Ochaco slumped back in her seat, sighing loudly and rubbing her eyelids. Her sparsely decorated bedroom looked even starker in the harsh light of the single lamp on her desk, casting long shadows everywhere. The contrast of the brightness and darkness was making her eyes hurt, but despite her tiredness she was determined to get this right. "Ok, I think I understand. So if the mass or the velocity of an object increases, that means the momentum of that object increases too?"

Deku nodded encouragingly from his seat next to her. "That's right. And you can calculate the momentum by multiplying the mass by the velocity."

Ochaco pulled a face. "Ugh, I know it's important for my quirk, but why does physics have to be so hard? And why do there have to be so many diagrams?!"

Deku smiled sympathetically. "You're doing fine, honestly," he reassured her. "If you just remember all the different formulae for tomorrow's test you'll pass for sure."

"Assuming Mr Aizawa doesn't throw in something we haven't studied for," she pointed out.

Deku smiled softly. "True, but then we'll all be in trouble, not just you."

She snorted with laughter and tried to make herself look po-faced and disinterested. "Rather than physics, instead I'll be testing you on advanced reconnaissance," she droned, impersonating their monotone teacher. "It was all a logical ruuuuse."

Deku fought back chuckles of his own and for a moment the two of them looked into each other's eyes. As their laughter died down Ochaco looked at the clock and her eyes widened. "Geez, it's almost past curfew. I hadn't realised it had gotten so late."

"Ah, you're right. I'd probably better get back to my room before I get caught after hours." Deku stood up, stretching, and winced as his shoulders had stiffened up.

Ochaco felt a momentary stab of guilt. "Are you ok? I didn't mean to take up all your time this evening. And… I'm sorry this wasn't much of a date… We were supposed to just do this for an hour or so before going out…"

Deku waved away her concerns, face going red at the 'd' word. "It's no problem," he promised her, running a hand through his hair nervously. "I wanted to help. And I get that studying has to take priority. We both want to be pros, right?"

Ochaco looked across to him, his face half hidden in shadows, and shyly reached out for his hand. "Yeah, but still… I feel bad for cancelling our plans. And even though we've not been dating long –"

"Three weeks and two days," he interrupted automatically, before catching himself and blushing. "Uh, not that I'm, y'know, counting or anything."

Ochac grinned in amusement. "You're such a dork."

Deku ducked his head down, unsure of himself. "Is… is that a good thing?"

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and gave his hand a quick squeeze. "Of course it is, silly!"

"Oh. Umm, thank you." Embarrassed, Deku squeezed her hand back gently and she enjoyed the feel of his worn, battle-scarred palm against her own.

"Anyway, I know we haven't been going out long and I know there are always gonna be loads of interruptions, with our internships and training and everything else, but you've helped me so much with all this."

Deku scratched his head sheepishly. "I wouldn't go that far. I mean, compared to me Iida and Yaoyorozu are like walking encyclopaedias…"

"But they weren't the ones who just spent four hours helping me with the difference between velocity and acceleration. You were. I really, really appreciate it."

Deku's breathing sped up and she noticed his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. "Y-You don't have to thank me. I know we're both busy, but I just want to be there to help you. So long as I get to be with you, that's all that matters to me."

Ochaco beamed at him and gaze him an affectionate hug – she felt him tense up in surprise, before relaxing into her embrace. "Me too," she whispered into his ear. "You're amazing, Deku…"

She moved her head so that they were gazing eye to eye, now so close that she could count the freckles on his cheeks, and felt a shiver of anticipation. Suddenly the room felt an awful lot warmer than it had a few minutes ago.

Both of them stood there in the dim half-light as the moment stretched, breath mingling as their noses almost touched. Shakily Deku returned her hug, extending his arm around her back, and she willingly leaned into the embrace. He leaned in so that their lips were just millimetres apart. "Is it ok if I…" He trailed off, voice slightly deeper than usual.

"Y-Yeah," she breathed out, her heartbeat quickening. She shuffled her feet, nervously awaiting the next move, before Deku closed the last remaining gap between them and pressed his lips softly against hers.

Her eyes widened, then closed slowly. They'd kissed a couple of times before – just a quick peck, which would usually leave him a stuttering wreck for the next several minutes – but this was the first time he'd initiated the contact. The kiss was a little awkward as their noses bumped together, but gentle and heartfelt, just like how she would describe him.

Parting lips to take a breath she looked at him through half-closed eyelids and stifled a laugh – Deku looked amazed by his own boldness and his face was flushed.

"That was… wow," he murmured dreamily.

This time she couldn't hold back her giggles. "Just wow?"

"I – well – you're a good kisser!" he floundered defensively.

Her grin grew even wider and she went pink at the praise. "It's 'cos I've got such a good partner," she teased, moving her hands from around his neck to tangle in his hair. She stood on tiptoes to kiss him again and she squeaked in surprise as Deku pulled her in closer, so that she was right against his chest. This was a new side of him she'd never seen before, but she liked it and she kissed back fervently.

Unfortunately her motion knocked Deku off balance and he fell with a muffled cry, collapsing backwards onto Ochaco's bed. With his arms around her Ochaco was unable to prevent herself from crumpling downward and she let out a yelp as she landed on top of him, the impact cushioned by the springy mattress beneath them.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Deku exclaimed, worry making his voice go high pitched. "Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just caught a little off guard – I wasn't expecting a diving lesson."

There was a second of silence before the two of them cracked up laughing, shifting on the bed so that they were side by side. Wiping the beginnings of tears out of the corner of her eye she rested her head on his shoulder, finally getting her giggles under control. "Y'know, maybe you're not so bad at kissing yourself," she murmured, pretending to be weighing it up.

"It helps to have a good partner." He grinned and again Ochaco felt a moment of wonder at seeing a new part of him – this wasn't his usual, slightly timid smile. It was striking, it was confident, and her eyes were drawn to his lips, slightly swollen from their earlier kissing.

Shaking her head to clear that thought she snorted with amusement. "Deku, are you trying to flirt?"

Deku scratched his neck awkwardly. "Umm… I guess? I don't wanna make you feel uncomfortable or anything – we don't have to go any further."

She smiled and leaned across to kiss him on the forehead. "You don't have to stop. I like it. Let's just… keep it slow, ok?"

He nodded wordlessly, clasping one of his hands in hers and tenderly brushing his thumb over the little pads on her fingertips. He bent his head towards her for another kiss, her lips coming up to meet his –

– and suddenly there was a sharp knock on the door. "Uraraka, can I speak with you a moment?"

The colour drained from Deku's face. "It's Iida!" he whispered, horrified.

"What's he doing here?!" she asked, panic rising up inside of her.

Deku frantically looked up at the clock and gasped. "Oh no, I forgot about the curfew! He must be doing his patrols. If he finds me in the girls' dorms and reports me to Mr Aizawa I'll be in detention for eternity!"

"Iida, wouldn't do that, would he?" But even as she said it she knew the answer. Iida was fiercely loyal to his friends, but he took his class rep duties so seriously that there was no way he'd let them off.

The door knocked again. "Uraraka, please answer me!"

In a frenzy she looked around the room for somewhere to hide her boyfriend. Under the bed? Behind her desk? No, they were too out in the open and Deku wouldn't fit. She mentally cursed herself for having such an empty room.

Making a snap decision she pressed her hand against Deku, whispering, "Hold still and don't make a sound." Her quirk activated, Deku rose into the air up to the ceiling and he held his hands over his mouth.

As Iida knocked for a third time Ochaco rushed over, flung open the door and greeted him with a false cheerfulness. "Hi, Iida, what brings you here?"

Her friend eyed her disapprovingly. "I thought I heard voices as I was passing by. I hope you haven't got another student in there with you? Curfew started ten minutes ago."

"Who, me? Nope, definitely not," Ochaco lied, plastering on a big fake smile. "I was just, umm, talking to myself."

Iida looked unconvinced. "Wasn't Midoriya studying with you earlier?"

"Yeah, but he left a little while ago. He's probably back in his room now." She tried to sound like she wasn't lying through her teeth.

"Hmm… Then in that case, you won't mind me taking a look?"

"O-Of course not, go right ahead."

Iida stuck his head around the door and had a quick glance around. "It's rather dark in here," he noted, squinting his eyes to try and see through the gloom.

"I was just about to get ready for bed," she said, hoping desperately that Iida wouldn't look directly above his head, where Deku was spinning in slow, out of control somersaults.

"Ah, I see." To her amazement Iida looked satisfied with her answer. "In that case, I shall see you in the morning. I hope your studies went well and I wish you luck for tomorrow's test." With that he adjusted his glasses, waved farewell to her and strode down the corridor.

Overcome with relief, Ochaco let out the biggest sigh of her life. "Release!"

From his spot on the ceiling Deku suddenly flumped down onto the bed, letting out a grunt as he fell. "That was too close," he mumbled, ashen-faced.

"Yeah…" Ochaco tried to get her heartbeat back under control. "I feel bad for fooling Iida, but I don't want to imagine what Mr Aizawa would have said."

Deku picked himself off the bed and walked over to her. "Next time we have a study session, let's make it earlier in the day, ok?"

"It wasn't the study session that made us late," she smiled ruefully. "It became more of a make-out session at the end. But I guess it does prove one thing." She leant in to kiss him one final time and ushered him to the door. The kiss lingered and just before she closed the door, she whispered, "It proves you're head over heels for me."