Ochaco Uraraka liked being cute.
No one could ever really deny that an aura of adorableness surrounded Ochaco. Having it pointed out was always a fun little treat.
Ochaco Uraraka liked being soft.
As much as the hard, muscular look worked for Ochaco's boyfriend and was something fantastic to feel with trembling fingers, soft was better.
Ochaco Uraraka did not like his body.
His body.
The teenage boy had tried to deny that truth for a long time. After all, actually doing anything about it, like getting a binder or starting any sort of treatment, would take money. A lot of money. His parents would accept him, Ochaco was sure of that, but they'd also happily drain what little savings they had in order to help their son with his gender dysphoria.
There was also the matter of Katsuki. Ochaco's boyfriend was...well, he was pretty sure the explosive hothead wasn't straight, but that didn't mean that coming out would go smoothly with him. When Katsuki had come up to Ochaco's desk and told him that they were going to go to a movie together, he had thought he was asking out a girl.
Everyone thought he was a girl. Deku, Mina, Iida, everyone. Even the teachers, though something gave Ochaco the impression that Eraserhead suspected the truth.
If they all knew the truth, though...even if they reacted well, they'd have different expectations. Boys weren't supposed to like being cute or being soft, but Ochaco did. What would they think if he told them that he was a guy, only to then keep wearing skirts and not really changing his behavior very much, if at all? Would they still respect him? Or would Ochaco be forced to fulfill a whole different stereotype, or face being misgendered?
It was getting close to the summer of his second year, and he was beginning to wonder if he would end up graduating UA without coming out. The heat was starting to get awful, and even the air conditioning in the dorms wasn't fully able to keep out the choking humid heat. However, Katsuki had several fans and a dehumidifier in his room, so that's where Ochaco was, laying on his floor and trying to study.
Unfortunately, no matter how Ochaco tried to lay, he couldn't get comfortable. The issue? His chest.
"Uuugghhhhh..." Ochaco moaned, lifting his head up just high enough to thump it down onto the floor of the dorm room. "I hate puberty..."
The booby fairy refused to leave Ochaco alone, regardless of how much he wanted her to stop it already. His chest has been hefty enough at the start of high school, but with time had come a full extra cup size, and with it, more back pain and struggles finding a comfy way to lay down.
"Tits bothering you again?" Katsuki asked idly. He sat on his bed, a bare foot just inches away from one of Ochaco's. Katsuki moved his closer, a small moment of physical contact, something close enough to affection for Ochaco to count it.
Ochaco nodded. "Yeah...it's my fault, it's not like my diet is discouraging weight loss or anything..."
That got Katsuki to actually put his textbook down, get off his bed, and kneel down next to Ochaco. Most people would have been intimidated by seeing Katsuki Bakugo looking down at them, expression serious, but Ochaco was blushing. Why did his stares do that to him? It wasn't fair.
Then, still utterly deadpan, he poked the bit of Ochaco's tummy that his shirtline exposed, which only made Ochaco blush more. "You're free to do what you want, Cheeks, but I'm not about to tell you to lose weight." Then, looking away from him all of a sudden, Katsuki added quietly, "You're cute."
Setting aside his own book, Ochaco beamed at his boyfriend and leaned up enough to pull him into a quick kiss, one that turned out longer than intended when Katsuki grabbed Ochaco and kept it going. A thrill went through Ochaco, one that made him visibly shiver. While Katsuki's hands-on attitude could be mortifying at times, it also just made Ochaco feel...wanted.
"You know, Katsuki, that was almost sweet of you. I better not tell anyone, or it'll shatter that violent bad boy image you have going," Ochaco teased.
Completely ignoring the comment, Katsuki poked at Ochaco's chest. "If they're so fucking bothersome, you could look into getting a binder or something. Hell, UA would probably cover top surgery if you wanted that."
Ochaco's mouth hung open for a few seconds as his brain ran through what was just said. Sweat poured down his face, and finally managed to put words together. "Why would they do that?!" Internally, he was starting to freak out. Why would Katsuki suggest something like that? Was that a normal thing and Ochaco was giving something away by reacting so strongly?
Frowning at Ochaco, the blond boy just shrugged. "Because you wouldn't be the first. Huge tits can be a liability as a hero, as well as just really fucking uncomfortable. You wouldn't even have to tell them you're trans if you didn't want to."
Sighing in relief, Ochaco started to say, "Oh, well that's goo-" before stopping as the rest of Katsuki's words hit his brain. Fear blossoming in Ochaco's chest, he looked at Katsuki and strangely saw the emotion mirrored back. What was Katsuki scared of? "W-what did you say?"
Katsuki actually growled at himself, tension filling his muscles, the kind Ochaco knew was tied to his boyfriend's hidden self-loathing. "Fuck...shit, can you forget I said that?"
As much as Ochaco liked the idea, he didn't think he could really entertain it. "Um...no? How did you know I'm..." He left the end of the sentence hanging off, unspoken. Admitting it out loud still felt impossible.
"...a guy?" Katsuki finished. "Yeah, I know. But it was obvious you weren't ready to come out or anything, so I was trying to respect that and...of course I went and fucked that up."
Unable to stop himself from glaring at his boyfriend a little, Ochaco poked him in his hard, lean pecs. "Hey. You're not allowed to use this as an excuse for beating yourself up." Ochaco's protective instincts were strong enough to temporarily overwhelm his coming out freak-out.
"Sure thing, babe." Katsuki rolled his eyes while saying it, but Ochaco knew that was the best thing he'd get, unless he verbally dragged Katsuki into something more robust, kicking and screaming.
"Seriously, though, how? Like...I haven't told anyone! None of my friends, or our teachers, not even my parents!"
Katsuki shrugged. "Put it together after the sports festival. It was pretty fucking obvious to me. Especially since...you know. We're dating. I'm surprised that didn't give away that I knew."
Narrowing his eyes, Ochaco tried to think through that. "How...would that be a clue?"
"Because I'm gay. I don't like women." Katsuki said, as though that was the most obvious thing in the world.
Which, in retrospect, it kind of was. Ochaco thought back through things, and realized that there hadn't been a single time Katsuki had expressed any interest in a woman. The only exception, at least to an outside observer, was Ochaco himself.
"Then why do you call me your-" Ochaco didn't even finish the thought, as it hit him how many assumptions he'd been making.
Clearly trying to show off a cocky confidence he didn't fully feel, Katsuki kissed Ochaco on the forehead, in the most aggressive way he could. Almost like he was headbutting Ochaco's forehead with his lips. "I never did, dumbass. Just because you're not out doesn't mean I'm going to misgender you. You have no idea the kind of verbal gymnastics that entailed, by the way."
He was right. It was always 'partner', if he used a term like that at all. More than anything, Katsuki just called Ochaco 'babe'. He blushed. Oh wow. This was actually a thing. Katsuki knew. Katsuki had always known.
Still, that didn't mean this was all simple and easy now. It just meant the opening salvo of questions was done. "So...you know I'm..." Ochaco struggled, but this time actually managed to say it, "...a boy. I'm a boy. I'm a guy. I'm a man." Why were there tears standing out in his eyes, just from saying those words to someone who already knew it?
"Yeah." How did the cocky asshole Ochaco had hated the first few months of school say that word with so much affection in it?
"And you...still like me? You like me as your b-boyfriend?" Stuttering over that particular word made Ochaco blush a bright red.
Suddenly smirking, Katsuki gave Ochaco a little squeeze before saying, "You bet your sweet ass, babe." His eyes didn't break away from Ochaco's, and there was a heat to the stare that was truly palpable.
Oh. Oh wow. That awoke some...especially strong feelings. Something to review later.
Now for the next hurdle. "I'm not really sure how much...trying a binder sounds like something I might like. And if the school covers it, maybe the surgery? But even if I try a hormone treatment too, I'm not sure...I don't think I'm really ever going to be more...masculine? I'm just going to be like I am now, but more boy-y." Ochaco felt like he was doing an awful job explaining it.
Which must have made Katsuki a mind reader, because he seemed to understand anyway. "That's fine with me. What's important is you feel comfortable with your body. Plus?" Katsuki put one of his arms under Ochaco's legs and lifted him up into a bridal carry, while still crouching down. "I wasn't dating you because I expected you to change into some Kirishima wannabe after you came out.
"I like you. I like my sweets-chomping, quiz-failing ditz of a boyfriend who can give me a hell of a spar and looks fucking immaculate in a skin-tight jumpsuit. You call me on my bullshit and you don't let me get away with anything, and you buckle like a broken chair the second I run my finger down your side or give you the right look."
To most people, that would not be romantic, at all, in the slightest. But to Ochaco, it was so earnest and quintessentially Katsuki that it made him start crying.
"Y-you'd like me even if I got top surgery?"
"Yeah."
"And if I started taking testosterone?"
"Yeah."
"Even if it makes my voice change and I don't sound cute anymore?"
"There's no fucking way you wouldn't sound cute."
"Katsuki..."
"Ugh, okay, even if you didn't sound cute I'd still like you."
"What if I...um...wore a packer?"
"What part of 'I'm gay' did you not understand, shit for brains?"
"So if I-"
"Yes, I would support you every step of the way."
The questions didn't stop, and neither did Katsuki's brusque reassurances. By the time evening fell, very little studying had gotten done, and Ochaco wasn't sure if he wanted to tell anyone else yet, let alone go to Recovery Girl about the things they'd discussed.
But someone knew. Ochaco's boyfriend knew. And that was a step all on its own.