You're my girl and I want you to see yourself as such

Shouto is a girl. Though she didn't know until she got into UA. Before that, she was too occupied with hating her father Endeavor, and everything that man has caused, including her. Shouto hated the quirk which was a direct replica of Endeavors. She hated the scar, which made her past so visible for everyone to see. But most of all she hated that unsettling feeling of searching for something that doesn't exist. Well, she thought that this something doesn't exist. Her views on that changed after she met some of the most inspiring people right in her high school class.

For example, there's Kirishima who changes in the boy's locker room out of his binder and into a sports bra for gym class. Sure, there were some curious looks at the beginning of the school year. But besides that, nobody questioned why one of the boys had a pair of titts. Most of them actually knew about kids who weren't happy with the gender they were assigned by birth. The rest got lectured by Iida, who personally ensures everyone knows what being trans means. That was the first time Shouto got in contact with this kind of topic.

Then there is Kaminari who on some days wears pants and on other days shows up with a skirt. At first, Shouto was angry at Kaminari. How dare they dress as they want? It wasn't until the sports festival that she realized that her anger came from Jealousy. Kaminari looks pretty in all kinds of feminine clothes. It took Shouto a while but she eventually decided to ask Kaminari about their wardrobe. She did not expect to feel so light in the dresses and high heels Kaminari made her wear. It took Shouto more long days to spend on Kirishima's bedroom floor talking about everything and nothing to finally come up with the conclusion that she's a girl. With that realization, she suddenly found her /something/ which made her happy all over.

Lastly, there is Midoriya. He never asked Shouto why she shaves her legs for comfort or why she doesn't go to the toilets in school, or why she likes her hair short even though it gives her a more boyish look. In Midoriya's presence, Shouto can just be. She doesn't have to pretend anything and that is the most precious thing she can think of. That's why she made a habit of going to the green-haired boy's room whenever someone upsets her.

So naturally, after visiting his family for the weekend she goes straight up to Midoriya's room, not even bothering to get out of her jacket first. As always it's Endeavor's fault. He doesn't bother to call Shouto by her preferred pronouns. Even though she hates Endeavor and shouldn't be surprised by his actions anymore, the man's using the wrong pronouns breaks her heart every time. So she ends up sobbing into the soft cotton of Midoriya's T-Shirt.

They are sitting in silence on Midoriya's bed for several minutes before Shouto finally feels good enough to speak again: "I'm sorry for the snoot on your T-shirt." Midoriya shakes his head. "It's fine. You had a lot to unload." He uses his thumb to wipe away the few tears that are still left on Shouto's face. "No matter what Endeavor's opinion might be, you are the prettiest girl I've ever laid my eyes on." Shouto's heart speeds up at the boy's statement. Nonetheless, she averts her gaze, doubts still present in her head. Midoriya seems to notice Shouto's hesitation because then he says: "I'll show you." Suddenly Midoriya is on his knees, pulling out a box from underneath the bed. The box is wrapped in purple paper with a pink ribbon on top. Before Shouto can ask what in the nice-looking box is, Midoriya already explains himself: "It's a gift! We wanted to give it to you on your birthday but considering the circumstances... I decided you should have it now." Shouto's cheeks warm up even though her quirk isn't in use. Midoriya asks her if she wants to open it up in the common rooms. Kirishima and Kaminari would love to see her reaction to the thing the three of them got her. That makes Shouto smile. Not only is she excited about the gift, but she also feels appreciated by his favorite people. So she goes with Midoriya downstairs, where the Bakusquad is playing Mario Kart. Shouto can hear the screams the second she gets out of the elevator. She briefly wonders if it'd be rude to disturb them. But as soon as Kirishima and Kaminari lay eyes on the present in Shouto's hands they press the pause button, much to Bakugou's dismay, and rush over to Midoriya and Shouto.

The green-haired boy releases a nervous laugh as the two come to a halt in front of them. "Sorry, guys. I couldn't keep it a secret any longer." Kirishima and Kaminari don't mind. The redhead says: "Don't worry about it, Midobro!" And Kaminari adds: "I'm excited about Shouchan's reaction!" All eyes are on Shouto as she puts her hand in the box to grab the mysterious present. The second she feels soft cotton underneath her fingertips, she immediately pulls the item out of there. Her eyes widen at the sight of a baby blue dress with white ruffles. The dress looks like it was made for one of these expensive dolls Shouto adores so much. As if Midoriya can read minds he says: "An actual doll would've been too expensive so we settled for a homemade dress in your size instead. We did it ourselves! Though we had a lot of help from Kirishima's moms and my mother. Also, Kacchan is surprisingly good at sewing." Bakugou grunts: "Shut up, nerd! Don't let Icyhot think I did something for her!" Shouto gives back: "It's okay, Bakugou. I know you love me." He gives her the death stare. "I do not." >:(
He does.

Shouto feels happy tears forming in her eyes as she takes a closer look at the dress her friends made. The details are incredible! Shouto especially likes the puffed sleeves as well as the big baby blue bow right at the front. She looks up at her friends and with a disbelieving tone she asks: "Can I try it on?" Midoriya giggles. "Of course! I'm sure it suits you." Shouto nods, a blush visible on her cheeks. "Wait!" Kaminari interrupts. "I have cute little bows in the same color. You can clip them in your hair if you want." Kirishima hums in agreement. "They'd fit you perfectly." So Shouto lets Kaminari drag her to their dorm room. They help her put on the dress, place the bows in her hair and even use some of their Make-Up on Shouto's face. She isn't very good at applying Make-up yet which makes her even more grateful for the times Kaminari wants to do it for her. It doesn't take very long for the two students to finish up the look and go back downstairs where Midoriya and Kirishima wait for them. As soon as she gets out of the elevator, Shouto spots the large mirror that Midoriya must've brought from his dorm to the common rooms. Now her heart speeds up because the closer she gets to the mirror the clearer she can see a beautiful doll-like girl smiling at her. The girl in the mirror is Shouto herself. She smiles, swirls around, and overall is amazed by how pretty she looks. Shouto can hear her friends complimenting her, saying she looks cute and adorable. And this time she actually believes it.

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Thank you for reading my story! I wrote this in cooperation with my friend Toasty who drew the title cover. Please check out his art on Twitter! :) https://twitter.com/rotten_toast_/status/1518550857721200642