Leave Your Mark | Various!BNHA x Reader

15: The Cutest Girl

"Whoa. [Name], you're really good at solving puzzles! You finish them so fast!"

Izuku marvels at the speed at which you connect pieces and assemble more and more of the picture. You picked an animal-themed puzzle, and gradually, a Corgi's adorable little face is being filled in.

"I'm amazing," you say, as full of yourself as ever. "I've always been good at solving puzzles. Probably because I'm so smart."

Izuku is in awe yet again. "Wow," he mumbles. "You're so confident. It's really cool. I wish I could be more like you..."

He lowers his head shamefully. It goes without saying, but his self-esteem is practically nonexistent thanks to assholes like Katsuki who have put him through hell. It'll probably be a while until he starts believing in himself more, and you know that his meeting with All Might is the catalyst towards his growth, but you're hoping that until then, you might be able to help him become even a little bit more confident.

"You can do it," you insist. "There's no reason why you shouldn't be confident. You're super nice, and fun to be around, and cute!"

"C-C-Cute?!"

His eyes bulge out of their sockets, and based on the violent gasp he lets out, it looks like he's on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Super cute," you muse, poking one of his freckled cheeks. "You're so cute I just want to pull you into my arms and hug you forever and ever!"

Of course, since he's only a kid, you mean cute in the literal sense, like how cats and dogs are cute, but since he presumes the two of you are the same age, he interprets it very differently.

"A girl... j-just called me cute," Izuku stammers in bewilderment. His face is redder than ever, and he presses his palms against his cheeks before biting back a little squeal.

Seriously. He's so fucking cute it should be illegal.

He's kind of out of it after that remark of yours, and while you assemble more puzzle pieces, he just sits there with his lips parted in awe, still with a deep flush across his face. You can tell he's got his head in the clouds, but you don't mind. It's actually kind of fun to see the effect your words have on him. He really is too pure for this world.

"All done!" you eventually exclaim. "That's another puzzle completed in record time. Yay, go me!"

"G-Go [Name]," Izuku shyly encourages. He even pumps his tiny fist in the air, and you swear it's enough to make you melt on the spot.

Right as you're about to say something else that will probably fluster him to no end, one of the caregivers approaches.

"Alright, young lady," she says. "We've let him stay long enough. It's time for him to go home now. You know we've got strict rules about visitations around here, and it wouldn't be fair to the other kids if you got to play with your friend as long as you wanted."

You pout. Of course, they were nice enough to let Izuku stay in the first place, so you can't really stir up a fuss. But it sucks that you can't hang out with him as often as you'd like. Then again, if you were still with Chisaki, you'd probably be trapped in a basement right about now, and you wouldn't be able to see anyone ever.

You suppose you should be grateful for what you have.

"Thank you again for spending time with Izuku," Inko smiles. "It looks like he had a lot of fun."

Izuku nods enthusiastically. "Y-Yeah! I did! Being with [Name] is always fun."

He blushes as he utters those last few words, and you suddenly realize that you are capable of remarkable self-restraint, because you wanted to squeeze the life out of him just then.