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Uraraka strolls into the water park with a grin on her face. Iida follows beside her. She thinks they both probably look a little silly in normal tourist gear, but undercover hero work requires sacrifices to be made!
Also, if she's honest, Iida in a shirt without a collar is just downright hilarious.
He takes a long look around. "I do not see anything suspicious yet."
She nods. "Me neither. Maybe it was a hoax or something. Someone with a freezing quirk on a hot day like this? At a waterpark? That's a real disadvantage."
Iida shrugs. "True, but we cannot make assumptions! Where shall we begin our search?"
"Well, there's a large wave pool up ahead! If I was a villain and I wanted to scare lots of people, I'd go there!" She giggles evilly.
He shoots her a teasing smile. "Quite devious! Let's go, then!"
They split up at the water's edge. Ururaka observes the people nearby. What did a freezing quirk look like anyway? The only person with anything close that she knew was Todoroki. Not really a great lead in a case like this, seeing as his powers were as subtle as Bakugo having a bad day.
Three boys wade by. One had purple skin, another had a very odd pair of antennae, and the third had blunt claws growing from his hands. All neat powers, but not likely what she was searching for.
She glances around quickly to spot where Iida went. She has to hide a laugh when she sees him scolding a small boy in the pool with an ice cream. Leave it to him to worry about water sanitation while on a mission.
A frigid stream of water nips at her ankles. Uraraka's head shoots up. That was way colder than a freak current. A couple steps in front of her is a young man with bluish tinted hair. He glances around at the surrounding people. Unnerved, she presses the alert button on her communication wristband. Iida should know about this.
She sees him look down, then immediately start making his way towards her.
Too late. All at once, the man's hands start to glow, and he plunges them into the water. People shriek. Some try to run, but a layer of ice is spreading across the surface of the pool. Just before it reaches her, Uraraka pushes herself up into the air.
The emitter doesn't seem to notice just yet. He's focused on a large group of teens who are attempting to keep the ice away by batting it with pool noodles. Good for them, she thinks as she tries to steer herself to Iida.
He's already trapped, though clearly trying to escape. She glides between the tallest people she can find, reaching him without much fuss. There's some nice things about being small! Just as she taps his shoulder, she hears his engines roar. He bursts out of the water and into the air with a mighty crash.
The emitter definitely heard that. He whips around with a snarl and hurls a huge blast of ice at Iida. She uses all her focus to move him away without changing his path too much. Please work, please work, please work!
She laughs in relief as it misses him completely. Success!
The realization that the ice was still going to hit someone sobers her. Was there a way to get them out of harm's way? Who was it even heading toward-?
A harsh weight knocks the wind out of her. Her focus breaks, and she plummets to the ice below. It hurt, but at least the civilians were safe. As she shoves the solid weapon off of her, she hears something creak. The thin sheet below her cracks.
Oh no! No, no, no!
She feels her stomach drop again, and she falls.
For a moment, she feels nothing, but the water quickly takes on a pleasantly warm feeling. She sits for a moment, stunned.
Wait. Warm?
The chill hits her all at once. It takes all her willpower not to breathe in water. She struggles upwards, but hits a rough blockage. Her vision blurs in anger. That stupid ice chunk! She slaps it much harder than needed before levitating it out of the way.
She surges out of the water with a gasp. Absently, she moves the ice to an empty stretch of pavement and drops it. As soon as her senses return, she looks desperately for Iida.
Not on the left, or the right. Not by the villain. Where could he be? Her blood turns to ice as she realizes that the civilians who were screaming before are noiseless now. The emitter is throwing up more and more ice by the second. If they're in shock, and he's not defeated yet, that must mean...
She feels her eyes well up. No! He couldn't be dead. Iida wouldn't be taken down like this! It must be a trick. It had to be.
He couldn't leave them so soon. She knew the public would be crushed at losing Ingenium again. And they wouldn't be the only ones grieving. There may have been two Ingenium, but there's only one Tenya.
He's a great partner, and an amazing friend. Behind the steel plates is a huge heart. Countless memories of his smiles flash through her mind. She never got to tell him how much she liked his corny jokes, or his cooking, or his dramatic speeches. How much she liked him.
She desperately swallows tears. Heroes do not cry. She can mourn later. There are people who need her help.
Uraraka tries to float again, but her mind is whirling far too fast. Up. Up. Come on! Up!! Despite her efforts, she's as heavy as a rock.
One dead hero, and another useless one. She's a failure.
A woman standing near her screams and points at bubbles growing in the water. She gulps. No way. Hope surges through her. There is no way.
Something explodes into the air, and rushes in a huge loop. She blinks, and the villain is wrapped up in a thick cord. A man clad in metal stands beside him. Cheers erupt throughout the pool, and Ururaka doesn't hesitate to join them.
By now, security has arrived. They thank her partner for his service, and begin to free people. As soon as he's "dismissed", she sees him run frantically in her direction.
She lets a laugh bubble out of her as he struggles to her side. "Iida! You, y-you-!" She can't even speak. Her words wouldn't be much use anyway; all she wants to do is say his name over and over.
His face doesn't display any kind of victory. Instead, he looks like he's lost something very valuable. She thinks he might actually cry. Without preamble, she's hoisted out of the water. "Uraraka! Are you okay? I was worried!"
She laughs weakly, the sudden horror of another temperature change overpowering her relief. "I'm f-fine! Just a little c-cold. And t-tired."
He nods solemnly. "I'll get you home." He pauses for a long moment. "Actually, you may be injured. Would you be upset if I stay with you until you are feeling better?"
She shrugs. "Sure! Y-You're my f-friend, Iida!" He flushes slightly. "Then, let's go."
She's so bone tired that the continued cheers barely make it to her ears. The travel home is a freezing blur.
~~~
Uraraka fumbles with her key for a while before Iida takes it and smoothly opens the door. She trudges inside, and heads straight for the bathroom.
She considers taking a shower, but the idea of sudden heat slapping her body makes her stomach turn. A worn hoodie and a pair of sweatpants do the trick just as well.
When she comes out, Iida is standing by the bed. "Do you require anything, Uraraka?" Though his tone is as upbeat as ever, she can see him slumping in exhaustion. Using his quirk as much as he did today always tired him out.
She registers the question late. "Nah, thanks."
He steps forward to place a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure? High amounts of cold aren't good for you, you know!"
She has to laugh. Always the hero. "Yeah, I'm sure."
He nods absently. She pokes him to get his attention. "You wanna take a nap? You look like you're gonna pass out."
His obvious and genuine confusion makes her smile. "On the bed?" She nods. "But, where will you sleep? You need it much more than I do!"
She shrugs languidly. "We can share. I trust you. It's just for convenience, anyway." She was honest. Mostly. She left out the nagging idea in the back of her mind that she didn't want him out of her sight right now.
She's certain that had it been any other day, after any other mission, he would have denied. But she's never seen him so wiped out before, and his answer is the same way.
"I...alright." He climbs stiffly into bed, as close to the edge as he can.
"Iida", she huffs, seeing his taut shoulders and wide eyes. He tilts his head.
"You can lay down. Relax. You deserve it." Perhaps only because he was told, he slides down with a quiet sigh.
Even now, he still lays the same way as he did when they were in school. Flat on his back, one arm placed neatly over his stomach.
She honestly found it sweet how dignified he tried to be, even when he didn't really need to.
She climbs into bed next to him. He doesn't move a muscle. Weird. Iida always got a little jittery about sharing anything with her, even though they've been basically everywhere together. She swears he has an "impure thought alarm" that goes off whenever she so much as hugs him.
She reaches out to see if he's alright when a soft snore fills the air. She giggles. He's asleep already! Gently, she removes his glasses and puts them on her nightstand. He can get them later.
Once she lays down, she's wide awake again. It's so cold, and she can't curl up under the covers because he's already lying on them. She doesn't want to disturb him or be selfish, but she's freezing.
She shifts so her back just brushes his arm. He wasn't much of a cuddler, but she doubted that he'd panic over this little contact. After the day they'd had, she needed it.
She sighs. What she really wants is for him to pull her to his chest and hold her until the chill leaves her bones and she forgets about today, but she'd never want to make him uncomfortable.
This is enough, she decides as heat seeps through to her.
Despite that, it takes her far too long to fall asleep.
~~~~
Uraraka wakes up slowly. She's so calm and sleepy that she's tempted to just doze back off again. Light is streaming through the sheer curtains, making the warmth in the room that much cozier. In fact, the weight of Iida's arm resting by her back feels almost too hot. And too heavy. She laughs to herself. It feels less like an arm and more like an entire body.
The mass behind her lifts in a sigh. A stream of hot air whispers over her neck. She gulps.
Oh. Oh boy.
Suddenly, she's fully alert. Very carefully, she turns enough to look behind her. Her jaw drops.
Iida has definitely shifted in his sleep. He's holding her protectively to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around her waist. His heartbeat, slow and steady, thumps against her back. The usual stiff lines of his body are completely devoid of tension.
Uraraka forces herself not to squeal. By some miracle, Iida Tenya, Mr. "That's-Unwholesome" himself, is cuddling with her.
She shivers with glee. He's so warm! If she'd known there was a walking oven within feet of her for years, she'd have hugged him every day!
She lays back down fully before pressing her body closer to his. A content sound leaves his throat. She grins. Yeah, she likes this. Just as she gets comfortable, she feels his legs curl up around hers so that she's almost engulfed in him.
It's official. Iida's arms are the comfiest place she's ever been. Nothing could harm her when he's shielding her like this. Despite her cheery facade, Uraraka was scared of a lot. Things she wished for were almost always disappointments. This was an exception. He feels so warm, so alive that she just wants to melt.
She suddenly has the overwhelming urge to bury her face in his shoulder. Great idea, but hard to do when she's facing away from him. She knows she should stay put and play it safe, but she just has to hug him right now.
She carefully rolls around, moving more than she'd like. In the end, she's victorious, lying face to face with him. All the fear that marred his expression earlier was gone. He looks so happy. Ururaka thinks her heart is going to explode. He's so cute. He's so cute!
As she slides an arm around his chest, his face twitches. She stops dead. Uh oh. If he wakes up, he'll definitely be super freaked out, and then she'll be super freaked out too, and he won't like her anymore, which will be horrible because she really likes him and-
Warm hands clutch her shirt. He whines (she didn't think he could even do that) and nuzzles into her hair.
Her restraint snaps. Forget about stealth, all she knows is that he's precious and soft and she's in desperate need of a hug. She grabs on and clings to him as tight as she can. Unconsciously, he squeezes her tighter.
Finally, tucked under his chin, she feels her earlier panic fall away. He's safe. She won't let him slip away. Once more, she smiles, as bright as sunshine, before shutting her eyes.
She falls into a warm and dreamless sleep.
~~~
"Uraraka?"
She groans. Nope. Too tired. Too early. Cuddling back into Iida's arms is much less troublesome, so that's exactly what she does. Whoever needs her will have to wait.
"Uraraka?!" This time, the voice sounded panicked. She lifts her head and mumbles, "Hmm? What?"
Her cozy cocoon pulls away until she's staring into indigo eyes clouded with fear.
"I apologize, Ururaka! I-I have crossed a major boundary in our relationship! I promise that I wasn't trying to degrade you in any way, and I regret any discomfort I may have caused!"
She winces. That...sounded important but her groggy brain only processed loud. "Uhhh, yeah. Can you repeat?", she mumbles, rubbing at one eye.
He looks absolutely horrified. "At some point during the night, we ended up in a, uh, compromising position." His face goes the color of Midoriya's old sneakers. Uraraka gulps. Uh oh.
She takes a deep breath. Damage control time. "Yeah, I know. Um..." Best to be professional about it. "I'm sorry! I was really worried about you on the mission earlier, and when you fell asleep I was really cold, and you were super warm, and I couldn't help myself! I didn't think you'd be mad!"
Great. Flawless. Nice job, idiot.
Just as she suspected, Iida manages to look even more upset. She's really messed up now. She mentally kicks herself. Why didn't I just deal with the cold myself?
He tries to speak, but all that comes out are a couple of undignified squeaks. She waits nervously. It's only fair that he gets to be angry with her.
"Y-You were cold?" he eventually croaks.
She can't bring herself to meet his gaze. "Um, yes?" She did fall into an icy pool. "It doesn't matter, though! I shouldn't have hugged you and stuff unless you gave me permission."
He's dead silent. She shudders. Nothing ever keeps Iida from voicing his opinions. It's one of his best traits. To keep it in like this, he must be furious. She messed up. She messed up bad.
He holds up a hand. "Let me get this straight. You initiated the contact, not me? I didn't make you uncomfortable?"
"Make me uncomfortable?" she echoes. "No! No way! And yeah, I cuddled you first. Well, not first..." This will be a little hard to explain.
His face has gone from relieved to terrified again. "I knew it! I thought something like this might happen if I shared with you! I truly am sorry, Uraraka. I hope you can forgive me, though if you do not, I understand-!"
She taps his mouth to keep him quiet. His face goes red again. "Can I try and explain one more time?" He stares for a moment, but nods.
"Okay, so I was really cold, but you were asleep, so I just kinda dealt with it. When I woke up, you were, um, kinda close. Okay, really close." He flails, and attempts to say something. "Hold on, I'm not done yet. I wasn't mad. Actually, I thought it was..." Amazing? Adorable? Really sweet? "...Nice. So I moved closer."
She slowly takes her hand off his mouth. He swallows thickly. "But weren't you upset with me? Sleeping in such ways is usually regarded as an intimate gesture! I don't want you to assume I'm trying to pursue a romantic relationship without your consent!"
She sighs. Of course he didn't want to date her- wait. Without consent? A blossom of hope buds in her chest. Perhaps, her traitorous mind whispers, he'd like her stamp of approval?
Before she can clamp her mouth shut, words dribble out. "What if you had my consent?"
He does a quadruple take. In any other, less awkward conversation, she'd be cackling. However, in this case, it probably means she's irreparably damaged their friendship.
"W-w-wha- consent? Your-?" He shakes his head vigorously. "C-Could you please, um, elaborate on what you mean by that?" His cheeks are on fire.
Uraraka steadies herself. There is a dumb choice, and a really dumb choice here. Things were already on paper thin ice right now. She has to be responsible, empathetic, cautious.
She looks him in the eye. He's flushed all the way down his neck, drenched in nervous sweat, and his eyes still flicker with anxiety. He looks like he did during the mission, scared but endlessly caring, and she feels her chest rock. A part of her thought she'd never see this part of him, or any part of him, ever again.
Be wise here.
He swallows again before rasping, "Uraraka?"
That does it. She takes the really dumb choice. She throws her arms around his neck, and kisses him as hard as she can.
He gasps harshly. She immediately yanks away. Things just keep getting worse. Now, she doesn't have a partner, a best friend, or a boyfriend. Suddenly, the walls are crushing her, the lights are too bright. She turns to run.
His strong hand easily wraps around her wrist. "Wait!" She spins back to face him. "You don't need to pity me, you know."
He laughs. She grits her teeth. Not what she needed to hear right now. His grip slides from her wrist to her hand. "Uraraka", he whispers. "The one thing you do not need from me or anyone else is pity."
Her jaw drops. "I'm a dorky looking hero with the power to make things float, and my cool partner does all the work. Who wouldn't feel bad for me?"
Iida huffs indignantly, squaring his shoulders in that way that clearly said, 'Listen Up, You'. "On the contrary, you are tactful, brave, and very hardworking! I think you are quite admirable! And you are not dorky. In fact, you are very beautiful!" Immediately, he slaps a hand over his mouth.
She can't move. Beautiful? "I, um, I, really?" she breathes. His eyes fall to the ground, and he mutters something under his breath. She narrows her eyes. "What?"
He doesn't respond. She steps forward enough to stare at him directly. "I don't care what it is, okay? I just want you to tell me what you think, even if it's really bad."
He ducks for a minute more before his eyes meet hers. Her heart jumps. They burn with an enthusiasm she's never seen before.
"Bad? No! I...I adore you, Uraraka." And with that, his lips are on hers. It's stiff, and robotic, but it's still full of him. She pushes up onto her toes to kiss him back. Oh, she could get used to this.
Sadly, air is necessary for both of them, so they have to pull away from each other.
Iida smiles nervously. "Can I assume that this means you'd like to begin a romantic relationship?"
She giggles. "If everything was up to me, we'd have begun months ago." That brings the blush back to his cheeks. "That's, um, definitely a mutual thought."
She taps him on the nose. "So, boyfriend, what do you wanna do now?"
He clasps his hands. "Well, I don't want to suggest anything that might upset you..."
"Iida. What do you want?"
He hides his face behind one hand and whispers, "Could we cuddle again?"
Uraraka tries and fails to hide her enthusiasm. "Exactly what I was thinking!" He smiles.
She flops happily back into the pillows and he eases himself down beside her. They stare at each other for a while, until she decides just to take the plunge (it worked earlier, after all) and lay on his chest. The little hum that spills from him tells her everything she needs to know.
He dozes off first like before, arms around her. As Uraraka slips away after him, she can't possibly imagine ever being cold again.
~~~