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Izuku is cooking dinner when Nieto walks through the front door. Thankfully, the green-haired man is humming quietly to a slow song on the radio so he doesn’t hear the door softly click shut. Nieto smiles at the scene before him; forest green hair like a halo of curls bouncing with every shimmy of those deliciously supple hips hidden by a loose t-shirt that hung down to his thighs. His t-shirt , Nieto’s mind helpfully supplies, because as muscled as Izuku may be, Nieto was easily half a foot taller and would begrudgingly admit seeing the short stack in his clothes just did something to him.
He looks good, Nieto thinks, bathed in the early evening sky. Golden light surrounds him, weaving through the air as if to gently wash over Izuku’s sun-kissed skin purposefully, making him shine radiantly as always even in the cramped clutter of a simple kitchen. He looks ethereal, a divine being sent directly from the Heavens to grace mere mortals with his presence. Like he was sent directly to Nieto from whatever God deemed him worthy.
He will be the first person to admit that in high school… he was a bit of a dick. He owns up to that. He’ll also be the first person to admit he’s still a dick, just way better at being tactful and reigning in his massive ego, much to the opposition of Izuku claiming that he’s the nicest guy ever once you get to know him. That has more of him being nice to Izuku specifically, considering that’s the man he loves. He won’t ever understand how his cocky, obnoxious self endeared him to the green-haired man, but he’s not going to complain.
Nieto has been leaning against the doorframe to bask in the golden glow just a little longer, dressed in the rumpled and slightly singed fabric of his hero uniform. He watches as the green-haired man flits through the kitchen, grabbing items from the refrigerator, watches as he easily chops vegetables and meat, and watches as he tries to reach a higher cabinet and hops on one foot attempting to grab the handle of the cabinet door. He takes that as his cue to stop his observation of his partner and steps forward into the room, taking hold of Izuku’s waist to steady the poor guy.
“Welcome home, Nieto!” Izuku exclaims cheerily without turning around. “Can you grab the strainer for me? Pretty please?” Nieto can actually hear the puppy dog eyes through his voice. He reaches up to open the cabinet for the requested item and sets it on the countertop, not making any efforts to remove himself from Izuku's side. He didn’t even try to make an effort not to be snarky either.
Pressing a kiss to the side of the greenette’s head, Nieto teasingly says, “How’d you even know it was me, you didn’t even turn around! I could’ve been anybody coming up behind you like this!” He tuts jokingly. “I’m just saying, Mr. Number One Hero, doesn’t sound like you’re very aware of your surroundings.”
He jabs a bony finger in Izuku’s side, which draws out a playful snort from him. He shifts out of the grasp to pay attention to the pot boiling on the stove and turns the heat down to a gentle simmer. “What can I say? Danger sense really comes in handy. Also, you’ve used the same cologne since we were like, sixteen.” Nieto can clearly see Izuku’s face now, eyes sparkling with mirth and skin dotted with freckles like they were stars carefully placed. He was the most beautiful man in the world to Nieto.
There had been a time when he believed he didn’t deserve to be loved. He’s glad every day Izuku chose him to be with. Chose him to go to sleep with every night when the moon rises and blankets them in serene calm, and chose him to wake up with every morning when the sun brings its golden radiance to shine brilliantly on Izuku once again. And for every moment Izuku chooses him, Nieto will always choose Izuku right back.
A cocky laugh escapes Nieto’s lips. “Don’t pretend you don’t love my cologne, darling, I’ve heard many words of praise over the years about how I smell.” He moves to grab some ceramic bowls and eating utensils for the meal Izuku made, going to set the table for his love. They weave around each other in comfortable silence, practiced movements from the years they have cohabitated with each other. It’s really the simple things like this that make Nieto’s heart squeeze with warmth and adoration.
When they sit down at the table, it only takes a moment before Izuku starts rocketing into conversation about his day. Nieto listens to stories with a half-intrigued ear, more so admiring the way Izuku’s mouth quirks up just so when he laughs that brings a dimple to chubby cheeks like the lovesick fool he is. He looks good, Nieto thinks, with an angelic smile infectious enough to calm even a raging storm from its path of destruction. Ironically enough, that storm rages inside him now for what he has planned. A nervous bubble tinged with fear settles itself in his gut, churning his insides like butter.
Preposterous, really, how much one person can change so much over the years. The obnoxious and great Nieto Monoma reduced to a simpering boyfriend. He can almost hear the sounds of whips coming from his high school friends' mouths again. Sickeningly in love as he may be, he wouldn’t change a goddamn thing. Not sitting at a kitchen table with a certain piece of jewelry in his pocket.
It’s when Izuku asks about his day, Nieto starts. “Well,” he drawls, “I had an eventful afternoon fighting some low-class villains and my poor uniform has been thoroughly scorched! It’s like they don’t even care about premium silk!” It’s said as a joke, but it’s sort of a half truth. Getting his uniform fixed up is expensive. They share a laugh together and Nieto clears his throat.
His heart pitter-patters against his sternum. He’s really gonna do this. He knows Izuku has wanted something official for a while now, but they wanted to be more stable with hero work before they took the plunge. If it were up to Nieto, there would have been a grand plan to be concocted; an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant, an out of country vacation, maybe even atop the Eiffel Tower itself. He knows, though, if it were public, the two of them would not have a simple moment to themselves. Of just being the only two in the world, if even for a moment.
“Babe?” Nieto hears Izuku call him. “Everything good?” Izuku’s cheeks are puffed up with food like a chipmunk, tonkatsu sauce escaping out of the corner of his mouth. Nieto has never been more in love, even if his boyfriend has the worst eating habits in the world.
Okay, this is it.
The moment is here, don’t fuck it up, Nieto.
“No, Izuku, I’m not okay.” He starts off sternly, earning a confused look from Izuku. “The most beautiful man in the world is sitting in front of me and I haven’t even given him the flowers I bought for him, yet. Oh, woe is me, for I must be smited down immediately for my crimes.” He ends dramatically while throwing his head back with a theatrical sigh. He cracks open an eye to see Izuku’s own, sparkling jovially.
“You’re an idiot.” Izuku giggles.
“An idiot in love, one might say, yes.” Nieto materializes a bouquet of a floral arrangement out of nowhere and brandishes it elegantly forward. “For you, my darling.”
Izuku takes the bouquet and inhales deeply. “They’re beautiful! Thank you, babe!”
He looks good, Nieto thinks, taking a golden yellow petal between rough fingers and relishing the silken feel against his skin. Izuku smiles widely, followed by his widening eyes. “These are dahlia flowers…” He quickly turns his head to face the blonde man. It’s left unspoken between them. Yellow dahlias are flowers of elegance, of beauty. A nice sentiment in and of itself, but Izuku knows why they were gifted to him.
Yellow dahlias mean commitment in marriage.
“Izuku,” Nieto starts. God, he better not choke up during this. How lame if he did. “We met when we were fourteen at what was probably the worst year of our lives. We fought constantly and I will always mostly sort of regret how I treated your class. Some of your friends deserved it.”
Izuku giggled, tears already starting to form at the corners of his eyes. “Shut up, dummy, get to the good part.
“Absolutely not. I spent real time rehearsing this speech so you better listen to and love it all.” His voice almost cracked at the end. Stupid mushy feelings. “Anyway, imagine my surprise in our second year when little old Deku asked big bad me for some quirk training, right? After you completely wrecked me, straddled me, and kissed me I was understandably shocked.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I get it, I was a stud baby, so it makes sense you were thirsting for all this man.”
A noise of playful indignation sounded out from Izuku. “That was so not how that went. If I remember right, you kissed me when I pinned you and then you called me gorgeous.” He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
Blushing, Nieto cleared his throat and continued, “Either way, the kiss that you definitely initiated jump-started our relationship. From there on, everything was settled. It was Nieto and Izuku, Izuku and Nieto, and everybody learned that we weren’t going anywhere without the other. Through my more… agitating phases—”
“You mean times where you were a dickhead for no reason and always stalked off to sulk somewhere, and then apologized when you realized you were wrong?”
“It’s almost like you don’t want me to finish my monologue.” Nieto clicked his tongue and huffed good-naturedly. “I’m feeling so attacked right now.”
Muffling his giggles with his hand, Izuku says, “Okay, okay. I’m zipping my mouth shut.” He then nodded his head to signal Nieto to continue. Nieto knew it was futile, Izuku would never stay quiet for more than five minutes, but he loved him anyway,
“Through my more agitating phases ,” Nieto emphasizes, “to your tendency to not care about your own wellbeing, no one thought we would last. Well, surprise, surprise, your optimism bled into my personality and my confidence bled into yours. Two people who grew together and brought out the potential in each other.”
Okay, Nieto might actually tear up. He’s proposing, can you blame him?
“You’re my sun, Izuku. You’re the center of my universe.” Nieto moves to get onto one knee and sees the start of tears falling out of Izuku’s jade eyes. He pulls out the velvet box housing a metallic, golden ring engraved with a message.
‘infinity and forever.’
“It’s been ten years since I've loved you the most, Izuku, will you give me the honor of making you my husband?”
He waits with bated breath, watching as the love of his life sobs loudly in front of him. He may be a crybaby, but he’s Nieto’s crybaby.
He expects Izuku to launch at him, but he didn’t expect the force toppling them both over onto the floor. He’s glad he swept the floor this morning. Izuku latches his arms around Nieto’s neck and cries obscenely into Nieto’s chest.
“Yes! Yes, Nieto, please make me your husband!” It’s spoken quickly and hoarsely, choked out through happy tears. They push themselves up to a sitting position, and Nieto carefully takes Izuku’s left hand. He caresses scarred and knobby knuckles and delicately slides the ring on his finger.
Izuku holds the ring up to the light and watches it sparkle and shine. Tears fall on his beautiful face, adoring the jewelry that will connect him to Nieto forever.
He looks good, Nieto thinks, with a ring on his finger.
Yeah, Nieto thinks Izuku looks really good in gold.