"I'm going outside." Izuru said while glancing at Nagito lazily, the unspoken invitation hanging silently in the air - so tense that it could almost be physically seen. Nagito felt himself shiver. Izuru, the Ultimate Hope, wanted to spend time with him? Was such a thing even allowed - or possible, for that matter? Maybe he was dreaming...

Izuru sighed as he watched Nagito pinch himself. "How boring." He muttered, turning around and heading to the door. "You're not dreaming." Nagito watched Izuru move, his long black hair flowing like a supervillain's cape. He just wanted to reach out and-

"Well?" Izuru glanced at him one last time, standing beside the door. Nagito jumped slightly, before rushing to pop his shoes on, leaving his phone and wallet back at the house, as he wanted all his attention to be focused on Izuru - after all, if the Ultimate Hope wanted Nagito to join him outside, then there must be a serious reason, right...?

Izuru sighed once again and opened the door, stepping outside as he opened it, and waited patiently for Nagito to join him, who quickly did so. Once Izuru watched Nagito exit the building he nodded, not saying a word, and turned, beginning to walk. Nagito followed him like a lost puppy, unsure where they were going - as the area was unfamiliar to him - but he didn't want to upset the Ultimate Hope, so he simply kept silent and walked alongside him.

Izuru was such an enigma... his aura was crisp and sharp, and yet also soothing... calming. He felt a chill overcome him, and he shivered slightly. Noticing this, Izuru magically produced Nagito's green coat and draped it over Nagito's shoulders.

"Izuru...?" Nagito muttered, grabbing the coat before it fell off, and fitting his arms though the sleeves. He was in such a rush earlier, that he must had forgotten it. The coat felt stiff but warm at the same time, and Nagito couldn't help but tightly wrap it around himself, snuggling into the coat as if it was a blanket. "T - thank you but... how did you even manage to get my jacket and hide it this entire time?"

"I have many talents." Izuru flatly responded. The conversation faded from there, as Nagito felt too concerned over annoying Izuru with his pointless questions. However Izuru caught Nagito's conflicted stare and sighed. "I have many, many talents. I used multiple of them to quickly and silently grab your coat, and some others to hide it undetected."

"But... but why? Wouldn't that just be a huge problem for you?" Nagito whispered as they continued to walk, placing his hands into his coat pockets. He was silent for a moment longer, before clasping his hands over his mouth, surprised and shocked that he had spoken aloud. He had just questioned Izuru Kamukura - the Ultimate Hope. He had talked back against an Ultimate, what would he do to-

"That's illogical. I wouldn't hurt you for asking me a question." Izuru sighed and shook his head slowly from side to side, watching Nagito's face redden in the embarrassment of realising he had spoken his thoughts aloud. "In addition, leaving without your coat is illogical." His head turned, and his eyes locked with Nagito's. Nagito shivered again, although this time it wasn't from the cold. He tried to keep his attention on Izuru as he continued to talk. "So, I grabbed it."

Nagito looked down, away from Izuru's piercing eyes. "Ah I see... sorry for being such a problem." He felt tears well up in the corners of his eyes at the shame and overwhelmingly bitter disappointment he felt toward himself for becoming such a concern- such a problem - to someone as amazing as Izuru.

"It's no problem, it's my duty to give other people hope." Izuru simply responded, before silently continuing their walk. Nagito watched him for a second, before realising he's also included in that walk, and quickly ran to catch up to him. The pebbled path they had been walking on turned into a dirt walkway surrounded by trees, animals, and other forms of nature. They passed by a small stream, and Nagito strolled over to scoop some water up in his palm, enjoying the cold on his fingers. He could swear... he had turned to glance at Izuru after dipping his hand into the cool river stream, and Izuru had been smiling at him, before quickly dropping it and turning away - but... that must've just been a trick of the light...

He walked silently beside Izuru, thoughts of that moment continuing to cross his mind. He would have continued to think of it, but Izuru held up a hand, and like clockwork Nagito stopped, glancing at Izuru curiously. Izuru lowered his hand and made a gesture for Nagito to back away slightly, which Nagito did. Izuru nodded and then turned his attention to a large willow tree to the side of the path.

It was large, and it's branches hung low, blocking their view of the other side. Until Izuru drew his attention to it, Nagito didn't see anything suspicious about it - he would have assumed there was just more woods behind it - although all the trees near the willow one were tightly packed together, making it difficult to tell what secrets the forest hid. He hoped he'd be able to find out.

And he wasn't disappointed - with a flourish, Izuru used his arm to part the branches like a curtain, and Nagito was rendered speechless. A beautiful garden of grass and flowers of every colour shone like their own personal sun. The trees had parted and the sky was clear, the beautiful scenic opening in the forest making him gasp as he stepped forward without an invitation and crossed the willow barrier between realities.

"I found this place a couple weeks ago, by chance." Izuru spoke softly, standing behind Nagito. His sudden presence made Nagito jump slightly and turn around with a small blush coating his pale cheeks. However, Izuru either didn't notice or simply pretended to not notice and continued explaining. "I started going here every day. I find it peaceful." Izuru glanced away from Nagito, and back towards the flowers, that small smile Nagito had thought to be a figment of his imagination back on Izuru's face, as beautiful as when the moon shines bright at night, with no clouds overcasting it.

"I wish you would smile more." Nagito whispered to himself, and he flinched when Izuru's gaze flickered back to him. "Wait, I - I didn't mean to say that out loud, I..." His face heated up once again, and he turned his head away, embarrassed. Any thought of a reason or excuse at what he said died at his lips before they were spoken, overwhelmed by thoughts of 'what if Izuru hated him for speaking up?' and 'trash like him didn't deserve to speak his mind to someone so admirable'.

"It's illogical to smile. There is no benefit and it uses more muscles to do." Izuru plainly replied, his gaze still fixated on Nagito's head. Nagito stubbornly kept his head turned away from Izuru, and the black-haired man sighed, before walking over to Nagito and positioning himself directly in front of him, so Nagito couldn't help but look at him. "Please explain why you want me to smile, so I can understand."

Nagito flushed once again. Izuru was asking for his help? His thoughts? Was he certain he wasn't...? He quickly lowered his hand away from his opposite arm, Izuru's piercing glare stopping him from going to pinch himself. Okay, maybe he wasn't dreaming, but... wow...! Nagito tried to compose himself as he answered Izuru's question, knowing there was only one answer he could give - the truth.

But what was the truth...?

"Your smile, it..." Nagito trailed off for a moment, wondering what to say, before deciding to just say what felt right. "Your smile fills me with hope." He watched Izuru's eyes widen slightly, and he felt his stomach twist into anxious knots. He... was Izuru alright? Did he perhaps do or say something to upset him...? Of course he did, he always did-

Izuru caught his nervous, concerned glances and waved him away. "I'm fine. I'm just... surprised?" His tone of voice while replying was lifted and made his response sound like an unsure question. The entire interaction had thrown Nagito off balance. Izuru was well-known for his lack of... personality? Emotions? Nagito wasn't exactly sure how to describe it, other than... Izuru was special, unique in a way literally no one else was, and making Izuru act against his usual structure made Nagito feel... not just confused or concerned, but... powerful.

Powerful enough to say his true thoughts once more. "Well... if you don't mind, I think you should smile more. It doesn't just bring me hope, I'm sure it'll bring hope to all our amazing Ultimate classmates." His cheeks once again red, Nagito distracted himself by lying down, his stomach on the grass, and began playing with the flowers surrounding them. His blush calmed down as he picked the nearby plants and began threading them together, although his anxiety only seemed to increase the longer Izuru kept silent.

And then... "Maybe I will then. It seems smiling has a purpose after all." Izuru muttered, sighing and lying down as well, next to Nagito. His back and not his stomach, however, was against the grass, and he watched the sky with a soft smile, as some of Nagito's hair poked at his left cheek and the left side of his nose, their heads so close to each other that they were practically touching. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, feeling himself relax against the flowers, enjoying the calming breeze ruffle his long hair back and forth.

And then all of a sudden...

"Hm?" Izuru cracked open one of his eyes, as he felt a light pressure against his hair. It felt nice, although rather sudden and confusing. His confusion didn't last long however, as a small glance to his left and a light cry that wasn't his own allowed him to understand the situation. The pressure - which he now realised was Nagito's hand fiddling with Izuru's hair - quickly left and Nagito rolled in the grass slightly, so his back was facing Izuru. Izuru wasn't sure why but... he found that incredibly annoying.

"Ah I - I'm sorry!" Nagito frantically stammered, seemingly trying to merge with the grass in his embarrassment. "I - I thought you were asleep, and your hair seemed to have grass in it, and..." Nagito raised his hands to his blushing face as he continued to blindly stammer excuses into the silent air. He seemed scared of whatever Izuru might do to him in response to his actions. His harmless, vulnerable... nice actions.

Izuru wasn't having this. "Turn back around, face me." He demanded firmly. Nagito, who was nervously shaking, rolled in the grass once more, and turned so he was facing Izuru while still lying down. Grass was now all over his hair and coat, and Nagito absentmindedly threaded his fingers through the knots in his hair, trying to remove the loose grass strands. His attempts clearly weren't working however, as his anxiety and nerves made him unable to focus on his task.

"Tsk. Sit up." Izuru lightly batted Nagito's hands away from his knotted, grassy hair and pulled himself upward, away from the ground, watching Nagito awkwardly copy, so they were now sitting in the grass, instead of lying down. With a sigh, Izuru leaned over and started removing the bits of grass from Nagito's hair. He heard Nagito gasp slightly but decided not to comment on it. Hm... was he blushing again? An extremely quick glance down to Nagito's cheeks before quickly rising his eyes back up to the tips of Nagito's hair confirmed that yes, Nagito was indeed blushing. His lips slightly perked upwards as Nagito's embarrassed - and yet still cute - face stayed in his mind, as he slowly removed the last grass strand and instead started working on detangling Nagito's knotted hair.

As his hands moved across Nagito's head of hair, he continued to speak. "I didn't mind you touching my hair like that earlier, it was relaxing. And stop making excuses or saying you don't deserve me to help you, I was made to help others. Including you." He felt Nagito sigh and relax slightly, although his posture seemed slightly sad. He wasn't sure why Nagito felt sad... and he wasn't sure why he WANTED to know, either... but he did.

He sighed once again. "Tell me what you're thinking."

Nagito stiffened under Izuru's touch, confused. "W - what do you mean...?" He asked, unable to comprehend what Izuru was asking of him. No one had asked him how he felt about things before. But when Izuru simply repeated his question, it took Nagito all of what internal strength he had left, to not burst into happy tears, or hug Izuru tightly, or both at the same time. He simply remained still, he simply remained silent. Quiet.

He stayed quiet - like he was supposed to be. He was always supposed to be quiet.

"Please... tell me." Izuru whispered, releasing Nagito's hair from his fingers, tracing the tips of Nagito's hair gently with his tips of his own fingers, as he drew them away, reluctant to let Nagito go... although he wasn't exactly sure why he felt that way. This time it was Nagito who sighed, glancing away from Izuru and focusing back on the grass as he talked.

"I, umm... so the help you've been giving me, is just because you feel like you have to?" Nagito asked, glancing down at the grass disdainfully. "Just because of your Ultimate Hope?"

The answer of 'yes' died at Izuru's lips before he was able to say them. Was 'yes'... really true? Izuru paused to think for a moment. "I... I'm not sure." He eventually responded, watching Nagito whip his head back around to face him. With his confused eyes asking the question Nagito himself was too afraid to ask, Izuru sighed and continued to explain. "I invited you here with me, I had no reason to. When you're around, things... aren't quite as boring as they normally are. You keep things... interesting."

Nagito flushed faintly and kept silent, seemingly rendered speechless once again. Izuru refused to say these thoughts aloud, but he actually found that kind of... cute. Deciding to see how much of Nagito's face he could turn red, Izuru leaned over and gave Nagito a one-armed hug. Nagito squeaked in confusion, and to Izuru's hidden delight, his face heated up in that beautiful shade of red that had grown to become Izuru's favourite colour. After a few moments of silence, Izuru reluctantly pulled away again, ignoring Nagito's silent pleas for an explanation. "Do you wish to stay here longer, or should we leave?" He asked instead.

There was a short pause, as Nagito tried to gather his thoughts. "I... umm... first, uhh-" He reached behind his back, and palmed his hands on the grass, eyes not leaving Izuru's curious face, therefore unable to see where his hands - or whatever he was trying to grab - were. "I may have, uhh, made you something?" Izuru's confused expression seemed to grow into one of both confusion and curiosity, silently lifting an eyebrow, as he watched Nagito's eyes widen slightly as the white-haired boy's hands appeared to touch whatever was presumably hidden behind his back. Nagito tightly grabbed hold of it, and brought it out into the open, so Izuru could see.

It... was a flower crown?

Nagito passed it to Izuru who just stared at it, laying daintily in his hands. Nagito had incorporated every flower colour in the garden - his luck must've made him sit in a spot that had all varieties surrounding him. Or maybe it wasn't luck, and Nagito scouted the area briefly before sitting down in the first place? Izuru wasn't entirely sure, but then again the entire situation was unnatural and confusing.

He traced the circle gently, as Nagito started to speak once again. "I, uhh... I just... I wanted to make something and... umm... the flowers in the crown look pretty, so... I thought, umm... you might like it...?" His confidence seemed to dwindle however, and he threw his hands up into the air defensively. "But, umm, if you want to throw it away... then you can...! I'd understand you not wanting to have something trash like me made-"

Izuru silently lifted the crown and placed it on his head. It felt nice. He also enjoyed watching Nagito's face burn from Izuru's action.

"W - What are you doing??" Nagito asked in a whisper - although his whisper was so dramatic and stressed it still felt like he was shouting in his shock. He glanced at Izuru's head as if it had grown legs, and Izuru suppressed the urge to laugh. Wait... to laugh? He wasn't... he wasn't supposed to want to laugh... just what was going on...? Why... why could Nagito make him feel like this? Why... could Nagito make him feel at all?

Izuru firmly shook his head from side to side, trying to focus back on the conversation. "I put on the crown." He plainly responded. "It's a flower crown, is it not? Therefore it's supposed to be worn as headgear."

"I- but Izuru- I didn't think you'd actually want to-" Nagito began to stammer once again, and Izuru fondly sighed, watching him move his hands around frantically for a few minutes, before clasping one of them and pulling Nagito back down onto the grass with him, Nagito's head on Izuru's chest. Izuru carefully placed the crown next to them both, making sure he didn't damage it as he did so.

Nagito froze and his ramblings stopped as Izuru moved him, confused as to what Izuru was trying to do. Once Izuru guided Nagito's head to rest upon his chest, and Izuru's hand had moved to rest across Nagito's back, Nagito felt himself relax, and slowly fall asleep. Izuru fondly watched him for a while, threading his fingers through Nagito's hair as he also relaxed, and eventually he fell asleep too, the soft smile once again on his face.

He could worry about how Nagito made him feel later. For now... he just wanted to enjoy the time they spent together, in this field of peace. This field of flowers.

Wanted to try some Kamukoma :D

Hope you guys enjoyed the oneshot haha!

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊