Heyo everyone! I hope you're doing well! I wrote this one-shot to keep you all content while I write the next update for The Sorrow Behind the Smile (my other BnHA story, if you do not know.) This was originally going to be a silly and not seriously written one-shot, but things didn't work out that way. Anyhow! I hope you enjoy this story!
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Ochako trudged through the apartment building, her hero costume growing more uncomfortable by the second. She waved to the receptionist as she passed the front desk and swiftly rushed into the first floor's public restroom. She entered one of the stalls and proceeded to rapidly remove her skin-tight suit. After it was off, she let out a satisfied sigh, allowing her body to breathe for a moment.
Ochako then slipped on a pair of bleached skinny jeans and a navy and white striped, long-sleeved tee-shirt. Sliding on a pair of canvas flats, with navy embellishments, she stepped out of the stall to inspect herself in the wide mirror. She decided that she looked fairly decent, and with two thumbs up (to herself, of course), she made her way out of the bathroom.
She took the steps to the 4th floor, as she and Izuku always did. "Just for a little bit of extra exercise," Ochako had said to him. Of course he responded positively to her idea, flashing her one of his bright smiles that still managed to make her stomach flutter. The brunette took a moment to stop and admire the dazzling ring on her left ring finger. He always knows just what I like, she thought to herself with a smile that made her eyes crinkle in the corners.
As she continued her ascent to her floor, she chuckled softly to herself, thinking of how she still did the "Just engaged!" finger waggle, that females often do to show off their engagement rings, despite being already married. To be honest, she just did it to jokingly taunt her friends who had yet to be proposed to by their significant other, namely Shouto and Momo. Who knew that Deku would have more guts than Todoroki? And look how happy we are now. Her pleasing thoughts came to a close when she reached Floor Four's platform.
She opened the metal swinging door and stepped into the hallway. Making a brisk walk to her shared apartment, she remembered that Izuku had gotten the second half of the day off, so he would already be home. He's had 5 days straight of constant work. Her heart sunk at the fact that he had gotten so many frequent emergency calls, even late into the night, that he had gotten three hours of less of sleep every day. Each time, she would offer to go with him, to make the process quicker, but he denied every single time. Eventually, he started to just go without letting her know, that way he wouldn't have to wake her up. She would go to sleep in his arms, and then wake up with him nowhere in sight. The first time he did it, she panicked beyond words. Luckily, he came shuffling in through the front door before she had the chance to call the police. After that, he started to leave notes on her nightstand, telling her that he went out. That barely did anything to subdue her worry, though.
I really hope he's resting right now… Lord knows he needs it. This was her hope as she entered through the front door, refraining from calling out, in fear of waking or disturbing her husband. As Ochako sauntered over to their medium-sized kitchen, she pondered on what to make for dinner. I could make katsudon. After all, it is Izuku's comfort food… While she went about gathering the ingredients, she remembered that she would have to do the dishes. She didn't have the time to do them earlier in the morning, nor the energy to do them the previous night.
Ochako walked to the kitchen closet, grabbing the smoothed wood recipe box that her mother had gifted to her, picking out the recipe for tonight's dish. "Inko Midoriya's Famous Katsudon" read the recipe card. Inko had been elated, if not a bit embarrassed when Ochako had asked for the recipe. That was back when Deku and I were just dating… She had told her timid mother-in-law that she wanted to know how to perfectly make Izuku's favorite food. Inko quickly agreed that it was a great, and very heartwarming, idea, and the two ran through the recipe, surprising their favorite boy with the dinner. The sweet woman got flustered, however, when she saw Ochako write "famous" on the recipe card.
The gravity altering quirk user smiled to herself and went over to the kitchen sink, planning to get the needed amount of water for the supper. She was shocked to see that the sink was empty and shining, like had just been cleaned. I didn't do that… Her eyebrows furrowed. Izuku. A sudden anger filled her body, and she couldn't hold back as she yelled, her voice carrying throughout the apartment, "Izuku! Come here right now!" I told him not to do the dishes. I can't believe him! He's so stupid sometimes!
She heard his footsteps as he came rushing in, panic evident on his face. He was dressed in a oversized yellow sweater and jeans, the sleeves of his shirt going far past his hands. Her arms were crossed, and her expression stern. Ochako grew even more heated when she saw the warm basket of laundry balancing on his right hip. "What's wrong! Did something happen?!" His voice was filled to the brim with worry, but he stopped his approach at the edge of the kitchen, seeing the anger on his usually bubbly wife's face. He gulped, fear rising from the pit of his stomach.
The sight of the deep, dark circles under his typically vibrant green eyes fueled the process of Ochako becoming further upset. "Izuku! I swear! I told you not to do the dishes, and that I would do them when I got home! But you just had to go and do them anyway! And, look! Now you're doing the laundry too! Have you even rested at all?! You're going to work yourself into an early grave!"
He was slightly apprehensive of how she would respond, but Izuku still retaliated. "Well I don't want you to have to come home just to do the dishes, Ochako! You need rest too!"
Oh he did not just… "I've had plenty of rest these past days! My shifts have all been laid back and ended early! You have gotten less than 3 hours of sleep for 5 days in a row, Deku," She seemed to calm down for a moment. "That's not healthy. I'm just concerned for your health. And not to mention that you've had several run-ins with some dangerous villains." Her moment of a calm came to and abrupt end. "And-! Don't you even pretend that the cut on your leg from that villain the other day isn't bothering you anymore! I can plainly see that it is!"
At those words, Izuku hid his injured leg behind the other, in a little self-conscious motion. "I'm fine, I promise, Ochako. I don't even feel tir-"
He was interrupted by Ochako, whom was not willing to hear Izuku lie to himself about his health. "Ah! Izuku, don't do this, please. Just… sweetheart, you'll make yourself sick." She approached him, gently placing her hands on the white, plastic laundry basket that he was still holding. "Please, will you at least lay down for a little bit? When you do, you'll realize just how tired you are." She looked up at him, all sign of anger gone, sadness and worry being the only emotions wavering in her immense brown orbs. "Please, Izuku?"
He gazed down at her with a solemn expression for a moment before hanging his head in defeat. His eyelids fluttered close, his long eyelashes standing out against his bruise-like eye bags. "Alright, for you, Ochako." He halfway opened his eyes and flashed her a tiny closed smile.
Relief washed over Ochako, and she looked at him with a face filled with massive amounts of gratitude. She gingerly took the basket away from his grasp, placing it on the hardwood floor. She sweetly embraced him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He slithered his hands around to rest on the small of her back. She used her hand to bring his head down to rest on her shoulder. She threaded her hand through his thick, curly hair, relishing in its silkyness. His breath tickled her neck when he let out a long, content sigh.
"Sorry for yelling at you." She felt him nod into her shoulder. The tiny gesture made her heart soar, for some peculiar reason. Ochako continued, "There's just no way else to get through that thick skull of yours." She could feel the small chuckle at her comment reverberate through his warm body and a warm smile dawned her pink lips. After a pleasant moment, they eventually parted, and after a sweet and short kiss, she took his scarred hand in hers, leading him to their shared bedroom.
Upon entering, neither of them bothered to turn on the lights. Both swiftly changed into some comfortable clothing, Izuku keeping his sweater on and just switching his jeans for a pair of gray sweats. Ochako was adorned in a pair of pastel pink lounge shorts and one of Izuku's old shirts.
While his wife was still getting on some comfortable clothes, Izuku took a moment to sit on the queen sized bed and admire the pictures on the wall. That one was from when were dating… The engagement photos… He looked at the largest collection of photographs. And those are from our wedding. He stared at the largest, where they were standing up on the altar. It was taken during the vow-sealing kiss. His face grew slightly warmer, a tint of pink adorning his cheekbones. She really did look stunning that day. And every day…
"Okay!" Ochako's sudden declaration broke Izuku from his nostalgic trance. She gave a cute smile, and joined him on the the bed. As they laid down, sharing one pillow and cuddling so that they seemed to be just a heap of limbs, Ochako asked "Are you alright?" She shifted slightly, being cautious of the cut on Izuku's leg.
"Mmhmm," He hummed, "Just remembering some things." He answered as his eyelids drifted closed against his will. Ochako was right… I guess I really am tired… The extreme exhaustion had enveloped the pro-hero, willing him to fall asleep. Before he knew it, his consciousness had already faded into black.
Ochako took the moment to admire him, glad that he was finally getting the rest that he needed. She gazed at his soft expression, and placed her hand on the side of his face. The young woman took note of every single small detail, the way his hair curled out in seemingly every direction, unwilling to be tamed. All of the freckles that adorned his face and body, some large and others small. He's gotten more over these years, she thought with silent mirth. The way his lips naturally curled. His gently sloping nose. He's very handsome. For once, she didn't feel flustered at her thoughts. To her, he was perfect. Both in personality and looks. But his attractive features weren't the only things she noticed. The sleep-deprivation was more than obvious, and in the silence of the room, she could see just how stressed he was.
She let out a sigh, and brought her hand away from his face to rest on his shoulder. Ochako could feel his gentle breaths flow through him, making his body rise and fall. She tucked herself into his chest, tingles running through her body when he unconsciously brought his arm to rest on her hip. She too, soon fell asleep, glad that she had such an amazing person in her life.
The ingredients for what was to be dinner sat untouched on the kitchen counter. And the now cool clothes that laid in that white basket were left unfolded. Who cares if the clothing was wrinkled or not? If they could live through the tiny wrinkles in their relationship, who's to say they can't deal with that?
The idea for this initially came from a conversation my sister and I had. We were talking about another couple, and she mentioned that they would probably fight and argue all of the time ("Like an old married couple."). It got me thinking; "How would Izuku and Ochako fight? Because surely they would have little quarrels." And so I told my sister that they would have silly arguments like, "I TOLD YOU I WOULD DO THE DISHES!" "WELL I JUST DIDN'T WANT YOU TO HAVE TO WORK AFTER YOU CAME HOME!" And so, my writer's mind turned that small, lighthearted discussion into this little fluffy (I hope) one-shot. Alright, story aside, thank you for reading! Eat and drink well, and have a wonderful day!
