Tsuyu

There's a faint slam of the door that Tsu barely registers in her slumber. She's drowsing when the broken sounds of sniffles reach her ear muffs.

Even in her sleep she's trembling. It's like the cold has gone bone deep and she can't get warm enough. She keeps trying to think of summer days and sunny creaks to take her mind off her current situation.

She needs someone. Izuku. Todoroki. She thinks she'd even tolerate Bakugou's presence in exchange for some warmth right now.

Tsu shifts slightly and cracks on eye open to see Ochako slumped against the door, face in her hands.

"Ochako?"

Ochako's shoulders give a tiny jump before she moves her hands to wipe her eyes and smile up at her through the dim room. "Oh. Hey, Tsu," she murmurs.

Tsu rubs her other eye open. "Is something wrong?"

Ochako hums and says something Tsu can't make out. She sits up when she hears whimpering instead of an explanation coming out of Ochako's mouth. If she had the strength to move, she'd be by her side in an instant.

"Hey," she calls out gently, "Come here. What happened?"

Ochako crawls over to the edge of her bed and rests her chin on the comforter. Even in the dark, she looks miserable. "Me and Katsuki fought."

"Again?" she asks and then feels terrible as Ochako puts her face back in her hands.

Tsu listens to the painful sound of her trying stay quiet for a few heart wrenching seconds. "You can cry," she offers in a soothing voice, like she's comforting her sister.

Ochako shakes her head and purses her lips shut as she takes a sharp inhale through her nose. Tsu waits until she sighs it out to reach a hand out and smooth her friend's hair back. "What did he do?" she asks gently.

The outline of Ochako's shoulders shrug once. "Be mean to Deku."

"He's always mean to Deku." Tsu points out, upset that she herself is accustomed to this behavior.

"Yeah, but then he started talking about his dad. How he left him because he was quirkless and stuff like that."

Tsu's sleepy eyes narrow. It was one thing to make fun of Deku's shortcomings, but spinning these stories out of nowhere was just wrong. "His dad didn't leave because he was quirkless."

"I know, and when I asked him why he was saying all that, he said he was just messing around." Ochako mutters, "Told me to stay out of it and that it's none of my business how he treats other people."

Tsu feels an inexplicable pang of disrespect strike through her as if she was the one he'd said that to. "Did you slap him?"

She scoffs. "I wanted to."

Tsu shakes her head. "What a jerk."

"Yeah." Ochako agrees. "And a dick."

"So that's what you guys fought about?"

"Basically."

"Did you..." Tsu trails off. She has no idea what kind of relationship they have because Ochako never tells anyone anything. "Break up?"

Ochako fumbles with a strand of her hair. "I don't know. I guess? I told him I wasn't speaking to him until he apologizes."

"Has he?"

"Of course not."

"What an asshole." Tsu grumbles. She'd always saw her candidness as a good thing, but she knows it can come off as callous sometimes. "Sorry—"

"No, yeah, he totally is." Ochako nods, "And honestly, when he gets like that I really don't want anything to do with him."

"Right."

"But like, he's so different when it's just us, Tsu. I know it might be hard to believe but he's actually really nice. To me, at least."

She remembers Bakugou once yelled at her in the middle of class for leaving a strand of hair on the floor. And then he yelled at her harder for ignoring him. She doesn't know how Ochako puts up with him.

"I'd hope so." Tsu grumbles.

Ochako's phone pings suddenly. She reaches into her pocket to check it.

"Oh, it's Mina," she mutters, "She asked if she should save us a plate."

Tsu shrugs.

"Yeah," she sighs, "I don't really have that much of an appetite either." Ochako puts her phone on the dresser and Tsu makes room for her to climb into bed beside her.

"So, yeah," she recaps, smoothing the ends of Tsu's hair. "Long story short, we fought and now we're not talking for the rest of the year."

Tsu blinks in disbelief. "Are you really not gonna speak to him for the whole break?"

"I mean, he said he's not apologizing, so." Ochako shrugs bitterly.

Tsu brings the blanket up to her nose to conceal her frown. Ochako's convinced she's doing the right thing, and yet Tsu can see that she's the one who ends up suffering for it. She doesn't know how to tell her friend this in her delicate state.

Ochako yawns and nestles herself further into the pillows. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"You'd better." Tsu says around a smile, wrapping her arms around her.

She hugs her back and burrows her face into her hair. "Yay."

"Oh, hey, before you sleep," Tsu mentions. "Can you do something for me?"

"Of course."

"Can you unlatch my bra? It's been killing me all night."

"Sure. Want me to take it off?"

"No, just undo the latch. I need all the warmth I can get."

"Alright," she murmurs, sliding her soft hands under seven layers of clothing to reach Tsu's bra. The straps that were stifling her torso become unfastened and Tsu thinks she can finally breathe again. "There you go."

"Thank you," Tsu sighs, "Goodnight, Ochako."

"Night, Tsu."

"And Ochako?"

"Hm?"

It doesn't feel right to let things linger like this, but Tsu truly does not have the energy and she's too scared of upsetting her friend anymore than she already is. "You'll feel better tomorrow."

Ochako kisses her on the cheek and says, "I feel better right now."

Then she turns to face the wall and Tsu pretends she can't hear her sniffle throughout the night.