A/N: Welcome back, everyone. This chapter has mentions of blood and gore in Ochaco's dream sequence so if you want to skip that, just skip past it. This chapter is currently unbetaed, but I hope you all enjoy. Title comes from Save Me by Remi Zero. FANFICTION DOT NET'S POLICIES FOR ALERTS HAVE CHANGED, YOU NEED TO RECONFIRM YOU WANT ALERTS EVERY SIX MONTHS, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'RE SET UP TO GET ALERST IF YOU WANT THEM!
Ochaco remembers thinking that there was no way her current study with Ryukyu could be as crazy as the one that culminated in the Shie Hassaikai raid. Only now as she boards a plane that will take her farther away from home than she's ever been in her sixteen years does it sink in just how wrong she was. She's seen the horrible video of Humarise's attack on London, and if they aren't stopped now the monsters calling themselves saviors will wreak equal or even greater destruction all over the world. There weren't many survivors left in the bomb's wake, Quirkless individuals and a few "lucky" people with Quirks who were fully transformed into animals as opposed to dying or being mutilated beyond recognition by their Quirks being sent into overdrive. Even among those who weren't directly affected by the bomb there were casualties because the out-of-control Quirks caused massive destruction and collateral damage, bringing down several buildings.
As she sits down beside Tsu, Ochaco's hands clench into fists. This mission will require everything she's learned in her time at U.A. and the past few weeks interning under Ryukyu. If they don't win, it could be her friends and loved ones getting ripped apart by their own bodies next! It-
Tsu squeezes her shoulder. "Ochaco, calm down," her friend says, tone somewhere between soothing and serious. "I know this is big, and I know what a threat Humarise is, but if you get yourself psyched out you won't be a help to anyone. Not even yourself."
Ochaco takes a deep breath to steady herself. Tsu's right, and the gravity girl knows it. "Y-You're right," Ochaco says shakily. "I just… I'm worried."
"Try to get some sleep on the flight," Nejire advises from the seat across from Ochaco and Tsu. The older girl has an uncharacteristically serious look on her face. "We're going to be flying for quite a while, and then we're heading straight into a fight. You're gonna be glad for the rest."
The plane they're on isn't exactly comfortable, but Nejire has a point. They're flying nonstop for fourteen hours, and they're headed straight from that into a fight with the lunatics that make up Humarise.
Ochaco dreams of Mara Jade Stadium. Deku's hand is in hers and she's tugging him towards the bleachers. "C'mon," she insists, pulling her boyfriend along. "They're waitin' for us."
Deku is smiling that smile she loves. It's not the smile of Deku the hero, it's the smile of Deku her friend turned boyfriend, warm and a bit shy. But most importantly, it's not forced. "I know," he agrees, letting her pull him. "It's just… I want to make a good impression. I know how much your parents mean to you." It doesn't sound like he's stressing about it at least, which is good. This just means a lot to him because it means a lot to her. She can appreciate that.
Her parents aren't too far away, and she's not surprised to find Mrs. Midoriya waiting there with them as well. It just feels right, somehow. Mama tries to grill Deku, but her heart isn't in it, and soon enough she's hugging Ochaco's boyfriend and giving him an affectionate noogie. Deku looks up at her helplessly, and Ochaco giggles. This is everything she's been wanting. It's all so perfect.
And then, just like that, everything goes wrong. Everything is shrouded in green smoke. People all around them are screaming, and Daddy and Mama and Mrs. Midoriya are too. Daddy's screaming turns into animalistic howls of pain and think brown fur, the same shade as his hair, sprouts all over his body, leaving him looking more and more animalistic. Fangs jut from his mouth, and as he grabs at his head in pain Ochaco hears a sickening CRUNCH! before he falls to the ground, blood leaking from his head and all over his hands.
Mama is floating and gleaming with pink light, a sure sign of her Quirk's activation, but her eyes can't be seen they're shining so bright. Mama is screaming so loudly, but Ochaco is at least briefly relieved that her Quirk isn't hurting her as much as Daddy's did until her mother's body glows a bright green and begins to rip apart, parts of her flying off towards… Mrs. Midoriya. Mrs. Midoriya who is glowing like Mama had been, and blood oozing from every pour of her body, the kind woman's blood mixing with Mama's as the deceased's limbs fly towards her. Gurgling shrieks slowly lessen in volume from Mrs. Midoriya's mouth, as the telepathic woman finally collapses in a bloody, broken heap.
"No, no," Ochaco cries. "Why is this happening? Daddy, Mama, Mrs. Midoriya… Why? God damn it, why?! Deku?! Where are you?! We need…"
But whatever she's thinking evaporates when she sees her boyfriend through the green smoke. For a brief second, she lets her relief overwhelm her horror at everything she's just seen. At least she hasn't lost everyone she loves… right?
She reaches out for him, needing proof she's not alone in this green, hazy hell, but sparks of green lightning erupt from the boy she loves. She recognizes them of course, he gives them off whenever he uses his Full Cowling technique, but these are closer to the ones he gave off in his fight with Chisaki. So much larger and so much more of them. His insane power, his "crazy Quirk" Daddy always called it, is exploding out of him. His veins are glowing the same angry red as when he draws on too much power, and she realizes what's about to happen a fraction of a second before it does. "Deku, no…" she whispers, but she could as much stop as what's about to happen as she can stop the wind. The power explodes out… and the boy she loves erupts with it. There's even less identifiable him than Mama, and as Ochaco stands there covered in blood and all alone all she can do is scream.
Ochaco jolts awake, hitting her head against the back of the plane with a grunt of pain. When her vision clears from the haze of sleepiness, she sees Tsu staring at her with concern. Already the panic from her nightmare is fading, but the gravity girl is still slightly shaken. "Are you okay, Ochaco?" Tsu asks.
Ochaco nods silently, not wanting to talk about her nightmare. She takes a deep breath to calm herself. Her parents are fine. Mrs. Midoriya is fine. Deku is fine. They're just here to give the pros back-up, they won't even be near the Trigger Bombs. Smash Humarise, dispose of the Trigger Bombs, go back to U.A., Ochaco reminds herself. Simple and clean.
Oh, if she'd only known how wrong she was in that moment…
While the plane moves them closer to Humarise's base in Paris, Ochaco listens intently as the World Hero Organization's representative refreshes everyone on the events of the past week. While none of it is new information so far, Ochaco can't run the risk of missing any crucial information. "Be advised, you should expect heavy resistance," the older man who'd gathered them all for this mission says. "They may detonate the bombs once they realize we're moving in on them. As such, we're not asking local law enforcement to assist."
Ochaco's hands clench into fists. The pros and the rest of us, we're on our own here, she realizes. It's up to us to protect the world from Humarise's plans. There's no room for error, and no room to fail.
As if he's somehow listening to her thoughts, the man from the World Heroes Association says, "This is the most urgent mission many of you have ever faced."
Then a different voice speaks, one Ochaco has grown very accustomed to the past few months. "Heroes," All Might says, "the success or failure of this mission rests on the shoulders of all of you. Let's give smiles back to a world frightened by terrorism."
In a different time or place, everyone in the plane might be rallying behind All Might's words with cheers or shouts of agreement. But not this time. The Heroes, sidekicks, and interns merely got to their feet and advanced on the exit of the plane. "Heroes," the representative said, "start your mission!"
As soon as they were given the go-ahead, the members (temporary and official) of Team Ryukyu launch themselves from the plane and towards Humarise's France Branch. Several people brandishing staffs and dressing like the Knights Templar appear to confront them. The Humarise cultists are all shouting things like "Don't let them violate our sanctuary!" and "How dare you invade us?!" but it doesn't matter as they're all blasted away with low percentage Nejire Waves.
Most of the cultists seem to be Quirkless, so keeping them in place and from detonating the bombs in the base is the priority. One of Ryukyu's sidekicks, a grey-haired young woman who typically sticks to analysis and computer work, is searching for the bomb with Ryukyu while the rest of them fight. Ochaco is just wrapping up the last of them with her wires when her communicator crackles to life, "Team Ryukyu step outside. It appears there are no Trigger Bombs in this location."
After several phone calls and hours of discussion between the pros, it was eventually determined that there were no Trigger Bombs in any of the twenty-five known Humarise complexes throughout the world. Despite this, none of the teams dispatched overseas would be returning home just yet as they cannot ignore the danger Humarise presents. When Ochaco reaches the hotel room she'll be staying in, she barely notices its opulence, because her head is far too full of thoughts of the mission. Every second they spend looking for the bombs is time that they could be going off and ending innocent lives, each second she rests here is time not spent looking for them and… Ochaco slaps her cheeks gently to get her thoughts under control. The World Hero Association has already called in more pros to help pick up the slack. She won't do anyone any good like this, and searching until she collapses from exhaustion won't help anyone either. Especially if she has no idea where to look. Knowing there's nothing to do but try and get some rest, Ochaco pulls out her phone. She looks over the photos in her phone: her parents standing with Uncle Mune and Kaoru, little Eri dressed up in her Santa Costume, her entire class together for the Christmas party, a picture Deku and his mom from New Years, Tsu and herself standing in front of Ryukyu's agency before their first day of the current work study, and so many others of her and her loved ones. This is what Humarise is trying to take away from the world. Everyone has people they cherish, and if the mad cult and their leader have their way, even more people will lose their loved ones. And it will spread even further across the world.
I ain't lettin' that happen, Ochaco promises herself. It's her last conscious thought before she falls asleep.
The next day Ochaco joins Team Ryukyu in scouring Paris for the bombs, though their attempts to seek them out don't result in much of anything. Not long after being called back to the hotel they've been operating out of for lunch, do they see something horrible on all of the television screens.
"Once again," the bespectacled news caster says as he indicates a picture of Deku, "according to recent police reports the suspect who is thought to have killed twelve people is at large and considered by authorities to be highly dangerous."
"This is nuts," Ochaco says as she reads the headline implicating her boyfriend once again. "'Izuku Midoriya, AKA Japanese Hero 'Deku' Wanted for Mass Murder'?! There's no way he'd do somethin' like this. He's becomin' a Hero so that he can save people! Somethin' sketchy is goin' on here!"
Tsu nods, the typically impassive girl very angry. "There's got to be some other explanation behind all of this," Ochaco's friend agrees.
Nejire nods, and Ryukyu says reassuringly, "I wouldn't worry, girls. Endeavor and the others are on it."
Ochaco wants very much to call Deku and make sure he's at least safe, but she can't. Right now, the Trigger Bombs are more important. More is riding on the success of this mission than just him. He'll understand. Hell, he'd be doing the same thing if their positions were reverse. But once the Trigger Bombs are dealt with, she's going to make sure his name gets cleared. Beyond being her boyfriend, Deku is one of her best friends.
Ochaco didn't know it, but most of Class A were having thoughts similar to hers. It wouldn't have surprised her if someone had informed her of this however, as she knew their class was quite fond of him.
After another day of fruitless searching, Ochaco frustration was beginning to grow. So many angles had been exhausted in their search for the Trigger Bombs. She understands that she must stay optimistic and encouraging for the populace's sake, but it's starting to seem like the bombs may not even exist. This is their third day scouring Paris for the bombs, and-
Screens all over the mall they were investigating go red, and Humarise's logo appears upon them. And in that moment, all of Ochaco's worries and annoyance become entirely moot. "Humarise will now fulfill it's purpose!" Flect Turn declares from every screen, the multiple speakers sounding out his voice giving it a strange reverberation. "To protect the pure humans who are called powerless. To destroy those afflicted by the wicked disease known as Quirks."
Ochaco notes the disgust in the cult leader's voice when he said the last word, but it has nothing on her disgust for the man and his organization who are so willing to callously slaughter so many innocents in the name of protecting humanity. A scowl spreads across her face, and her hands clench into tight fists. "How much more self-righteous can ya get?!" the gravity girl demands. "'Pure humans'? 'Wicked disease'?! These bastards are trying to wipe out billions! They're the diseased ones!"
"We have developed humanity's salvation devices that will cleanse this world," the mad man says, and a map of the world appears onscreen with multiple blinking red lights in multiple countries. The very same countries Ochaco and her friends have been dispatched to for their missions. "Soon they will be activated, in twenty-five countries, and through them the deliverance from the evils of Quirks shall be witnessed by all… IN TWO HOURS!"
"He's insane!" Tsu says. "Does he honestly think he can wipe out Quirks like this?!"
"However, we of Humarise are not without mercy," the mad man continues. "For those of you that wish to prevent our plans from going into effect we will generously reveal the countries where our salvation devices have been installed."
"This doesn't make sense," Nejire says. "If unleashing the Trigger Bombs for mass slaughter of civilians with Quirks was the goal, he wouldn't be revealing their location to us."
"I'm almost certain this is a trap," Ryukyu says, and her three interns nod in understanding. "But this will also spread hysteria and panic in the targeted areas, which will make shutting down the bombs that much more difficult."
"If you do not understand our righteous cause, you will have a chance to live on," Flect Turn finishes, and Humarise's broadcast cuts out.
The people in the shopping district immediately break into a panic when the broadcast ends, because one of the places being targeted was Paris.
"We need to calm down the populace, and work to evacuate them, pronto," Ryukyu says. "Right now, that takes precedence over locating the Trigger Bombs for Team Ryukyu. Uravity, Froppy, clear a path so that they can be evacuated. Nejire, help me locate the injured."
"Yes, ma'am!" the three interns agreed.
Ochaco and Tsu got to work, pulling crashed vehicles and rubble away from where they got wrecked in people's desperate attempts to get out of Paris before the bomb goes off. Ryukyu and Nejire were scooping up the injured and trapped civilians and passing them onto both EMTs and local pro heroes who could do a better job of calming them down.
It takes some time, but eventually civilians have been safely evacuated from the impact zone. It seems several developments have occurred in the time they spent tending to civilians, namely that Todoroki got in contact with the World Heroes Association and explained about some kind of master control that could be used to shut down the bombs. Apparently whatever Deku's gotten himself mixed up in lead them to finding it, also reinforcing the fact her boyfriend is okay.
Ochaco doesn't have time to feel relieved about Deku's safety, because as soon as she learns this information Ryukyu's sidekick locates the Trigger Bomb. It's not too far from where they currently are, and it's hidden within a semi-truck. Time is ticking down before the detonation, and unfortunately members of Humarise, ones that actually possess Quirks unlike the first night, attempt to impede their progress.
"Uravity, Froppy, hurry!" Ryukyu shouts as she lunges at a villain whose taken on the appearance of a giant humanoid lion in her draconic form. "Get that bomb away from everyone!"
Ochaco knows what she has to do. Using Zero-Gravity on this truck, and along with it the Trigger Bomb inside it, will put her under strain, but she surpassed her limits with the seaplane she floated earlier in the month, and she'll do it again if she has to! I'm sure that Deku and the others are gonna disarm the bomb for us, the gravity heroine thinks as she rushes at the eighteen-wheeler. But we're gonna back 'em up here 'til then!
Three villains leapt in front of her and Tsu, one wrapped in a whirlwind, one with gigantic, clawed arms, and one that produced a black sphere that crackled with red energy from their hands. Their arrival kicked up lots of debris from the road, and Ochaco pressed against some of the larger chunks of concrete with her finger pads causing it to float, and grabbed it with her wires. "My friends are I tryin' to save as many people as possible right now," Ochaco snarls as she brandishes her impromptu flails. "So, get the hell outta our way! ZERO SATTELITES!"
Ochaco smashes them all aside with surprising ease, but just as she finally reaches the semi-truck, and the Trigger Bomb waiting inside along with it, a tentacle smashes her away from it. She would've been sent flying, if not for Tsu quickly snaring her with her tongue. "Get going, Ochaco!" her friend encouraged, sling-shotting her back towards the semi-truck. "I'll handle this guy!"
Ochaco nods, and uses her grapple wires to pull her back to the truck by the lock on its door, busting said lock and enabling her to pull the door wide open. Going by the countdown, Ochaco has gotten into the truck quickly enough that she won't have to make the entire eighteen-wheeler weightless, just the Trigger Bomb.
She releases gravity's hold on the Trigger Bomb, and wraps it in her wires pulling it and herself into the air. She has every confidence Deku and the others will set this right, but she can't run the risk of something going wrong. She needs to get the bomb up and away, now!
Just as it starts to get into the air, tentacles from the villain Tsu had been trying to keep busy slam into her and the bomb. The bomb is sent careening towards as skyscraper, while Ochaco is knocked in the opposite direction. Tsu lassos the creep with her tongue and launches him far away, but Tsu's friend shouts, "Ochaco, we need to pull the bomb back quick. What if slamming into the building makes it detonate early?!"
Ochaco doesn't say a word, just readies her grapple wire once more, carefully lining up the shot. I ain't givin' up, she thinks as she pulls herself to the bomb. Deku wouldn't give up either. We're all fighting so hard to save the world. With a wordless scream Ochaco threw the bomb skyward with all her might.
The timer ticks down as the bomb ascends into the sky and for a terrifying moment, Ochaco fears that Deku and the others didn't make it in time or were lost in their attempts to disarm the bombs. That the air will still fill with green smoke, and her body and her friends' bodies and the pros' bodies will rip themselves apart under the strain of Quirks enhanced beyond reasoning. But when the timer hits zero, and no green smoke gushes forth, Ochaco releases a breath she didn't know she was holding. "There's no explosion…" Ochaco says distantly, relief and exhaustion mixing together in her voice. "They did it… Izuku… and the others… They did it…"
And Ochaco Uraraka, the hero known as Uravity, slumped forward with exhaustion filling every limb of her body.
Ochaco remembers promising herself she'd go to Otheon when the crisis was resolved. At the time it had been because she was planning to do anything she could to clear Midoriya's name. But instead, she's sitting next to him, holding his hand as he sits in a hospital bed. His body is covered in lacerations and before Recovery Girl had arrived to help him knit them back together, he'd broken so many bones. Ochaco had wanted to scold him, when she first saw him like this. Try to convince him to take better care of himself or remind him to not go off on his own, but… She couldn't. These wounds, she's sure many of them will leave permanent scars, are badges of honor. Deku fought so hard to save everyone, and when he fought Flect Turn alone that hadn't been his choice. How could she not be proud of him for all that he had done?
Instead, she'd just hugged him as best as she could, and wept. Wept with relief that he was still alive… Wept with sorrow for how badly he'd gotten hurt… Just wept. Ochaco isn't foolish, she's aware that this will not be the last time she sees him torn up like this. After all, the life of a pro hero isn't easy. But this is the first time she's seen him this shredded in months, and no one begrudges her tears.
But now, a day or so later, the tears are gone, and Ochaco is just keeping her boy company as he finishes his recovery. It'll only be another day or so before he's cleared to go back to Japan, and they'll have plenty of time to talk on the flight, so for now they're just enjoying each other's company in silence.
"LET THE DAMNED NERD REST, YOU STUPID SUIT!" shouts an all-too familiar voice from the doorway. "THE NERD'S BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH, AND YOU WORLD HERO EXTRAS SAID YOU WERE DONE QUESTIONING HIM!"
Regardless of Bakugo's protests, the door to Deku's hospital room slams open, and a man in a grey suit steps in. He looks to be in his mid 20s, and has close cropped grey hair. Ochaco and her boyfriend exchange confused looks, Bakugo had been right. There was no reason for a member of the World Heroes Association to be coming to see him now.
"You're Izuku Midoriya, right?" the man asks, his tone surprisingly casual. Deku nods, and the man pulls out a badge. "I'm Akihiko Sanada, one of the Japanese pros who works for the World Heroes Association."
"The Thunder Fist Hero: Caesar," Deku notes, seemingly on reflex.
The older man snorts with amusement. "Yeah, that's me," he confirms with a slight grin, but it fades pretty quickly. "Unfortunately, I'm not here as a pro. Just as a representative of the World Heroes Association."
Deku tries to sit up a little straighter in his hospital bed, and Ochaco releases the hand she'd almost forgotten she was still holding. If this is business, there isn't time to for distractions. "What can I do for you, sir?" Deku asks seriously. "Are there still some questions I need to answer about the raid on Humarise's base?"
Sanada shakes his head. "Not at the moment, no," the pro replies. "Do you remember the SD card you found that lead you to reaching the base?"
Deku nods. "We weren't able to look through all of it at the time," he says. "But Todoroki turned it over after we were picked up. I wouldn't be able to answer any questions you have about what's on it but isn't the World Heroes Association going through the files anyway?"
Sanada nods, and oh Ochaco does not like the look on his face. He looks like he's about to tell someone that they're getting fired and that their puppy was run over at the same time. "We were doing exactly as you said, going over the files on it. A lot of them were files about the Trigger Bombs, but there were several dedicated to video messages from the scientists Humarise had abducted. That's what I'm here to discuss with you."
There's a look of dawning horror on Deku's face, but Ochaco doesn't understand why. What happened to those scientists was horrible, she'd never deny that, but Deku knew about all of that already. He's the one that told her about it. Why does he look like he got stabbed in the heart? "Wh-What does that have to do with me?" Deku asks nervously. Whatever it is Sanada is going to say, he's already figured out, but he's desperately hoping to be wrong.
"Miss Uraraka," Sanada says apologetically, "I need to ask you to step outside while I discuss this with Mr. Midoriya. This information is private and-"
"NO!" Deku yelps. "Please, she has my permission to be here. I…"
Sanada's eyes soften. "Very well," he agrees. "If she has your permission, she can stay. Mr. Midoriya… I don't know how to say this, but your father Hisashi Midoriya was one of the scientists abducted by Humarise."
Deku starts to cry, fat, wet tears rolling down his face, and Ochaco wants so desperately to comfort him, but she doesn't know what she could possibly say to offer even the slightest comfort. The Pros turned Humarise's bases inside out, and none of the scientists were anywhere to be found. They've all been presumed dead, murdered by Humarise when they became unnecessary. Sanada continues to speak. "I'm deeply sorry for your loss," the grey-haired man says, and something in his voice indicates this is genuine empathy, not a hollow platitude. "In addition to the video logs outlining Humarise's plan, there were videos from the scientists addressing their loved ones. Your father was among them. I have a laptop with me that you can watch them on, if you'd like."
Deku nods, seemingly too overcome to speak, and Sanada does as he promised and sets up the laptop for them. The pro hero seems to be thinking about saying something more, but shakes his head and stands to leave. As soon as he's out the door, Bakugo begins yelling at him again, and even Todoroki has some anger in his voice as he demands to know what he said to Midoriya that upset him so badly, but Ochaco isn't paying much attention to them. Her eyes are on Deku, whose eyes gleam with unshed tears in spite of the many that have already been shed.
Slowly, like every movement hurt him, Deku reaches out and presses play. It takes a couple of second but a man with Deku's curly hair comes into focus on the screen. "Hi Izuku," the man says looking at the camera. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I hope someday I'll be able to answer them in person, but if you're seeing this I'm probably dead."
Izuku chokes back a sob, and ignoring every warning they've been getting Ochaco climbs into his hospital bed and hugs him tightly, holding him close. There are no words that can comfort someone going through this, but she can at least make sure he knows he's not alone.
"Humarise kidnapped me like they kidnapped so many others," Hisashi Midoriya explains, "and forced us to make weapons of mass destruction by threatening our families. Izuku, please know I never intended to abandon you and your mother. I love you both so much."
A month ago, Hisashi's words might've dried Deku's tears, or at least changed them from sad tears to happy ones, but not now. His father is gone, and any reconciliation they could've reached with him. "I've kept watch over you both these past two years," Deku's father says, and there's finally a note of something other than sadness in his voice. "I've seen the kind of man and hero you're becoming Izuku and I just want you to know that I am so, so proud of you, son. I wish I was there to tell you that myself, but please know that it comes from the bottom of my heart." For the first time there are tears in the man's eyes. "I've missed so much these past two years. I've missed your enrollment at U.A. I've missed your first Sports Festival. I didn't get to call you every time you got hospitalized. I… I'm so sorry, Izuku. I'm so, so sorry. I hope… I hope you aren't seeing this, and I can come home to you and apologize in person. You deserve that much. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."
The video ends there, and both of our young heroes stare at the screen.
"Dad…" Deku whimpers, and he sounds like a little boy. So much younger than his sixteen years, younger than Ochaco's ever known him to sound. "I… I'm sorry I didn't save you in time." And Ochaco felt her heart split in two hearing him say that. Because what could Deku have done? Storm a base of villains he hadn't known existed to save a father he didn't know was in danger? But she knows she'd feel the same in his situation, she can't blame him for it. But still…
"It wasn't your fault," Ochaco whispers into his hair, and he must've heard her, because he leans back against her, tears still streaking down his face.
"I just…" Deku trails off. "I spent the last few months thinking Dad didn't even about Mom and me anymore. But I tried to grin and bear it, and now just as I was starting to come to terms with it, I find out that he always cared. Never stopped even once. And, and he's gone, Ochaco. I'll never get to tell him how sorry I am for doubting him or tell him I forgive him for not being around. It hurts."
"I know, Deku," the gravity girl says gently, slowly running her fingers through his hair. "I know. But he loved you so much, Deku. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself."
Deku doesn't say anything to that, but he stays in her arms until his tears eventually cease and his breathing becomes even. Ochaco realizes with a start that he's fallen asleep, but she doesn't blame him. The last few days have been emotionally draining for both of them, and her boy even more so. So, the gravity girl presses a kiss to her boyfriend's head, and just lets him rest.
A/N: This story has veered a bit off canon so far, but from here on out is where it really starts to change. Look forward to it everyone!