Ochako was used to feeling queasy in the family car. In elementary school, she had a bad habit of practicing her quirk in the morning before school and had to learn to not vomit on the floorboards. But she isn't in elementary, it's 1 pm, and it's not her quirk making her feel sick. It was her mother's insistence that she's on a date. While she often teases her when she and Izuku hang out (especially alone), this is the most persistent she's ever been.

"It's that Izuku boy, isn't it?"

"Maybe." She loves her mother too much to correct her. While Ayame Uraraka resorted back to giggling, Ochako just sat back and tried to focus on what they'd do for their day off: They'd visit the stores while they still had their autumn decorations, stop by the ice cream parlor for their fall special, and finally, head to Dagoba Municipal Beach Park for that weird "Western Pumpkin Stand" that's only open two months a year.

"Here we are - Midoriya's house." Her mother was just being polite calling it their house, with it just being a middle-class apartment. "Now, I think this should be enough."

Ochako starred as her mother handed her a fat stack of Yen. "Mom - h-how?"

"Simple: Been saving a little bit here and there for the past few years. I wanted my baby's first date to go great."

'It's not a date.'

She lost the will to try and convince her. She simply grabbed the money, said thanks, and jumped out of the car. She did everything to avoid eye contact until she got inside.

'Why she thinks this is a date, I'll never know. She's almost as bad as Mina sometimes. Besides, Izuku and I aren't like that.' Looking at her watch, she was twenty minutes early 'Better to be early than late.' Walking down the hall, she found the door number Izuku texted her last night. Inhaling as much air as her lungs would carry, she knocked on the door.

"Ah! She's early!"

'His mom always sounds just as sweet as he does!' She could hear a bit of scuffing around, and it sounded like there was more than one pair of feet moving. She heard some sort of conversation, but couldn't make it out due to a poorly-timed yawn; waking up at 5:30 am wasn't a good idea. Eventually, the door opened to reveal a… portly woman with familiar green hair.

"Ochako!" Inko Midoriya gave her a powerful hug as if Ochako was her daughter. "It's always great to see you! Please, come in Make yourself at home! Izuku is just finishing up his shower. Anything I can do for you?"

"N-no, thank you - I'm fine." Ochako and Inko engaged in some small talk for a few minutes as she took in the lovely little apartment, including the same couch, television and clock her family has.

Before she had a chance to take anything else in, she heard a high-pitched gasp of air. Turning around, a little girl with white hair was standing at the edge of the hallway and was smiling at her. "Hey, Eri."

Upon hearing her voice for the first time in months, Eri finally walked towards Ochako with her arms up. Ochako (correctly) assumed this meant 'pick me up'. Eri thanked her and snuggled her shoulder. "So, you enjoying your new home?"

"Yep," she said, slightly louder than Ochako was expecting. "Dad and Grandma have been really nice."

"That's great to hear." She noticed Eri was wearing green pajama bottoms and a red and white t-shirt; the wrinkles suggest she's slept in those. "Like your clothes?"

Eri nodded aggressively. "Dad's old clothes are so comfy."

'I thought that was a boy's shirt. But she calls him "dad" now; how adorable!'

Suddenly, Eri's eye shot open. "Mom! There's something I want to show you!"

'M-mom?! W-why would she call me that?!' Ochako just assumed it was because she was holding Eri at the moment. Either way, she put Eri down and followed her down the hall to a room with a sign saying "Izuku" on it. Eri slowly opened the door, showing Ochako the room that raised her best friend. There were posters of heroes everywhere with All Might being the most prominent. "Isn't it cool!"

"Y-yeah. I guess he's an All Might fan. Then again who isn't?"

"It's not that - I get to sleep here!" Ochako went from underwhelmed to fending off tears as she looked down at Eri smiling about having a room as if it wasn't normal. "Dad lets me share his room! He and grandma even gave me a bed!" She led Ochako by the hand to the smaller of two beds with a pink bedsheet. "Grandma got the mattress and Dad made the bed frame! And-and-and," Eri pulled open a drawer behind her bed (which had a massive bowl of candy on top). "And Grandma gave me this night light, and Dad gave me his All Might figure!" Eri held up a silver-age All Might who looked ready for take-off. Eri went back to the drawer but stopped and looked to Ochako with a look of heavy concern. "Uh… can you keep a secret?"

"Of course!" 'She really does think of me as her mom.' "Pinkie promise."

Eri shook pinkies with "Mom" and went back to her drawer as she resumed talking. "Dad and I went to the park last week. I really wanted something, but it's against the law to take any plant life. So Dad swiped me this."

'No - there's no way Izuku would break the law. That's-that's just not him!'

Ochako's worries faded into near laughter that took every ounce of self-control to stop (and even then, some giggles escaped). Eri desperately didn't want anyone to know that Izuku stole an orange leaf off the ground. Between two giggles, an idea struck her. "Eri, how about I get you something while we're out?"

"Uh… you don't have-"

"I want to." Ochako leaned over and gave Eri a kiss on the forehead. Both girls had a large grin on their faces.

"So, do you do that with Dad a lot?"

Ochako's grin became an open mouth and her blush could replace Eri's night light. After eventually sputtering out a "no," Eri asked if she could keep another secret, to which Ochako promised and leaned in to hear Eri whisper.

'Calm down, Ochako. This one is probably a lot more serious.'

"Sometimes, I sleep in Dad's bed when he's not here."

No amount of self-control could have kept her from laughing at that.

"Hey Eri, what's so fun-"

Eri and Ochako turned to see a heavily blushing Izuku wearing a towel around his waist… and nothing else. And that's all Ochako could process before her brain gave out.

Ochako woke up in a familiar couch looking at a familiar television. "Right… must have passed out. I need to get going, or I'm going to be late."

"Good afternoon, dear." Ochako immediately jumped upright to see the three Midoriyas staring at her. From the looks on their faces, they knew why she was asleep. "Did you have trouble sleeping last night?"

Never mind. "Y-yeah. Been up since 5:30. W-why do you ask?"

"Because Izuku said you fell asleep in his room, and it's been 3 hours."

Ochako refused to believe it, but the clock didn't care what she wanted - it was 4:07 pm.

"Oh crap," she (accidentally) said out loud. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine!" Izuku's face went red and his lips looked like noodles having a seizure, but he still managed to speak coherently. "I mean, it's not like we have to cancel or anything. I-I say we go out and make the most of what's left of the day."

Before Ochako could react, Izuku was grappled by his joyous mother. "Aw, look at you!"

"M-mom! Please, not now."

Ochako couldn't help but giggle - this was probably the norm for him.

"I'm sorry, but your date falls asleep and-"

"We're not dating, though."

"Of course you aren't."

Ochako jumped up, having experience with what this kind of conversation can do. "I'll just wait outside. This sounds like a family matter." She ran out the door as fast as her feet would allow but came to a sudden halt the moment she closed the door. Two voices in her head started to argue. One voice (which sounded a touch like her mother) was telling her to go down the stairs and wait like a good girl. The other voice (which resembled the voice of her pink friend) wanted to know what they were saying. After a brief but intense inner battle, Ochako obeyed the winner. "Mina, you're a bad influence," she said as she placed her head against the door.

"Eri, are you serious?"

"Yes! Mom passed out the moment Dad came in shirtless!"

"Eri, you said you wouldn't tell her!"

"I knew she had a thing of my little Izuku! Mother's intuition is never wrong."

"No! We're friends! She doesn't have a thing for me! No one does!"

"Right. You're wearing your all-day cologne for a friend, then?"

"Mom, I just don't want to smell."

"But Dad, you took two showers."

Ochako jumped back with a strange sense of deja vu. But he understands. He's the only one who gets that they're just friends; the only one who understands her it seems. Still, she doubts no one has interest in him if the talk among her friends is anything to go by. Not that she had time to ponder this, as Izuku quickly came out and slammed the door. He was red in the face and hyperventilating.

"Uh, I thought you meant outside the-"

"I didn't hear anything." That seemed to calm him down to normal breathing levels.

"S-sorry," Izuku took the time to stand upright. "Eri thinks we're-"

"M-married?" Ochako nearly choked on her spit saying that. "I figured that from her calling me mom."

"Oh, uh…" Izuku started scratching the back of his head and looking down.

'It's always cute when he gets flustered.'

"I just don't have it in me to tell her we're just friends."

"It's fine! We-we can tell her when she's mo-more well adjusted."

"Good idea." Izuku puffed his black jacket out a bit. "So, where do you want to go today?"

Overcome with delight that they can finally head out, Ochako grabbed Izuku by the arm as she planned to spend some of her favorite season with her best friend.

"Y-your perfume smells nice."

"T-thanks! N-nice cologne."

That delight wasn't as long-lasting as she hoped. The calming browns and dark greens that celebrate the season of harvest (in some countries, anyway) had already been taken down from the markets and replaced with basic Christmas decorations. 'Halloween was just 4 days ago! It's two months until Christmas! Half of the trees still have their leaves!' As childish as it is, she never noticed how early the holiday season begins for the stores. 'Why didn't I just ask him last weekend?'

"Ochako, are you okay?"

"Huh?" Ochako saw Izuku look at her with deep concern. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Nothing?" The two stared at each other for a few moments."Well, if you insist."

Disappointing as it was for the town to already be looking at the winter holiday, Ochako couldn't keep pouting for very long; she enjoyed her time with Izuku too much, and (begrudgingly) joined him in looking through a massive gift stand that opened up just that morning. Christmas wreaths, ornaments with dragons and lucky cats, tiny Christmas trees, paintings of both the American and Japanese Santa Claus, and some Santa outfits that Ochako would rank from "jolly" to "dad would kill me on sight wearing that" were all on sale. "People a-actually wear these?"

"A-apparently" Ochako looked over at Izuku, whose eye caught the "death by dad" end of the costumes and clearly wished he never did. "B-but e-enough p-p-people have to buy t-these to k-keep them in stock, right?"

"S-say, I wanted to ask-" She actually didn't have any questions lined up; she just didn't want him looking at the half-naked Santas. 'Think of something fast!' "Er, uh… what costume did Eri go as for Halloween"

"Oh!" Izuku's calmed down and formed a massive grin. "I wish you could have seen it. She went as Eraser Head."

"Aizawa-Sensei!?" Ochako nearly spat all over him at the mental image. "H-how did you get the scarf right?"

Izuku covered his mouth as he started chuckling like mad. "A lot of toilet paper."

Ochako had to turn around and cover her mouth to avoid spitting all over her hero. Hearing him start laughing alongside her gave her the chance to lead them away towards something more wholesome. Eventually getting them over to a collection of trading cards, she stopped to hear more of this tale. "So, did she have fun?"

"Oh, she looked so happy!" Izuku described the night in full detail for no less than 20 minutes. He described how despite having a clearly cheap costume she had the biggest smile of any kid on the block; how they would have gone to every house in Japan if the night had enough hours. Ochako felt her heart sink when he said that since Aizawa isn't a popular hero, she didn't get nearly as much candy as the other kids. "So," Izuku was putting on his modest voice, "I took her to a nearby store and bought her the biggest candy bag they'd let me. Fruit chews, if you're curious."

'Wow… he really is her dad.'

"Hey, kids?" The two turned around and saw a 35-year-old in a suit. "If you're not going to buy something, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Sorry sir, we were just-"

"Looking for a gift!" Ochako interrupted. "Family shopping. N-never too early, right?"

"Ah, my bad; please forgive me."

Ochako turned her attention to the trading cards. 'Heroes and Heralds. This seems more like a boy's thing; more like something Izuku would collect as a kid.'

"Whatcha looking at?" Izuku's eyes lit up as he saw what. "Wow! I completely forgot about these! I used to play this all the time!"

"So…would Eri like it?"

"I bet! She's been wanting a family game night, and I still have my old set somewhere!"

The stand owner smiled as he went back to the register. "Okay, so I have enough for this, but I'll need to slim on-"

"I got it." Izuku reached for the cards but was denied by his friend.

"No, I got it. I promised Eri I'd give her something."

"That's nice of you, but you-"

"I want to."

"So do I." Izuku looked her in the eyes. "Let me help, please."

'Helping really is in his nature.' "Okay, we each pay half. Deal?"

"Deal!"

As the two approached the man to pay, he pulled out an envelope. "What's that for?" both asked at once.

"It's a gift, you should wrap it. Normally these are for cards, but-"

He was interrupted by nearby screaming. "We'll be right back" The spoke in unison. Ochako's legs started moving on their own as they followed Izuku to the source of the distraction. It only took them about ten seconds to find a four-armed man. His upper arms had two hefty sacks of cash, and his lower hands both held massive pistols.

"Your cash or your life!"

Ochako looked Izuku in the eyes and knew they shared the same thought: we have to stop this.

"Okay, here's the plan: I'll jump in and keep him still. Look for something heavy!"

They heard four arms make a demand for more cash, so there was no time to discuss. Ochako nodded and ran to the right of the horde surrounding the crook. She managed to get a look as Izuku jumped into the center - in one fell swoop, he managed to swipe his guns and snap them in half with his mysterious quirk. She then saw the thief throw is money sacks behind him and attempt to smash Deku with his upper arms - an attempt Deku stopped by grabbing them.

'This is my chance! Gotta find some-'

"You're strong, ya little brat. I'll give you that!"

'Plan B.' She ran to the nearest building and activated her quirk on herself. 'Deku needs something heavy. I'll have to do.' She managed to stop herself on the wall a few feet high. 'Okay, we studied terminal velocity. In it, things gain speed up until a point in free fall. Meaning…' Ochako tried to perform some mental math - despite math being her worst subject. 'I'm just gonna assume that from this height, I'll knock him out with a good blow to the head. Now, how to do this out getting myself hurt.' Right as she thought this, she saw four-arms try to use his lower arms to crush Izuku's ribs. 'N-no! From the day we met, he jumped into danger to save anyone, even me! He wouldn't let something as inconvenient as a hospital trip stop him, so neither will I! Give me an opening! I won't let you down!'

"Shame you're a hero kid. We could have made great partners."

"S-sorry, I already have one!"

'That's my cue!' Ochako bounced off the wall and floated overhead.

What happened next only took a few seconds, but the audience took in every frame. Izuku had green lightning emanate from his arms, allowing him to break his upper arms. Right as the villain screamed, Ochako released and Izuku twisted him to aline his foe with his friend; this allowed Ochako to score a field goal kick to his head. Rather than be sent flying into the crowd though, a well-timed shove from Izuku had him land on his ill-got fortune. Ochako didn't have to worry about that hospital trip, as a pair of well-toned arms caught her. Ochako looked up to see Deku's smiling face - a face she'll never get tired of. She didn't really want him to let her go; this was just fine. And Izuku seemed happy to oblige - for a few seconds, the world seemed to stop.

That changed when the crowd started cheering for another group of heroes saving the day. Izuku quickly placed Ochako back on her feet as the police showed up. Only after staying to explain to the officers what happened did they return to the stand to pay for Eri's cards.

The crowd attempted to follow them to the stand (taking pictures every second), only for everyone to learn the hard way the quirk it's owner had. The five-and-a-half-foot man jumped into the air, and a ten-foot-tall bear landed. "Now, unless you here to buy something, leave!" Within seconds the stand was back to Ochako, her friend, and the human clerk who handed them the envelope filled with their gift. "Don't worry about it." The man said. "Just take them. I can afford a pack of new cards."

"But, mister - we can pay-"

"Consider it a heroes' discount."

Not even the ice cream parlor being closed for the 'winter' dampened Ochako's good mood. The two were walking down to the beach, looking up at the trees with their orange and gold leaves.

"I haven't done this since I was a kid." Ochako looked over to her friend as he said that. "I see what you mean - it's really pretty."

Their steps fell in sync, and Ochako laid her head on his shoulder as they moved in tandem. Neither felt a need to comment or respond. Sadly, someone else did as Ochako's phone went off.

"Who's that?"

Ochako looked at her phone but didn't answer. "Apparently, you."

Both stared at each other, not sure what to do. "Well, let's see what I have to say."

Ochako finally answered the ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Oh thank goodness!" It was Izuku's mom. "I thought you left your phone at home too."

Ochako gave her a rundown of the day, which didn't take long since she excluded the part where they fought the four-armed freak.

"Well, sounds like you two are enjoying your fresh air."

"Grandma, can I talk to them?" Ochako can't help but giggle at Eri seeing the Midoriyas as her family.

"Eri, give them some space."

"But I wanna talk to Mom!"

And as fast as lightning, Ochako disconnected. "So, you left your phone at home."

"Eri?"

"Eri."

They continued walking to the beach, their stomachs growling with hunger.

"Well, aren't you two lucky - just enough time to make a couple's meal that only me humble little stand can provide. Take a seat, it'll be about half an hour."

Picking the table beside the trash bin, the two just sat and shot some small talk.

"So Deku, I guess we're even?"

"Even?"

"Well, at the exams I saved you from falling, and t-today you saved me!"

"Er, i-it was nothing." Izuku got a slight blush, which she couldn't help but smile at. "I mean, I would have died if you didn't help. I just didn't want to see you hurt."

"Really?" Ochako knows that her large grins make her look like a dork, but right now she just doesn't care.

"Uh, so… Why did he give us a couple's meal?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm done trying to convince people. If they can't see we're just friends - that's their problem!"

"Yeah," Izuku said, less than ecstatic. "Yeah, you're right."

Any conversation ended there, and before they knew it the half hour passed and their food was delivered.

"One meat-stuffed American pumpkin, a small pie made from the stuffing, and a nice cold liter of soda."

Dinner was nice - the beef, peppers, and onions mixed very well together, and the pie was definitely a nice treat. The actual pumpkin was weird for her, but Izuku didn't seem to have any issue with it; Ochako need some beef to eat her half of the pumpkin, but having skipped breakfast and slept through lunch she wasn't going to complain. The soda didn't survive the ordeal, as they both guzzled it down.

"So, did you both enjoy your meal?" Both gave a thumbs up, and each paid for half the meal. "Well, I'll just leave you two here. I trust you two will throw your trash away?" Once again giving the thumbs up, the chef/owner went to his stand to turn everything off and leave.

"Hey, Ochako?"

"Y-yes?" 'Why does Izuku sound so down?'

"I just wanted to say-" He seemed to stop as if he was second-guessing what he wanted to say. "-I had a lot of fun today." He smiled weakly but sincerely to her. She didn't look him back in the eyes, but instead at the ground.

'You're just friends, Ochako. It's nothing. It means nothing. It's better as nothing. It's-'

"Are you okay?"

Ochako stopped to think for a moment - is she? Well, the obvious answer was yes. She wasn't hurt, she had a lot of fun today, and she's fully fed. So why not just say yes?

"Is there something you need to talk about?"

Ochako let out a gruff chuckle, only to quickly cover her mouth. 'Nice going, dummy. Now he thinks you're a jerk.' But if he did think that, his face didn't convey it - he was actually smiling.

"Yeah, I get it. The guy who never seems to tell you anything asking you to open up must be a rich joke. But-" Izuku picked his chair up and moved it right next to her, "I promise that means you can trust me. If there's anything - anything you want to talk about, I promise to never repeat it."

"To anyone?"

Izuku nodded his head, and Ochako took in a heavy breath. "Okay. There's… this guy I like. He's a hero in training." She looked over at him - he looked rather grim, but that meant he wasn't about to tease her. "He's fast, strong, and clever too. And all the girls seem to talk about him when he's not around."

"Do I know him?"

"Y-yeah." She couldn't help but notice him piece it together in his head. 'He knows I'm talking about him. But since he'd rather be friends, he isn't sure how to-'

"It's Iida, isn't it?"

Ochako was happy that no one else was there, because she broke out into a massive laughing fit that lasted half a minute, before gaining control of her lungs to say "No, it's not." Unfortunately, in the laughing she lost any plans she had for this conversation and had to make the rest up on the spot. "Look, I don't know how to describe him, other than he's amazing…too amazing." Ochako turned away and muttered to herself, "Too amazing for a girl like me."

"Ochako." She felt a chill go down her spine; she had no idea Izuku's voice could get so stern. "Do not put yourself down like that. You are an amazing person."

"But-"

"But nothing. There are no rules against heroes dating, even at U.A."

'How does he know that? And… why is that info he's so prepared to say?'

"Look, just tell him." Before Ochako could object, Izuku got up and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Clench your fist and tell him from the bottom of your heart. If he's half the man you say he is, then he'll be left a stuttering mess because someone as amazing as you would give him the time of day."

Nothing happened for a good minute after that. Izuku sat back down in his chair, and Ochako just thought on what he said. In her mind, she heard her two voices. However, there was no discourse among the two - both said in unison 'It's now or never.' And as she saw Izuku slowly get out of his chair again, she clenched her fists.

"Don't worry too much about it, I'm sure you'll-"

"He's you, Izuku!

She stood back as Izuku's prediction came true: he sank into his chair as his sternness, confidence and authority melted away unto the stuttering/awkward boy she knew and (no point denying it anymore) loved. However, after about twenty seconds it stopped being cute and she actually found herself mildly annoyed.

'I don't think he realizes that I'm here anymore.'

"I mean, it doesn't make sense. How could the cutest girl in school like a quirkless loser like me?"

"Izuku!" He was knocked out of his stupor and was looking at his now miffed friend. "As usual, I have no idea what you're talking about, but-" She managed to calm down before continuing. "-you're not a loser. Maybe before U.A., but I don't care. You're an amazing hero in my eyes. I love you! And nothing would make me happier than to hear the same from you!" Ochako grabbed his hands to help him up but refused to let go. "S-so, I think it's n-natural that I-"

Ochako was interrupted by her phone going off.

"-am gonna kill whoever's on the other line!"

"L-let's ho-hope it's not m-me this t-time."

Ochako didn't even bother looking at the caller number. She just pressed the green button. "What?!"

"Date didn't go well, Ocha?"

Ochako went a pale white. "Oh! H-hell-hello, Dad! Wh-what a surprise! You on break? We, I don't want to keep-"

"Home early."

'Damn it!'

"So, how'd your date with that Mr. Midoriya go? Not well I assume?"

"Oh it went well - I mean we weren't on a date - I mean, what did mom tell-"

"Oh, Ayame knows too? Can't say I'm surprised. But as for me, you were in the shower at six am and you finally opened that perfume I got you last Christmas."

'He's good.'

"Now, I'm going to ask that you both come over, as I wish to meet up in person."

"I would Dad, but he just left and-"

"Ochako Uraraka! Do not lie to me. It's rude, and you're not good at it. I'll be waiting."

Ochako closed the phone and started to count all the ways she just ruined her day. "I'm screwed."

She felt a hand grab her, and turned around to see Izuku smiling. "We're screwed." Her skin found its color as two threw their trash away and got ready to leave. However, before they left, he froze as he grabbed the envelope. "What am I forgetting… oh right!"

"What-" Ochako was interrupted by her first kiss. It was only three seconds long, and she had no idea how to react beyond enjoying it too. He pulled away and didn't waste a moment.

"Yes, I love you too."

Ochako lived up to her word, and for the entire hour walk back home, she had a dorky grin on her face.

Sunday: 10pm

"Deku, it's me. Just nervous about our next date. Are you?"

It had been exactly twenty-four hours since Izuku somehow managed to convince her dad that they should continue(?) dating starting next week, and she's a little restless about it. So she sent him a text message to see how he's doing. It took a surprising fifteen minutes before he responded.

"Don't worry baby. It'll be fine."

At first, she thought he was just playing, until she realized something: Deku didn't respond…

Mina did.

Her phone slipped out of her petrified hand and started buzzing like crazy as every girl in 1-A started texting her. It took a whopping forty minutes for it to stop. Once she was sure they gave up, she picked up the phone, took the time to pick the right contact, and called a friend.

"Hey Izuku"

"Hey, Ochako. Gotta be quiet, don't want to wake up Eri. Everything okay?"

"Uh… I did something really stupid. Have a moment to talk about it?"

"I got all night."

"But we have school tomorrow!"

"Yep. So what happened?"