Title: half-baked and undercooked

Characters/Pairings: Uraraka/Midoriya, Mina

A/N: Written for the Bubble Tea Zine. Mina might have been a little too fun to write here.

Summary: Uraraka was going to confess today. Provided she didn't accidentally break Midoriya's laptop, spill a drink on him, or drop his food.

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"Your boyfriend's here."

It took Uraraka a moment to register what Mina whispered, and a further moment to process what she was seeing. Midoriya had entered the café, standing awkwardly by the cash register as he waited for someone to take his order. Spotting them, he waved, and she gingerly waved back. It took her a moment longer to actually understand what Mina said, what her singsong tone implied. Quickly, she whipped back to her co-worker and hissed, "He's not my boyfriend."

"Yet." Mina grinned like a cat that caught the canary, her expression promising mischief. It usually meant fun, particularly when directed at her favourite targets like Sero or even Bakugou. But now it was directed at Uraraka, and she regretted ever encouraging her.

"You're going to jinx me," Uraraka growled. It had taken her months to feel brave enough to confess, and now she was on the verge of chickening out. "What if he heard—"

Mina snorted, covering her mouth as she giggled. "Him? Uraraka, he's like a brick. He's like that cake you tried to bake—"

"Right, right, got it." She forgot to check the oven one time and Mina never let her hear the end of it. "Anyways, shut up."

"Shutting up." Mina zipped her lips, winking as she pushed Uraraka toward the counter. "Go get him, tiger!"

"That's not shutting up!" One last glare over her shoulder, and Uraraka gave a big smile as she approached their over-crowded counter. They might have overdone it a bit with the baking this morning; cookies and cake almost burst out of the display rack and cashier baskets. "Hi, Midoriya-kun!"

"H-hi!" Midoriya was ramrod straight as she stood across from him — even his messy hair was at attention. Her heart flip-flopped as he smiled. "I'll have—"

"The usual?" She guessed, grinning when he nodded eagerly. Over his shoulder, she could spot his laptop and books stacked at his favourite spot. Another long haul today, it seemed. He was even wearing his frumpiest sweatshirt, a comfortable choice when sitting for hours. "An exam coming up?"

"Something like that." There was something off in his voice, something hesitant about the way he answered. Uraraka couldn't quite place just what felt strange about it, just that it was strange.

"I can double the caffeine," she suggested.

Midoriya visibly perked up. "Really?" Then he stood up even straighter, if that were possible, fidgeting with the ends of his sweatshirt; his fingers twisted the fabric nervously. "Actually, that's not what…do you want…"

She slid the sales machine over to him, cocking her head curiously. When his face turned a dark shade of red, his mouth hanging open, she finally asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I-it's nothing." Quickly, he pulled out his phone and paid, almost running to his table. Silently, she hoped Iida would show up later — that exam must be hard if he was panicking this much. Law school was definitely no joke, but Midoriya had never acted like this before.

Maybe Mina was onto something if Uraraka knew him well enough to think that.

A low voice whispered in her ear, "You didn't ask him."

Uraraka jumped, almost head-butting Mina in surprise. With a sharp jab, she herded her coworker to the coffee machines so she could get to work on his order. "Mina," she scolded.

"What?" Mina blinked innocently, her hands already putting together Midoriya's favourite sandwich. Uraraka could almost see a halo above her head. "I'm just observing, as any good barista should."

"That's not what Yaoyorozu meant!" Uraraka could almost hear her boss's stern lecture. Considering her, there was a possibility she'd ramble for hours, and it was bad enough enduring it after Mina had dyed her hair pink. "And he'll hear you if you keep talking like that!"

"I think he's a little busy." Mina giggled as she toasted the bread. "He looks like a zombie."

Peeking over her shoulder, she saw Midoriya staring blankly at his screen, his fingers hovering over his keyboard. Was he psyching himself up for studying? Either way, he wasn't paying attention to them at least, and she gave a sigh of relief. "He looks really worried."

"School does that." Mina scowled as she slapped cream onto the bread. "Exams, tests, they should all burn." Each word was punctuated by an aggressive shake as she mixed together the lettuce and meat for his salad next.

"You've been spending too much time with Bakugou," Uraraka chuckled nervously. Staring at the drink she'd just made, she blanched as she saw the heart she'd subconsciously made in the foam. Quickly, she stirred with a spoon — Midoriya wouldn't care if it was pre-stirred, and Mina would never let it go if she spotted it.

"Have not." Mina pouted for a moment before pushing the rest of his order into her hands. She gave a sly wink. "This time make sure to ask!"

Uraraka stuck out her tongue. Busybody. But she was grateful— even if she could feel her courage withering away with every step she took. At least he wasn't paying attention to her; he was concentrating on his laptop, his lips twisting as he thought hard. Midoriya was serious about everything he did, no matter how trivial, and she wished she could be as earnest as him. "Got your order."

"Huh?" Midoriya jumped at the sound of her voice, a frazzled smile crossing his face soon after he noticed her. With shaky hands, he gratefully accepted the tray of food. It clacked with each movement he made, before it safely settled on the table. "Thanks."

"No problem." She set down his latte next to him before standing there awkwardly for a moment. With his gaze directed her, she lost almost all the strength Mina had given her. Rubbing her arm, she considered running away for a moment.

"Uh…" Midoriya looked at her quizzically, and of course he would, she'd just stood there silently for the last five minutes without saying a word. Maybe she should have taken that public speaking class, after all.

"Hard exam?" she blurted out, needing to say something, anything. Even a question as stupid as that, because of course it was a hard exam — it was law school. There was no such thing as an easy exam in that field.

"Huh?" He looked back at his screen before a soft oh escaped his lips. Scratching his cheek, he gave a weak smile. "Y-yeah! It's really hard. I have three in a row."

"Three!?" Uraraka stepped back, grimacing in horror. "Think you can do it?"

Midoriya shuddered for a moment at the question, paling rapidly before her eyes. His fingers started tapping the table as quietly muttered, "He'll generally use the class notes…she likes to use textbook questions…" Frantic calculations practically seeped out of his skin, and she wondered why he didn't take statistics or some other calculative job. Finished, he gave her a determined nod. "I will!"

Was it a confidence thing? Or was he actually certain? Either way, she beamed broadly at him, giving him thumbs up. "Good luck!"

Returning the thumbs up, he nodded. "Thanks!"

They stood there silently for a moment, and just like that, the conversation was over. Of course it was, it was a simple conversation, and she was lucky enough it had lasted as long as it did. Racking her brain, she couldn't think of a thing to say. All she could think of were extremely corny ways to ask him out—If you pass, I'll date you. She'd go out with him even if he failed. If you pass, you'll date me. That sounded like a threat. Date me! That reeked of desperation.

Nope, it was time to cut her losses and escape. "Well, then—"

"Um, do you—" He turned a bright red, opening and closing his mouth a few times. His hands gripped his sandwich tightly before he finally sighed and shook his head. "Never mind, sorry."

That was odd. Uraraka took a hesitant step toward him. "You sure?"

His forehead was touching the table now, his voice muffled. "Yeah."

What was that? Uraraka stared at him before she waved and left. He really was acting weird today. Maybe he didn't like his order? Midoriya was the kind of guy who'd quietly accept what he got instead of saying anything, so it fit. Musing it over, she didn't notice Mina until she clapped her hand on Uraraka's back once more.

"You're a chicken." Mina gave her a disproving look, a tut-tut more implied than said. Uraraka took it back; she didn't need her help. Not in the least. It was not worth the teasing she'd suffer both now and later. "You didn't even try!"

"I did!" Uraraka hotly defended herself, embarrassed by how correct Mina was.

"Surrreeee." Mina sighed, shaking her head sadly as though she were a lost case. "This happens every. Single. Time."

"I'll try again later!" It didn't even sound convincing to Uraraka's own ears.

"Right." Mina's brow rose, looking doubtful.

And in the span of an hour, that expression changed to one of disbelief. Uraraka had accidentally insulted Midoriya three times, broken two plates, and swapped an order. She was a monster, and her friend fortunately put her out of her misery by dragging her to the break room. "Take a break."

"I—" Uraraka stood up, protesting, only to get shoved back down.

"Take a break!" Mina ordered, rolling her eyes as she left. "Before you accidentally destroy his laptop," she added on.

Which was a possibility now, Uraraka sighed as she sat down. Mina, the queen of skipping shifts, was telling her to skip a shift. Despite her embarrassment, she felt oddly honoured. Mina almost never did this for anyone.

What was she doing? She was so nervous over confessing that she was going to get fired. Or make him angry. It was hard to imagine Midoriya angry, but at the rate she was going, it could happen. Damn it. This day was not going anything at all like she'd hoped, like she'd planned. Resting her forehead on the table, she tried to absorb the coolness of the wood. Maybe she should try again tomorrow, or some other day.

Sitting up, she patted her cheeks and headed back to the main counter. That was it, she'd do it some other day. Any other day. Feeling better, she headed back.

Only to find him at the counter.

Looking around frantically, she found an oblivious Mina carefully putting sprinkles on a cupcake. On a single cupcake, completely ignoring Midoriya's timid 'hello?'

Fine. She was an adult. She could do this. Uraraka plastered on a smile as she headed to the front. "Need anything?"

Midoriya's face turned red the second he spotted her, and he really had to get that checked. "N-no. I…"

His corner was all cleaned up, his back hunched from the weight of his bag, and she filled in the blanks for him. "Done studying?"

"Yeah." Midoriya nodded his head so fast, she thought it'd snap off. "At least, as much as I can."

"Good luck," she repeated, and maybe that was all of their conversations, a repetition of empty words and tomorrows. He always seemed to be holding something back and she, well, Uraraka could never say the words she wanted to say.

"Thanks." Midoriya bit his lip as he looked up at her. After a few seconds, he hunched over more and weakly waved his arm. "See you later."

"Bye." Uraraka watched him turn, hunched over as though the world was on his back. Maybe it was. She could feel it on her shoulders too, the weight of the words she couldn't say. Was this going to be all of her days? Just keeping quiet, keeping it? Her throat clogged with feelings she wouldn't voice?

From the corner of her eye, she saw Mina give her thumbs up, and it was like a gunshot before a race, the trigger of a gun. Before she could stop herself, Uraraka yelled, "Let's go on a date!"

There was an echo in her ears, and it took her a few seconds to recognize his voice, to notice that he'd turned around, bright red, and shouted the same thing. Instantly, her face shot into flames and eloquently, she asked, "Huh?"

He looked just as surprised as she did, but he recovered faster. "Please go out on a date with me!"

Somehow, they had both simultaneously asked each other out, at the exact same time. Uraraka swallowed, her mouth dry all of a sudden. This scenario had never played out in her fantasies. Her head nodded like a bobble-head. "Y-yes!"

Behind her, Mina cackled loudly, not even waiting for them to finish talking, and Uraraka silently promised to kill her the moment her shift was over.