(I started this on Deku's birthday, and I only just finished it, nearly a week late oops. In my defense, this was only supposed to be a drabble and it kind of got wildly out of hand. IzuOcha is so much fun it just kept on writing itself.

Alternate title: Teenagers and their darned hormones.

Cross-posted on AO3)

Saw this. Thought of you

As soon as the elevator doors closed firmly behind her, Ochako realised she had made a mistake. She shouldn't be here... what was she doing!?

"Floor, dear?" A raspy voice cut through Ochako's internal screaming and made her jump.

"S-Sorry?" She stammered.

A small hunched old woman stood with a bony finger pointed at the control panel. She smiled up at Ochako, making the wrinkles on her face even deeper, waiting for her to respond.

"Oh! Seventeen please!" Ochako replied automatically, before realising she should have just said she was going to get straight off. Too late now, she thought with a sinking feeling in her stomach, as the friendly old lady tapped the button for floor seventeen.

"Good floor, number seventeen," the lady rasped conversationally, "they've got an ice machine on that floor."

The display above the doors showed a number that slowly increased. Ochako's regret increased with it.

"An ice machine? That sounds convenient," she laughed, still trying to be polite despite the butterflies flapping around her stomach.

Floor 9.

Floor 10.

The elevator rattled loudly as it climbed higher.

She really shouldn't have come. It was just going to be awkward and weird... wasn't it? They hadn't seen each other in nearly two years... She should have at least called first, to make sure he was in. Sure, it was his birthday and everything, but he was probably out visiting his mother, or All Might, or maybe he was still out working? God knows he had an unhealthy work ethic. The last time she'd heard from him he was still working hard with his training and hero jobs - so they hadn't been able to pin down a time when they could meet up. Then her schedule had gotten full too, and they'd both just always been... busy. It was only natural as they got older that they would see less of each other, she supposed. They were both eighteen now and were training under different agencies to become pros after all.

At least if he wasn't at home she could just post it through his door. She was sure she had a notebook and a pen tucked somewhere in the depths of her handbag, so she could write a note along with it and that would be fine-

"Here's your floor, dear." The raspy voice startled her again and Ochako looked up in surprise at the display that was now lit up with a large '17'. The elevator had slowed to a stop while she was lost in thought and it shuddered slightly as the doors slid open.

"Oh- Yes! This is my stop- floor seventeen, just like I said!" Ochako babbled.

The old lady held a finger pressed to the button that held the doors open and smiled warmly at her. "Well, aren't you going to get off, my dear?"

"Yes of course!" She jolted forward in embarrassment.

"It's so sweet that you youngsters get all dressed up for each other, I hope your boyfriend likes his present, dear," the old lady chuckled.

Ochako's pink cheeks bloomed a vivid red and she looked rapidly between the present in her hands and the lady, then shook her head violently, whipping her long bangs around her face. "No no no, it's not like that! - We're not! - This is just-!"

The old lady simply smiled and reached up to the control panel again.

"No, we-" Ochako tried again, but the doors had already slid shut and she heard the cables whirring and rattling as the elevator continued its climb up the building, "-we're just friends." She finished lamely.

Oh no- now she was blushing furiously, and she'd messed up her hair, and - oh - why should she care if her hair is messy anyway if she didn't think about him like that anymore?

I-I don't think about him like that anymore... right?

Ochako shook her head again and slapped a cheek with her free hand. She needed to get a hold of herself. How would it look if she knocked on his door blushing like this? Being a noticeable blusher was a curse, because her feelings were always so obvious, which, coupled together with her natural tendency to get into a flap, meant that she could easily make herself look like an emotional mess. She remembered many years ago, that first time Aoyama had mentioned her crush, and she still wanted to float away with the embarrassment of it. Maybe she'd had a teeny tiny crush... But she'd grown out of it, for sure...

And anyway! What a conclusion for that lady to jump to, she huffed internally, frowning a little. She didn't think she looked particularly dressed up. She was wearing a pink and grey skirt, a grey knitted sweater and black combat boots. Her usual kind of clothes; cute but practical.

It was her first proper day off in a long time, since alongside the hero training at the rescue agency she'd chosen she was also taking a course in specialised rescue first aid and physical therapy, and she was still hitting the gym between all of that too. She was surprised to find his birthday fell on a day that held no other plans for her for once, so she'd gotten him a present and made her way over without really thinking it through.

Ochako took a deep breath and set her face into a determined expression, then marched away from the elevators down a brightly lit corridor to her left. Pro heroes faced worse than turning up at the flat of an old high school crush... unannounced... with a surprise gift on their birthday... Right?

After a short walk Ochako's hand hovered in front of the plain unassuming door that she knew belonged to Izuku Midoriya. He was probably out, she reminded herself, so she could just knock and leave it with her note. Ochako rapped her knuckles against the wood loudly. A few heartbeats went by and nothing happened and the sharp pang of disappointment that speared through her was surprising. She knocked once more, a little louder, and was just in the process of trying to squeeze the small present through his letterbox when the door swung away from her.

She let out a startled squeak and jumped back in surprise.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't hear the door over the shower and-" Izuku rushed on, slightly out of breath, but stopped when he caught sight of who was standing outside the door. "U-Uraraka?"

"Um..." She began, trying hard not to stare.

Trying really hard not to stare.

Izuku was stood in his doorway wearing a pair of casual black shorts and a red, white, blue and yellow All Might hoodie, that was unzipped and open; leaving his extremely well-toned torso completely on show. He'd had sculpted abs and a lean body of muscle even when they were students at UA, but he was eighteen (nineteen now, she supposed, with it being his birthday and all) and had obviously been working out hard since then to keep his muscles that toned and well maintained into his early adulthood. His hair was still slightly damp, and there was a green towel draped over his left shoulder, and as he fumbled to hastily zip up his jacket she caught the shine of droplets of water still sitting on his skin.

Ochako could feel heat in her face with an intensity she hadn't experienced for a while, and she cringed internally knowing a bright blush would be spread across her cheeks and nose. She had to slam down on the impulse to hide her face behind her hands. But before she could untie her tongue and say something (anything) to break the awkward silence Izuku finally got his zipper in the correct place and tugged it up sharply, closing the jacket with a high-pitched zip noise.

"S-Sorry, I just got out the shower and I kind of threw on the first thing I could find-" Izuku said quickly, tips of his ears turning pink as he obviously realised his state of undress.

Focus, Ochako!

"N-No, don't be silly! It's my fault for just turning up out of the blue like this! That's what cell-phones are for, right?" She added cheerfully. "I just thought... we hadn't met up in a while and, since it's your birthday and everything, I got you a present and I thought I'd deliver it in person."

Izuku smiled, the tips of his ears were still pink, and there was a hint of a blush beneath his freckles. It was a combination that did something terrifying to the state of her heartbeat and threw the butterflies in her stomach into complete chaos. She felt a little bit like she did when she'd been floating herself for too long.

She laughed lightly, hoping it would sound more at ease than she felt, and rested a hand behind her head. "What I mean to say is, Happy Birthday!"

Only then did Ochako realise she wasn't holding a present anymore.

She brought both hands in front of her and inspected them, then looked sharply to the ground in confusion.

"I think that's what your looking for," Izuku laughed. Ochako looked up to see him pointing at the small box wrapped in green, that was his birthday present, now floating on the ceiling.

"Eh?!" She squeaked, even more embarrassed to be seen accidentally setting off her quirk. She hardly ever inadvertently made things float anymore. Any hopes she'd had of looking like she'd matured since high school were fading away in front of her eyes, and she wished that she wasn't showing herself up like this in front of the one person she totally looked up to, admired, and - and... whatever else it was that she felt for him.

Instantly Ochako put her finger pads together and felt the familiar pulse of releasing her quirk's effect on something. At least she didn't say 'release' anymore - that was a habit she'd grown out of to gain a tactical advantage while fighting villains. Gotta stay stealthy sometimes.

But instead of the box falling to the ground, since in her haste she'd forgotten about the golden rule of what goes up must come down, Izuku reached up and gently caught it as it dropped.

He's a lot taller than he used to be, she thought, feeling something fluttering in her chest. (The butterflies from her stomach got in there too she guessed.) And a lot broader too. His hair was still the same untameable mass of green wavy spikes that she remembered though, and his sincerity and earnest nature were still the same too.

Ochako clapped her hands together, careful not to let her little fingers touch, in case she accidentally made herself float this time. "Well, that's one way to hand over a present!"

"Your quirk is so cool," he breathed, as if he wasn't the one leaping over buildings and kicking down villains and saving lives constantly, "I haven't seen it in action for such a long time in person. I mean, I see you use it on tv all the time, but I forgot how cool it is to see you remove the gravity from something right in front of me." A light shone in his eyes as he spoke. "And you've gotten so good with it too, your limit has gone way beyond what it used to be, and I've seen you rescue so many people as Uravity. The way you've evolved a fighting style out of it is interesting too, like that time you were fighting Eviscerator and you- oh! I mean- not that I sit and just watch you on tv all the time- I watch lots of heroes on tv when I get the chance! I- uh..." He rambled, letting his voice trail off.

He obviously still got swept up into his own enthusiasm and fanboying over hero stuff like he used to. But for that enthusiasm to be directed toward her filled her up with a happiness she thought must be glowing out of her, and this time she couldn't even fight the urge to hide her face, she simply clapped her hands to her cheeks, and the feeling that she wanted to float away was so overwhelming that she was surprised she wasn't really in the air.

She peeked a look at his green eyes, but they were looking away from her, and the blush that bloomed on his cheeks was so bright it hid his freckles. Was he... flustered too? Did he...? No, no, she needed to clamp down hard on that feeling straight away, she realised, as hope sang through her veins. They were just friends. He was the pro hero 'Deku' who had been personally trained by All Might in their last year of high school. He was already intensely popular as a pro, and he'd saved so many lives, given so many villains over to the police... He'd probably already got a girlfriend. He'd probably had loads of girlfriends!

Izuku held out the present in his hands to her, still looking vaguely panicked and flustered, "Here."

Ochako shook her head, more violently than she meant to thanks to her whirling storm of emotions, and waved her hands, "It's for you silly! It's your birthday, right?"

"Oh! Right," he laughed, looking slightly more at ease for them to be changing the topic, "and please, come in! I can't believe I've left you on the doorstep this whole time."

"R-Really? I didn't want to take up your time if you're busy, I'm sure you've got birthday plans and stuff."

"I'm actually free today. I wouldn't have minded working, but everyone told me to take a day off," he said sheepishly, "and I'm visiting my mom and All Might later so... it would be nice to have company actually."

Izuku turned back into his apartment and motioned for her to follow him with his free hand, the other clutching the present to his chest.

His apartment was exactly how she would have imagined it, having seen his dorm room at UA; All Might memorabilia everywhere. It seemed that no matter how quickly he climbed the Pro-Hero ladder, how powerful or successful he got, inside he was always that same All Might fanboy dork she'd known and lov-

"Still All Might's biggest fan I see!" Ochako almost screeched, in her haste to steer her thoughts away from where they were headed before she had a chance to admit something to herself she shouldn't.

Izuku smiled widely. "Always!"

Oh no, he's still so cute.

Ochako almost sighed with defeat, unable to stop her traitorous thoughts around him.

With her shoes off she moved fully into the apartment and looked at the space appreciatively; it was a spacious apartment for where he was. And although the initial All Might collection was a bit of an assault on the senses, it tied the décor together in a red, blue, white and yellow theme that really colour coordinated the whole space. And it was so him.

They both sat down on his couch, close but not quite touching, and she watched in excitement as he opened his present. He tore away the wrapping paper like an excited child, then carefully opened the box inside, pulling out a grey plastic tube. It looked like a large tube of toothpaste and Izuku turned it over in his scarred hands to read the label.

"I've been taking a specialised rescue course on the side of my regular hero work," Ochako explained with a smile, "so I've been doing things like first aid, and physiotherapy. We've been learning how to relieve pain from damaged muscles, looking into long term care for wounded heroes and amazing things like that! This gel is brand new, still in development really, that can be used to promote healing and relaxation in muscles beyond full repair. It's not even available to the public yet!" She enthused. "But I managed to persuade my tutor to give me a tube, because it sounded perfect for you."

"Woah!" Izuku lifted the tube up in surprise, like he had a newfound respect for it. "That's an amazing present - thank you. I can't believe you thought of me like that, I'm kind of embarrassed." He admitted. "But my arms haven't been too bad lately at all, sometimes I completely forget about all the damage."

"Hmmm..." Ochako leaned in close to his face, narrowing her large eyes and looking straight into his green ones.

"U-U-Uraraka?"

"You're lying," she stated, staying close despite the butterflies leaping back into action. (Were they in her throat now too?)

After a moment, Izuku sighed. "Maybe a little."

She considered this and leaned back, then said brightly, "Then let me try some on you now! As an extra part of your birthday present. I know how to apply it properly, and it'll make your arms feel better, I promise, it won't hurt at all."

Izuku hesitated, but then he nodded and the determined look she'd always admired lit up his face.

"If you're sure, then that would be great. I trust you." A pause and then, "But how do you apply it anyway?"

Ochako matched his expression with her own and punched the air. "Great! First you need to take off your jacket, and you'll need somewhere flat to lie so I can massage... it... in..." She tried not to choke on the last few words, she really did, but the realisation of what she'd just suggested finally sank in.

She'd just offered to give Izuku Midoriya a massage.

She was going to give Izuku - her high school crush, and who was she kidding, she was still totally in love with him - Midoriya a massage.

He looked surprised and slightly panicked, but he was the type who wouldn't go back on something he'd already agreed to, so he just nodded and said, "Sure, we can use my room," in voice that cracked slightly on the word 'room'.

Ochako hovered outside his bedroom door (Izuku's bedroom) and tried desperately to get the flames in her cheeks to die down while she waited for him to take off his jacket and tell her he was ready. Which was kind of ridiculous because she'd already seen him at his doorway earlier, and she was going to see him without his top on in there anyway, what did it matter if she watched him take it off?

"Okay!" Izuku's voice was muffled from inside the room.

Ochako pushed open the door gently.

His curtains had been drawn, putting the room into a cosy gloom, as the sunlight still streamed outside and gave a pleasant low light through fabric. The All Might theme continued in the colour scheme, but thankfully he seemed to be keeping all his memorabilia in the living room. Izuku was lying on his back in the centre of his double bed, wearing only his black shorts, with his jacket now folded neatly onto his desk. It was hard to tell in the low light, but she was sure that he was blushing. With his top fully off she could see the ridges between each of his defined abs (she snapped her eyes up from the skin above the waistband of his shorts) and saw the solid muscle on each of his arms. But she could also see the full extent of the scarring, and it pained her to see the reminders of how injured he'd been.

Ochako gave one deep breath and then climbed onto the bed beside him, deciding to massage the most scarred arm first. Distantly she wondered how her day had gotten to this; being so close to him, when it was the sort of thing she'd never even allowed herself to dream about, it had seemed so out of reach.

She pushed away the butterflies, pushed away the floaty feelings, and steeled herself.

Right now, she was a professional hero providing care.

"Just relax," she soothed, "I'm going to massage this gel into your arm, and it might feel a bit cold at first, but it'll soon warm up. I'm sorry if the motion causes you any pain - if it hurts too much just let me know and I'll stop, okay?" Familiar words made her feel grounded in her job again.

Izuku nodded, his eyes closed.

Ochako applied some gel to her hands and started in small motions at the top of his arm, near his shoulder, careful to be slow and gentle over the most extensive scarring. The skin felt rough and uneven under her hands, even with the gel, and she was shocked at how bad the injury must have been to have caused this kind of damage in the first place. He'd told her once that his scars were all from his own quirk. What an awful burden to have carried a power like that, that could help people, but injure himself so badly in the process. She was glad that he didn't work like that anymore.

"Hey, um, De- Izuku?" It felt strange to be using his first name again, but he'd told her to call him that in their third year at school, so she was still going to use it now.

"Hm?"

"I've always wondered... What does it feel like when you use your quirk? To have that much power and energy under your skin... I mean, your quirk is amazing, but, it used to hurt you so badly. I'll never forget the way you wrecked that giant robot in one punch in our entrance exams," she laughed lightly. "Especially since you did that to save me and all. But you kind of nearly exploded your arm and legs too."

Izuku winced with the memory and smiled sheepishly. "I made a bit of a weird first impression, I guess. I hadn't really learned how to control it back then. I'm glad I can use my power to help people without having to be helped myself now- you think I was amazing, but I'd have been a stain on the floor if you hadn't saved me! That was a good slap."

"And then I threw up!" She laughed. "Guess we were both bad at the first impressions thing."

"Maybe... but to me you were always that nice girl with the pretty smile I met outside the UA entrance, that stopped me from falling flat on my face," he said gently, "and the first girl who'd ever spoken to me without making fun of me."

"R-Really?" Ochako nearly squeaked. "But why would anyone make fun of you? You're the coolest person I know- you're so selfless and brave!"

Only then did she realise she'd stopped massaging his arm some time ago and had gradually leaned down closer to his face. This close she could clearly see the blush staining his cheeks or count each of his freckles. Izuku opened his eyes and mouth, about to say something, but then he noticed their close position and simply stared up into her eyes instead. A beat passed where Ochako wasn't even sure she was breathing.

His eyes were so green.

And then suddenly it all made sense.

That's what all this was... She was in love with him. She'd always been in love with him really, she realised. This whole time, even when they'd been cities apart and hadn't seen each other in nearly two years, he'd never been far from her thoughts. Or her tv screen. She'd kept up with all his achievements, cheering at all his successes, and screamed at the screen when he'd struggled, wishing she was beside him.

What an unexpectedly terrible thing to realise when her face was this close, and he was mostly undressed, and she was supposed to be giving him a massage.

Ochako blinked and leaned away quickly. Keep it professional, she chided herself, so she cleared her throat, ignored her racing heart, and laughed nervously. "Heh, sorry about that. I didn't mean it to get so personal there, I didn't want to embarrass you."

"N-No problem," Izuku managed in a strangely tight voice, closing his eyes again.

She took a breath and resumed her massage with enthusiasm, letting her finger pads glide gently over his skin. She had to concentrate hard to keep herself from activating her quirk on him; unable to give an effective massage without using her whole hand, including all her fingers, but now that she'd gotten her composure back and remembered this was part of her job, she felt less floaty. Even through the dazed realisation that she was in love with him. She just wanted to focus on giving Izuku the most effective massage she could, so that he would feel the benefits of the gel on his injured arms that were littered with a crisscross of scars and badly healed muscle.

The gel even smelt nice, she thought, kneeling close by his arm on the bed and relaxing into the motions of the massage, letting her hands and fingers glide over his warm skin. Or maybe it was him.

After a little while Ochako became concerned that Izuku hadn't said anything since their conversation before. And he felt tenser than when she'd started. Maybe she was hurting him, and he didn't want to admit it? Maybe he was feeling weird about all this? For her, she was pushing down all these feelings she'd just come to realise, but it was still nice to be by his side doing something positive, but since he didn't feel the same way maybe it was just plain weird? His friend was giving him a massage, on his bed, while he was shirtless, and by now she was running her hands quite firmly up and down the entire length of his scarred arm. Maybe she should stop... She should-

But any other thoughts she was about to have were effectively shut down by the noise Izuku made as her deft hands moved back up to the top of his arm again.

Izuku moaned.

It was a high-pitched keening that set her veins on fire and pulsed a jolt of something electric low in her stomach that made her breath hitch.

And then he slammed his hands to his face and flipped over onto his side faster than she could react, turning away from her.

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" He rushed on, though his voice was muffled by his own hands and he was still facing away from her, having rolled onto his side across the bed. "I- I am so sorry! I can't believe I-" His pitch rose and Ochako could clearly see he was mortified.

Ochako was eighteen, so it wasn't like she didn't know anything about 'boy stuff', even though she'd never had an actual boyfriend, but she'd never heard a noise like that. She... kind of wanted to hear it again...

"It was just that it was so dark, a-and your hands felt amazing- and you were so close," he rambled again, still into his hands, "and this is like so many dreams I've had- oh, no- you did not need to know that!"

Ochako could hear the distress in his voice, like he was digging himself deeper into a hole of his making, but just couldn't stop. She listened, eyes wide, to his rambling car-crash, and was pretty sure her cheeks were on fire. The springs on Izuku's mattress were the only sound in the silent room as he shifted to sit up on the bed cross-legged, though he was still facing away from her.

"I've never been this close to a girl," he continued, though his voice was beginning to quiet down into a mutter with a distressed edge, "with barely any clothes on. Or fully clothed, I guess, actually... I've never had anyone touch me like that, especially not on my scar too, and it was the first time it didn't feel like this horrible reminder of how close I'd come to failing and knowing I couldn't save someone. And I nearly kissed you- but I know you don't like me like that- so I couldn't do it- even though I wanted to so much." He confessed.

Ochako blinked. He... Eh?!

"Thinking of anything but the feeling of your hands on my skin was so hard-" Izuku choked on his own phrasing, "-was really difficult. I just, I've never actually had a girlfriend- not that I don't know about... stuff... I've just been busy with hero work and I've never met a girl I liked more than you, so I never-" he trailed off and dipped his head as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

He gave it a moment, and then he spoke again in a sad voice, "I'm really sorry Uraraka, I've made this all so awkward when you were just trying to be a good friend."

Ochako's heart was racing, her stomach was fluttering so much she felt a little motion sick, and her cheeks were burning. She was trying hard to remember how her voice worked.

Her hands were still hovering in the air where they'd ended up after he rolled away from her, and she rubbed them on the towel he'd given her to wipe off the gel. Anything to give her brain a moment to catch back up. She didn't even know what to address first; her thoughts were in complete chaos. "D-Don't be sorry. It's fine." She shook her head and waved her hands, even though he wouldn't see. "Totally okay. Don't worry about it! It... was supposed to feel nice. I'm glad it was, um, working." She added shyly, feeling a little awkward, while she looked up at the dark ceiling of his bedroom that suddenly became the most interesting thing in the room to look at. (Instead of staring wide eyed at his muscular back.)

He'd said he wanted to kiss her, she remembered, trying not to think about what he meant when he mentioned his dreams, so did that mean that this whole time, she had thought her crush had been one sided but...

"You... liked me? In high school, I mean." Ochako asked bravely, though she was still looking up at the ceiling.

Izuku took a long time to reply but when he spoke it was in a clear, sure voice, though his back was still facing her, "Pretty much since you first smiled at me and ever since."

"No way!" She exclaimed, snapping her head back down and slamming her palms on his bed. "You can't have done! That- that's even earlier than when I started liking you! When I saw you leap into the air to save me I thought I'd never seen someone so amazing! And then I got the chance to be your friend in class and you were such a genuine and funny person too, but I didn't think you felt the same way about me because you never said anything. So I didn't say anything..." She bit her lip as the realisation hit her then; that they'd both done the same stupid thing.

"I never said anything because I never thought you'd have had feelings for me- I was such a mess in high school, always off to Recovery Girl or the hospital, spending my free time training, always running off into trouble." He paused. "Actually, I'm still a mess like that! I thought you were way out of my league, you've always been so pretty and so kind, and I didn't want to tell you and make our friendship awkward!" He groaned, realising what they'd both done too. "I can't believe we both... You..." He laughed and shook his head.

Ochako joined in soon after. "We're both idiots!" She managed through the laughter.

"We just cared too much about each other," Izuku sighed, a smile in his voice.

"Still care," Ochako corrected gently, scooting closer to his back across the bed.

For a moment neither of them made a sound, then Izuku took a deep breath. "You asked me a little while ago what it felt like when I activated my quirk."

Ochako tilted her head, thrown off by the sudden change in topic, but she had asked him that, and she hadn't even noticed that he hadn't answered - they'd just kept on talking.

Green lightning suddenly flashed across Izuku's bare skin, illuminating the room, and it crackled with so much energy that this close to him it made the hairs on her arms stand up. When he turned around on the bed, it was so fast she nearly didn't catch the way his eyes were glowing the brightest green she'd ever seen, or the red blush across his nose, despite how brightly his body was glowing.

"It makes me feel like I can do anything," he answered finally, using one hand to wrap around her back and the other to lift her into his still cross-legged lap.

She squeaked with surprise, and an unexpected thrill of excitement pulsed through her.

Their eyes met, his still glowing a beautiful vibrant green, and he seemed to be searching for any hint that she was feeling uncomfortable or that he should stop. Which was so like him; he was so chivalrous he wouldn't even steal her first kiss. She smiled warmly and brought her hands up to the back of his neck. He really was too adorable, and it was so so good to stop pushing down her feelings and admit to herself that she really did love him.

She bit her lip again, looking away, and felt heat rising to her cheeks as she moved into a more comfortable position in his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist and bringing their bodies closer together. She was totally new to this sort of thing, but it felt good, so she went with it, peeking a look at Izuku out of the corner of her eye, hoping she hadn't gone too far. But his eyes were locked onto her, like she was the only thing he could see, and there was something shining out of them that did crazy things to her pulse.

Boldly Ochako threaded her fingers through the wavy thick hair at the base of his neck, excited to finally know what that felt like, and Izuku used the hands that were still wrapped around her back to gently shift her position again, just a little, so that she wasn't resting on the hardness of his crotch. Oh. Oh. She hoped she hadn't hurt him.

She was about to say as much, but before she could he spoke in a low whisper, rough with an emotion she'd not heard before, especially not from him, "I'm sorry I kind of interrupted your birthday present to me. Can I... um... reschedule?" He smiled, and she couldn't resist beaming back. He added shyly, "We could go out for a movie or something first next time?"

"Of course!" She nearly yelled in her enthusiasm. She almost couldn't believe it- a date with Izuku! "That would be... really... nice..." Ochako's voice trailed off as his face inched closer slowly. His eyes had closed slightly, and his nose moved next to hers, so close that she could feel his breath on her lips, making her lose her words and her focus and just about every thought she had. Her fingers gripped tighter into his hair and he finally closed the tiny, tantalising gap between them.

If Ochako thought that the hairs on her arms were standing on end before, it was nothing compared to kissing him; every nerve seemed to come alive at once. Their mouths moved in a clumsy inexperienced rhythm, but it still felt great. All the times she'd denied her true feelings for him were pouring out of her kisses, while her heart was full of all the love and admiration she'd held for him like a torch for all these years.

She felt his hands on her back through her sweater like they were on fire, and she craved to have them hold her tighter, so she could feel his toned, hard chest against her own. Their kisses were long and deep at first, once they'd become used to the sensation, and she felt a thrill at being able to taste him like this at last, while his tongue did amazing things with her bottom lip that sent fire shooting through her veins. Their kisses became more frantic in response and his fingers twitched against her back a few times, making her wonder distantly just how hard he was having to fight the urge to slide her body closer again. His restraint just made him even more irresistible though because she could almost feel his want crackling in the air around her like his quirk's electricity. In response, she stayed where she was in his lap, but broke away from the kiss for a moment, trailing small kisses down the side of his face to the soft skin on his neck, and he naturally tilted his head so that she could kiss just below his jawline. She was rewarded with another soft high-pitched keening from him.

Izuku slid his shaking hands to her waist (lower, lower, please) and held her steady there, still somehow resisting the urge to pull her flush against him, and instead he let out a shuddery breath as he moved his mouth to capture her lips again.

When they broke apart they were both gasping heavily from the excitement. The whole experience had been completely new, but they naturally seemed to know what they wanted and how.

"Sorry," Izuku breathed, and Ochako wondered if he had surprised himself by his own body's reactions and the force of his want. Even the pro-hero Deku wasn't immune to teenage hormones. She was just as bad, it was just... less noticeable.

She bumped noses with him trying to get her breath and composure back. "Don't be," she whispered with a smile, blush still bright on her cheeks.

He smiled back and took a long, deep, steadying breath, then gently tucked back some of her longer hair behind her ear.

His voice was still slightly breathless when he spoke, "There's some cake in the fridge... if you wanted to stay for a while? I've got a few hours left before I visit my mom and All Might. I'd really like to hear about your hero work and your rescue training, and about your fights with all those villains! I know I've been... pretty bad at keeping in touch." He winced.

Ochako removed her hands from behind his neck and put one on her chin thoughtfully. "Yep, you're right. You have been pretty bad at keeping in touch." She chastised gently, then she tilted her head to one side and stuck out a tongue. "But... Cake and hero stories, hm? How can I say no to that, it sounds like your kind of perfect birthday," Ochako pointed out.

"Oh no you're right!" Izuku laughed.

She gave him a last swift kiss and then removed herself, a little sadly, from his lap. When she was standing by the side of the bed she stretched her arms above her head, feeling a satisfying pop in her shoulder blades, and smoothed down all her rumpled clothing to make herself look more presentable again. Satisfied she'd done what she could without a mirror, Ochako looked back over at Izuku, who had been watching her with rapt attention. She couldn't believe this was really happening. Her heart felt ready to burst with the warm feelings for him she was finally allowed to indulge in, and it gave her an extra buzz to know he felt the same way. (Not to mention how the looks he was giving her - like she was the most special person in the world - made her feel like she must be glowing with happiness.)

"Cake then?" She asked, hoping the almost permanent blush she'd had since coming into his bedroom might finally fade away if they did something normal like eating birthday cake.

Izuku nodded enthusiastically. "The cake is in the fridge, and there's some plates in the cupboard above the sink, oh and forks and spoons are in the little drawer next to the oven."

"Are you... not coming?"

He cleared his throat a little too loudly. "Y-Yeah. Just got to... put my jacket back on... for a few minutes. Just help yourself, I'll be there when I've, um... when I've got ready."

"Okay," Ochako said slowly, her eyebrows crinkling together, feeling like she was missing something (why would it take him a few minutes to put his jacket back on, it was literally right there?). "But don't blame me if there's no cake left by the time you're- Oh!" She squeaked, her blush returning in full force. "O-Oh! - N-No problem! I'll go get the cake!Take your time!" She babbled far too loudly.

"Uraraka!" Izuku called as she attempted to flee from his bedroom, her hands flying to her cheeks. She stopped and looked back at him, his red face probably the same colour as hers. He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck and then he beamed at her. "Thank you for coming to visit today, this has been a really special birthday."

"You're welcome," she replied genuinely, feeling her heart nearly skip a beat. Her hands balled into little fists in front of her. "And please, call me Ochako, okay?"

She was happy for him to use her first name.

He nodded, still smiling, and said, "Okay, Ura-... Ochako."

She felt warm all over.

"Happy birthday!" She added. "I'm so glad I came over today." There was a pause and then she remembered why she'd been leaving the room in the first place, and why Izuku was making no attempts to stand up. "Oh, uh, anyway, I'll um, leave you to it."

Wait, did that sound as dirty as she thought it sounded?

Ochako clapped her hands back to her cheeks as she fled the room. "I mean leave you to get ready!" She corrected loudly. As she closed the door behind her she caught sight of Izuku with his face also covered by his scarred hands, and she nearly laughed at their shared distress.

"I-I'll get the cake!" She called.