Izuku woke up slowly, tiredness still enveloping his body, and made a small noise of discomfort. The sunlight was shining right into his face, through his closed eyelids, and he raised an arm to cover his face.
In his half-asleep state he felt oddly disorientated. Was he not in his apartment's bedroom? The bed felt larger than normal – eyes still closed, he shifted his feet experimentally and when he stretched his legs straight his toes didn't poke out of the end like he was used to, ever since he'd hit that growth spurt in his last year at UA. He smiled sleepily as he remembered how Uraraka had joked that she'd need a ladder to kiss him if he got any taller.
As the sun continued to bear down on his face he cracked a bleary eye half open, blinking a couple of times to adjust to the harsh light. He sat up straight in bed, resting back against the pillow, and looked around with confusion. This definitely wasn't his bedroom back in his apartment, but it did look familiar somehow – the floor was covered by a thick lilac carpet and the walls were a cheerful yellow. The window was wide, taking up almost half the wall, and there were no curtains hung up, which explained how he'd been awoken.
His brow furrowed as he tried to shake off his drowsiness, Izuku craned his neck to look at the other side of the room – and froze, breath catching in his throat. Lying on the other side of the bed, still fast asleep, was Uraraka.
Suddenly the memories all rushed forward at once, clamouring for attention, and a tremulous smile spread across his face, half delighted and half disbelieving. They'd moved in together. Yesterday, after years of dating and saving up money and hard work towards being pro heroes together, they'd moved into their new home.
Their new apartment was nothing special – small, on the outskirts of the city and needing more than a little sprucing up – but when he and Uraraka had been house hunting and walked into this one together something about it had felt natural. It was cosy and welcoming and somehow in his head it seemed inexplicably right. He could picture clearly in his mind what it would be like to live there together – helping each other with the washing up by the kitchen sink, or curled up together to watch a movie in the front room, or spending time in the bedroom together…
Izuku felt his face heat up before he finished that thought – not that they'd done anything last night, since Iida and Tsuyu had kindly been helping with the unpacking and hadn't left until after midnight. After that he and Uraraka had both pretty much collapsed into bed, exhausted.
He was broken out of his reverie as his stomach made a rumbling sound, reminding him that he hadn't yet eaten this morning, and he heard Uraraka mumble something into the pillow. Quietly he got up, not wanting to disturb her, and paced softly to the bedroom door, glancing over his shoulder one last time with a fond smile. Just being able to witness how she'd wrapped herself in the bed sheets like a cocoon, or the way a strand of hair had fallen across her face and was moving back and forth with her breaths, made him feel luckier than he had the words for.
He would have been more than happy just watching Uraraka sleeping peacefully for the rest of the morning, but Izuku's stomach made another insistent growl and he thought better of it. Silently he closed the door behind him, walked into the kitchen area and set about making breakfast.
Within a few minutes he'd set a timer, put on his All Might apron – a gift Uraraka had jokingly given him for his last birthday, with the message 'Breakfast is Here' emblazoned on it under an image of All Might's face – and had some scrambled eggs and handful of bacon strips sizzling away merrily. It took a little while to work out where all the plates, cutlery and other kitchen utensils were, but the routine, everyday activity was relaxing. No villains, no patrols, no disruptions. Just a quiet morning with a cooked breakfast for himself and the person he loved.
Poking at the bacon experimentally he nodded to himself, satisfied that it was ready to turn over to cook the other side, when he heard a voice from the doorway.
"Dekuuuuu…"
He whirled around in surprise, almost knocking over the egg-filled frying pan. "U-Uraraka! Sorry, I didn't realise you were up. I didn't wake you, did I?"
She giggled at his clumsiness and walked into the kitchen, wearing a fluffy pair of slippers and a pink dressing gown over her pyjamas. "It's fine, I woke up on my own. What smells so nice?" She stood on tiptoe to peer over his shoulder and made a noise of approval. "Ooh, that's so good! I was just gonna make myself some cereal, but this looks amazing!"
Izuku rubbed a hand through his hair bashfully. "Thanks. I kind of… I wanted to do something special. Y'know, 'cos it's our first meal in our new home. I mean, I know technically yesterday evening was our first meal, but that was just takeaway pizza with Iida and Asu– erm, Tsuyu."
Uraraka smiled teasingly at his slip up. "You're never gonna get her name right, are you?"
He laughed sheepishly. "I think it's force of habit."
She leaned in closer. "Still, that's really sweet of you Deku. I'm glad we moved in together." She met his eyes and grinned impishly. "And not just because you're making bacon."
At that moment, with her tousled bedhead and dazzling smile, she looked gorgeous beyond words. He shakily rested his hands on her hips. "Me too. It's a little scary, but… it feels like this is a new beginning. The next step for us as a couple, I guess. And I wouldn't want it to be with anyone other than you."
Uraraka's cheeks went pink and she beamed at him, closing the gap between them and pressing her lips against his in a slow, gentle kiss. Her hands trailed feather-like through his hair, tracing patterns across his scalp and as the kiss broke Izuku had to remind himself to breathe.
She rested her forehead against his, and her deep brown eyes met his gaze. "I like the sound of the whole 'new beginning' thing," she murmured. "Let's make this breakfast the first of many, ok?"
"Yeah," he whispered. "That sounds perfect."