24 Chapter 21

On his way home with his two friends, Axel was looking back on the things that went down during the hero versus villain battle test. He could tell that things could have gone better on his hand since there were too many variables in his plan. This also coupled with how it took so long to come up with the plan, if it wasn't due to the help of Plague, Axel didn't know if he could even come up with something like that.

Thinking about the thing he could improve on, Axel and his friends arrived at the gate of UA and were about to leave when Axel felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Tamaki with a red face and when he made eye contact with her, she couldn't help but look away. She then said.

"U-um, can I talk to you p-privately. I want to talk to you about something." When she said that Katsuki and Izuku misinterpreted what Tamaki's intentions were and gave Axel a knowing look. Rolling his eyes at his friends' antics he replied.

"Ya, sure. Where do you want to go to talk?" Hearing that he accepted she got excited and looked up before processing what he said and the fact that she hasn't actually talked to him yet. Thinking about it for a minute Tamaki responded with.

"How about a cafe that is nearby or is there somewhere else you want to go?" After Tamaki said that she couldn't help but feel that he might back out if she didn't pick the right location.

"Hm, Ya that is fine with me. Lead the way." Axel said, responding back to Tamaki, who sighed to her relief that he didn't back out.

Tamaki then led him to a cafe that she would go to every so often when she had something on her mind. When they got there Tamaki ordered a special drink that only happens every so often while Axel got a hot chocolate because well you know, chocolate.

After ordering, they both sat down at the table so they could enjoy their drinks and they could talk. Axel waited for Tamaki to tell him what she wanted to tell him, but he could tell that she was having a hard time working up the courage.

Ever since he got the look from his friends, he, himself started to think that she might actually ask him out. To him there were signs that kept leading to it, for example being nervous to talk to him when they are already close friends and wanting to talk privately, taking him to her favorite cafe so she could feel more comfortable, then above all else she is blushing hard in front of him seemingly trying hard to work up the courage to talk to him.

Thinking to himself he couldn't but think what if she actually asked him out, how would he respond. She was cute, they got along well, and they seem to have a lot in common. Why not go out since what could go wrong, they could see if there is anything there but if there isn't they can just go back to being friends. Seeing how she is still struggling he decided to take the initiative.

"Yes"

"I AM SORRY"

They both spoke at the same time, both being very confused at what the other said. Tamaki had no idea why Axel said yes out of nowhere and Axel was confused about what she needed to be sorry for.

"What do you mean by 'yes'" Tamaki decided to ask.

"U-um, I w-was saying that yes this is the best cafe, their hot chocolate is the best that I have had. Haha" Axel said nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. Axel was now felt very stupid about reading the situation now and was trying to recover so she wouldn't question him further.

"A-anyways, what do you mean by your sorry. What is there for you to apologize to me for?" Axel said, trying to redirect the conversation to be back on what the main purpose of coming here is for.

"Oh, u-um for making you feel uncomfortable. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I just caught up into the moment that I just reacted reflexively. I know that I am bad with interactions and sometimes get into others personal space, making them uncomfortable. I am really trying to work on it, so again I am sorry for making you uncomfortable."

Tamaki said, talking super-fast. After a couple minutes of Axel trying to process what Tamaki said since she said it so fast it was hard for him to understand. Since it was taking Axel so long to respond, Tamaki was starting to get anxious and started to think he wasn't going to accept her apology. Then suddenly Axel laughed.

"HAHAHA, that was so important for you wanting to talk to me in private. *Sigh* I thought it was something serious." Axel said relieved that it wasn't too serious, and he just misread the situation twice.

"What do you mean something not serious, of course it's serious I don't want you to hate me or stop being my friend for making you uncomfortable." Tamaki said and was confused why Axel was just playing it off as a joke.

"First of all, why would I not be friends with you, just because you made me 'uncomfortable'. Let me tell you that sometimes friends push other friends into uncomfortable situations to help them grow as a person and making me uncomfortable once doesn't mean that I would just abandon you. What kind of friend does that? Secondly, you didn't make me uncomfortable. It was Plague's comment that made me angry, nothing to do with you."

Axel said realizing that this was actually something important to Tamaki. Axel also obviously lied to help Tamaki feel better, he was more embarrassed than angry when Plague made the comment which to some people could be considered being uncomfortable.

"W-well, all my other friends stopped being my friend when I made them u-uncomfortable. S-so I thought you would too." Tamaki said, feeling embarrassed that she misinterpreted what he was feeling.

"Well, those friends weren't your friends in the first place if they just dropped you like that or if they were then you are better off without them if they just left you due to a misunderstanding that ended up making them uncomfortable." Axel replied with his arms crossed, eyes closed and nodding his head while talking.

During this whole conversation Plague couldn't help but cringe. He wanted to intervene to lighten the mood, but he couldn't get himself to do it. He knows that he had his fair share of moments like this in his previous life so instead he was just going to make fun of Axel later.

"A-are you sure you still want to be friends with me and that I didn't make you feel uncomfortable." Tamaki said. She couldn't help but have doubts of him just trying to make her feel better now since they were in a public setting and didn't want to cause a commotion, then when they were at school, he would just ignore her.

Reaching over the table Axel flicked her forehead and spoke. "Idiot, I already told you, you don't have to worry, you are just overthinking things that have no importance. This was just a minor thing, so don't worry about it."

Rubbing her head Tamaki couldn't help but have a smile on her face while sighing in relief that Axel was still willing to be her friend. It felt that weight was lifted off her shoulders, but the next thing Axel said made her tense up and felt that weight got put on her once again.

"So, is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"W-well there is also another thing I wanted to say. U-um, I wanted to thank you." Raising his eyebrow Axel said.

"Thank me for what?"

"W-well, even t-though you don't kn-know it, you h-helped me a lot. I-I was going th-through a lot a c-couple of m-months ago, I was k-kind of having a m-mental breakdown. T-that's when I saw you, Izuku, and Katsuki fighting that villain in the alley way. A little bit earlier I was told that my actions were those of a Villain. When I saw you three fighting the villain, at first, I actually thought you were a villain due to your appearance. But seeing you fight the villain I saw that I was sorely mistaken, and I felt bad about it. Then I realized how I misunderstood you, those teachers also misunderstood me. So inadvertently you saved me without realizing it."

When talking Tamaki had her head down and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed, that she started stuttering when she first started talking. But as she continued, she gained more confidence and started talking with a smile on her face. Though at the end she felt embarrassed again since she felt weird for thanking Axel when he didn't even know he helped her but at the same time she felt he should know. At the very end Tamaki started to shed some tears.

As Axel was hearing this, he was shocked to know that he helped her. When he heard that she was having a mental breakdown and it was due to teachers talking about her behavior because she made people uncomfortable or that's what he assumed since she was so worried about it earlier. He couldn't help but feel angry since he went through the same thing except there was no room for excuses for saying a girl that acted like a villain when it was just a misunderstanding.

Though when Axel saw the smile on Tamaki's face, he calmed himself down. When she finished and Axel saw that Tamaki started to tear up, Axel stood up and went near her, grabbing her into a hug. Feeling Axel hugging her, Tamaki couldn't hold back anymore and started crying on Axel's shoulders. This caused Axel to hug Tamaki tighter.

Axel started to feel angry at himself this time because he misinterpreted what Tamaki was here for at first and then he downplayed what she said. Obviously, he couldn't know what Tamaki went through so he shouldn't feel bad, but he couldn't help it. Eventually during the hug Axel said.

"I am sorry for downplaying your feelings and flicking you on your forehead. I didn't know what you went through, and I was insensitive, after hearing you I realized that your concerns were justified, and I just brushed you off like it was nothing. I know how it feels being looked at as a villain since I was kicked out of school for that reason due to the appearance of my quirk. I promise you that I will be here for you so don't worry anymore, ok?" When Axel finished talking Tamaki couldn't help but start crying harder.