Ice Cold

Whales

The idea of dating never really occurred to you. Many people glorify the first date, even if it were at a small fast food place or simply walking around the block. The very concept of dating was just the day, the month, and the year up until you picked up your first romance book.

But a part of you liked the idea of just being with someone, and not thinking about anything else. To be so comfortable that you didn't even need a reason to be together, you just were.

"Y/N." Mina waved in front of your face and you looked away from your phone, which only displayed your lock screen. "You good?"

"...Have you ever been on a date?"

She tilted her head. "No, not yet. I'm waiting for the right guy still. Why?"

You shrugged. "Shouto and I don't really do couple things together. Should we?"

"Only if you want, but you guys aren't really the most romantic people in the world. Do you want to?"

"I want to try it out. What do you do on a date?"

Mina mimicked your shrug. "Hang out? It depends on where you're going."

You looked around her dorm as if you'd find inspiration for a date but you soon found that you and Mina were very different people.

"Just go somewhere you and Todoroki will like," she advised, moving towards one of the shelves of magazines that she has. "There's a ton of great date places in Japan!"

She tossed you a stack of magazines and you flipped through them, staring at their covers. You stopped on one, eying the whale in the bottom corner of the cover.

"That's an aquarium-rescue animal type of thing," Mina said when she noticed that you stopped on it. "It's in page 27, see?"

You flipped to the page and Mina's lips curled into a grin. "It's nearby! Why don't you invite Shouto to go?"

"But I don't think he likes sea creatures."

"Y/N, he likes anything that makes you smile. He always has that whale earring, flaunting it like a million dollars. It's on his bag or his belt or in his hand, it's like you gave him gold! If he says no, then so be it."

If he says no...

You nodded and placed the magazine back in the pile. "I have patrol. See you."

•••

The next evening, you were helping clean up after dinner when Shouto appeared beside you, placing dirty plates beside the sink.

"Ask him now!" your mom's voice echoed.

You glanced at him with a part of you telling yourself to ask him on a date and the other part of you telling you that he would say no.

"Do you need help?" he asked, to which you shook your head. But he still stood there in silence.

You wanted to see if you could read what he was thinking, share a mind for just a moment, but you didn't want to be intrusive. You weren't a spy anymore.

You put the last dish on the drying rack and turned to him. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "Ashido told me that you wanted to go on a date."

Snitch! "It was just a passing thought."

"So... you don't actually want to go on a date?"

"I wouldn't be opposed to it."

He let a small smile appear on his face. "So, where would you want to go?"

"I'm not sure." You were completely sure. The picture of the whale on the bottom corner of the magazine's cover came to mind the moment he asked. The address was engraved in your brain the moment you looked at it.