Cat Cafe (Todoroki x Midoriya) Soft FF

Text Message (Midoriya POV)

A large gust of icy wind hit my face as I stepped out of the crowded bullet train and onto the station below. Crumbs of snow were scattered in corners of the platform from the night before. I tugged my coat around me tighter in hopes it would protect me from the cold outside the train. Small puffs of hot air was visible from people walking about the station as they hastily made their way to wherever their lives took them next. It was a chilly winter's afternoon, and the grey clouds that hung in the sky formed a blanket over the sun. I checked the hands on my watch, 4:32 pm, and hurried to the street beside the station. Most people would consider today as gloomy as any other, but not me.

A few weeks ago, I had asked my classmate, Shoto Todoroki, if he'd like to come to a cat cafe with me. I had been thinking the question through for many days prior and rehearsed the delivery in front of my mirror every night. It would have been perfect... 

When the day came to finally ask him, I plucked up every ounce of courage I had to pull him aside after class. We stood in the hallway, drenched in the late afternoon sun, it was just us. 

***

"Thank you for the offer," he chuckled, "but I'm not really into that kind of thing... Um, see you around Midoriya."

My heart fell to my stomach. I stood frozen in place as I watched his figure get further and further away from me, until he was gone. I was alone in an empty hallway.

***

I realised now that it was such an odd question to ask a person like himself, so it was easy to brush off as a joke when I saw him the next day. Eventually, the awkwardness brushed over and we sort of forgot about it for a while. Well, it seemed like he did. But late last night, I received an abrupt message that made my heart leap. It read:

"Are you still up for that cafe visit? Meet me at 4:30 pm. Hope I'll see you there" - received 1:26am

"Sure thing!" - delivered 1:26 am

How stupid. The first rule of replying to messages is wait at least five minutes before answering, but I was too excited.

It was a strange response to accept though. I was sure it wasn't real for the first few minutes, convinced that it was lack of sleep messing with my brain and forced myself into bed, shoving aside my fantasies. But when I checked my phone the next morning, the message was still there. I had no idea what had made him change his mind or how he even remembered a such silly request I made weeks before. It was a mystery, and I was yearning to dig deeper...

Though despite the pure evidence in front of me, a tiny voice in my head still pulled me back to the gut-wrenching thought of, "What if he doesn't show up?" Quickly pushing that thought aside, I focused more on not getting run over on my way to the restaurant complex.