Deku lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. His right arm gently ached, a ghostly reminder of recent close calls, and his brain was wracked with the sight of Tsu's tears. He'd made a friend- a good friend- cry. And as he lay there, eyes wide open in the late-night darkness, he couldn't see how he could have done things better.

He squeezed his sheets in frustration. Their entire class would have been expelled, every one of them, because he acted to save Kacchan. But he'd been there in the battle. He'd seen All-Might facing All-For-One head-on, and if he hadn't acted, who knows if the battle would have turned out how it did.

Likely, Kacchan would still be captive, or worse: All-Might could have died.

But even still, he'd risked all of his classmates, and he'd disregarded their advice. Tsu had been brave to voice her objections, and he'd discarded them because he'd known better.

Deku sat up, deciding that he couldn't sleep, no matter how tired he was. His new dorm room was admittedly embarrassing, but it was him all the way. He stared up at the statues and posters of All-Might, illuminated by the late-night moon filtering through the window.

What would the Symbol of Peace have done?

Could he even live up to that title? How could he when he so recklessly endangered his friends' futures and careers? Not only the likes of Kirishima, Todoroki, Iida, and Yaoyorozu, but also Kaminari, Tsu, Mineta, and Uraraka.

Uraraka…

Deku stood and dressed into simple workout pants and a t-shirt. He needed to work off steam somehow. Of all the people he wanted to disappoint least, it was Uraraka. She'd been incredibly perceptive with the situation regarding Tsu. She'd acted as mediator in the whole mess, letting their friend act in a safe situation to express herself.

She'd been the real hero this night, and Deku felt like the villain.

He opened the door to his room and went out into the hall. Even at night, the lights were still on, though everyone had gone to sleep. He took the elevator down to the ground floor and went out through the lobby into the front walkway.

He didn't go far onto the grass, just enough that he wouldn't rattle the windows with his practice, and took up a battle stance. He let One-For-All course through him, five percent, and began to practice.

With Full Cowling, his punches sent bursts of wind across the lawn, his kicks rustling the bushes and echoing off the building's brick walls and glass windows. He let his frustration burn into his moves, as his body flowed with the power gifted to him by the world's greatest hero.

What would All-Might have done?

Was there anything Deku could have done differently? He ran through each scenario as he trained, focusing on unknowns and trying to solve them. Aizawa-sensei had said to go through proper channels next time. What did that even mean? What could Deku have done differently?

Each possibility led him to a dead end, with Kacchan still captured and All-Might dead. He'd done the right thing, hadn't he? Hadn't he?!

He paused in his training, sweat streaming across his body, through his shirt and in his hair. He doubled over, breathing hard.

"You never do stop training, do you?" said a familiar voice.

It was Uraraka. She leaned against the light pole just beside the stairs leading into the dorm. She had shadows under her eyes, but she had a small grin on her face.

Deku froze. How long had she been watching him? Why was she here? What was he supposed to do? Girl. Girl. Girl.

Not just any girl, though.

Uraraka…

"Well, don't stop, silly," she laughed, "Keep going."

"Um…" said Deku, throat dry, "I- well- you know, it's hard with you watching. It's- AND DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY- it's distracting."

Her face turned a little red. She wore her black tank top and striped blue workout pants. She cast a look to the side.

"So, why are you out here?" she said after a moment's pause.

Deku straightened up and let his face furrow. His nerves were gone, replaced with conflicted resolve. He must have been at it for half an hour, and he still hadn't come to a conclusion.

He gazed up at the moon- it was full tonight. He couldn't bring himself to look at Uraraka, not for anything she did, but because he was still ashamed of the schism he'd formed in their class.

"I wish I'd listened to Tsu," he finally said, "But I can't see a path where I could have changed anything. I want things to go back to normal, and I know that they will as we work toward becoming heroes."

He clenched his fist, the jagged scars gleaming in the spirited moonlight. "But in an attempt to be a hero, to save my friend, I became a villain."

Uraraka walked close to him, putting her hands on her hips. "You did not become a villain, Deku."

She was suddenly so close to him, and it made him freeze again. She had a small pout on her face and looked up at him with big, brown, earnest eyes.

With a swallow, Deku looked down at his fist once more. That fist had saved Kacchan, and made Tsu cry. "You wouldn't be saying that," he said, "If I'd actually gotten you all expelled."

"But you didn't get us expelled."

"But I could have. And it broke our class's trust in one another."

She took his hand, and his heart skipped in his chest. He almost went One-For-All on instinct, like a fight-or-flight on steroids. She was touching his hand.

"It doesn't make you a villain," she said, "You were trying to save Bakugo."

"If you're saying that you'll break the rules, those acts are the same as those of villains." Tsu's words ringed in Deku's head, from back at the hospital. She'd said them to convince him to not break the rules, and she'd been right.

"How's the saying go?" whispered Deku, "Every villain is a hero in their own eyes?"

"You are not a villain," said Uraraka adamantly, "You are a human who was trying to save his friend. We all wish you'd done things differently; I wish you'd listened to Tsu, and that Bakugo had come back safe another way. But you are not a villain, even if you had gotten us all expelled."

Deku felt her hand on his. It was warm, and so soft. He still remembered the first time she'd ever touched him. He'd been about to fall over, he'd been so nervous.

And the second time she'd touched him, it had been a slap. It'd saved his life, but it had still been a slap.

She'd always been there to keep him afloat, whether in the fight with Bakugo or at the U.A. sports tournament. And here she was, keeping him afloat still. He'd never been this close to a girl before. He'd never held a girl's hand. He'd never-

"Deku," she said softly, "You don't need to know what you could have done better. You just have to keep pushing forward. Be like All-Might. Go Beyond, Plus Ultra, right?"

Deku swallowed. She'd seen his room. She knew how much of a nerd he was. But even still, she seemed to find his obsession endearing.

"Th-thank you, Uraraka," he said quietly.

For a long, wondrous moment, she kept holding his hand, then pulled let it fall away. It felt like failing a test. He wanted to keep holding her hand. He needed to. She was wonderful. She kept him afloat. She let him fly!

As she turned to leave back into the apartment, he reached out and held her shoulder. Gently, not in a controlling way, but it was his own way of saying not to go yet.

"Uraraka," he said, thinking quickly, "Can you float the both of us?"

She turned to him, eyebrows raised and face red. "Yes, why?"

He swallowed. This was crazy. He was crazy. But if nothing else, he needed to show her something. He couldn't just let her walk away. Not with all this burning in his chest. He wanted to tell her so many things, and he couldn't get out the words right. So, he would show her what she meant to him, with their quirks.

"I have an idea," he said, "Will you trust me?"

"Of course!" she said, "But are you sure it's okay? We should probably get to bed."

"I-I know," Deku stammered, "But…. I… Uraraka, I wanted to show you…"

He had an idea swirling through his head. A plan. Something he knew they could do together, and only they could do together.

"Okay," she said, touching his hand again to make him weightless, and then forming her little hand signal to make herself float.

Deku swallowed hard. "Um, uh, hold on tight," he said and opened his arms a bit.

What am I doing? He screamed in his head. There is no way she's-

She wrapped her arms around him tight, and he knew he had to act. This was it. This was his chance. With a burst of energy, he channeled full cowling throughout his entire body, and then he launched into the air at fifteen percent.

They catapulted together up into the sky, past the roof of the dorm and up toward the moon itself. The force of his jump carried them, with weightlessness up higher than he'd ever been, with Uraraka holding on tight the whole way.

"Okay!" he called out, "Release us both!"

And she did. They continued sailing upward, carried by their momentum, up over the whole of the lights of the city, above the mountains, and the skyscrapers and treetops, where nothing else could touch them.

As they came to a stop, he called out, "And make us weightless again!"

And like that, he and Uraraka were floating amidst the clouds, carried by her quirk far above the worries and troubles that had pressed down on them.

"Wow!" Uraraka laughed, separating herself from Deku, "It's so beautiful!"

The stars above them twinkled and danced like a thousand fireflies, and the moon glowed brilliantly, reflected in her eyes.

At first, Deku's stomach lurched, thinking he might fall if they separated. But then his brain took over and he laughed alongside Uraraka. It was beautiful, the city lights below, matching the countless stars above.

And more than that, Uraraka was beautiful. The most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

Suddenly, he longed to hold her once more, and not for safety either.

"Deku!" she said, turning and smiling at him from ear to hear, "This is incredible." Her hair fluttered in the night wind, her rosy cheeks grinning beneath her eyes.

"I guess we work well together," said Deku shyly. He still couldn't bring himself to say anything in his chest, but he could at least show her some of what he felt. Some of how she made him feel.

Her smile turned into a small, solemn grin, as if she just now realized something. Then she leaned forward, and kissed him on the cheek.

"I guess we really do go well together," she said.

Deku touched his cheek. Her lips had just been there, on his skin. He felt a fire rage inside him like he'd never felt before, a young desire for her that he'd never known he could have. She was wonderful. She was amazing. She was everything.

She held out her hand, and he took it. He looked down at their hands entwined, his scarred and mangled one with her beautiful and soft one. Somehow, they seemed to fit one another perfectly.

He swallowed and fought down the terrified anxiety that fought its way up his throat.

Does she like me? She has to, right? That's what happens when a girl likes you, she kisses you, right? I've never had a girl like me, what do I do?

He would never get used to this.

Uraraka was red-faced too, but she'd initiated all this. Was she embarrassed? What would she say later?

Deku didn't know, but he would treasure this moment forever.

With a yawn, Uraraka pulled out her phone. "It's really late," she said, "We should get to sleep, or Aizawa-sensei will kill us."

Deku nodded absently.

"Here," she said, "Grab hold of me, this time, and I'll take us back down."

Deku embraced her, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her neck. He desperately wanted to kiss her, but he didn't dare. What if she rejected him? What if that was too fast, too much? No, a single kiss on the cheek would be enough. And hopefully, hopefully, he'd someday repeat the feat.

They descended through the sky that way, with Uraraka controlling their fall, until, at last, they reached the lawn of the dorm once more. The lights in the hall were still on, and nobody had risen during the night.

Separating himself from Uraraka, Deku kept holding her hand for a second longer. "Ochaco," he said, "Thanks for always lifting me up."

She smiled the most sincere smile ever at him. "Let's reach for the stars, Deku. Together. Plus Ultra."