Oh, Baby?

Part 4

Part 4

While carefully putting him down, I observed Iida's head was just at my chest while standing.
"Oof, you're a big boi, Iida. And I mean that in a good way." I said as I fingered through keys to his dorm key.
"I- what's that supposed to mean, Bella?" He asked innocently.
"Well, I'm a short human and everything always seems tall when I'm small," I corrected myself "you included. "You are very tall, and that's okay." I unlocked it quickly and carefully got him inside. I closed the door with my powers so I could put Iida down on the bed. When he landed he felt his pants tighten around the thick of his thighs, regaining muscle that he'd have normally.
"What on earth is going, on- augh!" He was in shock of realizing that he was indeed growing back to his normal age, looking at one of his hands and legs. "Okay so do you want me to remove those or-"
He flushed bright red before I even realized what I just asked him.
"Oops! I-I meant-"
"Go to my drawers over there! I'll handle this part myself." He said in mild panic. I quickly ran to his drawer to get his more proper fitting clothes. I was turned away until I thought about the fact that it would be hard to get out of tight fitting clothes.
"Iida, are you sure you're gonna be okay or do you need help-"
"I'll be fine!" He groaned in frustration as I heard him fumbling the shirt off of his head. I looked to make sure he didn't get caught in his kiddy clothes.
He wasn't. His arms managed to yank the shirt off and revealed a very lean, strong set of back, shoulder, and arm muscles. "Just promise me you won't look!"
Fuck, I looked...
I turned my head away quickly and flushed bright red.
"O-Okay! Do you want me to pick stuff out while you're over there?"
"Yes, that's fine, just make sure you leave the rest of my clothes as you found them." He groaned through the removal of tight pants. I heard his own voice drop deeper from his child-like voice earlier, which caught me off guard.
His voice is returning to normal. Is he, okay?
Silent struggle went by for a minute as I gathered the proper things. Iida caught his breath from panic, and stood up to watch me get his clothing. The last thing I needed was boxers, and by the realization I needed to get them revealed itself in even brighter cheeks.
"Bella, are you okay?"
I was shaking lightly because it felt so wrong to reach for the drawer.
"Ah, I-I have everything else but it would be wrong for me to go through your boxers s-shorts Iida. I don't want to be like Mineta."
"I-I'll get them then. I appreciate your honesty, B-Bella. He said as I heard him approach me. I shut my eyes even tighter.
"You want me to move to the left?"
"Y-Yes, let me help you," he said as he placed both hands on my shoulders and moved me gently to the left, my legs twitching from nerves.
"Why are we stuttering?" I asked innocently.
"B-because we're both vulnerable right now, and a wrong move could embarrass us both." He stammered.
"Good Point, sorry." I replied. I could hear his breath in the still room, shaking a little like mine before he grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom. After hearing the door close, I plopped myself on the bed, exhausted from my flustered emotions.
"Are you alright, Bella?" He called from the bathroom, worried.
"Yeah, I just sat down on the bed for a minute." I exhaled.
"Alright, you can open your eyes. The door is shut."
I obeyed and sat there for what felt like an eternity, but was only a few minutes. I processed the entirety of the last day and realized it took about twenty four hours until the effect wore off of Iida. He got lucky, or there was something going on.
Didn't Midoriya say it would take a full 72 hours with the shot the villain took to fully wear off the effects?
My cell phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. I sighed and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Bella! It's Midoriya, I found out something about the villain's quirk that you would love to hear!"
"What is it, Izuku?" I asked with curiosity.
"Did you see more on the news?" I added.
"Yes. The villain was fully charged today with all of the kidnappings she did, and everyone was able to find the hostages! It turns out that after the effect, the process of recovery sped up when the victim is close to someone they loved! A father was returned to his wife and kids, and was recovered within twenty-four hours instead of the seventy-two he was supposed to be stuck in! I think I know where we can take Iida to help him!" Izuku exclaimed excitedly.
"That's nice to hear, Midoriya! But uhhh, I have to tell you something..."
"Oh, is everything okay? Do you need me to come over right away?"
"No, no, it's not that, Midoriya. Uhh, I think Iida is..."
I covered the phone speaker so I could check in with Iida.
"Hey Iida, are you alright over there? Are you back to- normal?" I shook lightly because I was afraid if he was suffering any unknown side effects of the quirk. The door opened in front of me. There was Iida, fully clothed but without a set of glasses. "Ah, Bella! Could you hand me a pair of glasses off the shelf?" He asked me as if nothing had happened a few minutes ago.
"Yeah." I handed him a pair of glasses off his shelf of several pairs.
"Let me see..." he spoke to himself, even though I knew the answer now.. He walked into the bathroom again to look in the mirror. After a moment of silence, I heard a joyous sigh of relief.
"It's gone, I'm back to normal!" He declared.
"Good," I sighed in relief as I gathered a thing or two from the floor.
I uncovered the phone to hear Izuku fretting on the other end.
"It's okay! It's okay, Midoriya. He's back to normal!" I responded.
"He's back to normal?! Wow!!! That was even faster than the man's recovery time! Other than us and you, who was he with after the incident?"
Just me, really...
"Uhhhhh-" I started to stutter at the realization. Iida walked out to check on me.
"Bella?"
I had given him a similar outfit to the one I had been given in the bag; a blue polo, khakis, some tan socks to match. I started thinking about the last of the 24 hours that had occurred: I rescued Iida from the clutches of a ridiculous villain, slept with him as a protector, escaped two villains, and went through what was supposed to be a normal day off like nothing happened.
"Bella?" He waved a hand in front of me and I came to my senses.
"What's wrong?"
Suddenly, Izuku swung the door open to see Iida and I, and I realized Midoriya had hung up to come and see for himself.
"Iida-kun!" He looked so excited to see his friend back to normal.
"Bella brought you back to normal!"
"She what?" He looked at me, my face agape as I was still processing it.
"You were talking to Midoriya on the phone just now?"
I nodded, dumbfounded.
"He was telling me some new information about the quirk and how the effects could change in longevity depending on where the victim is in proximity to others. He had a lot to tell me."
"Have you told him yet?" Izuku asked hopefully.
"Told him what?" I asked confused, even though I knew damn well it was going to take some form of confession of my admiration for the strong boy.
Please don't let this be about my feelings, I can't contain them right now. PLEASE DON'T TELL HIM-
"Oh, you haven't yet. Uhh, I'll leave that to you two, goodnight Iida!" He closed the door quickly before Iida could protest. Freezing for a moment, and then turning to me slowly, he looked at me with mixed emotions of bewilderment and worry.
"Did he tell you something about the quirk side effects?" He asked. "Or is there something you've been meaning to tell me that you've known about this quirk effect?"
"Yes, yes he did, and it's nothing bad at all, in fact it's quite the opposite." My tone gave away that it was a serious subject. His eyes widened a little, understanding I was a little hesitant at first.
"You don't have to tell me know if you don't wish to, Bella."
"No, no, I want to. I just didn't think today would be that kind of day, but it's about time I was gently shoved into it." I admitted sheepishly.
"About time?"
"Yeah, I'll explain." I patted the spot on the bed next to me. He hesitated before gingerly walking over. The two of us were tense, until I found it in me to take a few breaths.
"Ahah, so the quirk effects are completely gone at this point," I said, looking at his returned physique. "You've got your normal body back as far as I can see, and mentally/emotionally you're feeling okay?"
His cheeks were more so of a light pink at this point, as I hadn't been this close to him since he was in his little form.
"Y-Yes, Bella, but I don't understand this, this feeling I have. Especially since you took care of me this entire time. When you gave me that, that... kiss, on the forehead. I've been confused as to how I feel for you, Bella."
Oh my god, it's happening, stay calm.
"Did you truly mean to do that, or did you do it because I was fretting like a child?"
"Yes..."
His eyes widened as I processed what I had just said.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck, no turning back now.
"I-I-I what I really meant by that is, yes. I meant that wholeheartedly. As a, p-person so cares for you so much I... I wanted you to have something that would both help you calm down and show my a-affection towards you and I.. I didn't think straight in the moment and gave you that little forehead kiss. I'm usually a hugger and cuddled but, I know you're not one for physical touch all the time so I decided to go with the quickest option I could think of." I finished.
"I- you're not wrong..." He covered his mouth in surprise of his own words. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, continue." I assured him. He cleared his own throat before speaking again.
"Y-you also wiped tears from my cheeks too. Normally I wouldn't let anyone touch my face unless we were in a sparring match, but something about that touch of yours kept me from flinching." He said meekly. "It was the kindest thing anyone outside my family has done in a moment where I felt so vulnerable," he added.
"Well, when you were crying, I saw a sweet boy who needed to know his feelings were valid. And they still are," I said as I gained the courage to look him in the eyes softly. A look of surprise melted into a similar vulnerability he had mentioned before. I grew one step bolder and gently took each of his hands to hold. He flinched lightly, but didn't let go. I gently stroked the back of his hands with my thumbs, and I saw him visibly relax to breathe more easily. His eyes softening just as much as he did as a child.
"Anyway, The effects of the quirk you were hit by were shortened because the antidote was to safely get them to a person they loved dearly. As long as the victim stayed within proximity of the person, it could make a 72 hour effect turn into a 24 hour effect time. So, when I found you and took you back to U.A. to care for, your condition shortened in duration. Midoriya knew I liked you so, so he thought maybe I did something by being around." I spoke softly, in a bit of embarrassment.
What am I doing? I've made a fool of myself.
"Perhaps I've said too much, but Tenya, I feel for you so deeply. I find you to be one of the most inspiring people to be around. You care so much for your classmates, and I think it's a beautiful thing."
I paused to close my eyes for a moment and look away slightly, knowing that if I failed, I would have dug myself a grave here. His hands held mine a little tighter. Was he tensing? Or returning the feeling?
"You don't have to have an answer right away, but I wanted you to know how I felt about you, Tenya."
I looked up to see his cheeks flushed yet again, crimson eyes still soft and pure in color.
"Bella, I..."
I'm so dead, fuck...
"I think I've fallen for you, too."
Did he just-
And with that, he gently and quickly scooped me into his lap. I gasped, not expecting his bold move.
"I-I'm sorry. I hope I didn't scare you Bella I-"
"Oh not at all!" I giggled from excitement.
"It was quite a bold move from you, so you caught me by surprise," I giggled as I lightly ruffled his hair. His cheeks were red from seeing me giggle in a vulnerable position. His serious expression cracking a smile, and letting out a small laugh himself. We giggled together and released most of the tension built up from what felt like a long confession. After the laughter subsided, Iida checked his watch and realized it had gotten late.
"Oh, Bella! We've been up so late! I should take you back to your dorm before classes tomorrow. You need to sleep well in order to stay sharp during our literary discussion tomorrow."
And, he's back to lecturing me, silly goose. Good thing he remembered.
"Aww, okay. Could we study together tomorrow after school?" I looked up at him hopefully. He saw my hopeful eyes and took a moment to think about tomorrow.
"Well, I do have patrol with my work study tomorrow, but I can make an arrangement for Tuesday. Does that work for you, my darling?"
Darling... oh my 💙
"I would love to, dearie." I responded sweetly while exiting his lap.

Iida walked me back to my room, despite the short distance. He insisted he make sure that no one was snooping around or that there were no villains in the dorms. I linked my hand with his and gave it a polite swinging back and forth. He seemed to like it and followed my pattern. It was cute watching him smile when he realized he liked something new. When we got to the door, I turned to thank him.
"I appreciate you walking me here safely. Goodnight, Tenya." I said as I quickly stood on my toes to give him a hug. He must have not had many hugs in his life, as it took him a moment to mimic my hold, and then the hugged a little harder than I expected, cracking a very tense knot in my back.
"Oop!" I said in surprise.
"Oh my! I'm so sorry Bella, I-" he stammered.
"You got a tricky knot out of there!" I spoke impressed, rubbing the spot free of said knot. "You didn't hurt me. It's okay, Iida."
He stopped stammering. "Oh? Well, you're welcome."
He put a hand on the back of his head sheepishly.
"Nothing to worry about, my dear," I said assuringly. "Now, you should get some sleep too. Goodnight, honey!" I spoke singingly before giving him another hug and smiling. He returned the hug more gently this time, resulting in a very snuggly hug.
"Goodnight, my darling," he said warmly, before returning to his own room.