Chapter Text
“A few of us are going out skating tonight, do you wanna come with?”
After classes had ended for the day, Suzume had approached Tenya. She thought that going out with friends may be exactly what he needed.
He was standing, quickly packing his school bag, with his back facing her.
“I need to turn in my internship choices.” He threw his bag over his shoulder, still not turning to face her. “After that, I need to go home and prepare.”
“You decided already? Where are you going?”
“Hopefully Hosu.”
“That’s close to where me and Yaoyorozu will be interning! Uwabami works at a hero agency in Tokyo! Maybe we’ll see each other!”
He paused before replying.
“I sincerely hope we don’t.”
“I’m sorry?..” Suzume asked, stunned. “Did I… do something wrong?”
He turned to face her now. He looked… sad. Had she offended him that much?
“You haven’t done anything wrong.” He shook his head before offering her a melancholy smile. “We can go skating after our internships. I have yet to make good on our deal, as well.”
She had forgotten about the deal they had made at the sports festival.
“So we’re ok?” She asked, unsure.
“We’re ok. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He moved to leave, but Suzume grabbed the sleeve of his uniform. He stopped, looking down at her expectantly. She didn’t know why she stopped him, she just had this horrible feeling deep in her gut.
“You’ll be careful in Hosu, right?” She pleaded.
“I promise I’ll come back in one piece.”
She released his arm and held her pinky up to him.
“You gotta pinky promise.” She bobbed her hand at him.
Tenya reached out, locking his pinky with hers. She held tightly, staring up into his dark blue eyes, searching them for any kind of clue as to what was running through his mind that very moment. She just couldn’t shake the feeling of doom that was pooling in her stomach. Was it just her own anxiety getting the best of her?
“Have fun tonight, Suzume.” He said as he released her pinky. “Goodbye.”
“Bye..” She mumbled to his back as he turned and left the classroom.
Maybe I'm just reading too deeply into things. He's going through something really difficult right now, of course he's gonna act differently.
She pushed the nagging feelings to the back of her mind and made her way over to where Mina and Toru were, huddled by their desks and talking animatedly with one another. They were going to come skating tonight with her and Kirishima, as well as Sero and Denki. Kirishima had invited Bakugou as well as the rest of them at lunch, but he'd only clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes in response. That was completely fine by her, she didn't want to be banned for life from her favorite rink because he blew a fuse. Or a giant hole in the wall. She didn't understand why Kirishima was so intent on befriending the hothead. It was obvious he had little to no interest in making buddies at this school.
If he wanted to be an ill mannered sour puss for the rest of his days, that was his business.
“Suzu!” Mina noticed her approaching and waved her over excitedly. “Since your uniform fit me so well that one time, I thought it would be fun if you came over to my place so I could dress you up!”
“Mina said we both can borrow some of her clothes!” Toru exclaimed, bouncing in place. “Isn't that exciting??”
“I have my own clothes.” Suzume co*cked her head at them.
“Well, duh, but this way I get to make you all pretty for your date!” Mina beamed.
“Date??” Suzume balked. “This is a group thing, what are you talking about??”
“You’re gonna be there, Kiri is gonna be there. Outside of school.” Mina wiggled her eyebrows. “It’s a date.”
“If that’s what constitutes a date, then I guess you and Sero are going to be on a date too, right?” Suzume wiggled her eyebrows back at the girl, Mina’s already pink cheeks instantly turning a deeper hue.
“Ew, does that mean I’m paired off with Denki? ” Toru asked in horror.
“Why is the word ‘ew’ and my name being used in the same sentence??”
Denki materialized next to them, with Kirishima and Sero in tow. They all had their school bags packed and hanging off their shoulders, ready to leave.
“Would you like to tell them, Mina?” Suzume looked over to her smugly.
“It’s nothing important.” Mina said, clearly avoiding eye contact with Sero.
“Why is your face all red?” Kirishima asked her, poking at Mina’s cheek, oblivious to the conversation they had just been having.
“Her face is red because I won.” Suzume said proudly.
“What does that mean?” Kirishima looked even more quizzical now.
“Doesn’t matter.” Suzume waved off his question, deciding to give Mina a little grace. “Denki, will you pick up my skates for me? Mina wants to play dress-up at her house.”
“I need to go over there, anyways.” Denki nodded his head. “I left mine there the last time we went skating.”
“You guys go a lot?” Kirishima asked him, offering a friendly smile.
“All the time, this woman is obsessed.” Denki said lightheartedly.
Well that’s a nice change from the usual daggers they like to stare at each other.
Had they come to some kind of ceasefire? Was Denki going to start playing nice?
“We need to hurry up and go already, I want to do your hair!” Toru said, yanking on Suzume’s arm and pulling her to the door of the classroom.
“We’ll see you guys there!” Suzume called behind her, waving to the guys as she, Toru, and Mina departed.
■■■■■
Mina’s bedroom looked exactly the way Suzume had imagined it would. There were hot pink, black, and purple pops of color everywhere . Her bedsheets were black with big pink polka dots, accented with ruffles and bows. She had a giant fuzzy pink rug splayed out across the hardwood floors. Her walls were littered with all kinds of posters, ranging anywhere between j-pop idols to movie stars. Pink and black zebra striped curtains hung loosely over her windows. It seemed that everything was lined with fur, the waste basket included. Even the furniture had been painted black and pink to match the aesthetic of the room. Mina was currently rifling through her closet, tossing clothes onto the floor and out of her way.
“I have this really cute pink dress that would look perfect on you, Suzu.” More clothes fell to the ground as she spoke. “I just have to find it…”
“No, ma’am. No dresses.” Suzume crossed her arms, shaking her head. “How am I supposed to skate in a dress?”
“It’s easy!” Mina looked back to her, one hand still in her closet, marking her place in the many articles of clothing hanging there.
“Maybe if I wanted to flash everyone!”
“We can put shorts underneath!!” Toru added, searching through the discarded clothes on the floor.
“Ooooor, I can just wear the shorts period.” Suzume would die on this hill.
“You’re no fun…” Mina pouted, abandoning her frantic search in the closet. “But you’ve used up your only veto!”
“Can I wear this?” Toru asked, holding up a mint green dress with little white flowers and flowing sleeves.
“Of course! But you have to use the matching bag, it’s the white one over there.” Mina pointed to the far wall of her room where several handbags were displayed on a black floating shelf.
Mina crossed over the now mountain of clothes on her floor and pulled open her dresser, digging around in its contents. Suzume made herself comfortable on the bed, dangling her feet over the edge as she waited for whatever Mina had in store for her. Toru was already changing into the dress she had picked out, slipping it over her invisible head with ease and giving it a twirl. It went to about where Suzume imagined her knees would be, the perfect length for twirling. She found herself wondering what Toru would look like if she wasn’t completely transparent. How long was her hair? What color were her eyes? There was no way of knowing. As far as she could tell, Toru had no control over staying invisible. It was a little sad, but she was still a wonderful person regardless of what she looked like.
“Ok, put these on.” Mina tossed her something blue and white.
Unfurling them from where they had landed on her lap, Suzume found a pair of jean shorts and an obscenely short tank top. It was practically a bra. There was no way she was going to wear something like that out in public.
“Can I get a different top?” Suzume asked, holding the crop top up to her torso and wrinkling her nose.
“No way! You already used your veto!!” Mina declared, stomping her foot and wagging a finger in her direction.
“Who even made up the one veto per person thing?” Suzume raised her brow. “I don’t remember agreeing to that.”
“ Pleeease??? ” Mina begged, jutting out her bottom lip and batting her eyelashes.
“Do you have, like, a cardigan I can put over it?”
“That’ll ruin the look!”
“Either I get a cardigan, or I’m going in my school uniform.” Suzume crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow and challenging Mina's will.
“You’re impossible.” Mina sighed and scooped something out of the pile on the floor, tossing it to Suzume. “Fine, you can wear this.”
“Thank you, mom.” Suzume laughed, catching the garment.
It was a pink button up sweater with a cute star pattern, perfect for hiding her midriff from view. She stood, stripping out of her uniform and tucking it into her school bag before slipping Mina’s borrowed clothes on. Mina picked out a jean skirt for herself, along with a ruffled white top and a pink zebra striped jacket. Both her and Toru wore shorts underneath their skirts, having enough wherewithal to protect themselves from prying eyes in the rink.
Toru fought tooth and nail to comb through Suzume’s hair, unraveling the numerous tangles in her pink tresses. Mina had suggested straightening it, but after seeing just how much hair was actually there and how frizzy it was, she quickly abandoned the idea. They would be there all night if they tried. A braid was out of the question as well, Toru’s hands already ached terribly just from brushing through her mane. They settled on a simple ponytail, though that also proved to be a challenge. Five snapped elastic bands later, Mina had pulled out a very heavy duty looking scrunchie and managed to wrangle Suzume’s hair into something presentable.
Mina even did Suzume’s eyeliner, graciously giving her one of her pencils to take home and keep. Suzume felt… pretty. And confident. Confident enough to snap a picture of herself in the mirror hanging on Mina’s wall before they left for the roller rink. She’d post it to Pinstagram later, along with any other pictures she took at the rink.
■■■■■
The boys were already waiting outside by the time they got there. Kirishima and Sero were leaned up against the front wall of the building, talking amongst themselves. Denki was scrolling on his phone, both his and Suzume's skates slung over his shoulder. He was dressed similarly to how he usually did. Black jeans, a graphic t-shirt, and a jacket tied around his waist. Sero had on a loose, white long sleeve shirt and green cargo pants. Kirishima was… well, Suzume had never seen him outside of the school’s uniforms. His hair was still styled in his signature spikes, but he had a red and black letterman style jacket on, making his frame even wider and more imposing than usual. His jeans were dark blue and worn, hanging loosely on his legs. She couldn’t tell what was on his shirt from this far, but it was white with some kind of graphic on it. Maybe a band? She had no idea. But seeing him like this had her heart stuttering.
How did he get even more handsome?? Is it witchcraft?...
“ Finally. ” Sero pushed himself off the wall and strode over as they approached. “What took you guys so long?”
“Suzu’s hair was impossible to work with.” Mina huffed and tugged on one of the strands of Suzume’s hair hanging from her ponytail. “I think there’s something living in there. It tried to eat my fingers!”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you? That’s my hair gnome. He gets hungry sometimes.” Suzume laughed and swung her ponytail at Mina.
“My arms still hurt from holding all of that up.” Toru whined, rubbing her arms. “I don’t know how you manage to keep yourself upright with all that dangling off your skull all day.”
“I'm just built different.” Suzume lifted her arms and flexed dramatically.
“You look nice, Suzu.” Kirishima said, joining them. “Your hair is pretty like that.”
He was smiling at her, his cheeks tinted pink. She could feel her own cheeks warming looking back at him. She wrung her hands together nervously as she fumbled through her mind for a reply. Should she tell him he looked nice, too? Or would that be weird?
“Come on, guys, it's disco night!” Denki whined from his place beside the glass front doors. “I wanna skate!”
“Why are you always interrupting my favorite shows?!” Mina cried back to him, outraged. “They were being cute!”
“We can all be cute inside the building, let's go! ” Denki was already pushing open the doors, beckoning the group forward.
Mina grumbled and stomped her way inside, leaving the rest to follow after her. Suzume passed her and grabbed her skates from their spot over Denki's shoulder. He took her bag from her, following the unspoken routine they had every time they came to skate. He'd drop their stuff off at one of the personal lockers provided, and she would find a bench to put their roller skates on. Luckily, since it was the middle of the week, the rink was pretty empty. The other four split off to rent their own skates, leaving Suzume to lace herself up alone.
Her skates were well loved, scuffed and worn in all the right places to make them comfortable and easy to move in. There were several faded and peeling stickers plastered all over their pink leather, remnants of the first few months she'd had them. She had been so excited to customize them, she slapped on basically every sticker she owned, turning them into a freaky franken-sticker monstrosity. In hindsight, she probably should have refrained from putting anything on them, seeing how ratty the stickers looked now. But she still adored them. With quirks being so heavily regulated, this was the only way she was able to skate outside of her own home. So they held a special place in her heart, no matter how tattered they got.
She sat down on an empty bench next to the barrier walls of the rink, untying her regular shoes and stowing them in one of the cubbies underneath. She hastily shoved her socked feet into her skates, eager to get out on the floor. Music was booming over the speakers above them. Colorful dancing lights illuminated the dim room, gliding across every surface in hypnotic patterns. She could see from her bench that one of her favorite DJs, Kenji, was manning the music booth tonight. There were a few skaters already in the rink, making lazy circles round and round, all bobbing to the rhythm of Earth, Wind & Fire.
Denki plopped down next to her, following her lead and lacing his own yellow skates up on his feet.
“I have a confession to make, guys…” Sero joined them, ditching his regular shoes for his rented four wheeled skates. “I've never roller skated before.”
“It's ok, Sero! I have no clue what I'm doing either!” Toru informed him happily, mirroring everyone else as she sat beside him and slipped on her skates.
“It's easy, you'll get the hang of it super fast.” Denki said, already bouncing to the music as he waited. “It's like riding a bike.”
“They have those walker things you can rent out.” Kirishima teased as he and Mina sat on the bench next to Suzume's.
“The things they give little kids?? You're out of your mind!!” Sero balked.
“Yeah, Sero is gonna cling to the wall, like a real man!” Suzume chuckled.
Kirishima barked out a laugh in response to Sero narrowing his eyes at Suzume.
“Don't worry, you have four pros here to help you out.” Mina patted Sero’s shoulder.
“Exactly! Mina can help you find your sea legs and I'll take Toru!” Suzume said, rising and standing on her skates with ease.
“My hero!” Toru rose from her own seat, her legs already wobbling.
Suzume glided over to her, reaching out and taking the girl’s transparent hands into her own. She slowly guided Toru to one of the open spots in the barrier walls, easing out onto the wooden floor backwards. Denki and Kirishima followed, with Mina dragging a struggling Sero behind them.
Once fully in the rink, Suzume released one of Toru's hands and shifted to roll beside her. Toru clung to Suzume's arm, her feet jutting out from under her sporadically.
“Ok, skating 101, first lesson.” Suzume motioned to her own feet with her free hand as she guided the two of them along the perimeter of the rink. “You wanna keep your feet at shoulder's width and kinda… Squat down a little. It's gonna feel weird, but it's the only way you're gonna be able to balance starting out.”
Toru obeyed, righting her feet and bending her knees slightly. Suzume nodded encouragingly as Toru stabilized.
“Awesome! You're already doing better than Denki when he first started!” Suzume smiled at her invisible friend.
“Slander!” Denki called as he passed them by, lapping them with Kirishima close behind.
“Ignore him.” Suzume laughed. “Ok, now I'm gonna show you how to move. So you just push off with one foot and glide with the other until you lose momentum, then you switch. While you're gliding on one foot, keep the other one above the floor so that it doesn't trip you up and land you on your ass.”
She demonstrated, deliberately slowing and exaggerating her footwork so Toru could copy. Toru mimicked her, still holding onto Suzume’s arm as she tentatively pushed herself across the floor of the rink. Suzume could hear Mina struggling with Sero behind them. She turned to look over her shoulder only to catch Sero falling, dragging Mina down to the ground with him in a tangle of limbs. She would have snapped a picture if she didn't have Toru using her as an anchor.
Toru seemed to be grasping the concept rather quickly, unlike poor Sero. She was only using Suzume as a mental support right now, her hand barely putting any pressure on Suzume’s arm. She was doing all of the hard work herself now.
“You're a natural! Look at you go!” Suzume praised, smiling brightly at her friend.
“I'm doing it!!” Toru squealed in delight.
“You're doing it!! Now, try letting go.” Suzume nodded at Toru's hand still on her arm.
“What if I fall?!” Toru's delight quickly turned to fear.
“Then you get back up and try again!” Suzume chuckled. “You can't let your fear of what might happen get in the way of what's happening right now, silly. You're skating! Roll with it!”
Toru slowly released her grip on Suzume’s arm. Suzume glided to the side, giving her space to figure out her own groove. She had really lucked out picking Toru over Sero, the girl really was a natural. Barely even five minutes of instruction and she was already moving like a pro.
“And that concludes our crash course! You've graduated from Mizuno's school of roller baddies!” Suzume rolled out in front of Toru, skating backwards so she was facing her.
“I had an excellent teacher! Thanks, Suzu!”
“No need for thanks, just throw money.” Suzume spread her arms wide and threw her head back.
“I've got some quarters, I think…”
“I have suddenly changed my mind.” Suzume retreated back to Toru's side.
Toru laughed, causing Suzume to giggle along with her. It felt like it had been ages since the last time Suzume skated. Being here now, teaching one of her friends her favorite pastime, it reminded her just how much she had missed simple comforts such as this. Life had gotten vastly more complicated since she had been accepted into U.A. The entrance exams, combat training, the USJ attack, the sports festival… The stress of it all finally slipped off her shoulders, falling behind her as she glided across the rink.
She was in her element now, unburdened and free. Just another kid at the skating rink, not a care in the world. She took in a deep breath, soaking in the atmosphere around her.
They were about to lap Mina and Sero. He was still struggling, leaning heavily on Mina as he fumbled across the floor. She didn't look like she minded it, though. Suzume whistled at the pair as she and Toru passed.
“They're getting along.” Toru giggled.
“Have we moved on from my love life? Do I get to be the one to tease and torment now?” Suzume gasped, feigning shocked delight.
“Perhaps.”
“It's a Christmas miracle.”
“Mind if I cut in?” Kirishima rolled up next to them, offering Suzume his hand.
“She's all yours!” Toru snickered, falling back.
“That little liar…” Suzume scrunched her nose at Toru as she retreated, leaving Suzume alone with Kirishima.
“What do you mean?” Kirishima asked, his hand still out and waiting.
“Nothing!” Suzume blurted awkwardly.
She hesitated for a moment before grabbing Kirishima’s outstretched hand. He slid his fingers between hers, melting her brain instantly. He fell into an easy rhythm next to her, their hands clasped together between them as they continued across the wooden floor. It was a good thing the room was dim, or else everybody would see how her face erupted in heat.
“I see why you like this place so much.” He said, squeezing her hand. “It's super manly.”
“I'm glad you like it.” She managed to say without completely stumbling through her sentence. “I don't know if it's gonna become our regular haunt, though. Sero can't keep his feet under him.”
“It can be just the two of us next time, if you'd like?”
Be still my beating heart.
“That-that would be fun!” She stuttered, unable to move her mouth properly.
“We could do something else, like go to the gym or see a movie…” He mumbled, barely audible over the music.
“I'm down for whatever, totally. Whatever you, like, wanna do…” She mentally smacked herself for sounding so awkward.
Maybe if I fall and break my leg, I'll be saved from humiliating myself any further…
“As long as you're there, I'm ok doing anything.”
He sounded so earnest saying that. She glanced over to him. The smile he was giving her nearly made her knees buckle and give out on the spot. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and all the way up to her chest. She was convinced if she opened her mouth, they'd come flying out of her. So she kept silent, choosing to simply smile back at him instead.
The music faded and melted into another song, one she knew well. She skated around Kirishima, still holding his hand and dragging him in a tight circle as they glided across the polished floors. She kept time to the music with each pass of her foot and he joined her, bobbing along happily to the beat. He moved in front of her, skating backwards as he grabbed her other hand. He swayed their arms, dancing with an infectiously goofy grin. He pulled her forward, spinning her on her wheels, one hand guiding her and the other hovering over her waistline as she twirled.
Kirishima was behind her now, both facing forward. He was holding both of her hands once more, each of his strides perfectly synced with her own. She could feel his warmth all across her back. The proximity alone was enough to make her shiver, but the goosebumps only tripled when she looked up over her shoulder to see him leaning over it to catch her gaze. He folded their arms together, wrapping them around her waist. His broad arms encompassed hers, his chest now flush against her upper back. She wanted to die right there, unbelievably happy and held by this charming boy. She needed to cement this moment into her brain, forever.
“Can I get a picture of us?” She hadn't meant to ask the question out loud, but it had slipped through her lips before she could process what she was doing.
“Only if you send it to me.” He said, his breath fanning against her ear from where his head peered over her shoulder.
Hypnotized by the way his voice rumbled through his chest and into her bones, she released one of his hands and fished her phone out of her pocket. She raised it, positioning it so that the camera could capture both of them. They were impossibly close, the side of his head pressed into hers. The feel of his skin on hers was exquisite, mind numbing even. The colorful lights of the rink danced over them as they continued across the floor, making the picture look whimsical and otherworldly.
Suzume smiled, not only for the camera, but because she was truly happy to be there. In the arms of the boy she liked, at one of her favorite places in the world, with all of her friends. Her heart was bursting with joy, love, and appreciation for the little things this life had to offer.
