Ochako had someone scheduled today, but he'd cancelled last minute, so she went downstairs to get the mail. On her way back, she runs into a familiar curly head of hair.

Deku stands outside of her landlord's door, exchanging a folded bill for a dime bag during a swift handshake with him.

Shinsou is actually the ward of her landlord, but he collects her rent, so she calls him her landlord. He's actually how she meets most of her clients. A lot of people who pay for drugs will also pay for sex with a stranger. There's a demand for fabricated pleasure and both Shinsou and Ochako are willing to supply that need.

She'd met Denki through him. He sells drugs for Shinsou, and he'd apparently given him her number because he thought Ochako needed more shitty clients. She's ready to chew him out for just handing her number out like that, but Shinsou turns around and shuts the door.

Deku greets her with a shallow bow of his head. "Uraraka," he says around a bashful smile, tucking the baggy into his hoodie pocket.

She smiles back. "Deku."

Deku is one of her least shitty clients. She'd kept running into him every now and then, until she finally introduced herself and invited him inside her apartment after he offered her a gummy. Sometimes she likes to buffer reality between clients so she took a cherry one.

It was kinda hard to follow since she was stoned, but he explained that he used to have insane potential in school, then burned out a year in and fell from grace. Now he's just trying to keep himself alive and "self-medicates" for his wellbeing. Ochako thinks he's just a junkie, but she's heard worse.

He pays well and doesn't treat her like shit. He's over-apologetic, mumbles all the time, and very clumsy. Every time they have sex, it feels like the first time. He may be a drug addict, but he has an air of innocence behind his droopy lids.

"Are you hungry?" he asks, shaking a bag of hot chips in the air.

Ochako shrugs so he follows her inside. She was lying when she told Denki all she had was water, but she wasn't about to offer him any of her iced green tea. Fuck that guy.

She pulls out the only glass she owns for Deku. Pours it up to the top and extends it to him.

"Thank you so much," he says, taking it out of her hand while she sips the rest of it from the bottle.

He asks how things are and she's comfortable enough to tell him that things are bad but could be worse. He listens to the disaster of a day she had with Denki and Bakugou.

"So after he literally almost runs me over just to check me out, he comes back a couple days later and asks if his friend can come. I say no and just try to get him out of there as fast as possible, right?"

"Right," Deku nods, staring at her lips around the neck of the bottle.

"Then this asshole knocks the hell out after he nuts, like out." she says, "And then his friend comes knocking on my door uninvited and now I've got two shitheads in my apartment."

"Oh shit."

"But get this, the crazy guy like, kicks the other one out and demands that I take a shower so he can fuck me."

"What the fuck?"

"Yeah," Ochako sighs. "I was like three seconds away from losing my mind. I told him he needed to leave and just like, sat in the shower for a couple hours."

"Wowwwww."

"Yeah," she repeats, rubbing her temples. "That was fucking horrible."

"Well, if you're looking to unwind," he rubs his neck. "I got something for that."

Ochako watches him pull out the dime bag and sweep it across the coffee table.

"What's this?" she asks.

"Molly," he mutters, "Y-you know, if you don't have to work tonight."

"Nope. The guy bailed." she explains, "Said his son's baseball game ended late so he had to reschedule."

"Oh," he says hollowly. He won't hold eye contact with her, so she stares at the baggy.

As she studies the tiny pills, she notices Deku only picks the ones with smiley faces stamped on them. She can imagine him sitting on Shinsou's floor, selecting his ecstasy tablets from the hearts and stars and skulls, as if ingesting smiley faces would make him happy.

"And... since you're not seeing anyone later," he mumbles, sliding a few bills towards her in a silent request.

Ochako scans the money. There's enough for sex.

She swallows her disappointment down. "Sure."

She won't pass up an opportunity to make money, but she was really looking forward to just sitting here and shooting the shit with him all night. She should've known. There are no friends in this business. Especially not with men.

She rises to close the blinds and lock the door. The sun's almost down. It's getting late.

Getting undressed is always a little uncomfortable, even with regulars. The dimming sunset helps, not because it puts her in the mood, it just makes things darker so she doesn't have to see anything. Her eye still catches the glint of the condom Deku pulls out of his wallet.

He gently grabs her wrist as she tugs down the waistband of his pants. She looks up at him.

He clears his throat. "You still wanna…?" he nods over at the ecstasy.

Ochako reaches for the baggy and pulls out a yellow tablet.

"I don't know," she starts, considering it. The pill is tiny, smaller than her bitten fingernail. How high could it get her?

Deku wouldn't take advantage of her, and he's already paid. Plus she's had a terrible week already and she could really use an upper.

He takes the pill from her grasp and bites off the colon eyes with his front teeth. She watches him swallow it down with the last of his green tea.

An eerie thought steeps into her mind as she takes off her bra. What if Deku wasn't actually disgusted by all the shit she just talked? What if he was honestly a bit aroused? Why else would he ask to fuck her immediately after telling him all that?

Ochako shakes the thoughts off as she tries to situate herself back on his lap. Deku tilts her head up and nudges her lips open with his fingers.

"It's just half." he murmurs, slipping the parenthetical mouth on her tongue. "Now pop this with me."