Kind of a big chapter? Well, there's a slight turning point for Deku's character here that I think a lot of ya'll will love. This was such a nice chapter to write - I promise the next one wont take as long as this one did. Hope you all enjoy!

The room was darker than usual, it was late - around 10:00 at night, and the bright light that liked to shine in through the windows was long gone. A twilight purple filled half of the room, the other half filled with near complete darkness. Principle Nezu sat in a cascade of that darkness, while Toshinori stood in the purple, silently praying that his next actions would work out. Chances are they wouldn't.

"I have a favor to ask." Toshi explained, standing firmly in front of the oak-wood desk. His shoulders tended slightly at the eerie silence that followed his words.

You see, he had a plan. And for it to work, Nezu needed to be in on it. Changing direct school files was not in his directory, there was an entire branch of staff at U.A. who's sole purpose was to organize every piece of information that was needed. But he needed to change the files, to remove young Uraraka and Bakugo's name from the Class 1-A logs. Or to at the very least make it so the Public Safety Committee wouldn't be alarmed at two more students suddenly missing. Just as he had protected Midoriya a day earlier, his other two prized students would be next.

Nezu was aware of One for All. Well, he knows of the passing down of a quirk from generation to generation. It's been like that for a while, ever since he joined U.A. as a teacher. He had let him know of his scouting of a successor - of course it was the original reason he had come to U.A. He is not as in on the secret as others - but he knew of its existence, and that young Midoriya was the student he picked to continue its legacy.

With that knowledge, and Nezu's apparent hatred of the Committee - he was able to convince him to make it seem like Midoriya dropped out. With his performance at the sports festival, it wasn't hard to convince the committee that the kid simply could not continue with a quirk as self endangering as his. There was plenty of other risks that would need to be handled - such as the hero agencies that had taken Deku and public appearances since the hero festival. Thankfully the principle was able to pull some strings, with his incredibly IQ it wasn't hard. Nezu understood that if the secret got out, it would put the child in danger. Which was Nezu's top priority, keeping the children out of harm. He just hoped that his priority could carry over to his other two cherished students.

"A favor huh? Do tell Toshinori." Nezu responded, picking up his cup of tea and sipping it lightly. The noise of the steaming liquid sloshing in the small cup was impossible to ignore - almost as if it was intentional.

Taking a deep breath, he started to explain, "Just like Midoriya, if Ochako Uraraka and Katsuki Bakugo of class 1-A are questioned, the secret of one for all will be revealed."

Watching carefully, he saw how Nezu paused for a slight second. Almost as if he choked on his tea. Just as soon however, he placed the cup down and cleared his throat. "You mean to tell me that two more students know of the secret? Since when?"

The harsh bite at the end of each word was unsettling to Toshinori. Nevertheless, he expected it - and he was fully prepared to respond appropriately. "They have known for a while, but that's not the point here. They need to be ensured just like Midoriya if this secret is going to stay a secret. These children will be put in danger Nezu."

"You know Toshinori, you're a great teacher. You really care for your students - but thinking these things through is very important and you seemed to have completely disregarded that," Nezu stood from his desk and walked over to the lighter half of the room - he stared out the window, "Did you not take into consideration Bakugo won the sports festival? Or that Uraraka was one of the most looked at students during duels? We got away with Midoriya because of his quirks self harmful nature but those two can't simply just disappear."

He had a point. A good one at that, but Toshinori was prepared for this. It's not like he hadn't thought of these things prior. "I know and I understand. But I have a way we can get around that."

"Well please, do tell." Nezu quickly responded - his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Their already not big concerns to the committee. Bakugo was quite literally kidnapped by the league of villains, so he has no plausibility of being the traitor. Uraraka on the hand is a bit different - she was attacked by Toga in the hospital a few weeks ago, meaning the committee would usually be on high alert with her. Given the chance that she could be a fake, they would check her first thing. But here's where Aizawa comes into play."

"Aizawa? What does Eraser-head have to do with this?" Nezu asked patiently. Watching his gaze, it was almost as if he knew exactly where Toshinori was going with this. It wouldn't surprise him, Nezu's thinking ability is near unparalleled. He might have already devised a plan for this entire situation.

"We have Aizawa get in on the plan. His word will go far with the committee as he already worked with them before. He is also their home room teacher, and if we can set up a lie where both students are accounted for by Aizawa and just happen to not be on the premises during the lock-down - it's possible to get away with it."

Of course, Nezu had a similar thought, his plan was much more laid out however. Thankfully the abnormally smart animal had agreed to help Toshinori out. And so, over the next hour, himself and Nezu finalized their plans. Luckily, the principles hatred for the committee meddling in school business and accusing his students of treachery, even after he himself concluded there was no traitor - was enough to score his help with sneaking the kids out. And once they called Aizawa into the office, Toshinori knew that it was going to work out.

He had spoken to Aizawa on multiple occasions, and not once before had he seen the man show notable worry. But once they had explained the plans - even after leaving out the context of one for all - Aizawa showed that fear for his students and accepted. Only leaving a few words behind before going back to his room in the teacher's dormitory.

"Take care of my students."

Toshinori promised Aizawa that he would. Not only that, but he promised himself that he would. He might not be "All Might, the number one hero" anymore. But he was still Toshinori Yagi - and that meant something to the world. That meant something to the school. And that meant something to Izuku Midoriya.

He would do everything in his power to ensure the safety of the future. The future of One for All. The future of U.A. But most importantly - The future that laid in the hands of young Bakugo, young Uraraka, and young Midoriya.

The chill of night was finally creeping up to him. Even with Heights Alliance's temperature control, the fall weather made the air sit a few degrees short of comfort. His fingers unconsciously fidgeted to keep from getting tight from the chill. And his breath became slightly faster as his mind played tricks on him.

"Come on Izuku! You can do this!" The student whispered, pacing back and forth in front of a very familiar dorm room. Who's dorm you may ask? Well, non other than the one and only Ochako Uraraka. Izuku, of course, had just experienced a lengthy conversation with Kaminari, all starting with a giant bomb being dropped onto his head larger then the crater made by Overhaul back at the Yakuza hideout.

Kaminari and Jiro, were dating!

As far as he knew, they were the only couple of the entire class. And Kaminari somehow entrusted him with that information. Part of him wasn't sure that he would trust himself with that kind of info - but he guessed the knowledge of his "plans to date" Uraraka was enough. As Kaminari outed him and Jiro just like that.

Not that he blamed Kaminari or anything - but that information was not what he needed right now. Not only was he supposed to be planning something with Uraraka, but he had to juggle his own feelings on top of that. And now he had the added awkwardness of being the only person who knows this secret out of the entire class. "And of course it's a secret about a relationship, the perfect topic for his dilemma."

The more the day went on, the more and more it seemed like the perfect storm was brewing. The perfect storm that would end with him shutting down all of his major bodily functions and just wiping out completely. Still though, even with the added stress, it was quite the surprise to find out that they were dating, and apparently had been for a while. Such a surprise in fact, his reaction to the piece of information was even more startling.

"WHAT!? YOU AND JIRO ARE DATING!?"

"MIDORIYA! CALM DOWN! SHE CAN PROBABLY HEAR US!"

...Ya - he was more than a little shocked to find out two of his classmates were secretly dating. He was even more shocked at how well they hid it. There were a few "obvious" pairs in the class, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu being the most evident. He still remembered the truth or dare session where Todoroki essentially confessed that he found Yaoyorozu the prettiest. (Not that Izuku would disagree per say ...he just found another girl to be more beautiful)

But he hadn't suspected Jiro and Kaminari at all. Sure, there was the obvious connection - being their electrical style quirks and all. Jiro controlled sound waves and had literal audio jacks hanging from her ears - while Kaminari controlled electricity. Thinking on it now from a different perspective - it was a very clear connection. But Izuku never payed enough attention to the two, at least not to their actual friendship, to ever even assume that they were close like that.

Yet they were, Kaminari had detailed plenty of the two's "close calls" in their talk. He explained how they snuck off on small dates, and how they didn't let it get in the way of their hero training. That part in particular stuck with him, for reasons he didn't really know. But besides that, Kaminari insisted on giving him advice on how to ask out Uraraka. He remembered the story Kaminari had given on how he had asked Jiro out. Normally, Izuku would be hiding in his room completely embarrassed. But of course, his dumb mouth didn't shut - and he had told Kaminari that he was going to "do it" tonight on a whim. "Do it" of course meaning he was going to ask her out. That was quite possibly the worst mistake of his life.

Actually, his worst mistake was probably texting Uraraka that they "had to come up with a plan ASAP." Because of course she told him to come to her room right then. Of course.

He stopped his pacing and took a deep breath, everything was perfectly fine. He was going to have to talk to Uraraka at some point that night anyway - might as well get it over with right then. The only problem was that he was going to have to somehow explain to Uraraka that he told Kaminari he liked her...

Suddenly, Izuku felt like actually asking her out at this point was easier.

Kaminari had told him some pointers, "Be courteous, get her something she likes, and drive home the fact that you want to go with her, and not anyone else." He had said. Sound advice, he guessed, coming from a guy with a girlfriend it must be. At least, that's how a logical person would take that information. Right?

It sounded like decent advice to him, but really, that wasn't very assuring. He was more than inexperienced when it came to anything that had to do with the female gender. Whenever something remotely embarrassing happened before, his body would sorta take over for him - and the result would be a stuttering mess.

Taking another deep breath, he decided that going into her room the way he was now would be counterproductive. Conflicted, a little bit nervous, going in right now would only stall their actual goal of formulating a plan.

His mind began to linger on possible ways to get around these feelings. Finally, it landed on one. Maybe he could jokingly...actually...ask her to the dance. She would get a good laugh, and all the tension would be gone. An ice breaker, definitely a good plan. (Nothing that could potentially be taken the wrong way or anything)

Whipping out his phone, Izuku began to text Uraraka that he had to do something and that he would be there in a few minutes. She promptly responded, saying it was fine. That taken care of, he began to plan his "ice breaker"

He aimlessly walked down the hall thinking about the previously given advice. "Be courteous." He could give her a little bow when she answered the door or something. It may be a bit too chivalrous, it's not like he's her knight or anything. But going with the joking nature of this gesture - he was sure it would get a laugh.

Next up was, "Give her something she likes." Now that one might be tough. He didn't exactly have a lot of time to go shopping. Even if he did, anything he thought was something worthy of her would probably be deemed too expensive. She would be mad he spent money on her regardless of the price so that may be off the table.

He stopped walking once he reached the elevator doors, and glanced out the windows, down to the flower bed in the front of the building. "Flowers..." he wondered aloud. He did remember her saying she always thought the flowers in the front of the building were pretty. Flowers could be a nice gift, a bit cliche but still...

He felt heat suddenly rise to his cheeks at the thought of giving Uraraka flowers. But, then he remembered that this whole thing was just an ice breaker, something to get her smiling, and to relieve the tension of the nature of the conversation.

He smiled warmly. Making Uraraka smile was something he should always be doing. As her best friend, it's his job to help her feel happiness when she's down. The past day definitely left her feeling less than happy. If he had to go through what she had gone through, he was certain his mood would be anything but happy. Maybe this small gesture could help cheer her up. And even if it didn't, she might be able to laugh at his weak attempt of making a joke.

Activating One for All, he zoomed down the stairwell of the dormitories, and flew outside the main doors. Just as fast he left, he returned with a handful of white flowers, freshly picked. He smiled as he looked down at the bouquet, he was sure she would like them. Sure, they weren't the best flowers. If he had the luxury of choosing, he would probably get something with more color, maybe roses or something similar. But he didn't have that luxury, and that made these flowers absolutely fine. Knowing Uraraka, he could get her a bunch of wilted black flowers and she would still be thankful. She was just that type of person.

A minute of walking and thinking later, and he was up by her door preparing to knock. Right before he did however - he thought of the final piece of advice. "Drive home that you want to go with her, not anyone else." Well, he could just say that. Maybe a little practice would help.

"I really want to go with you Uraraka!" No, no, no..."I want to go with you! No one else!" Definitely not.

After playing around with a few more examples, he finally landed on one that he thought was decent. He took a deep breath and brought his hand up to knock on the door - but he froze. Hand in mid-knocking motion, other hand full of flowers, he froze.

'Am I scared?'

Yes. A little embarrassed as well, but mostly scared. Scared that their friendship wasn't in a place right now to be making "jokes" like this. That she would take it the wrong way. That she wouldn't get that he was joking, and think he was just being a weird asshole. Maybe now wasn't the time to joke about this.

Earlier that day, he had essentially cornered her with All Might about being a traitor - even though she had said she understood, a part of him didn't know if she truly did. If he was in her position, he would be completely messed up from that. But the thing is, Uraraka isn't him. She's stronger than him, braver!

From an outside perspective, it looked a hell of a lot like they didn't trust her. It was ten times worse that they didn't give the same treatment to Kacchan. Of course, they explained all of this to her...but still. If he was in that situation - there's no telling what sort of conclusion he would come to. He would probably assume the worst!

But once again he remembered that she was not him.

Like a wave of energy, Kacchan's previous words flooded his mind. "The two of you probably think a lot alike."

The breaths came faster and faster, and before he knew it, he could feel his chest getting tighter. He could hear his mind telling him to breath, so he did. He breathed, in, and out, slowly. In, and out, he breathed with his heart beat as a marker. As he calmed down, his mind searched for more answers. Suddenly, Kacchan's other words came to him.

They were best friends for a reason.

Uraraka wouldn't lie to him and say she understood when she really didn't. He knew that. Of course this type of thing wasn't too far. They were best friends! It would just be a small joke. All he had to do was talk to her. Talk to Uraraka, his best friend - the person he could share everything with. Ya...

Knock*

Knock*

Knock*

Within a few seconds, the door swung open to reveal the perky, bubbly girl he had come to love.

"Hey Deku!" He heard her say. He almost didn't realize he wasn't even looking at her before he looked up. Escaping the gravitational pull of the floor that seemed to pull at his eyes.

There she was, clad in light green PJs, smiling brightly. Her hair flowing loosely over her shoulders, the glimmer in her eyes dancing ever so slightly with the light emitting from her lamp. The warming yellow from said light source glowed behind her like a small, envious sun that had made its way into her dorm.

Before he could lose himself, he let his gaze succumb to the floor's gravity, afraid of the trance in front of him. It was a shock, he hadn't expected her to be so captivating. She always was before, but now was, different. Her smile, her eyes that closed along with it - it gave him a boost of energy. A boost of...confidence.

And there he stood. In shorts, and a light colored t-shirt that said "Dress Shirt" on it. Bowing like a prince. Holding out a messy bouquet of white flowers, and confidently announcing, "Uraraka, it would be an honor if you would accompany me to the National Hero Ball. I wouldn't want to go with anyone else."

...

A silence fell between the two - and amidst that silence he felt his mind hide behind memories. He remembered when he used to talk to his mother - back when he lived with her. He never really had friends. Asides from Kacchan when he was really young, and the couple of kids that they hung out with, he never fit in with anyone. Well, it wasn't really that. The kids never wanted him to fit in.

Every time he wanted to have a conversation, include himself with the other kids, try to be apart of things - they actively tried to get him to stop. After the first week in middle school, he stopped trying altogether. It felt redundant. He felt like, if they didn't want his company, then why should he want theirs?

...

...He wanted their company so badly.

But he didn't have it. And he knows why they didn't want him around but...

...sometimes he didn't want to worry his mom, always being home alone. He was sure she would think he didn't have any friends. So he used to go to the park by their house and just sit there. For hours. Just...sit there and write about heroes in his journal. He would research them on his phone or lab top, and keep himself busy.

Anyways, he talked to his mom a lot. He usually stayed in the park but she seemed to never mind him being home. Or, he always thought she knew deep down where he went when he wasn't home, and she was just worried for him.

She would tell him stuff about her own childhood. How, before she met his father, she would always help her own father with his hobby. Writing. He remembers how she told him her father would write things and she would read them aloud. Almost like speeches. And one thing that stuck with her was the same thing he always told her, "Make sure when you say it, say it like you mean it."

"Say it like you mean it."

He's kept on to that quote for a while. He never really thought about it. Or...actively tried to follow its advice. It was just something he kept in the back of his head. He always thought it was a good sentiment, although not always applicable, it was something that he found very, nice? That word was probably not the best way to describe it - but he knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of loneliness. The idea of "saying it like you meant it" was a little estranged, but he liked to think it also meant, "say what you truly mean."

Right then, as he, "asked Uraraka out to the dance," he said it like he meant it.

Because he did.

Years...years...where he had nobody but his mother. Not a single kid at school would treat him like he had any value. Then, the first time he walked into U.A. - there she was. She caught him from falling, showed him kindness. The first person who shown interest in him as a human being. It was almost unbelievable how nice a person could be...but it was her who was there. And not only was she there for him, she stuck around! She didn't leave him like everyone else had done beforehand.

That's why he meant it when he said it. He wouldn't want to go with anyone else because to him there was no one else. It was only her.

He would start saying what's on his mind more often from then on. She meant too much to him, he wouldn't hide behind his embarrassment. He would say what he wanted to, and he would say

...

He must have been thinking to himself for half a minute now - but the silence he had ran from was still there. The silence that followed his declaration was still there, and it was unbearable. He couldn't take it, she was supposed to be laughing, calling him a dork, reacting in any way! Why wasn't she reacting?!

Not able to take the suspense, his head raised ever so slightly. His eyes naturally followed, only to find Uraraka standing perfectly still. Her mouth was, slightly ajar - and her eyes looked like they had seen the most beautiful cluster of stars. They twinkled, as if, reflecting whatever captured her gaze. They shined. Brighter than he had ever seen them before.

He felt as if his own eyes were glossing over as he looked at her. Taking in her beauty, almost as if he had never truly seen her before. Of course, he had seen her but, this was different. He had never gotten the chance to really look at her. It was clear, she was truly gorgeous.

But it's not like Izuku didn't already know that.

As the two stood frozen in their interlocked gaze, it was apparent that neither of them were going to move. As if the two were waiting for each other to do something, move something, say something.

But before that happened, Izuku noticed small beads of tears pooling in her eyes. "Uraraka? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, breaking the spell that seemed to hold them in place. He moved forward ever so slightly but was stopped when suddenly she smiled brighter than her eyes. One of her hands came up to frantically wipe away the tears. As they were wiped, more took their place, making the action almost redundant. Her cheeks were a warm shade of red, tears fell down her face, and somehow - her smile became even brighter.

"D-Deku..." she stammered happily through the tears, sniffing before lunging forward and encapsulating him in a hug.

Shocked was, not a strong enough word to describe his reaction. He had no idea that this would be what she did in response to his little "joke." It was the complete opposite of what he had predicted. But still...as soon as her arms locked around his back. He did the same, embracing her just as tightly, smiling dumbly at the sheer absurdity of the situation. He didn't understand what she was crying about, or why she was so happy that he had asked her to the ball like a knight from England. But apart of him didn't care. His own confusion only added to the warm feeling that hugging her gave him - and it felt nice, it felt really nice.

After a few seconds of their embrace, he heard a small, genuinely happy chuckle escape Uraraka's lips. That chuckle turned into a small fit of laughter - and as she shook with joy in his arms, he followed suit, breaking out into laughter as well. In the midst of their laughter, Izuku got an idea. He had just told himself he was going to say what was on his mind more often, and he would.

"So, I didn't get an answer...?"

Gaining a few more chuckles from that line, he watched as Uraraka backed away and curtsied in front of him. "It would be my pleasure to accompany you to the National Hero Ball."

Her curtsy, mixed with her posh accent, caused the two to erupt in laughter once more.

As they came down from their laughter high, they both stared at each other - almost knowingly. "Um, these are for you, if you want them. I kinda just picked them from the front, but I thought they were nice. It might be a little stupid and I don't even know if you have something to hold flowers in but I thoughtthatifIwasgonnaaskyoutothedanceitwouldbeappropriatetogivethemtoyou." Izuku rambled, presenting the small bouquet to her.

He shut himself up as he noticed the goofy smile she gave him. Okay, maybe he wasn't fully used to the idea of saying what was on his mind like he meant it. He had been muttering again, something that was usually met with weird glances and sighs of exhaustion. But...she had just smiled at it.

As she looked at the flowers, he noticed how her smile reflected her eyes. As they widened, it did as well. She quickly grabbed the bouquet from his hands, causing him to chuckle slightly. She turned around to run to her desk, looking around for a brief second before dumping out a small pencil cup. The small bouquet fit perfectly in the round container.

"They're beautiful Deku, thank you so much!"

He smiled at her kindness, before his face shifted tones slightly. "You are ok though, right?" He asked as his legs unconsciously walked closer to her, "You were just crying."

He noticed how she immediately brought a hand up to her face, almost covering it out of embarrassment, "Y-Yah, s...sorry about that. I guess it was just really s-sweet seeing you do something like that."

He could tell she was blushing, mostly because of his own blushing. Or at least the warmth radiating from his cheeks definitely made him think he was blushing. He could see her hand move slowly away from her face, showing that he was correct in his observation. But...suddenly her happy smile began to crack. It was slow at first, just a little dip in the corners. But when it became a wobbly frown, his senses went on red alert.

"It just...made my day. It's been pretty rough...so..." Before she could finish, another tear fell down her face. And another, and another, and before he knew it - he was running forward and cradling her as she cried. Her face contorted and strangled sobs escaped her mouth. Small attempts at saying "I'm sorry" broke through, her voice cracking with every syllable.

Just as quickly as she tried, Izuku had shut her down. His lips placed a long kiss on her temple as he pulled her closely to his chest, encapsulating her in a warm embrace. Whispering his own soft apologies he began to help her move to the bed. It was his fault that her day had been so stressful - she deserved an apology.

It took a minute for her to stop crying, but eventually when she did - he could feel her hug him more forcefully. "Deku, you don't have to apologize to me. I know you think everything is your fault, but it's not."

He could feel her hand glide across his body, from his back to his right arm. It stopped there, gripping his scarred bicep ever so slightly. He could see her face contort as she felt the torn skin. Immediately, he brought his own hand to the skin as well, silently showing her that he was fine. As his hand glided closer to hers, they connected - entangling their fingers and bringing them to rest between them. He stared at her hand holding his, almost wishing they could stay that way forever

Hearing her let out a breath, he brought his gaze up to her eyes. They looked worn, glossed from her previous tears - bits of red underneath them as well. Even though she had just said it wasn't his fault, he knew none of this would be happening if it weren't for him. He bit his lip, before speaking, "To be honest, I sometimes wish I wouldn't have brought you in on this secret. To see how much pain you've had to endure since learning of it..."

"Deku, you made it very clear the first time you told me, that this was going to be dangerous. And I'd rather have to go through years of pain and be apart of this, then to not be."

He could see her hesitate with her next words, so he took the chance to bud in, "I know that Uraraka. But I feel so selfish - I only told because..." he stopped for a second, feeling the warmth rise up to his cheeks, before continuing, "I wanted you to know. I wanted you to be apart of this. I, put you through all of this without even really thinking of how it would impact you and your own goals."

"Deku," Uraraka squeezed his hand tightly, "I want you to know, t-to me, you are like my biggest inspiration!"

"R-Really?"

"Really! Ever since the beginning of school, ever since I've watched you progress from barely being able to use your quirk, to being probably the strongest in our class! You are always trying to save people, no matter what. You have no idea how much you've pushed me. I, want to be like you!"

Somehow, the idea of himself being an inspiration for Uraraka did not click for Izuku. In fact, it didn't make much sense at all. "B-But, Uraraka how can I be an inspiration for you?! You are my inspiration!?"

"Deku stop trying to be all flattery."

"I'm serious! You have no idea how much you inspire me! All you do is constantly help me, you are always there for me - every breakdown I've had, every single thing you are always there to support me. Not only that, but you're an incredibly hard worker! You're always training and when you're not training you're studying! You are my inspiration!"

"Stop that Deku," Uraraka said, looking off to the side slightly, "You're just being nice. I'm not all that great."

Before he could even think of his actions, Izuku's hands grabbed her shoulders. He hadn't planned on doing this, but hearing her doubt herself was enough for him to make a split second decision. "You are that great Uraraka! It makes me so upset when you belittle yourself like that, you need to start giving yourself credit! You're an incredibly hard worker! You devote so much of your time just to help me and you put up with so much of my crazy life - yet you still find the time to constantly improve yourself! I wasn't lying before when I said I don't wanna go with anyone else. You're amazing!" Izuku half screamed.

Her eyes had widened in a flustered disarray, like it was taking a few seconds for her to register what he had just done. It was definitely taking a few seconds for him to register what he had just done. For when he finally came to, he quickly pulled away, almost surprised at his actions. He froze with his hands out in front of him like a deer in headlights.

"Deku..." Uraraka whispered.

Before she could finish he snapped back into reality, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to grab you like that I just-"

Out of nowhere Uraraka crashed into Izuku, cutting him off and encapsulating him in a air tight bear hug. He fell back on her bed with her arms squeezing him tightly, completely shell-shocked by her actions.

"You're so sweet Deku! IL-ouysondjemukh." Uraraka whispered into his chest, the last bit of her words being muffled by his clothing. The smile she wore was so wide it was noticeable to Izuku as it pressed against his t-shirt.

He smiled happily at her actions, his mind lingering on her muffled words for just a slight second - before his subconscious took over and his arms wrapped around her body as well. He squeezed her tightly, not letting the chance to hold her in his arms slip away.

It took a while, but eventually their small 'hug fest' had ended. and they got down to business. Business meaning coming up with a plan. The two sat shoulder to shoulder on her bed, their backs up against the corner wall, both looking at his phone. He was on an empty notepad waiting to type something in - before he remembered his conversation with Kaminari earlier in the night. "Oh! Right, uh Uraraka, I forgot to tell you something pretty important."

"What is it Deku?" Uraraka responded, leaning her head against his shoulder. He noticed for a split second but then focused back on the info he was about to share. It was much important then small gestures.

Glancing over to her and then back to his phone, he took a small breath and let his device drop into his lap. "Well, earlier I ran into Kaminari. And, I was thinking about how we needed to come up with a way to convince the whole class that we're going to the hero ball t-together, and I jumped at the opportunity."

She was quiet for a second, before her voice vibrated gently against his body, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I told Kaminari that I was planning on asking you to the dance. And he gave me a bunch of advice and probably thinks that I already asked you...since he told me to do it tonight." He finished, nearly flinching in preparation for her response. Not once had he consulted her about this decision and he might have crossed a line - so he awaited her words once more.

When she lifted her head off his shoulder he assumed that it was a bad sign, but her next words assured him.

"That's great Deku!"

Uraraka has thought it was amazing that he was able to come up with that on the fly. That was a big relief to Izuku, as not only did that mean she wasn't uncomfortable by his actions, but she even explained how much of a help that would be for their end goal.

Apparently, she had been thinking of their small problem all day. She found it hard to find a way to make sure everyone knew they were going together. Unless they had him ask her in front of the whole class, which admittedly was a rather big task for him, their plans were very limited. But Uraraka explained how they can use Kaminari and his, by quote, "big mouth," to spread the news.

So, with some more planning, that is what they did. First, Izuku texted Kaminari that his advice worked and that Uraraka said yes. Luckily the next part came extremely easy, as Kaminari quickly responded asking him to share the news with the boys in their group chat. It was a given for him to allow it - and so the boys of the class knew of their 'date' to the national hero ball.

The next part was also Uraraka's idea - as she decided that texting the girls of what had happened would be a good way to spread the news. She had opened up the girls group chat on her phone and sent a simple message.

Uraraka: Umm, I think Deku just asked me out...and I said yes!

That's where they where currently. Just waiting for the girls to respond, casually looking at Uraraka's phone in lieu of any response really. They were still comfortably leaning against each other, it was almost odd. Sure, over the past few months they had definitely gotten closer, and he has definitely grown past his crazy blushing phase. But he still found it oddly nice that they could sit this close, be this close without setting each other off.

Even with her brown hair scrunching up against his shoulder, her small breathes just missing his arm, and her eyes slightly narrowing out of comfort. He could just, be happy that she was here, instead of internally dying from embarrassment. - "It IS hard to fight the feeling of wanting to cuddle up next to her"

Finding the silence to be a bit boring, not to mention his own pining , he nudged her ever so slightly.

"Hm? What is it?" She answered in a low whisper. Her head turned slightly on his shoulder so her gaze was now on his face.

Keeping his eyes closed, he hummed an affirmative noise before speaking up once more. "You wanna know a secret Kaminari told me?"

He could feel her smirk against him as she quickly agreed. His eyes darted right, giving her a small side glance before he himself began to smirk. "I don't know, I'm really not supposed to tell anyone."

A chuckle escaped Uraraka's lips as she quickly sat up, turned to him, and gave him a look that screamed "are you serious right now." It was a hard fight not to break his facade, but once she began to pout he quickly lost the mask. A light chuckle escaped his lips as well, "Alright alright, but you seriously can't tell anyone."

"I won't! Now come on I'm curious." She quickly responded, leaning back on to her pillow.

"Ok...so Kaminari and Jiro...their dating."

Seeing her face shift from curiosity, to utter amazement was an incredible sight. So incredible he couldn't help but double back in laughter as she nearly screamed out, "WAIT WHAT!? ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

It was a while until their small laughter fest calmed down, but when it did he noticed the soft gaze that had landed on Uraraka's face. "You know, I'm really happy for them. They seem perfect for each other."

"Me too, from what Kaminari told me they are happy - and their keeping it a secret so they don't have to worry about everyone talking about them and what not. I was surprised because it turns out them keeping it a secret has made it easier for them to not let it take over their lives and their goals," he smiled and chuckled, "it's pretty wholesome if you ask me."

While he doesn't necessarily pride himself on his ability to read people's facial expressions, Izuku isn't bad at it. It's easy for him to notice when something he said particularly affected someone. And watching Uraraka's eyes widen slightly and look in astonishment as he talked about their secret relationship was something he just couldn't miss.

"R-Really? I would um...I would think a relationship right now would be distracting. You know, with the whole becoming heroes thing."

Oh. Suddenly, he found it easier to come up with a reason as to why she made that face. And he also found it easier to come up with a reason for the sudden wave of silence that fell between them. She was looking, right at him. Almost as if she expected him to end it.

"I used to think that too," he whispered as they continued to lock eyes, "But, it seems to really be working out with them."

"I-" Uraraka's words were cut off by a barrage of notifications popping up on her phone. This successfully snapped the two out of their staring contest and into a frenzied scramble for the phone. She got it first, to his displeasure, and he was forced to wait until she read the message out loud for showed them to him.

She began to scroll through the messages, and from the looks of it there were a lot. Enough to make Uraraka scroll a good three times to get through them all. Once she was at the end he could see a smile creep it's way on to her face. "Looks like all the girls know," she looked up towards him, "their all freaking out."

Her phone buzzed once more and it made her look down rather abruptly. Izuku was curious so he leaned over to see what it was, and before he could even read the message the phone dropped from her hands into her lap.

"W-What's wrong?" He asked, noticing her smiling fading and her eyes widening in an alarming manner.

She snapped her face up to him, "You need to leave!"

"W-Why? What's wrong?"

"It's some of the girls!" She quickly responded, getting up and looking around frantically, "they just said their coming!"

He could feel his eyes involuntarily widen as he followed her lead, "W-Wait! What!? Their coming!?"

"YES!"

Knock knock knock*

They both froze at that noise, and their mouths swung open. A frantic miming match started as they tried to think of a solution. "One sec!" She called out before whispering to him to hide somewhere.

And hide he did, as she went to stall for a few more seconds, he scanned the room quickly for any decently covered spots. He had little time to think and the only plausible spot he could find was underneath the bed. So, underneath the bed he went. It was tight, but enough for him to not suffocate so it would have to do. He could hear a few voices coming from the door before they started getting closer. And closer, and closer, and now...they were sitting on the bed.

As he began to pray to the gods that they wouldn't find him, he also began to realize something else. He could hear them all, not fully, some of it was fuzzy, but it was audible enough for him to just make out what they were saying. And of course, they were coming to her room for one reason and one reason only.

To talk about him

Uh oh...