Assistant knew about the cigarettes a WHILE before they started having sex. reader's the only one who knows tho!
You don't know why you came tonight. You knew the invite was just a nicety, pity from someone who didn't want you to feel excluded, but now you're standing on a stranger's porch, listening to the party continue without you. By this point, you're used to it; proximity to Deku comes with a lot of these faux invitations, thinks meant more to impress him than include you.
But here you are, alone as groups of friends chatter along inside. It's like you're 18 again, excluded from the popular kids at prom once again. You take a long drag from your cigarette. After this, you'll go home, no goodbyes necessary.
Just as you pull your jacket closer, the reason you came pops out from the door, all smiles and kind eyes.
"I was worried you left," Deku says softly, closing the door as softly as he can behind him. He's dressed more casually than you've ever seen him, a stark contrast to the dress you had chosen for tonight. "Can I bum one off of you?"
You take another drag. "No."
He approaches you anyway, hand shoved into his pockets. His arms are tensed, triceps taut as he shivers, bulged against the cropped sleeve of his tee. It makes you think of the girl that was hanging on to them earlier and your stomach flips with an emotion you don't want to face.
"Enjoying the party?" you ask as nonchalantly as you can manage.
He leans in close enough you think the cherry will burn him, forehead practically against yours. He exhales with the weight of the world, a stark contract from the placid smile he's pinned to his cheeks.
You pluck the cigarette from your mouth and turn it towards him. With a gentle obedience, he takes it, lips pressed against your fingertips as he inhales. He's warm, hotter than the embers and ash that crumble between you. When he releases and you pull away, he stays there, much closer than a boss should be to his assistant.
"Go back inside, Izuku." You place a hand against his chest and tell yourself you're going to push him away. "Your girlfriend's going to be looking for you."
Izuku watches you with those, sad, sad eyes, red rimmed around the edges from lack of sleep. He'll never tell you what he's really thinking, but as his eyes flicker to your lips, you have an idea for what could be going through his mind.
"Okay," he lets his hands -which you hadn’t even realized had found your waist- drop to his sides, "You're right- Camie. My girlfriend."
You love how he says her name. Camie, Camie, Camie: like it means nothing to him. She dazzles everyone in the room and yet her boyfriend seems indifferent; you’d feel bad if it didn’t fill you with such glee.
“Hey,” Izuku says suddenly, “How do you feel about Camie?”
You start towards the stairs, heels crunching in iced over snow. “Why does it matter what I think?”
He doesn’t respond, but you feel him there, watching your back as you leave, waiting for something, anything-
At the edge of the top step, toes over the edge, you relent. “I think Camie really loves dating Deku.”
Izuku finishes the thought you were afraid of. “But not Midoriya.”
You throw the butt down and crush it beneath your heel.
And with that, you go home. He texts you a couple hours later, just after 2am, with two quick sentences.
You unlock the front door.