#my hero academia iida
So This is Love <3 Tenya Iida x Reader
summary ♡royalty au! the whole kingdom fell silent at midnight, not a single sound lingered in the icy air. well, besides the laughter of the sappy lovers who snuck out to slow dance in the forest..
word count ♡1.4k
tws ♡minor injuries
a/n ♡ one forbidden lovers, royalty au! with a side of knight! iida for @coleluuviida? haha this was so fun to write. i hope it’s not too cheesy
Racing through the tightly packed trees of the forest, you mercilessly bulldozed past any branches that dared dangle in your path, all while attempting not to wince and whimper at how the twigs scattered across the ground dug into your bare soles; which led to you instinctively skipping over the ground, stepping as lightly as possible, even at the expense of your own dignity as your movements were far from graceful.
Leaping over the floor with unequal steps, trying to avoid the sticks at all costs, eventually lead to you tripping over your feet and heading face-first towards the ground, unsurprisingly. Since you had been forcing your way past nippy branches, your arms were already outstretched in front of you to brace for impact, but fortunately only the palm of your right hand met the ground before a strong arm had slipped under your shoulder from behind, holding you mid-air.
“(y/n)!” A familiar voice yelled quietly, specifically the voice of the man placing you upright once again, “No shoes in this chilly weather? You’re sure to catch a cold— here, take my jacket.”
Before you could protest, a large duster was being thrown over your shoulders, along with a broad pair of arms around your waist. “My shoes would be torn if I came out here with them on, then everyone would know that I snuck out.” You whispered, failing to stifle a giggle at how comical it was to hear Iida cross while attempting to remain hushed.
“I understand.” He hummed, swaying slightly from side-to-side and utilising his grip of your waist so you mimicked his actions, “Just try to be more careful next time; who knows what dangers could lie in the soil? Have I told you about how I once got a massive shard of glass stuck in my clogs when patrolling this area with my unit?”
“Too many times to keep track of.”
He chuckled heartily; something you’ve always admired about him, “Well, my point is, if I was wearing any other type of shoe, I would have been seriously wounded.”
You shivered, even under the warm comfort of Iida’s jacket, there was still no protection from such a horrifying image. “Sometimes I fear that you’ll tell these kinds stories to your children.” You grimaced once more, only to receive another playful kiss, placed upon your forehead.
Perhaps you were overthinking, but you wondered if there was an important explanation for Iida’s rather out-of-character behaviour; he’s usually not as affectionate, not to say that you had an issue with the change, you simply worried that their might be a holiday or birthday you were forgetting about.
“Why are you being so soft today?” The bluntness in your inquiry caused another chuckle to erupt from throat, as he continued to sway behind you, but now with more confidence and rhythm.
“No reason. I just find that this icy weather has given me an excuse to be close to you.” You could almost hear the sheepish smile he wore, along with the subtle rising and falling of his chest against your back, “Also, you’re probably aware of the ceremony that the entire order of knights was made to attend?”
He awaited your hum of approval before continuing, “After business, the King hired the kingdom’s most renowned troubadour to recite a few poems for us. Now, one is stuck in my head.”
You smiled, recalling how it was your idea to honour the guards for their tireless work, but choosing against mentioning it and simply appreciating that Iida enjoyed the perk. However, you weren’t exactly an aesthete, so you didn’t have a single clue as so what songs or poems the troubadour performed.
“Do you think you could sing one for me?”
Since he was standing behind you, Iida was fortunate that you didn’t see how his cheeks visibly heated up at your innocent inquiry; it saved him endless minutes of being teased, “Oh, I hardly remember the lyrics. It is the music that stuck, it was such a romantic melody.”
Pausing, you failed in trying to imagine the tune; you had no idea where to start when composing a soulful piece in your mind. Hence, your lips immediately pulled into a playful grin as an occurred to you, “Can’t you hum it?”
It took less than a second for the heat burning the tips of his ears to spread across the rest of his face; one of his only sources of warmth against the harsh cold, besides you wrapped lovingly in his arms, of course. “Hum it? I’m not sure—” He spluttered, instantly regretting loosening his grip on you, as there was not a moment spared when you spun around to hastily interlock your fingers with his and drape your arm over his shoulder, to form a rather amateur closed position.
“How do you ever plan on being Knight Commander if you don’t have a rhythmic bone in your body?”
He couldn’t help but scoff — as light-heartedly as your inquiry — and for once, ignore how those two issues were completely unrelated, and instead choosing to focus on your final comment, “As it happens, I can actually execute a rather lively jig. You should’ve seen me at the ceremony.”
He smiled smugly upon uttering that statement and presumably recalling the fond memories as he did so, but you returned a frown, “And you won’t even show me?” It was difficult pretending to be disappointed when you both knew full well that you were purposefully being melodramatic. “Y’know, while you were having fun at your little party, I had to sit like a statue for god-knows how long, all for a stupid painting. My legs are unbearably stiff, at least help me exercise them a bit.”
You looked up at him expectantly, patiently waiting from him to take the first step but you were simply met by his signature bashful laugh, “Woe is you! Having to sit still for a few hours in order to receive a portrait that probably costs more than my yearly income. You’ll be in my prayers, poor soul.”
That was supposed to be your cue to scoff and pull away from the closed position for dramatic effect, but instead he kept a tight grip on your hand and waist, and swiftly took the first step of the dance, which you managed to go along with successfully. This led to another step, another, and another until you were following his lead around the small, damp clearing in the forest.
To an onlooker, the dance might’ve appeared amateur and off-beat, but considering how you both managed to keep to the same rhythm despite the fact there was no music, it was quite impressive. At least, you both evidently thought as much since you were fighting back laughter and wore wide grins, staring at each other with the same profound look of “we’re going it!”
It was chilly, so naturally you found yourselves drifting closer into each other’s embrace, until you were basically hugging and stumbling over both of your feet, at which point you mutually decided to take a break from the dancing.
“Wow, I always thought I had two left feet but that was oddly smooth.” You uttered almost as if it was an inquiry, and Iida chuckled, you could fell his heart leap in his chest as he did so.
“Well, what did I say about my jig skills?”
He sounded genuinely pleased with himself, hence you decided against correcting him as to the nature of your dance not resembling a “jig” in the slightest; your daily act of kindness has been allowing him to feel proud of himself, so now you can continue speaking as you wish.
“You never fail to amaze me, Tenya.”
That was the last real sentence you were able to utter before he checked the time and realised you had both been out for way too long, and of course he insisted that you return to the palace immediately to avoid a situation where the guards notice that you are missing and potentially send out a search-party.
With hasty kisses and rushed goodbyes, he wished you farewell for the night as you parted ways; with him going back to his patrol, while you get the luxury of going home. You always believed it was unfair that you had to hide your relationship with him, after all he was just a hard-working, likeable man, and the fact he was a knight didn’t change any of that.
However, perhaps today would be the day everyone found out about your forbidden romance, as you stumble into the castle and greet the guards with an oddly confident smile despite the fact you are wearing rugged, navy, men’s duster jacket.
midnight. the only one up at this time should be the class representative, checking that every door in the dorm building is locked and secure so everyone can sleep safely.
well, usually he has his rounds completed by eleven at the latest, but many thoughts have been troubling him today so he found that slowed him down. allowing an audible groan to drum in his mouth, he lazily approached the door to his room, ready to throw himself on to his bed after a long, tiring day. (of course, not before completing his nightly routine.)
to his surprise, there was a familiar figure sitting with their back against his door. it caught him off-guard at first, but upon further inspection, he realised the sight was more confusing rather than dangerous.
“(y/n)?” he kneeled down, gently poking your shoulder, figuring that you were asleep by both your unresponsiveness and your faint snores. “why are you outside my dorm?”
no reply.
he noticed a small light glowing beside you and craned his neck to get a closer look. eyes meeting the source of the lustre, the corners of his lips pulled into a small smile; next to you there sat a cupcake with a lit candle forced through it. The icing was blue, just as you promised, and beneath it lay a card which iida took the initiative of reading.
“happy birthday, class representative!!! thank you so much for being an awesome leader and a friend to all!!! i hope you get what you wish for. from, (y/n) <3″
oh, his birthday; he had almost forgot. glancing down at his watch, he noticed that the clock had only just struck twelve, meaning that you probably fell asleep while waiting to be the first one to wish him happy birthday. just the thought of you doing something like that for him caused the tips of his ears to heat up slightly.
on the front, there was a collage of many pictures mostly of him, some less flattering than others. but he much preferred the back, where there was a much smaller picture of the two of you on a roller-coaster together when you convinced him into riding with you by saying you were too scared to go on by yourself (which you later revealed was just a ploy). you looked ethereal while he looked utterly terrified, and his hair was a mess. the caption read:
“maybe wish for a new hair gel ;)”
wow, even while asleep you somehow managed to find a way to flame him. rolling his eyes, he reached over and gently picked up the cupcake, bringing it close to his lips before closing his eyes, trying to come up with something to wish for, as per your request.
however, his mind was a void. all he could think of was the tasks he had to do tomorrow, his worries and how peaceful you looked. why couldn’t you have wished him happy birthday at a normal time in the day? at least then his thoughts might’ve been intelligible.
“what are you going to wish for?” he heard a whisper from beside him, right at his ear, and he turned to look at your weary face; hooded eyes only just staying open to innocently gaze up at him, admiring the reflection of the flame in the lenses of his glasses.
“i’m unsure. what do you think i should wish for?” he replied in the softest voice he could force.
you motioned to the back of the card with a goofy — but wobbly — grin, before relaxing your neck and allowing your head to rest on his broad shoulder, “new hair gel. but what do you really want?”
“to stay here forever.”
the way he didn’t miss a beat caused you to giggle; especially since it was coming from someone as austere as iida, who you thought relished in sticking to a tight, strict schedule. “to stay where? in U.A.?”
iida blinked twice at your response, jerking out of his daze and becoming acutely aware of his previous statement. obviously he couldn’t disclose that he wanted to chill in the hallways with you forever, so instead he spluttered, “uh, yeah.”
“then wish for that.” you replied, already dozing off with all your weight resting on iida’s arm, not that he noticed. his eyes flickered between the light and your soft features pressed against shoulder, and his cheeks felt sore, he hadn’t smile this much in so long.
“(y/n)?”
“shh.” you momentarily silenced him by waving a finger over his lips, “i’m asleep.”
“apologies.” he couldn’t help but roll his eyes, offering you the cupcake as he did so, “but would you like my wish? i can’t think of anything.”
“it’s not my birthday, so it doesn’t count.” you grumbled, pushing the cupcake — and hence the glare — away from yourself. “but if you want, you can make a wish for me.”
“of course, whatever you’d like.” he replied without a shred of hesitancy, readying the candle by his lips.
you pried your eyes open slightly to gaze at the cupcake, watching as the dying flame began to flicker desperately, “i wish that this one guy could know how much i love him.” you hid behind his shoulders, trying to conceal your embarrassment for your sappy wish.
“that’s charming. what’s his name?” he hummed, immediately regretting how intrusive and rude his inquiry sounded as soon as it rolled off his tongue.
“iida.”
“oh.” he paled, heart rate increasing in his chest as he—
“tensei.” you continued, clicking your tongue while leaning forward to blow out the candle before being swatted away by tenya, who put out the flame in the process.
“not funny!” he announced sternly yet laughed in unison with you as the fight for the cupcake raged on.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TENYA IIDA !!! MY HIGHEST (and only) KIN!!!
to celebrate here are the links to every piece of iida content i’ve ever wrote (i put a ♡ next to the ones i am actually proud of), also i editted them to rid them of errors (hopefully). and i might write a drabble later, we’ll see :))
what he has you saved in his phone as
her prince ♡ (fun fact: i wrote this when i was 16 and posted it on quotev but it flopped so i deleted it :/)
