The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, darkening the already dim forest, thick with trees and bushes. It made an already anxious group of travelers even more wary as visibility got low. The troupe consisted of a witch, a knight, and swordsman. The witch casted a spell to light the way before them. A small ball of brightness floated in front of them.

"I hope the monster isn't a giant spider", the witch said. "They're so icky."

The knight nodded. "And difficult to dispose of."

"And the last one had hardly any loot", the swordsman added.

"Wait", the witch suddenly stopped. "Why are we going after it if it isn't worth it?"

"We don't know for sure it's a giant spider, Occhan", the swordsman pointed out.

"Oh yeah, right." She continued on only for a giant spider to land before them with a boom. "I knew it!", she exclaimed, nearly knocking her drink over in her excitement.

The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, darkening the already dim corner of the library they had taken over. Uraraka looked around to make sure her outburst didn't annoy anyone.

"Sorry", she said in a hushed voice.

"The last monster was giant spider too. Are you setting us up for something, Shinsou-kun?", Midoriya asked.

Shinsou shrugged, not giving up anything. "Maybe I just like spiders."

"I agree with Midoriya-kun", Iida said. "You usually play the long con with these campaigns. Two spiders in a row must mean something."

The four friends continued their game until they got to a good stopping point. They packed everything up then and gave their goodbyes, promising to meet again in the coming days. Midoriya was the last to leave. As he passed the rows of books, he noticed a familiar head of hair. Doubling back, he hid behind a shelf, telling himself he definitely wasn't spying.

Todoroki Shouto, of the advanced class. It was rare to see him outside school. And Midoriya wasn't in the advanced class, so that meant even less chances for their paths to cross. Todoroki's attention was on a textbook, giving Midoriya the opportunity to look all he wanted. Midoriya was always caught by how handsome he was. He was the picture of elegance.

Even when he was just in his school uniform. Getting an idea, Midoriya formed a frame with his fingers around Todoroki and it was just as he thought. He looked like he popped right out of a romantic teen drama. Or was a model for a school's pamphlet. 'Come learn here, we've got hot guys'.

Midoriya was so thoroughly distracted, he took no notice of anyone behind him. Someone just off to his side, dropped a stack of books, prompting Todoroki to look up at that moment. And there was Midoriya, fingers frozen in their frame.

"Uh, I uh, I-I'm sorry!", he babbled before sprinting away.

Todoroki said nothing, watching him leave before standing and helping the girl who had dropped her books.

"Who was that boy?", she asked as she gathered her things and brought them over to the table.

"I don't know", Todoroki said, carrying his half over. "I think he was playing some kind of game. Do you really need this many books, Yaoyorozu?"

"If I want to become an effective tutor, I must", she insisted. "What kind of game was it?", she asked, wondering how one could play in a library.

"Don't know." Todoroki hadn't heard much from where he sat, but even at that distance it was obvious to him they hadn't be discussing schoolwork.

Meanwhile, Midoriya was cursing his awkwardness. He couldn't just take a glimpse and go on, he had to stare. And not just stare, he had to then go past that and ogle with his fingers framing his face like some kind of stalker.

"Ugh! What is wrong with me?!"

He walked the rest of the way home, trying to calm his pounding heart. Midoriya had been crushing on Todoroki since their first year of high school. Now as second years, he could count on one hand the interactions they'd made. On half his hand actually. He doubted Todoroki even remembered any of them. None stood out so much in his heart as their first meeting.

It had been a year ago, right before their entrance ceremony...

Midoriya was excited to finally start high school. He felt even better about starting with so many friends in tow. There was Shinsou, who he had met halfway through middle school, as well as Uraraka and Bakugou, who he had known even longer than that.

He had walked to the school with his two childhood friends, making their way to the auditorium. Shinsou was already waiting inside.

"I can't believe it, we're finally high schoolers. We're like, two steps away from being adults!", Uraraka exclaimed.

She took out a picture of the three of them from elementary school. It felt like only yesterday, she was taller than the both of them, Bakugou had no front teeth, and Midorya's hair looked even more untamed. A sudden gust of wind blew the photo from her hands and away until it settled in a tree.

"Oh no..."

"That's what you get for carrying something like that around", Bakugou said.

"I'll get it!", Midoriya offered before climbing up the tree.

"Be careful!", Uraraka called out, wishing she could have helped with her quirk before he got too far.

But Midoriya climbed on his own, reaching a hand out for the photograph, smiling in triumph before slipping on a branch and falling with a yelp. He landed, not on the ground, but in the firm hold of someone's arms.

"Thank you Kacch-", Midoriya looked up, fully expecting to see his friend, but instead was face to face with a stranger. And a handsome one at that. He was set on his own feet, the stranger muttered a 'be more careful' and then was off.

That had been the first time Midoriya had laid eyes on Todoroki and he had been smitten ever since. No one else knew besides the journal he wrote in. And there was no way he was telling a soul. He knew he couldn't be the only one with a crush on him. Todoroki was like perfect crush material, after all.

"I'm home!", he called out as he entered his abode.

"Welcome home!", his mother replied from wherever she was.

Midoriya went to his room and got out his homework, texting a few friends about their current campaign that they had missed. Ever since middle school MystiQuest had been a beloved hobby shared between him and his friends. Even Bakugou played and he was justly proud of his character's stats and achievements.

Burying himself in a good balance of work and fun, it was easy to get his nerves and heart to settle from the embarrassment he had faced earlier, not realizing events had been set in motion.