A/N:The idea for this fic just sprung to mind all of a sudden and I wanted to see where I could get with it. It is set after Class A move into the dorms at U.A., so beware of spoilers!

Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia.

Seeking comfort

It had been over a week now since Izuku started waking up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. Usually he would be covered in sweat, left as a mark of his constant nightmares. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Midoriya Izuku was frequently suffering from nightmares. In his dreams, he would most often see his friends and his mom captured and tortured by villains while he was forced to watch. Other times, he would dream that All Might was suffering a slow and painful death, while he could do nothing to help and sometimes the dreams would be about himself.

Those dreams were in some way the worst. Not that the dreams about his friends didn't leave him shaking and unable to function for hours at a time, but his fear of his and All Might's secret being discovered was on a whole other level. He was scared of what would happen. How would he be able to protect those dear to him, if something happened to him? Izuku would always wake up and let One for All course through him, and let the feeling of immense power at his disposal lull him into a sense of security.

This time, he had relived the training camp, but his arms had been severed off and he could do nothing as his classmates were murdered in cold blood. Izuku felt sick to his stomach and decided to get a glass of water for his parched throat. The sweat made his clothes stick to him and for a few moments he debated whether to go downstairs and take a shower or just change once he stopped sweating. Finally, after he had downed a glass of ice cold water he kept in his fridge, he rummaged around for a clean t-shirt and another pair of shorts.

A few minutes later Izuku found himself creeping down the hallway and heading for the elevator. He tried his best to make no sounds and prayed to the gods that he didn't wake up Tokoyami or Aoyama. Or even worse, Mineta. The perverted teenager would most definitely insinuate that he was trying to break into the girls room, or harass him about why Izuku was showering in the middle of the night. He didn't feel like being questioned by Tokoyami either and just hurried along to hallway. Luckily no one came charging at him, demanding where he was going at this time of the night.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he pressed the button for the elevator and waited patiently. The dorm was so peaceful at this time and Izuku found himself hoping he could spend his nights as calmly as he felt now. The fear that usually lingered after his nightmares had dissipated and didn't feel as tense any more. The elevator doors opened with a ding and closed again after he entered. Izuku rolled his shoulders while he waited for the doors to open again.

'Maybe I should go running when I wake up.' He was seriously considering exercising despite knowing how exhausted he was going to be come morning. He finally exited the elevator and headed straight for the baths.

That was another thing Izuku had started doing lately; relieving stress through exercise and training. He wasn't pushing himself, he knew that his teachers all kept a close eye on him and he honestly didn't want to make anyone worry. He just wanted to burn off some excess energy and clear his head. Izuku decided that he would see how he felt in the morning.

Once Izuku reached the bath, he stripped down and jumped into the nearest shower cubicle. He waited for a second while the water warmed up and then stepped under the jet of hot water. Another sigh of relief left him as he washed away all his worries. The water felt great as it ran down his shoulders and back, loosening up his stiff muscles.

'It was just a dream. I'm safe here. We even have guards outside the building, nothing can happen here.' Izuku repeated to himself, soaking in the warmth of the water. He quickly rinsed his hair and body, but stayed under the running water for a couple more minutes. He was finally calm again.

Once dressed, Izuku headed back into the lounge area and stopped short when he noticed a familiar head of brown hair sitting in one of the sofas. Not wanting to scare her, Izuku approached from the side where Uraraka could easily spot him softly calling her name.

"Uraraka-san? Are you all right?" His concern for her grew when he saw that her knees were tucked close to her chest and her body was trembling slightly. She hadn't heard him yet, so he cautiously reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. Normally, he wouldn't have initiated physical contact and would just wait for her to reply, but her unresponsiveness was worrying him. The second Izuku's hand made contact with her skin, she jumped and let out a startled noise. Her eyes darted up to his and the sight made his heart ache. She was scared.

"A-ah, Deku-kun! I didn't hear you, sorry." She mumbled her apology and looked away rather stiffly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that. Is something wrong?" Izuku tried again and waited for her answer. He could tell that she was upset and needed to talk to someone, but he didn't want to pressure her into talking.

"I, uh, couldn't sleep so I came down here." Her usual cheeriness was back, but Izuku could tell right away that it was forced. She was trying to be brave and not worry him, but he could see the uneasiness right below the surface.

"I couldn't sleep either." Izuku offered a small smile hoping Uraraka would see it as an invitation to continue the conversation. For a second he thought she wasn't going to reply, but when she finally did he wasn't put at easy anyhow.

"I see." Uraraka returned to her previous position and hugged her knees close to her, protecting herself. Izuku decided to stay with her for a while and make sure she was okay. It was late and she should really be getting some sleep. Sitting down on the sofa next to her with a good bit of space between them, Izuku wondered how to get the conversation started. He opted for a direct approach.

"Did you have a nightmare?" He asked softly. From her stiffening of her body Izuku guessed that he was right. She seemed to struggle with herself on whether to admit it or not and finally gave up with a sigh. She nodded mutely.

"Me too."

They were quiet for a few minutes, letting the silence engulf them. Only one of the small lamps near the TV was on, and its light was so weak that they could barely see each other. Izuku was fine with it being dark. That way, he wouldn't continuously glance in his friend's direction. Uraraka shifted slightly on the sofa, still not looking directly at him.

"I've been having them for a few days now. Once I wake up, I can't go back to sleep." Her voice was low, barely above a whisper, but he caught every word of it.

"Have you been coming down here every time?" Izuku wondered how many hours of sleep she had missed this week. Now that he thought about it, she had been awfully tired when they had classes and had barely been able to focus.

"No, just today." Her reply told him that she usually stayed in her room, alone and wide awake. Izuku tried not to let it get to him – he did the same exact thing very often.

"My mom used to say that there was only one way to chase away a bad dream. Hot chocolate." Izuku remembered all the times he would wake up and run to his mom's bed when he was little. She would always comfort him and make hot chocolate for both of them, before staying with him until he fell asleep. Right now, he was hoping to give Uraraka some of that same comfort. Judging by how she perked up, it seemed like it had worked. Izuku offered to make some and she gratefully accepted.

They had settled into the kitchen and Izuku was rummaging around for the ingredients he needed. The kitchen was rather large and held personal cupboards for every resident along one wall and four large refrigerators that were stocked up twice a week by U.A. on the opposite. Four long kitchen stations, like the ones seen in competitive cooking shows, were aligned in two rows in the middle of the room and beyond those were dining tables.

It had been a while since Izuku had made hot chocolate and he was a little nervous about the outcome, but he was determined to whip up an amazing beverage for Uraraka. She had stopped trembling, but her expression was still somber. She was occupying one of the chairs that she had dragged in front of the counter Izuku was working at. She hadn't mentioned the source of her nightmares, but Izuku was nearly certain they originated from all the villain attacks.

"My mom would always put marshmallows in my cup, but I don't think we have any here." Izuku mumbled as he stirred the pot with warmed up milk. He tried looking for whipped cream or sprinkles, anything really that could go into the hot chocolate, but he didn't find any.

"That's okay." Uraraka whispered meekly. Her face wasn't as pale as earlier, but she still looked a bit frazzled. Izuku frowned as he observed her for a few moments. She was really starting to worry him and he sincerely hoped the hot chocolate would improve her mood.

"Mom also says that it helps to talk to someone about your bad dreams." Izuku gauged her reaction carefully. She looked like she wanted to say something, but decided against it and shook her head instead. Izuku interpreted that she didn't want to talk about it, so he racked his brain for a way to change the subject, but she beat him to the punch.

"You must be close with your mother." Uraraka finally looked Izuku in the eyes, a hint of curiosity in her voice. He nodded with a small smile and sifted in the cocoa powder along with a chunk of butter. Adding sugar and a pinch of salt, Izuku handed Uraraka a steaming mug and grabbed one for himself as well. It had been a little over half an hour since he ran into her, and the exhaustion was easy to spot on her face.

"It's always been me and my mom. I didn't really have any friends before now, so she was my go-to person." Izuku admitted sheepishly. He was glad that he had a good relationship with his mother and he was proud of the way she had raised him.

"Do you miss your parents, Uraraka-san?" The thought had occurred to him when he first spoke of his mom. Uraraka had been living alone for a while now, but surely she had some way of getting comforted by her parents that she was missing now.

"…Yes." Her voice was low, so Izuku guessed that her nightmare had been about them. She took a slow sip from her mug and her eyes shot open.

"This is amazing, Deku-kun!" She took another sip and let the taste linger for a while. She had felt so cold just minutes before, but now she was starting to heat up from inside.

"This is my mom's secret ingredient hot chocolate." He explained as he took a large gulp of his own. It had turned out good, but his mom's was even better. Maybe he should bring Uraraka to his mom's house and have her try the original drink.

"It's yummy." Uraraka cupped her hands around the mug and warmed her fingertips. Taking a few more sips, she looked over at her companion who was staring intently into his mug. If Uraraka were to guess, she would say that Izuku was picking apart the recipe in his mind and adding twists to it.

"You're mumbling inside your head again, aren't you?" She asked and a genuine smile finally crept onto her face. Izuku's eyes snapped up and his cheeks flushed a bit from embarrassment, but his features relaxed when he saw Uraraka's smile.

"It's an old habit." He sheepishly laughed, glad that she was seemingly feeling better. Then it was her turn to stare into her now empty mug.

"What's the secret ingredient?" She had tried to figure it out because it tasted familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on what it was.

"Peanut butter." Izuku beamed at her and launched into an explanation of how the mono-saturated fat was better for the health compared to other fats and how peanut butter was filling and high in protein, so it was actually a very versatile ingredient and he preferred it as a snack together with some vegetable sticks.

"Thank you." Uraraka stopped his rambling by patting his hand affectionately. She was feeling a lot better and she was so grateful that Izuku had stayed with her instead of leaving her alone.

"Y-you're welcome! It's what anybody would have done..." He answered, face flushing again. Uraraka found that Izuku easily got embarrassed when he received praise, but she liked this humble and flustered side of him.

A yawn escaped her and she realized just how late it was. Luckily, they didn't have classes the following morning, so she could sleep in. Izuku saw her yawning and started to clean up as fast as he could without making too much noise. He knew that it was unlikely that anyone would hear him from a floor below, but it felt odd to make noise in the middle of the night.

Uraraka jumped off her seat and quickly helped him put things away after washing them. They were quiet while they worked, but neither of them minded. After they tidied up the kitchen, they headed for the elevator to return upstairs. Izuku stopped a few meters away from the doors and looked up at her with something like determination in his eyes.

"Uraraka-san, when you have nightmares and don't want to be alone, you can always text me. I know what it feels like to be terrified of falling back asleep, so it's okay to depend on me and the others. Even if you just want to sit beside someone without talking, just come find me and I'll be there." Uraraka was surprised that Izuku's voice had been clear and he hadn't stuttered once. Then she realized what he had said to her and she was overwhelmed with emotions.

Izuku seemed to notice it as well and immediately regretted opening his mouth. He had wanted to reassure her that she wasn't alone, not make her feel bad about having nightmares. He started panicking and tried to talk his way out of it, but he noticed that she wasn't mad at him or upset. She just looked taken back.

"I… Thank you, Deku-kun. I'll try." Her voice cracked at the end. She didn't deserve such an amazing friend, but she would always appreciate him, she promised herself.

Until next time!