Ochako POV

After the movie, Izuku walked Ochako home in silence. They were both in their own heads. She couldn't be sure what was on Izuku's mind, but thoughts of a freaked-out Bakugou kept her mind occupied.

At first, she assumed his odd behavior was from the horror film they had watched. She quickly dismissed that theory; she couldn't picture Bakugou being afraid of anything or even freaked out by a film that was intended to freak a person out.

By the time they arrived at her apartment, Ochako had convinced herself that Bakugou's bizarre departure was because she made him uncomfortable. He wasn't a touchy-feely kind of guy, and she was basically glued to him the whole movie.

Yikes. She would have to text him to apologize.

As she put her keys into the lock to open the front door, she nonchalantly told the distracted Izuku, "By the way, I'm going to get you back for tonight."

She may have been preoccupied, but she hadn't forgotten how her best friend deliberately overlooked her fear in his movie choice.

There was a reason she fit in so well with the Bakusquad back at U.A. and why she stayed such close friends with them now. She could handle their razzing and gave it back with interest. Ochako was carefree most of the time, but she had a competitive side to her, and this was the part that craved retribution.

"H-huh?" Izuku stuttered.

The sweetness of it almost made her cave. When they first met, they were young, silly teenagers. Izuku had grown into the beautiful specimen of a man before her, but nothing would push him to outgrow that inherent awkwardness that all teenagers possessed. It was enduring. He was precious and was to be protected at all costs.

"Oh, yes. It'll be when you least expect it too. I am your best friend, Izuku Midoriya. I know exactly what freaks you out."

The protective attitude she felt toward him wouldn't stop her from teasing him, though, because it was cute when he panicked. Izuku fidgeted. He scratched the back of his head with one of those massive hands of his and averted his gaze.

"I forgot how much you hate zombies until we started the movie," he lied.

He was also a horrible liar.

"Mhmmm." Ochako's tone was unconvinced, making it known that she saw right through his lie.

She did wonder about the reason behind him picking that movie. She supposed it didn't matter, especially since she wasn't truly mad at him. Plus, she was certain Mina didn't feed Éclair, and Izuku needed to get home to his hubby.

Ochako leaned up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek, and Izuku nuzzled into it.

"Goodnight, Zuzu."

"Night, Koko."

They never grew out of their silly childhood nicknames for one another, and the familiarity in the exchange dissolved any leftover tension from her date earlier that night. The lingering strain left her shoulders as she opened the door and made to step inside. Izuku started down the stairs that led to her third-floor apartment when she heard his phone ring.

Izuku's voice was cautious while he answered. "Kacchan?"

As Ochako closed the door, she heard Izuku stuttering a retort to the man on the other line. "W-what do you m-mean mind my own business?"

Alrighty, so maybe Ochako would wait on that apology text until Bakugou was done being upset. Dynamight may tolerate Deku now, but they weren't close enough for casual phone conversations. Whatever annoyance forced Bakugou to call Izuku must be a big one.

Locking the door behind her, she smiled at the sound of tiny nails tapping against the wooden floor. A flash of chocolate brown and tan fur charged right at her. Éclair wiggled his lengthy body in excitement as he closed the distance.

"Hi, my baby! Did Auntie Mina neglect to feed you?"

Ochako bent down and picked up her sable, rubbing his overside ears. He purred and curled up in her arms, which only made her coo more at him.

"You don't want me to feed that thing! I'm clumsy. Who knows what I could drop in his food!" Mina sang from her room.

Ochako rolled her eyes as Mina appeared in the living room.

"You're hilarious, Mina." She carried Éclair into the kitchen to prepare his dinner. "Now, will you listen to me vent about my calamitous date or not?"

"Calamitous?" Mina followed her with a frown. "It couldn't have been that bad."

Ochako sat the sable on the ground, and not a second later, he jumped up to perch on the counter. He watched with eager eyes as Ochako made his dinner. Éclair and Mina exchanged a brief annoyed look; the pink roommate hated when the sable got up on the counter, stating that it was unsanitary.

Ochako tried to break Éclair of the habit. He was extremely intelligent, and although he was easily trained, he was also stubborn and loved getting into mischief. She had a sneaking suspicion that the sable did it to annoy Mina since he never jumped on the counter when Mina was absent; she'd never understand the unexplainable feud between them.

Ochako explained in detail how bad her date had gone. By the time she placed Éclair's dinner bowl down on the ground for him, she was done with her story.

"Oh, so it really was that bad," Mina conceded.

Ochako's phone dinged with another text message notification. It was from Shindou.

10:05 PM [Text from Shindou]: u down?

Ochako hummed in interest. It seemed Shindou was making a real effort to be friends with her. She had forgotten all about his text earlier, asking if she wanted to video chat and watch a show together.

Mina's black and gold eyes regarded her phone with curiosity. There were only two people Ochako texted this late. The first was Mina, who was standing before her, and the second person was walking home at this moment, no doubt getting an earful from Bakugou.

Ochako showed Mina the text, and her friend squealed in delight at the name. "That hottie from the bookstore is texting you? Let me see what he said!"

Mina quickly grabbed Ochako's phone and brought it closer to her face than necessary to read the texts.

"You down? Down to what? DTF?" she asked, clearly not reading beyond the last text Shindou sent.

"Read the other message, too," Ochako directed.

It took Mina a short time because Shindou only sent one other text message. Honestly, the whole thing was a tad rude. Shindou didn't even start the text conversation with a greeting. Now that she thought about it, the lack of etiquette reminded Ochako of her conversations with Unknown. He was blunt and straight to the point whenever they messaged each other.

"He wants to watch that show with you? Like a date?"

"No," Ochako sighed. "Shindou said he wants to be friends. It'd be a friend thing."

Ochako flicked a glance at the clock on the stove. The discussion was pointless because she was going to turn him down anyway. She was late for her nightly conversation with Unknown.

Mina studied her friend carefully, debating how far she could push the matter before it went too far. "Friends turn into lovers all the time," Mina added cautiously, wanting to tread lightly after the stunt she pulled at the bookstore the day before with Shindou.

"You're not wrong, but I can't tonight. I'm busy," Ochako told her, not unkindly but firmly.

The silence that followed was awkward; the unspoken discomfort between the two was foreign. She wanted to be done talking with Mina already. Ochako was anxious to log on and chat with her online friend. She was beginning to feel as if she had forgotten to do something important by not already logged on.

Mina's demeanor dipped, seemingly sensing the unfamiliar tension between them, making Ochako feel guilty for being impatient with her. Mina abruptly closed the distance and embraced Ochako in a hug, holding her tight.

Deepening the hug, Mina tucked her head into the side of Ochako's neck. Her friend's sudden burst of emotion shocked Ochako, and she hesitantly hugged her back, unsure of what brought on such a response.

"Listen, baby cakes. I know I'm being pushy—we all know that's a problem of mine, and I'm working on it—but it's coming from a place of love. I'm worried about you. Spending your nights talking online with some guy you've never met is unhealthy. You need real-life connection."

3 Years Ago

Ochako was exhausted. For the last month, she'd been picking up extra patrol shifts to save money for a surprise anniversary trip for her parents. It was their 25th anniversary soon, and she wanted to send them somewhere nice for them to celebrate.

When she slipped into bed, she was halfway asleep before Unknown messaged her. The adrenaline rush of getting to talk with her friend gave her the boost she needed to stay awake.

Their chats were a nightly occurrence in high school. When she graduated from U.A., they became less frequent, and after she started dating Sen, she and Unknown only talked a few times a week for the two years she was in that relationship.

After several disastrous attempts at dating, Ochako decided to withdraw from the dating game for a while. Since then, her nights were freed up, and her nightly conversations with Unknown became a thing again.

He was a good friend. Ochako found herself looking forward to their talks like she did back in high school. She felt so attached to their nightly messages that she didn't know what she would do without them.

The thought made her feel uneasy.

11:02 PM [GravityGirlXO]: we've been friends for a while, right?

11:02 PM [Unknown_User]: right…?

They'd been friends for seven years now. That was something to cherish, and she never wanted it to end. She'd come to depend on Unknown in such a way that the idea of losing him upset her. Since their friendship was exclusively online, and they kept certain aspects of their lives private, sometimes she felt like he could disappear one day.

11:05 PM [GravityGirlXO]: do you think there will come a time where we can't talk like this anymore?

11:06 PM [GravityGirlXO]: or a time when we should quit our conversations?

His response was immediate.

11:06 PM [Unknown_User]: never

11:07 PM [Unknown_User]: unless u want to end things?

She didn't like that idea one bit. Ochako couldn't imagine a life without this friendship, yet, somewhere deep down, she knew it couldn't last forever. Eventually, she would marry somebody and possibly even have children with them, and when that time came, there would be no more messages. Still, when she responded, she answered truthfully about how she felt at the moment.

11:09 PM [GravityGirlXO]: heck no!

11:09 PM [GravityGirlXO]: your friendship is too valuable to me

11:11 PM [Unknown_User]: then ill be here as long as u stay here with me

Back to Present Day

Perhaps it wasn't healthy for Ochako to be stuck in this nightly routine with Unknown, but she also didn't think she could stop. It would feel like she'd be abandoning a friend, and just like she wouldn't abandon Mina, she wouldn't abandon Unknown.

Ochako squeezed Mina back and then pulled away slightly. Still holding onto Mina's shoulders, Ochako looked into her eyes and softened at the worry she found within them. "Thank you for thinking about me and for being a good friend," Ochako told her. "I promise to think about this."

They said goodnight after that and went to their separate rooms.

If Mina felt that strongly about the situation, Ochako would think about how her nighttime conversations affected her life. She promised Mina and would follow through on that promise, but she also wanted to talk to Unknown. It was habit at this point, and after the night she had, she craved the comfort he gave her.

Changing into an old shirt and a pair of pajama pants, she logged onto her messenger. The pang of disappointment she felt when she found that he wasn't online amplified when she saw the time. This was the time they always talked.

Ochako felt selfish for the jealousy she experienced when thoughts of why he hadn't logged on filled her head. She shouldn't assume she was his top priority. If he had something else to do, then he had something else to do.

Even so, as she fiddled around her room, she kept an eye on her laptop. Finally, she heard a notification and wanted to dive at her laptop, but it was the wrong notification. The noise came from her phone, not her laptop. Frowning, she checked her phone to see who could be video-calling her this late at night.

10:46 PM [Video Call from Shindou]

"He must really want a new friend," Ochako muttered to herself.

Her eyes flicked to the messenger on her laptop. Unknown still hadn't logged on. Her finger hovered over the decline button on her phone when Mina's worry for her flashed across her mind. Ochako wasn't tired and wouldn't be going to bed anytime soon, so it wouldn't hurt to answer Shindou's video call. She could tell him she needed to go when Unknown logged on.

She hit accept on the phone, and Shindou's face appeared on her screen. His dark shaggy hair took up most of the frame, but she could tell he was lying in bed.

"Oh good, you answered!"

He smiled so big that his eyes crinkled at the edges.

"I did," she chuckled at his enthusiasm. "So, what's this I hear about you wanting to restart the best series ever created?"

"Woah, pump the brakes. Who said anything about starting at the beginning? Do you know how many episodes that is?" Shindou gawked at her through the phone.

"I understand if you can't handle the challenge," she replied slyly. "I guess only the true hardcore fans can hang."

He scoffed lightheartedly at her taunt and declared, "I can hang."

"Then let's hang," she responded.

They watched several episodes together before Ochako had to bow out. It was getting late, and she needed to be up early for patrol in the morning. It was easy to hang out with Shindou. The conversation flowed easily, and she could picture them actually becoming friends.

She had propped her phone on her laptop when she got tired of holding it. When she retrieved it to say goodbye to Shindou, she checked her messenger. No messages from Unknown. Upset and forgetting she was on a video call, she neglected to hide her expression.

"We don't have to turn in for the night. I'm having fun. Let's keep watching," Shindou said, misinterpreting her frown.

Ochako dismissed his invitation, needing to get enough sleep to be vigilant on patrol. "No, I have to go. It was fun, though!"

"Let's do this in person next time? I'm normally busy at night, but I can make time," Shindou asked before she could end the video call.

"Sure! Talk to you later," Ochako said, not thinking much about it, and ended the call.

She was normally busy at night, too, busy talking with Unknown. It was strange that he never logged in at all, and Ochako wondered if he was alright. Concern for her friend made it hard for her to fall asleep. Eventually, she dozed off with hopeful thoughts that she'd get to talk with him tomorrow.

Katsuki POV

Katsuki hauled ass out of Deku and Icy Hot's place after making a complete fool of himself with Uraraka during that lame excuse for a scary movie. He cuddled with her. Cuddled?! What the fuck was he thinking?

She was terrified of those damned things on the screen and turned to him for comfort. Him. He let himself get caught up in the moment. She was soft and warm and smelt so good. She was just so cuddleable that he couldn't help himself.

Except Katsuki wasn't Izuku, and he didn't cuddle with his friends. Fuckfuckfuck. What must Uraraka be thinking about him now? She must think he was being a creeper who took advantage of her insecurity. Being away from her allowed him to think clearer, and Katsuki had to laugh about how a grown woman was afraid of something so dumb in the first place.

Who would have known? Walking down the street, his eyes narrowed as the one person who should have known came to mind. Deku definitely knew about Uraraka's weird thing with zombies, and he still picked that movie. Suddenly, the whole night made sense.

Well, shit. He just got played by that damn nerd.

Katsuki didn't remember pulling his phone out and hitting Izuku's contact, but he snapped when Deku's voice came through the line.

"Deku, I know you fucking know, and I want you to mind your own fucking business!"

"W-what do you m-mean mind my own business?" Izuku stuttered back, a nervous habit that he's had since they were children.

"What were you thinking?! That you'd play cupid, and we'd just what? Get together because we cuddled during a movie?" Katsuki ranted and raved, not letting Izuku get a word in. "It pisses me off that you even assumed I wanted something to happen."

"It's not an assumption if it's true," Izuku gingerly countered.

"Tch," Katsuki responded, finding himself unable to continue the façade. Deku would see through it anyway; he could always read Katsuki like a book.

"Ochako doesn't know," Izuku fretted nervously.

"It better fucking stay that way," Katsuki seethed and hung up.

He guessed his feelings weren't much of a secret anymore. Eijirou has known Katsuki was in love with her since U.A., and now that Izuku figured it out, it probably meant his husband did as well. It was only a matter of time before the news made its way to Uraraka. His anger deflated, and dread settled in. He needed a drink.

Katsuki looked at the time and swore. It was late. Eijirou would be turning in for the night soon, and he needed to get home for his nightly conversation with Gravity Girl. He considered skipping their chat for the first time and decided it was for the best. He needed to cool down. Katsuki changed his direction and made his way to Eijirou's.

A/N: I love writing Izuku and Ochako best friend moments. And I know some of you may be cringing that she's talking with Shindou, but I promise I'm going somewhere with this. I also post this story over on my Ao3. I received a comment, and based on things stated in this comment, I just want to say that this story will explore difficult topics. The characters make mistakes, as people do, and they will grow from them. This story has angst. Thank you so much to the ones who are being supportive and kind. It means the world to me! :)