**I do not own these characters or the world, that belongs to our lovely author of MHA, Kohei Horikoshi. Also, cover art was a commission by me from the artist Krumbs. Follow them on if you'd like! They are extremely talented!

A/N: And here it is! My fluff IzuOcha chapter. Honestly, when I wrote this (believe it or not it was well over a year ago that I wrote this particular chapter) I thought about ending it here but then I decided I had more to tell so I kept going. So enjoy this little nugget, hopefully this fills up the IzuOcha tank at least a little…because we know we're probably not getting it anywhere else! Boo! Anyway enjoy, I'm off to take anxiety medications in my continued preparation for the last manga MHA chapter ever and my inevitable disappointment. Sadness.

Twenty-Six
In the Southern Hemisphere it is Referred to as Aurora Australis

It was just after eight o'clock when Izuku managed to complete all his homework, training with black whip, and group work with Mineta. He'd been quite surprised by the exhaustive efforts he had to put in with him. His pint-sized classmate was exceptionally resistant to doing any real work on their project. He was seriously wondering if he'd even be able to scrape by with a B with how things had been going.

The day in general had been a pain. His work studies from the previous day had gone well but once he'd gotten to school midday, he'd not had a minute to relax. At lunch despite his best attempt to try to make conversation with Uraraka, he'd been unable to since Mineta had been near him and he'd inundated him with complaints and whining about their unfair assignment and about how he'd not received one chocolate so far.

After lunch had passed without him even being able to really talk to Uraraka, he'd struggled in his English class and finally as the day drew to its end, the sexual education portion of the day rolled around which turned into a horribly awkward experience. Recovery Girl had Hound Dog as a guest speaker who spoke at length—and frankly terrified everyone—about the risks associated with teenage pregnancy and the great risk that unprotected sex could lead to an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. Why Hound Dog was the one doing this particular lesson was beyond Izuku.

To add insult to injury, once Hound Dog had finished his aggressive lecture, Recovery Girl had made everyone watch a live birthing video. Deku assumed it was the video that Uraraka had told him that she and several of their other classmates had watched during the weekend. It was a far from a pretty scene; graphic seemed the most appropriate adjective. Deku saw a lot of his peers closing their eyes, blushing, or turning white in response to the surprising amount of gore.

As for Deku, he was a bit horrified but also mildly fascinated. It seemed a very impressive thing that such a small orifice could birth something so big in comparison. He was by no means into the video—it was most definitely gory and graphic—but rather than being utterly disgusted, he was at the very least, curious and impressed by the birthing process and the fact that it worked at all.

After class he'd barely been able to say goodbye to Uraraka when she and Tsu had left for their work studies. Izuku had attempted to bring Mineta to heel and actually participate in their group work, but he was less than agreeable.

Training with All Might and Bakugo had been no better. He'd been so stuck in his own head about the group project, his remaining homework, and watching the night sky with Uraraka, that he'd hardly managed to dodge any of Bakugo's explosions. With time, he'd managed to get better at wrapping a single tendril of black whip around Kacchan, though he couldn't keep it tight for more than a second which meant Kacchan was always able to get out of it, but even with that hard fought progress, he felt like he failed time after time with any catching maneuver he tried. Bakugo had been relentless in his attacks and had ruthlessly detonated repeated small explosions in Deku's face.

Izuku had failed so hard with black whip that Kacchan had managed to fry his hair into that strange charcoaled, frizzled afro. It'd been quite a while since that had last happened, so Deku felt especially shamed when he had gone back to the dorm and anyone in the general vicinity had let out chuckles and giggles. Suffice to say, he'd quickly showered to wash away the scorching. Even after the soothing coolness of a shower and a soak, the charred scent couldn't be entirely removed.

By the time he'd finished with that, it had was nearly seven o'clock. Izuku had rushed to get through his homework, but had to break midway because Aizawa and Eri had shown up briefly, apparently specifically to visit him. Eri had cheerfully handed him a little bag of chocolate and had told him to have a Happy Halloween which Aizawa had sighed and corrected her that it was Valentines Day that they were celebrating. Izuku had nearly shed a tear of joy at the little girls smile and overall happy face. She'd come so far and how adorably sweet that she'd come all the way to Class 1-A just to give him a Valentine. Of course, anyone nearby had 'ooed' and 'awed' over Eri's adorableness.

Eventually after Eri and Aizawa had left, he'd managed to get through his English homework and had moved onto math which he found more easy but also somehow tedious. The problems seemed to all be similar so they should be easy yet they were just different enough that they required an entirely different solution process.

Finally, he'd finished all of his to do's and had gratefully put away all his homework and notes. The sun had thoroughly set by the time he'd finished and he'd eagerly peeked his head out his window to see that the stars were shining brightly above. No real signs of the aurora, though.

Deku had grabbed his coat and then headed downstairs, a small but steadily growing excitement in the pit of his stomach. Tonight he'd get to see the borealis! He vaguely remembered seeing one when he was a very small child, but it was a very distant memory. It was an uncommon phenomenon in Japan, far more common in more northern locations, so for it to even come to Japan was a rare treat.

Once he made it to the ground floor and moved in the direction of the front door, he heard Kirishima's voice call out from the direction of the living room.

"Midoriya! Where are you headed in such a hurry? Hot date for Valentines Day?"

Deku turned back to see Kirishima lounging on the long couch, a notebook in hand. Bakugo was near his feet and though Deku couldn't see his face, he felt fairly certain that he was probably glaring at their red headed friend. Must be study time with Kacchan, thought Deku absently.

"Oh I was goi—" he started only to be interrupted.

"Ha, he probably can't stand the smell of burnt hair so he had to go outside for some fresh air," Bakugo said and turned to give a wicked smile at him.

"Oh yeah, looked like you got quite the face full of explosions!" Kirishima said with a laugh.

"Where are you going?" Asked a female voice. Deku looked past the couch and saw that Ashido was lying on her belly on the floor in front of the TV, her legs up and crossed. She looked back at him curiously.

"Oh, hey Ashido, I didn't see you there. I'm going outside to watch the aurora borealis. It's usually pretty rare in Japan so the fact that we're supposed to be able to see it tonight is really awesome!" Izuku explained cheerfully, smile bright on his face.

"What is the aurora borealis?" Ashido asked, head cocked to the side in question.

"You don't know what it is?" Deku questioned his eyebrows raised in surprise. Wasn't the aurora borealis common knowledge?

"Pfft, idiot. It's also known as the Northern Lights—that might be easier for you to remember-and is actually the result of gaseous particles in Earth's atmosphere colliding with the charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere. The light show that can be viewed is the result of that collision. The variations of colors are due to the type of gas particles that collide. It's visible almost every night in the Arctic and Antarctic Circles—basically the further away from the equator you are, the more visible they are. It also commonly occurs in places like Iceland, northern Sweden, Finland, Norway, Russia, Canada, Alaska and many of the northern portions of the United States, as well southern Greenland." Bakugo explained, surprising everyone with the amount of knowledge he possessed on the uncommon phenomena.

"Wow Kacchan! I had no idea you knew so much about the aurora borealis! Where did you learn all—"

"It's common knowledge moron! Now shut up and go watch your light show nerd!" Bakugo snapped and shot a scathing glare at Deku.

"Sheesh, cranky," Ashido muttered and turned back to the TV, clearly no longer interested in the conversation.

Izuku felt awkward standing there, Bakugo looking away in irritation, Kirishima shooting darting glances between the two of them. Should he say something? Should he like, invite them to watch the lights with him? Did he want that? Yes? No? No?

"Uh, you guys can come watch them with me—" Deku started only to be interrupted by multiple voices.

"Not a chance moron!" Bakugo said without even looking back at him.

"Too cold, sorry," Ashido added, also without even looking back.

"Thanks for the offer Midoriya, but I'm gonna pass, gotta get this studying done or else I think Bakugo will fry my hair," Kirishima declined politely.

"Bet your ass I will! You suck at school. Now get back to learning! Raccoon eyes you should pay attention too, you're a few fries short of a happy meal," Bakugo barked.

"Hey! That was really rude!" Ashido shot back angrily as she turned around to shoot daggers at the ashen haired blonde.

"Yeah man, that was kind of a dick thing to say," Kirishima agreed.

"Just shut up and start studying before I have to kick both of your asses." An annoyed sigh was all Izuku could hear from Bakugo as he at last stepped outside of the common room.

As he stepped outside of his dorm and into the crisp evening air, he was actually somewhat relieved that none of them had wanted to join him. Not that he would've minded it really, he liked spending time with all of his classmates, but tonight he wanted to just watch the aurora without anyone else but Uraraka. It was Valentines Day after all, and that meant something, didn't it?

He found a nice semi secluded spot by a bush a ways away from the footpath leading to the dormitory, where he settled down on the cold ground. It wasn't wet with dew or frost thankfully, there would probably be a frost eventually, but it was still a bit too warm in the evening for that to happen.

First, he just sat cross legged and looked up at the starry sky above him, then he leaned back onto his palms, which eventually turned into just completely lying down on his back to gaze up at the dark sky above. That position seemed most comfortable. It was cold but not so cold that he couldn't stand it. Izuku briefly regretted not bringing down a blanket with him that he could've thrown over the cold ground. Oh well, he thought to himself as he at last caught sight of the first few whisps of an ether green in the sky.

He smiled as he looked up at that starlit sky and the tiny little hazes of green and the occasional dull tendril of red. They weren't the impressive Northern Lights of places like the Arctic, the kind you saw in photos and on TV, but they were still an impressive light show that was generated by nothing other than naturally occurring interactions within nature. It amazed him to think that such a light show had been visible to people for ages—even before the time of quirks. Izuku had heard from Todoroki that one of the Shiketsu students, Cami—the real Cami, not Himiko Toga—could essentially create illusions or glamours that could mimic phenomena like the aurora borealis. Todoroki had expressed the dazzling display that she'd made with her quirk to emulate the Lights. He almost wished he'd been in the remedial course so he could've seen it!

Izuku lay there for some amount of time—he was quickly losing track of time—gazing at the twinkling stars above and the thin almost ethereal like hazy whisps of light. It wasn't particularly distinct, but it was still there and still pretty to look at. He briefly wondered where Uraraka was, if she was close or far off, and if she was staring up at the night sky too, watching for the aurora.

"Ribbit, what are you doing outside? It's so cold," said a familiar voice from somewhere to his side.

Izuku sat up and looked in the direction of the voice and saw Asui standing just outside their dormitory, staring at him. He spotted Uraraka close by, just behind their amphibian like friend.

"Oh hi Asu—er, Tsu. Uh, I'm watching the aurora borealis. It's supposed to be visible tonight which is actually really uncommon in Japan which is part of why it's so nice to see. Who knows when it'll be visible next? It could be decades from now!" Izuku explained happily, his gaze directed upward again.

Tsu looked up toward the sky and was quiet for a moment. "The green whispy looking cloud thing? Ribbit."

"I've never actually seen it," Uraraka added, drawing Deku's attention away from the stars. He looked past Tsu toward the auburn-haired girl and saw her also gazing up at the colorful sky.

"Me either, ribbit," Tsu agreed. "But now I have. I'm going to go in, ribbit. It's pretty but it's too cold for me. Have fun Deku." She nodded toward Deku and then began to head in but paused to look back at her friend. "Are you coming in Ochako?"

"I'll be in in a little bit…I'm uh, I'm going to watch the borealis with Deku!" She said sheepishly, a small blush coloring her cheeks.

"Have fun then, ribbit," Tsu said. As she went inside, Deku swore he thought she had a smirk on her face.

Uraraka waited until Tsu had gone all the way into their dorm before she made her way over to Deku. Her cheeks were rosy which Deku wasn't sure if that was from the chill in the air or the fact that they were about to be cozied up close to one another. That last thought was enough to make a blush rise over his cheeks as well.

"Hey Deku. Sorry it took me forever to get here. The trip back was slow going," Uraraka said apologetically as she sat down beside him. She wasn't sitting so close that they were touching, but she was close enough that if she leaned over, she'd easily be able to put her head on his shoulder.

"Oh that's okay! I don't mind really," Deku replied a little too quickly. "Did your work studies go well today?"

"Yeah they did, though I still have a lot of work left to do for that stupid group project that we've been assigned," she sighed heavily. "Being paired with Bakugo isn't exactly the easiest of pairings."

Izuku nodded thoughtfully. He could see that. Kacchan wasn't for everyone and he was extremely abrasive but he was overall a good person. Just prickly. "Kacchan has a hard exterior, he can be a real jerk sometimes, but he means well most of the time. I think."

"I know, he's just not my ideal partner for this assignment or any assignment really," she mused and looked up at the sky.

To his surprise, she took off her backpack and then lay back down over the grass. She was still dressed in her school uniform, though she had what he assumed were fleece lined leggings on, her brown wool coat, and a pink scarf, so perhaps she wouldn't get cold on the ground. He hoped she wouldn't.

Izuku almost laid back too but stopped half way through the motion. Would it be too forward to lie down too? Side by side? Would it be weird if he didn't lie down? Was it telling if they were seen lying down next to each other? Was the entire situation already telling? Did that actually matter? If he did lie down next to her, what would happen if their hands touched, or if they held hands? Did he want to hold hands? Did she?

"Aren't you going to lie down? It's less strain on your neck this way," Uraraka asked softly and patted the spot behind him.

"Oh yeah, sure," he agreed nervously. He lay down at her side, moving just a bit too fast and actually bonking his head on the ground. "Ouch!"

"Are you okay?" Uraraka asked, concerned.

Deku lifted his head off the ground and rubbed the back of his head where he'd hit it. It felt fine and it hadn't really hurt, more so it had just startled him. "Uh yeah, just went down a little too fast. Haha." He forced that laugh and turned his head to look at her, she wasn't looking at him though, her gaze was directed upward, toward the sky.

"I've never seen the aurora borealis before," she admitted. "Whenever I've seen it in pictures or on TV it's always so much brighter. This is just a few thin little whisps."

Lowering his head back to the ground and turning his own gaze back to the stars, he said, "Oh yeah, it rarely happens in Japan. It's much more common in places farther north, the higher latitudes and all. Places like Canada and parts of the northern United States see them and places in the arctic see them all the time, really strong too. Imagine what we're seeing here but like quadruple it."

"It'd be like a light show at a concert or sort of like fireworks," Uraraka said a soft note of wonder in her voice.

Deku turned his gaze away from the night sky and looked over at Uraraka. She was still gazing upward, her head just slightly cocked in his direction. He took in her rosy cheeks and pink nose, the fall of her smooth auburn hair fanned out over the ground, the gently clasped hands over her chest and felt his heart stutter. He desperately wanted to reach out one of his hands and touch her rosy cheek, to caress the line of her jaw or stroke her hair. His hand started to raise all on its own until he caught the movement and immediately halted it.

He swallowed down the heart puckering he was feeling and the feathery excitement in the pit of his stomach. Ask her something, speak, an inner voice chided. What had they been talking about before he'd gotten hung up on seeing her face blanketed in starlight? Oh yes, they'd been talking about their group projects and their pairings. 'He's not my ideal partner for this assignment or any assignment really.' Her words echoed in his head.

Quietly, so quietly he wasn't sure she'd hear him, he said, "Who would be your ideal partner?" His cheeks were burning and he knew they must be red as a ripe tomato but he didn't look away from her face even after he asked the question.

Uraraka was silent, though Izuku was certain he saw the blush in her cheeks extend beyond just her cheeks. Without looking at him she said in a voice that was equally as quiet, "Well you know who." She did turn to look at him then, her eyes strikingly dark against the dull glow of the stars and the distant light from the dormitory. Something in the look she gave him made his heart thump uncontrollably in his chest.

"Who?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper. Izuku wanted to look away, the shy and awkward part of him that was perpetually the little boy wanted nothing more than to blush and look away, but another part of him wanted to just look at her; to savor this moment and the adorably cute girl lying by his side.

"You," she replied and before he could react or do anything, Uraraka had moved onto one elbow and was leaning over him, her other arm and hand by his shoulder. She hovered in that precarious position for perhaps a split second before she closed the distance between them, and ever so gently touched her lips to his.

Izuku felt like his heart was going to explode when she crossed the gap and pressed her lips to his. For the first few moments of their lips touching, he felt terribly awkward and uncertain at what he should do. Was he supposed to wrap his hands around her? He seemed to remember things like that happening in movies and TV shows. His hands even made motions to move up and wrap around her, but it felt awkward so he ceased the motion. But then he remembered how elated he'd been after that brief first kiss and how he'd wished he'd been able to feel more of it, savor the feel of her lips, and most importantly, he wanted to be the one to kiss her.

Yet here they were, her kissing him again. Well, this certainly hadn't been the original plan, not that he'd had a plan. Quit being in your head and overthinking! The clock is ticking and you are just lying here like a doll, not even kissing back, not that you really know how to actually kiss someone back, even if you did look it up on the internet, but the point is, GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD!

Deku's lips puckered ever so slightly, his mouth opening just a sliver. His hand that lay motionless next to the elbow she leaned on, rose up and very delicately stroked the back of Uraraka's head. Her hair was silky smooth but thick, thick enough that it made him want to run it between his fingers. Slowly, he began to actually feel the sensation of her lips against his.

He wasn't sure he'd ever felt something so soft and delicate against his mouth before. It made him think of flower petals and their velvety soft texture. That gave him a blast of courage and he boldly poked the tip of his tongue out to just barely skirt over Uraraka's lower lip. He'd not intended that; he'd just wanted to feel and to tasteher.

The addition of his tongue was apparently too bold, because just as his tongue took a barely there sweep across her lower lip, she pulled away. His hand still rested on the back of her head, and of its own accord, moved around to cup her cheek. She didn't pull away and even though she'd broken the kiss, she hadn't moved that far from him.

Facing him, her back to the stars with only the dull light from the dormitory lighting her round face, Deku nearly gasped at the soft almost angelic like glow that the light created around her face. Her cheeks were flushed beyond what was normal for rosy cheeks from the cold, pupils dark and large, mouth slightly open.

Something about the look in her face, the feel of her cheek under his hand, the continued close proximity of her, once again made his heart sputter and thump in his chest. Another surge of boldness shot through him and against his shy and awkward reservations, he leaned forward this time and closed the distance between them, once again locking their lips.

His other hand had moved with him, this one cupping her other cheek, pulling her into him. Deku ran his thumbs across her cheekbones, savoring the softness of her skin. Once again, he felt like he was kissing velvety soft flower petals. He felt his mouth move against hers, not entirely sure what it was supposed to be doing or how it was supposed to move, but move it did. His hands slid lower down her face to rest on her jawline. Without even realizing it, his tongue poked out as his lips moved, eager to fully taste the lips he was kissing.

However, that forward motion made a small squeak of surprise bubble out of Uraraka's mouth and that was all it took. Any boldness he'd dredged up disappeared in an instant when she made that sound. Insecurity, awkwardness, embarrassment, and inexperience welled up like an overflowing stream in an instant and he immediately released her face and dropped his head back to the ground—bonking it yet again.

"Sorry," he murmured, ignoring the little blast of pain at the back of his head. Izuku closed his eyes and felt a hot blush of shame wash over his cheeks. Had he not kissed her well enough? Was that too forward? Were you not supposed to touch another person's lips with the tip of your tongue?

"Why?" The sound of confusion in Uraraka's voice made his eyes pop open in surprise. She was still leaning over him, though there was a bit more distance between them now, but she'd not recoiled in disgust and her gaze wasn't one that was upset.

"You uh, you made an unhappy sound, so I just, well, I assumed I did something wrong," he explained, feeling the blush deepen over his cheeks.

She surprised him again by laughing. "Haha, Deku, I was just surprised is all. I wasn't unhappy." She chuckled and moved away from him to lie back on her back. Even though she wasn't leaning over him anymore, she'd scooted a little closer to him so that their shoulders touched. Surprising him even further, she reached out her hand toward his and delicately entwined her fingers with his. "I've never done this before. I've never been, well, I've never liked someone enough to kiss them or like, want to be, I guess, well, boyfriend and girlfriend with anyone. I don't know what I'm doing so when you did that, it surprised me. It didn't mean I didn't like it."

Deku felt his face pinch and pucker into what had to be a most unflattering expression. He was certain that his face must've looked like it did when she'd suggested so long ago that they team up at the Sports Festival.

"Oh wow, gee, Uraraka." He barely managed to get those words out, tears of happiness threatening to spill out.

Uraraka turned from the stars to look over at him and gave him a perplexed expression. "Deku why are you making that face? What is wrong? You look like you just sucked on a lemon."

"Yeah, it's just uh, my face, it uh, sometimes, you know." He thought his heart might squeeze its way through his chest and literally into Uraraka's heart.

She laughed again and it took every bit of restraint in him to not ugly cry with joy at the sound of her happy laughter. She's like an angel. I hope she never stops wanting to hold my hand!

They stayed like that for a little while longer, hands entwined under the stars and the small whisps of green from the Northern Lights. Eventually though, it grew a bit too cold for either of them.

As they stood up and started to head in Uraraka gave a sigh. "Ugh I have so much homework to do. This has been really nice, but oh my gosh, sooooooo much homework!" She continued to move toward the door when Deku abruptly grabbed the edge of her coat and tugged her back. She looked back at him quizzically. "Deku?"

"Happy Valentines Day, Uraraka," he said and much to her surprise—and even to his own—he practically skipped forward to close the distance. His lips touched hers for just a moment before he broke away again. She was left staring at him, cheeks flushed again.

"Happy Valentines Day, Deku," she replied with a shy little smile and then even more surprising, she pulled out a small package of intricately wrapped chocolate and sheepishly handed it to him.

Izuku looked down at the offered chocolate and took it, his hand practically shaking with his surprise and joy. She had gotten chocolate just for him! "Thank you," he managed to choke out again struggling to not ugly cry with joy.

As they approached the door he became acutely aware of their entwined hands and nervously dropped his gaze to their hands and then toward the door to their dorm. "Should we go in holding hands?" A part of him hoped she'd say yes; another part was afraid she'd say yes.

"Not yet. I don't know that I'm ready for all of them to be in on this. Right now, I like it with just us," she replied shyly.

"Okay," he agreed and dropped her hand, partly deflated and partly relieved.

"But," she began and this time she skipped forward so that she was close enough that he could feel her breath on his face. "I want to hold hands with you again…and I'd like to um…I'd like to kiss you again, maybe a few times even."

Deku felt his cheeks burn hot at that statement and much to his horror, adolescent excitement made itself known by the tightening of his pants. He prayed to any and all gods that she didn't notice that.

"Yeah, uh, I think, I'd well, I think I'd like that too," he admitted bashfully.

"Okay," she said with a smile and then spun away from him to head into the dormitory.

Izuku was left standing there, rather uncomfortably as his pants only seemed to feel tighter. Realistically, he'd probably at least been at half mast for a lot of their time lying together under the stars, but he'd been so caught up in kissing her that he'd barely even noticed it. He was briefly struck by an alarming thought when he contemplated what it would be like to touch the bare skin of her shoulders or her belly. If innocently kissing her made him this excited, what would that do?!

He wasn't sure he was ready to find out…but a part of him really wanted to find out.

F/N: Fun fact, yes I did have to go look up the exact definition of what the aurora actually is. I know what it is but if someone asked me to correctly explain it I'd probably answer like, "Uh, some gas particles in earth's atmosphere that make light I guess?" Not exactly a very good explanation. Also, for story purposes I made the aurora visible from basically like 8pm and on when in reality, I personally have never seen the aurora before 11pm. Even when I lived in the great white north of the UP, that light show bitch never made herself visible till fucking late. Though at that time I was working nights so I was cool with being up late and seeing it. Now I'm an old lady and if I have to be awake past 9pm I get fussy. Maybe that makes me more like an infant? Anyway, hope you enjoyed!