Two weeks.

In just two weeks, our whole lives turned upside down, dragged to the bottom of the ocean, forcefully reeled back to the surface, thrown up in the air, and were then expected to turn ourselves right side back up before landing. I'm still not sure where we're landing after all this is said and done.

Uraraka Ochaco, my best friend and fellow – albeit unofficial – wife to my husband, decided, out of the kindness of her heart, to subject herself to a radio interview concerning the relationship between her, myself, and our husband Izuku. Her goal was to alleviate some of the rumors surrounding our strange, unspoken relationships, to hopefully dissuade any would-be investigative journalist from sticking their nose into our actual relationship and finding out about her status as the 'second wife'.
It was a sound plan, with wonderful intentions, and she was the best of the three of us to convince the media and public to respectfully accept our awkward trioship – with Izuku and I as the married couple, and her as the loyal, tag-along friend. But the timing of it could not have been more off.
It had barely even been a month since I pushed for Ochaco to be my husband's second wife, and even less than that since the two of them finally fell into the roles. By all cultural expectations, the two of them were still in their 'honeymoon phase'! Two months at the very least, six months at average, a full year and a half at most – those are the average time lengths it takes for a young couple to snap out of their over-excited behaviors. To attempt anything on a public stage before reaching any of those milestones, is to set yourself up for the typical honeymooner blurts and braggings. That should be obvious to anyone.

Well, it wasn't so obvious for Izuku and I… He and I had always been rather tame in our relationship, so our 'honeymoon phase' wasn't so apparent. We only made clumsy attempts at romance during our first months at marriage… among other, more private, things.

But still, it should've been obvious for the both of them. Izuku and Ochaco are your typical overly-excitable couple. Of course they'd blurt unnecessarily-personal stuff out. It was only a matter of time – if they didn't take the time to wait for their 'lovey-doveys' to calm down. And they didn't wait.
Or rather: she didn't wait.
Ochaco set up the interview sooner than I thought she would – months sooner. And before I could talk her into rescheduling it, she was already being dragged away by media agents and the like. It was too late to call them off without causing the current rumors to escalate beyond imagining.
The only thing I could do – the only thing my husband and I could do – was to sit and listen to the live interview, and hope for the best.

"He really likes my butt." was the phrase that dashed those hopes and tore them to pieces.

She had accidentally spat it out as an answer, for an only-barely-related question. Her mind must have been completely elsewhere. But it's not as if she could have used that as an excuse: what she said was very clear, and very deliberate as a response. It couldn't be taken in any other way.
Whether or not Ochaco had confirmed that there was something to the rumors that were already surrounding us – specifically the ones that questioned whether or not she was Deku's secret lover – she at least confirmed what gossip-mongers had been hungry for: There was more than just friendship involved in her relationship with Deku.

And rather than suffer through months over months of damage control, I subjected myself to a personal interview, and cut through the rumors with a searing hot reply: "Uravity is Deku's second wife. It's not something I wonder over being bad or good for us. I just see it as a plain fact. And at this point, everyone should as well."

If what Uraraka said caused tabloid news to explode in viewership, then my statement ensured that many of those viewers became permanent subscribers.

Our husband Izuku, however, wasn't able to add fuel to these fires. He was banned from ever making a statement to anyone. I personally banned him. And out of guilt, Ochaco supports that ban. What he says in defense could calm thousands of eager listeners, but would encourage the creation of millions more gossip articles. I won't stand for him being villainized by scummy journalists, and neither will Ochaco.
So whether he likes it or not, he'll only be portrayed by the both of us as a man whose merits earned him the affections of two compliant lovers. I'm sure this'll make his popularity amongst males drop significantly. At least, here in Japan. In the Western countries, men are supposedly fans of this kind of figure. Not that outside attention is something we were looking for…

The world-renown trio heroes Deku, Hoplight, and Uravity dropped significantly in popularity polls after the notable interviews, and soon found themselves on many lists of infamy – sharing reputational spaces with the likes of elusive vigilantes and almost-villainous heroes. It was a little ridiculous seeing us portrayed so negatively over a simple, taboo relationship status. But 'the public's moral viewpoint is what ultimately decides a hero's value', or so Izuku says.
Taking on the brunt of those glaring 'moral viewpoints' was the Agency that we had belonged to for over a year: the Sparkling Agency. Aoyama Yuga, his managers, and his heroes, were bombarded by the media for weeks after my statement. It fell on them to clear up, or further muddy, our names in the face of a public relations nightmare. And though the people of the Sparkling Agency were lovers of attention – most of them could only handle positive attention. Negative, intrusive scrutiny was not something they were used to.
After many of the heroes avoided making public appearances, and one of them retiring too early in his career, Aoyama had to make the difficult decision of letting the three of us go.
It was a heartbreaking dismissal. Not so much from us being cut off from the one safe haven the three of us thrived in, but from being separated from a dear friend of ours. Aoyama was just as distraught as we were when he gave us the ill news, and he was the last person that ever wanted to make that call. But as he was now a responsible leader of his own organization, with several newcomer heroes depending their livelihoods on him, and hundreds of citizens entrusting the safety of their district on them – he had no choice. For the sake of the heroes and citizens that couldn't pave their paths as easily as we could: The Sparkling Agency no longer associated themselves with the heroes Deku, Hoplight, and Uravity.
It was understandable. And we don't hold anything against him for it. It's just a saddening fact…
He does still call us from time to time, though, to check up on how we're doing.
Our answer for him would literally change by the day.

After being laid off from the Sparkling Agency, the three of us were forced into a temporary hero hiatus. Every day we'd look into two to three different Agencies, seeing if anyone would be willing to take us in and sponsor our hero work. But no one wanted to deal with the media firestorm we brought around with us everywhere we went. Even old friends and classmates had to turn us away, for the sakes of their own livelihoods and the people they looked after.
Todoroki couldn't find us a position in Endeavor Agency. Mina failed to convince her boss to let us join as sidekicks. Iida wouldn't risk Team Idaten's reputation while it was going through a fragile revival. Sero had to turn us down immediately since the Agency he belonged to was completely commercial. Mineta outright barred us from entering his building with no explanation given. And many more had to close their doors to us.
We knew it was nothing personal – except maybe with Mineta – but it was still difficult to hear. They were our friends and comrades after all. Knowing that we may never be able to have a casual meeting with any of them ever again, all because the all-encompassing expectations of a hero kept them from associating with bad PR… made me wonder if this was the right career choice.
But that thought only lasted for a few minutes. This job was never for myself or my concerns – it was for the people who needed saving. Even if those people didn't like how I lived my life. That was something I was prepared to accept even before I graduated… I just had no idea how my life would turn out after I graduated.

With thirteen Agencies rejecting us within the spans of five days, the three of us began to seriously consider going the freelance route.
Freelance heroism is a career role very few heroes attempt to tread, and even fewer heroes find any real success in. Not having constantly-supervised regulations, set schedules, daily paperwork, media obligations, and required meetings to attend to may sound great at first hearing, but without the protected sponsorship of an Agency: most freelance heroes live their lives in complete debt. The monthly government paychecks and meaty commissions can only cover so much in taxes, fines, and property damage – and won't save a hero from being sued by an individual, or worse, by an entire city.
There's a reason why I was never open to that idea. And it's the reason why Bakugo lives in a miniature apartment on the poorer side of the district.
Thankfully, we weren't given enough time to attempt this career route, as an Agency contacted us just before we could finish filling out the freelancer paperwork.

The identity of said Agency and its owner, however, came as a complete surprise to me.
The Hero's Rescue, Yaoyorozu Momo's Agency, is regarded as one of the most influential Agencies in the world due to its singular-role in protecting and rescuing other heroes. I thought if anyone among our old friends had the absolute right to reject us for the sake of public relations, it would've been Yaomomo. She had built up her organization from the ground up to where it is now through public relations. Her massive network of associated Agencies and non-hero businesses easily rivals that of the largest international, government-managed Agency in the United States. And she only had a year and a half to reach this point.
Why in the world would she risk so much just to take care of her old friends?

Since it was Izuku that was contacted by her Agency, the answer was made apparent: it wasn't for us – it was for him.
If I hadn't already given up on finding out what happened between those two, that answer would have set off several warning signals inside my head. But as it was, there were more dire concerns we had to deal with on our end, and any helping hand had to be accepted as a wonderful miracle.

Within a forty-eight hour period, we were invited to, signed into, briefed, and equipped to work under The Hero's Rescue Agency. In the next twenty-four hours, the PR firestorm that followed us around was mercilessly drowned by a terrifying team of press managers and lawyers. And six hours after, we were already thrown into our first mission… And in the next three, we were thrown into our second. And by the end of that day, we were shown our new living quarters located inside the Agency itself – and had the leftover lease of our apartment paid off for moving here.

This all happened in just two weeks.

Ochaco barges into our clean, new suite and marks it as our home – by pitifully puking into the toilet of its luxurious bathroom.
Izuku limps over to her side and weakly rubs her back.
I crash myself onto the enormous bed in the master bedroom and let out a long, desperate groan.

The fanciful accommodations of our living space does nothing to stave off the overworked aches inflicting every fiber of our beings. Too much has happened today, yesterday, the day before, the days before. And most likely, even more is going to happen tomorrow. Just the thought of it makes me feel sick.
We wouldn't feel so awful if it was only missions we faced today. But being forced into a tour of the suites directly after, then having to go all the way back to our apartment to meet with the property manager, and then moving half of our stuff in here? I'm surprised we were able to stay conscious up to this point.

"What were they thinking – making us do all this in just one day?" I cry out.

"I – know! They – can– bleuuuargh!" Ochaco fails to finish heaving her words.

"Maybe… Maybe they had the schedules mixed up?" Izuku says, trying hard to hold back a yawn, "Like, maybe, that woman didn't know we had missions today?"

"No, she was quite aware." a voice in the distance audibly chimes in.

I flinch in response, as I imagine everyone else did too. Izuku walks out of the bathroom and looks around the rooms curiously – looking for the source of the voice. Ochaco continues her business with the toilet, closing the door behind her husband so as to not be rude with her sounds. If I could, I'd join Izuku, but my body's sinking into the bed, and my muscles have stopped listening to me.

"Hello?" I hear Izuku calling out in the living room.

"There's no need to search." the voice chimes back in. "You can speak with me in any room." the voice says, though at a surprisingly close volume this time around.

My defensive training kicks in and my muscles force themselves to stand up. I take in the surroundings in an instant – large room, large bed behind me, lounging chair and lamp to my right, closet and corner hallway to my left, cabinet and hamper in one corner, tall plant and bookshelf in the other, drawers and large television ahead, with a glowing blue hologram hovering just beside the bedroom doorway. It's easy to figure out which of these items wasn't here before.
A see-through figure of Yaoyorozu Momo can be seen in the azure light, her sharp business attire and perfectly-pinned hair bun shining in a much deeper blue than the rest. Despite staying in one spot, her legs and feet clearly show that she's walking to areas not shown in the live feed. In her hands is a notepad, which is then replaced with a fold of papers, then a tablet. She's multi-tasking.

"Oh! Hey, Yoro." Izuku greets her, in a room much further away.

Yaomomo pauses in her movements and glances towards me – or rather, at a screen she's using to view us – then looks away quickly. "We agreed not to use those names publicly…" she mutters in reply.

"Who's Yoro?" Ochaco asks from the toilet. I really hope there isn't a hologram in there.

"Is this public?" Izuku asks Momo, not hearing Ochaco's question. "Wait, where are you?"

"Where I always am."

"You want us to come up there to visit?"

"… I'm clearly busy, Midoriya. No, stay down there."

"And we're clearly busy here too." I speak up, "While I'm honestly grateful for everything you've done for us, Yaomomo – would you mind telling us what was with our insane schedule today? And the other day? Is it always this busy here?"

"Usually, no. For the next few days, yes." she replies without looking up at me, "For your group specifically."

"WHAT?! NOOO!" Ochaco cries out in despair, "I don't think I can keep this up!"

"You are going to have to." Yaomomo states as she taps at an invisible object. An outward-facing screen hovers in front of her figure, cycling with images of news articles and charts. All of them have our hero names listed on them. "As it stands, each of your reputations as heroes have taken significant blows which none of you will ever be able to fully recover from – unless you can change the minds of the populace before their opinions can set in. It will take a lot to dissuade their view of you, so you'll have to surpass their expectations. Work hard, show results, and prove that your roles as heroes haven't been compromised by your particular relationship."

Ochaco peeks her head out from the bathroom and is stunned by the hologram standing beside the door. "Momo! It is you!"

"It's been a while, Uraraka. Or should I be calling you 'Midoriya' as well?"

Ochaco's face turns pink as she starts chuckling shyly. "N-No, I'm still an 'Uraraka' for now. Just call me 'Ochaco' like you used to."

"Very well, Ochaco. When you say 'for now', does that mean you have plans to change your family name eventually?"

"I dunno…" her tone turns melancholy, "Since it's not really official, this is more of a decision my family has to be okay with. We're still… talking things out."

"That's the best way to do it. Having respect for your family's name shows you're being a responsible daughter. These are the kind of traits the public has to be made aware of, in order for them to come to accept the three of you."

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk about if I was ever interviewed." Izuku says as he walks into the bedroom, "I wanted to talk about their positive traits."

"You shouldn't be anywhere near a journalist." Momo immediately responds, "They'll twist all of your words against you, and against them. It would be foolish for you to be interviewed."

"He's not allowed to be interviewed. We banned him." Ochaco points out.

"A wise decision."

"If I can cut in," I cut in, "Yaomomo, I thought your Agency already handled the media for us."

"Temporarily subdued them. Threatened to sue where we could, matched their ratings financially when we couldn't. So unless some other news overtakes your three's in popularity: you'll be back in the rumor mill in a week's time. And outside of that – buying the silence of the press doesn't silence the people. People will talk about you regardless of news articles."

"You haven't been on the news in a while and people still talk about you." my husband says with a nervous laugh.

"I'm well aware." Several see-through screens appear around Yaomomo. Social media feeds, with her as the focus of gossips and memes. One more screen blinks into view and blankets the rest – an Agency ranking list, with hers located in third place. "People can speak ill of me as they wish, but my results speak for themselves. Negative talks over my reputation are now treated as harmless banter, because I've already proven my overall worth to the public. That's what you three will be aiming to accomplish."

"You mean that's what you'll be pushing us to accomplish." I sigh and slump my shoulders. "It's going to absolutely kill us, but I'll agree to this plan. It's sound. Count me in."

"There's really nothing else we can do." Izuku stretches and yawns. "Count me in, too."

Yaomomo suddenly looks up from her tablet and glares at us. Or rather, at only one of us. "There's always something else you can do, Midoriya." she says to him sternly, as her eye darts off to the side – then back at him. I'm not sure what that gesture meant, but Izuku definitely understood it.
My husband looks down at his feet in guilt. Yaoyorozu's glare becomes sharper at his silence. There's an unspoken fight occurring here that I know nothing about, and I'm unsure if I should involve myself in. It feels like the temperature in the room is dropping rapidly.

"There's always baking."

Yaoyorozu, Izuku, and I turn our suddenly confused attentions towards Ochaco.

"Baking?" Yaoyorozu tilts her head.

"Yeah, we can bake a ton of stuff for a food drive, and really get some positive attention!" she replies cheerfully.

"I'm… I'm not sure I follow. How would this convince the public to trust you three?"

"Well, it would show we really know how to bake, and that we're not as bad as they think we are."

"I suppose? But shouldn't the focus be on improving your reputation as heroes? Not simply as do-gooders?"

"Yeah."

"… I'm sorry, Ochaco. I'm really not following."

"No, no, you're right. This doesn't have much to do with us being heroes. I was just adding to what you said. You know, 'there's always something else you can do'. So I thought 'baking, baking is something else we can do'. It doesn't do much for this topic in particular, but it is 'something else'."

Izuku and I flinch in surprise as something very unexpected just came out of Yaoyorozu's lips: a laugh. The reclusive and somber Yaoyorozu Momo, whose cold shoulder towards the world keeps nearly everyone around her at an impossible distance – just laughed. A friendly and warm laugh. I haven't seen her smile in years, and here she was giggling and chuckling to a grown woman's oblivious reply.
Honestly, I should hesitate in ever calling any of Ochaco's replies 'oblivious'. Though at times she can seem overly carefree and childishly ditzy, she holds this innate ability to always say the right things at the right time, or even the wrong things at the right time, in order to cheer someone up. Her success rate in getting others to grin and drop their guard is so high that one would think she was doing it deliberately, and expertly so.
But the unaware smile she shares whenever someone laughs at her words always makes one second-guess that analysis.
The woman just committed a miracle of an act, but that tiny smile of hers just screams 'did I say something weird?'

"Um, Momo, I have a question." Ochaco nonchalantly interrupts the miracle laugh and asks, "What does 'this plan' entail exactly? Like, what are we going to be doing tomorrow?"

Yaomomo calms her giggling and wipes away tears from her eyes, before clearing her throat and returning to her professional disposition. She presses something invisible to us and the culminating screens surrounding her disappear. A single new screen appears at the emptied center – a written schedule of some kind.
"Tomorrow, I have you scheduled for three missions. Two are heroguard duties located on the coast, where you'll be serving as reinforcements for two different anti-trafficking operations. The third mission is in a city to the north, where you'll support the local police in finding a kidnapped heroine. You'll also begin your reparations towards Sparkling Agency that day, by attending a banquet one of their heroes has been invited to. I've secured invitations for you three, as well as some premium catalogues for support distributors that the hero may be interested in."

"We're bribing ourselves back to their good graces?" I question.

"You won't be purchasing anything from the catalogue for them, just offering them the catalogues to peruse and use themselves. We don't buy favors in this Agency."

"Excepting the press."

"We paid for them to not favor you. There's a difference."

Ochaco unnecessarily raises her hand for a turn at the conversation. "Another question?"

"Yes, Ochaco?"

"Do we, um, have any days off this week?"

"Of course. Seventh days are free for all employees to rest. Your color code in the system also has reserved you first days for rest as well. So you'll have the basic weekends off."

"That's a relie–"

"You'll need both those days to rest, as you'll be tracking and shutting down a major Villain group before the end of the week."

"V-Villain grou–"

"And the week after as well."

"Two groups?!"

"Three. By the end of this month, I'll have you find and arrest the three largest Villain organizations in this city. On your own, with no battle support outside of this Agency's equipment. You'll still have access to our private information networks to triangulate their bases of operations, of course. And I'll have my personal assistant help you with anything else you require."

"Th-Three groups, then." Ochaco's face turns pale as she nods. "Okey dokey. That's doable. No problem. Okey… Okay." Her head slides itself back behind the bathroom door. The door clicks shut. "Three versus three. It's only fair!" she laughs terribly, just before she resumes her earlier toilet activity.
I'd feel pity for how nerve-wrecked Ochaco is right now, if I wasn't feeling the same way.

Shutting down three major Villain organizations, each estimated to have over a hundred villains recruited, and with hundreds more lesser criminals filling their ranks, in a single month? No one's ever accomplished a feat like that on their own… Not even All Might.

"Do you really think we can do this?" Izuku voices our reasonable self-doubt.

"No." Yaomomo says coldly. "Of course not. It's an impossible task. But… if you do somehow achieve the impossible, then I would have no right to question your relationship."