Mute

50 | Worry

I smiled shyly as Shouto spoke with his friends. I was mainly staring around at all the people, fairly shocked by how many heroes were here. I'd grown up in America so I didn't know very many, but it was obvious who was a hero.

"Emiko and I went to an aquarium last week."

I glanced up at the sound of my name, Kirishima was smiling widely. "Yeah! You're so manly Todoroki! Isn't he manly Emiko??"

I smiled nervously, and Shouto squeezed my hand reassuringly. "We're going to get something to drink." Shouto informed Kirishima, who nodded cheerfully.

"Yeah! It was nice meeting you officially Emiko!"

I nodded agreement and walked with Shouto, relaxing as we left the large group of people. Everyone had come with people, and it felt way too crowded.

"Here you go."Shouto released my hand in order to hand me a cup, filling it with punch a second later. I tasted it as he poured his own cup. It was nice, soothing. "Sorry there's so many people."

I shook my head with a slight smile, pausing when he reached out and brushed my hair behind my ear before cupping the earrings he'd given me. He smiled. "I was right, they look amazing on you."

I ducked my head to hide my blush. Shouto chuckled but let his hand drop. I was grateful he wasn't going to do anything while we were in public, though I knew neither of us had the personalities to do anything in public anyway. Which is why we never kissed on the lips when we weren't alone.

"Shouto!" We both turned our attention to his sister, who'd appeared like magic to hug him. A guy in a wheelchair smiled at us as someone I recognised as Iida followed. "You guys look so cute! I'm so happy you came Emiko!"

I flashed a smile as she latched onto me, tentatively hugging her back after putting down my drink. I simply nodded, as she'd never heard me speak. Somehow during our one sided conversation Iida found something to yell at Shouto for. I didn't have a chance to see what it was, I was too busy trying to calm Fuyummi down without looking like an idiot.

"Fuyummi." Shouto gently interrupted her. "I'm going to introduce Emiko to some people."

"Okay!"

He didn't. He led me across the room and into the hallway, leaning against it with a heavy sigh. "I thought you might like a breather." He flashed me a small smile and I relaxed, knowing it was too many people for him as well.

"Thank you."

Shouto closed his eyes and hung his head, relaxing in the peaceful silence. I knew he was tense, so I reached up and began running my fingers through his hair. My father had always loved it, as had Akito, so I just hoped it worked properly on Shouto too. It took me a few minutes to notice him relaxing, but it was definitely working. I smiled and continued my work until he had fully relaxed, only then pulling my hands away.

"Is that better?"

Shouto opened his eyes to stare at me. "How did you know I was tense?" He asked incredulously.

I dropped my gaze with a slight smile. "You just looked tense. I don't know, I'm just so used to you being relaxed I just knew you weren't."

Shouto smiled, "You're a Gem." He mumbled as he pulled me in for a hug. I smiled, just being alone with him for a few minutes relaxed me, so I already felt much better. Though his cologne wafting around me calmed my mind. "Come on, if we stay away too long people will notice."

I nodded and slipped my hand into his as we snuck back into the large gym. No one noticed us come back in, and we went back to introducing me to people and everyone telling me what a great influence  was on Shouto. It both flattered and embarrassed me. Afterall, I was pretty sure Shouto had been happy before we met, whereas everyone was acting like he'd been depressed before me.

Shouto's gaze suddenly hardened and I turned slightly to see what he was staring at. He suddenly smiled at me and spun me, so I was facing him again. "Emiko, lets dance."

I nodded slowly, still unsure what had just happened but resolving to find out later. I'd never seen him look so suddenly annoyed. He led me onto the dance floor and we slipped into an easy dance. I was grateful my dad used to dance to disney movie songs with me, because otherwise I would not have been able to keep up.

Shouto smiled softly and spun me, easily bringing me back, I loved how my dress moved. We danced for a while, and Shouto looked much more relaxed after the third song. I leaned up so I could whisper in his ear, taking a risk despite the number of people around us.

"Are you okay?"

I dropped back on my heels, Shouto looked shocked, but I was just worried. He sighed and spun me before answering, not losing track of our steps or movements. "Yeah, I was just upset for a few minutes. I'll tell you about it later okay? Let's just enjoy tonight."

I nodded uncertainty. Yeah, I wanted Shouto to trust me with his secrets, but I also didn't want to pressure him. He must have sensed my distress because he sent me a soft smile, one he'd only shown when I was visibly upset about something important and he knew I wouldn't calm down otherwise.

"Hey, I promise okay? Everything will be just fine, how could it not be when we're together where I can show you off?"

I ducked my head with a smile, knowing he was smiling proudly. I bounced up on my toes and kissed his cheek, flashing a smile. I was proud to show him off too, but I couldn't say much about it due to the crowd.

Shouto smiled softly as the song ended.

We were dragged into a group of his friends as the song ended.