The dining hall of the inn is completely empty aside from two people. The two have a special time reserved for dinner due to their status as top pros. Nobody wants to eat while in the presence of leering eyes. Which works perfectly for the two seated at the table. They're eating their favorites; Deku his final helping of katsudon that on any other night he would have cried over. While on the other side of the table, Ochako is devouring dessert; a sickeningly sweet mochi ice cream. It's been almost half an hour since they've been seated and neither have said a word to the other the entire time.

Not for lack of things to say. In fact, quite the opposite.

But both know it's impolite to leave food to get cold and so a wordless truce was formed. Neither wants to be the one to finish first, leaving themselves open to being the one who has to speak. Unfortunately for her, Ochako can't bring herself to force down another bite of ice cream and leaves it laying on the table. Deku slowly starts to put his dish down as well and the two are completely still. Deku is looking at seemingly anything else in the room while Ochako opts to close her eyes. She knows he'll crack first. All she has to do is wait and eventually the dam will break. She counts down in her mind from 30 seconds and by the time she reaches ten he clears his throat.

"I'm not stalking you."

"Never said you were."

"But you were thinking it."

"Oh so you can tell what I'm thinking? Didn't know your quirk included telepathy." she says without any regard for her tone. Her eyes are open and she gets a faceful of his expression. He's nervous like usual, but there's something else there she can't pin down.

"Ochako please. I swear on my mother that this is a coincidence."

"You expect me to believe that you, the number one hero, taking a vacation trip to Hokkaido at the exact same inn on the exact same weekend I decided to take mine; is all just a coincidence?"

"Well...not completely." Deku replies while scratching his head. He's averting his gaze again and Ochako's starting to get annoyed. She just stares at him and she knows he can feel it. He was never good at being stared at, least of all by her. "Me being in Hokkaido isn't a coincidence. I wanted to see you. I just thought I'd clear my mind first before I did so and decided on a secluded location and well...here we are."

"Here we are..." she sighs out. He'd never lie to me so at least I know now it's just the universe fucking with me and not him. "Well, out with it. Why do you want to see me?"

"You know the answer to that and don't you dare say otherwise." he growls out. His fists are clenched and he's looking at her now. She thinks she's gone too far but for whatever reason she decides to press further.

"You want to ask why I left? Or why I fucked you in the first place? Or why I never talked to you before then? You're gonna have to narrow it down for me Deku. I'm not a mind reader like you."

He shoots up from his seat and the table violently shakes. The dishes rattle out and luckily nothing falls over, but even if they did he probably wouldn't care. Her eyes widen as she sees anger in his eyes. She's definitely gone too far. She's about to apologize before he lets slip something she'd never thought she'd hear come out of his mouth.

"Let's go to my room." he says as nonchalantly as possible. Which is impressive since the anger still hasn't left his features. "We're alone for now but it's best we talk about this in a place we won't be distrubed. Or worse, disturb others." She nods her head in response and pushes herself up from the table as well.

The universe spares her as she realizes his room isn't somehow right next to hers. As she walks in behind him she keeps replaying what she said to him over in her mind. She doesn't know what the hell is wrong with her tonight and the worst part is, she doesn't even feel bad about it.

He turns towards her abruptly which almost causes her to crash into him for the second time that night. He peers down at her and the anger that was there earlier is gone and his face has returned to a more neutral expression. "Drink?"

She shakes her head and shuffles past him to sit down at the low table in the middle of the room. She fiddles with her yukata as she makes his way over to sit across from her, and the air fills with tension once more. She decides to take the initiative this time.

"So what do you want me to answer first?"

It takes a moment as he contemplates what to say and she notices he still has the habit of pinching his lips as he thinks. It would be cute if she didn't know that he was about to confront her on the mistakes she's made over the course of three years of her life.

"Why did you leave?" he says softly. His eyes are strained and she knows he's about to cry just from recalling the memory. She makes sure to reply quickly before that happens or she'll lose what little composure she's keeping.

"Because I had to. Because if I had stayed I probably would have made an even bigger mistake." She sees him wince once the word mistake leaves her mouth. She continues on. "Not that you're a mistake! I just shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have gotten involved with you in the first place. Of course getting hammered that night wasn't the best idea either, but I was sober by the time I finished doing my best to clog your toilet. I should have known better."

"Why?" he barely cracks out. Her heart drops into her stomach. but she knows she can't stop now.

"Because we can't just do that. It's too late Deku. We both have our reasons, and we both fucked up for a very long time, but we can't just suddenly pretend like we're in high school now. We have our own responsibilities and we can't just uproot them all because we had a one night stand!" She hopes he doesn't notice her strained voice.

"That's all it was? A one night stand? A quickfuck? That's all that was to you!?" his voice is getting louder and his eyebrows are furrowing.

"Grow up Deku! That's all it can be! I don't know if you noticed but we're in fucking Hokkaido. I have an agency here, I have people that rely on me here. I can't just drop everything to be with you!" she's thankful that they're seemingly the only people in the inn.

"I never said you had to drop everything for me Ochako." he shoots back.

"Oh come the fuck on! You're the number one fucking hero. You're just gonna move all the way down here and leave everyone back home to their own devices? You have even less of a reason than I do!"

"We could figure out a way! You don't even want to try?" he pleads. His eyes are shimmering and god help her she's the same.

"Try what exactly? We date for a while and it's all sunshine and rainbows, and then suddenly life smacks us in the face and we realise that we're three years too late? That's what you want to try? I'd rather keep whatever we call this intact thank you very much."

"So you call me a mind reader and yet here you are acting like you're Nighteye?"

It's a low blow but he's long past the point of caring now. Now it's her turn to get angry and she slams her hands down onto the table.

"Cut the bullshit, what is it that you want Deku? We both know there's nothing good that can come from us being together. I'm glad it took you three fucking years to finally realize your feelings but I can't afford to start something on a chance it might work out! Hero relationships are already a struggle, but long distance ones!? You're asking for the impossible." The tears have fully formed by now and are running down her face. She prays that they can come back from this but everything in her mind is telling her that won't be the case. So she lets the tears flow as she comes to grips with the fact this might be the last time they talk to each other again.

He pauses as he takes in her words. He wipes away the few tears he had let go himself and stares down at the table in silence. The silence is agonizing for both of them but they both are aware that whatever comes next could be the last thing that's said between them.

"One week."

"One week?" she repeats back at him.

"Go out with me for one week. The rest of our vacation. I was planning to try and spend time with you anyway and I don't know what your plans entail either but give me this one week. If by the end of it you still feel like it won't work, I'll go home and we'll go back to the way we were"-what that means exactly he doesn't say-"But I can't leave after coming all this way after all this time without trying something. I couldn't live with myself. So please, just one week is all I'm asking of you."

He bows his head at her and she's never been more shocked in her entire life. Of all the scenarios she considered this wasn't even an option. It's something out of a movie and yet it's happening right in front of her and she doesn't even know what to say.

So she says nothing. She calmly gets up and brushes off her yukata as Deku raises his head. His eyes are filled with tears again and it takes every ounce of her will to stop herself from hugging him. She stands still over him as she can only imagine the thoughts running through his mind at the moment. But for now at least, she knows what she has to do.

"I'll think about it. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night Deku."

And with that, she leaves the room.

Unsurprisingly, neither gets a wink of sleep. They see each other at breakfast in the morning but they eat in silence. The only thing that should be spoken is her answer and until then, they won't press the issue.

They take advantage of the spring's facilities to make sense of their thoughts. Both struggle with the other's possible reaction to whatever is decided in the end.

Deku stews in the sauna, something he's grown to enjoy due to Bakugo's influence of all things. The heat reminds him of the pressure that's always surrounding him by being the number one, but now it's only a reminder of his words from last night and how many times he was worried they'd say something they couldn't take back. He expected the inevitable confrontation (albeit at a different time) to be draining but never like that. He replayed the conversation in his mind over and over again, mentally beating himself up over every syllable he could have said differently.

He never planned to make some sort of deal with her, it was just the first thing that came to him. The fact that she wouldn't even try in the first place just didn't sit right with him, and before he knew it he'd already proposed it.

What's done is done and there's no use mulling it over any longer.

Her answer was all that awaits him, and he adds another rock to the pile as the steam fills the room even more.

Night comes and dinner is once again laid out for the both of them. They sit together in relative silence save for the occasional asking for an item. The atmosphere is less tense than the night before. The absolute uncertainty no longer there, the only thing left was the inevitable answer. Throughout the meal they sneak glances at the other, hoping to find any sort of clue as to what they could be thinking.

Finally they both finish and the moment arrives at last.

"Ok. I'll do it."

"You will?"

"Yes. One week. One week to get all of my feelings out in the open and out of my system and then we can go back to our regularly scheduled lives."

He tries not to let the hurt on his face show. He just nods and smiles at her for the first time since the night they spent together. She raises her hand in response.

"But I have some conditions."

He nods again and lets her continue.

"First, no sex. While you were the furthest thing from bad. This is a reset. We need to act like that night didn't happen. We'll see how things develop during the week with regards to other forms of affection, but I can't just start sleeping with you out of the blue. Plus, god forbid, I could get pregnant." She shudders at the mere thought.

"That's fair. It was already out of the blue last time and I don't know if I could just...y'know." He can't help the blush that creeps across his face at the implication.

"Two, no one can know about this. If anyone finds out they'll never let us hear the end of it and you and I both don't want that embarrassment. Maybe in a few years we can laugh about it and see their reactions when we tell them, but until then we never tell a soul."

"I wasn't really planning to tell anyone in the first place, so that works for me too."

"Lastly, once it's done,it's done. No more of this awkwardness. We need to move on and get on with our lives and hell, maybe finally start seeing people. Once this week ends, so does any hope of doing this again. Ok?"

He feels like he's been struck but does his best to hide it. It obviously went without saying it was a one time thing, but hearing it said aloud is another matter entirely. He nods one final time and looks up when he hears a large sigh. Growing bold, he reaches over the table to grab her hand and she lets him. His smile returns and he speaks up again, "Thank you. You won't regret this."

Now it's her turn to smile. "Of course I won't, it's you after all." and she squeezes his hand in return.

They stay there for a while just reflecting on what they've both just agreed to and they don't know what to say now that it's finalized. Deku lets go of her hand and remarks about the only food he's eaten is katsudon and Ochako giggles in response. The tension is broken and they talk about their stay at the inn.

She's surprised at his use of the sauna but once he explains how he got into the habit she can't help but laugh at the person responsible. Deku tells a story of a time where he and Bakugo stayed for 4 hours with the heat gradually increasing, all because Bakugo didn't want to "lose" by getting out first, and Deku taking him up on the challenge. By the end of it they'd both almost passed out, and both decided it was a stupid idea while trying to make it through their respective patrols the next day.

Ochako raves about the outdoor spring and its serenity with the mountains surrounding them. She also recalls having an argument with the owner after checking in. Turns out even though she had asked for a moderate discount, the actual charges were almost nothing compared to the original price of the stay. She couldn't take it lying down and made sure the owner understood that she could afford the stay and then some. They eventually agreed to let her keep the original discounted rate, but added a very generous gratuity for the entire staff as thanks for their discretion. Deku smiles at her actions, he'd long given up that fight ever since becoming number one. Otherwise he'd have fought with every purchase he ever made that was face to face.

After a quick yawn from Ochako and then followed by Deku, they both agree that the night has come to a close. They call over the staff to clear the table and head towards their individual rooms. Before they part ways to their separate wings, Deku stops himself and calls out to her. She turns around and her face is a mix of confusion and worry.

"Do you...want to spend the night with me?" The second part is almost lost on her as he blurted it out so fast it merged into one word. Yet she understands it all the same.

"I thought we agreed to n-"

"No sex! Just...sleeping. In the same bed. It was kinda the best part of that night if I'm being honest. Not that the sex wasn't great or anything you were really good but not in like a weird way just a nice way and I'm gonna stop talking now." He shuts his eyes and covers his mouth because god help him he might be an adult now, but whenever it came to her he was the same boy she had to save from falling all those years ago.

She weighs her options in her head. It could possibly lead to sex, but she doubts he'd make a move and she was too tired if anything to make one herself. She shrugs her shoulders and walks towards him, wrapping her arm around his. "Lead the way." she whispers in his ear and sees it turn bright red before her very eyes. She comes to the conclusion that she likes teasing him, and she will take full advantage of that during the week.

After getting ready for bed they make their way to the futon and turn off the light as they do so. The light of the moon shines dimly into the room and they can just barely see each other's outlines. Once they wrap their bodies up in the blanket they lay there facing the ceiling. Eyes still open. They both know what the most comfortable position would be, but neither of them wants to make the first move. Ochako wonders if the rest of the night would be like this until she feels fingers touch her own. She turns her head over to see him doing the same and they both gaze into each other's eyes.

Without a word his gentle grip turns to her wrist and he starts to pull her closer. She repeats to herself that he won't do anything to her, but the closer she gets the less sure she is until they're breaths are on each other's faces. Their bodies are only centimeters from touching and she can feel the heat radiating from his body. His face starts to tilt ever so slightly and she can't take it anymore. She turns over and faces the opposite side of the room and narrowly misses hitting his chin as she does so.

He frowns and almost says something but prevents himself from doing so. They have plenty of time for that later so he concedes to just enjoy the current moment. But you're not getting away that easy. He wraps his arm around her and yanks her to his chest, and he swears he could hear a small squeak but doesn't acknowledge it. He rests his head atop of hers and smiles as she wraps her legs in his until they both fit perfectly into each other like a puzzle. Smiles adorn both their faces as sleep slowly but surely takes over, and the passing thought they have before they drift off is the exact same: This feels right.