Chapter Three: Patrol (Silent Night)

There were a few constants in the lives of heroes that rarely changed. Amongst those constants was the guarantee that they would be needed somewhere at some point during their patrols.

Tonight was apparently the exceedingly rare exception.

"There aren't even any calls on the radio frequencies!" Ochako exclaimed in disbelief as she and Izuku patrolled the streets. They had even gone to the outer reaches of their normal routes to see if anything needed doing, but there was literally nothing.

"Even crime needs a night off, I guess," Izuku shrugged helplessly.

"How long until we can get our jurisdiction extended, again?" She half-asked, half-whined.

"We just got it extended, Ochako," he told her with some amusement. "Gotta wait another six months and make sure our reports are up to par."

"They're up to par."

"Still gotta wait. Emergency calls only."

"Ughhhh," she pouted, crossing her arms in annoyance.

Izuku spotted a little shop across the street that was still open and nudged her. "How about we get some ice cream?"

"We're still on patrol, Deku," she told him sternly.

Her stomach growled in denial. Ochako ignored the way her cheeks heated up in favor of glaring at the smug grin on her partner's face. "Don't make me suplex you."

"Keep an ear out, I'll be back in a second."

"Deku!" She protested as he darted across the empty street to reach the store. She huffed in disbelief and took to re-checking her utility belt to ensure she had everything in place. Just because her boyfriend of one year was goofing off at work didn't mean she had to be an irresponsible adult.

"I'm back!"

She looked up to see Deku beaming, offering her a cup of chocolate ice cream with rainbow colored sprinkles. Her mouth watered at the sight of the treat.

She caved.

"If a villain attacks in the next ten minutes, you're sleeping on the couch tonight."

Izuku laughed and passed the ice cream to her before leaning over to plant a sweet kiss on her cheek. "I love you, too."

As it so happened, no villains attacked in the ten minutes that followed. In fact, no villains attacked for the rest of the night.

They made such good time getting back to their office to change out of their costumes, that when they returned home they had an hour to themselves they normally never had available.

Being the sappy goody two-shoes he was, and being in an especially good mood considering that there had been no incidents throughout their patrol that night, Izuku decided the occasion called for a little romance.

Ochako had just gotten changed into her pajamas and left their room when she heard some soft, gentle music playing from the kitchen. Lifting an eyebrow in curiosity, she followed the sound to find Izuku waiting for her in his own pajamas (a plain white t-shirt and a pair of long, dark pants). She glanced from his phone, playing music off of a simple speaker they owned, and back to him as he smiled with a little nervousness and offered her his hand.

"Shall we dance?"

She snorted on reflex and slapped a hand over her mouth. "You dork!"

His face reddened, but he kept smiling at her so shyly that she couldn't say no. Not that she would've said no in the first place.

Ochako happily accepted the proffered hand and let him pull her to him. Neither of them were particularly good at dancing, but slow, simple stuff was what they enjoyed, anyways.

She kept her hand clasped with Izuku's and rested the other on his chest, tucking her head under his chin as his free hand fell to hold the small of her back. Ochako closed her eyes as they gently swayed to the music and sighed when she felt him press his lips to the top of her head.

The tile was cool beneath their bare feet, but she barely noticed it for the warmth between them. She could feel his heart beating steadily beneath her palm, the rhythmic pulse anchoring her to the moment.

Even when the music stopped, they didn't stop dancing. Eventually, Ochako's hand slid up from his heart to Izuku's cheek as she pulled back slightly, and then she was rising up on the tips of her toes to kiss him languidly. He responded with the same, content laziness, the hand at her back pressing her body firmly to his.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips. "So much."

"I love you, too," he mumbled back, leaning his forehead against hers and holding her tight.

They stayed in their peaceful embrace for a long, long time, savoring the quiet of the night and the love they cherished together.

A/N: It's a day late, but here's day three! Day four should be close behind! Once again, in case anyone forgot, this series of one-shots all take place in the same universe!

Look forward to the next chapter, featuring the prompt "Broken Glass", coming soon!