AN: Thanks for reading and leaving reviews everyone!
The rest of the semester flew by uneventfully, and before everyone knew it, winter break had arrived.
As they were dismissed for the day, Melissa packed up her bags. Looking up, she smiled and waved at Nejire and Yuyu as they approached.
"I hope you have a good break!" Nejire said as she threw her arms around her blonde friend.
"You too!" Melissa said as she returned the hug. "Anything exciting planned?" She asked, eyes darting between Nejire and Yuyu meaningfully.
"We're going to hang out all day tomorrow!" Yuyu declared proudly, a bright smile on her face.
"Mhm!" Nejire said, excitement practically radiating off of her. "I'm looking forward to it!"
Melissa's eyes darted to the back of the room where Arabele was packing up and was rewarded when Juno opened a single eye to look at her. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, a day traditionally reserved for couples, and seeing Juno's response was all she needed to confirm her suspicions. Smiling, Melissa's eyes returned to the two girls in front of her. "That's great! I hope you two have fun."
"Thanks! Me too," Yuyu said before looking at the other girl.
"What about you? Are you going back to I-Island over break?" Nejire asked.
Melissa shook her head. "Not this time. My dad's flying in on Christmas though!" Melissa said with some excitement. "He'll be staying at Might Tower to work with All Might, and I'll be spending most of my break with him in Roppongi!"
"What about your friends?" Juno asked, having appeared out of nowhere.
Melissa flinched slightly. Even though she was getting better at hiding it, after two semesters, the sentient quirk's insistence on jumping into conversations still threw her off every time. "They'll be coming to visit on Christmas, and even staying a couple of nights in one of the apartments! Izuku's really excited."
"I bet," Juno said playfully.
"Has he ever met All Might before?" Nejire asked curiously.
"Mhm!" Melissa said, a warm smile on her face as she recalled the memory of the first time they met. "He was a little freaked out by meeting his idol, but hopefully this time goes better."
"Wait until he has him as a teacher," Yuyu smiled. "See what he thinks of him then!"
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Melissa said warmly.
Shouldering her bag, she followed her friends out of UA, ready to begin her break.
"Ready to go, Izuku?" Ochako asked as she walked up to his desk, brimming with excitement.
"Mhm," Izuku looked up at his smiling friend. He found her excitement contagious, and his smile grew as he stood up and shouldered his bag.
The pair said their final goodbyes to their friends, promising to see them again next semester before they took off toward the exit. Despite her excitement, Ochako maintained her discipline until they were outside the gate before she let out a cheer and threw her fists into the air. "Finally!"
"You weren't this excited when we had summer break," Izuku observed.
Ochako giggled and turned toward him. "That was different! Christmas is coming! And New Years!"
"And your birthday," Izuku added.
"Well yeah," Ochako smiled at her friend. "But that's my special day - you don't have to celebrate it if you don't want to."
"I want to though," Izuku admitted sheepishly. "Because it's important to you."
Ochako let out a small gasp and felt her permanent blush spreading as she looked at Izuku. "I- thank you!"
Rushing forward, she pulled Izuku into a hug and his arms instinctively wrapped around her in response. He had his suspicions about Ochako's previous birthdays being empty, much like his own. As he felt the soft warmth radiating off of her as she hugged him, he silently promised that he and Melissa would make sure she had the best birthday ever this year.
Separating, Ochako looked up at her friend. "Do you think we can just go to your place, or should we go pick up Risa?"
"Knowing her, we should probably pick her up before we go to my place."
Ochako giggled. "That's what I thought. Lead the way!"
When they arrived at the small apartment Melissa called home, Izuku gently knocked on the door. The pair waited a few moments with no response. Growing impatient, Ochako knocked a second time, more forcefully. Still no response.
"Are you sure she's here?" Ochako asked.
"She hasn't said anything in our group chat," Izuku said. "Normally she's good about telling us when she's on the way."
"Let's go in; worst case she's not here," Ochako said.
"Mhm," Izuku said as he fished his keys out of his pocket. At Inko's insistence, Melissa had given both of them a spare key for emergencies, and it came in handy for times like this.
Cautiously opening the door, Izuku saw Melissa sitting at the table, hunched over her laptop as she was typing away furiously on it. "Melissa?"
"Eeek!" Melissa shrieked and instinctively slammed her laptop closed as she stood up and spun around to face her surprise guests. "I-Izuku?"
"I'm here too!" Ochako said as she shoved her way past Izuku into the entryway. "We haven't heard from you so we were worried."
"Isn't it still early?" Melissa asked.
"Yeah," Izuku admitted as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "We decided to come straight here instead of going to my place."
"That's my fault," Ochako admitted, her face heating up.
"It's ok," Melissa said as she relaxed. "You just startled me."
"We tried knocking, but you didn't answer," Izuku explained.
"I guess I was more focused than I thought."
"What were you working on?" Ochako asked curiously.
Melissa felt a pit forming in her stomach. She had been so careful to keep others from finding out about her secret hobby. She knows they promised no more secrets, but that was different! "Just writing a story," She said casually, hoping they wouldn't pry further.
"I didn't know you wrote stories!"
"What's it about?" Izuku asked.
"It's-" Melissa looked at the two as she felt her face heating up. "Promise you two won't laugh?"
Both bobbed their heads in confirmation, their eyes filled with burning curiosity.
"It's Herofiction."
"You write that?!" Ochako gasped in surprise.
Melissa's face turned bright red at the younger girl's question. "I had a lot of time on I-Island and saw a lot of heroes and just never got to experience things the same way everyone else did!" She said quickly. "And you already know about me giving up my dream so this was the closest I could have gotten to living it-" She stopped herself as she looked at the pair. "And now I'm starting to sound like Izuku."
Now it was Izuku's turn for his face to heat up as Ochako laughed. He quickly recovered and gave the older girl a sympathetic look. "I- I get it. I read it too."
"Me too," Ochako said softly. "It's free entertainment! Of course I gave it a shot. A lot of it is bad but… there's plenty of good stories too!"
"What are you writing about?" Izuku asked.
Melissa felt her face cooling slightly at the admission of the two middle schoolers, sitting back down in the chair as she opened up her laptop. "I created an original hero named Aegis who travels around the world and works with different heroes."
"Ryukyu?" Ochako asked as she peered over Melissa's shoulder.
Melissa hung her head, the blood rushing back to her cheeks as she thought about her current celebrity crush. "I didn't see a lot of stories about her and wanted to fix that. Just flying around on the back of a dragon, charging headlong into danger…" Melissa trailed off in an attempt to avoid digging herself into a deeper hole, before she quickly added, "The story practically wrote itself!"
"I've thought about writing stories about All Might before," Izuku admitted, sensing Melissa's embarrassment. "But I never worked up the courage to."
"Well, I think it's really cool that you write stories!" Ochako said as she rested a hand on Melissa's shoulder. "I'd love to read them sometime."
"M-maybe I can give you my pen name," Melissa said as she saved her work. "But shouldn't we be going to Izuku's?"
"Yeah!" Izuku quickly added. "We should get going."
"I can't believe we're staying in Might Tower!" Izuku said, practically vibrating in his seat as the train pulled into Roppongi station.
Sitting across from him, Ochako stared in disbelief before she turned toward Melissa. "Do you think he's ever going to stop being a fanboy?"
"Nope!" Melissa smiled. "And I wouldn't have it any other way," She admitted.
"Mmm, me neither," Ochako bobbed her head. "It's cute!"
"C-cute?!" Izuku squeaked out.
"Yep!" Melissa's smile turned apologetic as she looked at how embarrassed he was. "Even despite - you know - you're just as big of an All Might fan as ever."
Izuku laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. Fortunately for him the speakers crackled to life, saving him from further teasing as the conductor announced their arrival at Roppongi station. Grabbing their bags, they exited the train and followed Melissa as she guided them to Might Tower.
As they stepped into the lobby, Melissa saw her dad standing there talking to the emaciated form of Toshinori. She dropped her bags as her smile brightened. "Dad!" She called as she started running before she crashed into her father, pulling him into a crushing hug.
"Hey Mel," David said as he returned her hug. "Have you gotten taller again?"
"Yep!" Melissa exclaimed. "By the time I'm done I might be as tall as you are!"
"Well I hope you stop soon," David said as they separated. "I can only adjust your armor so much."
"I know you'll figure it out!" Melissa assured him.
David shook his head in exasperation before he looked at the other two students standing there awkwardly. "You two must be her friends I keep hearing about."
"I-I didn't realize Melissa talked about us," Izuku said, his face heating up.
"Yep!" Ochako smiled as she gave a polite bow. "I'm Ochako Uraraka! It's nice to meet you!"
Following her lead, Izuku bowed awkwardly. "And I'm Izuku Midoriya."
"And they already know all about you," Melissa explained to her father.
David chuckled at that. "Feel free to just call me David, that's what everyone else calls me. Well, everyone except Mel that is."
That earned a laugh out of Ochako. "It would be weird if we called you that!"
"So you really designed all of All Might's costumes?" Izuku asked enthusiastically.
David looked at his daughter, who gave him a sheepish smile. "I did warn you."
"I did get my start working with All Might, although nowadays Shield Industries has contracts globally," David explained, before looking around. "I'd be happy to talk more, but I'd prefer it be a little more private. Don't want any trade secrets leaking out," His tone was light, but everyone picked up on the hidden meaning behind his words.
"Mhm," Izuku bobbed his head. "Right."
"We've got all day today and tomorrow," Melissa said. "But aren't you tired, Dad?"
"Ask in a couple of hours," David chuckled. "I was able to sleep on most of the flight, so I'll be okay."
"I'm glad," Melissa said. "Don't want you falling asleep on me later!"
"I'll be sure to have some extra coffee. And All Might's invited all of us to dinner later!"
"Really?" Izuku and Ochako asked.
Toshinori chuckled at the two. "Of course! He wouldn't want to separate the three of you, and he had already invited David and Melissa!"
"You knew?" Ochako asked Melissa.
"Surprise?" Melissa said, giving a mischievous smile. "The food here's really good too!"
"I can't wait!" Izuku said excitedly. "The building's restaurant is supposed to be amazing! One of the best in Japan!"
"But first, don't you want to drop off your bags?" David asked as he held out an envelope. "There's two apartments upstairs waiting for you three."
"Sounds great!" Melissa said as she took the envelope, opening it to reveal keycards. "So we'll see you later?"
"Of course. I'll text you when we're wrapping up," David said.
"Okay, see you then!"
Melissa watched as her dad and uncle walked off before she turned to her friends. "Why don't we check out our rooms?"
Guiding her friends, Melissa walked back to the private elevators and showed them how to use their cards to access the top floors, and the trio quickly found their apartments.
"There's a door connecting them!" Ochako said as she walked in. Yanking the door open from her side, she knocked and waited. A moment later the other door opened to reveal Izuku.
"It's like one big apartment," Izuku said as he peered into the girls' room.
"Yeah!" Ochako paused, her face lighting up as inspiration hit. "I know what we can do tonight, a slumber party!"
"S-slumber party!?" Izuku exclaimed.
"I've never actually had one of those," Melissa said.
"Me neither," Izuku said quietly.
"Well, we'll fix that tonight!" Ochako declared. "We'll make a fort and we can watch movies on Mel's laptop and play games. And we're gonna stay up really late because it's Christmas and we can!"
"That sounds great," Melissa agreed. "Izuku?"
"A-are you sure you two are ok with me joining you?"
Ochako playfully rolled her eyes. "If we weren't we wouldn't have asked."
"I think it sounds fun," Izuku admitted as his nervous tension drained away.
"Great!" Ochako cheered. "Now what do we want to do in the meantime?"
At Izuku's insistence, the trio returned to the museum on the first floor. There, Ochako and Melissa received their own private tour as Izuku revealed the true depth of his All Might knowledge as he had something to say about practically every exhibit.
"What about this villain?" Ochako asked as they stopped in front of the latest holographic display.
"I-" Izuku felt his face heating up as he wracked his brain. All Might was battling a behemoth of a man with electricity dancing between his hands. "-don't actually remember this fight."
Both girls gasped in surprise.
Izuku turned away from them to look at the display and hide his bright cheeks. "All Might has done so much for Japan - it's hard to know everything," he muttered.
"He really has," Melissa said as she came up behind Izuku, leaning over his shoulder to read the display.
"I'm surprised it took you this long before we found something you didn't know," Ochako admitted as she stopped next to him, leaning into his shoulder so she could read as well.
"You don't think it's weird, do you?" Izuku asked.
"You're asking us now?" Ochako said in disbelief.
"If anything, it's inspirational," Melissa admitted. "You're so passionate about heroes and heroics. I wasn't kidding when I said it's cute," She giggled. "It's just so- you!"
"Yeah!" Ochako agreed. "We all have our quirks-" Her face began to turn red as she realized what she said, backing up quickly and throwing her hands up "-sorry, that's not what I meant!"
Izuku laughed, his self-consciousness fading. Ochako and Melissa never judged him, and even though it was hard to break eight years of bullying, the girls were persistent, and he was grateful to both of them. "I know, it's okay!"
"Phew."
Feeling relieved, Ochako returned to her companion's side to finish reading the entry, before they moved on. Izuku recognized the next picture on display and immediately picked up where he left off, launching into an explanation while both girls listened intently.
After a traditional Christmas dinner of fried chicken, specially prepared by the chefs of Might Tower and served with a wide range of side dishes, the three students spent several hours relaxing with Toshinori and David. Izuku listened intently as the support specialist recounted less than glamorous tales of All Might's early career, and All Might responded with a few stories of his own, which Melissa took great interest in.
Despite David's insistence that he was alright, eventually the jet lag caught up with him and he had trouble staying awake. Deciding to call it a night, David and Toshinori said their goodbyes to the trio before retiring for the evening. Izuku, Melissa, and Ochako followed suit, but not before acquiring some extra snacks and desserts from the cafe. Treats in hand, they returned to their rooms for their own private party.
Izuku split off into his room to change into his nightclothes, before waiting for the knock that signaled that the girls had also changed. He opened the door, only for Ochako to charge in and strip his bed of blankets while Melissa grabbed the cushions from his couch. Returning to their room, Izuku saw they had a half-assembled blanket fort already built, and Melissa quickly used the new materials to finish the job.
"There," Melissa said in satisfaction as she examined her work. "That should work!"
"It'll be a little small, but that just means we'll be cozy," Ochako said before she crawled inside.
"After you," Melissa said as she unplugged her laptop.
Bobbing his head, Izuku crawled into the fort and positioned himself to one side of Ochako, while Melissa took the other side. The three huddled together to give themselves a clear view of the screen as they decided on an American Christmas movie for them to watch and officially began their evening.
"So what do you want to do?" Melissa asked. "After you graduate, I mean."
One movie and several rounds of party games later, and now the three sat in a lazy circle, the topic of conversation bouncing back and forth.
"I'm not really sure," Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head.
"You mean you're not going to emulate All Might?" Ochako teased.
"He's going to have the quirk for it," Melissa pointed out.
"Right," Ochako giggled. "I can't even argue that his quirk might be different anymore."
"I've actually been thinking a lot about that. Ever since you brought it up, I mean," Izuku admitted. "And I think you're right. While All Might is a good place to start, I'm not sure I should try and emulate All Might."
Ochako suddenly looked at Izuku with great interest. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "All Might literally changed the culture of Japan. Before him, heroes were weak and ineffective, trying their best while villains openly walked out in the streets. He took One For All and he single-handedly used it to usher in this era of peace." Izuku looked down at his own hands. "To receive such power - it doesn't feel right to simply continue where All Might left off. To maintain this era of peace. One For All - I should do something more with it."
"Like what?" Melissa's voice was quiet, barely a whisper, as she sat there entranced by his words. She herself had wrestled with this question many times, wondering what to do. And every time she failed to come up with an answer that felt right.
"I don't know," Izuku admitted.
"That's alright," Ochako assured him. "You still have four years to figure it out!"
"Y-yeah," Izuku said before he looked at Melissa. "What do you plan on doing?"
"Me?" Melissa asked, surprised by the sudden turnabout. "Well, I don't know the specifics, but I was planning on becoming an international hero. Go home to the United States and let them see what a One For All holder can do? Maybe travel across the continent and help where I can?"
"Oh," Izuku looked down, filled with a strange feeling that he couldn't describe. "I thought you were going to stay in Japan."
"Why would I stay in Japan?" Melissa asked. "They already have you!"
"Mmmm," Izuku said, not sure how to verbalize his feelings. Rather than dwelling on them, he turned to look at Ochako. "What about you?"
"I'll be cheering you on," Ochako said, the smile on her face wavering as she continued. "Even if it's from the sidelines, I'll be your first fan!"
"Why would you be from the sidelines?" Melissa asked as she stared at Ochako in disbelief.
"Zero Gravity is useful, but you - both of you - have quirks even stronger than All Might's!" Ochako said. "How can I hope to compete with something like that-"
"You're wrong," Izuku said definitively. His voice was quiet, but there was a hidden strength behind it as he stared at Ochako. "You're so brave and kind and- bright! You're always paying attention to our classmate's feelings and helping me-us out. There's no way you won't be an amazing hero! You'll be right there with us!"
Ochako felt herself misting up as she dove forward, crashing into Izuku as they both fell over in an ignoble squeak. "Thank you Izuku! That- that means so much-"
She felt something soft and warm pressing against her as Melissa wrapped her arms around both of them and hauled them to an upright position. "You two are gonna be great heroes! Japan'll be lucky to have you watching out for them."
"And the rest of the world will have you, huh?" Ochako sniffled as she adjusted herself to be more comfortable. "You'll have to work twice as hard to keep up!"
"It's a good thing I've got a couple fans to support me already, huh?" Melissa said as she smiled at the pair.
"Yep!" Ochako said, and Izuku bobbed his head in agreement.
Separating, Ochako took off her glasses to wipe them off with the corner of her shirt. "So what do you want to talk about next?"
"How about-" Melissa started, but was interrupted by letting out a loud yawn. Her cheeks heated up. "-Excuse me!"
"Getting tired?" Izuku asked.
"Mmm, yeah," Melissa admitted. "I didn't sleep much last night. I was busy planning improvements for my suit."
"It's getting late," Ochako said as she looked at her phone. "Maybe it's time for bed?"
"Sorry guys," Melissa said.
"Don't be! We made it past midnight!"
"Barely," Izuku said.
"We still did it!" Ochako said. "That's good enough for me."
Crawling out of the fort, the girls reassembled their bed while Izuku departed to his room, blankets and pillows dragging behind him. Crawling into one side bed, Ochako got comfortable while Melissa slid under the covers on the other side. Both girls shouted their goodnights to Izuku before settling in and wishing each other goodnight.
As Melissa turned away from Ochako and fell asleep, Ochako looked up toward the ceiling, remembering Izuku's words. She felt a warmth in them, much like a warm blanket. And underneath it all was a growing realization that she was falling for one of her best friends.
AN: Sorry for the weird schedule there for a few weeks, finals were rough! But now they're over and it's time for break! I've got a few fun chapters lined up for the holidays, so I hope you enjoy them! ~SupportGrrl47