Izuku couldn't sleep. He was exhausted, utterly so. Emotionally, physically, and mentally, he was drained, but he couldn't get a wink. It was like his insecurities and fears, no matter how far he might have come, were haunting him. He tossed and turned, presided over by countless effigies of his mentor and childhood hero, All Might. Finally, unable to take his insomnia lying down, he figured he would try something differen.t He crept quietly down to the lounge. Maybe there was a movie or something he could watch on tv. Something to distract him from the death of Nighteye, his failure to become a proper successor to All Might as far as he was concerned, Eri still being a captive of Chisaki despite physically being free of his grasp, and the loss of Togata-senpai's powers.

He knew deep down he needed to stop blaming himself for things and to stop viewing himself as being unworthy. He certainly had come a long way. And yet, he felt stunted and unworthy. He sat on the couch with a thud and reached for the remote in the dark. He was in a daze but unable to pull the trigger on falling asleep. He grasped something, but it felt softer and smoother than the remote. It was the wrong shape, and it was warm. Whatever he grabbed twitched in recognition as well. His eyes shot open as he slowly turned his head to look in its direction. There, in the darkness was another person, recognizable horns sticking out in what little light was available. He never noticed her coming down, but apparently, Mina had the same idea as he did. They looked at each other, as well as they could in the darkened room, unable to see one another blush.

"A-ashido?" he squinted in the darkness.

"Hi, Midori…" she yawned slightly.

"What are you doing here?" Izuku asked quietly, as to not wake anyone up.

"Couldn't sleep. I take it you couldn't either?"

Izuku pulled his hand away and let Mina have the remote, her hand bringing the screen to life with the press of a button. Suddenly, they could see each other more clearly.

Izuku had to thank Mina in a weird way. He was now more focused on how warm her hand felt and how smooth it was. It flustered him and reduced him to a blushing mess that was thankfully not fully visible in the darkened room, even under the glow of the television. More importantly, he was distracted from his thoughts of failure and not having grown enough. Upon reminding himself of those thoughts, however, they soon flooded back.

"Anything you feel like watching, Midori?" the pink girl asked softly, still finding a way to inject her trademark energy. She noticed under the dim glow that Izuku seemed in a bit of a trance. "Fine with this, eh? Guess you're not picky, eh? Would have expected you would prefer something with All Might." She giggled."

"I…Oh, I'm fine. Sorry."

"Could have fooled me. … Anything in particular keeping you up, dude?"

"Me? Nothing…It's fine." He might have been able to keep the secret of One for All, but he wasn't a very good liar. Mina could easily pick up on that. She had a good people sense.

"Uh-huh. Sure. If you say so." The acid girl was unconvinced. She pressed the mute button and looked at him. "What's up?"

"I mean, I know we don't know each other well, so you don't have to open up if you don't want, but it might help you get to sleep. Getting that stuff off your chest."

Izuku looked away. He knew she was right, and yet his brain kept fighting him. Years of conditioning from his peers had trapped him in this rut and now he had to purge but couldn't. He sighed and took a deep breath.

"I…you ever feel like you have a lot on your shoulders that you don't feel worthy of carrying?"

Mina looked at him and turned her entire body to face him. "Here I was thinking it was a girl you liked." She shot a light smile before her face switched to one of concern and understanding. "Well, for starters, I have bad grades despite getting into a top school, surrounded by awesome people! It can be overwhelming…. I know a guy who feels like he wasn't good enough. Like he still has a way to go before he can prove himself. I mean, I talk to him sometimes, but I'm not particularly close to the guy. Still, I hope he learns that he's better than he thinks he is. "

Mina paused and let Izuku drink in the information. He pondered over several things, the two main ones being if she was referring to Kirishima and if she was going anywhere with this.

"I guess my point is, you're kind of the same as Kirishima in that regard, but way worse, I guess? Like dude, you survived the league of villains, the hero killer, the freaking Yakuza and don't break your ones as much as you used to. I mean, I guess you still do if you end up in the hospital like that still. You should chill with that…. but…I kind of…" it was her turn to blush. "I admire that, Midori. You're this awkward dork who can't dance or talk to girls, but at the same time, you're smart, friendly, brave and kind. You're going to be the best hero."

It wasn't a lot. By all accounts, it wasn't enough to shake him completely out of things, but it helped. Izuku smiled softly and rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

"Thanks, Ashido."

"I know I'm not the brightest in our class, but someone once offered me some advice. Midoriya, let's do our best." She grinned. Izuku thought back to the lead up towards the year one finals, when he offered those words to Mina and Kaminari. To see that not only had her failure in the practical exams stuck with her, but those small words of encouragement he had thought were swallowed up by Yaoyorozu's offer of tutoring, it had brought a smile to his face.

"I…I can't believe those words stuck with you. They didn't seem that special."

"I mean, neither did you when I first saw you. No offense, dude. Still, look how wrong I was. You're freaking incredible!" she grinned, then looked away bashfully for a second before locking eyes with him again. "Sooooo, want to watch tv with me? It might help."

He blushed, but he was too tired, yet relieved to get overly flustered. He nodded and smiled. "Sure. I'd like that. Thanks, Ashido."

Her expression became more cheerful as she unmuted the tv. "Tell me when you want me to stop surfing, alright?"

Izuku nodded at her and laid back in his seat. "Ok."

"Hey, Ashido?" he asked after a few minutes of silence and thought. "Why are you awake?"

She shrugged and continued scrolling through the channels. "Grades. Nightmares. Some person I like …" she blushed deeply upon realizing the last thing she said. "I-ignore that last one."

Izuku blinked. "O-oh. Well, um. I'm not that good with that sort of thing…I hope whoever they are, they realize what a nice person you are. I think you'll make a great hero as well."

Of course the boy she had developed a bit of a crush on would not only be clueless, but also tie it into heroes. "Thanks, Midori." She sighed and smiled bashfully.

"O-of course. You helped me. You're incredibly friendly, and fun… um, and you have such a powerful quirk. Ranged attacks can be very useful. You're also very athletic, which means you can be really evasive in combat and avoid obstacles if you have to during rescue missions. Also, your bright personality can put people at ease and help them feel better in high risk situations. It's almost like All Might. How you can just smile and make people feel better."

Mina couldn't get over this dorky fanboy and his rambling. It was weird, eccentric, and adorable. She ended up blushing slightly at his compliments, even if he found a way to tie All Might into it. She was more entertained right now than if they were watching TV.

"You're a huge dork. You know that right?" she raised an eyebrow before offering a genuine smile. "Thanks, dude. That…it means a lot." She blushed a light lilac before returning to the television.

"Any time, Ashido. I hope whoever you like likes you back." He blushes and smiles back. "Should we watch TV now?"

"O-oh. Woops! Ha ha. Yeah." She blushed and smiled and surfed through the channels. The two laughed and sampled everything until they found a documentary on the second generation of heroics. It was interesting enough for both of them, as they were both hero fans and students and Mina loved retro stuff. However, half an hour into it, they ended up both falling asleep.

In the morning, Kirishima came down to grab some coffee and make some bacon. His favorite breakfast was a cup of coffee, a big plate of bacon, and a bowl of cereal. When he passed the couch, he paused and shook his head before heading into the kitchen.

Mina and Izuku were curled up together on the couch, the pink girl resting her head against the freckled boy as she drooled slightly on his shirt. His arm was draped over her shoulder and his head was on top of hers. Kirishima made a mental note to question them about it later, but for now, he left the two sleeping beauties to enjoy their slumber and teal with the aftermath when they awaken.