I… Am… HERE! BRINGING YOU ALL A BONUS CHAPTER LIKE A HERO! ALTHOUGH TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, THAT JOKE PROBABLY WOULD'VE WORKED BETTER HAD IZUOCHA WEEK STAYED IN NOVEMBER, BUT THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR STICKING WITH IT DESPITE THE CHANGE IN SCHEDULE! HAHA!
Disclaimer: My Hero Academia belongs to the United-States-of-SMASHING Kohei Horikoshi, and I am but a humble fan showing my appreciation. Also: yay! I came up with a new disclaimer!
A Week's Worth of Green Tea
Bonus Day: Day 8: Birthday Blushes
"Alright, class dismissed. Merry Christmas, and for Pete's sake, stay out of trouble."
Aizawa ended classes for the day, as well as for the calendar year, in his usual sleepy tone, walking out the door as he said his goodbyes. That way, he wouldn't go deaf from his hyperactive class cheering the end of school until the New Year; having chronic dry eye was annoying enough, thank you very much.
After Mina gave off a loud cheer, the class went back to the dorms to unwind a bit and perhaps start packing for the holidays. Being first-year Heroes-in-training, most were given the holidays off from their internships. In addition, despite the fact that the whole point of moving the students into on-campus dorms was to better watch over them and keep them safe, the administration is allowing the students to go home for the holidays.
"Hey, Uraraka," Midoriya asked as he walked with her and Iida back to the dorms. "Your birthday's just after Christmas, isn't it? You got any plans?"
"Um… Not really," Uraraka replied after a moment of thought. "Not unless my parents have some kind of surprise in store."
"No plans to meet back up with old friends from middle school?" Iida threw in his own 2 yen.
"Not really," Uraraka explained. "Growing up, I was always trying to help my parents out, and money was always a little tight, so when I did find time to go to a birthday party, I usually brought cookies or mochi or something. Couldn't really afford actual presents for anybody; it's kinda embarrassing, really."
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Iida said. "Your old friends had to have understood."
"They did, but I still thought it was embarrassing," Uraraka replied as the trio entered the dorms. Midoriya couldn't help but subtly raise an eyebrow as she went to the fridge to check if there were any pudding cups left, wanting a snack before packing.
Midoriya's mind was going faster than Iida's Recipro Burst. It sounded to him like outside of maybe a cake, her birthdays would feel like any old ordinary day, and that just felt wrong. A wonderful person like Uraraka deserves a wonderful birthday celebration every year, he felt, especially given the festive time of year. All this gave Midoriya an idea.
"Uh, hey, I uh, I gotta make a call," Midoriya excused himself from Iida's company. He walked up the stairs and into the hallway. The hall seemed empty, so Midoriya pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a recent addition to his Contacts list. What he didn't realize, however, was there were two pairs of eyes watching him from the stairwell, watching and trying to listen in.
"… Okay, I'll see you then. Can't wait," Midoriya ended his call with a smile on his face. But before he could even put his phone back in his pocket, however, he felt a sensation he hadn't felt since the USJ incident: a long, muscular, prehensile tongue wrapping around his waist, followed by a swift, sharp yank. "WAAAAAH!"
Midoriya let out an 'Oof!' as he was somewhat-forcibly plopped into an easy chair. Shaking his head from momentary disorientation, he looked up at his… eh, let's call them 'captors'.
"Sorry about that, Midoriya," Tsu croaked. "Mina can be pretty persuasive, ribbit."
"Aw, thanks, Tsu!" Mina chirped, taking that comment as a compliment. She then turned her attention back to Midoriya, a sweet smile on her face. "So! What's the story behind that phone call, huh?"
"U-Uh, that-that's kinda my personal business, isn't it?" Midoriya replied to this sudden line of questioning. He tried to be defensive, but ended up just sounding nervous and squirrelly, as are still part of his nature despite the confidence and backbone he's grown over the course of the year.
"Aw, c'mon, Midoriya!" Mina begged. "I heard you say you had Ochaco's dad's number when you gave her that picture frame-"
"W-Wait, you saw that?!" Midoriya began sweating bullets as his face turned the same shade of red as his shoes.
"Yup!" Mina chirped nonchalantly, seemingly oblivious to Tsu shaking her head in disapproval of Mina's casual violation of Midoriya's privacy. Mina continued. "And now you're secretly calling her dad right before Christmas Break? C'mon, you're obviously planning something for Ochaco! So c'mon, let us in on it; tell us, tell us, tell us!"
Mina was now right up in Midoriya's face, bouncing on her feet as she excitedly begged for something juicy, a huge smile on her face. Tsu was also leaning in, finger on her chin out of curiosity. Midoriya, despite being a bit flustered by Mina and Tsu's close proximity, couldn't help but find Mina's energy somewhat infectious.
"Let you in on what?" Kirishima asked as he and Iida approached to investigate the ruckus. "What's going on? … And why does Midoriya look like he's being interrogated?"
"Because Mina is, in fact, interrogating him," Tsu replied rather bluntly, standing up straight and out of Midoriya's personal space (much to his relief; now it was just Mina that was uncomfortably close).
"Well, yeah! Midoriya's got some kind of super-secret surprise planned for Ochaco for over break and I want in, so c'mon! Spill! Spill! SPILL!" Mina quickly explained to Iida and Kirishima before going right back to begging Midoriya for answers and invading his personal space.
"Alright, alright, alright! I'll tell you!" Midoriya relented. "B-But you gotta promise to keep it secret."
"You got it!" Mina chirped as she gave a playful salute and smile. Midoriya wasn't exactly 100% convinced by this, but Tsu told him that that was probably the best he was gonna get from her, so he just sighed and moved on to telling the 4 of them what he was planning…
-December 27, Uraraka Residence-
Several days into Winter Break, Ochaco was lying in her bed, playing Ms. Pac-Man on her phone [A/N: waka-waka]. Her family lived in a sleepy rural town. It was about 11 in the morning, a light dusting of snow falling, and even on her birthday, she lived far enough out in the sticks that there wasn't much to do even at this time of day, so she just continued playing on her phone, at least until she failed to beat her high score. Sighing, she looked at her text messages again. Deku had sent her one this morning, saying 'Happy Birthday'. It was a simple message, but one that brought a smile to her face.
The front doorbell rang all of a sudden, which surprised Ochaco, but she wrote it off when she heard her dad say he'd get it.
"Ochaco, honey! It's for you," she heard her father call from the front door. That's weird, though; she wasn't expecting anybody.
"Coming! Just give me a sec!" Uraraka replied. She was still basically in her PJs (a luxury her parents insisted she have on her birthday), so she quickly put some casual clothes on and left her room.
"Who is it, Da-" reaching the end of the hall, Uraraka's question never made it out of her mouth, as she laid eyes on the answer standing unexpectedly in her living room.
"Surprise!"
Uraraka was kind of at a loss for words. Standing before her were Deku, Mina, Tsu, Iida, and even Kirishima. "Wh-What are you guys doing here?"
"We're here for your birthday, silly!" Mina replied, being the first to walk over and give the birthday girl a hug.
"It was Midoriya's idea, really," Tsu croaked as she was next in line for birthday hugs.
"Deku?"
"Yeah, me and Iida caught Mina and Tsu interrogating him about it after our last class," Kirishima said as he gave Uraraka a side hug and a toothy grin.
"Ah, that must've happened right after he called me," Uraraka's father interjected with a chuckle as he slapped a hand on Midoriya's shoulder and gave the boy a light shake and squeeze of fatherly approval. "'Cuz it was just a couple minutes later that he called me again asking if some of your friends from UA can come too. And, well, here we are!"
Midoriya had a light blush of embarrassment on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, yeah, what they said."
"Daddy, you knew about this?"
"Yup, and he told me right after," Uraraka's mom answered her daughter's question as she stood next to her husband. Uraraka's eyes filled with tears of joy as a massive smile, big enough to curl in on itself, spread across her face.
"Aw, you guys are the greatest ever!" Uraraka exclaimed as she did her damnedest as she tried to hug her parents as well as Deku at the same time, giving the three the biggest hug she could muster without stretching her arms out wider than they can go.
And so, an impromptu birthday party commenced. The guests had brought some snacks (Midoriya's idea; he thought Uraraka might get suspicious if her parents had stocked up on a birthday party's-worth of food), Mina got Mrs. Uraraka's permission to put on some music, and everyone just enjoyed the casual atmosphere for a bit.
Midoriya and Iida were talking with Paparaka, some mild-but-inevitable paternal grilling happening throughout their conversation, while Mina and Tsu were having a nice chat with Mamaraka. The birthday girl herself, meanwhile, was chatting with Kirishima, as they don't really hang out too much; it was a good opportunity to get to know each other a bit better.
Mina noticed a box in the corner. "Say, Mrs. Uraraka, what's in there?"
"Oh, did I not put that away?" Mamaraka said as Mina started looking through the contents of the box. "It's just some Christmas decorations we couldn't find a good place to put up."
"Oh," Mina replied as she found a very interesting decoration. She couldn't help the shit-eating grin that spread across her face.
"Why do I have the feeling I know exactly what you're thinking right now, Mina?" Tsu asked as she looked over the pink girl's shoulder.
"Because it's absolutely perfect, Tsu!" Mina replied, doing her best to keep her voice in a whisper, which was hard with how excited she was. "Now, how to go about this…"
Formulating a plan, Mina grabbed the item, motioned Tsu to follow her, and went over to where Ochaco and Kirishima were talking.
"… Yeah, I just wish I'd had a backup plan," Ochaco said, scratching the back of her head.
"You kidding? You called down a freaking meteor shower, man! I don't even think Midoriya could come up with a backup plan to follow that up with," Kirishima gave her a toothy grin. "Then again, who knows? Maybe he could. He's smarter than me."
Ochaco giggled. "Yeah, you and me both," she said, her perma-blush darkening ever-so-slightly.
Mina and Tsu then walked up to them, Mina holding her hands behind her back.
"Hey, guys!" Mina said. "Mind if we borrow Ocha for a bit? Just a quick private chat is all."
"I don't mind," Kirishima said with a shrug.
"Thanks!" Mina said as she pulled Ochaco away and ushered her to follow Tsu into the hallway. Before catching up, though, Mina whispered something into Kirishima's ear and placed something in his hand. After a momentary look of confusion, he gave her a toothy grin and a thumbs-up. Mina then caught up with Ochaco and Tsu.
"So, what's up, guys?" Ochaco asked.
"We just wanted to give you your birthday presents, is all," Mina said. "It's just that, knowing you and what our presents are, we thought you might get embarrassed if everyone saw what we got you and we just wanted to try and avoid having you float up to the ceiling again."
"Her gift is more embarrassing than mine, but yeah," Tsu said bluntly.
"Ooooo… kay…" Ochaco said, feeling just a little apprehensive. But she didn't want to seem ungrateful, so she gave a (admittedly somewhat nervous) smile. "So… What did you get me?"
"Well, I asked Yaomomo to make something custom with her Quirk, and she came up with this," Tsu explained as she pulled out a familiar-looking plushie. Tsu smiled.
Ochaco gasped in joy and hugged the plushie. "Awww, it's so cute!" She then took a closer look, and immediately her perma-blush darkened. "W-Wait, is this… Deku?"
Indeed, the plushie in her hands was one of her best friend in his hero costume.
"Yup! Custom made, since he's not a famous Pro with official merch yet," Tsu said with a froggy smile. "Happy Birthday, Ochaco."
"U-U-Um, th-th-th-thanks, Tsu," Ochaco was shaking in embarrassment, red in the face, as she thanked her frog-like friend. She turned, nervously, towards Mina.
"Okay, me next! Obvi," Mina said with a smile. She began digging through the bag she'd brought with her. "So, I, too, got Yaomomo to help me-"
"Because she found out that's how I got my gift and decided to do the same thing," Tsu bluntly interjected.
"Wh– Tsu! At least let me tell it!" Mina whined indignantly while Tsu just gave an innocent smile. Mina huffed as she continued. "Anyway, with the help of Yaomomo and her amazing Quirk, I got you this! TADA!"
Ochaco's mind went blank as her eyes went wide and her face went beet red. Held up before her was a body pillow case, one with Deku in his hero outfit in a cute, mildly embarrassed position printed on it. And then it got worse as Mina briefly turned it around to show the other side, which also had Deku's image printed on it, this time, in the middle of taking his clothes off; the top of his hero costume was pulled off over his head with just his arms still in the sleeves, thus exposing his toned, chiseled (and if Ochaco's brain were functional right now, she'd add the word 'hot') torso, while his pants were unzipped and his boxers were just a bit visible. Tsu felt so embarrassed for Ochaco that she was blushing, too!
"It's a Deku dakimakura! A Deku-makura!" Mina chirped with a proud smile, before thinking out loud for a moment. "Or maybe a 'daki-Midoriya'?"
"'Deku-makura' works better," Tsu gave her honest opinion on Mina's wordplay.
"Yeah, you're right," Mina agreed before turning her attention back to Ochaco. "So, whaddya think?"
Ochaco couldn't really reply. She was just standing there, stammering. The only thing really preventing her from hiding her face in her hands and floating to the ceiling again was the fact that her hands were still holding the Deku plushie.
"Um, I think you broke her," Tsu said.
An odd squeak escaped Ochaco's throat. Then another. It seemed like she was trying to regain the ability to speak. Tsu walked up to Ochaco while Mina folded up the Deku-makura and reached out for the plushie.
"I'll just… Put these in your room," Mina said with an apologetic smile.
"U-Um, y-y-yeah. It-It-It's right th-there," Ochaco managed to stutter out and point to Mina which room was hers.
Tsu kept a friendly hand on Ochaco's shoulder, which kept her from hiding her face in her hands and floating away. "Sorry about that. I told you her gift was more embarrassing than mine."
"Yeah, now I know why you guys wanted to give me your gifts in private," Ochaco said as she managed to calm down. Her face was still a bit redder than normal, but she's recovered for the most part.
While all that was going on, Iida was making small talk with Paparaka while Midoriya and Kirishima were making small talk with Mamaraka. Mamaraka noticed the three girls coming out of the hallway. "Oh, there you are, sweetie."
"Yeah, no worries, Mom," Ochaco replied. "The girls just wanted to give me their presents in private. Embarrassing, girly kind of things, you know?"
"Okay," Mrs. Uraraka said, seeing that her daughter was hiding something, but decided to let it be. It must've been really embarrassing if Ochaco's going so far as to lie to her mother. "Well then, in that case, why don't we open your presents now? Then we can eat the cake that Izuku brought."
Ochaco gave Deku a light smack on the shoulder, smile on her face. "You brought a cake, too, Deku? Throwing me a surprise party wasn't enough?"
Midoriya could only rub the back of his neck and laugh with her as Kirishima tousled his hair. They joined the others in the living room.
Kirishima's gift was first: one of those spring-grip-strength-exercise things [A/N: I don't know the names of exercise equipment, but you know what I'm talking about]. He'd asked Midoriya for advice, and was advised that she might appreciate something practical, and he'd heard her mention at school that improving her grip strength might help applying her Quirk to hero work. Ochaco loved it.
Next up was Iida. His gift was (unsurprisingly, knowing him) also on the practical side, but it was also a bit more personal: a space-themed set of bed sheets for her dorm room bed.
"I love it," Ochaco said, giving Iida a side-hug. "Thanks, Iida."
"You are welcome, my friend," Iida replied with a smile.
"Alright, I guess that just leaves mine," Midoriya said as he handed a long, cylindrical package to the birthday girl with a smile. "Happy Birthday, Uraraka."
Ochaco's heart began to race as she unwrapped the cylinder. Inside were three posters: one of the old International Space Station, one of an artist's depiction of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the third was of the Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula [A/N: look it up; so cool].
"I know how big of a space fan you are, so I figured you'd like some posters for your room at school," Midoriya explained with a smile, cheeks tinged just a little bit red.
Ochaco didn't reply immediately. Instead, she threw her arms around him in a big hug. "You're the best, Deku. You didn't have to do any of this, but you did anyway, and you've made me so happy. Thank you."
Deku hugged her back. "Anytime, Uraraka."
After a few moments, she pulled away and had to suppress a giggle when she saw something on Deku's head. "Hehe, um, Deku? You've got something in your hair."
"Huh? I do?" He reached up.
"Here, let me get it," Ochaco pinched the odd item and held it up above both their heads. For what feels like the thousandth time the writer [A/N: Hi] has written this phrase, her eyes widened, and her face once again went beet red as she recognized what she was holding: mistletoe.
Uraraka's mind began racing faster than Iida's Recipro Burst. Was this what Mina gave Kirishima earlier?! How did she get it?! Where?! When did it get on Deku's head?! What-How-howablhvbfgftfbgyihbi… All brain activity in Ochaco's head came to a screeching halt when she felt a pair of lips peck her on the cheek.
She looked at Deku, who seemed unable to make eye contact and whose face was now a shade of red previously unknown to mankind. He chuckled nervously. "I uh, I figured I owed you from when I gave you that picture frame."
It took Ochaco a moment to remember what he was referring to. She then also realized she's been holding the mistletoe above her head this whole time. "Hey, Tsu, can you hold this?"
"Um, sure, I guess," Tsu used her tongue to hold the mistletoe above Ochaco and Midoriya.
"Deku? You know what would be the perfect birthday gift?" Ochaco asked sweetly, rosy cheeks dark red.
"*Gulp* N-No, what?" he replied, although he felt like he had an idea.
"You," she answered simply as she brought their lips together.
For the record, the cake was a homemade chocolate cake made by Deku and his mother.
-Fin-
Prompt for Day 8 (Bonus): Warm Snuggles
Full disclosure: when I first saw that the prompt for this one was 'Warm Snuggles', for some reason, immediately the first things my brain gave me were –simultaneously- that Deku plushie and the Deku-makura (I am so proud of that, you have no idea). Then I saw that the prompt was on Uraraka's (either fanon or actually canonical, I don't actually know) birthday, and, well, you just read the result.
Also: YES! I FINISHED IT! RIGHT! UNDER! THE WIRE! As in, the day this goes up! Not only that, but this is my first multi-chapter story that I've actually finished! Been on this site the better part of a decade; about time I can claim that. Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope you liked. Have a Happy New Year, and always remember to go beyond…
PLUS ULTRA!