With a gentle push the door to his apartment drifted open. He removed the key from the lock and trudged inside. In a practiced motion, he slid his feet from his sneakers and flopped onto the floor. When Ochaco heard him, she'd run out and pretend to resuscitate him, like a paramedic. One of their fun games. It made her laugh, so he didn't mind acting like a buffoon. He loved her laugh.

Only no one came. He peeked out the corner of his eye and noticed many of the lights were off.

I guess I beat her home… he thought, sullenly picking himself up off the floor and making his way to his bedroom. As he went to remove his hero gear, a pang of panic overtook him, as he quickly realized he was no longer wearing his costume, but rather his pedestrian clothes. The panic quickly faded, however. He still had not yet gotten used to leaving his costume in his new office.

He changed quickly into comfortable clothes, a pair of mesh shorts and a t-shirt, before returning to the living room and flopping down on the couch. He turned on his cell phone for the first time since he left for the crime-in-progress and found a list of notifications.

Ochoco-Chip

Going to be home late! I'll pick up dinner :)

Mom

Be safe, sweetheart 3

Ochaco-Chip

I saw you on TV :O!

Ochaco-Chip

Btw, i'll be picking up pizza, what toppings do you want?

Ochaco-Chip

Soooo i only just now realized your phone is probably not with you lol. So we're having pepperoni and mushroom.

Ochaco-Chip

…and breadsticks.

Ochaco-Chip

…..and brownies.

Ochaco-Chip

(the brownies are mine)

Mom

Text me when you get home, please :)

Ochaco-Chip

Okay I'm FINALLY on my way home. Wear something sexy for me ;)

As he finished reading the last message, he realized he was wearing a massive, stupid grin. What could he do? He was helpless beneath the powers of his silly, loveable, energetic girlfriend.

Girlfriend. It still sounded wrong. Like he was still a teenager.

Suddenly, a key turned in the lock outside the apartment. Izuku realized he was sitting in the dark, having neglected to turn on any lights himself. A devious idea entered his mind.

The door popped open and Ochaco loudly exclaimed, "I am here!" wielding a pizza in one hand, and a bag which presumably held the breadsticks and brownies in the other. Upon seeing the lights were off, however, she deflated like a balloon. It was all Izuku could do to contain himself, to not give up the charade and comfort her. She was like a sad puppy. It pained him. But he had a job to do.

She sighed and flipped on a light switch, slipping off her own shoes and setting the food on the counter. As soon as he was sure their dinner would not be caught in the crossfire, he sprang up from in front of the couch yelling, "No, I am here!"

Ochaco yelped and nearly leapt out of her skin, immediately covering her mouth with her hands to silence her instinctual terror. This was a mistake, however. Her feet barely left the ground before she had to blurt out "Release!"

Izuku slumped over the back of the couch, laughing like a maniac, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. She pouted dramatically for a moment, but joy overtook her temporary frustration. She leapt over the couch, pouncing on Izuku.

Her momentum knocked them both off, wedging them between the couch and the coffee table. They didn't care. They smothered each other in an embrace. Her head tucked under his chin and she nuzzled him fondly while he wrapped her in his scarred arms. He could stay there forever, stuck uncomfortably with his head pressed against the corner of the coffee table and his leg still lodged in between couch cushions.

Ochaco broke free from his grasp and propped herself up on his chest, careful to keep one finger off of him. She eyed him up and down.

"So you got my text, I see," she smirked.

"I was reading them when you walked in. Didn't quite have enough time to put anything 'sexy' on, I'm afraid," Izuku said, feigning remorse.

"This'll do, I suppose," she sighed, dramatically. It seemed that whenever he was with someone from 1-A, it was hard not to behave like a child. It was especially hard around Ochaco. Her bubbly energy was infectious.

"But actually, I like when you wear these clothes. I love when you show off your arms," she fawned, pulling one of his muscled appendages up and kissing it gently.

"What's gotten into you tonight?" Izuku laughed, pulling himself up and out from underneath her.

"I dunno, I just really missed you today," she smiled, still holding his arm affectionately, tracing the scars with a finger.

"I really missed you, too," he replied. He placed a hand to her face and caressed it, lifting her chin and leaning in, placing a lone kiss on her soft lips.

"Izuku, you're so sappy!" she giggled, tussling his hair and jumping up to her feet.

"And hungry," he said, clutching his now rumbling stomach.

"Did you see my text about seeing you on TV?" she asked as she walked around the corner into their bedroom.

"Yeah," Izuku said as he pulled himself back onto the couch. That reminded him. He sent a text to his mother.

Izuku

I'm home, mommy :) I love you.

He shook his head. The text he just sent almost gave him a toothache. But he'd always be his mother's son.

"I love that you're still excited whenever one of us is on TV," he said, letting his nose lead him to the food.

"Are you kidding?" she shouted back. "I adore seeing you do your All Might voice," she giggled.

He cringed. He knew she was being sincere, but he still felt so goofy doing it—like he was wearing clothes three sizes too big. He had been on TV before, yes, but ever since All Might's retirement so many years ago, a significant population of heroes took to All Might's mannerisms. It wasn't until recently, following the formation of his agency, that he began to stand apart from the rest, so the attention he received for bearing the proverbial torch of his predecessor was appreciated, but also relatively new. That wasn't really who he was, after all, it was just who he needed to be.

"Stop being embarrassed," she called from the bedroom. She knew him well.

"I'm not, promise!" he said, right before stuffing a whole breadstick into his mouth.

"Liar," Ochaco teased, walking back into the living room. She had changed out of her athletic clothes into one of Izuku's shirts and a pair of shorts. Her hair was up in a loose bun. It made his heart flutter.

She giggled again at the sight of Izuku, and bit off a piece of the breadstick hanging from his lips.

It was going to be a good night.

One hour, one pizza, eight breadsticks, and half a tin of brownies later, the pair were laid out on the couch, nearly incapacitated by the carb catastrophe they had just endured. Izuku sprawled on his back lengthwise, his frame completely covering it, and Ochaco laid on her back on top of him, groaning in discomfort. Every now and then she would shift slightly and he'd get a mouthful of her hair, or unneeded pressure would be applied to his gut. He didn't mind, though. He relished the feeling of her body against his.

"Why did you make me get brownieeeeees…" Ochaco whined, her voice muffled by the arm she had draped across her face.

"I know, it was downright villainous of me," Izuku joked, poking her side with a finger. Her body recoiled with each prod, giggles escaping her lips like bubbles from under the water.

She grabbed the assaulting appendage and pulled it up around her waist, fastening herself against him. With one hand now firmly trapped behind her, he brought down his other hand from the top of the couch to flank.

"Izuku stooooooop," she croaked, somewhere between a moan of exasperation and a laugh. She suddenly flipped over onto her front, creating a sandwich with Izuku rather than a stack. She rested her chin on his sternum and stared up at his face, which he shifted up against the arm of the couch. In silence, they looked at each other. The eight inch gap between their faces was full of admiration, adoration, appreciation, hope, expectations, and everything in between.

He thought about when they were children. They used to be so awkward. They could barely inhabit the same five-foot space, let alone make any kind of physical contact without completely falling apart.

An unfortunate byproduct of my middle school experience, and Ochaco's own not-inconsequential awkwardness, he thought.

Even their first year together was like navigating a maze suspended above a pit of lava. One misstep would send either of them hurtling towards a shame-spiral that preceded a three-day period of no contact. Their first kiss was basically an accident.

"Deku, this is...a little embarrassing, but...c-can...can you see if I have a booger up my nose?" Ochaco asked, her cheeks pinkening rapidly.

"U-um, I mean, I mean yes! Of course, Uraraka!" Izuku replied eagerly, too eagerly he realized after saying it. But he also didn't want her to feel like she had made him uncomfortable.

They were alone in the classroom at the moment. Since they began dating, they liked to arrive in their classroom early, as it was the only place around school grounds they were sure to not run into any of their classmates. They were even earlier than Iida, a feat not easily accomplished.

Confident that no one else was around, she tilted her head back slightly and Izuku leaned forward. The light was casting a perfect shadow across her nostrils, so he had to lean in even closer. He wished he had a magnifying glass and a flashlight.

At that moment, Iida burst into the classroom with what Izuku was certain was the same level of energy he carried with him from jumping out of bed 'til his head hit the pillow again.

The sudden appearance of another person startled Izuku, who, in an effort to escape the sound his fight-or-flight response interpreted as threatening, moved forward—into Ochaco.

Their lips touched.

"Ah, Midoriya! Uraraka! Another fine-" Iida began, in a voice too-loud for the proximity they shared. The sight he beheld stopped him in his tracks. Yet another feat not easily accomplished. Ochaco and Izuku were two for two that day.

By any socially capable individual's standards, what they were doing could not be classified as a kiss. In a literal sense, they were just pressing their faces together. But to them, it was like they had just broken down a wall between them.

Their eyes were wide open as they parted, neither one daring to blink. Iida, coincidentally, had also not blinked.

Suddenly, Ochaco's face shifted from surprise to a determined smile. She pumped her arms up in the air and shouted, "YYYYYES!"

Someone lit a fire in her heart, and that someone was Izuku, who was still too dazed to notice.

Izuku smirked. For the rest of that day, she wouldn't stop approaching strangers and announcing to the world that they had finally kissed. The dweeb. The lovable, passionate, dweeb.

"What?" Ochaco asked cautiously, the corners of her mouth curling upward ever so slightly.

"Nothing, I just…" He stared at her.

"I just really like you."

Her smile warmed him more than her whole body. Like a satisfied cat, she nuzzled her head back into his chest and closed her eyes.

They used to have trouble holding hands, and now they'd rather be wearing the same pair of clothes if they could help it.

Either you're not serious about it, or you're scared.

So why was he scared?

"You smell good."

Izuku's eyes cracked open. Had he fallen asleep? He blinked a few times, giving his brain a moment to boot up. He surveyed his surroundings. Ochaco was still on top of him, and he was still on the couch. What time was it?

"What'd you say?"

"I said," she started, more slowly this time. She tilted her head up and stared right into his eyes. It was a different look than earlier.

"You smell good."

A shiver ran down his body. Like a jolt of electricity. This was the same girl who asked him to check for boogers before they had kissed.

"I haven't showered since this morning, you know," Izuku said, sliding his fingers gently up and down her arms. Was that supposed to be sexy? He admitted, he still didn't know if he was saying the right things most of the time.

She propped herself up a bit, sliding her legs around his waist, straddling him.

Guess so.

"You know, I was thinking, we could play a game, if you're not too tired," she suggested coyly, a devilish smile brewing.

"I think I could, uh, muster the energy," Izuku replied, moving his hands from her arms to her hips. She wasn't dainty by any means, having gained a bit of muscle from the Gunhead school of training, but in his sizeable grasp she felt fragile.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you, what did you say?" she said, her playful attitude dripping off her words like honey.

"I can go beyond," Izuku said, sitting up and sliding his arm around her waist, pulling her tight against him. "Plus ultra."

"That's the Deku I love." Ochaco breathed the words into his ear. Her hands moved slowly up his arms and into the tangles of his hair. It was shorter than it used to be, but even at this length she liked to play with green waves atop his head.

He felt a tingling sensation from the top of his scalp down to the middle of his back. Desire was creeping in. His lips went hungrily for the soft skin of her neck, sucking lightly as he moved along it. She inhaled sharply.

"What game...did you want...to play…" he asked, slipping the words between his kisses.

He could feel her tense from her shoulders to her fingers against his head. She almost didn't hear him, almost didn't want to hear him. Didn't want to prolong it anymore.

But she regained control and tore away from him. "Wait here," she commanded. Her face was thoroughly red. She moved to stand, but returned to his lips for one last deep kiss. Her legs moved first, tugging her mouth away from his. The last part of her to leave him was a finger wrapped in one of the curls of his hair. She pranced around the corner into their bedroom.

He took the brief respite to sit up straight and slap his face a few times. His mind was racing, running through an entire playbook of "strategies" he had devised over the years with her. It was much like the notebooks he kept on all his favorite heroes over the years, only this one was all in his head, and it was all about Ochaco.

After what felt like an eternity, he heard a call from the other room.

"Save me!" Ochaco exclaimed.

Sorry, Mom, he mused.

He sprang up, ready for action. In a single bound, he went from the couch to the corner, and in another he was in their room.

Inside, on their bed, Ochaco was curled up in the bed sheets, only one particularly round and firm part of her body peering out naked from underneath.

He peeled of his shirt.

"It's alright now, do you know why?" he began.

"Why's that?" Ochaco asked, her bottom wiggling expectantly.

"Because I am here."

A hero's work was never done.