Class 1B Dorm, U.A. Hero Academy.

Hour: fuck if he knew.

Girlfriend: prodding him to get up despite the ungodly time of day. "Come on, come on." It wasn't even sunny outside on this Saturday. "Come on, Yosetsu~"

Awase Yosetsu was many things, but he never suspected himself to be a boyfriend, let alone Tokage Setsuna's. How the fuck did they even get together? He was still asking himself that question even after yesterday's night, which marked their half a year anniversary. He wouldn't be able to forget that night even if he wanted to.

Lizards were rough with their prey. "Come on, you stick in the mud." And apparently were energized by aggressive mating. Or something. A combination of early morning mist over his eyes and backbreaking exhaustion – the kind that only happened if Bakugo tagged you in the face with an explosion – left him devoid of an eloquent answer. Not that Awase was very eloquent, by his own admission, but it was the thought that counted.

"Alright, fine… just… gimme a sec..."

"You've got one minute, then I start making loud sexual noises." Setsuna grinned shamelessly. He shot her a dirty look.

"Tokage, why are you my girlfriend again?"

"Dunno, 'cause you're my boyfriend." Oh, so wonderfully obstinate.

Not that he could be mad at her, honestly. Not for very long. She just had the kind of energy that put people at ease when talking with her. It put him at ease. Even Monoma was less volatile when around her, even when Kendo wasn't looming behind him. Now, watching this voluptuous medusa slowly stretch in one of his shirts – and probably little else, he thought with a growing blush – Awase had to conclude that sometimes people just got lucky.

"What hour is this anyway?" He muttered, slowly picking himself up to a sit. His hair, normally kept up and proper by his headband, was all over his face now. There was no doubt in his mind that Setsuna had her hand in it as well.

...oh god, he was starting to pun too. The memelords of 1B were contagious. "It's four fucking twenty seven..." Awase grumbled, drearily staring out the window. As dark as Kuroiro. "Setsuna, it's way too early for any of this."

"It's never too early for me~" He was about to protest before her finger – and just her finger, she was like that – silenced him with a gentle touch. "And it might not be too early for you either." Two more fingers – from the same hand, because she was like that – wandered south instead.

"...that's just morning wood."

"Sure it is."

In hindsight, Setsuna could have picked literally anyone from Class B, or maybe even from Class A (if only to piss off Monoma).

She wasn't just a bombshell. Both classes had some real customers for any preference and taste. Just thinking about it was enough to send Awase's thoughts spinning. A chunky guy? You've got the likes of Shoji or Shishida. A small adorable creature? There was Komori and Asui. A pretty boy? Todoroki beat them all out of the water even in spite of the burn scar on his face, but there were still too many to count. A pretty girl? How about all of them?

Point being, the combination of high school hormones and more active than usual schedule for the year – Awase still flinched whenever something resembling a chainsaw growled nearby – made it easy for hormones to start being stupid, and living in the dorms was just a cherry on top. Some took it better than most, others… didn't. Christ, he would probably stick Mineta to the ceiling within a week.

But yes, Setsuna was pretty. Or gorgeous. Or splendiferous. At least Monoma had a knack for coming up with smart-sounding words on the spot. But she wasn't just that. She was smart. Way more book smart than she let on, but not stuffy about her smarts. Add to that her natural ability to socialize with people and make them smile – whether by genuine humor or by shitty Tsuburaba-tier memes – she was a neat all-rounder.

She was great, and something in this greatness deemed fit to designate him, some guy from the sticks, as her boyfriend. It wasn't anything sudden, like, "hey, Awase, wanna go out?", no. They just… got together organically, if that even made sense. First they were hanging out, then they were hanging out at her place, at his place, one thing came to another, and…

A hand flicked his nose and brought him back down to reality. "Oi, Captain Daydreamer." Setsuna was nothing if not a multitasker, giving him a cheeky grin from behind her bento. "Whatcha thinkin' 'bout and why is it yours truly?"

"..." Awase had no smart rebuttal for that. "Am I really that transparent?"

"Well, you're not Hagakure, but you're coming close." Why Hagaku-oh, invisible girl. Right. "Not that I don't appreciate you getting lost in the sheen of my eyes, but, you know, you worry me every time you go silent like this."

"Ah, er… I'm fine."

The memory of her early morning pick-up was as fresh as it could be. "You guys are the mushiest." Komori piped up from over her mushroom sandwich, followed by Tsuburaba's "Eyyyy!" from a table over – and Kaibara's exasperated sigh a moment later. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. Every time I see Uraraka and Asui I feel my teeth go weak from the sheer sugar intake."

"They're cute together too." Setsuna nodded. Awase was decidedly uncute on the outside, but she didn't mind it very much. "Hey, Yosetsu, we should try and out-cute them."

"That's just not happening."

"True, it ain't."

"...wow, that was fast."

"I only fight fights that can be won~"

They went to the movies later that day.

Setsuna showed up in her favorite sweater dress, greeting him with a "Yo, Yo!" and a brief kiss. Since it was his idea to watch something, she got the dibs for picking a film in question. Awase knew very well what that meant.

Yet another Godzilla movie.

After a fifth one (and ten others she showed him outside of the cinema), he got used to the formula. Apparently this one was different: a retelling of some American version from a while back. Judging by his girlfriend's look of muted shock during the entire seance, she wasn't aware that this particular Godzilla had nothing to do with a bipedal nuclear lizard she knew and loved.

"I can't fricking believe it!" She groaned once they left. To make up for the less-than-optimal experience, they grabbed a crepe each on their way back to the dorms. "No offense to Pony, but ugh, Americans have the worst kind of idea about adaptations."

"No kidding." Awase enjoyed the movie, but maybe this wasn't the best idea to bring that up. Or maybe he just enjoyed being able to offer a comforting hand-squeeze or few every time Setsuna bounced in her seat out of sheer exasperation. "I remember Fukidashi going boggle-eyed at what they've done with Death Note."

"...oh my god, there's an American Death Note?" Both of them shuddered despite themselves. "...bet Tsuburaba would enjoy that."

"That man's entire life's a meme. He'd watch a dumpster fire if he could make a reaction image out of it."

"Preach it." For a moment neither of them said anything, enjoying their crepes in silence. Setsuna looked sideways towards her boyfriend. Even for himself, he was looking unusually glum… which meant that he was doubting himself again. Doubting how the two of them ended up together. He did that a few times, and always she assured him that there's no reason to be worried – but after the villain attack at the summer camp, these moments of doubt came back in full force.

It hurt her that she had no idea what to do other than reassure him. It worked, but only for a time. At least there was no need to worry about him bottling it up. Yosetsu always spoke his mind, for better or worse. If Monoma wasn't going to such hilarious lengths to antagonize Class A, he'd probably be their the go-to for brutal honesty. Sometimes it just took him a while to get going.

"...Setsuna, I..." Awase took a deep breath. "I know this is stupid, asking you this half a year after we've been dating without a hitch, but… are you really okay with me?"

"You know the answer." Despite Komori's claim that they were "the mushiest", Tokage wasn't much for romanticism. She just liked him. They went out, they kissed and cuddled, they had fun be it by eating out or eating each other out. Neither of them entertained such ideas like candlelit dinners, long walks on an evening beach, nothing like that.

She just liked him. "I like you. I like you lots, you dummy." Their eyes met. Setsuna leaned in for a kiss and blessed his lips – then detached her arm to grab the remaining crepe that her easily-shocked boyfriend near-dropped. "I know I can be a bit of a handful, but you're a great guy and I'm happy with you. You're not inadequate, or weak, or anything."

"I know that… deep down, I think..." His eyes escaped briefly. "It's just… well..."

"If it makes you feel any better, we both got our asses kicked by Bakugo." She grinned and kissed him again. "So we're as even as we're gonna be."

"When you put it like that…"

"It's the mush couple!"

"I have a monopoly on mushroom puns, Tsuburaba." Well, the life in 1B dorm was as lively as ever. Awase sighed, watching Setsuna blend into the crowd happy to hear about their exploits this afternoon. A social butterfly he was not, but it was always pleasing watching her interact with others. He caught a few folks from Class A in the crowd too, chiefly Tokoyami brooding together with Kuroiro and Midoriya taking very excited notes together with Kendo. Another mush couple in the making…? Over Monoma's dead body, probably.

...where was Monoma, actually?

"What's up, Awase?" Kaibara greeted him with a nod.

"Not much. Had a date." Sen snorted in amusement. "Had to comfort Setsuna over the travesty that is American Godzilla."

"You like American Godzilla."

"Point still stands. Don't tell Fukidashi I said that."

"Honestly, I think he's still heartbroken over Dragonball Evolution."

"...fuck." Awase took a deep breath, mentally counted to five, and then rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Who do we have to cap?"

"Evidence points to Monoma. He's the only one missing from the dorm."

"Okay, Monoma's kind of a shitstain, but I don't think even he would stoop this low."

"If I may, Sirs" Shishida's voice rung out from behind them. Their giant Vice President carried a very familiar blond boy on his shoulder. In the background, Kendo was already approaching with an exasperated look. "Sir Monoma considers Uwe Boll movies to be subversive masterpieces. I doubt his suggestion for Sir Manga was born of any ill will."

"I think I threw up in my mouth a little at that sentence." Kaibara grumbled. On the other hand, that was so very like Monoma. "So what's up with him?"

"I retrieved him from Sir Bakugo." Awase and Kaibara exchanged worried looks. "Apparently Sir Satou knocked him out on reflex when Sir Monoma approached to taunt them. He is unharmed, just out cold."

"I leave him for an hour..." Kendo sighed, taking the unconscious copycat out from Shishida's grip. "Thanks. Shishida-kun. I'll handle him from here." Tsuburaba snickered in the background, to everyone's collective rolling of the eyes. Soon their Class Reps were gone with Monoma in tow, leaving just Awase and Kaibara.

"So, where were we?"

"You were talking about how traumatized your girlfriend was." Awase noticeably stiffened. "I, uh… I didn't mean to imply-"

"No… no, it's fine." The headband boy shook his head. "I should know better than to keep doubting myself on that front."

"Look, I know we're a bunch of dumbasses… but I don't think anyone thinks of you or Tokage any less because you got together. We've got your back." Kaibara offered a slightly awkward, but reassuring smile. "So, uh, rest assured and all that."

"That was a terrible pep talk." Awase chuckled, his tone clearly not matching his words. "Thanks." He looked towards the beautiful serpent chatting it up with the others – and flustering Midoriya with her typical teasing, since that was just what she had done.

...in hindsight, Awase was incredibly lucky.