This was a prompt I did for someone, so all the chapters are done. It's also in a different tense than Im used to so...meh. I'm gonna try to improve flow and pacing as I go. Sideways Tododeku.
"Get over yourself, Ochako. Snowball fights with friends are fun. Helping friends is good. This is fine. This is good." She reassures herself, fanning her face a bit to lessen the burning brightness she feels.
The last thing she wants is for her feelings to show on her face. Because this is the moment. The big setup her and Kirishima have worked hard to put into place. And she has to be sure the last vestiges of disappointment stewing in her belly ever since she'd helped plan this thing don't overtake her.
The final phase of Operation: Red-White & Green is a-go, aka, help Deku confess to Todoroki and hope for the best; and there's nothing she can or will do to stop it. Because regardless of how she feels - felt - it's the right thing to do.
With luck, Kirishima, at the end of this game, will plant the seed and convince Deku to confess once and for all.
Uraraka winces at the glimmer of jealousy that remains, despite all the time she's spent intentionally letting go. It doesn't hurt her like it used to, but it still stings.
"Uraraka, come on, we're strategizing while the defense teams set up." An unsuspecting Todoroki calls out from the semi-circle of her classmates. Kirishima nods excitedly, beckoning her over, peeking beneath Todoroki's arm with a wink. Beside them is Ojirou and, an equally unsuspecting, Midoriya, busily laying out the beginnings of a battle plan.
"Oh, sorry! Right!" She says, scurrying to reach the break in the circle at Midoriya's open right arm and Todoroki's open left.
"Wait!" She yips, her mind clearing to pull away from Deku's outstretched hand.
"What's wrong Uraraka?" Deku's got that innocent look like he thinks he may have hurt her. Deep down, she wonders if he knew about her feelings all along.
"Uhh...I...my…" she looks to Todoroki, forming a lie in real time,"...hands are a little sensitive to heat right now, sorry Todoroki." She says with an apologetic smile, pulling his arm to Deku's. "Can I squeeze in next to you Kirishima?"
"Course!"
She makes her way into the huddle of their offensive team, swallowing the lump forming in her throat as Deku briefly hesitates, then laughs a nervous laugh before bringing his arm around Todoroki's shoulder to close the loop.
"Right, so, uhh…" Deku sputters, de-linking from Todoroki and Ojirou to cough up a storm. The sound is awful, like something grating and twanging with each draw of Deku's breath. A splash of red tints his lip, long enough for everyone to see before he has the control to bury his face in his hands.
"Midoriya?" Todoroki worriedly approaches, about to touch him to offer comfort or assistance. Todoroki doesn't understand just how dire the situation really is though, but it heartens Uraraka to hear him fuss over Deku.
Deku holds up a hand while trying to control whatever urges are overtaking him, glancing to Uraraka and Kirishima, the two people in-the-know about his present condition, for help before turning away.
"Must be the cold air! I have some lozenges and tissue! Kirishima you have some water?"
"On it! I got some tea."
"Great! Todoroki, could you warm that up for Deku, please?"
"Uhhh..sure." He says with lingering concern, taking the bottles from Kirishima to warm them slightly in his left hand. "Midoriya, you've been cou-"
"Okay! Thanks, Todoroki! That's enough, don't want it to get too hot or else Deku won't be able to drink it. Then he'll be coughing the whole game!" She feigns laughter, blocking Deku from his view to give her friend a chance to gather himself.
A mix between a sheepish grin and a grimace crosses his features as he slips a blood-stained, petal filled wad into Uraraka's hand. And for one long moment, Uraraka can only think of a handful of people she'd ever do this for as she quickly places it in her jacket pocket and pats him on the back.
"All good Midoriya?" Ojirou asks.
"Yeh, thanks, guys." Deku breathes a bit easier, cheeks pink from exertion and embarrassment.
Over their collective fretting, the sound of a whistle resounds throughout the Heights Alliance courtyard.
"That's the first signal. The defense teams must be done setting up, so we don't have much time! What's the plan?" Kirishima announces, fist clenched and ready to go.
"Sorry, we don't have time for specifics. Uh, let's see. Kacchan's probably going to leave the defense to everyone else, so we should go for brute force on offense." He gestures to the boys. "Us four should actually sneak around his position, and attack the defenders, and protect ours while Uraraka keeps Kacchan busy."
"Me? But he's my partner, he knows how to counter me. And…you know he's been...avoiding me lately," she says softly, a bit embarrassed with how much it bothered her. "I don't think he'll engage," she adds, thinking back on class earlier in the week when Bakugou acted like she'd burned him everytime they touched at practice.
"Yeh, I noticed. But, at least he's here!" Deku placates before she can contest, "I still say this is your matchup. You'll be at a minor disadvantage since you share moves. But that also means he has to think around that, so use them against him. Kacchan sees you as a worthy opponent. Goad him like you usually do, and I know he'll stay on you long enough to give us time to break apart whatever defenses Momo, Iida and the others set up."
"Alright, I can do that. Bakugou's not as single-minded as he used to be, but I'll keep him on his toes while y'all do the rest." She nodded with a pump of her fist, bolstered by Deku's observation.
Besides, she wasn't needed for this phase of the operation. The point was to ensure Deku and Todoroki had fun together, everyone else could guarantee that if she could keep Bakugou out of the way. Besides, if she gave as good as she got, maybe it'd be enough to snap Bakugou out of his funk.
"Todoroki, you'll want to steer clear of Momo since she probably has counters for your quirk," Deku adds.
Todoroki nods affirmatively, always implicitly trusting any advice from Deku. She refuses to believe that Todoroki doesn't have feelings for Deku. Deku just has to accept it.
For his sake, she hopes he does.
"Kirishima, make sure you try to come back to Todoroki or me whenever you see weak points. We can use you as a projectile to take them down. Sound good?"
Kirishima nods, bringing his now hardened fists together with a crack. "You bet! I'm so ready! I'll stick close to you to start Midoriya."
"Sounds great!" Deku smiles fiercely. "Ojirou, you have the flags?"
"Right here." He pulls green flags Momo made for the game from a bag at his waist. "Ready to demolish some snow forts and plant 'em." He adds with a thumbs up and excited whip of his tail
"I'll do everything I can to counter the snowballs and quirks while Ojirou and Kirishima hit the forts."
"Alright, just remember it's a friendly game, so no need for any big moves," Deku replies shyly, hand at the back of his head.
Uraraka watches Kirishima bounce on the balls of his feet. "The defenders have to be ready by now."
"Yeh, let's go!" They shout, snowballs and quirks at the ready.
Just in time, another bell sounds, and the shouts from the other team ring out, explosions already going off, presumably from Bakugou itching to catch someone right off the bat.
As she expects, when Uraraka rounds the corner of the ice walls Todoroki erected for everyone, Bakugou is already blasting toward Deku and Kirishima, accidentally overshooting past their position since he'd jumped the gun. The two boys split apart, lobbing their first round of snowballs backward at Bakugou as they wait to see who he'll go after first.
He catches her eyes for a split second before yanking himself around.
Uraraka's a little affronted. He's ignoring her.
"Kirishima! You traitor!" Bakugou roars.
The light laugh of her red-haired comrade rings out as Uraraka quickly activates her quirk on herself and jumps at Bakugou just as he explodes himself back towards the forward advancing duo.
Her hands snatch at his leg in a five-fingered grip, instantly sending them spiraling upward at top speed. "Eyes on me Bakugou! You should know by now not to take me lightly!"
That grabs his attention.
He fires himself upward, Uraraka dangling like the tail on a kite.
"Big mistake!" He looks down, eyes intense, practically screaming he's not going easy and her adrenaline skyrockets. "I know you too well Uraraka! You can't surprise me." Grinning maniacally, Bakugou maneuvers a hand beneath him, prepping a shot straight for her head. The pops slowly stutter to life in his palm.
Placing her other hand on the sole of his boot, she yells, "Then you'll be fine getting outta this!" With a swift wrenching motion, she applies torque and pushes him up and away. Bakugou spins into a blur of cartwheels, exacerbated by the explosion he's unable to stop in time as he careens higher into the sky above Heights Alliance, yelling her name like a promise for retribution.
He'll be fine with his quirk. She laughs, floating above the carnage below.
Now she has a moment to assess if the operation is going as planned.
From high up, she spots the tiny figures of her friends. Momo indeed anticipated Todoroki's quirk (as planned for maximum bonding time) by placing traps away from where they expected. It was incredibly sweet watching Deku work to free Todoroki from some metal binding while he fended off Kaminari and Jirou, who's combined attacks were overwhelming in their concentrated forms. Kirishima, Ojirou, Tsu, and Tokoyami are busy fighting against Iida and Mina's quick work removing any flags they placed.
It is, in short, a mess of a game.
"Go Deku! You can do it!" She hollers and whoops down, hoping they can hear.
"Nah! I'll get him as soon as you're dead!" Bakugou's booming voice comes at her from slightly above.
"AH!"
Uraraka screams as a blazing Bakugou slams into her diagonally, meeting chest to chest, sending them to the ground at top speed like a shooting star falling out of the sky. Her senses ignite at the feel of his arms winding tight around her waist.
The thought of immediately pushing away is not the first thing she thinks to do.
"Rele-" she gasps out, feeling like her head's sticking out the window of a fast-moving car, attempting to bring her hands together to stop and restart her quirk. They're going too fast.
But before she can, Bakugou squeezes tighter then catches one of her wrists and moves it out, spreading their joined arms like a wing. "What's next Uraraka? I'm dyin' to see you get outta this!" He shouts above the howling wind, their descent almost at an end. Luckily, months of practice with Bakugou have already taught her to be quick as she punches her other hand into his chest, spinning under her captured arm and pushing herself up and over his head with their hands still joined.
Something, probably her shoulder, pops hard, and she screams again and bites her tongue.
"Fuck." She hears.
She can't see his face now that they're partially disjointed, but Bakugou releases her, throwing her back up and away from the ground before setting off a giant explosion against the emptier span of the courtyard. She watches the blowback propel him back towards her.
"RELEASE!" She yells, tasting warm iron in her mouth, connecting her fingers through searing pain with her eyes screwed shut. She spits somewhere off to the side.
Not a second later, she's pulled into a firm embrace and opens her eyes in time to see another short burst of Bakugou's quirk that has them arcing back to the ground.
In a matter of moments, they're skidding across the snow-covered courtyard, gradually coming to a stop behind Bakugou's team's ice wall.
Her mouth fills with saliva from the pain throbbing, nauseatingly, deep in her shoulder and Bakugou steadies her a bit before stepping away.
Without a word, he plops unceremoniously onto the ground in front of her, panting, apparently upset with himself for how far he's gone as she stands above him, holding her useless right arm and staring at him.
The sounds of the melee continue beyond the ice wall, and Bakugou meets her gaze with something like begrudging concern.
Funnily enough, she isn't upset.
"Round Face?"
She's pumped, almost intoxicated with adrenaline. And she can't help but notice how Bakugou's left himself wide open.
Uraraka shuffles forward and jumps.
"What the-!" He starts.
Landing atop his shoulders, Uraraka's weight pushes him over as she wraps her thighs tightly around his neck and pulls tight with her uninjured arm. They tumble, coming to a pause with her back to the ground and him trapped above in the best triangle choke she can muster just as Bakugou begins to float. His hot hands pop and sputter to keep his body down as he struggles against her, growling against her thigh.
She's desperately hanging on, but he doesn't stop and she her mouth is slowly filling again. Without her other arm, the strength just isn't there. Her options are limited because she doesn't want to shoot him into the sky, she wants to choke him out.
Capitalizing on her moment of uncertainty, Bakugou finally finds the leverage he needs to knock her shoulder down. Driving his fist beside her head to help him stand, he essentially walks around her body to rotate out of her choke and gain side control - all without gravity.
Crap he's getting too used to her quirk.
Pinning her weight barely keeps him in place, but he has her.
They end face to face.
It's impossible to dim the huge grin pulling at her cheeks as he stares back with an equally delighted smile plastered on his face. She hasn't seen him this happy in weeks, and that wicked grin is something she's grown accustomed to. Hair spikey and tousled, partly covering his eyes, face scuffed, and ears red - she takes it all in.
For a second she thinks she would gladly do this every day for the rest of her life if she could - fight Bakugou until he looked like he was having fun.
The thought is unnerving.
What's worse is that the sound of their heavy breathing makes her painfully aware they're alone as the fight around them dies out.
She suddenly notices the odd taste in her mouth and swallows. Yuck, yeh she's definitely still bleeding somewhere in her mouth.
"I won that! My arms busted, but I would've had it if I'd homerun you instead." She bites out, breaking the spell before Bakugou calls anything, trying to distract herself from the weird sensation his smile keeps jolting through her, and her returning nausea. "Release."
"Woulda, coulda, shoulda, and then what? You don't win 'till you pin, Cheeks. You give? Or we gonna keep going?" He barks as his knees hit the muddy snow around them.
Uraraka lets a sharp breath push her fringe out of her face, and rolls her eyes, looking away from his smug face. "Let me up. Everything's wet now 'cause of you," she says with a shiver, assessing her snowy, muddy, state.
Now she needs to change. As soon as she figures out how to get her arm out of her clothes.
Bakugou chuckles deeply as he helps her up, and she can't help the heat that rises to her cheeks as their eyes meet once more.
Her stomach flutters.
And if she had blinked, she would've missed it, but there's the tiniest hint of something that looks a bit like...fear flash across his features before he falls into a fit of coughing that sounds eerily similar to Deku's.
She rushes forward, ready to help, so used to easing Deku through his fits, it's almost instinct at this point.
"You're bleeding." He croaks out, stopping her as he clears his throat, pointing to his mouth to show her.
"Oh!" She halts to dig around in her pocket with her uninjured hand for a tissue. Grabbing the first thing she feels without realizing, she pulls out Deku's petal filled rag from earlier.
Bakugou freezes.
She panics.
Deku had been explicit about no one but her and Kirishima knowing about his affliction after they'd found him blowing bloody chunks in a hedge between Heights Alliance and Gym Gamma. Being the only ones to know made planning what to do harder but Deku'd just been too ashamed and embarrassed. But it worked out in the end.
Hence, Operation: Red-White and Green and the reason Bakugou looked like a deer in the headlights at the moment.
"This is...It's not-" she stammers, pocketing the tissue and wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her coat. Why in the world she feels the needs to justify this, she isn't sure.
"I look like I give a fuck?" He scoffs before turning on his heel and stalking past an excited then confused looking Kirishima who's obviously come looking for them.
"Bakugou, wait pl-" she starts to crunch through the snow after him.
"Uraraka! Deku did it-whoa-you alright Bakugou?"
The blonde continues on, ignoring Kirishima. "You should go get dry Cheeks before you catch a fuckin' cold," Bakugou calls behind him before setting off an explosion to quickly make his way out of the courtyard.
And just like that, whatever small moment she and Bakugou had was over. Like flipping a switch.
Kirishima strides toward her while looking back in confusion. "What was that about? Did you win?! He looked pissed." He asks, finally settling his eyes on her, surveying the apparent damage to her body.
"No…" She nods at Kirishima, feeling a bit deflated and unsure about what just happened. "I lost."