Chapter Two: Massage (Recovery)

Izuku slowly led his partner into their apartment, concerned by the slight limp, but not especially worried. Ochako had been through worse, and the tired grin on her face told him she was feeling especially good despite her injuries.

"I probably should've carried you," he pointed out, despite the fact that they were back home now. He'd offered a few times on the way back, but she'd adamantly refused each time.

"I'm fine, Deku," she told him, pumping a fist proudly as they removed their shoes at the door. "The other guy got off way worse."

"I noticed. I think you suplexed him into next week," he said dryly. "He got a few good hits off on you, though. Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm just a little sore," Ochako assured him. "I'll take a shower, get some sleep, and I'll be totally fine."

"Don't forget about dinner," Izuku reminded his partner. "You go get cleaned up, I'll get started cooking. 'Kay?"

"'Kay," Ochako smiled up at him and pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek, then shuffled off to the bathroom. Izuku watched her go, worried she might fall without his support, but he knew his worries were for naught.

He made his way into the kitchen and got started on some katsudon for dinner. Five months had passed since they got their hero agency started by teaming up with Melissa, who had since moved to Japan and established a small Support Company. Both of their budding organizations were making steady progress, though it was slow going.

Who would've thought that building up your own company from the ground up would take time?

The collaboration with Melissa had been so they could help each other build themselves up. She needed more help than Mei did, that was for sure—their old friend from U.A was currently taking over another Support Company from the inside with her ridiculously tireless work. In fact, she was doing better than anybody else from their graduation class.

The new Hero Office was doing well. Business had been steady, and though their rankings hadn't climbed at all since they got started, they hadn't fallen, either. Izuku was confident that once they hit their stride, their new company would take off.

Their Office had to be at least a year old before they could start considering internships, which he was eager to get started on. Ochako was really excited for it as well, but their track record had to be practically flawless before the hero schools would allow them to take interns.

Izuku started to hum as the pork cutlets cooked, and he went about doing some extra work to prepare for their dinner. Ochako would be out soon; she preferred to conserve water and power as much as possible, a habit she'd picked up from growing up in a low-income household. Even though both she and her parents were better off now, it was a habit he was certain she'd never break.

Just another thing for him to admire about her.

Ochako leaned against the wall of the shower stall and groaned as hot water ran down her body, wincing as she moved her left leg up a little too high to scrub her body wash along the scrapes and bruises. Yeah, she'd had worse, but damn she was sore.

She was also pretty sure that she'd pulled a muscle in her thigh, that or she had a charlie-horse incoming. She really hoped not. Charlie-horses sucked.

As soon as she was certain she'd cleaned herself enough, (and enjoyed the water for as long as she could stand) she toweled off and got into her nightwear—a black tank-top and a pair of pink shorts.

She could already smell the katsudon her boyfriend was preparing and only just managed to keep herself from drooling. Despite how sore she was, she could never resist Izuku's cooking.

She scurried into the kitchen and smiled brightly as Izuku turned, clearly having heard her coming his way. "Almost done?"

"Yep," he confirmed. "Feeling better?"

"A little bit," she allowed. He raised an eyebrow at her and Ochako rolled her eyes slightly. "Okay, I'm kind of sore. It's not bad."

"Mmhm," he smirked, causing her to pout. "Let's eat. Then I'll take a look at your leg."

"Deku."

"Ochako."

He had that look on his face. That look that told her he wasn't going to take "no" for an answer. Of course, the shine of those green eyes and the lopsided smile that made her heart race had nothing to do with her caving.

"Fine," she huffed good-naturedly. "But food first."

"Of course," he said, grinning so widely that she smacked his arm. Izuku leaned over and kissed her cheek before she could get away with it, then retreated to their food before she could claim vengeance.

Her heart felt so full as she watched him finish their dinner.

Izuku lifted an eyebrow as Ochako, having finished eating, took her dishes to the sink and then smiled at him brightly on her way out of the room. "Welp, I'm off to bed! Night!"

"Ochako."

"Gotta sleep, Deku! We've got another full day ahead of us tomorrow!"

His eyelid twitched as she stared back at him, smiling innocently. Silence filled the room for several seconds.

"I will literally call your mother."

"I'm a grown woman! She can't tell me what to do!"

"And your dad."

"He can't tell me what to do, either!"

"And my mom."

"…you wouldn't."

"I'll call Tsu, too."

"Deku, it's just a pulled muscle!"

"I have Recovery Girl on my speed dial."

"Deku."

He held up his phone in the air between them, his thumb teasingly brushing over the unlock symbol. "I will do it. I will call every single one of them until you let someone look at your leg."

Ochako's cheek puffed up. "Meanie."

"Mmhm."

She sighed in exasperation. "Fine."

Izuku put away his phone, cleaned off his dishes, and then rejoined Ochako, taking her hand gently and leading her back to their room.

"Go ahead and lay down on your stomach," he told her, gesturing to the bed.

She did as she was told, crossing her arms under her chin and shifting until she was comfortable. She felt the bed dip as Izuku climbed up behind her, kneeling over her left leg. Ochako shivered slightly as his hands traced the pulled muscle, then winced as he applied gentle pressure to the injury.

He paused, feeling her tense. "That hurt?"

"It's just tender," she told him.

"Let me know if it hurts too much, ok?"

"Mmhm," she hummed back, tensing, then steadily relaxing as he began to carefully work the strained muscle.

A low, throaty sound escaped her when he applied a little pressure in just the right spot, sending waves of relief through ever neuron in her body. The tightness and pain was already starting to fade away.

"Feeling better yet?"

Dammit, there was no way his voice should be able to sound smug and concerned all at once. That had to be illegal. It did things to her that she was not okay with, not the least of which was setting her face aflame with color.

"Yeah," she mumbled, her voice small. His hands hit another point of the muscle that relieved a ton of pressure and she had to bite her lip to hold back the tiny groan that tried to escape her throat.

She let him take care of her for the next fifteen minutes, until Izuku was satisfied that he'd worked out as much of the tension in the pulled muscle as he could. "How's that?"

"So much better," she said, turning her head slightly to look at him over her shoulder. She looked ready to pass out. "Sleep."

He snorted in amusement. "Yeah."

Izuku got off the bed and moved to his dresser to get changed quickly, then rejoined her as Ochako crawled under the covers. As soon as he was beneath the sheets, she was holding him again, pressing sleepy kisses to his neck.

"Love you," she hummed.

"Love you too," he murmured, reaching down to take one of her hands and hold it as they both drifted off.

A/N: Day two is done! These are some of the shortest one-shots I've done, but a few of them will be a bit longer! Look forward to prompt three, Silent Night, coming out tomorrow! As ever, please review and thanks for reading!