothes, she doesn't know - dark blue dress shirt rolled up to the elbows; top button undone. And then there's that almost smirk, an expression she's never seen or imagined on him before. Someone's clearly been out for a while tonight.

"No less than you should be." Rei counters.

Todoroki snorts at that, as if she's said something very amusing. He doesn't seem to think anything of it when he oh-so-casually takes the seat next to her, then motions to the bartender. The guy slides a whiskey on the rocks over to him, no questions asked.

"Is this really a good idea?"

One elbow on the table; one foot on the ground that he uses to angle his stool towards her. He raises his glass with a careless "probably not", and there's nothing almost about this smirk. Her mind's still reeling even as she clinks their drinks together anyway.

Maybe, she thinks, she's already drunk and hallucinating. Or maybe she's stepped into a parallel universe. To see him, like this, after the day she's had, on a night she just wanted to be a normal college student and forget about it all-

"What brings you here?" She asks instead.

"We had a site visit nearby. Friday nights like this aren't exactly uncommon." Oh. This dry tone at least, she can handle. Todoroki cocks a thumb behind them. "Makoto - that guy you saw the last time - has always been fond of this place."

The gang in question wave towards them. Rei offers a polite smile that reminds her why she's here in the first place.

"No offense," She says weakly. "But I'd really rather not talk to any of your friends today."

"Probably a wise choice." Todoroki shrugs, not seeming to mind. He has to lean in to be heard over the English rock song that's playing. "See that guy over there?"

He points back towards his friends. They look away and pretend to be deep in conversation.

Todoroki rolls his eyes. "He wanted to hit on you and use me as a wingman to invite you over."

"And you agreed?" Rei asks disbelievingly.

"Nope." He smirks. A sudden gleam in his eyes that's infectious. "I had my own reasons... like offering you a better alternative." Rei nearly chokes for a moment before he continues. "If you want a better escape than this," He gestures vaguely around them. There’s the sound of someone retching a few booths over. "The roof has a good view."

Right. "And you have access to that because...?"

"The manager owes me a favour."

"Should I ask?" Curiosity kills the cat, she knows.

"Probably not." Todoroki seems amused. "So?"

She has no idea where this easy banter is coming from. It's such a bad idea to play along, but then she wants to. Who knows if she'll ever get the chance to see him like this again? If this is one of her last nights of freedom, her last hurrah...

"I don't know." Rei bites her lip, feigning reluctance. "I was taught from a young age never to follow strangers to unknown, secluded places."

"I'm not a stranger," Todoroki points out. True. "We're on first name basis." Uh... What?

Rei stares at him. "Since when?"

He pauses - a sudden and almost sheepish jolt, as if he's only just realised they've never actually greeted each other by any name, or even officially introduced themselves to each other at all. But then he clears his throat, recovering-

"Since now?" He offers with a winning smile. It's so unexpected and unexpectedly smooth that it startles a laugh from her. Sure, Enji it is, if he insists.

(Maybe, he's just playing it up because his friends are watching. Maybe it's all a game to him, some sort of male power play competition.)

If nothing else, it'll be fun to tease him about it when he regrets it tomorrow morning.

She lets him lead her through a staff-only door and up one flight of stairs, only to emerge at a rooftop garden. She'd been expecting something bare-bones for a no-access area. Instead, there are seats, day beds, ornamental plants with decorations, a (closed) outdoor bar counter...

"You can book this for private events." Todo - Enji says, reading her mind. He braces his hand on the counter, then swings himself over before she can gape and ask "are you sure we're allowed-"

He fiddles with a switch, and then all questions are forgotten as the fairy lights flicker on.

"It used to be open access, but they got tired of stopping the drunk, high, or both from trying to do stupid shit like balance on the rails or throw things down." He explains, his tone blasé.

He follows her as she heads to the edge to admire the view. The glow of the city lights is beautiful. Going from loud, blaring music and the cold, recycled air of downstairs to this...

It's a stolen moment of peace.

(And to think, the one who'd created it...)

She chances a glance at him, realising all at once what a bad idea coming up here with him was.

Say what you will about Todoroki Enji's attitude, but when it comes to looks? From those illegally bright blue eyes to the chiselled definition of his muscles, Rei admits he's hit the genetic jackpot. There's definitely something there that's working for him. It's a shame that for the most part, his personality sucks - although, honestly...

(First impressions aside, that's becoming dangerously hard to remember. Especially when they're up on the rooftop like this, the breeze playing with his hair, the yellow glow of the fairy lights casting him in an almost ethereal...)

He leans against the railing and twists to look at her. She really hopes it can take his weight.

"So, why are you here tonight?

Rei smiles. Another heart-to-heart? "Would you believe me if I said I was trying to drown my sorrows?"

"With that shitty watered-down old fashioned?" He snorts, sceptical disbelief but also teasing-

Wow. He must be even more drunk than she had thought - which, actually... explains a lot.

"Not all of us are regular alcoholics." Rei teases back, just to see if she can get away with it.

"I'm not." Enji rolls his eyes, only to fix her with an unexpectedly serious look. "And you aren't." His sudden intensity takes her aback. "So, why?"

He really needs to stop doing things like this. Rei might just get the wrong idea and think that he cares. Of all the people she has asking after her...

(Zero, since she's assured all of them she's fine.)

She quirks a corner of her lips. "It seems my parents have found me a prospective partner."

Enji freezes. His brows knit into a frown.

"You're still in school. Surely in the three-odd years you have left, you'll be able to find some way to extricate yourself from the betrothal."

I... can't. If we lose all my offers by then, my only option will be some distant cousin, which I-

"They'll let me finish the year. Maybe another semester. But the man is eight years older than me, so... I doubt he'll want to wait that long."

His expression darkens further.

This feels oddly like a farewell. At least this way, at least one person will know why she left, even if he'll also have graduated by then. At least someone will know it wasn't truly her choice, even as she'll tell everyone else it's what she wants when the time comes to leave.

"There have to be other candidates who aren't that old. Who are willing to wait." He says slowly.

An uncharacteristically bitter laugh. "Despite how my father likes to position my family, I'm not exactly a steal. The hefty bride price he's asking for... if it's not for my quirk or whatever stock they put in the history of a surname-"

There's something almost angry in his eyes now, but it disappears in the blink of an eye. For all she knows, it was just a trick of the light. Still, he straightens, drawing himself to his full height.

"The solution is obvious." He says arrogantly.

Um. Really? Because she doesn't see any, and she's spent a lot of time thinking how. "What?"

"You're already dating someone." Enji suggests.

"I'm n-" It takes a moment for things to click. Another few for her to splutter. "You?"

"Why not?" He shrugs, as if it's obvious. "With me in the picture, you have an excuse to end the discussion with that guy without making your family look bad. They can just tell him that I made the better offer. Who's to know?"

"I don't think that'd be enough to change my parents' minds." She says weakly. "It's not just a matter of pride. They want to go through with this. Nothing short of a disaster would con-"

He pauses. "A disaster, like a child born out of-"

Rei gapes. "I’m not getting shacked up by you just so I can escape an arranged marriage!"

Enji laughs. "I was kidding." He says, raising his arms in the universal sign of surrender. Either Rei's hallucinating, or he's smashed. "But not about the plan. All you need is for it to be public enough that it'll look worse on them and you to refute it than go along with it, right?"

He's asking her to rebel.

(And the scary, terrifying thing is-)

"I mean, yes," She can't believe she's even letting him - herself - entertain the idea. "But that's-"

"It won't be hard. I'm a great catch."

What...? "Keep telling yourself that." Rei says, still in disbelief. How did her life ever get to this-

"I am." Enji insists, and there must be something wrong with her because she shouldn't be finding his obnoxious arrogance cute. "I can't say for sure without knowing who your guy is, but I bet he doesn't have anything on me when it comes to intellect or physical prowess. Money won't be an issue. I'm not almost a decade older-"

(He's trying to convince her?)

"Do I need to remind you that you also have a famous hair-trigger temper, a reputation for being too competitive, and a notoriously difficult personality in general?"

Enji waves his hand dismissively.

"Semantics." He says airily, and Rei was about to add a lack of sense of humour to the list, but he's pretty much busted that misconception to the curb tonight - maybe, maybe, even before.

(It's just a conversation. Just his imagination. Nothing is binding, she can let herself pretend-)

"So if you're such a great guy, why haven't you found someone yet?" Rei asks, looking up at him through her eyelashes. She's going to hell for this. It's one hell of a last hurrah.

"Because I didn't want to." Enji smirks, one corner of his lips curling up just so. She's barely got time to process what that means before he's stepped even closer, close enough to touch-

Then, he leans in to whisper in her ear, and Rei thinks she might just die. "Because..."

Her heart is pounding in her ears.

"The only girl I've ever wanted in any way is you."

And then, he passes out.

Rei stares at him in disbelief.

Great.

Just great.

*****

(Two truths and one lie:

1. Todoroki Enji chose to enroll as a management student at UA in the hopes that there might be a way to transfer into the hero course halfway. It seemed like his dream might come true when in his first year, he made history as the first ever non-hero course student to win the UA sports festival. Unfortunately, his parents remained unmoved by it, so that didn't come to be.

For a glorious few months, though, Enji was the pride and joy of a united management, general education, and support course student body.

Not that it mattered, because he transferred out in his second year to a private law prep school.

2. No one knows why Todoroki Enji left in his second year of high school. Curious students - and a fair amount of heartbroken ones - across the school pestered his ex-classmates in a bid to find out where he went. To their chagrin, no one knew a thing. He'd cut contact with everyone.

Officially, the reason submitted to the school administration was a mismatch in academic interest and the narrow scope of UA's management curriculum. Only Enji will ever know that it was because he knew the gap between him and the hero course students had widened. Despite what his other non-hero course classmates thought, there would be no replicating the miracle of last year.

He wasn't going to stay to find out.

3. Enji's third year of high school was when he gave up. On chasing a childhood dream he knew wasn't going to happen. On pleasing a father and mother that would never be satisfied. Why try, when trying only makes you look foolish?

There's a lot you can get away with when you're the top of your cohort. One piercing turned into two, then three, then four. They all wanted him for different reasons; the number of notches on his bedpost probably added up to more.

And yeah, people talked, but so what? It's not like he's ever cared what anyone else thinks.

Let them say whatever they want, as long as it's about him.)

*****

There are regrets, and there are regrets.

Enji wakes up to his head trying to implode in one of the worst fucking headaches of his life. It takes a few moments to process the white hotel bedsheets, the wooden panels and abstract art.

Also, the fact that he's not alone.

Right. Last night happened. Shit.

"Don't worry, I slept in one of the other rooms." Rei calls out dryly from the sitting area. She still looks put-together in yesterday's clothes, if a lot more casual than he's ever seen. No make-up on; her hair tied up in a loose ponytail. Even still…

"It's not my modesty I'm worried about." Enji grumbles, wincing as he pushes himself up. He mutters a litany of profanities as the movement causes the pounding of his head to worsen.

"You know, if you act the way you did while drunk normally instead of scowling all the time, you'd probably have a long line of girls waiting in line to sign up to date you." Rei notes helpfully.

"You're a bit late to the party." Enji mutters. "Everyone knows. Why do you think I'm my most popular whenever there's alcohol involved?"

Rei looks like she doesn't know what to say to that. He turns away, peeling off his shirt before heading to wash up. It's too crumpled - he'll need to iron it again before they leave.

"Can you help order some painkillers?" He cocks his head towards the room service menu. "And some food too, I guess. I'll take whatever."

There's a faint dust of pink on her cheeks. He turns back to the sink, so he won't have to think about how the sight is distracting, or what that faint swell of pride in his chest means. Fuck.

"Can they send up meds?" She asks sceptically.

"Just quote my name."

"This is getting ridiculous." She murmurs.

Still, she dials downstairs and does the ordering without any hiccups. Enji grabs the clothes refresher spray and spritzes it liberally, all the while wondering how to ask her why she's still here and where his drinking companions went.

Fortunately, she volunteers the information first.

"Your friends helped carry you here, but left after making some excuses..." She presses her lips together. "And insisted I take that room." She gestures to the adjacent room, still studiously avoiding his gaze. "The one with the curly hair -Itsuki, I think - said that he cleared his debt?"

Yeah, no. It's five times to one. God knows what they're up to. He swears, if they're trying to...

Rei looks at him like he's gone insane as he digs for the ironing board and sets it up. He forgoes the iron itself, instead using his palm as one.

"That must be convenient." She quips.

"It's come in handy." He agrees.

She stares at him. "Was that a..."


Don’t ask him. He doesn't know. This weird domestic vibe is probably only adding to the elephant in the room right now, but if he stops, he'll have to think-

That's the last thing he or his hangover wants.

"So... you booked this suite in advance?"

"Advance planning." Enji agrees, matter of fact. "We weren’t planning to be able to drive back last night." His friends probably just got themselves another room to crash in a couple streets over.

Rei looks at him, a mix of mild disapproval, concern... and what might just be curiosity.

"Is this normal, then?"

He knows what she's referring to.

"Believe it or not, I'm usually the one doing the carrying. Yesterday was..." Enji thins his lips.

There's no escaping acknowledging it.

"A fluke." He says slowly. Not all of it, though.

Rei lets it go. "For me, too." She laughs, only there's something oddly sad in it.

"Sorry for dragging you into it." He says.

"Don’t be." She smiles that smile. "It was actually pretty fun. I appreciate the blackmail material."

(The one that's a little too bright.)

Enji scoffs. "The blackmail material..." He lets his tone turn serious. "Or the distraction it provided?

Rei stills. "Wait. You remember what I..."

"If I didn't, I'd have had a lot more questions when I woke up today." Enji puts his shirt back on. "I remember everything." Unfortunately. He lets her eyes bore into hers. "I'd have put things differently, but I guess I still stand by everything that I said... including my offer."

For a second, he thinks she might fall off her half-perch on the arm of the armchair. She doesn't, but she does falter slightly as she gets to her feet.

It's the fifty expressions of Rei: shock, denial, relief, hope, embarrassment, intrigue. He has no idea what cause she has to be embarrassed. He's the one who said the cringe-worthy lines.

"You don't have to." Rei offers virtuously. Nervously, he thinks. "I'm not going to hold you to your drunken ramblings. Besides, it's a..."

"I'm not drunk now." Enji points out.

"Still, I couldn't possibly ask something like that of you!" She holds up her hands. "What would you get out of it aside from unnecessary drama?"

You, not marrying that guy. "Less people bugging me at school. A free pass from my parents for the years until you graduate." He shrugs.

Rei smiles weakly. "I really don't think that's-"

Enji sighs impatiently. "Look, you can say no, but stop trying to use me as the reason or excuse for it. I know what I want. Do you want to, or not?"

The doorbell rings. The wait staff takes one look at them, wheels the entire service cart in, then makes a hasty exit before they can thank him.

Their western style breakfasts stare at them. Enji grabs the two tablets of tylenol first, swallowing them down with a large gulp of black coffee.

"It's a big decision to make." Rei says quietly. "Going against my parents like that will be huge. Maintaining a... fake relationship on top of all of that, and making it high profile-"

"It must be easier than a real one." Enji says.

Rei quirks her lips. "I guess."

He waits.

There's a long moment where he thinks she'll say no. She hesitates, watching him.

"If you're really up for it…" She exhales, pushing her shoulders back. "We'll need to settle the terms of our arrangement. I'm guessing we'll pretend to be exclusive. Duration wise, until my graduation is a long time. I say we leave it open for either of us to end anytime, no hard feelings." He nods. "If push comes to shove, would you be alright with meeting my parents? I won't let them push you into any contracts, but-"

"You won't let them?" Enji raises his brows.

Rei sighs. "Fine, you won't let them-"

"That's not what I meant." He shrugs. "I just thought they pretty bold words for someone who was having a crisis about going against their parents just a minute ago." She actually looks slightly perturbed by that. "Either way, yes, I'm fine."

She nods slowly, as if to reassure herself.

"Okay. One last thing to clarify before..." She starts, only to pause, a wistful? flicker in her gaze as she shakes her head. "Actually, never mind. So, I believe we have a deal?" She prompts.

Enji offers his hand. "So it seems."

They shake on it. A business deal.

They look at each other. It's slightly anticlimactic.

"So, how exactly are we planning to announce our relationship?" Rei says with air quotes. "High profile is all well and good in concept, but..."

Enji looks at their omelette and sausages; the bowl of strawberries and two complimentary glasses of champagne. He glances towards the balcony, the unobstructed skyline view of the 20th floor.

It doesn't take long to set up.

She stares at him as he takes his phone out, then tests a few angles. It’s been a while.

He clears his throat. "How about this?"

Rei's eyes widen as she hesitates, but still takes up position next to him. They both look a little stiff at first - a slightly awkward moment where he wordlessly asks her for permission, and then pulls her in with an arm around her shoulders. She tucks herself against his chest. The lavender scent of the hotel's shampoo. She feels soft and solid all at once, her skin cool against his own.

She picks up one of the strawberries.

He's not smiling, but she is. They're both looking at the camera. She looks happy to be there; he looks... very comfortable with her in his arms.

Enji exhales, then takes the shot.

*****

"Omgggg of all ways for Todoroki to end his social media hiatus?!"

"R u 2 tgt?? When?? How???"

"WTF GIRL. DEETS. NOW."

All of Rei's inboxes explode.

*****

So does Rei's father, when he finds out.

There's a morbid - nerve-wracking - satisfaction in ignoring all his calls. She's never done it before. She can't do it forever, she knows.

(She still answers her mother's first message and the ones from her brother - just to assure them she's fine, alive, not kidnapped or blackmailed.)

There's some irony there because it's the first time she feels free. Far away enough that her parents can't touch her, short of personally marching their way down to her dorm. It's a giddy sort of high; the calm before the storm.

It will be a storm, based on the voicemails her father's left her. He's never been one for texting.

"Do you know how badly this reflects on us?"

"You had better call back this instant, Rei-"

"Don't think you can just shirk your responsibilities and run away. You have a duty to your family-"

She can't run forever, but she can at least try.

*****

He's not really sure how to go about all of this. He's more a one-night-stand kind of person.

"Fancy car pictures, check. Clubbing photos, check. Thirst trap selfies, check." Rei laughs, scrolling through his profile on his phone. "No wonder you have a reputation as a playboy even without actually sleeping with anyone-"

Enji coughs. "There might be some basis for that. My final year of high school and freshman year here was..." He doesn't elaborate.

Rei flushes slightly. "I see."

Enji pauses. "Have you ever..."

"No." Rei quirks her lips. "To no one's surprise."

Not due to a shortage of admirers though, he imagines. Either way he shrugs, dropping the topic. Fake dating. It's not his prerogative.

What's important is getting in front of the cameras and getting Rei as much 'evidence' that she's already in a relationship as possible.

Which is why he's very uncharacteristically at a heavily publicised charity event: the re-opening of the city's biggest animal shelter. She'd got an invite because she's apparently a semi-regular volunteer. Somehow, he's not surprised.

"Don't worry, I won't sully your reputation." Rei teases.

Enji looks at the animals around them dubiously. Overexcited dogs sniffing him and drooling on his shoes. Cats staring at them imperiously from high ground... only to jump down and rub themselves against Rei's legs. She pets them.

They hiss at him when he tries. Of course.

It's all very idyllic. Donors gushing about how cute the animals are; reporters taking pictures of guests posing with the puppies, playing fetch...

But there's the subset left in the enclosures.

"How about those over there?" Enji asks.

He'd actually been asking Rei, but a passing staff member thought he'd directed it at him.

"Oh, they're some of our more skittish residents, or the ones that tend to get aggressive with the rest." The man explains in an apologetic tone, as if it's his fault that they weren't let out today.

"Some of them have quirks and got abandoned because their owners couldn't handle them." Rei adds, giving Enji what he's starting to recognise as her 'I wish the world was a better place' look.

"Yup! Like Juno over there, who can grow smaller or bigger at will." He points towards an all-glass enclosure that's seemingly empty. "Or Magmar, who can breathe fire." He gestures to a growling rottweiler, whose enclosure a young five, maybe six-year-old boy is curiously peering into.

Several things happen in quick succession:


1. Said boy somehow manages to remove the glass pane using whatever quirk he has.

2. It pays to be able to manipulate fire. Enji manages to avert the stream of flames. Rei handles the now crying if uninjured boy and his panicking parents. Enji continues dealing with the angry fire-breathing dog while the staff member rushes off to grab a suppressor collar.

3. It pays to be resistant to fire. Only, Magmar adapts and changes attack tactics, switching to the more physical approach of charging him and...

Licking him happily?

He bumps Enji's hand a few times, each time more insistent than the last. Against Enji's better judgement, he experimentally creates a small ball of fire on his palm. Magmar swallows it, then burps, apparently satisfied with the... snack.

He proceeds to lay at Enji's feet.

"He really likes you." Rei says, openly amused.

"He likes my quirk." Enji corrects, questioning his life. The dog looks quite adorable now, actually. A pile of black fur and angry red eyebrows - it wasn't a trick of the light, his brown markings do look much redder than the usual rottweiler's.

"I suppose there really is someone for everyone." Rei laughs, bright with adrenaline and... pride?

Next to her, the staff member whose name he still doesn't know gapes. The parents of the boy thank him and Rei profusely. The shelter's staff do too. Enji tries not to think of the H-word.

Apparently, a reporter recorded everything.

They go viral on the internet for a while. It's not the type of publicity they'd been aiming for, but he supposes it does achieve their purpose.

If two weeks later, Enji has a specialised pet license and a rottweiler to his name, it's no one's business but his own. That, and a very angry RA.

And his dorm-mates/friends, who love the chaos.

(And... his fake girlfriend. Of course.)

*****

Rei finally decides to answer the call.

She has to endure a long earful of his lecturing, which was expected. She puts him on speaker and lets him rant while she neatens her desk.

"That being said, you could have done much worse." Her father concludes, his tone changing.

Rei pauses, a chill running down her spine.

"I've looked into his family. He is... very acceptable." I'm a great catch. "I accept him as an alternative candidate. We will need to secure a proper marriage agreement. I will call to arrange a meeting with his parents as soon as-"

How could this have backfired so quickly?

"No!" Rei interrupts. She's not even sure what she's most scared of. Of actually being forced (forced?) to marry him, that he'll finally realise how this is much more trouble than it's worth and walk away, that nothing will change and-

"No?" Her father repeats, tone dangerous. She's never faced his anger like this before. She's never acted out against her parents at all.

...You're not the only one who can act, Enji.

Rei changes strategy, steeling herself.

"Father. Like you said, this is a better deal than anything you found for me." She speaks his language even as he splutters, even though it nauseates her to her core. "I have a better understanding of the situation. Pushing him into a marriage now will only scare him away."

A long pause.

"I'm going to do this on my terms. Not yours. You will not mess this up for me." She says coldly.

(Can he tell that she's terrified?)

"Very well." His voice is clipped. Rei blinks. That... worked? "But I expect to hear from you periodically. No more disappearing. If I find your progress unsatisfactory, I will step in if needed."

Rei's hands are still trembling as she puts down the phone. She looks down at them, lets out a shaky breath. She can't believe she got away with that. It was terrifying, yes, but also...

(Amazingly cathartic.)

*****

"Oi. Our grad party this friday. You're bringing Himura, right?" Kichiro scrawls her name.

Contrary to popular belief, Enji is far from oblivious about societal customs. He just doesn't always choose to follow them. The stereotype of a model student, outdated expectations about how the heir of a reputable family should behave... even things like the bro code.

They don't know it's a fake relationship and the goal is to maximise exposure. Itsuki and Makoto think it's hilarious that he's being so high-profile about dating her. As for Kichiro... yeah, they were all drunk, and technically, Enji did know Rei first. But it's probably still kind of asshole-ish of him to have rejected being his wingman, only to have seemingly got together with her that very same night. Then proceeded to rub it in his face the morning after, and consistently ever since.

"Are you cool with it?" Enji asks carefully.

Kichiro sighs. "Don't get all serious on me, man."

Like he wants to? He's even more allergic to talking about these things than Makoto.

"Pretend I said nothing then." Enji shrugs.

Kichiro groans, kicking his study chair around. "Oh sorry, Magmar!" He nearly rolls over his leg.

Magmar whines at him with a warning puff of fire and jumps onto the couch next to Enji.

"Yes, it's cool. I mean, I just saw her for the first time. I didn't even know her name. You're clearly disgustingly head-over-heels for her-" What.

Okay, he didn't ask for this part of the convo.

"If anything, I'd be villain in the story if I were angry about it," Kichiro waves his hand. "Getting in the way of the hero-" Enji forces himself not to react. "Getting the girl. I'd be one of those obstacles that will eventually get solved anyway."

There's a passive-aggressive bitterness there. Just a hint of it, hidden behind a careless smirk.

"You've just got that kind of main character energy, you know? Good grades, good looks, good family..." In terms of money, perhaps. "Makes sense that you'll get the best girls too."

Enji kind of gets the feeling that Kichiro has wanted to say this to him for a long time.

(Everyone thinks that he has it all. Maybe he does. He can't explain that this isn't what he...)

"Well, I'm glad you're a friend and not an enemy." Enji says, in the same blasé tone Kichiro used, just so this doesn't get any more awkward than it must.

"And things like that are why we can't hate you." Kichiro says with a mock sigh.

"And here I thought it was the hotel suites." Enji deadpans. Kichiro laughs at that.

Magmar joins in, barking only to set the carpet on fire. Enji puts it out with a wave of his hand, then pets his disappointed dog and allows him to set his leg on fire instead.

*****

"You're dragging me into a life of debauchery." Rei tells him with the slightest of pouts.

"It's a party, not an orgy." Enji sounds amused.

Honestly, glancing around... she feels like some people didn't get that memo. Still, she is curious. This has never been her scene. Pool tables, beer pong, just dance and karaoke. There aren't that many freshmen around, the few people she'd recognised were surprised to see her. It's too-loud dance music and people laughing and getting drunk. There are couples making out.

Rei fights the urge to blush.

She kind of wonders what he'd be doing here tonight, if it weren't for her. They'd stuck with his friends at first, an actually surprisingly fun game of cards against humanity. Then he'd brought her out to the pool area to grab some food. Party Enji, she's realised, does smile and laugh more. Maybe it's really the alcohol, but...

"You don't have to hold back on my account." Rei quips, accepting the glass of prosecco he passes her. He pours one for himself. She's joking, but not entirely. He's been going slow. Likely - she thinks even though another part of her tells her she must be kidding herself - for her benefit. If he were her real boyfriend, she'd be touched.

"I'm not." He clinks his glass with hers. "The night is still young. I'd like to remember most of it." An inside joke, his tone is wry and almost teasing. "Unless you're volunteering to carry me back?"

(She's starting to think it's just the buzz of the late-night vibe that he enjoys. Alcohol is an excuse.)

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to pick a nice, clean spot of floor for you." Rei counters sweetly.

He feigns being touched. "Just make sure it's nowhere near that guy over there." Enji points to her left. "His snoring is legendary."

"Who?" Rei turns, craning her neck to look.

It's crazy that they don't run out of things to talk about. They probably get twenty minutes more of sharing that pool bench, watching the water lap to the edge as they talk, before two girls come up to them. The taller one with aqua hair grins, holding up a two-thirds full vodka bottle.

"That better not be what I think it is." Enji comments as they near. He eyes the bottle.

"It is!" The other girl chirrups. "C'mon Todoroki, for the throwback to freshman vibes? Same rules. Spin the bottle. One gulp each for you and whoever it points to. Kiss. The person who gets spun goes next." Spin the bottle, essentially.

At least it's not seven minutes in heaven?

"You should join too, Himura!" Now she feels guilty for not knowing their names. "Not that Todoroki's gonna let you join alone..." She giggles and then winks at her. "Or vice-versa, eh?"

Enji turns to her, his gaze contemplative.

"I was going to say no, but in the name of giving you a proper college experience..." There’s a dare in his eyes. The one that makes her want to narrow her own and challenge him.

"Let's do it." She says, putting down her drink.

"Yayyy!" The taller girl takes her by the arm, guiding her to where seven - now eleven - of them sit on the floor in a circle. They've already started - she's treated to the view of her club president kissing Itsuki very passionately.

Oh God. What has she signed up for?

Enji looks at her as he sits opposite her, all casual and amused. "You better not be the one spinning next, Itsuki." He drawls, earning laughs and a good-natured middle finger as Itsuki pulls away.

"Nope, it's me!" Her club-president says.

She spins a girl with the longest hair she's ever seen. Kaneko, she realises as everyone else cheers her name. Kaneko smiles, making a come-hither gesture that Miura laughs and accepts.

So begins another kiss.

(At least in seven minutes in heaven, Rei thinks, they'd have privacy. Here, the point seems to be putting on a show. No touching below the shoulders, but everything above is fair game.)

Kaneko spins Enji. Another round of cheers.

She walks over to him, taking a swig from the bottle before passing it to him. He takes one too even as she kneels down next to him. Rei tries not to watch too closely as he curls his lips in a smirk, then tilts her chin up and leans in.

(Fake boyfriend. Fake boyfriend. Fake boyfriend.)

Clearly, they're both good at this.

Kaneko pouts when he pulls away, just slightly out of breath as she stands. "Todoroki, that tongue piercing's such a tease." ...Oh? "Himura, you're one lucky girl." She wags her finger.

Rei hopes her laugh is more coy than nervous. Everyone seems to buy it, at least.

He spins the bottle.

It slows to a stop, pointing at her.

They erupt in hoots and wolf-whistles.

"Don't be shy now! Give us a real show-"

Their eyes meet each other's.

Maybe, we should have practised.

It's push and pull. She gets up before he does. He takes the vodka first, then offers it to her. It burns its way down her throat. A deep breath, and then it's pure recklessness that she sits on his lap. Genuine surprise. Cheers of approval.

His eyes widen. Darken.

Her pulse races as she closes hers. It's heat. It's him. One hand tangles itself in her hair. His chest is solid under her palm. He's gentler than he thought she'd be yet almost thorough in his attentiveness, like he's categorising her every response and reaction, figuring out what she likes-

(And then oh, there's that piercing-)

He's definitely had practice, because she hadn't felt it at all up till then. It doesn't hurt, doesn't bump into her teeth or anything like that. It's a whim when she touches the tip of her tongue to the metal, cools it with her quirk. He freezes. A groan that sends a thrill of pride shooting down her spine. Only it's a wave of pleasure instead when the metal heats up all of a sudden - oh, so that's how it feels - and it's his turn to swallow her gasp and she's wondering how that tongue might feel like on other parts of her body and oh god what is she doing they have an audience-

She's blushing by the time she opens her eyes.

It must be a convincing kiss, because they're all clapping and cheering by the end of it. "Get a room already, you two!" Someone teases.

(She only has eyes for him. He's looking at her like he wants her, his eyes bright and intent - the difference between feeling appreciated and like you're being set alight by a gaze. Right now...)

Under the floodlights of the poolside, she feels alive and electric in a way she never even knew she could feel. She wants tonight to last forever-

(She wants this to last as long as it can.)

*****

"Going out again?" Her dorm mate asks.

Rei nods, reaching for her favourite perfume.

"You look great! I love the earrings." She coos, sidling up to Rei. Rei resists the urge to raise her eyebrows or shift away. "Were they a gift?"

"No." She replies with a polite smile.

"You should wear them more." Her dorm-mate says anyway, still all smiles, unfazed. "You know, I hear the final years are planning something big after their graduation ceremony." There it is. "Say, if you can score another invite or two..."

(It's not like she wants to be cynical, but-)

"No promises," Rei smiles. "But I can try."

Fairweather friends, she thinks. All these classmates of hers that approach her out of nowhere, acting all friendly all of a sudden.

(And then there's the opposite: the ones who've never had and shouldn't have a problem with her, now spreading all sorts of terrible rumours.)

She supposes it's just how these things go.

*****

Forget sullying," Enji complains. "You're singlehandedly ruining my reputation."

"At least we're even." Rei offers placatingly.

Enji begs to differ. "Do you have to be so good? You're like sunshine and spice and-"

"Everything nice?" Rei laughs, swivelling around on the pavement to look at him. This... easy light-heartedness is a good look on her. "You of all people should know that's not true. And by the way, I don't think that's how that line goes."

(So, she does treat him differently.)

They reach the children's daycare centre.

It's yet another programme he has no idea how she got involved in - a two-weekly stint tutoring underprivileged kids who lag behind their peers in school how to read. Apparently, the other volunteer who was supposed to come today couldn't make it. He's not sure why she asked him. He's not sure why he agreed.

The teacher blanches when she sees Enji.

She takes Rei aside. They're not exactly quiet.

"No, it's not community rehabilitation." Rei says, chagrined. "He's actually our faculty's top-"

It's all rather entertaining to him.

The kids gather around him, much less reserved than their teacher in their inspection. They're between six and eight years in age, he thinks.

"Did that hurt?" One of the younger girls with pigtails asks, pointing to his ear in fascination.

Enji shrugs. "Not really, but you shouldn't take my word for it. Especially the higher ones."

"Yeah!" Her friend nods sagely. "He's so big, his skin's probably so thick that it didn't hurt!"

Gee. Thanks?

"How did you get so tall?" Another boy demands. "Do you think I'll be that tall when I grow up?"

Enji regards him. "How tall are your parents?"

"Like... here?" He jumps and touches his arm.

Uh. Maybe he's just not much of a jumper, but-

"I think you should keep a guarded prognosis." Enji tells him seriously.

"A gutted what?" The boy wrinkles his nose.

"Prognosis. A prediction - or educated guess - of what's probably going to happen for something based on what you already know." Enji defines. "And guarded, which means..."

The boy looks at him, eyes filled with hope.

"Well, you never know." Enji says gruffly.

Behind him, the sound of footsteps stopping.

"See, he's teaching them already." Rei says with a bright smile. He can tell she's hiding her laugh.

(Great. How much did she hear?)

The teacher nods slowly, seemingly convinced.

"If you're okay with working with the first half..."

"Sure." Enji agrees, not knowing what it entails.

And so begins the most tiring few hours of his life. All he’s learnt is: kids are terrors. He has to fend off a boy who keeps trying to super-jump onto his back for a piggyback ride. He strikes one of the worst deals in his life with a girl to not keep using her lights-out quirk to kill the lights and drench them all in darkness.

He eventually succeeds in settling them down.

The other half of the class, he realises, are literal angels.

He supposes that in distracting the rowdier kids, it’d gave the shyer and more serious kids a chance to work with Rei undisturbed from the start. He watches her go around helping them with their assigned texts, patiently explaining the bits they don't understand.

(And he tries not to think of things he probably shouldn't, like: her with her kids as a mother.)

It's the first time he goes, but not the last.

*****

It was a mistake, Rei thinks, to have brought him there. To places she actually cares about. Sharing activities and causes that are close to her heart.

(It was a terrible, terrible idea, because now she can almost imagine him as a father. They’ve never talked about the things they should. His... sort of confession that she's almost starting to feel like she must have imagined. Their spin the bottle kiss-)

"Here." Enji says, taking out a small box.

It's not jewellery. Thank God it's not. Heaven knows they've crossed enough lines in whatever-

A small glass dog. It looks like Magmar.

(It’s a memory she'll always treasure.)

"They said I cheated during design and technology class back in high school." Enji shrugs, all I-don't-care nonchalance even as she carefully lifts it to admire it more closely. "I called it making full use of available resources."

"You made this yourself?" Rei’s head snaps up. That's...

Enji wrinkles his nose. "I'd say modify, rather than make. I didn't create it straight from a mound of sand, if that's what you're imagining."

"It's still really cool." Rei insists - a use for fire that she'd never have imagined. "I didn't know your quirk's temperature runs that high."

"It... doesn't, at baseline." Enji says after a pause. Then before she can read too much into that- "It'd be remiss of me to miss my girlfriend's birthday." He drops his tone. "Fake or not."

(Right.)

"Thank you." Rei smiles, meaning it.

She makes a small ice cat to accompany glass Magmar, then places them side by side on the cafe table. It's doomed to melt, leaving only the dog behind. She wonders if that's a metaphor for the inevitable outcome of all of this.

(Fake boyfriend, she reminds herself.)

It's almost become a mantra. An excuse.

(You wouldn't agree to do something like this with someone you don't like at least a little-)

She's scared that's just her wishful thinking.

(But if it’s true... then what does that say about her?)

*****

"Is there a reason you're stalking my girlfriend's profile?" Enji asks, unimpressed

It's not the sort of thing you expect to see on your friend's desktop screen when you go back to your dorm living room after a... 'date'.

"I was stalking you." Itsuki corrects cheerfully, proving it by pulling up Enji's. His eyes sparkle with mirth as he drags the tab out to place them side by side. "Just saying, you look like you're leading a double life."

Enji rolls his eyes, ignoring him.

*****

His mother is far more obtrusive about it.

"I'm just saying," His mother says over the phone. He's so fucking tired of people just saying things. "You should be more discerning about who you choose to partake with in dalliances-"

"It's not a dalliance." Enji interrupts.

"Even worse." His mother says without missing a beat. "Will you just accept that we're worried about you?" Oh, that's just rich. "Her family may have a long lineage, but their current financial situation leaves much to be desired. Looks can be deceiving-"

Enji sets his jaw, exhaling through his teeth.

"Behind that pretty face, she's probably just scheming to get her hands on our family's resources. It’s stereotypical gold digger behaviour to-"

"Can you stop talking about her like that?" Enji loses his cool and snaps. Honestly, he swears-

His mother clucks her tongue. "Does she have you so wrapped around her finger already?"

(Indignation. Denial. He hates how she can still so easily-)

She plays him a recording. The audio is tinny over the phone, but the voice is still recognisably Rei's. "This is a better deal than anything you found for me." "Pushing him into a marriage now will only scare him away." Recognisable, yet nothing like...

(A momentary flicker of doubt. He's never heard her speak like that before. What if that's...)

Another white-hot flash of anger fills his chest. At himself, for believing it for even a moment. He knows better than that. If it's not, what does it matter anyway? This isn't real. Their fake relationship was his idea. If this really was some grand master plan on her part-

"How did you even get your hands on that?" Enji asks in frustration. "Stop spying on my personal life, let alone extending it to the people around-"

"Her father was the one who tried to look into us first." His mother says, unrepentant. "The rest of that conversation only proves that he is-"

"I am aware." Enji says coldly. "And Rei is not her father. What you just clumsily tried to use as damning evidence was just a part of our plan-"

"Your plan?" His mother repeats, derisive and patronising, as if he's a young kid she's trying to chide. "I know you had a thing for being a hero-"

A thing? That's what they're going to call it?

"But you're graduating soon. You have more pressing things to do than go around reliving childhood fantasies playing hero for some girl-"

(That's not what this is. It's-)

"I'm done with this conversation." Enji growls, hanging up.

His mother's text comes in before he can toss his phone aside. 'I can see that feelings are very much involved. Just don't get blinded by love.'

Enji deletes it and gets on with his day.

*****

He thinks about asking her about it.

He resolutely refuses to give into it.

"Oof." Rei winces as an overenthusiastic Magmar jumps onto her lap. "I know you're used to doing this with a bunch of boys who spend too much time in the gym, but my bones might break."

Magmar woofs, then licks her face lovingly.

"It feels like he's stealing my girlfriend from me." Enji says, amused, just enough drawled emphasis on the word for it to sound ironic rather than-

"Jealous?" Rei teases, her eyes on him.

(Would you rather it be my tongue on you?)

It's a wayward quasi-thought that comes out of nowhere. It's the heat, he swears, messing with his head. The park bench they're on had been under the shade at first, but now that the sun has shifted, they're right under direct sunlight.

"Of you, maybe." Enji counters. “He’s my dog.”

But then she laughs at him, her eyes bright with that inexplicably infectious joy - and he has the not-so-inexplicable urge to lean in and taste it with his lips - temperature play isn't something he'd ever really considered. No other girl could.

(He'd maybe volunteered for this to get this out of his system. But the taste he’d got has only-)

And as Magmar barks again and Rei's hands move and ice chips form on her palm... Magmar sniffs the offering suspiciously, only to accept. He full-body shivers as the ice goes down. His ears flatten as he yelps - only to, ten seconds later, straighten and breathe an experimental puff of fire as if just to make sure that he can.

(And he just sits there feeling charmed, watching her laugh as she plays with his dog - Magmar nudges her for more ice chips, now that he's confirmed it has no deleterious effects.)

"What do you know?" Rei quips, a smile on her own lips. "Looks like not-drunk-you can smile."

Enji rolls his eyes, but doesn't stop or try to hide it. She doesn't say anything else either. It's a comfortable few moments of silence.

(It doesn't take a genius to know that he's well and truly fucked.)

*****

"No, father." Rei says into the phone. She feels like screaming. "Don't. He has the final say on his choice of marriage partner." As should I. "Calling his parents now is only going to alienate-"

"Then, you'd better work faster. Believe it or not, despite your indiscretions, the Yoshimura heir is still interested." A wave of nausea. "He may have less to offer, but he shares a similar view that our families were once connected by blood. It'd be nice to bring their family back into the fold."

Anyone but him.

"We should be more practical about this." Rei says, hanging up before she loses the nerve to.

She leans her forehead against the bathroom mirror, hands on either side of the sink. The porcelain is cool against her skin. Slowly, a thin layer of frost covers the surface. Even more slowly, it recedes, leaving behind droplets of water that mingle with her tears. She turns on the tap, splashes the sink to clean it up.

On with the rest of her day, then.

*****

They're toeing the line, Enji knows.

Semi-regular visits to his dorm are a thing, mostly to play with Magmar and talk. There are exceptions - the time she'd come in the middle of Makoto's latest attempt to burn down their kitchen by cooking for all of them and taken over remains one of his favourite memories. Not necessarily because it was her cooking of the meal itself, though it was delicious. But because Makoto had tried to save face by quipping ' of course she's better at this, she's a woman'.

Enji hadn't needed to fire back on her behalf.

She'd turned back to Makoto and smiled, then 'accidentally' emptied the rest of the chilli paste into his share of curry rice. Then as icing on the cake - lifted the empty jar, only to reveal the middle finger she'd been hiding behind it.

Enji had been so proud.

It was hilarious. Even Makoto had laughed.

Today, though...

He can tell that she's down. It's the way the light in her eyes seem that much more muted than usual. The way she looks away rather than at him.

Was it your father again?

It's funny how it was easier to ask these things when they were strangers than now. In the time that he takes to deliberate and ultimately stay silent, she turns the conversation back to him.

"What are you going to do when you graduate?"

This... isn't a topic he wants to discuss.

"Start actively training to take over my father, I guess." He shrugs. "You know how it is. Rotate to a bunch of different departments. Get a feel of their operations and day-to-day challenges."

Rei nods, a flicker of confusion in her eyes. "You're not going to sit your Bar exam, then?"

There it is.

"No." Enji sighs sharply. "There's no point. I won't have the time or bandwidth to practise anyway."

"You kind of sound like you want to, though." Rei points out, her voice so gentle it grates on his nerves.

He really doesn't want to go into this.

"It doesn't..." Rei hesitates. There's this terrible understanding look in her eyes. "It doesn't have to be a repeat of the hero thing." Enji stiffens. "I heard a bit of your first two years of high school. How you'd decided to... cut your losses and-"

The one fucking time he'd drunken-confided in-

Enji swears under his breath. "Who told you?"

"Itsuki." At least it's the person he told.

"Since when do you two even talk?"

"It was just that once, I think." Rei's brows furrow. "You weren't back yet by the time I reached. He was the one who brought it up."

He needs to talk to his so-called friend, but first-

"This isn't the same thing." Enji says firmly. "I don't want to do law, the way I wanted-" It was so much more than that. "To go into heroics then."

"I don't doubt that." Rei says, her tone careful. "It's just... you confuse me sometimes. The first time we met, I was annoyed because you came off as the sort of person who never tries, gets everything anyway, and is ungrateful about it." That's... " But then we started working together, and I realised that you do try, when you want to. You were meticulous to a fault in the conference. Even now in this situation..."

She trails off. Enji keeps his face impassive.

"Out of all your coursework, criminal law's the only thing you ever seemed more interested in." Was he that obvious? "I guess I don't get why you're not trying. It's not like you're afraid of going against your parents. The reasons left..."

(It's not a nice feeling to feel like you've been picked apart from inside out, laid bare in the worst of ways to form a self-portrait you hate-)

Enji lets out a derisive snort. "Are you the expert on me now?" A flicker of hurt. A flash of guilt that he quickly quashes. "Look, we aren't actually dating." He ignores the sense of loss, the look on her face. "I have my own personal reasons that are none of your business. You should focus on your own ongoing issues with your parents."

Rei's expression morphs into disbelief. Frustration. Good. That, he can work with-

"I am doing something about it." She gestures between the two of them, still not raising her voice.

"You're delaying it. Not solving it." Enji argues. "For fuck's sake, what day and age are we living in? You can't seriously believe that a wedding dowry is the answer to your family's financial woes. Just tell them you'll get a job and earn-"

"It's not so simple." She snaps. "It's not just about the money. It's my family's heritage. Our custom."

"You didn't seem so invested in that custom when you were scheming with me on how to get out of it." Enji sneers, his blood roaring in his-

He's not sure when they both stood up, only that they're both on their feet. She looks stung. Betrayed.

(A wave of guilt, terrible and all-encompassing.)

How had things even got here? They'd just been meeting up before heading out for dinner.

Rei draws herself to her full height. "You're right." She says coolly. "We're not actually dating. My family history is none of your business."

(Wait. That's not what I...)

"I think we should end this here." The words echo in his ears. "Thank you for helping me delay the inevitable for the last three months, and for..." She pauses. "Being the best fake boyfriend a girl could ask for." Shit. Are those tears in her- "I..."

She tears her gaze away.

(Wait. Rei. You know we weren't just...)

She leaves. Or makes to, at least. When she opens the door, Itsuki is standing there.

"Trouble in paradise?" He grins.

"Not now, Itsuki." Enji growls. He wants to punch a wall. Raze the whole apartment down.

Rei mumbles a 'sorry, excuse me', then squeezes past a now mortified Itsuki and disappears.

Enji sinks into the couch. Closes his eyes.

(If this is the last time he ever sees her...)

"Shit. I'm so sorry, bro." There's genuine regret in his friend's voice. "I didn't think it was so serious."

"Which part of it didn't look serious?"

"I mean... couples fight all the time. I thought it was just a spat. Shit. I really thought you guys were in it for the long haul. I haven't seen you as happy in the last few months in... ever. And without all the alcohol binges too. It was-"

"Is that why you told her?" Enji's too tired to even argue about it. All he wants is just...

"Told her wha-" Itsuki starts, only to realise. "Oh. Fuck. Yes. Sorry. It's just... it's different knowing why when you get all pissy sometimes, y'know? I don't know why you never told the other two. But don't worry, I didn't either. I only told her in case you scare her off otherwise."

Perhaps, there's some irony in that.

"Shit. Was that what your fight was about?"

"No," Enji sighs. "Not exactly."

He opens his eyes when he feels fur at his feet. Right. Magmar had scampered off into his room when they'd started arguing. He nudges Enji's calf quietly, mournfully, as if he also knows that...

He tries to will that hollow feeling in his chest away. It doesn't work, even as he pets Magmar.

"What do you call it when you wish you could take back the things you said and don't even care about the stupid stuff you fought about anymore because you just want her back?"

Itsuki falters. "Heartbreak and regret...?"

Enji chuckles grimly. "That's what I thought." He looks down at his hands. At his dog. "And what would you suggest I do in this scenario?

Itsuki looks kind of freaked out now. "Uh. I mean considering how she just left... I think give her some space? Let her cool down and all that."

"I think..." Enji thinks about it. Thinks about her. The way she rarely ever asks for anything. How the only indication that she'd wanted a soft toy at that fundraising carnival they went to was her gaze lingering on the snow lion plush for a beat longer than everything else. How she'd beamed when he'd gone and won it for her.

Thinks about what they just fought about.

(One thing he's sure about: if he lets her leave tonight, he's letting her walk out of his life for good. If there was ever a time for trying-)

"I'm going to do the opposite of that."

Itsuki doesn't exactly look surprised.

"But..." He stands up, one last scratch of Magmar's head. He's going to regret this. "Thanks anyway, bro."

*****

Fireboi's birthday bash 🔥

[18:57] Itsuki:
Dude dude dude!
I've been knighted, guys
Enji called me bro
Take that, suckerssss

[19:01] Makoto:
Lol congrats how many shots did it take

[19:02] Itsuki:
No alcohol involved, zero sarcasm or irony ✌️😎

[19:02] Makoto:
I dont believe you

[19:03] Itsuki:
Nooo you must! We had a heart to heart
I mean he didn't end up taking my advice but still

[19:04] Kichiro:
Wtff we had a h2h too and he didn't call me bro

[19:04] Itsuki:
Cuz I'm clearly superior 😏

[19:09] Itsuki:
Oh, no witty comeback?

[19:12] Itsuki:
Guys...?
Wait shit don't text him about it
He's kinda dealing with some intense rs shit rn, he went running after Himura after she ran away

[19:12] Makoto:
You couldn’t have led with that first???

*****

It's the kind of clarity that follows after the heat of a real argument and the deep ache of a good cry.

She wishes she hadn't been so impulsive about it. That she hadn't used the atomic option to end things between them. If she'd never raised the subject of his graduation, maybe they'd still be having dinner right now. If she'd only cared less, if he weren't so angry and defensive-

(It feels like a real break-up. Maybe, it is one.)

If it was all for the 'gram, then why did they meet up in private as often as they did? If it was all pretend, what did they have so much to talk about? They'd convinced her parents and the rest of the school that they were dating by the end of the first two weeks or so. The rest of those outings spent orchestrating the perfect photo op of the day were unnecessary, but fun.

(Is she supposed to throw out his gifts?)

It's such a ridiculous thing to be worrying about. The fate of a glass dog and a snow lion plushie. She has her future to worry about, now that...

She has no idea how their quarrel today even happened. One thing had just led to another-

(The could-have-beens are the worst part.)

She shouldn't have come here. Shouldn't have gone to a place that reminds her so clearly of-

("Rei." Relief. He breathes her name, as if he's-)

Great. Now, she's even hallucinating him.

"How did you even manage to get up here?"

(But if he's real... that's honestly worse. Traitorous relief. Her heart soars. Free-falls. Don't make this harder than it has to be. Why did you come?)

"I saw you enter the code on the lock the last time." Rei murmurs, keeping her back to him. His footsteps near. She shuts her eyes, letting his voice wash over her. Maybe someone slipped something into her drink. Maybe, this is just-

He's close enough that she can hear him swallow. Feel the heat of him, but not him.

"You would have gone somewhere else if you didn't want to be found." His voice sounds ever so slightly winded, like he's been running. She...

(Don't use me as an excuse, he'd told her that very first day. Is that all this is, even now? Did she end their arrangement because of the things he'd said, or because she just couldn't bear to drag this out any further and risk getting more attached?)

Maybe both.

She exhales, opening her eyes.

It was here that everything had changed. The night is clear, just like it'd been. The same night skyline, the warm fluorescent lights of the city lights. A full moon instead of a crescent one.

He's in a t-shirt instead of business wear - not quite soaked through, but definitely damp with sweat. The fact that he’d tried so hard to search for her... (Guilt, a secret validation.)

She raises her head. Their eyes meet.

He falters, but steps forward anyway.

"Sorry for how I reacted." He sounds genuine.

(Why do you have to be mature about it?)

"It's fine. It wasn't really my place to be saying all that anyway." Rei says, a hollow smile.

"But you were right." He starts, his tone pensive in a way that she's never heard. Serious, almost self-deprecating. "I only ever try for the things that are compulsory, or that I know will succeed. That way, for everything else..." He stands next to her, looks up at the stars. "If I fail, then I can just tell myself it's not like I tried."

That's... pretty sad, if she thinks about it.

Silence falls upon them for a long few moments.

"That... really wasn't how I used to be." Wry twist of his lips. "If anything, I was the opposite." He sounds like he doesn't know how he ended up here.

(She believes him. She's seen traces of that person, behind the I don't care. She even gets it - sometimes, it feels like she's played meek and agreeable for so long that it's become her. She wishes all at once that his parents had let him be a hero, even as she feels a pang at the idea that they'd probably never have met.)

Enji sighs, leaning forwards. He rests his wrists against the railing. Interlaces his fingers.

"I did think about it. I won't have time for it full-time, but perhaps... doing some prosecution work on the side on a pro bono basis." Rei blinks as he shrugs. "It's not like I need the money."

Rei's lips tilt into a smile. "Sounds like you'll be very busy. Still... I'm sure you can handle it."

Enji scoffs. "Please. More than just handle."

(And there's that reckless, try-hard, I'll-do-what-I-want side of him that she can't help being drawn to, that makes her want to risk something.)

"Why are you here?" Rei needs to know.

Surely, he wouldn't have come after her just to inform her of the outcome of their argument.

Another pause. His eyes have no right being so bright and intense under the cover of night. They search hers. She wonders if he's found what he's looking for. If it's the same thing she...

"I can do better than drunken ramblings." He says abruptly, with no context whatsoever.

Her heart begins to race anyway.

"There has been one thing I've been trying for, even though I know it might be futile." His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows. He holds her gaze. "Something that I want for myself."

Say it. Don't say it.

"You could call this... pre-meditated." He gestures at them both. "I wouldn't have offered to do this with anyone else. I might even have asked you for the real thing from the start, if I thought you might agree." Her mind reels. Even back then? "But out of the two, I thought..."

"You're probably right." Rei murmurs. It'd have been an even larger leap - not just running from a relationship, but also rushing into one with another man. She wouldn't have dared.

"And I thought this would hurt you less if things didn't work out. If I lost interest, or..." Thanks...? "But I didn't." His voice is low, almost accusational. "It hurt a lot when you walked out the door today." His eyes could burn down a city, then raise it back up again.

(His words... are what she’s been wanting to hear.)

"So, what I'm really asking now is-"

The sudden chirp of a message notification.

They both ignore it. "Like I was saying-"

Enji's phone pings with three new messages.

"Sorry. Let me mute it." He glares at his phone then looks back up, clearing his throat.

And then Rei can't take it any longer. She laughs. This is just so dysfunctional. It's just so them.

Enji looks a little worried that she's lost it.

(And in that moment, faint tendrils of music from downstairs, the roar of blood rushing in her ears-)

She hugs him.

(Time holds its breath with her.)

He freezes at first. But then slowly, surely, his arms wrap around her. He's warm and real and they've never really done this before, but he still feels right, her head resting against him-

"I was desperate to escape that marriage," Rei confesses in a low murmur. "But there was only one person I'd have agreed to fake date..." A soft smile as she looks up at him. "Or real date."

His eyes flash with something dangerous and warm and hopeful and electrifying.

They meet in the middle.

What starts out as a simple brush of lips turns into her arms around his neck. She gasps even as he props her up on the railing - she holds him tight; he doesn't let her fall. His hand tangles in her hair. He caresses her cheek - so gentle it's almost tender - sharp contrast to the cruel toe-curling things he's doing with his tongue. He's rough and gentle all at once, an oxymoron that's somehow perfectly him. It's his heat and her cold, even better than she remembered-

She's smiling when they draw apart. So is he.

There's something oddly gentlemanly about the way he offers his arm for her to get down from her perch. Neither of them speaks as he leads her to the swing bench most illuminated by the fairy lights. She sits down first. He joins her.

And then they talk.

She takes the leap and explains her family's marriage customs - the way money has come into the equation, but bloodline still remains at the core of it all. He comes clean about how he'd learnt the first half, knows the strategy she's been playing with his dad even if not by choice-

They talk about that. But while it gets heated, things don't explode like before.

(It... feels like this might just actually work.)

"I still think you should give them a piece of your mind." Enji sets the swing on a gentle rocking motion. "But if a proposal is all you need for them to let you finish your degree..."

"Let's not play that game again." Rei starts.

He looks at her. "What if we do it for real?"

They seem to have a habit of drastically re-defining their relationship in short spans of time.

"That's... fast." Rei laughs weakly. "Going from fake dating to a real engagement in one-"

(Then and again, she thinks, she might have got herself promised to a stranger within the same amount of time. Perhaps even less, if he hadn’t...)

"It doesn't have to be tonight." He says - it's such a novelty to see him as chagrined as her. "But honestly... was it ever really fake?" He challenges, just because.

He sounds like he's asking himself as much as her. They both know the answer. It hangs between them, just waiting for either of them to grab onto it-

(Like her would-be fiancé would say: fuck it.)

She gets up on her feet and holds her hand out to him. He stares at her like she's gone insane.

Rei feels a smile break onto her lips again. "Shouldn't you be on one knee for this?"

"What. Now?" It's his turn to look stunned. "I don't have a ring on me just-" Flustered, even. "What kind of creep would I be if I just walked around every day with a ring in my pocket, waiting for the right moment to propose when we weren't even really dating?"

"A well-prepared one?" Rei laughs. "You were saying this was pre-meditated, weren't you?"

"Not to this extent." He's shot up to his feet too anyway. "I was preparing for the worst case, not the best." That... really shouldn't be touching.

(But then, he throws the ball back at her-)

He takes her hand. She doesn't quite realise what he's doing until she realises he's estimating. And when he casually plucks off a small glass ornament hanging on a plant - a sudden white-hot flash and then, orange-red as he amazingly, undeniably, starts to morph it into a ring.

"Is this theft?" She gapes, memorising every moment-

"...I'll ask the manager how much to pay."

He gets on one knee, before her.

"A placeholder." He offers, a smirk in his voice-

(There’s a much more vulnerable question in his eyes.)

It's not a real proposal. Not really. More a promise of their own creation, just for them. It's not for the cameras, or her parents, or any wannabe would-be suitor. It'll make for a hell of a story to tell their children one day.

And right there, in the warm golden glow of the fairy lights, a rollercoaster of a night behind them-

(She sees words like 'freedom' and 'future' in his eyes. She gives him her hand, offering the same things to him. He asks a question, if not the question-)

And she says yes.