Notes: This was so much fun to write that once I started I didn't want to stop. Unfortunately, my body desperately needed a nap and I passed out within thirty seconds on my lunch break, so I had to finish this after dinner. Did I stay at my aunt's so I could eat free food and write this? Uh, maybe so. Ochako is a badass. Shouto gets to experience even more awkwardness. Endeavor gets rekt. Thanks for reading! (Due to me writing an EraserJoke fic, I had the wrong name on my mind and kept switching it up. That has been fixed!)
Ochako had never been to his home before. Needless to say, Shouto had been more than a little anxious about it, but she had grown curious ever since he'd met her parents. Not that she wanted to meet his father or anything like that, but she wanted to know where he'd grown up. He wasn't ready for her to meet his mother. To be honest, he didn't know when he would be, but she never pushed the subject or even brought it up.
After much consideration, Shouto had decided that Ochako meeting Fuyumi and Natsuo would be the next best decision. After all, his sister had helped raise him and he and his brother had repaired their relationship after being kept apart for so long. They were the family that he wanted to show her off too. She'd blushed something fierce when he had told her that, mumbling that she wasn't that big of a deal.
She was to him though, no matter what she thought.
Graduation was literally around the corner, but a day out of the dorms had sounded like a good idea, even if the day trip meant going back home. They brought their textbooks and notes so they could study there. Ochako had not been excited about the prospect, but neither one of them could afford to slack off and she admitted that she was more worried about the comprehensive written test. It was noon when they got to the house. Fuyumi wouldn't be off work for another two hours. Studying was a good way to pass the time. It also served as a distraction for Ochako, who was also anxious about meeting his siblings.
Shouto had chosen this day specifically because he knew that his father would be out of the house all day. He had confirmed his schedule with Fuyumi and his hero agency. The latter had thought that he might want to visit and he'd let them believe that when the opposite was in fact the case. Avoiding him was key. The longer he could keep her away from his old man, the better. He didn't want him to ruin everything.
The truth was that his father didn't even know that he was seeing someone and he intended on keeping it that way. Even if he had seen the error of his ways long after the fact, he would at first base his opinion of Ochako on her quirk and position in class. He had approved of Momo after accidentally finding out from Fuyumi. It had unsettled Shouto more than he wanted to admit. His approval meant nothing to Shouto, certainly not when it came to who he was dating, but it had made him wary.
It had been unfair to Momo and Shouto still felt flashes of shame over it, even if she'd reassured him that he hadn't done anything wrong.
He wasn't ready for Ochako to meet his father. Things had improved between them and he had tried to improve to become a better father, but it would never erase the past. Forgiveness was not the same as forgetting. Shouto that hat he had perhaps forgiven his old man, but he could never be sure until the question was thrown in his face. It was easier to avoid it and keeping Ochako separate from that part of his life had suited him so far. Fuyumi and Natsuo had started to ask questions about the girl he was seeing and he wanted her to be a part of that at least.
Hanging out in his childhood bedroom with Ochako had been strange at first. She'd spent the first ten minutes gawking at everything and complimenting him on his decor and then another ten minutes blushing over the fact that they were in his bedroom alone. It had been one thing to hang out in each other's dorms. Usually they kept the door open, but even if they did close it for privacy, the walls were thin and their classmates were noisy. They rarely got much time to themselves when they lived with eighteen other students. She had rambled nervously about everything that popped into her mind until he'd rolled his eyes, dragged her to sit down with him on top of his mattress, and told her to calm down.
An hour later, they were comfortably situated on the mattress. Ochako was sitting up with her back against the wall while Shouto was lying down with his head basically in her lap, using her as a pillow as he leafed through his notes. She had a textbook resting on her right on the mat, a pen in her right hand as she played with his hair with her left. He'd found out early on that she liked doing that, but he loved it even more. There was something so soothing and gentle about the way she'd run her fingers through his hair, something intimate and close about the gesture that put him at ease.
Ochako huffed and dropped her head back against the wall. "I'm definitely not looking forward to this, but I'll be glad when these exams are over."
"It'll feel weird not having to study or train," Shouto mused without looking away from his notes. "I've been doing it for as long as I can remember."
Ochako's hand stilled in his hair for a moment before it resumed. "If anyone deserves a break, it's you."
Her voice was light, but he could feel the sudden tension in her body since he was laying against her. He had opened up to her about his history. She'd actually cried, but then she allowed herself to feel things more openly than he did. It had embarrassed him, but she never brought it up again. His past was his to talk about and she left it alone. That didn't mean she was unaffected by certain aspects though when they did come up.
"We've been studying non-stop for days," Shouto said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should take a small break."
"My brain would love that," Ochako replied, closing her eyes. "What did you have in mind? A nap? Walk around the neighborhood?"
Shouto pulled his head from her lap and sat up straight. "I had a few things in mind."
"Oh?" Ochako opened her eyes to peer at him and then blushed once she realized what he was talking about. "Oh!"
Physical affection was something that he'd learned to become accustomed with thanks to his classmates. Dating Momo had helped him a little more, although she had been shy as well. Being friends with Midoriya and Ochako had been like a crash course in it though. By the time he and Ochako had started dating, Shouto was much more comfortable with such things, fond of them even. It helped that she was so soft and light in his hands, melting against him like clay. She'd hugged, grabbed his hand, and such when they had been friends.
It felt much different now that they were dating. The kissing aspect was quite nice too.
After setting his notes aside, Shouto put a finger under her chin and leaned forward to kiss her. Despite her shyness over being in his room, she reciprocated immediately, placing one hand on the mattress to steady herself as she leaned into him and another on his cheek. He could feel four of her fingertips on his skin, the pink pads that activated her quirk rougher than the rest of her skin. They sat like that for a while, kissing innocently, when she opened her mouth up to him and his heart stuttered in his chest. It always instilled a sense of trust in him when she did things like that and he couldn't help but want more.
Shouto could fully admit to being the more dominant of the two at least when it came to fighting or his quirk. She was feisty and ready to throw down when the occasion called for it. He certainly wasn't one to underestimate her in a fight. The last person to do that had been Monoma, who had not only been nearly knocked out but had made himself sick when he copied her quirk and tried to dodge her. It had rather brilliant and amusing. She would jump into an argument to defend her friends and nothing would hold her back while he usually chose to keep cool and not get involved unless absolutely necessary.
It probably would have been surprising to know that he was more dominant in this aspect of their relationship. Most people would assume that Ochako was since she was clearly more affectionate and the one open with her feelings. There was something about her that drew people in, him especially, that made him want for more. It was more than just her friendliness or the brightness that surrounded her. He could lose himself in that and not mind it for once.
He slipped his hand from underneath her chin to behind her head, his fingers digging through her long brown hair. She'd started to grow it out more in their second year to try a different style. Kissing her more insistently, he pushed her until she shoved her textbook onto the floor and was lying on her back and he moved so that his body hovered over hers, one hand on the mattress next to her head to hold himself up as he placed his other on her hip where her shirt had ridden up and one leg in between hers. It caused just the right pressure and friction to drag a mewling noise out of her that made him grin a little.
While one of her hands gripped his arm, the other found its way into his hair again, but instead of carding her fingers through it, she grabbed a handful and tugged. It wasn't anywhere near hard enough to be people, just insistent enough to let him know to lower his body against hers a little more and slide his hand up her stomach. She squirmed underneath him, panting into his mouth as he deepened the kiss. It was impossibly hot in his room, even with his quirk able to regulate his temperature. He pushed her shirt up further, her skin hot under his touch, and she was making that noise again that was beginning to drive him further.
And then he heard the front door open and slam shut.
The two of them immediately stilled, his lips still against hers and his hand resting against her upper stomach, but any sort of intimate mood between them had surely died. He pulled away far enough so that he could look her in the eyes. Her entire face was flushed, her lips swollen, and she was out of breath. What he noticed the most by far was the panic in her eyes.
"I thought you said no one would be home until Fuyumi got off work," Ochako whispered.
He furrowed his brow. "That's what-"
"Shouto, are you home?" his father's voice boomed from the front room.
A swear slipped out of him before he could stop himself. Ochako's eyes widened as he stiffened on top of her, his hand grabbing her side as if he meant to protect her. He wasn't in the position to do so and peeled himself off of her so that they could both sit up. She jumped to her feet while he ran his fingers through his hair. What the hell was his old man doing home? Fuyumi had said that he would be gone for the entire day and his agency had even confirmed it. This was the worst possible timing, the worst scenario, the worst everything.
Out of all the things to interrupt what was actually a pleasant moment at home, of course it had to be his father.
"What do you want to do?" Ochako asked quietly.
Shouto stared back at her. He liked to think that he was a quick thinker - he could come up with plans on the spot when facing an enemy - but in this uncomfortable moment his brain had stalled and failed him. He didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he didn't want his father to know that Ochako was here. It wasn't her and she knew that, but he didn't want them to meet. He didn't want to subject her to his father's opinions and judgment. In his panic, he couldn't think of a single thing.
Sensing his dilemma, Ochako offered, "I could go out the window?"
He glanced at the window in question and then shook his head. His bedroom was on the second floor, but that wouldn't be an issue with her quirk. Still, he didn't like it. No doubt the neighbors across the street would find a girl floating out of his bedroom window to be strange enough to bring up with his father. It wasn't like she could hide under his bed either.
Footsteps thumping up the stairs made both of them snap their attention to the door. "Shouto?"
"The closet!" Ochako hissed before snatching her backpack and bolting to the closet door. She ripped it open and jumped inside without looking before he could even respond. Just as she shut it, there was a knock on his door. At least he did that now. Back in the day, he would have just walked in without asking.
Taking a deep breath, Shouto dragged himself to his feet and crossed his bedroom to open the door. He'd grown some more since his acceptance into U.A. three years ago, but he still didn't match his father's towering height. He still had to tilt his head to look up at his father and he took up the entire doorway, imposing as ever in his hero costume and flooding the room with light from his flames.
However, as the two looked at each other, he allowed most of the flames to die down in an attempt to perhaps look more, well, normal. It was him letting his guard down to make things more comfortable between them. Maybe it helped. Maybe it didn't. At the moment, it didn't really matter since all Shouto could think about was the fact that Ochako was hiding in his closet and he'd been very happily making out with her minutes ago. He hoped she could keep quiet.
"I wasn't expecting you to come home," his father said in a slightly disapproving tone. "Aren't finals next week?"
"The dorms were cramped and loud," Shouto replied flatly. "I'd hoped to study in peace here."
His father's eyes flickered to the notebook and textbook on the floor. Thankfully Ochako had thought to grab her backpack too. That would've definitely made him question things further. Shouto's answer hadn't been a total lie. With finals so close, everyone was in panic mode at least a little. On more than one occasion the building had actually shook. Home wasn't exactly a peaceful place for him considering all the memories attached to it, but spending time here with Ochako had been nice up until now.
"You decided to come home to study?" his father asked. "Alone?"
Shouto didn't look away or blink, keeping the passive expression on his face. "That and Fuyumi promised to make dinner tonight." Again, not a lie. Fuyumi was making dinner. Sure, it was to meet Ochako, but his dad didn't need to know that. "I thought you were working today."
"I was," his father said, sounding vaguely suspicious over Shouto's knowledge of his schedule, "but I decided to switch shifts. I worked last night and this morning."
"So you're not working tonight?"
"No."
It took every ounce of willpower to not react when all that was going through his brain was, Shit shit shit shit.
"We can have dinner as a family tonight," his father continued carefully. They hadn't done that in a few months and they didn't do it often. Something usually came up for Natsuo when their father joined them, which meant dinner with Fuyumi and their father like before. This time, Shouto doubted that neither Natsuo nor Fuyumi knew that their father had decided to come home early and they were both excited to meet Ochako. This was literally a ticking time bomb about to go off, especially since he'd already said that he'd come for dinner.
Shouto forced his hands to stay unclenched at his sides. "Sure."
What was Ochako going to do? Hide in his room all night and then sneak out? He couldn't do that to her. It was so unfair. This was absurd. Why had his father thought that tonight would be a good time to act like a father?
His father eyed him, a hint of suspicion still in his eyes, but then left and Shouto shut the door. It was hard to fool a man that did detective work as part of his job as a hero. He was one of the best at it.
As Shouto let out a breath, the closet door opened and Ochako peeked out. "Is the coast clear?"
"For now," Shouto sighed. That had been close, but they weren't out of the water yet. Short of faking something serious happening at U.A. that would require his presence, there was no getting out of dinner. That would cause his father to ask questions since he was the number one hero too. Maybe Midoriya could call faking some sort of emergency or ask him to train.
"I can just stay in here while you have dinner," Ochako told him as she stepped fully out of the closet and over to him. "I don't mind."
"No," Shouto said decisively. "I'm not hiding you."
Ochako gave him a little smile. "Kind of did that already."
Shouto peered at her. She didn't appear angry with him or upset in the slightest, but he was bothered. It must have shown on his face because she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. Despite his nerves, he returned the hug and took another breath so that the tension bled out of him.
"I hate the way he immediately causes you to bring up walls again," Ochako mumbled, her voice muffled by his shirt. "It's like everything you've done to move past this comes back."
He would've liked to have said that wasn't true, but he couldn't deny it. His hackles still raised whenever he was alone in his father's presence. He'd gotten over it for the most part, having accepted that part of his life even if it did suck, but having Ochako so close had put him on edge all over again. She was one of his favorite parts of his life. The idea of his father being anywhere near her had activated the fight in his fight or flight response and he'd had to stop it.
"You've grown into a better person and a better hero," Ochako told him as she pulled away. "I can't stand to see him reduce you to something else."
"I'll get over it," Shouto said.
Ochako put her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't have to get over it. I know you said that he apologized and he's spent the past two years trying to be better, but it's not good enough." There was a fire in her eyes that would have made him smile if he hadn't been so unsettled. He thought he was protective of his friends, but it was nothing on her. "He should make the effort every day to do right by you, but you still freeze up and try to hide from him, like you're afraid of what he might say."
"That's not…" Shouto didn't know what to say, to be honest. The idea that he might still want his father's approval after all this time made his stomach roll. He did wall up and become closed off whenever Endeavor was concerned. No, he didn't become a resentful mess anymore, but he didn't react the way most eighteen-year-old almost pro heroes did around their dad. It was frustrating. When would he be over this?
"I understand that you're worried about what he'll think of me or that he'll ruin things between us," Ochako said, making him tense up all over again. "I know you're afraid that I'll meet your father and see everything bad in you."
It was hard for him to admit that he was afraid she would see his father and think he would turn out the same way. Meeting Inasa had taught him that lesson. People were liked to confuse the two of them for each other with their attitudes and appearances. She didn't think he was anything like his dad, but what if she did spot the similarities between them? What if she started thinking that, since he'd not had a normal childhood, he would do the same with his kids? So focused on their future hero careers, they'd never talked about having kids before, but it was something he thought about here and there, if only because it did scare him.
"But that is never going to happen," Ochako told him, determination in her voice, "because nothing about him will ever affect how I feel about you."
Shouto dropped his gaze. "You say that now."
"I know that," Ochako insisted. "And you know what else?" She folded her arms across her chest. "If he ever did or said anything to hurt you again, I'd smack him so hard that he'd float into space and then we can find out how he deals with coming back into the atmosphere. I don't care who he is or how strong he is." Shouto opened his mouth to cut her off, but she pointed a finger and kept going. "No, I don't care if he's the number one hero. I'm not afraid of him and I won't let some flaming trash can reduce you to the incredible person you've become."
Honestly, Shouto didn't know what to say. She'd never been so passionate or open about this before, if only because he'd never volunteered to talk about it a lot. It would have been the type of sweet thing that made him want to pull her towards him, if not for the fact that there was one huge problem.
Ochako finally saw the look on his face and her pink cheeks paled a little. "He's...right behind me, isn't he?"
Before he could attempt to rescue her from what might have been one of the most painfully awkward and also terrifying moments of his life (how angry would his father be that he had aired their dirty laundry to someone outside of the family - that she'd insulted him - that she'd threatened him - how furious-?), she turned around to face his father, looking up at him.
His father's expression was absolutely unreadable as he stared her down, which only made Shouto even more nervous. He clenched his hands into fists at his side now, prepared to defend her at a second's notice. There was no way to know how he'd react. They'd never been in a situation like this before. Even Midoriya, who knew about his history and had met Endeavor a handful of times, had kept his opinions to himself. Meanwhile, Ochako had given more than a piece of her mind and his father had heard everything. The last one to speak to him like this had been Natsuo, but that was family. She was an outsider to him.
"I…" Ochako swallowed and then something odd happened. The fear left her face, replaced by a tremulous but hard expression and the color returned to her cheeks. "I meant every word. Shouto means a lot to me. He's a huge inspiration and he's going to be the very best despite everything you did to him." She held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Ochako Uraraka. I'm a classmate of Shouto's - and his girlfriend."
Nothing happened and Shouto felt the seconds tick by as his father and girlfriend stared each other down. It was impossible to breathe, much less move. His left foot twitched forward when his father abruptly reached out and he thought for a brief second that Ochako was about to get hurt. He was half a second away from activating his quirk in his own bedroom on his own father when he took her outstretched hand and shook it. Shouto sucked in a silent gasp of air, picturing Ochako activating her quirk, but she kept her pinky finger out.
"I assume Fuyumi already knows to set out an extra plate," his father said, his voice coming out like a rumble.
"Yes," Shouto responded stiffly.
His father pulled his hand back and let out what sounded like a long-suffering sigh that regular parents did. He even looked tired, but not angry as he turned his attention back to Ochako, who stood her ground. "I remember you from the last Sports Festival. You cancel out gravity. It's a deceptively powerful quirk."
"I return it too," Ochako replied evenly. "Everything that goes up must come down eventually."
"Of course." His father's eyes flickered to the right and Shouto followed his gaze. Ochako's shoes were sitting next to his. He almost cringed. His father known all along that he hadn't been alone in his room. "I'll let you two get back to...studying in the meantime."
He turned around and shut the door fully behind him. Shouto realized that he hadn't closed it all the way the first time, which was how his father had seen and heard Ochako after he'd walked away. The second he did, Shouto let his shoulders slump and watched as Ochako's entire face turned red when she turned back to face him. The steely resolve that he'd witnessed seconds before melted into a panicky, embarrassed mess.
"Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods!" Ochako practically squeaked, squishing her cheeks together with her palms. "I can't believe I just said that to the number one hero - no, to your father. I don't know what happened! I don't know what came over me. Shouto, oh my gods, I'm so sorry. I just knew that I couldn't take it back, not when I wouldn't mean it and I-"
Shouto interrupted her by storming to her, cupping her face, and pressing his lips against hers. She squeaked for real this time, but immediately melted in his embrace. He kissed her with as much heat as he could muster, as much passion that he felt. He kissed her like it was the last time he would ever kiss her and also the first one that he'd dreamed about instead of the shy one he'd given her. She was enthusiastic in return, although when he finally pulled away, there was a somewhat bemused look on her face.
"I love you," he told her very, very seriously. He had never been so serious about something in his life. Maybe he had felt like he could love her before, but it felt incredibly important to him that he tell her now. It was almost overwhelming, his need to let her know how he felt, maybe because it flooded his heart and mind.
A nervous giggle tumbled out of Ochako's mouth. Her cheeks were warm under his touch from the blush. "Shouto, I-"
"It's okay," Shouto cut in. "You don't have to say it in return."
"No, I-" Ochako stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again before throwing her arms around him and burying her face into his chest. She was embarrassed. "I love you too." She peered up at him. "I was just afraid to say it."
"You spoke to my father like he was nothing and you were afraid to say that?" Shouto asked, a little bemused himself. She was so silly sometimes. Maybe it was a normal thing to be scared of. Everyone had their own fears. He could understand that, considering that he'd been afraid of her meeting his father and she had blown all of his expectations out of the water and then some. To be honest, he'd pictured her being polite and fake sweet just to keep things civil, not be brutally honest and, in the words of Bakugou, rip him a new one.
Oh, Natsuo was going to love her. He could already hear the jokes about marriage.
"See?" Ochako giggled. "Nothing to worry about."
"There's still dinner to get through," Shouto pointed out, although amusement bled into his voice.
Ochako's face fell only a little before she shrugged her shoulders. "I'll have you by my side. I'm good."
Shouto grinned a little. They were more than good. Besides, she was right. As long as they had each other, there wasn't anything they had to fear. They could overcome things together. That was what it meant to have someone that you loved.