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 or Twitter—though I guess that's called X now—if you'd like! They are extremely talented!
A/N: And welcome to some of the last rounds of fluff in this story. Originally, I had intended this to be just one chapter…but that's not how things panned out. So, read and please enjoy. Also, thank you for all reviews/follows/favs etc. They are much appreciated!
Sixty-One
But Jenga was a Bad Idea
"Maybe whatever we'll be doing tomorrow for our work studies has to do with the training they had us doing earlier in the week?" Uraraka asked as she walked beside Deku and Tsu as they made their way from the UA school campus to the dormitory. Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari walked up ahead of them a ways, Todoroki and Ida just behind them.
It was Wednesday and they'd literally just found out that the entirety of class 1-A and 1-B would be grouped together for an all-day work studies event tomorrow. Uraraka had been more than a little surprised when the notice had come via her phone while at the same time Deku and everyone else seemed to get the same message. It was the first time that all of them would be working together.
Details were a bit vague. Uraraka, Tsu, Deku, Bakugo, Ida, and Todoroki were all lumped together for evacuation detail with this assignment while the rest of their class and class 1-B were spread out in different locations, apparently engaging in similar activities to what they'd done in training earlier in the week. They knew that what they were doing had something to do with a large villain takedown that required evacuation of the nearby town for prevent collateral damage. What was perhaps most surprising however, was that the remainder of their class and that of 1-B seemed to be placed in roles that might put them directly into combat. Just what kind of villain stronghold were they supposed to be raiding? All the students were fairly certain that an operation of this size must've had to do with the League. What else would call for such a large-scale force that involved not just pros but students too?
Despite the risk of something that had to deal with the League, it was an exciting assignment! Uraraka could practically feel the tingle of anticipation and excitement in the air as they continued to make their way to their dorm. The last time she'd felt something similar was before they took on Overhal and company. Though that had been tinged with more turbulent emotions since both Lemillion and Deku had let Eri slip through their fingers when they'd inadvertently crossed her path for the first time. This time, all she could really sense was an undertone of anticipation. It was a chance for all of them to really show off their skills!
"That makes a lot of sense. It'd explain why we were in those groups," Deku agreed from beside Uraraka.
Todoroki picked up his pace to get closer to the two and said, "Yaoyorozu was in our group, though, and now she is lumped in with the others. I wonder why they chose to reassign her."
"Perhaps because evacuation wouldn't necessarily make use of her quirk whereas if she's involved in a last line of defense, both her keen mind for organization and her quirk of creation could be highly useful!" Ida suggested.
"That's a good point. She is an excellent leader," agreed Todoroki, resuming his previous pace.
"Why am I part of a strike team? Or I guess crowd control? Why put me there?!" Whined Kaminari.
"Well your quirk can basically fry a lot of people in one go, so it'd make sense to use you to take out a lot of people…or maybe there's somebody specific that they're hoping to use your quirk for? I don't know man, but it's kinda cool! I think it'd be awesome to be on the frontlines, even for just a little bit. Prove how manly you are!" Kirishima said encouragingly. Kaminari moaned as if in pain.
"Quit being a crybaby dumbass. I doubt they plan to keep you on the field for that long since if you even think about using your quirk to its full potential you go into full lobotomy mode," Bakugo said with a dramatic eyeroll.
"Hey! Not my fault my quirk kinda sorta just fries my brain if I use too much of it," Kaminari defended.
"They've got Hado with us tomorrow, too," noted Tsu. She was still looking down at her phone as they walked.
"They must not expect that much resistance if they put her with us. Hado is so powerful I'm surprised they wouldn't put her into something like crowd control or a last line of defense," mused Uraraka. Then again, putting someone as powerful as Bakugo, Todoroki, and Deku into evacuation seemed like a waste. Why put people that powerful into something that was unlikely to encounter fighting? Unless they'd intentionally been placed into those groups on the off chance that they did encounter trouble. If that was the case, then they'd lumped some of the hardest hitters into one group…hopefully that wasn't the case.
"Who fuckin' needs her? I'm more than enough firepower," Bakugo called over his shoulder toward them.
"Confidence is appropriate but so is caution. We'd best be on our guard even with some of the strongest from our class and one of the big three with us!" Cautioned Ida in response to Bakugo.
Bakugo snorted, "Give it a rest four eyes." He trudged on forward, Kirishima having to pick up his pace to keep up with the ashen blonde. Kaminari lagged behind them, apparently not all that interested in keeping up with them.
The group could see their dorm now, just a few more hundred paces or so and they'd be home. Uraraka cast a curious glance at Deku and was mildly surprised to see him gazing up at the sky, or rather at the sakura trees that lined their path. They weren't in full bloom yet—that wasn't likely to start happening until late March and April, but all of them had started to put up buds. A few of them had opened—the early bloomers of the season—and would occasionally cast down delicate petals, lost to the wind or sometimes an entire flower danced its way to the ground. They were few and far between but it made the walk feel a little bit more intimate, romantic even.
Uraraka watched as Deku stopped where he was and crouched down, his gaze on the ground at a fallen flower. She followed suit and stopped where she was. The group continued on ahead though Tsu paused to cast a curious glance in their direction.
"Ochako? Deku? You coming?" She questioned; her head tilted to the side.
"I'll be in in just a minute!" Uraraka called to her friend and gave her a bright smile. Tsu nodded and resumed her course. Their classmates reached the dorm and began filing inside, leaving the auburn-haired girl and the green haired boy alone on the path.
"Deku?" Uraraka questioned quietly. She crouched down to his level and looked at fallen flower that had caught his attention. He'd reached out and picked up the little blossom and held it on the tip of his finger.
Deku's gaze shifted from the flower to her and he gave her a smile. "Just admiring the cherry blossom. It always makes me happy to see the first ones in bloom; it means spring is just around the corner! It's like seeing the plum blossoms but with the cherry blossoms you know that you've for sure made it out of the winter!" He held his hand out to her, extending the delicate blossom toward her. He surprised her then by tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear with his other hand and then gently folding the flower into that same strand. "Pretty."
Ochako felt her cheeks flush as she gently reached her hand up toward her ear to feel the flower there. It was velvety soft against her fingertips. "Thank you," she said softly, still blushing.
"You're welcome," Deku replied with a smile.
Uraraka looked down briefly at the two dozen or so fallen petals and the occasional intact flower on the ground around them. I've got an idea, she thought to herself with a grin. "Close your eyes Deku," she instructed.
"But, we're right by the dorms and I'm sure there are others probably coming up the path…if we, uh, er, if we get into like kiss—er whatever, other's will see," Deku said, his expression now tainted with uncertainty, his cheeks beginning to turn red.
Laughing, Uraraka said, "I promise that it isn't that. It's just a surprise, so close your eyes." Deku eyed her for a moment before nodding and closing his eyes. Once they were closed, she reached out and touched one of the fallen petals and activated her zero gravity. The little petal gently lifted off from the ground. Uraraka extended her palms wide, over the fallen petal sand flowers. Touching was the best way to activate her quirk but for extremely small things that were light, she could sometimes chain her zero gravity so that it bounced from one object to another just brushing her hand over them. She circled her hands and fingers low to the ground as she again activated her quirk rendering the majority of the flowers and flower petals weightless. A sea of pale pink began to dance in the air around them.
"Okay. Open your eyes," she instructed and eagerly waited for Izuku to do just that.
"Wh—oh wow!" Deku exclaimed as he took in the delicate little flower petals gently floating in the air around them. His eyes twinkled with something close to wonder and his mouth quirked up into a brilliant smile that made Uraraka's stomach flipflop. He's so…wonderful, she thought to herself as she watched him. She could hardly help the dreamy look that she knew was on her face as she looked at him.
"Did you touch them all? That would've taken a lot longer, I think. How'd you do it?" Deku asked, his gaze turning to her. A blush dotted onto his cheeks when he took in her dreamy expression. Was he really not used to her giving him longing and loving looks? Of course he wasn't…but even if he was, it was still a very Deku reaction to blush.
"If the objects are small enough or there's not many of them and they're light then sometimes I can sort of daisy chain zero gravity together by just running my hands over them, without having to touch them…well zero gravity has to already be in effect but it's like it spreads from whatever I've already touched with my quirk. Direct touching is the best way and I think really the only way I can make big things weightless, but for little stuff like this, sometimes I can do it just by brushing my fingers above them," she explained.
"I didn't know you could do that! That's really cool Ochako! Imagine if you could do it on an even bigger scale or to heavy stuff. It could change the course of a battle—you'd be unstoppable! Though I'm not sure how you could really teach yourself that or work on expanding your quirk to make that possible. I suppose you could keep trying it with small stuff like the flowers and try to work up to bigger things," Deku said his voice initially excited before dropping in pitch and bringing his hand to his chin and his eyes took on a faraway look as he lost himself in thought.
Ochako laughed at Deku's response. How very Deku like to be amazed by something and then to lose himself in thought about it. Her laughter made his gaze return to the present and he tilted his head questioningly. "Huh?"
"Nothing, I just think it's funny that you go from being impressed by it to thinking about how I could expand it. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to expand that particular part of my quirk, but who knows," she paused briefly as she too looked out at the still floating flowers. It would be kind of neat if I could extend this facet of my quirk on a grander scale but I'm okay with what I can do right now, she thought to herself. "Ready to head in?"
"Right!" Deku said and the two stood up.
Uraraka released the flowers and then they headed into their dorm. After doffing their shoes and coats, Uraraka headed upstairs to change into more casual clothes. She and Deku had agreed to do their homework together upon arrival back to the dorm and if she was going to be doing homework then she wanted to be comfortable.
Once she was up the stairs and in her room, she began removing her blazer, shirt, skirt, and stockings. As she unbuttoned her shirt she stopped briefly and looked down at herself. She wasn't wearing her recent fancy bra purchase but rather and old bra that was a faded pink with a black lace detail along the cups and an old worn black bow at the center. It was nothing fancy…but did she want it to be fancy? Better question, did she expect to be showing off her bra later tonight? Maybe…?
She dismissed the thought and finished taking off her shirt. Perhaps later in the night she'd think more carefully about what she wanted to have on under her clothes but not right now. She threw on a beige blouse and chunkily knitted sweater along with her UA gym pants. Before she stepped outside her dorm, she looked at herself in the mirror on the back of her door. She certainly wasn't going to be winning any awards in fashion or sexiness, but this ensemble worked just fine for studying and homework.
A short trip down the stairs later, and she was in the common room, essential homework materials in hand. Deku, Tsu, Mineta, and Ida were all sat around the sizable coffee table. She was mildly surprised to see that everyone around the table had also changed out of their uniforms and into casual clothes. Guess they had the same idea about being comfortable, she thought to herself as she took a seat next to Tsu.
"Just in time, ribbit. Ida was going to give us some pointers for modern literature," Tsu explained.
"Indeed! Now listen up because we've got a lot to cover!" Ida said exuberantly.
"Shouldn't we be like I don't know, be studying the anatomy and crap from the sex ed stuff? You know they're going to like drop some mega test about the preggers stuff probably like the day after our combined work study stuff tomorrow," Mineta suggested. Uraraka looked across the table at the small boy. He had a school notebook that was open in front of him but currently held what looked like some sort of magazine that he seemed far more interested in than whatever was in his notebook.
"Oh that's a good point, Mineta. Maybe we should do lit for like half an hour and then do some of the material on pregnancy? It is pretty complicated," Deku said with a nod in Mineta's direction.
"Thank you," Mineta said dramatically and then turned his gaze back to his magazine. Uraraka couldn't quite make out what was on the cover of the magazine since Mineta was holding it low in his lap so that only the top was visible.
"A valid point!" Ida agreed.
"Ribbit, okay, let's do that then," Tsu started but stopped when Bakugo suddenly appeared behind Mineta with a menacing expression on his face. Mineta continued looking at the magazine he was holding and seemed blissfully unaware of the blonde's presence behind him.
"Whatchya reading there pipsqueak?" Bakugo growled, his voice low and threatening. Mineta's eyes widened at the sound of Bakugo's voice and he physically jumped.
"N-n-nothing!" He yelped and slammed the magazine shut and hurriedly moved to shove it under his notebook but wasn't fast enough to prevent Bakugo from snatching it up from him. Mineta cried out in alarm as the magazine was torn away, his little arms reaching out toward the stolen item. "Hey! No! Give that back!"
Now that Bakugo held it, Uraraka could make out what was on the cover. In bold, hot pink lettering at the top of the magazine it read Hot Babes Today. Gracing the cover of the magazine was a full center shot of the number five hero, Mirko, lying on her back on what looked like some sort of satiny looking sheets. The expression on her face was suggestive; one delicate eyebrow raised, her lower lip between her teeth in a provocative way. What made that even more eye catching was the fact that she was dressed in the tiniest bra that and panties that Uraraka thought she'd ever seen. The cups couldn't have covered much more than her nipples and areola, and the panties were barely more than a fist sized triangle of fabric. Mirko must've done Brazilian waxes or have only a very small landing strip to be able to wear those undies without revealing any unsightly pubic hair.
"Real busy with studying I see," Bakugo said, his brows creased and his mouth pressed into a frown as she looked over the magazine cover. "I'll be taking this." He tucked the magazine under his arm and proceeded to head off in the direction of the stairs.
"What?! No! That's mine!" Mineta shouted in alarm and took off in the same direction.
"While I can't condone his choice in reading material, I have to agree that if that is in fact Mineta's, Bakugo should return it," Ida mused once the smaller boy had vanished into the stairwell. If they listened closely, they could make out a few thuds and shouts overhead.
"I don't think he'll ever learn, ribbit," Tsu said softly, her eyes raised toward the ceiling and the occasional thump or shout that could be heard.
"Perhaps one day! Though…probably not today. Okay! Now let's get into some modern lit!" Ida pushed his glasses up his nose and dramatically flung his notebook open before he started discussing their modern lit assignment.
Uraraka tried to pay attention but the buzzing of her phone from the pocket in her sweater drew her attention. She lowered her eyes to her phone as she pulled it free from her pocket. Flipping it open and keeping it in her lap so as not to offend Ida, she realized that Deku had sent her a message. But, he's right over there, she thought to herself and cast a curious glance in Deku's direction. He was seated adjacently to her, his gaze on Ida, pencil in one hand…but his other hand invisible beneath the table. She lowered her gaze back to her phone.
1601 Izuku "Do you want to see each other after dinner? Spend some time together?"
Ochako's stomach fluttered and she struggled to contain a blush that she knew was about to color her cheeks. Yes, yes she did want to spend some time together.
1602 Ochako "Yeah! That would be nice. Your room or mine?"
She sent the message away and then looked up to see how Deku would react. He continued to watch Ida and occasionally jot something down in his notebook before he cast a brief glance downward. His gaze flickered back to Ida for a split second and then lowered and stayed there for a little while, his invisible hand remaining under the table. Deku's gaze gradually returned to Ida just as Ochako felt her phone buzz again.
1603 Izuku "Mine?"
1603 Ochako "Okay, though we've got to make sure we are quiet since you are neighbors with Mineta and since we now know that he was kind of creeping on us, we'll have to be careful or else he'll let the entire dorm know that we're alone in a room together. And I'm pretty sure we'd get in trouble if that came out…and I don't want to be barred from spending time alone with you."
Uraraka watched as Deku's eyes again dropped to his lap, this time staying there for a while. The hand that held his pencil abruptly dropped it and then joined his other hand hidden beneath the table. So whatever it is you're saying requires two handed typing, she thought to herself. Her phone buzzed practically the moment that Izuku's hand returned to the table and picked his pencil back up.
1605 Izuku "Maybe your room then. Did you want to just spend time together with like chatting and stuff or like, did you want to…you know…like…stay over?"
I think I want to stay in his room though…the idea of being in his space is just nice. I don't really know why but it kind of excites me to be in a place that is all his, she thought to herself as she considered what she wanted to say in response.
1608 Ochako "I think I'd like to be in your room, if that's okay. I just like the idea of being in a space that belongs to just you. And um…I am okay with staying over as long as you are okay with that." She hit the send button before she could second guess herself and edit or not send the text altogether.
Ochako could barely contain a giggle as she watched Deku's eyes widen and a blush darken his cheeks. She waited patiently as she watched his other hand drop his pencil again and vanish beneath the table, eager to see his response.
Finally her phone buzzed again.
1611 Izuku "Okay, if you're sure then we can be in my room and I am okay with you staying over with me. We'll just need to make sure you're back in your room with enough time to spare in the morning since we're going to all have to head out to the site of our work studies tomorrow."
Uraraka wondered what context or undertone she likely was missing since it was a response sent through simple text. Sometimes it was hard to detect a person's true intention in just the digital world. She wondered that if he'd said the same thing to her face if his voice would've shaken with anxiety; if his cheeks would've darkened to an even deeper red.
1612 Ochako "Okay then. After homework, dinner and a bath, I'll come to you."
Deku's gaze again dropped to his lap, his cheeks reddened even further and then a furtive glance in her direction; she smiled in return.
(Mind the gap since ff hates the asterisk and eats my paragraph breaks, fuck you too!)
Water dribbled down Izuku's face and back, pooling onto the tiled floor of the tiny shower attached to his bathroom. He sat on the shower stool, legs spread and elbows resting on his thighs, his head lowered and watching the water pool and collect on the floor.
After he'd dumped that last bucket of water over his head, any remaining conditioner or bodywash he'd had in his hair or on his skin had been washed away. He'd not bothered to refill the bucket but instead remained on his stool, watching the water collect and enjoying the steamy air of the shower. I wonder if Uraraka went to the communal bath or if she used her personal shower like I decided to do, he thought to himself absently.
He'd initially thought that using the communal bath would be nice—a soak in the baths always did him good, but he decided that he'd be too nervous about a wayward boner popping up out of excitement for Uraraka joining him tonight. That was not something he was particularly keen on parading around with in the baths. Sure, an errant boner or chub here and there in the communal baths wasn't that uncommon or really frowned on, but still, it was kind of embarrassing. Especially when he had reason for that excitement…not that any of his classmates would ask him why; that'd just be weird.
Just thinking about Ochako in the bath and her impending arrival to his room was enough to make a tingling start up in his loins. He sighed in annoyance. Being a teenage boy was tough work sometimes. He felt like he was fairly good at self-control, though that had been challenged as of late. Izuku didn't exactly have Todoroki levels of emotional regulation, but he was okay at keeping his emotions in check. His memory briefly returned to when black whip had first manifested and how its original user had told him to keep his heart under control if he wanted to be most effective. He'd never really felt like he was dominated by his emotions, though he was easily excitable and incited to anger when other's spoke against his friends or those he cared about.
Maybe I should masturbate before she get's here? He considered this momentarily. Would something like that help him from getting too excited when they were together again? But who said that they'd be doing romantic things this time around? Maybe this time they would just sleep next to each other, resting peacefully and pleasantly. Though that seemed like an unlikely scenario considering the previous times they'd been alone together…
Besides, would masturbating really help all that much? Maybe…if he wasn't an adolescent with out-of-control hormones and recently woken urges and compulsions, or maybe if he'd had real sex before, then it might help. Maybe. Everything he'd learned from reading and from their sex ed unit, made it seem like easy excitability was commonplace for adolescent boys. As was premature ejaculation for young and inexperienced males.
He felt his cheeks burn with heat as he looked down between his legs at the member that looked like it was at about half mast right now. Being a boy sucks, he thought to himself with a sigh. If girls got excited it was basically invisible…until you physically got into their pants.
The tingling in his groin increased and he immediately attempted to stop thinking about putting his hands, or face, into a girl's lab, more specifically into Uraraka's lap. Oh, but think! Wouldn't it be so lovely if she came here and you got all into things again and this time she lets you get down on your knees, pull her panties off with your teeth even, and nuzzle your way into the most intimate of kisses…okay stop thinking those things, really stop it! He commanded himself and turned the water back on, yanking it all the way over to cold. A blast of cold water ought to help you cool off!
The buzzing of his phone—he'd left it on his sink counter so that if he got any calls or texts while bathing he'd hear it—made him tear his gaze away from the running water and toward the counter. It had to be Uraraka. Deku turned his head back to the water and quickly filled the bucket with icy water and then bravely pitched it over the top of his head. The water was like a brutal slap in the face and made him gasp in shock.
That's cold! He thought to himself as he set the basin back down and turned the water off. Shaking his head, he rose from the stool and stepped over toward the sink counter to look at his phone. Sure enough, he had one message from Uraraka.
2049 Uraraka "Okay, I'm all done with the bath. Gonna change real quick and then I'll head over to you!"
Only a minute had passed since she'd sent that message so she probably wasn't on her way over…yet. Izuku hurriedly toweled off his body and hair before slipping into the clothes that he'd placed on the other side of his sink counter. He tossed on his light blue shirt that read shitsu before sliding his compression sleeve over his right arm and then sliding into a pair of boxer briefs—All Might themed—and black gym shorts.
As he grabbed the towel and draped it over his shoulders, he recalled that he'd left his sliding door unlocked so that if when Uraraka arrived she could enter without having to knock. He'd spent probably less than a minute toweling off and getting dressed, so surely Ochako couldn't be here already, right? There was no way!
He slid the door to his bathroom open and stepped into the quiet stillness of his room. Deku let out a sigh of relief as he saw that the sliding door was still shut and there was no one but All Might actions figures waiting for him. He had a few minutes left; what to do with them? His gaze briefly wandered to his desk and the bottom drawer there, glad he'd had the foresight to put away the package of Sakura flavored mochi that he'd bought earlier in the week.
March fourteenth was just around the corner which meant that it was time for the boys to reciprocate the love and affection that they'd gotten on Valentines Day. Ochako had given him fancy chocolate and even if she hadn't, well he probably still would've gotten her something. He knew she loved mochi and since the festival, he knew that she expressed a preference for Sakura mochi, which was perfect, since Sakura season was right around the corner. He still had almost a whole week and a half before he could give them to her but that didn't matter. The moment he'd seen them when he'd been at his work studies, he'd had to break off from the group to buy them. He could wait the little bit of time that remained until the fourteenth.
The sound of the glass door sliding open made any thoughts of what he could do with his remaining alone time evaporate in an instant. So much for that, he thought to himself panickily. Uraraka's slight form crept out from behind the door and the curtain that had been pulled shut.
He felt his breath catch in his throat as he caught sight of her. Her cheeks were rosy, her hair hanging damply around her face, a black tank top that clung in all the right ways around her chest and waist, and a pair of gray gym shorts. She had one of hero costume's gauntlets on one of her wrists and held a small drawstring bag with the other hand that he briefly wondered about before getting absorbed in the sheer presence of her. It really wasn't anything out of the ordinary but for whatever reason to Izuku it was like looking upon an angel coming down from heaven. She was exquisite; it wouldn't matter if she wore a burlap sack, she'd still look stunning!
Her eyes darted quickly around the room before landing on him, the blush in her cheeks darkening, her eyes widening. "Oh. Hi." The glass door slid shut behind her and she stepped out of the way of the All Might themed curtain.
"Hi," he echoed, his voice quiet and nervous. Why are you nervous? You've been in this same situation more than a few different times now. Stop being so nervous! He scolded himself and took a tentative step forward. The floor creaked beneath his movement which made him jump and yelp in alarm. Heat flooded his cheeks. Embarrassing…
Ochako smiled then and let out a little giggle. So cute! He felt like his legs might turn to putty at hearing her cute little giggle. "Sorry!" She apologized and stepped closer to him bringing her to just about a foot away from him.
"So uh, how was your bath? Er, I mean, did you use your bath or the girls bath?" Wait. Was asking which bath she used weird? Why would you ask that? That's creepy!
"Er, yes, I did. I like soaking in the bath. It really helps with any sore muscles I have," Ochako explained, her eyes off to the side, cheeks red.
"Oh, cool." His voice sounded awkward even to his own ears. Try to be less awkward Izuku! Silence bore heavy on him as he took in the sight of the little drawstring bag again and the gauntlet on her wrist. "What's in the bag and why'd you wear your gauntlet?" The question left his mouth before he could stop it. Hopefully that wasn't unnecessarily probing.
Uraraka looked down at the bag and the gauntlet on her wrist before responding. "I decided to wear the gauntlet because it makes maneuvering around with zero gravity a little easier. It's kind of like how you move with black whip. That's what inspired it actually. And the bag has my toothbrush and some my bedtime mitts…you know, so I don't accidentally make you or something else float in the middle of the night."
That makes sense, he thought to himself as he nodded at her. He felt stupid for having to ask about the gauntlet. Of course it would make moving around while weightless much easier to do. He had to wonder about the previous time she'd come to his room via zero gravity and had been without the gauntlet. How had she done that?
More silence filled the space and Izuku wanted to squirm. Ochako took a step closer to him and he felt his heart flutter wildly in his chest. The closer she gets to you the more likely you're going to get excited or start doing physical stuff…
"Er, uh—want to play a game?!" He blurted out as Uraraka took another step toward him.
She stopped and tilted her head to the side. "A game? What kind of game?"
What games do I have? Twister? No, that's a bad idea and not a game I have on hand. Poker! No, I don't really like poker and it's kind of confusing. Chess? No, maybe if Todoroki was here or Ida that would feel more appropriate…wait! I got it!
"Jenga?" He suggested, his voice slightly higher than it should be.
"Jenga?" Uraraka echoed.
"Uh yeah, I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to, but I think that might be a fun way to unwind before we you know, er, well, we go to the bed to well, sleep," Deku explained in a rush, hoping that his suggestion of something like Jenga wasn't stupid or lame.
Much to his relief and surprise, Ochako smiled and nodded her head. "Okay! Let's play Jenga!"
A short while later the two of them sat in the middle of Deku's room, a Jenga tower stacked up between them. Deku had gone first without any issue, though that wasn't exactly unexpected considering the fact that the first few rounds of Jenga were usually the easiest. The more the tower was thinned on the bottom, the greater the risk of making it fall down.
Ochako gently slid one of the blocks further up the tower out and placed it on the top. The tower didn't even wobble. So far so good, Deku thought to himself as he looked over the tower to gauge where the next best place to take a block from was.
"I have an idea. How about the winner actually wins something?" Ochako suggested, interrupting Izuku's assessment. His gaze drifted from the Jenga blocks to Ochako out of curiosity but the impish smile on her face and blush in her cheeks made him want to gulp. There was a touch of mischief in her expression that filled his stomach with both excitement and anxiety.
"O-okay, uh, what do you suggest?" Seven minutes in heaven? Shut up! Stop thinking those kinds of things, he chastised himself as he dropped his gaze back down to the tower. Focus on the tower.
"Well, um, how about," her voice faltered for a moment, "…how about the winner gets to, well, gets to make a request of the loser…like if you win you get to ask me to tell you something or do something—whatever you want and I do it."
Deku had selected his block and had it partially pulled it out but at her question, he felt his fingers begin to tremble which extended to the block. He swiftly withdrew the block and delicately put it on top of the tower. It wobbled for a split second and then stopped. He let out the breath he'd been holding and then turned wide eyes in Uraraka's direction. I can ask her anything or ask her to do anything and she'll do it?! What?!
"Um…so like, if you won you could say I had to like touc—er, do one hundred pushups with you sitting on top of me—eep, well er, or something like that?!" His voice rose an octave and he knew his cheeks were probably a hearty shade of red. Uraraka's gaze was focused on the tower, but he could clearly see pink dotting her cheeks. Why suggest something like that if she wasn't prepared for him to make it awkward?!
"Yeah…I mean within reason of course, and you can say no. It has to be something you're comfortable with and that you want to do, but it could be just kind of fun. Kind of raise the stakes sort of?" Deku watched as Ochako chose another block from the tower and gently slid it out shakily before putting it onto the top of the tower.
Okay, so within reason, and you can say no…okay. I think, I think that I am okay with that. Yes. "Okay. Winner gets to make a request of the loser, within reason."
Ochako's gaze darted to his eyes briefly before they moved away. "Got it!"
The game continued on without any issues, though both players began to feel a bit of tension in the pit of their stomachs. What would the winner ask for? What would the loser have to do?
A few rounds later, and the tower still stood, albeit slightly wobbly. Deku eyed some of the upper pieces carefully. The bottom layer still had two blocks holding it up and removing one now would guarantee a loss…maybe a middle piece?
As he contemplated which block he'd select next, a question popped into his mind. Almost a year ago at the sports festival, she'd admitted that part of the reason why she wanted to be a hero was so that she could earn money and help make her parents lives easier since they had struggled. Was that still her primary incentive? Had her beliefs changed?
"Remember last year at the sports fest and you said that part of the reason you wanted to be a pro hero was for the money? Sorry, that makes it sound kind of shallow and I know it's not—but well, what are your other reasons for wanting to be a hero? I know you're brave and good and kind and want to help people, but what else drives you toward that goal?" He asked, a flush in his cheeks as he worried that this question might make her feel insecure or judged.
"No, it's okay and it's a good question," Ochako said softly, surprising him to some extent. Why am I surprised? She's literally one of the nicest and most kind people I've ever known; she always tries to reach out and help others. Of course she wouldn't find my question offensive, he thought to himself and inwardly sighed.
"You don't have to answer it if you don't want to," he said, giving her an out. Deku selected a block from close to the top, watched the tower wobble uncertainly and then stabilize as he placed his brick. It was Uraraka's turn.
"I don't mind answering it…and well, I think, I think a large part of it, maybe more so now that we've been in school for a while and we've seen and done so much, but I think part of the reason why I want to be a hero is that I just love being able to make people smile." Deku watched her as she paused briefly to look over the Jenga tower before stopping and moving her hands into her lap and looking to the side, as if she was contemplating what to say next.
"I get that. I love being able to make people smile too," he emphasized. It was true; being able to make sure people could be happy was something he truly valued. He thought of Eri briefly, of the terror and pain he'd seen on the little girl's face, her inability to smile and how that had wounded him to his core. He'd wanted to save her; no, he'd wanted to make sure no one would ever hurt her again and any others out there like Eri—he wanted to be a hero for them. He wanted to make sure there were no more hurt and wounded souls out there that didn't know how to smile because of life's cruelties.
"Growing up, my parents never seemed too happy—they loved me and did their best to make me happy but they were always so tired, so exhausted by just trying to get by. That was the biggest drive for me in the beginning, I think. I viewed being a hero as a way to let me make their lives easier but I realized that there was more to it than that. I've seen a lot of happy faces out there and seeing people happy makes me happy and knowing that I can help someone to be happy or make a frown into a smile, is really important to me. Everybody deserves happiness, you know? Everyone should be able to smile, no matter who they are. At the end of the day, we're all people, aren't we? And we all just want to find our own little piece of happiness and if being a hero helps me to bring that happiness to others, then I guess I'll have succeeded!"
Deku watched her with wide eyes, his heart tightening in his chest, his belly warm and fuzzy. He felt the beginnings of tears sting his eyes at her admission. It was so true and it was so pure! It spoke to a near identical part of him. His desire to be a hero from the beginning had never been about monetary gain, but had always been about others, but he knew that even when Uraraka had told him that she was in it for the money that there was more to it—this shining, brave, giving girl had a heart like him; a heart that wanted to touch and heal the pain in others.
Uraraka moved a brick that he hadn't realized that she'd selected and carefully placed it on top of the tower. He blinked back his tears, not wanting to embarrass her or himself at the power of her words. "Th-that's really beautiful Ochako." He reached out to select a block but his eyes were blurry from unshed tears and his hand wavered precariously.
"Thank you," Uraraka blushed.
Izuku finally managed to blink away the rest of his tears, still feeling warm from her words, as he grabbed at what looked like a loose block. He slipped it out of the tower and attempted to place it on the top but just as he was about to place it, the tower began to lean heavily. Uh oh, it's about to crash! He thought to himself as he held his breath. Did he want to lose? He wasn't sure…
The tower failed to adjust and clattered loudly to the floor, Jenga blocks spreading across the floor. I lost. Izuku looked up from the fallen tower and to the girl across from him, her brown eyes locked onto him.
"I guess I win."
What is she going to ask from me? The possible answers to that question filled his stomach with butterflies of excitement.