Priorities
She could only watch in horror as the villain's fist sunk into Asui's stomach in slow motion and she crumpled. Evacuating civilians from the raging villains flew out of her mind as blood leaked from the corners of Tsuyu's mouth and her body was thrown across the street like a ragdoll. A hollow crack echoed through the air as she landed twisted and broken.
Uraraka dropped to her knees, heaving as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the cold, dust covered ground. The copious amounts of debris she was lifting above civilians crashed to the ground but she didn't notice. She couldn't. All that mattered was getting to Tsuyu.
Standing up she felt dizzy, disorientated but she had to carry on. She had to carry on even as her weakened body dropped to the ground. She had to carry on as her shaky limbs gave out from crawling down the road. She had to carry on even as her vision faded and she slipped into unconsciousness, hands desperately clawing, stretching, reaching towards her.
Uraraka's vision was blurry as she swam into consciousness, acid lapping at her empty stomach and limbs heavy as lead.
"Tsu..yu…" Her voice was hoarse as it attracted a passing nurse's attention and she began to be fussed over, tubes and needles poking out of her arms fiddled around as she stared at the blank ceiling. "Where's Tsu…"
A slightly older nurse who had joined to supervise the other's work and huffed as Ochako struggled to speak. Obviously used to heroes' rash actions and their overwhelming need to oversee and protect, she yanked back the thin curtain to the right of her hospital bed to reveal an unconscious but very much alive Tsuyu.
Sighing heavily Ochako sunk back into the thinning polyester pillows, her neck twisted awkwardly so she could still see her partner. Plum bruises mottled the slightly paler than normal skin across Asui's forearms and swollen cheek and her breathing was shallow in her chest. Her right arm had been put in a cast along with a splint running down the leg on the same side. Otherwise it was clear that the hospital had reduced her injuries as much as they could and now it was just a waiting game. Reading the expression on Uraraka's face, the older nurse spoke.
"She won't wake up for a while yet. I suggest you get as much rest as you can. Then, when you feel better, you can stop clogging up my hospital beds and wait by her side until she comes to."
By the time Ochako had finished nodding in response, sleep was already taking her. Relief flooded her last coherent thoughts as she drifted away. Tsuyu was safe. She was safe. They could go home soon.
When Asui eventually stirred Uraraka was a wreck. Relief had morphed into frustration and shame at her reckless actions while dread sunk in her stomach. She had been notified by the hero agency they worked at that none of the civilians had been critically injured but a lot were still in hospital and the villain had escaped after both her and Tsuyu had passed out. While she was lucky no one had been seriously hurt or worse because of her actions, both of their reputations as heroes would plummet as soon as the media got wind of this. She had not only ruined her own credibility but her girlfriend's as well, just when they had worked so hard to prove work relationships wouldn't cause any distractions. She was going to be so disappointed…
"Ochako?" Croaked a groggy Asui.
"I'm here. I'm right here." She reassured, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes as they made contact.
"What's wrong?"
"I thought I'd lost you." Uraraka sniffled. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry Tsu. I'll fix this somehow, I swear. I don't know what I was thinking…" She shuddered, taking a shaky breath before continuing on to explain what had happened in full detail. Asui listened in silence as her still fuzzy brain digested the harsh information. After a few minutes, she finally spoke.
"Look, I'm gonna be honest here you made a mistake, but not a massive one. No one was critically injured and even if they were its just part of the job. Without you being there, that's when they would have gotten into real trouble. Everybody makes mistakes, even heroes. You should know by now that they're not these perfect humans that we put on pedestals and could never truly be like, they're better. They're real people just like you and me. Exactly like you and me actually. We're heroes too and you saved a lot of people that day."
"Fuck. I promised myself years ago that I wouldn't let love get in the way of hero work and looking after my family and now look what I've done!" Ochako sobbed, her face crumpling in grief.
"This was just a one-time thing. After a certain point you start to think of close friends as family anyway, especially if they're your romantic partner. I'd definitely consider you close enough to my heart to be family." Asui's warm words soothed the frown on Uraraka's forehead but she still wasn't convinced.
"But I shouldn't have prioritised you over them!"
"No, you shouldn't." Asui's tone was stern but not disappointed. "We can work on that though. You have to trust in me and my ability to stay safe more and I'll do the same. And if that's not enough maybe I'll have to come and distract you while you're training so you get used to it."
"Even if I saw you 24 hours a day my jaw would still drop when you walked in the room." Ochako mumbled as she leant into Asui's hair, leaving soft kisses on top of her head.
Soft content croaks rumbled in Tsuyu's throat as her cheeks flared and a small smile played on her lips.
"Same goes for me." She mumbled, drifting back to sleep as Ochako continued to rest against her and softly stroke her hair.
As Asui's breathing finally evened out into the depths of sleep, Uraraka let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. She had made a mistake and she would use all of her strength to make up for it and ensure it never happened again. It seemed slightly unfair that Asui was willing to take so much responsibility for actions that weren't her own, pouring her energy into training for silly mistakes. Uraraka dragged them both down but Asui would float them back to the top again.
I'm so lucky to have you. She thought, trying to prove it through her gentle loving actions. Soon her head lay across Tsuyu's shoulder as their breathing synchronised and drowsiness played on her eyelids. Maybe her priorities had been a bit skewed in the heat of battle but when this was what she was protecting she didn't really mind.