The part two is here :)

btw, the story title is from sober up by ajr, last chapter's title was from beautiful stranger by halsey, and this chapter's title is my go to drunk on you by oh wonder! All wonderful songs and artists, go love them as much as I do

Tsuyu tugged on her hair gently, expertly twisting the sides into the braid style they had discussed. Shouto couldn't help but be reminded of an early childhood when her mother used to run her fingers through her hair softly.

She stuck another pin in place and Ashido called for her attention again. "Okay! Tsuyu's almost done, so makeup is next!" She held up the bottle of foundation they had gotten from the mall. The girls had come together to donate the rest of their items, but no one was quite as pale as Shouto so they had been forced to buy that.

"What do you wanna do about your birthmark?" Hagakure asked, digging through her bag of brushes.

"Birthmark?" Shouto echoed, confused.

Ashido frowned a little and pointed at the left side of her face and it clicked. Hagakure popped up again, holding up a palette for approval.

"Oh."

The white-and-red haired teenager nearly turned and reached up to touch her scar, but Tsuyu corrected her gently. "Don't move, ribbit."

Shouto glanced at her hands in her lap, uncomfortable. "It's not a birthmark."

"Then what is- Ow! Jirou-chan!" Hagakure swatted Jirou's earphone jack, her sleeve rubbing at her face.

"We can cover it up with makeup, if you want us to." Momo said, gently.

"Please don't touch it." Shouto answered finally. The other girls nodded and left it at that. She was surprised by how easily the gossip queens let it go.

Midoriya was the only person outside of her family who knew the truth about it, besides anyone her siblings may have told, she supposed. She had shared a few details about her childhood with Momo, but nothing specific. She was smart, though, she could probably infer there was more to it than just some quirk accident.

"No problem!" Ashido moved on, digging through some of their collection. "Okay, I'm think we go light on mostly everything, Jirou, do you have eyeliner?"

"What kind of emo do you think I am?" The purple-haired girl shook her head, then held up a handful of black pens. "I've got 5 different types."

"You know what would be so cute?!" Hagakure exclaimed, returning to Ashido's side. She opened up one of the palettes and pointed at it. "We do some basic black shading, kinda like a light smokey eye, then sparkles on top! It'd totally match the dress."

Ashido nodded, debating. She looked very focused, Shouto noted. "Do we have highlighter?"

"I have some." Momo called. "There's a few different colors-"

"You've got the expensive stuff, Momo-chan!" Ochako hummed, looking over the sets sitting on the desk.

They had collected in Ochako's room, since she had the most space, to help her get ready. Shouto knew next to nothing about makeup and hairstyles, so she was grateful for the help and they seemed excited to dress her up. The dark-haired girl blushed. "It's not really..."

"Ribbit, I'm done." Tsuyu called from behind her. The other girls stood in front of her. Ashido clasped her hands together, smiling.

"It looks so nice!"

Momo held up a mirror for her. "Here! Do you like it?"

Shouto started at her reflection for a second. They had curled it first, so it fell in soft waves on either side of her face, then Tsuyu had braided the longest pieces of the front back in a simple French braid. The pins keeping it together were little silver bobby-pins Momo had created with her quirk, clearly matching her dress.

She nodded slowly, watching the curls bounce curiously. "Thanks."

"Success!"

"Makeup time!" Hagakure cheered, waving around brushes. Soon Momo's mirror was pushed aside and Hagakure and Ashido appeared right in front of her. She blinked, startled by their closeness.

"I know you're not a touchy-feely person, but we gotta touch your face." Ashido began.

"We won't touch your birthmark! Promise!" The invisible girl added.

"Okay." Shouto nodded again.

"Perfect! Okay, shut your eyes and keep them closed!" Ashido commanded. She did as she was told and the two girls began their work.

Shouto distantly listened to them, but they really weren't talking to her besides the few comments Hagakure made about how cold the right side of her face was. She wasn't really a fan of makeup, finding it too long of a process to ever learn and too stuffy to wear for a long time. Her previous gala stylists never asked her before they could touch her though, and usually tried to pile on foundation and concealer to hide her scar, but it never seemed to work very well. At least Ashido and Hagakure were considerate, being gentle and asking for her suggestions.

"I'm not the best at eyeliner, Jirou-chan, you wanna do that?" Hagakure asked.

"Sure." She heard Jirou answer.

"Do you even ever wear makeup, Tooru-chan?" Ochako questioned. "I've never seen you wear it."

"Well, you don't know what I look like, how would you know if I'm wearing it or not?" She returned and Shouto heard Ashido snort as she dusted her cheek with something.

"Uh...you're invisible?" Ochako answered weakly. There was a knock at the door before either girl could continue and she heard Ochako huff, standing and answering. "We're in the middle of import- oh, hey Deku-kun!"

"Ah! No! Midori, you can't see her!" Ashido exclaimed and Shouto really wanted to open her eyes.

"I'm not here for her." She heard Midoriya laugh a little and her heart bloomed at the sound. "Aoyama-kun sent me for eyeliner, he's going to try and put it on Kacchan, I think."

Ashido laughed aloud. "You're kidding?! They're putting eyeliner on Bakugou, he's going to lose a hand!" She heard Ochako wheezing.

"Here." Jirou said, somewhere near the door. "I hope his mission is successful, I'd kill to see that."

"Yeah, I hope he just doesn't get hurt." Midoriya answered. "Bye, Todoroki-chan!" He called.

"Bye." Shouto returned, still in the dark.

Once he left, Ashido returned to her face and the other girls talked a little bit quieter, Shouto had to strain to listen to them.

"He looks so nice!"

"Aoyama is a genius, I'm glad we recruited him."

"Ladies, the plan is in full motion, we will have victory tonight, I promise you."

"Mmkay! Jirou-chan, come over here with your emo talents."

"Your wish is my command." She returned blandly and the uncapping of a pen sounded in her ears. "Just relax, 'kay?"

"Sure." Shouto answered. With two quick strokes, Jirou's hands left her face.

"You can open your eyes now!" Hagakure said, from in front of her.

Shouto did as she was told and was met with all six of them standing in front of her. They all smiled immediately and she felt herself blushing under their attention.

"Our masterpiece, Todoroki!" Ashido announced proudly.

"You look great!" Ochako exclaimed with a grin.

"Very nice, ribbit. I like the sparkle."

"You're so pretty it's not fair!" Hagakure cried.

"Uh, thanks..." She answered, awkwardly, melting under their praise.

"Oh!" Momo gasped. "You probably want to look!" She ran over and grabbed the mirror and offered it to her.

Shouto looked at her, surprising nervous. Looking for a minute, she was thankfully...happy. They had been very light with the makeup, only covering her unmarred skin in a light layer. For the eye makeup, it was like Hagakure had described, some light shadows for contrast with the silver on top, not a ton, with a little mascara and a perfect wing, curtesy of Jirou. It was just enough to be striking, while she still looked like herself.

"I think it really brings out your eyes, more than normal." Ashido added, peering over the mirror and back at her. "So?"

"It's nice." She admitted, smiling a little.

She moved to touch, but Jirou's earphone jack stabbed her in the wrist. "Don't touch it." She reprimanded. "It's not dry."

"You probably should just not touch your hair or your face at all tonight." Hagakure giggled.

"Right, sorry."

Momo took back the mirror and nodded. "Okay! We only have a little bit before you've got to leave, time to go change?" The other girls nodded in agreement. "We're on the same floor, so I'll go back to your room with you and we'll meet the rest of you downstairs with the boys."

"Sounds great!"

"I can't wait to see it all together!" Hagakure cheered.

With that, she and Momo left Ochako's room and paused by the elevator. After a short ride to the fifth floor, Momo paused outside her room with a smile. "Call me if you need anything, I'll wait here so you can change, be careful not to mess up your hair." She reminded.

"Okay." She said gingerly, shutting the door behind her.

The dress had been sitting in her wardrobe since the mall outing a month ago. Her silent room was somewhat unnerving after spending the good part of an hour with the other, somewhat loud, girls. Shouto stared at it for a moment before she began to change.

O-O-O-O

When she walked out, Momo was leaning on the wall next to her door, she looked up from her phone with a hum, then beamed. "Ah, you look so nice!"

Shouto blushed. "Thanks." She answered with a shrug.

"Come on, let's go show everyone else." The dark-haired girl led her down the hall toward the elevator. The new heels were, thankfully, much easier to walk in.

Shouto watched the numbers count up and played with the skirt of the dress, debating. "Thanks." She finally said, as the elevator opened and they walked inside.

Momo looked puzzled. "For what, Shouto?"

"I-" She hesitated, vaguely gesturing to herself. "All of it. The hair, makeup, dress, shoes."

"Oh, well I didn't do very much. I suppose I carried around the school-issued card because I'm the vice representative." Momo shrugged.

"No, I mean all of you. You didn't have to help me with this stuff, but...I'm not very good at it and you all swooped in and helped me." Shouto continued. "I'm not good in large groups, so hopefully you can tell them that I appreciated it."

Momo blinked at her, then smiled warmly. "Of course. I'm sure they know and they were happy to do it, you know. You're our friend."

"Oh."

The elevator dinged, signaling that they were on the first floor and Shouto felt nervous for some reason. She wasn't sure why, it was just a party she had already been to before.

The doors open, revealing several of their classmates. A few had collected on one of the couches to watch a movie, she smelled Satou cooking something sweet in the kitchen. Tokoyami and Shoji were in another corner, playing some card game. For everyone else, it was just a regular Saturday night in the dorms.

"Looking nice!" Jirou waved from one of the armchairs.

"Todo!" Ashido cheered, meeting them as they stepped out of the elevator. "You look so great, I'm going to cry." Hagakure and Ochako were on either side of her.

"Tsuyu-chan was right, the braid really adds to it." The brunette smiled.

"I was right! Princess Todoroki-chan for days!"

Shouto blushed under the attention, playing with her hands. "Thanks." She murmured.

"Ah!" Another voice surprised them and they looked over to see Aoyama stroll up. He moved past them and inspected Shouto. She narrowed her eyes at him before he grinned and did that chef's kiss thing Satou did sometimes. "Magnificent! You girls did well!"

Shouto was still trying to figure out if Aoyama was actually French or not. She really wasn't sure.

"There wasn't any question about it." Ashido rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hip.

"We really didn't do much." Tsuyu hummed.

"Todoroki-" It sounded like Midoriya, but his voice vanished abruptly. She glanced to her right, surprised to see him standing a little ways from them. He must have walked up with Aoyama.

She distantly heard the girls and Aoyama talking, but she couldn't find it in herself to pay attention to them. "Midoriya...hi." She took a few steps closer to him, trying to her best to keep her temperature under control.

He was wearing an all black suit, perfectly tailored and perfectly snug in all the right places. His hair had been tamed just slightly. It was still curly and perfectly Midoriya messy, but somehow it looked softer than usual and the sides and back had even been cut shorter some time between when she saw him this morning and now. Someone else must have tied his tie, because it was strangely normal and she noticed the edge of it from underneath it had silver sparkles, of all things. They matched, of course.

Shouto's mouth felt dry as she looked him up and down. Maybe she'd have to go thank Aoyama later.

"H-Hi-" Midoriya squeaked, his cheeks blooming red. She thought it was adorable.

"Hi." She said again, forcing her gaze up and back toward his face. "You look amazing." Shouto returned bluntly.

He turned even darker, reaching up to rub at his neck. Shouto shamelessly watched the way the fabric moved. "T-Thanks! You also- I-I uh, you also look amazing- too!"

"Thank you." She paused, forcing herself to look him in the eyes again. "You cut your hair." She noted.

"Oh, y-yeah, Aoyama-kun had to trim it some. Is it...okay?"

Shouto didn't trust her voice so she pressed her lips in a line and nodded quickly.

"That's good." He laughed a little nervously. "I like your dress. You're really pretty- I-I mean the dress! The dress is pretty!"

"You're pretty, too."

"Well, I think you both look like shit! Can we fucking go now?!" Bakugou shouted crudely, scaring both of them from their staring.

"Oh, sure, Kacchan." Midoriya mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

Bakugou stomped toward the door. Shouto vaguely noticed he was mostly wearing red, and the eyeliner that he surprisingly wore well, however, he didn't look he matched them at all.

She looked back at Midoriya and he smiled and shrugged. "We better go, he'll yell at us if we don't."

"Yeah, okay."

"You crazy kids have fun!" Ashido said, waving at them from the couch. The other girls called similar goodbyes, but Ochako hopped up and ran over to them as they walked out the door.

"Deku! Wait a sec!"

"Hm?" She waved him down to her height and cupped his ear, whispering at a volume Shouto couldn't hear. She watched Midoriya's eyes widen for a second before he blushed again and pushed her away. "Ochako-chan, I'm begging you, stop meddling!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." The brunette returned. "Have fun, you guys!"

"Thanks." Shouto said. Midoriya just sighed, waving. "What was that about?" She asked once they were outside and walking together to the school's entrance.

"Oh, uh, nothing. It's just a...thing we have." He answered, awkwardly and vaguely.

Shouto nodded a little, still confused, but left it alone for his sake.

Yuuei had payed some poor driver to bring them to the gala across the city. Unfortunately, that meant the three of them had to squeeze in the back seat together. Bakugou had already claimed one of the window seats, so Midoriya resigned to the middle and Shouto sat on the other side of him.

"Deku, fucking scoot over." Bakugou growled as soon as they started driving away. He had already pulled out his phone, a message to Kirishima on the screen.

"There's nowhere for me to scoot, Kacchan."

"Well figure it the fuck out, because if you touch me again I'm throwing you out this car." He returned sourly.

Midoriya sighed and moved even closer to Shouto. "Sorry, Todoroki-chan." With the way he was currently pressed against her side, she couldn't find any problems with the situation.

"It's okay."

She spent most of the ride with the car's door poking her painfully in the ribs and playing those silly message games with Midoriya, but it was the best car ride she could remember.

The party was dazzling.

There were heroes from every part of Japan, not to mention a few international ones, dressed in any color, every pattern. This year the gala was held at some large upstate building with floor to ceiling windows, sparkling chandeliers, and enough media camped outside to give her a headache.

They walked inside together, but at some point they lost Bakugou and Shouto didn't really care much. She was too busy admiring Midoriya, the way his eyes widened at the people and the lights and the building, the way the shimmering lights made him glow.

He really was the sun, she noted with a smile.

"I don't think I've ever seen this many heroes in the same place." He murmured, looking amazed. Shouto scanned the crowd for a moment, but found it not nearly as interesting as him.

"People are still arriving, too." She noticed. "You know, you can talk to them if you want."

Midoriya looked back at her in surprise. "Oh no! No, they'd just think I'm weird! I shouldn't bother anyone."

The white-and-red haired teenager frowned, tilting her head. "You're not weird. You deserve to be here just as much as them" More-so, than some, in her opinion.

"I don't- oh, wow! That's Edgeshot!" He gasped, looking excitedly in the crowd.

"Do you want to go talk to him?" Shouto asked.

"I just had a little question about his most recent mission that would fill in some gaps in my note- Wait! Todoroki-chan, where are you going?" She heard Midoriya following her as she marched up to the pro-hero and cleared her throat.

The taller man glanced at her, confused. Shouto looked over to make sure Midoriya was standing next to her before she spoke. "Hello. I'm Todoroki Shouto, this is my friend, Midoriya Izuku. We're second-year hero students from Yuuei and he wanted to talk to you for a minute, if that's alright." She said politely, then looked back at Midoriya expectantly.

His eyes were wide, looking from her to Edgeshot. "H-Hi."

"Hey, what did you want to know?" The hero asked, thankfully seeming open to the interruption.

Midoriya seemed a little lighter after that, quickly asking him a incredible specific question Shouto didn't even catch.

Edgeshot even looked a little surprised. "You caught that?" Midoriya nodded nervously. The hero continued with his answers and they talked for a moment.

Shouto didn't really care to listen, happy to watch Midoriya animatedly explain his thoughts. He always seemed so happy when he was doing stuff like this, eyes bright and smile blinding. It was so undeniably (him.)

Edgeshot was only the first one, it seemed Shouto's little push was all he needed to pull her away to another hero that caught his eye. Soon, she became his happy shadow, watching faithfully from his side as he chatted with anyone interesting he saw. He had a variety of burning questions and praise for each of them, even impressing a few that this strange, green-haired boy had noted some obscure detail about their quirk or fighting style.

He paused with a sigh, watching the Korean hero he had just been discussing the electromagnetic properties of their quirk with walk away. A waiter passed by them, offering a plate of tall, full glasses.

"Oh, thank you!" Midoriya smiled, taking two and giving one to Shouto. She took a sip immediately, surprised by the sweet, tangy flavor. It wasn't bad, though. "Sorry if I've been boring you with all this hero talk." He said to her.

She looked at him in confusion. "You're not boring me."

"We've been here almost an hour and all I've done is drag you around while I talk to heroes." He returned awkwardly. "It can't be fun."

Shouto shook her head. "No, I've had a great time. I don't like talking to people, but I like to listen to you. You seem like you've been having fun talking to them. I just want to spend the night with you."

"O-Oh." He took a sip of the glass, blushing. Then he coughed and frowned. "I think this is alcohol." He muttered. "Don't they know we're underage?"

"They probably don't care." Shouto shrugged, swishing around her glass and inspecting it before Midoriya took it from her and set it on a different waiter's tray. "How did you know I wasn't going to drink that?"

"Aizawa said no drinking."

"Boring. Do you think Bakugou is adhering to that rule?"

"To be honest, I don't know where he went." Midoriya said, seeming to suddenly realize they had already lost him a while ago. He looked around a little and finally pointed over her head. "Oh, there he is! I think that's Miruko!"

Shouto turned around, noticing where the two stood, looking both irritated and happy talking to each other. "I can't tell if they're happy or mad." She admitted and Midoriya laughed.

"I think he really admires her actually, I think he's having fun." He said. "He mentioned the other day in the locker room about interning at her agency for our next internships, since Best Jeanist is retired now-"

"Fuck." Shouto muttered, cutting off his train of thought.

"Huh?" Midoriya looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Shouto pointed a little to the left of where Bakugou and Miruko were talking. "My father is here." She scowled, her mood immediately souring. He stood out of the dazzling dresses and sharp suits with his height and the fire rising off his face. Ridiculous. "I knew he would be, but..."

"I'm guessing you don't want to go chat." Midoriya said, surprisingly dark. Shouto glanced over, a little startled by the angry expression he wore, glaring in the direction of her father.

She sighed, looking back to where he stood and shook her head. "He's probably pissed I haven't been answering his calls. I really didn't want to deal with him tonight." She had been having fun.

Her father suddenly turned toward them and even from this distance, she could tell he was searching the crowd. Shouto stiffened, looking for somewhere to escape. She noticed they stood on the edge of the so-called dance floor, heroes of a variety of appearances swirling around each other.

"Let's dance." She blurted out.

"W-What?"

Instead of answering, she just grabbed his scarred hand and led him deeper through the dancing crowd. Somewhere, there was a band playing soft music and she paused once they were hidden in the middle of the crowd.

"Todoroki, I don't know how to dance!" Midoriya protested, looking horrified at their new surroundings.

"It's not hard." She returned, grabbing his hands in hers. "My father hates dancing, he wouldn't dare come over here or else someone might ask him." Shouto added.

"Uh-" He returned intelligently, staring down at their joined hands.

She guided him to hug her waist and looked back at his face. "Your hands go there and mine here-" She joined them behind his neck, his shorter curls brushing against her fingers. "-and then it's just kind of rocking to the music."

Midoriya was pink, looking anywhere besides her face. "How do you even know this?" He muttered, embarrassed.

"My sister and brother taught me before my first gala." She smiled a little at the memory.

Her father had been absent at work and she was furious about being forced to go, but Fuyumi had drawn her out of her room with cold soba, then managed to convince her there were still a few things about the gala to look forward to. They had looked at old pictures of ridiculous outfits from previous years and she and Natsuo had taught her to dance. It had been just an afternoon, filled with a little of that sibling interaction she rarely got a taste of.

She and Midoriya were silent for a few moments, finding their rhythm. Eventually his grip on her waist became a little more confident and Shouto found herself even closer to him again, his green eyes daring to meet hers once or twice.

"You haven't stepped on me yet, so you aren't that bad." She hummed, amused, and Midoriya laughed a little, one of his gorgeous smiles crossed his face.

He was even better up close, the curve of his jaw, the dusting of freckles across his skin. His glowing eyes, emerald and electric at the same time.

Stunning. That's what he was.

"I'm not used to you being this tall." He returned, his smile fading to something a little smaller, a little shyer. "I feel like we're first-years again."

The heels definitely added a few inches, making them nearly the same height again. She had noticed it earlier, but it was definitely more obvious with their closeness.

She shrugged a little in his arms. "At least I'm not tripping and falling in these."

"Yeah, right." He murmured.

Shouto couldn't keep her curiosity to herself, eventually twisting a curl around her finger. "I like your shorter hair."

He blushed deeper. "You said that earlier."

"I still mean it." She hummed, smiling in return.

Midoriya looked a little lost for a minute, eyes searching her. A flicker of determination crossed his features and he continued. "Hey, Todoroki. Can I tell you something?" He asked.

"Of course."

He hesitated for a minute, glancing between them before he continued. "I don't want this to change things, if you don't want to. But if you don't want to be friends anymore, I'll understand."

Shouto frowned, tilting her head. "Nothing you say could ever make me want to not be your friend." She answered before he could continue. "You're the best person I've ever met."

He looked surprised by her statement, blinking a few times when his eyes became glassy. "T-Todoroki-"

She paused, reaching up to brush a curl out of his face. "It's true." Distantly, she remember they were in a sea of strangers.

Midoriya sniffed and nodded. "Thank you."

Shouto wasn't sure what exactly she had done to be thanked. "What did you want to say?" She reminded.

"Right." He murmured, taking a deep breath before he continued. "Over these last few months, I've...realized that I really l-"

"Hey! Todoroki-chan!" They both froze, the words fizzling. Shouto scowled, distantly recognizing that voice. "Hey! Hey!"

Yoarashi appeared next to them, seemingly unaware of his interruption. He wore the typical Shiketsu uniform and a suit with an obnoxious orange bowtie.

"Yoarashi." She answered blandly. Midoriya broke away from her so they stood side by side again to talk to the Shiketsu student. "What are you doing here?"

"My school sent me! There's other kids from my school, you remember Camie-chan?! She's here somewhere, too!" He answered cheerfully and Shouto noticed Midoriya cringe at the mention of the third-year girl. "Hey! I know you, too! You're that green-haired kid that yelled at us during the exam!"

Midoriya wilted a little. "Y-Yeah, that's me."

"Haha! I recognized you two because of your hair! What's up?!"

"I, uh- I think I'm going to find something non-alcoholic to drink." Midoriya sighed. "See you later."

Shouto watched him weave his way through the crowd, disappointedly. "What's his deal? Are you guys friends or something?" The Shiketsu student hummed. She glanced back at Yoarashi, trying to not let her irritation show.

O-O-O-O

It was a little bit later before she finally got rid of Yoarashi. She tried to not be too rude, she was grateful when people gave her a second chance after her history, but Yoarashi was loud and overwhelming and, honestly, not very interesting to talk to. She found herself staring into the sea of people behind of him instead of listening to anything he shouted.

Then he had found Camie and called her over. She complimented her dress and makeup and began asking a ton of questions about it all Shouto wasn't very good at. She was overwhelmingly talkative as well, but at least she wasn't as loud as Yoarashi. Following the older girl's twenty-fifth (like) and sixteenth (totally!) Shouto had to get out of that conversation as soon as possible. She made some excuse to leave and the two Shiketsu students happily waved her away.

It took even longer to find Midoriya again in the crowd. Relief filled her as she found his green curls. Even stranger, he was talking with Bakugou, unaware as she walked up behind them.

"-mean, is it fate telling me to keep my mouth shut?"

"I don't fucking know, but I'm about to hit you if you don't keep your mouth shut, you're annoying as hell." Bakugou growled.

Midoriya sighed. "I'm trying to ask for your advice, you and Kirishima-kun are happy."

"So what? We're both cooler than you and stupid Half-and-Half!"

"What about me?"

Midoriya flinched, whirling around to find her, drink in hand sloshing. Bakugou looked irritated, wiping off his sleeve on Midoriya's shoulder. "Fucking chill, Deku."

"Todoroki! You're back!"

"Yoarashi wouldn't leave me alone, then Camie found us and she insisted on also catching up." Shouto sighed. "What are you talking about?"

"I- u-um-"

"Stupid Deku shit." Bakugou retorted, then stalked off without another comment. They watched him walk away for a minute before Shouto looked back at Midoriya.

"Hey."

"H-Hi." He looked nervous. "Sorry I left, I just figured you guys could catch up without me."

Shouto nodded. "It's fine." Silence stretched between them and she couldn't help but wonder what she was doing wrong.

"So, uh, I saw Ryukyu earlier over there, do you want to go talk to her? I haven't really seen her since my internship ended last year." He asked. "It's getting kind of late, Mr. Aizawa said they'd call for us when it was time to go back to school."

Shouto nodded. With that, she returned to her previous practice of following Midoriya while he talked to heroes. Although he always seemed happy talking to them, in his natural habit of analyzing, stuttering, and smiling, there was something stifled to him that wasn't there before.

He didn't look at her as much. Well, that wasn't true, he looked over at her plenty, but he never met her eyes and if he did, he quickly looked away, a blush covering his face. Maybe the dancing had made him mad, he said he wasn't good at it, although that had seemed like a lie. Maybe he wasn't happy she pushed him. To be honest, she had been somewhat selfish about it, mostly focused on avoiding her father.

But while they had been dancing, it had been nice. It felt nice to be in his arms, faces barely inches apart, able to admire him up close. She was struggling to figure out what she had done wrong.

Eventually they called for the hero students to report outside to head back. The party itself would go on for a few more hours, but Yuuei still had curfew and agreed they probably should let teenagers loose at a party like this much later than midnight.

She and Midoriya walked in silence, waiting outside in more silence as a few other groups of students, either different years or different schools got into other cars. Yoarashi saw her while they stood there, waving crazily as he left. Shouto resisted the urge to roll her eyes and pretended to adjust her dress while she ignored him.

Glancing down, she noticed Midoriya's hand twitching. "Are you okay?" She asked, reaching for it. He jumped, pulling away and looking at her.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine." He said awkwardly, rubbing at the crooked knuckles.

"What's wrong with your hand?"

"It's not a big deal."

"I still want to know."

He sighed, glancing away as another car for Shiketsu rolled up. "It's just because I've broken it so much, the joints get weird when it gets cold and it hurts sometimes."

Oh. Shouto frowned. "I didn't know that."

Midoriya shrugged. "I didn't tell you. I knew you'd blame yourself, and it's not your fault."

Shouto bit her tongue, because that was so undeniably Midoriya, she was barely surprised. Instead, she grabbed his scarred hand, warming her left palm and rubbing her thumb over the marks.

"U-Uh-"

She looked back at his eyes, a little disappointed they weren't looking at her. "You said it hurts when it's cold. It's the least I can do."

"R-Right, yeah, o-okay."

She pouted, busying herself by warming his hand. Shouto debated for a moment before she finally sighed.

"Midoriya?"

"Uh-huh." He was awfully interested in watching the Shiketsu third-years.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked bluntly.

That got his attention at least, his bright eyes flickering back toward her. "What? No, of course not, why would I be mad at you?"

"I made you dance."

He blinked in confusion, then laughed a little, weakly. "No, Todoroki, I'm not mad."

"Then why have you been acting weird since then?" She pressed, frowning. "If I did something wrong, please just tell me. I was having fun, I don't want to ruin it."

His expression crumbled a little. "Todoroki-chan," He sighed gently. She tilted her head. "You didn't do anything, I promise, I just...I was upset we got interrupted."

"Dancing?" She returned.

"Yeah- well, no, uh, not that exactly, not that dancing with you wasn't nice, but I just kind of wanted to say what I was going to say." He concluded.

"Oh." Shouto glanced at his hand again for a second before looking back at him. "Well, just say it now."

"It's not that easy!" He squeaked, suddenly blushing. "It's, uh, just, I can't just say that kind of thing here! There's so many people and-"

She furrowed her eyebrows, puzzled. "What kind of thing?"

"I- uh-"

"Hey, dumbasses!" They both jumped, glancing at where Bakugou stood, halfway in the car they had arrived in. "Stop being gross and let's go!"

Midoriya sighed, nearly looking irritated. "Come on, we should go." He mumbled.

"What'd he mean by gross?" She wondered, left unanswered as they walked to the car.

Shouto let him go so he could climb in the middle seat again, earning another grumble from the blond. With that, Midoriya awkwardly pressed against her side again, they drove off. Shouto leaned down and pulled off her heels, tired of wearing them after standing nearly all night. She dropped them on the floor, then sat back again.

Midoriya was staring out the other window, Bakugou, on his other side, was scrolling through his phone. Without a word, she reached over and grabbed his scared hand again. He made a choked noise, looking back at her with wide eyes.

Shouto just smiled a little, wordlessly warming her hand and squeezing softly as the city's buildings passed by.

O-O-O-O

Midoriya was the only one who thanked the driver, bowing deeply to the man. Once they parked by Yuuei's entrance, Bakugou stormed off toward the dorms, grumbling something to Midoriya before he passed. She waited patiently for Midoriya, heels hanging from the ankle straps in her right hand.

They scanned their student IDs and began to walk at leisurely pace back toward the dorms. Shouto didn't hesitate to grab his hand again, fully aware of the chill in the air, despite how it didn't affect her.

"You, um, you don't have to do that anymore, if you don't want to." He mumbled, embarrassed.

"It's not a problem unless you don't like it." Her gaze returned to him. Their height difference was obvious again with the heels swinging from her hand.

"That's not it...I like it." Midoriya answered. "Just if it's hard for you and your quirk."

Shouto smiled. Of course, he'd be considerate like that. "It's no problem, Midoriya."

"Ah, o-okay."

A beat of silence stretched between them before Shouto continued. "I had fun tonight," She admitted. "and I'm glad you're not mad."

He laughed, giving her a hesitant smile. "I could never be mad at you, Todoroki-chan." Midoriya said fondly.

She squeezed his hand in return, after a few more steps Shouto spoke again. "I can't wait to wash off this makeup."

Midoriya looked a little surprised by the comment, chuckling to himself. "You don't like it?"

"Not really. It's a lot of effort, I'm glad I had other people to do it for me." She answered. He nodded quietly and she cleared her throat before she continued. "Did you like the makeup and everything..." She trailed off, gesturing to herself in general.

Midoriya blinked, looking her over with big eyes again. His face colored and shrugged, then nodded. "Of course, you look really nice, but you always do. I like the no-makeup, messy hair Todoroki-chan, too. I think you always look pretty, fancy outfit or no."

Shouto stared at him for a moment, surprised. She swallowed and nodded, looking at the ground with a growing smile. "Thanks, Midoriya."

She found them outside their dorm building suddenly, far too soon. She didn't really want the night to end just yet. Inside, they'd be forced to separate.

Shouto stopped, making him stop, too. It was after curfew, the streetlights illuminating their path.

"What?" He asked, looking back at her.

"There's no people around." She answered. Bakugou was nowhere to be found. The teenager looked up at the building, noticing that most of the rooms' lights were already out as well.

"Yeah?" Midoriya looked confused. "So?"

"Earlier, you said it wasn't something you could say with a lot of people around. There's no one around now." Shouto inspected his expression, watching it shift from confusion to surprise and finally embarrassment.

It was cute, how he wore his emotions on his sleeve, so obvious for everyone to see. She had spent the last year learning them all, cherishing it all. Shouto wished sometimes she was more like Midoriya, easy smiles and laughter and stunning eyes.

"O-Oh, yeah, um-"

"Is it something bad?"

"No! Well, yes, I- It, uh, depends on your answer." He stuttered.

Shouto raised her eyebrows and tilted her head, looking back at him. Midoriya just seemed more embarrassed, struggling to compose himself. Cute. She swung her heels, watching curiously, waiting for him to continue.

"Look, so, uh, Todoroki-chan. I don't want you to feel pressured, it's okay if you don't feel the same way." He began awkwardly.

"Okay?" This wasn't clarifying anything.

Midoriya sighed deeply, rubbing his thumb over her hand. She liked that.

"I-I really like you, Todoroki."

"I like you, too, Midoriya." She smiled.

Shouto wasn't sure why this warranted so much stress for him. He opened his mouth, pausing as he searched her face. Midoriya smiled a little.

"No, not like that. I l-like you, like you. Like, um, more than friends."

Oh. Oh.

"Oh."

He looked concerned. "Oh?" He echoed.

Shouto nodded. "That's good." She found herself smiling. "That's really good." She couldn't imagine what she could have possibly done to get him to feel that way, but she was glad nonetheless.

Midoriya wore a hesitant smile. "It is?"

She nodded quicker, looking up at his shiny eyes. "It is. This is the part where I say I like you too, right? Because I do. I think you're very nice. And hot. And sweet." Shouto furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to think of other words to describe Midoriya.

He laughed, face red. "T-Thanks, Todoroki."

Shouto smiled, holding his hand tighter. "Are we dating now?"

"Y-Yeah!" He grinned. "Well, wait, only if you want to!"

"I want to."

"Oh, o-okay. Good!"

They stood there, in the middle of their empty school campus, for probably an awkward amount of time, smiling like fools. Shouto knew she was, but Midoriya said he liked it when she did, so she didn't try to stop it.

"Um...do you think we should go inside?" He asked, leaning toward the building.

"Probably." She didn't really want to let go, but it was getting late and she was tired, even if the excitement had clouded her immediate thoughts.

Midoriya led the way inside, scanning his ID for them both. The common area was empty and silent, lights flickering to life with motion activation.

They paused by the elevators, two leading to the opposite sides of the dorms. Curfew meant no one who didn't belong on the other side, much to Shouto's disappointment. She looked at their joined hands.

"So...goodnight?" He asked, seeming hesitant.

Shouto nodded. "Yeah, goodnight." She let him go, he gave her another warm smile, turning to press the button for his floor.

She debated a moment longer, dropping her heels with a thud in front of the girls' elevator. He looked over, puzzled at the sound and Shouto met him in the middle, standing in front of him with a blush.

"Goodnight kiss?"

His face bloomed, eyes widening. "Um-"

Shouto looked away, suddenly embarrassed. "I saw it in one of those movies Ashido made us watch." She admitted.

Midoriya blinked at her, then laughed softly. "Y-Yeah, sure."

Shouto put her hands on his shoulders, expecting for him to pause and hesitate like he often did. Instead, Midoriya leaned down and closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers. She might've made a little surprised noise at the sudden contact, but she recovered quickly. Shouto reached up to cup his face as she smiled against him.

Midoriya broke away, blinking at her as a blush colored his cheeks. After a beat of silence, he spoke. "You, uh, your lips are a different temperature on each side, it's like a clear line." He muttered with a shy smile.

Of course, he'd notice something like that. Shouto laughed softly, earning a stunned look from Midoriya. "It's a clear line everywhere."

"Oh.." The elevator interrupted whatever he was going to say, sliding open. He looked puzzled at it.

"Goodnight. Again." She murmured quietly. She felt fuzzy inside, still standing that close to him.

"Yeah, g-goodnight." He pulled away from her, stepping inside the elevator. He waved a little as the doors closed, beaming.

Shouto stood in silence for a moment longer, alone but for her abandoned shoes. Finally, she shuffled toward the other elevator, pressing the button for the fifth floor.

She still couldn't manage to stifle the grin on her face.

Izuku: wears formal clothes

Shouto (on fire): oh, no, he's hot!

Also: Bakugou, during the gala texting Kirishima: these damn idiots won't stop making eyes at each other I'm going to set them on fire if they don't just go over there and kiss

For reference, "i like your face" takes place after they move into dorms first year and this takes place about mid-second year. There's eventually going to be some more pining stories in between this one and that one, but I wanted to write the confession in this one so I can finally write some established relationship :).

I'll also be writing some stories post-confession, so I'd recommend following the series for more updates. I'll change the order of the series to keep it chronological.

What can I say, I'm a slut for fancy dresses and suits, so I wrote a whole story about it. I hope you enjoyed the confession. I had a comment on the story last chapter talking about confessions and I almost spoiled it, oops! I enjoyed this a lot, it's nice to write these fluffy stories again, thank you for reading!

If you liked it, or have any other Fem-Todoroki ideas, please comment below, I'm open to suggestions, as I'm almost done with this terrible online school so I'll be having some more free time and I'd like to add a few more stories to this series.

Thanks and until next time! :)