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The first sign that something was wrong was that the sunlight woke Izuku up. How had he overslept his alarm? And why was he sitting up? How had he wound up sitting on the floor, and where had this wonderfully warm, soft, yet sturdy pillow he was holding come from?
His first struggle that morning was with himself. It felt weird, but there was a voice inside Izuku (and it was louder than he cared to admit) that was pointing out how comfortable this was. It was more comfortable than he’d been in weeks, actually. He should just enjoy it, and go back to sleep. He shifted his head, eyes still closed, only able to see the sunlight through his eyelids. He wasn’t sure when he had found a pillow that smelled faintly of strawberries, though.
The light got a little bit brighter. With a sigh, Izuku braced himself. He needed to get up. He had probably already missed the chance for his full morning workout routine, but maybe he could fit in at least part of it. He needed to get up. He needed to get up. Sleep slowly slipped away from his consciousness, and he managed to force his eyes open.
This was wrong. The walls were much too bare: figurines, his mug, all manner of paraphernalia bearing the likeness of the former #1 hero All Might; all of them gone. This was not his room.
The realization brought a slice of clarity to his thinking, and sleepiness vanished from his eyes. He began looking around and started trying to pick himself up, only to find himself tangled. Not in a blanket. Not with a pillow. He looked down, and it took absolutely every atom of self-control he had not to yell out with shock. With a presence of mind that surprised even himself, Izuku stuck his hand over his mouth to stifle even the slightest squeak from escaping.
It turned out Uraraka Ochaco made a wonderful pillow. But as heat began to rise from Izuku’s cheeks, he absolutely knew he could not wake her. They had gotten much closer over the last two years. Incidental contact no longer left them both blushing furiously. They (mostly) no longer stuttered in each others’ presence. They were even slowly building up their own high-five routine. Progress!
Snuggling in their sleep, though, now that was a whole different animal. She’d be mortified. Heck, Izuku’s cheeks were already practically incandescent. No, it would not do for Ochaco to wake up to this.
Which meant his immediate problem was figuring out how to disentangle himself without waking her. She has a very strong grip , he noticed, as he tested the strength of her hold around his waist. This would be tricky, and a traitorous, selfish part of him pointed out how nice this felt. He paused. Maybe staying like this wouldn’t be so--
Izuku did not quite slap himself back to his senses, but he was able to renew his focus. He reached down to his right, and gingerly felt for where Ochaco’s hands had clasped together, sealing herself against him. As gently as he could, he tried prying her hands apart. He wiggled his hand between hers, prying them apart and forcing her arms to relax from the embrace. Success!
Here he was confronted by a new problem: even as her right arm slackened and fell behind him, her left hand, seemingly of its own accord, closed over his hand. In the instant before panic overtook him, he mused how odd it was that even in her sleep, she managed to interlace her fingers with his.
Well, almost. His heart squeezed as he noticed that, even asleep, her pinky stayed raised. She settled into him even closer, and once again, part of Izuku urged him to just stay put. She was so soft against him ( Please don’t think too much about that , he begged himself). It couldn’t hurt to just stay put. How could it be bad when sitting with her like this felt so right?
No, he had to continue. It was arduous. As he peeled her away from him, he took pains to make every movement at an absolutely glacial speed to reduce the chances of disturbing his best friend. Wondering how much time they had before class, he glanced over at the alarm clock (which he realized they must have slept through). This was, in hindsight, a mistake.
They were running out of time. As he saw the time slipping away, Izuku had a small, momentary panic, causing him to be just a little too forceful in shifting Ochaco’s weight. She stirred, and Izuku froze. She pulled him back closer, still apparently asleep. She mumbled something, but all he could make out was “-ku.” She tried to pull him closer still, but Izuku tried to pull away, overcompensating and falling back. Ochaco fell after him, eyes blasting open in surprise. They both cried out as they fell, with Uraraka landing directly on top of Midoriya.
There was a moment of silence. Izuku was frozen, and Ochaco was still waking up and processing the situation; although embarrassment was quickly turning her into a tomato. Sure enough, she covered her face with her hands, stifling a mortified squeak as she began to drift toward the ceiling. Still stunned, Izuku could only watch, before his ability to move slowly returned. Sitting up slowly, he noticed the homework still spread out on the small table they had sat at.
When he tried to speak, his mouth was still dry, so he had to pause to swallow. “...Uraraka? Are you alright?” There was a very slight up-and-down shake of the head. “Umm, I think we dozed off last night. Ididn’tmeantosurpriseyouIhopethisisn’ttooweird--.” The muttering dropped into subaudible volumes. As far as he could tell, Uraraka was calming down, even snickering at Izuku’s muttering. She lowered one hand, pushing herself off the ceiling back towards the floor.
As she neared the ground, she lowered her other hand, revealing an extremely deep blush. She whispered, “Release,” and touched her fingers together and she dropped the rest of the way. She landed slightly unsteadily, still hobbled by grogginess. Her cheeks were slowly returning to their normal shade as she straightened and put her hands on Izuku’s shoulders, snapping him from his latest muttering fit. “Deku, it’s--it’s okay.” She almost added that it wasn’t anything that hadn’t happened before -- it was not the first time one of them had dozed off in the other’s room -- but that would not have been entirely accurate. They had never woken up like this .
Maybe we’re gettin' too comfortable , she thought. Well, maybe I’m gettin' too comfortable. Not for the first time, she marveled at how much better things had gotten from their first year. These days it took something significant (like this morning’s sleeping arrangement) to get either of them flustered. It had taken the better part of their first year for her to figure out that, jumpy as he was about it, her friend craved physical affection. So long as she could tell herself she was doing it for his sake, she could justify the hugs, touches, and snuggles.
With the way he was reacting right now, she knew she had crossed the line into greediness. She was indulging in a crush that she swore she had finally managed to put on hold. She thought that they had stabilized their friendship and settled on proper boundaries. As long as ya don't go blurrin' those lines , she scolded herself.
The beeping of an alarm -- her "final warning" alarm -- snapped both of their attention away from their embarrassment. How long had they been frozen like that? No matter: neither of them had time to do their usual morning workout routines before class. All they had time for now was to get ready and cut it uncomfortably close to the opening bell.
Clearly still a little shell-shocked from everything, Izuku coughed weakly and half-muttered. "I need to get going, it's really late but if I leavenowImighthavetimeto…" the muttering returned as Izuku's concentration was claimed by the work of figuring out how much of his morning routine was salvageable.
He was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps and muffled voices. Both of them tensed, and there was a knock at the door.
"Ochaco!" came a near-croak from the other side of the door. "Are you awake? You don't want to be late, right? -kero"
Uraraka's eyes widened. She did not need anyone opening the door right now, even if Tsu-chan was the person she was least worried about discovering her current situation.
"Uhh, y-yeah, I'm up!" she called back. "J-just overslept a little." It wasn't a lie, at least. She looked back at Izuku, and gestured at the door to her balcony, giving a tilt of the head to indicate a silent question: Can you use the balcony?
Understanding quickly, Izuku nodded back. He was glad he didn't have to open his mouth and return to stuttering. This was not the first time they had wound up in this situation, and there was a tried-and-true route back to Izuku’s room. Unfortunately, it required Uraraka floating him while he essentially crawled around the outside of the building. It was almost kind of exciting, but also took a few minutes. Avoiding detection was always a difficulty; there were a lot of chances to be spotted while going to almost the opposite side of the building, while also descending two levels. If Izuku were not the ninth holder of One For All, improving his skills daily, combined with the safety net of Uraraka’s quirk; it would be quite dangerous to boot.
But the alternative was the very very real risk that the gossip-loving Ashido Mina (whose room was just down the hall), or any number of other girls in Class 1A, would spot him leaving Ochaco’s room first thing in the morning. Stepping onto the balcony, Izuku mused that he’d rather risk the fall.
Ochaco followed him out. “Ready, Deku?” He nodded, and she touched his shoulder, making sure to contact him with all five of her fingers. He grabbed onto the railing, and let himself start floating over. He assumed he might one day get used to the sensation of weightlessness in his stomach, but today was not that day. He swung himself around, forced to use his arms to keep himself from floating up as he began moving laterally along the outside of the building.
His experience with this particular escape route helped immensely: Izuku had a pretty good feel for where the best handholds were as he worked his way across and around the building, working his way down. Even for him, it felt like an eternity, although he suspected it was only mere minutes before he was pulling himself up the railing of his own balcony. Levering himself over, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and, still holding on, pulled open the text conversation with Uraraka.
*Ok, at room! Pls let me down!* he typed single-handed. He made sure to position himself over the balcony, at arm’s length from the railing. Moments later, he felt gravity return, just as disorienting as losing it had been several minutes before. He dropped, and had it been the first time, he would have hit the floor rather roughly; however, he managed to catch himself, although the action lacked grace.
*You bet!* Uraraka had replied. *See you in class! :)* He smiled as he put his phone away, popping open the balcony door and entering his room. Glancing at the clock, he panicked; he was rapidly running out of time, and he had definitely broken a sweat climbing around the building; showering was now a necessity. By the time Izuku had seen to all of his business in the bathroom, he was cutting his time close. He quickly pulled on his school uniform, grabbed his backpack, and bolted out the door.
The dorms were basically empty as he went downstairs. Izuku was mildly alarmed; he must have been running later than he realized. He turned the corner and reached the first floor, he stopped. Ochaco was waiting there for him. Possibilities raced through his head. Maybe she was still embarrassed about their sleeping position from the night before? Maybe she needed to stress that they were just friends? Maybe he had snored and kept her awake? Maybe--
“You forgot your homework in my room,” she said, producing his class notebook. “Glad I caught you on the way out.”
Okay. Worries averted. For now.
“Also, you should probably make sure to tie your tie before we head over.”
Oh, never mind, the worries were back. First, his notebook hit the floor as he dropped it in the struggle of attempting to tie himself with it still in his hand. Then his rush and panic resulted in what was, even by his standards, a horrific, knotted mess of red cloth. He glanced up and Uraraka was smiling and, to her credit, not laughing at him, although he suspected there was some effort being spent keeping that the case. Still struggling, he un-knotted it, and prepared to try again. Now she snorted, suppressing a laugh as he fumbled again.
“Deku, just grab your notebook.” He bent over, picked it up, and when he straightened, he turned an absolutely radiant shade of scarlet. Ochaco had stepped much closer to him. “--and let me give you a hand,” she said. It once again occurred to Izuku that his life would be much different -- and much harder -- without Ochaco in it. Most of that was companionship (he rarely felt more comfortable than when she was standing with him, at his side as a friend or at his back as an ally, or racing ahead of him as a rival), but some of it was… stuff like this. The first day they had met, he had stumbled, and she had caught him. It was a little embarrassing how often he had stumbled since, but what stuck out more was how she had caught him every time. He wondered if he would ever have the right words to tell her how lucky he was that she was in his life. Or how thankful he was for her.
Glancing down, he idly took in the image of Ochaco looping and pulling the red fabric into a proper knot. The whole thing felt very domestic, and the thought rose in Izuku’s mind that this was almost the kind of thing a wife might do for a husb --and oops, this line of thought was a mistake. He felt the embarrassment showing in his face again.
“Aaaall done,” she said with a smile, dropping his tie. Having finished her task and lacking a distraction, Ochaco noticed how close she was to Izuku. Combined with the memory of how she had woken up, she felt a glow of heat return to her cheeks and she took a step back. They turned and walked out the door, beginning the walk to class.
It was warm enough for the early morning that it made for a comfortable walk. On some level, both of them were aware they should probably be walking a bit faster.
But there was something that needed addressing. “I’m sorry for passing out on you last night,” Ochaco said. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.” She still looked a bit pink, even beyond her norm.
“Oh, no, it’s fine, Uraraka,” Izuku replied back. His next words seemed almost too quick. She wasn’t sure if that was because he hadn’t thought them through, or if he was trying to get them out quickly. “Itwasactuallykindofcozy.” It seemed to take a moment for his brain to catch up to what had come from his mouth, because he also began blushing a moment later. “I mean--it wasn’t uncomfortableitwasfineyouweren’taburdenandanywayyou’rekindofsoftand--”
A cosmic event followed as Izuku managed to stop himself from mumbling. Granted, he did so by clamping a hand over his own mouth. Ochaco was in no position to notice it, though, as the dirt path in front of them had suddenly become extremely interesting. Did he just say I was soft ?! Should I be flattered? Insulted? No, Izuku was trying to reassure me, he wouldn’ta said somethin’ insulting. But does that mean… he liked it when I was holding him? Nah, he must just be trying to make me feel better. Or maybe he did like it? It doesn’t have to mean anything more than that. Yeah, that’s it. We’re friends. We’ve got boundaries. Friends can enjoy snuggling. It doesn’t mean anything more. It doesn’t mean we have any kind of distractions to worry about…
Izuku was uncharacteristically silent as he continued processing what he had said and his brain boiled. I really messed that up. Oh no, is Uraraka going to think I was enjoying a feel? Or that I want something other than being friends? She’d be freaked out, she can do so much better. So why did I say that? Why couldn’t I just leave it at “It was fine, it wasn’t uncomfortable”? Should I try that again? No, I’ve already screwed this up badly enough. But what should I do, then?! Aaaaaaaaah.
Thankfully Ochaco took his brain out of overdrive. “I’m glad,” she said, eyes still pointed squarely at the ground. “I was worried you’d wake up stiff or something.” Phrasing, ya dummy. “Aaahh, I mean with a crick in your back or something.” She was glad Deku could not see how much redder she’d turned. Their arrival at the school’s main building mercifully cut the conversation short. After class they could start fresh, and never speak of this again. Yeah, Ochaco thought, that sounds like an excellent idea.
They wound up cutting it very close, but they reached 1A’s class room with two or three minutes to spare. They were the last ones to arrive, and the eyes of the entire room were on them as they stepped into the room. Had they actually been late, they might have earned a verbal lashing from Aizawa. As it was, they were just not as early as normal. Reprimand from homeroom teacher: Avoided.
Reprimand from class representative, less so.
“Midoriya, Uraraka, I hope that this tardiness will not become a habit in the future,” Iida said, intercepting them as they entered the room. He was, mercifully, not especially at the height of his ‘powers’, and this seemed more of a matter of going through the motions (can’t let your friends off the hook, that would be favoritism, after all) than any kind of frustration. “It behooves us as future heroes to take our duties seriously, and that includes punctuality.” The two nodded weakly, each hoping their blushes from earlier were no longer visible as they made their way to their seats. “But it is good to see you both this morning.”
“Although, it is good to see that you’ve been practicing tying your tie. I hope it will help others to see you in the positive light you deserve.” Izuku stopped, and looked down. It had not occurred to him that Uraraka had done a better job of tying his tie than he did. Or that someone might notice. Oops, the blush was back.
“Umm. Yeah. Thanks, Iida.” Izuku kept going toward his seat, hoping nobody else had noticed that last comment. Or that if they had, they had drawn the same conclusion as Iida. As he sat down, he glanced back over to the right side of the room, and his heart dropped into his stomach. It was a wonder anyone could breathe over there with all of the smug that Mina was producing. It was clear the pink hero-in-training was trying (and failing) not to smirk, but mercifully, before there was any further comment, their homeroom teacher arrived.
Hero studies provided an all-too-brief respite to that morning’s awkwardness. Not because the class was too short (although that certainly did not help), but because Izuku, more than once, caught himself glancing to his right, over at Ochaco. Not being able to focus in class was not unprecedented for him, but it was still unusual, and he was deeply annoyed with himself. This distraction would not do, and he thought he had managed to get over this last year. There is no way Ochaco would be interested in you like that. Stop entertaining it. It’s just going to make things worse for her and you. The last thing you need is to drive away your best friend because you can’t leave well enough alone.
“Soooooo. Confessed to Midoriya, did you?” When class finally let out for lunch, Ochaco got her own reminder that things were amiss, in the form of Mina’s grinning face, and the pink girl pulling her off to a corner.
“What?! No!” she squeaked. “We’re not-- I’ve told you. It’s not like that. We’re not like that. It’s--we’re jus-just friends! That’s all!” Uh-oh. She had not convinced Mina.
“Does he know that? Because he’s been glancing your way all morning.” Ochaco’s heart sank. Oh no, he was uncomfortable with what happened this morning! “You should probably talk to him, because he looks worried. Even by his standards.” She did not have to tell Ochaco twice, as she bolted almost before the words were out of Mina’s mouth. She had to clear this up.
Now on a mission, she homed in on Izuku, who was currently being harassed by Kaminari and Mineta. She suspected she knew the reason for that, but she was gratified to see a look of relief cross Izuku’s face when she called his name. She was less gratified to see the proud smiles that came to their classmate’s faces. And she was even less gratified to hear Mineta utter the words “Proud of you.” She knew full well that anything their tiniest classmate would be proud of was nothing worth being proud of. Ignoring him, she took Izuku by the wrist, carefully keeping her pinky up so as not to send him to the ceiling. He followed her.
She led him over to an empty room, where they could talk without being interrupted, hopefully.
Ochaco knew she needed to be direct. “Are you sure I didn’t make you uncomfortable this morning?” she asked as soon as they were alone. Izuku shook his head. “Look, I’ll… I’ll take your word for it, but…” she put a hand on the side of his shoulder. “If something is bothering you, Deku, don’t sit on it for my benefit. You’d just make me worry more, anyway,” she said, smiling somewhat ruefully. “We’re friends, right? We can trust each other with this stuff?” Izuku nodded, eyes widening. “So, are you sure there’s nothing you need to let out?”
Izuku started to shake his head. Oh no, I made her worry?! “You didn’t make me uncomfortable.” He paused, wondering if he should explain any further, or just try and drop it and wrestle with this himself. Nope. They were friends. He was so much better about this than he used to be, but he would only improve if he kept working at this. Communication was important for a hero. Yeah, that was it. That was why he had to do this. It was absolutely not because she meant everything to him. Nope, that was not why knowing she was worried was eating at him.
“That’s kind of the problem. I liked it.” He was putting a lot of mental effort into not rambling and trying to explain. “A lot.” He kept a wobbly smile up on his face, as Uraraka kept her own reassuring smile in place. Mercifully, there were no mind-readers around to hear them both screaming internally. “I’m just… I’m just confused about some things. Right now. Umm.”
“Oh. Okay.” Ochaco was really not sure what to make of that. She’d have to spend some time thinking about this. “Well, thank you for telling me. And, umm, if you need someone to talk things over with…”
“I know I can always count on you, Uraraka.” Both of their smiles were much less wooden now. “And I’m sorry for worrying you.” Without thinking: “It won’t happen again.”
Now she leaned forward, and the two friends hugged one another.
“Yes it will. But I’ll be here just the same.”