Realizations & Actions
{Just an FYI, this is set in the same timeline as my "I Won't Leave You No Matter the Danger" story, but you do not have to have read that one to read this one. This can be read either as a sequel of sorts or as a stand alone! Either way, thank you for reading! Enjoy!}
Being a hero came with a lot of responsibilities, so many responsibilities that it made it hard for them to hang up the cape and live just as normal people. Ochako did not mind as she loved her job and saving people was something she had come to pride herself in but it felt nice for her to get together with her old female classmates for a rare break from the battlefield.
Momo, Ochako, Tsuyu, Jirou, Mina, and Hagakure were all sitting in Tsuyu's nice apartment, laughing over old memories and catching up on what was new while sitting around the dining room table drinking sodas and eating small sandwiches as they used to when they were still in school.
"Speaking of valiant efforts, Ochako, you had a pretty solid win last week, didn't you? Against that shape shifting villain who could turn into any person, animal or object, right?" Jirou said, twirling one of her earphone jacks with her finger as she continued their conversation about their recent victories against the villains ravaging the city.
Ochako started to fiddle with the edges of her hair and cast her eyes down at the ground shyly. "It wasn't that big of a deal. Any of you could have easily pummeled him into the ground, probably better than I did, I just happened to be there when he attacked."
"Oh don't be so modest, Ochako!" Mina said, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling widely. "That guy was a real beast! You aren't known as the number four hero for nothing!"
Ochako blushed at her friend's words and took another bite out of her sandwich. She loved being the number four hero but being referred to as such always made her embarrassed. She didn't always like the labels because even though she had worked tooth and nail after her incident with the metallic villain when she was still in school to become the greatest hero she could possibly be, she sometimes felt as if her friends deserved that title more. Even so, none of them treated her any differently, and she loved being able to comfortably talk to them, no matter how many titles were slapped on their names.
"Alright, can I change the topic for a moment?" Hagakure asked from her corner of the dining table, sipping her drink and wiping away the residue with the back of her hand.
"Sure, what's up?" Momo asked, all of the girls turning to Hagakure.
"I wanted to announce something so drumroll please!" The invisible hero chirped and drummed her fingers on the dark oak wood of the table. "I'm getting married!"
"WHAT!?" All of the girls rose simultaneously and went over to congratulate their good friend who was smiling and laughing brightly as she accepted their hugs and pats on the back.
"So Ojiro proposed?" Mina squealed, her eyes shining.
"Yeah, Mashi took me out to dinner like a week ago and he was acting all strange. He kept fidgeting and his tail kept accidentally hitting people when they passed our booth so I finally asked him what was going on and he got down on one knee! I was so happy, I've been waiting all week to tell you girls about it!"
The girls all patted her back and gave her hugs once more, congratulating the invisible girl all over again on her new engagement. Finally, they all settled back down and began to eat and talk again.
"Speaking of Ojiro, how is he doing? What has he been up to? I feel like I haven't seen any of the guys in forever." Mina said, collapsing back into her chair and taking a swig of her sprite.
"He's doing really well actually! He's been out of town for a while, he had to leave the day after he proposed to me but he is coming back today!"
"Deku is out of town too," Ochako piped up from in between Momo and Tsuyu. "He is going to be back within the next few days but he had a conference to attend to with some of the other top heroes. Todoroki and Bakugo are there as well, right Momo?" Ochako asked.
"Yeah they are, Shouto left last week to go pick up Bakugo from his house. Apparently, he lost his driver's license again due to trying to blow up a guy for rear-ending him. My husband doesn't mind though, they still have their differences but Shouto knows how to ignore it and despite his still crazy demeanor, Bakugo has matured quite a bit since high school," Momo said.
"That's true," Ochako said. "Kirishima has really gotten Bakugo to calm down hasn't he?"
"I just love that couple!" Mina said, putting her hand together and raising them to the side of her face as she gushed. "Who knew that Bakugo would be such a sucker for that red-haired hero?"
"Yeah," Ochako chuckled and took another bite of her sandwich. That was when she felt it. She had been feeling a little queasy lately, and she had thrown up earlier that morning but her head had felt clear and she didn't have a temperature so she had taken some aspirin and ignored it. But now a wave of nausea suddenly and forcefully washed over her and she dropped both her glass and her sandwich on the ground, rushing for the nearest bathroom. She heard her name being called but she ignored it as she sped around the corner and slid to a stop on her knees in front of the toilet. Thankfully, the lid was already up and so Ochako was able to make it before throwing up. Her body felt suddenly feverish and her hands were sweaty as she vomited into the water. The moment brought her back to a time in high school, when she had just come back to school after being in the hospital for a few weeks following the attack of a villain. The memory caused her to shiver as she remembered the horrible trauma it had caused, how she had felt so alone and weak and scared. That is until Deku had shown up out of the blue and had talked to her, calming her and holding her hair back as she relived her horrors in the form of being sick in the middle of the night. Even just the thought of Deku made her feel calmer, and by the time she was done throwing up, she felt less shaky.
"Ochako! Are you alright?" Tsuyu asked, peering her head in the doorway with a worried look on her face. Ochako flushed the toilet and stood up on wobbly legs, holding onto the counter for support and faced her friends with a shaky smile.
"Yeah, I'm alright. I have no idea what that was, but it's been going on for some time now."
"The vomiting?" Momo asked.
"Yeah. Every morning it's as if a new sickness has washed over my body but then it is gone by around noon or so! Every day for the past week I've been feeling really strange."
"Why don't you come and sit down?" Tsuyu asked, motioning with her hand toward the hallway. Ochako nodded and padded out of the bathroom, her friends helping to support her to lay down on the couch. She sat down and already started to feel the effects of the incident fade away, her limbs regaining strength and her breaths becoming more consistent again. Mina walked over to Ochako and handed her a glass of water, concern filling her pretty black eyes.
"Are you sure you are alright?" Jirou asked.
"I think I'm fine," Ochako said, taking a sip of water and rubbing her face. "I can already feel it receding, I'm just really confused."
"Did you say this only happens in the morning, Ochako?" Momo asked.
"Yeah, I don't know what it is."
Momo put a hand to her chin as she thought, her mind wandering until her brain finally clasped onto a solution. Her face paled and then she blushed a furious red.
"Hey Ochako, can I ask a really personal question?"
"Um, sure, what's up Momo?"
Momo blushed even redder and rubbed the back of her head nervously.
"Have you and Izuku ever…" Momo cleared her throat and forced herself to look at Ochako.
"Have you and Izuku ever had sex?"
Ochako had taken a sip of water, not expecting the question to be that personal and ended up choking on it once the words hit her.
"W-What!?"
Momo blushed again and the other girls tried to suppress the little giggles that were surfacing due to the situation.
"I'm sorry it was so dramatic but I really need to know, I might be able to figure out what has been happening with you."
Ochako swallowed and blushed a bright red.
"Well, we have been married for about two years so yes, we have had s-sex a few times."
"Was it unprotected?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Was it unprotected sex?" Momo asked again, her brow furrowed.
"Why do you want to know?"
Momo sighed and rubbed her arms.
"As you know, Ochako, I have two young twin boys and so I have been getting some experience with them as well as doing lots of research."
"Alright, so what does this have to do with me throwing up every morning?" Ochako asked, her brows knitting together and her teeth gently teasing her bottom lip nervously.
"Ochako," Momo said, kneeling down in front of her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm bringing up my sons because I believe that you are showing some similar symptoms to what I experienced."
Tsuyu placed a hand over her mouth and Mina's eyes began to shine with excitement.
"What do you mean?" Ochako asked softly, the idea of what Momo was getting at starting to sink in.
"This is just a theory but I have a slight suspicion that what you are experiencing is morning sickness," Momo took a deep breath and looked at Ochako with shining eyes and a wide smile.
"I think you're pregnant."
Ochako sputtered and her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"Holy shit, you think that I'm… I'm… going to have a b-baby?"
"Well, I think you should take a pregnancy test, alright Ochako? Don't jump to conclusions or anything, I just think that you are showing a lot of the same things that I experienced when I found out I was expecting the boys," Momo said.
Ochako felt her head begin to spin. A baby? I mean, she had always wanted a family with Izuku but they were always so busy, constantly working to save people and battle villains. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. Would he be happy? Worried? Unhappy? Upset? Anxious? Angry? Ochako was getting more and more worked up and had to force herself to take a deep breath and calm down. She closed her eyes and allowed her anxiety and insecurities to melt away. She was the number four hero, she could handle anything.
"Alright, I'll take the test to be sure," Ochako said.
"Oh my god, Ochako!" Mina squealed, her eyes bright and shining. "What if you really are? That would be SO amazing! A little baby IzuOcha running around!"
"Are you late Ochako? I knew I was expecting when that happened to me," Tsuyu said thoughtfully. Ochako looked at everyone and smiled.
"I don't know anything for sure, but I'm happy to know that I have all of you to support me no matter what."
"Of course!" Hagakure said cheerfully.
"Hell yeah! I call being the cool aunt!" Mina called happily.
"Guys, I don't actually know anything yet!" Ochako said but everyone seemed to ignore her as they all laughed and beamed at their friend. Tsuyu's phone suddenly chimed and the frog girl paused to glance at the notification on her screen.
"Oh, Fumikage is coming home from the grocery store with the kids, you guys are welcome to stay but I am going to start cleaning up some of this stuff so that it's not so cluttered when they get home," Tsuyu said, placing her phone back in her pocket.
"Thanks Tsu, all of you actually, for the catch up day but I, uh, have some other priorities to sort through at the moment," Ochako said sheepishly. The other women nodded at her with bright smiles and waved to her as she stood up from the couch and made her way to the door with her bag slung over her shoulder.
"Text us updates!" Mina called out behind Ochako just as she shut the door and began to make her way to the nearest pharmacy.
Ochako paced ceaselessly in the main living room of the large, spacious flat she and her husband shared. He wasn't supposed to come home for the next two days or so but she still couldn't help but feel nervous. The pregnancy test from the pharmacy had proven Momo's theory 100% correct and an appointment at the doctor's office confirmed it even more.
She was having a baby. Izuku's baby. She was going to be a mother and he was going to be a father. Ochako placed her hands gently on her still very flat stomach, feeling her strong abs rather than the swell of a baby belly. She knew that feeling would change with time but it still felt different. Now that she knew, she felt as if she could already feel the swell of her pregnancy despite it not existing yet. She turned towards the large windows in their living space, gazing out across a more rural part of the city where they lived. Both Izuku and Ochako needed to be closer to where all of the crime was but also enjoyed the peaceful serenity that came from being farther away from the heart of the city and so had chosen an expansive apartment complex to live in that was not too expensive, and that sat on the edge of the city, but still gave them access to lightning fast train routes that took them to the heart of the crime when necessary. Her eyes scanned the distant buildings and settled on the bright pink flowers of the Cherry Blossom trees down below her. The beautiful trees swayed in the breeze and made her feel just a little bit calmer about the whole situation.
She was so deep in thought that she did not hear the door open. Izuku was about to call out her name when he saw her watching out the window wistfully, one her hands raised to her face to absentmindedly nibble on her fingertips. She was so beautiful, even when she was doing nothing more than just staring out of a window, she just looked so perfect. Izuku's heart swelled with his immense love for his wife, his eyes beginning to water at the perfect image of his wife watching the world, the sun glimmering through the glass to leave little diamond shaped speckles to shimmer off of her chocolatey brown hair. She was wearing a slightly cropped pink t-shirt and white shorts that cupped her nicely and allowed her strong thighs to stand out prominently. Izuku noticed she was barefoot, so he quietly took his own shoes and socks off at the door and crept up behind her.
Ochako let out a frightened squeal when she first felt those strong, solid arms wrap gently around her waist but when she whipped her head around and saw her husband home two days early, her face brightened up immediately, seemingly lighting up the entire room.
"Zuku! You're home early!" Ochako exclaimed, turning around the rest of the way and launching into his arms to give him a proper hug. Izuku chuckled against her and placed his chin on her head as she snuggled her face into his neck.
"I missed you," Izuku said softly leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek. She giggled when he kissed her and kissed him on the cheek back, her smile widening at the sight of him.
"I missed you too,"
Izuku leaned down to kiss her cheek again, a small peck, but then paused and leaned down one last time, this time dragging out the kiss and even flicking out just the tip of his tongue to ghost it across her flesh.
"Zuku…" Ochako groaned as he repeated the action but on her neck this time. "Zuku, you just got home, stooooop."
"I don't mind that I just got home," Izuku muttered in a low voice. "In fact, that's what makes me want you even more, I haven't gotten to touch you for over a week, I need to recharge myself."
Ochako almost gave in, her heart aching with her love for this man, when all of a sudden everything came rushing back. Two days. He came home two days early. Which meant that she had two days less than before to think of ways to properly tell her husband everything.
"Wait! Wait Zuku, I have to talk to you first," Ochako said quickly stopping him from continuing to kiss her any lower on her body.
"Ochako, is everything alright?"
Ochako nodded quickly. "Nothing is wrong, it's just…"
Ochako took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Something happened while you were gone, or at least, I realized something had happened while you were gone and now I don't know how to tell you about it. I'm sure it'll be fine but I've been stressing out about it for the past three days."
Izuku raised his hands to very lightly grip her shoulders. Lightly, lovingly pressing his lips to hers he allowed her to relax a little.
"You can tell me anything, alright Chako?" Izuku whispered to her when he had pulled away.
Ochako nodded and met his gaze, setting her resolve and taking a deep breath.
"Izuku, I… I'm… I'm pregnant."
Izuku said nothing at first and Ochako closed her eyes, fearing the worst.
He was upset. He hated her. He hated the baby. He wanted to leave her. He wasn't ready to be a father. He was angry at her. She knew it was irrational but the thoughts kept shoving past her common sense anyway, flooding her brain and even bringing tears to her eyes. She was about ready to cry or snap at him or do something when he stunned her with the most passionate kiss she had ever felt. Her eyes snapped open and then closed again but more relaxed as he kissed her as if she were the air he needed to live. When they broke apart they were both out of breath but Izuku's eyes were shining with wonder.
"You-You're having a b-baby!?"
Ochako nodded, the tears in her eyes now turning to joyful ones and sliding down her cheeks as she took in his reaction. Tears of his own were sliding down his cheeks and his entire face was ablaze with a bright red blush.
Izuku launched at her and gripped her waist, lifting her into the air and spinning her in a circle three times. When he set her down, his whole demeanor seemed to make him almost glow with pride and happiness.
"It-It's mine?"
"Yes yes! Of course! There is no one else's it could be! You are my one and only Izuku, always."
"Oh!" Izuku said, his eyes widening slightly in alarm. "I did not mean in any way to suggest you might be cheating, I just…" He sighed. "It just all feels so surreal to me. I finally get to have what I have always wanted with the woman of my dreams? How the hell did I get so damn lucky!?" Izuku said in awe.
Ochako felt her heart squeeze somehow ever tighter and she nearly tackled him into a kiss full of passion equal to the one he had given her.
"You are not the only lucky one."
Suddenly, Izuku really started to cry. He placed his head in his hands and his whole frame began to shake with silent sobs. Alarm coursed through Ochako and she immediately knelt down to meet her husband who had slid to the floor.
"Zuku? What's wrong!?"
Izuku sniffled a few times before turning his tear streaked face to look at her. Raising one of his scarred hands to cup her cheek, his thumb lightly caressing her skin.
"I just, I just remembered everything from that night. The night I almost lost you," Izuku said. Although the pair had been through many hardships together as heros rising through the ranks, many of which had resulted in near death experiences, Ochako immediately knew which one he was talking about. The night with the metallic villain that had kidnapped her. The night she had actually died but been brought back to life at the last second by none other than the man sobbing on her floor.
"I remembered how when I thought you were gone forever, how my mind played through not only every memory I had with you but also every memory I wanted to share with you but that I thought I never could. The memories of getting married and going on dates and kissing each other. One of the scenes that played through my mind in that moment was of this." Izuku said softly. "It was a scene of being told I was going to be a father. At the time I didn't know why I thought of that and I thought it was never going to happen, even if you did manage to come back. But you did and now, I am living what I thought was mere fantasy." Izuku's shaking had decreased in force but he was still trembling against the comforting grasp of the woman he adored.
"Izuku Midoriya," Ochako said loudly and confidently.
"Yeah?" Izuku asked, looking up into his wife's determined features.
"You are going to be a father. But not just any father, you are going to be the father to our child. You and me. And damn it you are going to be the best father to ever live," Ochako said beaming.
Izuku stared at her in shock for a small moment before breaking down all over again, joy radiating from him.
"Chako?" Izuku hiccuped.
"Hm?"
"Thank you, you are the greatest gift I could've ever asked for."
