Cubicity

Chapter 9: Hitting the Books

It's complicated, is what Midoriya wanted to say at first. Should he tell Tenya in detail about his plans for Sunday? Izuku had sought advice from his tall friend on the first date, and the date went better than he ever imagined, even if Tooru found out about the plan not long after. Maybe revealing the promised second date could prove resourceful to himself yet again? With some hesitation in his voice, Midoriya explained, "I asked Hagakure-chan yesterday if she would like for just the two of us celebrate her birthday."

With a proud face, Tenya stated, "That's quite gutsy of you to ask. Good for you."

Cupping both his hands on his head, Izuku said, "Yeah, but the kicker is that she h-hinted at the possibility of taking our relationship a step f-further. And then a-asked me to I-I would be o-okay with that if we went t-together."

Midoriya expected his friend to go into a tirade of arm flailing at what he just said but instead, Ida just cupped his chin and stayed silent for a minute. Was he already thinking of a plan? Tenya wasn't considering making it a double date again was he? Even if he did, would Izuku be okay with that? Didn't he promise to go alone with her? As intimidating as the upcoming date seemed, deep down, Izuku knew he needed to go by himself.

Finally speaking up, Ida asked, "Is this what you want?"

"I-I'm not o-opposed to the p-possibility," Izuku responded while poking his two index fingers together.

With a baffled look the tall teen then replied, "So why are you having trouble sleeping? This sounds like a good event for the both of you to experience."

Sinking his head into his shoulders, Izuku responded, "I'm d-dreading the whole 'increased p-physical contact' part of being a c-couple."

This got a good laugh out of Tenya.

A bit irradiated, Midoriya rose his voice slightly and stated, "I'm serious here!"

"Oh I know, sorry. It's just what you said is exactly how I would have worded it," Ida tried to explain between chuckles. After clearing his throat and giving a concerned look to his friend, he asked, "Are you scared that you'll mess it up or something?"

After a long exhale, the shorter teen stated, "Basically."

Putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, Tenya said, "Then consider the possibility that Hagakure-san is also new to such an experience."

This statement got Izuku to acknowledge the probability of it. From what he could tell from his interactions with Tooru, she never had dated anyone else before. Sure she was quite more knowledgeable about the social aspects of dating then he did, but from what Midoriya had been told about her background, she never had a serious relationship with a guy before. After pondering this for a few more moments, he gave a slight nod towards his friend.

"See? You both are at the same level of experience in dating," Tenya explained after patting Izuku's back. He then adjusted his glasses and stated in a serious tone, "And with kissing, it doesn't always have to start at being mouth to mouth."

Midoriya went scarlet at his friend speaking of kissing so openly. But the statement did bring up a mental note from the past, and now he felt like this was a good time to confront Tenya about it. The shorter teen then said, "Hey Ida-kun, remember back to when you helped with my first d-date with Tooru."

Not phased in the slightest, Ida answered, "Yeah. What about it?"

Izuku squinted his eyes before saying, "Something did happen after I texted you about being hugged by Tooru, didn't it?"

With a hue of worry in his voice, Tenya said, "W-What makes you say that?"

Tapping his chin, Midoriya explained, "Uraraka-san asked about my final text not long after that day. She denied anything happened, but I could tell she was hiding something."