Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia.

Note: Covers manga up to chapter 98

Inspired by a review from StormSurfer on 'Afterparty Lights'

Show Me How

SevenRenny

"Hawaii?" Izuku asked, holding the slice of pizza inches away from his mouth.

"Yeah," Ochaco nodded, reaching for a slice. "But that's kinda far on the list. I still have a long way to go."

Aside from that couple dinning a few tables away, the pizzeria was mostly empty. They didn't know if it was just because of the timing or because of its awkward location, they were just happy to relax and eat. They'd decided to sit outside to enjoy the soft afternoon breeze. The pizza turned out slightly on the greasy side, but was still edible.

Ochaco looked down at her slice that seemed to curve downward. "I know wanting to be a hero for money isn't really heroic and… it's kinda embarrassing but…"

Izuku stopped her there. "You want to support your family," he told kindly. "That sounds very heroic to me."

Her pink cheeks turn red, lowering her head in shyness and giving him a nod. He knew her family's financial situation. It was clear she felt embarrassed when sharing this bit of information with her friends, and he couldn't blame her, but he was still surprised by how honest she was about it.

He wanted to be a hero for the peace. She wanted to be a hero for the profit. In a why, they were opposites, yet, they still shared the same desires. In the end, they wanted to help people – whether strangers or family.

"I know, but still, compared to you guys…"

"You'll be helping your parents, and you'll be saving people, too," he insisted. "You'll still be a hero." He gave her that genuine Deku smile. "I know you will. That's why we have to do our best!"

Bless this boy. He knew just what to say to her. She couldn't help but smile widely and give a firm, confident node. "Hmm! Let's go–"

"Plus Ultra!" They said in unison, lifting their pizza slices as if they were ready to clink wine glasses. They both laughed at how silly this looked. It was nice, being mostly alone out here. Even the indoor seats didn't have many people from what they could see from the wide windows of the place. It still wasn't too dark out, but the old fashioned streetlamps around them had turned on. Bugs immediately surrounded them; flying into the light and stupidly bouncing off the light bulbs. The restaurant had an odd taste in décor. The thin black tables and chairs, along with the old style streetlamps stood out due to the bright red brick walls of the restaurant.

Izuku took a bite out of his pizza, and the bridge of cheese stretched endlessly. She could never get tired of how goofy he managed to be. He would always manage to unintentionally make her laugh. Turned out this dork was all she needed.

In an attempt to not look like he was slurping spaghetti, he just pinched the dangling end of cheese and brought it to his mouth, using his other hand to cover the view of him sticking the piece in his mouth. They were pretty much alone, yet he still behaved as though he was surrounded by people he should respect.

They hadn't been dating for long, but the whole 'couple' thing was still new to them. The fact that they were now a thing hadn't fully sunken in yet. They didn't know how to tell their friends about this relationship step-up, so they took it slow. They'd told Iida first, because he was their best friend and deserved to know. He had released a loud 'congratulations!' accompanied with exaggerated hand motions before they managed to quiet him down. Izuku had told Ojiro next, mostly because he was on good terms with the guy, and they just happened to be paired in a search-and-disable-bombs exercise when Izuku decided to tell him. He wasn't worried about this bit of information getting out. Ojiro wasn't as talkative as Kirishima, Sero, or Kaminari, and he tended to keep secrets to himself. He'd given Izuku a playful tail swat to the shoulder, congratulating him. Izuku planned to inform Todoroki next, but didn't know how or when.

They wanted to do it one step at a time, because they weren't sure if they could handle being bombarded with questions from everyone all at once. It was a lot easier, and calmer, to have a one-on-one conversation with each one.

"Tsu said she's happy for us," Ochaco said, remembering her talk with the frog girl earlier.

Izuku finished the food in his mouth before speaking. "That's great!" He beamed. That was another person they both got along with. She was easy going, calm and respectful, which was the emotional support they needed.

"I think Ashido and Hagakure are on to us, though," Ochaco admitted embarrassingly.

Izuku chuckled lightly. "Oh, those two. Can't be helped, I guess."

While he had to worry about Bakugo's explosive reactions and Kaminari and Mineta's accusations if they were to know about this, Ochaco had to deal with the teasing from the girls' side. They were pretty sure Ashido was the ring leader when it came to gossiping. Her friendly teasing was so close to the truth, sometimes. Ochaco remembered how the pink girl joked about who Ochaco's feature boyfriend would be, and it took Ochaco every bit of her self-restraint to not let the truth slip out of her mouth in front of everyone.

After paying the bill and quickly using the washrooms, they walked together under the afternoon sky.

"Mom's been asking about you a lot," he told her, chuckling softly. "She brings you up whenever she calls."

Ochaco cooed. "I love your mom. She's so sweet!" Indeed, seeing Izuku's mother for the first time had been filled with motherly hugs and happy tears. With every visit, Inko would smother her with hugs and kisses. She could see where Izuku got his sweet temperament from. The woman was a teddy bear.

"She wants me to let you know you're always welcome to visit again," he passed on the message.

"Hmm!" She gave a firm nod. "I will! And tell her I said hi!"

"You can. Do you want me to give you her number?"

They stopped mid-stroll. Her rounded cheeks puffed up due to the wide smile, her eyes sparkling in excitement. "Really?"

"Yeah. Here, I'll do that for you."

With how often Inko calls asking about her son's sweetheart, she might as well talk to her herself. As for Ochaco's parents, he had spoken to them over the phone twice. He and Ochaco had been planning to visit, but the circumstances just didn't give them a chance to. They were too far, and both students and hard working parents needed to time the visit just right. He was nervous about meeting them, but after those two calls, not so much. They seemed friendly, outgoing, and incredibly welcoming. They were just too friendly to be scared of.

The sky had strings of blue and orange. The clouds looked like curved stripes in the sky; each line had a slight pink shade on one side.

After giving her his mother's phone number, they continued their walk. After her training with Gunhead, she wanted to keep learning, keep trying both her Quirk and or her overall combat skills. After asking Deku for help, he was more than ready to plan a suitable trying regime for her. He didn't like how hard she was pushing herself – often throwing up after floating too many heavy items for too long. So, he showed her how to do it properly, how to trying without hurting herself. He wanted her to get stronger, but he also feared for her safety and health.

He had everything thing written down for her on a schedule for her to follow, and he was there for her every step of the way to teach and make sure she didn't overdo it and drop dead from exhaustion.

She'd go jogging with him every day, occasionally stopping to rest. He'd hold her feet down when she did sit-ups, coming up to meet his face every time. He'd give her a quick peck on the lips with the last sit-up as a reward for her hard work, before gently getting her to rest on the floor, giving her time to catch her breath.

They had to also change up her diet. She needed energy, and Izuku was disturbed by how little she ate. It was a habit she picked up to keep herself from spending too much money on food. But even after moving into the dorms, it was hard to break that habit. She'd gotten used to it, but it must've scared Izuku after finding out. He wrote everything she needed to consume on a piece of paper and made sure to ask her if she eat yet.

It was a bit overwhelming, but she couldn't blame him for being worried about her. He was an emotional person, and to find out his friend (now girlfriend) had been starving herself while he ate Katsudon at home must've been gut wrenching for him. She hadn't intended to worry him, but she needed to be honest with him. She needed to get stronger, and he would show her how.

On their walk, they took a grassier path. The sky was getting darker, signaling the end of the day.

"Hawaii, huh…" Izuku said to himself while still walking. He had a habit of thinking out loud. "Would be great to visit sometime in the future."

She couldn't help but hug him. He was just too adorable sometimes. He gasped in surprised at first, then ended up giggling along when he realized he wasn't being attacked.

They'd managed to find a bench along the way. The black cat that had been sleeping on it looked at them suspiciously before deciding it didn't want to deal with humans right now. It stretched, jumped off the bench and stalked away lazily. Well, more room on that bench for them, then.

He thought of the two of them at the beach in Hawaii, enjoying the sun and swimming and – oh, speaking of swimming…

"You know, there's this nice beach next to where I live; used to train there a lot before UA. Do you want to see it sometime?" Had he just asked her on another date while on a date? Was that okay? "If you want to… I mean…"

"Yes! Of course, Deku!"

Eh, it worked anyway. It didn't take much to please her, but he was still careful not to mess up. He didn't have the best self-esteem, nor was he 'hot' or 'sexy' or whatever teenagers considered boyfriend material. He was awkward, nerdy, average-looking, timid, and not interesting in any way, yet, this girl loved every bit of him.

Sitting side-by-side on the bench, they watched the sky darken.

"How do you think Todoroki would react to us?" she broke the peaceful silence with that question.

He almost snorted. Almost. What a topic to bring up. "Much like Ojiro, I think."

"And Bakugo?"

He sweat dropped at that thought. Noticing his expression, she just smiled shyly and held his hand for comfort.

"Kacchan… he's… I'm not sure how he'll react to this, honestly…" He rubbed the back of his head nervously. Bakugo didn't like losing. He also didn't like it when Izuku achieved something before he could. Was he going to care that his rival found a date before him? It all depended on whether Bakugo thought of 'finding a date' was an achievement, or just something to laugh at. They hoped he wouldn't care much. He was already an angry person. He could declare war on anyone and anything: students from other classes, strangers, animals, a book, a bug, or an innocent leaf if it got in his way.

And he especially hated Izuku.

Izuku would be writing innocently by his desk, and he'd suddenly have Bakugo turning around and yelling at him out of nowhere. He'd scream for a minute or two – all while Izuku'd have 'what did I do?' written on his face – before the blond would turn away with a grumble, as if nothing happened. This behavior was much better than what Izuku had to put up with before UA, but it was still unsettling.

"Are you worried, Deku?"

He snapped out of his thoughts. "No, just… actually, yeah, a little bit."

"Don't worry about Bakugo," she told him, squeezing his hand and making a fist with the other one. "I'll deal with him if he bothers you again!" she said bravely.

He blinked at her, before chuckling. "You don't need to."

"Yes, I do!"

"No you don't."

"Yes I do!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"Ochaco–"

"Yes infinity. I win."

They stared at one another, before giggling like the goofballs they were. The leaned their heads closer to each other, foreheads touching now. The close proximity only made them hold on to each other's hands tighter.

He suddenly couldn't feel the bench, and it took his usually sharp brain a while to realize he was floating. He panicked at first as his body became weightless. He calmed down when he heard her giggle. Their foreheads were still touching and they held on to each other's arms. The only thing keeping him from floating into the night sky was her. He knew she wouldn't let him go. He trusted her.

Even with half of his body dangling in midair, he felt safe. She cheerful giggles warmed his heart, and he started chuckling as well, rubbing his head against hers affectionately. He drew himself closer, close enough to give her a kiss. It was awkward because he was almost upside-down and he didn't have much grip on her head or neck, but she simply tilted her head, and the problem was fixed.

No matter how dark it got, he held on to her, and she wouldn't let him go.

Note: Just a little something I wrote down to cheer myself up. Got any ideas for an IzuOcha fic?I am working on two stories right now, but I like to work on multiple at a time to avoid writers block. I like to switch every now and then because, sometimes, it's kind of hard to write – for example – a funny story when I feel like writing something romantic, or sad. I also like to switch because it gives me time to formulate the next scenes in my head. I do have a few ideas on my list, but I don't have the scenes in my mind just yet. Also, most of them are Deku-centric, but I really want to work on some IzuOcha fics. So if you have ideas, let me know.