AN: This starts out sounding normal then it goes downhill because, I mean, it's Deku, and he's an adorable train wreck. And apparently a cuddleslut.
XX
The first time was a complete accident during their first year. Izuku had, at some point, fallen asleep on the sofa in the common room while they were all studying. It was late in the evening. Ida sat on a nearby chair, reading through his notes intently. Todoroki was curled against the far end of the sofa, tapping his chin with the end of his pencil. Uraraka sat in the middle of the sofa, with Tsuyu on one side, shoulder gently pressed against hers, and Izuku on the other side between her and Todoroki.
Perhaps he'd been staring at equations for too long. Maybe training had just been extra brutal. Maybe it was a food coma from the late dinner they'd had. Whatever it was, it proved too powerful for the Successor of One for All and he found his eyes drooping, and his head soon followed.
He had no idea how long he was out for, but what he did know was that he felt delightfully comfortable. His pillow was warm and soft, cradling his head at just the right angle. But more importantly, more interestingly, was the gentle, but delightful sensation dragging across his scalp.
He was not yet awake enough to realize that someone was carding their fingers through his hair in a soothing manner, blunt nails lightly scraping past the roots, leaving warm tingles in their wake. Over and over, the sensation repeated itself, and he never wanted it to end.
"Wow, uh…Midoriya really fell asleep like that?"
He stirred at the sound of his name, and the wonderful head scratches stopped. Yawning, he squirmed, turning on his side and opening his eyes to see Kaminari staring at him.
He stared back, not quite fully awake and very confused. "Uh…"
Kaminari's shocked expression turned into a leer. "Midoriya, you sly dog."
"Uhhhhhhh," He blinked and then turned his head up to see Uraraka looking down at him, her face red and her hand hovering over his hair. It suddenly clicked that the lovely touches to his head were her fingers. His face turned an alarming shade of crimson. "U-u-u-uraraka-san, I am so sorry!"
He scrambled off the sofa, tripping over his own feet and sending his notebooks flying. One landed on Todoroki, who had apparently also dozed off, while the rest toppled to the floor in a rush of paper.
Uraraka gave him an embarrassed smile, holding up her hands. "I didn't… want to disturb you, and…I mean, everyone else was asleep, too."
In his panic, Izuku had failed to notice that Tsuyu was looking at him with one eye open, her head on Uraraka's shoulder. Todoroki yawned from his corner on the sofa, giving him a sleepy, questioning look. Ida adjusted his glasses, snapping his textbook closed. "To be fair, I had not fallen asleep, but I, too, did not wish to wake you three."
"O-oh," Was Izuku's very eloquent response.
Despite his mortification, a tiny part of him desperately clung to the memory of Uraraka's fingers running through his hair, giving birth to a yearning he was unsure what to do with.
XX
The second time was actually after Class 1-A had convinced him to come back to U.A. to rest. When he was finally bathed and dressed, he had practically passed out on the sofa, swaddled in blankets as his classmates doted on him.
Exhaustion had made him dead to the world, so he had no idea how long had passed before someone decided to move him to a proper bed. He stirred when he felt his center of gravity shift, arms sliding under his knees and his back as someone deftly scooped him up, blankets and all, and carried him off.
"Do you need help?"
"Yeah. Can you get the elevator?"
"Of course."
Mumbling something incoherent, Izuku snuggled into the chest of the person carrying him, burying his face into their shirt. He felt the exhale of their breath on his cheek, and sleepily he opened one eye, catching a blurry glimpse of red hair through his eyelashes.
Kirishima flashed him a warm smile before nodding to Ida, who pressed the button to close the elevator doors. "Just rest, man. We got ya."
Too tired to protest, Izuku hummed and turned his nose into the cotton of Kirishima's shirt, eyes falling back closed.
He only opened them again when he was lowered down onto the mattress of his bed. Kirishima backed away as Ida swooped in, pulling the duvet up and over Izuku's shoulders. The Successor of One for All sighed, curling up onto his side and digging his face into his pillow.
Vaguely, he thought he heard Ida tell him, "Sleep well."
He had many nightmares that night, but he also had many dreams, and the most vivid one was someone holding him tight. He didn't even know who.
XX
The third time was soon after the second, when Shigaraki was finally defeated. Izuku wasn't exactly sure what happened or who moved first, but he remembered feeling someone crash into him from behind, throwing their arms around his shoulders. By the time he recognized the weight of someone hugging him, Uraraka had barreled into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. Ida and Tsuyu came afterward, followed by Kirishima and, only after a moment's hesitation, Shouto.
Maybe others followed; he'd lost track. All he knew was that he was in the dead center of the biggest group hug of his life and he loved it. One arm was clasping Ida's shoulder in a bruising grip, the other was tightly hugging Uraraka to him like she might fade away if he let her go, and he had tears in his eyes, caught between laughing and crying.
He wanted to be able to do this every day, to hug and be hugged. To be encased in a warm embrace, to be held. He never wanted this to end.
It did, of course, but the yearning for more burned even brighter.
XX
The first time he held hands with Uraraka, he realized two things.
One, he had no idea how bad he had it for her until he willingly took her hand in his.
Two, it took every bit of his willpower to not jump from hand-holding to bear hugging her.
And he had a lot of willpower.
Like, a lot.
Feeling both elated and nervous, he couldn't help but marvel at how cute her much smaller fingers were as she curled them around his, pinky extended to keep him from floating. There was a slight blush on her face as she looked at him with all the adoration in the world, and it ripped the breath right out of his lungs.
Despite his eagerness, it took them several dates before he finally got the courage to actually hug her, and really it was because she asked first. It was windy that day, and she kept holding a hand up to her cheek to keep her hair from getting in her face as she spoke.
Her windswept appearance was stunning, and he found himself not only speechless, but completely unaware of what she said. It was only when she tilted her head up at him did he realize she asked him something.
"I…" He trailed off, realizing he had no way to gracefully get out of letting her know he had spaced out. "Uhm… sorry. I missed what you said."
She grinned at him, in that warm, earnest way that she reserved only for him ever since their first year. "I asked if I could hug you, Deku-kun."
"Oh," He replied, and his words tumbled out breathlessly. "Yes. Oh, yes. Please."
And then she did, and it was so gentle, and so sweet, and so… Uraraka. She smelled like vanilla and coconut and he found himself burying his nose in her hair, drinking up the way she pressed her fingers into his back, feeling the pressure through his hoodie.
He wanted to fly up into the sky with joy.
He only realized he acted on that desire when Uraraka squealed and he found them floating several stories up in the air, her arms wrapped around his neck and his around her waist, Float keeping them suspended.
Face red with shame, he stammered out an apology only to have her laugh sweetly, her voice like a soft melody that carried on the winds whipping around them.
He admired her with every fiber of his being, content to keep them both suspended in an embrace until she began to shiver.
That was enough for him to squeeze her close and bring them back down to the street.
Before they even finished their date, the pictures of the ordeal began trending on social media, drawing attention to the "budding relationship" of the two "rising heroes."
Izuku had tried to apologize for the circulating rumors, only to have his tongue roll over and play dead when Uraraka kissed his cheek.
Her next words burned him to his very core.
"They're not really rumors when they're true, Deku-kun."
He might have kissed her then, had he not been drooling from his brain overheating.
She was still willing to date him, despite the drool.
XX
Hugs became the norm, and Izuku abused that relentlessly. Every time he saw Uraraka, he hugged her.
Every. Time.
Morning jog? Started with a hug.
Lunch date? Yup, you guessed it. Hug. Two, in fact.
Showing up just to see Uravity sending off a villain in handcuffs? You betcha, she got a hug while in uniform.
Izuku might have been worried about smothering her, except that she gave him a delighted smile every time he approached, holding her arms open as he swept her up in his embrace and spun her around.
"Sickeningly sweet" were common words used by some of their former classmates.
As far as he was concerned, they could tattoo it on his forehead.
And you'd think, with all of this public display of affection, with all of his needy and silent demanding of physical attention, that he was completely calm about the idea of kissing her.
If you thought that, you didn't know jack shit about Midoriya Izuku.
XX
Their first real kiss was because he was dense, and she was impatient.
Actually, that's a lie.
Their first kiss was because he was dense, and she was incredibly patient, but even saints had their limits.
They had been dating for weeks. Weeks. In his head, it couldn't get any better. He got so many hugs. She gave him so many cuddles. He had fallen asleep with his head in her lap six times. And the head scratches!
It was perfect.
Or, at least.
He thought it was. Clearly, he was wrong.
He was mid-ramble, going into excruciating detail about something he had just figured out regarding Gear Shift when she sighed loudly.
He blinked slowly, feeling time slow to a crawl as he watched her fist her hand into the fabric of his shirt. He had a split second to worry that he might have somehow upset her when suddenly she yanked him down and crashed his lips into hers.
It was not light. It was intense. It was inexperienced. And it was… hot.
And it was the most important thing in the world right then.
Eyes wide and entire body rigid, he took several seconds to process the fact that his girlfriend of seven weeks, three days and forty seven minutes was kissing him.
Like, on the mouth. That was an important feature.
His eyes crossed, his brain shut down, and he found himself unable to do anything but melt against her as his mind and body processed there was more to physical affection than just hugs and cuddles.
Oh, boy, was his brain going to have fun with this one.
Once it came back online, of course. Which, it wasn't going to anytime soon because he just found out kissing got a hell of a lot better if you kissed back.
Again, Uraraka had the patience of a saint.
XX
The introduction of kissing into their relationship made Izuku wonder what else he could be missing out on in his constant yearning for physical affection.
He yawned, voice catching in a soft squeak when Uraraka leaned in and pressed a big kiss to his cheek. The action caused him to scrunch up his shoulders and grin like an idiot, eyes closed.
He could feel her breath on his cheek even after she pulled away, and he knew she was smiling even without looking at her. Sure enough, when he cracked open one eye to look at her, she was beaming up at him, both of her hands clasping one of his much larger ones.
Gods, he loved her. He had never said it, and he wasn't sure he was ready to say it anytime soon - he still hadn't graduated from calling her Uraraka-san, despite the fact she had, twice now, kissed him senseless. But the fact was, he was so completely, hopelessly, no-going-back, in love with Uraraka Ochako.
In love… With the way she played with his hair when his head was in her lap.
In love… With the way her fingers found purchase in the planes of his back when she hugged him close.
In love… With the way her lips would devour his when she kissed him at the end of the day.
In love, because she understood how much he loved physical affection, and she made sure she showered him with it. She was amazing, inside and out, and she made sure he felt amazing, too.
Even if he wasn't ready to say he loved her, he had to make sure she knew it. If there was any waking second where she wasn't certain that he loved her with every fiber of his being, then he wasn't doing enough for her.
He pulled his arm across in front of him, encouraging her to follow, since both of her hands were still wrapped around his, her adorable fingers holding him tightly. He grinned at her, full of boyish delight as she let him lead her, and the moment she was in front of him his other arm swooped in, cradling her close.
She laughed as she collided into his chest, and he felt the vibration of her sweet voice strum him like a fine instrument. Except he was Deku, so really he was a xylophone at best. He exhaled happily, one hand pressed to her hair, the other trapping their hands between them by his stomach.
It was late, and he knew he needed to head back to his own place soon, but he didn't want to. She was here, and she was warm, and she smelled delightfully like chocolate because they had chocolate chip cookies for dessert, and he wanted nothing more than to nuzzle her neck until she was breathless from laughing and the sun was rising.
He indulged himself just a little, dipping in to press feathery kisses to her neck, freeing his other hand so that he could pull her closer so there was no space between them.
She hummed in response, tangling her fingers into his hair, massaging the tips into his scalp in a way that sent tingles up his spine. He sagged a little, and her pleased laugh indicated she knew what she was doing to him.
"Uraraka-san…" He whined into the soft skin of her neck, and it only made her laugh more.
"It's Ochako," She replied softly. "Try it."
Old habits die hard, but he did try. "Ochako…" He breathed, and he was rewarded with her gently, but firmly tugging him up by his hair so she could kiss him.
It was definitely good incentive to remember to use her given name moving forward.
When they finally broke apart, he found himself drinking in every part of her face, from the rosy flush of her cheeks, to her kiss-swollen lips, to the way her eyes twinkled with affection and… something he hadn't seen in a while.
Shyness?
He blinked, but before he could ask, she bit her lip in a way that was way too distracting, and he almost missed what she had to say.
"Stay with me tonight?"
That lip was looking so kissable–
Uh.
He was pretty sure Smokescreen had just exploded in his brain.
She must have panicked at seeing his response, which was fair, because he was staring at her, mouth hanging open and probably purple in the face.
"I-I don't mean like that!" She squeaked, and he could hear her heartbeat hammering.
Oh wait, no, that was his.
"Just… it'd be nice to… cuddle you tonight," She admitted and, suddenly, Izuku felt like a moron for not considering that was even a possibility on the table.
He crushed her to him, unable to verbalize a response. Fortunately, one of Uraraka Ochako's many talents was interpreting Deku-isms.
XX
He had stopped thinking things couldn't get any better because Uraraka–Ochako kept proving him wrong.
Here he lay, in his girlfriend's bed, holding her close while she slept in his arms. He should have been sleeping too but he was far too busy ingraining every fine detail of this moment into his memory, from the way her hair tickled his nose, to how her fingers were still lightly clinging to his t-shirt even as she slept, to how her legs were entangled with his in a way he hoped was permanent.
Softly, reverently, Izuku whispered into the silence of the room.
"I love you."
He missed the smile on her lips as he drifted off to sleep.
- XX -
OMAKE - The other way Izuku got into bed at U.A. (Thank you, Noble, for this terrible prompt)
"We need to get him to a proper bed," Ida stated, glancing down at Midoriya sleeping peacefully on the sofa. "He might get a pinched nerve in that poor posture!"
Kirishima stood up, rolling his shoulders. "I got it–"
His volunteering was cut off as Shouto stomped a foot down onto the floor, sending out a sheet of ice across the floor. Wincing, the others looked away from the burst of frosty air that followed. "What the hell, Todoroki?" Kirishima half growled, looking back over his shoulder.
Todoroki said nothing as he dragged the Midoriya burrito to the icy floor and then proceeded to yeet him across the ice towards the dorm rooms.
- XX -
AN: I hope you enjoyed. Feedback always welcome.