UPROAR

Summary: Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

A/N: Ok so I guess THIS chapter is technically the "real" end of the Hinata interview. Also, caution…because here be citrus! High T for this one but I'm just covering my own ass here, it's nothing compared to what I'm planning to post in later chapters. But either way, here's your warning about some very mild smut.

Chapter 4: Go Beyond!

Night of Helping Hands with Hinata Interview

The interview suddenly cut to commercial and Ochako stretched out on the couch. It wasn't like she and Deku were intentionally keeping their friends in the dark about their relationship. It was just that they genuinely had no idea what they were to each other in the first place. So, they couldn't exactly announce that they were dating if they couldn't be 100 percent certain of that themselves.

Their relationship was both much more intimate yet much more distant than that. They saw each other at least three times a week or more if they made the effort to do so, but that was just what friends did when they worked so close to each other, right? And on nights when their jobs brought them into the other's neighborhood, it was often easier to just stay over instead of returning home too late. Because that's what friends did.

But one hot summer night, their friendship crossed the line into something more than just platonic. Ochako's tiny apartment was sparsely furnished, which made it perfect for his futon to fit on the floor. Unfortunately, the window she'd opened in order to cut the utility bill could do nothing more than blow hot air in from the outside.

Deku had awakened in the middle of the night to close it and sneakily turn on Ochako's air conditioning. But he was unable to find the remote control for it and wound up stumbling around in his search for it. Eventually, he'd given up since he had work in the morning and elected to turn it on manually. Carefully, he leaned over Ochako's bed to reach the buttons on the wall-mounted unit, struggling to reach without needing to climb onto it. But it was no use. He'd tried to avoid waking her, but unlike Uravity he couldn't control the way the weight of his body shifted the mattress and made her body fold into his lap.

Frozen in fright from both the sudden proximity and fear of waking her, he struggled to find his balance again as he fought to keep a hand on the wall while he gently rolled her away. But it was no good. She was already awake, big brown eyes bleary in the darkness as she peered up at him with his hands on her shoulders.

And that's when it happened.

To this day, she still wasn't sure what had made her so bold that night. Be it the darkness, the grogginess, or the perceived "first move" he'd made, the result remained the same. She sat up on her elbows and clasped her hand around the back of his neck to drag him down into a kiss so rough that he was left gasping for air when she finally released him.

That was the first time they'd spent the night not sleeping, struggling to keep their voices down in their fervent passions. It was like all the words they had failed to say over the years came pouring out of them all at once in the form of tangled limbs and needy embraces. It wasn't exactly the romantic evening that she'd always hoped it would be, but part of the fun was the spontaneity of it all. Neither could be called masters in this area of expertise, so for that one night they'd finally been on an equal playing field as they each did their best to please the other.

But as the night wore on and the sky began to lighten, their fantasy quickly began to fade. With the sunlight came alarm clocks and work and responsibility. Their lovely bubble burst with the dawning of the real world just outside the window that seemingly started it all.

Deku had departed with the first train, knowing Ochako's water tank ran out of hot water after one shower. And he didn't want to get into any more trouble than he'd already managed to get himself into by succumbing to the temptation of showering together. Because if he did, he knew neither of them would be making it to work that morning. Or afternoon, if he was being honest. So, he did the right thing and left, even though it was the first time he didn't want to do the right thing for once.

Ochako sighed, as she usually did whenever her thoughts turned to that night. It was the only time something like that had ever happened between them. And ever since then, it was like Deku wanted to pretend that it never even happened in the first place. So, she'd always gone along with it. And the funny thing about trying to forget a memory is, after a while, it really did start to feel like it was only a fantasy.

It had been a little over a year now and Ochako was beginning to think she'd simply hallucinated the entire thing like it was some kind of fever dream. But hearing Hinata probe him about his love life stirred up old memories best left forgotten, and clearly something had been triggered within him as well. His green gaze had been so passionate when he'd addressed the camera to gently let down all of his fans. A fiery passion she didn't realize she'd been longing to see again.

He said he had everything he'd ever need waiting for him at home. In the apartment that had become like a second home to Ochako herself with all the waiting around she did for him. Was he trying to tell her that she was the only thing he'd ever need? Or was she reading too far into what could have just been that infamous hero showboating they all managed to fall prey to every once in a while?

And that wink! What was that about?

Well, she felt better knowing that Tsu-chan also saw what Ochako saw, at least. And Tsu-chan was the most level-headed person she knew. She reread her friend's message and started to wonder what she meant. Do your best? Her best what? Why was she being forced to decode peoples' messages tonight?!

"Tsu-chan…help!" She wrote back, adding several sad Froppy stickers for flourish.

"What's wrong now?" She answered, knowing her friend's dramatics too well to take her call for help seriously.

Ochako curled herself into a ball on the couch and sat with her back tightly packed against the armrest. Her arms tucked into her torso, she held the phone about an inch from her blushing face. Asui was the only one who knew about the night she and Deku had spent together, because she knew she could trust her. She had a feeling that Deku also had a confidant other than herself, but she couldn't muster up the courage to wonder about who it was. She couldn't stomach the idea of someone as close to her as Iida knowing something so personal about her. Or worse – someone as excitable as Aoyama, or even someone as proper as Todoroki. She gasped. Or even Bakugo-kun.

He and Deku were still definitely rivals, but a few years apart to grow in their own respects had turned them into strange bedfellows in certain aspects of their lives. And ever since Deku's mom had fallen ill, their heated rivalry had been dialed down to a simmering competition. Normally, Deku would be the one to open up a line of communication first. Usually, he'd ask for critiques about a fight of his that had been posted online, eagerly taking the advice to heart and immediately adopting it. But once, Bakugo had contacted him asking if he had any good pain medicine, since the ones he'd bought from the store weren't strong enough.

Ochako shuddered at the thought of any of her old classmates knowing such intimate details about her. But Bakugo-kun would have to be the last possible person she'd want to know. Out of their entire class, he'd always been the most crass and vulgar with his careless comments and brutal honesty. Of the many things people called him, a liar certainly was not one of them. For better or worse. And while Ochako had found many of his comments quite funny in the past, she didn't think she'd be able to handle them if they were ever directed her way.

She stared at her phone and imagined Tsu-chan sitting in her own living room with the Helping Hands interview on mute in the background. She would patiently wait for Ochako's response, not the type to send another prodding message.

"What do I do when he comes home?" Ochako typed out, heart leaping at the thought of the foyer door opening up at that exact moment.

"If you're still there by that time, you can just ask him how the trip was." Asui answered. "You're going to scare him if you pounce on him with your questions about what he meant during the interview."

Ochako seemed to breathe easier after reading Asui's advice. It was as though the girl's tranquil aura was seeping through the phone to infiltrate Ochako's own space.

"What if I make him lunch or dinner?" She wondered.

"I don't see how that could hurt…" Asui was much more expressive through text than she was in real life. "What time will he be home?"

"He said he's taking the bullet train back, so the only seats left were for the late afternoon tomorrow."

"That gives you more than enough time to cook."

"I know. But should I talk to him about the interview while we eat?"

"If you feel the time is right."

Ochako hesitated, typing and deleting and retyping her response before deleting it all over again. What did Asui even mean by that? When could the right time to talk about a thing like this possibly be?! There hadn't been an opportune moment over the past year since it happened, so how could she be expected to suddenly find one by tomorrow?

"Don't take this the wrong way…" Asui interrupted, and the dancing ellipses that signaled her typing away sent Ochako's gut into a spiral. "You and Midoriya-kun don't like confrontation, so you'd both rather pretend like nothing happened and that everything is normal, than risk upsetting the other by discussing it. That's why you've never talked about your relationship before and keep walking on eggshells around each other. So if there was ever a time to finally rip that band-aid, I think that time is now."

Ochako stared wide-eyed at the phone as if Asui were standing right in front of her.

"You both like each other as more than just friends. Everybody can see it. Except you two. So whatever you decide to do, Ochako-chan, I know you will always be doing your best. You're smart and kind and you deserve to be happy. So be brave and grab hold of your happiness with both hands."

Grab her happiness with both hands? The words seemed to echo throughout her mind as she peered down at the pink pads on her fingertips like they held all the answers in the world.

And then her phone began to ring.

"H-hello?" She couldn't help faltering considering her heart had nearly leapt out of her chest. It was probably Tsu-chan calling to make sure Ochako hadn't taken her lengthy messages too seriously since she'd come off a bit harsh that way in the past. But the voice that answered her greeting was most definitely not Tsu-chan, unfortunately.

"Hi, Uraraka." Deku replied. "If you have a minute…could we talk?"

Her face immediately began to flush, and she jumped off the couch. "Ah! Deku-kun! Of course!" She started pacing around his living room for lack of something better to do to dissipate her nerves. "What's on your mind? Wait, what about the interview?" She gazed back at the TV where Helping Hands was already onto its second guest – just how long had she been distracted?!

Deku chuckled on the other end. "Our segment ended a bit early thanks to Kacchan, actually." He sounded like he was outside somewhere judging by all the background noise. "I'm heading back to my hotel right now before we head to dinner."

"We?"

"Tokoyami-san and I."

Ochako could have slapped herself. "Right, of course! Duh."

She didn't know how much more of this she could take. A nice long soak in the tub sounded heavenly right about now. She'd crank those jacuzzi jets to their maximum setting and let them turn her tense muscles to jelly while a nice glass of wine put a numbing haze around her mind. Then she'd flop onto Deku's king size mattress and snuggle under his plush comforter until that bottle of red relaxed her right to sleep.

"It's alright." He laughed again. "Kacchan walked off the set as soon as we went to commercial…so he wasn't in the mood to come out with us."

"I'm not surprised." She replied, still aimlessly wandering around the apartment. "The host really had it out for him for some reason."

"It was so strange." Deku agreed. "I'm glad you saw it too."

There was a lull in their polite conversation in which Ochako could almost hear her own heart pounding in her chest. She recalled Tsu-chan's words from earlier and decided to take her advice…as best she could.

"I-is that all you wanted to…talk to me about?" She could hear the caution in her own voice and resented herself for it. This was Deku for crying out loud! Her closest friend from her school days other than Tsu-chan! They'd been seeing each other in a platonic sense for years and were comfortable enough with each other to treat the other's apartments like their own! Why couldn't she get out of her own head? This wasn't high school anymore – she didn't have a reason to put her feelings on the back burner any longer. There was nothing at stake anymore – no more exams, no more assignments, no more grades!

Deku seemed to sigh. Or maybe he was taking a breath. She couldn't really tell with all the background noise on his end.

"Actually, Uraraka…" He sounded hesitant. "I wanted to ask you something." He paused before suddenly going into overdrive. "And it's alright if you say no, I'd completely understand because it's totally your choice and I know it's not really an easy thing to decide what with me just suddenly calling you up without warning to ask you something like this completely out of the blue when I really should be doing this face-to-face but after tonight I just don't think I'd be able to wait until tomorrow to ask you because to be honest I'm a little nervous too and I'm afraid that I'd lose my nerve if I didn't do this right now tonight and I was just wondering if maybe by any chance if you didn't have anything else to do if you wanted to go out with me?"

Ochako's head was spinning and she stopped her pointless pacing to lean against the nearest wall to collect herself. What on earth did he just say? Did she hear him correctly?

"H-hello?" Deku's voice sounded so small. "Are – are you still there?"

"I'm here." She breathed, face feeling hot enough to melt the screen of her phone. "Deku-kun…I don't know what to say…"

"Ah! That's alright!" His forced cheerfulness was too much for her heart to bear.

She wished she could see his face, but the thought of actually looking him in the eye right now frightened her too much.

"I understand!" He continued, forcing another laugh. "It was silly of me to ask anyway since I'm sure we're both much too busy for things like dating and your career has been taking off so successfully recently that I'm sure you don't need another distraction like me weighing you down and I'm sorry for bothering you so late at night with something like this so can we just forget it ever happened and go back to –"

"Deku-kun!" She shouted loudly enough to startle herself as well. "I'm sorry for giving you the wrong idea. I just needed a minute to process everything you said."

"Oh…I see. I'm sorry – I tend to get a little ahead of myself sometimes."

She had to remind herself that now was not the time to remark on what an understatement that was. Instead, she caught her breath and collected her thoughts as best she could in order to give him the answer he deserved.

"Deku-kun, we've known each other for the better part of five years now, and I have been struggling every day since I met you to find the right words to ask you this very same question."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course, I do!" She grinned, suddenly feeling weightless even though her feet were planted firmly on the floor. "You're an important person to me."

"You mean a lot to me too, Uraraka." She could almost see the bashful smile on his face through the phone. "Does…this mean…you'll go out with me?"

She laughed to hide her own embarrassment. "Yes!" She squeaked. "Just hurry and come home tomorrow!"

"I will! Please wait for me!" He declared. "Goodnight, Uraraka. I'll see you when I get home tomorrow."

She nodded, even though he couldn't see. "Goodnight, Deku-kun." She hung up the phone and collapsed onto the floor in disbelief. Her heart was racing too fast for a proper night's sleep and her mind was in a tizzy too steep for rest, but she took solace in the fact that Deku was probably feeling the same way as well.

A/N: Okay phew I'm calling it quits here! This chapter was enormous but I just couldn't stop! I have such a weakness for these two nerds being all awkward and shy around each other so I couldn't resist Deku going into mumble mode when he finally got around to asking out Ochako! Anyway, next chapter is all about Bakugo!