Shangri La Pt. 1

127: Wistful

"I think we can take a break since we're pretty far from the city." Katsuki suggested as he slightly pulled the reins for his horse to stop. 

"Hah~ Thank goodness~" Izumi sighed as she was already exhausted from the small voyage they've been on. 

"You tired already? We've barely done anything." Katsuki laughed as he hopped off his horse and walked over to her's in seconds. 

"R-Riding a horse has taken a lot of energy out of me." Izumi breathed as she was prepared for the Captain to reach out and grab her by her waist and help lift her off the horse. 

"You'll get used to it if you do as much as I have." he added as he carefully set the disguised greenette down onto the ground.

But right when he was about to let go of her, Izumi suddenly lost her balance and ended up face planting into the Captain's chest, causing him to embrace her. 

"Woah~" 

"You okay? Lose your balance?" 

"I-I suppose so, my legs feel like jelly." Izumi answered as she tried to push away from the Captain, although that didn't really work either. 

"Heh– Guess since your legs aren't used to riding a horse for a long time, they fell asleep." 

"I-I guess. I-I'll be okay if I just–" 

"Let me help." 

Leaving her a bit astonished by the situation, Izumi ended up holding the Captain's hand–standing right behind her–as he helped guide her to where they would be walking while her legs started waking up. 

"Oh–"

Looking up and over her shoulder to see how relaxed the disguised blond was while helping her walk like this could only make her stand there in awe. His touch, his scent, his eyes, everything started to captivate Izumi that she felt that if she ignored this or turned away, she wouldn't be able to experience these strange feelings in her heart fluttering around. 

And when she looked up at him once more, she could see his lips moving as if he was talking to her, but she was left in a trance to see how soft his lips looked from this angle she was in. 

'They look... so soft–' 

"Izuku." 

"Huh? Ah– Y-Yes?" 

"Can you walk without my help?" 

"Eh? Ah– Y-Yes! M-My legs woke up, so I can walk on my own." she answered as she quickly averted her face from him. 

He noticed this and could only smile to see that perhaps what he's been doing all up until on showing his sweet could be working and catching the greenette's attention. 

'Cute.'

"S-So where are we going exactly?" 

"That's easy, look in front of you." he answered as Izumi lifted her head to see a giant tree with the most vibrant red leaves on it blowing in the wind. 

"Oh– It's... beautiful." 

"Yeah, figured you'd like it more than me. When I started training to be a Knight, I would get annoyed from all the training that I ran out of the city and ended up here one day. This is my favorite time of year to see it since it looks the best in the fall." Katsuki explained as they continued to approach the tree. 

"So... Are we just here to... take a break and look at the scenery?" 

"Nah– I brought something for us to like instead."