*)O(*
He was warm and comfortable, so much so that he wished he could ignore the need to go to the bathroom. He yawned, readying himself to wake up enough to move. His alarm hadn't gone off yet. If he hurried he might be able to go back to sleep. He went to roll to the side of his bed and he fell. A shriek of terror left him. Adrenaline flooded his veins. His stomach tried to leave his body. Even the shortest of falls are horrible if they are unexpected. He wasn't in his room. His hip hurt from taking the brunt of the impact. It was already well into the morning. Sunlight filled the common room. Fragments of knowledge filtered into his awareness. "Deku?"
"Izuku? Bakugou?"
He must have fallen asleep during the movie. It was the only solution he could come up with. Twin worried glances stared down at him from their superior positions still on the couch. "Hey, nerd, are you alive down there?"
"Y-yeah, just fell. Sorry for waking you." They'd already separated but it was clear Uraraka and Bakugou must have been in a similar position to what he, himself, must have been in moments ago. That meant he'd fallen asleep on Bakugou last night. It also meant that they'd all slept together last night. Heat swept his face and neck, scorching the tips of his ears as well. "Good morning." Uraraka yawned. "Good morning," he said quickly. He was already trying to bolt for the bathroom from his spot on the floor. He needed to be alone for a moment. "Morning, nerds. What do you want for breakfast? I'm starving."
Izuku stopped trying to flee as he hit the edge of the common room and Bakugou's words registered. Did... did Bakugou just ask him what he wanted for breakfast? Was he not getting yelled at for falling asleep? Was it even safe to respond?
"Eggs, please. You make good eggs." Uraraka suggested as she proceeded to stretch out across the couch. "Yeah," Izuku agreed. Even if the worrying question about how Uraraka knew that swam around the shaken corners of his mind, the grin on his face couldn't be stopped. "You're a great cook, Kacchan." The only reply was a grunt and Izuku made his escape. Everything about this morning was just so weird.
*)O(*
"Bakugou."
It sounded like a damn song the way she said his name. Replying wasn't an option, he would do it, now he just had to think of how. They were alone. No one else could hear him. It was early, he could blame anything he said on still being asleep. "What's up, Ochako?" Silence hung heavy. He was already mid process of cooking the eggs and refused to turn around to see the expression on her face. He knew her. If she didn't like him calling her by her first name she would say something. He was just waiting for that forced cough that heralded her polite reminder that he wasn't close enough to use that name. Instead he got a giggle. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
"Kacchan, I'm really hungry. Can you make me toast too?" He bit his tongue. He felt heat creeping up his neck. That damn nickname sent shivers up his spine. Why on earth would she use it, anyway? The only reason would be to get a rise out of him. "Kacchan, please?" She bemoaned pitifully from the couch. He was sure if he looked over he would see two giant brown eyes pleading at him. "Fine." He growled. "Two eggs on toast. If you want tea with breakfast you better get out here and start making it." He was greedy. He didn't mind. If he could use such a lame excuse to get her closer to him, he would.
*)O(*
This was a pleasantly unexpected out come. She'd steeled herself for a quip about calling him by the same nickname that Izuku used. Instead, she was invited into his space in the kitchen. She might not be a morning person, but this was cause for her to be in a great mood. She went to the kitchen and grabbed the kettle, moving around Bakugou. It was clear he'd spent plenty of time in a kitchen at home. He was used to moving around one. She admired that about him. Men who could cook were always sexy. She pointedly did not look at him while she had that thought. If she did she wouldn't be able to stop the blush that would surely spread across her face. She took her time, and making sure she made a show of pulling down three mugs from the cabinet. No protest came, so she noted that Bakugou also liked tea in the morning. He always struck her as a coffee person for some reason. "If you're just going to stand there, then hand me the plates." Bakugou's voice was severely detached of it's usual venom. Pondering the reason why, she did as she was asked. Perhaps _that_ was the reason, she wondered. Bakugou didn't often 'ask' for things. He stated what he wanted and he did what he had to, to get whatever it was. She couldn't remember him ever really asking for something. "That smells good!" Izuku's voice was a welcome distraction from the noise in her mind and the near silence of the kitchen. Bakugou wasn't very talkative for all his yelling. "Damn straight. Don't think you're eating for free, though. Ochako already started making the tea. Take these plates and set the table." There was her name again. A newly familiar shiver ran down her spine at the sound of it. "Oh, sure!" Izuku paused, cocking his head to the side before sliding in behind her and between Bakugou to grab the plates as Bakugou shoved the finished food on them. In the small kitchen it should have felt like it was crowded with three people in it. While she was very aware of just how close they were as they all moved about, she never felt cramped. This was nice. It felt cozy. "Thank you, Kacchan." Izuku spoke before digging in. "Yeah, thank you, Kacchan," she teased again before busying herself with the food as well. "Shut up, nerds. You better eat everything." Bakugou huffed and started eating. Izuku was looking between her and Bakugou, slice of toast half raised to his mouth. She couldn't really explain why she was doing what she was doing. Some corrupt part of her liked stealing that nickname to use for herself. She couldn't tell him how hearing her name come from Bakugou's lips sent shivers down her spine. Thoughts of Izuku calling her by her given name had the same effect. If she was already teasing Bakugou today then she might as well extend it to Izuku, too. Just to be fair, she hummed to herself.
"I won last night, you know?"
"Won? Won, what?" Izuku asked, finally remembering to eat. "You fell asleep first. It wasn't me this time." The pride in her voice was clear. It wasn't often she won at things verses these two. Honestly, it was damn near impossible. "You curled right up against Kacchan, so cute." Maybe a little bit of her jealousy was leaked into that one. Izuku started to sputter. Bakugou barked out a rare laugh. "You barely won. Besides, you did the same thing." Uraraka watched as the next sentence died in Bakugou's throat. Whatever he'd been ready to say, he'd swallowed it. She wanted to know, needed it. "Are you saying I'm cute, too, Kacchan?" Another retort died before it could be heard. Whatever it was that he had to say, it wasn't going to be gracing her ears today. He wasn't like Midoriya. She couldn't tease a solid answer out of him. Teasing a reaction, however, seemed to be a bit different. Pink tinged the blonds cheeks so faintly she wondered if she was imagining the blush. "You're always cute, Ochako." The soft voice almost spooked her. There was no worry of imagining this blush. Tomato red from his neck to the tips of his ears, Izuku tried to hide behind his pile of curls as he ducked his head to take another bite of his toast. Hope jabbed at her heart so hard it silenced her. "Right, Kacchan?" Izuku asked Bakugou, clearly looking for back up. "You two are only cute when you're asleep." The bite was back and there was a hint of venom in it. The whiplash of it all sent her spiraling back down to earth. What was she doing? She was almost clearly flirting with Bakugou in front of Midoriya. She knew how Midoriya felt about him. She knew that Bakugou felt the same thing for Midoriya. This was wrong. She was overstepping. She needed to back away if she wanted to be allowed to stay within reach. Guilt and shame were two heavy stones in her stomach as she cleared her plate as quickly as she could. She wasn't even hungry anymore, but Bakugou cooked this for her and she would finish it. "Slow down, the hell are you rushing for, Ochako?" The sound of her name sent needles through her heart now. It was so wrong of her. Was she really so greedy? "Sorry, but I still have to do some training today." She excused herself. Solitude and loneliness awaited her in her room and she needed them right now.
She didn't look back to see the similar looks she was given by the two boys.