Dating Izuku was always going to be an... Interesting experience.
Mina had long accepted that when she realized that she was starting to like 1A's resident nerd of epic proportions. Of all the people in her class she could have fallen for, he really hadn't been one she'd thought about when she first met the guy, and he certainly wasn't anything like the kinds of people she'd normally take an interest in, but somehow, here they were.
There was something about him that had pulled her in. Well, there were a few things. A few too many to list. Needless to say, he had ended up being more her type than she thought - Though in fairness, he was more a type that she didn't even realize that she was into.
It actually took her a while to figure it out herself. Of course, this also came with the caveat that she'd never actually gone out with someone before, so naturally, she was quite nervous herself.
when she had finally admitted that she liked him, he had floundered around awkwardly and anxiously for a bit, before agreeing to see where this went, and the pair of them started to date.
Well, kind of date.
A lot of the time, it more seemed like Mina was the one dragging him out, taking him places, and generally being the one to initiate things in the relationship. Initially, anyway. Izuku was an awkward guy, and he seemed to be blown away by the mere idea of anyone being interested in him romantically to begin with. That part was understandable - If she were being honest, Mina was just as nervous, but she just pushed it to the side more, and didn't let it bother her, but she was understanding of Izuku's anxiety.
He seemed to get over it though. It took him little while, but eventually, he started becoming more outgoing, and eager to hang out with her. Not that he'd ever hesitated to spend time with her before, but it was clear that he had been a nervous wreck, worried about ruining something or screwing something up. He became less and less so as they went on more dates.
Izuku was awkward around girls as it was, so that was to be expected.
It was hard not to think that he might have come out of his shell a bit sooner had she not attempted to kiss him.
That had been on their third date. That was when you were supposed to have your first kiss with the person you were going out with, wasn't it? Enough cheesy romance films had taught her that. So that was what Mina had tried to do.
He'd turned away and backed off.
She'd taken a step too far. Immediately, she had backed off and apologized. He accepted. And the next day, the pair of them just pretended that nothing had happened.
Mina didn't try anything again until a few weeks later, when she thought that he was more settled into the relationship. He certainly seemed a lot more relaxed and content with things, like he'd gotten everything sorted out in his mind, and had spent enough time deliberating to know he was happy with how the relationship was going.
But once more, when Mina tried to close the gap, he'd backed up.
That had been yesterday. Today, Mina was sat, looking out her window, trying to figure out what was going on with him.
Her head was resting on her right hand, so her cheek was scrunched up with how she was resting it against her hand. Once more, they were acting like nothing had happened, but Mina wasn't able to just put it to one side this time. It was like a warning light. There were only really a couple of options as to why Izuku kept wanting to back away from letting Mina kiss him.
Only a few that she could think of, anyway. She muttered her answers to herself, not even realizing that she was doing it.
"He's either way too awkward... Or he's got this idea that he'd got to be the one to initiate things this time." She actually let out a small laugh, before discounting that last idea. If Izuku was anything, he wasn't traditional in the dating sense by a long-shot. If he was, then they'd probably still be tip-toeing around one another.
So, that just left awkward, didn't it? And given the kind of person that Izuku was, him just being apprehensive about thing sort of thing made sense, right?
Her lips moved before her brain fully registered what she was saying. "...Or he's just... Not interested."
That... Was also an option, wasn't it?
Not an option she particularly liked to think about, but that didn't make it less of an option. And once she actually considered it, the more she realized that she couldn't just discount the possibility - As in, literally could not. Her brain refused to let her.
She had been the one to ask Izuku out, after all. It wasn't outside the realms of possibility that he had agreed to go out with her just because he didn't want to upset her. This was Izuku, the awkward, stammering, socially conscious and nervous guy who barely managed to get through a sentence without stammering when they first arrived at Yuuei. Sure, they had all grown and developed as people since that first day...
...But that didn't discount the possibility that that was what had happened. Not wanting to upset her, he agreed to go out with her, but wasn't actually interested in anything beyond that?
Part of her knew that she was making a mountain out of a molehill and that she really should just stop right now - But now that the thought had entered her head, she couldn't get it out.
If that was the case though, why not just reject her outright and be done with it? It would have sucked, but it would be better than having her hopes up, only to be ditched at a later date, for sure. Perhaps he just didn't have the heart to -
Mina shook her head, hard. "What the hell am I thinking?!" She asked aloud. She was thinking like this had all been confirmed, like she actually knew the reason for his backing out, when really, she didn't have a single clue as to what was going on.
Her mind was just going off on it's own thing. This was weighing on her, and she did want to know what the heck was going on - That was fair, wasn't it?
She took in a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled. She wanted to know.
So she was going to figure it out.
"No, no, no, no, no, no - Damn it."
Mina growled as her character shot off the screen and into oblivion, for about the second time in just about as many minutes. It flabbergasted her - She shot a look at Izuku, who just seemed somewhat clueless as to how he'd actually achieved such a feat.
"I do not understand how you are so good at these games, Izu."
"I don't either." He replied, quite honestly.
Somehow, Izuku was the greatest person at games Mina had ever seen - And this was coming from her, and her large family of people who all did their damnedest to one up each other on just about every game they could get their hands on. She'd had plenty of time t get used to how games felt.
Izuku had only a little experience with games and the likes, having played only a few Hero-based games because of course that was the kind he played. Yet he seemed to stomp Mina at nearly every game they played.
She'd be bitter if it wasn't bizarrely fun. Today though, she had something more on her mind.
Subtlety wasn't exactly something Mina thought was going to work here - Which was good, because she had no intentions on being subtle in the first place. There weren't really a whole lot of options one could be subtle with when the issue was 'Why won't you kiss me?' anyway.
The pink girl had considered just what it was that she intended to do about the situation, and she'd come up with a very simple plan. A plan which would go one of two ways - Either way, she'd figure out exactly what was going on.
Their match lasted for another couple of minutes, during which Mina managed to get a revenge point against Izuku, but almost predictably, he managed to come out on top, utterly clueless as to how he'd managed it. Mina groaned and dropped her controller to the ground.
"There is no justice in this world." She commented, sarcastically and over-exaggeratedly annoyed. "You have made a mockery of justice, Izu."
"I - I swear, I have no idea how I managed any of that."
"How does one do so well at every game we play when he has no idea how he's doing it?"
"I swear I don't know."
Mina just grinned, and Izuku followed suit. Somehow, the pair of them just got endless amusement out of the absurdity of the situation. It was just dumb and hilarious when one stopped to properly think about it.
The pair of them laughed for a short while.
And then Mina decided to put her plan into motion.
"So, do you want to uh, play another mat - "
Izuku's sentence was stopped directly in its tracks when Mina's hands grasped both of his cheeks, and then looked him square in the eyes. In about half a second, she had gotten onto her knees, so she was now above him, and he was looking up at her.
"M - M - M - Mina?" His face was about as red as red got. Clearly, he knew what was about to happen.
For about two seconds, neither of them moved. Then Mina slowly closed to gap.
One of two things was going to happen here - He would either let himself be kissed, and this whole thing was just Mina's overactive imagination getting to her - Or he'd stop her. In which case, she was going to confront him.
He let her get close - Probably closer than she had the previous two attempts. Perhaps this would be third times the charm, Mina thought to herself.
"M - M - Mina, i - i - is th - this - " He was sputtering out some sort of, well, something.
Mina just leaned in closer.
"S - Stop!"
Izuku practically tore himself away from Mina, and backed away, out of her reach. His face was just as bright red, and Mina could have sworn that she saw steam rising off of his face. His hands looked to be shaking.
He'd backed out.
It was impossible not to feel the harsh stab of disappointment. For a moment there, Mina had though that just maybe, she had been overthinking everything. But now, it just seemed like her fears had been confirmed.
Had she got caught up in that moment? Maybe...
...But that didn't change anything.
There was a good, long, solid thirty seconds before either of them said anything. A cold few moments that both of them could have sworn that if they moved at all, they'd hear their bones creaking against one another.
Surprisingly, Izuku was the one who broke the silence. "M - Mina I... I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to yell, I - "
"Izu..." Mina spoke slowly, and bit the inside of her lip.
Then she gulped, and looked right at him.
"...Do you not actually like me?"
"H-Huh?!"
"Do you not want to do... This, anymore?"
"N-No, that's not - I - I mean, yes! I mean - Of course I do!"
"You say that like it's obvious."
"I - I - I'm still here, aren't I?!"
"This is the third time I've tried to kiss you, Izu!" Mina got off her knees and onto her feet, like Izuku had done. "Every time I go near you, you act like you're disgusted by it!"
"That - That's not it at all!"
"I don't exactly have a lot else to work with, y'know! The last tow times it happened, you just pretended like nothing happened!"
"I... I thought it'd make things less awkward..." Izuku's shoulders slumped, as he realized that his efforts, well meaning or not, had only backfired in their intention.
"It would have been less awkward if you'd just let me kiss you." Mina told him, feeling herself sigh as she spoke. Her voice became softer. "You're still here, and you say that's enough to prove you still want to... Date me?"
Izuku just nodded.
"Okay... But, how long have we been dating now? A month and a half now? And we haven't even had our first kiss. Isn't that like, something you have on your third date?"
"I... Isn't that just in the movies?"
"It's as good a reference point as any..." Mina sighed again. "I... I just wanna know why, Izu. Is... Is that me being unfair?" It was a genuine question - She didn't know.
The boy in front of her looked towards the ground for a moment, like he was ashamed of himself. Making him feel like that hadn't been Mina's intention, but it didn't change the fact that that was what she seemed to have done. He looked at the ground for about ten seconds, before he muttered something under his breath.
"I..."
Mina blinked. "You... What?"
"I said I've n..."
"I... I can't hear anything you're saying."
Izuku groaned, and looked up at her. His face was red, and the look on his face looked like he just bitten into a lemon.
"I-I've... Never k-kissed anyone before, o-okay?"
The Acid Quirk user blankly stared at Izuku. And for yet another few seconds, no noise was exchanged between the two of them.
That...
...That was it?
That was the big reason he avoided kissing her at all? The fact he'd never had his first kiss?
It had just been anxiety all along - But over something like that?!
"...Pft!" She couldn't hold it back - Mina felt herself begin to laugh. "Oh my Go-ohohohohoho-d, Izu!"
Laughter, obviously, was far from the reaction Izuku had anticipated. He stooped being so stiff and so awkward, now just thoroughly confused. "Wh-What? What?! Mina, what're you laughing at?!"
"You, you dork!"
"What - Why?!"
Forcing herself to hold back some of her chuckling, Mina looked at him, and asked, "What makes you think that I've had mine?"
Her question seemed to stun Izuku, who just looked at her like he'd been asked the simplest question in the world. His eyes opened up wider. "Y - You haven't?"
"Nu - uh, dude. Never."
"S - Seriously?!"
"Seriously serious." Mina laughed again. "Was - Are you telling me that's the main reason?"
"I - I just... Assumed... S - Since you... Seemed to know what you were doing..."
"And that made you panic?"
"W - Well..." Izuku blushed deeper, somehow. "...I d-don't know if I'm any... Good... At that."
"At kissing?"
Izuku just nodded.
Mina snorted. "Please tell me you've been practicing with a pillow."
"I - I'm not answering that!"
"Oh my God you did."
"Aaaaaaaah..." Izuku hid his face behind his hands, thoroughly embarrassed.
That had been what all of this had been innate of? He was afraid of, she guessed, disappointing her, because he didn't know if he was, of all things, a decent kisser?
The guy was a complete dork.
And she was gonna show him just how much of a dork he was.
Her hands made heir way onto his cheeks again, and gently forced him to look up at her. the back of his head gently tapped against the wall. Mina smiled at him. And then she leaned in.
This time, Izuku didn't move away.
Their first kiss only lasted for about four seconds, and it wasn't anything special by... Whatever standards kisses had. But it was gentle, and it was soft, and both their lips were warm. The pair of them got one hell of a jolt through their systems as well.
Once Mina pulled away from Izuku, her own face lilac, she smirked.
"All that worry was for nothing Izu. Trust me. You're a fine kisser."
Aaand this is the first day of Izumina week! I hope everyone's looking forward to the rest of the week like I am! I'm actually really happy with this result as well - Given that i wrote this on the day (Uni is busy send help please I'm so tired)
Next prompt is gonna be Beach - I'll have a couple ideas for that one hopefully for tomorrow - See you then!