WhIP

by footfungus

nederlands verhalen over mijn otp

63. MHA bakugo uraraka

Hot-Headed

MoofyKitten

Summary:

(Now also a podfic on Spotify, Apple podcasts and Google podcasts) It's third year at UA. Uraraka Ochako has resolved herself to be the badass she knows she is. And that includes standing up to Bakugo for once. Little does she know that he's set his sights on her as well...

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Uraraka Ochako was in love with Midoriya Izuku. She had known this since her first year at UA.

When had been the first time she'd realized? When Aoyama had confronted her about it during their test to fight against a pro hero? Maybe. But maybe she'd also kinda felt it even earlier. Maybe some when Deku had worked with her in class, training as heroes versus Bakugo and Iida's villains. Maybe even a little when he'd saved her from being crushed by a huge robot during their entrance exams.

It wasn't exactly clear when Ochako had come to know it to be true, but she knew it had been in first year and she knew her feelings had never changed since then. She had changed, of course— physically and mentally.

It was the beginning of third year and she had filled out a bit more but also packed on a lot more muscle. Her body had once been soft and petite and, while she was still a petite girl, she had trained hard to become a hero, which had granted her a washboard stomach, nearly a six-pack peeking through. Her arms and legs were far more toned. Her face was not quite as round. She had grown a couple inches and now stood at a solid 5'4". Still not tall, but tall-er. Her golden-brown hair had once always been in a short bob which she finally realized lent to her face seeming so round. So sometime in second year, she decided to grow it out and it now came to around her armpits when she had it down. But most days, she kept it up in a ponytail, letting a few locks still fall around her face. She'd cut her bangs a few months ago, but was now also growing them out again and they were more side-swept.

Ochako walked onto the UA campus with a suitcase stuffed to the max with clothes and a few personal belongings she'd received from her family over the short spring break. She didn't know why her mom insisted she bring all of these clothes when most days she wore her school uniform or hero suit.

"You should still wear something cute when you get the chance," her mother's voice sounded in her head. She'd even insisted Ochako wear the floral printed sundress she sported today. She rolled her eyes but smiled, thinking of her doting parents.

Today was Sunday, the day before the first day of school, and move-in day for their dorms. Sure, it had only been a couple weeks since they had gone on break, but this was also the beginning of their third, and final, year as heroes-in-training at UA. This year would be all about prepping them to go out into the real world and be the heroes they'd always dreamed of. It was crunch time. And her very last chance to possibly tell Midoriya how she felt about him.

Other students were also arriving on campus; some from her class, others second years and even a handful of wide-eyed first years. She waved and exchanged greetings with Momo, who still looked much the same with her tall frame and messy bun she wore her hair in, then with Kyoka, who had also grown her hair out over the past couple years but had shaved one side for a pretty extreme but still totally Jiro Kyoka look. In most normal schools, hair like that wouldn't be acceptable. But this was UA. It was a good thing to stand out and, most importantly, to be yourself.

She expressly ignored Mineta as she walked past him, despite his friendly wave. Every girl did. He had actually managed to grow by leaps and bounds since first year, but was still a few inches shorter than even Ochako. And even if he had sprouted up to 6 foot and somehow filled out with a handsome face (which he hadn't on either count) he still would be a nasty pervert of such a sad and desperate nature that the girls all over school would feel uncomfortable around.

Ochako trekked across campus toward her new third year (she still couldn't believe it, third year!) dormitories. There were cherry trees in bloom along most walkways. It was almost like living in a fairy tale, she thought. Something magical was in the air when cherry blossoms bloomed.

Then, she stopped short on the path up to the dormitory building.

Midoriya— Deku, her mind supplied more readily— was standing near the entrance to the dorms with an odd look on his face. His face was drawn, tense, almost angry, looking at the ground.

Standing in front of him, a little too close to be casual, and leaning toward Deku in a clearly menacing manner, was Bakugo. He had to have just said something truly horrific for Deku to have been affected this way since he'd gotten used to Bakugo's hurtful jabs a long time ago. What could he have possibly said? Why did Deku look like this? She could only see Deku's expression as he faced her. Bakugo's back was turned to her.

She didn't know what kind of face Bakugo was making but she would bet he probably had a smug smile on that jerky face of his. Why did he always have to antagonize Deku? He seemed to have gotten over his inferiority complex about Deku a while back but he still seemed to just enjoy being mean sometimes and looking down on everyone. He didn't even have a halfway decent reason anymore. He just... liked it.

Ochako felt herself getting hot. She was not the same passive, unconfident girl she had started at UA as. She knew what she was capable of. She wasn't afraid of confrontation any longer, she'd experienced enough of it over her many encounters with the League of Villains and other classes and hero schools always trying to show her up or put her down. She had become sure of herself.

She was ready to be a hero— wanted to be a hero— and heroes didn't back down from a fight or ignore when their friends were in trouble. She was tired of Bakugo's bullying and cruel nature. It was third year; their last year here. Things were going to be different this year. This wasn't going to go on any longer. She would make sure it wouldn't.

"What's going on here?" Ochako said with an authoritative tone, she was proud to find.

Deku started and raised his emerald eyes to her in surprise if anything getting even tenser.

He'd grown so much since his first year here. He'd still looked boyish when they'd all started out together but he had worked harder than anyone and had reaped the most benefits. He'd naturally grown taller and was at or near 5'11" now; His muscles thick and numerous.

He'd always looked up to All Might— wanted to be just like him it seemed like. And with a quirk like his, it seemed incredibly likely that he could be. He wasn't quite as layered in muscle as All Might had been in his prime, but Deku had never had the same meaty frame to start with. It seemed like if he hadn't worked toward toning himself, he would have been a wiry guy. Now he was long-limbed and muscular to the point of it being quite attractive (in her opinion, although she knew a few other girls had taken notice too. Even Eri clearly had a cute school-girl crush on him), but not over the top. He'd cropped his unruly hair closer to his head, but still let it be wild. Ochako doubted it could really be tamed.

He looked at her now, with a slight expression of shock, his jaw still clenched, looking like he wanted to say something but was unable to. She knew he could also read her expression of fury. Her face was likely beet red, with how her anger had heated her all over.

"Do you want something, round-face?" Bakugo muttered and slowly turned his head toward her, his crimson eyes blazing, a fierce look about him. Although, honestly, when did he not look fierce? He didn't seem to have the smirk on his face as she had assumed, but it was possible he had wiped it off when she'd interrupted his little torture session.

Ochako hesitated a second, her old unsure self rearing its head in her mind. He was her classmate, should she really confront him? He was strong and his temper was short. He had never fully focused his ire onto her. He mostly picked on Deku and the absolutely masochistic boys who liked to be around him and call themselves his friends.

He wasn't above laying into girls (or fighting them for that matter, as she recalled her battle with him so long ago at the UA Sports Festival Tournament), but he had not yet truly been hurtful to her. Did she want to pick this fight and put herself on his radar like that?

She looked at Deku again, another odd expression on his face. His features were still stressed but his eyes were intensely set on her like he was trying to laser a message into her brain with just a look. A part of her warmly sighed within her. His heart was always on his sleeve. He would never have that poker face the teachers were always admonishing him about. She didn't like seeing him upset like this. He was worth this fight.

"Yeah, Bakugo," she replied without a single wobble in her voice, "I want to know why you're always picking on Deku."

Bakugo looked back at Deku a second then finally turned his body around to fully face her, his eyes narrowed at her. He also seemed to wear his heart mostly on his sleeve. His was just full of malice though, as far as she could see. "I don't see how this is your business, pink-cheeks."

Pink-cheeks, she scoffed inwardly, always with the names.

She set her mouth in a hard line. "It's Uraraka-san to you, Bakugo. And of course it's my business what you're saying to my friends when you're bullying them."

His head tilted very slightly. This was not behavior he expected from her. "And what are you gonna do about it, pink-cheeks? Make me float? Make some more rocks fall on me?"

Ochako's blood pressure hitched a bit higher.

What an asshole, she thought to herself. He couldn't have known how crushing his defeat over her had been that first year, but he had to have known it stung at least some. And he'd just thrown it in her face.

"I'm not going to fight you, Bakugo. But I also won't back down from you. Deku has never wanted to be your enemy and you still treat him like the scum of the earth after all this time, even when you know he could beat you in a fight any time, any place. You're pathetic."

Electricity surged through her body, the more she spoke. It felt like it was reinforcing her spine, giving her more and more confidence. Lowering her filter further and further.

Bakugo's eyes widened, a bit in shock and a lot in rage. His face flushed and he bared his teeth. She could tell this was about to get nasty.

"What the fuck did you just say, floaty?" he asked, his voice low. One could say it sounded calm if they didn't know this was how it got before all hell broke loose.

"Pulling out all the petty names because you can't refute me?" she shot back. Her adrenaline pumping and giving her a high she'd never known before. Her eyes blazed, her skin was hot. She'd never felt this confident in her life.

He took a step toward her, "YOU LITTLE-"

Deku— blessed Deku, Ochako had nearly forgotten him— reached out to place a hand on Bakugo's shoulder.

"Kacchan," he said, his face no longer tense or stressed but determined and serious.

Bakugo halted only momentarily to smack his hand away.

"Don't touch me, Deku," He spat the name out like it left a bad taste in his mouth. It was obviously still an insult in his mind.

Ochako knew she was digging herself further but this feeling, this power she felt standing up to Bakugo was like nothing she'd ever known before.

"No don't, Deku," she said, shooting him an 'I got you' look, "I can handle him."

"Like hell you can, pink-cheeks. Your face is so pink right now, you look like a balloon with that round little face of yours," Bakugo countered, his eyes glowing like lava, continuing his approach toward her, "What, are you scared of me? Regretting opening your mouth?"

Other students, including Momo, Kyoka, and Mineta, had stopped near them to see what was going on. Most in their year hardly even noticed when Bakugo started yelling anymore but Uraraka— the kind, sweet, shy, never-did-anything-wrong, always-tried-to-please-others Uraraka— confronting Bakugo? That was more of a show. Mineta took his phone out, seemingly to record this.

Ochako didn't feel any of the things he thought she did. She would prove it.

"I'm not scared of anything, Bakugo. What are you going to do? Attack me? Because that's all you can do to get back at me? Like I said, you're pathetic. I'm tired of having to tip-toe around you to keep you from going off. Deku is a good person! He's never wanted to fight with you! He's even gotten used to your sour attitude! What did you say to him this time? I saw his face! I can't stand how you treat people! You even treat your friends like crap! Why are you so cruel?"

He never stopped walking toward her the entire time her tirade continued, his eyes still flashing with danger, his mouth set in a sneer. As she finished, he loomed up closer and closer to her and came to a stop maybe a foot away, knowing how to intimidatingly intrude on her personal space.

He was huge. Deku had grown a lot in the years they had been in school, but Bakugo had become near beastly. He had to be just over 6 feet tall now. He'd gotten two rings in his right ear at some point in 2nd year. Everyone had ooed and ahhed over them, talking about how much cooler he looked with them. Not too surprising, considering his bad boy image. Over the break he had shorn his hair down at the sides so it was extremely short and his hair on top was longer, although still a little shorter than he'd once had it. He exuded power. Even wearing casual clothes, a tank top and cargo pants. He truly was a frightening form. But Uraraka had dealt with him for so long and was too angry to back down or feel fear.

She looked up at him, not stepping back, but widening her stance to be prepared for whatever came next. He leaned closer to her, looming over her so she could see just how overpowered she really was.

"You don't know what you've just started, pinky," he growled harshly, his crimson eyes looking hungry, insatiable, devouring.

Ochako's spine went cold. Reality was coming back now. What had she done? Dread filled her but she hardened her face. She couldn't let her discomfort show.

"You think I'm cruel? You can't stand me? You don't know anything yet," Bakugo bared his teeth again in something between a smile and a leer, "Thanks for finally being honest. Get ready for a world of regret."

And he flicked her on her forehead. Hard.

Ochako covered her stinging forehead immediately, tears pricking the corner of her eyes.

"Kacch-" Deku started toward them.

"Shut up, loser," Bakugo cut him off. Then, he stood back at his full height and strode away, toward the dorms.

Deku went to her and pulled her hands away from her face, "Uraraka-chan, are you ok? Do you need to go see Recovery Girl? He shouldn't have hurt you like that. I'll try to talk to him."

The few other students who had gathered dispersed, some whispering to each other about what they'd just witnessed. Kyoka and Momo had worried looks on their faces. Mineta was... looking at his phone with a grin.

Ochako didn't say anything. She stewed in her thoughts. She had wanted to stand up for herself and her friend, but now Bakugo had all but said he was about to ruin her life...

Had she just made a huge mistake? God but just that little flick had hurt. That high she had been feeling only moments before petered out.

A part of her felt regret and a bit of fear about what might be coming for her. Another, minuscule, near unrecognizable part of her hardened itself and thought, Fucking bring it, explodey boy.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

The first day of the new school year began at last.

Ochako's alarm went off promptly at 7:00 am, giving her time to quickly shower and dress in her uniform, then run down to the dorm kitchen area, where Aizawa-sensei had kindly arranged for a hearty breakfast to be set out for his students. Active heroes— even heroes in training— had to take in an incredible amount of calories to keep their energy up and their muscle mass thick, so there was the usual staples of rice, fish, miso soup, and toast, as well as more caloric items such as eggs, bacon, and sausage.

Ochako's mouth watered at the absolute feast in front of her.

A few other students from class 3-A were already digging in. Mina, Tsuyu, and Toru sat together chatting excitedly, presumably about what might be going on in school that day.

Deku and Iida were also conversing over their plates and looked up as she entered the room.

"Uraraka-chan! Come eat! Look at all this food!" Deku exclaimed with a wide, wholesome smile.

Ochako felt her cheeks heat a little at his attention and returned his with a warm smile of her own. "It looks so good! I love eggs!"

I love eggs? Wow, she thought to herself.

She approached the table and sat with her dearest friends since first year. Piling food on her plate, she started up a little conversation, "Phew, moving everything into a new dorm yesterday was fun wasn't it?" Her sarcasm extremely obvious.

In reality, moving hundreds, maybe even thousands of students into new rooms all in one day had to have been a logistical nightmare for the school. It hadn't necessarily been crowded yesterday, but everyone was so busy going from place to place, her classmates were constantly in each other's way.

Once again, as with the past two years since they'd started housing students on UA property, each class had its own dormitory. The first floor held their living space, including bathrooms, laundry, and a kitchenette. Then, each floor after the first held eight rooms in all, one side of the building having 4 rooms for boys, the other side, 4 rooms for girls. And it continued like that upward. Ochako wasn't sure if it might've just been easier to keep their old rooms each year and just change the names on the outside of the buildings. But the staff at UA had decided on how the dorms would work and if this was the best policy, she would go along with it.

They had been greeted by Aizawa-sensei (still their homeroom teacher) in the common living area that day and had been given their room assignments. They seemed to enjoy mixing the students up every year so it wasn't common for the same people to share the same floor from one year to the next. Since there were so few girls in their classes, like always, they never had to have a next door neighbor, thus never had to deal with thin wall issues. Not that UA would ever skimp on any kind of quality but sometimes people, especially type A personalities like most people in class 3-A, were just generally loud and energetic people.

Ochako felt fortunate that she got to share a floor (the second floor to be exact) with Mina, probably her closest female friend in her class. Although to be fair, Mina was probably close with everyone.

She'd gotten the room closest to the elevator once again. The occupant of this room always had to deal with a little bit of sound when the elevator was in use but by this time, having been placed next to the elevator for the past two years, it was more of a soothing background noise for her and she would've been more irritated to have been placed away from it.

"Yeah," Deku answered her, a halfhearted smile on his lips. He seemed troubled.

Ochako noticed and thought back on their confrontation with Bakugo, wondering if he was still feeling bad about it.

"I didn't find it to be fun at all," Iida said, somehow not catching her sarcasm, "It was absolute mayhem! Everyone had boxes in the halls! I'm on the second floor with Mineta-kun. Do you know how many anime girl figures he has?"

"Yes," Deku cut in with a more genuine smirk, "His room was next to mine first year."

Ochako giggled.

"Well it's probably doubled since then," Iida said, "I would not want to shine a blacklight on his old rooms. I hope they clean them well when we move out."

Everyone in their group shivered.

"Who else is on your floor?" Ochako asked, trying to get an idea of where everyone was placed as well as get awful images out of her head.

"Aoyama-kun and Kaminari-kun," he responded.

Ochako held back from making a face. Well that'll be a lively floor, she thought.

"What about you, Uraraka-kun," he asked courteously.

"Oh... well you guys know that we get to be more separated than you so I'm just sharing my floor with Mina."

Iida nodded in approval.

"What about you, Deku?" She turned to Deku.

"Well..." he seemed troubled again, "I'm on the fifth floor with Tokoyami-kun, Koda-kun," he hesitated a moment, a frown marring his features. Oh boy, Ochako thought. "...and Kacchan."

She couldn't hold back from wrinkling her nose a little this time. His gaze slid to her and she could tell he was trying to assess just how much their confrontation had bothered her.

"Huh," she said, smoothing her features back into a calmer expression, "I'm sure that will be fun."

Deku kept his assessing gaze on her a moment longer before turning back to his food.

Iida looked between them once or twice, "Why do you keep saying things that are awful are fun?"

Ochako walked with her two friends the five minutes to the school building, where they quickly found classroom 3-A and took their seats.

They arrived mere moments after Momo, who had claimed a seat in the front row. No surprise there. There were no seating assignments; this year was seemingly a year of freedom but she knew it was likely more of a test to see if they had enough discipline to keep their studies up while forging much-needed bonds between other future heroes.

Ochako grabbed a seat in the third row behind Deku and diagonal to Iida who sat next to him. She and Deku sat next to the windows looking out over the vast and beautiful campus. She was a little excited that they overlooked some of the hero training grounds and that they'd get to see their kohai training.

A few more students trickled in, taking their seats around the room in relation to where they felt most comfortable. Kirishima and Mina sat all the way in the back, followed closely by Kaminari, who chose the seat in front of Kirishima.

It was about 8:15 when the classroom door slammed open to reveal none other than Bakugo Katsuki.

Ochako sat up a little straighter, his words "get ready to be in a world of regret" echoing back to her.

He entered and surveyed the room for a moment, his eyes alighting on the two boys with who he usually hung around, waving him over.

"Bakugo, here!" Kirishima motioned toward the seat on the other side of him.

Bakugo ignored them. Then his eyes found Ochako. She bristled and her face heated at his piercing stare. He quirked an eyebrow.

"Bakugooooo!" Kirishima called again.

"Shut up, shitty-hair," Bakugo snapped as he began to walk down the middle aisle. But he stopped short of reaching his friends and the seat they had saved for him. Instead, taking the one directly. Next. To. Ochako.

"What the-" she heard Kirishima whisper to Mina.

"We're allowed to sit where we want this year, right?!" he asked loudly to no one in particular. Everyone was staring anyway. A few people nodded. "So I'm going to sit here. Who has a problem with that?!"

No one answered.

Deku turned back in his seat to face Ochako. "Uraraka-chan, are you ok with this?" he asked, worry lining his face.

He gave Bakugo a wary once-over. Bakugo glared back at him. Iida turned back too, also looking a little concerned and confused.

"She doesn't need you to save her, Deku. I haven't done anything yet. Mind your own business," Bakugo spat.

"Yet," Deku spoke quietly. Bakugo just smirked.

Ochako was feeling warm all over again.

This guy..., she thought, He wasn't joking yesterday. He's gonna try to make me sorry... I'm not backing down from him now.

"I'm fine, Deku," she said, straightening in her seat, "He's not bothering me. He'll never bother me."

Bakugo got a wolfish grin on his face, "See, Deku?"

Deku's eyes went to her, clearly not convinced but not wanting to undermine her determination.

"Ok, well... if you're ok with it..." he said with apprehension and turned forward again. Iida shot Ochako and Bakugo a look each but also turned back.

The rest of the class had found their seats as this exchange occurred and only seconds after Deku had faced forward again, Aizawa-sensei inched his way into the room, cocooned in his usual sleeping bag.

He slumped over his desk, "It is too early. I'm not ready for loud sounds. Quietly determine your class reps for this year. When you're done, I'll talk about what is expected of you this year."

With that, he took a nap behind his desk.

Everyone looked around for a moment, probably less confused and more trying to figure out how they would quietly determine class representatives. First year, Iida had kinda appointed himself and Momo had been chosen. Last year had been Todoroki— a reasonably dependable guy in Ochako's opinion— and Mina— outgoing with strong leadership skills. This year seemed uncertain.

Deku stood, a little nervously, and went to the chalk board at the front, stepping over Aizawa-sensei.

He took a piece of chalk and wrote, Write the name of who you'd like to nominate on the board.

He looked back at the class and everyone nodded in agreement. This is how they would decide.

He wrote Boy on one side of the board and Girl on the other. Then, he wrote his choices in first:

Aoyama. Not a wholly unreasonable nomination. He was confident and outgoing. Aoyama seemed to sparkle a little brighter at being considered.

Uraraka.

Ochako froze. Whaaaaaat?! she wanted to scream but refrained, knowing the consequences for doing so would be dire. Her face turned red as he turned back to her and smiled kindly.

"Keh," Bakugo scoffed and rolled his eyes. Ochako shot him a glare but he was eyeing Deku instead, his nose wrinkled like he smelled something bad.

After Deku retook his seat, they each went up one by one to nominate who they wanted in the order of the rows they were sitting in. It seemed a lot of their class had actually agreed with Deku, as most of the nominations so far were for her. But, interestingly enough, her classmates were impressed with Deku taking charge so quickly and were nominating him. She was sure he was feeling nervous about it considering he was far too humble to think he should be in charge of representing the class.

It came around to her turn and she quickly rose, scratched down Midoriya and Asui before scurrying back to her seat. There was no way she would ever vote for herself.

Then it was Bakugo's turn. Ochako wasn't surprised when he simply passed on his turn, waving the person next to him, Shoji, to go ahead. She chanced a look at him from the corner of her eye. When she saw him openly glaring at her, she quickly looked away again.

What is his problem,she thought to herself, It only takes one slight to make yourself a target?

After everyone had written their choices, the names were tallied and, as she had guessed, Ochako and Deku were voted in as class representatives. She felt honored and slightly nervous as they made their way to the front of the classroom.

"Thank you so much for nominating Uraraka and myself," Deku said in a normal voice, probably comfortable with waking Aizawa-sensei up now.

"I hope we can represent you well and thank you for your support," Ochako said and both of them bowed low.

"Tch," Bakugo tsked loudly and rolled his eyes again.

Most of the class turned to him.

Ochako barely concealed a snarl from her face. She felt her blood-pressure begin to rise again.

"Is something wrong, Bakugo-kun?" she asked a little curtly, trying to publicly shame him.

She should've known that wouldn't work.

"Nothing wrong, round-face," he responded with no shame at all, "I think you two look adorable together." He rested his chin on one fist and a smirk came to his lips.

The class was dead silent.

Ochako's face went hot and she didn't even want to look over at Deku to gauge his reaction.

She pressed her lips together in frustration. Then before her common sense could stop her said, "Thank you, Bakugo. I'll keep your opinion in my back pocket for whenever it matters."

There were a few audible gasps as her classmates looked from her to Bakugo.

His smirk vanished, replaced by a scowl.

"You've got a lot of nerve, floaty-," he started, his voice starting to rise.

"Okay, we've got our class reps?" Aizawa-sensei grumbled as he awoke from his little power nap.

Everyone jumped.

"Y-yes, Sensei. The class chose me and Dek- Midoriya-kun," Ochako supplied.

"Congrats," he said with no conviction whatsoever, "Now on to the plan for this year, if you all can manage to keep on track." He eyed Deku as he and Ochako reclaimed their seats. Deku gave him a sheepish grin before turning to her to give her a look of solidarity and back to pay attention to Aizawa-sensei's announcements.

"It's your third year so it'll be more difficult than ever and more will be expected of you," he went on, "By now, you should have a good idea of how your quirk works and how you will utilize it as a hero. You should have a solid catalog of moves and abilities you can use and you should have a good idea of what you would like to be doing after you graduate- "

Ochako continued listening for a few minutes then decided to steal a glance at Bakugo to see if he was still leering at her or planning some kind of retaliation. Her brows furrowed when she found him resting his head in his hand, nodding off. Nothing fazed him, even getting in a near-spat with her yet again only minutes ago.

She had just been elected class rep and he was already being disrespectful! Was he doing this on purpose?! And why was he getting on her nerves so badly all of a sudden?

She thought back to that awful look Deku had had on his face yesterday. Oh yeah. That was why. What had he said to him to make him look like that? She still didn't know, but she wasn't sure it would be polite to ask either. It could've been something embarrassing to talk about. She figured Deku would tell her if he wanted her to know.

A jolt of electricity going through her again at being reminded of yesterday, she reached her foot out and none too gently jabbed at his leg with it.

He didn't jump or even move his leg away from her like she'd expected (rather she hoped, she pettily realized, because she wanted him to get in trouble). He only opened his eyes and slid them to her, a bored expression still dominating his features. His ruby eyes looked molten as they stared at her. Ochako glared at him and jerked her head slightly to the front of the room as if to say, listen to the teacher, asshole. Well, she was thinking that at least.

His eyes just focused on her, pinning her where she sat. His look was so intent, so unperturbed. Just staring at her, trying to make her squirm. Those crimson irises seemed like they glowed with intensity. She could feel sweat starting to form at the back of her neck from the pressure of his gaze. Her hands balled into fists as she forced herself to stare right back at him.

He shifted his legs suddenly and she jumped at his sudden movement. She flushed at having just been caught unaware and he half smirked at her smugly before turning away from her to go back to dozing.

Ochako ground her teeth and turned back to Aizawa-sensei.

No one noticed their exchange.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

The rest of the first day of school went mostly without incident.

Aizawa-sensei had allowed the class to watch out the windows as the first-years took their physical/quirk assessments. Ochako's heart squeezed in nostalgia as she thought back on their first day as first-years. Aizawa-sensei had seemed so intimidating back then.

Things had been so different for her as well. Back then, she'd only cared about becoming a well-paid hero so she could pay for her parents to be able to live a more comfortable life.

Now things had changed. Her parents had begun to get more business just due to being associated with her name. She hadn't even graduated yet and she was already helping them live an easier life.

Of course, she still wanted her parents to live comfortably— maybe even not have to work at all eventually— but she knew that they wanted for her whatever made her happy.

Deku had inspired her in so many ways to want for more than just money. He made her want to become a better hero, to push harder, to care about the people they were saving.

She'd smiled warmly remembering how absolutely dreadful he'd been in their first day assessments. When she'd glanced at him, though, he was busy already scrawling the new students in his notebook. It was no surprise.

The new students this year had impressed her. Another hot-headed boy with an interesting quirk had that same "eat shit" attitude she knew other people had. This boy could illuminate any part of his skin but was already using his quirk in such interesting ways such as pinpointing all of the light he could muster into one place in order to make something like a laser. He was truly prodigious. The problem was, he knew it and was also an arrogant ass.

Ochako considered that Bakugo had not cooled his arrogance down so much as risen in skill to fill that big head of his. He didn't really talk big with nothing to back it up, which was part of what made her so apprehensive about this... quarrel he'd decided to take up with her.

She had to admit that it was partially her fault. If she had backed down or played it off, he would've likely let her slide or gone on ignoring her. She just didn't want to be the person who did that anymore or passed by anyone's notice, even if that notice caused her trouble.

After the first-year assessments were over, Aizawa-sensei had surprised them with something of a pop quiz, asking them about the quirks of the new students and how they could improve them or better utilize them.

And of course, there Deku was with most of the answers. He'd only been picked a couple of times, though. Everyone already knew he could understand and assess quirks better than anyone. It was every pro hero's job to be able to do the same.

General academic courses wouldn't start today while they got into the ins and outs of what was expected of them. So Aizawa-sensei, and then a handful of other teachers spent the morning outlining how their final year would be spent.

More internships, more rigorous tests, more training. More, more, more! Plus Ultra indeed... And at the end of the year, they would take the most important exam of their lives. Their true hero license exam. If they didn't pass it, they wouldn't become pro heroes. All of this time at school would have been wasted. Makeups weren't a thing in the real world.

Ochako had felt rather overwhelmed by the time they broke for lunch. When she'd looked around, everyone had an exhausted expression as well.

She'd eaten lunch with Deku and Iida as she always had.

In the cafeteria, Bakugo had sat with Kirishima and Kaminari, thankfully. But he had thrown her occasional looks that read, to her, something like, "I will end you."

She did her best to ignore him and somehow managed no further run-ins with him for the rest of the day.

Leaving the school building, Ochako used her quirk to lighten her bookbag as she trudged back to the dorms with Deku, having stayed behind with him to discuss their roles as class representatives for this year. Just earlier that day she'd felt a certain amount of elation at being chosen as class rep. Now, it felt like another responsibility laid on her and bogging her down. Even as her bookbag floated just off of her shoulders, she could feel a massive weight on them.

"It's going to be a busy year huh, Uraraka-chan?" Deku's kind voice came as he walked slowly next to her.

She looked up at him and smiled wanly. He looked so much more energetic than she felt. It was like he was looking forward to all of this stress.

The afternoon sun shone off of his shorter, but still messy, forest green hair, bringing out the subtle threads of the golden hairs that peppered his head. She knew there were some darker blue shades in there too. It made her jealous, having only plain brown hair and plain brown eyes.

"Yeah," she finally replied, sounding as tired as she felt.

"If this class rep stuff is too much for you, I'll cover for you," he said, turning to her, "I voted for you because I knew you would do great in that role. You're capable of leading and it's just another thing that will look good to any hero associations you want to join. But if all of this is overwhelming you, I don't mind picking up any slack."

Her eyes widened at him, "Deku..."

Then she realized why he seemed so energized. He was eating this up. This was his passion. He was a real hero. He'd already done and been through so much, all of this hero work probably seemed like peanuts to him and this last year of school was his final stepping stone to becoming acknowledged, finally, as All Might's successor. Possibly even the new Symbol of Peace. He was so close, he could probably taste it and it excited him.

Ochako felt shame burn her face. He deserved a better partner to represent the class than her.

And he probably deserves a better person to be with than you, some small part of her thought before she was able to pull back her emotions.

"Deku," she said again, "You're right that this feels like a lot for me." She looked down at the ground. "But I'm not going to leave you hanging. I wouldn't do that to one of my closest friends. I'm going to give this year my all and push myself to the very edge so that when I take the pro hero exam alongside you, I can feel like I measure up. I want to become a hero just as good as you."

She looked back up to him and saw his eyes seemed very shiny as he smiled.

Ochako blushed furiously. Deku had gotten a lot better about crying over... well everything. His face still often betrayed his emotions, but crying wasn't too common for him anymore. Nowadays when he felt like crying, he'd get this glassy look to his eyes, then reign himself in.

"You're already a great hero, Uravity," he said, surprising her by using her hero name and pulling her into a quick, friendly side-hug before releasing her.

She looked away to hide her burning cheeks, a thrill running through her body at his contact, and gave a small laugh, "Thanks, Deku, for everything."

They continued on in companionable silence.

Their first few weeks of school passed like lightning.

The schoolwork they'd been assigned was reasonable. Ochako didn't feel much pressure on that end.

On the hero end, though, they'd been running the students ragged. After lunch every day, they would hone their quirks for an hour, then perform an exercise like running an obstacle course or rescuing civilians from a natural disaster. Aizawa-sensei, or whichever instructor would be teaching them that day, would always be harsh with their notes and pick at every little minute detail.

From the very first day, even though her body was trim and toned exactly for these activities, Ochako still went to bed sore and woke up more sore.

She'd taken to stretching with Mina on the roof every morning and evening to let her muscles limber up. A few of the other girls joined them some days.

Her easy companionship with Deku continued.

Often, when they had the chance, he would team up with her for academic projects such as reading a chapter of a book and discussing it or researching a lesser-known country and giving a short presentation on its economy and government.

It wasn't so much like that for hero training, though. The one time they had gotten to choose who to team up with, he had asked Mina, go figure.

Ochako remembered the nervous glance she'd given her when he'd asked, she'd known for a while that Ochako had a crush on him. But she didn't want to be petty or jealous and nodded for Mina to go ahead. It was just one class and he probably wanted to try to work with everybody in class by the end of the year. He was always trying to do everything he could to push himself further.

Ochako had just ended up pairing with Shoji, not wanting to play it safe with someone she'd worked with before either.

Bakugo, on the other hand, seemed like he had a bug itching him to get under her skin. He would do small things to annoy her in general academic classes like slowly tear the bits of paper from the spine of his spiral notebook and flick them under her desk, leaving hundreds of little papers for her to sweep up after class, or pretend to cough loudly when she was asked to read aloud.

He would stand next to her sometimes when they lined up to be briefed for hero training and "accidentally" elbow her while reaching up to scratch his neck or he'd get ahead of her in obstacle courses (he could always get ahead of her) and would look back at her as he passed her with a "Really? That's the best you can do?" smug expression.

Nothing he did was enough for her to completely go off on him like she had before. Everything was just a tiny irritation that she knew he was doing to get under her skin. But now every time he even came into her line of sight, she felt her blood start to boil and her skin would prickle.

At one point, she thought he might be doing this to get her to lash out at him and embarrass herself. She resolved herself to not let that happen again. She set her jaw and pushed harder, trained with more vigor, needing to show him up, but also wanting to keep up with Deku.

There were instances where she would quietly retaliate by pushing a floating pen to, not so softly, jab him in the arm when he wasn't paying attention or hit him with her plated hip in the lineup when he chose to stand next to her. When she did, he would usually make her feel a tinge childish right after as he stared her down before looking away without retaliating.

He rarely actually spoke to her. The few times he had, had been in the dorm when he'd spotted her in her pink puppy pajamas and snorted saying, "Nice jamjams, pink-cheeks." And then, when he commented that a dish he knew she'd made tasted bland.

One morning, Bakugo had emerged onto the roof of the dorms while she, Mina, and Toru stretched.

A minor look of surprise at finding someone else on the roof flashed across his face before he smoothed it to the more heavy-lidded-bored expression he usually wore, upon seeing she was there. Ochako figured he'd wander off after not finding the solitude it looked like he'd been seeking. But no, he'd stood there and watched, arms folded his crimson eyes not leaving her.

"You can join us if you want, Bakugo-kun," Mina said in her clippy 'I'm annoyed but I'm trying to be friendly' voice.

"Tch," had been his only response before he'd walked back inside, slamming the door shut.

Ochako had expected he would say something. But he hadn't. Something had bugged her about that.

On the Friday of the third week into the school year, Aizawa-sensei brought the UA School Sports Festival up.

"You'll be in the senior division this year. This is your last chance to not only be scouted for your internships, but to impress future hero employers. Don't hold back. You have a lot to live up to."

Everyone in class started chatting excitedly at this. Ochako could see Bakugo smirking out of the corner of her eye. She involuntarily made a face at this. Of course he was looking forward to the Sports Festival, yet again. He'd won the first year and come damn close last year, losing to Deku (he'd nearly blown a gasket at that) in the final round of the combat stage.

"I don't know why you're making that ugly face, floaty," Bakugo said in a low voice, leaning toward her so only she could hear, "If I recall, you didn't even make it to the combat stage last year. And, well, we both know what happened first year."

She scowled at him, she felt her fingers itch to scratch his face up. He made a mocking sad face for her, his lower lip jutting out dramatically, then grinned as he turned in his seat to address Kirishima.

Ochako had to stay late to class with Deku that day in order to discuss the class' plans for the Sports Festival with other class representatives. Apparently, they also had a hand in planning out the qualifying rounds for first and second years.

The setting sun was beginning to turn the sky pink when she and Deku left the main school building to walk to their dorms.

They chatted about what they might have in store for their kohai on the five-minute walk and Ochako had to admit, she was on a high from being able to spend so much time with him today.

When they reached the 3-A dormitory, Deku stopped short of the few stairs up to the doors.

Ochako paused and looked back when she realized he had stopped moving.

"Deku-kun?" she asked, concerned.

He was looking at his feet and shifting nervously. It was such a strange contrast to the confident person he'd been just a few moments before.

"Uraraka-chan... No, Ochako-chan," he said tensely, looking up again to face her. A hint of that weird expression he'd worn a few weeks ago was pulling at his face.

Ochako inhaled sharply at his use of her given name. She immediately felt warm all over. This was the first time he'd ever used that name before. She waited for him to continue, barely making a sound.

"I need to talk to you about-"

"Oi," that grating voice made her jump. Ochako closed her eyes firmly for a moment before refocusing them on the large figure coming up the walkway

UUUUUUUURRGGHH! Now, of all times?! she shrieked in her mind, watching Bakugo's unhurried approach.

She shot daggers at him with her glare. The look he shot back was so bored, it made her bristle further. Deku had been about to say something important. Something she really really wanted to know about, she was sure. The irony of the location and role reversal was not lost on her.

"What do you need, Kacchan?" Deku ground out, stepping a little in front of her. Was that anger in his voice?

Bakugo came to a stop in front of them. He was already dressed down, unsurprisingly in a threadbare skull graphic tee and sweatpants, and carrying a bag of what looked like groceries.

His eyebrows lifted fractionally, "What makes you think I'm talking to you, Deku?"

His molten orbs went to hers as she peeked around Deku's massive form. A weight landed squarely on her chest when she felt his gaze shift to hers.

"Kacchan, you need to-"

"What I need is for you to get out of my way, loser," Bakugo sneered at him.

Ochako felt her anger bubbling close to the surface. This. Again.

"Fine, what do you want with me?" she asked, nothing but venom in her words.

Bakugo tried to nudge Deku out of the way but he stood firm. It was a bit of a surprise to her that he stood his ground this time and her heart warmed that he would do this for her.

Bakugo narrowed his eyes at Deku momentarily.

"I told you... To get. Out. Of. My. Way. Deku," he growled, his voice dangerously low.

"Back off of her, Kacchan. We were busy before you-"

Bakugo's open hand sparked at his side and Ochako didn't need to think before she pushed Deku aside and Bakugo back a step, letting her quirk affect them slightly so she had the power to move their bulk.

They'd fought before outside of class, she'd been told once. It was late at night and they'd been caught by All Might. He'd stopped them before they had killed each other. For crying out loud, they'd nearly killed each other. Luckily no other staff had caught them or they'd be expelled now.

She couldn't let that happen again. Bakugo had set his sights on her because of the attitude she'd copped with him. Deku was trying to protect her from him. But he'd just recently told her that she was a great hero and he believed in her. She would protect him now, by handling it herself and letting him focus on more important things.

"You two can't fight here, you idiots. What are you doing? Do you want to throw everything you've worked for away?" she snapped.

Deku looked stricken. Moments ago she'd been soft and affectionate with him. It had to feel like a slap in the face that she'd speak so harshly now. Bakugo just leered at her, his jaw tensing, presumably trying to hold back from acting out. He was clearly allowing her to hold him back. At least there was that.

"Deku, I've told you before that he'll never bother me. I can handle him. Please don't put your livelihood, your future, everything you've ever dreamed of, on the line for me." Ochako shook her head, her vision blurring at the edges, "I can't bear the burden of that. There are more important things."

"Ochako-chan-"

Bakugo snorted.

Deku glared at him, then looked back to her, "It wouldn't be right not to protect you. You're my friend, nothing's more important."

Ochako smiled sadly at him, "Deku-kun, please. You said I'm as good a hero as you, remember? I'm a hero too. I can handle myself. Let me talk to Bakugo. We're going to hash this out right now, then you can tell me what you wanted to before."

Deku stared at her a moment longer, hesitating.

"Please," Ochako said again.

Bakugo huffed and grumbled something under his breath she couldn't hear.

Deku shot another look at Bakugo before stepping back toward the dorms. "Okay, Ochako-chan." Her heart fluttered at his name usage again. "Do what you need to do."

She watched him as he turned to walk up the stairs and through the front doors.

"You call me pathetic," Bakugo's gruff voice sounded behind her before she could turn back to him. She whirled around and his crimson eyes immediately pinned her to the spot when she met them. He had a pissed look on his face, like she had somehow deeply offended him. "But you're pathetic and an idiot."

Ochako sucked in a breath at his extremely rude comment. Her brows knit together and she bared her teeth.

"You are an ASSHOLE!" she near shouted at him.

He didn't even flinch, just kept his sour expression aimed at her.

"What do you even know about me, Bakugo? Why are you narrowing in on me? Did I really hurt your feelings that badly that day?"

Bakugo gave her a look like he thought she was stupid, "You can't hurt my feelings, floaty. Don't give yourself that much credit."

"Okay, then why are you messing with me? I know something that day made you target me."

He snorted, "I'm not explaining myself to you, idiot."

Ochako pinched the bridge between her eyes. This guy was so stubborn! "Why can't you just... be nice? Or just not mean for once? Can't we talk this out like adults?"

He seemed to consider her for a moment. Then completely ignored her last few questions like she'd never spoken.

"You're an idiot because you keep chasing after that scum. He's known the past two years. He's never done anything about it but you think he will now?" He shook his head, a tiny, cruel smile playing around his lips, "You're the only one who doesn't see how pathetic you're being. At least I keep pushing because I know I can beat his ass again eventually. What are you doing?"

Ochako's breath hitched in her throat. She felt like she'd just had all the wind knocked out of her.

Had Deku really known she'd cared about him all this time? Was he trying to avoid her telling him? She wanted to refute Bakugo. She wanted to say, "He was about to do something about it before you came along!" But she didn't. Because what if he hadn't been about to say that? He could've been about to say a thousand other things. Even worse, what if he'd been about to tell her he knew about her feelings this whole time and was going to turn her down before she'd gotten up the courage to confess? And if she told Bakugo she thought that he might've been about to confess to her, wouldn't he just laugh at her?

"You are... an... asshole," she repeated, feeling tears welling up in her eyes but trying to push them back down.

Not for him, she told herself, he doesn't get my tears.

Bakugo looked down at her with absolutely no sympathy and blinked slowly.

Ochako wanted to punch him, wanted to scratch his eyes out, do something to hurt him as much as he'd just gut-punched her.

They were quiet for a moment. It was near full dark now. The last streaks of purple highlighting the horizon in the west. The outside lights blinked on as she collected herself enough to be sure her voice wouldn't crack when she said, "You want this fight? You got this fight. You said before I should prepare for a world of regret? Well, I'm not regretting anything yet, Kacchan."

She saw a muscle tick in his jaw when she used the overly-familiar name Deku often addressed him with.

"You think you really could beat Deku?" she let out a sharp, mirthless laugh, "You'll never even compare to him. As a hero or as a person."

She saw his molten eyes get that glowing, dangerous, carnal look about them again. But, once again, she felt no fear. Why did standing up to him make her feel so powerful?

She took one step closer to him, lowering her voice, taking as powerful of a stance as possible, and poking her finger into his huge chest.

"By the end of this year, it'll be you who's sorry you fucked with me. I'll bring you lower than Deku ever could. He wasn't even trying. I will."

A low growl erupted from Bakugo's throat as he lunged for her, dropping the groceries he'd been carrying. He grabbed the wrist of the hand she'd used to poke at his chest. Then, as she tried to quickly pull away, he grabbed her neck, his fingers nearly wrapping fully around it.

Ochako's heart beat wildly. She went rigid but showed him a face of defiance through her fear. His hold on her neck was not firm or choking. He just rested it there because he knew it would scare her, because she would know she couldn't do anything to him before he could squeeze her airway closed.

Would he really hurt me like that? she wondered as she felt his hot breath brush her face. He was breathing heavily, probably struggling to control his rage. No one really talked to him like that. She felt another surge of power go through her at the realization that it probably chafed him that she, of all people, was.

He brought is his face closer to hers and stopped, his lips not an inch from her ear.

"We'll see about that, Ochako-chan," he quietly spoke into her ear, his warm breath rustling a small lock of hair displaced from her ponytail.

Something in her chest felt tight at his voice. He was scaring her. She didn't know what she could say or do in this moment. His ashen hair was lightly brushing hers. She could see the muscles of his shoulders tensing under his thin shirt. She could smell him, the light scent of burnt-out matches catching in her nose. She almost snorted to try and erase the scent from it.

He held her a few seconds longer, then opened his hands to release her.

She immediately pushed back from him, a snarl coming to her lips, sending a death glare up at him.

Bakugo took her in, held her gaze with those burning, deep ruby eyes, his expression more calm now, considering. Then, he regathered his dropped groceries and headed toward the steps without a backward glance

Ochako felt a light breeze caress her burning face and throat as she watched him ascend the few steps and enter the building.

She closed her eyes as it cooled her and helped her settle her thoughts.

Things had just gone from bad to worse between them and now she had insisted Deku not intervene. She was on her own. Against one of the most powerful, conceited, malicious people she'd ever known.

She knew she should be terrified. And maybe some teeny tiny part of her that felt some self-preservation was cowering. But, mostly, she felt determined, maybe even amped up.

She jumped up the stairs herself after a moment and entered the dorms, going straight to her room to start her homework. She'd forgotten about finding Deku to see what he'd intended to say to her.

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

On Saturday, Ochako left early in the morning to visit her parents. She hadn't seen them since she'd left at the beginning of the school year and while she loved her home at UA with all of her friends, she still got that little bit of home-sickness for her parents when she went too long without seeing them.

So off she went. She had a good hour or so on the train, so she busied herself with trying to refine her quirk. It had taken her a while, but over the years she had begun to figure out how to incrementally reduce the weight of objects so they wouldn't always just float off. It had become useful mostly in combat situations, to throw her opponents off balance and allow her to control them. She'd been happily surprised to find it work out so well on Deku and Bakugo the night before.

Ochako rubbed at her neck, remembering the way Bakugo's hand had rested there. Obviously he'd left no bruises, his touch had been feather-light, a whisper of a threat. Even her wrist had been left with no markings. He'd wanted to control her but, thankfully, he'd been smart enough not to hurt her.

She shook her head. It wouldn't do to dwell on that. He'd gotten the best of her there— he probably knew that— but she couldn't let that knock her off her stride. It was exactly what he wanted and she wouldn't allow him to win.

She went back to work, lightening a newspaper to hover just above the seat next to her, then a few coins just enough to make them easy to flick across the train car (no one was sharing it with her today).

When the train reached the station, she grabbed her bag with a couple changes of clothes in it (she was staying the night) and exited the car.

There were only a few people milling about. She guessed it wasn't a busy day for travel.

From ahead of her, she saw a woman with long brown hair like her own waving her arms above her head.

"Ochako-chan!" her mom called, a big grin plastered on her face.

"Mama!" Ochako beamed and ran into her mother's arms, "where's Papa?"

Her mom released her from her embrace, "Oh he got called to a job site and won't be home until after dark. He'll be happy to see you made it home safely, though."

Ochako knew her parents had been more busy since she'd been featured at the Sports Festival two years ago and when her name had already become more prominent in the hero world. She'd originally wanted to become a hero to pay for her parents to take it easy but she'd realized somewhere along the way that they were doing something they loved. Maybe it was hard work and maybe there were tough days but they wouldn't have it any other way and they only wanted the same for her.

"That's okay, at least he'll be home for dinner," she said, not feeling the least bit disappointed.

Her mom led her to her car where Ochako threw her bag in the back seat, then jumped in the passenger side.

"Well since your father isn't here, now we have time for girl talk," her mom said, a fiendish gleam in her eye as she buckled herself in.

Ochako rolled her eyes but inside she was bouncing. Her mom knew all of her secrets. She had always been like her best friend and she'd shared every doubt she'd ever had or crush who had broken her heart. She had known about her feelings for Deku since the moment Ochako had known it herself. She was always itching for more news on her daughter's love life.

"Sooo... How is Midoriya-kun?" she asked, her eyebrows inching up with interest as she pulled out of her space and started the drive home.

"You are like a scavenger, mom. Always noodling for any scraps of drama," Ochako laughed.

"Ooooo so there's been drama?"

Ochako's smile weakened a shade, thinking of the things Bakugo had said to her last night.

"That rough, huh?" her mom's face softened, "Well we have time. Let's hear it."

So Ochako let out everything that had happened for the past few weeks, from how she'd been elected as class rep with Deku to what Bakugo had told her about him the night before. She decided to leave out how he'd man-handled her, though. She didn't think her mom would just leave it alone if she found out a boy had laid his hands on her, however softly. And as much as she wanted to tear Bakugo apart, she didn't want him to be expelled or even suspended.

"So, now I'm really confused and I don't know how Deku-kun feels about me. What if he really has known all this time and won't say anything because he's too nice to hurt my feelings?"

Her mom listened to her while driving, a look of concentration on her face, clearly not wanting to miss a single detail.

"Well, baby girl, you're not gonna want to hear this, but situations like these require a leap of faith. You should ask Midoriya-kun himself. It'll only drive you crazy if you keep wondering about it with no answers," her mom said gently.

Ochako put her face in her hands, "I don't know if I can do that! It's been so long, I don't know if I could handle it if he rejects me."

"Ochako-chan," her mother said in a firmer voice, "you are more than what this guy thinks of you. He may reject you, he may be as crazy about you as you are about him. But, no matter what, you're still a kind, loving person deserving of happiness. Nothing he says or does will change that. He might break your heart, sweetie, but you are too strong to allow anyone to break you."

Ochako felt her heart warm with love for her mother. She knew she was right. Deku did mean so much to her and he held her heart in his hands without even knowing it. But if he hurt her, she knew she would be ok eventually. And the largest part of knowing that was thanks to the beautiful woman sitting beside her and the hard-working man out making money for her family as they spoke.

She smiled, "Thank you, Mama."

"Now, about Bakugo," her mother said solemnly, "What is his deal? He sounds like he's being a total turd."

Ochako squawked out a laugh. "Oh- he- is-" she got out between peals of laughter and let herself have a little chortle at his expense.

She got herself a little more under control before she continued, "He's always been an arrogant jerk since first year. Now he thinks he can get under my skin because I've started standing up to him. It's like he thinks I'm challenging him or something instead of just tired of his nonsense." A smirk came to her face, unbidden, "But don't worry, Mama. He doesn't bother me. I've got his number."

She didn't catch the small, knowing smile playing on her mother's lips as she listened to her daughter speak.

That night, Ochako got to have dinner with her parents, then sleep in her old bedroom, nostalgia and safety making her feel surrounded with comfort.

She got up and spent the whole of the next day going out with them and regaling them with all of the amazing things she'd been doing at school so far as well as all of the things she was still set to do later in the year.

She tried to get their input on what she should suggest for the younger students at the UA Sports Festival and couldn't wait to bring it up the next time she met with the other class reps. Her parents spoiled her with food and more adorable clothing and all of the attention she'd been missing from them. She knew she'd miss them quickly after she went back to school.

Before she was ready, Ochako was about to board the train back to UA late Sunday afternoon.

"We'll watch for you at the Sports Festival on TV, sweetie!" her mom said as she and her father held her close.

"I'll make you guys proud!" Ochako sighed into them.

"Pretty hard to make us prouder than we already are, but I expect you'll make me eat my words," her father said, pulling back.

"Go show those boys who they're messing with," her mom reminded her, giving her back a pat as she turned away.

Ochako boarded the train and turned back to her parents with a smirk, "I'll get em."

Her mother grinned at her and her father gave her a confused smile but waved to her as her train pulled away. He would probably ask her mom about it the moment she was out of sight.

When she made it back onto campus just before sunset, wearing yet another cute new dress (a dark blue, form-fitting skater dress with a scoop-neck that showed off a peek of cleavage) and her bag stuffed to bursting with a couple more and two new pairs of shoes, she found her classmates hanging around in the common room.

"Ochako-chan! Where did you take off to?" Mina greeted, running up to her, "Ohmigad! What an adorable dress! Your boobs look amazing! I must have it!"

Ochako blushed at Mina's easy compliment, "Thanks, Mina-chan. You can borrow it anytime! Just let me know!"

"Oh Ochako-chan, you're the best!" Mina gushed, "So, where'd you go the whole weekend? I missed you for stretching!"

"I went to see my parents. It's been a while since I went home and my mom likes to go shopping with me when I'm there, so here I am."

Mina focused in on her stuffed bag. "Are there more in there?" she asked, her eyes going wide.

Ochako smiled embarrassedly, "Yeah, I have even more in my room that my mom sent with me at the start of the school year. If you want, you can come up with me and check them out while I unpack. Maybe try a few on?"

"Can I really?!" Mina asked excitedly.

"Sure, let's go now and then you can get fancied up before dinner."

"You are my favorite person forever, Ochako-chan!" Mina grabbed her free hand and pulled her toward the elevators.

Before they passed out of the common area, the elevator leading to the boys' floors opened, revealing Iida, Mineta, Deku, and— of course, she thought, already irritated— Bakugo.

All four of them froze at her and Mina's approach as they emerged, none of them able to keep from giving her a once-over. Ochako's cheeks heated as she took in Deku's dumbstruck expression.

Obviously, the first of them to recover was Bakugo, who made a "tch" sound and pushed past the rest to continue into the kitchenette. He eyed her with those glowing scarlet orbs and she only gave him the smallest glance before going back to her friends.

"Thank all that is holy for co-ed dorms!" Mineta cried, tears coming to his eyes.

"That is an inappropriate thing to say, Mineta-kun!" Iida admonished, his hands chopping down in an authoritative manner, "You should be more respectful toward your classmates!"

Both Ochako and Mina looked coolly at Mineta. Still a pig, what a surprise.

Deku approached her as Iida continued scolding Mineta and pushing him toward the living area. "Ochako-chan... hi," he said a little timidly, bringing his hand to the back of his neck.

Mina's eyebrows climbed her forehead and Ochako felt her face go hot at him using her given name again.

"Umm... here," Mina took her bag from her, "how about I take your stuff upstairs and get a headstart on checking out those dresses?"

"Oh, uh... Yeah, ok," Ochako hesitantly agreed. She felt embarrassed that Mina was witness to this weirdness between her and Deku. She gave her a warning look like, "please don't start spreading rumors."

Mina just grinned and scurried away with her bag like she'd just gotten away with a crime.

"She'll have gone through your whole closet by the time you get up there," Deku said lightly as they watched her take the girls' elevator up.

"It's alright," Ochako told him, "I have more than enough. I probably wouldn't even notice if she nabbed a few, although I doubt she ever would."

He smiled at her, his viridian eyes looking extra luminous today. Ochako had to look away before she got too caught up in them.

Her gaze swept around the room where they landed on a pair of red eyes drilling holes into her and sending a jolt of electricity zooming up her spine.

They quickly dodged away from her when Kirishima hooked his arm around Bakugo's neck to engage him in a conversation or teasing or whatever it was those boys did together. The telltale boom of Bakugo yelling at his buddies met her ears and she felt more relaxed that his attention was finally elsewhere.

"Hey, so what happened to you on Friday? I thought you'd find me so we could talk but I guess you got busy? I was actually a little worried over the weekend Kacchan might have hidden your body somewhere or something," he laughed nervously.

"Pfft," she giggled, "Bakugo might be a jerk but he wouldn't go that far..."

Then his words registered deeper with her. She had forgotten all about him wanting to talk to her! She had said she would find him to continue their conversation! All of her emotions about that impending exchange— excitement, apprehension, fear— came crashing down on her again and her stomach did a flip.

"Oh god, Deku, I'm sorry! Bakugo really ruffled my feathers and I just completely spaced," she admitted, looking back at him with a shamed expression.

"No, no! Don't worry about it," he quickly reassured her, "It wasn't... that important really."

A little bit of Ochako's heart fell at his dismissal, "It wasn't? Really? Are you sure?"

He seemed to notice her face falling and paused for a moment before scanning the room and looking back at her. "Will you come up to my room for a second? It's a little to crowded down here."

Ochako was stunned at his sudden change in tone. "Um... I guess?" she answered, also looking around like they were doing something secretive.

Students were allowed to visit each other's rooms, even those of the opposite sex. The only issues were if a student weren't invited to the opposite sex's dorm or if someone was trying to stay the night. Those things weren't allowed, although Aizawa-sensei also didn't keep the closest of eyes on his students.

He led her to the boys' elevator and they travelled up to the 5th floor together. Ochako felt nervous and awkward, unsure of what was happening or why he'd suddenly asked her up to his room. They didn't speak as they went up and it felt like hours had passed by the time they arrived.

"Here, this one," he said, immediately turning right, "I got the room next to the elevator."

"Oh, yeah? I did too," she shared, a little of her tension falling away.

"Yeah, that elevator can really get to you some days, huh? Especially when I'm trying to do homework and people are going up and down all evening."

"Yeah," Ochako smiled and nodded, despite not really feeling the way he felt.

Deku opened his door and led her inside. His room looked much the same as it always had with the All Might memorabilia and the red, white, and blue... everything. He'd covered his desk, though, in all kinds of papers with sketched drawings of ideas for the Sports Festival. She rushed over to inspect them.

"There are so many great ideas here, Deku!" Ochako lit up seeing the papers. A small part of her felt bad that she'd only offhandedly discussed it with her parents while he had been here, considering things down to the most minute detail.

"Oh no," he answered sheepishly, shutting the door behind them, "I was just brainstorming. None of them are really that good."

Ochako grabbed one of the papers on top and started reading, "An escape room, where people have to use their quirks smartly to escape traps? Don't sell yourself short, Deku, this is genius!"

Deku rubbed at his neck, his face going red, "Th-Thanks."

"I'm so happy you were voted as class rep this year. You really deserve it and you have a lot to bring to the events at school!" Ochako knew she was gushing a bit too much but she also knew Deku needed an ego boost every now and then. He was far too humble sometimes.

"Thanks, Ochako-chan," he said again, then his face became more serious, "I was hoping we could talk up here. Sorry about before, I felt like we should have a little more privacy."

Ochako set the paper down and looked up, "Oh... it's ok..."

She bit her lip nervously and cast her gaze around the room, waiting for him to initiate whatever conversation they were about to have.

Her stomach suddenly hurt badly. She thought she might be sick from nerves. She wasn't sure but she thought this might be it— the tipping point for their friendship. She was scared. Deku was one of her closest friends. If he rejected her now, would that be through? She thought he might want to be friends still but she wasn't sure herself if she could handle a friendship with a guy she'd spent so long loving in secret that never ended up loving her in return.

Her mom's voice came again in her head, You are more than what this guy thinks of you. Ochako took a calming breath and steadied herself.

"Ochako-chan- oh, by the way, I hope it hasn't bothered you that I started calling you that, we've been good friends for a while so I thought...," he began.

She shook her head, hoping he would just get on with it without much preamble.

"Oh, good... So, Ochako-chan, I want you to know you're one of my closest friends and I'm really glad we've gotten so close." He paused, presumably waiting for her response to this.

"Me too," she smiled hopefully.

"And I hope that we can always be good friends no matter what."

Ochako tilted her head at his emphasis on "no matter what".

"Of course," she responded, trying to harden her heart and push her doubts she'd just considered away, as though he'd just been able to see into her mind.

"So do you remember move-in day?" he asked uncomfortably.

Well this is not at all where I thought this would go, Ochako thought to herself, disappointment and relief vying for supremacy in her mind.

"Yeah..." she answered, feeling cautious now.

"Well, that day, Kacchan told me-"

Just then, a loud DING made them both jump as they heard a commotion coming out of the elevator. Speak of the bastard, Ochako thought, anger fanning flames in her chest that had sparked the moment Deku brought him up. She'd forgotten that they shared a floor.

"What did Bakugo tell you?" she turned back to Deku, more aggression in her voice than she'd intended toward him. This had to be about what he'd said to put that expression on Deku's face.

Oh god, what if he'd told him about her feelings that day? What if him learning about her feelings was what had given him that horrible look? Had Bakugo lied to her about Deku having known all this time just to make her feel bad about herself?

"Uh..." Deku hesitated, seeing the irritation growing in her eyes.

"Ha! I thought I saw Midoriya-kun bring her up here. His door's closed. I didn't think he had it in him," Kirishima's amused voice carried through the door.

Then Bakugo's grating voice came, "Pfft, he fucking doesn't."

Ochako's blood boiled. He knew she was in here. He knew they would be able to hear them talking. He was trying to push her buttons before they even got back to class!

I will rip your heart out through your ribcage! she screamed in her head. He'd managed to cut off their conversation again! He had to be torturing her on purpose!

She started toward the door but Deku grabbed her hand before she could reach, "Wait, Ochako-chan." He looked worried. Maybe he was scared for her.

"I'm not gonna let him get away with that, Deku. You know I won't," she said back to him vehemently.

"I thought you'd hashed things out with him on Friday," he sounded a little desperate now. Why was he so worried about her?

"No," she admitted, "I made it worse. We argued. I made him mad. I told him I was going to bring him to his knees." He let her go when her eyes darkened, "And I will."

Deku couldn't say anything more before Ochako flung the door wide. The two boys were still walking down the hallway when she stomped into it.

"You wanna say that again?" she snarled at them.

Kirishima stopped laughing and froze when he turned back to see her furious face. Bakugo just slowly turned, a cruel smile plastered to his face that did not reach his eyes. It was kind of a disturbing face to see. He looked almost as furious as she did.

"Truth hurt, pink-cheeks?" he bit out.

Deku exited behind her and Bakugo turned his hateful gaze from her to him.

"Did you have fun?" his smile got wider. Ochako wanted to look away from his face, it was so unsettling.

Deku said nothing behind her. She didn't turn to look at him. As far as she was concerned, this fight was now between her and Bakugo. Deku wasn't a part of it and she wouldn't allow him to be included.

"Yeah," she said with fake confidence, "we did. Not that it's any of your business what we do."

She knew he could tell she was putting on airs. He knew Deku better than even she did. In a way he was right, Deku didn't have it in him to bring a girl up to his room for anything that wasn't innocent.

Bakugo let out a cold cackle, "Sure, floaty."

He clapped Kirishima on the back to signify that they should keep going toward his room. Ochako watched them travel all the way down the hall. When they reached his door at the end, he turned back to her, that horrifying expression gone.

Instead, his molten eyes danced with mischief. "Whenever that gets boring for you, my door is right here, Ochako-chan."

He laughed again and shut his door behind him as she roared with fury and embarrassment, her face going beet red. He was gonna stoop to sexual harassment now, huh?

"Oooooo," she growled, turning back to Deku, "I'm gonna ruin him!"

Deku still hadn't said anything and was still staring down the hall. He looked dazed.

"Deku-kun?" she asked, lightly touching his arm.

He seemed to snap out of his reverie when she spoke to him. And before she could say more, he pulled her face to his and kissed her.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Ochako walked into her classroom on Monday at 8:25 am, dark purple rings under her eyes. She had finally gotten to sleep just past one in the morning after tossing and turning since ten.

Deku had kissed her. On the mouth. It had been so sudden but so gentle and kind, his lips soft and his breath warm. He'd smelled like freshly laundered towels.

Any time she thought back on it, her heart would start thundering again and she could feel her face go hot.

Why had he done that? She didn't know because right after pulling back from her, he had seemed to panic and said, "Oh god, I'm so sorry, Ochako-chan. I shouldn't have done that."

She hadn't even gotten over her shock before he'd ushered her to the elevator and sent her back down to the common room, telling her sorry again.

It had been so confusing and she wasn't sure if he had been sorry he'd surprised her or if he'd regretted it the moment he'd kissed her. She'd laid awake last night, going in circles in her mind as though she were pulling petals from a daisy and saying "he loves me, he loves me not".

Before she'd laid down, she'd had to greet Mina and bribe her with dresses so she wouldn't say anything to anyone about the stupid look on her face that had betrayed the whole story without her having to say a word. Then, she'd gone down to dinner long after she figured everyone else had been done and had to reheat a plate for herself.

Wow, one kiss and this is my life now, she had thought, bent over a plate of fried fish and rice.

Today she was regretting her seating choice as she walked down the side aisle to her desk. Everyone was already seated and no one missed the bags under her eyes, even as she put on a genial smile.

When she chanced a peek at Deku, he was looking at her with a little concern. As she sat, he turned partway in his seat and asked, "Are you doing okay? Did you get enough sleep?"

Ugh, don't look at me! Ochako thought as she nodded her head fiercely, trying to hide her slowly pinking cheeks from him.

His look told her that he didn't completely believe her but he turned back as Aizawa-sensei entered to begin class.

It wasn't until English class, Present Mic discussing their current reading assignment, that Ochako heard a rhythmic tapping sound from the seat next to her. She gave a deep sigh, already knowing she wasn't going to like what she was about to see.

Even if he weren't doing anything he'd still piss me off, she admitted to herself.

She turned her head and found Bakugo turned away from her for once, his head resting in his left hand, upper arm laid across his desk. From the back of him, she could just barely see earbuds poking out of his ears.

So he was listening to music... Ever since their music show in first year at the UA Cultural Festival, he'd sometimes taken to rapping drum patterns that interested him with pencils or whatever he could find. Today, he was tapping on his notebook so the sound was muted, but it was surely an irritant for anyone else around him.

Ochako massaged her temple, almost not wanting to bother with him since his attention was finally elsewhere but— dammit— she was class rep! She couldn't just let him disturb the other students around him.

She pulled out an eraser from her pencil case and chucked it at him with less delicacy than she maybe should've. It bounced off of the back of his head and he jerked.

Ochako felt a little thrill that she'd elicited a response from him for once. Usually, nothing she did would surprise him and he'd just give her a look like she was cute for trying.

Bakugo leisurely turned from his left arm resting on his desk and swapped to his right arm to face her.

His crimson eyes lazily met hers, not missing the purple circles under her lower lids but not acknowledging them either. He gave her his usual bored expression, continuing his absent-minded tapping.

She frowned at him and pointed at her ears, referring to the earbuds he was wearing. "STOP," she mouthed, widening her eyes in a 'I'm serious' expression.

His face didn't change but he did stop the tapping. His eyes moved away from her, looking like he was searching for something. When he found his quarry, he leaned down and picked up the eraser she had pitched at him.

He held it tightly in his glove-like fist, she could see the tendons in his hand straining. That burning matches smell that had filled her nose the night he'd grabbed her wafted her way again and he opened his hand to let the ashes of her eraser fall to the floor.

Cold fingers ran up Ochako's spine, seeing the blackened remains fall from his palm. Was that a threat?

He's trying to upset you again, her mind chided, Don't let him bully you!

Feeling childish but unable to offer much of anything else to express that he didn't scare her, she narrowed her eyes and quickly stuck her tongue out him mouthing "asshole."

She saw his nostrils flare as that dangerous shine came to those ruby irises again. Did that really piss him off?

A hint of amusement rose inside her. The dumbest things set him off. She raised her eyebrows at him as if to say, "Really? You baby." and gave him a tiny smirk.

His fingers gripped the edge of his desk. He looked like he was trying to keep himself from reaching over and smacking her.

So much for big, scary explodey-boy, she giggled to herself and turned back to Present Mic.

At least he didn't go back to tapping.

The UA Sports Festival loomed near and Ochako was feeling wholly unprepared, despite training more extensively each day than she ever had before.

She and Deku stayed after class, sometimes late into the evening, preparing events with other class reps and staff. Most nights, she would return to the dorms after a long, productive day and he would still be working away, preparing the qualifying events for the first years.

She felt a little disappointment that he seemed to have side-tracked her to focus on the Sports Festival events and had possibly forgotten about their kiss and what it meant.

Or he's avoiding you, that nagging little voice in the back of her mind would say. She tried not to think that was true. She wished she could get him alone to ask straight out. But she was running herself ragged most days so she could only imagine how exhausted he was. And it wasn't like he was going out of his way to try and clear things up between them either.

They would still interact and be friendly with each other, but he was somehow magically never around when she was by herself. She'd given him ample opportunity to approach her by eating lunch alone some days or hanging out on the balcony. But he never tried. She considered trying to get him alone but he was always with someone when she saw him.

The more she thought about their circumstances, the more frustrated she was becoming with it. She didn't like being stuck in limbo.

True to her word, Mina never spoke to anyone about what she knew happened between Ochako and Deku. There were some moments when they were stretching alone or riding up the elevator together that Ochako knew she was practically bursting with the need to bring it up. She knew that she would have to tell her everything that was going on at some point but she would have to wait until after the Sports Festival and they weren't so busy.

The one saving grace was that whilst Deku may have been avoiding her, Bakugo seemed to have laid off her too. Surprising, considering the last few run-ins they'd had seemed to have escalated in ferocity. She figured he'd be itching to bug her twice as much and some small part of her wished he'd try. She needed to take out her frustrations on someone and even though most of her frustration was for herself or Deku, she knew she wouldn't feel bad if Bakugo ended up getting her foot in his ass for it. He deserved whatever attitude she gave him.

Serendipitously, she got her chance the Thursday before the Sports Festival started.

That day Ochako felt like she was at her wit's end. She was almost sure by that time that Deku was avoiding talking to her about their kiss. She was doing her best not to think about it now because whenever she did, her chest would constrict so tightly that she felt like she couldn't breathe and a lump would form in her throat that she would have to choke down again unless she wanted to become a blubbering mess.

These feelings combined with the stress of looking forward to the Sports Festival had her wishing that Deku had never done anything at all.

So when All Might brought them out to the urban training ground and announced they would be rerunning their old heroes versus villains combat exercise from first year, Ochako felt her blood run hot with fervor.

This was the opportunity to let off some steam and it coming just before the Sports Festival was even more fortunate.

"This time, choose your own partners," All Might said, "but be smart about how you choose. Yes, you can pair with your partner from last time but, be aware, the whole class already saw how you won or lost last time so you're making it harder on yourself if you choose to do that."

Ochako huffed quietly. As if that were even an option for me, she thought to herself, stupidly glancing toward Deku who, as usual, was not even facing her and looked like he was eyeballing Todoroki to partner with already.

"Ochako-chan," she heard a quiet voice say behind her. She looked back to see (or rather not see) Toru, the pointer fingers of her gloves poking themselves like she was nervous to speak.

"Toru-chan, hi," Ochako answered with a warm smile, "what's up?"

Toru's gloves kept poking themselves at the pointer fingers. "Do you want to team up for this? I figured we could be pretty good at being stealthy together."

Ochako considered the merits of this. They didn't know yet if they would be heroes or villains. If they weren't heroes, being stealthy would not be as useful when protecting a bomb. But she looked at Toru (or rather her nervously poking gloves) and figured that a good hero (or villain) would be able to make any partnership work for them.

"Sure," she responded, "Let's do it!"

She couldn't see Toru's reaction but she assumed it was joyful as she hugged her.

When the time came for the pairs to line up, they stood together and were given their team letter (H), along with the rest of the class.

Ochako felt restless. She was ready for a fight. She clenched and unclenched her fists as All Might began pulling the first of the team matchups from the "Hero" and "Villain" boxes. She hoped she could be first again. All of this waiting was making her too anxious and she couldn't understand why.

"Heroes: F. Villains: A," All Might read out loud. Ochako almost let out a growl in frustration. The one time she wanted to go first and she wasn't able to!

"You know the drill, kiddos," All Might said, "back to the monitor room to watch and critique!"

She made her way down to the monitor room with the rest of her classmates. First up was Kyoka and Koda as heroes versus Iida and Momo as villains.

Ochako wanted to pay attention to their training, try to pick apart what the strengths and weaknesses of each team were and how well they were utilizing them in their training. She tried to take interest in how Momo had practically built a fortress of traps around the bomb and how Koda spectacularly called the bugs around them to disarm or safely set each one off. She noticed how well Kyoka was scouting for them and how Iida played bait to one trap after another, but she felt a roaring in her ears that wouldn't let her concentrate. She needed to get out there! She needed to let herself go!

The match ended with Kyoka and Koda victorious and it was time to pull names again.

This time Team B were heroes and Team C were villains. Ochako let a little snort of irritation out this time. And then the next time. And the next time, when Deku was up with Todoroki versus Mineta and Tokoyami.

She didn't even watch their match as she realized with an odd amount of frenzy that she and Toru were the last team along with Bakugo and Mina. Her skin prickled with anticipation as she quickly stole a look in his direction the moment she realized it. He was already glaring at her, his eyes burning like hot coals in the darkness of the monitor room.

Ochako felt her adrenaline already beginning to pump as they stared each other down. This was what she had wanted. This was the fight she had been waiting for and it had just dropped in her lap.

"You want this fight? You got this fight," her own words reverberated in her head as she watched him, hardly even blinking. She knew he was likely thinking back on it too.

The match ended quickly with Deku's team the victors, though no one was really surprised.

Before All Might could finish announcing her and Toru's roles as villains, Ochako was up and heading for the door, toting her invisible classmate behind her.

"Ochako-chan!" Toru yelped, "Wait! Hang on!"

They emerged from a hallway and headed toward the indicated building. Ochako slowed her pace a bit to let Toru get her bearings.

"Ochako-chan," she said nervously, "I'm a little scared."

Ochako halted and turned to her friend, not meaning to sound as harsh as she did when she asked, "Why?"

Toru flinched back, or at least from the movement of her gloves and shoes it seemed like she had.

"Well Bakugo's been pretty scary lately," she admitted, "And it seems like he really has it out for you. The whole class has noticed how much he's antagonized you. It seems like it's getting to you and some of us are worried about you." She laid a gloved hand on Ochako's shoulder.

Ochako's breathing scaled down a couple notches at her friend's words. "Thank you Toru-chan," she smiled wanly, "I have been feeling down lately but it isn't Bakugo who's gotten to me. I can't really get into it right now, but I promise that I won't let anything happen to you, ok?"

She also laid her hands on the invisible girl's shoulders. "Let me handle Bakugo. You won't have to worry about him at all and, even though Mina-chan is on his team, I'm sure she won't let things get out of hand. Please don't worry about me. Let's focus on winning now and everything will be fine after that."

That's what she told her teammate anyway. Ochako wanted to believe it herself, and maybe she would feel a certain amount of relief after this training session. But her problems would be far from gone and she feared those would last until Deku finally decided to face her or she could force him to do so on her own.

They made a plan. Their bomb was on the basement level. They would leave it there and set a trap in the hall leading to the room that housed it. She would float Toru, who would wait in a shadowed corner of the hall ceiling. Her Support Course boyfriend had developed a near-invisible filament rope (among other fascinating tools) for her that she often utilized in her training now.

Ochako would confront Bakugo and Mina and set red herring traps by floating large objects throughout the building. When they reached the entrance to the basement room and could see the bomb in front of them, they'd find Toru's gloves and shoes on the ceiling above it and try to attack her. But she will have removed them and come from behind to tie them up. And they would win. Easy peasy.

Of course, Ochako knew it was naive to expect it would go exactly like that.

They set up and gave the signal they were ready to start.

When Ochako heard them come in on the roof, she snickered to herself. They would take forever to get down to the basement.

She went to the ground floor to wait, releasing her traps as she heard footsteps on the floors above. She heard Mina exclaim particularly loudly as she dropped a heavy filing cabinet. And it was that exclamation that made her start to think that something was off.

Sure, she didn't believe that either Bakugo or Mina were the types to be quiet or sneaky about their attack. But they also wouldn't try to make unnecessary noise while still scouting a building, especially if there were no enemy in sight. Unless they weren't getting along, they would be slow, considering, alert. And if they had chosen to do their own thing, separately, they would be running off in different directions and Bakugo would likely be yelling by now.

Little hairs on the back of Ochako's neck stood on end as she listened closer now to the footsteps on the floor just above hers.

Then she realized it just as she smelled the burning matches on the air. There was only one set of footsteps tromping around up there. Mina was up there making a diversion while Bakugo had been creeping around on the ground floor! No one would expect Bakugo to be stealthy, so he was the perfect person to do it.

Ochako gasped as she just dodged a fireball coming toward her. He was not holding back. Good, her mind told her, Now take him down.

"RELEASE!" she cried as she dropped heavy stone slabs on his head.

The roar of the explosion he brought forth was deafening as he pulverized the objects above him.

"You'll have to do better than that, floaty," he growled, stepping closer to her, but not close enough to touch. He knew better than to get in her range. He twisted his wrists in his grenade gauntlets as though he were loosening them for extended combat.

Ochako felt like her synapses were all firing at once. Let's go!, her mind roared wildly, Let's fight him!

She wasted no further time, ignoring the parameters of the exercise, forgetting Mina, forgetting Toru. She ground her teeth as she quickly reduced her own weight and shot forward like a light.

Having only mostly reduced her weight, she was still able to keep footing on the floor as she raced toward Bakugo, her hands positioned, ready to reach out and touch him. If she could float him, she could control him completely.

"You've tried this before, pink-cheeks," Bakugo teased, "Have you already forgotten?" He set off consecutive blasts from his hands toward her.

She dodged each one. She was faster this time. She could do it this time. She knew it.

As she neared him, he set off a larger blast to ward her away. He also knew that her getting ahold of him would be the end of it.

Ochako pushed back and changed strategy, completely reducing her weight and pushing from one wall to another, able to build up speed as she pushed from one to the next. She moved around him, trying to disorient him and keep him unaware of her exact location, all the while still dodging attacks that he wildly threw in every direction.

She almost reached him again but was blown back by one particularly savage blast, feeling the cool air touch her sweat-laden skin from her shoulder down her arm.

Ochako hissed at the minor burn she felt cooling on her forearm. Not yet, she told herself, he's still standing. And she threw herself into it again, building up speed. She had almost gotten to him that time!

He was starting to look drained from this prolonged attack on him. He could only use so much sweat after all.

"This won't work!" he finally bellowed and pulled the pin on one of his gauntlets. He let loose another humongous, deafening explosion, blasting away half of the walls and floors on the second and third levels.

Ochako was able to dodge away just in time and shot toward him again while he was still reeling from the shock of such a massive explosion.

Bakugo turned toward her, ready to send a blast at her again but she feinted left, then ducked under his arm, outstretched her hand and touched him.

Time stood still as both of them realized what she had just done. A horrifically maniacal expression came to his face and, taking it in, Ochako thought that might be a reflection of her own face as well.

I won! she thought senselessly, I beat him! But she should have guessed that he would not go down so simply.

He grabbed a fistful of the fabric at the front of her suit as he began to float upward, hauling her to her tiptoes. She grabbed at his wrist, digging her nails in, pulling her hardest, but she was unable to dislodge his grasp. He began pulling himself closer to her, to regain purchase on the ground.

Panicking, she tried to pull her body further from his but he weighed nothing. She was only pulling him along with her!

"You don't get to win that easily," he ground between his teeth, reaching another hand toward her.

Get ahold of yourself! her mind shrieked as he took another fistful of the front of her suit. She tried to control her breathing and slow her mind down. She could still win. She could get out of this.

Then, the answer came to her and she hardened herself for the beating to come.

Ochako put her fingertips together and shouted, "Release!"

Bakugo fell, dragging her with him to kneel next to his prone body. He didn't let her go. But before he could recover from falling nearly six feet to the floor, she wrapped herself around him and let both of their weights go to zero. They both floated up.

He stiffened beneath her when he realized she had taken hold of him, then she felt a rumble of a chuckle in his chest as he whispered, "That was a mistake, Ochako-chan," and threw a hand behind him to blast them through the air and directly into a wall.

Ochako felt the breath leave her as her body hit the wall and she nearly let him go. She saw stars for a few seconds but she held tight as she tented her fingers again and said, "Release!" bringing their full weights back and forcing him to land in a way that took the brunt of their fall.

She knew this fight would be vicious and would probably end up hurting her, but she also reveled in it in what she thought was some sick masochistic way. All of her problems fell away. All of her fear and anxiety was left behind as she continually floated and released them, sometimes being blasted into objects, other times, making Bakugo take the fall. She felt alive and on fire as they battered each other time and time again, neither able to get the other to let go.

Finally, Ochako felt her energy waning. She could tell she couldn't hold on to him any longer. He would win. He was stronger. But she was proud of herself. She fought him and she had torn him to shreds in ways most people never had.

She floated them again, her fingers twitching from being spent. She floated them higher and higher, the ground pulling back. The first floor passed, then the second. Bakugo seemed to have wrung himself of his power as well. He was unable to throw another blast to make the final blow against her.

She looked up at him, her bright chestnut eyes, meeting his molten ruby.

"I... told you...," Ochako panted, gasping for breath at the strain she endured hanging on to him, her eyes half lidded in exhaustion, "I... would bring you... to your knees..." Her whole body tensed and finally relaxed as she released both of their weights, sending them plummeting to the ground.

It was just the tiniest fraction of a second, but she thought she saw him smile before they hit the ground. Not a smirk or a sneer, but a real, genuine smile. Like he was happy. She felt him fold his arms around her, clutch her against him. She figured he was just grasping for something, anything to give him purchase.

Then the ground rose up to meet them.

Ochako came to a couple moments later, Toru smacking her face.

"Ochako-chan!" she called, "Ochako-chan!"

"I think... I beat him?" Ochako breathed, pushing herself up from on top of Bakugo's prone body. He was still unconscious.

Lucky he's not dead, a sassy thought chirped in her mind. She wasn't sure if she was referring to herself being lucky or him.

"Yeah..." Toru said a little warily, "That you did..."

"Did we win?"

Mina walked up to her, an overly amused smirk on her lips, "Yeah, Toru-chan tied me up after I snuck into the basement when you were... doing this." She looked around with wonder. "So yeah, congrats, I guess."

Ochako heard footsteps running over as the rest of the class emerged from the monitor room.

"Uraraka-shoujo! Bakugo-shounen!" All Might cried as he approached them followed up by everyone else. She thought he might admonish them for ignoring the objective of the exercise and just brawling it out and she waited for his scolding. "That fight was beyond Plus Ultra!" He poofed into his heavily muscled form, "It made me relive my glory days!" Then, just as quickly, he coughed up blood and went back into his weakened form.

Ochako beamed as the rest of her class surrounded them to congratulate her.

Bakugo was finally conscious and sitting up when she looked back at him, unable to conceal the pride she felt in her grin.

He looked up at her from under his lashes and slowly blinked, then rolled his eyes and looked away.

Ochako felt her heart bursting with joy. She'd beaten Bakugo, she'd won the exercise, and she'd impressed All Might!

She looked back to her teacher to find Deku next to him, the only one to not come rushing for them. Displeasure and worry lined his face as his emerald eyes caught hers.

Her heart fell a little.

Chapter 6

Notes:

This and the next chapter were going to be one chapter that just completely encompassed the Sports Festival but this went waaaay longer than I expected and I had to cut it off somewhere so sorry about that. These next few chapters are gonna be fun, though, I promise!

Chapter Text

The first day of the UA Sports Festival was finally here! Ochako and her peers were competing in the third-year stage which would take place on the third day of the festival and be the main feature of the whole event. For today, they were able to mill about and talk with pro heroes or watch their kohai's matches.

Ochako was particularly excited to watch because her suggestion of an extreme version of dodgeball was accepted as a qualifier competition for the first years. Mina and Toru had invited her to come wander around the vendor stalls outside of the arena, then sit and watch the games with them. They seemed to be more excited to hanging out with her after the crazy fight that had gone down a few days before. Rumors had spread fast and all of them were getting more attention for the parts they'd played in one of the most explosive (pun probably intended) fights to go down on UA grounds. They probably attributed a good deal of their newfound popularity to her.

So she met up with her friends early in the morning and they looked around at some stalls. Ochako definitely knew she had to pick up some sakura mochi to snack on.

There were some stands that even had flags to wave for popular students. She noticed that a few even had her own name printed on them, which was a much-needed confidence booster.

When they'd gotten their fill of food and memorabilia, they found their seats for the main event. Class 3-A had been given reserved seats to watch with a good view of the whole stadium. There were already a handful of students in seats includingMomo, Todoroki, Sato, and of course Deku.

He looked up at her as she and her friends stepped down the stairs to take their own seats. His eyes met hers for a quick second and she frowned. He looked away. Her lips thinned into a line of irritation and she too focused her attention on something else.

The night that she had fought and won against Bakugo in their combat training, Deku had finally decided to talk to her. He had waited for her outside of Recovery Girl's office, where both she and Bakugo had been taken to fix any injuries they had sustained. Good thing too because, while she walked away with some ugly bruises, Bakugo had gotten himself a couple of cracked ribs from that final fall he'd taken the brunt of. She wanted to say she felt bad for going that far and injuring him but she wasn't. He'd fought just as hard and would've done the same to her in order to win. She knew this. He knew this. There was no need for regrets.

When Ochako had walked out of Recovery Girl's office, Bakugo was still laying in bed, fatigued from using a good deal of stamina to fix his ribs. Deku was standing just outside the door, like he'd been considering opening it and hadn't quite gotten up the nerve.

"Oh, Deku, hi," she'd said shyly, her cheeks getting hot already.

Deku looked down at her, embarrassment that he'd been caught written on his face. Then his face had become more serious, his jaw tightening, and he'd looked up and past her, presumably toward Bakugo, still resting in bed but not sleeping. A cool anger hitting his verdant eyes that she had never seen in him before. So he was troubled.

"Can I walk you back to the dorms?" he'd asked, his eyes softening as they shifted away from the person behind her and back onto her.

She'd nodded nervously, shifting from foot to foot.

So they'd walked down the halls and out onto the campus grounds, awkward silence consuming them.

Just when Ochako had been about to say something herself, Deku had finally spoken, "I was really worried about you, watching you fight Bakugo."

Ochako slowed a bit, taking in his words. "Bakugo?" she asked.

He nodded and she'd frowned. He'd always called Bakugo 'Kacchan'. Had something changed? She wanted to ask but she also didn't want to pry and this wasn't what she had wanted to discuss anyway.

"I beat him," she'd beamed at him, "Maybe he won't talk so much trash to me now."

Deku hadn't returned her smile, "No, I think he'll probably double down on treating you badly, actually. Winning in a fight against him never stopped him from looking down on me."

She'd dropped her smile. She hadn't considered that.

"I don't like how he treats you, Ochako-chan," he'd continued, "It worries me. I feel like he's gonna hurt you. I mean, look at what happened today. You didn't see what it looked like from the outside. You two looked like you wanted to kill each other."

Ochako had looked away, unsure what to say. She remembered how alive she had felt; how her body had opened up when she realized she didn't have to hold back from him. She hadn't been afraid...

"But, I did beat him," she'd argued.

"Yes," Deku responded, "But he'll try twice as hard next time to prove it was just a fluke."

He was trying there, she'd thought, he never holds back.

"That's fine," is what she said, "I'll fight him again. I'm not afraid of him."

Deku had stopped on the walkway in front of their dorm. Here again. Interesting how things happened here so often...

He'd let out a frustrated sigh, "Why not?"

Ochako had paused, starting to feel defensive. Why was this what they were talking about? Why was this what mattered? She understood his concern. She really did. But he had also just watched her go toe to toe with this Bakugo and win. He should be proud. Why wasn't he happy for her?

They were silent for a moment as they both contemplated things in their own minds.

"Deku," Ochako said delicately, looking up at him, all of her heart laid bare, "why did you kiss me the other night?"

He'd looked caught off guard and panicked again but, to his credit, he hadn't immediately run.

"I don't know," he'd said, "You were looking so pretty and I was just so annoyed that Bakugo and Kirishima said I didn't have it in me-"

She cut him off, "Wait. What? You kissed me to prove a point?"

"No, Ochako. I wanted to, I just-"

"And why haven't you talked to me about it all this time? Were you avoiding me?"

Deku looked away, "I didn't want either of us to get distracted."

Ochako had started feeling sick at this point. A feeling in her chest like her heart was being pulled into her stomach.

"Ochako-chan... I hadn't meant to kiss you originally and then things happened and I realized now wouldn't be a good time for us to get tangled up in this mess."

He was just saying worse and worse things and Ochako's head was spinning with heartbreak and anger and regret. He was saying he liked her but not as much as he wanted to be a hero and that took priority. It always would. And he'd called them together a mess.

"You're an idiot, Deku," she felt tears prick her eyes as her face burned with anger and humiliation, "You have known all this time. Since first year, that I..." She couldn't say it. She couldn't tell him she loved him like this.

"Yes, Ochako-chan and that's why I've wanted to be careful with you and why I don't want Bakugo-"

"STOP BRINGING UP BAKUGO!" she'd shouted at him finally, "Just stop. I'm not a delicate flower, Deku. Not physically or emotionally. You don't have to take care of me. And I don't want you to."

A tear rolled down her cheek, "You should've just talked to me. Turned me down if that's what you wanted to do. I wouldn't have been destroyed by it. I would've been okay. We would've still been friends. Now I just... can't even look at you."

Ochako moved to walk away but he had grabbed her hand, holding firmly, trying to pull her back in, possibly hug her.

She shook her head. He really did underestimate her. She'd snatched her hand away and pushed him back, allowing her quirk to lessen his weight so he would more fly than fall, then ran inside before releasing him.

They hadn't spoken since. She'd had to endure sitting behind him in class on Friday, giving him the cold shoulder if he'd so much as looked at her.

Then she'd also had to deal with Bakugo's glowering mood which had returned full force. Deku had been right that he wouldn't let up and had absently flipped pencil shavings in her direction through most of the morning lessons. Then, he somehow managed to "accidentally" scorch her hair in afternoon hero training.

Now, sitting with her friends to watch the first-year stage, Ochako let herself feel as down as she wanted. How could it be that in a time that she should feel most proud and excited, she felt like she had failed at so much? Why had she won a fight against Bakugo but felt like she'd lost her best friend in the process?

She let herself ponder these things, keeping her eyes on the field as the first-years were introduced. First, class 1-A led by that shiny boy— as she had taken to calling him— then class 1-B, and so on.

Her seat rattled as a heavy body plopped down next to her. She looked over to find Bakugo, soda in hand, already watching the festivities. Ochako slumped her shoulders in overdramatic disappointment.

To accentuate her displeasure she side-eyed him and said, "What do you want, Bakugo?" in the least friendly tone she could muster. In her head, she was throwing tiny punches at his face.

He didn't look at her, "Nothin. I'm watching the games."

She didn't believe him of course. Even if he'd sat there just to irritate her, that had been enough.

"There are lots of seats," she sniped.

"Oh really? I'd thought they were assigned," he shot back sarcastically.

She glared at him. He still didn't look at her.

"Stop staring at me, floaty," he finally said, giving her a smirk.

Ochako growled in frustration and turned back to the field as the first match was being announced.

The first round of the first-year stage was an obstacle rescue mission. Heavy, life-like dummies had been set up as hostages at one end of the stadium. The competitors had to start at the other, navigate the obstacles to the "hostages", then bring them back with minimal damage. If your hostage sustained any serious damage, you were disqualified. The first 50 competitors who made it back with an unmutilated hostage went on to the next round.

And so the round began.

Ochako was on the edge of her seat, watching as her kohai set about tackling each obstacle. There was first a long pool with attack robots roving the waters, then a wall with jagged rocks they had to climb, and finally a "forest" (which was really a bunch of fake trees) blazing with fire.

Some of the kids were already having issues just getting through to the hostages. The run to them was the easy part, she knew, and if they had difficulty with that, there was no way they would make it back.

She saw her shiny boy and a few others had already made it to the hostages and grabbed one. They seemed to have realized that carrying the weight of a human body was not as easy as it seemed. The carrying of the hostage was where they had to best utilize their quirks. For her, she knew something like that would be a breeze, and she did notice a very smart girl who had the ability to make things float with bubbles was encasing her hostage to make for easy carrying. Hopefully they weren't easy to pop.

As usual, the kids in the hero courses were leading the pack, though Ochako did see that there were a fair amount of kids from the support course making it through with some well-made gadgets.

Shiny boy had lost his lead to bubble girl (apparently, her bubbles were durable) in the flaming forest and looked like he was getting pretty mad about it. Ochako couldn't help but join in when the crowd started cheering as the first of the competitors got to the water obstacle. Bubble girl was having almost no trouble at all, while shiny boy's quirk didn't do much to help in this situation but he was still managing fairly well. He clearly had ambition.

Bubble girl finished first, followed closely by a boy who could make his body sticky and had easily been able to carry the hostage on his back. Third was shiny boy, somehow achieving his place through sheer strategy and willpower.

As time wore on, the first 50 were through but a good handful had not been able to keep their hostage from being maimed by one thing or another. A few of them even had missing body parts... Thus, they needed to wait until a few more competitors with qualifying hostages crossed, then were done.

Ochako was proud of her kohai, especially the hero course. All of 1-A and most of 1-B had made it into the next round. She found it was fairly easy to forget her worries and the jerk sitting next to her if she was focused on the excitement of the matches in front of her.

The event she had suggested was up next. The students were split into teams of five that they had to choose themselves and 20 balls were spread throughout the area of the field. When the match started, they would have to run for the balls and hit other players with them.

Each team would gain and lose points based on what body part of an opponent they hit, how many times their teammates were hit, and (to add another layer of difficulty) if they popped the ball. The balls were rather durable, being as thick and dense as basketballs. A popped ball would cost a team as many points as being hit in the chest five times. So the most interesting and important part of this game was seeing the teams coming up with ways to defend their teams and find ways to effectively hit other players with a ball without managing to pop it. They didn't necessarily have to throw them after all. There would be no outs, just the constant mayhem of being attacked from all sides for 20 minutes.

This was going to be so much fun! Ochako had seen that shiny boy and bubble girl chose to team up, which surprised her. She figured with the way bubble girl had shown him up the last round, he'd choose to be on an opposing team and target her just to prove he was the better athlete afterall. But he hadn't. Paying closer attention now, she could swear she saw shiny boy blush and look away whenever bubble girl smiled at him.

Well, she thought to herself, that's... unexpected. Maybe this boy wasn't quite as awful as the hot-head she knew afterall...

Her heart tightening at how adorable her new ship was, Ochako cheered with the rest of the crowd as the timer started for the game.

Immediately, balls started flying and she could see bubble girl throwing bubbles into the air to slow any that flew at them and make them catchable by the rest of the team. One boy, also from class 1-A it seemed, had six arms that were stretchable and he was their main attacker, throwing balls at incredible speeds and netting his team a bunch of points.

At one point, Ochako thought she even heard Bakugo cheering next to her as flashes of light filled the air and balls were thrown and rolled and covertly snuck past defenses. Ochako didn't turn to look though. Instead, allowing herself her own private moment of pride in her kohai and in her own work bringing this game to life.

When time ran out, shiny boy's team was at the top. Only the top 3 teams and one wild card from the fourth place team would make it through to the final round.

Each year, the final round was always a one on one single-elimination bracketed round. Their first year had been a stadium tournament match. Last year, they'd had to fight on a field of tall poles they needed to balance on and if you fell off, you lost. It hadn't been shocking to see Bakugo and Deku face off in that last round. Either was easily capable of staying on the poles for as long as they wanted. It had been a truly incredible final fight.

This year was going to be the best yet because they had to fight without actually touching each other. A true test of one's ability to use their quirk. For someone like Todoroki, it would be easy. But for someone like her, who would easily win in most cases if she could touch her opponent, it would be far more of a challenge.

The brackets were decided, then everyone broke for lunch and recreational games, which Ochako was fond of taking part in.

During the scavenger hunt, she was able to approach the bubble girl she'd seen from earlier.

"Hi!" Ochako greeted, "I'm Uraraka Ochako from class 3-A. I'll help you out finding whatever it is you're looking for."

The girl's face brightened, "Oh 3-A?! You must be Uravity! It's so amazing to meet you! I'm Hanajima Chitose! I've always been a big fan of your class and I've been following everything you've all done since your first year, especially Deku! Can you tell me what it's like to be in a class with Deku? I bet it's amazing!"

Ochako hesitated a moment. That starry look in Chitose's dark blue eyes made it pretty clear she was crushing hard on him. Unsurprising he'd have a fangirl following...

She laughed uncomfortably and said, "Oh, yeah, it's... pretty amazing..."

"Oh! I knew it! He seems so kind and wonderful!" she said as she twirled a finger around her curly black hair.

Ochako looked around nervously and spotted the shiny boy a few paces away, clearly listening to their conversation. He was looking at them, an unsurprised yet annoyed look in his icy grey eyes. When he saw she'd caught him looking, he walked away.

"Chitose-chan," Ochako said, "That boy with the light-up powers seems really strong. What can you tell me about him?"

"Oh that's Ito-kun. He placed first in our entrance exams. He's kind of an arrogant jerk because he's got such a great quirk. I'd like to say we're friends but he's not really friends with anybody," Chitose shrugged matter of fact, case closed.

Well, that certainly clears everything up, Ochako thought.

She led the girl around for a little while after, helping her find her items for the scavenger hunt, then went back to her friends to grab some lunch before the final round started.

By the time they arrived back, the first fight was already underway, shouts and loud cracks coming from the field below. Ochako retook her seat next to Bakugo who hadn't moved much save for a break for food and, presumably, the bathroom.

His eyes shifted to her when she sat next to him again.

"Plenty of seats in other places, Ochako-chan."

She looked at him with disdain. "So I guess you should be honored I chose to keep sitting next to you, Kacchan," she hissed under her breath so only he would hear.

She heard him grunt in annoyance at the name again. Funny how he thought he could informally use her name but the moment she threw his little pet name at him, it bugged him to no end...

In reality, she just really didn't want to sit any closer to Deku and her seat did give her a good view of the field. She'd just ignore Bakugo the rest of the day and hopefully they would survive this day without another throw down.

Luckily for her, the fights were fascinating. Some of these first-years already had an amazing handle on their quirks. Chitose (bubble girl) won her first round handily. No surprise when all she had to do was encase her opponent in a bubble and float them out of bounds before they figured out a way to pop it.

Ito also easily won by blinding his opponent and lasering them out of bounds. And, before she knew it, the first bracket of fights was over.

Sadly, Chitose lost in her second match to a boy who had the features of a bear. Her bubbles were no match for his sharp teeth and claws and he'd been able to knock her out by ripping up pieces of the stage and throwing them at her. She'd been able to stop the first few but was hit by the next ones he'd sent her way and tumbled out. It was a disappointing end for Chitose, who had held so much promise, but Ochako hoped she felt proud of how far she had come.

Soon enough, Ito was in the finals, facing off against the bear boy. The boy's strength was extensive as she saw him start flipping huge sections of stage toward Ito. But Ito seemed to be more deft than to be caught by rocks and was doing his best to blind his opponent again, even lighting his whole body to a blinding degree that everyone in the stadium had to look away.

But then, the bear boy let out a deafening roar and sent the whole stadium rumbling, the crowd all needing to cover their ears. Even all the way up here, Ochako felt the roar daze her and wondered if Ito had also been affected by it.

Looking down at the stage, she saw he'd fallen to his knees. It looked like his ears were bleeding. She stood up from her seat, wanting to see him better; wanting to cheer him on. Her heart squeezed in her chest for this boy who had worked so hard and had come so close to winning. Would this be it for him?

The bear boy lifted a large slab of rock, intending to swing it and knock Ito out of bounds or unconscious, whichever came first.

"Fight, Ito-kun! You can beat him!" Ochako cried, her screams only mixing in with the rest of the roar of the crowd.

Just as the bear boy went to swing the slab of stone, Ito lifted his hands and let two large laser blasts burst forth, hitting the bear boy square in the chest. He looked like it pained him to do it. This had to be an all-out attack and after this, he would be unable to fight any longer.

But it worked. The bear boy flew back, nearly hitting the stands with the force of the blow.

It was over. Ito slumped.

Ochako screamed with joy and bounced up and down, hugging her friends.

She turned to Bakugo to say... something. She wasn't sure what that something was or why she'd even wanted to speak to him at all. But he had gone some time between when she'd stood up and now.

After the awards were given (for which Ito had stood on the top podium, glaring down at everyone else), Ochako walked back to the dorms with Mina and Toru to make some dinner.

That evening, the whole dorm came together to confer about the first day of the Sports Festival. Everyone had been completely blown away by Ito's incredible abilities and no one doubted he would have any problem finding a pro-hero to intern under. Although, others had also noticed he'd had a bit of an attitude.

"Kinda like someone we know," Toru had said in a low voice.

Of course Bakugo heard her and went off on the whole class about just how much better he obviously was than "some runt."

Ochako received tons of compliments for coming up with the idea of the dodgeball game. Kirishima even mentioned that he hoped they'd get to play it some time.

That night, Ochako felt more content than most nights she'd had for a long while. Even her fight with Deku couldn't overshadow the joy she felt having watched such an exciting event, and soon, taking part in it herself.

"You're more than what this boy thinks of you," her mom's voice came into her head again. She had been right. Her falling out with him hurt. His noncommittal confession felt like a slap in the face. But there was so much more going on around her and she had so much more to offer than loving Deku. Knowing that was the first step to allowing her heart to heal.

Tomorrow, she would do this day all over again with the second-years. Then, the day after would be her turn. After the energy she'd gained from today, she was ready to show the world what she could do.

Chapter 7

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The third-year stage had come.

Ochako got up early to stretch with Mina and found most of the other girls had risen to do the same, the tension thick in the air as they limbered their limbs to prepare them for the long day ahead.

Another massive breakfast was set out like on the first day of school but not as many classmates partook in it. It seemed like no matter how many times they went in front of a crowd, many of them would always be nervous about it.

Ochako forced herself to wolf down a few pieces of sausage and rice, knowing she would need the energy later and not be feeling the nerves in her stomach quite as badly as she was now.

The second-year stage had gone much like the first, minus her having to sit next to Bakugo as he seemed to have chosen to skip watching the festivities that day. He had probably been out training all day to prepare. Not that it mattered to her what he did or didn't choose to do with his day...

After breakfast, Ochako traveled down to the stadium which was already filling up with fans. Many of them, she noted, were children dressing as their favorite heroes. Her heart warmed seeing them running around in their little All-Might and Mt. Lady costumes.

She went into the locker rooms and changed into her gym clothes, waiting with everyone else for the signal that they could enter the arena.

When the time came, she met up with her classmates. As usual, they would be the first to walk out, followed by 3-B.

The whole stadium erupted in a cacophony of cheers when they began to emerge and, somehow, managed to get even louder as Deku and Bakugo stepped out, only one of them waving. Ochako was close behind with Mina and Tsuyu on her flank.

All of the classes grouped up near the stage and Deku was brought forward to address the crowd as last year's winner.

"Thank you all for coming out today," he said sincerely, "This is our last year to show you what we can do. We've all worked hard and I know you're excited to get the events started. But first-"

He turned to his fellow classmates then. "I want to thank all of my classmates for making these past three years some of the best of my entire life," then his eyes met Ochako's, "and for the effort they've put into everything they've done. It's thanks to you we've all come so far."

Ochako felt her face go warm, knowing a lot of her peers were probably looking at her questioningly as he turned back to the crowd.

"Let's get the games started and have some fun! Plus Ultra!"

"PLUS ULTRA!" the crowd chanted back as he stepped off the stage.

"I gotta say, Midoriya-kun," Todoroki commented, "That speech was a lot better than the last couple years'."

Every eye turned to Bakugo then, whose brows knitted together in anger.

"What the fuck do you know, you half-n-half bastard?! You're probably just mad you never got the chance to be up there!"

Todoroki's only response was a shrug.

The students moved back to the entrance hall as a humongous hedge maze was erected, spreading the entirety of the field and taller than 10 feet. They must've employed Kamui Woods and at least 10 other pro heroes with some kind of wood ability to construct this maze.

Instructions were given over the loud speaker. Within this maze were small statues of pro heroes, 40 in all. The competitors were to go into the maze, find a statue, and get out. You were only allowed to have one but if you didn't have one, you could use whatever means necessary to take one from another competitor.

This seemed like such an easy task, especially for Ochako who could easily float above the walls and find any statue, then just float back. Could this really be it? She didn't think so. There had to be more to it.

A shot sounded the start of the game and all of the students surged into the humongous maze, quickly spreading out, going their own directions.

The first thing they all noticed was that the walls closed behind them, sealing them in and not allowing them to leave the way they'd come. They'd have to find a different exit.

Ochako learned quickly that her instincts were correct as Tsuyu attempted to climb above the walls and was promptly grabbed by branches that pulled her back in, tossing her unceremoniously onto the ground. So there was no way over...

Another concern was that those with fire quirks like Todoroki and Bakugo would be able to just blast their way through. (She could see Bakugo was already attempting it) But as soon as some of it was burned away, more would grow in its place. So there was no way through...

This had to be done how they had specified and there was no easy way to bypass the parameters. Even so, getting through a maze wasn't all that hard.

Ochako worked her way through the maze, looking around for any sign of a statue or something out of the ordinary. She passed by Kyoka using her quirk to determine the layout of the maze and wished she could ask her for help but knew she would get none. Yes, they were classmates and could even be considered friends but this was a competition. No one would help another person who could feasibly get ahead of them.

Then, the first of the screams rang out, sending chills running up her spine. It sounded scared.

Another scream came from a different direction, sounding pained. So there was something else going on in this maze as well. She had been right to be cautious.

"RUN!" she heard someone scream further off in the distance and the audience hooted and called out to the players all around.

Ochako wished she could see what was happening to the other competitors. No one was explicitly saying what they were running into but she assumed they were traps of some kind. It made her nervous to not know what to expect but she realized that that was probably the intent behind this round. Sometimes you couldn't see everything that was going on around you and you could tell bad things were happening to other people. Whether you panicked and ran or kept your wits about you to complete your task was an important part of being a hero.

Ochako took a moment to center herself, then redoubled her efforts in search of her query, always keeping an eye out for anything that looked suspicious.

She saw an explosion rise high above the walls and heard Bakugo yelling something - she couldn't quite make out what he was saying over the din of the crowd and the now almost incessant screams. What was causing so much chaos?

She rounded a corner and saw it. A statue of Rabbit Hero: Mirko! It was just sitting so obviously on a pedestal. How fortunate! And she hadn't even run into any traps!

Her extremely good fortune was suspicious to her in and of itself, though. There could be a trap connected to the pedestal or the statue. Any number of things could happen if she wasn't careful.

Ochako approached the statue cautiously, looking around it, under it, over it, behind it. She poked at the pedestal and nothing happened. She knocked the statue over and nothing happened as far as she could tell. She even waited for a few seconds to make sure nothing would come rushing out at her. She checked all around it and no string or trigger seemed to be attached. Everything seemed to be fine so she grabbed the statue and turned to start looking for a way out.

Immediately, she felt off-kilter, like she had back when she'd been a child and had spun around on the merry-go-round then tried to walk. It was a jarring feeling, but not something she didn't think she could handle. Was this what people were screaming about? She didn't think so. Third-year heroes in training - and even those not in the hero course - should be able to handle this much.

She moved away from the pedestal slowly, trying to regain her equilibrium as best she could. But as she turned the corner she had just come around, a thick black substance began seeping from the ground. It was difficult to move through and her shoes made sucking noises as she pulled her feet out of it every step. It seemed like it was getting higher with each stride further from the pedestal.

This, along with her dizziness was starting to become problematic, especially as the screams around her refused to cease and the flashes of other people's quirks strobed overhead every so often. But she kept walking, even as the muck approached her knees.

Then she felt it. Something cold and slimy had just touched her thigh.

Ochako froze, even as her pulse raced. She didn't want to look down. She knew she shouldn't. She knew she wouldn't like it. But she did anyway.

Resting on her thigh was a long-fingered, boney, almost corpse-like hand and just as she had looked down, a skull-shaped face emerged from the black sludge. Horror clutched her chest. She felt a scream clawing its way up her throat and couldn't hold it back. This was what everyone else had been terrified of.

Before she was able to open her mouth, someone quickly brushed past her, snatching the statue from her grip. Her dizziness and terror hadn't initially allowed her to see who it was but as the statue left her hand, her equilibrium returned and the sludge, along with whatever creature had grabbed her, vanished.

Ochako looked around in confusion. What had just happened? She heard someone cry out not far from her and raced toward the sound. That had to be the thief! And even if the statue had caused some sort of hallucinations, as she was coming to conclude, it was her key to the next round. She wouldn't let it get away, even if it meant a fight.

Rounding a few corners, she finally came upon someone she didn't see all too often, she thought he was in the Gen Ed course. What was his name again? Sora? Sato? It didn't matter, this dude had her statue.

He was furiously slapping around his waist like something was there but she saw nothing. When he finally saw her he screamed, "Help me please! They won't come off!" Genuine fear in his eyes.

Her eyebrows knit together in thought. She knew this was an illusion. She knew they wouldn't hurt him. He didn't.

"Give me the statue and I'll help you," she yelled to him over the din of the event. She felt a small amount of guilt tricking him this way but, to be fair, he stole it first...

"The statue?" he said, terror clouding his eyes.

"Yes!"

He hesitated for only a fraction of a second then screamed, "Fine!" and threw it over to her.

The moment she caught it, all of the horrible visions and feelings returned. But she was more mentally prepared this time and saw the realization and betrayal pass over his face.

"Hey!" he yelled, but before he could make a move against her, she touched him, causing him to float up and away from her, getting caught by the vines that wouldn't allow them above the hedges of the maze. She ran as fast as she could in her confused, and still rather terrified, state.

After turning enough corners to feel as though she couldn't be caught, she paused and dropped the statue, allowing herself to breathe and think more calmly. She knew she couldn't keep on in this state. She would never be able to concentrate enough to get out of the maze.

Then Ochako realized something she should have a little bit sooner than now. She poked the statue and floated it. As it floated, it did not cause her any discomfort. She released it, then picked it up and floated it a few inches off of her palm

This could work! It would be slow progress having to move forward while keeping it afloat but it was better than stumbling around in a stupor, being grabbed by monsters. Now to find a way out...

Ochako tried to determine her location on the field by looking up at the stadium's overhang. It looked like she might be close to the center and she needed to find the exit which had to be in the location of any of existing tunnels from the field. She wasn't sure which one would hold the exit or if they were all exits but she put one hand to the wall next to her, remembering that keeping your hand on the wall of a maze would assure you eventually got out.

She moved on. It was as slow as she had imagined but she was sure she was making progress as she turned this way and that, sometimes needing to go back the way she had come from a dead end.

Still, screams and the occasional cry for help sounded all around her. She came across people sometimes who were just laying on the ground crying, still clutching their statue. She even crossed a group at one point who was passing a statue around as the visions became too overbearing and she wondered how they were going to decide who got to keep it in the end.

After what felt like an eternity, Ochako found the blessed exit. The moment she entered the tunnel, she collapsed onto her hands and knees. This had been one of the most mentally grueling tasks that had been set in a Sports Festival.

When she moved further in, she found that a fair amount of people had already finished. She had to be somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Many of her peers were already sitting on benches and relaxing. Among them, Bakugo and Deku. She wondered to herself how they had managed without a quirk that would help make it easier.

"Uraraka-chan, I'm so glad you made it!" Momo's voice called out to her. She looked around this waiting area and found her standing over with Todoroki and Mineta.

"You figured out the trick with these things too?" she asked, holding out a statue of All Might as Ochako joined them. Their horrific hallucinations had stopped the moment they left the maze and were now safe to hold.

"Yeah," Ochako answered, demonstrating by floating her statue of Mirko.

"The moment I realized it, I just made a claw grip and carried it like that. Not very cool, I guess, but it got the job done," Yaoyorozu chuckled.

Ochako didn't even need to ask to know that Mineta had actually managed to use his brain and keep his statue (also of All Might) stuck to a ball from his head. Todoroki told her that he had encased his statue of Mt. Lady in ice.

"Has anyone else from our class shown up?" Ochako asked, looking around.

"I saw Sero running around here somewhere," Todoroki responded, "and, obviously Midoriya and Bakugo were some of the first to finish. They were here before I got here, somehow."

Again, Ochako wondered at the mystery of how they managed to finish so easily and so quickly.

More time passed and within another hour, the last of the statues had made their way out of the maze. By this time, the rest of class 3-A emerged, each holding a statue of their own, although all of them looked incredibly haggard. Ochako guessed that some of them had truly fought through and carried the statues.

Her class had grouped together and compared each other's statues. Some of them, like Momo's and Mineta's matched (and Ochako noticed Deku also had a Mirko statue). By looking around at other people's statues, there were, at most, 4 of any one statue and they were all of pro heroes. They all agreed that the statues had something to do with the next round.

As the maze was removed from the field and the kids still wandering the maze exitted, Todoroki asked, "Midoriya, Bakugo, how did you finish so quickly?"

Inside, Ochako was thankful that someone finally asked. Her curiosity was killing her but she would've never dared ask either with how sour her relationship with each of them was at present.

Deku fidgeted, looking down and finally said, "Well, actually I figured out pretty fast that the statue was the cause of the hallucinations so I just kinda took my jacket off, tied one sleeve to it and dragged it."

The whole class, including Ochako, groaned. It was pretty clear just by hearing everyone's reactions that almost no one else had thought of this very simple solution. That would've been even easier than what she had done! Ochako felt stupid, which was probably why Deku had been hesitant to share.

"I just grabbed it and ran through," Bakugo answered, "ain't no sludge monsters gonna slow me down."

He and Deku shared a look then and Ochako assumed they were remembering when Deku had tried to save him from a sludge-like villain before first year.

The whole class sighed at Bakugo. Of course that would be his solution...

A call went out for the competitors with statues to enter the stadium as the next game was announced and they all got up, ready to see what new monstrosity was in store for them next.

On the field, the stage was set up once more, Principal Nezu standing atop it to announce the next event.

"You've probably guessed by now that the statues you are holding have something to do with this next challenge and you would be right," he said into the microphone, "Usually, we allow you to pick your own teams for team events to see how well you can decide who you will work best with. But we already know by now that you can do this. There are also times when you have no choice in who is in your group and you have to make sure everyone can play to their strengths. This is your challenge for the second round! You are each holding a statue of a pro hero. There are only 4 of each hero. You will find the other competitors who share the same statue as you now and I will tell you what to do when you have finished."

Before she could turn to start looking for her teammates, Ochako felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Deku standing behind her looking awkward and uncomfortable.

"Uraraka-chan," he started. So he'd gone back to her family name. "I can feel that you're not ready to forgive me yet, and I understand that. I don't want to pressure you about that, even though I wish I could express how sorry I really am about everything. But since we'll be on the same team for this game, I was hoping we could set all that aside and work together like we've always done."

Ochako considered what he said. He was right that she wasn't ready to forgive, her heart still hurt every time she even looked at Deku. But she also knew he was right about needing to work together now. If she ignored him this whole time, it was highly likely they wouldn't make it to the next round.

She nodded, "Okay, Deku. For the sake of the team."

He smiled at her and she turned away from him. She didn't want to see that smile right now, even if they had just agreed to a truce.

"Uraraka-chan, do you have a Mirko statue?" a short, round boy with silver hair approached her. She recognized him. He was also a class representative this year for class 3-B. He had made it into the final round first year but had chosen to give his spot up as he hadn't felt like he had done anything for his team. She hoped he wouldn't feel the same this year.

"Yes, Shoda-kun! You're in the right place!" she answered. How fortunate were they that all three of them so far had worked together before?

Then another voice came, "This is the Mirko group?"

All three turned to see the owner of the voice. A boy with tan skin, dark blue hair, and the same color eyes stood before them, a Mirko statue in his hand. Ochako recognized him as well. The Gen Ed boy who had tried to steal her statue!

"You," she said in surprise, "how did you get a statue?"

"You guys know each other?" Deku questioned warily.

"Yeah, he tried to take my statue from me in the maze," Ochako responded. Though she didn't know why she was saying it accusingly. Taking a statue was a valid way to acquire one and had been encouraged.

He gave her a knowing smirk, "But you did a pretty good job of getting it back. I got this one by waiting at the exit and taking it from someone else."

That seemed a little devious to her. Once again, it wasn't against the rules but Ochako had to admit she felt a certain amount of relief that he wasn't a part of the hero course at UA.

A few minutes later Principal Nezu came back to the stage and continued his announcement.

"Ok, everyone! You are all in your groups. Now to find out what your challenge is. Some may find this easier than the last one, some may find it harder, but I assure you that how well you work with and know your teammates is what will get you far," he paused for dramatic effect, "The next challenge is what we call Kings of the Mountain, Kings of the Valley!"

The crowd cheered but the competitors looked around at each other, not sure what at all that could be.

"Here is how it works!" he brought up a screen on the stage and the jumbotrons copied larger versions of what he was showing them. "Your objective is to be in control of one of these four things by the end of the round, 30 minutes from the start."

"The top of this column!" A concrete column large enough to fit two king size beds erupted from the ground coming to a stop at maybe 30 feet high, along with a handful of smaller columns, presumably usable to get up to the top of it.

"This pavilion!" A wooden pavilion just as large emerged from the ground, only staying at ground level, roots rising up around it and forming a roof above it.

"This glass tube!" A long, approximately three foot glass tube was brought to the stage.

"And," he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small cylindrical shiny gold object, "this pen!"

Okay, Ochako thought to herself, so the pen will be the easiest to keep but also the hardest to get from someone else. She was already considering which of these four things would be easiest to take and defend.

"The four teams holding these four things by the end of the round are the ones who will move on. If you've been holding it for 29 minutes and it's taken from you in the last minute, the other team still moves on. This challenge is not just about defensive and offensive capabilities but knowing what your strengths are and devising strategy. Keep that in mind," the principal concluded.

Kaminari lifted his hand and asked, "What if a team has two or more when time ends?"

Principal Nezu smiled, "If your team is able to do this, they will get to move on and select which of the objects they finished in control of for the last 7 teams to fight over in a sudden death round."

The crowd cheered again, probably hoping for a situation like that to occur.

"You have five minutes to prepare and the round will start immediately after!" Principal Nezu called, "Good luck, all!"

A shot sounded to start the 5 minutes and Ochako turned to her team swiftly, ready for planning.

"Okay, which should we go for first?" she started.

"The pen would be easiest to keep," Deku suggested, "They didn't say we couldn't hide it."

"Yes, but I think a lot of people will be after that," Ochako cut in.

"Wait, hang on," Shoda interjected, "Nezu said this challenge also depends on strategy and knowing your teammates' strengths. I think we should all start by saying what our quirks are."

Ochako had to admit, he had a point. She wasn't even sure how his quirk worked or even what this other boy's name was. Knowing more about the team would help them make a plan. She nodded.

"Uraraka Ochako, my quirk is zero gravity. I can make anything I touch weightless and can also lighten the weight of things now," she said, looking at Deku to go next.

"Midoriya Izuku, my quirk is super power. I can increase the strength of my body to move faster and attack harder, I have a few other things I can do but I don't have complete control over everything, though," Deku looked down, a bit embarrassed but Shoda just nodded.

"Shoda Nirengeki, my quirk is twin impact. I can hit a mark and then make that thing take a second, more powerful hit," he said. Deku nodded. Ochako could tell he was already considering their synergies in his mind.

"Saito Haruka, my quirk is superheating. I can make my body extremely hot, and even superheat most things I touch," the blue-haired boy supplied, "And I don't think we should go for the pen. Or anything for that matter."

Ochako frowned in confusion, "What? Why?"

"I think we should wait and consider our options. See who's going for what and which object is least defended."

"So you want to steal one at the end like you did last round," Ochako challenged him, feeling disdain for his style of competing.

He looked at her, his dark blue eyes glittering with mirth, "It worked, didn't it?"

Ochako rolled her eyes.

"He might be right, Uraraka-chan," Shoda considered aloud, rubbing his chin in thought, "Our team is well equipped for a quick ambush attack but isn't strong at defense so we probably couldn't hold anything against a highly offensive team, even with someone as strong as Midoriya-kun."

She considered the merits of what he was saying, looking around at her team. Deku was, of course, great at hand-to-hand combat, but she, while capable of it, was not made for it. Shoda could be good at it but she wondered if he ever really trained his quirk for combat rather than more utilitarian aspects. Same with Saito.

She sighed in resignation, "I guess you're right. So what should we do?"

Deku spoke up then, "Ok guys, I have a plan."

The second shot rang out signifying the start of the second round and, immediately, every team shot in the direction of the object they were intending to capture. At least four teams went straight for the pen that had simply been laid on the ground near the stage and were now fighting over it, Tsuyu having been the first to grab it, darting her tongue out and pulling it to her.

Ochako didn't have time to watch what happened between them, as she ran with her team toward the pavilion. Iida was already speeding toward it, a smallish-looking girl on his back.

He reached it first, the smaller girl immediately jumping off and beginning to spit what looked like spider silk from post to post.

Ochako hesitated, not wanting to run into what could be a very sticky substance, if that girl had spider silk like it seemed. The rest of his team reached them, two students from 3-B.

She halted with her team a few feet away from the pavilion, considering. But before they were able to confer to make a further plan, Ochako heard Bakugo's absurdly obnoxious warcry as he ran in, explosions flying from his hands and burning the webbing all around the pavilion. She was surprised no one standing in it had been burned. Although she was unsure if that had been someone inside thinking fast or Bakugo actually managing to be mindful for once.

His teammates ran up moments later. Todoroki, Monoma from class 3-B, and a boy with some support gear on, meaning he was from the support course.

Well this team seems overpowered, Ochako commented in her head. She looked at her teammates, knowing they would all agree that this was not a fight they should take. So they backed up, assessing the skirmishes going on around them.

"We shouldn't waste our energy unnecessarily," Deku had said as part of his plan earlier, "If you think we can add to the chaos of a fight without being sucked into it, do it. But don't commit to trying to take an object until the end, like Saito-kun suggested. Always keep your eye on the clock."

Ochako looked up at the clock now. Only a few minutes had elapsed. They had plenty of time.

Looking around, only three teams seemed to be fighting over the pen now and the glass tube was nowhere in sight. More people were heading toward the pavilion for reasons she couldn't discern. Two more teams looked to be trying to penetrate the defenses set up by Momo and Mineta's team at the top of the column. They had Hatsume, who was obviously trying to peddle more of her inventions again, and another girl from class 2-B.

Mineta had thrown his sticky balls all over the surfaces of the columns leading up to the top. Momo had created fences as a barrier around the outer edge of the top of the column, and Hatsume had little drones circling to keep an eye out for attackers. It was like a fortress. The truth of which was proven each time another team made a new attempt to take the ground and were swiftly ousted. If they ever did make it onto the platform itself, the 3-B girl would launch the horns on her head at them and knock them off again. It was almost unfair.

Ochako turned to Deku who addressed them all, "Ok, keep an eye out and wait for openings."

So they waited.

After 15 more minutes had passed, it looked as though the teams that controlled the objects at present would be the ones to pass the round. Bakugo and Todoroki's team had easily ousted Iida's team and were now set up on the pavilion to make it near untouchable. Tsuyu's team had lost control of the pen and it looked as though no one really knew who did have it. The same could be said for the glass tube, which Ochako hadn't seen since the start of the match. She wondered how such a large glass tube could just disappear like that but since it had never been a target for her team, she didn't want to consider it too much when other matters were more pressing. Momo and Mineta's team had never lost control of the column.

In the turmoil of fighting with each other over the needed objects, the rest of the teams never noticed Ochako's standing away from the brawl. She knew it was time to move.

She looked at her teammates thinking back to Deku's plan.

"We have a particular advantage to taking the column," he had said. "We don't need to use the stepping platforms to get up to it. We should wait and make it seem like we have no interest in it all the while watching who takes it; how they set up their defenses, what the weak points are. In the last five minutes, Uraraka-chan will float us up there as stealthily as possible and we will take the platform in one quick movement. Shoda-kun and I will push forward on the frontlines, Uraraka and Saito will stick on the backlines and take care of things long range. Grab rocks ahead of time, if you can, and Saito can superheat them before you shoot them."

Sero's team began another attack, pulling himself and Sato up to the top of the column with his tape like it was a grappling hook. Hatsume's drones caught sight of them and sounded an alarm to alert the team. Mineta started throwing sticky balls down at them and Hatsume used a glove she had created to start firing lasers at them. The rest of the team held back and readied themselves for an ensuing fight.

"Now," was all Deku needed to say for the team to jump into action. They sprinted to the base of the column. Ochako saw that a drone had noticed their approach and was about to set off another alarm but she silenced it with a pebble she shot at it. With the rest of the chaos going on around them, Hatsume's team didn't notice the missing drone.

They reached the base and Ochako laid her hands on each of her teammates' backs.

"You're going to rise quickly," she cautioned them, "Stay on guard and be ready to attack the moment I release you."

Her teammates nodded and they floated up up up. Ochako saw Deku to her left begin to shine as he powered up his body for a fight. Saito was on her right, looking very red, turning redder by the second and taking on a glow. She realized this was his quirk. He was superheating like the coils of a stove

They lifted higher and higher, finally reaching the platform. Ochako lifted them up over the fences and released, dropping them a few feet to the ground. Immediately, Deku and Sado shot forward, Sado surprisingly keeping up with Deku. His quirk really was something after all.

Ochako pulled debris from her pockets that she'd been collecting while time had passed. Chunks of wood and stone lifted from her hands and she held it out to Saito who swept his hand over them, heating them quickly. She felt the heat emanating from his skin as he passed his hands close to her. It felt like the blast of heat you get from opening an oven. Just how hot could he get?

Deku was already locked in combat with Momo, who had produced a sword to keep him away. Apparently, she had learned a fair amount of weapons combat for occasions like this.

Sado was busy running to grab Hatsume's many contraptions and thrust them away from her. Her defenses were weakening by the second.

The horn girl and Mineta turned to Ochako and Saito. Ochako shot some of the debris she'd floated as Mineta began throwing sticky balls at and around them. She wasn't sure if he was even aiming at anything. When a heated piece hit one of the globes, it would hiss and melt, rendering it useless. That was helpful!

The horn girl shot her horns at Ochako but she dodged away and threw more heated debris at them. Horn girl didn't immediately regrow horns and was defenseless for now. That gave her an opening. She made a dash for her, readying her quirk to throw her up into the air. But something stuck on her foot, sending her flying face-first into the ground. She looked down, one of Mineta's stupid sticky balls! Uuugggh!

"Sorry, Ochako-chan, I won't make it that easy," Mineta flashed a wicked grin.

She pulled at her foot but it wouldn't come unstuck! This couldn't be how she lost a fight! Saito ran for her, one of the horns that had been shot at them glowing in his palm. Mineta kept trying to throw the orbs and catch him but he was too agile. Ochako was feeling pretty thankful right about now for his ability to slink around. He reached her, jamming the horn into the orb, the hissing sound signifying that it no longer stuck.

"Fly," he said, as they both dodged another shot from the horn girl who had finally regrown another set.

Ochako didn't understand what his plan was but obeyed, zeroing out her weight and soaring into the sky. As she floated above, she saw that Sado had been able to wrest the sword away from Momo and now both she and Hatsume were spent. They'd been fighting other teams so long, Momo didn't have enough lipids to produce anything else. The sword had been her last resort.

Saito was glowing brighter, burning hotter. She could feel the heat rippling off of him from where she was. The people still on the platform must've been sweltering. She could see Mineta and the horn girl's faces turning red and starting to sweat. They were backing away toward their other teammates now.

Deku and Sado could feel it now too. They turned to him, concern written on their faces.

"Wait," Deku said, attempting to take a step toward him but his heat was too much, "Saito! We won!"

"We haven't won until they're off the platform," Saito responded, glowing brighter still.

Fear registered on Mineta's face.

"Saito, stop! You'll hurt them!" Ochako yelled. Even she was sweating floating above them.

He shook his head, "We all knew that was a possibility when we competed."

She looked to Deku who was gritting his teeth. He could jump down and be ok if he needed to but the others? They had nothing that would keep them from being injured if they jumped. Momo was out of lipids and Hatsume's gadgets were flung away. Deku could carry one, maybe two of them but there were FIVE other people on that platform he would have to take care of. She could see Deku was trying to figure out the same thing. Everyone's skin was starting to turn red with exposure to Saito's heat. How much hotter could he go? Tears came to Hatsume's eyes but were just evaporating as they fell.

Ochako knew what she needed to do.

She released herself and plummeted toward the platform, feeling more like she was plummeting past the gates of hell. She barrelled into her classmates, throwing them all off the edge of the platform and reducing their weight as they fell, making for a slower, softer landing. The air cooled as they descended.

Momo and Hatsume swallowed her in hugs crying "Thank you, Ochako-chan!" Their skin was still dark pink like they'd gotten a severe sunburn. Looking around at the rest, she saw all of her classmates who had been up there were burned this way.

The rest of the competitors had stopped their battles as well as they watched what happened.

A buzzer sounded loudly, making her jump. The round was over...

The moment it did, her other classmates rushed to them, the game forgotten.

"Is everyone ok?" Iida asked, sliding to a stop before them as his leg pipes steamed.

"Yes, I think they're just burned," Ochako breathed, "Recovery Girl should be able to handle this in no time."

"In the meantime, I'll help you," Todoroki stepped forward, laying a thin layer of frost on each person's skin. As it covered her, Ochako shivered but reveled in the coolness of it. She heard the rest of her teammates sigh as well.

She looked around at all the faces surrounding her, trying to help her and the others. She was so thankful for every one of them.

As she lazily scanned the crowd, her eyes caught on a pair of red ones. Bakugo. He looked livid, outraged. His face was pulled back in a grimace. So even he wouldn't stand for this gross disregard for fellow classmates' wellbeing...

He broke their eye contact to look up. Ochako followed his gaze to see a heat wave pulse from the platform and subside. Saito was probably cooling down now.

She wanted to go up there and confront him right now. She wished they would lose for what he had done, as much as it would pain her to do so. They didn't deserve this win.

Medics were rushing onto the field and began assessing the damage done to all of the competitors, most specifically the teams that had been burned on the platform. When it was established they were fine to walk, they were escorted away from the field.

It was this moment Saito chose to make his way to the ground and approach his teammates.

"Hey guys! Don't look so glum! We won!" he said, following behind Ochako who had been last to leave the field.

Before thinking better of it, Ochako turned and planted a right hook directly on his cheek. Saito flew back, landing squarely on his butt.

He looked dazed, "What? Why? We won!"

"We don't deserve it, you idiot," she spat, "Now it's easy to tell why you're not in the hero course. No hero, even the ones I think are the most contemptible, would ever put anyone in danger like that. Enjoy the win, Saito."

She left him stunned and surrounded by hero course students all looking ready to kill.

Recovery Girl was able to patch them up over the intermission. Of course, they had to rest while the recreational activities went on and it was VERY uncomfortable for Ochako to watch as her skin quickly peeled away to be replaced by new, undamaged skin. She felt like a lizard and it was grossing her out.

The winners of the last qualifying round were announced while they were being treated.

Todoroki and Bakugo's team were obviously the first announced for controlling the pavilion. It had to have been a cakewalk for them.

Next, was Tsuyu's team for controlling the glass tube. Ochako had always wondered what had happened to it. According to another person being treated, Honenuki Juzo from class 3-B had been on their team. He'd been able to soften it enough to reform it into a smaller, more manageable size. And since that wasn't against the rules, they had easily won with everyone else looking for a large tube and not the thick glass gauntlet he'd formed around his wrist.

Mina's team was third to be announced for controlling the pen. She wasn't sure what they had done but the team had been made up of Mina, Aoyama, Kaminari, and Kyoka. If four class 3-A students couldn't make their way to the final round, their placement in their course would have probably been brought into question.

For the last spot, Ochako and Deku both argued that their team shouldn't have it.

"We don't want to win like this," Deku explained, "It's not right!"

But Momo shook her head, "No, you do deserve it. You would've won regardless. It's not your fault Saito-kun got out of hand. Your plan was good and you should be the ones to move on."

Ochako wanted to argue further. She didn't want to win when her teammate had been so careless. But none of the other team would hear any more of it. They accepted their loss. So Ochako's team moved on to the final round.

By the time the recreational events were over, Ochako and the others were feeling better and were finishing up lunch when she, Deku, and Shoda were given their bracket matchups, which had been chosen before the break.

She had been matched against Monoma the first round. That left her feeling pretty confident.

Sure, he could pick up a few quirks from people just before getting to the platform but all she had to do was last five minutes for his borrowed quirks to run out and he wouldn't have any quirks to use any longer. She didn't think it would be simple, but she also didn't expect it would be all that difficult either.

Deku had been placed against Juzo. Unfortunate for him (Juzo that was). Few people could match up against Deku. She doubted Juzo was one who could.

Shoda had been paired with Bakugo and Ochako really felt for him. She could see him start shaking as he looked at the brackets on the screen in the cafeteria. He had opted out of fighting the first year and hadn't made it into the final round the second. This was the first time he was actually going to fight in the final round and his first match was with Bakugo?

She laid a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, "Good luck, Shoda. Just give it your all. It doesn't matter if you win or lose as long as you look like a hero doing it."

He smiled weakly at her, "Thank you, Uraraka-chan..."

Soon enough, they were being called to ready themselves for the final competition of the Sports Festival. Ochako's was the very first match of this round so she went out onto the field while everyone else waited and watched from the stands.

Ochako was feeling more confident than ever as she approached the stage and the cheers went up. Monoma gave her some kind of witty retort and was acting over-confident as usual.

She didn't even have to wait five minutes for his quirks to run out as he tried to ambush her the moment they were ordered to begin.

She knew he wasn't allowed to touch her but his hands were splayed out before him like he was holding something in them. She looked closer, seeing clear was in them. Something sparked in her memory. A boy in 3-B had a solid air quirk. He could solidify air. That was probably what he was using!

Am I a joke to you? she thought, giving him an annoyed look as she sidestepped him, grabbing the clear orb from his grasp. She swung it around to his back, careful not to touch him, floating the ball and, by design, him as well. She pushed them both out of the ring and released, letting them fall into the dirt.

And that was it. Her first round was won. Anticlimactic but a win nonetheless. But it left her feeling underwhelmed and charged up with no outlet. She'd wanted a fight. She wanted to prove to herself, and to others, that she was deserving of her spot here. Now she would have to hope her next round would give her that

Principal Nezu announced her the winner. The crowd hooted and whooped for her, apparently not that disappointed that the match hadn't been very long.

Monoma exited the other side of the stadium as she walked to the tunnel leading back to the waiting rooms. She passed Kaminari on his way out to the stage, high-fiving him in the process. He'd been on Tsuyu's team.

Bakugo was standing just inside the tunnel entrance, likely waiting for his turn as he was the match after next.

She shot him a warning look as if to say, "Don't even start with me." And maybe that had been the wrong move when she saw a gleam come into his ruby eyes. Bakugo always took any warnings as a challenge and she should've known that.

"Entertaining match, floaty" he smirked, his eyes following her as she passed next to him.

"I'm not in the mood for another little tete-a-tete, Bakugo," Ochako grumbled, trying to ignore his prying gaze, "Don't try me right now."

"Or what? You've gotten pretty full of yourself lately, Ochako-chan," he commented.

Ochako stopped a few paces away. She didn't want to rise to his extremely obvious bait but she also didn't want to back down from any challenge he made against her. Why was he trying to get into it with her right now? He had to fight a real match in just a few minutes. If they got into another fight now, it could mess a lot of things up.

"If you think I won't put you in your place right here and now, Kacchan," she saw the smirk slide from his face at that name. What an easy button to push, she inwardly shook her head. "you're sorely mistaken."

"Try me, floaty," his eyes grew bright, that savage intensity sparking to life in them again. He took a step toward her. He was itching for a fight, kinda like she was. Just wait a few minutes and you'll get your chance at- Oh right. His opponent was Shoda. Unlikely to give him a real challenge, she was sorry to say.

A part of her considered putting more space between them as he moved forward again but she knew showing him any sign of fear now would only make him feel like he'd won and, for some reason, that just did not sit well with her. She briefly remembered when she'd last angered him. How he had grabbed her neck. How he had crowded her space. His hot breath across her face. It could go that way again if she wasn't careful...

Her skin prickled and her heart began to pound. He had scared her then, but since that night, she had bested him in a fight, and this time... This time he wouldn't intimidate her so easily. She had wanted a real fight on stage. She hadn't gotten it. If Bakugo wanted to present her with one now, she would take it with vigor.

She took a step toward him, "You are wrong if you think you can scare me, Kacchan."

His eyes flared at her challenge. His expression was so stoic but his crimson eyes were wild. He looked barely leashed.

A charge of electricity shot through her. He was going to do this. He actually thought he could face off against her before his own fight. What an arrogant jerk!

"And you're wrong if you think I won't ruin your whole day, Occhako-chan," he growled, his voice dangerously low.

They both stared each other down, less than a yard separating them. His molten eyes burned into hers as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She could tell he was barely containing himself from going for her but he was probably waiting for her to make the first move. He likely wanted to have a good reason to act against her when he finally did.

He blinked slowly at her. Ochako moved, lightening her weight and pushing off the ground. She crashed into him, slamming him against the concrete wall, balling the front of his gym suit in her fists.

She growled through bared teeth in his face, "You-"

By the time she realized he'd let himself be wide open for her, he was already grabbing hold of her, twisting and slamming her back to the concrete instead. She only had a moment to see the leash snap in those glowing red orbs before his mouth greedily met hers.

A spike of heat rose through her body and all thought left her as his lips crashed against hers, pulling her close. She kissed him back furiously, ravenously, like he was food to her starving body. Their tongues met and battled, eliciting an animalistic growl deep in his chest.

Ochako clutched at his shirt, pulling him closer still and he pressed his entire body against hers as their tongues danced.

She let her hands roam his gigantic toned back, gliding over the thickly layered muscle. The burning matches smell filled her nose and she reveled in it this time, letting it permeate through her mind like a drug.

His large hands rested gently on either side of her head and neck, thumbs lightly stroking her cheeks. One of his thighs rested between hers and she melted at the contact. Grabbing his hips, she pushed them further into hers and she felt him buck beneath her grasp, his hard length pushing against her hip.

He broke their kiss and hissed, bringing one of his hands back to fist in her hair. He pulled her head back and her collar down to expose her neck and a gasp escaped her lips as he licked from her collar bone to her jawline.

She dug her nails into his lower back and he bucked against her again, biting her where her shoulder met her neck and growling into her hot skin.

"You... make me... crazy...," he breathed hotly into her ear.

Ochako's heart beat wildly, warmth pooling between her legs as he ground his hardness into her hip again. She found herself gripping his hair and pulling his face back to hers, wanting to taste his mouth again.

His kisses were so passionate, so carnal. She felt swept up in his need and his tempestuous nature. She groaned into his mouth when she felt him grab her ass and grind her into his leg.

She was drowning. She couldn't think. She could hardly breathe. And Bakugo was... was...

Ochako's mind finally caught up to her desire and forced her to swallow it. She violently pushed him away, gasping to catch her breath and cool herself down.

"What-" was all he could say, still in a haze of desire.

Unable to think of anything better to do, Ochako turned on her heel and walked away.

She wanted to yell at him, slap him, hurt him. But she had kissed him back. She hadn't known it until it happened but she had wanted him to kiss her. And knowing that stayed her hand. She just kept walking, putting one foot in front of the other, back toward the waiting area. It was all she could do to keep walking and not look back when he called to her only once.

What had he done?

What had she done?

Notes:

Sorry it was so long BUT IT WAS WORTH IT AMIRITE?!

P.S. I made up Kings of the Mountain, Kings of the Valley. It's not a real game. It's just pretty much like multi-King of the Hill

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku

"Deku."

Midoriya Izuku froze as he heard his nickname growled a few paces behind him.

Kacchan. Was he already going to be hurling insults and trying to start arguments so soon? It was Sunday, the day before the first day of the new school year. Their third year. It was move-in day and he was coming in to get his room assignment before bringing all of his belongings in.

"Kacchan," Midoriya responded warmly, yet warily, turning around to face him, "What can I do for you?"

"What can I do for you? Gimme a break, idiot," Bakugo mocked, rolling his eyes. He took a measured step toward Midoriya, "It's the last year of school and I decided, fuck it."

He paused for a second, looking like he was frustratedly getting some thoughts together.

Midoriya furrowed his brows in confusion, "Uhhh I'm not quite-"

Bakugo cut him off. "I used to think you were weak, useless, nothing, quirkless Deku. You showed me up pretty bad in first year, I'll give you that. You might have even surpassed me, I don't know, I doubt it though," he scoffed. That probably pained him to say.

He took a few more steps toward Midoriya, his voice getting a little lower with more of an edge, "You've won so fucking much since we came to this school, you scum. You keep fucking getting all the attention, all the accolades when it should've been me. I hated that shit. Still kinda do, but I sucked it up. That's what happens when All Might chooses you as his successor, I guess. Doors just magically open for you."

It was at this point Midoriya thought Kacchan might be trying to make amends in his own weird way. Maybe try to sew a friendship from a rivalry that had been treacherous and even brutal at times. He swallowed hard, not wanting to interrupt in case anything he did would scare him off.

But, then he kept talking.

"But there's one thing that's always bugged me, right in the very back of my mind, Deku," he said tapping a finger to his head, "Something I can't get past. So I decided, fuck it. This year is my year."

Midoriya's shoulders tensed a bit at this. So this wasn't going to be a pleasant exchange afterall...

"You've had her for, what, pretty much the last two years?" Kacchan asked. His scarlet eyes digging into Midoriya's emerald ones.

Midoriya frowned. "Wha? Who?" he asked, more cautious than ever.

"Oh you fucking know who, Deku," Kacchan smirked momentarily before receding back into a scowl. "She keeps giving you those big doe eyes and following you around like a puppy. She thinks she's not obvious. Keh," he scoffed again.

Alarm bells were sounding in Midoriya's head. He felt himself start sweating. What exactly was Kacchan trying to say here?

"You've known," Kacchan continued, "You've known since first fucking year. I know, because everybody knows. And what have you done about it? This chick so obviously tripping over herself for you. You've done nothing. Not acknowledged her, not returned her feelings, not turned her down. Nothing. Just strung her along and let her keep being pathetic. For you."

Midoriya stared at the ground, his entire body going rigid. Something inside of him was going numb. He felt bombarded and defensive. But... Bakugo was right. He'd known for a long time Uraraka, had feelings for him and had been trying to hide it really really badly.

"Well, not anymore, motherfucker," Bakugo snapped, "I'm taking her now. I'm gonna show her what a real man can be like. And you won't win this time, Deku."

A defensiveness pulsed in Midoriya. Is he serious? he thought to himself. Kacchan had never shown even an inkling of interest in Uraraka. He was all about being strong, being a hero. He didn't think Kacchan even wanted a relationship, like ever.

But, his mind supplied without his leave, it might not be a relationship he's looking for from her.

Just that thought made him feel cold all over his body. Something like jealousy? - Rage? Protectiveness? - inching cold fingers through his nerves.

"She thinks you're awful," Midoriya ground out between clenched teeth.

Bakugo's eyes narrowed at him, then he gave another small smirk and leaned into Midoriya, getting right next to his ear, "All the better. It'll be more fun to see her change her mind. And I kinda want to see the look on your face when she does. I hope it's as good as this one."

"I wont-" Midoriya started.

"You won't let me? Is that it, Deku?" Bakugo interrupted, "You can't stop me. This isn't a cute little warning to get you to finally make a move, dumbass. You know I'm not the type of guy to give you a chance to catch up. It's a warning to get out of the way cuz I'll tear you apart. That and I just wanted to see how you'd look when you finally realized you'd lost something you thought you'd always have."

Midoriya ground his teeth until he could hear it in his ears. All he could think was, shitshitshit.

"What's going on here?" a surprisingly authoritative feminine voice came from further up the walkway.

Midoriya started and looked up to see Uraraka standing there, her hands on her hips, a determined look on her face, wearing the most adorable sundress he'd seen her in. Oh god, he'd fucked up with her. He'd fucked up worse than he'd ever fucked up ever.

Bakugo huffed a tiny almost inaudible laugh. "Do you want something, round face?" he said, turning to look at her.

Midoriya saw her lips flatten into a thin line at his name for her, her cheeks getting a little flushed.

"Yeah, Bakugo," she responded, "I want to know why you're always picking on Deku."

Bakugo turned back to him for a moment and said in a near whisper that only Midorya could hear, "And the game begins, Deku. Enjoy the show," then turned away.

—-

Bakugo Katsuki

Bakugo Katsuki was trekking back to the dorms from the corner store after grabbing snacks for the study group meeting in Kirishima's room in a few minutes. He'd drawn the short straw to get snacks while everyone else set up and, obviously, he didn't blow off his responsibilities.

Bakugo was stressed out. Schoolwork was good. Herowork was good. His "wooing" (if one wanted to be exceedingly generous by calling it that) of Uraraka was not.

He'd talked so big to Deku that first day. Acted like he knew what he was doing and had a plan all laid out. He'd actually been pretty impressed by his own "steal your girl" attitude.

He'd wanted to get closer to her, to steal her attention away from Deku. He'd said it was to not allow Deku to win, yet again, but Deku's relationships didn't matter a good goddamn to Bakugo. It was her who mattered to him.

He'd wanted to impress her, to play coy and get her flustered. God her flustered face drove him insane. And the day she'd tried to stand up to him, talked back to him with her little pink face all scrunched up and angry, he'd damn near lost control and grabbed her right then. To kiss? To bite? To lick those thickly muscled thighs she'd been showing off in that adorable dress that day? He didn't know and he was scared of himself at how he'd wanted to do any and all of those things.

Ochako had always been cute and sweet and it wasn't all too common of heroes in this line of business. It was smarter to be calculating or cool or authoritative. Her cuteness always surprised and enticed him. But when she'd tried so goddamn hard and kept pushing until she fell over from exhaustion during their fight at the Sports Festival a couple years back, he'd felt himself beginning to fall.

Her cuteness had been appealing, but her strength and that look of unwavering fight on her face had squeezed his heart so tightly, he had dreamed of the day she might show him that face again.

Then move-in day happened and his wish had been granted. And right after having resolved to win her over from Deku, the idiot. He could hardly even believe his luck.

Uraraka clearly thought that their confrontation had been the cause of this extra attention he was giving her this year, but that had just been a happy coincidence and he was more than willing to use it as an excuse.

Two familiar silhouettes stood outside the dorm building as he approached. When he heard Uraraka's nervous voice say, "Deku?" his heart froze.

"Uraraka... No. Ochako-chan," Deku's voice came.

Nice fucking try, Deku, you goddamn coward, Bakugo thought as he came closer and their faces became more clear. Uraraka was lit up like a Christmas tree.

Ugh. Why for this idiot? he asked himself, not for the first time.

Deku was shifting around nervously facing away from him. Both were so wrapped up in their own little world, they didn't notice him.

Deku continued, "I need to talk to you about-"

"Oi!" Bakugo heard himself call. No you don't, Deku, he thought, I told you, you're too late.

He saw both of them jump and turn to him. Uraraka shot him a glare but he didn't send her one back. Her attempts at rattling him only endeared her more to him and the best he could do was ignore them if he didn't want to just out and say something desperate or fall to his knees in front of her.

"What do you need, Kacchan?" Deku asked, a little bit of anger tinging his voice. Bakugo mentally rolled his eyes, he could never manage to be very intimidating.

Then, that motherfucker stepped in front of Uraraka. That caused a vein to pulse slightly in his temple.

Not letting his irritation show yet, he continued his leisurely pace until he reached them, then said, "What makes you think I'm talking to you, Deku?" letting his eyes finally meet Uraraka's. She looked flustered again and his heartstrings tightened at her unknowingly pouted lip.

"Kacchan, you need to-" Deku started.

"What I need is for you to get out of my way, Deku," Bakugo cut him off, meeting his gaze again, lips curling back from his teeth. Did you forget? he thought, knowing Deku hadn't.

Uraraka peeked out from behind Deku to catch his eye again, "Fine, what do you want with me, Bakugo?"

His focus back on her, he placed his hand on Deku's arm to push him out of the way but Deku wouldn't back down.

Oh you really don't want to play this game with me right now, he thought as his eyes narrowed to slits and he felt his skin begin to prickle with sweat.

"I told you... To get. Out. Of. My. Way, Deku," he growled low.

Deku still stood firm, "Back off of her, Kacchan. We were busy before you-"

Why didn't this guy ever get the hint? Bakugo didn't want to hear his voice. He didn't want to see his face. And he definitely did not want to see him acting like Uraraka was someone who mattered like that to him now.

Sparks caught in his free palm and he nearly swung at Deku when, as though she had her own speed quirk, Uraraka shot between them, knocking Deku to the side a few paces and himself back one. He realized she'd used her quirk to lighten them enough for her to easily move them.

Smart of you, angel-face, he thought.

"You two can't fight here, you idiots. What are you doing? Do you want to throw everything you've worked for away?" she scolded. Her words surprised him. She'd taken charge so fast of two people who were probably twice her size and potentially deadly in a fight. Fuck's sake, she was so fucking gorgeous.

Bakugo glanced over at Deku, who looked like she'd just cut his balls off. What a pussy, he scoffed in his mind.

Uraraka moved back from them and softened toward Deku. She gave him some kind of crybaby spiel, her eyes even getting watery. Bakugo rolled his eyes in disgust and looked away, hating that this soft face was something she was only showing Deku. Hating more that she wasted her tears on this scum.

"Ochako-chan," Deku said.

Bakugo snorted. You little fucking shit, you wish.

He mostly tuned Deku out as he argued back to her, still unwilling to believe she could handle herself.

You seriously want this idiot? he wished he could ask.

She just ate that shit up. It pissed him off so badly. It wasn't concern Deku was showing her, it was condescension. And probably a little bit of terror, believing Bakugo just might be able to sway her heart and his monopoly on her emotions would be over.

He heard her say she wanted to speak with him alone and talk things out. Deku still wouldn't go.

FUCK OFF, Bakugo roared in his head.

"Please." She had to fucking plead with this jackass.

Bakugo huffed in irritation. "You should be begging her, you fuck," he mumbled under his breath so neither would really hear. They'd probably assume it was an insult. Which, to be fair, it was.

Deku shot him a look over her head. "Okay, Ochako-chan," he finally conceded, "Do what you need to do."

Then, he took off up the steps and into the building.

Bakugo's pulse was racing. He could hardly conceal how pissed he was at this whole situation; at Deku; at how low he brought this amazing woman. He looked down at her, still wearing her school uniform. She'd probably had to stay late to discuss the Sports Festival. Ugh, it was bullshit that she'd been given even more of an opportunity to moon over that quirk-borrowing fuck.

His temper got the better of him when he blurted, "You call me pathetic. But you're pathetic and an idiot."

She whirled on him, emitting a gasp like he'd just slapped her.

Her cheeks went red and she shouted at him, "You are an ASSHOLE!"

That's right, pink-cheeks, he thought, fight me. He didn't change his expression but let a warmth leak out from the center of his chest, curling up his spine and into his throat.

"What do you even know about me, Bakugo? Why are you narrowing in on me? Did I really hurt your feelings that badly that day?" she spat at him.

He blinked at her, "You can't hurt my feelings, floaty. Don't give yourself that much credit."

At least not how you think, a voice in his head amended.

"Okay, then why are you messing with me?" she asked, "I know something that day made you target me."

Something long before that, that little voice came again.

Instead, he said, "I'm not explaining myself to you, idiot."

Smooth.

Her thumb and forefinger pinched the bridge between her eyes, then she looked back up to him. He guessed she was trying to calm herself down. He had been working pretty hard lately to get under her skin.

"Why can't you just... be nice? Or just not mean for once? Can't we talk this out like adults?"

He took her steady brown eyes in, that wrinkling of her brow not gone like she had wanted, her full mouth set and jaw squared. She was trying so hard to be diplomatic. If only her lack of naivete extended to that scumbag, Deku. He squeezed his hand into a fist at that thought.

He decided to give her as much honesty as he could muster at this moment. Someone had to tell her.

"You're an idiot because you keep chasing after that scum. He's known the past two years. He's never done anything about it but you think he will now?" He hated himself for the pained smile he let escape to his lips, "You're the only one who doesn't see how pathetic you're being. At least I keep pushing because I know I can beat his ass again eventually. What are you doing?"

He heard her stop breathing and an expression between shock and nausea marred her beautiful features.

Too late, he regretted his words. He'd wanted to tell the truth but he just sounded like an asshole trying to hit as low as he possibly could. Oh how she'd hate him now...

He saw a shiny line form at her lower lids and his heart was shot through. She was so fucking right. Why was he so cruel? If she cried now, he didn't know if he could keep himself from begging her forgiveness and confessing every time he'd ever seen her face and couldn't look away or how he'd give anything, anything, to see her smile at him with the adoration she gave Deku.

Uraraka didn't cry, though. She composed herself in a way he never could.

"You are... an... asshole," she said again, her voice dangerously low.

Tell me something I don't know, he wanted to say.

A look of fury began to spread across her face. She was about to say some truly venomous words, he could tell.

Let me have it, he tried to make his eyes say.

"You want this fight? You got this fight," she snapped, "You said before, I should prepare for a world of regret? Well, I'm not regretting anything yet, Kacchan."

A muscle ticked in his jaw at that name. That fucking Deku name. She was trying to hit him low too. She sorta was, but it was exhilarating him even more.

"You think you really could beat Deku?" she laughed coldly, "You'll never even compare to him. As a hero or as a person."

She sure knew how to hit him where it hurt. Comparing him to that trash? What a stone-cold bitch move. But her brown eyes were bright now, full of life and (was he imagining it?) also exhilaration? She liked to fight him. He felt his whole body warm, his eyes going hungry, feral.

Seeing him now, most people would be scared and back off. Not her. Uraraka stepped closer to him, extending a finger to poke at his chest. Her touch seared his skin under his shirt, like every nerve came alive at that one tiny fingertip.

"By the end of this year," she snarled, "it'll be you who's sorry you fucked with me."

Did she just say fuck? Oh god, what was this girl doing to him?

"I'll bring you lower than Deku ever could. He wasn't even trying. I will."

Fuck me, he thought, unable to control himself as he loosed a growl deep in his chest. The snacks he'd been carrying were discarded as he grabbed the wrist of the hand she'd used to point at him.

She tried to pull away as soon as she'd realized he was grabbing for her but was far too late. He pulled her closer and caught her delicate neck in his gigantic hand. This neck he so desperately wanted to kiss; this throat he so often dreamed of eliciting cries of pleasure for him.

He felt wild as he held her face just inches from his, a floral smell like wildflowers tickling at his nose. And she didn't even look afraid! She looked ready to scratch his eyes out at the earliest opportunity.

You're the fucking girl of my dreams, he wanted to say. You've already brought me lower than Deku ever could.

He brought his face closer to hers and he felt her skin go hot. He wanted to kiss her. Wanted to wrap his arms around her, feel her melt beneath his touch. But he knew she didn't want that. Not yet, anyway.

Instead, he brought his lips to her ear and spoke quietly in his gravelly tone, "We'll see about that, Ochako-chan."

He felt her pulse quicken at his bold name usage and let a small prick of pride glow in his chest to be getting any response.

He released her from his grip and she immediately shoved herself back from him, looking like she was ready to breath fire.

He waited a moment, watching her, committing this moment to memory. Imprinting that lively flush to her cheeks and fierce, resolute glare in his mind. He wanted her so badly in this moment, it was painful to breathe.

Before he could do anything else stupid, he turned away from her and gathered his groceries. He strode up the stairs to the dorms and entered, going straight to his room where his study group greeted him then complained about him taking so long. He told them all to shut up.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Ochako awoke with a start, her fists swinging.

"Woah woah! Uraraka-chan, hang on! You're fine," a warm masculine voice came to her ears.

"What the-" she shook her head, trying to shake off her disorientation.

She was in a bed in the infirmary... again. Why was that?

There had been a fight... Bakugo had kissed her and... Her face heated at the thought. That was real. She wished she could pretend it had been a dream; wished it actually had been a dream. What had he been thinking getting all up- No, no! She could not start thinking about that right now! This whole... thing with him had been the entire reason she hadn't been on her A-game when she'd fought Kaminari.

That jogged her memory. She'd had to fight Kaminari in the next bracket when he won his match.

After she'd walked away from Bakugo, she'd just sat alone in the waiting room replaying everything in her mind. She'd thought about what he'd said and what she'd said and what they'd done. She thought back to all the times she had interacted with him ever and wondered if they had always been dancing on this knife's edge or if he'd just lost his damn mind for a minute.

She'd been so messed up and confused that she hadn't been able to focus and properly fight Kaminari when her turn came around again. But she couldn't remember what had caused her to be here. Although, that was probably for the best. It was likely too embarrassing to be worth remembering anyway.

Ochako gave her surroundings a once-over. From the looks of it, she probably hadn't been here too long. Maybe a day. But that did mean she had missed the end of the Sports Festival and was currently missing the next day of school. How unfair was it that they had to go right back to school the day after the Sports Festival? Their first year, they'd gotten two days off after they'd participated but that was when they'd competed on the first of three days. This year they had competed on the third and final day and had gotten the two days previous off of school.

"You've been out for almost 24 hours. Kaminari gave you a pretty back shock," the voice came again and Ochako's eyes landed on a forest green mop of hair sitting at her bedside, then shifted down to Deku's freckled face, mild concern written on it, "Don't worry about class for today, though. Yaoyorozu said she'd give you a copy of her notes."

She made a note to thank Momo when she saw her next. At the very least, she was getting notes from the best student in class.

"Are you...okay?" Deku asked, "You still seem out of it."

Ochako realized she hadn't acknowledged him yet. "Oh. I'm fine, Deku," she said, giving him a weak smile, "Have you been here this whole time?"

He shook his head, "No, I was some of yesterday but Recovery Girl said you probably wouldn't wake up until today so I went back to the dorms and came back today."

"Did you... skip school?" Ochako asked, feeling shocked if that were the case (and, she had to admit, a little flattered.)

"Aizawa-sensei said I could take the day off." A red tinge came to his freckled cheeks and he looked away, "I was kind of a mess anyway."

She frowned at him in puzzlement, "Why?"

"It was pretty rough. Kaminari didn't hold back but he— we all— thought you would be dancing circles around him." He looked up at her then, "Your heart didn't seem in it. Did something happen?"

It was Ochako's turn to look away. She wanted to lie; probably should lie. She seemed to recall Deku warning her about Bakugo...

She sighed. "Yes. Something did happen. I don't want to get into it, though, Deku."

Why did she feel such shame like she'd betrayed him? She hadn't! In fact, she was supposed to be angry at him right now! The festival was over. She could go back to ignoring him and trying to heal her heart.

He let the subject go and moved on, giving her a hopeful smile, "Well, do you want to know how things turned out at the festival?"

Ochako brightened a bit, thankful that he respected her privacy, "It was you again, wasn't it? You won?"

His smile fell a fraction, "No, actually, I withdrew after you got hurt. I didn't want to leave you..." He trailed off.

Her frown returned, as she looked up at him again. "Why would you do that? This festival was a big deal. You had to know I'd be ok?"

Deku fidgetted. "I just wanted to be here for you."

Guilt clenched at Ochako's chest. It sickened her that he missed out on winning the Sports Festival and possibly even making pro-heroes question his dedication. He couldn't go running off to some girl in crucial moments, even when she knew that girl was her and it was some kind of confirmation that he cared.

She sighed. "So, you brought me here and stayed with me until Recovery Girl kicked you out last night?"

He bit his lip, considering. Ochako blinked. Was this a hard question?

Deku just stared at his hands, resting on her bed.

"Bakugo brought you."

She nearly jumped at the mention of his name and she already felt blood pooling at her cheeks.

"Bakugo?" she asked, trying to sound mildly perplexed instead of horrified, "Why?"

"He was there I guess. He was up against Saito next and was waiting just off the field."

That motherf- jerkface! she screamed in her head. Her face growing hotter still as she tried to push down those memories of his hands on her body, his tongue against her throat...

"He grabbed you up almost immediately," he continued, "You looked pretty bad so I guess he knew it was an emergency. He demanded the match wait for him until he got back." Midoriya gave a low chuckle, "They didn't argue. I left and conceded shortly after he took you off the field."

"So he went back and fought Saito?" she snorted with derision. Deku nodded. "I hope he blew his face off."

"He kinda did... He fought against both Saito and Kaminari like he had something to prove. I watched it on the TV in here. I don't know if I've ever seen him so on top of his game."

Ochako narrowed her eyes. The words of acknowledgement not matching the weird expression on his boyish face. It reminded her of the look he'd had when she'd gotten between them on move-in day. And again the time before Bakugo had wrapped his hand around her neck...

Her brow furrowed as she considered her confrontation with Bakugo that night. Looking back now, it felt eerily similar to how he'd been in the tunnel. Had he... Even then?

His eyes had sparked so brightly and he'd come so close to her, she'd felt his breath on her face. She remembered how strained those bright scarlet eyes had become. He'd looked like he'd been holding himself back. But she had been so scared, she had assumed he was trying not to choke the life out of her. She thought back to the few times she'd truly riled him up and that dangerous look he always got. How he'd gripped the desk to keep from smacking her, she'd thought, when she'd stuck her tongue out at him. Then too? And then move-in day, in front of everybody he'd gotten in her face then too and looked so ferocious. Deku had seen it and had looked terrified. But he'd looked at her like he was terrified. She'd thought it was concern for her but...

"Deku," she slowly said, gazing up at him with suspicion, "I haven't asked until now because I thought it wasn't my business but I'm starting to feel like it might be..."

She paused, gathering her courage. He finally brought his eyes to hers, pinning her with a stare that was almost pleading. He didn't want to ask her whatever it was she was about to ask.

"On move-in day I stopped Bakugo from talking to you because you looked so upset. That look on your face... What did he say to you?"

Deku froze, barely even breathing. Ochako also stilled, watching his reaction. She was both anxious to know the truth and yet scared so deeply of it that she thought she might vomit.

"Why?" Deku finally said, his eyes looking startled, "Why would you think that had anything to do with you?"

A nervous chill spread from her chest, all over her body. "The way you keep looking at me when he comes up is like that day. You've stopped calling him Kacchan. Something is going on. I'm not completely blind, Deku."

He stayed quiet, looking like he was trying to read her thoughts while also getting his own together.

He sucked in a deep breath and let it out then said, "I've wanted to tell you- I've been trying to tell you..."

He paused again, closing his eyes and bringing his forehead down to rest in his palm, wiping at his forehead a moment before looking up to face her again.

"That day— move-in day. Bakugo approached me and told me I didn't deserve you."

The breath caught in Ochako's throat. ABORT! ABORT! sirens blared in her mind, You don't want to hear this!

Deku looked anywhere but at her and continued on, "He confronted me about knowing you had feelings for me and said he was going to take you away from me. He said he'd 'show you what a real man was like' and that I couldn't do anything about it. I'm sorry I didn't say anything until now. Believe me, I tried but he kept finding ways to interrupt us talking."

Oi! she heard Bakugo's voice in her mind as he'd walked up that one evening. He had never said what he'd wanted...

And again, when he and Kirishima were speaking so loudly about them in the hall. He knew they'd hear. He knew she wouldn't let him get away with it...

"And a part of me was scared to tell you because I didn't want you to feel like I kissed you because I was jealous," Deku finished, his cheeks flushed. At least he had the decency to look abashed.

Ochako took this in, feeling coldness gripping her body. She couldn't breathe. She physically couldn't breathe! It felt like something huge and immovable was standing on her chest. Her world blurred as her eyes filled with tears and her jaw ached from clenching it so hard.

She tried to pull herself together, "So you're telling me... that you knew about me all this time... you didn't acknowledge it at all... but you really want me to believe that Bakugo threatening to 'take me from you' isn't what made you change your mind about that?"

She let out a sound that was something between a strangled laugh and a sob.

"And now- you're also telling me," she forced out through hiccup-like sobs, "that Bakugo- is trying- to use me?"

Ochako closed her eyes, rubbing the heels of her palms into her lids. She could feel her heart plummeting to the base of her spine.

She tried so hard not to think about Deku's soft, gentle kiss and how much hope she had placed in that one small action; how painful it had been when he'd practically said it was a mistake. She tried to shut glowing crimson eyes piercing her with their intensity and how Bakugo's rough voice sounded in her ear.

You... make me... crazy...

The desperation she thought she'd heard. Being in his arms had felt like he was unleashing everything he couldn't say to her all at once. From the way he had gently cradled her face in his hands (I won't hurt you), to the way he'd viciously marked her neck (I can't control how much I want you).

It had been a lie. A cruel seduction. A trap. To hurt Deku. And she had damn near fallen into it fully and completely. What would he have done to her when he'd gotten his way?

Her chest hurt and she felt like she might fall completely to pieces any second. She couldn't tell what hurt most and she couldn't bear to search further in herself to find out. Did no one just want her without ulterior motives? It felt like no. She was a plaything.

Oh no... a voice inside her that sounded eerily like her mother said, You know that's not what you are. And they haven't learned that yet. But they're about to.

A strength she didn't know she had hardened Ochako's heart and she pushed away all of her uncertainty, only allowing her rage to shine through like a ray of sun breaking through the clouds.

Her breathing slowed and she wiped the tears from her lashes, pushing herself up. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, still wearing her gym clothes from yesterday. Ugh, she needed a bath.

"U-Uraraka-chan?" Deku asked. She glanced over to him and he had his sad puppy dog eyes out. He looked like he was about to cry too.

Don't you cry, her mind snapped, Don't make me feel bad for you.

He took her hand. "I'm sorry... about all of this. I didn't want any of these things to-"

She pulled his hand from his, steeling herself for the face he'd probably give her next.

"I should probably tell you, Deku, although I don't doubt you've already guessed it," she saw his eyes graze over a purple mark that she'd already confirmed was peeking from under her collar before her last match, "Bakugo kissed me. I'm not going to hide that from you."

His face visibly blanched and she thought he might faint before the puppy face returned, more heartbreaking than ever.

"Obviously, I've been missing some details here and that kiss was a mistake, to say the least. But don't ask me more about it. It's not your business."

"I-I-" he stammered but she silenced him with a look.

"And stay away from me, Deku. I thought you couldn't possibly hurt me more but, wow, I was so wrong."

She turned on her heel and stomped toward the exit to the clinic.

"Where-"

"Not your business, Deku!" she snapped as she swiftly retreated through the door, leaving him to his own devices.

As she traveled the empty halls of UA toward her dorm, all hero courses at their training areas now, Ochako felt a twinge of guilt at how she had snapped at him. He'd looked so defeated. And maybe she had just let Bakugo win by acting that way. All he'd wanted was to hurt Deku, right? Now Deku might be crying somewhere or beating himself up.

But what about you? her inner voice said, Doesn't your pain matter? All you were was open and honest and with how much he hid from you, that was more than he deserved.

But she had to admit that she'd kind of wanted to hurt him just a smidge as much as he'd hurt her. She could've been more gentle and not completely shut him down. Where was that old, amicable Ochako who was honest yet kind? She probably had the ugliest look on her face at this moment.

She reached the dorm and traveled up to her room, thankful she didn't have to face anyone who would ask her more questions. Although, she did want to see Kaminari eventually to reassure him her getting hurt was not his fault. She'd been off her game and he'd won fair and square.

She grabbed a new set of clothes and made her way back down to the bathrooms. Some peace and quiet in the bath would be heavenly and she could take her time.

The hot water soothed her muscles as she lowered herself into the bath she'd drawn. She sighed, feeling almost relaxed, and just soaked for so long her fingertips looked like raisins.

She emerged, washed her hair, and dressed, feeling so much more refreshed now that her dirty gym clothes were in the hamper and she wasn't stewing in her own sweat.

Before leaving the bathroom, she inspected herself in the mirror. She sighed in frustration as she pulled back her hair. The bite mark on her neck was so obvious. She could literally see individual teeth marks in the half moon shape. It hadn't felt that hard when he'd done it. Yeah, it had hurt but she'd liked that it hurt. If anything it had added to her frenzy.

Sighing again, she let her hair flow back around her shoulders. Her school uniform should cover it and if she zipped her gym jacket all the way up, it might mask the bruise as well. Any time she wasn't at school, though, she would have to leave her hair down to cover it until it faded. Turtlenecks weren't really an option. First of all, she had none. Second of all, it was close to summer, getting hotter by the day. There was no way she wouldn't suffocate in long sleeves. Maybe light scarves would work? She'd have to ask the other girls for one, though, and then there would be questions... No. Scarves were out.

Leaving her hair down, Ochako moped her way back up to her room.

Despite having slept for nearly a full day, she was already feeling exhausted again. It was likely her body needed more rest.

Then she laid on her bed and let herself hurt as much as she wanted in the privacy of her own room. She fell back asleep on a tear-stained pillow.

—-

Hours later, Ochako reawoke with a minor headache. In the time she'd been asleep, the sun had gone down but she wasn't sure what time it really was. She hoped it wasn't late. Messing up her internal clock would have been just another layer of misfortune for her.

She rolled to her side and checked her clock.

8:35.

"Uuuugh," she groaned. It wasn't exactly late but it also wasn't a reasonable time to be waking up from a nap. She supposed she should be thankful she hadn't slept another full day.

Great, she thought to herself, I also missed dinner.

As if she had just reminded it, her stomach growled loudly in hunger. It was true that she hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before. She was, quite literally, starving. Her distress had been so distracting earlier that she'd somehow been able to ignore it. That or she'd mistaken it for more nausea.

She figured she should head down and get something in her stomach, no matter how much it fought her. Most of her classmates should be back in their rooms by now, doing homework or studying so she likely wouldn't be bombarded. She still wasn't in the mood to be grilled about her day.

So down she went.

Stepping out of the elevator on the ground floor, Ochako heard someone moving around the kitchenette and smelled something that made her stomach cry out in starvation again.

Speed-walking toward it, she called out, "I don't know who is making food but I really hope you're ok with me stealing-"

She halted so fast, she nearly tumbled over.

Looking up from the stove was Bakugo dressed casually in a loose-fitting t-shirt and some very comfortable-looking sweats. He looked like he had previously been sauteing shrimp and his expression lacked any kind of interest, even when his crimson eyes turned to her.

Ochako wanted to immediately turn and high tail it right back to her room. She was not really ready for this confrontation and, once again, they were alone. It was a recipe for disaster but she was also really hurt and really angry right now and he was an enormous part of the reason for it. She needed to face him and get everything out in the open. Not to mention she needed to eat. RIGHT NOW.

She regained her composure as much as she could and walked into the kitchenette, opening the fridge door to look for something she might be able to make.

He closed it on her, rolling his eyes, "You can have some."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "And if I don't want whatever it is you're making?"

He gave her another bored look and went back to cooking the shrimp. Uuuuugh it smelled so goooood. She did want some but she also knew she needed to confront him about... well everything.

She glared at him and opened the fridge again to grab a drink, then slammed it shut.

"You mad at me about something?" he asked brusquely, not taking his eyes from the softly sizzling shrimp in the pan.

She stared at him in shock and briefly wondered if everything this year up until this point had been some wild fantasy of hers. She knew that wasn't the case, but just the audacity of him was outrageous.

"Am I mad?" she repeated back to him, raising her eyebrows, "Is there a reason I shouldn't hate your guts right now, Bakugo?"

He continued swirling the shrimp around the pan with chopsticks and began emptying a package of instant ramen into a pot of boiling water on the back burner.

Ochako's traitorous stomach growled at the sight of this meal. It was simple but so freaking tasty. She took a drink of the can of tea she had pulled out, pleading with her stomach to shut the hell up.

He finally shrugged. "I don't know why you would be mad. You're the one who made me fight the rest of the festival with some of the worst blue balls I've ever had to deal with."

Ochako's eyes went wide and she felt her face blaze with embarrassment.

I'm gonna murder him! she thought to herself, I'm going to remove his head from his body and then I'm going to eat the entirety of that ramen myself.

"YOU- YOU- YOU ARE DISGUSTING!" she said shrilly but not quite yelling as to not arouse suspicion that someone was down in the living area.

He lifted an eyebrow, finally looking at her again, "Well that's not what you thought when you were-"

She slapped him, hard, his face jerking to the side, and a hot pink welt began forming on his cheek.

Goodbye tasty ramen, she thought as she slammed her tea on the counter, preparing for the fight.

He wore a look of shock for only a moment before whirling back to face her, his teeth bared.

"You've got a lot of nerve, pink-cheeks," he growled.

She saw his eyes blazing to life and something sank within her. He liked to fight with her. Coaxing her into outbursts. Getting her to attack him with words or actions. This was all part of his messed-up little game.

Her chin wobbled and she felt her eyes start burning with the start of tears in them again. No no no! she chided herself, Remember! Not for him!

He clearly saw them welling up though because his face became less severe and he stepped back, although he didn't lose his pissed expression. He went back to his shrimp which were almost finished and the ramen that was pleasantly bubbling in the water. He turned off the burners.

Ochako felt more pained than ever and couldn't stand not expressing her anger a second longer.

"Deku told me what you said to him on move-in day when I woke up," she spoke low tone.

Bakugo stilled and she saw his jaw working. Then, he just continued preparing the ramen, grabbing a bowl and checking on the noodles to make sure they were soft, then mixing the flavoring in.

"That idiot was always shit at keeping his crybaby mouth shut," he muttered, taking the noodles from the pot and placing them in the bowl. He looked at her, his expression unreadable and mostly guarded for once, "And?"

Ochako's heart squeezed in her ribcage. The way he said "and" so casually like none of this was supposed to be hurtful. Was he not the least bit ashamed he'd been caught in his plot?

"And that's why I hate you!" she almost yelled again, "I'm not your little puppet, Bakugo!"

He finished with the noodles and started putting the shrimp in the bowl, followed by some of the flavored broth from the pot. Then he set the bowl on the counter and finally turned to face her fully.

"I never said you were," he replied simply.

"Then why are you messing with me like this?" Ochako asked, feeling like if her heart sank lower, it would be in her stomach. Her chin wobbled again, "You knew I... love Deku. You told him you'd take me from him and that you'd show me what a real man is like? Is that what you've been doing? Is that why you rile me up and make me so angry? You want to hurt Deku so badly that you'd use me up and damn the consequences?"

His eyes darkened as he looked at her from under his lashes. "He doesn't deserve you," he growled.

"Who are you to decide that? And why do you even care?"

He tilted his head slightly, looking annoyed. "Sorry for trying to help you," he scoffed.

"Help me? How has any of this helped me? I'm more upset now than ever! I don't trust you or Deku to like me for me because you're both worried about each other!" she said, letting her anger burn rather than despair consume her. "And you distracted me so badly during the festival that I nearly died because I couldn't concentrate!"

Bakugo came toward her then, not in a rush, just strided at an even pace.

He leaned toward her as he took her chin in his hand. "Don't blame me for your lack of concentration. I didn't kiss you because I wanted to distract you. I kissed you because I wanted to. You left me pretty messed up too, if you don't recall," he growled low, pushing her back until her lower back hit the counter, "and I still won the whole damn thing. I'm not interested in being your distraction, Ochako-chan."

A shiver ran through her at his words and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to tell her wildly beating heart to calm down. She already felt heat unraveling throughout her body. Her reaction to him scared her.

She opened them again— wanting to say something— but he was so close to her now, his warm breath slowly blowing on her face, mingling with her own. His eyes were like smoldering coals in the low light of the evening.

He released her chin, slowly pushing back her hair with that same hand to reveal the bite mark on her neck.

Her breath hitched for just a moment when she saw his eyes burn more molten, though his face kept its annoyed expression. His body pressed closer to her now and she could feel the solidness of his muscles against her slightly softer curves.

She bit her lip. Her body screamed for him to kiss her again; to touch her again. She could already feel an aching low in her abdomen.

Her mind cried out for her to Stop! Stop! Stop! He will hurt you! He doesn't care about you! He's toying with you so you'll forget about Deku!

He leaned his head closer, past her face to her neck, his lips brushing feather light against the bruised skin of the bite mark he had given her.

Where his lips brushed, her skin felt like it was being seared and she trembled. Again, words formed in her mind at what his actions conveyed but he did not (could not? would not?) say. I'm sorry. But was this what he was really trying to say or what she wanted him to be saying?

He leaned back again to look into her eyes, a gentler expression than she'd ever seen him wear on his face now. It hurt her heart and she knew she couldn't let this go on. If she did, he would ruin her and she would only have herself to blame because she knew his motives already, even if it were true that he was definitely physically attracted to her.

"Stop," she breathed, barely able to get it out.

He stopped.

She pushed him back, "Stop trying to confuse me."

His ruby eyes darkened again. One blink and his expression was shielded once more.

He pushed back from her.

"Fine," he snapped, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Enjoy."

She didn't know what he meant by that as he walked away toward the elevator, stepping inside when the doors opened and disappearing from sight.

She turned back to the kitchenette, just now remembering how hungry she was and saw the bowl of ramen, still warm on the counter. He hadn't taken it with him.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

School was rough for Ochako since the Sports Festival.

She continued to be tired for a few days after initially waking up and Aizawa-sensei allowed for her to take the rest of the week off (only one day, but it was a relief), then felt back to normal after the weekend had passed.

She eventually had to face her classmates and reassure them that she was ok and there were no lasting effects she would sustain. And she was able to speak with Kaminari and make sure he knew that he shouldn't feel guilty for her own blunders. He said that he accepted what she was saying but she found that he was still careful around her sometimes, never fully being at ease in her presence.

Her body and her social presence felt back to normal when she returned to class the next week but she still felt down. Having to sit behind Deku and next to Bakugo weren't helping matters. Iida would try and make conversation but he could definitely sense the negativity between them. She felt touched that he kept trying to keep his triad of friends together despite such awful clouds of unhappiness.

Ochako did her best to avoid Deku and Bakugo outside of class completely. She started spending more time with Mina and Toru. They became closer friends to her than she ever thought they would. How had it been that she'd spent two full years in class with these wonderful girls and not been as close as they were now? Her sadness and heartbreak became more bearable having found deeper friends in her classmates.

She was able to survive and keep smiling as the weeks passed. She mostly focused on schoolwork and herowork. She even started teaching some of the girls the self-defense moves she'd learned from Gunhead after Toru asked her how she pulled off some of the moves she'd done in class.

For Ochako, this was just another activity to keep her mind occupied.

That was until Aizawa-sensei brought up first term exams and, finally, their internships at the end of class one day.

In years past, they were given offers soon after the Sports Festival and got to do a short stint at the agency of their choice, then work studies with other hero agencies if they so chose. This year, they were working practically as fully fledged sidekicks in their internships to prepare them for graduation and to help them decide who they would like to work for in the future if they hadn't already.

Ochako was one of those who was still unsure. She had always wanted to help with rescue but had been willing to consider more hand to hand combat over the years as well.

"We haven't discussed internships until now because your offers will not be coming until after exams are through," Aizawa-sensei explained. "When you get your offers, you should try to choose more than one if you are still unsure of where you'd like to go when you graduate so you can try different work environments until you feel comfortable with one. Your first internship will be over summer break. There will be no training camp this year. You need every second of fieldwork you can get."

It was mostly silent in the room for once. It seemed like everyone in the room was deep in thought, shouldering the full weight of realizing their futures were soon to be determined.

"First term exams begin next week. 3 days for academics and 1 day for your practical hero exam. Be prepared," he said, effectively dismissing them for the weekend.

After class, Mina caught up with Ochako.

"Hey, so do you want to make a study group to cram over the weekend?" she asked, "I bet Momo-chan would love to help us all out."

Ochako considered for a moment. She had been thinking about making another visit to her parents this weekend to catch up with them and, most of all, have another heart to heart with her mom. She hadn't yet told Mina or Toru about the issues that had gone on between her and Deku and Bakugo. She worried it would make things more uncomfortable between them all and didn't want there to be more people brought into it than necessary.

Her mom, on the other hand, wasn't part of the class and couldn't really get involved. She respected her daughter's right to privacy and ability to make choices for herself. Of course, she would probably leave out all of the near sexual encounters with Bakugo, but she could at least say he kissed her. She wanted her mom's advice and, more than anything else, her comfort.

But she looked at her friend's excited pink face and caved. Maybe she could visit after exams were over.

"Okay, let's do it," Ochako replied, then turned as Toru caught up as well and they told her about the plan.

That evening at dinner, the three girls asked Momo to help them make a study group and she excitedly agreed, already considering teas she'd like to serve. Overhearing this, Sero and Ojiro asked to join. They all agreed on a time and place to start cramming and went their separate ways.

In bed a few hours later, Ochako let herself consider the state of her emotions, as she usually did when she was in her room alone. Tonight she found she felt better than she had in a while. She still hurt and she was still mad about some things but she considered that maybe she might be ready to try and forgive Deku. Yes, he hadn't been completely honest with her. Yes, he had hidden things from her. And yes, she still couldn't fully figure out whether to believe that either he or Bakugo were genuine in their interest in her or were just trying not to lose to the other and she was just the collateral because she had liked Deku first. But she didn't want to go to summer break with them not talking. She could push away all the other things and let them at least be friends again, right?

She considered this, weighed the pros and cons until she fell asleep, her mind still not quite made up.

The next day Ochako got up bright and early to go to the roof, stretch and get an early workout in with Mina and Toru before meeting up with everyone to study.

They had all agreed to meet at 10am and cram cram cram until their brains just couldn't hold any more information, then do it all over again the next day.

So the girls showered after their workout and headed into the living area of the dorm to meet up. Their other classmates were already there and waiting when Ochako and her friends made it down promptly at 10 am. But when she saw all the participants at the table, she stopped short.

Sitting at the table along with the other study group members was Deku. He was animatedly chatting with Sero and Ojiro and when the others looked up to greet them, he did as well, giving her an unsure smile and looking away sheepishly.

"I asked Midoriya-kun to join us," Momo said, seeing her hesitation, "I hope no one minds."

"Of course not!" Mina answered.

Ochako nodded shakily in agreement. She didn't want to immediately be negative and make the rest of the group uncomfortable and, considering what she had thought about last night, this was a good chance for her to possibly interact with Deku in a safe social environment. She could try to be at least civil first and see if they might be able to get back to where they had been before things had gotten so out of hand.

She sat at the table next to Momo and Toru, across from Deku, and they began.

They started with math problems, going over everything they had learned so far this term, mostly because they wanted to get the most detestable subject out of the way. Almost no one in class liked math. Although, it seemed like Momo liked every subject.

They worked through most of the day, only breaking for lunch (which they ate together) and occasional bathroom breaks. Ochako found that she felt comfortable in this group. She interacted with Deku sometimes, asking him to help her understand how to solve a problem or why her grammar wasn't correct in her english. He was kind and didn't hesitate to help her or force any contact that she didn't initiate. She figured he might still be afraid of her being angry or just respecting her space like she had insisted on the last time she'd spoken to him.

By around six, the group's productivity was heavily flagging and they agreed to stop for the day and start dinner. Ochako helped make food with Momo and Mina for the whole class and set it out on the long table.

She tried not to notice, like she usually did, when Bakugo, with Kirishima tagging along, came down to eat. He didn't even look at her. He had gone on these past weeks practically ignoring her.

Some small part of her wondered what was going on in his head that he completely abandoned all antagonism of her. Had he just given up? She wasn't sure. It reassured that suspicious part of her that he wasn't ever actually interested in her, that the moment he was confronted with his plan and told to back off that he had. But in a weird way, it also hurt that the things he'd done had been as fake as she had thought.

She knew that even wondering to herself about him was an idiotic thing to do. She should be glad he'd finally decided to leave her alone. Toru and Mina had taken notice of it too and were definitely feeling relieved that the tension between them was no longer so hostile, although they thought it had something to do with him feeling validated again by winning the Sports Festival or something like that.

She ate quickly so as to not have to spend any extra time in the same room with him and headed up to her room, feeling exhausted. She fell asleep still wondering (but only out of curiosity she told herself) what Bakugo was thinking and feeling at that moment.

Sunday, she did it all over again. She rose early to stretch and train, then head down to study. They crammed as much as they could throughout the day and stopped near dinner time.

This time, when Ochako was heading into the kitchen with a couple of the other girls, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Uraraka-chan," a warm masculine voice said with a tinge of uncertainty.

Deku.

She turned, feeling nerves twist her stomach this way and that. His vibrant green eyes met her chocolate brown ones for only a moment before looking away. He brought a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"I was wondering if maybe you would like to come with me to get some food?" he asked, his voice cracking a little.

Ochako hesitated, unsure if she wanted to willingly be alone with him just yet. Did she want to mend their bridge? Was her heart ready to forgive?

"We could order some food and bring it back for everyone," he quickly clarified.

She felt Mina press into her back and wrap her arms around her shoulders. "Of course, Midoriya-kun!" she giggled, "We would love that! How about pizza?"

The other students all cheered their assent. Midoriya smiled timidly at them.

Ochako turned to the other girls to give them a glare and they just grinned back at her, Mina even giving her a little thumbs up of encouragement. Ugh, maybe she should've told them what was going on. They all knew that the closest pizza place was about six blocks away from the bottom of the mountain. It would be a long trip.

She sighed, looking back at Deku, "Sure, let's do it."

He beamed down at her, then turned to lead her out the front door. She followed.

As they reached the front door, Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari came in, Bakugo taking up the rear.

She saw him halt a step, meeting eyes with Deku, then sliding his gaze to hers. She became aware of her breaths being heavier as he didn't look away for once. He kept his crimson gaze locked on her as he brushed past, his arm barely grazing the sleeve of her shirt. Then they were past and Ochako knew she had frozen when Deku turned back to look at her with concern.

"Uraraka-chan?" he questioned.

She snapped herself out of whatever had come over her and nodded, "Let's go."

They walked in an awkward silence as they wound their way through the campus and exited the gates of UA. As they reached the foot of the mountain, Deku finally broke the silence.

"How have you been?" he asked, "You seem... happy."

Ochako looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was chewing the inside of his cheek, fidgeting.

"I've been okay. Mina and Toru have been keeping me company," she replied.

He nodded, "That's good. I'm glad you've still got friends."

She looked at him outright and he grimaced.

"No, I mean- I didn't mean I didn't think you had no friends besides me and Iida, I- uuugh," he smacked his palm to his forehead.

She giggled, "I know what you meant. I'm just messing with you. I really am ok."

"Good," he said, "I'm glad to hear it."

They walked on in silence again, still a bit uncomfortable.

"I've been thinking..." he began and trailed off, then started over, "I've been thinking a lot about how bad things went between us and how much I messed up every step of the way."

Ochako looked down at her feet as they walked. She figured he might bring this up and was hoping this conversation wouldn't go downhill. If he tried to make excuses again, how was she going to handle it?

He continued, "I just wanted to say that I know how much I hurt you and how badly I treated this whole situation with you and me and Bakugo. I regret so much and I haven't been able to face you all this time because I can't even fathom how much I regret."

She felt her chest tighten at his words. He regretted what he'd done. He was trying to apologize.

"I've had a long time to think about what you said and I'm not mad at you about Bakugo kissing you. I should've warned you in the first place. All of this is really my fault because I've been scared and stupid and-" he took a deep, shaky breath, "I... I know we can't go back to the easy way things were between us, Uraraka-chan, but I'm hoping you might be ok with trying to be friendly again at least?" He blushed a little then added, "I've missed you."

Ochako let out a deep breath when he finally finished. In many ways, she felt relieved. She'd been considering trying to approach him about this exact thing just days before. Now he'd broached the subject for her.

"I've missed you too, Deku," she responded after being silent for a few steps. She twisted her hands in each other behind her back as she tried to get her own words out. "I can't forget everything and every time I think about it I get mad or feel like crying. I deserved better than what you and Bakugo put me through." She let her words drift off and gathered her thoughts before going on, "But I want to try to be friends again. I don't like being mad at people, most especially you."

She looked up at him then and saw his glassy green eyes were full of hope.

"Just don't hide things from me anymore. And please please don't hurt me. I won't forgive you next time," she finished.

Deku nodded, a wide smile spreading across his face. He was still so bad at hiding his feelings. It clenched her heart and reminded her of why she'd loved him in the first place. She felt so stupid yet so happy all at once.

Now they were getting close to the pizza place already. Wow, it hadn't felt like they'd gone that far already but she could see a neon pizza slice shining in the window just a block down.

"I hope you know what everyone likes," she said, "because I don't have a clue."

Deku laughed.

They ordered their pizzas (a whopping 15 of them), and carried them back to the dorms, Deku holding 10, Ochako holding 5. They chattered about nothing and everything on their way back almost like nothing had changed at all between them.

Everyone cheered and thanked them as they came in the door holding the pizzas.

As she usually did, Ochako quickly spotted Bakugo sitting on the couch with some of the other boys and made sure to keep her eyes averted from him, only looking around at her friends and handing off the boxes for them to arrange on the table.

Things were on the mend with Deku but she wasn't sure there was ever anything to mend with Bakugo. Her heart sank a little as she wondered if the damage wreaked between them could ever be undone or remedied or if he would even care to.

She pushed those thoughts away as she grabbed a slice of pizza for herself and sat with Deku, Iida, and Mina. No one mentioned the clear change in her and Deku's demeanors toward each other. Iida picked up their friendship quickly, clearly just happy to have normalcy between them instead of coldness. It was part of why she appreciated his friendship. He accepted them and didn't push to know answers that didn't really matter.

Everyone ended the night after dinner and went up to their respective rooms early to get lots of rest. Tomorrow, exams would begin.

And so the next three days passed in a blur of math equations, English translations, Japanese history, and so much more. Ochako focused solely on her exams and had little time to consider anything else until their practical exam came on Thursday.

They had been warned that this year would be much harder and guaranteed to push them to be ready for the field when they graduated. That's why no one was really surprised when the practical exam this time around had them facing off against a pro-hero individually.

In first year, they were put in groups of two and fought a teacher with a severe handicap. This year, they lined up in front of twenty of the top heroes in the country. Now Ochako understood why they had waited to send their offers. They would get to personally test or watch each class member take on the challenge given to them.

"The goal of this practical exam is not necessarily to complete the task before you," Principal Nezu explained to them, "It is possible for you to not complete the task and still pass, while it is also possible for you to complete it and fail. Keep that in mind."

The class nodded in understanding. It was then explained to them that each hero had been allowed to choose who they wanted to test. They had decided ahead of time and were to be given their assigned hero today.

Ochako smiled and bowed respectfully at Mt. Lady as she came to stand in front of her. Inside she was a jumble of nerves and anxiety. Mt. Lady had risen quickly in the ranks of pro-heroes since her debut at number 28. The now 10th ranked hero in Japan smirked in response.

Ochako looked down the row to see who all had been matched up with whom. It came as no surprise that, despite Endeavor's son being Todoroki, he chose Deku to challenge. She shivered thinking of what might be in store for that challenge. She saw the flesh and blood representation of the statue she had carried in the school festival, Mirko, a little ways down grinning up at Bakugo, a fiendish glint in her eye. She was so small, the top of her head only came up to his shoulder. But the way she looked at him made her seem like she had all the power. From where she was standing, Ochako couldn't quite see how he looked in response but she doubted he would like the sass she was clearly giving him.

Something in Ochako chafed at that. She frowned but was brought back to her senses when Principal Nezu called on her to be first to take the exam.

She felt perspiration begin to gather on her skin already as nerves bit at her again.

"We'll be heading to the USJ," Mt. Lady said before turning and heading in the direction of the domed building, flipping her long platinum hair behind her. Ochako followed on her heels.

When they reached the USJ building, Mt. Lady led her over to the landslide zone, right next to a humongous pile of rubble, three times taller than she was now and turned to her then.

Ochako waited expectantly, feeling nervous as Mt. Lady stared her down.

"I want you to find my earrings," she said simply, "in fifteen minutes."

Ochako felt like she might fall over. She looked around as if someone might try to tell her this was a joke.

"Uhhhh-"

As if she were stupid, Mt. Lady explained further, "In this pile of rubble. I made it myself." She patted a humongous boulder next to her, "Any questions?"

Ochako was still waiting to be told she was being pranked and what her actual task was but Mt. Lady looked like she might be serious. So Ochako sucked in a deep breath and decided she'd take this seriously until she was told otherwise.

"Yes, actually," she responded, "What do they look like?"

Mt. Lady smiled, seeing the resolve in her expression. "They're gold hoops, maybe a half-inch in diameter. Anything else?"

Ochako shook her head.

"Okay, your time starts now."

Ochako surged forward and floated herself to the top of the pile, then began grabbing every boulder she could, as quickly as she could, and floating them up into the air. She knew that because there was minimal sand in this pile and it was mostly just large rocks, it was likely safe to just move them and send them into the air and no matter where in the pile the earrings lay now, they would eventually fall to the ground from all of the jostling of the rocks.

So she worked quickly from the top of the pile and made her way down through the rubble, only needing to touch and swipe some stones up. For her, throwing these boulders up into the sky was as easy as batting a balloon to the side for most people. Doing this reminded her of just how perfect she would be for rescuing civilians under rubble from disasters such as earthquakes and landslides.

She made her way down in record time, floating up the last of the large boulders by the ten minute mark and searching through the dirt on the ground.

A glint caught her eye after a little bit of searching and she saw a golden hoop peeking out of the dirt just to her right. She grabbed that one and put it snugly around her pinky finger before resuming her search for the other one.

She searched the ground frantically, unsure of how much time she had left. She couldn't find it! There was no sign of it in the area the pile had been. It wasn't possible one had gotten stuck on a rock, could it?

"One minute..." Mt. Lady said in a sing-song voice.

Her heart racing, Ochako made the decision to believe it was not up with one of the stones. It had to be here. Her eyes darted around, hoping to find the tiny golden hoop.

The more she looked and didn't find, the more she felt herself panicking until she couldn't contain the pressure in her head and slammed her palms on the ground in frustration and despair.

The dirt and sand all around her flew up into the air and hung suspended like drops of rain frozen in time. Ochako gasped. Only a smooth floor lay beneath her now, everything else floating in midair. She looked around and a soft golden shimmer danced across her vision for just a second. She raced for where she thought she had seen it, reached out, and grasped the hoop in her hand as Mt. Lady called time.

Out of breath and covered in dirt from head to foot, Ochako fell to her knees, clutching both earrings.

"Not yet," Mt. Lady said, walking over to her and lifting her back to her feet. Ochako looked at her dubiously.

"You're not just gonna leave all of these boulders floating in the air are you?" she asked.

Ochako let out a long sigh, realizing that this was true. She tented her fingers and released, sending the dirt and stones crashing to the ground in a heap that, while not very organized, was at least contained.

Mt. Lady nodded, smiling. She held out her hand for her earrings and Ochako handed them over.

"It looks to me like you passed," she said, grinning widely. "I hope you'll consider my agency when you're looking for internships, Uravity."

Ochako's eyes widened and her spirits lifted high. One pro-hero was already giving her an offer! She hoped this was the first of many. Hopefully some of the others here today were watching as well and had been impressed.

She had initially thought this was some kind of joke or that it was too easy. But having to dig through all of those rocks and make sure she was floating them up so they wouldn't fall in a way that would harm anyone or anything else in the area had been grueling. She knew now that this had been a test under the pressure of time constraints, to be able to spot important details and to consider her surroundings when using her quirk. And she had passed!

"Thank you, Mt. Lady!" she nearly cried and went in for a hug. Mt. Lady didn't push her away, just patted her back, despite her being filthy, and led her back out of the building when she was done.

Ochako took as quick of a shower as she could in the girl's locker room, then rejoined those in the class who were watching the exams in the monitor room. It looked like all 20 of the pro-heroes were there, which made her feel slightly bashful. They'd all seen her scrambling around wildly through dirt and rock. They'd all seen her outburst that caused all of the dirt to float up from the ground. She wondered if something like that had caused her to lose points or gain them. Sure, she'd done something incredible and new with her quirk but she'd also lost control of her emotions for a second there. It worried her despite Mt. Lady already telling her that she'd passed.

By the time she'd returned, she was disappointed to find that Deku had already passed his own exam with Endeavor and was already back, also watching, as Tsuyu went about her exam in the flood zone of the USJ building.

She went to stand next to him and they bantered about how well Tsuyu swam through the waters and how she always seemed to stay so calm and collected, even under extremely stressful conditions. It seemed like Gang Orca was throwing everything at her that might overwhelm her and put her under as much stress as possible to find her breaking point. It was really incredible watching her work and Ochako could already tell that she was going to make a great hero one day. She hoped there would be a time she got to work with her professionally.

When it was announced that Tsuyu had passed, Deku turned to Ochako.

"Hey, can you come with me a second?" he asked, fidgeting a little and looking at her through his eyelashes.

"Uhhhh," she considered, feeling slightly confused that he'd actually step away from watching people taking exams and seeing more quirks in action. "I-"

"Next up," Principal Nezu spoke up on the loudspeaker, "Bakugo Kastuki. Examiner: Mirko. Please report to Ground Beta."

Ochako felt a jolt in her at that name. Bakugo wasn't in the monitor room because he never cared to watch anyone else. He was always focused on bettering himself and never worried about the people around him.

She saw him on a screen then, walking behind Mirko. She was still smirking and saying something that no one in the room could hear— presumably explaining the terms of his exam— as they walked through the gates to the training ground.

Ochako looked back at Deku, still waiting for her response expectantly. Her eyes darted again to the monitor as Mirko said something else, causing Bakugo's cheeks to redden and he shouted something at her, unhearable, as she laughed. Ochako's chest burned and she hated it.

Looking away from the monitor one more time, she nodded to Deku and followed him out.

He led her all the way out into the sunshine again.

Their exams were technically over and they were free to go relax for the rest of the day when they were done. Tomorrow, they would only be heading to homeroom to be given the offers they'd received from the pro heroes who had watched the Sports Festival and their exams. They would have to choose one that day and their summer would be spent working at that hero's agency.

The pressure of how important of a choice she was about to make was not lost at all on her but, for some reason, her nervousness at what Deku had thought important enough to pull himself— and her in the process— away from their classmates' exams made her feel almost sick.

A part of her still pulled to see what was going on with Bakugo's exam as well. How was he doing? What did he have to do for his task?

Is Mirko still being a flirt? her mind asked unbidden. She wanted to slap herself. That was not her business.

Deku leaned against the wall outside the entrance, running his fingers through his hair.

"So..." he said, unsure of himself, "it looked like your exam went well."

Ochako slightly narrowed her eyes at him, knowing this wasn't what he had brought her here for. "Yeah," she replied, "Mt. Lady as much as said she was offering me an internship to work with her."

"That's good!" he said, "Endeavor literally just wanted me to fight him. He seems like he's still hung up on wanting to be the number one hero and thinks I'll usurp him the moment I debut as a pro."

He chuckled, "He called it off and said I passed after we wailed on each other for only about 10 minutes. I don't know what he thinks of me now or if he'll want to help me in my career in the future."

Ochako nodded, understanding his concern, "Well I'm sure you'll be fine with or without him. You'll probably have your own agency a few years after you graduate."

Deku was silent in response to this and looked down at the ground, deep in thought.

"But all that's not why I asked you to come out here," he finally admitted.

She nodded at that as well but stayed silent, letting him continue.

"Uraraka-chan, I told you before that I can't begin to express how much I regret not being open and honest with you about everything, but there's one thing I regret most," he swallowed hard and Ochako couldn't help but feel a lump forming in her own throat as well.

"I've always cared about you, Uraraka-chan, since first year. I've known you liked me too and I kept you hanging because I thought I would have to make too many choices between being with you and being a hero." He let out a shaky breath and spoke on, "I know I said I wanted for us to try and get back to being friends but that's not completely true."

He looked her full in the eye, his deep green gaze piercing hers, "I want to be more... than friends... Ochako-chan. Of course, I want your friendship, it matters so much to me. But what I really want is for us to be together. I'm sorry I took so long to tell you but it's one of the few things I've come to know for sure in these past few weeks."

Ochako was stunned. She couldn't say anything. Her mind raced and her heart pounded. This all felt like a dream. This was the thing she had been waiting for, hoping for, dreaming for, since her first year at UA. She couldn't deny that she wanted more than anything to scream "yes!" and jump into Deku's arms right now, but she was also unsure if this was the right move after all that had happened. It left her feeling confused.

Seeing her inner turmoil on her face, Deku backpedaled a little, "Obviously, you don't have to give me an answer right now."

"Bakugo Katsuki has passed the first term exam!" Principal Nezu came over the loudspeaker. Ochako jumped and looked down. She'd missed the exam. Why did that annoy her?

"Next up is Tokoyami Fumikage. Examiner: Hawks!"

Deku came closer to her and took her hand in his. She could feel him trembling. He was nervous beyond belief. His wholesomeness warmed her heart.

"If you want, I'd like for you to consider it over the summer break," he said, giving her hand a squeeze.

Ochako looked up at him with a warm smile, her heart stuttering as he gazed back with those emerald orbs, "Thank you, Deku. I will."

Friday came and the class got their offers. Ochako was glad to see there was a sizable number for everyone. And, somehow, Ochako had the 5th most offers after Deku, Todoroki, Bakugo, and, interestingly enough, Tsuyu.

Some of the best hero agencies in the country were offering her internships and she felt beyond overwhelmed. Even Endeavor had extended an offer to her to help work in the rescue division of his agency. She felt so flattered yet so proud. But she knew who she would go with the moment she saw her name on the list of offers. Mt. Office, Mt. Lady's hero agency.

She checked around with her friends to see who they would be interning with and found that Deku would be working with Endeavor again. Apparently, he hadn't burned that bridge as badly as he thought he had. And there was no way he would turn down an offer from the number one hero in Japan. Even All Might encouraged him to go there.

Mina and Toru were both interning with Mirko. Ochako had also gotten an offer from her but something about her was bothersome. She didn't want to work under someone she already felt like she had a problem with. She didn't want to deal with any tension while also trying to train to be a hero. Iida, obviously, continued his work at his brother's old agency.

Despite being curious and sitting right next to him, Ochako didn't ask Bakugo where he was interning. She assumed he'd also gotten an offer from Endeavor, as he'd already done a work-study there before and was also not the type to turn down a spot in the top hero agency in the country. She momentarily wondered how tense that work environment would end up being.

Walking back to the dorms from class, Ochako called her mother, realizing there would be no way to visit as she had to travel the very next day to start her internship with Mt. Lady. She was sad she had to inform her that she wouldn't be able to visit until probably the weekend after second term had started.

"Hello?" a kind feminine voice answered on the other end.

"Mom, hi," Ochako said.

"Oh! Ochako, honey! I'm so glad you called! I haven't heard from you since that call we got about you being hurt at the Sports Festival and it's been a while since your last visit!"

Recovery Girl had been legally required to call about her injury, despite her recovering just fine. Then, she'd had to call and reassure her mother that, no, they didn't need to visit. Then they'd gushed for another hour about how well she'd done in the rest of the festival.

She sighed heavily, "Yeah I'm sorry Mom, I don't know if I'm going to be able to visit until after summer break. I'm going to be interning for Mt. Lady this summer and-"

"Mt. Lady?!" her mother squealed into her ear.

"Yes, Mom."

"Oh my gosh, Ochako, that's such a big deal! She's the tenth-ranked hero in the whole country! And she wanted you! That's so incredible! I don't mind at all, sweetie! You do what you have to do!"

Ochako chuckled at her mother's excitement. She was always so proud of her. She wondered what she would say if she knew she'd turned down an offer from the number one ranked hero in the country.

"Thank you, Mom. I'll try to visit right after the beginning of second term. I promise."

"You know we'll always have room for you, honey," her mother responded. "So, any news on the Deku front?"

Ochako smacked her palm to her forehead. She didn't know if there was time enough left in the day to tell her what all had gone on.

"Well, actually a lot has happened but I was hoping I could tell you all about it when I come home. It's a lot."

"Of course, honey. I can't wait to hear all your news! And, of course, you'll have to tell me all about your internship and Mt. Lady!"

"I will Mom, don't worry! Gotta go!"

"Okay! Talk to you later, baby girl! Byyyeee!"

"Bye!" she said and hung up her phone.

A little ways off, she heard someone shouting her name.

"Ochako-senpai!" a girlish voice called.

Running up the walkway toward her was Chitose, the girl with the bubble quirk from the Sports Festival. She saw that she had left a few of her friends behind to come to her, one of them being Ito, the shiny boy.

"Hi, Chitose-chan. How have you been?" she smiled pleasantly at her kohai.

"Oh, I've been great! We just finished our practical exams today! They were so hard! I wish someone had warned me about them!"

Ochako assumed she meant the first year exams where they had to pair up and take down or get away from a teacher. At least you didn't have to face All Might, she thought, remembering how well that exam had gone.

"Did you pass?" she inquired, worried by Chitose's tone she might not have done well.

"Oh, I did fine. Only a few people in the class didn't pass. I was with Ito-kun against Cementoss. It was nuts, but we got him!"

"Well, that's better than the guys in my class. They couldn't beat him in our first year," Ochako said, impressed. "Are you two friends now or something?" she asked, gesturing toward Ito, who was still waiting with the other students for her, tossing her a glance every now and then.

Chitose's face got a pink tinge to it and she shifted around nervously, "Yes, actually. We happened to intern together at Best Jeanist's hero agency and..." she chewed on her lip, "well stuff happened. It's complicated. I don't know."

Ochako felt for the girl, knowing exactly how complicated boys like that could be.

"You don't have to explain things to me, Chitose-chan. I have to say, though, that I did notice he seemed like he was interested in you when I saw you two working together at the festival."

Her face reddened further, "Really? So maybe... he's serious about me?" She looked up at her with hope shining in her eyes.

"I don't know. But why don't you ask him?" Ochako glanced over Chitose's shoulder and Ito looked away again for at least the tenth time by now.

"Is that how you got your boyfriend to confess?" Chitose asked.

Ochako felt like she'd just been punched in the gut, "Ummm my boyfriend?"

"Yeah! The guy you were sitting next to at the festival! Bakugo-senpai, right? He won the festival your first year and this year. I've seen him on TV sometimes. I don't know how you tamed him, he seemed so scary any time I saw him before. But, wow, you two are so... well, I just wish that someone would look at me like how he looks at you," she gushed.

Ochako was stunned into silence. She was horrified by just how wrong Chitose had gotten their relationship and probably how horribly she'd misinterpreted whatever way Bakugo had looked at her. Probably more like a wild animal about to devour his prey, she thought to herself.

She cleared her throat, trying to remember how to breathe, "Oh um, well I have to go. I have an internship I have to report to tomorrow and I have to start packing."

"Oh! I'm sorry I took up so much of your time! I was just so happy to see you!" Chitose said, turning around to head back to her friends, "Have fun at your internship!"

"I was happy to see you too, Chitose-chan. Enjoy your summer break!" she said, waving as Chitose sprinted back down the sidewalk.

Ochako turned back toward the dorms and swept a hand across her face, feeling how hot it had become. She shifted her eyes around her surroundings as though looking for an answer that could be found in front of her but, really, she was shifting thoughts through her mind a mile a minute.

Why had what Chitose said been so upsetting for her? She already knew Bakugo had been targeting her far before the Sports Festival. This wasn't anything new. So why did her heart clench when Chitose's eyes had glazed over in longing at how she'd seen him looking at her?

Unprompted, her mind recalled back to the night he'd brushed his lips across her neck and the way those scarlet eyes had looked so vulnerable for just that tiniest of moments.

She violently pushed that memory away.

How was he still confusing her- hurting her- even now? She thought she'd gotten past this feeling.

Anger coursed through her veins as she started walking again. She had been so stupid to think she might have wanted to try and fix what was between them and go back to being... indifferent or whatever it was they were toward each other before this school year had started. But she could never forgive him for the damage he'd done.

She raced back to her room before she could let a single tear escape.

The next day, she formally began her internship at Mt. Lady's hero agency.

Mt. Lady had even been kind enough to show her around the office herself, introducing her to the people in charge of different departments and showing her how they scheduled heroes and took on missions.

Ochako had always seen Mt. Lady as a bit vapid and more concerned with rank than anything else. In fact, Mineta had said as much when he'd come back from his first year internship. But, as she was taken through the office, she saw that Mt Lady was actually a considerate woman who cared not only for the people who worked under her but the people she had sworn to protect.

Of course, she was more than happy to soak up the glory and praise but she always worked hard to earn it as well. Ochako figured something must have changed between when Mineta had interned and now. That probably also had something to do with how she'd risen in rank.

"So, Uravity-chan," Mt. Lady said, nearing the end of the tour and approaching her office, "I hope you remember back when All Might retired, I grouped up with Kamui Woods and Edgeshot?"

"Yes," Ochako answered immediately, "The Lurkers."

"Right! We still do missions every now and then and it just so happens that I've teamed up with Edgeshot to do a mission that I think is just perfect for you and the intern under him."

"Oh great!" she said, excited to already be given work and ready to start proving herself.

Mt. Lady reached the door to her office and as she turned the handle she said, "The other intern is from your class so I'm sure you two will have no problem working together."

Then she opened the door to reveal Edgeshot standing in her office, closely flanked by none other than Bakugo Katsuki.

Ochako could tell the smile fell from her lips the moment she saw Bakugo's red eyes alight on hers.

Fuck. Me. she thought to herself.

Chapter 11

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ochako sat on a plush couch next to Mt. Lady, facing another couch seating Edgeshot and Bakugo. She seemed to be having a staring contest with the latter person as neither of them had given in and looked away from the other, even as introductions were made and they were seated to be debriefed on the mission.

"We received a request recently to provide two heroes as an escort for the prince of Croatia, Prince Nathaniel, who will be visiting Japan for the week," Mt. Lady explained, bringing a picture of a dark-haired, pale-skinned young man with crystal blue eyes up on a large display that hung behind her desk.

Ochako finally tore her eyes away from Bakugo to look up at the photo. He looked to be about her age, maybe a little bit older, and his face was angular with high cheekbones and a soft dimple in his chin. She would definitely have described him as handsome.

"He'll be arriving on Monday and be staying until Saturday," Mt. Lady went on, "There is no real imminent threat on his life but he is a public figure and royalty so his status requires a guard. But," she flipped her hair while saying this, "not that much of a guard. So Edgeshot and I agreed to hand off this task to you two. He doesn't know that you two are students so don't bring that up. I want him to always have confidence in the people in charge of his safety. You will be staying at his hotel with him on the same floor. You will report to the airport bright and early at 7am on Monday and will be with him with minimal outside support from then until he leaves Saturday evening. Any questions?"

Ochako felt excited to be given such a crucial mission on her very first day of her internship. She was determined to prove that she was responsible enough for this.

She vigorously shook her head but when she heard that annoying "tch" coming from the person across from her, she looked back over to him to see him rolling his eyes.

"This is nothing. I should be thrown into the action fighting villains, not babysitting a pretty boy," he scoffed.

Mt. Lady and Edgeshot frowned. Ochako felt mortified. They'd given them a job to do on their own when they could've just had them following them around holding their purse, figuratively speaking! Talk about arrogant!

She burned to say something snippy but Mt. Lady only responded, "Baby steps, Bakugo Katsuki. Prove that you can do this with no issues and you will be thrown into the action." She looked at Ochako too, "Both of you will."

Ochako beamed, her face brightening at the acknowledgment and being given a clear path to doing hands-on hero work.

But he just had to open his mouth again.

"I'm pretty sure I've proven myself to be ready already. This is side-kick work," he grumbled.

Ochako felt her face getting hot in anger and couldn't stop her words from coming out before she said, "Stop being so rude! We should be grateful they gave us a mission to do without any supervision! I bet there are other students who are going to be put on desk duty the whole summer! You should show some respect, Bakugo!"

His eyes turned back to her, glowing like molten lava.

"Of course you're ok with doing the boring work, pink-cheeks. You've never tried to be anything but middle of the pack."

Her face flushed hotter at the stinging retort. "You know that's not true!" she said, her voice getting higher in volume, "I just know that there are steps you have to take before getting to the top. You can't just blast away all of the people around you. That's not how you become a hero!"

"Aww poor sweet little Ochako-chan. Always wanting everyone to like her. Always following the beaten path. Always picking the safe choice," Bakugo growled at her, a sneer coming to his lips.

Ochako jumped to her feet, Bakugo quickly rising as well. Her heart was pumping with adrenaline and rage. He always hit the lowest blow he possibly could. After everything, she thought he might at least pull his punches. But no, he was still a jerk!

"Ummm-" Mt. Lady tried to say but Ochako didn't hear her before she went on.

"Well I certainly don't need your help in this, Bakugo. I can guard the prince myself. As if I'd want to work with you anyway!" she practically yelled.

Bakugo opened his mouth to snap back but his eyes darted to the photo up on the screen and back to her. His expression became almost wild with rage. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?!" he bellowed at her.

"I would actually!" she shrieked back.

"Well that's too bad, floaty!" he yelled again, stomping his way toward the door. He opened it and turned back to the room. "Monday," he growled and slammed it, leaving Ochako alone with the other two heroes.

Mt. Lady and Edgeshot looked stunned, their eyes going from Ochako to the door and back again.

Then, Mt. Lady smiled wickedly as though she now understood everything perfectly. "Well, I'm glad you've got a handle on things, Uravity. Good luck on your mission. Report back here on Saturday," she said, effectively dismissing her.

Edgeshot still held a look of confusion and turned to Mt. Lady questioningly as Ochako excused herself from the room as well.

She spent the weekend brushing up on her English, hoping she would be able to communicate with Prince Nathaniel without much trouble. Is that what they even spoke in Croatia? She wasn't sure but it was the only other language she knew. Looking back on her schooling she was now thankful they had had to take so many English classes.

On Monday morning, she arrived at the airport at 6:30 am dressed in her hero costume and ready to work. She met up with the chauffeur, a kindly older man who was hired to drive the prince around for the week.

She waited with him in some incredibly uncomfortable plastic seats, checking the time every so often, wondering if Bakugo would really show up or if he'd changed his mind and had blown off this mission like he'd intended.

As she waited, she would occasionally wave back at people who recognized that she was a hero and would thank her for protecting them. Their kindness filled her heart up and reminded her of all the reasons she wanted this job so badly.

At around 6:55, Ochako began sweating bullets and truly feeling nervous. Bakugo still hadn't shown up and she could hear the prince's flight being announced as arriving.

As 7 rolled around, she got up and began pacing while looking in the direction of the gate, expecting to see the prince coming up any minute.

Then, she saw him. Pushing through the crowd, an ash blonde head topped with black and orange spikes poked up above most everyone else, making its way toward her. Despite having said she'd rather do this by herself, Ochako felt such immense relief when Bakugo's large frame came into view, her knees felt weak.

He wore his usual bored expression as he approached them, not taking his crimson eyes from hers.

"Took you long enough," Ochako hissed when he reached them, "I really thought you were gonna leave me hanging."

He gave her an irritated scowl. "They said seven. I'm here at seven," he threw back at her, "You should know by now I'm not gonna go back on my word."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't know any such thing."

"Then please tell me the last time I did," he asked in a scathing tone.

Ochako thought for a moment, fully intending to prove him wrong but she found that she couldn't actually think of any time he'd broken a promise or gone back on his word. There had even been the time he'd sworn to win the Sports Festival first year and he'd actually done it.

He gave her a smug smirk, clearly knowing she wasn't able to come up with one.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh so what? You're here now. Focus on the mission."

She turned away from him and came face to face with Prince Nathaniel, beaming down at her. It probably had something to do with the fact that he was smiling and had the most perfect dimples, but he seemed like he was even more handsome in person. She couldn't help it as she smiled back at him, feeling her cheeks warm.

"Hi, I'm Prince Nathaniel. You two were the only ones who seemed to be dressed like heroes here so I assumed you might be my guards while I'm here?" he said with a reasonably good Japanese accent.

Ochako sighed inwardly. Of course, he could speak Japanese. He was a royal after all and expected to be able to speak with many different diplomats. She felt embarrassed that she had wasted so much time on such a ridiculous concern.

She nodded vigorously. "Yes, that's us! You can call me Uravity and this guy behind me you can just call Bakugo. We're very pleased to meet you," she said bowing low.

When she lifted her head, he took her hand and bowed to kiss it, making her blush furiously and a few people around them glance admiringly in their direction.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both as well, Uravity. Bakugo," he replied, shifting his eyes from hers to, presumably, Bakugo's behind her, his smile widening slightly more at him.

"Are we going or what?" Bakugo snapped from behind her.

She turned and shot him a death glare but the prince only said, "Oh yes, let's!" He sounded so excited.

Ochako let Bakugo's comment go and began leading the way out of the airport. The chauffeur had already disappeared out to the car with the prince's bags.

Of course, when they got out to the pick up zone, a limo was waiting for them. Ochako kept her composure but inside she was squealing like a child. She'd never been in a limo before and was excited to see inside. She chanced a glance at Bakugo to see his reaction or— for some reason she could not for the life of her understand— share her excitement, but he had his attention on the prince who was currently climbing into the backseat.

After they were seated, Prince Nathaniel, having the whole backseat to himself and Ochako and Bakugo sitting in the long seat on the side, a good yard between them, they took off toward the hotel.

He looked at them then. "So, Uravity and Bakugo? How long have you two been heroes?" he asked, his angelic smile still gracing his features.

Ochako tensed. He wasn't supposed to know they weren't fully-fledged heroes and his very first question was about to already blow their cover.

Just as she was about to answer with her best way to dodge the question, his phone rang and he frowned, taking it out of his pocket to check it.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I have to take this." Then answered the phone and began having a conversation in English.

Ochako let out a sigh of relief and turned to Bakugo who was staring out the window, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere than seated here on these fine leather seats.

She took him in. He looked no worse for the wear after what had transpired between them. He was his usual haughty self with his friends and had continued about his days as if nothing had changed at all. The only difference being that he would hardly even look at her. Let alone antagonize her.

She'd had to admit after a few days of him ignoring her completely that, while his rudeness was not missed, his attention kinda was— in a weird way. She had come to expect his behavior as though it had become a part of her routine. His feud with her had made her feel stronger and more self-confident when she'd snapped back at him. Him just ignoring her had (once again, very weirdly) added to her unhappiness.

Now, he was sitting next to her. He'd spoken to her for the first time in weeks a few days ago, and again today, almost like nothing had changed. It reminded her of how she'd wished she could've mended whatever relationship they'd had back when she'd made up with Deku. Now maybe they could. But she still wasn't sure if she wanted to and him wanting to was surely a wild card.

He began tapping on his leg some kind of beat he must've heard or thought up and she watched him lean back, relaxing further into the seat. She considered the possibility that tapping like that soothed him or gave him something to do with his mind when he was truly bored.

Then his eyes shifted to her and he stopped.

"Haven't you been watching me long enough, floaty? You need something?" he quipped.

Ochako felt her cheeks heat at being called out more so than being caught.

"Ugh, get over yourself. I can look at who I want," she snapped back, keeping her voice low so the prince wouldn't hear.

"Well I guess I can't blame you," he came back with a smirk.

She had to hold back from slapping him and settled on a scowl instead.

"You have no shame!" she whisper yelled, "I don't know why I even try with you. I was looking at you because I was considering trying to talk to you and maybe mend things between us. I don't know why I thought we could be friends ever."

He dropped his smirk and his face became grave at her words.

His crimson eyes smoldered dangerously as he said, "I never want to be your friend, pink-cheeks. Don't try to be my friend."

At his words, she felt like he'd landed a punch to her gut. The breath went out of her and she felt cold. She didn't know how to respond to that. She knew her face had fallen but his eyes still remained severe.

The prince's call ended then and he turned back to them.

"Sorry about that," he said with sincerity.

Ochako spun back around to face him again, "Oh no! You do whatever you have to do, your... um... majesty?" She'd said "your majesty" in English.

He chuckled lightly, "You don't have to call me that, just Nate is fine."

She recalled that in the western world, calling someone by their given name was common and acceptable for most anyone. Calling someone by their last name was often done by a superior who looked down on his subordinates there.

"Ok... Nate," she tried, blushing.

He smiled sweetly.

Ochako heard Bakugo snort quietly but ignored him.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, Nate, what is your business here in Japan?" she asked to curb the possibility of him asking them about their hero status again.

"Oh no, I don't mind. It's nothing super secretive," he replied, "My family are only figureheads. The confidential stuff is handled by the Prime Minister and Parliament and the like. I'm just here to be diplomatic and shake people's hands so it's clear we're all still trusting allies."

She nodded in understanding, "Oh ok. That's interesting!"

Nate looked past her, his eyes focusing on Bakugo, "I take it, you're not so talkative."

Before Bakugo could open his mouth Ochako cut him off, "Oh he talks he's just... shy?"

She heard him snort again, "I'm not shy. I'm just not gonna talk if I have nothing to say and if I do have something to say, I'm not gonna sugar-coat it for you, ok buddy?"

Nate didn't seem fazed by his boldness whatsoever. In fact, he seemed oddly pleased.

"I'm fine with that!" he said, looking away and giving a shy smile, "I like when people are honest with me, even if it's not sugar-coated like you said. So many people just do whatever they can to get in my good graces and that's nice and all but sometimes you just want some kind of resistance, you know? Someone who'll push back."

Ochako exchanged a quick glance with Bakugo. At least she knew he was just as surprised by that response as she was.

The limo pulled up under the overhang of the hotel they would be staying in. As expected, it was very posh with elegant furnishings everywhere. There was even a grand piano in the lobby and a humongous fish tank behind the front desk.

The chauffeur checked them in and bellboys dressed in fancy vests with cumberbunds came to take their bags and show them to their rooms.

Ochako was feeling overwhelmed by all of the incredible hospitality and excess. The elevator they rode in had a glass back so they could see out into the city as they traveled up. The view was so incredible, it took her breath away.

A small part of her wished Deku were here to see this with her. He would probably be oooing and ahhing right along with her but instead, it was just Bakugo, his back turned to the glass, arms folded.

They arrived at the 35th floor (the penthouse suite) and the elevator actually opened onto the room.

Ochako just stood there stunned, taking the whole thing in. Even Bakugo seemed momentarily shocked by the opulence of it all. The room was outfitted with a full kitchen, a dining room, and a living area with a gigantic flat screen TV. There was not so much a balcony or patio as a huge deck that held a swimming pool and a jacuzzi.

She forgot herself for a second and let a huge grin spread across her face as she turned to Bakugo, wishing he would be excited with her, knowing he probably wasn't but not letting it spoil her mood now. Then she ventured deeper into the penthouse, going to explore every room. There was a little office set up, complete with a desk and computer, three lush bedrooms with king-sized beds, a beautiful bathroom with a long vanity and a beautifully tiled shower, and one master bedroom at the end of the hall that had its own bathroom.

"Here are your cards," one of the bellboys said to Nate, "As you know, the elevator requires your keycard to reach this level so please don't lose it."

Nate thanked them all and tipped each of them generously before they went off back down the elevator.

"What do you think of this?" he asked excitedly, like he was a kid showing off a new toy.

Ochako nearly bounced with excitement, "It's absolutely amazing! I've never seen anything like this and I don't think I ever will again! It's like a dream!"

He beamed at her and turned hopefully to Bakugo who had stepped only a few feet into the room.

Bakugo noticed the attention on him and then realized an answer was expected of him.

"It's fancy and all that but I'm just here to do a job, the accommodations don't matter to me," he shrugged.

Nate, once again, accepted his response readily and seemed pleased by it, still granting him a warm smile.

"Well, I know it's an awful idea but I am beyond jetlagged and have nothing I have to do today so if you two don't mind, I would like to take a nap," Nate said kindly. "I'll be in the master bedroom if anyone needs me. Feel free to make yourselves at home. Here are your key cards," he placed them on the kitchen island (yes, it even had an island), "The fridge and pantry should be fully stocked."

And with that, he lightly bowed and headed down the hall toward the master bedroom.

A silence hung over the room as Ochako realized this was the first time she'd been truly alone with Bakugo since the night he'd made her that delicious ramen. She still wondered to herself sometimes if he'd been down there making food for himself or if he'd known she'd be hungry because she missed dinner and had made it specially for her. Every time she considered it, though, she inwardly laughed at herself. Bakugo might've been that observant but it was naive of her to think he was that considerate. But, then again, he might've done it hoping to see her and reel her in after their kiss. After all, he hadn't known at the time that she'd been made aware of his plotting.

She let this line of thinking go, as going down this path always ended up confusing her and she could never get definitive answers if she didn't ask him. And she was not going to ask him.

Bakugo began loosening his gauntlets and sliding them off, turning his back to her and walking toward the hallway.

"Wait, what are you doing? Where are you going?" she asked, following him into the hall before she realized she shouldn't really care.

"I'm going to my room," he said looking back at her like she was dumb.

"Well... don't you think we should talk? Make a plan or something?" she said awkwardly, trying to sound like she was being professional instead of having failed at minding her own business.

He fully turned back to her looking quizzical.

Stop talking! she shouted at herself, Why are you trying to keep him here of all things? Let him go!

"What's there to plan?" he asked, "He's gonna run around town, meeting up with more yuppy bastards and we're gonna follow him around until the end of the week. That's it."

Ochako's mouth thinned into a line. "I don't know why you're being so negative about him. He's really nice and genuine. He's even been accepting of you for crying out loud."

Bakugo rolled his eyes, "I'm not interested."

"What does that even mean?" she asked, getting annoyed.

He sighed and shook his head.

She could feel her blood pressure rising each second she spent talking to him but she tried to tamp down her anger as best she could. This wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to work like this with him, always picking fights.

She took a deep breath before she spoke again.

"Look, Bakugo. We have to work together this week and I don't want us to be at each other's throats this whole time so let's just air everything out right now, okay?"

He didn't answer, just kept his eyes on hers, setting his gauntlets on the floor and leaning against the wall, arms crossed yet again.

"Okay..." she said, taking that as affirmation. Her heart was already pounding with anxiety, unsure of how well this would go. "So... you kissed me. I found out you were trying to mess with me to get at Deku. I got mad. We argued. We haven't talked for weeks. And now we're here and we should try to be civil."

His eyebrows went up slightly at her words, "Don't act like it was all one-sided, floaty. You kissed me back. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have kept going."

Ochako looked down, biting her lip. He wasn't wrong but was that really an important detail?

"Okay, so we both kissed each other. Whatever. And then that other stuff happened and it won't be happening again so it doesn't really matter. I want us to do this mission like we're at least capable of being in the same room without wanting to tear each other's heads off. Can we please act like adults for just this week? And then you can go back to ignoring me if you want or we can go back to nitpicking at each other again. I don't care."

He narrowed his molten eyes at her for a long moment, seeming to consider what she was saying. She stared back at him unflinchingly. She wanted him to know she was serious about this.

Strangely, he looked away from her then, back toward the living room, to look out at the city.

"You would want to go back to how things were before?"

She wasn't sure but Ochako suspected he didn't mean before this school year but rather before they had kissed, when he'd been doing his best to irritate her every day.

Still worrying her lip between her teeth, she shifted her gaze down to the floor. "I mean..." she faltered, trying to find the right words, "I'd rather you not be mean to me but... I guess that's better than you acting like I don't exist..."

She peered back up at him. He hadn't taken his eyes from the horizon but his face was a little softer now, calmer.

Ochako wondered then when she had stopped hating her seemingly hostile interactions with him. When had she begun to enjoy how energized she'd felt by them? When had she begun to prefer that over how he'd practically ignored her like the last two years prior? Was she dumb? Was she a glutton for punishment?

No, she thought to herself, you didn't like how he treated you. You never let him get away with it. You liked how you felt about yourself when you stood up to him.

Was that enough to essentially forgive and forget what he'd been trying to do to her to get to Deku, though? If she wanted to forgive him, she would have to get over that without hope of apology on his part, wouldn't she? The likelihood of him actually saying he was sorry outright was slim to none.

"Fine," he finally said, cutting into her thoughts. He looked back at her, his expression stoic but his red eyes burning into hers. "We'll make this work somehow. But that doesn't mean I'm going to fake being nice."

She nodded feeling more relieved, the beginnings of a smile on her lips.

"And I won't kiss you anymore," he added and her smile fell away, "Not unless you want me to."

Ochako felt her cheeks flush and she couldn't look away from those piercing crimson eyes as they bored into her. They just stood staring at each other for what could have been seconds or minutes or hours, she was unsure as she lost herself within those blazing orbs.

Then the spell was broken as he leaned down to grab his gauntlets and turned away from her to enter the bedroom not three feet away from him and close the door, leaving her alone with her thoughts in the hall.

Notes:

Please don't get on me about the prince and details of Croatia. I did exactly two google searches worth of research into it and found that this country fit the bill ok enough for what I wanted this guy to be the prince of so that's what it is.

Chapter 12

Notes:

I'm pretty sure I'm required to have a disclaimer about this. This chapter features a whole lot of underage drinking and an adult (he's like 21 btw) who provides alcohol to those who are underage, both knowingly and unknowingly. I don't condone any of that and you should wait until you're legal age to drink. These are fake people doing fake things so don't think it's something that is actually ok. That is all.

Chapter Text

Prince Nate reemerged from his room later that evening and cooked dinner for them, once again surprising Ochako with his generosity and his practical skills. She'd expected him to be aloof, possibly a jerk. She never imagined he'd be down to earth and kind of all things. It seemed like he actually wanted to be around them and talk to them.

Over the course of dinner they learned more about him and he more about them (although avoiding the fact that they were still students of course). It was mostly Ochako and Nate talking, Bakugo only speaking up if he was pointedly asked a question

He learned more about their quirks and what led Ochako at least to want to become a hero. They learned that he was one of the minority of people who was quirkless and that was part of the reason he needed heroes to protect him. He seemed to not be very down about it, though. It had never been his dream to become a hero or anyone who would use their quirk to further their career. He had always conformed to being royalty and expected nothing more from his life than to travel around as a diplomat and he was happy like that. She couldn't relate but she understood why he was comfortable with his lifestyle.

After dinner, Bakugo went back to his room without a word, leaving her alone with Nate as she picked up dishes and started washing them. Nate helped her by drying and putting them away, all the while chatting about this and that, like how different things were for him in Japan and such.

After they finished with the dishes, he grabbed a bottle from the wine cooler (because why wouldn't this room have a wine cooler?) and opened the cabinet, turning to her, "Will you have a glass of wine with me?"

Ochako hesitated. She'd never had any alcohol before and she was still under legal drinking age.

Seeing her hesitation he shrugged, "You don't have to. In my country the legal drinking age is 18 and we're in a private location so you would be fine. But I won't make you or anything. I just don't like drinking alone."

She hadn't yet revealed her age to him, he only assumed her to be young by how she looked. And if she revealed it now, she knew that would likely reveal that she was still in high school. After speaking so much with him, she doubted he would truly mind if he found out they weren't fully licensed pro-heroes but she was also strictly warned not to let him know they were still training.

But she also understood his logic and only one glass would likely not affect her, especially after having a full dinner. Not to mention, Bakugo was just in the other room and while she knew he wasn't going to interact with the prince any more than he needed to, he would likely not let her make a fool of herself if the wine somehow did go to her head.

She acquiesced. "Ok, just a glass, though. I don't want to not be able to do my job, you know?"

He nodded in agreement, "I get it. You're a professional and you're on the job. No worries."

He grabbed two glasses and poured a dark burgundy liquid into both, handing one to her and sitting back at the dining room table.

She joined him, taking a sip of the drink and trying not to make a face as she felt it swirl around her mouth. She had always imagined wine would be sweet and something easy to drink, like juice. It was made from fruit after all. But this stuff somehow tasted... dry? Which was weird to say about a liquid. It was slightly sour and bitter. Ochako imagined it must be an acquired taste but found it bearable enough be polite and share drinks with Nate.

He chuckled, "I take it wine isn't something you usually drink."

She shook her head. "I don't really drink. It's a common thing for business people to go out and share drinks after work but hero work doesn't really end."

He nodded at her in understanding. "Well, I'm glad you were able to sit down with me now because I've been hoping I'd get to speak alone with you since I met you two at the airport."

"Oh?" she asked, tipping her glass side to side and watching the burgundy liquid change directions. She was starting to feel a little anxious at the direction this conversation had turned.

"Yeah," he said smiling shyly and looking away.

Ochako considered him a moment, taking in his fair complexion and jet black well-coiffed hair. His blue eyes were averted from her but she could see thick lashes rimming them. He was incredibly handsome and was probably able to get any girl he wanted. Not to mention he was a prince.

But the way he looked away from her and the way he seemed so uncertain in this instant was so unlike the image he usually put forth. It slightly endeared him to her despite her anxiety about what he would say next.

"So um..." he continued, "I don't know if anything is going on between you and Bakugo. You two seem to know each other pretty well and I see you guys trading looks with each other sometimes. I wasn't sure if it was just because you're well-acquainted or... more— And don't get me wrong, I won't judge you if there's something between you. You're staying professional and all! I know it's a personal question and not my business."

He kept his eyes angled away from her as he spoke and Ochako could feel her nerves constrict even further as he went on. She wasn't sure what he was getting at but she decided to answer with a certain amount of honesty.

"No, no! There's nothing really between Bakugo and I. We just... went to high school together," she said, deciding to go with a half-truth.

Nate looked relieved and relaxed his shoulders a bit as he met her eyes again, still darting them away every so often.

"Oh phew ok," he sighed, "Well I was wanting to ask you... And I don't know how okay this is... I know it's definitely not professional of me..." He trailed off and let a small silence come over them.

She got a sick feeling in her stomach as she took another sip from her glass and worry crept up her spine.

Pleasepleaseplease don't ask what I'm afraid you're going to ask, she thought at him. Bakugo! Why did you leave me alone with this guy? She thought she might be staring at him a little too intently but she was trying to laser that message into his brain too.

Then he just blurted it all out.

"I wanted to ask you if you think I might have a chance with Bakugo," he said quickly, barely spacing his words and taking a deep breath afterward like he'd been holding it in this whole time.

Ochako nearly fell out of her chair in shock.

What in the literal actual hell? her mind screamed. She'd thought he was about to hit on her! A wave of relief rushed through her. Now everything he had ever said and done seemed so much more harmless. The way he'd asked her to drink with him, the way he tried to include Bakugo in their conversations despite him not really wanting to be, how he just happily accepted Bakugo's gruff nature.

Then she thought back to her exchange with Bakugo earlier in the day. "I'm not interested," he had said. She had asked him what that even meant and he'd shook his head like she was an idiot. Now as she was sitting here, she really felt like she was an idiot. He'd probably picked up on it relatively quickly. That was probably also why he ran off so fast after dinner and why he didn't feel concerned at all about leaving her alone with Nate.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to come up with some semblance of an answer.

Her voice wobbled as she responded, "W-Well... Um, I'm not sure Bakugo is ah... interested in... guys. I would have to ask him."

She inwardly winced, already knowing that, at the very least, Bakugo had said he wasn't interested in Nate.

He smiled back at her sadly, "Oh it's ok. I can tell from the look on your face that I don't have a chance."

He chuckled softly to himself, "I'm a prince. I'm presumably a good-looking guy, but for all that, I seem to only like guys that aren't into me."

He looked down at his glass.

Ochako took another drink from her own glass, then patted his hand. "I'm sorry, Nate. But, to be honest, I don't know if Bakugo is the kind of guy you would want anyway. How you see him is pretty much how he is.— meaner even. He's usually going around yelling at everybody. He's not any nicer to his friends. I don't know if he's ever had a significant other but I doubt he would treat them better."

For some stupid reason, her mind decided to jump back to the ramen he cooked for her and how he'd gently kissed her neck, like it was trying to prove her wrong. But she also recalled the way he'd snapped at her when she'd pushed him away and the way he just ignored her the moment things stopped going his way. That was par for the course with him and not how someone would treat someone they actually cared about.

Nate nodded again and drained his glass, leaning back to do so. "I'm sorry if I shocked or imposed on you, Uravity. You're very friendly and I felt like you would be a safe person to talk to. A lot of heroes tend to be no-nonsense or angling for something but you were just kind and that was a nice change of pace for me. So thank you."

She shook her head, smiling warmly. "It wasn't an imposition at all. Don't worry about it, Nate. I'm happy to talk to you any time."

Then he changed the subject and they were back to laughing and chatting like normal, possibly even closer than they had been before, now that more personal information had been shared between them.

Bakugo came back out to the living area in civilian clothes as they began to laugh more loudly when they'd moved to the couch and started watching game shows together. Nate had gotten a couple more glasses in and seemed to be a little tipsy. Ochako stuck with her one and didn't feel any effects but was on a different kind of high being able to have more informal exchanges with her new friend now.

"You're being obnoxious. It's 11 o'clock. Go to bed," he groused. He was wearing a dark navy blue tank and those comfy-looking sweats he'd been wearing the night he'd made her ramen. They both turned to him at the same time and Ochako noticed then how Nate smiled brightly at Bakugo.

Oh sweetie, she thought, her heart going out to him.

"Oh, is it really?" Nate said sluggishly, checking his watch. "Oh yeah we should go to bed. I didn't know we'd been out here this long, these shows are so much fun!"

He got up and shut off the TV, making his way around the couch and into the hall.

"Goodnight, Uravity, Bakugo," he said quietly, looking at them each in turn, then disappeared down the hall.

When she heard his door click shut, she turned to Bakugo, getting up on her knees on the couch and leaning onto the back. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You knew he was into you," she accused.

He narrowed his eyes right back. "He didn't try to hide it or anything. I already told you I'm not interested."

"Yeah but... why?"

The expression that came across his face was almost comical. He looked like she'd just slapped him stupid.

"Because I don't like men. You should know that better than most," he growled harshly.

"I don't know that," she said, feeling oddly calm confronting him about this. "You could like both."

He gave her an annoyed look, "Well, now you know I don't like both."

She giggled at him then. It was clear to her that he was embarrassed about the attention he was being paid but was not willing to admit it. His prideful attitude was finally biting him in the ass and she reveled in being able to watch it happen in real time.

"What is so funny, pink-cheeks? Don't act like you would take it better if he were interested in you," he snarled at her.

Ochako had to admit that he was probably right about that. When she had originally thought Nate was about to confess to being interested in her, she had felt like she might be sick. She still couldn't help the grin that spread over her face at his apparent discomfort, though.

"Well, I'm gonna head to bed now," she said rolling over the back of the couch and heading down the hall. "Goodnight, Bakugo," she said.

As she expected, he didn't answer her and she shut the door to her room to prepare for bed.

Bakugo threw his gauntlets down on the floor the moment they got up to the room and tore off his mask and hair spikes to throw those too.

"Fuck!" he yelled, "Fucking assholes!"

Ochako exited after him, massaging her temples. Nate stepped out last, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't mind if you're students. Really. I have faith that you guys can do your jobs," he said squeezing her shoulder in solidarity.

They had been out most of the day, visiting shrines and memorials. They even had gotten to visit the house of a prominent Japanese family who had many business and government connections. It had been an, overall, uneventful day.

But as they'd walked through the lobby, two heroes (seemingly sidekicks for a none too well-known hero agency) were leaving and had taken notice of them.

They'd been interested in who they worked for and seemed like they were being friendly but just as they had been about to say goodbye, one of the idiots had recognized Bakugo.

"Oh! You! You're the kid who won the senior division at the UA sports festival this year didn't you? I knew I recognized you from somewhere!"

Ochako had tried to cut him off and signal the conversation was over but he forged on.

"What happened to the kid from before with the super strength?" the guys asked, "Didn't he win last year? They said he withdrew. I really thought he'd win it again this year."

Bakugo had looked like he was about to explode and still the guy wouldn't shut up.

"So what are you guys doing here? Some kinda leg work for the Lurkers they didn't want to do themselves? Interns always get the worst jobs."

It had been at this point Ochako knew she wouldn't be able to keep Bakugo from going off on the guy and had to put herself between the two saying pointedly, "Well we need to go now. We're all tired from traveling around with the prince here so if you'll excuse us. Good evening, gentlemen."

Then she made a pleading look toward Nate as she grabbed Bakugo's arm and had to use her quirk to reduce his weight in order to drag him away. She'd felt his skin heating as they traveled up the elevator, not letting him go until they had reached the top floor.

While they had gone up, she had quickly explained the truth about their origins and hero status and apologized profusely, offering to get ahold of Mt. Lady to swap them out for fully licensed heroes.

Now here they were, Bakugo fuming and yelling profanities that she had a hard time faulting him for (those guys really had been out of line) and Nate undeservingly trying to console them.

"What you think doesn't really matter," Bakugo retorted, continuing to pull off pieces of his costume.

"Well, actually, it kinda does," Ochako commented. "Remember Mt. Lady said that she wanted us to keep quiet about it because she wanted him to always have confidence in our ability to protect him."

She looked at Nate then, "Do you really still have confidence that two heroes in training can guard you?"

Bakugo halted his pacing and waited, hands on his hips.

Nate looked between them then smiled warmly. "Yes, I'm more than confident you can do it. I'm not that important anyway. There haven't been any threats on my life in years. And those guys said something about you winning your school's Sports Festival, right?" he said, eyeing Bakugo, "Isn't UA the best hero training school in the country? So you're telling me my bodyguards are the best students at the best hero school in the country? In my eyes, you're probably more capable than most side-kicks out there. It's fine, guys."

He let go of her shoulder and stepped into the kitchen, opening the fridge.

"Here, we all need to relax a little bit and there aren't any plans until late tomorrow," he said, pulling out a bottle of vodka and shot glasses. Then he halted, frowning as he looked back at them again. "Oh right, I'm sorry, I already forgot you're not even close to legal drinking age. I'm sorry I asked you to drink with me before, Uravity."

Bakugo just scoffed, grabbing the bottle from him and pouring the clear liquid into the glass, "Like I fucking care."

He swallowed the shot in one go and slammed the small glass onto the counter.

This gave Ochako pause and she began to wonder if Bakugo already had experience drinking alcohol. He didn't even seem bothered by the taste, which she could only imagine was awful considering she knew vodka had a much higher alcohol content than wine.

Not to be outdone, Nate also poured a shot for himself and threw it back, scrunching his face up afterward. So the taste wasn't great after all.

She considered not joining them and just going to stretch out on her bed to relax but her experience drinking with Nate the night before had not been bad and she kind of liked the idea of laughing freely with him again.

Nate grinned as she took the tiny glass from him and held it out for him to fill.

A couple hours (and more shots) later, Ochako and Nate were lounging together on the sofa in their pajamas they'd changed into, giggling as Bakugo was, yet again, grumbling about the two heroes who had approached them downstairs.

"-and they brought up that loser, talking like he should've won. Fucking idiots."

Ochako couldn't help the laughter that spilled from her mouth at his tirade. For some reason everything wasso much funnier right now, especially him being angry.

He glared at her with glassy eyes, "Why are you laughing, pink-cheeks? They didn't even know who you were!"

This just made her howl with laughter, slapping Nate on the knee as she did so.

"Ow!" he cried, still cracking up with her.

"Whatever," Bakugo huffed, plopping down into an armchair.

"Awww, don't be like that, Bakugo," Nate said, trying to control his laughter but failing.

"Poor boy," Ochako teased, "Did they hurt your feelings? Does the baby need his pacifier?"

Bakugo rolled his eyes, "You're really annoying when you're drunk, floaty."

She couldn't help but let out another giggle at that. Yes, she was well and truly drunk and she doubted she'd like feeling this way very often, but she liked how free and happy she felt, sitting here enjoying life with these two people right now. Tomorrow she would probably go back to all of her worries and decisions and responsibilities. But none of that seemed to matter in this moment. There was only the here and now for her and it was nice to just focus on that for a little while.

"And you're really adorable when you make that pouty face," she snickered, patting his cheek and making a mocking pouty face back at him.

He lightly smacked her hand away and she laughed out loud again.

She leaned back onto the couch, turning to Nate, then.

"Nate," she said, taking on a serious expression, though her mind was still muddled.

He looked back at her, grinning, "What is it, Uravity?"

"Nate, you are so beautiful... and you're a prince," she said haltingly, laying her hand on his, resting on the couch. "Any guy would be lucky to have you."

He looked touched and smiled warmly, "Thank you, Uravity. That means a lot."

She laid her head on his shoulder, hugging his arm to her chest and it felt like a sweet, heart-warming moment. But because she had exactly zero filter or inhibitions right now, Ochako felt compelled to keep going.

"I mean, if you were into girls or if I was a guy... You're gorgeous enough I'd give you a go," she tittered.

She heard Bakugo cough and out of the corner of her eye she saw him put a hand to his mouth.

Nate patted her head with a warm chuckle, "If I liked girls, you'd be the first on my list, I swear."

"You're so sweet," she said dreamily, "I wish other boys were more like you. Then maybe they wouldn't hurt me so much."

"I wish other boys were like you," he responded as he kept stroking her hair, now relaxed from its usual ponytail.

"What a tragedy, Nate." she slurred, "Two kindred spirits and not meant to be because I don't have the right bits."

At that Nate snorted and she saw movement out of the corner of her eye again. She looked over to see Bakugo bent in half, and hand over his mouth and a look in his eye so jubilant that it shook her. He was about to laugh. Genuinely.

"Do you mind, Kacchan? I'm lamenting what could've been a beautiful love story between me and a prince here," she grumbled.

He couldn't hold it back any longer and burst out with raucous peals of laughter. Now she understood his feelings of minor annoyance at being the subject of someone's entertainment at her expense. But it didn't last because she'd never seen him laugh this way with anyone. It was joyful with no trace of sarcasm or malice.

Her heartstrings pulled a bit and she traded looks of shock with Nate, whose eyes had glazed over momentarily and his cheeks had reddened further than from just his drunkenness. She wondered if her face looked the same.

Then she looked back to Bakugo when he started taking huge gasps of air to calm himself. Between continued spurts of laughter he tried to speak. "Don't...call me... Kacchan... unless... you like.. me.. calling you... Ochako-chan..."

When he'd finally been able to get the whole sentence out, he was able to quiet himself, although a smirk still lingered on his lips. Damn him, that was a nice smile he had too.

Ochako extricated herself from Nate and leaned closer to the armchair.

"Why not?" she asked challengingly, a smirk dancing at her own mouth "I know you like it."

He stopped smiling and took on a more fierce expression, embers sparking to life in those ruby orbs.

"I don't like it," he said with a low voice.

She snorted derisively, "Don't lie to me. I thought before that you wanted to kill me when I said it but it actually excites you. You like when I'm mean to you, Kacchan."

"No, Ochako-chan," he growled and a shiver went through her hearing her name on his lips. Ugh, something about that made her feel even more drunk. She saw him dig his fingers into the armrests of the chair, "I like when you flirt with me but you think you're being mean to me."

The smirk on her lips died and she looked back at Nate, afraid that how they were speaking now was far too personal. But when her eyes fell on him he was passed out. Bakugo had likely seen it happen, which was why he hadn't been afraid to be so forward.

She glared at Bakugo, then pushed up off the couch.

"Help me get him to bed," she said, choosing to ignore his last words.

He sighed and stood as well.

They both took one of his arms and slung it over their shoulders. Ochako used her quirk to reduce his weight so they could more easily manage him and they dragged him toward the master bedroom.

They got him into bed and tucked under the covers, then exited the room, closing his door.

Once they were outside Ochako pushed Bakugo into the wall as she made her way toward her own room, not needing to lighten his weight to do so.

"What the fuck was that for?" he snarled following close behind her.

"For being a jerk," she snapped, whirling around to face him. "I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression but I have never flirted with you. I've always been standing up to you."

He huffed a small laugh, "Sometimes. Other times you were flirting with me. And no matter what, you've always liked fighting with me."

Her body had already felt hot from her drunkenness but Ochako felt her face burn from embarrassment. She wanted to refute him but she'd just admitted to herself the other day that she had missed bickering with him because it made her feel powerful.

"I like it because I like standing up to you when no one else will!" she argued back.

"Do you know why I ignored you these past few weeks?" he asked, his voice starting to sound frustrated.

She didn't answer, just glowered at him.

"Because this was all part of it. You told me to back off and that you didn't want me to confuse you. So I backed off. It's not my fault you missed me."

Ochako's jaw tightened, her breaths becoming heavier as her anger flared, "I didn't miss you."

"Okay..." he said sarcastically, shaking his head, "That's why you said you would be fine with going back to the way things were..."

She grunted in irritation, "Well it's good to see you're so sure of yourself. I'm glad not talking to me didn't bother you at all!"

He turned his full gaze on her then. "Yeah, I've been just fine," he said, words dripping with obvious sarcasm.

She let out a cry of frustration then and pushed him again. "Uuuggghhhh! Why can't you just say anything outright? Why is it always a guessing game with you about what you really mean and how you really feel?"

She pushed him again, harder this time, his back thudding against his door.

"Stop," he said with a low dangerous voice, his eyes glowing.

"Or what, Kacchan? What are you gonna do?" she snapped, pushing him again. The door thudded again and he growled in anger.

"You see?" she bit out, "This is not me flirting with you. This is me hating you."

He said nothing, just watched her with a dimly burning rage, his breath becoming ragged, fists forming at his sides.

"Are you gonna grab my neck again? Hm? Push me back against the wall? Bite me again?" she hissed, breathing heavily.

He looked positively ferocious now, his crimson eyes burning down at her.

"Do you want me to?" he nearly whispered.

Ochako stopped, a chill running down her spine. Her mind felt clouded and she could hardly concentrate on anything else as she pulled back from him. She knew she should think this through and consider where she was and what was going on around her but that voice of logic in her head was gone. She felt hot. Her skin burned and her body ached.

She stared at him, his eyes glowing, his lips slightly parted, his breath ragged, and his clothes disheveled. He was towering over her, easily more than twice her size and she was pushing him around. It felt good.

She pushed him again, keeping her palm to his chest this time and he growled low, baring his teeth at her.

"Yes," she breathed and brought her lips up to meet his.

Immediately, she tasted the alcohol on his tongue and the smell of it on his breath overrode the burned matches smell he usually had.

He kissed her back with fervor, capturing her face with one hand while the other tangled itself in her hair. He grunted when she bit, then licked at his lower lip.

Ochako felt ravenous, almost insatiable with the need to feel his hands and mouth on her body again. He was intoxicating.

She grabbed at his door handle and twisted it, pushing him back when it flew open.

He tripped backward, pulling her with him as he fell onto his massive bed.

Then she was laying on top of him, her tongue still roaming his mouth as she brought her knees up under her to either side of his hips.

"Yes," she said again, pulling back and sitting up, letting her short nails drag across his clothed chest as she did so.

He hissed and ground his teeth, his molten irises burning into hers. She saw an inferno of desire there and it made her feel even more wild with her own need.

She grabbed his hands which had come to relax on their thighs and placed them on her ass.

He let out an animalistic sound as he squeezed harshly and she whimpered part in pain, part in desire.

The sound only riled him up more and he held her as he ground his hips into hers, allowing her to feel his hardness throbbing against her groin through his pants. Another small cry, this time completely of desire, escaped her lips.

"God, I never want to stop hearing that sound," he grunted, gripping her ass again.

Her fingers found the hem of his shirt and she ventured underneath, finding lean, hard abdominal muscle. She let her hands roam his torso and dragged her nails down his chest again, this time touching on hot, slippery skin.

He groaned and ground his hips into her again, eliciting another small moan from her.

Ochako hesitated a moment, not sure what seemed strange but then realized what had startled her. He was sweating. His skin was slick with it and she was digging her nails into it.

"It's safe," he snickered, seeing her expression, "It only explodes when I want it to."

He pulled her back down to him and caught her mouth with his again before bringing his lips to her ear.

"And, it tastes sweet," he purred, nipping at her earlobe.

A shiver ran through Ochako's body, so intense that she felt herself shake under his hands. Her mouth suddenly watered like she'd laid her eyes on something delicious and she couldn't help herself when she shyly licked at his neck.

He went momentarily rigid under her when her tongue touched his hot skin. He wasn't lying, his sweat was sweet like sugar and it left a slight burning sensation on her tongue.

She licked him again, this time letting the whole of her tongue glide up his neck to his ear where she nuzzled at the piercings in his lobe. His hips bucked ferociously into hers and she gave a throaty sigh directly into his ear. He let out a small grunt in response, then claimed her mouth with his own again, seductively stroking his tongue against her own.

His large, rough hands traveled under her pajama top, to the soft skin of her back and lightly roamed there, occasionally dragging his nails across it. Every time he did, she felt like he was leaving small trails of fire in his wake.

She pulled back again suddenly, still feeling insatiable, still wanting his touch.

"I told you yes, I want you to bite me and grab my neck and slam me against a wall, Kacchan," Ochako said roughly, her voice sounding throaty and almost completely unlike her own. She ripped his hands away as she sat up again, arching her back and grinding herself into his hardness, eliciting another moan from his delicious mouth.

She pulled him to sit up with her and placed his hands on her again. His left on her breast, his right on her neck. Instead of being rough like with her ass, he was more gentle this time as he brought his lips to her neck, languorously licking and kissing before sinking his teeth into her skin, causing her to cry out in ecstasy.

"Shhhh" he shushed into her neck, nuzzling close to her.

"I want you," she breathed, taking big gulps of air. "Now. Please," she whimpered, feeling an ache between her legs like she'd never known before in her life.

Bakugo's breath hitched as she reached a hand between them, feeling the length of his erection through his pants. She noticed that her panties were so drenched that some wetness had even begun soaking through her pajama bottoms. She thought she should maybe feel embarrassed but for some reason it turned her on even more.

She began to pull at the button to his pants but he grabbed her hands and held them in his own.

"We can't do that," he said firmly.

She pulled her hands away from his and went for his waistband again but he stopped her again.

"We can't, Ochako," he said again, sounding pained.

"Why?" she snarled at him, "I'm saying yes. I want to."

He sighed and pulled back from her, gently lifting her off of him to sit next to him on the bed.

"You're saying yes now. But you're drunk. And we got this far because so am I and I'm an asshole," he explained, bringing a hand up to massage his forehead.

"I want it so bad, you don't even know," he ground out, looking away from her, "But I don't even have condoms and I won't do this when you're drunk, especially when you're this drunk."

He turned to her again, sweeping his fingers along her jaw, his crimson eyes strangely soft for once.

"So I'll kiss you and I'll touch you if that's what you want me to do, but I can't have sex with you."

Ochako's heart unexpectedly tightened seeing him this way and hearing this gentle voice coming from him that she never thought he was even capable of. It sobered her slightly and brought her into a more clear state of mind, although she still didn't feel like she could concentrate properly.

Something inside of her cracked. She didn't expect this kind of consideration from him. He was pushy and self-centered and rude. Now he was showing her a different side of him and it was throwing her off. She'd always thought he just wanted in her pants and would throw her away after he got what he wanted (which made her realize just how stupid she was being).

She suddenly felt a great deal of shame. It was hard to think properly and she was being confronted with a revelation that she was having a hard time fully grasping at the moment. She had thought Bakugo had only wanted to sleep with her. She had understood that Bakugo and had still felt some kind of attraction for him enough to do this tonight, albeit in a drunken state. But him stopping and not being the asshole she had thought he was... meant that she didn't understand him at all. And something about that didn't sit right with her. She'd been ready to be used by an asshole Bakugo. She didn't know if she was ready to face whatever this was that he was showing her now.

Minutes had possibly passed while she was trying to work this out in her muddled head and when she finally came back to herself, she saw he was still watching her with that strangely gentle expression. Her heart cracked further and she felt for a second that she might cry. What the hell was wrong with her?

"I um... I'm sorry. I'm not sure what I'm doing right now," she said, her voice cracking. She was unable to catch a tear as it escaped from the corner of her eye.

She froze as he reached a thumb up to her cheek to wipe it away, his still hot lips slowly trailing after to softly plant a kiss to her cheek and his hand coming back down to rest at her neck.

She shuddered, blowing out a shaky breath. Her desire still burned hot within her but now she was feeling even more unsure than ever.

She pushed up from the bed, and stood, adjusting her clothing as she did so.

"I'm not kicking you out," he growled, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her to stand in between his legs so he was looking up at her.

His hands at her hips were so firm and comforting. She was tempted to stay, to let him pull her back into his bed and kiss her softly or hungrily or any way he wanted to.

But she was afraid that if she did, she might convince him not to stop her next time. And this tightening feeling in her chest wasn't letting up. Something told her it wouldn't be right to stay.

"No, I'm sorry. I can't. It's late and I probably need to go to bed," she said uncomfortably, pulling back from him.

He frowned in confusion and, it seemed, a little bit of frustration but let her slide from his grasp, "Okay..."

Again, gazing into those burning ruby orbs, she was tempted to run her fingers through his hair and hear his soft groans of pleasure as she tasted the candy-like sweat gathering on his skin. She knew he would let her, would want her to, in fact. But she mentally slapped herself back to reason.

"I'll see you in the morning," she said softly, making her way to the door and opening it.

He sighed and only said, "Yeah."

She squeezed through the small opening she'd made and shut it again with a small click. Leaning her back against the wall to the side of his door, she laid a hand against her heart, feeling it thunder against her ribcage, and tried to calm herself.

She waited for a few long minutes and was about to move away when she heard his bed springs squeak slightly as he plopped back onto it, she presumed. Then she felt her mouth go dry and a furious blush heated her entire face as she heard his breath pick up and turn ragged. She brought the cuff of her pajama top to her mouth and bit into it hard when he heard a soft grunt issue from behind the door.

Her panties were suddenly feeling extremely constricting. That could've been you, her mind chided.

As quickly and silently as she could, she moved away from the door before anything else could reach her ears.

She changed her underwear and her pajama bottoms before heading to bed.

—-

The next morning, Ochako awoke with one of the worst headaches she'd ever experienced in her life. Not only did her head hurt, her whole body ached, the sun shining in her window made her want to vomit, and any sound at all made her indescribably angry. As she crept out of her room to use the restroom, she saw a tray to the right of her doorway with a huge glass of water and two aspirin on it.

She used the restroom quickly before coming back to take the two aspirin and bring the glass of water into her room. She wasn't sure it was Nate or Bakugo who had left them for her but she was thankful to whoever it had been.

Sitting on her bed and drinking the glass of water slowly, she tried to recall the night before.

They'd run into those sidekicks who had recognized them and revealed them to be students. Then, Nate had offered them drinks and they'd all gotten incredibly drunk. Nate had fallen asleep. Then... then...

Ochako coughed up the water she'd tried to swallow but had partially inhaled.

Whatthefuck!Whatthefuck!Whatthefuck! her mind screamed, alarms blaring. This is the last time I ever drink anything ever!

She felt embarrassment and shame that she'd practically thrown herself at Bakugo. She'd kissed him! She'd licked him! She hid her face in her hands as she remembered how she'd practically begged him to bite her again.

She ran to her vanity mirror and ripped down her collar to check the damage. Sure enough, two half-moon marks marred the skin between her neck and shoulder. She slammed a fist on the vanity, making the whole thing rattle.

But then she also recalled that he'd stopped her when she'd tried to go further and, for that, she was thankful. She didn't want her first time to be with a guy she had felt passing lust for on a night she could only remember vaguely.

Why he'd stopped their little tryst, she couldn't quite recall but she supposed it didn't really matter. They'd stopped before she'd done something she would forever regret and that was a small mercy at least.

Feeling a little less like she'd been hit by a semi (it was more like a minivan now), Ochako emerged from her room to eat breakfast.

She froze when she saw Bakugo sitting in the dining room, nursing a large glass of water himself and looking miserable. God, she hoped she didn't look that awful.

His tired eyes lifted to hers and a flashback came to her of those eyes half-lidded as she dragged her nails down his chest.

Shoving that memory waaaaaay down, she gave him a quick smile and headed into the kitchen to make herself some food.

"I ordered room service to bring breakfast," a gravelly voice croaked from the table, "I don't know if you remember but Nate said last night that we could if we felt bad in the morning. You can have some, if you want."

Ochako sighed in relief. Making food felt so daunting this morning.

"Thank you," she said as warmly as she could muster, sitting at the table across from him.

He watched her sit and said nothing.

"So..." she said, trying to break the awkward silence, "I hope Nate is going to feel better than us when he gets up."

Bakugo shot her a dubious look, "So I assume we're just gonna act like nothing happened last night and everything is normal..."

"Uh..." she started, but was saved by the ding of the elevator.

Room service entered the living area pushing a cart filled with all kinds of breakfast foods.

Ochako shot up to take the cart from the man pushing it.

"Someone will be back to pick up the cart and dishes in a couple hours," the man said. She thanked him and he promptly left.

Not wanting to have to sit back down with Bakugo alone right now and discuss the events of the previous night, Ochako checked the clock and said, "Shouldn't Nate be awake by now? I feel like he should be awake. I'm gonna go wake him up. I don't want him to miss breakfast."

She hurried back down the hall before he could respond.

You are a coward, she hissed at herself, shaking her head. Shame coursing through her.

"Nate?" Ochako quietly called, knocking on his door.

When no answer came she opened it a crack and called again, "Nate, Bakugo ordered breakfast if you want some."

Thinking he must have still been passed out, Ochako pushed his door open the rest of the way and found his bed empty. This didn't worry her too much, though, because she figured he might be in the bathroom instead.

But when she looked, the bathroom door was wide open and no one was inside.

Now she was worried.

She raced back to his bed and searched it for anything that might've told her where he was but it was only slightly rumpled.

His phone lay on the side table. Wherever he'd gone, he'd left it. She didn't want to go through one of his personal belongings but if it gave any clue where he was right now, she had to check.

Picking up his phone, she saw he'd gotten a new message very very early that morning.

When she read it, she rushed out to Bakugo, tears streaming from her eyes, the phone still clutched in her hand.

The message read:

Unknown: Meet me here in 20 minutes and come alone or I will have them killed.

Then the sender had included two pictures. One of a map with a location pinned on it, the other of a beautiful older looking woman with long black hair sleeping comfortably next to a man with dark brown hair and a mustache.

Nate had simply responded: I'm coming right now. Please don't hurt them.

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

"Nate is a fucking idiot," Bakugo bit out as they raced down the street toward the meeting location indicated on the map.

Ochako had a hard time disagreeing with him at the moment. Why hadn't Nate woken them? Why hadn't he told them what was happening? Just yesterday he'd said he had confidence in them to do their job. Now, he'd run off and not trusted that they would be able to help him. She was hurt and angry but she was also terrified that this might be the end of both her and Bakugo's careers as heroes if anything happened to Nate.

"I'll murder him myself when we find him," Bakugo snarled again for what must've been the fifth time since she'd run out to him in a panic.

He'd jumped up from his chair the moment he'd seen her face, immediately knowing something was horribly wrong.

When she'd shown him the messages, he'd slammed a fist on the table in rage and that had been the first time he'd voiced his intention to kill the prince.

Now only fifteen minutes had passed since she'd first found Nate's room empty and they were hoping against hope that going to the location indicated on the map would be fruitful. The time the message was sent had been around 7 am, only about two hours earlier than the current time, but that meant that, if Nate had made it to the location within 20 minutes like they said, they had well over an hour's head start on doing whatever it was they wanted him for.

As they had traveled down the elevator, Ochako had called Mt. Lady and informed her of the situation. She'd been nervous in doing so and had even considered not telling her at all for a second there. But she also knew that, presumably, the King and Queen of Croatia's lives could possibly be in danger and making sure they were secure was more important than her and Bakugo saving face.

Mt. Lady had responded swiftly and succinctly. She assured Ochako that she would report the occurrence to the Croatian royal family and make sure they were safe. Ochako apologized profusely and damn near broke into tears again right there.

"Just get him back, Uravity," Mt. Lady said firmly with authority, "It's not your fault he chose to sneak away from you on his own. It will be your fault if you can't save him. That is our job as heroes and I'm still entrusting this one to you."

That had snapped her out of her pity party and given her a new confidence to do what she needed.

Bakugo had listened to the whole exchange and had said nothing, instead staring out over the city and the bright blue sky. She wondered if he worried at all about his position as a hero being endangered by this situation but kept her curiosity to herself.

Coming up to the address indicated in the message, they looked to be in an alleyway between an apartment building and some older storefronts.

Looking around initially, Ochako couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. A few of the businesses were already open and the alley itself was relatively empty. No one was milling about or looking suspicious. There was a back door to the apartment building nearby but it was locked from the inside.

"If you want to look around out here, I'll go ask the business owners in the shops if they've seen anything," she suggested.

Bakugo nodded curtly and turned away to scour their surroundings.

She was mildly surprised that he'd followed her lead on this. He didn't just like being in charge all the time, he insisted on it. No one he didn't see as an authority figure (and not even then sometimes) could tell him what to do. She took it as a testament of how important this mission really was to him that he acknowledged her suggestion as being a good one, even if it hadn't been any big thing.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Ochako entered the first shop, a little quaint cafe with a cute bell above the door to signal a guest's arrival and everything.

"Hello, young lady" said an elderly woman behind the counter, "how can I help you?"

"Hi, ma'am," Ochako greeted. "I'm looking for this man," she said, holding up a picture of Nate on her phone, "he said he would be coming to this alleyway and I was wondering if you've seen him."

The woman smiled kindly and grabbed for a pair of reading glasses hanging around her neck, placing them on the bridge of her nose. She squinted at the phone, making a humming noise.

Ochako bounced anxiously on the balls of her feet, wishing this lady would hurry up.

"I don't think I've seen-"

Suddenly, Bakugo threw open the door, the bell on it jingling violently.

"Round-face, get out here now!"

Not caring to even let the old lady finish her sentence, Ochako turned and ran after him, emerging back into the alleyway where she could just barely make out the sound of raised voices.

"Where is that-"

Bakugo shoved a hand over her mouth and she shot him a glare. Pointing upwards, he took his hand from her mouth. She tilted her head up as if looking in that direction might help her hear better but the sound was barely louder than a whisper despite being recognizable as a yell.

"Get us up there," he spoke in a low tone.

"Wait, shouldn't we have a plan?" she whispered back, "We can't just go up there not knowing what to expect. It might not even be him."

"Sure," Bakugo snapped back, "The plan is, we go up there and I blow their faces off."

"Okay, you're not even hearing what I'm saying. And what are you doing?" she asked with confusion. He'd turned his back to her, crouching down.

"Look, floaty," he whispered harshly, "I'd just go up there myself if I could but they'll hear me before I even make it there so just... let's go."

Ochako looked around like she might find a camera from a prank show.

"Let's go like... get on your back?"

He turned his face back to her, a pink shade slightly darkening his cheeks. But the severity of his enraged face counteracted any softening the blush might've done.

"Just fucking get on!" he whisper yelled.

Remembering that the mission and Nate's life hanging in the balance were more important than her embarrassment, Ochako pulled herself together. She put on a brave face and stepped forward, pressing her chest to his back and grabbing onto his thickly muscled shoulders.

She felt her own cheeks warm as his large gloved hands took hold of her thighs and pulled them to either side of his hips. Those hands had been on her thighs before only hours ago for a completely different reason...

Mentally shaking off those images, she activated her quirk on them both and he pushed off from the ground, lifting them into the air.

They began to rise, floating past window after window, approaching the roof of the apartment building. The voices became louder as they rose and it was easier to make out what was being said.

"You tell them now Nathaniel or you will all die!" a squeaky male voice shrieked.

"Boss, you're being too loud, someone will hear-"

"I don't care who hears!"

Then came Nate's voice, sounding exhausted, "They won't listen to me about this. We've already tried. They know you're holding me hostage."

"Shut up!" the squeaky voice squawked again followed by a sickly thudding sound and Nate's grunt.

Ochako's fingers involuntarily gripped Bakugo's shoulders harder.

He pushed off of a nearby window sill to increase their speed further and they shot up, windows streaking past them now.

As they reached the top of the building and passed it, Ochako released their weight and they fell back to the roof, landing gracefully.

There was a short, squat man in a purple suit flanked by three more men, all wearing black suits as though they were some kind of secret agents. They stood slightly away from the man in purple, who was standing next to a very roughed-up Nate. It broke her heart to see him in this state when he was usually so put together, he never even had a hair out of place.

Before they even got the chance to react to the two teens now dropping onto the roof, Bakugo let go of her legs and threw his hands out behind them, setting off an explosion from each that she could feel the heat of barely missing her back.

The three men immediately scrambled to surround the smaller man. He was clearly the "boss" being referred to.

Bakugo flew into the first person, a large guy with red skin and the face of an oni. He brought his hand around and blasted him in the face. He landed on top of him, quickly knocking his head into the ground and incapacitating him.

Pushing off of his back, Ochako flipped onto the second one, a fat guy with tribal tattoos covering his entire body. She wrapped her legs around his neck and floated herself and him. The man tried to grab at her legs and wrench her off, activating his quirk which allowed him to manipulate his tattoos to tighten around her legs like wire. She hissed in pain when they began to constrict, biting into her flesh through her suit.

Before they could get any tighter, she released her own weight and flipped as they fell, using the momentum of the flip and the release of his weight right as they hit to smash him into the concrete roof, creating a small crater around him. She knew he had also been incapacitated when his tattoos loosened and fell away from her legs.

When she turned back, Bakugo was already blasting the third one, a muscled bald man with large rock-like gloves on his hands, into the ground as well. It looked for a moment like he might actually give Bakugo a challenge when he was able to block a lot of the explosion with those huge stone fists, but then Ochako saw him form a circle on his palm, aiming it at the bald man, and shot a concentrated blast— his AP blast she recalled— breaking through the stone gloves easily and hitting the man behind, sending him flying back.

The three thug-type guys now out of commission, Ochako and Bakugo went to take down the boss of the three but he'd moved away from them and stood behind Nate now wrapping his hand around his neck.

"Don't come any closer or I will turn his blood to sludge," the small man threatened.

They both froze, unsure if he was bluffing or was a serious danger.

Ochako looked to Nate, seeing the fear shining there. So he wasn't lying...

"The king and queen of Croatia already know what you're doing. We've contacted the hero agencies in the area and they'll be here any minute. If you let the prince go, you won't be hurt," she bluffed. A lie was most believable with a truth thrown in. She had informed Mt. Lady and the Croation royals did know about their son's kidnapping by now, Nate had said as much. But Mt. Lady had asked them to handle this alone so there wouldn't be talk of it on the news. They wouldn't be getting backup.

She could see his hesitation in his eyes. He knew he was cornered.

"The throne belongs to my family," the short man growled, "These people are pretenders! I can trace my lineage back a thousand years!"

Having gotten him to speak made Ochako feel more confident. It may be possible to reason with him now. As heroes they had to understand a certain amount of negotiating skills and she had been one of the top in the class at this. Unfortunately, she was also standing five feet away from the person who had been undeniably the worst negotiator in the history of UA. It turned out that threats would not get you too far with someone taking hostages.

"I can understand why that would upset you," she acknowledged in a soothing voice, "but why do this now? Why Nate?" She strictly avoided using his royal title so as to not upset the man further.

"I'm not gonna stand here and explain my life story to you!" he cried, pulling Nate back a step with him.

He was still too on edge, she wouldn't be able to convince him quickly enough to keep him from doing something stupid. She would have to try and keep talking him down and create a diversion to allow Bakugo to make a move

Nate tried to speak up. "Jacob, we can settle this without-"

"Shut up!" Jacob shrieked again, gripping his neck tighter, "The only time I want to hear your voice is when you call your lying, throne-thieving father again and try harder to convince him to abdicate the throne in favor of me!"

So he had already called them. Ochako wondered what had been said and how Nate had taken it since the king had obviously not agreed to any of the demands.

She'd shot a quick glance at her companion when Jacob began addressing Nate. Bakugo had also seen it as a good time to look her way as well.

They weren't able to speak but she knew that he was on the same page as she was when he moved his eyes between hers and the two men standing a few feet in front of them.

"You're not going to be able to go anywhere, Jacob," Ochako tried again, drawing his attention to her as Bakugo inched slowly away and out of Jacob's line of sight. Nate watched him, though, beginning to grasp what was about to happen.

"Wasn't there a better way to do this?" she asked, "You had to know it wouldn't work out the way you wanted."

She saw the desperation in his eyes then. Seeing it made her wonder how long he'd been living believing this and how he had suffered because of it. Nate seemed to know who he was and she wondered how they'd come to know each other.

Surprisingly, Bakugo spoke up then, pulling Jacob's attention to him.

"Of course he thought it would work, he's an idiot. A deluded idiot at that."

Ochako gaped at him, shooting him a scathing look. She'd thought they were on the same page!

You witless, arrogant, pig-headed, cant-keep-your-mouth-shut, cocky- but she stopped in the middle of her own thought. Jacob had been rattled by his words. He'd looked away from her and partly turned his body. She was probably still in his peripheral vision but if both of them just moved ever so slightly away from each other again...

"I don't know why you think holding onto that extra is gonna save you, chibi purple guy. You're not getting away no matter what you do," Bakugo taunted.

"You really think I won't do it?!" Jacob cried shrilly. He grasped Nate's neck harder and Ochako could see Nate trembling. He was terrified.

Hold on just a little longer, Nate, she thought, lightening her weight slightly.

"No, I think you're a spoiled brat whose mommy never told him no and somehow thinking that translates to you being able to sit on a throne. How cute," Bakugo mocked again.

These two didn't know it but it was unlike Bakugo to talk this way in a crisis. He was first to act, last to talk it out. If Jacob had known that about him, he wouldn't have been surprised by what happened next.

Jacob finally fully turned his full attention to Bakugo, "You little-"

Ochako shot toward him like a light and gave him a swift chop to his neck, immediately rendering him unconscious. Gunhead Martial Arts were serving her well again.

Nate stumbled forward as Jacob slumped to the ground, falling to his knees and grasping his neck like he couldn't believe he was safe. Ochako and Bakugo stood away from him, staring at each other in disbelief. She noticed he had a near manic look to his crimson eyes like he was riding a high. She considered the likelihood that she probably had the same look about her. Then their attention shifted to Nate when he spoke.

"They... were never in danger..." he said quietly, his voice hoarse, "He sent that to get me here and force me to call and demand my father abdicate. He and his family would easily have access to photos like that. He was... I thought... we'd been friends once."

Tears sprang to Nate's eyes and Ochako kneeled down to his level, laying a hand on his back, "Nate, why didn't you tell us what was happening? We could've helped you out."

"Yeah like telling you that his threat was complete bullshit," Bakugo scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Nate let out a sound that sounded like both a laugh and a sob.

"Can't you have any kind of consideration?" Ochako snapped.

"It's okay. He's right, Uravity," Nate said, wiping at his tears and giving her a weak smile. "If I'd gone to you first, none of this would've happened. Now we probably have an international incident on our hands. I just saw the photo and the message and I panicked. My mother is the most precious person in my life. If I'd lost her..."

Ochako understood his sentiment completely. Would she have acted differently had it been her family? She might now, after years of training for a crisis but had she not, she would've walked into the same trap. She looked at Bakugo who, for some reason, had dropped the subject. Could he sympathize as well?

She got Nate to his feet.

After leaving Bakugo with the men on the roof (they somehow actually agreed that he should stay and deal with the criminals and she should stay with Nate), she retrieved the police to inform them of the incident and send them to arrest all of the culprits. Then she brought Nate back up to his hotel room.

"Are you ok, Nate?" she asked as he took a seat on the couch, a faraway look in his crystal blue eyes.

The adrenaline that had kept her mind focused and her body awake this whole time was beginning to wane and her exhaustion hit her like a train. It wasn't even noon yet and she was ready to go to bed and sleep for a full day.

"Yeah... I'm ok Uravity. Thank you for everything you've done for me this entire time. It's only been a couple days but I feel like you've become someone so close to me. Both you and Bakugo." He flushed at saying his name.

Ochako rummaged in the cabinet for a glass and filled it with water before picking the breakfast room service cart over for something she could snack on. She grabbed a cinnamon roll and shoved it partially in her mouth before coming around to sit with Nate on the sofa.

"I won't say we're just doing our jobs because we picked this line of work in order to do exactly this," she answered, taking the cinnamon roll from her mouth, "I want to save people. This is the stuff I've trained for. Despite that, I feel close to you too, which is also why it kinda hurt that you didn't tell at least me what was going on. You said you trusted us to do our jobs and protect you."

He blushed a deeper shade of red and averted his gaze down to the ground. "I know. I'm an idiot. Which is probably why I also didn't see through any of this. I'm so sorry."

She put an arm around his shoulders as she bit into her cinnamon roll. She hadn't eaten since the night before and this little pastry was like taking a bite of heaven.

"Everything turned out fine so don't worry. There's no international incident. It's all been smoothed over," -she'd informed Mt. Lady that they'd been able to recover him soon after leaving the police station- "But if you don't want to finish your visit after all this, I can understand."

"No no!" he said suddenly jerking his head toward her, "I do! I want to stay here and hang out with you two and visit all the places! That is, if you're going to stay on as my guards..."

Ochako let out an amused huff. "Of course we will! Mt. Lady and Edgeshot are still confident in our ability to protect you and, as long as you're forthcoming with any information like this again, I know I'm still happy to be here. I can't really speak for Bakugo but I know he's not the type to just walk away from a commitment he made."

"Ok then, it's settled," he said, perking up, "I'll stay as long as I had originally intended to. Although, I'll probably have to cancel drinks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs for tonight I think. I hope he'll be able to reschedule."

Ochako nodded and released him to give her cinnamon roll her undivided attention as he took his phone out to begin a text. She'd given it back in the car after explaining that it was how they had known where he was and he had promptly used it to call his mother, the queen, and blubber his apologies. It sounded like she had taken the whole thing pretty well, though, despite her son's life being in danger.

He finished his text as she finished her cinnamon roll and they agreed that watching some TV and binging on snacks would be the best way to recover from the day's events.

Less than an hour into their little marathon, she felt Nate's head slump onto her shoulder. She wasn't surprised that he'd fallen asleep so quickly. He'd already gotten up early, probably with a hangover, and he'd been through a traumatic experience.

She rested her head on his, admitting to herself that she felt a kinship for this person who was so kind and trusting and open about himself. He felt familiar, like she'd already known him for years and she couldn't quite figure out why her understanding for him was so easy.

She closed her eyes as well and sleep took her almost instantly.

Ochako awoke momentarily when she felt herself being lifted and carried, her knees and shoulders supported.

She cracked open her eyes to look up at a muscular chest and square jawline, the hall lights passing overhead and shining brightly through faded blonde hair.

Still mostly asleep, she leaned into the warmth of him, her nose alighting on a soft burned matches scent.

"Hi," she said softly, nuzzling closer to the warmth.

He didn't respond but looked down at her when he heard her speak. He was no longer wearing his mask or gauntlets but was still in his hero costume, his expression stoic but not severe.

Ochako closed her eyes again, allowing herself to bask in the warmth and comfort of another person while in this half-asleep state. She didn't allow herself to consider any of the complications finding comfort in these arms came with. She let herself relax just this once.

She felt her bed come into contact with her back and her head gently touch down onto her pillow, then the warmth was gone and already she felt cold without it.

"Thank you, Kacchan," she breathed into her pillow as she rolled over.

Again, no response came and she drifted back into her slumber.

—

The next few days went by smoothly, especially compared to the previous ones.

Ochako and Bakugo followed Nate as he met with different Japanese dignitaries and even went to visit the Emperor's palace, which got her so ridiculously excited that she bounced the entire time they were there.

At night, she would stay up with Nate watching TV or just talking and having fun. They did not drink anything alcoholic again.

Even though she knew she was being unfair, and possibly even cruel, Ochako avoided being alone with Bakugo again, afraid of having to face him and possibly talk about that night.

She knew he'd figured out that was her intention fairly quickly as he made himself scarce while at the hotel. He would still be interactive while escorting Nate— well, as interactive as Bakugo tended to be without being a jackass— and he would sit with them for dinner or occasional TV shows, especially if Nate begged him mercilessly.

And there were a few times he still got into spats with her about ridiculous things, like why laughing off an old pervert who had touched her butt when he'd asked to take a picture with her was not the correct response or how helping an old lady cross the street was not the hero work he had signed up for. But, unlike his usual behavior of escalating until they were both screaming at each other, he would "tch" and storm away from her when she began to get heated. It made her uncomfortable but she knew this discomfort was of her own making. She couldn't blame him for being unsure of their boundaries and being distant this time.

So when Saturday came and Nate finally had to leave, Ochako knew it was time to put on her big-girl panties and face her fears.

She hugged Nate at the airport, feeling a profound loss as they said their goodbyes.

"You have my number," he said, flashing that million-dollar smile at her. "Keep in touch."

She nodded, unable to speak through the huge lump in her throat.

"I'll miss you, Uravity. You're one of the best heroes I've ever come to know. Never stop being the way you are," he said, his smile dimming a bit.

She nodded again and was able to choke out, "I won't."

Then Nate turned to Bakugo, a much smaller, much sadder smile playing on his lips.

"I'll miss you too, Bakugo," he blushed slightly, "Thank you for putting up with me and watching out for me."

Bakugo rolled his eyes away from Nate and folded his arms but gave him a small nod as he fixed his gaze somewhere in the distance.

Nate suddenly stepped forward and hugged him then, resting his chin on his shoulder. Bakugo stiffened, lifting his arms awkwardly, looking like he wanted to push him away and his expression turned violent for a second. But it suddenly melted into one of mild shock, his arms lowering back to his sides. Ochako wasn't sure but she thought his cheeks darkened for a second too. But then Nate was pulling away with another sweet smile.

He gave a wave and she waved back, trying to muster a smile for him. And then he was gone, lost in the crowd.

"That look on your face is horrific, pink-cheeks," Bakugo commented.

She glared up at him but was wasting her energy, he was still staring off at who-knew-what.

They would part ways soon, him to report back to Edgeshot, her to Mt. Lady. There was no guarantee that she would see him again until the new semester started. She wasn't sure if she could deal with the anxiety and the shame that hung over her head for that long.

Without anything more forthcoming, Bakugo made to walk away but she caught him by his shirt and he paused, looking back at her, annoyed.

"We're going to the same train station, right? Walk with me," she said as more of an assertion than a request.

He let out a short burst of air like nothing would pain him more but he didn't refuse her and allowed her to walk beside him as they emerged from the airport and began toward the train station.

Ochako's heart thundered in her chest. Now that she was here, she wasn't sure what to say first or how to go about not turning this into a fight.

Bakugo walked silently beside her, saying nothing, his eyes trained on the horizon. He wasn't going to push her. He'd only tried once the morning after that night and she'd avoided him then and every moment after. He likely wasn't going to do her any favors now.

Well... might as well just wing it, she thought to herself and cleared her throat.

"So you seemed pretty friendly with Nate at the end there," she teased.

A swing and a miss, her mom-like inner voice said.

He finally glanced her way giving her an unimpressed look that, to her, said something like, "Oh you're pulling this again."

What he actually said was, "Not especially. I didn't ask for that idiot to hug me."

"But you let him!" she went on, "I know you don't let most people hug you. You wouldn't even let me hug you."

He narrowed his eyes at her like she was dumb and she realized, yet again, that she very well may be.

"Oh... Right..." she said, laughing uncomfortably.

Well, you've already reached peak cringe. Nothing left to lose now, that voice came again.

Ochako sighed in resignation, "Ok, I'm not sure where to begin because it's usually you who's the asshole and now it's me."

"This is a good start," he replied with an amused smirk.

She shot a sour look at him and he just shrugged. Typical. He was enjoying watching her squirm.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened that night. And I swear to god, Bakugo, don't ask me 'What night?' you know what night."

"I wasn't going to ask you what night," he huffed in annoyance.

His response caught her off guard but she continued. "I'm sorry. I got drunk and completely lost control of myself," she admitted, "I haven't wanted to talk to you about it because I wish I could pretend it never happened. I'm embarrassed. I honestly don't remember much about it except the vague recollection that something happened and I think I propositioned you and you turned me down which I'm thankful to you for." Her cheeks burned hot as she spoke.

She knew she was partially lying. She had quite a bit more than a vague recollection. The taste of his skin, of the sweat that glistened on it, the feel of his hands roaming her body, the sounds he made... Just thinking of those things now took her breath away. But she couldn't bear for him to know that she remembered that much. What would he say? How would he act if he knew she remembered some things like that vividly enough that she could relive them sometimes? She didn't want him to think he could just do whatever he wanted with her now. She still didn't fully know what was going on in his head or what he wanted from her, especially with that one thing she truly couldn't quite remember about that night making her so uneasy. She thought she could recall crying and he'd kissed her cheek...

"You have every right to deny me. I understand that you have all of the power here," she said, ducking her head, "But can we please just forget it even happened?"

He let out another short burst of air, "A lot of wanting to forget and pretend things never happened lately."

She had to admit he was right. Just a few days ago, she'd been asking him to set aside everything that had happened when they'd first kissed. Now she was practically begging him to forgive her this. At some point, she was going to have to face the consequences of her actions.

Or just close the deal, some crazed part of her thought. Definitely not her mother's voice that time. She shut the lid on that voice securely.

Bakugo was being silent now, an unreadable look on his face. He'd cast his gaze ahead again toward the now setting sun.

She slumped her shoulders, realizing that he was likely going to deny her request. What would happen if he didn't want to forget? Would he come back to school in August and immediately throw it in Deku's face? The thought of what Deku might say— the way he would look at her.

"Please," she asked in a desperate tone, "I'll do anything just please don't tell anyone."

He made a sound like he was trying not to yell in frustration.

"You really think I'm that shitty?" He shook his head.

She was quiet in response. The truth was, she wasn't sure anymore. If he'd asked her that a month ago she would've said, undoubtedly, yes. Now, something was holding her back from that conclusion.

"I'm not gonna tell anyone, pink-cheeks," he bit out, sounding like each word was distasteful to him.

She lifted her head, her face lighting up, "Really? Thank you so much, Bakugo. I get that I owe you a lot here."

He glared at her, "Why the fuck do you think that? You don't owe me anything for not being a douchebag. Only a tool would hold this shit over your head."

That statement was true and it made Ochako wonder if she really had been misjudging his character this whole time. Yes, he was an asshole. Yes, he was hurtful and downright cruel sometimes. But was he the kind of person to air people's most embarrassing secrets, even when they heavily involved him? Was he the type to break his word? Thinking back on all of her experience with him, she realized that he wasn't that kind of person. He was— dare she admit it?— dependable, if nothing else.

They had arrived at the train station and now they sat, side by side, both deep in thought. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence between them, but she felt herself wanting to say something just because that was who she was. She always wanted to fill the silence. She knew he felt more comfortable with there not being any talking if it wasn't necessary, though.

They were taking two different trains and it looked like hers would arrive soon.

As hers was announced to be coming in, she turned to him again.

"Well I know you're just being a decent person but thank you anyway, Bakugo. I really am sorry for how I behaved," she bit her lip, "I just... stopped caring about everything and the consequences of whatever I was doing. I don't think I'll likely ever drink again."

He kept his eyes trained on the ground, "You can drink again, dummy. Just not as much so quickly. And only with people you feel safe around."

She hated that when he said that, her immediate thought was how unsure she was if he were someone she felt safe to drink like that around. She wondered if he remembered some or all of that night as well as she did. If he had been out of control as well or if he'd gone along with her because he still wanted her for one reason or another. It was a question that would likely never be answered. She felt like the answer lay somewhere in the conversations she couldn't remember. There were times she felt like smacking herself in the forehead to jostle the memories free. How was it that she remembered her feelings and her experiences so well but words from that night floated off into the distance?

Her train arrived and she pushed herself up off of the bench, grinning at him, "Welp, see you later, Bakugo. Maybe we'll be able to work together again this summer. That would be nice."

Fucking what? Why would you say that?! her mind howled. And then she felt taken aback at her own inner voice. Since when had she begun cursing so much?

He just looked at her and shrugged noncommittally.

Assuming that would be the best response she got, she headed onto the train, looking back again when she was securely in her spot.

He was still watching her and she smiled shyly at him as the announcement the train was leaving came and the doors closed. Unsurprisingly, he didn't smile back, but he didn't scowl or roll his eyes either.

That crimson stare pierced her and as the train began to roll away, Ochako thought she saw something of a sorrowful expression come over him. But before she could be sure what she was seeing, he was out of sight and she was speeding back toward Mt. Office.

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

"Uravity! I was wondering when you'd be showing up!" Mt. Lady called from her office seeing Ochako come through the door.

She motioned for her to join her and Ochako sat on one of the plush couches in her office.

"Wow, so that mission was way more eventful than anticipated," she laughed, seating herself on the sofa across from Ochako. "But you didn't disappoint me. You protected the client and what impressed me most was that you called me when things went wrong and you needed help. You weren't too proud to admit you were in over your head and that's something even pro heroes have a hard time admitting."

Ochako blushed, feeling humbled by all of the praise being heaped on her.

"I trust Bakugo Katsuki wasn't too difficult to work with?" Mt. Lady asked, quirking a brow in interest.

Ochako shrugged, "Well there were a few bumps in the beginning,"—the understatement of the year— "but it turned out okay and by the end, I feel like we actually worked well together."

"Great!" Mt. Lady grinned, " I knew you'd make a great team and you seemed to have experience handling him. I'm glad to see my instincts were right... And you got on fine with the prince?"

Ochako beamed at the thought of him, "We got on great! He turned out to be a really kind person. We ended up being really good friends. He actually gave me his phone number to-"

"Uravity!" My. Lady squealed, "You fox! The number of a prince? And one so handsome! I underestimated you..."

Rubbing the back of her neck, she laughed nervously, "Oh no, it's not like that! We're really just friends!"

"Okay," Mt. Lady conceded, not pushing her but clearly not believing her either, "You can keep your secrets."

Ochako knew that alleviating the pressure on her about this by revealing his preference for men probably wasn't the right move. He seemed open and honest about it but she also didn't feel it was right for her to expose him like that when people could still be judgemental about it sometimes. And her being teased about her connection to him for a few minutes was much easier to bear than him possibly losing his reputation.

"So," Mt. Lady said, cutting off her reverie, "Are you ready to get to work on more missions Monday?"

Ochako's eyes widened in excitement, her body vibrating in anticipation, "Yes! Of course! Let's do it!"

"That's the right attitude!" Mt. Lady laughed.

—

This scenario felt familiar.

Ochako found herself once again sitting on Mt. Lady's plush office couch across from Edgeshot and, of course, Bakugo.

A few extra people sat in the room with them this time, though. Kamui Woods was one along with a few other heroes and sidekicks to explain what they were all meeting for.

"We're going to be going on more patrols than ever, covering more distance than ever," he explained, "We've gotten multiple calls that crime has picked up in the city so we need more eyes on the streets and more hands on deck."

"It's our hope that just our presence will lower the crime rate," Edgeshot added, "but if you have to stop any villainy in action, you are sanctioned to take any measure you feel you need to." He said this while looking specifically over to her and then to Bakugo.

Their little rescue mission had given them a bit of a reputation amongst the heroes who knew about it (which were mostly those working for Mt. Lady and Edgeshot). They were trusted now. People had confidence in them that they hadn't before.

Glancing over at Bakugo, Ochako caught him sporting a self-satisfied smile. He sure was eating up the fact that he was being acknowledged for once.

Mt. Lady tossed her platinum hair over her shoulder as she faced Ochako now. "Edgeshot and I have agreed that we want you two to work together for the rest of the summer." She smiled warmly as though she were doing them a favor.

Bakugo shot up from his seat, the smirk on his face gone, "Are you kidding?!"

Wow, don't be too excited about it, she thought nastily.

Although to be honest, she also wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of spending the rest of the summer patrolling the streets with him. She thought back on her words to him as they went their separate ways a few days ago. "Maybe we'll work together again... that would be... nice."

She chewed at the inside of her cheek, her inner voice unhelpfully saying, You jinxed yourself on that one. Sure, working together for another mission or two might have been enjoyable. But the whole summer? Would both of them even survive the summer if they had to not only see each other but work with each other every day?

"You two did well enough at your last mission, we'd like to see how well you can progress as a team in the next few weeks," Edgeshot clarified.

"I'm not sure that's such a great idea," Ochako spoke up.

The room, including Bakugo, turned to her and her cheeks went hot with the eyes of many people turned her way.

"What I mean is," she floundered, "we don't have a very good reputation of being very friendly with each other. I know that we just spent a week working together but it was..." she glanced awkwardly at him, then away, "a struggle at times."

Mt. Lady gave her a conciliatory smile. "Uravity, I'm well aware that you two don't get on in school. I know you'll be fine, though. You've proven that you're capable of putting aside your differences when it counts and that's what really matters."

Ochako nodded in concession, understanding the decision would not be changing. She sighed, resting her chin in her palm.

The meeting continued on.

Bakugo sat— or rather plopped— back into his seat and they met eyes momentarily. He appeared frustrated, understandably so, but she gave him a commiserating look with a shrug.

His expression relaxed ever so slightly at that, his shoulders going slack and he shifted his attention back to the meeting.

Afterward, Ochako cautiously approached Bakugo outside of Mt. Office.

"I know it's not the most ideal of situations, Bakugo, but I'll work hard with you. Let's try to make the best of this."

He leaned his back against the building, assuming the usual crossed-arm pose.

"It's fine. We managed for a week, we can do three more," he said gruffly, looking away from her.

"Yeah..."

"You think it'll be that bad?" he asked testily, turning his crimson eyes on her. They flashed with irritation.

She lifted her palms up defensively, "No! No. Actually, I figured you would be angry you had to work with anyone, let alone me."

He snorted derisively, looking away again, "Like I said, it's fine."

She let her hands drop to her sides again and despite his not seeing it, gave him a small smile, "Okay."

So they were a team now and this summer break became one that Ochako would never forget for the rest of her life as each day and each moment passed.

—

Ochako and Bakugo strolled down the sidewalk on their third day of patrolling together. Every so often, someone would stop and wave, happy to see heroes patrolling and keeping the streets safe. She would always wave back, he would always look away as though he didn't notice.

It never seemed to bother anybody, though. After being out here a few days, he seemed to already have a reputation for being cool and aloof and people not only came to expect it, they loved that as a part of who he was. Ochako was even getting the distinct impression some girls liked his attitude with the way they would giggle as he turned away after they called out to him.

Suddenly, a child no older than 6 appeared directly in front of them, causing them to stop short.

His mom was behind him and pushed him gently forward saying, "Go ahead."

Ochako kneeled down to meet his eye. "Hi! How are you today?" she asked kindly.

The boy's voice trembled as he responded, "I-I-I'm good, miss. I was w-wondering if I c-could take a p-picture with you..." And he leaned slightly closer to her, his voice becoming a whisper, "b-both of you maybe?" He glanced nervously at the brooding hero beside her.

Ochako beamed at him and he looked stunned by her reaction. "Of course you can! Right, Bakugo-kun?" she asked, turning her face up to him.

Bakugo looked down at her with disdain and simply said, "You're joking..."

Annoyance sparked in her but she didn't let it show when she replied with a syrupy voice, "You know I'm not!" Giving him a winning smile that probably looked more threatening than friendly.

The mom already had her camera out and Ochako nodded at her to give her the go ahead.

The mother lifted her camera and Bakugo stiffened as Ochako took him by the hand and pulled him down to kneel beside her with the little boy who was now grinning ear to ear.

"Smile!" the mom said.

Ochako did. The boy did. Bakugo did not.

The shutter clicked and the boy ran to his mother to get a look at his picture with "real-life heroes!".

Ochako released Bakugo's hand, pushing herself back up and grinning at him as he also stood, looking testy.

"See? That wasn't so bad. No harm done," she teased.

"Whatever, floaty," he grumbled, not meeting her eyes.

—

They were in yet another argument— this time about how he'd yelled at a schoolgirl who had tried to talk to him but was giggling relentlessly— as they ended their patrol and returned to Edgeshot's agency today.

"She was probably a fan of yours!" Ochako hissed, "So you just yelled at a fan and made her cry!"

"Who would want a fan like that?!" he roared back, throwing the door open and waiting for her to come through before slamming it shut again.

"You should take what you can get!" she admonished.

"You act like I'm desperate for fans! I don't care about having fans! I care about being the best!" he halted in the middle of the office, "You care about fans! You can let creepy guys leer at you and grope you all day if fans matter so much."

She whirled on him and stomped back toward him. "THAT WAS ONE TIME! I'm not gonna punch out an old man for touching my butt one time, Bakugo!"

Pro-heroes, sidekicks, and other office workers milled about the office ignoring them and going about their day. Only just at the end of their first week interning and going back and forth between the Lurkers' agencies, and all of the employees in every office knew to just leave them be when they started a fight. None of them had ever come to blows... yet.

This argument, while having started out seemingly low-risk had just turned into dangerous territory, though.

Ochako poked a finger into Bakugo's chest, already knowing how much that had bothered him before.

"I'm sorry I give a damn about other people unlike you." She emphasized the last two words by poking into his chest each time she spoke a syllable.

A thrill went through her when his nostrils flared. He not-so-gently pushed her hand away.

"I care enough to be a hero don't I? That doesn't mean I'm gonna coddle idiots."

"You're a hero because you like being praised and you have a god complex," she retorted, flipping her ponytail as she turned away from him, hitting him in the face.

She knew she'd hit a few nerves there, feeling good about it.

"You," he growled low.

A burnt match smell and stomping feet signaled to her that he was coming up very close behind her and she spun on him, stopping him short and pushing him slightly so he took a step back.

She faced him again, little more than a foot between them.

"Floaty..." he growled dangerously and baring his teeth, his eyes burning red hot.

Her breath caught in her throat as he grabbed a fistful of the front of her suit and pulled her closer to him painfully slowly, labored breaths puffing into her face. His stance was aggressive, menacing, dominant.

Warmth spread throughout Ochako's body, her heart rate jumping.

She glanced away from his burning eyes to his lips just for a second.

When she met his eyes again, they were wild and ravenous, his leash pulled taut.

His arm flexed as he hauled her closer still but when they were only inches apart, wood-like roots wrapped around them and swiftly tore them away from each other.

"I seriously question Mt. Lady's judgment having you two work together," Kamui Woods chided. "If you're going to murder each other, at least do it off the clock."

Ochako let out a massive breath as she moved further from Bakugo, feeling her skin cool. When she looked over at him again, his eyes had also cooled and a mildly annoyed expression was all that was left on his features.

—

Rain spilled from the sky, going from a trickle to a downpour in mere moments.

Ochako and Bakugo ran for an overhang at a bus stop they'd seen a block back, the torrential rainfall soaking them through by the time they reached it.

A thought came to her as she saw him step under it and she stopped short, remaining in the rain.

He turned back to her, realizing she hadn't stepped under as well. "What are you doing? You tryin to get sick?"

She shook her head, tilting her head back and lifting her hands, feeling the thick splat of each raindrop as it fell on her, "I want to try something."

"Okaaay..." he said in a lengthy way that said he thought she was either dumb or insane.

Ochako recalled back to her exam— how she had floated every bit of dirt on the floor. Water was different, more complex and shifting. But maybe...

She tried to recall what she had done, how she had felt, her frame of mind. She hadn't even attempted this again since she'd done it at the exam but now was as good a time as any.

Searching inside her for the familiar glow of her quirk she shoved her hands up quickly, activating it and pushing it out out out.

Around her, raindrops slowed, then stopped, hanging in midair. A few feet away the rain fell as normal, but in her little bubble, little dots of water just floated in the air.

She let her arms fall to her sides and shot a look at Bakugo, grinning. He stared, slack-jawed.

"You did this at the exams," he said, unable to hide the surprise on his face, "This is new, right?"

"Yeah," she answered, wandering around their little bubble and feeling the droplets splashing on her skin as she walked into them. Then she stopped, looking at him again, "Wait, you watched my exam?"

He gave her a bored look, "Yeah, so what?"

"I just didn't see you in the monitor room when I got back."

He looked away from her to the droplets in front of him, reaching a hand out to swipe some from the air.

"I left after, to get ready for my exam," he finally answered.

Then, Ochako remembered that he'd been tested by Mirko and how irritated she'd been at her teasing attitude toward him.

"That reminds me. It looked like you got on well with Mirko. Why didn't you intern with her?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

His brow furrowed at her, "Mirko? You thought we got along? She's obnoxious."

"Well, it looked like she was pushing your buttons. I was under the impression you liked girls who did that," she said, quirking one of her own brows.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Were you jealous?"

Ochako shot him a death glare and lost her concentration, the droplets beginning to fall again around her. Apparently, keeping spaces afloat wasn't quite the same as lifting one object.

She stepped up under the overhang and glowered up at him. He had a smirk on his face that was mildly amused.

"I wasn't jealous. Stop acting like a child," she snarled, "I just thought you'd like her because you like girls who challenge you."

"I don't," he said firmly, "Don't worry, pink-cheeks, you're the exception. Not the rule."

Ochako's chest tightened. This was as open with her as he'd ever been about his feelings (or whatever he had for her) since the night he'd cooked her ramen. She wanted to ask him more. She wanted his honesty. But at the same time, she wasn't sure she truly did.

She sighed with overacted exasperation.

"I think I'd rather just run for the nearest shop and buy an umbrella than wait for the rain to stop," she said casually, like nothing had just transpired.

Stepping back out into the rain, she sprinted away.

He stayed behind.

—

"Oh my god, Bakugo, come here," Ochako whispered, stifling a laugh.

Bakugo rolled his eyes but obeyed, trudging over to where she stood, peeking into the window in the door.

She had come to Mt. Office on a day off in the middle of their second week patrolling the streets to finish some paperwork she'd been given so she wouldn't have to take up time during work hours to do it. She hadn't expected anyone to be there but apparently this was a regular thing Bakugo did and she'd run into him a few blocks away.

She had been about to open the front door to the agency but had halted when she'd looked in the window, putting a hand over her mouth to keep from squealing.

Now they both stood side by side peeking into the office.

"There! Look!" she whispered, pointing at a cracked door where in Mt. Lady was entangled in a passionate embrace with Kamui Woods. They were kissing like they were trying to eat each other's faces off.

Ochako wondered for just an instant if that had been what she had looked like with Bakugo when they had been in the height of their passion. But she threw the thought away the moment it flew across her mind.

When Bakugo saw them, he made a disgusted noise and whirled away from the door.

"Ugh, it's like seeing my mom and dad kiss. That's fucking gross. I'm not going in there."

Ochako snickered at his visceral reaction, "Yeah, we should probably let them have some privacy."

Now her entire day was open after having expected to spend the morning filling in little boxes about who's and what's and when's and she wasn't sure what she should do. Sitting in front of the TV all day didn't sound very tempting.

Bakugo was headed back down the street and she jogged a little to catch up with him.

"What now?"

"Training. Lunch later," he shrugged, not really having a plan.

"Okay!" she replied cheerfully, keeping pace next to him.

He sighed with exasperation and let her come along.

They spent the rest of the day together, neither really considering the fact that they didn't have to.

It was Friday, it was the hottest day of the year, and they had to patrol in their full suits.

Ochako was dying.

Her suit was made from wicking fabric that pulled the sweat from her skin and kept her from feeling wet at least but it didn't change the fact that she felt like she was being roasted alive. She could see heat waves coming off the asphalt for god's sake!

She looked over to Bakugo striding next to her. He was holding a cold bottle of water to his forehead, sweat dripping down his face and neck. He looked miserable too.

Her phone jingled a chirpy tune that she'd assigned to notify her when Mt. Lady was calling.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hi, Uravity!" Mt. Lady said enthusiastically from the other end of the line. Ochako envied her, sitting in her office in the air conditioning.

"We've decided to cut all patrols short today because of the heat. We're going to call more people in to fill in the shifts. So come on back and get cooled off!"

Oh thank all that is holy, she thought.

"We will! Thanks, senpai!" she said, ending the call.

She turned to Bakugo who was waiting for her to fill him in.

"Mt. Lady said our patrols are being cut short today. We can go back!" she cheered with delight.

Bakugo let out a relieved huff of air, "Good, I was about to say we should go inside somewhere anyway. A villain ain't gonna do shit in this weather."

They headed back.

"Aren't you at your most powerful right now, though?" she asked, eyeing a droplet of sweat trickling down his jawline.

"Yeah," he said snippily, "but that doesn't mean I like feeling like I'm being shoved in a broiling oven."

"Yeesh, sorry," she threw back at him, not really meaning it.

A few minutes later, they were walking into the blessedly cool air of Mt. Office.

Immediately, Bakugo threw off his gauntlets and removed the metal from his neck, just chucking them right there on the floor. He rushed to the closest vent and stood below it, removing the rest of the top of his costume to stand shirtless before it, letting a groan escape from his mouth.

Ochako's mouth turned to cotton. She'd been pressed up against him, had even touched the muscles on his torso. But seeing them was something completely new. She thought her face might burst into flames.

His back was still slick with sweat as he turned it toward her and she flashed back to a moment when she'd tasted that sweetly burning liquid, dragging her tongue along his pulse.

He turned back to say something to her, relief apparent in his expression and started at whatever he was seeing on her face, his expression quickly changing to shock. Then his face darkened, molten eyes roaring to life with ferocity.

Ochako's face somehow burned even hotter, the heat spreading to her neck and chest too. She glared at him and quickly shoved past, covering her face with a hand in embarrassment.

She hid in the locker room for an hour and didn't look at him for the rest of the day.

—

"Your hair is supposed to look nice for this, Bakugo. We're at a wedding," Ochako hissed at him after seeing him come in with a reasonably nice suit on but the same old messy hair, still shorn on the sides.

They had been assigned to guard at a celebrity wedding and were there along with a handful of other heroes.

She herself had braided her thick mane and wrapped it into a knot at the peak of her head. Seeing his lack of effort in appearance was prickling at her nerves.

"At least put some product in it!"

He glared at her stubbornly, "No."

"Why not? You'll look good! Just do it!"

He ran his fingers through the mop on top of his head, rumpling it more, "It's fine like it is."

Ochako ignored him, rummaging through the purse she had brought full of cosmetics and, luckily, hair gel.

"Hold still," she commanded, squeezing a glob of product onto her hand.

"Don't fucking touch me, round-face," he warned.

But the warning fell on dead ears and she came closer.

"I said no!" he snapped, holding his hands out in front of him in defense.

"We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way," she threatened, holding her hand palm out to him, featuring the little pads on each of her fingers.

She moved closer still, reaching her gel-laden palm to his head.

He tried to jerk away as she plopped the gel onto his head but she gripped his hair with deft fingers, already beginning to smooth the spiky strands.

He weakly struggled under her hold a moment longer before she finally finished and stepped back to examine her work.

Ochako held her breath when she got a good look at him, tears stinging at her eyes as she tried to hold back the raucous laughter threatening to burst from her lips.

"Um..." she spoke slowly as to not betray her feelings, "maybe... it did look better before."

His eyes turned deadly, "You..."

She was at her limit. She snorted and exploded in fits of giggles.

"I fucking told you!" he snapped, rage plain on his face as he mussed his hair again, returning it to its original state, "Shut up!"

This caused her to bend over, howling uncontrollably and slapping her leg.

People in the hall outside of the chapel began to stare at the two young heroes laughing and carrying on in their own little world.

It was the middle of the week before school started again and they were chasing down a villain who was making off with stolen pharmaceuticals he'd robbed a small pharmacy for.

The villain had jumped in a van and sped off before Bakugo could blast it into oblivion.

Bakugo cursed and took off after the van now, setting off explosions behind his back to launch him forward. It was still pulling away from him, though.

Ochako sprinted alongside him and shot him a look at the same time he glanced at her.

He nodded.

She jumped into the air and landed smoothly on his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and gripping his shoulders. Then, she used her quirk to make them weightless as he pushed forcefully off the ground, shooting them forward. When he set off another blast behind him, they soared through the air even faster.

She held tighter to him as wind whipped past them, bringing them closer to the van now.

They had worked on this so often by now that it was almost second nature. She had obviously been the one to suggest they try working together on a move like this as it would allow them to both move faster together than either of them did individually and, with more work, they could even move quickly in different directions. "Kind of like a fighter jet," she'd said.

Of course, he had vetoed calling the move anything related to fighter jets ("because it's lame", he said) and instead, they landed on Grav Burst.

There had been times while working with him that she had fallen from his back or they had lost momentum when she'd initially floated them. Now, they were like a well-oiled machine, at least as far as coming together and picking up speed were concerned.

Catching up to the van now, Ochako released them, both dropping onto the roof with a metallic thud. Bakugo laid a hand to the cool metal and quickly blasted through, allowing them to jump into the van.

The villain gaped back at them in horror.

"Hi," Ochako said sweetly, "we'll be taking those medicines back now."

—

And, before she even realized it, summer break was almost completely over.

It was the last Friday of summer before they returned to school and Ochako sat again in Mt. Lady's office as the blonde woman poked around her desk, going through paper after paper, presumably all reports or requests.

"You've done incredible work this summer, Uravity," she commended her, "Both you and Bakugo. You two make a really great team, you know."

Ochako nodded politely.

"Well, when you're not trying to rip each other's throats out," she amended, "I put you two together because your quirks are so synergistic and you two have great chemistry despite what you both think. And, anyway, it worked out! You two could run a powerful agency together and push to the top of the rankings for number one hero eventually."

Ochako doubted that but didn't refute her. She couldn't see having to work with him day in and day out. Nor could she see him wanting to work with anyone permanently.

"Well tomorrow is your last day here," Mt. Lady went on, "I would be ecstatic if you did your work study here for the rest of the school year but I don't expect you to. I imagine you're high in demand and have other offers you'll want to explore before you graduate."

Gratitude for this powerful, headstrong woman flooded Ochako suddenly and she found herself looking back on her summer with nostalgia. Mt. Lady had given her incredible opportunities to experience working in the field that most students her age never got the chance at. She respected and valued her. It felt validating on many levels. She could see herself possibly working here one day when she graduated and not minding at all. But for now, Mt. Lady was right, she still had other agencies she wanted to try first.

"Thank you, Mt. Lady," Ochako said graciously, bowing deeply.

Then, it was Saturday, the last day of Ochako's internship with Mt. Lady and her last patrol with Bakugo was winding down.

They'd made it and not murdered each other. In fact, she had to admit, it had been fun. Once again, she found that she was glad she had taken this internship.

They rounded the corner to Edgeshot's agency, the familiar building waiting up ahead like the finish line to a race a small part of her wished wouldn't have to be over.

Her steps slowed. His steps slowed.

"We did it," she said in an overly joyous tone.

He eyed her speculatively, "Did what?"

She shot him a condescending look, "We made it to the end of the summer, doofus."

He pushed her lightly in jest and she gave a short laugh.

She ticked items off on her fingers. "We're both still alive and we impressed our bosses and we made some new friends and we become better heroes. At least I think so."

He grunted in casual agreement.

A question burned in the back of Ochako's mind but she struggled with how to word it in a way that wouldn't start a fight.

She was about to open her mouth and ask but they reached the entrance to the building and he held the door for her to walk inside.

Nothing had really happened that day so there were no reports to fill out or debriefings to give, she just needed to grab her belongings and clock out. Go figure, the day that she felt like lingering was the day that she had no excuse for doing so.

She clocked out on the computer and took her purse from the locker she'd put it in earlier that day.

Bakugo was waiting for her at the front doors and she halted briefly before continuing her approach. It wasn't really unlike him to wait for her sometimes after they finished with their work for the day but usually it was to go over plans for the next day or wanting to talk about one thing or another they could improve in their Grav Burst.

Now those things were over. Would they even do Grav Burst again? She put the question out of her mind before she could ponder it deeper.

He held the door for her again as they exited and began slowly strolling down the sidewalk.

"You wanted to say something," he prompted, still facing forward.

Ochako's heart froze. Could he really read her so well?

"Yeah," she admitted, sighing.

He stayed silent, not pushing her further. An action she found oddly uncharacteristic of him. He was interested in what she had to say or he wouldn't have asked. And when he wanted to know something, he was impatient to learn it and would be obnoxiously pushy until he got the information he wanted. But now, he waited.

Ochako took a deep breath.

"I was thinking, or maybe hoping, or maybe just wondering, I don't know-"

"Spit it out, floaty," he interrupted, shooting her an annoyed look.

That's more like him, she thought to herself.

"I just- Will we go back to the way things were at school on Monday? Or will we be like this?" she asked motioning between them with her hand.

He gave her a curious glance, "I thought you wanted to go back to the way things were."

She remembered that conversation four weeks ago. Back then she just wanted the painful tension between them to be gone.

"Yeah but that was before. I said I preferred it over you ignoring me and if I still had to choose between that and you ignoring me, I'd still choose for things to be the way before," she said with confidence, "but, more than those other two, I'd much rather us be like this. I mean, for one, I like that not every exchange between us is an insult or hateful."

He stayed silent for a long moment, seeming to consider her words.

Then he asked in a low voice, "What if it was only like this because it had to be, so we could work together and make it to the end of the summer?"

An icy spike lanced through her chest at that and she ducked her head. The thought of all of the progress they'd made as heroes and as friends just being a ruse to survive the summer made her physically ill. The joyful image of how it had felt to cling to him as they soared through the air faded a little at the edges, the hope of that ever happening again getting further away.

She stopped at a street corner, not crossing the street despite the signal giving the okay. He halted as well, waiting for her.

"Was it?" she croaked out past the enormous lump that had gathered in her throat.

He watched her quietly but she kept her face down away from his prying eyes.

Then he gave a long sigh like he had never known sleep in a thousand years.

"No," he grumbled ashamedly as though he was admitting to breaking his mother's expensive tableware.

She turned her face up to him then, piercing him with a vicious glare. He looked slightly taken aback by the intensity which she now directed at him.

"Then why would you say that?" she snapped. And to her unending shame, she felt a tear escape her lash as she blinked and rolled slickly down her cheek.

Many expressions passed over Bakugo's face when he took in her face and it was jarring for her to be allowed to see any of them.

Shock, pain, white-hot rage. But he finally settled on his masked, stoic face, reigning himself in.

A rough, gloved thumb swept across her cheek, wiping the tear away and he leaned down, bringing his face so near to hers that she went completely still, her tears forgotten and her cheeks burning.

She breathed shallowly, unsure of what would come next. But he only pressed his soft, warm lips to her tear-stained cheek, then pulled away again.

Ochako shivered from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Something about those actions reminded her of that night again. He had soothed her this way before. And the way he'd looked at her after...

He broke into her thoughts when he spoke up again, his hand still softly resting against her cheek.

"When we go back to school, we can be however you want us to be, pink-cheeks," he said in as tender a tone as she'd ever heard from him.

Ochako stood stunned and more than a little confused as he let his hand fall away, leaving her cheek cold and pained for more contact.

Her heart twisted in her chest as she became lost in his ruby eyes glowing warmly down at her.

"O-kay," she squeaked out.

He smirked at her, giving his features a roguish quality, especially in his mask partially obscuring the top half of his face.

"See you at school," he said softly, leaning in like he was telling her a secret, then turned to walk down the block.

Ochako gripped the strap of her purse painfully and swallowed hard.

"Bye."

Chapter 15

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The first day of second term began like most any other school day.

Ochako met up with Mina, Toru, and Tsuyu on the roof to stretch where they briefly caught up on what they had done over the summer.

Mina and Toru had worked together at Mirko's agency. They had gotten to do a few low risk missions, they told her, but most of their days had been spent in an office filing paperwork and preparing support equipment ("which should be a support student's job," Toru complained.) Mirko had worked with them a bit on refining their quirks but, overall, their summer had been boring. After hearing about it, Ochako was glad she didn't choose to work there.

Tsuyu had gone down to Okinawa and worked with an ocean rescue crew. Her summer had been slightly more exciting, having been brought along on rescue missions for people whose boat had sunk or had gotten lost in a storm. The stories she told them about her missions were captivating.

By the time the girls got around to Ochako, they had eaten breakfast and were headed down the walkway toward the school building.

"So," Mina asked, turning to her, "you worked with Mt. Lady, right? Was it as awful as Mineta made it out to be in first year?"

Ochako shook her head, "Well I don't know what it was like before, but working with Mt. Lady was really awesome actually! She gave us missions all the time and when we weren't doing that, she sent us out on patrols just like all the other heroes at the agency."

The other three girls shared a look of confusion and Mina cocked her head asking, "'Us'? Who is 'us'? I thought you were the only one who took the internship with Mt. Lady."

"Oh, yeah I was but you know she works with Kamui Woods and Edgeshot sometimes."

The other girls nodded.

"Well it turns out Bakugo interned for Edgeshot and we kinda ended up working together for the summer."

"BAKUGO?!" Toru and Mina screamed in unison. Tsuyu held a perplexed expression.

"You're gonna have to tell us more about your summer, Ochako-chan," the frog-like girl said, putting a large finger to her chin.

They'd reached their class and it was already 8:25 so Ochako had no time to expound on this new information. She gave them an ingratiating smile and nodded, "I will."

Sliding open the door, the girls dispersed to their seats. It looked like they were the last to arrive and Ochako felt a little awkward at that, considering she was a class rep. She probably should've been a little more prompt.

Forest green eyes met hers when she greeted Deku as she approached her seat.

"Good morning, Deku-kun," she said with a friendly smile.

He beamed back at her, "Good morning!"

She turned to Iida seated next to him, "Good morning, Iida."

He nodded and also responded in kind.

She passed them and looked at the ash blonde boy lounging with his chin in his palm in the seat next to hers, his crimson eyes already following her.

Nerves bunched up in her chest as she peered down at him and gave a more timid smile, "Good morning, Bakugo-kun."

She felt a few eyes shift in their direction quizzically.

He didn't smile, which was not unexpected, but he did respond.

"Morning, floaty," he said, his eyes not leaving hers.

A few more people in the classroom quieted to look and watch. Ochako could see from her peripheral vision that the three girls she'd just dropped the information about how she'd spent her summer were practically gawking with interest.

She smiled more genuinely now, pleased that he was being true to his word. He really would continue being civil with her.

"I hope the rest of your weekend went well."

"Can't complain," he answered, "You?"

More heads turned and a hush seemed to come over the whole room.

She laughed nervously, feeling her cheeks flush from all the attention being focused on her.

"Oh.. well... I just pretty much came back here and slept all day," she admitted with a sheepish grin, her hand rubbing the back of her head.

"That sounds like you," he commented.

She made a minorly affronted face, "Well I'm sorry we can't all be training all the time, Bakugo. You know it's good to rest your body every so often."

He smirked at her, "Yeah and sitting around eating mochi all day is too, I suppose."

Her face reddened, "I like snacks, so what?!"

He shrugged.

She sat in her seat, poking her tongue out at him playfully and he reached out to her looking like he might give her a tiny push or tug her ponytail like he usually did when she sassed him but he paused when he noticed Deku. His face darkened and he pulled his hand back, glaring at the boy sitting in front of her.

Noticing the direction his attention had gone, Ochako also turned to Deku but he was moving back to face forward before she'd seen what Bakugo had been glaring about.

She glanced over to Iida who had a look of intense worry on his usually rigid face.

Then she cast her gaze around the room and every single person in their class was staring at her or at Bakugo. Some held expressions of concern like Iida, others just gaped in shock, still more were looking extremely confused.

Ochako had considered that her classmates would be, understandably, befuddled by the sudden shift in her and Bakugo's interactions with each other. The last any of them knew, they weren't even talking and probably wanted to murder the other. Now they were casually bantering and joking around? It was hard enough for her to accept as a reality, she could hardly imagine anyone else would take it well.

But that didn't make their looks easier to bear. She'd liked how things had begun to turn with him and she wished they could've just come back to school and acted like this is how it had always been and everyone would've just accepted it.

The door slid open again and in stepped Aizawa-sensei, looking tired and grumpy as usual.

The tension in the room fizzled away as everyone's attention snapped forward when he began roll call.

Ochako glanced at Bakugo again, quickly shooting him a grateful look when she caught his eye.

He gave her that rogueish smirk again.

The day went like most days did, class after class of academics, then lunch where she sat at a large table with most of the girls as well as Midoriya and Iida. She'd caught a glimpse of Bakugo sitting with Kirishima and Kaminari who were chatting excitedly. He'd glanced over at her and she'd turned back to her table mates. She hadn't expected to sit with him at lunch. Although a little piece in her thought for a brief second, mmm why not? before being reminded by at least 10 pairs of staring eyes why not.

Then, they'd gone on to hero training, only doing drills. He'd stood next to her in the initial lineup for debriefing on the day's exercises. For a minute there, she'd thought he might pull his usual "accidental" nudging or throwing of the elbow, but he just stood, hands at his sides, eyes on All Might until they were assigned their activities.

As he walked away, he flipped her ponytail into her face. It was more playful than malicious and he just chuckled as she swept her hair out of her eyes, sending him a glare at his back that also had no malice behind it.

"Jerk," she called after him.

He turned to say something back but his eyes snagged on something over her shoulder and he scowled before turning away again.

When Ochako looked, she wasn't quite sure what he'd seen. Maybe Aizawa? He'd been standing behind the class. Mina and Tsuyu were walking by. Deku was walking off with Iida.

It troubled her somewhat.

"Uraraka, Midoriya, stay after class today. I want you to record the class' options for work studies and if anyone already has an agency they are working at," Aizawa said, tapping a large stack of papers at his desk.

Ochako slumped in her chair. Of course he'd hand her a ton of work the very first day back...

He dismissed the rest of the class and made a swift exit from the room himself. For a teacher, he sure did seem to dislike school.

Her classmates filtered out of the room, the last being Bakugo who held back for a moment, narrowing his eyes at Deku, then trudging out the door.

Deku went up to Aizawa-sensei's desk, gathering the large stack to him and returning to their seats.

He spun his chair to face her desk and they divided the stack (and thus the class list) in half, each ending up with a stack a couple inches thick.

They worked relatively quietly through their stacks, dutifully noting which agency was extending an offer to each student. Ochako noticed that her own pile of offer letters was pleasantly impressive, although nothing compared to Deku or Todoroki's. Every so often, she would share her surprise at the offer one person or another had gotten and he would lift his brows to express his shock as well.

An hour into their labor, and nearly done, Deku suddenly halted his work, pen still clutched in his hand.

"What's going on with you and Bakugo?" he asked, turning his emerald gaze on her, "You guys seemed kinda... ok?"

This question didn't surprise her coming from him. She'd expected he'd ask eventually.

"Oh yeah, we are. We kinda hashed things out when we were working together over the summer," she replied, her head still bowed over the work she was holding in front of her.

Things were quiet for a few seconds and she assumed he'd gone back to his work. But he spoke up again not long after, his voice sounding a little odd.

"I thought after everything he did, you would hate him."

Ochako set down the paper she was reading and gave him her full attention, her brows knitting together in concentration.

"Yeah, I was pretty mad at him. And he definitely deserved it. But I had to work with him during our internships so we worked it out. We had no choice," she said, shrugging.

"I'm actually kinda glad it happened," she continued, "I don't like hating people. Being one on one with him, I got to know him better. Before that I thought there was more bad to him than good and that he was self-centered and rude, especially after what happened at the Sports Festival. But now... I feel like there might be more to him than that. I can't say for sure that he's always got the best intentions at heart, he's still pretty selfish. But I do know that he was willing to put everything aside to work seriously as a hero with me. He never let everything that was messed up between us affect our partnership and, at the very least, I can respect that."

Ochako wished she could also say how fun it had really been to work with him in the end. She actually enjoyed being around him now and she felt like they had begun to start understanding each other. But she doubted Deku would want to hear that. He hadn't patched things up with Bakugo. It was probably difficult to understand how they had gone from indifferent to disliking each other to hating each other and now to being friends. She could tell that it confused everyone, not just him.

"And now you're... friends?" he inquired, gripping his pen tighter.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, a small smile coming to her lips, "We never really said 'yes we're friends for sure' but I hope that's how he sees it, even if he probably won't admit it."

Deku's expression became strained, like he was trying to hold up something very heavy and was only just barely managing to do so.

"How do you know this isn't just some new way for him to get at you? At me?" he asked, sounding a little paranoid.

Ochako frowned again, feeling slightly confused by this line of questioning. Did he not trust her judgement?

"I guess I don't know," she admitted, considering for a moment, "but he's not being pushy and you have to have some faith that I won't let him do that if he tries."

"Has he even apologized to you for what he did before?" he questioned further.

Ochako gave him a dubious look, "We both know that Bakugo doesn't do apologies. He hasn't said 'I'm sorry', no. But he's said it in other ways."

She remembered the way Bakugo had looked away from her when he'd asked, "You would want to go back to how things were before?" like he was embarrassed to admit that that might be what he wanted too.

Deku nodded, still looking a little tense despite her effort toward placating him. They went back to working for a few minutes before he brought up another difficult subject.

"Did you think at all about what I told you before summer break?" he asked, eyes shining.

A feeling of dread swept through Ochako at his words. She'd been so wound up about having to work with Bakugo the whole summer that the moment Mt. Lady's office door had opened to reveal that scowling face, she'd forgotten all about Deku's proposal.

She'd forgotten?

"I..." she began, then paused, biting her lip. She really hadn't thought about him essentially asking her to be his girlfriend for the past month. There was no way she could just jump into this now without thinking it through like she should've in the first place.

"I think I need some more time, Deku," she said quietly, "I'm still not sure about all this. I want you to like me but I'm still not sure if you really like me for me. I'm more than happy to keep being your friend but I'm still just not sure about the rest right now."

He looked down, disappointment written all over his face. Ochako's heart felt heavy. She didn't want him to be hurt because of her but she was also terrified of being hurt because of him.

Not for the first time she asked him in her mind, Why couldn't you have just asked me before all of this happened? It would've been so easy to say yes then. Misgivings wouldn't have grown in her heart over whether he wanted her or wanted to keep her away from someone else.

He looked back up at her, a new determination in his eyes then.

"If you're not sure, then I'll do whatever it takes to make you sure, Ochako-chan."

We can't, Ochako, another male voice sounded in her head when she heard her name. Who had said that to her? It sounded so raw and full of some kind of intense emotion. Why was she remembering how that name fell from someone else's lips right now?

She shook herself back to reality and the green haired boy in front of her. He'd just told her he wanted to prove his feelings for her.

"H-how are you going to do that?" she asked with uncertainty.

"I don't know yet," he replied, "but I'll do whatever it takes. I really do care about you, Ochako-chan. If that means I work on every project with you to prove that I want to spend time with you, I will. If it means that I have to give you flowers every day, I'll do it."

Ochako's heart fluttered lightly and she felt warmth pulse throughout her. She smiled shyly, heat coming to her cheeks.

"Okay, Deku."

"Wait so you two even have an ultimate move together now?" Mina gushed, squeezing a bright pink pillow on her bed, Ochako sitting next to her with an awkward smile.

The other four girls had also squeezed into the bedroom that night after dinner, when they'd heard that Ochako was about to fill them in on all the juicy details of why she and Bakugo were so friendly now.

She had already explained what had caused them to end up working together and how Mt. Lady and Edgeshot had practically forced them to be partners.

"Yeah," Ochako replied, "It's actually really cool. I ride on his back and zero out our weight and he uses his explosions to propel us through the-"

"I'm sorry, you do WHAT?! You ride him?" Toru squealed. The other girls' eyes went wide.

Ochako's entire face went hot.

"I ride on his back!' Ochako corrected loudly, throwing a pillow at the invisible girl.

"It sounds like you two got pretty close," Mina pointed out, "Especially when you had to spend a week living with him in a penthouse?"

"Yes, but it was for a mission," Ochako reminded, "To protect a prince."

"And you even got to stay there with a prince," Momo said, also piling on, "He sounds so handsome!"

"It's almost like you had your own mini reverse harem," Kyoka spoke up, giggling.

If only you know the truth, Ochako thought, it was more like Bakugo's harem.

She had neglected to tell them anything and everything about the personal events that had occured between her and Bakugo. She would likely never tell anyone. It was an embarrassing and shameful thing for her to even think about, let alone tell someone else.

"We were professionals, guys," she said, giving them scolding looks, "We were on the job."

"I don't know. If Bakugo Katsuki were just across the hall from me..." Toru trailed off.

Ochako felt alarmed at where this conversation was suddenly headed.

"Don't you have a boyfriend, Toru-chan?" Tsuyu asked her.

"Well, I mean if I were Ochako," she amended, "If Bakugo were as flirty with me as he was today with her, I could see myself falling for a guy like him."

"It's true," Momo added, "If Bakugo weren't so angry and negative all the time, I'd think he was pretty attractive."

"Me too!" Mina agreed, "He's so tall and he just exudes manliness. I mean he's such a bad boy and feels dangerous, especially with explosive sweat like... phew, what might that be like?"

An image of Bakugo's sweat-slicked skin jumped into Ochako's mind, a phantom of its taste dancing on her tongue. She felt her face go even hotter.

She jumped up.

"Well, that's not really how it is," she said shakily, "We had to work together so we just did and now we're just ok, I guess."

The other girls stared at her, startled by her outburst.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot-," Mina said. Then she slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized she'd just nearly let loose a secret.

"Forgot what, Mina-chan?" Tsuyu asked, tilting her head.

Ochako glared at her, knowing exactly what she'd been about to say.

"Forgot what?" Toru asked more forcefully, her pajamas' movement making it clear she was looking rapidly between the two girls.

Ochako rolled her eyes and sighed, sitting down again motioning Mina onward since the other girls would never stop hounding them about it now.

"I mean, sorry Ochako, but you all know she's liked Midoriya-kun since first year, right?"

The rest of the girls nodded in confirmation. At that, Ochako felt a spike of discomfort. So everyone really did know, just like Bakugo had said that night...

"Well," Mina continued, "a few weeks back he asked her to come up to his room with her."

The other girls gasped in shock.

"Calm down, not for that. We're talking about Midoriya here," Mina scolded.

The other girls nodded again, this time in agreement.

"But- and I don't know what all happened, she never really told me- he did end up kissing her!"

The girls gasped in even greater shock this time, looking over at Ochako, who covered her face with her hands.

"Oh my gosh, that's amazing! Congratulations, Ochako-chan!" Momo said with excitement.

"Are you guys like, together now?" Kyoka asked, looking a little confused, "You guys don't act like you're together."

Ochako slumped and shook her head. Then she finally spoke up.

"A lot of stuff happened and he kinda... rejected me, I guess, afterward?" She smiled sadly.

"I knew you seemed kinda sad after the Sports Festival," Toru said, patting her back, "I didn't know that this is what had been going on, though. I thought that whole debacle with the fight with Kaminari messed you up."

You don't know that half of it, she thought as she picked at the bedspread she was sitting on.

"Well, we didn't talk for a while," Ochako went on, "and then after final exams, he actually did ask me out. I guess he changed his mind."

All of the girls gasped again. This must've been a rollercoaster for them. A soap opera playing out before their very eyes.

"Well what did you say?!" Mina inquired excitedly, bouncing toward her on the bed.

"I haven't given him an answer yet," Ochako admitted, "He kinda broke my heart before and I don't know if he'll do it again just as easily."

Looking around the room, she saw the other girls' sympathy for her dilemma and broken heart.

"Well, I think Midoirya is a good guy, Ochako-chan," Tsuyu offered, "He's naive sometimes and doesn't always know what he should do and when. But I hope you consider giving him another chance."

She laid her large, frog-like hand on Ochako's and Ochako nodded. The other girls followed suit, each laying their hands on hers in solidarity.

Her heart warmed at the comfort they were offering her and she smiled genuinely at them, "Thanks, guys."

Her day began the same the next morning. She woke, showered, stretched with Mina, then went down to breakfast. But at the table, Deku sat waiting for her, a hopeful light stirring in his eyes when she sat across from him, Mina and Toru abandoning her to sit a ways away.

"Good morning, Ochako-chan," he said energetically.

"Good morning Deku-kun," she responded timidly, helping herself to some of the food on the table.

They ate their breakfast contentedly, each occasionally glancing up at the other then looking away before the other noticed.

When they finished he stood, offering to take her plate to the sink. When he returned he asked, "Do you wanna walk to class together?"

Butterflies formed in her stomach and she felt her heartbeat quicken.

She looked around for her other friends, wondering if they were waiting up for her but they were nowhere to be found, probably having left to not cause the indecision she was worrying about right now.

"Sure," she said, lifting her backpack to her shoulder and heading to the door.

They walked to class together, an easy conversation passing between them about their summer and who they might do their work study with.

When they walked into class, it was only about 8:10 and not many students had shown up yet. Mina and Toru were there talking with each other at Toru's desk, Iida was obviously there bright and early as usual, and Bakugo was there surprisingly early for him.

He paused and looked between them a moment, then went back to a notebook in front of him, lightly tapping on it.

"Good morning, Iida-kun," Ochako greeted as she sat in her seat, getting a greeting in kind.

She then turned to Bakugo and flashed him a warm smile, "Good morning, Bakugo."

He faced her when he heard his name, looking bored.

"You're looking extra pink today, pink-cheeks," he said, reaching out to her, flipping her ponytail off of her shoulder and onto her back where it should be. His warm fingers grazed her neck, causing electricity to jolt through her.

Her cheeks reddened before she was able to get out her answer, "Thanks, I guess?"

His eyes darted to the seat in front of her before resting on her face again.

"Any time, floaty."

More students started to filter in then and they each went about their day.

The next day, Deku waited for her again and walked with her to class.

This time, though, when they were almost to the building, Bakugo shoved past them, hitting her shoulder despite there being plenty of space on the walkway.

Ochako glared his receding back, "Hi, Bakugo! I'm walking here, in case you didn't notice!"

He looked back at her, then at Deku next to her, then turned back and shrugged, hurrying ahead.

Something about that interaction bothered her. It had felt almost like the old Bakugo who had always been trying to rile her up.

When she got to class, he didn't act all too different with her, though. He still tersely, yet not unkindly, responded when she addressed him. But something was off. He felt distanced, colder.

It was the same the next day, and then Friday as well. She didn't know how to explain it but he was somehow not being himself.

Then, it was the end of class on Friday.

"Have your work study selections turned in before you leave today," Aizawa-sensei said exhaustedly, "Midoriya, Uraraka, make sure everyone has picked one. Monday, you will all be connecting with your work study employers so if you don't have one, you don't have half of your grade for this term."

There was a tense silence as he exited the room, then the rest of the class began dispersing as well, talking excitedly, some stragglers leaving their papers on his desk as they went out.

Bakugo was again one of the last to leave, not even sparing her a glance as he ambled out with Kirishima chattering in his ear.

All that were left now were her and Deku.

Ochako frowned, discomfort spiking in her. It had been just under a week since summer break had ended but last Saturday already felt like it had been a million years ago. Things felt like they were slowly sliding back into how they had been before summer. Why? And what could she do to preserve what she had built with Bakugo in the summer?

He was the one who said you could be however you wanted, her mind groused, he should be making an effort too. Doesn't he care at all?

She didn't like that it was bothering her so much.

Ochako rose abruptly, turning to Deku, "Can you give me a moment?"

He looked a little surprised and his voice sounded concerned when he answered.

"Sure, is everything okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I just need to go handle something really quick, okay?"

"Well," he said kindly, "I can cover for you here if you want. It'll only take a few minutes to make sure everyone has a paper turned in if you just want to go on ahead. You don't have to come back."

She smiled gratefully at him feeling a bit guilty for leaving him with all the work no matter how little.

"Thank you, Deku, you're so dependable," she said.

He flushed at her compliment, "It's nothing, really."

At that she headed out of the room, going at a jog in hopes of catching up with Bakugo and Kirishima before they got to the dorms.

She caught sight of them just as they were about to exit the school building.

"Bakugo! Wait!" she called, running toward them.

The boys halted just inside and waited for her to catch up with them.

"Uraraka-chan, what's up? Did we forget something?" Kirishima asked.

"No," she replied, fidgeting awkwardly, unsure how to say what she wanted, "it's just- I was hoping I could talk to you a second?" She said the last bit obviously addressing the blonde boy.

Kirishima gave her a puzzled look while Bakugo gazed down at her appraisingly.

"Go ahead without me," Bakugo said to Kirishima, not looking away from her, "I'll catch up."

Kirishima still had that expression on his face like he was missing something and looked back and forth between them a couple times.

"What, shitty-hair?" Bakugo snapped, finally turning to the red-haired boy.

Kirishima' brows went up and he stepped back a pace, "Nothing, nothing. I'll see you in a little bit." He bid Ochako farewell and stepped out, tossing a concerned glance back before taking off toward the dorms.

"That was kinda rude," Ochako chided.

He just shrugged. "Did you come to scold me about him or do you want something?"

She glared at him then sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, come on."

She led him up to the roof which looked over the whole city with them being this high up on the mountain. The view from the classrooms alone were stunning. From up here, it was spectacular.

She turned to him then, taking him in. The strong winds tousled his spiky ashen hair as he watched her. He was wearing the warmer weather uniform although he was nowhere near up to dress code standards, what with him not only missing his tie, but not even buttoning his shirt up all the way or tucking it in. Why did he never get penalized for that? She assumed it was likely the staff felt it was fortunate enough he wore the uniform at all. Not to mention it fit with that bad boy image he gave off and U.A. was nothing if not supporters of a strong self identity.

She came back to herself when he asked, "What is it, floaty? I have things to do."

"Like what?" she asked incredulously.

"Not your business things," he grumbled.

She felt a prick of annoyance at his response but kept herself from saying something sassy back, wanting to get to the bottom of what was really bothering her.

Taking a steadying breath, she began, "I feel like something is off between us. I know we said things would be the same as over the summer but they haven't been. It feels like there's tension and hostility again."

He cracked his knuckles as he listened to her, then turned his attention to the city as she finished.

"And?" he asked derisively.

"And?" her mind shrieked, AND I'll shove my foot up your- She resisted the urge to finish that thought.

"And I don't want that," she finished, shooting daggers at him with her eyes that he tacitly ignored.

A long minute passed without his response and Ochako began to wonder if he really had anything to say about the matter or if he even noticed or cared. It had seemed like he cared about the blossoming friendship between them on Saturday. She couldn't have misinterpreted that...

"I don't know what to tell you, floaty. Things seem fine to me," he finally said.

What a fucking liar, she raged in her mind again, you're the whole reason things aren't fine!

"You know that's not true," she said instead, barely holding back the intense irritation she was experiencing. "Over the summer, I thought things had gotten better between us. Actually, I'm sure they did. I thought, you know, by the end there we might've become friends."

At her words, he looked back at her, eyes blazing with some untold emotion she couldn't quite place. She knew it wasn't a happy one, though.

"I already told you, pink-cheeks, I don't want to be friends," he ground out from between clenched teeth.

Again, the hurt she felt at his clear contempt for the thought of their friendship pierced her.

"I don't understand," she blurted, feeling embarrassment and frustration forming a lump in her throat. If she didn't get herself under control right now, her eyes would tear up and she was tired of letting him make her that upset. "You said we could be however I wanted us to be!"

He made a "tch" sound, clenching his fists tightly, like he was trying to keep from blowing this whole building away.

"When I said we could be however you want I didn't mean- Uuuuugh!" he growled in frustration vigorously mussing his hair with his fingers.

Ochako swallowed the lump in her throat, concern for him growing in her instead. He was actually having as hard of a time with this as she was but he was struggling to be able to say so.

"Look, we can't be how we were during the summer," he bit out, pulling his hands away from his head, "It's not that simple. You have your own things and friends or whatever and I have mine. They don't overlap really."

She had already known this but she had hoped- For what? For them to talk and hang out every day? To eat lunch together? To walk to and from school together? She was already doing some of those things with Deku and she doubted either boy would be ok being around the other. When she'd had a falling out with each of them, they'd effectively had a falling out with each other, ruining any bonds of friendship they'd slowly formed over the years.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted, "I don't want to just go back to how things were before summer or even before this school year. But I also don't know how we can be like we were when we were working together. I liked working with you this summer. I had fun. Didn't you?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," he said, his eyes still cast downward.

"I wish we could still train together at least," she said in a quiet voice, contemplating. "Maybe every few days we could-"

And then an idea hit her.

"Wait," she said abruptly, "we can."

He gave her a bemused look, "We can what?"

"If you could, would you want to go back to how we were during the summer? Would you work with me again?"

He was quiet for a second like this was some kind of trick question.

"I guess..."

She glared at him and pushed him gently as though doing that would push him to be more honest with her.

It weirdly worked.

He sighed with exasperation, rolling his eyes, "Yes."

She beamed at him and his annoyed expression softened slightly.

"Come on! I have an idea," she said excitedly, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the roof exit.

He followed silently behind her as she ran them through the hallways of UA, finally stopping at the door to classroom 3-A.

She flung the door open with surprising force, causing Deku still inside the classroom to jump and look up from the papers he was holding at Aizawa-sensei's desk.

His eyes immediately went to the tall, gruff boy behind her, then widened as they went to their interlocked hands.

Startled to find him still there, Ochako quickly dropped the large hand she had grabbed without thinking, feeling heat flood her cheeks.

"Oh, Deku, hi..." she said awkwardly, "I was looking for the work study papers. Do you still have them?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied, confusion prominent on his face.

"Here," he handed over the stack of papers that he'd been holding.

She took them and rifled through them before she found hers, then Bakugo's. Then, she turned to him, holding them up.

When she'd turned to him, he'd been scowling at the boy sitting behind the desk but his attention snapped to her the moment she held the papers up to him.

He gave her a questioning look.

"Work with me again," she said, shaking the papers she held.

She'd been afraid to ask him or even consider it when their internship had ended. She hadn't wanted to be laughed at or teased if he didn't want to work with her again. But they both had to admit that they worked well together. They were at their best when teamed up. She didn't know why and she didn't want to inspect the fragile partnership they'd built to find out.

Now she knew for certain, though, that he wanted that interaction back as well.

"Maybe we can never be perfect friends at school. It's not easy, although we can keep trying." Before he could open his mouth to protest, she continued on, "but I know that we're really good at being a team. We're stronger together than we are separately and we can still be okay there, at least. I'm sure we got offers from the same places so..."

She separated his paper from hers and handed it to him.

She knew she wasn't pleading or even asking. She knew he wanted this too. She was insisting.

He finally took the form from her with a look of surrender, "Fine."

Ochako felt her heart lighten as he took his paper and went to look for a pencil at his desk.

She turned to put the rest of the stack on Aizawa-sensei's desk and did a double take when her eyes landed on Deku. He looked stunned and completely lost like he'd just wandered into the Twilight Zone. It was such a distraught expression, it made her heart feel like it was being torn in half.

"Deku?" she said softly.

His eyes snapped up to hers and the expression was gone, replaced by a friendly smile.

"Wow, so you really did connect with Bakugo over the summer," he said warmly, "I'm glad everything is okay with you guys now."

He got up and came around the desk, hugging her tightly when he stood in front of her.

"Deku-kun..." she breathed, her face becoming hot and her heart racing. For a moment, she thought she smelled that burning matches scent Bakugo usually gave off but it didn't last and she figured she'd imagined it for some weird subconscious reason.

He held her for a few seconds, then let her go just as abruptly and quickly exited the room.

Ochako turned back to Bakugo with a look of utter shock but his head was bowed over his paper, pencil in hand, looking like he was concentrating very hard on something.

When they'd finished up amending their work study forms to match, choosing to work under Hawks, she took their papers and placed them back on top of the stack on Aizawa-sensei's desk and followed him out of the room, taking one last look around to make sure nothing was out of order.

She noticed that Bakugo had left his pencil on his desk and went to place it back inside. But when she picked it up, she found deep grooves in it where fingers would usually lie while writing. They were blackened, burned into the pencil.

The smell from before... Why...

She couldn't ponder further, he was waiting for her out in the hall.

She shoved the pencil back in his desk and went to join him so they could confer about what their first day of work might be like at their new agency.

The tension between them was gone.

Notes:

A/N: Oh my god, why is every chapter ending up being so long and I STILL don't fit everything I want in it?! I've mapped out my whole story and have a vague idea of what I want to include in a chapter and I just go WAY overboard. Are these chapters too long?!

I'm also considering having another interlude of Bakugo's POV at some point again. Idk. Still ruminating on that one.

Chapter 16

Notes:

Ultra-long for your reading pleasure!

Chapter Text

"Ochako-chan!" "Ochakooooo!" her parents called to her as Ochako stepped off of the train.

As promised, she finally found the time to visit her parents the weekend after arriving back at school.

It was Saturday and she would only be spending one night again but she'd caught an early train and would be able to spend all of today and most of tomorrow going out and gossiping with her parents, both of which were here to pick her up this time.

She rushed over to them, jumping into their outstretched arms and breathing the scent of home in deep.

Her father grabbed her one duffel bag and carried it for her as her mother incessantly asked questions like, "How is school?" "How are your teachers?" "How was your internship?" "Is Mt. Lady as amazing as she seems?"

Ochako answered them all in turn, humoring her mother as they made their way to the car and packed inside.

"So what's planned for the weekend?" she asked, poking her head in between the two front seats.

"Well I figured we could do some brunch first, then play it by ear," her father answered.

"Oh and I got that adorable dog movie you wanted to watch, Ochako," her mom told her excitedly, "So we can have a movie night!"

"Ooooo! Yes!" Ochako cheered, bouncing in her seat.

They went to a sweet little cafe for brunch, then strolled around the aquarium that was nearby, stopping off at the grocery store for what would be cooked tonight, not to mention popcorn for the movie.

Later that evening, they ate dinner together, Ochako going further into detail about her internship.

"So, I got to be the guard to the prince of Croatia!" she gushed with a certain amount of pride.

Her mother gasped, "Oh my GOSH, Ochako! That's so amazing! I knew Mt. Lady was a good person! That was the first mission she gave you? She must have so much confidence in you!"

Her parents beamed at her with pride and she smiled back, pleased to be pleasing them.

"So tell me all about this prince," her mom asked interestedly.

Her father sighed, shaking his head, "I'm gonna go set up the movie." Obviously, he wanted no part of this conversation.

"Well I can show you," Ochako said, pulling out her phone, "He is a public figure afterall."

She searched out "Prince Nathaniel of Croatia" and slid her phone to her mother.

When she saw his face, her mother's jaw dropped.

"WOW," she said, a little flustered, "he is stunning!"

Ochako nodded in agreement, "He was very kind too. We got to be good friends."

Her mother's brows hitched up at that but, knowing she didn't have the prejudice that others did, she told her mom the reality of it.

"Don't get your hopes up, Mom, he doesn't like girls."

Her mom's face fell into a pout, "Well doesn't that just figure. Gorgeous man and going to waste on men who probably don't appreciate him half as much as he should be."

Ochako thought of Nate saying something similar about liking men who were never into him. She smiled sadly.

"But, like I said, we did become friends," she said in consolation, "He even gave me his number. I suppose I should text him now that summer break is over..."

"Of course you should! Text him tonight! Invite him over for dinner some time!" she squealed like a schoolgirl.

"Oh my god, Mom, calm yourself!" Ochako laughed.

She and her mother cleared the table, then went to sit with her father on the couch to watch A Puppy's Love, a bowl of popcorn already in his lap.

By the time the movie ended, the popcorn bowl was empty, her father was passed out (halfway through the movie as usual), and she and her mother were in tears over the ending.

"He loved him *sniff* so much!" her mom sobbed, mopping up the tears that leaked down her cheek with her cuff.

"He was such a good dog!" Ochako cried, biting her shirt collar, trying to will the tears away.

Why did she always do this to herself? These dog movies always tore her up.

They dried their tears as best they could, her mom picking up the popcorn bowl to dump in the sink and Ochako putting the movie back in its case to return later.

Her mother made herself a cup of tea in the kitchen, occasional sniffling still reaching Ochako's ears.

She sat back down at the dinner table with her warm beverage and motioned for Ochako to join her. So Ochako sat.

"So tell me," she said, leaning in, a look of intense interest, "everything that has been going on."

A humored rush of air escaped Ochako's lips. She was willing to bet that her mother had been waiting all day to ask about this.

So she launched into the story. The whole story. She told her about how Deku kissed her the night she'd come back from her visit. She told her about how Bakugo had kissed her after her match and how that had been what had her so preoccupied that she was injured in her next one. She told her about finding out Bakugo's plan to take her from Deku in order to hurt him and Deku hiding it from her to not seem jealous. And how she hadn't talked to either boy for weeks.

Then she told her how Deku had apologized and had formally asked her to be with him and how she'd said no despite wanting to say yes.

She told her about the whole internship. How she'd been forced to work with Bakugo and how they'd decided to put things aside and try to be professionals. She told her that she'd, unwisely, kissed Bakugo again (leaving out the whole underage drinking and almost having sex bit) and how he'd agreed to pretend it never happened after she told him it was a mistake.

Then she told her how they continued to be partners after Nate left, and had actually grown close. She told her about their return to school and how it had been uncomfortable for a while until they agreed to work together again for their work study.

And finally she told her about how Deku had asked her again about being with him and how she was still unsure but he told her he'd prove his feelings for her.

Through the whole drama-filled story, her mom just nodded along and listened, never interrupting.

When she finished, her mom sat and sipped her coffee for a few minutes as Ochako watched her expectantly.

She sighed, "Yes, I suspected after the last time you visited that this Bakugo guy was interested in you."

Ochako jolted in her seat. "What?! You did? And you didn't tell me?"

"Well," her mom considered, "it was just a hunch. I wasn't sure. I didn't want to put something into your head that wasn't true."

She took another sip from her drink, looking like she was putting her thoughts in order.

"Well Ochako, dear, it sounds to me like you're being smart about this," she comforted, "I'm glad you didn't say yes to Deku when you have misgivings about how he really feels. Yes, he's proven to be a very kind boy and a wonderful hero but that doesn't mean he understands how to treat a woman. I don't like that he kept what he knew from you either and even though you may think he doesn't need to prove himself to you, he most assuredly does."

Ochako nodded, confirming she understood what she was being told.

"When it comes to Bakugo..." her mom paused here, taking another sip, then going on, "I wish I could tell you to stay away from him."

Her saying this came as a surprise to Ochako. Last time she seemed to be sure that she could handle either boy.

"It's obvious that he upsets you a lot when you have to deal with him being hot and cold with you. You said things started going well for you when it was just you two working together during summer break but the moment other factors like school and friends were added back into the mix, things started falling apart. He's unpredictable and not in a good way. I don't believe for a second that he's just set aside his interest in you in order to pursue a friendship or partnership or anything."

Her mom paused again and bit her lip like she was battling with herself over wanting to say more.

"I trust you to make good choices, Ochako-chan, but I just don't want you to think you're going into this work study with a friend when he might really want something else."

Ochako considered this. She and Bakugo had only briefly discussed the debacle of him planning to hurt Deku by taking her from him. She had been the one to suggest setting that drama aside and he had agreed. Since then, they hadn't really talked about it. But, she supposed, she'd forgotten about it and figured he'd given that plot up. Why? Because of how he'd stopped her when she'd propositioned him and, not only that, but had agreed not to tell anyone about it. And he hadn't, he'd kept his word. He always had the perfect ammunition sitting in his back pocket and he didn't use it. Didn't that prove he'd abandoned his plan to steal her from Deku? But she couldn't tell her mother that...

Ochako gripped the seat of her chair as she asked, "What do you think I should do?" She wasn't sure she would like the answer.

"There aren't any easy choices here, honey," her mom replied sadly, "Deal with what you know is right in front of you. You know Deku wants to be with you. He's said as much. Give him the chance to prove himself but don't let him think he can hand you some flowers and everything is okay again. He needs to rebuild your trust.

"You can continue your partnership with Bakugo but be alert. Don't let him lull you into a false sense of security so he can try something again. I know you want to see the best in everybody, sweetie, but you have to also be careful.

"If I had my way, I'd want you to wash your hands of both of those boys. Both of them have so much growing to do before they deserve you as either a friend or more. You see how your father treats me and cares for his family. It's everything to him. He's a good man. If you can't see a guy being as wonderful as your father, then you should pass him by. You deserve no less."

Ochako stayed up late that night, thinking of her mother's advice. It made sense. But how was she ever going to be able to follow it?

"So..." Hawks said, walking ahead of her and Bakugo as he led them around the patrol he intended them to take each day they worked for him, "I ended up with Gravity Girl and Explodey Boy..."

Ochako felt her face scrunch up into a pout when she heard "Gravity Girl". Glimpsing over at Bakugo, he wasn't taking his dubbing very kindly either.

"As you can see, this area isn't especially dangerous so you two should be able to handle it," he said with indifference. "It's good that you both came to me at the same time. You two know what I think is most important about being a hero."

Ochako nodded when he glanced back at them. Bakugo shrugged.

"One of you is powerful but not good with the public at all. People are afraid to approach you," he looked back at Bakugo, as if they couldn't figure out which of them he was talking about.

"The other has not proven to be consistently powerful but gets nothing but stellar reviews about their charisma. People just don't always have faith in you."

He looked back at Ochako now. She cast her gaze down, feeling the sting of that criticism.

"So I'm told that you two worked together this past summer?" he asked, facing forward again.

"Yes," Ochako replied.

"Good, because it's clear to me that you two need to be learning each other's strengths."

They had made a large circle around this part of town and were back in front of his agency again where he stopped and turned to them.

He pointed at Bakugo, "How to deal with the public."

He pointed at Ochako, "How to boost the public's confidence in you."

"The people's opinions of you not only helps determine your hero rank, it gives them a sense of security and disincentivises villains to commit crimes."

He motioned for them to follow as he pushed the door open and entered his agency.

Inside, a handful of sidekicks and workers were sitting at desks answering phones or typing away at a computer.

He came to a stop and leaned against the nearest desk.

"These are the things you're going to be trying to improve while you work under me. You'll be working together as a team and hopefully rub off on each other. I've also heard you don't get along sometimes."

Ochako ducked her head in embarrassment.

"I honestly don't care. It would be more surprising to me if you two were best friends. As long as you get the job done and keep up appearances in public, I don't care if you tear each other to shreds in here or off the clock. Make sense?"

Ochako nodded vigorously. Bakugo just gave a curt nod.

"Any questions?"

Ochako shook her head. Bakugo gave no response.

With that, he released them to one of the sidekicks, who had been working at a desk nearby to show them around and give them a rundown of how the office worked.

After that they were allowed to go back to the dorms.

"Hawks seems like he'll be really helpful as a mentor," Ochako said as they rode the train back to UA.

Bakugo shrugged. "He's out of his mind if he thinks I'm going to try and improve my 'public relation skills'," he grumbled.

She rolled her eyes, "Well you could do with some work in that department."

He batted at her ponytail in silent retribution for the jibe.

"Isn't that part of why you're here? You deal with the people, I make the villains scream in agony."

Ochako raised her brows at him.

"To be fair, I believe it was the opposite when we rescued Nate."

"I don't recall anyone screaming in agony," he teased, quirking a brow at her.

She pouted her lips, "You know what I mean! And, honestly Bakugo, that's not why we're teamed up. You know that. After all, what are you gonna do without me when we graduate?"

Bakugo looked away from her and seemed to ponder this for a long while, then finally responded shrugging nonchalantly, "Call you when I need a fixer I guess."

Ochako burst out laughing at this, getting an image in her head of being a hero PR fixer.

"Well that's one profession I can consider if this whole hero thing doesn't work out," she said, wiping a jovial tear from her eye.

The rest of August and most of September flew by in a whirlwind.

Ochako was constantly busy with school and her hero study and she began training regularly with Bakugo on their Grav Burst, beginning to work on moving in different directions, changing speeds and making quick turns. It took a lot of grueling hours to begin to understand each other's movements better. She had to fine tune her own quirk in order to best reduce their weight at the most appropriate times and when to best release it. He had to work on knowing when, where and how powerfully he should be applying his own quirk to power their directional movement.

At one point they (or rather Ochako) decided they should ask Hawks for pointers on aerial movement, considering he had plenty of experience with his own wings. Of course, his movement was different but he still took a look for them anyway.

He had been impressed with the progress they had made on their own and made some of his own suggestions. He recommended they figure out a way to put an easier foothold for her to more easily attach and detach from Bakugo's back. Bakugo, of course, was none too thrilled with the idea of him effectively having to wear "stirrups" but Hawks offered one of his own support specialists to help them figure out the logistics of it.

They also continued their patrols and Ochako tried to help Bakugo make progress with his image, standing with him to help him interact with fans that approached him and trying to lead him by example as well as step in if he was being too obtuse.

Her progress was not as simple. It took time to allow the public to gain confidence in your ability. A lot of people didn't even know her like they knew Deku and Bakugo and she supposed that might've been part of the problem.

She initially wasn't sure how Bakugo would be able to help her improve her public image in this area. But, very slowly, she noticed that people were beginning to recognize her and approach her as a hero as well. Hawks had said they would be able to help each other with their issues concerning public opinion and now she wondered if just the fact that Bakugo was comfortable being seen working with her, depending on her, was what was giving civilians more confidence in her abilities. It was a heartening feeling, but she also wondered if people would still feel the same when they both graduated and went their separate ways.

More and more often she found herself wondering about graduation. It was looming on the horizon and she had been working her ass off with someone who would likely go off and quickly make a name for himself, leaving her behind. It made her wonder sometimes what she had been thinking insisting that they keep working together this way. Yes, it was fun and enjoyable but it wasn't as though they were truly partners or would continue this partnership down the road.

She might be setting herself up for failure if she depended on him too much to help her become stronger or more well known. And it was with that realization that she also decided to continue training and refining her quirk on her own as well.

Late September and early October brought a chill to the air and Ochako found herself regularly wearing her colder weather uniform now.

It was at the beginning of October that Aizawa-sensei brought up the UA Cultural Festival.

"It's about time to be thinking of what you want to do as a class for it," he said with as much enthusiasm as he ever showed. "I'll give you some time now to come up with some ideas. Uraraka, Midoriya, as class reps, you get to lead the class in this discussion."

Aizawa sensei nestled into his sleeping bag in the corner and shut his eyes.

Ochako rose from her desk and followed behind Deku as he made his way up to the front of the room.

In the past months, he had not failed to make good on his promise to partner with her on class projects and training exercises. He often asked her to study with him and had made it a habit to hug her almost every day. There were even some days that he would just hold her for minutes at a time, which always succeeded in making her heart race, especially when he would sometimes pull back and his eyes would be so full of warmth and kindness. Those days, she longed to kiss him, to agree to be his girlfriend after all. But for some reason she always held back just as the words were about to escape her lips.

Now, he glanced at her and gave a small smile before turning to the class, "Who wants to throw out some ideas?"

"We're close to Halloween, how about a haunted house?" Tsuyu suggested first.

"I'm always up for a maid cafe!" Kaminari said, ignoring the fact that the idea was discarded every single year.

"A battle royale," Bakugo offered up, a competitive gleam in his eye.

"A taiyaki stand!"

"A crepe stand!"

"Let's do another performance!"

"A strip club!" Mineta shouted and everyone turned to him. Toru utilized the moves Ochako had taught her well and gave him a chop to the neck. He immediately went limp and everyone left him slumped on his desk.

"How about a candy apple stand?" Deku suggested, a faraway look in his eyes.

Ochako smiled fondly at his suggestion. Eri liked candy apples. He'd learned to make them just for her just to see her smile. The way he doted on the now 10 year old, warmed her heart. The way he cared for her always made her think of how great of a father he might be one day.

"I like that idea," she seconded. He glanced over to her and shot her a grateful look.

"Ooooo, I like candy apples! And we haven't had a stand at the festival the past two years!" Sato agreed.

Everyone else in the class looked around and conversed amongst each other.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Kaminari said as well.

And then the whole room was filled with cries of assent.

Ochako was mildly surprised. The last two years had been a battle to decide what they would be doing as a class. Making the choice this quickly was nothing short of a miracle.

"Okay! So we'll do a candy apple stand!" Ochako concluded, grinning widely.

The whole class cheered save Bakugo who just rested his chin on his fist and gazed past her desk, out the window.

The class began work on the stand quickly.

Momo was in charge of sourcing the ingredients because she had many business connections that gave discounts and saved them a ton of money.

Most of the boys worked on building the stand while the girls worked on the banners and decorations.

Deku was going to be in charge of making the apples while Ochako managed the stand in general, from scheduling the times students would be working at it, to pricing and working with the other classes on the layout of the stands.

By the end of October, everything was set and the class was feeling confident and excited to partake in this event. Sure, it wasn't as flashy as the show they'd put on in first year or as refined the tea shop they had had last year, but it was kinda nice, Ochako thought, to have something simpler and less stressful for their third year festival.

The Friday before the school festival was set to start, Kendo along with a handful of other students from 3-B paid a visit to their classroom after school was through.

"We're having a party tomorrow night," she told them, "at our dorm. Every third year is invited."

"Awesome!" Kaminari cried out, practically vibrating with excitement.

"But there's a stipulation," Kendo backtracked, "We're close to Halloween so we figured, 'why not make it a costume party?' So everyone who shows up has to cosplay as a pro-hero!"

"THAT'S EVEN MORE AWESOME!" Kirishima yelled. He wrapped his arm around Bakugo's neck, "Eh! Who do you think you'll be?"

"Get off me, shitty-hair!" Bakugo groused, pushing at the overly-friendly boy. "Like I would go to a party for a bunch of extras."

Ochako rolled her eyes at the predictable comment. She didn't even know why Kirishima still tried to get him involved in anything that wasn't a competition or fighting.

Kirishima turned to her then, "Maybe you can convince him to go, Uraraka-chan! He listens to you sometimes!"

Ochako chuckled at that. Yeah sure he does, she thought sarcastically, catching a glimpse of the blonde boy narrowing his eyes at Kirishima.

"Maybe sometimes at work," she said with a shrug, "but I can't make him go to a party. I wouldn't want his grumpiness to spoil it anyway."

"Floaty..." he growled in irritation, his palms sparking.

Ochako smirked at him, "Oh so you want to go?"

He snorted and turned away from her.

Deku twisted around in his seat then.

"You want to come with me?" he asked shyly, fidgeting with his jacket buttons, "We can coordinate our costumes or something."

She smiled warmly back at him. His awkwardness was always so cute to her.

"You're just gonna go as All Might," she giggled, "Who would I be to match you?"

She was elated that he would ask her and she really did want to go with him. She also didn't want to dress up as Sir Nighteye, though.

He blushed. "Well..." he fumbled with his words. At least he didn't try to deny it...

"I'll go with you," she said, trying to alleviate some of his discomfort, "but I think we can figure out our own costumes."

He nodded and beamed at her, sending her heart beating rapidly.

Walking back to the dorms, Mina and Toru approached her.

"Okay, so we're definitely going shopping for costumes tonight, right?" Mina asked, taking Ochako's arm.

"No, I'm sorry, girls, I have my work study today," she said apologetically.

Mina pouted and shook her arm.

"Awww, Ochako-chaaaan! You don't have it tomorrow do you? You wanna go then before the party?"

"Uh... I guess," she hesitantly agreed.

"Great!" Toru said, grabbing her other arm, "So what are you gonna be?"

"Come in here a second, I need to talk to you about something," Hawks said from his office when Ochako and Bakugo arrived back from their patrol that day.

They obediently obliged and he shut the door behind them.

"So, we're going to be getting some interns from another school in here next week," he told them, his eyes on a tablet in his hand. "They're first years and don't have provisional licenses, obviously, so I'm gonna put you in charge of showing them the ropes and putting them to work."

Ochako's eyes grew wide. "Really?" she asked, feeling her nerves rattling around in her chest. She'd never really been in charge of people before. Managing the candy apple stand this year was the closest she'd ever come.

"Yes, it'll be good for both of you to get more experience in leading people anyway. You're about to graduate, after all, you should know how to manage people. I assume one or both of you want to have your own agency one day?"

Ochako debated this in her head. She'd honestly never considered having her own agency before. She had always thought she'd work for someone else as a sidekick or just a rescue hero. It was what her quirk was best cut out for.

Meanwhile, she knew for a fact that it was in Bakugo's plan to one day run his own agency. He'd never really been silent about that fact. Although, the thought of him actually being the boss of anyone made her cringe. Maybe she would take him up on that whole fixer thing...

"If you have no questions, you're free to go," Hawks said, shooing them out with a wave.

Ochako bowed graciously and exited. Bakugo just turned and left.

"So how do you want to do this intern thing?" she asked him on the train ride back to UA, "Do you want to split them in half or I take girls and you take boys?"

Bakugo chuckled sardonically, "No way, floaty."

"Wha- then what do you propose?" she said indignantly, immediately bristling at his tone.

"We'll keep them all together and play Good Cop, Bad Cop. You don't have the guts to boss a bunch of first-years around."

Ochako's hackles raised further, actually starting to get offended now.

"Yes I do! Just because I won't threaten them with death, doesn't mean I won't be able to lead them!"

A few commuters looked in her direction when she began raising her voice and she quickly apologized, lowering her volume.

He gave her a look as if to say, "Point proven."

She sneered at him. "You don't know how to lead anyone either," she whisper yelled, "You'll probably kill them before the day is through."

He gave her a bored look. "I don't deny that. Kids are little shits. That's why I said we play Good Cop, Bad Cop. You're not authoritative enough on your own, that's why you never even considered having an agency. I saw the look on your face in there."

Ochako hated that he knew what she had been thinking when Hawks had brought up them wanting their own hero agencies. It only made her more angry that he was kinda right. She didn't want him to be right.

"I can be authoritative!" she whispered harshly.

"Okay, pink-cheeks," he said condescendingly, patting her head.

She smacked his hand away with determined force and the smirk that had been playing on his lips for the past minute faded, replaced by a scowl.

"I'm just being honest with you, floaty. We always play off of each other's strengths. We should do it for this too."

UGH! Why was she being so unreasonably stubborn about this? It really chafed her that he didn't see her as a good leader for some reason, despite that fact that he also admitted that he had his own flaws in the leadership department. She could negotiate! She could mediate! She worked well with the public! But she couldn't lead? What the hell?

Their train arrived at the station and the announcement came over the speaker as the doors opened. Ochako hopped off and whirled on him as he made his way off as well.

"You don't know what I'm capable of!" she snapped, anger coursing through her veins.

His eyes widened a fraction before his brows fell into their usual enraged expression, his irises lighting up for a battle.

But Ochako didn't feel like arguing further with him today. She was too upset for some reason. Learning his opinion of her leadership skills didn't just anger her. It also hurt.

She turned and sprinted away before he could get another word out and- as she knew he wouldn't- he didn't chase her.

"I can't do this," Ochako said for probably the 50th time by now as she, Mina, and Toru approached the 3-B dorms.

She was dressed in a skin-tight white bodysuit with pretty much just dominatrix-like lingerie over the top and thigh-high stockings under knee-high spike-heeled boots. She also held a flogging whip in one hand. She'd been talked into cosplaying as Midnight.

The other girls insisted she wear it to the party with Deku. In reality, she knew they just wanted to see his reaction when he got a look at her. And, honestly, the reaction had been somewhat worth it. When he'd opened the door to his room, his eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets and his face went a magnificent color of red. It had made her feel a little embarrassed that she'd have that effect on anyone.

But then she'd noticed he didn't have a costume on.

He'd had to explain to her that All Might had asked him to come with him for a meeting of some kind. He couldn't go into specifics.

She felt crestfallen at that and had had to explain it to the other two girls when she came back down empty-handed. They both looked disappointed for her as well and had given her a group hug.

"But you're still wearing the costume," Toru had whispered in her ear.

So now they were here, walking toward the 3-B dorms, Ochako occasionally trying to turn back and the other girls having to drag her along at times.

She was afraid of what people would say. Yes, she did wear a skin-tight bodysuit as her own hero costume but it wasn't intended to look sexy. It didn't attract the eyes to all of her most womanly curves. This costume screamed that she was up for giving spankings as long as you called her mistress first.

Kendo greeted them at the door and squealed when she saw their costumes. Mina was dressed as Ryukyu, who had been Ochako's work study employer in first year. Toru had decided to cross-dress as Lemillion, which counted, as Togata had graduated and gone on to be a pro hero two years ago.

She ushered them inside and offered them drinks and food. Tsuyu, Momo, and Jiro were already inside and ran over when they spotted them. They complimented their costumes as well.

It felt highly suspicious to Ochako that her costume was the only one as sexy as it was, though. She wondered if she had maybe dodged a bullet by Deku not coming if all of the girls might have been in on some kind of plan to make something happen between them.

The kitchenette was flush with all kinds of alcoholic beverages, snack foods, and regular soft drinks. No one would say where the alcohol had come from, though.

Wary of drinking again after the horrific train-wreck that was her first time being drunk, Ochako wisely chose to steer clear of anything with an alcohol content whatsoever. She stuck with water and tea mostly.

Not 5 minutes after they had come in, most of the boys from her class arrived as well, all dressed in their own costumes. True to his word, Bakugo didn't show after all. Which, honestly, was all well and good with her. She was still sore from their last confrontation and for the next time she had to see him, she preferred to not be wearing this overtly sexual costume.

She knew the moment they caught sight of her as most of them rushed over and ooed and ahhed over her.

Why would you torture me this way? she thought hatefully toward the rest of the girls in her class.

"Uraraka-chan, your boobs-" was all Mineta got out before he was being dragged away by Momo and flung unceremoniously out the door.

The dorm was packed with people all conversing or dancing or drinking or all of the above. It was amazing to Ochako that this was her first real high school party. She was ready to have some fun and forget about being insulted by Bakugo or stood up by Deku.

"WHO WANTS TO PLAY SOME PARTY GAMES?!" Kendo shouted over the music and din of the party.

A large sum of people roared back.

An hour or so later and a good number of people at the party were drunk, including a handful of her friends, one of which was Mina.

They'd played charades for a little while which seemed unfair when Tokage, a girl from 3-B was able to detach and reattach sections of her body to form anything.

They'd abandoned that game quickly and were now on to truth or dare, many of the choices being 'dare' because people in the hero course were always up for a challenge.

The turn came around to Tokage and she selected Ochako to choose Truth or Dare, her second time being picked (her first time having picked truth which made everyone groan in disappointment).

"Dare," she said with determination and instantly regretted it when a devious twinkle came into the other girl's eye

"I dare you..." Tokage began, a wicked grin spreading across her face, "to go over to that Kamui Woods— who's been eyeing you for the past 20 minutes, by the way" -she motioned toward said costumed person across the room leaning awkwardly against the wall, back turned to them now- "and command him to lick your boot."

Ochako hid her face in her hands. "There's no way I can do that!" She looked around the circle with pleading eyes. No one there took mercy on her, though.

"I thought you were supposed to be Midnight? Strong, sexy, dominant."

"I don't even know that person, though!" she argued, "It could be some weirdo or even a teacher!"

"It's not a teacher, for sure," Mina said confidently.

Ochako shot her a glare as if to say, "Why aren't you on my side?"

"Come on, Midnight, if you can get him to do it, you can double up the next person's dare," Tokage suggested, "Is that alright with everyone else?"

The rest of the circle nodded with greedy looks in their eyes. They were ready to watch this most uncomfortable exchange with extreme delight.

Ochako didn't want to be a killjoy or a spoil sport. She'd sat down to play this game with her classmates knowing full well that something horrifically embarrassing could be asked of her. In a class full of heroes, a game as simple as Truth or Dare should be something easy to play.

Ochako hardened her resolve and rose from her spot on the couch. Cheers went up from the rest of the players.

Be confident, she thought to herself as she made her way over to him, Be strong. Be dominant. You're Midnight, the R-Rated Hero!

She came to a stop in front of him, blocking his view of the television which she realized he'd been watching despite the volume of the music in here. She felt jittery and her heart was about to beat out of her chest but she forced herself to still and take a firm stance.

She brandished her flogging whip at him.

"You!" she said forcefully, not a wobble to her voice, thank god.

The lights were very low so she couldn't quite see his eyes on her but she was sure she had his attention, although he didn't move from his spot.

"You've greatly displeased me and I demand penance!" The music at this party was loud enough that she was speaking at a very high volume, near yelling, and she was sure only the Kamui Woods 3 feet in front of her could make out what she was saying. She was thankful for that too because the last thing she wanted was to give this little performance in front of everyone at this whole party.

He still didn't react to her or move at all and she began to wonder if he might be drunk out of his mind. She kept going, still resolved to finish her dare.

"For this grave offense, I command you to kneel before me and lick my boot," she ordered, proffering her booted foot toward him. She saw him look down at it, then back up to her, possibly amused by her performance.

"When you have completed this task to my satisfaction, I will consider your offense pardoned," she concluded, brandishing her whip again.

The Kamui Woods looked at her for a while, not moving. She fidgeted, starting to feel uncomfortable and sweaty. She couldn't see the expression on his face because of that damned mask. For all she knew, he was doing his best to keep from busting out laughing at her. She wouldn't blame him...

Then, he slowly began lowering himself to the floor.

Her breath hitched in her throat. He was going to do it! This guy was going to prostrate himself before her and lick her boot!

A surge of excitement flooded through her at the thought. She felt powerful. Maybe this guy really was drunk and it just sounded like a good idea to him but that didn't even matter to her. The idea of a man groveling before her was intoxicating and she loved it. She wished Bakugo could see her now. Not authoritative enough? She'd show him!

We'll see who doesn't have authority, she thought with bitterness.

She smiled impishly, feeling drunk on the adrenaline shooting through her veins as his hands and knees reached the floor.

"That's a good boy," she purred, allowing him to lift her booted foot toward his mask.

He looked up, having heard her words of encouragement and Ochako's smile fell away, blood freezing in her veins.

Two molten eyes burned hotly up at her from inside the mask. They were slightly glazed and already looked aflame with hunger.

She gasped loudly and tried to pull her foot away but he gripped her boot tightly, not letting her budge. The intensity in his eyes burned brighter and it washed over her like a wave of fire, thawing her frozen veins instantly and superheating her entire body.

He pulled the bottom half of the mask from his face and there kneeled Bakugo, scarlet eyes scorching into hers.

"You'll forgive me... if I do this?" he asked, a serious expression on his masculine features. His tone sounded oddly frenzied, almost like a plea.

His voice, just barely audible over the din of the party, awakened something carnal in her. Her breaths quickened as she stared down into his unguarded face.

"Yes," she rasped out, trying to catch her breath. What was he doing here?! And of all the people she could've ended up approaching, it had to be him?

He slowly— so painfully slowly— lowered his lips to her boot. Then, extended a hot pink tongue.

Ochako had to bite back a whimper when she felt it touch her boot. She forgot about the party and the game and the other people milling about and her entire world zeroed in on that one slick tongue, gliding torturously up her patent leather boot. Her whole body was flushed and the aching that had begun between her legs the moment she'd seen those eyes, became more and more prominent the higher his mouth rose.

He had to stop every few seconds to rewet his tongue and every time he began again, she felt a new jolt of electricity zip through her.

She was coming undone.

He reached the edge of her knee-high boot and his tongue slipped off the top of it, travelling up her stocking for a couple inches before he stopped. Where his tongue met her skin through the porous stocking, she felt like he had brushed a searing brand against her leg. She couldn't hold back the groan that escaped her lips this time.

He looked back up at her, desire and-—what was that? desperation?— in his fiery gaze.

That heady feeling of power returned to her and she started feeling a confidence that she might have some amount of control over him at this moment.

"Very good," she purred again and she felt him shudder as he held onto her foot.

"Are you satisfied?" he asked, his voice thick with lust.

Are you? she asked herself, wanting to test this new found power.

"No," she said coyly, pulling her foot away from him. This time, he let it slide from his grasp.

She held out her other foot and he gazed up at her again, eagerness roaring in those molten orbs.

"Again," she commanded.

He pulled her boot closer and ran his hand up her calf, holding it for support while he began again on her other foot.

The sensations were all just as strong this time as he dragged his tongue up the leather of this boot as well.

Higher, the monster within her howled when he slid his large hand up to her lower thigh for more leverage. She ground her teeth to the point of pain holding back that command slipping from her mouth.

When he finished, he looked up at her expectantly, like a dog begging for a bone.

"Good boy," she crooned low, "You may rise."

He rose from the ground, coming to stand at full height to look down at her. But still she knew she was in control. His arousal was apparent. He would have a hard time hiding it when she was done with him.

But that's not my problem, she thought to herself, knowing she too was struggling with her own craving.

She moved closer to him, less than a foot of space between their bodies. She placed the mask back on his face so only his eyes blazed out from behind it.

"Tell me you're sorry," she commanded, her eyes never leaving his near feral ones, hardly even blinking.

"I'm sorry," he bit out without hesitation, his voice raw and gravelly as his eyes swept over her barely covered body.

"Beg me to forgive you," she ordered.

"Please," he whined, moving to step forward but she held him back, poking him in the chest with her whip.

That was neither a voice nor a word she'd genuinely heard from him before. It made her desire spike and goosebumps rise on her skin.

"Now I'm satisfied," she smirked at him and she saw his eyes flare with want. It was delicious.

"Now you should go to the bathroom and take care of that," she said, her eyes flicking down in the direction of his groin.

She turned to walk away from him and back into the party but he pulled her back by her belt until her back crashed into his chest, his restrained arousal brushing against her ass, making her panties feel far too restricting.

"I won't forget this," he breathed into her ear hotly.

Her throat felt dry and she struggled to swallow down her desire.

"Good," she said back, still holding on to some of her confidence, "Maybe now you'll learn some manners."

His molten eyes flamed with even more excitement at her response as he released her and she pushed away from him once more.

She ambled a little ways away and watched as he had to inch his way along the wall until he found his way to the bathrooms. Fortunately for him, this party was so lively that any who saw him believed he was more drunk than trying to hide his massive erection.

Ochako bit her lip as she considered for a moment.

She recalled months ago when she had sat outside his door and heard his heavy breathing and that oh-so-soft grunt before she had moved away. She was tempted to listen in again.

You are such a pervert, her mind chided.

What was she even thinking? She didn't even have the convenient excuse of drunkenness to explain away her thoughts and behaviors. She admitted that the whole role play she fell into as Midnight was definitely making her act far more forward. But Bakugo also just had that ability to bring out the absolute most base animal in her. When he made her angry, he made her furious. When he made her desirous, he made her into a deviant. She had difficulty controlling those feelings with him and sometimes it almost felt like those two feelings began melding into each other.

And tonight... Tonight was another new side of him.

He'd submitted to her. He'd begged her.

She hadn't been prepared for it and it had made her act like a monster.

She still struggled within herself as to whether or not she liked what it had brought out in her.

At the very least, her mind supplied, you proved to him that you are capable of being authoritative and in control.

That she had...

When she'd returned to the circle of players, they'd already continued on with the game without her.

Mina spotted her first and got up to put an arm around her and whisper none too secretively into her ear with her boozy breath, "Everyone thought you two were getting waaaay too into it and decided to keep playing without you. No one thought you'd come back, if you know what I mean." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Are you sure you're still considering Midoriya-kun? Cuz if not," she blew out a steamy breath and fanned herself dramatically, "you should ask that guy for his phone number. I know I would."

Ochako's face was instantly burning with embarrassment. How long had they watched them?

"You didn't see his face?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could.

Mina quirked a brow. "No, he had his back turned. Why? Do we know him?"

"Uh, no."

Mina's eyes lit up brighter, easily detecting the lie, "Oh my god, DO WE KNOW HIM?!"

"No! Stop it! I've never seen him before! He might be from another school or something," Ochako lied through her teeth.

"You dirty girl!" Mina teased, "Now I'm not gonna give up until I find out who he is! Where did he go?"

"Uh, I don't know. He seemed uncomfortable. Please, Mina, I swear we don't know him!" Ochako begged. Drunk Mina was pushy as hell.

"Yeah, I'll bet he was, Midnight," the pink girl grinned with a cheshire smile. "Fine, I'll let him go for now but don't think you're off the hook. I'm not dumb enough to believe your bullshit lie, even when I'm wasted."

Ochako closed her eyes in a silent plea to the heavens to save her from this night. She was ready to go home.

Her next work study was the Monday just before the school cultural festival.

Ochako decided ahead of time that she was not going to act awkward or distant. She was going to be cool and collected, as though everything were still the same. They'd had an argument last time they'd worked together. But, technically speaking, he had apologized and she was going to say— in her own mind at least— that they had made up because of it.

She also knew that she was beginning to come to terms with that fact that Bakugo excited her sometimes. There had been a reason she'd kissed him back the first time. The other girls were right, he was an attractive guy. He was muscular and fiery and oozed masculinity. She shouldn't be ashamed to admit that she was enticed by him every so often, especially when he had made it clear in the past that he was desirous of her. It was okay to react to someone that was tempting like that. And being able to acknowledge these feelings would make it easier for her to recognize them so she could move past them instead of succumbing to them like she had in the past.

She could face her lustful thoughts. It didn't mean she had to act on them or attach emotions to them. She wanted to keep up this friendship and camaraderie they had built.

"I wish I could tell you to stay away from him," her mom's words kept echoing in her brain. She wasn't going to do that. But she was going to keep herself from getting more tangled up in this weird web of sexual tension between them.

When she walked into class that morning, she could tell Bakugo was expecting her to ignore him or be awkward, but he got the message pretty quickly that that would not be the case when she still faced him head on and gave him a smile and a greeting.

By the time they stepped onto the train to travel toward the Hawks Hero Agency, there was very little underlying discomfort. It seemed he'd come to accept that they were just going to act like what had happened was just an everyday occurrence as he rode comfortably next to her and walked beside her down the street.

But just before they made it into the building he finally had to make a comment.

"So am I allowed to call you Uravity today or is it still Midnight-sama?"

He said it so casually that she almost answered without realizing he was referencing the events days before.

When she finally caught up to that fact, she halted abruptly and gave him a swift punch to the arm.

"What the fuck?" he asked, looking mildly affronted, but mostly amused.

"Look," she said, wanting to finally confront this, "I don't think either of us pretends to hide that we're physically attracted to each other. I won't deny it. Will you?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, "I've never denied it."

Her cheeks flushed at the intensity in his gaze as he said this.

"Ah, well... Ok so we're on the same page about this," she floundered, twisting her hands within each other as she tried to gather her thoughts. The pressure of those ruby eyes was immense, "I mean it's no surprise. We've kissed before and we've... Done some other stuff."

She saw him still at her words. She guessed that her willingness to confront this fact that she often just tried to deny or ignore was surprising him.

"But, like I said before, other things have happened between us that complicates things."

He stayed quiet, watching her.

"You hurt me a lot in the past in both your words and your actions— and I'm over it so don't start with that look," she said, cutting him off as he opened his mouth to protest. "But you also know how I feel about Deku and, most importantly, we've grown a really great partnership between us." She also wanted to add the word "friendship" to that sentence because it was true, they really were friends. But he was always so vehemently against their friendship like being close with a girl or one of Deku's friends was shameful.

He remained silent still.

"So, obviously, I'm okay with admitting that there's that attraction between us and sometimes it can get the better of you or me but I think we're both capable of seeing past that and continuing our professional relationship like adults," she finished.

"Getting the better of us like you making me grovel on the ground and lick your feet?" he asked without hesitation, his voice deep and sultry.

Ochako swallowed loudly, taking a steadying breath, "Y-Yeah, like that."

"So you're saying you want to forget about it... again."

She shook her head, "No, not forget just... I guess not take it too seriously."

His eyes sparked in irritation then.

He came closer to her and she stood her ground. At this point, he was incapable of intimidating her if that were, in fact, what he was trying to do.

Closer still, he leaned down to get into her face.

Ochako tensed but still remained firm.

"I'm not going to treat you differently for the shit that happened. I already told you I'm not gonna tell people or hold it over your head. I don't know why you think you have to remind me every time."

He brought his face closer to hers and his voice was lower when he said, "You can do what you want with me. I told you we can be however you want to be. No one has to know if you don't want them to."

Ochako swallowed again at his not even thinly veiled proposition and she looked down at his beautifully pouted lips. Kissable. Biteable.

She couldn't deny that Bakugo was tempting. Not having to deny that she was attracted to him was supposed to make it easier for her to brush it off as not a big deal. Instead, she felt like it just compounded her temptation.

But Deku... her inner voice reminded her. She couldn't just forget about him. He wanted to be with her and he wanted her for her, not just a roll in the hay. She was supposed to be considering him, not some kind of secret affair or even so much as share just chaste kisses with Bakugo. Deku was a good person. He was always giving so much for her. She loved him.

She stepped back from him, huffing a laugh.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" she said, trying to play it off like a joke.

His brow furrowed for just a heartbeat and he looked her over once. Then he stood back at full height, a more devilish expression sliding onto his face.

"You aren't ready for what I would like, pink-cheeks," he taunted, turning his back to her to enter the building.

Ochako's pulse fluttered, embarrassed to admit, even to herself, that those words intrigued her more than they should.

Chapter 17

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The day of the Cultural Festival was finally here!

The walkway all along the campus was littered with stands selling food or offering prizes for playing games.

Class 3-A had set up their stand and were already hard at work selling candy apples to visitors.

After two years of festivals closed off from the public, this year UA was finally opening its gates to friends and family. This meant more customers and more exposure for the students.

Ochako's schedule she had set was running along smoothly.

She spent a lot of time running back and forth to get more items they needed for the stand, be it an ingredient they'd forgotten at the dorms or more change for customers. It was already shaping up to be an exhausting day for her.

When she returned to the stand with some more sticks to put apples on a little past noon, she was surprised to find Deku out from behind the stand where he'd spent most of the day up until now making the candy apples they were selling.

"Hey! What are you doing away from your post, young man?" she playfully scolded, coming to a stop in front of him.

He grinned at her. "I left the cooking to Sato for a little while. I know it's in good hands with him."

She nodded approvingly.

"I was hoping that maybe you'd like to look around the festival with me for a little bit?" he asked nervously, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Oh, but what about the booth?" she said apprehensively, looking over at her classmates a few feet away.

"We'll be fine for a little while!" Jiro reassured her, "Toss me those sticks and get out of here!"

She gave her a wink as she caught the sticks Ochako chucked at her.

"Okay!" Ochako agreed happily, placing a hand lightly on Deku's arm.

So they walked around campus for a while, checking out other class' stands and eating festival food. Deku was often approached by fans and admirers alike, some of which rather rudely ignored her.

Ochako tried to be understanding of his need to greet them and stood to the side. He would sign autographs for them but he would always cut off any extra interactions, saying he had someone he was walking around with. That earned her a good handful of dirty looks sometimes but she felt grateful when he did it.

They went to see a play that was put on by the third year support course featuring an epic steampunk adventure. Hatsume was, uncomfortably, the narrator for it, though, and she often went off script on tangents about "her babies" that were being used in the show. It was a failure of a production but Ochako still felt entertained.

All too soon, they were headed back to their stand to get back to work.

Suddenly, behind her, Ochako heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

"Ochako-chaaaan! My darling! That's my baby right there!"

Ochako ducked her head and hid her face in her hands as both of her parents came running up to her.

"Ochako!" her mother squealed, pulling her into a bear hug, "It's been so long since we've seen you! I've missed you so much! You never visit your poor, worried mother!"

Ochako screamed internally, her eyes opening wide and her face turning a hot pink color.

She coughed lightly as her mother let her go. "Uh, Mom, I've been a little busy with school and my work study and all. You know that. And I'm also a little busy now," she said, giving her mom a look and tilting her head toward the green-haired boy next to her.

"OH!" her mother exclaimed, getting flustered all of a sudden, "Oh my goodness, Ochako, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. We just went by your stand to surprise you and you weren't there."

It was at this point that Deku stepped forward with a conciliatory smile, "Oh no! It's fine! You weren't interrupting! We were just coming back to the booth!"

Ochako smiled weakly, attempting to not look disappointed and go with the flow.

"You must be... Deku," her mom said assuredly, "based on how Ochako has described you. It's nice to meet you finally, Deku."

Deku laughed nervously.

"MOM!" Ochako wailed in embarrassment.

"What? I didn't even say anything embarrassing you've told me!" her mother argued.

Ochako was dying inside. She begged whatever god was watching over her at this moment to strike her down with lightning so she wouldn't have to stand here a moment longer. She wished for Togata's quirk so she too could melt into the floor.

She thought it couldn't get worse. That her mortification could not be greater than right here, right now. Of course, she would've been wrong.

"Is this her? It's her! Uraraka-chan?" she heard another feminine voice coming up on her left.

"Mom, not right now! NOT RIGHT NOW!" came the coarse tone of Bakugo.

Sweet baby jesus, Ochako cried for salvation in her head.

She turned slowly to an ash blonde woman walking up to her, looking eerily like a female version of her son being trailed by none other than said boy. She didn't know before this point in her life that someone was capable of making a face that was equal parts horrified and completely enraged, but somehow her working partner managed it.

"Oh and Midoriya-kun too!" Mrs. Bakugo said, finally noticing the boy now standing behind Ochako, "It's been so long! You've grown up so big! And you got a quirk! I bet your mom is so proud of you!"

Deku did his best to keep pace with the way the conversation was turning.

"Y-yes, she is. Thank you, Mrs. Bakugo. It's good to see you again too," he said, sounding a little jittery.

The ashen haired woman's attention went back to Ochako and she noticed, when their eyes met, that she also had those fiery eyes that belonged to her son.

"You must be Uraraka-chan!" she said excitedly, "I would say 'I've heard so much about you!' but I haven't because I've had to beat any detail out of my son," she reached a hand back and gave him a smack to his arm, "about who you are!"

Ochako smiled kindly and gave an awkward laugh, "Yeah, that sounds like him."

Bakugo's hulking form loomed behind his mother, sending out dark energy of embarrassment and rage.

"Ooooohhhhh," Ochako's mother's voice spoke up again and she felt ice run up her spine, "This is Bakugo."

"Yes, Mama," she replied feebly, feeling weak and defeated. The discomfort was too much!

"Oh are you Uraraka's parents?" his mom asked excitedly.

Her parents nodded back politely.

"Wow, how fortunate! It's so nice to meet you both, I'm Bakugo Mitsuki, you can just call me Mitsuki. Did you know my son and your daughter are teaming up at their work study? They're like their own little super hero team! They even have fans! Bakuravity I think they call them?"

Ochako's eyes widened in horror and she glanced over at Bakugo who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"I found out because I was looking for pictures of him online from anyone who had taken one of him and this popped up," she pulled her phone out of her purse.

"Mom, I will blow up your whole house if you show anyone else that picture!" Bakugo snarled.

His mom turned to him with a look of pure outrage and smacked him up the side of his head, "Don't talk to me like that, boy! You think I won't end you right here?"

She gave him another three blows to his head for good measure and turned back to Ochako's parents with a sweet smile.

"Sorry about that! Boys, right?" She pulled her phone out again and pulled a picture up on it that she had saved.

In it, was a little boy smiling ecstatically in front of Ochako, kneeling on his left, and Bakugo, kneeling on his right. Ochako was smiling joyfully at the camera along with the boy but Bakugo was looking at her with a sour expression. Behind the little boy's legs, clear as day, their intertwined hands could be seen.

Ochako's cheeks reddened upon seeing it. She remembered when this was taken. She'd forced Bakugo down to take this picture with her and he'd hated every second of it. But here, in this picture, all that stood out to her was their casually linked hands and their simple happiness, despite Bakugo's annoyed face. At least it wasn't hateful. It made Ochako miss those summer days and she looked up at him then, wanting to see something else that would remind her of that time as well but he was looking away, quiet and brooding.

"Isn't it adorable?" his mom tittered.

Ochako smiled warmly and nodded.

"Oh it is," Ochako's mother said with delight, "Do you think you could send it to me? Here I'll give you my phone number."

Ochako's mortification returned full force and she massaged her forehead with her thumb and two fingers.

"Ah, well, I need to get back to the stand," Deku piped up, his voice a little strained. "It was good meeting you," he said to her parents. "And it was nice to see you again, Mrs. Bakugo," he said with a nod toward her.

With that he jogged away, not giving her or Bakugo a second glance and Ochako felt sick to her stomach seeing his receding back.

"We should let you get back as well, Ochako," her father said kindly, doing what he could to alleviate the embarrassment he knew she was feeling.

"Oh yes, you too, Katsuki. I'm sure you have something you need to be doing," his mom said, waving him away and returning her attention to trading numbers with Ochako's.

Ochako gave her parents each a hug and thanked them for coming.

Oddly enough, Mitsuki gave her a hug as well.

"Oh Uraraka-chan I'm so glad I got to meet you. You're so sweet and beautiful and I hope you can beat some sense into my son's head. Thank you for putting up with him. You're a saint."

"I'm still right here, Mom," he grumbled.

"Then go somewhere!" she snapped.

Ochako gave her a winning smile. "It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Bakugo. I'm happy I get to work with your son. We learn a lot from each other," she said honestly, shooting him a look.

His gaze flicked to her momentarily, then looked away again.

She walked away from the trio of parents and took Bakugo's arm to lead him from further embarrassment as well.

"He's a good boy, really," she heard Mitsuki's fading voice behind her, "He still doesn't deserve someone like her having to put up with him though."

"That old hag..." Bakugo growled, his arm tensing under her touch.

Ochako giggled lightly, "Now I see where you get your attitude from. I wonder if I should start smacking you upside the head. Would that make you listen to me better?"

"Try it," he threatened, his eyes shooting daggers at her.

This only made her laugh outright.

Ochako returned with Bakugo to the class' stand where Deku had already gone back to work.

It was nearing time for Bakugo's shift anyway so she put him to work early, hauling more apples from storage. He did so with minimal complaint. He truly was a dependable person and, even if he'd never admit it, he was more than willing to work hard for the class. It was an admirable trait, although frustrating that he was too proud to say it outright.

She'd scheduled him to work with Kirishima, knowing he'd be too overbearing for most anyone else but herself.

Kirishima showed up to work his shift and Ochako decided to stay at the stand to help out for a while as well. She chatted easily with the red-haired boy and regaled him with some of the more exciting tales of their work study and internship. Deku chimed in at times, interested in learning more, especially about the Grav Burst that they had refined.

Bakugo didn't say much until Ochako began telling the boys about Nate and how he'd had a thing for certain bad boys, knowing her classmates were also not prejudiced types.Kirishima's eyes lit up at this salacious bit of news and Deku looked surprised. Probably surprised by the fact that anyone would look past his personality to form a crush, she thought to herself.

"Did you tell him what a horrible mistake he was making?" Kirishima asked her.

"Oi!" Bakugo warned with a glare.

" I actually did!" she laughed, "But I don't think that stopped him. He might still be pining for him somewhere."

Ochako made a face like she thought it all was terribly romantic and Kirishima snickered.

"Poor guy. He has horrible taste in men," Kirishima joked.

"Oooiiii," Bakugo warned in a low tone again, a dangerous look in his eye.

"He sounds like he was a nice person," Deku piped up, "It must've been cool to hang out with a prince."

"It was! He was a good guy, not like I expected him to be at all. I bet you would've gotten along with him really well, Deku!"

He smiled kindly, "Well maybe next time he visits, you can introduce us."

Ochako's eyes sparkled in excitement, "Oh that would be so great! We can all hang out! You'll love him, I know you will!"

Deku nodded.

"Yeah! You could maybe introduce us all to the prince," Kirishima said, a greedy look in his eye.

"A prince is not going to marry you and make you his queen, shitty-hair," Bakugo growled.

Kirishima's eyes went wide with shock and Ochako covered her mouth to hold back her laughter.

"RUDE," Kirishima yelled, feigning an offended look.

Before she knew it, Bakugo and Kirishima's shift was up and they took off to wander the festival again, leaving her alone with Deku waiting for the next two people to show up. They were running late, much to her chagrin.

"You want to help me putting the sticks in the apples?" Deku asked, holding some sticks out to her.

"Sure," she said, grabbing them and coming around beside him.

She began pushing the thick wooden sticks through the apples like he showed her.

"So, that picture," he mentioned with an extreme amount disinterest, "you guys looked friendly there."

Ochako froze and stared up at him. Deku still worked steadily, his concentration solely on the apples in front of him.

"Is something wrong with that, Deku?" she asked, feeling a tinge of annoyance at his passive aggressive question. He'd asked something like that their first day back too, when he'd seen they didn't hate each other anymore.

He stopped working finally and looked at her, seeming taken aback at her tone.

"I told you we worked together. That means we also took pictures together. Is that not ok?" she said snippily.

"Uh, no- that's not- I just mean, you guys were holding hands and I thought-"

"Do you really think he would have stayed there for a picture if I weren't holding him in place? It didn't mean anything. Why don't you just ask outright next time, Deku? I'm not gonna lie to you," she snapped maybe a little too harshly.

What is wrong with you? Why are you being so mean? she asked herself, suddenly regretting her words.

She waited for him to get defensive and snap back at her; waited for him to storm off and ask Sato to come back to cover for him. But instead, he shook his head.

"You're right, Ochako-chan. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to any conclusions in my head. That's not fair to you," he said, his face full of regret.

Ochako's brows shot up in surprise. He wasn't angry? He thought she was right? Why was he backing down?

"I guess... I was jealous seeing that picture because I wished it was me," he admitted, ducking his head.

Ochako's heart quickened its pace and she stared up at him, speechless.

"I wish I'd gotten to hold your hand and take a picture with you. I would've been smiling ear to ear if it were me," he said, stopping his work and taking her hands in his.

Her cheeks heated, feeling his rough hands move over hers. His emerald gaze pierced her and he moved closer.

"Deku..." she murmured, finding it hard to breathe with how close he was now.

"I'm so sorry!" came a familiar voice, startling them.

They broke apart and Ochako turned to see Mina making her way behind the stand, closely followed by Tokoyami.

"The performance we were watching ran late and we ran all the way here when we realized," she said, looking sheepish.

Ochako cleared her throat, trying her best not to look like a kid with her hand stuck in the cookie jar.

"No, don't worry about it. You didn't miss much," she consoled them, "We were just getting some more apples ready to put out."

She went back to pushing sticks through apples.

The rest of the festival was rather uneventful. Ochako worked at the stall a little bit longer and got to see Togata-senpai stop by with Eri, like they did every year.

Deku offered her as many candy apples as she wanted and Ochako's heart warmed to see the girl's excited smile.

He left again to walk around with them and Sato returned to take over.

The only time Ochako left again was to watch the beauty contest. Momo was competing this year and she wanted to cheer her on.

The tall, voluptuous girl did an amazing job, wearing a long gown that fit her curves well and pulling confetti and balloons from her body.

Unfortunately, she lost to Kendo in the end but she didn't seem too upset. She was the type to lose graciously and just enjoy the experience.

The day ended with their small stand doing remarkably well. It seemed people were excited to see a stand there that hadn't been for the past few years.

Her classmates came back to break everything down and return all of the leftover ingredients to the dorm or eat the leftover candy apples.

Thus, the cultural festival came to a close for the last time in Ochako's high school life.

—

A few weeks later, the class was beginning their afternoon hero training with All Might.

"Second term exams are coming up soon and it's time you all be challenged in new ways," he explained, "You'll need to start training harder than ever and reviewing your academic studies as well. Remember that this upcoming practical exam will be your last one here at UA. The next exam you take will be your pro-hero license exam so take this seriously, boys and girls."

"Split up into teams of two and then I will tell you what the exercise will be today. Be sure you choose someone you know well and trust," he instructed, sweeping his gaze over the class with a twinkle in his eye.

Ochako felt suspicious of that look and looked around for someone to pair with. It had to be some kind of partnering trust challenge.

Her eyes alighted on Bakugo whose ruby gaze was already on her. He tilted his head slightly backwards to signal her over and she took a step toward him when a rough hand gripped her own, pulling her in another direction.

"Ochako-chan," Deku said sweetly, "would you like to team up again?"

This was something like the 5th time he'd asked her to group with him this month. It was flattering that he chose her more than he ever had. At the same time, he also acted like he always needed to do the work of both teammates and keep her from harm. He often did the fighting and the planning and the giving of directions. She liked that he was capable of that and once upon a time, she had depended on him to take the lead like that and carry her to victory. Now, though, she had come into her own. She wanted to stand by his side and be seen as an equal, not someone to take care of.

Despite that, Ochako felt like he was starting to come around to depending on her a little bit more and trusting her to carry her weight. She knew that sometimes it took people time to work easily with another person and she was happy to keep trying with him.

"Okay," she said, gently squeezing his hand in return.

He beamed at her and led her to stand with the other people who had already chosen teammates.

When everyone had paired up All Might continued with his explanation.

"Is everyone grouped with someone they feel like they know well?"

The class nodded.

"Okay! Then it's time," he said, looking over them all, "Today, you'll be helping each other out in different ways than usual. Instead of working together to complete a task, you two will be sparring against each other to try and push each other to your maximum potential."

Ochako saw Deku's body go rigid at his words.

"You've picked a partner that you should know inside and out. You know their moves and you know what they're capable of. Let's see how well you can do against an opponent who knows everything about you. You'll each have 20 minutes to spar and will be going one group at a time so Eraserhead and I can watch and instruct each of you. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" the rest of the class cheered in unison.

Not Deku, though.

He was silent.

Ochako looked up to see what might be bothering him and he had a very troubled expression on his face.

"Are you ok, Deku? Is something the matter?" she asked, laying a hand on his arm.

The expression was gone when he looked down at her and gave her a warm smile. "Oh no, nothing! Let's do our best!"

She wasn't sure she believed him but nodded all the same, "Yeah."

From a few feet away, she thought she heard an amused snort and caught Bakugo glancing over their way, a smirk tugging the corners of his lips up.

She was about to go and ask what he thought was so funny but that was the moment All Might chose to call him and Kirishima up to be the first to spar.

The two boys took their places and the rest of the class retreated to the monitor room while All Might and Aizawa-sensei stayed behind.

Recovery Girl was already there, probably assuming (correctly) that there would be injuries that needed repairing after this.

The fight began quickly and Bakugo held nothing back. He immediately led with blasts right to Kirishima's face. But the red-haired boy was ready for him, blocking with his arms already hardened.

Ochako watched with great interest as her work partner- and the guy she was proud to say she beat down once upon a time- went all out against one of his few friends in class.

Sadly, it didn't seem as if Kirishima was getting any chance to fight back. But that was meant to be the intent, she figured.

Bakugo's greatest strengths were his burst damage and the ability to wear out an opponent quickly. If he had to fight a prolonged battle, he would begin to flag. But his quirk was so powerful and intense that it was almost impossible to stay in the fight long enough to wear him down. She wondered if Kirishima were capable of doing such a thing taking the full brunt of the blasts as he was.

She could tell Bakugo wasn't being worn down but was starting to become annoyed after a solid five minutes of him trying to get past Kirishima's defenses. He pulled out his Howitzer and it looked like Kirishima was beginning to crack with that.

As Bakugo powered up an AP Blast, she saw Kirishima harden further and take on an appearance that she could only describe as terrifying. He looked like a monster.

Even that hyper-concentrated blast didn't break him and she saw the infinitesimal opening Bakugo's surprise at that left. Kirishima rushed forward, still armored in his monstrous ultra-hardened form.

He threw a savage punch at Bakugo and did manage to glance him on his side, causing him to wince slightly and open himself up for another attack that Kirishima took full advantage of.

Ochako clenched her fist at her side watching them.

Don't open yourself up for him again, she growled in her head.

But she should've known this was a calculated move.

Bakugo blasted himself up and away from the second attack, twisting mid-air to land behind his opponent and throwing another blast into his back to send him sprawling onto his stomach.

Kirishima lost his unbreakable form then and the battle was essentially lost for him.

Aizawa-sensei ended the fight by stopping Bakugo's quirk before he could jump on Kirishima and do some real damage.

The losing boy got up with a smile on his face, seeming to take his loss in stride. He put his hand out to shake and, surprisingly, the blonde boy took it. Ochako figured it was probably because he was on a high from his win and not in his right mind.

They came down to the monitor room after cooling off and Momo went up with Todoroki to spar next.

Ochako waited, bouncing on her heels for her and Deku's name to be called as the next couple partners went up and spent usually more time sparring than Bakugo and Kirishima had. Most of their classmates' power levels were in line with each other.

A thought began to bug her that maybe she wasn't strong enough to take on Deku. She knew he was one of the smartest kids in the class and most definitely the strongest in the school. He was All Might's protege for crying out loud! Should she be facing off against him?

You've fought Bakugo and he's not afraid to take on Deku, her mind supplied. You were excited to fight him. There's no reason you can't try to stand toe to toe with Deku. You're powerful too.

This thought hardened her resolve. She knew she probably wouldn't win against him but All Might never said the intent of the exercise was to win. It was assessment and adapting to an opponent who knew you as a fighter. Deku knew everyone's abilities inside and out. She was going to have the hardest challenge of all. But this was a good opportunity to test herself and prove what she could do to her instructors.

"Uraraka-shoujo, Midoriya-shounen," All Might's voice came over the loudspeaker, "you're next!"

After having spent the last hour psyching herself up for this, Ochako practically jogged as she made her way to the exit and flung it open.

She saw Bakugo out of the corner of her eye but his focus wasn't on her, it was on the boy following behind her. She saw him lift his brows slightly as though in challenge.

Something had to be passing between the two and she wondered if Deku was giving him some kind of look as well.

They passed out of the monitor room and went up to the training ground where their match would take place.

They took their places in Ground Beta.

Ochako watched Deku, waiting with bated breath for the signal to begin. Where as he usually readied himself for a fight with anticipation and calculation, he looked unsettled. He stared straight ahead at her and his expression was strained.

This was so confusing for her. Was he not taking her seriously? That couldn't be it, he respected her hard work and ability as a hero. There was no way she intimidated him. Did it have something to do with the exchange he'd had with Bakugo? Maybe...

"Are you both ready?" All Might asked.

Ochako nodded. Deku hesitated, then seemed to resign himself to something and nodded as well, his face hardening into a frown.

"Start!" All Might bellowed and Ochako immediately lowered her weight and shot forward like a light.

Deku saw her coming, she could tell with the way he still had his eyes on her, even as she moved as though she had lightning in her veins.

She reached for him and he moved away, faster than her.

She changed directions and reached for him again. He moved away again.

This went on for a few minutes. She would chase him, nearly reach him and he would move away.

She halted, feeling confused. Was he toying with her?

She grabbed a nearby moped, zeroing its weight and chucked it at him, releasing it to hit him with its full weight.

He swatted it away easily but while his attention was focused on that, she darted to the side and tried to flank him.

Ochako knew that had been a mistake, though, as he swiftly turned in her direction, instantly spotting her. She saw him raise a fist and waited for the blow to come as she barreled toward him, unable to stop now.

But then she saw in his eye the moment he chose to pull back and not go for the opening she'd presented him with.

What was he doing? Was this a calculated choice?

She had no time to consider as she crashed into him, quickly utilizing her quirk to float him into the air.

She pushed him up and away having learned her lesson from Bakugo grabbing her suit when they had fought. Deku was grabbing for purchase on anything as he spun head over heels over and over but his fingers just barely slipped past the edge of a building, the last thing he could've gotten his hands on, before he was freely floating in the sky.

A hand landed on her shoulder then.

"You can release him now, Uraraka," Aizawa-sensei said at her side.

She looked up at him in bewilderment and he held a similar expression as he watched Deku float higher.

Ochako tented her fingers and released Deku's weight, sending him plummeting to the ground. He landed gracefully as a cat and came toward them, a look of shame and disappointment marring his features.

All Might approached him as he neared, "Midoriya-shounen, you were in your own head too much. You would've won if you hadn't hesitated there."

Deku nodded slowly.

Ochako stayed silent but inside she was screaming. He hadn't hesitated. He'd purposefully chosen not to attack. Why?

She saw that Aizawa looked doubtful that it had been hesitation as well.

"Go join the rest of the class," he said sternly, still eyeing Deku and motioning them out of the training ground.

Walking away, Ochako felt awful. She wasn't just confused, she was angry. Deku had practically thrown their fight. He'd avoided her attacks like it had been a game and when he had an opening he could've taken, he had pulled back, refusing to attack her. It was insulting and heart-wrenching.

When they made it out of the training grounds, she whirled on him.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, rage sparking in her veins.

Deku stopped, refusing to look at her as he said, "Sorry, Ochako-chan, it was an off day for me. You won fair and square."

"No I didn't!" she snapped at him, "You pulled your punches! You never attacked! And I know you saw that opening. You were about to hit me and then you just... didn't! Why would you do that?"

He still kept his eyes averted, not responding.

"Do you know how that makes me feel, Deku? It makes me feel like you don't take me seriously as a hero. It makes me feel like you don't respect me. Like I will never be good enough to stand at your side!"

She saw him ball his hand into a fist.

"I just can't, Ochako-chan. When I see you, I think of someone I want to be with, to take care of. I'm not afraid to fight women- and I know you're strong- but I just can't raise a hand to you," he said coarsely.

"But I can take it, Deku! I'm a hero too! You have to be willing to push me so I can get better!" she said harshly, "We've had this discussion before! I know we have! I thought it was made clear then that I'm not weak and I don't need to be protected!"

His cheeks reddened in shame and he looked wounded.

"It's not the same," he countered, "I am okay with you protecting yourself from other people but me? I'll never make you defend yourself against me. I'll never lay a hand on you."

Ochako's temper cooled slightly at his explanation.

She understood what he was trying to say. She understood that he was gentle at heart. It still bothered her, though. If he had a chance to spar with her and push her and help her improve, he would never take it? Did he really think he would hurt her if he fought her? Even that felt slightly insulting.

"I get it, Deku, but this is class and training and you're hurting me more than helping me by not giving it your all. It makes it look like you think I'm too weak to fight you," she shook her head, feeling like the wind was knocked from her sails.

She was dissatisfied. With their sparring match, with the way it felt so pointless to argue with him, with how Bakugo had laughed because he probably knew Deku would pull this. She remembered his head tilt before Deku had pulled her away to pair with him. Did she regret this now?

She pushed the thought away. What was done was done.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel like you weren't enough, Ochako-chan," he said, taking her hand.

Ochako closed her eyes and let the embers of her anger die away. She couldn't hate him for wanting to keep to his morals. He rarely compromised anything in order to meet his goal of being a hero. Being the one person he made an exception for wasn't all too bad she guessed.

"Nice fight today," Bakugo said snarkily, clearly not meaning it at all as they emerged from the train later that day, walking toward the Hawks Hero Agency.

Ochako glanced over at him with a hint of bitterness, "Yeah, I'm sure it was entertaining for all..."

"It was when Deku went pinwheeling into the air after you pushed him," he snickered.

"You knew he would act like that, didn't you?" she accused, "I saw you looking at him like you knew something before we went. You could've warned me."

"And why would I do that?" he retorted, "You had the chance to work with me and you chose him. Not my problem."

She fully glared at him now, "You're a fucking jerk."

He lifted his brows fractionally in intrigued surprise.

"You're starting to get a little mouth on you, floaty," he said, a smirk dancing across his lips.

A spark lit up inside of her. She was still itching for a fight and feeling unsatisfied. She was so irritable right now that she almost couldn't stand herself.

"That just tells me I'm around you too much," she quipped.

He nudged her with a little extra force than usual, making her stumble a couple steps to the side and that spark in her became an ember.

She glowered at him with far more animosity than necessary for an action that was a common occurrence between them.

They arrived at the agency and he reached for the door to open it as he usually did but she shoved him into it, his body making an audible thud as he hit it and the glass rattling.

A few startled faces looked up from their desks inside.

Bakugo let out a large burst of air as though he were trying to convince himself to calm down.

"You're going to regret that," he said in a low, dangerous voice, throwing a warning look back at her.

"I doubt it," she responded venomously.

He whirled on her and took a step forward, invading her personal space.

"It's cute that you're trying to pick a fight with me because Deku didn't do it for you."

A stab of indignation ran through her at that. There he went, reading her like a book again and saying the things about her out loud that she didn't even want to admit to herself.

"Take that shit up with him, not me. I'll take you on any day, any time but I'm not interested when you're pissy about that loser," he said, his face taking on his usual bored look again and turning back to the door.

Her ember turned to a flame. It was somehow making her more angry that he wasn't rising to her bait.

There had been times in the past, especially while working on Grav Burst, that they had gotten so fed up with each other that they'd fought again, throwing real punches and causing real injuries. They had never gotten as far as their first explosive fight in their class exercise months ago, but there had been days that she had walked away with an extra burn or two and him, extra bruises. There was rarely a clear winner or loser, they just went at each other until they were exhausted. But she always felt so much better after they'd fought. More clear-headed and like whatever disagreement was between them was resolved. The next day, or sometimes even the moment they got up from collapsing on the ground, they had been able to work out whatever their issue had been that got them into their squabble.

Now she was pissed about something that wasn't his fault. She still wanted that feeling of resolution, though, and she doubted she would get it with Deku unwilling to raise a hand to her, even in the name of training and bettering each other.

She wanted to punch something.

"Pussy," she remarked under her breath.

He turned on her and grabbed the front of her suit so quickly that she didn't even have time to react other than to suck in a breath.

His eyes burned bright when he smooshed her cheeks with his other hand and said, "You are the only person who could say that to me and live. But don't think I'll forget it the next time I have a chance to get at you in training."

She sneered at him, that flame burning brighter.

"Uuhhhh, senpai?" a small voice sounded behind her.

It was the voice of one of the interns under them. A sweet boy with pink hair and a chameleon quirk that allowed him to take on the texture and colors of his surroundings.

The flame within Ochako was snuffed out immediately.

She grabbed Bakugo's hands and pried herself from his grip before turning to the boy and greeting him, swapping to kind and wise senpai mode at the drop of a hat.

She ignored the heated boy behind her, who now was the one itching for a fight, and ushered her kohai inside.

Unfortunately for Ochako, the class training exercise the next day was a five versus five brawl. Another fight. And, of course, Bakugo was on the team opposing hers.

By that time, her irritation at Deku's actions the previous day had dissipated somewhat and her body went cold when she saw the cruel grin that came over the rash boy's already severe features.

Needless to say, she laid in bed that night icing multiple parts of her body. But she also wore a satisfied smirk on her lips.

Notes:

This chapter was not quite as long as usual but it's because the next one is gonna be massive I think. It's already 1/3 or 1/2 done and it's just ridic long. So look for that soon.

Chapter 18

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Okay, class, here's how things are going to go this time," Aizawa-sensei explained in his usual monotone voice. "As you know by now, this is your last practical exam at UA. If you fail this, you might as well just not take the pro-hero license exam and save everyone the hard work."

The past three days had, once again, been filled with the most mind-numbing academic exams Ochako had ever taken. She'd worked hard to study with her friends and had even gotten to sit in with Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari as they brushed up on what they had learned. She knew Bakugo was incredibly smart and got close to the top grades on every test and she'd hoped she could pick up a little from his methods of study.

Unfortunately, he was about as patient of a study partner as one could imagine. When they went over things, she often remembered the lesson and was able to complete the practice work in front of her. Kirishima, on the other hand, was terrible at recalling their lessons (seriously, did he only ever sleep in class?) and Bakugo was getting angry any time he had to repeat his explanations. And he always had to repeat his explanations.

Ochako had no clue why he always agreed to study with these boys when they frustrated him so much but she was starting to think that he actually liked spending this time with them, even when he was yelling about how to translate the same sentence for the fourth time.

Now those awful exams were behind them and it was the day of the practical exam. As usual, Aizawa-sensei had brought them out to the training grounds

"What you're going to do is pair up into teams of two. Once again, your partner is your choice. Take this seriously," he eyed Deku while saying this and Ochako saw him shrink back slightly, "This isn't a time to test your skills with someone new. If you haven't figured out who would be the best choice for you to partner with for an exam by now, I don't even know what I've been teaching you this whole time."

"After you choose your partner, you will come up, team by team, and choose from five different scenarios you would like to be tested from that you feel is best suited to you. All of them are rescue missions. All of them will be challenging. You are being given every opportunity to shine in this exam. Treat this as though it were your final exam because, technically it is at this school. Do not hold back. Go all out. Plus Ultra or whatever."

"Plus Ultra!" the class screamed back at him and he gave them an unimpressed look.

"You have 15 minutes. Pick your partners."

Ochako swept her gaze around the class, feeling a little apprehensive about her situation.

After the look Aizawa-sensei gave him, she doubted Deku would pick her. She'd worked with Toru in the past but she couldn't say they'd been effective together. The same went for Mina, Shoji, Aoyama, and most of the rest of the class as well. There was only one person who she knew she should be taking this exam with but she wasn't sure if he'd be willing to team up with her.

Bakugo had never purposefully grouped with her in class. That head nod a couple weeks back had been the only time it had seemed like he wanted to and since then he hadn't even looked at her when choosing partners. She was fairly certain he had been so insulted by her ignoring his offer last time that he was unwilling to extend another invitation to her.

Ochako wasn't sure what to do. She scanned the class again, seeing that a few teams had already formed, one of which was Deku and Todoroki. None too surprising there.

She spotted Mina, who still was without a partner and was about to approach her when a large, warm hand wrapped itself around her wrist.

"Where are you going round-face?" Bakugo said, squeezing her wrist a little harder.

Something inside of Ochako felt tight when she turned to see that jerky face staring boredly down at her. So he had chosen to work with her after all...

"I... I guess nowhere," she replied, feeling her face brighten as she smiled up at him.

His eyes softened minutely, taking her in.

"Oooo," Ochako heard Toru say from her right, "Do we finally get to see the Grav Burst in action?"

A few other students looked their way as well and Ochako felt her cheeks warm at the attention she was being paid.

She scratched a non-existent itch at her cheek when she answered, "M-maybe..."

"Nice! I can't wait," Mina said, bouncing up to her and dragging Kirishima behind her.

"Awww yessss! Bakuravity in action!" Kirishima cheered.

"If you say that name in front of me again, I will break your face," Bakugo commented darkly.

Ochako felt a wickedness fill her that she couldn't hold in.

"But your mommy said it was so cute!" she teased with doe eyes as though she were seeing something unbearably adorable.

Kirishima let out a loud shout of laughter, "Did she?!"

"I changed my mind," Bakugo said sourly, "I need to find a new partner."

He let go of her wrist that, up until this moment, she'd forgotten he'd still had ahold of.

"No takesies-backsies!" Ochako laughed, looping her arm through his and holding it tight as he tried to pull away again.

The students close to her chortled at them and her self-consciousness eased.

Looking around to see who else had yet to be grouped, she saw that almost everyone had chosen their partner. She saw Deku standing a few yards away with Todoroki and he smiled kindly when he saw her looking. But the smile fell a little when he saw who she had her arm looped with and looked back to Todoroki to continue their discussion.

Ochako did her best to let that roll off her back. She'd had enough discussions with him about working with Bakugo. He had to accept their partnership at some point. If he couldn't, there was no way they could ever be together.

She went back to the group surrounding her and chatted with them a little longer until Aizawa-sensei called time.

"Looks like you're all teamed up so let's get started. Sero, you're first with... Hagakure it looks like?"

Ochako saw Sero nod and head up to the front, followed by Toru, only noticeable by her gloves and shoes.

"Pick from these," he said, handing them his tablet and not describing at all what the scenarios were.

Damn, Ochako thought. She'd been hoping to get a little more information on what each of these scenarios were so she could plan ahead with Bakugo before they had to pick themselves.

She heard them mumbling to each other things like, "This one looks manageable." and "That looks awful." and "That one looks impossible." Which fascinated her to no end.

"This one," Toru said, pointing to a spot on the tablet eventually.

He directed them where to go in order to get in place for their exam, then turned back to the class.

"The rest of you, you know the drill, monitor room," Aizawa said, waving them off, "One thing before you go, though. Don't expect your exam to be the same just because you picked the same scenario as someone who went before you. That's all I'm going to tell you before you go picking an exam just because you saw how someone else passed it."

The class took in his words silently, some of them nodding determinedly, and they all departed for the monitor room.

They all watched as Sero and Toru were taken to Ground Beta, where they met Present Mic, who looked like he explained something to them before they started, then were left on their own in front of a building.

Looking closer, Ochako saw it was a bank. They had to waylay a bank robbery perhaps?

The team of two put their heads together and came up with a plan relatively quickly, then went to work.

Ochako watched as they worked well together to take down the bank robbers and save the hostages with a mix of negotiation and a stealth attack. It was pretty enjoyable to watch.

After they were done, Aizawa-sensei came over the loudspeaker.

"Next up is Bakugo. You and your partner, come pick your exam."

It was, honestly, a relief to Ochako to go so soon. She would've liked to see what every scenario was at least but she was glad to be getting it out of the way now and not have to build more and more anxiety up as more people cleared out of the monitor room.

Meeting Bakugo's eyes for just an instant, she nodded once at him and they exited to come up to the training grounds entrance.

"Also, students," Aizawa's voice came over the speaker again as they travelled, "I highly recommend you stay and watch the rest of the exams. You are technically free to go after your practical exam is over but it would be beneficial to you to see what all the scenarios are and how others overcome them."

This felt like a clue. He wouldn't have suggested this if it didn't mean something they were doing in the future would be somewhat related to what their exams were now.

They arrived to stand in front of their teacher and he held out the tablet to them.

"Pick from these," he instructed.

Ochako took the tablet and began scrolling through the options.

A bank robbery. They'd watched Sero and Toru do this one. It was completely doable for them although she wasn't sure she wanted to put Bakugo's poor negotiation skills on display.

A capsized boat. Water was not an ideal location for them to shine.

A burning building. This was also another unlikely possibility. Sure, they'd probably be able to handle the fire but they had nothing to fight it or protect themselves against it. Not to mention, explosions were unlikely to be helpful in this situation.

A terrorist attack that included bombs counting down and fighting villains. This one she considered. There were a lot of ways to go about that scenario.

Ochako's finger immediately went to number five.

"That's the one," she said, not even needing to ask her partner. He would agree.

An airplane hi-jacking. This had to be the one Sero had said was "impossible." And it was true, it probably was for most heroes. But Ochako had confidence and when she looked up to Bakugo after handing the tablet back to Aizawa-sensei, he nodded once.

Aizawa lifted his brows slightly in surprise then said, "I suppose I shouldn't have put it past you two. You're probably aware but this is an extremely dangerous exam. I said they shouldn't even put it on the list but All Might and Nezu have an overwhelming amount of confidence in this class. If it had been most anybody else, I would've tried to convince you to pick something else. But your quirks should keep you reasonably safe at least. Now go on."

He directed them toward Ground Gamma and they were told to get to the top of the highest tower which was situated at the center of the grounds.

On the way there they talked strategy. They didn't know exactly what would be waiting for them. Not the number of passengers on the flight, the size of the plane, what weapons the villains had. Nothing.

"We get on the plane," he stated simply, "everything else from there we'll have to figure out as we go."

Ochako couldn't really argue with that, not knowing the details of the test ahead of time.

It was easy enough to get to the top with an elevator, the tower reminded Ochako a lot of Tokyo Tower, actually, and that might've been the intent behind it.

There, All Might waited.

"Ah, Bakugo-shounen, Uraraka-shoujo, I should've guessed you two would pick this scenario. You're suited to it."

Ochako gave him a wide smile. It was so flattering to be complimented, especially by someone who had stood at the number one hero spot for years.

"So a few things to inform you of before we start, kiddos," All Might explained, "This is, obviously going to be a low-flying plane that has open side panels, specifically made for hero training. You can't go all the way up to the height planes usually fly, nor can you depressurize an airliner cabin safely up there. Next, the pilot is not part of the exam, he's only there to fly the plane. Don't interfere with him."

Ochako nodded.

"Finally, your task is to rescue the passengers on the plane. That is your number one priority. If anything happens to even just one, you will fail. Keep that in mind."

She nodded at this too.

"Any questions? Got it all?"

"Yes, sensei," she said and, weirdly, heard Bakugo's voice ring out with hers.

"Ah, I can hear the plane coming now," he said, "Ready yourselves, children."

Ochako couldn't help but be amused that he still referred to them as children. Better than zygotes like he had in first year, she supposed.

She saw Bakugo step up to the ledge of the tower, the sprawling grounds filled with tubes and construction stretching out before him.

He pulled two relatively thick peg-like structures out of either side of his belt and positioned them. The way they jutted out from his hips reminded her oddly of extremely short and thin bicycle pedals, closer to the thickness of a kickstand than a pedal really.

So he'd gotten her footholds. "Stirrups" as he hatefully called them. He still got them for his outfit even not knowing how much longer they would work together.

"Let's go, angel-face," he said, looking over his shoulder at her and jutting his thumb toward his back.

Ochako's heart jumped at the new name he'd just sprung on her.

"W-what was that?"

He raised one blonde eyebrow at her, "Do you want to catch the plane or not? Let's go."

She threw him a dirty look and stepped toward him, knowing it would be pointless to argue right now. He was right. They needed to go now or risk losing the plane.

Activating her quirk and jumping on his back, her feet easily found the footholds and, because she was floating both him and herself, she added no weight to his hips.

The moment he felt the pressure of her nestled at his back, he blasted them into the air and they shot forward like a rocket, leaving All Might a small speck on the top of the tower.

It had been a couple weeks since they had flown together and Ochako relished the feel of it once again, laughing as she clung to her partner's back.

They heard the plane pass overhead and Bakugo let another blast issue from his palms, surging them forward toward it. It was hard to miss the bright red thing.

He sped them forward faster and faster until they matched its speed and came up to the side.

Ochako saw the open side panel and tried to figure out the best way to get in. She'd only have one chance at it.

Bakugo controlled their steering so much better now and he shifted them closer to the side. They were only a couple feet from it now.

She pushed her upper body up and away from Bakugo's back and, feeling confident, jumped off, shooting into the moving target that was her opening.

She waited for him to do the same, only a second later and she released their weight, allowing them to stand on the floor in the middle of the plane but also tripping them up. They hadn't been moving at the exact same speed as the plane and when their feet hit the floor, they were jolted forward.

They lurched and he fell into her back, putting his arm protectively around her waist to keep her from sprawling on the floor.

Ochako regained her balance quickly and he removed his arm.

"Thanks," she said quickly and turned her attention to scanning the plane for signs of life.

He didn't respond to her. Instead, turning away and searching the back of the plane as well.

She heaved a sigh of relief as she noticed the passengers were all the dummies that the first years had used in the first round of the Sports Festival. There looked to only be a handful of them. Maybe 10.

"Who's that?" a deep voice said as a large man with purple skin seemed to emerge from a shadow at the back of the plane.

Another smaller bald man came from the pilot's cabin at the front and a couple more stood up from hiding positions among the passengers. One with a leopard head was at the back, the other, a relatively normal looking man with dark brown hair, at the front.

They all were sporting paintball guns which, she assumed, were to be treated as though they were real guns.

"Sorry kids," the bald one said, "This is too easy." And they all began shooting at once.

The moment Ochako heard him say those words, she knew one or more of them would try to shoot them. Before the first even pulled the trigger, she threw her hands out to either side of her and grabbed hold of her quirk within her, pushing it out, out, out, forming a bubble of zero gravity around her and Bakugo.

The paintballs hit this invisible barrier and slowed until they stopped and just floated in midair.

"What the-" the brown-haired guy said but was cut off by Bakugo barreling into him, setting off a small-scale explosion in his face and knocking him out cold.

Poor guy, Ochako thought to herself, I hope these guys are compensated well for what they're about to be put through.

She released the bubble around her and shot for the guy closest to her who was lifting his gun for another shot.

She grabbed and twisted his wrist, forcing the gun out of his hand, then pulled his arm behind his back causing him to cry out in pain. He was going to be her body shield as the two other men raised their weapons, attempting to take aim at them again.

In the meantime, Bakugo had handcuffed the guy knocked out on the ground and now joined her, simply laying a hand on the man's shiny bald head.

Surprisingly enough, he stayed quiet. Ochako assumed he would open his mouth and blurt some kind of horrific unheroic threat like, "I'll blow his head off if you don't give it up now" which might have been effective to get them to stand down but was most definitely not something a hero would say. Killing people was a last resort for all heroes. Threatening to do such a thing was likely to have serious consequences.

"We have your partner and another of you is incapacitated," she warned, "lay your guns down now and no further harm will come to any of you."

The two remaining men exchanged a glance, then lowered their weapons.

Ochako let out a sigh of relief. The exam was over for them. All they had to do was-

Lightning fast, the leopard man grabbed for a passenger and put the barrel of his gun to its temple.

"Now we have one of yours," he said with a vicious laugh.

Ochako glared at him. She should've known nothing would be that simple. If just one of these passengers was injured...

"Now let him go and we'll let this one go."

She knew she couldn't do that. That would give the hi-jackers all the power and they'd have no leverage any longer.

Bakugo laid a hand at her back and she tensed ever so slightly but didn't look up at him.

He was always an unpredictable wild card. He would do things his own way and struggled to be a good partner at times.

When they had first started together, he would sometimes just go off and attack on his own without her knowing what was going on. It would usually work out okay when it came to small time villains, but Ochako knew that it would be far more problematic when it came to more serious situations.

Eventually, she'd come to understand that there was no way to just stop him from taking an action that he'd worked out in his own mind as being the right move. So she stopped trying to stop him. Instead, she asked him to just warn her. Just tell her somehow that he was going to act and she would do her best to support him. He had agreed to do this for her.

So when he was about to take things into his own hands, he would gently lay a hand on her. It was usually on her back but he had been known to touch her shoulder or her leg if he had her on his back. If they weren't near each other, he would just slowly blink at her and she would know. If they weren't near each other nor could see each other, they agreed that he could just do what he wanted and she would have to try and catch up.

After they'd come to that agreement, it had become a lot easier for her to work with him and the longer she worked with him, the easier it became to tell what his plan was when he would lay his hand on her.

Now, his palm that was not pressed to the bald man's head was at her back. He was going to do something rash. In this scenario, she wasn't quite sure what it was, but she knew it had better be good.

"Give me the passenger," Bakugo said slowly, "and I'll give you your guy. We'll trade."

Ochako let the bald man go as Bakugo pushed him forward, hand still firmly attached to his head.

The leopard man pushed his hostage dummy forward until the two met at the middle of the plane.

"We let go on three," the leopard man said.

Bakugo nodded. He seemed so exceedingly calm in this moment. It was fascinating to watch.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

Bakugo swung the bald man into the side of the leopard man and his dummy hostage and blasted them with an explosion that was more force than fire, sending them flying out into the open air.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" the man with purple skin shrieked in a panic, the exam forgotten.

In her mind, Ochako was screaming, crying, and hating Bakugo all at once. But her legs were already moving, sprinting to the door and jumping out after them.

She would be able to angle her body to reach them before they hit the ground if she was fast enough. She had to be fast enough.

Bakugo could easily handle the last guy whose quirk clearly dealt with shadows. All he had to do was cuff him and come back out to get her as she would have no means of forward movement when she zeroed out her— and everyone else's— weight.

She caught sight of her quarry and pulled her arms into her sides, angling herself to move closer to the two men and the dummy, thankfully, all close together.

Aiming her body right at them, she reached them, tapping each in rapid succession, causing them all to stop falling immediately and float in midair, including the dummy hostage.

"Holy... Shit..." the leopard man said, his fur tousled and sticking all straight out.

"We have parachutes, you know," the bald man said to him with annoyance, "You didn't need to be screaming like a little girl."

"Yeah, but we're only supposed to deploy them at the latest we safely can," the leopard man replied, then turned to her, "If you had just saved the passenger and we'd had to deploy the parachute, it would've effectively meant that we were dead. And while that doesn't automatically mean you failed, it would've been something close to it. Honestly, it's more impressive to me that you two utilized a plan to neutralize us in this way. It takes a lot of skill and unmatched teamwork to take that kind of risk."

Ochako beamed at him and blushed.

"It was mostly just Bakugo doing what he does and me just following up as best I can," she said, poking her pointer fingers together.

"Maybe," the bald man piped up, "but the fact that he did it on the fly and it looked like he didn't tell you what he was going to do— is that right?" Ochako shook her head to confirm his suspicion. "But you knew exactly how to react and he trusted that you would. That speaks of incredible teamwork I don't even see most pro hero teams having. You two will make for an incredible powerhouse team when you graduate. I'll be looking out for you, that's for sure."

"Oh... I don't know if this will last..." Ochako said meekly, "We're probably just partners for school. He'll want to be his own man when we graduate. He wanted to have a hero agency pretty quickly I think he said."

"He's dumb if he doesn't keep you as his partner, kid," the bald man replied. These two were oddly comfortable just floating up in the air with the way they carried on a conversation with her. "He's strong, no doubt, but you're more than just a sidekick. Your abilities and the way you work with him is strong in its own right. If you two don't end up a pro-hero team, you're honestly letting yourselves down and depriving the world of a much-needed power for good."

Ochako didn't respond to that and let that stew in her head a moment.

"There he is," the leopard man said, "he probably moves a lot slower without your quirk helping him along."

She looked back and saw Bakugo, rocketing his way toward them. Leopard guy was right, he was considerably slower.

When he finally reached them, he reached out to her and she took his hand, activating her quirk on him so he was floating with them as well.

He swung her onto his back then and she got into position. Now they had to figure out how to get them down to the ground.

After a fair bit of arguing and awkward positioning and eventually Ochako just having to push them toward the ground while Bakugo propelled them down with his blasts, they all reached land and she was able to release them.

Apparently, the plane had been widely circling the UA grounds because they found themselves relatively close to the school when they went to travel back.

The two men— who Ochako had found to actually be very pleasant people— said that they could leave them there and they would make their way back. Others would take their place. Every exam had to be different after all, so they would've likely been replaced no matter what.

With their permission, Ochako took off with Bakugo again and returned to Aizawa-sensei.

"Well, that was entertaining," he said, still somehow managing to sound bored, "Needless to say, you passed. I'm sure your friends will have plenty to say when you get back to the monitor room."

They were dismissed simply as that and made their way back.

"I'm kinda mad at you," Ochako grumped as they walked back to watch the rest of the exams.

Bakugo's stoic face turned to her and his eyes narrowed slightly, "What did I do?"

Ochako blinked at him in disbelief.

"You threw two people and a passenger dummy out of an airplane!"

It was his turn to blink at her, "Yeah and you saved them. So what?"

She looked around as though someone else might be witness to his bullshit so she would know she wasn't the crazy one.

"We would've failed if that passenger had been injured and probably if those guys had to deploy their parachutes too!"

Bakugo gave her a look like she was the dumb one.

"What, so you're saying you didn't have that shit locked down? I assumed you would."

Ochako hesitated, not really wanting to argue with the fact that he had that kind of confidence in her ability.

"I mean... I guess..." she agreed finally, "I was just... really surprised and scared."

He watched her, his eyes still narrowed.

"I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been sure you'd know what to do," he said slowly, giving her ponytail a quick tug.

She blushed and dropped her eyes to the ground, feeling like she'd just been given a massive compliment.

"I guess you're forgiven then."

"Wow, thanks," he said with extreme sarcasm and rolled his eyes.

The next duo's exam had already begun when they reentered the darkened monitor room.

When everyone caught sight of them, they rushed forward and people crowded them left and right.

"WOW! That was so amazing Ochako-chan!" Mina squealed.

"Dude! I've never seen anything like that!" Kaminari cheered.

"Bakuravity for the win!" Kirishima shouted over the crowd.

Ochako could see Bakugo's temper flaring at the name and at all of the people surrounding him. He didn't like being crowded and having this kind of pressure on him. She had to admit, it was a little daunting for her too, even if they were all trying to compliment them.

"Thanks, guys," she said quickly, "Whose turn is it now?"

The rest of the class recalled that there was another exam in progress and dispersed a little, returning their attention back to the monitors. She walked toward the front of the room as well to see Tsuyu working with Mineta, of all people. Obviously, they had chosen the capsized boat and were already pulling those passenger dummies from inside the boat while fighting extremely high waves.

"Ochako-chan," she heard a kind, familiar voice say. She turned to find Deku at her side, smiling in the way he usually did at her. It made her stomach do flips.

"Hey, Deku, you saw our exam?" she asked bashfully. Her argument with him long forgotten in her mind since he'd done his best to make it up to her by buying her her favorite mochi snacks and just generally being sweet to her.

He was kinda starting to make it obvious to everyone that he was trying to win her affection.

"Yeah, Deku, did you see it?" Bakugo parroted her in a far less friendly tone from only a foot or two behind her.

Ochako hadn't expected him to follow her to the monitors and spun on the spot.

"I did," Deku replied, his eyes shifting to his former friend with a determined expression on his face, "It was amazing."

Bakugo just leveled a scowl at him and didn't let up.

Deku's eyes went back to her then, "I just wanted to say that I was... wrong... to get suspicious and jealous before. I didn't fully believe that... after certain things happened, you were really just working with him as a partner and there wasn't anything else."

Ochako searched his eyes, feeling something in her chest twist at his confession.

"But this, today," he went on, "you made me realize I was being an idiot. You really have been working hard with him and you work really well together. I'm sorry I was being such an ass about it."

Ochako felt like she might cry. She'd been wanting him to say this, to understand how her relationship really was with Bakugo and that he meant so much to her because they were great partners.

Now he'd seen them in action and it had opened his eyes. He was finally seeing what she meant.

Bakugo's expression didn't change except to maybe narrow his eyes further.

Deku turned to him next and extended a hand, "I know we started off this year really badly and it was partially my fault. I'm sorry I haven't tried to mend things until now but I get now why you two work together so well. If Ochako can let things that happened in the past go, so can I. Can we let bygones be bygones, Kacchan?"

Ochako watched this exchange unfold with apprehension.

She was so happy that Deku was putting forth the effort to make nice with Bakugo. It warmed her heart and made her start to believe that, just maybe, he really was regaining her trust and, in turn, her heart. She held her breath, waiting for what would happen next.

Bakugo's scowl still didn't change, though. He looked down at Deku's offered hand and his lip curled in disgust.

He scoffed and harshly smacked Deku's hand away, turning to make his way toward the exit again.

Ochako felt her heart clench at the hurtful response he'd given and she let out a little gasp in shock. He acted like he was being insulted, not extended an olive branch.

"Bakugo!" she called out in a scolding tone.

He looked back at her, his eyes flashing with an extreme emotion she thought looked like rage. He looked like he was barely containing it. She stopped short when she saw it and held back the further scolding she was going to give.

With nothing further being said, Bakugo turned and went back out the exit.

Ochako's attention went back to Deku who looked pained.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I don't exactly know why he did that. I think he might always be a jerk to you, Deku."

Deku shook his head and gave her a sad smile, "No, it's okay. I've known Kacchan for a long time. I've kinda gotten used to it by now."

Ochako let her head rest lightly on his shoulder, "Thank you for trying though."

Deku nodded and they both turned their attention back to the monitors.

Second term was officially over and Ochako was finally able to take a real break from school work and hero work for a couple weeks.

She travelled back to spend winter break at her parents' house and it excited her parents to no end.

"Two whole weeks with my baby girl!" her mom had gushed, "We're gonna have to go shopping again for some cute winter clothes!"

So she spent her first week with her parents shopping for some new jackets and sweaters and catching her mom up on the soap opera that was her high school life.

Her mom had been relieved to hear that things were doing better with Deku and he was really trying hard to win her over.

"As he should be," she said haughtily.

She had also been pleased to hear that Bakugo was still being a good partner and had worked with her to pass the practical exam.

She was still unsure of him, especially after seeing him in such a grumpy mood trailing after his mother at the cultural festival.

On the other hand, she absolutely adored Mrs. Bakugo. Apparently, they talked back and forth often and would share any news or pictures of their children whenever they found them.

It was incredibly embarrassing for Ochako to now have two women fawning over her but she was grateful nonetheless.

She was surprised and pleased when Deku called and asked her to go to dinner with him on Christmas Eve.

She agreed and they went to a beautiful restaurant with fancy food and classical music playing. They talked and laughed and, after dinner, strolled around, looking in shop windows.

Ochako was truly happy just spending time with Deku for the first time in a long while.

When he brought her back to her house, they halted on the stoop and she turned back to him.

"That was really fun tonight, Deku," she said, feeling a blush coming across her cheeks.

"I'm glad you came out with me," he responded, taking her hand in his, "I know your birthday is in a few days but I told my mom I would go skiing with her so I wanted to give you this now."

He pulled a velvet box from his pocket and placed it in her hand.

Ochako grinned at him excitedly and opened the box. Inside, lay a charm bracelet, with a few charms already on it.

"I hope it's something you'll wear," he said, unsure.

"Of course I will, Deku! Thank you so much!" she squealed and jumped into his arms.

After recovering from his initial shock, he enveloped her in a warm hug and they stayed like that for a long minute.

When Ochako pulled back and looked up into his eyes, he had an expression of such intensity that she felt the warmth in her chest begin to spread throughout her body.

His eyes shined with adoration and he leaned closer.

Her heart was about to pound out of her ribcage. She wasn't sure if she was completely ready for this but her heart was telling her that it really hoped he would kiss her.

Ochako closed her eyes but he only pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. The gentlemanly thing to do, she supposed.

He pulled back and looked down at her with a warm and gentle smile, brushing the backs of his knuckles across her cheek. A little bit of disappointment filled her but she quickly brushed it off, still happy with the night overall.

"Thank you for coming out with me," he said again, "I hope you have a good birthday."

Ochako smiled back at him and stepped back toward her door.

He gave a small wave and stepped down off her stoop, heading back toward the train station to go home.

That night, Ochako slept easily, feeling relaxed and content.

Christmas came and went. Ochako went to a party with her parents to celebrate and even got recognized by a few people to her disbelief. They were all excited to meet Uravity and were hoping they'd catch sight of her partner too but she had to disappoint them by telling them he wasn't there. They didn't seem to mind, though, and were pleased to still be in her presence. She couldn't think of a better Christmas present.

A couple more days passed and it was her birthday.

Because she didn't expect Deku to show up or ask her out again, she spent all day hanging out with her parents around the house.

They cooked her favorite foods and played her favorite games and that night, agreed to watch her favorite movie for probably the 20th time.

The doorbell rang as they were setting up and she skipped to the door, wondering if maybe Deku had come back early to wish her a happy birthday after all.

But she wasn't at all prepared for who she opened the door to.

"Bakugo?" Ochako asked, feeling utterly caught off guard seeing the tall, gruff boy at her door. How had he known where she lived? And why was he here?

Bakugo stood outside her door in a thick bomber jacket covered in patches. He had a sweatshirt on under it with a graphic of what looked like a mushroom cloud on it and his usual cargo pants.

He looked her up and down for a second, then tilted his head, motioning for her to come out onto the stoop with him.

"You can come inside if you want," she invited, moving to the side to let him in if he so chose, "my parents won't bite. It's too cold out there for me."

She was wearing a long sleeved shirt and a skirt that came just above her knee. But she'd only ever intended to spend the day in the house so this was plenty comfortable inside. Outside, though, it was way too frigid for a skirt.

He shook his head, "I didn't come by to play house with you, floaty."

She quirked a brow at him, "Then why did you come here? And how?"

"The train," he answered smugly.

She glared at him clearly conveying that she knew that he knew what she meant by that question.

"Your mom gave my mom the address. They think we're best friends or some bullshit," he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"And we are... not..." she said slowly like she was checking with him just to be sure.

"You know we're not," he said with a small flash of irritation.

Every time that never failed to bother her.

"Well, since we're not friends and all, I don't have to care how comfortable you are with coming in," she said in a syrupy tone, a fakely sweet smile on her face.

She grabbed his arm and pulled at him. He didn't budge, holding his ground at the door.

"You and I both know that's not going to work," she said, still affecting the same sweet voice, "Now, are you coming in or am I making you come in?"

She let the tips of her fingers dig into his arm a little deeper to accentuate her point.

He glared daggers at her and allowed her to pull him in and shut the door behind him.

"Who was at the door, Ochako?" her mom called from the living room, still waiting for her to come back so they could start the movie.

"It was Bakugo, Mom," she called back, "He's going to watch with us."

There was a pause before a slightly weaker response came, "Oh, okay, honey!"

She waited while he shucked off his shoes and left his jacket on a hook at the door. Then she walked into the living room, dragging him along with her.

"Mama, Papa, you remember my work partner, Bakugo," she said cheerfully while also sending them pleading looks to not embarrass her.

"Ah, yes, of course," her mom replied warily, "It's good to see you again, Bakugo-kun."

Bakugo stood stiffly, not trying to hide at all the fact that he was uncomfortable

"Hi," he said shortly, looking away.

Ochako wanted to laugh. If she didn't know better, she would say he was acting shy. But Bakugo wasn't shy around anyone. He held adults in the same regard as his peers and only afforded respect to any adult who had earned it in his eyes, like All Might and Aizawa-sensei. Even then, the respect was limited.

So the fact that he was being awkward now, in front of her parents, was odd but also kinda hilarious.

"You came at the perfect time, Bakugo. We were about to watch a movie, if you wanted to join us," her father invited warmly from his recliner.

Bakugo nodded once and Ochako smiled nervously as her mother slid over to the right to allow for two more places on the couch.

She sat in the middle, pulling him down with her into the cushions and releasing him to make himself comfortable on her left. But he just stayed rigid and awkward. He was so clearly uncomfortable and, for some reason, it almost delighted her seeing him squirm this way. It was... cute?

Wait what? Bakugo cute? her mind howled with laughter.

"I hope you like fantasy movies," she said excitedly, grabbing the remote to start the movie, "This is only the first in a trilogy but it's one of my favorites so... yeah. I'll watch the rest another time."

He gave an indifferent shrug. She doubted he would even pay attention to it with the level of discomfort it looked like he was in. She was starting to feel a little bad for forcing him into this situation. He'd said he hadn't come to go inside so he hadn't been intending to stay long with it being the dead of winter. What had he come for?

The movie started and she focused her attention on the screen from that point on. This movie was an epic one about a boy who set out on an adventure and gathered an unlikely group of friends along the way. There were elves and dwarves and goblins and orcs and all manner of magical creatures in this movie and at the center was the message of how those you choose as your family held just as strong of a bond as that which you were born into, if not more. It was one of her favorites of all time.

About an hour through the movie, Ochako had her legs crossed on the couch, her elbows on her knees and her chin resting in them. She glanced over to her left to see that Bakugo had begun to relax and was actually pretty engrossed in the film. He had his elbow on the armrest and was resting his cheek against his fist staring at the screen.

He must've felt her eyes on him because his gaze shifted to her and their eyes locked.

She smiled at him as if to say, "See? It's not so bad."

He just narrowed his eyes at her— what she'd come to think of as his "pouting face"— and went back to the movie.

When the movie ended an hour and a half after that, Ochako's father was, once again, asleep in his recliner. Typical.

Her mother rose from the couch, looking a bit tired as well. She went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea and Ochako turned to Bakugo.

"Well?"

"Well what?" he asked, eyeing her with annoyance.

She lightly pushed him. "It was a good movie, right? I bet you want to watch the others now!"

"It was okay. I don't watch movies," he responded, giving her a push back.

"Well, I have the other two movies if you ever feel like watching them," she said, lifting her eyebrows in an expression of offer.

He sighed and turned away from her, "No thanks."

"Geez, you don't have to pretend to not like everything," Ochako retorted, rolling her eyes and pushing herself up to place the movie back in its case.

Her mom came back into the living room, steeping a tea bag in a teacup full of hot water.

She gave them both an affectionate smile, looking a lot more kindly and less wary of Bakugo than she initially had when he'd come through the doorway. Ochako felt her heart warm at that. She remembered that her mother had said in the past that she wished she could tell her to stay away from Bakugo. Something seemed to have changed her mind. Maybe after seeing him and understanding how they interacted a little better, she was coming around to the idea that they could be okay hanging out.

"I'm going to get your father up to bed, I think," her mother said, setting her tea down to lightly shake her father awake.

Her father grumbled and barely slitted his eyes open to see his wife. She spoke quietly, telling him to come upstairs and he nodded sleepily, getting up and trudging to the stairs.

"It was good to see you again, Bakugo-kun. I hope you come again some time," she said softly.

Bakugo nodded stiffly, once again acting a little awkward.

Her mom looked at her and put a hand over her mouth like she was trying not to laugh and Ochako bit back her own grin, silently agreeing with her mother.

With that, her mother grabbed her tea and followed her father up the stairs. A minute later, she heard the click of their door shutting.

She thought that it was slightly weird that her mother would willingly leave her alone with a boy late at night, especially a boy that she'd said she wished wouldn't be around her in the past. But, she guessed, she was 18 now, she would be graduating high school soon and moving out to pursue her career as a hero. Her mother probably wanted to respect her space as an adult, no matter what her opinions were. Ochako felt thankful to have such a loving and understanding woman as a mother.

"Well I guess you can go now that I've tortured you enough," she joked, motioning toward the door and walking to exit the living room.

Bakugo's eyes followed her and he rose from his seat on the couch too, stretching his limbs above his head when he was fully standing.

A sliver of slightly tanned skin peeked out from the bottom of his shirt's hemline and Ochako swallowed when she spied the shadowing of one angular hip bone. Ugh, why did he always wear his pants so low around his hips?!

He came around the couch and followed her to the door. Then looked down at her when she didn't immediately reach for the knob.

She looked up at him, a suspicious expression on her face.

"Why did you come here?" she finally asked.

The question had been burning at the back of her throat since he'd ignored it the first time she'd asked. He'd ridden the train to get here. It was probably no small journey from his house to hers.

His eyes, still on hers, glowed warmly as he stared down at her.

"To give you something," he replied simply.

Her brows knit together in confusion and she looked around as if she might have missed it the first time.

"I didn't see you with anything. Did you leave it outside? Is that why you wanted me out there? You could've just said so."

He didn't answer immediately and she couldn't help but think of how ironic it was that he would show up to give her something on her birthday, of all days.

She gave a small laugh, "It's funny you would bring me something now. It's my birthday, you know."

"I know, idiot," he said roughly, giving her a dubious look.

Ochako's breath momentarily caught in her throat and she looked back up into those crimson orbs, her chest tightening at the way they blazed into hers.

"You're... giving me something for my birthday?" she asked, unsure she was correctly inferring what she thought she was.

"I guess," he said in a deep voice, he sounded different than his usual gravelly tone.

"Wow that's... thank you, Bakugo," she said, feeling touched that he had considered her in this way and had made the journey to give her a gift.

"It's outside, right?" she asked, turning away from him and grabbing for the door handle, "Let's go-"

He laid a hand on the door, keeping her from opening it.

"No," he said in that deep, rough tone again. It sent shivers up her spine.

She could feel his closeness now. He was right behind her, inches away from her back.

"No?" she asked, her voice wavering, "It's not- outside?"

"No," he growled, starting to sound frustrated.

His chest was pressing into her now. She could feel his warmth through the layers of fabric between them.

She let her hand fall from the door handle and her heart raced. She could feel his breath— heavy, ragged— softly ruffling her hair.

His right hand came to circle the front of her neck, resting there, his calloused fingers warm and caressing. It was nearly able to circle her neck.

She remembered thinking that before. Right. When he'd grabbed her wrist and neck at the beginning of first term. She'd been scared of that hand then... Now Ochako struggled to breathe. Not because of the hand at her neck, but because of the anticipation she felt at its owner's touch.

He was just touching her.

He hadn't even done anything to her but she was already feeling frenzied, yearning for more.

How could he always affect her this way?

He removed his left hand from the door and pulled her back gently— as gently as was possible— to his chest so their bodies were flush.

She could feel his muscular frame pushing against her own softer one.

He sighed, his breath blowing hotly past her ear, causing her to tremble, anxiously awaiting his next move.

"I said I'd give you something," he purred, displacing the small hairs falling around her ear, "not that I'd brought you something."

Ochako bit her lip, trying to calm her body that was beginning to heat with desire. She could already tell her face was hot and flushed and that hand at her throat felt like it was scorching her skin. She imagined it tightening ever so slightly. Enough to make her feel like he was in control. Another shiver went through her. Did she want him to do that?

"What-" she asked, having difficulty getting the words out, "What will you-"

Soft, sensuous lips brushed at her neck and her words were cut off by the gasp that issued from her mouth.

Her back was still pressed to him but she was beginning to feel wild, the tether of her self-control pulled taut. She wanted her front pressed to him. Wanted to feel the pressure of her breasts pressing into his chest. Wanted to get lost in those bright ruby eyes.

She felt his left hand travel down to the hem of her skirt and she squeaked when he ran a finger along the skin of her thigh just under it.

"Bakugo," she gasped.

"Katsuki," he growled.

Ochako's heart pounded faster at this permission he'd just granted her.

"I knew what I wanted to do the moment I saw you in this skirt," he whispered against her neck, his hand fully on her leg now, travelling higher, shifting closer to her inner thighs.

"Katsuki," she breathed and issued another gasp when she felt his hardness throb against her ass in response, "My parents are upstairs. We can't-"

He stopped his ministrations, going still a moment. She nearly sobbed at that. Her body cried out for more of his touch.

"You don't want this."

She wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement.

She bared her teeth, her hands going to either of his arms and gripping them tightly, "No I-"

She couldn't say it, it was too embarrassing.

"You what?" he asked, his voice barely audible. She could feel the smile he was pressing into her shoulder, "I won't know if you don't tell me."

"I want you to keep touching me," she breathed, her face feeling hotter than ever at saying something so desperate.

A deep, throaty growl issued from his mouth and he pulled her back roughly, grinding his hips and his length into her ass.

"Then you'll just have to be quiet," he said breathily, nipping lightly at the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

She nodded, unable to utter words when she was concentrating on his left hand that had now begun slowly climbing up her leg again. His palm was finally laying on the soft skin of her inner thigh and the ache that she felt in her core was almost unbearable.

His hand travelled higher still, dragging his short nails across her silky skin there. So close... She bit her lip. So close.

One finger brushed her panties and she let out a soft whimper.

"Shhh," he shushed.

Ochako heard a muffled cough and a door upstairs opened.

She jumped away from him faster than if she'd laid her hand on a hot burner, putting a couple feet of distance between them. Her father, from the sound of it, was walking around up there. A few seconds later, she heard the bathroom door close.

"My dad," she whispered, turning around finally to look at him. She halted as she saw the desire still burning there. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips nervously.

His eyes flared and he brought his hand up to her cheek, his thumb tracing where her tongue had just been. It dragged at her bottom lip, slightly dipping inside.

Her desire still burned hot inside her chest and in her core and she let it blaze through as she stared up into those ruby eyes, her lips pulling his thumb a little further into her mouth for her to bite down lightly and run her tongue across the rough pad of the tip of his finger. It tasted a little sweet, like his sweat had the night she had run her tongue up his neck.

He inhaled sharply and gritted his teeth, looking positively feral. He looked like he was millimeters away from losing all control over himself and she was starting to feel like she wanted him to.

But again, they were interrupted and pulled apart quickly by the toilet upstairs flushing and her father's footsteps. They came closer toward the stairs and she heard him call down to her, "Coming up soon, Ochako?"

"Yes, Papa," she answered quickly, hoping he wouldn't pop his head up at the top of the stairs to look for her. He didn't and she heard her parents' bedroom door shut again.

"I'll go," Bakugo- Katsuki?- she could call him Katsuki now... said to her, rearranging himself in his pants to be more comfortable.

"You can use my bathroom down here for that if you want," she offered shyly, nodding toward the arousal still pressing against his pants. She bit her lip for possibly the 10th time today, still being able to easily see a clear outline to his erection.

He smiled wickedly at her, "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Pervert."

Her face burned. He was throwing her previous words back in her face. A fair jab. And, wait a second, did he know she had been listening in on him at the penthouse on summer break? She lightly punched him, "Am not!"

He leaned into her, bringing his lips to her ear.

"If you give me chocolate for Valentine's Day, I'll give you the gift of letting you watch me and not just listen at the door, on White Day," he whispered seductively.

Another shiver ran through her at his words. Just the thought of it made her mouth go dry. He would... let her see him... She couldn't even finish the thought, it made her so embarrassed.

He slipped back into his shoes and jacket, then reached for the door and opened it, sending a blast of cold air into the house. She wrapped her arms around herself feeling that bitter cold, not envying him his journey back in the slightest.

Before he went through the doorway he turned back to her, eyeing her for half a second before he gripped her chin and pulled her up, bringing his soft mouth to hers suddenly in a sensual yet short kiss. It surprised her and left her feeling breathless when he pulled away.

"Happy Birthday, Ochako," he said, his eyes glowing warmly. Then he made his way out into the frigid night, shutting the door behind him.

Ochako brought her fingers to her lips, still feeling the heat of his mouth on hers. How was that the sensation that lingered after everything he'd just made her feel?

She made her way upstairs and flopped on her bed, feeling extremely unsatisfied and in desperate need of a panty change, among other things.

She couldn't help replaying the last few minutes Katsuki (it was going to be weird thinking of him like that now) had spent at her house as she changed and got under the covers. And, even though everything else that he'd done tonight had been passionate and unforgettable, she mostly couldn't stop thinking about that handful of seconds he'd brought his lips to hers.

So many of his touches tonight had been rough and fevered but this... it had been gentle, sweet.

Words were forming in her head again at what his kiss had been trying to tell her but she quickly discarded that notion. She couldn't try to delude herself that he meant anything more than what he said, which hadn't been much more than making it glaringly obvious that he wanted her in his bed.

Ochako realized that she needed to chill out and fast. It wouldn't be good to keep going the way she was going.

Just a few months ago, she had hated him for doing far less to her than he had tonight because she'd found out he'd been trying to take her away from Deku. He'd given up pushing her into their steamy encounters immediately after she'd told him to stop, but somehow since then, she'd still managed to become entangled with him and find herself being the initiator if anything happened between them up until tonight.

For the first time since he'd kissed her neck in the kitchenette that night long ago, he'd initiated their contact. And she hadn't blinked an eye at it. In fact, she'd enjoyed it and had wanted more... She didn't know what his actions tonight meant. She didn't know what her reaction meant. But she did know she needed to cool it because there was no way things would end well if they went even a half step further than they had tonight.

He likely still wanted to seduce her whether it was for Deku's benefit or not. She was already willing to admit she was physically attracted to him but she was also unwilling to mess up her partnership and friendship with him as well as lose the boy she had loved since her first year at UA just for a roll in the hay. Because that's what would happen if she acted on this, right? This was just lust from overactive hormones burning her up inside... Right?

Right, her inner voice convinced her, you need to get yourself under control.

But, as she began finally drifting off to sleep and letting her mind wander again, she couldn't help but come back to how soft and delicious his lips had been on hers and how he'd called her Ochako for once without a hint of derisiveness.

Her last thought before her eyelids became too heavy to keep open and she finally succumbed to unconsciousness was, Was that kiss the gift?

Notes:

Phew, what a monster of a chapter! Shit is getting REAL now.

Chapter 19

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ochako awoke the next day to her mother calling her down for breakfast. She hopped down the stairs and sat at the table. She ate her breakfast with her parents silently, while her father checked his phone and her mother watched her morning talk shows.

"So," her mother asked, not taking her eyes off of the TV, "I hope Bakugo had a good visit last night."

Ochako stopped chewing for a second and looked up at her mother who still had her eyes on the TV.

"Yeah!" she said with a little too much cheeriness, "He left a few minutes after you guys went upstairs. He said he came by to give me a birthday present." She went back to her food.

"That's so thoughtful of him!" her mother said, diverting her attention from the TV finally, "What did he bring you?"

She paused again, realizing her blunder.

Well you really thought that one through, her own mind sniped at her.

She had to think fast.

"Uh, well, it had to do with work," she said quickly, "I've been asking him to figure out a way for me to have footholds so it would be easier to ride on his back and now, he did it! So happy birthday to me!"

She grinned at her mother.

"That's so great, sweetie," her mom chirped, giving her a warm smile, "I'm glad he's being a considerate partner to you."

Ochako gave a little nod.

"Mrs. Bakugo will be so happy to hear her son came all this way to be so sweet and to wish you a happy birthday."

"Yeah..." Ochako said, feeling awkward. It felt weird to be encompassing so many people in a lie. Yes, he had been there last night to give her a gift but that gift was most definitely not work related. Hopefully, he would play along if his mother asked about it.

She didn't see the smirk that came over her mother's lips as she picked up her phone and tapped the 'Mitsuki' contact to start a text.

She spent a couple more days lounging around with her parents and catching up with her homework that she had left off until the last moment.

By the time she finally emerged from her room, a huge homework hangover bogging her down, it was New Year's Eve.

Deku called, having finally come back from taking his mother skiing. He told her all about how terrible he had been. He never excelled at sports, which seemed ironic to Ochako. For crying out loud, he was the strongest student at UA and All Might's protege. But, apparently, he could not properly french fry and pizza. The mental image alone made her feel like cracking up.

After she was finally done giggling over that, Deku discussed going back to school and how their final term at UA would turn out. Now was a time for them to swap out to another work study too if they so chose but Ochako felt like she was happy where she was and he felt the same. Endeavor seemed to be someone he enjoyed working under and she assumed he would get a job at his agency until he was ready to venture out on his own.

The conversation hit a lull and Deku went quiet for a minute.

"Ochako-chan," he said in a slightly quieter voice.

"Yeah, Deku?"

"I was thinking... we don't have a whole lot of time in the school year any more. I've been pretty patient these last few months but now I feel like it's the right time to fight for you."

Ochako barely breathed as he spoke.

"I still want to be with you and I want you to give us a shot. If you're still not sure by now then I'm going to just assume you're not really interested anymore. I think I can accept that despite the fact that I really care about you, but I need you to tell me now."

She was silent and something twisted in her gut. Now was the time. He had finally proven himself to her. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to be friends with Katsuki again. He wanted her to still be partners with him as well. He'd made so many compromises for her. Everything he did was with her best interest in mind.

This was everything she'd wanted for years. But something kept her from immediately opening her mouth and saying yes, like it always had every time she looked into his eyes. Why was she hesitating the moment she was about to get exactly what she wanted?

"Ochako-chan?" he asked again after she'd been silent for too long.

"Okay," she said finally, her words sounding choked.

"Okay?" he asked.

"Yes, Deku, let's do this. Let's try," she said in a near whisper, her stomach doing flip flops.

She could practically hear his grin in his voice over the phone, "Really? I'm so glad to hear you say that, Ochako-chan!" He breathed a sigh of relief.

Ochako giggled lightly at his adorable response. Deku was going to be her boyfriend. Was going to take her out on dates. Was going to show her off to other people. Finally.

Inside, though, she didn't know why it felt like her heart was constricting to a near painful level.

It was a half hour to midnight. Time to head out to the New Year's celebration at the local shrine and ring in the new year with her parents.

It was snowing out so Ochako got all her layers on and walked down with her parents, discussing with them what she wanted to pray for in the new year and how her life was about to change drastically. She'd still not yet told them about agreeing to dating Deku finally. She wasn't sure why. Her mother would probably be happy for her. She wasn't sure about her father. He wasn't the type to be overly protective of his daughter, but then again, she had never actually dated anyone before. Maybe had a crush on one boy or another in middle school but nothing ever serious. She just wanted the time to be right to tell them, she guessed.

They stood around in the dark for a little while, conversing with their neighbors and drinking amazake. She even snacked on some mochi that she and her mother had made that day. Her favorite treat.

Everyone shouted "Happy New Year!" as the countdown landed on zero and she hugged her mom and dad, feeling extremely fortunate to be here in this very moment with two of the people she loved most in the world. No matter what happened, they would always have her back and love her unconditionally.

They waited in line to go up to the shrine to throw their money in, ring the bell, and pray. As she clapped her hands and bowed her head, she prayed for success in her new career as a pro-hero after graduation. Maybe she also hoped a little that Katsuki would consider staying teamed up with her too.

It had been hard to shake the thoughts the two men playing villains had put in her head during the exam. They were a powerhouse... He would be stupid not to stay with her... Not teaming up would deprive the world of a great force for good... She had to admit that it was hard to see herself not working with him anymore, even after they graduated. She wondered if he felt similarly or if he was counting down the days until he could go solo again. That thought was more saddening than she wanted to admit.

Her parents headed home when they finished praying and left Ochako with some money to buy a fortune predicting her luck for the year. She knew they were in no way accurate but she couldn't help picking one up every year. It had practically become her tradition. The line for them had been relatively long, though, so a good 15 minutes had passed before she finally got her fortune.

She walked down the stairs from the shrine and decided to open her fortune then.

"Great Blessing"

Ochako huffed a small laugh. She'd never gotten one before. Maybe things would go the way she hoped...

"Ochako," she heard a gravelly voice rumble in her ear just before a large, muscular arm wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her back into a familiar firm body.

"Oh!" she squeaked in surprise at his forwardness, "Katsuki, hi."

She turned when he loosened his grip and looked up at him. She gave him a bright smile that almost faltered when he returned it.

That smile... He never smiled like that for anyone. But now he was smiling... for her. She felt tiny strings in her heart pulling it this way and that.

She wasn't going to say anything about it and cause him to stop because she knew the moment she even complimented him, his face would probably turn right back to stone.

He still had his arm around her waist and she felt heat emanating from his fingertips as they dug into her thick winter clothes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, genuinely perplexed. This was the shrine nearest to her house. He had to have one near his as well.

But then again, she reasoned, maybe he wants to spend New Year's with friends.

But if that were the case, where were his other friends? Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero maybe?

"I didn't feel like waiting for school to start to see you again," he spoke warmly, quietly. His fingers, at her hip now, stroking at her hip bone through her thick clothing. It was starting to get kind of distracting.

"Oh," she said, surprised and at the same time feeling a little odd at that response, "Okay."

"Come with me," he said coaxingly, letting his arm drop from her waist and taking her by the hand instead, leading her away from the crowd to a slightly more secluded location near the shrine.

When they reached a place he was pleased with, he whirled abruptly on her, drawing her to him and kissing her hungrily. His lips were so soft and sweet and caressing and he dug his fingers into her hair, down from its ponytail again, letting the other hand fall atop her ass and cupping it, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Ochako was shocked and stunned into inaction for a few seconds while he held her close to him, kissing her passionately. Like she was something he cherished.

A dark and sinking feeling began to creep over her and she began to understand something, slowly but surely. This feeling of sadness, of fear, not of him but of what was becoming more clear in her mind by the second, felt like deja vu. She had come to some kind of realization like this in the past. How could she have forgotten? Now she knew why she recalled crying that night in the penthouse.

She pushed back from him slightly and he immediately paused, pulling back and looking at her.

Passion so fierce, it was like an inferno, burned in his eyes. It twisted the knife she felt slowly inching into her heart.

This wasn't just lust.

Not to him.

Finally putting her fears and suspicions into words felt like a massive hand had come and gripped her entire chest in its fist, leaving her unable to breathe.

What was she going to do now?

"Katsuki..." she started. Then hesitated.

"I love my name coming from your lips," he growled, combing his fingers through her hair once more.

With no more words forthcoming, he leaned into her again, attempting to catch her lips with his own for the second time but this time she pushed him more firmly.

A small dent formed between his brows as he gave her a frustrated look.

"Kastuki I..." she hesitated again. She was scared. She didn't understand why this was happening right now. She didn't want to say what she knew she had to say. A few days ago- hell, just a few moments ago, it would've been easier.

He waited for her this time, concern growing in his eyes.

"I- We- can't do these things anymore," she got out finally, "It was okay before and we had fun sometimes but..."

Now she had to say the hardest part and she chewed at her cheek a moment.

"But I'm going to start dating Deku now."

She saw his eyes go wide with shock, and possibly pain.

"Please don't be mad, I know you guys don't get along but I- you know I love him."

He pushed back from her so fast, it was like she had just electrocuted him.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked, rage flashing in his eyes, replacing the shock that had been there seconds before.

"No," she said resolutely, "He asked me again to be his girlfriend earlier and I decided to give him an answer finally."

A gloved hand went to his forehead and he rubbed at it harshly.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" he snapped, all softness gone from his voice now.

She was starting to feel defensive and her brows lowered into an angrier formation.

"Because he proved to me that he really does like me for me and he doesn't worry about keeping me away from you. He gets our relationship now," she said motioning between them.

"The fuck he does! Does he even know what has gone on between us? Because if he doesn't, he doesn't know a goddamn thing!"" he snarled.

Ochako looked down in shame, her cheeks heating.

"It's not his business," she replied, "That was before we were together."

"And you really think he would just be okay with us working together if he'd known I kissed you and touched you and turned you on more than just once? Like, a lot."

Her face heated further at the way he just casually brought up their few encounters. But he was probably right...

"He doesn't 'get' our relationship.You don't even get our relationship, pink-cheeks!" he nearly yelled, fury painted on every corner of his face.

"What does that even mean?!" she shot back, her heart feeling heavier by the minute, "I don't get you! Why can't you just say what you really mean?!"

More deja vu crossed her mind. She'd said this to him before. Had they already had an exchange like this too?

Something told her she both wanted and didn't want to know the truth.

His temper flared and she saw him lose the last of whatever was holding him back from speaking out as he met her eyes again, his bright and flaming, piercing her.

"For fuck's sake, floaty," he shouted, exhasperated, taking her face gently in both of his hands, "you're not in love with him! You're in love with me!"

The world stilled and went silent. That invisible hand clenched Ochako's chest even tighter as she stared into his furious face, red blooming on his cheeks.

"What?" was all she could say.

"You fucking love me," he repeated, heavy breaths puffing out of him and steaming in the bitter air.

"I don't-"

"You do," he cut in, his rage turning into something more pained, "Who's the one you're always looking for a reason to be around? Who's the one who makes you excited with just one touch? Who's the one you go to when you want to punch the shit out of something? Is it him? Does he make you feel half the things I make you feel?"

"Half the things you make me feel are anger!" she wailed, her voice cracking around a lump in the back of her throat. "How is that ok? How can I love you if I hate you sometimes?!" She pulled his hands from her face roughly.

"Because I'm a fucking asshole! I don't know what I'm doing!" he cried, gritting his teeth and punching the wall next to him.

That knife, still slowly piercing her heart, twisted again at the agonized way he admitted to this flaw.

"I don't- I can't-" she stuttered, "I-I love Deku. I love Izuku. I've always loved him and you know that! After all this time, are you still trying to hurt him by going through me?" she asked, tears blurring her vision.

Bakugo grimaced so painfully that she thought that if she weren't crying already, just that look alone would cause her to.

"No! I never fucking cared about hurting Deku. I don't care what he does! All this time, it was you. I wanted you. And if you'd loved Kirishima or Shoji or Mineta, it would've all been the same to me!"

Chills ran up her spine at the confession he'd made. What he'd just said...

"All this time... All this time?"

"Yes, Ochako," he said tenderly and she jolted, looking up at him when she heard him speak her name again.

"All this time I have wanted you. And it drove me fucking insane!"

You... make me... crazy... is what he'd said when he first kissed her. He hadn't just been saying that? He hadn't just been talking about his lust?

He inched closer to her again, his crimson eyes blazing with intensity.

"Why?" she asked, tears softly rolling down her cheeks, "Why couldn't you tell me before now? You had so many chances! You could've just said it from the start!"

"And then, what? Have you reject me in favor of that idiot?" he ground out, "The second you kissed me back I wanted to tell you everything and I fucking tried. But you already thought I was using you before I got the chance."

Ochako gasped in realization. The night he'd been in the kitchenette. He had been down there to make food for her. He'd probably thought he would be able to convince her then. But she'd just attacked him and felt like she already knew what was going on when she didn't have a clue.

More tears streamed down her cheeks as she recalled just how heartbroken she had felt back then too. He'd been just as hurt and scared. If she hadn't been told that he was trying to steal her to hurt Deku, what would she have done when he'd been down there?

A scenario played out in her mind where she had found him in the kitchenette and had been shy and awkward instead of hostile. He would have shared the ramen with her, they might have talked about the sports festival, he would've tried to kiss her again, and instead of telling him to stop, she would have let him.

She had been ashamed to admit up until this very moment that a good chunk of her heartbreak that day had been because she had wanted there to be something more between them after he had kissed her so passionately and made her feel so alive. Something new and fragile had bloomed within her when he'd brought his lips to hers but it had immediately been damaged when she'd found out what his words to Deku had been. Since that moment, that thing had never died but she had pushed it down, kept it closed off, because she knew letting it take root within her and then being ripped away would've meant pain like she'd never known.

"We agreed that this physical stuff was all there was. We said that we wouldn't take it seriously," she tried to rationalize.

"I never said any of that. I only agreed because it was what you wanted. I knew how you felt even then but I wanted you to figure it out on your own because I obviously freaked you out when I tried to take action myself. But now..." he paused, his voice becoming strained and emotional like she'd never heard it before.

"I don't have any more time to wait for you to get it. After your birthday I thought... I was sure you knew."

And that was the moment the blade in her heart hit home. A strangled sob issued from her mouth and the way he looked like he was dying inside to just touch her confirmed it all.

I love you.

Those were the words that had formed in her mind when she had contemplated his kiss that night on her birthday. She'd thought she'd been deluding herself. Wanting to see what wasn't there.

"How could I know? You didn't say anything!" she wept, "I wasn't sure what to think! You were feeling me up just a few minutes before that! It felt like you knew exactly what you were doing and trying to seduce me! I didn't know if this was something you did to a lot of girls."

She hated herself for thinking it now. For saying it with the way he looked like she'd slapped him.

He shook his head and sighed angrily.

"I've never touched anyone like I've touched you," he confessed with a hoarse voice. "I can hardly control myself around you. I always want to be touching you and it feels like I'm being burned alive when you touch me like you want me too."

He stood before her now, his face open, ruby eyes shining.

"You love me, angel-face," he murmured, "And I've loved you... ever since you collapsed in front of me in our sports festival fight."

She drew in another shocked breath. For that long he'd loved her?

She searched his eyes for the lie, for the punchline, for the cruel humor, but there was none. He was being genuine.

"Be with me," he pleaded, because there was no other way to describe the way his eyes shined bright and his hands reaching out to grip her waist, "Let me make you happy. You know I will."

Ochako drew close to him, her heart pounding against her ribcage, her cheeks still glistening with tears, the frigid air making her face feel frozen.

He pulled her into him, surrounding her with his scent of struck matches. A scent that had scared her once, then enticed her, then had come to comfort her.

For just this moment, she rested her head on his broad chest and revelled in the embrace he enveloped her in. Wrapping his arms around her as though she were the most precious thing in existence, he laid his cheek on her head, soft puffs of warm air ruffling the hairs on top every so often. One of his hands was dug lazily into the hair at the base of her skull, the fingers, occasionally tightening around small locks, then loosening just to do it all over again. The other arm was wrapped firmly around her waist, holding her tightly to him, gripping her hip.

He held her so close and so fiercely that it was like he feared letting her go would cause her shatter into tiny pieces. But she also knew that if she pushed back on him, even just infinitesimally, he would loosen that grip and let her break from their embrace. Even when he was crushing her to him, even when he was throwing her against a wall, even when he was viciously sinking his teeth into her flesh, she didn't fear him. Why was that? Why did she know he was always safe? That he would never actually harm her if she was afraid? He'd genuinely scared her once when he'd grabbed her neck but ever since then, it had been like she had known that no matter how hot his temper flared or how much strength he would use on her, he would pull back the moment she made it clear she didn't want it.

He loved her.

Bakugo Katsuki loved her.

And now she had to choose. Between the boy she had dreamed of being with for years, who finally returned her feelings. And the boy who had stolen her breath away just a couple nights ago and made her feel wild in so many ways, she could hardly stand when he looked at her sometimes.

She couldn't.

He was wrong. She did love Deku. If she didn't, this would've been an easier choice to make.

But Deku had always been there for her. He never tried to hurt her. He'd returned her feelings and he waited for her to trust him again after he messed up with her.

Katsuki was a force of nature who swept you along. He did what he wanted when he wanted. He didn't admit when he was wrong or when he cared about something unless he absolutely had to. After he hurt her, he'd never really apologized and she had always been the one who had to make things okay between them again.

She knew what was the right choice for her although the weight it put on her heart was unfathomable.

"I can't," she whispered into his chest.

She took in his scent one last time and pulled back, already missing his warmth.

The hurt he let show in his eyes tore at her in a way she knew she would never forget to the day she died.

She hated herself in that instant. He'd let her see something in him that he never showed anyone. And now she was going to crush him.

That smile... she'd never see it again.

"You're being so fucking dumb," he said. He'd tried to sound mean but it had come out so strangled that it sounded more like a lament.

"Deku is a good guy," she reasoned, "He won't hurt me."

"Yeah, he won't," he replied bitterly, "because he's safe and easy and perfect."

He shook his head and looked away from her, toward the lanterns up at the shrine. His face was already changing. Hardening. Closing her off. And it cracked something inside of her.

They were quiet for a few seconds, just the frosty wind swirling around them.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, breaking the oppressive silence.

He just sighed.

"I get it. You're picking him," he said coldly, keeping his eyes trained on the lanterns in the distance. "I'm not gonna fucking beg you so you can fuck off now."

She flinched at how heartless he sounded now. His eyes were dark, lifeless, not even rage lit them from within.

"Katsuki..." she pleaded quietly, the weight on her chest suffocating her. She was the one rejecting him. Why did it feel like her heart was breaking?

"FUCK!" he roared, startling her for the first time in months. He struck the wall again, sparks flying from his fist.

"Katsuki," she said again, her chin wobbling.

"STOP!" he cried out, his voice raw and anguished, "Stop saying my fucking name like that! Just get the fuck out of here!"

She backed up a few more steps, still wanting to do something. Still feeling like her own heart was cracking down the middle with each step she took away from him.

"GO!" he yelled at her again and she finally turned on her heel and walked away from him, partially hating him and partially hating herself.

She looked over her shoulder after making it a little ways, unable to just let go.

He was still where she left him, staring blankly down at the ground.

Then, like a switch was flipped, she saw his face crumple and he dug the heels of his palms into his eyes and gritted his teeth as fat tears streamed down his face.

That was the nail in the coffin for her. She felt the second her heart shattered into a million pieces.

She couldn't take it anymore and finally turned away from him again, breaking into a sprint and racing home as fast as her feet would take her.

Not even an hour ago, he had been holding her. Smiling at her. Loving her, she realized. She'd stolen that from him. She'd lost exactly what she feared. Her partner and her friend. He would hate her forever after this.

Her house came into sight and rushed up the steps, flinging the door open and slamming it behind her.

"Is that you, Ochako?" her mom called, walking in from the living room with a wry smile, "It took you a little while, did anything-"

Her smile slipped from her lips as she caught sight of Ochako's face.

"Mama," she choked out through her sobs.

"Baby girl," her mother cooed and took her daughter in her arms.

Encircled in her mother's embrace, Ochako couldn't hold herself back any longer and let out painful wail after painful wail into her mother's chest.

After crying while holding onto her mother for what felt like hours, her breathing calmed enough for her to speak through occasional sobs that wracked her body.

Her mother sat with her on the entry step into their house, rocking her, as she told her about Deku asking her to finally give him an answer and how she'd agreed to be with him. Then she told her about Katsuki surprising her tonight, acting completely different. And how she'd broken the news to him and his confession that had been too late.

When she got to the part where she'd told him she firmly made her decision, her tears picked up anew and she had to sob again for a little while until she could regain her composure.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," her mom said, petting the top of her head, "This is my fault. I didn't know about the conversation you'd had with Deku."

"What- What do you mean?" Ochako asked in confusion.

"Honey, I asked Mitsuki to send Bakugo to see you tonight," her mother confessed, "When we were watching the movie, he would always be sneaking glances at you and the way that he looked at you... well I knew that he wasn't after you because he was trying to play games with you, baby girl. I had a feeling he came here on your birthday because he might've gotten up the courage to tell you so I left you alone so he could. And you came downstairs the next day looking like you were glowing. I just thought... I'm so sorry baby, I should've asked you."

Ochako's sadness grew further. She'd been glowing?

"It's not your fault, Mom," she croaked, "It's my fault for being blind and dumb. It's his fault for not saying anything all this time!"

"Now that's not fair, sweetie. You never said anything to Deku all this time," her mother gently pointed out.

Ochako knew she was right. That wasn't fair. But she couldn't help being upset about it. So much had been screwed up this year because everyone had been hiding their feelings from someone else. It was a complete disaster.

She suddenly felt incredibly tired, like whatever had kept her going these past few hours had finally run out.

"Mama," she said looking up into her mother's warm brown eyes, "I don't think I can make it to sunrise. I think I want to just go to sleep."

Her mother looked down at her with an understanding smile, still sweeping her fingers across the top of her head,

"Okay, Ochako-chan, go on upstairs and I'll let your father know."

She nodded and pushed up to her feet, finally pulling off her boots and jacket, then making her way to the stairs and trudging up them step by step.

She was exhausted and her whole body ached.

When she got to her room, she was barely able to manage to change her clothes for bed, hating how she remembered herself a few days ago, doing this with a thin sheen of sweat on her body after spending just a few tantalizing minutes with Katsuki.

Ochako shook her head. She couldn't do that anymore. She couldn't think like that anymore. She'd been so stupid to think this was all just physical attraction that they could set aside. And he'd just let her think that.

She settled herself in bed and covered herself up, turning off the lights.

For feeling so exhausted, her mind was racing and replaying everything over and over. She wanted someone to talk to right now. Her mom was still her mom and she couldn't tell her everything. Mina and Toru and any of the other girls were all her classmates. They all had a bias toward Deku and they might judge her.

After turning the thought back and forth in her mind a couple times, she reached for her phone on her bedside table and opened a new text window with the contact 'Nate' and started typing out a message.

Notes:

A/N: "Oh wow, Moofy! You put out a chapter so fast this time!" It's because I couldn't wait to rip out your hearts and stomp on them! But, no really, I cried writing this so there's some TMI for you.

Short for a chapter but I think yall might be grateful for that this time. Some of you thought I was about to do Deku dirty. Nope. He gets a chance to shoot his shot, baby! I've had this planned for... since the beginning pretty much.

Chapter 20

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

In the late morning on New Year's Day, Ochako woke up to a text notification sound from her phone.

Despite sleeping for a full eight hours, she still felt tired. Her eyes felt dry and sandy and her throat was sore.

For just a handful of blessed seconds, she lived in a world where she didn't know what had happened the night before. Then, reality came into full focus and she gasped as her chest constricted painfully.

Katsuki had told her he loved her. But she had rejected him. She still recalled the way his face had drawn in agony the moment he fell apart. It would haunt her forever she imagined.

Her eyes watered, then burned as they met the salt left on her eyelids from her tears the night before.

"Dammit," she whispered, wiping at her eyes, trying to stem the burning.

She breathed deep in an effort to calm herself and let out a shaky breath.

Her phone dinged again to notify her another text had come in.

That was right! She'd sent a text to Nate last night as she was tossing and turning in bed but the moment she'd hit 'send', sleep had finally taken her.

Ochako grabbed her phone off the side table and checked her messages.

Nate: Hi Uravity! I'm so happy to finally hear from you! I was starting to wonder if you were just being nice by taking my number and saying you'd keep in touch.

Guilt stabbed at her. She should've sent him a text or called or something ages ago. Not just when things had begun falling apart around her.

Nate: I'm so sorry to hear about what happened between you and Bakugo. If I'm to be honest, I had hoped he would tell you how he felt much sooner. And, yes, I knew he had some kind of feelings for you. It was pretty obvious after being around you two for a while. It kinda makes me feel foolish having asked you if I could have a chance with him :squiggle mouth emoji:

So even Nate knew and had figured it out in less than a week.

Did that mean Mt. Lady knew as well? Edgeshot? Kamui Woods even? Everyone at their agencies? Hawks?!

Did everyone but her know how he felt? Was she that blind?

Yes, her mind told her mercilessly, you're a complete idiot. He literally told you he didn't want to be friends but he still stuck around you and treated you like you were someone who mattered to him. And you, in all your wisdom, took that to mean he was too embarrassed to admit you were friends.

In fact, the more she looked back on his actions, the more obvious it was and the more stupid she felt to not have seen it.

Right from the start of this school year, he'd made it his mission to get her attention. He'd been the one to tell her that Deku knew about her feelings, probably because he wanted her to hate Deku for it. When he'd kissed her and she'd told him to back off, he had. When she said she had wanted to go back to how things were, he'd agreed with absolutely no struggle.

When he'd had the perfect opportunity to hurt Deku with the fact that she had thrown herself at him, he'd not only said he'd never do it, but that he was willing to pretend like it never happened to make her comfortable with their relationship again. How had she not seen it then?

He'd told her she was the exception, not the rule. He'd told her, "we can be however you want us to be." He'd been trying so hard to to tell her but couldn't just say it!

The more she thought about it, the more she hated herself and the more she saw those ruby eyes furious, devastated.

The ding telling her she had another text sounded from her phone again.

Nate: I know you feel guilty for rejecting him but you have to try and focus on you too. Don't you deserve to be happy? If this Deku guy is the person you think will make you happy, then you were right to choose him. I know you are sad to possibly be losing a friend and work partner but you can't be focusing on that. You're about to start a new relationship! That's exciting! Give Bakugo some space. Let him work through his pain, then you might be able to reconnect with him as friends in a little while.

Ochako sighed. He was right. She had been focusing so much on this sadness she felt about Katsuki that she'd forgotten to be excited about seeing Deku tomorrow and them finally being a couple.

You: Thank you for responding to me Nate. Everything you said makes so much sense. I do still feel sad and I think I'm going to for a while but you're right that I should be looking forward to spending time with Deku. I'm so glad I texted you and I'm sorry I didn't before now. I'll do my best to talk to you more often now.

An answer came back a minute later.

Nate: Don't worry about me too much. I know you're in your last term at high school and now you've got a boyfriend. You've got a lot on your plate. Text me when you can, but don't prioritize it. Graduate first and be a super badass hero and then we can sit around texting every day.

You: Ok. Thanks Nate. I miss you.

Nate: Miss you too, girly.

Ochako put her phone down then and went down to see what she could get together for breakfast.

It seemed her parents were still asleep. None too surprising considering they had stayed up to watch the first sunrise of the year. It was a yearly tradition for them to play board games and make snacks or watch comedy movies until dawn and she'd kinda snubbed them last night.

She decided to make breakfast as an apology for not spending the night with them like she usually would.

She ate her share and left the rest covered, going back upstairs to start getting things packed to head back to school.

When she walked into her room, she noticed that her phone was lit up with another text notification from Nate.

Nate: Oh but I do think Bakugo was right about one thing. You should tell Deku about how intimate you've been with him. You don't have to give him details, but he shouldn't be going into things under the impression your relationship with Bakugo was strictly platonic.

Ochako felt sick to her stomach.

—

It was Sunday, the day before 3rd term began and the day most of the students came back to the dorm to get a good night's sleep so they wouldn't have to commute to school on Monday.

Ochako walked up to the UA campus along with a mass of other students, trying to keep an eye out for her classmates, especially hoping not to see a particular blonde head of hair before it was absolutely necessary

"Ochako-senpai," a sweet feminine voice sounded behind her.

She jumped upon hearing her name, having been lost in thought and looking out for her classmates, not her kohai.

She spun around to find Chitose, the girl with the bubble quirk, grinning at her while she approached. Behind her, being dragged by the hand, was the shiny boy, Ito-kun, looking positively disgruntled to be having to greet someone but letting himself be pulled along anyway.

"Chitose-chan," she smiled at the girl who came to stand in front of her, "it's been a while since I've seen you!" Then she turned to the boy, "Hi, Ito-kun."

"Hi, senpai," he said gruffly. That was probably the best greeting he would give her. Then he disengaged his hand from Chitose's and gave her a soft kiss on the the cheek

Ochako's eyes widened and both of them blushed as he turned away and continued up the walk, toward the campus.

She stayed silent with a little expectant smile on her face while Chitose regained her composure.

"Ahem, Um... Right. So, that happened over winter break," she said, a blush still dusting her pale cheeks.

Ochako lifted her eyebrows, "Oh yeah?"

"Well," Chitose began, twisting a lock of her curly black hair around one of her fingers, "He asked me to do something with him for Christmas Eve and while we were out walking around, he confessed to me and asked me to be his girlfriend."

Ochako smiled, her heart warming for the sweet girl.

"So, yeah, we spent New Years together and," she bounced a little on the balls of her feet, "now I don't know what. We'll see what happens, I guess."

She grinned widely at her then, "How about you, senpai? Was your winter break good? Did you do stuff with your boyfriend for Christmas Eve?"

The warmth in Ochako's heart froze over as she recalled that Chitose had thought (and probably still did think) that Katsuki was her boyfriend.

Because she saw him when he sat next to you at the sports festival, the tiny voice in her mind reminded her.

Even Chitose, having not even known her very well, had noticed.

"Well, Chitose-chan, I'm actually kinda dating Dek- Midoriya-kun now," she admitted sheepishly.

Chitose gasped and her eyes went wide. Curiosity, excitement, and a little sadness warred on her face.

Finally an emotion won.

"What happened with you and Bakugo-senpai?" she asked, a spark of pity in her expression.

Why was she sad for her of all things? Didn't she have a crush on Deku once?

"Well, I didn't really have time to tell you before, but Bakugo-kun and I were never really together," Ochako explained.

"Oh..." Chitose said, somehow looking even sadder, "I'm sorry. I just thought... You guys looked happy together. I saw your picture online from your summer internship too and... Well... sorry..."

Ochako couldn't help but let her face fall a little bit. A lot of people seemed to have gotten that vibe.

"But, you're dating Deku now?" Chitose asked, trying to lighten the mood again. "Did he ask you out over the break?"

"Yeah, he did," Ochako confirmed, "I guess we're both kinda in the same boat."

She smiled warmly and Chitose nodded, "Oh I guess you're right!"

A strong gust of wind came blowing past them and they both had to hold their skirts down as it blew by.

Ochako's nose recognized a faint scent that she knew well and she tensed as she saw Katsuki pass by them not 5 feet away, his head down, eyes unseeable.

He didn't look up at her, possibly hadn't even seen her with the way his head was bent.

When her focus went back to Chitose, the girl was looking rapidly between her and the boy who'd just passed, trying to puzzle something out.

"I thought you said-"

"Ochako-chan!" called a male voice.

Ochako spotted Deku over Chitose's shoulder, running up to them with a wide grin on his face.

She smiled back affectionately and Chitose took that as the cue to leave her.

"Well I've gotta go catch up with Ito-kun. I'm glad I got to talk to you again, Ochako-chan. Good luck on your last term!" she said, running past her.

"Bye!" Ochako called after her. Then she turned to the messy haired boy, running up to her.

He stopped about a foot away from her and simply said, "Hi."

"Hi," she said shyly back, a blush creeping up to her cheeks.

"You want to walk with me to the dorms?" he asked, his eyes bright with excitement.

Smiling cheerfully, Ochako nodded and turned to walk with him onto the campus.

As they walked, they chatted sporadically about how things were at home and what they'd done for this or that homework assignment.

"How was the rest of your winter break? Was your New Year's celebration fun?" Deku asked, looking oddly nervous as he glanced over at her.

Ochako paused, not sure what she should say. She didn't want to tell anyone about what Katsuki had said to her. She felt like it wasn't even her place to tell people. She had no right. Those were his feelings to share, not hers. And the last thing he would want would be for her to tell Deku what had happened that night.

But still... Nate had suggested she be honest with Deku about what had happened between them in the past at least. That queasy feeling came back to her stomach.

"Ochako-chan?" he asked, looking concerned. Apparently, she'd been quiet for too long considering the question, "Is everything ok? Did something happen?"

She shook her head, "No, I was just thinking... Could you come up to my room when we get in? Don't get a weird look! It's totally innocent! I just want to talk about something in private without a bunch of people around."

Deku nodded and gave her another warm smile. Then, looking like he'd finally gained some courage, he slipped his gloved hand into hers.

Ochako felt her whole face go hot when she felt his hand on hers and she lightly squeezed it in return, shooting him a tiny smile.

As they walked in the door to the dorms, Ochako saw that quite a few of her classmates were already hanging out in the common area. Her heart momentarily beat faster as she scanned the room, looking for a pair of red eyes. But Katsuki wasn't here. He'd probably gone up to his room. She felt herself relax slightly, not having to face him right now.

Mina spotted her first and did a double-take when she saw who was standing next to her and her eyes went to their interlaced hands.

"WHAT is THIS?!' she squealed loud enough that the whole room turned to look at her, then to where she was looking at the two people who abruptly pulled their hands away from each other in embarrassment.

Mina bounded up to them. "Are you two? REALLY?"

Ochako nodded timidly. She could tell that her face was probably neon pink by now with how hot it became.

She heard varied gasps and "oh my god"s throughout the room.

Iida approached them quickly. "I'm happy for you, Midoriya-kun, Uraraka-kun! But I want to remind you two of the rules of fraternization between students while we're at school." Then he went into a long-winded speech about what they were and weren't allowed to do in public and that they weren't allowed to spend the night in each other's rooms.

The whole time, Ochako bowed her head and tried to melt away into the ground.

"Iida, no one wants to hear that right now! Just let them be happy!" Toru said, interrupting him, mid spiel.

Ochako shot her (or rather in her approximate location) a grateful look.

"When did this happen?" Mina asked, taking her hand and bouncing up and down.

"He asked me on New Year's Eve," Ochako supplied shyly.

"Oh my god, that's so romantic! And then did you go to the New Year's celebration together?"

Ochako froze up and looked down at the ground.

"No," Deku answered for her, laying a comforting hand on her back, "I usually spend New Year's with just my mom. I didn't want her to be alone while I went out."

A deep tenderness warmed her heart hearing his explanation. He was such a kind and loving person. It was part of the reason she'd come to love him.

Most of the rest of the room had gone back to whatever their business was and Ochako felt thankful that their announcement of couplehood hadn't been too traumatic.

"Do you want to go up now, Ochako-chan?" Deku asked, his hand still resting on her back.

"Yeah," she replied awkwardly, then turned to Mina, "We're going up to my room for a little bit. And no not for that! What is wrong with you?" She scolded Mina as a wide grin spread on her face.

She and Deku made their way up to the second floor and entered her room nearest the elevator.

He cast his gaze around it for a moment, although it was nothing special. Mostly just a bed and desk. She'd put in a bookshelf for some of her school books and there were a few pictures of her family and movie posters scattered on the walls.

"So..." he began, taking a seat at her desk chair while she pulled off her jacket and took his to hang on the hook at her door, "What was it you wanted to talk about in private?"

Ochako went to sit on her bed cross-legged and grabbed a pillow to put in her lap.

He looked at her questioningly but more in interest than suspicion. She wondered how that look would change when she told him what she had to.

"Do you really think he would just be okay with us working together if he'd known I kissed you and touched you and turned you on more than just once?" Katsuki's words reverberated in her head. She, herself, had begged him not to tell anyone, especially Deku, after that night in the penthouse.

She chewed on her lip as she considered where to begin.

"Deku," she began, then took a steadying breath.

Nate was right. It's not fair to go into this hiding things, she reminded herself.

"Before we get further into this, I need to tell you the truth about Bakugo... and me."

She saw the look of interest slide from his face, quickly replaced by an expression she could only describe as nauseated.

He looked like he wanted to say something but he kept silent and waited for her to continue.

"I told you about the kiss at the sports festival," she hedged.

He nodded, swallowing thickly.

"Well, I don't know how to explain this in the best way. But more stuff happened between us than just that one kiss that one time," she tried to explain. "We kissed again since then and maybe some more..."

"Did you... sleep with him?" Deku asked, looking panicked.

"No! No!" she answered quickly, once again thankful to Katsuki that he'd turned her down when she'd been drunk out of her mind.

He looked slightly more relieved at that answer at least.

"We kissed again, and there was some over the clothes stuff but you have to believe me, Deku, it didn't mean anything! We really were just friends and partners first and foremost. That other stuff happened in the heat of the moment and only a couple times! One of those times I was even drunk and not in my right mind so..."

Liar liar liar! her inner voice screamed. It had obviously meant quite a lot. At least it had for Katsuki...

"What, like he took advantage of you while you were drunk?" Deku asked with horror.

"No! Deku! Bakugo would never do that!" she snapped, surprising herself- and him, it also looked like- with how quickly she'd come to Katsuki's defense.

They went silent for a few beats and Ochako wiped a shaky hand across her forehead, trying to sooth her nerves.

"I'm sorry, Deku. This was all before we started dating, obviously. I just... thought you should know."

Deku was silent for a little while, an expression of contemplation on his face.

Then he turned to her and rubbed at the back of his neck, his expression changing to one a little bit more amiable.

"Thanks for telling me, Ochako. You're right, though. It was before you agreed to be with me and I have no say over what you did with someone else before me."

Ochako frowned slightly at that. From the initial expression on his face, that wasn't at all what he really thought

"I believe you when you say it didn't mean anything. Especially because it was Kacchan. He probably doesn't have any real interest in emotional relationships," he concluded.

Ochako's brow involuntarily twitched hearing his assessment of his former friend. How little he actually knew...

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" he asked, acting as though everything was resolved and nothing potentially deal-breaking had been divulged just now.

"Yeah," she replied with a weak smile, "That and... I'm happy I'm with you now."

He laughed lightly, his mouth broadening into a gentle smile as he held out his hand for her to take.

She felt warm when she put her hand in his.

He pulled at her hand just a little to let her know he wanted her to come to him.

She unfolded her legs and stood, taking a couple steps to stand in between his legs.

He gazed up at her, his dazzling emerald eyes dancing with affection.

"I still want to be with you, Ochako-chan," he said and pulled her by her hips to him, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her abdomen, just below her breasts.

She sighed, her heart feeling full, and ran her hands through his thick, green hair, hugging him back.

On Monday, Ochako's morning routine kicked back into full swing.

She got up early and stretched with Mina and Toru, then went down to breakfast.

Unsurprisingly, Deku was there, waiting for her and they ate breakfast together, then walked together to class. This time hand in hand.

Walking with him, she felt content initially, but as they grew nearer to their classroom, dread began to pool in her stomach.

She hadn't forgotten so much as had tried not to remember, going back to class meant not being able to avoid Katsuki sitting right next to her. What would he do? What would he say? Would he make a scene? Would he just glare at her? Or worse, would he look at her like he had on New Year's, like she'd just torn his heart straight from his chest?

When Deku slid the door open and she walked inside first, most of the students were already seated, including Katsuki.

Surprisingly, he looked... okay. No circles were under his eyes. No gaunt look to his face. His clothes even looked no more disheveled than usual. There was nothing about him that said that he had given his heart to someone over winter break and they had refused him.

He was talking with Kirishima, who was standing next to his desk, twirling a pen around in his fingers.

When she approached her seat, she did her usual ritual of greeting Iida (minus greeting Deku since she'd come in with him) and then looked behind him to the ashen-haired boy who still hadn't spared her even a glance.

"Good morning," she said to him with a polite smile, not addressing him by his name.

She wasn't sure what she was meant to call him now. He was still Katsuki to her but the last time she'd called him that, he'd screamed at her to stop.

His ruby gaze slid to her and he nodded, then turned away again, dismissing her.

Ochako sat at her desk and let out a sigh of relief.

Well, he wasn't ignoring her, although she felt like maybe she would deserve it if he did. He also wasn't giving her any excess attention, though. Just an acknowledgement. Nothing in his eyes. He might as well have been greeting a stranger with all the attention he'd spared her.

But, she realized, he also couldn't very well ignore her when they were at their work study. Of course he would have to be somewhat amicable if they were going to keep working together. He probably realized that.

Aizawa-sensei slid open the door and slinked into the classroom, covered up in his favorite yellow sleeping bag.

"Alright, welcome back to your final term at UA, class..."

Unsurprisingly, on the following Monday, the day they were scheduled to head back over to the Hawks Hero Agency and start up their work study again, Katsuki didn't wait for her after class while she helped assign someone to clean the classroom for the day.

Nor did he wait for her to take the train. Nor did he wait for her at the station after she got off the train.

When Ochako walked in the door and scanned the office for him, he wasn't waiting for her there either and she started getting a suspicious feeling in her gut.

"Uravity," Hawks drawled, walking up to her and shoving his hands in his pockets, giving her an appraising look.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised you decided to stay while Bakugo moved on to another agency. I was sure you'd go with him," he said with a raise of his brows, "I'm glad one of you still likes me."

An icy spear shot through her chest and Ochako just stared at him in disbelief.

"Bakugo... quit?" she asked quietly, unable to shake the look of complete shock on her face.

"You didn't know..." Hawks said with a grimace, "Awkward..."

"We had... a disagreement," she admitted vaguely, "I didn't think he'd quit here without telling me though."

"Ah well, I'm sorry about that," he said, shaking his head, "You two were a good team. Incredible team actually. I haven't seen anything like it in a long time. I was going to suggest you two consider even continuing your partnership after you graduated."

Ochako ducked her head, the ice from the spear now spreading through her body. She should've guessed. Of course things weren't just going to go back to normal. He was barely even looking at her, let alone talking to her. When he hadn't taken the train with her, she should've known right then.

"Do you know where he went?" she asked, her voice coming out small and a little squeaky.

Hawks rubbed at his chin for a moment, pondering.

"No, I don't think he told me. But if you're worried about having a partner to patrol with Uravity, I can get you one of my sidekicks. You'll have to start all over learning how to work with someone new but you'll at least have someone."

Ochako nodded glumly. "Thanks," she murmured and headed in to start her shift.

He'd offered her a sidekick who was fresh out of high school, having graduated last year.

The girl, her new partner, had a Matter State Swap quirk. She could change the state of any non-living matter to solid, liquid, or gas at will just by touching it.

She wore a bandolier filled with vials of different liquefied things. One held water, another held some kind of metal, Ochako had noticed that much.

She spent her shift getting to know her new patrolling partner, all the while feeling like her insides were caving in on themselves.

By the time her shift ended, the sun was beginning to set and Ochako had gotten herself into a little tizzy, having finally resolved to confront Katsuki about his betrayal.

When she'd made it back to campus, it was nearly dark, the last streaks of purple eeking out in the western horizon. The outside lights had come on already.

Some raucous laughter coming from a balcony over on the boys' side of the dorms caught her attention as she approached the dorm for 3-A and she halted, listening.

Then, the telltale booming of Katsuki's voice as he got heated about one thing or another twisted up her insides.

He'd left her to work at Hawks' on her own. And he hadn't even told her.

Now that it came to it, she reconsidered confronting him after all. He was hurting. He had every right to abandon her. He owed her nothing.

But he didn't even find a way to tell you, she thought to herself, He could've even written you a note at the very least if he didn't want to talk to you.

She set her jaw.

She was going to say something. She had deserved the consideration of at least a little bit of warning that he was going to leave her high and dry at their work study and just throw all of their partnering work away.

Ochako stomped over to the side of the building the boys' balconies were on and looked up.

Three stories up, she saw them. Kirishima, Kaminari, and Katsuki. They were rough housing around up there eating snacks and drinking sodas.

She saw Katsuki put a hand to Kaminari's chest and the yellow-haired boy lit up with electricity, immediately burning his wattage out. How did he make him do that? It was a handy trick.

"Whey," Kaminari said excitedly, his face going dumb.

"Hey!" she shouted up to them and the other two boys immediately froze. She had still yet to call Katsuki by any name to his face, wavering daily on if she wanted to still be using his given name or if she wanted to just go back to addressing him formally.

"Oh! Sorry, Uraraka-chan!" Kirishima called down to her, "Were we being too loud?"

"Whey!" Kaminari squawked.

"No, I have business with him," she said, pointing a finger at the ash blonde boy.

She saw him frown from all the way down where she was and her stomach turned.

"What," Katsuki called down to her, the first thing he'd said to her in over a week since she'd walked away from him on New Year's. It made her irrationally sad.

"Hang on," she said. And, without a second thought, she activated her quirk on herself and pushed off the ground, floating up to the third floor balcony and catching the railing, then releasing herself.

The boys hadn't expected this and Kirishima grinned at her, impressed.

"Cool," he said.

"Whey," Kaminari squawked again, that stupid look still on his face.

Katsuki had backed as far up from the balcony railing as he could get, as if he had to maintain a certain distance from her or he'd catch fire. His face was less than friendly looking at her now.

She glared back at him, though, trying to strengthen her backbone enough to seem pissy more than as hurt as she felt.

"You screwed me over," she said, pointing at him accusingly.

"What?" he said again, looking irritated to be confronted this way.

"The work study," she clarified, her voice sounding snippy.

Good, she thought, don't let him know your feelings are hurt. That won't help anyone.

"You left and you weren't gonna tell me? Just let me show up and look like an idiot in front of Hawks?"

"Uuuuhhhhh, we're gonna just go inside," Kirishima said, grabbing Kaminari's arm.

"Wheeeeyyy," the momentarily dumb boy said again.

"No, you don't need to do that," Katsuki grumbled.

Kirishima stopped and looked at Ochako for confirmation.

"Yes, maybe you should," she undermined him.

Katsuki's brows knit together and he scowled at her.

"No. Stay," he bit out slowly to Kirishima, although not looking away from her.

"No. You should go," Ochako hissed, also not shifting her gaze away from his crimson eyes.

"Uh well-"

"It's his room," Katsuki snarled, "He can go where he wants and he doesn't have to leave if he doesn't want to."

"Yeah and he said that he'd rather go inside!" she shot back.

"Whey," Kaminari agreed with no one in particular.

Kirishima looked back and forth between them and backed away toward the door. "I think I hear my phone. I'm just gonna," he thrust his thumb toward his room and quickly exited dragging Kaminari with him.

"You backstabbing bastard!" he yelled at the red-head who was now picking up his phone from his desk and pretending to talk on it, closing the curtains to his room.

With more room on the balcony, Ochako swung a leg over the railing and stood on the concrete outcropping.

Alone with Katsuki now for the first time in over a week, Ochako did her best to keep her face in a scowl. He seemed to be doing the same, although as far as she could tell, he wasn't struggling to do so.

She began again, "You screwed me over."

"And?" he retorted, crossing his massive arms and shrugging "Are you surprised?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes! If I weren't, I wouldn't be here."

"Okay," he said with the tone of someone having to explain something to a small child, "Just so it's clear from now on, then: I don't want to work with you anymore."

Ochako felt her stern expression falter for a second as his words punched a hole in her chest but she quickly recovered and leveled a glare at him again.

"You're just gonna throw away all this work we've done?" she demanded, "All the progress we've made? Just to be petty? Katsuki, we're-"

He sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes flashed at her, baring his teeth in a ferocious sneer.

"Don't," he said in a dangerously hushed voice.

She flinched back.

So... She had her answer.

"Bakugo..." she corrected, "Bakugo, we're a strong team. To some of the pros who've approached me, we're one of the best duos they've seen at the high school level in decades."

"So?" he snapped quickly, "I don't want to. We were going to go our separate ways after graduation anyway, right? Besides, I don't think Deku wants his precious little waifu riding around on my back, of all people, even if he never finds out about the shit we did."

"He knows," she said softly.

Katsuki jolted, "What the fuck? You said you never wanted him to know!"

Ochako focused on her two forefingers, now poking at each other as she explained herself.

"I didn't," she responded, "but you were right. He didn't understand anything, not just about us, but about me, if I didn't tell him."

Katsuki lifted his brows in vague interest, slightly impressed.

Ochako assumed some kind of nasty remark about how he wished he could've seen Deku's face was forthcoming but he didn't focus any further on his former friend.

"So I even did you a favor," he said with amusement, "Now you won't have to work with me and have him breathing down your neck about me trying to win your over or something."

"I didn't tell him about... what you said.. before," she said meekly. She could tell by the way he looked away from her that he understood what she meant. "I didn't think you'd want him to know and it didn't feel right for me to go telling anyone."

He didn't respond, just worked his jaw.

She went on, "But knowing what he does, he didn't take it very badly. He didn't tell me he doesn't want me to work with you. So..."

"Doesn't change the fact I don't want to anymore," he muttered.

"But-"

"Stop," he cut her off, "I'm not going back. That's it."

She winced slightly at his matter-of-fact tone.

"Okay," she finally conceded, not wanting to push him any further.

Ochako chewed the inside of her cheek, feeling defeated and they lapsed into silence for a few uncomfortable minutes.

She didn't know why she decided to but before she thought better of it she said, "I'm glad you're doing okay. I was worried you might... I don't know..."

"What? You thought I'd go careening into despair? Don't be dramatic," he said, as tactless as ever, "I'm not going to throw everything I've ever worked for away cause I'm dying inside watching you day in and day out with that fuckwit. Would you want that? Is that what you want to see before you'll get how fucking stupid I am for you?"

"Of course not," she said in a small voice, her heart clenching painfully at his abrupt and blunt confession that he'd just spat out like it didn't matter.

"You got your answer. You should leave," he ground out, that heartless tone coming to his voice again.

She knew what he had been like the last time she had refused to leave when he'd asked so she didn't argue.

"Yeah," she agreed.

She felt like her heart was sinking low in her chest. Why had she sought him out to talk to him like this? He'd been right to stop working with her. She couldn't blame him for it. Of course it hurt her feelings, he'd been her work partner afterall. But she had no right to complain.

Things were very very complicated between them right now but she already missed him. She'd accepted his coldness toward her at school because they had never hung out all too often here and, instead, best connected at work anyway. So she'd patiently waited for their first day back to their work study. Now she wouldn't have that either and it was like he'd completely cut himself out of her life in every way he could.

She felt her heart sink a little lower when she thought back to their summer internship and longed with all of her heart to have those days back the most. They were uncomplicated and without the excess drama and schoolwork.

Ochako swung her legs back over the railing.

"You can just go through the room, you know," Katsuki mentioned to her, pointing behind him with his thumb.

She reddened a little bit. "That would be kinda awkward to explain. I'd rather just..." she made a motion toward the ground.

He rolled his eyes, "Suit yourself."

She hopped down and reduced her weight, landing softly on the grass below.

Looking back up, she saw him lean out over the railing to watch her go. She almost waved at him but knew she wouldn't get anything in return so she just turned and walked away. Again.

Katsuki didn't want to be around her. She pondered this as she walked into the dorms through the front entrance.

It made sense. He was hurting. She was the cause of that hurt.

But, at the same time, she didn't want him to just disappear from every aspect of her life. The thought of returning to how things had been their first two years in school together was painful. She wondered to herself sometimes how she'd gone two full years not having been close with him.

As she sat down to eat dinner next to Deku, who smiled sweetly at her and squeezed her hand under the table, Ochako came to a resolution.

She was going to fix this.

Katsuki wasn't going to just accept an apology and everything would be okay again. So she was going to do what she could to make it clear that she was sorry she had hurt him but, more importantly, that she still wanted him around- needed him around. His feelings didn't scare her anymore and if he was ok with still being her friend, she still wanted to be his.

And the first thing she was going to do was go back to calling him Bakugo. Maybe not in her mind. In her mind, he was Katsuki now and she wasn't just going to take that back. But she didn't need to tell anyone that.

The next day, she made it to class with Deku before Katsuki had gotten there.

Minutes later, he slammed open the door as per usual and strolled casually to his desk, taking a seat.

"Good morning, Bakugo-kun," Ochako greeted, giving him a 1000 watt smile.

He blinked at her a second, probably surprised to not get her usual apprehensive or subdued greeting.

Then he just nodded and turned away from her again like he always did.

Well, you can't expect a miracle overnight, her mind consoled her and she tried to put the issue out of her mind as she went about pulling her notebook out for the day.

She missed Deku turning his head back to the front with a slightly confused expression.

That afternoon, All Might brought them to the stadium where the sports festival was usually held. He wanted them to spar. Again. But class 3-B was also thrown into the mix this time.

"Now then, we'll be matching you with someone we believe will be a challenge for you, or at least the closest approximation of one," he told them, "The point of this exercise is not to knock the other person off the stage so try to avoid that. If you fall off the stage, you'll have to get back on and keep going."

"But you're only fighting for 10 minutes this time as we don't have all the time in the world," Aizawa-sensei added. "Got it?"

The two classes nodded and waited for their names to be called, gathering around the stage to watch the pairings. It was nice to not have to retreat to the monitor room for once, although the occasional debris and fireblast was something to be wary of.

Ochako watched an entertaining match between Tsuyu and Shiozaki from the B class first, then a few more until her interest wavered.

"Uraraka-chan, long time, no see," a softer male's voice said from nearby and she took her attention off the stage to see Shoda standing next to her.

"Oh! Shoda-kun! Good to see you again!" she exclaimed, giving him a small hug.

When she pulled back, his cheeks were a couple shades darker.

"You too, Uraraka-chan. How have all your internships and, well, everything been going?" he asked with a small interested smile.

"Well, I don't even know where to begin, to be honest. For one, I interned with Mt. Lady for the summer. How about you?"

He fiddled a little with the zipper to his gym uniform, "I interned with Fat Gum. He's a pretty cool guy."

Ochako nodded. She had met Fat Gum in passing at her work study in first year and she had to admit that she enjoyed his jovial nature and utter fluffiness. She considered the possibility now that she might've had fun interning for him at some point. It was too late to consider that at present, though.

"Did you get to do anything cool in your internship?" she asked politely.

"Yes! Actually-"

"Midoriya-shounen! Bakugo-shounen! To the stage!" All Might called out.

Ochako's heart stopped and she turned her head slowly to the stage.

Shoda's head, along with every other student's turned toward the stage as well.

"UA's two most powerful students? They should be selling tickets," she heard Sero commenting.

Indeed, all secondary conversations stopped as Deku stepped onto the stage followed closely by Katsuki and they got into position.

"Don't destroy the whole stadium," Aizawa warned.

And then All Might shouted, "Start!"

Deku wasted no time, rushing toward Katsuki, already wreathed in green lightning but the blonde boy was also not the type to sit and wait for an attack to come to him.

He thrust his palm toward the ground and blasted himself into that air, causing Deku to miss his initial kick.

But Deku was incredibly fast and shot up after him, not one second later, right into a blast Katsuki had at the ready.

Ochako watched them fight, feeling intense anxiety as they tore each other apart. They were closely matched. They always had been. Their rivalry was well-known by the entire school and had pushed them to new heights as they tried to overcome the other.

Their drive for greatness was so similar. Their shared admiration for All Might was what brought them both here. And now... their feelings for her were what had torn them apart.

She hated it. She never wanted that. Had hoped against hope that Katsuki would take Deku's hand when he'd offered it after their exams. She had dared to believe their feud, caused entirely by her presence, might finally be over.

But, for all the things he wouldn't give up pining over the girl he loved, Katsuki just couldn't stand to continue being cordial with the person standing next to her, where he thought he should be.

She hugged herself, watching with sad eyes as Deku got a left hook in on him and he flew to the opposite side of the stage from her, skidding a couple feet more.

Katsuki groaned and rolled to his side, preparing to get to his feet. Deku ran toward him.

As though he knew exactly where he could find her, Katsuki's eyes went to her and she couldn't look away as they glowed with emotion upon seeing her face. She inhaled sharply, wishing he'd just glared at her instead. That look never failed to make her feel like she might break down in tears any second.

Then, she saw Deku's steps falter in her peripheral vision and Katsuki broke their connection to look up at the attacking boy.

He'd slowed. He'd looked back. At her. He'd seen the way Katsuki had looked at her.

She stared back at Deku, something like terror seeping through her body.

"Midoriya-shounen!" All Might bellowed and Deku's head snapped forward again remembering his quarry.

But he was too late. Katsuki had propelled himself back to his feet and had blasted his way toward him.

Now he'd reached him and Deku ran face first into Katsuki's outstretched palm.

Without hesitation, Katsuki knocked him off his feet, angled his arm down and blasted Deku into the ground.

The concrete crumbled under the force of the blow.

He won.

Ochako choked on the horror she felt seeing Katsuki's lack of lenience for an opening he could exploit.

"Enough," Aizawa-sensei said, as though it weren't obvious the fight was over.

Katsuki shook his head and turned his back on Deku.

His cold, forever bored mask was firmly back in place as he leisurely strolled off the stage and Deku eased himself up to a sitting position.

His darkened crimson eyes met hers again for just a second as if to say, "This is the idiot you want?"

All around her she heard whispers like, "What was that all about?" "Midoriya could've won, what happened?" "That was pretty brutal, even for Bakugo."

She didn't know what to think. How to feel. What to say.

Katsuki's methods were barbaric, although to her, not unexpected. He used the force he knew it would take to win. He never held back when he fought.

But Deku... He'd done it again. He's lost because of her. He'd wavered when he'd seen Katsuki looking at her. He'd allowed an opening.

And not only that, she was sure he had seen- had faltered because of- the emotion in Katsuki's eyes.

Notes:

A/N: Pfft. This story was supposed to be 22 Chapters long. As you can see, I'm a good handful of chapters away from the end. These scenes just get out of HAND.

Also, important note cuz I know I'm gonna get comments about it: Deku definitely would not normally just think Bakugo is the type to take advantage of a drunk girl. He's just overly protective of Ochako to the point of not really thinking straight about anything concerning her, ESPECIALLY concerning her with Bakugo who he is HELLA suspicious of and is just finding out that shit has gone down between them.

Chapter 21

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ochako sat in Deku's room in the chair at his desk, watching her hands clench and unclench the fabric of her pajama pants.

Deku sat on his bed and watched her hands as well.

Neither spoke nor had spoken since she'd knocked on his door 15 minutes earlier and asked to come inside after dinner had finished.

Ochako chanced a glimpse at Deku's face.

When he'd first gotten up after the fight, his skin had been pink and slightly glossy on one side of his face from the explosion Katsuki had set off. The other side had been battered and bloody. He'd looked pretty rough.

Now all that was left were a few yellowing bruises after being almost completely healed by Recovery Girl.

She found him deep in thought, his hands curled into fists. Something in his gaze reminded her of the horrified expression he'd had on his face when she'd broken him and Katsuki up on move-in day.

He looked up at her as well when he noticed her eyes on him.

She knew the question before he even asked it.

"Ochako-chan, what's really going on between you and Kacchan?"

Ice water poured slowly down her spine, spreading into each limb as it went. It wasn't her place to tell Deku about Katsuki's feelings. But she knew he already suspected something. He had seen how Katsuki had looked at her.

She clenched the fabric in her hands again before responding.

"Nothing, Deku," she answered truthfully, "Nothing is going on between us."

"But..." Deku said slowly, piecing things together in his mind, "Kacchan still wants there to be. He doesn't want you to be with me."

Ochako squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will away the tears she could feel threatening at the corners of her eyes.

"We argued about it on New Year's and I ran off and now," she felt the tears stinging her eyes now. Come on. Please just suck it up, she willed herself to behave. "He hates me. He won't talk to me really. He doesn't want to work with me. Because I hurt him."

Her voice cracked on the last sentence and her tears started trickling down her cheeks in earnest.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, Deku, but I wasn't sure how he was going to act and only yesterday I found out he'd gone to another work study without me and I've just been trying to make things okay because I just want us to be okay again!" she blubbered letting just how truly aggrieved she was right now wash through her.

She hadn't let herself feel how raw she still was because she felt like she didn't deserve it. She was the one who had rejected him. She still got to be happy with a boyfriend. She had no right to be so anguished over this.

"Hey, hey, Ochako-chan. It's alright," Deku's gentle voice soothed.

"Come here," he beckoned her to sit with him on his bed, patting the blanket beside him.

Ochako got up and took the few steps over to his bed to sit next to him.

Deku encircled her in his warm embrace, his fingers brushing through her ponytail.

"Of course you want things to be okay again, Ochako," he gently said in a low tone, rubbing large circles on her back, "You can't stand there being tension between you and someone else. You want to make it right, even if they don't."

He pulled back from her then to look her in the eye with those deep emerald orbs. "Kacchan doesn't like being told no. You probably hurt his pride more than his feelings."

That's not true, she thought, recalling the pain Katsuki had let show through when she'd pulled away from him. Deku had seen how he'd been looking at her. Was he trying to convince himself that he hadn't?

"He'll come around eventually, Ochako-chan. Don't worry," he said soothingly.

Ochako wiped at her eyes, trying to regain her composure.

"Thank you, Deku," she sniffled, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I just... didn't know how. I don't want you to hate him again. I can't stand that I've come between you guys like this."

"He has made you come between us, Ochako. It's not your fault."

Ochako bit her lip. It felt like it was her fault...

He held her to his chest a few minutes longer until her breathing slowed and her tears had dried.

"I want to be with you, Deku," she whispered.

"I know, Ochako," he whispered back, "I'm not worried."

Ochako loosed a sigh of relief and nuzzled into his neck, breathing in a clean, soapy scent from him.

Deku pulled back from her again and looked into her eyes, his emerald ones shining.

Her breath went shallow as she gazed up at him and her heart warmed. She smiled shyly.

A look of determination came over his features then.

"Ochako, I-"

But she didn't wait to hear what he had to say. She kissed him. Softly at first, and when he responded after his initial shock, she deepened it.

She licked at the seam of his lips to ask for entry and he obliged, sucking in a deep breath when her tongue met his for the first time.

Ochako tangled her hands in his messy hair as he held her close to him, hands caressing her back.

Gently, she pushed him back on his bed and finally broke her kiss with him, pulling back to look at him, laying on her side next to him as he laid on his back.

Deku smiled up at her as her face hovered over his, "Wow, Ochako."

She grinned down at him and kissed him lightly again.

Bringing a hand to her hip, he gripped it. Not hard, but possessively. She sighed, feeling a stirring within her and licked her lips.

Ochako drew the tip of her finger in a line starting at his lips to his chest and he shuddered.

"Ochako," he breathed, sounding out of it.

The animal within her liked the sound of that and brought her lips to his again, this time more urgent, devouring.

He could sense the shift in her demeanor and pulled her slightly closer, his hold on her hip tightening.

Ochako let out a tiny moan and Deku froze, then relaxed and gripped her again.

Beginning to feel impatient with his touches, she pushed the hand at her hip down to cup her ass and he gasped, breaking the kiss again.

"Ochako," he breathed huskily, shocked.

Her hand still on his, she made him squeeze her ass cheek and he let out a grunt of excitement.

Taking his mouth with hers again, she rolled herself onto her back, pulling him on top of her, one of his legs resting between hers.

She dragged her nails down his clothed back and Deku made a deep growling sound, involuntarily bucking his hips.

She felt something hard press into her thigh and she moaned into his mouth with desire.

He did it again.

Then he was ripping himself away from her, jumping back up off the bed completely.

He brought a shaking hand to his face, his breathing erratic as he backed up from her.

"Ochako," he said, still trying to catch his breath.

"Deku?" she asked, pushing herself up on her arms as worry for him and hurt at his withdrawal warred in her mind, "What's wrong?"

Finally catching his breath, he took one deep breath in and blew it out, bending over with his hands to his knees.

"Ochako I- really care about you and I liked that. But," he stood up straighter again, still needing to lean on the desk, "I'm not ready for... whatever this was. I want to go a little slower."

Ochako felt confusion and then intense shame, her cheeks burning hot with it.

"Oh," she said, lowering her eyes to the floor.

She pushed herself all the way up to a sitting position and just stared at the carpet for a second, feeling a little bit hurt but, more than that, feeling embarrassed at how she'd behaved.

He's a good-natured, gentle person. Of course he's not going to want to move that quickly, she scolded herself.

Swiftly, she stood and tried to smooth her pajamas. What an idiot she was. He had to be thinking the absolute worst of her now.

"I'm sorry," he said placatingly.

"No!" she replied hurriedly, "I'm sorry, Deku. I shouldn't have- I should go."

He didn't argue with her as she went for the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said quietly as she pulled open the door and walked out.

"Yeah," he said in response. Then she closed it behind her.

Ochako leaned herself back against his door, trying to calm herself and make sense of her chaotic thoughts and feelings.

She breathed deeply in and out for another minute, then deemed herself presentable enough to head back to her room.

She pushed the button for the elevator and was relieved when she heard it immediately start moving up.

It reached the 5th floor finally and she stepped toward it to enter when the door opened after the ding.

But she went utterly still when crimson eyes met hers as the doors slid back to reveal Bakugo Katsuki.

Initial surprise was replaced by his usual bored expression as his eyes fixed on her from just inside the elevator.

The doors tried to slide back closed on him but he put a hand out, opening them back up and allowing him to exit.

Ochako backed up a couple paces when he stepped out and she just stared up at him, her heart beating wildly as he took her in. First, her flushed face, then her swollen, kiss-bruised lips, then her mussed hair and rumpled clothing.

Finally, his eyes flitted to Deku's door for just a second, then came back to her, taking it all in again.

He blinked slowly, then swallowed, never losing the stoic expression on his face.

Then, without a word, he turned away from her and began to walk toward his room.

Her heart immediately dropped to her stomach, knowing exactly what he was thinking, and she hated it.

Before she could stop herself, she grabbed for his hand.

"I didn't... We didn't..." she blurted.

Then she caught herself and covered her mouth before she could babble more, dropping his hand a second after that.

What are you doing? she screamed at herself, It's not his business! You can do what you want with your own boyfriend!

He looked back at her, a crease in his brow, his molten eyes wild now. With rage? Hatred? Jealousy?

Suddenly, Katsuki turned back and advanced on her, grabbing her neck none too softly, pushing her back against the wall with a soft thud.

His burned matches scent invaded her nose as he drew close, hand still holding her by the neck, his face set in a snarl.

He was breathing so heavily that he was nearly panting, blowing hot breath into her face, only inches away.

Ochako's own breathing went shallow and her chest compressed in an excruciating way.

Her heart was hammering against her rib cage as his gaze kept shifting from her eyes to her lips.

"Of course he wouldn't," he growled low, his eyes finally settling on hers, burning a hole into her soul.

Her whole body shivered from her head to her toe.

"Bakugo," she whispered, placing her hands on his arm. He wasn't hurting her nor was he scaring her, despite her heart feeling like it was going to jump out of her chest any second, but she knew this wasn't a good position for anyone to find them in.

The flame roaring in his eyes died and he ripped his hand away from her like she'd suddenly burned him.

He swiftly turned his back to her again and made his way to his room.

She didn't try to stop him.

A few more weeks went by and Katsuki still remained mostly cold toward her.

Ochako had to admit that it wasn't quite as terrible as when he'd ignored her in first term. But she didn't give up trying to show him she still wanted to be around him and treating him with kindness.

She would greet him warmly in the morning, offer him a spot to sit with her and Deku at the lunch table, ask him for help or to take a peek at his notes if she struggled to understand something, on and on. She didn't stop. She couldn't stop. She wanted to see him smile at her again or pull her hair when she irritated him. She refused to let him just withdraw from her.

But he still remained distant, just barely acknowledging her enough to refuse anything she offered or asked.

Sometimes she would catch Deku looking at him too, his expression hostile. She couldn't blame him for it. Things had happened between her and Katsuki that were difficult for a new boyfriend to accept. On top of all that was the fact that they had never been the best of friends. They were rivals at the best of times, bitter enemies at the worst.

She'd yet to visit Deku's room again, nor he hers. Part of her was pretty hurt that he'd pulled away before, the other part felt incredibly embarrassed that she'd behaved that way, forcing him to have to tell her how uncomfortable he was with the whole thing.

She didn't want that to happen again. She didn't even want to be in a situation where he might get the idea it might happen again and preemptively reject her or run away.

The most they had shared since then had been chaste kisses when no one else was around. And even then, he would pull away a little too quickly, like she might ravage him again if he kissed her for too long.

"It's probably because he liked it so much, you scared him, girly," Nate told her over the phone when she called to update him on her situation one evening near the beginning of February, "You gave him some kind of sexual awakening."

Ochako chuckled, her cheeks going red, "He did say he liked it..."

"See?" Nate laughed, "Just bide your time. You'll starve him out, eventually."

"Nate!" she shrieked, her face getting hotter and hotter. She heard him howling with laughter on the other end.

She was standing on her balcony in the hopes of not disturbing Mina but also because she enjoyed the fresh air out here sometimes.

As she looked out over the campus, she spotted a familiar spiky head walking toward the dorms.

Katsuki had been out, probably picking up groceries again.

"Nate, I think I see Bakugo, if you want to say hi," she spoke into the receiver.

Before he was able to answer, she shouted down to Katsuki, waving excitedly, "Bakugoooooo!"

The blonde boy lifted his head slightly at her call but said and did nothing in return. He was nothing if not a creature of habit.

Jumping from her balcony, she landed lightly on the ground as he came nearer.

"Bakugo," she greeted, bouncing slightly, "Guess who I have on the phone!"

He looked at her with his usual bored expression, blinking.

"Not my mom, hopefully," he replied.

Ochako snorted, delightfully surprised he'd made a joke. Although, from looking at his face, one wouldn't think he'd made one at all.

"It's Nate," she finally answered herself, "Do you want to say hi?"

Kastuki lifted a single brow.

"I'll take that as a yes. Here," she said, shoving her phone into his hands.

He looked at her phone, with its pink case and glittery dangle charm, for a couple seconds, then put it up to his ear.

"Nate," he said simply.

She heard Nate talking on the other end but she couldn't make out any of what he was saying.

"Okay, I guess," Katsuki responded to something Nate had said.

"Yeah," he said without conviction.

He regarded her with a cool look the whole time he spoke with Nate. Nate being the one who actually did most of the speaking. Katsuki only giving one or two word answers.

His eyes took in her pajamas, mint colored with candies all over, then moved on to her face which was watching intently, pleased to have been able to get them to talk again. Katsuki oddly put up with a lot of things from Nate that he would've normally immediately started raging over from most other people. She doubted it was because he was a prince either. She supposed maybe he had a weakness for the guy who was so open and honest about his feelings all the time. Or just didn't want to hurt the feelings of the one person who actually had a crush on him.

"I know," Katsuki said for the second time in the conversation.

Then more talking from Nate.

He rolled his eyes, "I'll try."

Nate said a few more words.

"Okay," he said finally, "I will. Bye."

And he hung up the phone.

Handing it back to her he said, "He said to tell you he had to go and that he says bye."

She grinned at him, "You had a nice talk there. Anything you care to share?"

"No," he answered without hesitation.

"Okay, well... I hope it was a good talk at least," she said, still trying to maintain her cheery disposition despite his still consistently cold and aloof attitude.

"Are you studying with the guys again tonight?" she asked, eyeing the grocery bag he was carrying filled with various snacks.

"Yeah," he responded curtly.

"Can I sit in? I know it's not always the most productive atmosphere but it's fun and Deku is training or something right now, so..."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "What do you think?"

She felt her smile falter, "I guess you don't want me to, like usual. But I'll even be quiet and keep to myself."

He groaned with exasperation, rubbing at his neck with his free hand.

"I don't think it's a good idea."

Her smile completely melted away then, replaced by a tight-lipped expression of sadness and frustration.

"It's not fair that all of your other friends get to still hang out with you but I'm just like... nothing now," she complained quietly.

"Well, we were never friends, so-"

"We were friends!" she snapped at him, clutching her phone tightly in her fist, "You didn't want to be but we were! And we were close friends and partners! You can't fault me for being sad that that's gone!"

He didn't respond, just shook his head. And they stood still for a minute or two, listening to the wind rustle the trees. Her staring at him. Him looking anywhere but at her face.

"Why can't you just fucking leave me alone?" he ground out through clenched teeth.

Surprised- and a little hurt- by his question, she was momentarily silent, watching as her feet shifted on the ground now.

"I just... want you to stop hating me," she finally answered, her mouth drawing down into a pained frown.

He unclenched his jaw and sighed, a resigned look coming over his features.

"You know I can't hate you, pink cheeks."

Ochako's face warmed, not having heard any of his pet-names for her in weeks. She gazed up at him but he was still looking away.

"So... you're not angry at me?"

"Fuck! Stop!" he growled, hands raking through his spiky blonde hair "I just don't want to see you. You have to leave me alone!"

"And I just want us to be friends and partners again! I want to train with you again! I want us to just be okay!"

"We're not ever just gonna be okay, floaty," he said soberly.

"Why not? I understand how you feel about me, Ka- Bakugo," she said, twisting her hands together, "I still want to hang out with you if you're okay hanging out with me. I'm not scared. It doesn't bother me! I just want... how we used to beback."

He sighed again and rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

"I know I don't have the right to ask you to just put your feelings aside for us to be friends again so you're allowed to just say no but... just so you know, I miss it. A lot" she murmured, picking at the sleeve of her pajamas now as she watched his face.

His expression went stony when he gave his response, "You're right. You don't have a right to ask me that shit. But you did. And I'd say 'yes' if it was just me. I could handle my own feelings- For fuck's sake, I've been doing it for years."

He paused here, looking away toward the ground and she saw his jaw flex as he mulled over his next words

"But I can't be near you, knowing that you want me too and just pretending like it's not true."

Ochako flinched back like he'd slapped her, feeling like ice water was being poured down her spine.

"Bakugo... I-"

"Don't fucking bother, floaty," he cut her off finally meeting her eyes with a look of utter ferocity, "I know what you're gonna say so just pretend like you've already said it and I've told you you're an idiot and we've moved on."

He shifted, swapping the shopping bag from one hand to the other.

"More shit will just happen with us and as much as I can't stand that goddamn loser, I'm not gonna put you in a situation to do something you'll regret."

Her chest tightened, a weight beginning to settle there. She didn't know how to respond to this. She didn't want to have to reject him again. Why was he so certain that she loved him? Why couldn't he accept that their friendship was what mattered most to her?

She did her best to perk up, not wanting to keep seeming sad any time she was alone with him. That wasn't the case, even when he was acting so jerky.

She gave him the best smile she could muster and shrugged, "I had to try. And I'll keep trying until you stop being such an ass."

Katsuki snorted, twisting his neck in irritation, "Floaty..."

Activating her quirk on herself, Ochako slowly floated into the air, back toward her balcony, using the side of the building to guide her.

Katsuki just went back to his business, carrying his groceries inside.

The next day, Ochako went about her usual routine. Getting up, showering, stretching, breakfast and walking to class with Deku, and sitting down at her desk, giving a courteous greeting to Iida who returned it with his usual polite "Good morning, Uraraka-kun!".

Then she gave a brief and overly formal, "Good morning, Bakugo-kun." to Katsuki and went to sit at her desk.

"Morning, floaty," he said mildly, not looking her way, his chin resting in his palm.

Ochako halted, a spike of excitement rushing through her.

Don't say anything! Don't say anything! Don't you grin at him! STOP! she tried to talk herself down but she had a hard time of it.

She clamped her lips shut and got out her notebook, finding the notes in her notebook far more interesting than anything else going on around her.

From her peripheral vision, she noticed Deku twisted back a little in his seat, not quite far enough to be looking at her and she glanced up at him.

He was eyeing Katsuki with suspicion, not doing much to hide it, while Katsuki blatantly ignored him.

Before she was able to say anything, though, Aizawa-sensei came through the door, already talking about what they'd be doing today.

By the time she got back from her work study that evening, she forgot all about the weird expression on Deku's face, especially when he welcomed her back with a sweet kiss, more passionate than usual.

Katsuki was kind of warmer to her from then on. Nothing like he had been before. He still refused to be around her for more than a handful of seconds if he could help it. But he spoke words to her, greeted her every day, even threw a blast her way during a training exercise that made her shriek in surprise, then float a huge boulder and kick it his way, causing multiple people to scatter and glare at her while she apologized profusely.

Deku was more affectionate in the week leading up to Valentine's Day, kissing her for longer, brushing a hand across hers when they sat together to study, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Ochako was starting to think he might've finally stopped being afraid of her after their disaster of an encounter in his bedroom weeks back. Maybe Nate had been right. Go slow, starve him out. It seemed to be working.

The last boyfriend she'd had was in elementary school and, obviously, it was just more of her saying "I like you" to her classmate and her classmate saying "I like you too" and them holding hands until he tried to use her paints for an art project and she floated him to the ceiling until he cried.

This was her first real relationship and she didn't know exactly what she was doing. All she had to go on was the few near sexual encounters she'd had with Katsuki to tell her how she was supposed to be intimate with Deku but then he'd said that was way too fast for him.

It hadn't felt too fast for her. She liked expressing her desires outright. So holding back, trying not to scare him again, had been something she was slowly figuring out. And now her patience seemed to be paying off.

"Ok ladies," Mina said one night while all the girls were sitting around the common area drinking tea Momo had made for them, "Valentine's Day is coming up. We need to talk about what we're gonna do for the boys."

Jiro squinted at her like she was speaking another language she couldn't understand, "What do you mean 'do for the boys'?"

"It's our last year here!" Mina explained, "Then we're all gonna go off and be doing different things. We might never see each other again! So I thought maybe we, as the girls of the class, should make chocolate for all of the boys in the class. You know, to make them feel appreciated."

"You're saying I have to help make chocolate for Mineta?" Momo said with a look of mild disgust.

Mina sighed, "Yes, Mineta too, unfortunately. But let's make his small."

The other girls nodded in agreement.

"What about Ochako-chan?" Tsuyu asked, bringing all their attention to her.

Ochako started, "M-me?"

"Yeah," Mina agreed, "Ochako-chan, you should make something special for Midoriya-kun. You two are the only ones in class who are a couple."

Ochako had hardly even considered Valentine's Day. She'd been so busy with studying and working at Hawks' agency three days a week that it had slipped her mind.

"I'll figure something out for him," she assured them.

They accepted this response and made plans on who should get what so they would be able to make chocolates the following day, as Valentine's Day was only the day after tomorrow.

So the next day, the girls made the chocolates, making Mineta's extra small special for him. (They had to draw straws on who would be giving it to him and, thankfully, Ochako did not get saddled with that job. Although, she did feel bad for Momo.)

Ochako decided to make lunch for him in order to change things up a little bit. She knew he liked pork cutlet bowls so she did her best to make him a bento he would enjoy.

And then it was Valentine's Day.

Ochako met up with Deku in the morning as usual and handed him the bento she'd spent an hour working on the night before.

"I know you like pork cutlet bowls," she said, her cheeks heating with the way his eyes lit up, "So I did my best with this."

Deku took it with excitement on every plane of his boyish face, "It's awesome, Ochako-chan. I'm sure it's delicious."

He gave her a quick peck on the lips, then they walked to class hand in hand and discussed what hijinks people might get up to that day.

As the female class rep, Ochako was the one who had to head to the front of class that day and explain to everyone (her cheeks flaming) what the girls had done for the rest of the boys and that they were going to pass chocolate out to all of them.

All the boys looked surprised and excited, especially Mineta and Kaminari who cheered and made these gross faces like they were fantasizing something she never wanted to consider in her entire life. Poor Momo.

Ochako returned to her seat to pass out the chocolates she'd agreed to.

As the other girls moved around the classroom, she handed the few she had to the people around her.

She handed a box to Deku who gave her a wide smile and accepted it gratefully.

She handed one to Iida who gave an extremely formal thanks.

She placed one on Katsuki's desk and rummaged around in her bag for more, knowing she still had a couple for Koda (who sat behind her) and Kaminari, who sat behind Katsuki.

Finally finding the two boxes and twisting in her seat to give them to each of the boys, them thanking her in turn, she turned back to start getting out her notebooks for class and nearly jumped out of her skin when she caught a glimpse of Katsuki leering at her, a dark expression on his face.

Even when she fully faced him, giving him a look of wary confusion, he still kept his eyes on her, pinning her down with his stare.

"What, is something wrong?" she asked quietly behind her hand as Aizawa-sensei entered the room and demanded they all settle down.

Katsuki lifted his brows minutely and shifted his gaze to the box sitting on his desk. The chocolate.

He looked back at her, his eyes smoldering from under his lashes, jaw tightening.

I don't recall him hating chocolate, she considered to herself, Maybe he feels uncomfortable with it coming from me...

She frowned at him, still feeling deeply confused.

Then it hit her like a freight train and her eyes widened, her face going completely red.

"If you give me chocolate for Valentine's Day, I'll give you the gift of letting you watch me and not just listen at the door..."

Ochako's heart went into overdrive as she unknowingly squeezed her thighs together under her desk. But that had been before...

She glared over at him. He was still watching her. Seeing that she got it now, he tilted his head at her as though he were a predator sizing up prey.

She knew the furious blush across her cheeks undermined her but she shook her head at him as discreetly as she could, trying to keep Aizawa-sensei from noticing.

His expression didn't change as he gave her a once-over, his eyes glowing a little brighter.

She shook her head again and her eyes lit on the box once more, giving her an idea.

Trying to make it seem like she'd shifted her attention back to Aizawa, Ochako slowly moved her hand toward the edge of her desk.

When Aizawa turned his back for just a moment, she reached out to grab at the box, still sitting untouched on Katsuki's desk.

But he took it first!

He palmed it and shoved it in his jacket pocket then glanced back at her giving her a look as if to say, "Really? You thought I was serious?"

Realizing that she had been a complete idiot to think he was seriously going to try anything with her after how he'd been acting for the past month and a half, she sent him a withering look and tried to sooth her nerves.

She hadn't realized it but she'd been shaking, and she was just now noticing how her pen trembled in her hand as she picked it up to start taking notes.

Her heart was still hammering in her chest and she felt hot all over. Katsuki still had that effect on her and she hated it. She was only supposed to see Deku like that now! Why didn't her body get the message?!

Biting her lip, she chanced another glimpse over at Katsuki but he was facing away from her now, paying attention to whatever it was Aizawa-sensei was saying (she had absolutely no clue), and eating the chocolate they'd made.

He broke off a small piece and placed it lightly on his tongue, then pulled it back into his mouth and chewed on it. Then he did the same with the next piece.

Ochako quickly looked away again, her cheeks still hot. She didn't even allow her brain to think whatever it was trying to think.

But, soon enough, White Day came around one month later.

Time was passing so quickly in her final term and Ochako couldn't figure out how to stop it. Final exams, the pro-hero exams, and graduation were coming up faster and faster.

Aizawa-sensei and All Might were pushing them harder than ever, their classes becoming rigorous day in and day out. They practiced drills, fighting, negotiating, teamwork, ultimate abilities. Everything they learned over the course of their years at UA.

Ochako had finally needed to inform Hawks that her work study was coming to an end and she would be an actual pro-hero soon. He'd been pleased to hear it, though and preemptively offered her a job to come work for him whenever she wanted. She'd thanked him for all of his tutelage and mentorship. In the end, it turned out that she'd come to enjoy working at his agency just as much as Mt. Lady's.

Her friendship with Katsuki only got minimally better. For one, he looked at her now, sometimes even when he was talking to her. There were even times he didn't look like he was tired of her existence when he brought his eyes to hers. He called her floaty and pink-cheeks every so often but she never heard angel-face again. She assumed that had meant something special to him.

Overall he'd warmed up to her somewhat and she felt optimistic that they might be able to repair the hurt that had come between them. Possibly be real friends again. Although she doubted their Grav Burst would ever see the light of day again.

She didn't know how or why he had started shifting toward being more comfortable around her finally. Something about her talk with him the night she'd offered the phone to him must have changed his mind about it. She couldn't figure out what it might've been, though.

Nothing had really changed with her and Deku. They were still doing the same things. Holding hands, occasionally kissing, walking to class together. Sometimes he'd even walk her to the train station when she was headed out to her work study.

He had invited her to his room again at one point, but they had sat on opposite sides of the room from each other and it had been so painfully awkward that she wasn't sure she ever wanted to see the inside of his room again.

So on White Day, Ochako felt a certain amount of shock when Deku had asked her to come to his room after dinner. During lunch, he'd given her another charm for the bracelet he'd gotten for her birthday and had told her then.

Ochako had agreed and was now riding up the elevator, right after dinner, to see what this big surprise was. She felt nervous, almost scared. Being in his room had not gone well practically any time she ever went up there and now she was going to try it again? Her stomach turned, feeling worse now that she'd just eaten.

She approached his door and was about to knock when a large, rough hand gripped her wrist, pulling her away and down the hall.

Startled and somewhat flustered, Ochako glanced up to find Katsuki with his hand wrapped around her wrist, dragging her toward his room at the other end of the hall.

With her free hand, she gripped his arm, trying to wrench his hand away as he dragged her step by step.

"Bakugo, what are you doing?" she hissed at him as quietly as she could, her heart rate picking up with each step she took closer to the door at the end of the hall.

Her pulls on his arm did nothing to slow him and she gave up halfway, letting him throw her into his room, shutting the door soundly behind him.

She stood in the middle of the floor, trying not to touch anything, and looked around.

His room was dark, the curtains drawn and only his desk lamp lighting the space. It was oddly subdued with minimal decoration, kinda like her own. She'd expected wall to wall death metal posters or something of the sort. Instead, he hung his costume up over near his bed and there was a calendar near his door and that was about it.

And it was clean. No clothing or papers scattered on the floor, his bed was made, his shoes lined up. The messiest part of the whole room was his desk which looked like he'd been studying or working on a paper.

"You ready?" a deep sultry voice rumbled, still near the door.

Ochako whirled around to see Katsuki's gaze focused solely on her, his ruby eyes ignited with mischief.

A wave of heat rushed through her body, starting from her sternum, fanning out through her limbs and up her neck.

He took a step toward her and she took one back.

He frowned at her action, "You're actually backing down from me?"

Ochako refused to answer, knowing that her voice would betray how much her body was trembling right now

He stepped toward her again and she took another step back.

They did this a couple more times, his blazing eyes never leaving hers for a second, until she hit the sliding door onto the balcony, covered by curtains.

With nowhere else to go, Ochako gripped the curtains in both fists behind her, trying to still the shaking in her hands.

He still advanced on her.

"Bakugo, I said n-no!" she finally blurted out. She'd been right, it had come out weak and shaky. "You don't have to keep your promise about the... you know... gift for White Day."

He still advanced on her, those molten irises burning into her, never allowing her even a second to breathe.

"S-stop!" she said shrilly, pressing her back as firmly as she could against the curtains.

Who was this person? Where had the cold, distant, barely-warming-up-to-her Katsuki gone? What had gotten into him?

Was he really going to keep the promise he'd made to her on her birthday all over some obligatory chocolate?

Was he really going to... touch... himself? Right in front of her?

She swallowed hard as he came to a stop a couple feet away from her. He seemed so much taller right now, his frame looming over her, staring intently at her as she trembled under the pressure of his gaze.

She couldn't help it, she couldn't stop herself. Her eyes darted to his groin for just a fraction of a second, before looking up at him again, her lips parting as her breath became more labored.

Katsuki's eyes flared and looked ravenous before he backed up, shaking his head.

"I'm fucking with you, floaty," he teased with a smirk, "You should see your face, though."

Ochako blinked twice then flushed a deep shade of red, sending him a scathing look.

He walked to his desk and pulled a box out of a drawer, handing it to her and she turned it around to look at the label. It was mochi, her favorite snack.

"That's the kind you like," he said matter-of-factly like there was no question.

He was right, though, it was the kind she liked. One simple sweet gift for another. He was just returning the favor of the gift she'd given him Valentine's day.

A jumble of emotions churned inside of her. She was pissed he'd just played a joke on her like that. And part of the reason she was pissed was because the tiniest tiniest tiniest part of her had been anticipating it from the moment she'd felt his hand around her wrist.

Yet another part of her was touched that he'd gotten her something and remembered all of the times she'd picked up snacks like this from convenience stores.

Lastly, she was happy. He'd done something just now that old Katsuki would do. The one that wouldn't push her away. The one that wasn't afraid to touch her or tease her. It gave her hope that one day soon, they would be that way again.

"You... are an asshole," she sassed him, still blushing profusely but clearly faking a pout on her face.

"Yeah," he said with complete indifference to the fact, "but you like it."

"No!" she argued, "I don't! You could've just given these to me at school! Instead you just wanted to see how much you could make me blush!"

Quirking an eyebrow at her, he fixed her with a stare, "You think I don't already know how much I can make you blush, pink-cheeks?"

Ochako swallowed again and chewed at her lip. She was still pressed as far as she could up against the glass door, unsure of how to go about moving away. Unsure if it would even be wise to move toward him at this moment. And he was between her and the door.

He moved toward her again, slowly, hesitant.

"I would've, you know," he said, his voice low and velvety, "Kept my promise."

"I-I know," she replied, feeling breathless. The way he was talking to her felt so familiar. The boy she missed. Not afraid to just say whatever he was thinking, even if it was lewd or embarrassing for her.

His eyes travelled down to the dress she'd changed into after school, fixating on the hem almost as if he was remembering, as she was now, what it had been like to run his fingers under that skirt and slide them up her thighs.

Suddenly she realized just how alone they were. There were no distractions, no parents or bosses, nothing to stop them this time. And when his heated eyes came up to meet hers again, she thought she might be swept away in the intensity of them.

She had to remember to breathe. Inhale, Ochako. Exhale.

Then she jolted, remembering what she had been up here for in the first place.

"I have to go," she breathed, still trying to inhale and exhale properly, "Deku's waiting for me."

And just like that, the spell was broken. Katsuki pulled back and moved from in front of her, saying nothing but motioning his head to tell her she was free to go.

Ochako raced for the door, not looking back at him, feeling a certain amount of emptiness as she passed through the doorway and into the hall again, shutting the door behind her.

Fuckfuckfuck, her mind said to her, still reeling from whatever had just happened in there.

She walked back to Deku's door and just as she was about to knock again, the door in front of her opened.

"Oh Ochako-chan!" he said, looking surprised, "I was about to come get you. I thought you might've forgotten or something."

Ochako heaved a sigh of relief. If she'd been just a little further down the hall or if he'd come out and not been able to find her...

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at the box of mochi in her hands.

"O-Oh, it's not much, I just like mochi so I thought..."

"Yeah, it's your favorite snack isn't it? Did you bring some to share?" he asked kindly.

"Sure," she said, giving him a warm smile and walking into his room after he moved to let her in.

Entering his room, it didn't look any different from how it had the last time she'd been in it. Nothing had changed and nothing was noticeably sitting out to catch her eye. Maybe he had a gift for her that was small? More jewelry perhaps? It seemed weird that he'd think jewelry was the best gift for a hero, though, even if she was a girl.

"So what's the big surprise?" she looked at him quizzically, a hopeful smile on her mouth.

He put a warm palm on her cheek and gazed lovingly into her eyes with those verdant green irises.

"This," he said before kissing her passionately, vigorously.

Ochako barely had a chance to react before he was driving his tongue into her mouth hungrily and it was all she could do to keep up with how hasty his actions were.

He broke the kiss for just a moment and took the box from her, setting it on his desk. Then he stepped toward her again, determination in his eyes, and her breath caught as he took her in his arms again and resumed kissing her with urgency, his mouth devouring her own. She had to admit, for a boy who'd never kissed anyone before, Deku was a good kisser.

They fell back on his bed and he settled on top of her, his weight gently pushing her into the mattress.

The way his hands kept caressing her hip gave her butterflies in her stomach.

Deku's gift to her was being more intimate for once. They were finally progressing! Maybe the curse of this damnable bedroom was finally over!

Deku's hand dragged lower toward her hip. Then lower still, until he was, quite boldly, lifting her skirt and putting a hand on her thigh, caressing ever upwards.

Ochako jumped suddenly, breaking the kiss and pushing his hand away as though it had stung her. She sucked in a ragged breath and looked around for a moment like she might be able to find something, or someone, else in the room.

"Ochako-chan?" Deku asked, concern in his eyes.

When Deku's hand had slid up her thigh, all she had been able to feel was Katsuki's hand slowly inching its way up under her skirt.

"I knew what I wanted to do the moment I saw you in this skirt," his voice had sounded in her head.

She felt sick to her stomach.

Shaking violently, Ochako pulled away from Deku, sliding out from under him.

"I'm so sorry, Deku," she said, her voice quaking as she spoke, "I'm all of a sudden feeling really sick and I don't know if it's a good idea if we do this tonight. Thank you so much for doing this for me, though. It means a lot. I'm just... not feeling well. I should go. Bye."

And she grabbed the box from his desk and zipped out the door before he even had time to respond.

The next day was Saturday but Aizawa-sensei called them out to Ground Gamma in their gym suits to do a training exercise anyway.

"You all need to get as much training in as you can. This is your last week here. You've got final academic exams Monday through Wednesday and your pro-hero license exams are going to be Thursday and Friday. This is essentially the last training session you're going to get in under my instruction so you better do the best you possibly can. I don't want to see anyone taking short measures," he said, looking each student in the face.

Ochako listened to him explain the parameters of the race they would be running today ("winner gets nothing but everyone's admiration") and thought back on how embarrassing every moment of the previous night had been. The curse of that room was definitely not broken.

She'd been so embarrassed that she'd done her best to hide from Deku all morning, hoping to not have to explain herself or have him ask if she was okay.

Uuuugh! What was wrong with her?! Probably her last chance in a while to be intimate with Deku and she messed it all up with her wacky feelings! It was probably partially Katsuki's fault having dragged her into his room right before.

She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed at them with her fists, trying to cleanse her brain of the utter humiliation of it all.

"Alright class, you know what to do. Get to your rescue dummy by any means necessary. They're all in the same place so just grab one. You don't get extra points for more dummies. First person to bring one back here unscathed wins."

Ochako was feeling confident about this. She probably even had an advantage, considering her quirk was practically made for a challenge like this.

"Floaty," she heard Katsuki's rough voice say as he strode up to stand beside her at the starting line, "You ready to race?"

Ochako looked up at him, her heart warming that he was acting... like him today.

She gave him a smirk.

"I am. Sorry, I can't help you today by reducing your weight. I assume that's why you came here? You'll have to use your own abilities to try and win today. Cuz I'll be in front of you no matter what."

He nudged her as she stretched out one of her leg muscles, sending her stumbling a couple paces into Tsuyu next to her.

After apologizing profusely, she shot him a glare, which he responded to with lifted brows, his head tilted, challenging her to do something back.

Nah, she thought, I'll just beat your ass.

The class was ready.

"Start," Aizawa-sensei announced and Ochako didn't even look around, just shot forward like a jet, jumping from pipe to pipe as she reached them.

They hadn't been told ahead of time where the dummies were, but had been given a sensor that would begin to vibrate faster as they got closer to them.

She raced forward, forward, forward, hearing the rocket-like blast of Katuski's explosions as he was none too far behind her.

At some point she left those blasts behind or he had gone in another direction.

As she entered the center of Ground Gamma, under the huge tower she'd begun last term's exam with Katuski on, she felt a pulse at her hip, where she'd stored the sensor.

She halted, looking around.

The pulse was still weak, coming very far apart, but this was the first time she'd felt it at all.

Scanning the area, she chose to go in the direction of a grouping of warehouses. It made the most sense. 20 dummies gotta fit somewhere.

But as she neared them, the pulses stopped and there was no longer any vibration at her hip.

She circled back, trying another direction, toward some construction sites.

It stopped near there as well.

Coming back, once again, to the center of Ground Gamma, she looked around, wondering where these dummies could be hidden.

Then she looked up.

For crying out loud, she was a complete idiot.

There was an easy way for her to test if they were up in the tower. She zeroed out her weight and pushed off the ground, flying into the sky and catching a beam.

The vibration increased.

Yes, she thought to herself, excited to have been one of the first to figure it out, seeing as how no one else was around.

Ochako, floated herself up and up and up until the sensor at her hip was vibrating almost continually. She was at the top, where she'd jumped off with Katsuki before. It was an observation deck.

There sat the dummies, all lined up in a row. And there was Katsuki, grabbing the first of them and hoisting it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Ochako glared at him as he looked up at her, coming over the railing and releasing her weight.

"Running late, floaty," he said with a tone of superiority, giving her a sadistic smirk.

"Oh?" she asked as she bent, pretending to take one, then quickly turned and pushed him as she floated both him and his dummy.

He growled in irritation as she tied her jacket like a papoose around her back for her dummy, "You little- You think this is gonna work on me?"

He set off a blast upward, to navigate toward her.

"I've been doing this weightless for months, pink-cheeks."

As he was about to reach her, she released his weight, sending him crashing into the floor. He glared up at her as she floated her dummy and jumped off the side of the tower, dropping hundreds and hundreds of feet down and lightening her own weight all the while so she landed very softly and gracefully on the ground.

By this time, more of her classmates had realized the dummies were in the tower and some were crowding the elevators, while others attempted to scale the building.

They all stopped to watch as she landed, then raced toward the exit, closely followed by Katuski, far less graceful, and far more pissed.

Ochako dashed toward the finish like it would save her life.

She heard the blasts of Katsuki, close behind her and she pushed further, harder, racing faster than she ever thought possible.

She hardly even registered tubes and buildings streaking past her.

Then she was out of Ground Gamma, Aizawa-sensei, right in front of her only yards away.

She felt something brush her ponytail, but she put it out of her mind and pushed forward, finally releasing her weight and her dummy's as she slid to a stop in front of her teacher.

His eyebrows lifted.

"Looks like you're first, Uraraka," then he shifted his bloodshot eyes behind her, "It was pretty close, Bakugo."

Ochako spun to see Katsuki standing just behind her, dropping his dummy on the ground none too gently.

She was about to scold him that these dummies were supposed to symbolize real people, when more of her classmates began to show up.

First Deku, then Iida, slid to a stop in front of her. Then, Todoroki, closely followed by Mina and Sero.

Within another 10 minutes, the whole class had reassembled and turned their dummies back in.

"Took everyone less than an hour," Aizawa announced, "Not too bad. I suppose you won't completely humiliate the school at your hero license exam. Take the rest of the weekend off. Study. Ace. Your. Exams."

Then, he went to walk away.

"Sensei, who won?" Toru asked, seeming to be lifting her hand.

"Oh? That really mattered to you? Okay then, Uraraka did. Congrats, have a good weekend."

And with that, he took off.

The whole class turned to look at Ochako, then burst out in cheers and pats on the back.

"You've become like... a total badass this year, Ochako-chan," Mina said with awe.

"Yeah! I'm really impressed by all the amazing things I've seen you do. It's crazy," Toru, exclaimed as both girls hugged her tightly

"Thanks guys," she said with immense gratitude as she pulled back and looked around at the people milling about as the two girls went off to talk with a couple of the other girls, leaving her to her own devices.

Ochako's eyes went from person to person in the small crowd, searching.

Finally, she alighted on a pair of glowing scarlet eyes that seemed to capture her in their warmth and a small jolt of electricity zipped through her.

She grinned widely at him, wanting him to be proud of her, excited for her, something.

His eyes, still locked on her from a few yards away, sparked to life and the corner of each side of his mouth curled up, making her chest ache.

He was genuinely smiling at her again. Finally.

And then her heart stopped. She froze where she stood and stared into those eyes, warming for her, seeing her.

Her grin fell away from her face and she felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes as her chest compressed and still she couldn't break from that searing gaze.

His smile faded away too as he saw the realization forming in her eyes and those glowing orbs softened toward her.

He nodded at her just once, his face becoming less guarded by the second.

"Oh god," Ochako breathed quietly as her heart continued to be squeezed until it was physically painful.

I'm in love with Bakugo Katsuki, she finally admitted to herself.

She knew he could already see her realization as well.

What do I do? she asked inwardly. But, for once, her mind quieted and had nothing more to say.

Notes:

A/N: SO MANY NOTES ON THIS CHAPTER!

#1: Can you tell I REALLY enjoyed writing this chapter? This was about to be two chapters but yall need your dramaz and some content to tide you over as I might take a little longer to come out with the chapter after next cuz I'm starting a new job and I have orders from my Etsy shop I gotta catch up on and I'm moving across the country in less than a month so shit is WILD and I've just been existing with 4 hours of sleep every night making this fic happen.

#2: I'm sorry if what happened between Ochako and Deku was upsetting for anyone, since we're all Kacchako fans here. BUT, this story was never made for you to hate Deku. He's adrift on the river of his feels as well. Her indecision between Deku and Bakugo is meant to be something you also feel, even while rooting for Kacchako endgame. She has real feelings for Deku, even while she has far more intense and overwhelming ones for Bakugo. She's also just a dirty girl and I wanted to write a scene where she completely overpowers his ass.

#3: I kinda made it seem like Deku being all uncomfortable and almost prudish was like.. a bad thing? But that's not at all what I'm trying to say! BE SEXUAL AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE AS YOU WANT! But two people not being sexually compatible can also be a really huge strain on a relationship and that's more what I'm getting at here.

Chapter 22: Interlude

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Bakugo Katsuki

Her legs were wrapped around his waist, hands gripping his shoulders, breathing heavily— excitedly— in his ear. He loved when she did that. He loved it when she laughed or when she cried out in ecstasy as well.

Unfortunately, she only did these things while riding his back for their Grav Burst at the moment. But he didn't mind. Feeling her body pressed so close to his was both heavenly and torturous beyond belief.

A week ago she had suggested trying this move after thinking about how well they'd worked together to save Nate.

Nate, the poor bastard, who had been obviously smitten with him since day one.

But he couldn't bring himself to hold contempt for the man no matter how idiotic and naive he was. Guarding him had given Katsuki a second chance with her. A chance to do things differently if he could just make her see that he wasn't a complete piece of shit.

Too bad you are a complete piece of shit, his mind supplied.

But he wouldn't be, he kept telling himself. He wouldn't be to her.

He had hardly been able to believe his fortune when she'd walked into that office behind Mt. Lady. And again, when she'd asked him— as if it weren't he who needed to be begging— if he could go back to picking on her rather than ignoring her. She didn't even realize that she knew exactly how to make him feel like the worst kind of asshole.

She grunted softly as she shifted her hips to a more comfortable position and his mind was thrown back to that night. That night she'd practically attacked him. The night she'd put his hands on her body and told him to do dirty things to her, things that made him feel like he was burning alive with desire.

That was twice now she'd kissed him. Those kisses told him more than she ever let her words say, although she had said quite a lot that night. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He saw it in her eyes every time they argued, every time she bit her lip as she watched a bead of sweat roll down his neck.

And if all he'd wanted was her gorgeous body, he would've had it by now. He still didn't know how he'd managed to tell her no when she'd demanded, not once but twice, to fuck her senseless. He had to have been in some kind of ultimate zen state because god knew if she even said it now, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

But more than that, more than wanting her to roll her hips against his and cry out in pleasure, he wanted her heart.

He wanted to see her light up when she saw his face. He wanted her to interlace her fingers with his and hug his arm to her chest. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and feel her whole body melt into his.

"Bakugo!" Uraraka yelled at him and he came suddenly back to his senses.

He hadn't quite gotten the hang of course correction yet and his lack of attention had caused them to veer off course. He overcorrected and they did something like a barrel roll and broke apart.

Fortunately Uraraka's quirk still affected them so they didn't immediately crash to the ground, but without a means of propulsion to stop her, she went flying and didn't stop until she hit a tree, releasing her quirk and dropping them both to the ground then.

He rushed to her limp form and kneeled next to her, lightly touching her back.

In his mind he panicked, worried she might have even hit her head or broken a bone. He wanted to pick her up, check her for injuries, make her swear to never try this stupid idea again.

But, instead, all he did was keep his hand at her back and said, "Get up, floaty. We're not done."

She stirred under his touch and lifted her head, not appearing to be injured aside from scrapes and probably a massive bruise on her back later.

"Ugh, what happened?" she asked, shooting him an accusing glare.

"What do you mean what happened?" he shot back, acting affronted, "You shifted your body and we toppled."

Was he really blaming her for his own fuck up? Yep.

Sure, she'd shifted her hips, but he'd lost his concentration because of it. He wasn't going to admit to that, though.

She scowled at him, "That's going to happen. I can't just stay still as a statue. You have to figure out a way to adjust for these things."

He gritted his teeth, "I'm working on it, floaty."

"I'm not saying you aren't," she defended herself, "I'm just saying you can't blame me. We just have to keep working."

I don't blame you, he thought.

"Let's go again," she said, pushing herself up off the ground and dusting herself off as best she could.

He didn't want to. He wanted her to relax for the rest of the day. This had been their worst "crash" yet. They'd been at this for hours.

What he allowed himself to say was, "We can stop if you need a break." as he rose to his feet as well. But, of course, it came out like a taunt. He didn't know if he was even capable of sounding sympathetic at this point.

She didn't look offended, though. She smirked at him like she took it as a challenge.

"Thanks, Bakugo, but we've still got a lot to do," she said as she moved around to his back and put her hands on his shoulders to activate her quirk.

He let her touch affect him for half a second, then went back to work.

"Kacchan."

Ugh, Deku... Great...

Katsuki turned back on his walk from class to see his former friend, his rival in herowork and for Ochako's affections it would seem.

It had been almost two weeks since his completely idiotic and humiliating confession to her in which he had not only let slip that he loved her, but for how long he'd been obsessing over her. He'd foolishly insisted that she loved him back. He knew she did. He'd seen it. He'd felt it. He knew. But she wasn't ready to face that yet and he'd pushed it on her. Then, to finish it all off, he'd yelled at her. Scared her for the first time since the beginning of the school year.

Just thinking back on that moment now made him want to punch himself in the face. What a goddamn dumbass.

And now every moment she'd talked to him since then, he'd been a complete asshole to her.

Today was a work study day for her. Not so for him or Deku, who were now both working at the same hero agency, albeit most assuredly not together. At least Endeavor got when rivals didn't want to be near each other.

Having to deal with his whiny ass was enough to make him regret having quit Hawks' agency. But being alone with her right now was not a good idea.

"What do you want, loser?" he grumbled, smirking inwardly that Deku was, in fact, the loser after yesterday.

Deku frowned at him.

Hm. This was serious.

"Ochako told me what happened with you and her on New Year's last night," he said slowly, carefully.

Ah yes, last night, when she'd nearly walked right into him at the elevator, with her face all flushed and her lips swollen like she'd just gotten done with a pretty intense make-out session. Seeing her that way, looking up at him with those shocked and apprehensive doe eyes had immediately pulled at his loins and he'd struggled to remain in control. He'd wished with all of his heart, he could've taken her right there.

She had clearly just emerged from Deku's room and she hadn't really told him what had happened. But she had told him what hadn't happened and he'd put enough pieces together to get that Deku had been too much of a pussy to try anything with her.

More's the better for him, though. Katsuki knew she liked the intensity and passion of being sexually aggressive. Deku didn't have it in him.

"What about it?" he asked nonchalantly, "I told you before, I want her. I never stopped trying to get her. She wants me too, ya know. You're just confusing her, getting in the way like I told you not to do."

Deku's eyes blazed with outrage.

"She's not your toy Kacchan. You can't just take her from me. And she's my girlfriend now. I know she told you that we were together and you fought with her about it because you didn't want your little occasional trysts to end."

Well, I guess she really didn't tell you everything about New Year's after all, Katsuki thought. He was actually grateful for that, though. The last thing he needed was for Deku to not only have the girl he wanted, but to look at him pityingly while he did.

Deku had also just confirmed that she had, in fact, told him about the few times she had let her desire for him come out.

She was brave, he had to admit. She was trying at this fluke of a relationship. But choosing Deku had still been the dumb choice.

It killed him to see her right now. Not just because she had rejected him but because she was so goddamn heartbroken over it too. Every time she swung those chestnut eyes his way, he could see how sad she really was. It made him so irrationally furious that he tried most days to do his best to keep from having to meet eyes with her while also not completely ignoring her since he knew how much it had hurt her for him to do it before.

And when she talked about it, she would just say it was because she missed his friendship; she missed being partners.

Why couldn't she see that her feelings for him weren't just friendly? Why couldn't she just figure out that she was feeling so down because she wanted him?

He scowled at the green-haired boy facing him now, "You're one to talk, Deku. You waited all this time to make a move because you were scared she might not want you anymore."

"I always wanted her!" Deku snapped back at him, "I just thought it would be a bad idea at school! We have to focus on studying and being heroes that take other people's lives into their own hands every single day! I had farther to go than most of you! I have farther to go still!"

Katsuki watched him, eyes unsympathetic. "If that's the case, why are you with her now?"

"Because I'm not going to just let you use her and hurt her! I love her for crying out loud, Kacchan," Deku proclaimed, his eyes beginning to glow with a green light, indicating One for All was running through his veins.

Katsuki's eyes narrowed at him, unbothered, "She's a big girl, Deku. She doesn't need you to watch over her. I think what you're really afraid of is if I don't hurt her. If I make her happy, she won't want you anymore."

He leaned in closer to Deku to speak lower, "That's why it messed you up so bad that she went out of her way to keep working with me. She had so much fun over the summer, that she wanted to keep having fun when we went back to school. It really did surprise you that we were actually a good team, didn't it? I wonder if that fucked you up more or if you really meant it that you wanted to be friends again."

Katsuki knew he was being antagonistic. He didn't care. He had to watch her fawning over Deku a hundred times more than ever now. Deku was lucky he wasn't trying to blast his face off at this very moment. Fortunately for him, beating his ass at the fight yesterday while simultaneously showing Ochako how dumb Deku acted when he got upset over her had been extremely cathartic for him.

He saw Deku's tether to his patience snap and the usually mild-mannered boy lunged for him.

Katsuki's palm crackled with explosive sparks as he brought it up to meet Deku's attack with his own.

But his palm only met stony flesh as Kirishima stepped in between them, his Unbreakable form mostly protecting him from their initial blows, though he did stumble slightly.

Katsuki backed up a couple steps, as did Deku, his anger slightly more under control now.

"What the hell, guys?" Kirishima turned to each of them, a chastising look in his eyes, "It's like you want to be expelled."

They both looked slightly abashed but still held contempt on their faces as they stared each other down.

"She's trying to be nice to you to patch things up between you and her again," Deku snarled at Katsuki, sounding wholly unlike his usual self, "but stay away from her anyway. Don't touch her. Don't even look at her. She's too-"

He bit off the last sentence he was going to say, because he was just too damn nice for his own good.

But Katsuki knew what it was already. "She's too good for you." He already knew that, though. Hell, his mom even said it, although she'd still told him to go on New Year's despite that.

"I already am, don't fucking act like you're threatening me, Deku," he said through clenched teeth.

"Are you guys seriously fighting over a girl?" Kirishima asked with a look of absolute bafflement, "What ever happened to 'bros before hoes'? Why would you let Uraraka come between-"

Katsuki saw red as he gripped the front of the shitty-hair's uniform.

"Because she fucking matters," he barked out, shoving him into Deku and spinning to resume his trek back to the dorms.

It was still pretty chilly outside the night Katsuki had been traveling back from the convenience store with snacks and Ochako had yelled down at him then jumped in front of his face, smiling her cute little "I'm not up to anything" smile as she asked him to guess who she was on the phone with.

"Not my mom, hopefully," he said, immediately going to the worst case scenario in his head. He could already see his mom smacking him over the head and demanding he do anything to "get that sweet, beautiful girl back." It would just figure that she fell just as in love with Ochako for her son as he had for the girl. He didn't want to have to face his mom ranting at him about it.

But she snorted like he'd told a joke and told him, "It's Nate. Do you want to say hi?"

Nate... What could Nate have to say to him? He lifted an eyebrow in question.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," she said shoving her phone into his hands, "Here."

Katsuki stared down at it for a second, taking note of her little glittery kitten charm dangling from the bottom.

"You can win her over. She's interested. Just give her whatever she asks for. She's not the type who asks for things that don't matter to her," had been the man's last words to him, whispered in his ear as he'd forced a hug on him.

He'd believed that he'd always had a crush on him. And he probably had. But maybe his close observation of Katsuki had been the reason he'd noticed that he, nor anyone else, even had a chance at catching his eye over the sweet little brunette who seemed like his opposite in every way.

That advice had worked for him up until Ochako had idiotically agreed to start dating Deku before she'd been able to figure out her feelings for him. Now he wondered if she ever would.

He couldn't give her anything she asked for now because she was always asking for him to just be her friend again. But he'd never really been a friend to her. Friends didn't think half of the things he did when she was with him.

She didn't understand that if she and he threw away every romantic emotion they had toward each other, their "friendship" would look very different.

"Nate," he said into the receiver, letting the other end know he was on the phone.

"Bakugo! Uh, hi! Uravity just kinda thrust me at you. I hope that's okay. How are you?"

"Okay, I guess," he answered. As if he'd get into the particulars of everything with this guy right now...

"I guess things haven't been going well for you lately?"

"Yeah," that was the understatement of the century.

He looked up at the entire reason things "hadn't been going well." She was wearing her pajamas for the night. Why were cute little child-like pajamas so hot on her? Maybe everything was hot on her... Her face wore a hopefulness that cut him, reminding him that he shouldn't be out here alone with her.

"Uravity told me what all has been happening with you two. I hope that doesn't bother you. It sounded like she had no one else to talk to," Nate said with some trepidation.

"It's fine," he replied.

So none of the other girls knew, thank god. Her mom might know some of it. For fucks sake, her mom was who had told his mom that Ochako might want to see him on New Year's. She'd caught him watching Ochako more often than the movie when he'd visited on her birthday and he'd been mortified but she had actually warmed to him after that. It was still a mystery how he'd managed to win her over and gain her support.

"You know she's completely devastated about this turn of events, right?"

"I know," he answered. It was pretty obvious, even if not to her.

"She's really confused and doesn't even get why she's sad while dating Deku. Apparently she's liked him for a long time but I don't even know if being with him is what she wants. She keeps wanting to treat him like how I imagine she would treat you and doesn't like that he doesn't respond the same way. It's messing her up and probably pretty unfair to him too."

He had nothing to say to that. He had no interest in trying to be empathic toward that scum.

"I take it you're not a big fan of Deku's," Nate asked with a chuckle.

"No shit."

"It sounds like he's pretty jealous of you too and won't admit it, if it makes you feel any better."

It didn't. He still got her after all.

"Well, you already know this, from what she's told me, but I can confirm, she's blind as hell about being in love with you. I don't know how she doesn't see it. This thing with Deku is really eclipsing her ability to think straight."

"I know."

"I assume you took my advice last time so take my advice this time. She's been missing you long enough. Let her back in. I know that it's hard seeing her with someone else but she's not going to get that she wants you if you don't show her why she fell in the first place."

Katsuki rolled his eyes toward the heavens. It was so much more complicated than that. She wanted things to be how they had been before. But how they'd been before was a hair's breadth away from just being together. All that it would've taken was her to say they were. In fact, before she'd gone and said yes to Deku, he was sure they'd been right there. If he'd just been even a few hours earlier...

He couldn't let himself spiral down that rabbit hole again.

"I'll try," was all he could give him.

"You have to fight for her now if you want her, buddy. Hey, I have to go now. It was... nice? to talk to you again. Tell Uravity I said bye."

"Okay," he said with finality, "I will. Bye."

He ended the call and handed her back her phone.

"He said to tell you he had to go and that he says bye."

His nerves were already beginning to rattle now that there wasn't a buffer between them. He needed to find a way out of here.

"You had a nice talk there," she grinned at him.

Fuck.

"Anything you care to share?"

"No," he replied a little too hastily. That was the last thing he cared to do.

"Okay, well... I hope it was a good talk at least," she said, keeping that smile plastered on her face like he couldn't see right through it. Goddammit, this was why he didn't want to see her!

She kept trying to make conversation.

Looking at the bag he was carrying, she asked, "Are you studying with the guys again tonight?"

"Yeah," Katsuki answered shortly, hoping that telling her that would make her let him get on his way.

He should've known better.

"Can I sit in? I know it's not always the most productive atmosphere but it's fun and Deku is training or something right now, so..."

Why did she have to ask him this? Why did she keep pushing at him? The first week back to school, he thought he might be able to make it. He thought he could deal with seeing her walking around with that idiot if she just kept her distance like she had. But then, all of a sudden, she started trying to act like everything was okay with them again. She was nice to him even when he was nothing but cold. Nothing put her off. That was when his real hell had begun.

Deku had said she was trying to "patch things up." But he'd also made it pretty clear he didn't want that happening, although Katsuki was starting to suspect he hadn't told her that...

He narrowed his eyes at her. Why did she always ask him things she knew he would have to refuse her?

"What do you think?"

That fake smile she tried to make him swallow every day cracked, "I guess you don't want me to, like usual. But I'll even be quiet and keep to myself."

He groaned, rubbing at his neck. Did she know just how much he wanted to say yes?

"I don't think it's a good idea," he bit out, doing his best to keep his resolve.

Then she gave up the smile— finally— taking on a much more somber look that he suspected was really what she felt all the time around him.

"It's not fair that all of your other friends get to still hang out with you but I'm just like... nothing now," she spoke quietly.

His jaw tightened, "Well, we were never friends, so-"

"We were friends!" Ochako snapped at him impatiently, looking like she might snap that phone in half, "You didn't want to be but we were! And we were close friends and partners! You can't fault me for being sad that that's gone!"

Katsuki shook his head, feeling exhausted. He didn't fault her. He just didn't believe that was why she was sad. Sure, some small part might be mourning their team but she never would've stayed with him after graduation anyway. Their professional split was going to happen sooner or later. Why not now when everything else was raw as well? Get it all over with at the same time.

He couldn't even look at her when he said, "Why can't you just fucking leave me alone?"

And now he hated himself more as her prolonged silence told him he'd struck a nerve.

"I just... want you to stop hating me," she murmured weakly.

There she went again, knowing exactly what to say to remind him what a humongous asshole he was.

Sighing, he said something he knew he shouldn't.

"You know I can't hate you, pink cheeks."

He chanced a glimpse at her and found her cheeks prettily deepening in their pink shade. Just that had made her feel better. How could she not see?

He looked away again before he did something stupid with a look like that on her face.

"So... you're not angry at me?"

Seriously? Before he could hold himself back he burst out, "Fuck! Stop!"

He mussed his hair, trying to dislodge this awful feeling inside of him, "I just don't want to see you. You have to leave me alone!"

"And I just want us to be friends and partners again!" she cried out, "I want to train with you again! I want us to just be okay!"

"We're not ever just gonna be okay, floaty," he said, it being all he could do to not clutch at his chest where she was burrowing in deep.

"Why not? I understand how you feel about me, Ka- Bakugo," she said, twisting her hands together, "I still want to hang out with you if you're okay hanging out with me. I'm not scared. It doesn't bother me! I just want... how we used to beback."

I know, angel-face, he thought, that's the whole problem.

Sighing again, Katsuki tried to sooth his impending headache by rubbing at his forehead. He still had to study after this. How the fuck was he going to do that?

"I know I don't have the right to ask you to just put your feelings aside for us to be friends again so you're allowed to just say no but... just so you know, I miss it. A lot."

He didn't know how much longer she could push at him like this before he gave in and damned all the consequences. That's what Nate had told him to do anyway. But he didn't understand the dangers of just letting her back in like that.

Steeling himself, Katsuki tried to explain.

"You're right. You don't have a right to ask me that shit. But you did. And I'd say 'yes' if it was just me. I could handle my own feelings- For fuck's sake, I've been doing it for years."

He paused, thinking hard about the way he would word what he wanted to say next as to not force her to shut down.

"But I can't be near you," he ground out, hating the way his voice strained, "knowing that you want me too and just pretending like it's not true."

His attempt at being gentle about it didn't work. She flinched back with a shocked expression.

"Bakugo... I-"

Before she could say some shit that would really flay him, he cut her off, "Don't fucking bother, floaty. I know what you're gonna say so just pretend like you've already said it and I've told you you're an idiot and we've moved on."

She relaxed a bit, her expression coming back to that pained look he always assumed she was actually feeling.

"More shit will just happen with us," he continued, "and as much as I can't stand that goddamn loser, I'm not gonna put you in a situation to do something you'll regret."

If he were as shitty as Deku believed he was, he would've jumped at the million opportunities she'd practically thrown at him to be around her again, to be alone with her again. And he could've kissed her again by now. He could've touched her again and made her give him everything he ever wanted. But she would've hated herself for it. She was not the type to go easy on herself for cheating. And she would've resented him for it too.

He already had come so close when she'd grabbed his hand to tell him she hadn't fucked Deku. It had made him nearly lose it and he'd been so fucking close to doing it himself.

And she wanted him to! She was waiting for him to! How could he keep control over himself if she kept looking at him like she hoped he would lose it?

He was walking on a knife's edge just being here with her now! She had to stay away!

After they stood in silence a moment longer she plastered on that horrific smile again. God, he hated that fucking smile.

She shrugged, ""I had to try. And I'll keep trying until you stop being such an ass."

Katsuki closed his eyes, feeling just that tiniest of sparks of annoyance that made him crazy for her sometimes and he twisted his neck in response to it.

"Floaty..." he growled. But she was already floating up and away from him, back to her room.

No matter how much he wanted to, he didn't call her back.

But as he watched her go, something in him began to break. He was losing the battle. He was going to let her back in soon and he hoped that he would have the control to keep his hands off of her when he did.

Notes:

A/N: Sorry it wasn't a continuation of the story but I'm sure you're pleased to hear what's been going on in that hot-headed skull of his. ANGST THAT'S WHAT

Now the next chapter will take a little longer probably. Be patient with me please!

Chapter 23

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ochako took one shaky step, then another toward Katsuki, her eyes never leaving that face that was giving her such an intense expression of longing that she thought her chest would burst with how much it called out to her.

He straightened when he saw what she was doing, that she meant to come to him right then and there.

But two muscled arms snaked around her waist, pulling her back into the warm, broad chest of Deku who spoke into her ear, "You're amazing Ochako-chan."

Ochako took another look at Katsuki, whose face was morphing into a mask of jealousy and possessiveness aimed at Deku now, then she forced herself to turn away.

"Deku," she spoke gently, gazing up into his moss-colored eyes.

She honestly couldn't tell what look she had on her face at that moment, she could hardly even understand what she was feeling in that moment. It couldn't have reflected well on her features.

But when he looked down at her, his eyes turned sharp and he quickly looked away from her like he hadn't seen whatever was there.

"Do you wanna go out for lunch? My treat for winning."

Ochako wanted to look back at Katsuki. She wanted to talk to him right now and tell him just how sorry and stupid she was. He'd been right this whole time. He'd seen it even when she hadn't. She didn't know how he didn't hate her by now.

But she couldn't.

Just because she knew now that she loved Katsuki, it had oddly not altered the fact that she still cared deeply for Deku. Possibly loved him too in a way that was different but still potent. She didn't want to hurt him.

She knew she also couldn't just let things stay the way they were without telling him the truth. She couldn't just hide it from him. It wouldn't be fair to anyone.

"Okay," she said gently, hoping lunch would be the opportunity she needed to talk to him.

But then he turned to Iida and a few other classmates to invite them as well.

Ochako let out a forlorn sigh.

Maybe some time after lunch then, her mind told her.

She allowed herself a glance back at Katsuki who watched her again, tension evident in every taut muscle of his body.

His eyes blazed with want and she could tell that he was like a fully coiled spring, just waiting for her to say the word so he could rush forward and claim her as his own. And she saw in his eyes that he would. He would damn what anyone watching at this moment would think. He would go to her, and he would hold her or kiss her or carry her out of there so they could be alone and both fully aware of how they felt about each other for the first time.

Just thinking about that made every inch of her skin prickle with excitement. She should not be thinking about being alone with Katsuki right now. It would do her no good.

Quickly, she gave him an apologetic look and shook her head. She had to talk to Deku first.

She watched as Katsuki's tightly coiled body slowly unwound and his eyes held a certain strained expression as he had to withdraw again.

Later, she tried to tell him with her eyes, we can do this later, I promise.

And he probably didn't fully get the exact words she was trying to shoot him but he nodded once more and turned away, back toward the dorms.

Deku was still talking with a few people, presumably the group that would be going out with them on this lunch date.

When he turned back to her, he barely even met her eyes when he asked, "Ready to go?"

Ochako nodded and shot him a more confident smile than she felt.

He was avoiding her. He had to be.

The whole time they were at lunch, Deku had sat next to her, his hand lazily draped on one of her knees as they all conversed and laughed at each other, just being a group of rowdy teens.

Now that she was aware of her own feelings, Ochako felt hyper-aware and more understanding of how her body was reacting as well.

That hand on her knee wasn't really uncomfortable. In fact, it was a comfort to her. Soothing.

But when she thought of Katsuki's hand on her knee, even out at a restaurant like this, and how fevered her entire body would feel. She could only imagine wishing it would travel higher, feeling those large rough hands caress her soft, sensitive skin again.

They'd sat like that for most of lunch. Then after, traveled back in a group.

Even when Ochako had meaningfully squeezed Deku's hand to get his attention, he would just look at her briefly and give her a wistful smile, then not really acknowledge that she wanted something.

So after this for a few hours and Deku giving her an excuse of needing to study to head up to his room for the rest of the day (without her), she knew there was something going on with him.

Had he seen it in her eyes that she needed to talk to him? Had he seen somehow that she'd finally figured out that she loved someone else?

And even if she did get to talk to him, exactly what would she say? Now that she'd had time to calm her roiling emotions down and think about it, she wasn't sure what she should tell him. "Hey, I realized I'm in love with your bitter rival and have been lying to myself about it this whole time"? No, she had to really consider what she was going to say and what she wanted to do.

Ochako retreated to her own room after a small study session with the rest of the girls, then dinner.

She tried to study a little bit more but as the material got more and more boring, her attention kept straying again and again to the ash blonde boy with eyes like molten lava.

She loved him.

Just thinking of it again, made her heart twist and turn as though she were on a rollercoaster

She had thought she loved Deku, and maybe she had in an innocent, almost childish way. But Katsuki... the way her heart ached at the thought of how much she missed how they'd gone back and forth with each other, even when they'd argued... the way her body heated when she remembered him kissing her neck and the way his eyes always told her exactly how much he wanted her. Those feelings were nearly overwhelming in their intensity and she was horrified that she hadn't realized what they actually were when she'd been feeling them initially.

She recalled New Year's and how happy she had been for those few blissful minutes before she had decided to ruin everything between them. The way he'd smiled at her. The way he'd wrapped his arms around her without a second thought. The way he'd pulled her away just to kiss her.

Was that just a taste of what they could've had? How happy she could've been if she hadn't been so stupid? Why hadn't she realized that she'd felt like her own heart was breaking because it was?

She'd wanted him and she'd wanted to hear him say all the things he'd said. But her mind had denied it and denied it because she was so set on dating Deku and not someone who was rude and surly and nothing like him. And so she'd cried and broken her own heart along with his because she hadn't understood the truth, even when he was yelling it into her face.

Ochako set her pencil down now and looked out at her balcony.

She wanted to see him. To talk to him and tell him everything she should've been saying this whole time.

She couldn't just go down and take the elevator back up to his floor. He and Deku were on the same floor. Not to mention the fact that she didn't really want to run into anyone else on her way to his room either.

She wanted to believe she didn't have anything to hide but she had plenty. She was dating one boy while being far more in love with another. She hadn't been able to get said boy out of her mind all day. Now she wanted to see him. Alone.

There was a lot to hide here, even if she knew she didn't want to and didn't intend to if she could've just gotten to talk to Deku...

Ochako padded to her balcony door and opened it, stepping out onto the cool concrete and closing the door behind her.

She'd promised him later. Maybe not in words but in her own mind and that was good enough as said out loud. It was later now.

She jumped to the ground, reducing her weight to minimize her fall, then traveled around to the boys' side of the building. She looked up, knowing the room she was aiming for was right at the end so she wouldn't have to count windows from the edge, just count the floors up.

Floating herself, she started moving up.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

At the fifth floor, she grabbed for the balcony railing and released her quirk, hopping over the railing easily.

The curtains were open now and she peered inside.

She'd forgotten that she'd been in this room only just last night, though it felt like it had been years ago. She'd been thinking then that she was in a danger zone for remembering (and not disliking how she remembered) his hands on her body.

Maybe she had been right last night. And now she was here and aware of her own feelings. That put her way past the danger zone.

This might be a bad idea, her mind decided to pipe up.

Too late.

Katsuki was inside, sitting at his desk, scribbling on paper who-knew-what. They had academic exams come Monday. He was likely studying like everyone else.

She watched him for a moment. His massive muscled body, clothed in a form-fitting tank and loose-fitting cargo pants, curled over a paper at his desk, looking relatively relaxed for once. He would run a hand through that unruly spiked hair sometimes when he was thinking exceptionally hard or stuck on a problem.

Then, as if he sensed her eyes on him, he turned to her.

The way she felt when his ruby eyes met hers was almost indescribable.

How do you describe the feeling of every emotion, every moment, every touch crashing down on you all at once?

She felt like the world was falling out from beneath her and all that tethered her to this plane of existence were those two scarlet eyes burning a brand deep within her soul.

She wanted to go to him. She wanted to stare at him and feel the way she felt right now forever. And if his expression was any indication, he wanted the same.

But he regained his wits first and hastily rushed to the door, throwing it open.

"What are y-"

Ochako threw herself into his arms, not waiting for anything he had to say. She pressed her entire body into his, feeling everything that she was meld into him as he locked his arms around her and crushed her to him with more force than most would feel comfortable with. But to her, it felt like restraint. He wanted so much more than to be holding her close to him. This crushing embrace was a starting point, the tip of the iceberg of what they were really feeling.

She breathed his scent in deep, her eyes pricking with unshed tears again as she basked in the warmth of his vast size and strength.

She felt and heard as he took in a large inhale of her hair as well, tangling his fingers in it like he had the night he'd asked her to choose him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, her lips moving against his chest as she spoke, and he shivered.

He didn't respond. Just held her close, his grip threatening to never let her go again.

She let a couple tears fall from her lashes as she tried to burrow deeper into him, her cheek now pressed to his warm chest, hearing his heart racing just as quickly as hers.

Katsuki pulled back from her then. Not far. Just enough to look down into her eyes again.

He put his large palms on either side of her head to cup her face, looking at her like she was a dream brought to life.

"What are you doing here, pink-cheeks?" he asked in a heartbreakingly tender voice.

A Katsuki this sweet might just ruin her, she figured. Hadn't that been what she'd thought so long ago when he'd stared down at her after kissing the bruise on her neck he'd left there himself? She'd been right, he could ruin her. But, somehow, she was okay with that fact now.

"I... I wanted to see you," she rasped out, finding it hard to find her voice again, "I had to tell you, I..."

She choked on her words, suddenly afraid- terrified- of what he would say.

He smirked down at her with that little know-it-all smile, "You love me. I know. I told you so."

Somehow, despite all that she knew she was feeling, she found it in herself to glare at him, pouting her lips.

"You could've at least let me say it," she grumbled.

He chuckled, his chest vibrating with the sultry rumble.

"I'll let you tell me. Later," he purred, sending electricity immediately shooting through her body.

"Katsuki," she breathed and when he inhaled sharply, she didn't dread it for once. He didn't tell her to stop or pull away from her. He gripped her tighter, releasing a long sigh.

He leaned down to her, resting his forehead on hers, closing his eyes. They relaxed into each other and Ochako felt content.

After a small eternity, he pulled away from her, taking her by the hand and pulling her completely into his room. Once again, the only light on was his desk lamp, everything much the same.

He sat back at his desk, sitting sideways to face her just inside the door.

"Did it go badly with Deku? You went with him to tell him, right?"

Ochako stilled and held her breath.

"I... didn't get a chance to talk to him yet."

And just that quickly, Katsuki assumed the demeanor of a predatory lion. His eyes darkened and turned cold, his face wary.

"Why not?" he inquired in a low, dangerous voice. The T in "not" hit with particular viciousness, "You spent all day with him."

"He never gave me a chance to," she explained hastily, "He invited other people to lunch and we never had any time alone after that. Whenever I tried to get his attention, he wouldn't take the hint."

He lowered his lids at her in a unbelieving expression, "Did you even just tell him you wanted to talk?"

"I- No," she admitted, looking away and shuffling her feet.

"Floaty..." he growled, the beginnings of a sneer coming to his face.

"I want to! I will! I promise!" she declared to him, "I don't think he wants to talk to me. I think he knew I wanted to and he avoided it..."

Katsuki rubbed at his forehead with his hand, elbow propped on his desk.

"You're a pain in my ass, angel-face," he sighed, his eyes softening once more.

Ochako's heart squeezed at that name he'd given her. All of them meant something to her but this one... it meant something more. It meant something more to him.

She padded over to him now, her bare feet hardly sounding on the wooden floor, and kneeled before him, crossing her arms over his lap to rest her chin on, gazing up to meet his downturned eyes.

"Ochako," he grumbled, sounding forlorn.

"I will," she assured him again.

He just shook his head, not really believing her.

Fisting the front of his tank top, she yanked his face down to her level.

"I will."

His molten eyes flared to life as she pulled him in, getting that glazed look to them again.

Did he like when she was the dominant one?

She'd always figured with the way he was so aggressive and initiated things, he liked to be the one in control. But the way he had obeyed her so easily before and how he melted into her touch now, like putty in her hands, said otherwise.

Suddenly she realized how close he was, his face only inches from hers now. So close, the breaths between them mingled together in little whirling eddies.

Those glowing scarlet eyes watched her as she watched his mouth. She wanted those soft, pink lips on hers, on her neck, on her body...

Her cheeks heated and she licked her lips.

She started though, when Katsuki grabbed her hand holding tightly to his shirt front.

His grip was firm and she looked back up to his eyes, seeing a frown creasing his brow.

"Tell. Deku. First," he ground out, the words clearly coming as a struggle.

She loosened her fist and he pulled her hand away from his chest, holding it between them.

"I will," she said again, more quietly this time, saddened by his rejection, yet understanding why and knowing he was right.

Katsuki would never play second fiddle. He wouldn't be her secret and she didn't want him to be. He deserved more than that. He was better than that. He would wait until he was the only one.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow. I'll force him to talk to me if I have to."

Katsuki nodded once in acknowledgement, though his eyes were still on her hand, resting easily in his.

Ochako interlaced her fingers with the rough, calloused fingers of that glove-like hand and brought his palm to her cheek, her eyelids fluttering at his warm touch.

He didn't pull away, only let his warmly glowing irises land on her own, heating her from the inside out.

They watched each other once more as she continued to press his palm to her heated face.

"I should go," she whispered, not wanting to go at all. Wanting to hold onto him forever.

But staying longer would only mean wanting him more and making choices she would regret in the end. She understood now why he'd distanced himself from her before.

He nodded again, his jaw tightening.

Ochako stood, gently extracting her hand from his and pushing up to her feet, using his knees for leverage.

His palm fell away from her cheek and the coldness she felt in its absence was more than just skin-deep.

She turned her back to him and headed toward the balcony door, her feet still barely audible as they stepped across his floor.

She heard his chair squeaking and his louder, heavier foot steps, then he was at her back, his body pressed into hers, lips at the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

Ochako could hardly breathe as he brought his right hand around to her front, easily finding the bottom of her sleep shirt, sliding his hand up underneath and pressing it, splayed, against her flat stomach, pulling her in closer, caressing the soft skin there.

His other hand went to her hip, gripping it with bruising strength.

"I want you, Ochako," his gravelly voice spoke into her ear, sending tingling sensations down her spine, "You're already mine. You just need to tell everyone else so I don't have to rip their heads off if anyone tries to touch you like I do."

Ochako's knees shook at his statement. There was no doubt in his tone, no apprehension. Just sureness of a fact. He might as well have been telling her that the sun rose on the eastern horizon or that her hair was brown. And the fact that he was so sure of their feelings for each other made her legs feel like jelly.

A finger at her stomach traced the line of her abs from her belly button to the very bottom of her sternum, sending a violent shiver throughout her body.

"Katsuki," she whispered, her heart constricting as it also beat wildly. Where had all her air gone? He was stealing the breath from her.

"I can't wait much longer," he murmured, his voice taking on an almost pained tone.

He nuzzled tenderly at her neck and she understood the words he was conveying through that gesture.

Please.

Then his hands slid away from her, his body drawing back as he nudged her lightly toward the door.

Ochako swallowed and put her shaking hand to the door handle.

She looked back at him and his eyes burned with emotion. Want. Need.

"I will," she said again for the final time and his eyes only glowed brighter in response.

She opened the door, stepping into the cool night air.

Turning to close the door again, she took one final look at him.

He still watched her- would watch her until she was out of sight. His eyes still saw her, still knew her, still loved her despite what she had, and continued to, put him through. How did she deserve someone like this? Did he know that he was too good for her?

She finally turned away again and leapt over the railing to head back to her room.

—

The next day, Ochako awoke feeling refreshed and giddy.

Finally understanding what she had truly been feeling these past few months felt like a humongous weight off of her chest.

Now the only thing weighing her shoulders down was Deku. He was avoiding being alone with her, she knew it. He'd sensed she had wanted to tell him something important.

She had to tell him today. It was the only day they had left. After this, they would have non-stop exams until they graduated. She had to force him to talk to her, even if it meant dragging him away.

"I can't wait much longer," Katsuki's rough voice reminded her.

She wondered what it would mean for her if he had to wait any longer. If he'd just give up on her. The thought was terrifying, hateful. But she also couldn't deny that she'd deserved for him to give up long before now. She wasn't that special. She had nothing to offer worth waiting for. Any other person was capable of loving him and treating him well, she had to admit.

Ochako travelled down to the bottom floor, picking nervously at a seam in the shorts she was wearing.

Surprisingly enough, she didn't have to wait long to get Deku alone.

As Ochako entered the common area of the dorms, she found him seated on his own, eating breakfast. He looked stressed, like something was weighing heavily on him. And just seeing that look about him, caused anxiety to roil in her stomach.

She gathered her courage and pulled out a chair across from him, seating herself in his line of vision.

Smiling warmly at him she said, "Good morning, Deku."

He did his best to smile back, but it was weak, strangled, "Good morning, Ochako-chan."

The way his face was so downtrodden was really beginning to weaken her resolve. What was wrong with him?

"Deku," she said as kindly as she could, "I was hoping I could speak with you. Privately."

She emphasized the last word to drive home the fact that this was important and not something she wanted a bunch of other people hearing.

"Actually," he replied, starting to look a little green. Maybe he shouldn't have been eating anything right at that moment, "I was hoping to talk to you as well. Could you come to my room? I'd like to talk about it now if we could."

Ochako's heart beat a little faster, her nerves getting the best of her.

Misinterpreting the fear he saw in her eyes, Deku amended, "And don't worry, I won't try anything like before. I'm sorry I just sprung that on you like that."

She nodded, trying to look a little calmer, still feeling her nerves bunching up inside of her, and stood again.

Deku got up from his chair as well, going to the kitchenette to discard his dishes and coming back to lead her to the boys' side elevator.

Ochako didn't know why she felt like she was in a death procession as she followed Deku to the elevator and took the elevator with him up to the 5th floor, heading straight to his room.

When she was inside and sitting as comfortably as she could at his desk, he shut the door and stood just inside of it.

He took a deep breath, running a shaky hand through his mop of forest green hair.

"I'm sorry I was avoiding you a bit yesterday," he said first, not meeting her eye, "I know you wanted to talk then, I could tell you were trying to get my attention. But I was feeling nervous and I hadn't gotten the courage up to confront you then."

Ochako chewed the inside of her lip, feeling her stomach coil tighter and tighter. He didn't have to be the first to talk. It should be her who was made to feel uncomfortable- to confront this.

"It's okay," she replied softly, doing her best not to show her nerves. She doubted she was doing a good job of it.

"We're going to be graduating soon and then going off to work as heroes. I don't know exactly what's going to happen after graduation but I do know one thing," he came to kneel in front of her then, placing his hands hesitantly on her bare knees as he did so, "Ochako-chan, I love you and I want you to stay with me, next to me, working with me, even after graduation." He gripped her knees as he said it, his true unease showing through.

Ochako's breath caught in her throat. This was not what she had been expecting. It was so so much worse.

Her mind reeled and she felt like a deer caught in headlights, terrified, frozen, not knowing what the right thing was to do. How could she tell him that she loved someone else now?

His emerald eyes stared up at her, bright with adoration and a tinge of fear.

"Deku I- I don't know what to say," she replied honestly. She was truly at a loss. She needed to tell him how she felt about Kastuki. She needed to tell him now! But those shining eyes, that boyish face, it bespoke of true heartbreak if she were to reject him now. And could she do that now, with their futures as heroes at stake with these exams in these upcoming days?

But Katsuki... she reminded herself. He was waiting. He had been waiting. He was who she wanted. She didn't want to have to keep living without those eyes on her every day and his hands on her every night. He was the one she wanted to work with. He was the one who had always loved her.

Resolve built in Ochako, reminding herself of what was at stake.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Ochako. I wish I'd told you all of this- how I've felt about you- this whole time," Deku murmured, closing his eyes as he laid his head on her lap, "But now that I have you, I never want to let you go."

His words cut through her resolve like a hot knife through butter. Ochako's chest ached, her heart plummeted like it already knew that she wasn't going to be going to Katsuki again that night or any night soon. Like it already missed him. Like it was already saying goodbye.

"I can't wait much longer," his soft words, spoken into the sensitive skin of her neck, stabbed at her and dragged her into despair. She couldn't ask him to wait for her while she figured out how to break her best friend's heart. He deserved so so much better than that.

Ochako placed a hand on Deku's soft, slightly curled hair. She really did care for him. If she hadn't, it would've been hard, but not impossible, for her to break it off with him. But Deku had been by her side for more than two years. He had gone through so much and he had worked so hard and he had supported her and pulled her through so many ordeals. She wasn't in love with him. Not like Katsuki. But she loved him in her own way. And hurting him when he was this vulnerable and offering everything up to her, himself- his future, she just couldn't do it.

"You don't have to answer me right now," he said quietly, his head still resting in her lap, "But we only have so much time."

He lifted his head again, taking her hands in his own, "Just give me an answer by the end of exams, okay? This matters a lot. I want a future with you, Ochako-chan."

"Okay, Deku," she responded meekly, not willing to meet his eyes.

He rose to his feet then, pushing off the floor and slowly unfolding to his full height, then extending a hand to her.

She took it and he hefted her to her feet as well. He looked much more relaxed now than he had when she'd come down to find him earlier this morning.

"This is our last day to cram for exams. Let's see if we can get a study group going," he suggested, excited now.

She nodded with as happy of a smile as she could muster and allowed him to pull her along.

As he led her to the door, Ochako felt more dread than ever pooling in her stomach. Was she going to roll over like this for him her whole life? Agree to work at whatever hero agency he chose? Agree to marry him if he asked? She wouldn't... would she? Was she that weak of a person?

They travelled down the elevator together and exited, him still holding tight to her hand.

They reached the bottom floor and Ochako's dread reached a fever pitch, she could hardly even hear over the roaring in her ears.

Deku led her by her hand toward the common area, where it looked like a group of their classmates were already forming a group and discussing studying, Momo at the lead.

They passed the kitchenette and Ochako's whole world stilled to a pinpoint in time as she spied Katsuki leaning against the counter, drinking a cup of coffee.

His eyes caught on her immediately and somehow the roaring in her ears got louder. His eyes snapped to her hand, entwined with Deku's and then back to her face, a question in them.

Ochako shook with shame and self-loathing and absolute heartbreak as she gave him the slightest shake of her head. She tried to smile at him like she was sure of what she was doing, like she was just saying, "I'm sorry, I chose him after all." But she failed miserably and felt her smile falter the moment she tried to put it on for him, a single tear escaping the corner of her eye.

She saw his jaw clench and his eyes burn bright as he glared, not looking at all sympathetic. Then he just turned away and it took everything in Ochako's power to put her face into some semblance of neutrality as her heart ripped itself to shreds inside of her while she approached the crowd of classmates all getting ready to study.

"I can't wait for you much longer."

And now, he had as good as said he wouldn't be anymore.

Notes:

A/N: Sorry it took so long for so little content. The next chapter should be a whopper tho what with the EXAMS COMING AND ALL. Is that a spoiler? No, not really. We all knew it was happening.

Sorry about hurting your feels again. Ochako, why you such a FOOL?! Even when she knows how she feels, she sabotages the shit out of herself.

Also, I can't help but point out the fact that no one noticed in Chapter 21 (I THOUGHT THIS THROUGH, WHY U NO NOTICE?!) that Ochako LET herself get pulled along by Katsuki to his room. She's capable of overpowering literally ANYONE with her quirk. Like we saw her do that exact thing when Deku tried to grab her and stop her in Chapter 6! And she threatens Katsuki idk how many times with forcing him to do what she wants via her quirk. I was just kinda surprised that no one at least said, "If she really wanted to stop him, why didn't she just throw him off her?" I try pretty hard not to overlook inconsistencies like that.

Wanted to add one more thing: I think that this chapter bothered people a lot esp since Ochako knew what she wanted (or rather at least knew what she didn't want anymore) and still stuck with it anyway to keep from hurting that person's feelings. I 100% understand the frustration with a person who makes that choice but I take a lot of inspiration from real life experience when it comes to situations that I write. This one is near and dear to me because it's super common to stay with a person you know is safe and you don't want to hurt even if you don't love them. I've seen it all the time. DON'T WORRY THOUGH! Ochako isn't THAT dumb! It's still a Kacchako fic! I won't make you suffer as long as last time.

Chapter 24

Notes:

Yall like REALLY FUCKING LONG CHAPTERS, right?

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Exams began bright and early on Monday and Ochako was feeling pretty confident that she was prepared for them.

She caught a glimpse of Deku waiting for her at the breakfast table as she entered the common area and he waved her over.

Seeing him looking so casual and happy, oblivious to the maelstrom of guilt and heartbreak she suffered from, made her insides churn on many levels. She didn't know if she could handle this like she had thought she could. Just seeing him made her feel like running away, back up to her room and staying in bed all day.

If only that were an option...

Last night she had found that continuing to be affectionate with Deku hadn't been so easy, knowing that she wished it were someone else and it was her own fault that it wasn't. She had found reasons not to kiss him goodnight or hold his hand under the table.

The closer she came to the table now, the more her stomach and heart clenched.

She chickened out.

Grabbing a couple slices of toast, Ochako gave Deku the excuse of wanting to get to class early to go over that one thing in her studies she wasn't sure she had a grasp on yet and high-tailed it out the door before he had said much more than, "okay."

Having to sit next to a brooding Katsuki all day while trying to take her exams was something in the realm of torturous. It was confusing and discomforting because he didn't bother to ignore her. In fact, he did nothing to hide the glares he sent her way and the hostility between them. She almost felt like they were back at square one from the beginning of first term, minus his penchant for going out of his way to make her life more difficult.

But any time she glanced his way, he seemed to know it and he glared back with a look of annoyance. It was discomfiting and each time it happened felt like a new jab of guilt and hurt.

In the afternoon, when exams were over for the day, Deku wanted to walk her back to the dorms and she had no real way to avoid him then. So she agreed but also invited buffers like Mina and Toru.

The girls happily joined and chattered about nothing and everything for the walk back and up until dinner. It couldn't have worked out better if she had paid them to be distractions.

The next two days of academic exams went much the same. Ochako trying to dodge affection from Deku while having to endure venomous looks from Katsuki. He seemed to have noticed at some point that she'd been avoiding Deku in her own way but it still didn't change his attitude toward her.

She wished she could've talked to him again and explained or begged forgiveness or something, but exams were grueling and difficult enough to deal with on their own. There was no easy way to catch him before or after class and she was too much of a coward to visit his room at night again. She didn't know just how she'd be able to handle it if she tapped on the glass of his balcony door and he refused to answer.

So she held back and endured those next couple days until academic exams were over.

Then, the biggest, most important exam of their life was finally upon them.

Both classes 3-A and 3-B took a bus to what seemed like the middle of nowhere, the ride over being uncharacteristically subdued for the people who were riding. Ochako found for one of the first times in a long while that her nerves were roiling in her stomach because she was uneasy over how this exam would turn out. They had no clue what was in store for them, but if looking out over the seemingly endless amount of forest they were driving into was any indication, this could end up being on a massive scale.

"Alright," Aizawa-sensei spoke up as their bus pulled into a parking space, "You already know this is considered your final practical exam. I expect you all to behave and to pass this exam with no problems. You'll be coming out the other side of this as fully licensed heroes and graduating tomorrow."

The classes stared back at him with varying looks of determination and, in some cases, illness. He didn't use any flowerful language or get sentimental. Just facts. Just expectations. And that was all they needed.

"The exam starts in an hour," he informed them, "In the meantime, try to get your bearings, socialize, preferably without getting into fights." He threw a look in Katsuki's direction and the blonde boy just shrugged.

Aizawa-sensei handed each of them a simple looking cuff before they disembarked.

"Put them on. Don't take them off," he ordered.

Ochako and each of her classmates did as they were told.

As Deku stepped out behind her, she saw All Might beckon him over. Deku nodded obligingly and walked over to him, the former hero throwing an arm around his shoulders to guide him away. She didn't know what it was about but All Might seemed to have always had a bias toward Deku. He was tapped to be his successor. It was likely he was giving him last minute notes and advice.

Around them, other busloads of students were unloading and milling about, unsure of exactly what was going on but either. The tension in the air was thick enough, it was almost palpable.

Ochako noticed some pro-heroes wandering around as well. Some would stop and speak with students. Others only stood in one place looking out over the mass of students as though they were lording over the entire area.

She caught a glimpse of Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods standing together with Fat Gum, deep in conversation.

Most of her own classmates broke off from the group to greet students from other schools they'd come to know through internships or work studies.

Even Katsuki was greeted, along with Todoroki, by an extremely tall, bulky student from Shiketsu who was vaguely familiar. Yoarashi, Todoroki called him. He seemed friendly enough, if not a little over-eager, and would get in occasional shouting matches with Bakugo that he just as easily laughed off.

Soon enough, though, a voice of one of the proctors for the exam came over some loudspeakers that were set up in the unloading area, causing Yoarashi to plod back to his classmates.

"Pay attention, examinees, I will only explain this once," the proctor announced. Every student quieted and stilled, listening for further instructions.

"When the first bell rings, a simulation of a massive disaster will begin. We did not prepare it ahead of time in case anyone got any ideas about getting a look at the exams before anyone else."

Ochako had to admit that would've been something at least one person had considered or tried already.

"When the second bell rings, you will all be released to go out and begin saving victims and generally setting things to rights. The victims will be the HUC actors you've had practice saving in the past. Every action you take will net you points. The greater the feat or the more difficult the rescue, the more points you gain. We will not divulge point values at this time as we want you all to move amongst these victims as though you are a real hero trying to save real people, rather than cherry pick who you save or what you do."

This exam seemed somewhat similar to the provisional license but on a much grander scale. They'd driven into the trees a long way. Being given all this space had to mean there were more people, more chances for things to go wrong, possibly more villains. Ochako wondered what a passing score would look like...

"When the third bell rings, the exam will be over and, even if you are in the middle of a rescue, nothing else you do will be counted toward your score."

"A couple more important notes: you will have 24 hours to take this exam. You are allowed to do whatever you want with that time. If you think you've done enough to get a passing score, feel free to rest. But be aware that a lack of action for an extended period of time will detract from your points. So you may have the points needed to pass at one time but if you sit and rest for the last 5 hours, you may have lost enough points that you will no longer pass."

So they were incentivizing them to be up and moving the entire time. It made sense that they would be if they were supposed to treat this like a real disaster. Ochako knew, though, that she and everyone else taking this exam would be exhausted come this time tomorrow.

"Lastly, you do not need to or are recommended to but you may work in teams-"

Ochako jolted. They were allowed to work together? Her eyes discreetly slid to the blonde boy standing only a few yards from her and the yearning she felt in her heart to reach out and take his hand, to say something, to ask him for just one more chance to be at his side, was excruciating.

The proctor went on, "but be aware that you are increasing the necessary workload to pass. There are only a set amount of points for any one task and they will be divided by how many people it takes to complete it. So if two of you complete it, the points are split evenly between you. If it takes four or even ten, the same number of points will be given for the task and they will be split evenly."

Ochako still fought her overwhelming urge to reach out. She knew they could do it. She knew they could get four times as much done together as each of them did separately. Did he know that too? Was he feeling the same pull that she was?

"You should've received a wrist cuff from your teacher by now," the proctor explained, "these are to help track you and keep track of your vitals in case you run into anything you can't handle and wind up needing help. Don't lose them."

Pretty much the same thing Aizawa had said.

"And that's it, examinees! The first bell will ring in about a half hour so ready yourselves!"

And with that, the mic cut off and they were free to roam again.

That was when Katsuki's gaze finally drifted to her and caught her eyes on him. He narrowed his own slightly and made to approach her, not taking them from her as he came closer.

Ochako tensed and her heart jumped into action, beating a vigorous rhythm against her ribcage.

She moved to take a step forward herself but when he was a few feet from her, Mina and Toru barreled into her, causing him to stop short. Ochako hadn't even noticed them coming up on her and nearly fell over with the sudden impact.

"I'm so nervous, Ochako-chan!" Toru squealed, grabbing hold of her arm and squeezing, "I wish I could have a partner like you do!"

Ochako chanced another glimpse at Katsuki, knowing he was in earshot of their conversation. His face was stoic, not revealing a reaction to what was being said.

"I... don't know if I'm going to work with uh..." she struggled to grasp a name as his eyes bored into hers, "with a teammate," she finally got out.

"I don't know why you wouldn't," Mina laughed, "From what I saw last time, you guys would probably get way more done together than separately."

Ochako tore her eyes away from him then to look again at the girls before her. Even her classmates knew (and expected) that she would team with Katsuki, even while knowing that she was dating Deku. She wondered what Mina would say if she knew Deku had been asking her to work with him now, if she would still think Katsuki would be the right choice of partner.

"I don't really know if he wants to work with me anymore," she said sheepishly, not giving any details as to the whys and hows of the situation.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's why Bakugo is standing like 5 feet away from you," Mina said with a head tilt and an eyeroll, like it should be obvious.

Ochako threw him a questioning look again but Katsuki was also jumped on by Kirishima, Sero and Kaminari, all looking to joke around, probably to take their minds off of their nerves over the exam.

Mina giggled and decided to join in their raucous conversation, pulling Ochako and Toru closer, thus creating a little circle for the group.

Ochako did her best to ignore the way her heart was pounding in her chest as she talked and laughed with her friends all the while knowing Katsuki was only feet away, possibly watching her, possibly hating her...

"Bakugo-kun," a deep, familiar voice sounded as Kamui Woods sauntered up to the group, his focus on the ash blonde boy.

Katsuki's eyes went to the arbor hero and narrowed in suspicion making Ochako wonder what this might be about.

"I hope my spare suit you asked for in October was useful for your studies. You brought it back in pristine condition so thank you for taking care of it. You can borrow anything you need any time, buddy."

Ochako froze, a bitter chill running down her spine as she watched Bakugo trying not to react but losing the battle to a dusting of pink across his cheeks.

He nodded his thanks and Kamui Woods clapped him on the shoulder then walked off.

When Ochako dared to look around at her friends, they were all staring wide-eyed, their mouths agape, at Katsuki who was looking down at the ground for once, not meeting anyone's eyes.

Their shocked faces slowly began turning to her and her cheeks blazed hot like a beacon.

Finally, after almost a minute of this awkward staring, Mina was the first to speak up.

"Bakugo? That Kamui Woods at the party... That was Bakugo?" she squeaked out, hardly getting past her utter disbelief.

"Uh, well...ah..." Ochako didn't know what to say in response, the heat from her face spreading down her neck.

Mina had been one of multiple people in her class in that game. Others had been Kaminari, Kirishima, Kyoka, Toru, Ojiro, and a couple others. They'd all seen her interact with Bakugo in the costume. They'd all seen how steamy things had gotten.

Mina stepped toward her, her face growing more concerned than shocked then.

"You knew it was Bakugo back then? You saw his face, didn't you?"

Ochako nodded, hanging her head.

"That's why you didn't want me to go find him! I was right when I asked if we knew him! Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

Ochako covered her cheeks with her hands, wishing she could cover up her embarrassment and shame.

"Then why are you- Have you been- There's a lot you haven't been telling me," Mina said with a look of genuine hurt.

"I'm sorry," Ochako replied finally, "I didn't know how to tell you everything that was going on. I thought you'd judge me and not look at me the same."

"Dude," Kirishima addressed Katsuki, who hadn't spoken a word this entire time, "Midoriya-"

"It was before Deku and I got together," she said, coming to his defense, "Besides, Deku already knows."

"What?!" the others all gasped.

"I mean, not specifically about the party. But he knows we've done stuff-"

"Floaty, stop talking," Katsuki growled, looking up at her, his eyes blazing with fury, his cheeks still pink.

Realizing what she'd just said, she clapped both hands over her mouth.

"There's more?" Toru asked.

"When did this all start?" Kirishima asked, "Over the summer? I thought you two seemed a little cozy but..."

"No," Ochako answered, taking her hands from her mouth and meeting Katsuki's heated gaze with her own. There was no point hiding things now, "Before that. The sports festival."

"Holy shit, dude," Kirishima exclaimed, running his fingers through his gelled hair, "That was forever ago! You didn't tell me anything! I knew something was up with you two really only after winter break cuz you got all irritable and kept getting into fights with her and Deku after they came back a couple. I just figured you caught feelings for her, though, from being partners, man. But you guys were like, a thing?"

"No! We never actually dated," she corrected, "Things just happened between us and we kissed a couple times and-"

Katsuki stepped forward and grabbed her face with one hand, smooshing her cheeks in to give her mouth a fish-like pucker, his ferocious expression sending heat throughout her body as her eyes met his once more, "Stop. Talking."

She nodded and the rest of the group just looked back and forth between them until Bakugo finally let her go and she quickly turned away, covering her face once more.

Mina broke from the group then with a frown at Ochako, "We're gonna talk about this later and you're gonna tell me what's been going on."

"Tell us!" Toru amended, trailing after the pink girl as they walked away into the crowd.

Ochako swallowed thickly, feeling dread pull at her stomach. What was she going to tell Mina when they got back? What would she think of her if she told her the whole truth? She was terrified to even consider it. Everything that she had built this year seemed to be coming down around her right now and she didn't know what to do anymore.

She looked back at Katsuki, knowing she wouldn't find sympathy or support from him, but hoping that just seeing his face, knowing there was something she was sure of, would help her feel less shaken.

The other boys drew back, seeing her troubled expression, unsure what they should say or do. Katsuki didn't move, hardly batted an eyelash. She figured he was probably used to such a stupid look on her face by now.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"For what, floaty," he grumbled, sounding uninterested.

The three other boys, realizing their presence was no longer needed or wanted, slinked off, Kirishima shooting them a meaningful glance back, looking like he might be unsure if he should be walking away from them before seeming to decide to trust his friend.

"For us getting in this mess I guess," she answered, her gaze shifting to her hands for a moment as she folded and unfolded them. When he said nothing, she looked back up at him.

He didn't acknowledge that response and kept his eyes trained on her, still looking expectant.

Ochako realized that she might not get a better chance than she had at that moment to explain herself to him.

"And..." she continued, trying to find the right words as well as the voice that seemed to be diminishing by the second, "I'm sorry I ended up not telling Deku about us."

At this, Katsuki shifted uncomfortably.

"You're still picking him over me. You could've told me," he said with a cool tone of resentment.

"No!" she hastily corrected him, "That's not- It's complicated!"

She paused, trying to gather her thoughts on how to best express what she felt.

"You were right on New Years," she began, "when you said that I don't... love him. But I do still care about him, Katsuki. The day that I chose to tell him I didn't want to be with him anymore, he told me that he loved me and he didn't know how he'd live without me or something like that. I felt bad. I didn't have the strength to end it after he confessed all that."

Katsuki snorted with a shake of his head, "You were able to do it to me."

"That was different," she defended herself, "I had already agreed to be with Deku when that happened. And I didn't think I cared about you like that."

He remained quiet once more. Every time he did that it made her feel like she needed to fill the silence with more conversation, even if it was something dumb.

"I'm sorry. I was scared and I didn't know what to do," she admitted, her heart feeling heavy with guilt and sadness, "I know I can't ask you to wait for me anymore. You said you couldn't wait much longer and I messed it all up again. I understand if you're done with me. I don't blame you."

"I swear, you're so fucking dumb sometimes, floaty," Katsuki growled with annoyance.

Ochako felt like his words were a slap in the face and she scowled at him. She opened her mouth to hiss back a retort, but he pinched her lips shut.

"You think I'm gonna give up like a puss right after I finally get you to realize you want me as much as I want you? That would be the dumbest shit ever."

Heat flared in Ochako's cheeks once more, her heart jumping with newfound hope as she stared up in wonder at the irritable face of the boy she loved. He let her go, guessing that she was unlikely to talk back now.

"When I said I couldn't wait for you, I didn't mean for you," he rolled his eyes like he was beyond inconvenienced that he had to explain this to her, "I meant I wasn't gonna keep waiting for you to finally break the news to Deku and everyone else. And I'm not. I'm done waiting around for this shit. I let you have your chance and you chickened out. You have a little bleeding heart, I'm not surprised. I'll take care of it now."

Ochako grabbed at her chest feeling blindsided by what he was telling her. He was still going to love her. He wasn't going to just move on from her like she had thought!

"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and twining his fingers with hers like it was the most natural thing in the world. It felt like it. Her body heated, all her nerves tense as if they all concentrated on the one point of contact her body had with his.

They weaved through the thick crowd of would-be heroes, all there to take the pro-hero exam. A once in a lifetime opportunity.

He came to a sudden stop and she ran face first into his wall-like back.

"Kacchan," she heard an aggressive-sounding Deku in front of Katsuki say.

What? What was he going to do? And why did Deku sound so angry? He sounded so unlike himself.

"Deku," Katsuki growled back, his voice low and deadly, "I'm getting real tired of this shit. Ochako's being too soft with you. I want her. She wants me. I think you get that. You're not dumb. So let's cut to the chase and make it official. She's done with you."

Ochako gasped in horror, all of the blood draining from her face. That hadn't been how she'd wanted to tell him!

But he gave you your chance to be nice about it, she reminded herself.

His fingers gripped her tighter, a reassurance for her trembling hand.

"What are you talking about, Kacchan?" Deku asked, his voice taking on a more confused tone.

"I'm telling you, without any room for misunderstanding, that Ochako is mine now. I'm not fucking around anymore."

She heard an incredulous snort of irritation come from Deku, "You don't get to decide that. She does. I told you to stay away from her and now you're just making these choices for her?"

He did what now? Hadn't Deku told her that he supported her working with Katsuki? He'd told her that he would come around to being her friend again. When had he told him to stay away from her?

Ochako's breaths started picking up. She didn't like where this conversation was headed. She grabbed a fistful of the back of Katsuki's suit, trying to steady herself.

"Yeah. We all know I wasn't gonna listen to you," Katsuki shot back, humor lacing his words, "I'm not gonna keep away from her when she doesn't want me to. And she definitely doesn't want me to keep away from her, Deku."

She didn't hear a response from Deku but she felt hairs on the back of her neck begin to stand on end in response to what felt like a power surge rippling through the area.

The people around them began to chatter a little nervously, also picking up on the power in the air.

Just then, a loud bell tolled, signalling the start of the disaster.

The ground shook as though there were an earthquake. Other students around her wondered if it might actually be one that somehow coincided with the exam. No one knew for sure and Ochako bit her lip with worry.

Still holding onto Katsuki's hand, she gripped it tighter, the only other sign she was willing to give of her lack of confidence. They needed to remain as calm as possible. The quake was too perfectly timed for it to be anything other than for the exam.

A massive explosion sounded far off in the distance and a gigantic plume of smoke swiftly rose into the sky to the west.

She started hearing distant cries for help on the air already. Then, what looked like a tsunami rose high to the far north, near the shore that had to be maybe 2 miles away from them. It crashed down onto land and she heard more screams and crying.

This is in depth, she thought to herself. There was already so much going on, she felt like her senses were being overloaded.

Ochako tried to breathe. In and out. Nervousness and a sense of unease were causing her limbs to shake slightly. Would there be more?

Katsuki pulled her closer, sliding a glance her way, calming her with his unwavering look of surety.

Then, the hairs all over her body stood on end as a deafening roar pierced the air.

She turned as a shadow rose above them to the east.

Some kind of golem or abomination made up of mud and various plant detritus began swinging its arms around wildly, uprooting trees and throwing them to and fro.

It was monstrous in size, bigger than any living thing she'd ever seen. It even stood taller than Mt. Lady.

She heard some of her own peers scream at the sight of the ugly thing as it let out another ear-piercing roar.

This monster was big and not so easy to take down, she figured. But it was also the least intimidating challenge presented so far, in her mind.

She turned to Bakugo, intending to say something about the fact that she thought this monster was meant to be a time suck and distract from things they were really meant to be doing but realized that she was now in Deku's range of vision after Katsuki had turned to look up at the monster.

Her eyes met his and he frowned, more in confusion than anything else.

The second bell rang then and all the bodies surrounding them surged forward, this way and that, jostling them.

She lost sight of Deku almost immediately as he was swept away.

Katsuki still had hold of her hand and pulled her closer, taking her other hand to swing her onto his back.

"Let's go, floaty," he yelled over the din of the crowd and the shrieks of the monster.

Ochako's heart soared as she pressed herself close to him, gripping his shoulders and activating her quirk.

He pushed up from the ground and they rose above the crowd, still pushing each other to head in one direction or another and begin their exam.

Ochako rested her forehead against his neck and breathed in the scent of burning matches, wondering if being here like this with him had always made her feel this happy and she'd just been that blind to it.

"Calm down, pink-cheeks," Katsuki chuckled, "or I'll get the wrong idea."

Ochako felt her face glow with embarrassment and she pulled it back from his neck.

"You're a pervert," she retorted.

"Yeah, I'm the pervert," he shot back with amusement.

But he relented his teasing and got down to business.

"We're supposed to be enticed into going for the monster," he said, all joking aside, "It's a waste of time. We don't know what it's worth but it'll take a bunch of us to take it down, meaning we'd have to split points with anyone else who helped."

Ochako nodded into his back. She'd half expected him to want to go careening into the thing and blow it up. She'd even prepared a lecture in her head to stop him from doing just that. It sounded like he was letting logic lead him, rather than ambition, today. She figured he had matured quite a bit more as a hero than she'd ever given him credit for.

"I also didn't hear any screaming come from that way. I don't think there are even victims over there. Just that thing. There's no need to fight it if no one's in danger right now."

"Where do you think we should go then?" she asked him, assuming he was in a good mind to make such a call.

"Oh, you suddenly have no opinion on it?" he asked sardonically.

"I could if I wanted to," she responded with sass, "but I trust you to make a good choice right now."

His hand reached for her thigh and he squeezed it for just a second, causing her pulse to jump, then he threw his hands back and they shot forward, toward the giant plume of smoke that was beginning to coat the sky, turning it grey.

As they flew, Ochako noticed there were large white tents with red crosses set up every so often. First aid tents. This had to be where they delivered the people they rescued to be cared for.

She also noticed that there were shattered bits of wood that looked like they had some kind of finishing on them littering the ground as they drew closer to the immediate blast area.

When they finally reached it, she saw why.

Partially decimated and burning cabins, like those from a summer camp, dotted a huge clearing, the charred remains of one likely being the detonation spot.

She could hear screams coming from inside some of them and a tiny man, meant to be a child ran toward them as they landed, the first to arrive at the scene.

"My friends! My counselors! They're hurt! Save them! Please!" he cried, grabbing onto Katsuki's pants.

Katsuki took a step back but Ochako was already off of him and kneeling down to the "boy".

"Are you hurt?" she asked him, giving him an initial once-over.

"I'm not hurt! Please just save them!" he squawked, pointing behind him.

"We have to make sure you're safe first," she told him calmly, "and then we will help your friends. More heroes are coming so don't worry, they will be okay."

The "boy" sniffled and nodded, taking her hand when she offered it and she lifted him up.

"I'll take him to the first aid tent," she told Katsuki, "look for more of them."

She wanted to also tell him they needed to be quick because there might be more bombs in the area but she knew saying that would cause the "boy" to panic thus losing her some points. So she hoped he would come to this conclusion as well and search quickly.

Ochako reduced her weight and sprinted into the forest toward the closest first aid tent they had seen.

When she returned minutes later, Katsuki was arguing with an older, grey-haired woman he had flung over his shoulder and was carrying toward three counsellors and "children" standing on the edge of the clearing.

"Put me down right now, young man!" she wailed, beating on his back with little effect.

He kept walking, face bored, "You're leg's broken, this is easier."

Ochako couldn't help but smile at the scene. Once again, he had surprised her. She was used to a coarse, ready-to-snap-at-anyone Katsuki who she often had to run interference with. But he was remaining calm. Still not friendly by any stretch of the imagination, but also not ranting at anyone giving him an attitude. When had he softened?

He looked over at her then, "Floaty, you could help, you know."

"Coming!" she called and jogged toward them.

They worked quickly and efficiently together, calling out to find more people, then sifting through some more ruined buildings for people who may have been passed out or hurt too seriously to respond.

While gathering their tenth victim and still having quite a few more cabins to go, more examinees burst into the clearing and offered their help as well. Ochako could see the greed in their eyes. They were desperate to gain points as often and quickly as possible.

She made the decision to leave the rest of the rescues up to the newcomers so as not to start feeling the need to compete or fight over who would rescue who. That wouldn't do anyone any good.

She quickly informed them what cabins were cleared and which ones they had yet to search and, since there were no victims nearby to hear, explained where the blast had originated from and that there may be more bombs somewhere so they should hurry. Then she joined Katsuki and gathered their small group to trek to the first aid tent.

It hadn't even been an hour yet and Ochako was starting to flag. She didn't know how they were meant to keep doing this for another 23 hours.

When they reached the first aid tent, Ochako was able to obtain a couple bottles of water for herself and Katsuki. Apparently, this was where they would get drinks and food if and when they needed it as well.

Ochako rested a moment inside and watched as the HUC actors got food and had their makeup redone, then headed out for more rescues.

"We should fan out and look for more survivors outside of that camp," she suggested to Katsuki as he came to stand in front of her.

"It can't all be as easy as that was," he speculated, "There have to be more people somewhere. There has to be something else going on."

"Well, there's the flooding of the tsunami," Ochako suggested, "Or we could go fight that monster with a bunch of other people."

As if on cue, a loud shriek filled the air, followed by a distant rumble, then cries of victory. Clearly, the monster had just fallen.

"So much for that," he muttered.

At a loss for what else to do, Ochako went back to her original plan.

"Until we can figure out something better, let's just search around outside of the camp for more survivors and bring them in."

Katsuki shrugged, obviously not satisfied but unsure what else could be done either.

Just as they were exiting the tent, another explosion shook the ground, filling the air with a massive BOOM louder than any Ochako had heard come from the likes of Katsuki.

She frowned in bewilderment at him now and he sent a similar look her way. It hadn't come from the direction of the camp. The smoke from the explosion was rising further north now.

"I guess our plan of action is decided now," she commented as she shifted around to his back and placed her hands on his shoulders.

Touching down at the new location, they found a different setup of a hunting lodge looking blown to bits, but rescuing the victims went much the same.

They called out for anyone, then searched in the rubble, rescuing seven people before more help arrived.

But this didn't feel right for some reason. This couldn't be the whole exam. They weren't really doing anything. How did this prove that they were heroes or deserving of a license?

"Maybe because we have to keep doing the same boring, stupid thing over and over and not get tired of it because that's the job 90% of the time," Katsuki pondered, as he removed his gauntlets to check them over when they'd brought their 7 survivors to the closest first aid tent.

He had a point but Ochako doubted that was the case. Their last exam had had a certain element of surprise. Sure, another explosion was somewhat surprising but was it something that could throw any trained hero off? Not really.

They weren't able to converse on it more as another screeching roar rang out.

Looking up, another abomination monster had shown up, this time far to the south.

Katsuki looked over to her, raising his brows, clearly far more interested in fighting the creature this time.

She rolled her eyes and waited for him to put his gauntlets back on so they could leave.

Things progressed this way for a while, getting more and more severe.

Approximately once every hour, something else would happen. Another earthquake, a tornado, two monsters, three explosions, four monsters. Until things were starting to get out of hand and Ochako was beginning to wonder if even all of these examinees were enough to handle the work being laid out before them.

After having spent the day lifting heavy objects and occasionally floating injured people around, her stomach was finally starting to get queasy from overuse of her quirk. It had been a long while since that had happened.

It had been full dark for hours and she'd hardly eaten anything while running around trying to keep up with all of the emergencies.

She could see Katsuki was starting to look like he was having a hard time exerting himself as well.

"Maybe we should eat and rest for a little while," she suggested, "They have some food back at the tents and we can just sit on a bench inside and try to sleep just a little bit."

Picking up a small man dressed as a little boy that they'd saved something like three times by now, Katsuki turned to her with a judgemental stare.

"If you need to rest, I guess we can rest."

Ochako fought the urge to sigh and roll her eyes. As if he didn't need it too...

"Thanks," she was able to force out, trying not to sound sarcastic.

When they arrived at the nearest tent, she went and got them whatever food was available (Sandwiches... great...) while Katsuki pulled off his gauntlets.

She handed him his food and they sat to eat in relative silence, watching workers, HUC actors, and the occasional hero student come in and out of the tent.

It was their first real break all day and the moment she had some food in her stomach and had been sitting for a few minutes, Ochako felt her exhaustion catching up to her. They'd been working hard like this since early this morning.

Her eyelids began to drift closed and she had to blink a few times to try and keep herself awake.

She cut a look at Bakugo to see how he was faring and found him watching her appraisingly.

"You're tired," he said matter-of-factly.

"I'll try to make it," she replied, sitting up straighter.

"No," he countered, using a gentle tone that she'd only ever heard him use for her, "I'm sure we'll be fine if you sleep a little while."

"You don't have to wait for me if you're not tired," she told him halfheartedly. She kind of did want him to stay with her, but she wasn't willing to ask him to sacrifice his score for her.

"Shut up," he scolded, putting an arm around her and pulling her in close, pushing her head to rest between his neck and shoulder.

Ochako let him, her heart jumping into action as she felt his warmth beneath her cheek.

His hand remained at her head, playing with the tiny hairs that fell around her face and despite the heat coming to her cheeks and the excitement her heart had felt initially, she began to feel tired again.

His scent, stronger now since he'd been working and sweating all day, and the slow sounds of his breathing comforted her.

"Kastuki?"she breathed into his neck, her lips barely brushing the skin there.

She felt him shudder slightly.

"Hm," he growled in response.

She shifted her head away so as to not do it again. She didn't want to be distracting like that right now.

"You said you weren't giving up on me even though I hadn't told Deku about us yet," she spoke softly, "But you were mad at me. You never stopped glaring at me every day."

This had been eating at her ever since he'd told her that he'd meant to take matters into his own hands when he'd said he couldn't wait any longer. His hateful stares hadn't made sense to her after that.

Katsuki was silent at this.

Ochako realized she hadn't really asked a question so she went on, "If you didn't hate me because you were moving on, why did you keep looking at me like you hated me?"

She waited a few seconds for him to respond but he was still silent and she wondered if maybe he had fallen asleep.

"Katsuki?"

He blew out a long breath, "I'm not blind or stupid, Ochako. I already told you a long time ago that I knew you wanted to be with me. It sucked seeing you with Deku when you didn't get how you felt. It pissed me the fuck off seeing you force yourself to still be with him when you knew exactly what you wanted. That's bullshit. How am I not supposed to be pissed?"

She felt his body tense as he recalled it.

"Good thing you kept Deku from being all over you, though. As far as I'm concerned, you're mine. If you want me, then you're mine. And if he would've tried anything with you when I knew that you didn't want that..." he took another deep breath, trying to relax himself, "Let's just say I wouldn't have waited until today to tell him to fuck off, and not as nicely."

Ochako sighed, nodding against his shoulder and pressing herself closer to him, his burnt matches scent surrounding her.

He let his fingers still toy with her hair as her eyelids slowly closed and sleep took her.

She didn't know how long she slept but the next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake by a firm hand.

"Uraraka! Bakugo!" a familiar male voice whispered forcefully.

"Ochako-chan, wake up!" A higher pitched feminine voice said a second later.

"Wha-" she asked hardly able to comprehend what was happening. She was still so exhausted.

The body she was leaning against shifted and she heard the beginnings of a rumble in Katsuki's chest as he sounded like he was being awoken as well.

Ochako jolted awake, sitting straight up. Katsuki had fallen asleep too?!

"What time is it?!" she asked desperately, finally seeing that it was Kirishima and Mina who had woken them.

"Don't worry," Mina told her. There's still six hours left to get more points and there are a LOT of chances. That's why we're here."

"You're here because you want to get more points?" Katsuki asked, still half asleep.

"No, we're here because there's a huge monster coming this way and you're in it's path. We were trying to evacuate people," Kirishima explained.

"What?!" Ochako squeaked. How had something like that not woken her?!

"Let's go," Mina instructed, "We'll talk as we walk."

Ochako nodded and stood, grabbing Katsuki's gauntlets and beginning to fasten them to his arms.

"Let's go, sleepy-head," she teased as he blinked dumbly, still bleary-eyed and out of it.

After his gear was back on and Katsuki was more awake, they left the tent and she finally saw the massive slug-like beast still off a ways but definitely coming for them. What was up with these things? Was it okay that it was about to run over a first aid tent?

"Things have gotten worse and worse," Kirishima pointed out a little obviously as they made their way from the path of the monster, "They keep hitting us with more shit every hour. It's overwhelming all of us."

"This is crazy!" Mina complained, "Do they really expect us to be able to handle all of this?"

She gestured upward and Ochako saw at least 5 mud monsters roaming the area, multiple plumes of smoke were blotting out the moon and the stars. She could see glowing areas where it looked like fires had possibly gotten out of control. There was screaming and shouts all around her.

It truly was overwhelming. It had started out so slowly and now, before the 24 hours were up, all of them were going to be exhausted and unable to handle this. Was that meant to be part of the exam? Going from being bored to being completely hopeless? Knowing when you couldn't win? That couldn't be it. Heroes weren't allowed to just give up. Sure, it was smart to know when you should run, but there was no running from this. They had to expect them to do something about this situation. It wasn't running like any usual disaster she'd ever seen anyway. It was running on clockwork meant to wear them down like she'd read about happening in wars in the past...

Then she got it.

"This was... This was planned," Ochako said slowly.

"Yeah, I know. It's an exam. It's all planned, pink cheeks," Katsuki snarked.

She gave him a small shove, "I mean, part of this scenario. A villain or villains are making these things happen. This whole thing isn't just a simulation of different scenarios, it's one big scenario. It's a villain terrorist attack. We need to stop them!"

Katsuki, Kirishima, and Mina all stopped and looked at her quizzically, trying to puzzle it out as well.

"We would never come across all of these different situations naturally together like this in reality when it comes to actual disasters!" she explained quickly, "Why would the proctors give us a scenario that we'd never actually see? They wouldn't! The bombs and the timing of the attacks were hints that something more was going on."

She turned to Katsuki, "Didn't you say that it couldn't all be as simple as rescuing victims? You said something else had to be going on! This is what it is!"

They'd gone into this exam thinking it was like a rescue simulation but Ochako was coming to believe more and more that maybe that wasn't the case at all. Sure, rescuing victims and defeating monsters was probably enough to net enough points to pass this exam, but the intent of it was for them to realize it wasn't just a simulation. It was more like an escape room.

They'd been given 24 hours to solve the case as things spiraled more and more out of control. She wondered what would happen if they didn't figure it out in time...

"And how are we supposed to stop them?" Katsuki asked genuinely, "We don't know where they are. We don't know what they look like. We don't know how they're doing this. How are we gonna stop a villain we didn't know existed until right now with 6 hours left?"

"We have to get help," she announced, as though it should be obvious.

"And share the points with someone else? Pass," Katsuki quipped.

"We won't be able to do it otherwise!" Ochako exclaimed, shaking his arm vigorously.

"Then I guess we just keep doing what we've been doing and that'll have to be enough," he grumbled.

"Bakugo Katsuki is just going to accept 'good enough'?" Ochako taunted, "You're just okay with letting a villain get away? Are you sure about that?"

Katsuki gave her an annoyed look that said "I know what you're doing". He was exhausted. They both were, even after getting a small amount of sleep each. She understood his unwillingness to push on this matter but it ate at her. She didn't like not knowing if they would be docked points for no one actually completing this scenario.

She pulled out her saddest, most pitiful puppy dog eyes ("Cow eyes" her father had lovingly teased. "Doe-eyes" Katsuki had called them once.) Her cheeks heated at the thought. Her mother had told her before that if she couldn't see a guy being as wonderful as her father, she should pass him by. Now she was recalling something both he and her father had in common. It helped her reaffirm her feelings for the grouchy boy standing in front of her.

"I don't know what you're thinking about but I feel like it's pretty lewd," Katsuki grinned devilishly.

Ochako's cheeks burned hotter.

"It was not," she mumbled, looking away.

"AHEM!" Mina snapped, glaring furiously at both of them.

Kirishima also looked a bit uncomfortable as he glanced between them

Katsuki stepped back, diffusing the tension a bit and Ochako felt herself wilt a little. Now these two knew that things had been happening between them this whole time, they probably saw every little look and comment between her and Katsuki as signs of some kind of illicit affair.

Were they wrong?

"Fine, floaty," he groused, cutting into her thoughts, "Let's do your plan. Where do we start?"

Ochako smiled sweetly at him and laid out what she wanted to do.

Mina and Kirishima knew where most of their other classmates generally were.

As Katsuki had assumed, a lot of people went for the huge monster and now there were a few teams made up to handle monsters as they came along. Although, as the night had gone on, just a few teams weren't really cutting it anymore.

Todoroki, Kaminari, Deku, Iida, Tokoyami, Sero, and Kyoka were on teams to fight the monsters.

Tsuyu, Ojiro, Toru, Aoyama, and Koda had made their way toward the flooded area to see what could be done.

The rest of the class had prioritized rescuing survivors near a giant crack that had opened up in the ground up north or had gone in the direction of the explosions if one had been nearby. Word had already gotten around that Ochako and Katsuki had the run of most of them though and many students stopped trying to bother going. Ochako wondered if their efficiency had somehow inadvertently hurt their score when it discouraged other heroes to come help. Now was not the time to ponder that, though.

"We need the people who are fighting monsters," Ochako instructed, "If you two can go get them, tell them that we won't have to worry about fighting the monsters anymore if we can solve this problem. I'll also need Koda and Toru. Katsuki and I will find them and meet you at the first aid tent to the north of the parking lot."

Mina frowned at her, her mouth drawing into a thin line.

"Katsuki?" she asked, her voice laced with judgemental anger.

Ochako didn't know what to say in response. She'd slipped up.

"I-"

"We don't have time for this," Kirishima warned, "Deal with it after."

Mina sighed and turned to go with him, sending one last concerned look her way as Katsuki pulled her the opposite direction.

Ochako wanted to stop her and explain everything now. The judgement she'd seen in her friend's eyes pierced her heart like a lance. But they needed to pass this test first.

She jumped on his back, floating them both as she did so and he took off into the sky.

Ochako hadn't known how exactly they were going to be able to find an invisible girl but somehow, blessedly, Toru had formed a squad with Koda and Tsuyu and they were systematically rescuing survivors by Koda locating them, Tsuyu rescuing them, and Toru guiding them to the nearest first aid tent. It had turned out to be rather efficient.

When they'd found the trio working, Ochako did her best to quickly explain the situation and have them come.

"Ooooo! Can we ride on Bakugo's back too?!" Toru squealed excitedly.

"Do I look like a fucking magic carpet to you?!" he shouted irritably.

"Well we need to get a far distance really fast, Bakugo-chan. What should we do?" Tsuyu asked with interest.

In the end Koda became the "magic carpet" and they all clung to him as she floated them and Katsuki set off blasts to push them forward.

It was...awkward and quite a bit slower than how she and he maneuvered usually, but they were practiced and only two people. At the very least, they made it to the first aid tent in less time than it would have for them to walk, or even run.

Mina and Kirishima were already waiting there with a slew of heroes, not all just their classmates.

"They heard we knew how to stop all this stuff from happening and they wanna help too," Kirishima explained.

"Yeah, and they want some of the points for themselves too," Bakugo spat with a sneer.

"Ochako-chan!" Ochako heard Deku's voice call as he pushed through the crowd of people.

He looked pretty beaten up, part of his costume torn and dirt caked much of his face, hair and body overall.

"Sorry," he said rubbing the back of his head, "I would hug you but... yeah."

"It's okay, Deku," she assured him, patting him on the shoulder instead. She saw Mina narrow her eyes at her from over his shoulder.

"So you have a plan, Uraraka-kun?" Iida asked, stepping toward her.

"Kinda," she replied, biting her lip, "I could use some input, though."

"Let's hear what you have now," Deku told her.

Ochako nodded and laid out for the large group around her what she had deduced and what she thought they needed to do to pass this exam.

"It would've been great if we'd figured that out at all any time before now," Kaminari commented, looking downtrodden.

"It's fine," Deku spoke up, "We have some time, we can find the villains and end this."

The group nodded their agreement.

"So what I wanted to do," Ochako explained, "was have Koda search the exam area with all the small creatures and try to find anything that looks suspicious."

"Kyoka-chan," she turned to the purple-haired girl then, "Can you put a jack to the ground and see if there's anything at all you might be able to find? I don't know exactly what we're looking for but just... something off."

Kyoka nodded with determination and stuck her ear jack in the ground, beginning to search as Koda called to some birds and had them send out a message to search the area and call to him if they found something.

A few other students from different schools also utilized their quirks to search out anything that might help them locate the villains.

The group waited with bated breath as a minute, then two, then five, then ten passed.

Ochako wondered if she'd been wrong and had brought everyone here to waste their time after fifteen minutes had gone by with no results.

"There's something..." Kyoka said, holding out her hand like she wanted everyone to be quiet, despite the fact that no one had spoken almost the whole time, "something is underground. It's big. Like an underground bunker or a system of tunnels. It's pretty deep and it spans far, out of my range even."

"That has to be it!" Ochako said with excitement, "Can you figure out how to get down there, Kyoka-chan?"

Kyoka frowned, "It looks like there's something like a tunnel or stairs or something that leads down there over in that direction." She pointed west.

Ochako looked to the other parties who were searching and they diverted their attention to just the western side of the forest.

Not five minutes, later someone spoke up.

"I sent out my spies," she said, holding up little origami bats, "They said there's a basement-looking area with a false floor that looks like it leads underground. It's at a campground? The cabin it's in is blasted to bits. Hardly looks like anything but a charred pile of rubble."

Her heart froze and Ochako glanced over at Katsuki in a panic. He had a look of surprise on his face too.

That had been the place they had gone to first! They hadn't searched the cabin that had exploded, though! If they had, they might've found the basement and the underground facility much sooner!

"We weren't the only ones there," he said to her, reading the panicked look on her face, "Any of us could've looked. None of us did. No one would think they should when a building looks like that."

She knew he was right but the guilt bit at her. They could've figured it out so much sooner!

"Stop, floaty," Katsuki warned, pulling on her ponytail.

"The campground is only about a mile away," the origami girl said.

"Let's go and see what's down there," Deku said, taking charge and running ahead. The rest of them followed after, including Ochako, on foot.

They rushed to the campground and dug under the rubble to find a rather roomy basement. It fit all of the people in their group and their numbers had to be somewhere around 30.

Immediately after the last person set foot into the basement, the entire floor shifted and started moving downward.

"Holy- they weren't joking when they said a false floor!" Kirishima gasped.

The elevator type floor moved them down slowly, making old creaky sounds the whole way. It was rather unnerving.

When they reached the bottom everyone's eyes went wide.

A room the size of an airplane hangar stood before them, huge hallways as tall as 3 story buildings jutting off on either side. Near the middle of the room, stood a man in a lab coat, surrounded by heroes. Although, it looked like in this case, they were meant to be villains.

Kamui Woods, Mt. Lady, Fat Gum, Hawks, Mirko, and a handful more were all standing near the man.

"So you finally figured it out?" the unfamiliar man asked, although his voice was familiar.

"Wait...Aren't you the guy who gave us the rules for the exam over the speakers?" Kyoka asked, her ears easily picking up where the voice had come from.

"Yeah... the rules," he said, smiling wickedly.

"For fuck's sake, there weren't any fucking rules," Katsuki snarled in irritation, "His 'rules' were all part of it. He set them all up to keep us at a disadvantage. Probably no points either..."

"Is that true?!" another student yelled, "We did all that for nothing?"

The man shrugged, "Who knows?"

"Well we got you now, so we win, right?" Kaminari asked, "We passed?"

"Um.. no. You found me. You haven't stopped me. And these fine ladies and gents here will keep you from doing so."

Ochako gave a wary sweep of the heroes there. They were all pros. High ranked pros. There was no way, even with thirty of them, that they could fight them all.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Katsuki smirked, blasting his way forward. Deku was right behind him. Then the rest of them, spurred on by their confidence, ran forward too.

The two groups clashed and sounds of punches, explosions, and a plethora of other deafening sounds filled the hangar as Todoroki quickly tried to disable Kamui Woods with his ice.

Hawks was easily neutralizing many of Ochako's peers and she grabbed at Katsuki and ran for him, knowing what he was capable of and knowing they could take him.

"Floaty what-" he asked before she floated him and pushed them up toward Hawks.

She pointed.

"Go," she ordered with a growl.

Katsuki's grip tightened on her legs for a split second before he threw his hands back and blasted them toward Hawks.

"Cute," Hawks taunted with a smile, "You came back, Bakugo."

He sent feathers toward them that they dodged as they tried to reach him.

He was slightly faster than them and when they got near, he would pull away from them again, throwing more feathers that Katsuki did his best to burn as they passed so he'd be unable to use them again.

"Did you guys kiss and make up?" Hawks asked, his eyes dancing with mischief.

They were never able to reach him. All they were doing was dodging and chasing.

"I hope you two are coming to work for me after graduation," he smirked, "You two still have a lot to learn about flying."

They were close again and he was about to pull back again and shoot feathers at them.

Ochako let Katsuki's shoulders go and wiped her hands all over his neck and arms, gathering as much sweat as she could.

"Ugh, why-" he asked before getting it and shutting up.

Ochako threw out her soaked hands and pushed her quirk out, along with vaporous droplets of Katsuki's sweat that hung in the air in her zero gravity bubble as it surrounded Hawks.

Hawks squinted at her like he thought she might be dumber than he had originally assumed.

His wings and feathers were telekinetic. Zero G would do almost nothing to affect him. So they had to be smarter about how they attacked.

Katsuki reached his own hand out in front of him and Hawk's eyes widened then. He got it too late as the vaporous air around him exploded, burning the rest of his feathers to cinders.

He hung in midair, his suit and, well, everything really, singed.

"Alright, you got me. Color me impressed," he admitted as Ochako let him down to the ground.

The battle was still raging around them and Ochako was about to jump into the fray again when Toru screamed, "ALRIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Everyone stopped. Ochako looked around the room, not immediately spotting her, then noticed her blue gloves holding onto the man in the lab coat.

"I gotcha now, sucka!" Toru laughed, "So stop whatever's going on up there."

The man put his hands in the air, defeated.

"Yes! Toru-chan! What a boss!" Mina cheered and a cry of victory went up from every person in the room, including the pros they'd just been fighting oddly enough.

Ochako sank to the floor and let out a sigh of relief, letting her palm rest lightly on Katsuki's leg.

After taking the elevator back up and seeing the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon to a calm forest, the students celebrated again and rushed toward the bus loading area where they'd get to rest finally.

A loud, blaring voice rose up over the forest and Ochako heard Present Mic say, "Exams are oveeerrrrr! Return to your buses, students! Yes, we know it's not been 24 hours yet! Your instructors will explain when you are all boarded! Thank you for taking the pro-hero exams this year!"

His mic cut off and Ochako felt relief and elation as she raced through the forest toward the buses. She'd felt so exhausted just moments ago but now, for some reason, she was excited and more confident than ever. She wanted to get on that bus. She wanted to go talk to her friend and straighten everything out.

As she burst through the tree line and headed toward the UA bus, a strong warm hand caught hers and Ochako spun with a grin on her face that she had to immediately work to keep as she came face to face with Deku.

"Ochako," he breathed, hugging her despite the mud all over him.

"Deku, you're still dirty," she laughed nervously, gently stepping back but still holding her kind smile.

"Ochako, you were great back there. Realizing what we had to do to pass, coming up with a plan, beating Hawks..." his loving smile faltered a bit at the last bit.

"You're so amazing," he said with awe, "I wish I'd recognized it sooner."

"Thank you, Deku," Ochako said with a blush, feeling good about being validated by someone she admired for their hero work.

"I saw you were working with Kacchan again," he hedged, "Did you guys make up? He's talking to you again?"

Ochako swallowed and felt her heart beat faster with nerves. Katsuki had confronted him before the exam had begun. He had seen her next to him. Their eyes had met. Was he going to act like none of that happened?

"Yeah," she answered, unsure how she should broach the subject further, "We did."

You haven't told him yourself that it's over, her mother's voice said in her mind, He's going to keep believing what he wants to believe no matter what Katsuki tells him. He said it himself. It's up to you.

"I'm glad, Ochako-chan. You got to work with him again before we graduate and go our separate ways," Deku said, sounding genuinely happy. Something in those words caught at her and made her feel sick. "Will you sit with me on the bus? Maybe we can talk a little on the way back about what you want to do after graduation?"

She was freezing up again, not sure what to say or do. Wanting so badly to say "No! I don't want any of that!" but fearing the pain in his eyes if she did. She didn't want to lose her friend or break his heart.

"I guess," she said, unable to gather her courage. Again.

Deku grabbed her hand with a sweet smile and began leading her away, toward the bus. She did her best not to snatch it back, knowing that she no longer enjoyed the feel of her hand in his, wishing it were someone else's, resigning herself to the fact that she was too much of a goddamn coward to actually say what she wanted.

She let him guide her closer toward the UA bus, where most of her class had already gotten on, excitedly chattering about their experiences and what they'd done during the exam. Katsuki was still outside of the bus, arguing animatedly with Yoarashi again and starting to get loud.

As Deku pulled her along, Katsuki's argument paused and he looked her way, completely ignoring the other student as he continued his outburst.

Katsuki's eyebrows knit together in a frown as he beheld her following along behind Deku. He seemed puzzled, then an expression of understanding crossed his features and all warmth went out of him.

His ruby eyes looked coldly upon her, something close to hate marring his face as he looked between her and their hands.

This situation was so familiar. Hadn't something like it happened just a few days ago? He'd turned away from her then and she'd just passed him by, letting her heart shatter once more.

Now he didn't. Just kept shooting her that look that told her he was at some kind of breaking point, though she couldn't tell what point that might be.

She felt a pulling in her chest, a coldness up her spine, as her heart quaked once more, threatening to destroy her. It knew what it wanted. Trying to deny it, even for the sake of not hurting a dear friend was killing her.

I don't want this! her mind screamed at her, I don't want to have to do this anymore!

Her mouth turned down in a grimace she couldn't keep off of her face any longer as her heart squeezed tighter and Katsuki still wouldn't look away from her, even when her vision blurred with tears.

They were passing him now, Deku beginning to board the bus, his foot mounted on the first step, still gently pulling her along and Katsuki's hateful burning eyes just followed them, not hiding his resentment even minutely.

She couldn't stand it one more second.

"Katsuki," Ochako sobbed as a tear escaped from her lower lashes, cutting a line down her heated cheek.

She reached her free hand out and took his, immediately feeling her body jolt to life as his rough, warm fingers surrounded her smaller, softer ones in response.

Everything went quiet then.

Katsuki's eyes instantly went from hateful to shocked and a little amazed.

The hand that had been pulling her along had stopped, she realized, and she swung her eyes to see Deku, foot still on the first step of the bus, face also holding an expression of shock.

Nobody on the bus chattered any longer either, all faces peering out the windows, looks of interest and surprise on each one.

Even Yoarashi, who'd been shouting back at Katsuki, had stilled and gone quiet.

And still, Ochako gripped Katsuki's hand like it was a lifeline, unwilling to let go, the warmth in it the only thing that kept her entire existence from freezing over and shattering.

"'Katsuki'?" Deku repeated from in front of her, his expression looking tense like it already knew the truth but was hoping to be mistaken.

Katsuki's hand tightened around hers. Supporting her, she realized.

"Deku..." she began, looking up into his brightly shining emerald eyes, "I wanted to tell you before. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before-"

"He wasn't lying," Deku said, more a statement than a question, "You want to be with him."

Ochako steeled herself, letting her determination show through. She nodded once in confirmation.

"I- I love him," she murmured, barely above a whisper.

Katsuki's fingers twitched around hers and he pulled at her gently, beckoning her.

"Why?" Deku asked through gritted teeth, his hand also tightening on hers, "After everything he said and did. After he beat the crap out of you in that training exercise! He called you names and made you cry! He kissed you when you didn't want him to! He bit you!"

She flinched, knowing everything he said was true.

"He made mistakes," she countered, "And so did you."

"I apologized and did everything I could to make up for it, Ochako! I worked hard to prove myself to you! I waited patiently for you! All that time you were falling for him?" his voice was breaking, eyes looking misty.

It stabbed at Ochako's heart. He had done all the right things. Even if some of them had been misguided and ended up hurting her, he had always tried to protect and care for her. But he just wasn't right for her. She didn't want to be protected and covered for. She wanted to stand next to the one she loved. She wanted him to see she could handle herself and make choices for herself, even if they weren't always the smartest. She wanted him to challenge her and not be afraid of the way she snapped back at him when she was angry.

Deku was a good guy and deserving of love. But he was not her guy.

"I'm sorry, Deku. I didn't understand it either at first. I didn't see it myself until days ago. I'm sorry I let things get this far between us," she lightly squeezed his fingers, still holding onto hers, then gently pulled her hand out of his grip, "I care about you so much. But it's only as a friend and someone I admire greatly. I can't be with you anymore."

"Ochako-chan..." Deku ground out, his voice wobbly, and tears threatening at the corner of his eyes.

"Ochako..." Katsuki breathed, pulling at her again and she stumbled closer to him, her attention shifting to his enraptured face gazing down at her.

His expression still held amazement, as though he could hardly believe she was actually doing what she was.

She heard Deku let out a long, shaky breath then say, "Kacchan," with a growl so furious that she stepped back from him a pace.

Katsuki stepped up then, pulling her further back still, his face receding into calm.

"Deku, I told you what I wanted. I also told you she wanted me too. You're the one who decided I was lying and trying to fuck with you. I don't think you were oblivious this whole time. Don't act like this is a shock to you."

Ochako sighed shortly, not sure what she had been expecting. Something to deescalate the situation would've been nice. A platitude at least. But this was Katsuki. He wasn't the sugar-coater, she was.

"She was my girlfriend and you still couldn't keep your hands off of her," Deku spat.

"I didn't do anything to her when she was your girlfriend. I hardly even touched her," Katsuki shot back.

"I told you not to touch her. I told you not to even look at her. It was pretty obvious to me what you'd already been doing to her all summer. You think I wouldn't notice that she somehow already knew how-"

He cut himself off, his face flushing.

Ochako's heated as well, she thought her whole body was being superheated. So it really had bothered him when she'd told him about her and Katsuki's sexual encounters. She wondered if it had been part of the reason he'd pushed her advances away initially.

Looking at Katsuki, she saw his cheeks also redden.

"Shut up, Deku," Katsuki snapped.

"I don't know why you think I'm supposed to believe you didn't try anything with her the whole time she was with me," Deku barked, his fist shaking.

"He didn't, Deku!" Ochako cut in, "Don't you at least believe me?"

Deku snorted derisively looking at the ground.

"Why... " he ground out, "Why else would you have run out when I was trying to... to make you happy?" He left his words vague. He didn't need to say more. She understood.

She looked at Katsuki, his crimson eyes meeting hers, remembering the night he pulled her into his bedroom. No, nothing had happened between them, but the way his heated eyes had been burned into her memory and he'd reminded her of how it had felt to be touched by him.

"It wasn't like that," she replied desperately, "Nothing happened between us. I just got spooked."

"You weren't thinking of him?" he asked genuinely.

Ochako looked down, unable to deny that, ashamed.

Deku shook his head with unwilling acceptance.

"If I'd known all I had to do was-"

"Don't fucking finish that fucking sentence, Deku," Katsuki warned, venom seeping from his voice, his palms crackling.

"You ruined her for me!" Deku shouted at him, a glow coming to his own skin, "You ruined everything!"

Hurt stabbed at her. Was this what he really thought? Was this what he'd always thought since she'd told him about her and Katsuki?

Katsuki pushed her away then, a warning to keep her distance, as he brought his right fist up to connect with Deku's face.

"I told you to shut the fuck up!" he roared.

Deku stumbled back a step, then quickly recovered, shooting forward and tackling him to the ground.

He tried to throw a power-packed punch at Katsuki's face but Katsuki blasted him away, sending heated air whooshing into her. He quickly pushed himself back up and ran after Deku.

Yoarashi had moved off to a safer distance already and Ochako saw the rest of her class just staring in disbelief at the tableau playing out before them. She found Mina's face at the back, watching her with a sad expression.

Another blast from Katsuki had her whirling back to see him and Deku pummeling each other.

Katsuki blasted himself up and away from a low kick Deku made, then blasted him from behind, knocking him into the bus across from theirs, filled with students watching excitedly.

Deku easily recovered and shot forward again, dodging a blast Katsuki shot at him and grabbing him by the shirt, throwing him into another bus, shattering the windows on it to the screams of the students on it.

"You knew she liked me and you just wanted to take her from me!" Deku roared, going for Katsuki again before he'd even recovered.

"I don't give a flying fuck about you, Deku," Kastuki bellowed back, aiming a kick that threw Deku back and jumping forward with a blast that barely missed his face.

"I told you I loved her and you still didn't back off!" Deku kicked him to the side, sending him sliding down the pavement.

"She didn't want me to back off! She wanted me, not you and you kept trying to confuse her, you fucking idiot!" Katsuki pushed himself up and went running for Deku again, palm pulled back, already crackling again.

"STOP!" Ochako cried, moving forward to try and get between them

A hand caught her arm, though.

"Stay here. We'll handle them," Aizawa-sensei told her, as he, Kamui Woods, and Edgeshot stepped toward the fight that was sending sparks and explosions up into the air.

The boys were both instantly wrapped by roots and bandages, then pierced and disabled from moving by Edgeshot.

Aizawa looked livid, staring them both in the eye before turning to Ochako, "Get on the bus, Uraraka. These two are unlikely to even get their licenses at this rate."

Both boys' eyes widened and strained, looking like they wanted to say something, or rather scream it.

Ochako sucked in a horrified breath, "Do you really mean that?"

"They endangered the lives of other students and damaged multiple schools' property. Yes, I mean it. Get on the bus ."

"Sensei! Please! That's too much! It's my fault! Blame me! Please! You can't just keep them from being heroes!" she pleaded with him.

"On the bus or it'll be all three of you," Aizawa warned.

Fat tears rolled down Ochako's cheeks as she sank to her knees.

"No! Please! Please! Both of them need to be heroes! It's the only thing they want in life. I'll do anything!"

"Iida," Aizawa-sensei directed, "take her. I will see the rest of you at school."

For a moment, Ochako considered floating Iida and fighting her way toward Aizawa-sensei to make him see reason. But she knew there was no use. She could do nothing.

She'd just ruined their lives. Both Deku and Katsuki.

Ochako stared out the window as she allowed Iida to guide her onto the bus.

When neither were in view any longer as they pulled away, she kept staring out the window, seeing nothing.

Notes:

REDEMPTION! FINALLY!

Shit just blew wide open in this chapter, didn't it? And yet, we aren't out of the woods yet. You can't possibly think Katsuki is going to take this turn of events well can you?

Also, sorry about the length. A new personal record has been broken! Huzzah!

Chapter 25

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Ochako-chan?" Mina asked, knocking on her door back at the dorms.

She opened it without receiving a response and a yellow pillar of light peeked into Ochako's room for the first time in hours, making everything in it barely visible although she preferred it to be pitch black.

She still didn't respond despite being awake and hearing just fine. She was just curled up on her bed, hugging a pillow, replaying her last disastrous exchange with Deku and Katsuki over and over and wishing she'd done things differently a thousand times over.

They would lose their licenses...

It was the last thing she ever wanted and could hardly even imagine a world without Deku or Katsuki as heroes in it. It wasn't possible. A world like that had no right to exist.

Not for the first time she wondered if she could convince Principal Nezu and anyone else who helped make this decision, that she should be the one to lose her license. She was more than happy to lose it in their stead. The world could live without Uravity.

She'd also wondered if they were back in their rooms yet or if they would even get the chance to come back.

Part of her hoped they were so she could go to each of them individually and prostrate herself on the floor in front of them, begging them for forgiveness. It had all gone so wrong, it was the least she could do.

Another, more selfish, part of her hoped they weren't back yet and wouldn't come back to the dorms. She didn't want to have to face them. She didn't want to see the blame and regret in their eyes, especially Katsuki's.

"Ochako-chan, I'm turning on your desk light if that's okay," Mina said gently, "I can hardly see in here."

Her lamp turned on, casting a warm, diffused light about the room.

"There we go," she said jovially and Ochako felt her bed dip slightly as Mina came to sit next to her.

"Ochako-chan," she began, "I'm sorry I was so judgmental toward you during the exam. I was so blindsided finding out about you and Bakugo having history and then, the next thing I know, I'm seeing you two cuddling up to each other and on first name basis and I hadn't heard anything about you and Midoriya breaking up so it just looked so bad to me. I should've had more faith in my friend, I realized, when all that went down in the parking lot. But I do wish you'd told me more. I wish I could've been there for you. Any of the girls in the class would. We know both of those boys fairly well too. We could've helped you."

Ochako took all of her words in and rolled to face her pink-skinned friend, tears still glistening in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mina-chan," she croaked, her voice cracking from disuse and constant crying, "I wanted to talk to you and tell you all about everything after New Year's but I was afraid of you judging me for having anything more than a partnership with Katsuki or the fact that I struggled choosing between him and Deku, especially after how things were between us first term. I thought you might think I was dumb for considering anyone who wasn't Deku."

"Yeah but Bakugo isn't the same as he was first term," Mina considered, "When you guys came back from summer break and were all friendly and work partners, you both acted really differently with each other. If it had been any other girl, I would've told them that Bakugo is a horrible choice. But, before winter break, most of us agreed- even Kirishima and Kaminari- that you two looked really good together, although we figured you guys didn't really notice it. You know how to handle him being a complete grump and his anger doesn't scare you. He pushes you and has helped make you way stronger. I actually thought you guys might start dating eventually cuz there was just a whole lot of chemistry going on there, everyone could tell. So I think a lot of us were really shocked that you came back from winter break on Midoriya's arm. It was weird, especially when Bakugo was giving you the cold shoulder and both of you looked pretty sad around each other."

Ochako felt ashamed for how she'd assumed Mina and the other girls would respond to her plight. They had seen something special between them too. She should've trusted them more. If she had, she might've realized her feelings sooner and she might've gotten out of this with far less pain to everyone involved.

"It might not change the situation with them now," Mina pressed on, "but, if you want, I'd be happy to hear what's been going on from the beginning."

Ochako nodded, feeling slightly comforted by the support she was receiving from her friend.

"You might as well get the rest of the girls in here too so I don't have to tell it again," she offered with a small smile.

"Oh! Good idea," Mina grinned at her, "Wait here. I'll be right back!" And she ran out the door without another word.

—

15 minutes later, all of the girls, and a few of the boys (including Kirishima and Iida) were crowded in Ochako's room sitting on the floor for her "story time."

They all looked expectant and interested, not at all judgemental. They just wanted to know the truth behind what had happened earlier that day. They cared about their friends and classmates.

So she told them the story as best as she could. About the sports festival, about the summer with Nate and working the rest of the internship, about coming back to school and deciding to work together still. She told them how, yes, Katsuki had been the Kamui Woods at the party (causing everyone who hadn't already known to gasp loudly) and how she'd accepted being physically attracted to each other after that. She talked a little bit about their partnership and training together and how most of the pros who had worked with them wanted them to stay a team, even after they graduated.

Then she had to talk about winter break. How she'd gone out with Deku on Christmas Eve, how Katsuki had come to her house on her birthday, and worst of all, what happened between them on New Years. She still refused to tell them anything more than the bare minimum with that night, though. It had been such a deeply personal moment that even if she thought Katsuki would want anyone else to know the things he said and did, she didn't want anyone else to know. Those moments were for her and for him. Other people didn't need to know what they had shared and how deeply it had hurt.

So she just grazed over it by saying he confessed and she'd turned him down because she'd already agreed to go out with Deku.

She then briefly recounted what had happened these past few months with Katsuki leaving her work study and generally being cold and Deku comforting her about it. She told them how she realized that she really had been in love with Katsuki and what a mistake she realized she'd made and having decided to stay with Deku not to hurt him, then finally about how it had all exploded at the hero exams.

By the end of the story, Mina and a few other girls sat teary-eyed. Kirishima and Iida stared like they'd been struck.

"Ochako-chan," Tsuyu regarded her with a sympathetic and kind expression, "You could have told us. We wouldn't have thought less of you."

Ochako squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, trying to keep her tears back, already feeling a lump in her throat.

"If I'm gonna be honest, Uraraka-chan, even without knowing he had been Kamui Woods, I kinda thought you guys were good for each other," Kirishima admitted, "You started arguing back at him at the beginning of this year and Bakugo acted like it pissed him off but he liked to bother you more than anyone all of a sudden and when he walked away from your fights, he was never actually fuming like he usually is with most other people he doesn't like. He didn't hate that you beat him in that exercise. He was scary after he carried you back to Recovery Girl during the sports festival. He had like a whole new energy to him that fueled him to win. And he seemed happier than I'd ever seen him when you guys stopped fighting so much second term and started working together. That was when a few of us talked about it and thought you guys might be good together." Mina nodded at this. "But after winter break, things were so cold with you two and he was pissed pretty much 24/7 and after you showed up on the balcony to fight with him and he didn't want to talk to you, I kinda realized that something had already been going on with you guys and it had blown up when you got with Midoriya. It sucked but I didn't know what I could do. It's not like I don't like Midoriya, everyone here likes him." Everyone in the room nodded. "And in first or maybe some of second year I would've said you guys were a perfect couple but now... and after seeing you guys actually trying to be together... it just seemed weird. It sucks that things happened the way they did."

It was nice to hear from Katsuki's friend's point of view, and also kinda surprising. Deku had brought up once how he had behaved after she'd been hurt at the sports festival but she'd overlooked it because she'd been so upset by him dropping out then the things he'd told her after. She hadn't even thought about it after that. Now, putting the pieces together, it was impossible not to see Katsuki's feelings for her had been there all along and she'd just not wanted to see it until he had forced her to.

"Well the silver lining to all of this is that you did end up breaking up with Midoriya and Bakugo knows how you feel now so... you can just be together right?" Kyoka announced.

Ochako considered what she said. She'd been so torn up about them possibly losing their licenses that she hadn't even realized that she had finally succeeded in doing what she had meant to. She could actually be with Katsuki now! The only problem was how could she even face him with all that he was going through because of her? Would he even think it was worth it anymore?

"I guess," she answered, "I'd want to be with him no matter what but... if his license gets taken, I don't think he'll be up for anything anymore..."

They all looked down, considering her words. They likely all agreed and understood. It was hard not to. They all had worked so hard to get to this point, Deku and Katsuki most of all. For it to be torn from any of them would've been devastating. For it to be taken from Katsuki or Deku was unfathomable.

"Thank you for telling us what's been going on, Ochako-chan," Mina told her thoughtfully, "I know it's been hard for you. We'll do anything we can to help you out if you need it from now on. Even if it's something little, don't hesitate to ask."

She nodded but couldn't help but think that how hard it had been for her was nothing next to Katsuki. He deserved so much better from the start.

"It's about dinner time, who wants curry?!" Toru yelled.

The rest of them shouted back excitedly.

Later that night, Ochako finally built up her courage to try and make a visit to Katsuki despite her apprehension at how angry or regretful he might be. She wanted to see him. She wanted to comfort him and tell him she would do everything she could to make things right.

So she made her little journey off of her balcony, around the dorm building and floated up to his balcony.

She heaved a sigh of relief to find his curtains open and peeked into his room. But it was empty. He wasn't at his desk or in his bed or anywhere else. The room was dark.

He nor Deku had been at dinner but she thought it might be possible they were just hiding up in their rooms. She could understand them not wanting to have to confront their classmates right now.

But no, they hadn't been there because they hadn't come back.

Ochako lept from the balcony to go back to her room.

Her sleep was anything but restful.

The next morning was the start of graduation day. It was supposed to be an exciting time but Ochako felt anything but. Her mood was still incredibly somber despite being able to talk to her friends about what was going on finally.

She showered and dressed in her uniform to go down to breakfast. They would be moving all of their items out of their dorms before the ceremony. That way, all they had to do was leave after they received their diplomas and, in the case of the hero course, their hero license.

Katsuki and Deku still weren't back and Ochako knew it was not a good sign.

As she was about to head back up to begin packing, a call came in requesting her presence at the principal's office and a well of dread began to fill in her stomach.

Her friends stopped what they were doing to give her encouragement or offer hugs.

"It's okay, Ochako-chan," Mina comforted her, "you might be able to do something to help them now, just like you wanted! Go get em!"

Feeling only marginally more encouraged, she offered her thanks and made her way out the door to the school building and toward the principal's office.

"You wanted me, sir?" Ochako asked, poking her head into the room when she arrived.

"Uraraka-chan, please come in," Principal Nezu told her and she opened the door the rest of the way, taking a few unsure steps in and shutting it.

Her eyes went immediately to the blonde boy sitting with his back to her in front of Principal Nezu's desk. Both he and Deku were seated rigidly in rather uncomfortable looking plastic chairs. They were both changed out of their costumes at least but neither looked like they were doing well, even from the back.

To the sides of the room stood Aizawa-sensei, All Might, Endeavor, and a handful of other official looking men and women she assumed were important figures to help decide the outcome of this meeting. She was slightly relieved to find that, at the very least, their parents weren't there. She couldn't imagine that Mrs. Bakugo nor Ms. Midoriya would be very pleased with their sons, or even with her for that matter.

Neither Katsuki or Deku looked her way as she walked between them, approaching the desk and stopping a couple feet in front of it. There was no chair set out for her so she remained standing.

"Uraraka-chan, your name has been brought up a few times as being involved in this incident," Nezu prompted, "It seems you have a tale to tell in all this."

Ochako's cheeks reddened and she lowered her gaze, "I- I guess you could say that..."

"Would you like to tell us what happened after the exam?" he inquired, trying to push her to speak.

"I- Well..." she looked around for help. She wished so badly to be able to turn and gain some confidence from seeing Katsuki's face but she knew looking at either boy would not be the right choice.

Her eyes instead landed on Aizawa-sensei, who had been the one to stop her from stepping in and likely knew much of what was going on. He did not lack observation skills, afterall.

He gave her a nod of encouragement, lifting his brows slightly to show about as much support as she was likely to see.

"Well, I don't know exactly what I should be telling you," she admitted.

"Just tell what happened from your point of view," Aizawa told her.

"Okay..." she looked around the room again.

Suddenly, this whole situation between her and Deku and Katsuki seemed so foolish, like a child's drama played out before the eyes of grown-ups. She suddenly felt extremely self-conscious telling her story.

"I had been dating um... Midoriya-kun for a few months and I.. made the dumb decision, looking back on it now, to tell him I wanted to break up with him. That I wanted to be with- ah... Bakugo-kun. In front of everyone."

She refused to look at anyone anymore and just kept her eyes on the desk, trying not to see anything. Why did she have to say this in front of a bunch of heroes?

"Midoriya, understandably, didn't take it well and he and Ka- um- Bakugo started arguing and then they started fighting. So... I guess you could say this is all my fault. If I'd handled everything better and been able to tell Midoriya sooner or in private or something, this wouldn't have happened. I'm sorry for my part in this."

Someone sighed heavily to her right. She looked over to see Endeavor rubbing his forehead, "So you're telling me this is all over some kind of high school lover's quarrel?"

Ochako's knees weakened slightly and her cheeks burned, "I-I guess you could say that..."

"Is it really a good idea to be handing a hero license to students graduating who would endanger the lives of others over who gets to be who's boyfriend?" one of the men she didn't recognize questioned, directing it at Principal Nezu.

"We've all been known to make errors in judgement due to high emotional state," one of the women piped up, "We also gain a lot of strength in times of great need due to emotion as well."

"But they attacked each other!" the unfamiliar man said again, "They weren't fighting a villain or valuing a loved one over other civilians, they were just fighting over a girl!"

Ochako ducked her head and hoped beyond hope that no one was looking at her at that moment.

"These two have worked for me for the past three months and quite a few months in years previous," Endeavor cut in, "They've shown nothing but complete professionalism. I'm not willing to just write them off over a one-time mistake."

"As far as I've seen, both of these young men have a great passion for being heroes," All Might added, "They have accomplished things during their school days that many pro heroes have never done. They are already very well known as up and coming heroes in the public eye."

"I think you might have a bit of bias there, All Might, seeing as one of these boys is your protege you've taken under your wing and the other is one you have a familiar relationship with as well, am I right?" another lady asked him pointedly.

"That doesn't change what I know and have personally witnessed them achieve," he countered.

"Isn't this girl partners with Bakugo-kun?" the first lady inquired out of the blue.

Ochako looked over to her and realized suddenly that she had met her at the Christmas party her parents had taken her to, she'd been one of the people who had urged her to make a professional team with him. She'd never told her she worked to provide licenses to heroes, though.

"It is!" she said excitedly, "Uravity! You and Bakugo work so well together! It would be so awful to deprive the world of heroes like Uravity and Bakugo. Deku too! They're some of the most promising heroes in the country!"

"But the rules are the rules," Principal Nezu answered her and Ochako felt a stab of betrayal at him speaking against them, "Can we make an exception for these students just because of their potential and public favor?"

"Please," Ochako spoke up, her fists shaking as she met each and every person's eye, "It's my fault. I handled this wrong and I didn't stop them before it came to blows when I knew I could. I should've been more considerate to everyone involved and I- I would be more than happy to take full responsibility and give up my own license to keep them from losing theirs. I wouldn't be able to stand it if they couldn't be heroes. If there was anything I knew Bakugo OR Midoriya wanted in their entire lives, it's to be a hero."

She felt a tear she hadn't known she'd been holding back roll down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

"Please. Both of them have told me countless times how much this means to them. Midoriya didn't want to be with anyone out of fear that he'd put that ahead of his studies for even a second. Bakugo told me personally that no matter what happened in his personal life, he wasn't going to let that affect everything he's worked for to be a hero. So neither of them wanted this. This is my fault for forcing them into this confrontation. So please blame me and punish me."

Her fists gripped her skirt as she tried to still her shaking nerves and she fought with all of her willpower to keep her head up and her face as determined as possible.

She had her back turned to the desk now to face the handful of people in professional attire and saw from the corners of her eyes that both Deku and Katsuki were watching her but she didn't dare to glance at either to determine what the expressions on their faces were.

Every adult was looking at her with surprise, and a few with sympathy.

"You can kinda see what they thought was worth fighting over now," Endeavor muttered and Ochako's cheeks warmed once again.

"Uraraka," Aizawa called to her and she spun to meet his gaze again, "What you're saying is commendable and it may even be true but you didn't compel these two to fight. You didn't force them or threaten them or even ask them. They both made that choice on their own. Either was capable of walking away and neither did. If I recall correctly, you were about to try and physically stop them before I held you back from it."

Ochako nodded.

"Could she have even done that?" Endeavor asked with mild amusement.

She shrugged, unsure. She would've tried at least.

"Yes, she could've," Aizawa answered with irritation, "but the last thing we needed was for another student to get involved."

"I think we've heard enough. We should deliberate on this now. Graduation is only a few hours away, afterall," Principal Nezu reminded them.

He turned to Ochako, "Thank you for telling us your side, Uraraka-chan. You may go back to getting ready for graduation now."

She was dismissed.

Ochako nodded her understanding and bowed, turning to walk out. She finally let herself sneak a glimpse at Katsuki but he was looking away from her, his face a jumble of emotions she was oddly unable to translate. He looked so tired, though. They'd barely gotten any sleep the night before last. Had he gotten any since then?

She wished so badly she could reach out and touch him. They were so close. But it just wasn't possible.

Passing out of the room and closing the door behind her, she heard the conversation start up again but didn't stick around to hear what was being said.

Ochako pulled her suitcase out of her closet that she'd begun the school year by rolling onto campus stuffed with dresses. Now she was going to have to figure out how to stuff almost twice as much with how many outfits her mom sent her back with.

She figured this out by also stuffing her duffel bag and her backpack full, then giving any remaining to Mina and Toru who were more than happy to take some dresses home.

She packed up the few personal items she had around her room, like her fan and her books.

Then, simple as that, she was done. She met with her parents an hour before the ceremony to help them put her things in the car. They'd driven all the way here to come pick her and her belongings up and, of course, were pleased to see her.

"I can't wait to hear all about how this term went for you and your exams and everything in between," her mom chirped excitedly.

Then her face soured a bit, "But I am kind of disappointed not to be seeing Deku-kun out here helping you pack up your stuff."

Ochako looked away uncomfortably, "A lot's happened, Mom. We... broke up."

"Oh my gosh, baby, I'm so sorry!" her mom said, gathering her into a hug.

"It's fine," she assured her, "I'm not the one who's upset. I was actually the one to break it off."

Her mom gave her a confused frown, "Okay, well I guess there's a lot for us to talk about later then, huh?"

Ochako nodded her head in agreement and hugged her mom tightly again feeling a little more confident with her support behind her.

And soon enough, it was time for the graduation ceremony to begin.

Aizawa-sensei gathered class 3-A together just outside the building before they entered and were to be seated, saying he had news to inform them of.

Deku and Katsuki finally joined the class again when he called for them all to gather and Ochako took it as a good sign that they would at least be allowed to graduate and walk the stage. They wouldn't have to sit and watch everyone else be called or have to disappoint their parents too much.

"You all saw what happened yesterday morning after the exam with Midoriya and Bakugo. It was not good and we had to take it very seriously," Aizawa-sensei began, "For a while there, the board and Principal Nezu considered revoking their hero licenses."

A few people in class gasped, horrified that something like that would even be considered.

"But I was able to advocate for them along with All Might and Endeavor and I think maybe what you said may have swayed them a little bit too, Uraraka."

All of the eyes of her classmates turned on her and she felt a blush come to her cheeks.

"We were able to somehow convince them not to permanently revoke their licenses. Instead, they will not be receiving them today and will be suspended from duty for two months, then will have a probationary work period in which they must be on their best behavior as heroes or there will be severe consequences then. Both of them have already been informed of this decision and both agree that this is more than fair to them," he explained.

Whispers went around the class but Ochako didn't hear any of them. She was clutching at her chest as relief flooded her. She wanted to scream at the world how happy she was but instead her knees weakened and she almost sank to the ground.

But a strong, large hand caught her elbow and lifted her. Katsuki. He was at her side.

"Chill out, floaty," he told her with annoyance, "It's not that big a deal."

But it was! She had torn herself up all of yesterday and most of today worried sick for him and for Deku. She couldn't imagine the stress they had been under.

"It is and you know it," she argued, keeping her voice low, "It doesn't matter anymore, though, now. Two months is so much better than I would've ever imagined!"

She pulled his hand from where it held onto her arm and she slid her fingers into his, looking up at him with a gentle smile, her stomach doing flips from nerves and excitement.

"I'm happy," she said shyly.

Katsuki sighed, giving her a look that said he thought she was ridiculous, but cute.

"Alright, time to go," Aizawa reported after looking in the door once.

Katsuki's hand slid discreetly from hers as they were placed in line amongst their fellow graduates and walked out to take their seats.

Their graduation ceremony was long with a lot of excessive flair about being a hero even when you're not from the hero course and so on.

Ochako knew that this was meant to be one of the most defining moments of her life but all she could seem to focus on was the blonde boy sitting 2 rows in front of her and how she couldn't wait to run into his arms and celebrate with him and kiss him. They could start talking about working together again and try to find a place that would take them as a team. Hawks had already all but said they were welcome back. She was sure Mt. Lady or any of the Lurkers would take them (or maybe not- she reconsidered- thinking of how Edgeshot and Kamui Woods had been the ones to break Katsuki and Deku up).

This graduation just felt like a means to an end, though. Just a step in the direction she wanted to go. The end goal being a hero agency eventually, she supposed, and somewhere in there finding her way into Katsuki's arms again.

She couldn't wait.

The ceremony wound down finally and they were all released to the shouts of "PLUS ULTRA!" bouncing around the room.

Ochako and her other classmates took the time to change out of their uniforms and into more casual clothing afterwards. Knowing that the journey in the car was going to take a while longer than it usually did by train, she changed into more comfortable loungewear with some leggings and a soft pink tank top with a kitten wearing glittery glasses on the front.

She met up with Mina and the other girls and they all exchanged numbers, promising to keep in touch and get together again whenever they could. A few teary hugs were given and each of the girls went on their way to start their new exciting lives as heroes.

She noticed that, far down the walkway toward the parking lot, her mother and father had been caught up with by Mitsuki and Mr. Bakugo (which had been the first she'd seen of him ever) and were now in a lively conversation. She didn't see Katsuki anywhere near them, though, and took a step to go and greet them to see if he was nearby or to wait for him, although she knew it would be slightly awkward to have to explain their situation to both her parents and his at the same time. It hardly even mattered to her though, her elation was so acute.

"Ochako-chan," a warm, masculine voice sounded behind her and she froze.

She turned to find sad, tired emerald eyes timidly staring into hers.

"Deku," she said softly, not sure what she should say or how she should go about any kind of conversation with him. She had hurt him deeply and he had nearly lost everything thanks to her. She could hardly understand how he was even approaching her right now.

"I just wanted to say thanks for saying what you said in that office this morning," he said with a pained smile, "You didn't have to speak up for me, especially after the awful things I said about you yesterday. You didn't deserve that and I was angry so I apologize."

Ochako felt a warmth radiate from her heart for the green-haired boy before her. She couldn't hate him. She couldn't blame him. She had been through so much with him and spent practically her entire high school life being close friends with him. She hoped to one day get back to that.

"I'm sorry too, Deku, for the things I did and not being forthcoming as soon as I could," she admitted as well, running her fingers through her hair, which laid flat out of its ponytail special for today.

"No, I should really be-" but he was interrupted by boisterous laughter as Kirishima barreled into him, hooking his arm around his neck.

"Midoriya! I'm so glad they didn't screw you over with that license thing. That would've been complete bullshit," the red-haired boy (shitty-hair Katsuki called him) exclaimed, "Come on, you've gotta come with me and tell the rest of the guys who didn't get to see all the sweet action during the exam how we won the whole thing."

"Well we passed, we didn't win," Deku said awkwardly, looking back at her but Kirishima still pulled on him and he finally obliged, seeing Iida and most of the other boys from their class as well as 3-B waiting back toward the school building entrance.

Kirishima gave her a thumbs up behind his back and she realized he'd been trying to relieve her of dealing with Deku right now. Possibly trying to keep the both of them from confronting each other while their emotions were still raw. She was grateful.

Finally alone again, Ochako looked to her parents who were still deep in conversation with Katsuki's.

Her mother looked up and waved to her, drawing the attention of Mitsuki and the two men as well. They all smiled at her, then their gazes went to something next to her and she jumped when she looked to her right to find Katsuki there in cargo pants and a skull graphic tee, looking at her expectantly.

"Holy- Katsuki, you can't sneak up on me like that! I haven't even seen you around! I've been looking for you!" she scolded.

He didn't even acknowledge what she said, just turned his back to her and walked up toward the dorms, away from the campus exit where everyone else was milling about.

"Come on, floaty, we don't got all day," he told her, looking back at her.

Ochako glanced back at her parents and pointed toward him, trying to let them know she'd be right back.

Her mom grinned widely and exchanged looks with Mitsuki before waving her off.

Oh boy... She was going to get an interrogation in the car after all this was through...

Jogging to catch up with him, she walked next to him, enjoying his silent company for a time as they moved further from the crowd or any prying eyes. Though she wished she could at least hold his hand again, touch his arm, something. But he hadn't offered her anything or initiated any contact. It was starting to scrape at the edge of her suspicious side.

"So," she tried stiffly, unsure why she was feeling so uncomfortable around him all of a sudden, "I don't exactly know where I'm going to work after this. Hawks already offered me a job, though. You too technically. I'm sure he won't mind waiting a couple months."

She looked up at him. His face was unreadable like his thoughts were far away and not with her at that moment.

"I'm sure there are gonna be a lot of options," she went on, "despite everything, people still want us to work for them. I can even hold off on taking a hero job and work for my dad for a couple months until your suspension is up, if you want."

"No," he finally answered her, "Don't do that, pink-cheeks."

Her chest tightened and she felt her face get hot as she continued to walk with him, past the dorms now, toward the training grounds at the back of the campus.

"What do you want to do then? Do you have any plans or ideas?" she asked curiously.

He shook his head, still not really even looking at her, just off into the distance, deep in thought.

She finally got tired of waiting for his invitation and took his arm in hers, pulling it to her chest and pressing the side of her body against his.

He went rigid for a moment in response, but soon relaxed and let her have her way with him.

"We can talk about it later, I guess," she conceded, "I'm just glad I can be with you right now."

They remained quiet for a little bit longer as they continued walking, passing the ground beta entrance and walking along its wall toward the next training ground.

A feeling of discomfort grew within her and warred with the happiness she felt at being able to be alone with him for once. But something inside her knew that something was off. This wasn't Katsuki. He had been willing to go to her and kiss her in front of their whole class if she had wanted him to. Now he was taking her far away from where they knew any student or teacher would be. Why? Did they need that much privacy?

Maybe for some things, her mind supplied and her cheeks grew hotter at that thought.

But she doubted that was the case. Why wouldn't he just pull her into the dorms if he wanted that kind of privacy? They still had access to them for the time being and everyone else was already moved out.

"Only two months," he finally said, coming to a stop at the edge of ground beta's wall, reaching his free hand out to it as if for support, "I don't know how we managed to even get off that lucky."

"It's not luck," she told him, "It's your reputation and all the people who know your worth."

She let him go and came to stand in front of him, laying a hand on his cheek. His eyes still seemed so distant.

"Is something wrong? Are you not happy with the outcome?" she asked, feeling concern for him. Worried that he might mistakenly believe he deserved some kind of worse punishment.

He turned away from her hand and tightened his into fists.

Stung by his actions, the dread that had dissipated after the meeting earlier this morning, began to pool in her stomach again.

"Fuck, shit is all fucked up," he groaned, moving away from her and mussing his hair lightly.

"It'll be okay, though," she said warmly, trying to comfort him but unsure if she should reach out to him again.

It had the opposite effect and he let out a strangled growl of frustration, striking the wall with the side of his fist.

This seemed to open some kind of floodgate of rage that he'd been holding back for a while, possibly ever since he'd been pulled away from Deku at the exam.

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" he roared, punching the wall of the training grounds over and over again. The concrete was beginning to crack.

"Katsuki," Ochako said with a soothing voice, placing a hand softly on his bicep, "I'm sorry all this happened. You'll get to work in a couple months, though at least."

Katsuki flinched away, his palms sparking in continued fury.

"You don't get it, Ochako," he nearly yelled, "This is what I want to be. This is my dream! And I almost lost it all. Threw it all away! And for what? For a high school crush?"

Ochako's brows twitched at that. A crush?

"You don't mean that, Katsuki. Please just-" she held back from saying "calm down". When had that ever calmed anyone down? "Please just think this through. You haven't lost anything. You're just suspended for a couple months and then you can go back to work. Work with me if you want."

She moved toward him again, trying to touch him, comfort him. But he held out a hand to keep her at bay.

Katsuki looked to relax a bit, letting out a huge breath.

"Work with you?" he asked, incredulous.

"If you want," Ochako added, sounding hopeful.

"Ochako," he said, his voice taut with emotion, "I told you before I'm not throwing everything I ever worked for away over how I feel about you."

She nodded, remembering the conversation on the balcony.

"I almost did just now. I can't- I would never be happy if I weren't a hero, Ochako. Having come this close to losing it all makes me question everything."

He looked into her eyes then, the despair and terror finally coming to the surface. Her heart cried out to help him, save him from this thing that was eating him up inside.

"I need to back off from this. I need some time to figure shit out," he said to her, blinking slowly.

Wait. What?

Ochako shook her head like she might've heard wrong or been confused.

"What do you mean 'back off'? Like... like you focus on being a hero on your own for a while?" she asked, her chin wobbling, hoping that was what he was saying. She could accept him not wanting to work together for a while.

"No, as in I don't think we should see each other for a while," he said slowly, more calmly.

"No," Ochako choked out, her voice not cooperating with her, "that's- that's not what you want!"

"I almost lost everything for you, Ochako," he ground out, sounding pained, "I can't do that."

"I would never ask you to!" she argued, her body starting to catch up to the shock she'd initially felt at his words as coldness crept from her throat, down into her chest, freezing her heart. The dread was beginning to overflow in her stomach.

"I know you wouldn't," he countered, "but that doesn't mean I wouldn't do it anyway."

He grabbed her then, pulling her to him, crushing her body to his. She heard his heart beating wildly in his chest as he held her close.

"Im fucking crazy about you, angel-face," he spoke into her hair, "I would burn the fucking world down for you. Fuck, I might've become a villain for you. I hated Deku when he was with you and I couldn't be."

Ochako shivered at the rage in his confession. She understood his passion. She felt it. She would do the same for him. She knew that if she'd had to be forced to watch him with someone else day in and day out, she might go insane or tear the other girl's hair out. But she knew he only had eyes for her and she never felt in danger of those feelings becoming overwhelming. His fear and lack of security that she loved him as deeply as he loved her, made him more volatile. She'd given him no reason to be sure of it. It was her fault.

"That's too fucking much," he whispered, pulling back, "I can't feel that way about anyone. That's not what I want."

A familiar knife slid into Ochako's chest. One that twisted as it stabbed at her, deeper and deeper. She'd brought this on herself. All of it.

"But I- I love you, Katsuki," she whimpered, tears blurring her vision, "We can be together now. You don't have to worry about me wanting anyone else, I swear!"

A tender hand combed once through her hair.

"I can't, floaty-"

"Fuck you!" she wailed, anger heating her cheeks while ice still somehow gripped her chest, "Don't 'floaty' me! Don't 'angel-face' me, you asshole! You fucking love me and you'll make me happy. You said it! You worked your ass off to prove to me that I was in love with you and now you've stepped over your own made up boundary, you're gonna back off?!"

She pushed him away, his hold on her loosening immediately when she resisted him. She felt like throwing a temper tantrum. She was enraged the same as she was crushed. It wasn't right! She'd made her choice! She loved him! And now he was trying to take it all back because he loved her too much?

"Give me everything, Katsuki!," she cried, unshed tears burning her eyes and the back of her throat, "I can take it! I want it! I want you! I chose you! Take that hatred and anger and willingness to burn the world to the ground out on me! I'm the one who deserves it! I'm the one who made you wait for me!"

Katsuki shook, his crimson eyes burning bright. The passion in them, explosive.

Before she was able to say more- start begging if she had to- he was on her, his mouth meeting hers, bruising her lips with the ferocity with which he kissed her. He kissed her like he loved her and like he hated her.

Ochako clawed at him, wanting to pull him closer than he already was, despite his body already pressed flush against her. Her tongue battled with his, like they were fighting, trying to see who could exhaust the other first.

Her heart was no longer frozen but burning hot like a furnace with need and desire and desperation.

Her back hit a wall and she realized he'd been pushing her backward into it for the past few seconds. And when her back made that tiny thud, he pressed against her hard, grinding a massive erection into her hip.

Katsuki let out a primal growl into her mouth as she let out a similar mewling whimper. God, she fucking loved him so much. Nothing but his body on hers had ever made her feel so alive.

His kiss broke from hers and she saw his eyes, wild with emotion, swirling out of control.

His mouth went to her neck and he licked at it before grazing his teeth against her throat, eliciting an excited gasp from her.

As a reward for making a sound he liked, his right hand went to her breast, cupping, then squeezing, then fondling as he kissed along her neck. His left found its way under her tank top, continually dragging his nails down her back, then sliding his palm back up just to do it all over again.

Ochako's hands flew to his hair, running them through it, gripping it, pulling him into her.

She pushed her hips against his, wanting to feel that long, thick hardness against her again, wanting him to know she wanted to feel it.

Katsuki grunted as his length met her hip again and he bucked his hips a few times, his breaths becoming more erratic as he found a small amount of pleasure through grinding his hips this way against her.

His teeth grazed the soft skin where her shoulder met her neck and she shuddered, letting a tiny desperate whine escape her lips.

He removed his hands from her and grasped her hips, instead centering himself on her as he continued to grind his erection against her over and over, driving her insane.

He slid his left hand down to her thigh and lifted it easily, holding her knee up so he was more easily rubbing against her own wetness now, the need to feel him filling her mounting with every stroke he made.

His mouth met hers again, the same crushing kiss sweeping away all she could've possibly been trying to think about in that moment.

Ochako felt his passion. Felt the overwhelming emotions he was pouring into her. She felt like she was being burned by them, like she was being engulfed in an ocean of uncontrollable flames and she was holding on to the one person she knew she would endure this for, while at the same time, knowing that he was the one those flames were pouring out of.

She accepted him. Accepted this harsh, passionate, wild unleashing of himself upon her.

It was nothing like their first kiss. He'd been forceful then too, passionate and unrelenting. But he had only just let desire fuel his actions.

Now, he was feverish with so much more than desire. His pain and his fear and his anger were pressing down on her as well. He was showing her just how much he felt and how he could hardly take it anymore.

He gripped her ass tightly, painfully with his right hand as he continued to buck his hips into her groin, making guttural growling sounds each time he did. It had to be chafing by now.

Ochako broke their kiss once more, pulling his head back by his hair.

"Katsuki," she said in a lust-deepened voice, "I want this. I want you. I'm yours now and you can do whatever you want with me."

Katsuki snarled at her, past any kind of language usage, absolutely feral.

He let her leg down then and flipped her around so he was pushing her chest into the wall now, her face pressed against the cool concrete.

One hand gripping her hip again, he roughly ran his other up her thigh, a frustrated grunt at not being able to touch her skin for her leggings.

Ochako jolted as his palm cupped her sex, running two fingers along the wetness seeping through both her panties and her leggings.

He sucked in a hiss of air as she let out a tiny yelp and shifted her hips, driving them back and her ass meeting his hard length once more.

As he bucked his hips into her again, she could hardly bear the heat and yearning between her legs any longer.

Katsuki's lips were at her shoulder again and when she pushed back into him again, after he grazed her sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs, he sank his teeth into her.

Ochako cried out. From pain, from pleasure, from the overwhelming emotion barreling down on her. She didn't know if he'd actually broken the skin this time or not, but this had been a harder bite than any other before. The mark would last for weeks.

He stopped his ministrations with either of his hands and brought them back to her hips, his thumbs digging beneath the waistband of both her leggings and panties.

"Katsuki," she begged him.

It was all he needed and he unceremoniously pushed them down, past her ass to mid-thigh, bearing her to him, making her cheeks blaze with embarrassment and desire.

He grabbed her bare ass now, squeezing and groping, making a strained sound of pleasure.

One of his fingers dipped lower. Toward the wetness waiting for him between her legs and she whimpered desperately, cheek still pressed against the wall.

Growling with red hot desire, Katsuki removed his hands and ground his still-clothed erection against her ass, sometimes letting it dip between her legs.

Ochako shook. Trembling with anticipation and a certain amount of fear. This was her first time. Would it hurt? Almost certainly. He was already being rough, that along with losing her virginity would probably end up hurting quite a bit. But she wanted him. She wanted to feel him inside of her. She wanted him to know how much she would give him.

She heard him unzipping his own pants, clothes rustling, the hiss of his breath as he presumably took his length in his own hand.

She started a bit when she felt his foot nudge hers to the side, getting her to open her legs wider and tilting her hips back further, letting a wholly primitive growl escape his lips, as she assumed he liked seeing her presented to him this way.

Something hot and thick pushed against her folds, sliding easily along them as her juices were practically dripping down her legs.

Ochako squeezed her eyes closed, readying herself for whatever this initial pain would be, ready to take it, feel him, accept him.

Her heart pounded in her ears as she said, barely above a whisper, "I love you, Katsuki."

Katsuki went still for a couple heartbeats, then pulled back. The hot hardness between her legs withdrew, along with his rough, grasping hands.

She felt his hands again a moment later at her thighs, taking hold of her leggings and panties, pulling them up over her hips again.

His weight was no longer pressing into her body and she spun around, not understanding what was happening.

She saw him standing there next to her. His pants zipped up again.

Looking up into his face, she saw tears staining his cheeks, the rims of his eyes turning red.

"Why," she asked, not understanding, a feeling of rejection lancing through her.

"Not like this," he ground out with a purely broken voice.

He reached a hand out to her face, brushing gentle, shaking fingers against her cheek, his temperament wholly different than it had been only moments before, when his fingers only knew how to grip and push and claw.

"Katsuki, I want it. I want you," she pleaded, gritting her teeth against the stinging in her eyes.

"I can't," he told her, pulling his hand away.

Those words slapped her right in the face. Her own words. Spoken to him on New Years. Was this tearing of her whole self down the middle how he had felt back then? Knowing he loved her and was just one step away but being denied anyway?

How could she have fucked it all up this badly?

"Please don't go," she begged, a torrent of tears streaming from her eyes, "I'll do anything. I'll never fuck up again. Just please."

He blinked slowly at her, straightening his clothes and pulling his mask of boredom back onto his features.

"No," he said simply, "I'll see you around, floaty,"

Ochako felt everything that she was break apart and sink into an abyss of darkness. She curled her hands into tight fists as she watched him walk away from her through tear-blurred vision.

When he was gone, she bit into her fist and screamed until her throat was raw as she sank to the ground. Then she didn't move until her parents found her a couple hours later, led by Aizawa-sensei. They gathered her up, her father carrying her to the car.

There was no talking on the drive home.

Notes:

Ya, y'all thought things were gonna be that easy but they AREN'T! Katsuki's got a brain. He occasionally uses it. Some of you were mad at her but she doesn't get off scot free after all the mayhem.

Sorry about your feels but here's um... some minimal consolation smut?

A beloved reader has blessed me with some fan art of this chapter and I just... I can't even I'm so thankful! post/620122378403545088/hot-headed

Chapter 26

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

3 MONTHS LATER

"Guess what," Nate said excitedly over the phone.

"You have a boyfriend!" Ochako blurted immediately figuring there were few things he would actually sound this excited over.

He paused a second as he processed her words.

"No, but I appreciate your optimism," he said snarkily and she let out a small laugh.

"My parents want me to make another visit to Japan this year, this time for two weeks."

Ochako's mouth hung open and her heart skipped a beat. She didn't even know how to respond.

"Is that a good silence or a bad silence?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Sorry, Nate, I'm just so stunned! I didn't think you'd be coming back so soon!" she said with wonder.

"Me either!" he rejoiced, "But it's partially for work, partially for play because my second week is just a vacation week. I figured we could go sight-seeing and eat at a bunch of five-star restaurants!"

"Oh wow! That would be amazing!" she squealed, "But I have to work so I won't be able to be with you much..."

"Yeah, I took care of that," he responded mysteriously.

Ochako narrowed her eyes despite him not being able to see, "What do you mean 'you took care of it'?"

"Well I still need a guard don't I? I'm hiring you to be that guard for me for those two weeks!"

She frowned, "But aren't you going to be staying in the same place?"

"Of course!" he answered.

"But that's not my jurisdiction," she told him sadly, "I don't work for Mt. Lady anymore, I work a little ways outside the city actually."

After graduating, she had gotten a slew of job offers, a couple, of course, coming from well-known pros, including Mt. Lady and the other two Lurkers, as well as officially from Hawks. But she had chosen not to go with any of them and, instead, had taken a job with a lesser-known hero in a small city just outside of Tokyo, on the opposite edge of where UA was located.

She didn't want to have to end up working with any of her former classmates, even Mina or Toru. She wanted to leave the whole of her high school life behind. At least when she worked. She would still occasionally visit with the girls from her class from time to time.

"Don't worry about it," he assured her, "I already talked to Mt. Lady and she said she was more than happy to have you working in her territory, especially to guard me again. I also specially requested you from your hero agency and they okayed the job so there you go!"

Ochako's heart swelled. He'd done all that to make sure that she could come stay with him again.

She sighed heavily with appreciation, "Thank you, Nate. In that case, I'd love to come guard you."

"Great!" he said and she could hear his smile through the phone.

Something snagged at the corner of her mind then. Something that made her somewhat suspicious of her friend despite the fact that she cared for him dearly and didn't want to distrust him.

"Nate," she said with a questioning tone, "Is anyone else going to be guarding you with me?"

"What?" he asked, sounding truly shocked, "Of course not, Uravity! I have confidence in your ability to protect me on your own... Wait wait wait. Did you think this was some kind of ploy and I would hire Bakugo as well?"

She hadn't been sure. She trusted him for the most part. And he knew just how hard she'd worked these past few months to slowly piece herself back together after everything that had happened. But she also wouldn't have put it past him to consider it at the very least. He was kinda his friend too. He was familiar with him at least.

"Ground Zero," she said soberly, twisting the chopsticks in her hands she'd been using to stir what she'd been cooking the past ten minutes, "That's what he goes by now."

She already wanted to move away from this subject.

"Right," he said gingerly, "Of course I wouldn't do that, Uravity. It's just you and me, girly."

"Okay, thanks Nate," she said with a sigh of relief, "I'm sorry I suspected you would."

"I understand," he soothed, "I've gotta go now but I'll text you all of my flight info. I'll be there next week so get yourself ready for a good time, yeah?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I can't wait to see you again, Nate."

"Me either, Uravity," he said, "Bye, babe."

"Bye, Nate."

She finished up her dinner and ate quickly so she could start laying clothes out to stay with him for a while after the next week.

"Nate!" Ochako shrieked, running into his arms and nearly bowling him over as their chests met when she picked him up from the airport.

"Oof, take it easy on me, I'm a soft, defenseless royal," he said with a laugh.

But she hardly cared. She was in desperate need of hugs and comfort and it was nice to have a non-threatening male presence around. She had moved out of her parents house only a couple weeks after graduating, ignoring their concerns for her well-being. Being somewhere completely new had helped her feel cleansed and was turning the page on her life. But she did still miss her parents and the easy comfort they brought her sometimes.

They made it safely out of the airport and back to the same hotel they'd stayed in around this same time last year.

Ochako's heart gave a pang of nostalgia and still somewhat tender grief as she emerged from the elevator, looking around the apartment-like penthouse. She sighed heavily, trying not to remember and just focus on making new memories now, looking forward to her days ahead with her usually long-distance friend.

After getting everything settled, Nate told her he was going to head to his room to take a nap, leaving her to wander around the penthouse on her own for a while.

She decided to change into her swimsuit and swim in the private pool for a bit, then soaked in her bath to get the chlorine washed off and to try to soothe her growing sense of unease.

Nate was back in Japan and she got to spend two weeks pretty much just hanging out with him under the guise of being a bodyguard. Not that she wouldn't take her job seriously if and when the time came to do it, but 99% of it was going to be what she was doing now. That was, if he didn't get himself into trouble again.

But some kind of discomfort was growing in the pit of her stomach.

Being back here was a little more difficult than she had expected. Being back in the city and around familiar sights from her last summer was pulling at some small part of her she had thought she'd been doing a good job of burying.

When she was well and truly pruned up from spending too long in the bath, she dried herself off and dressed in a yellow sundress, hoping it would at least make it seem like her mood was brighter than it was, even if it didn't do much for her actual mood.

Sitting on the couch, she turned the TV on and flipped around the channels, searching for something entertaining, a game show, a drama of some kind, even anime would please her, just something to take her mind off of whatever was creeping into her sitting alone like this.

Instead she found a news channel that had a reporter interviewing Deku, of all people. He'd been incredibly busy since he'd gone to work a little over a month ago now. He'd already stopped untold kidnappings and hijackings. Even small time stuff like catching robbers. A particularly incredible feat had been when he'd saved a train full of people from running off the tracks.

Ochako felt a certain amount of pride in her friend for not allowing his suspension, nor his probation, to slow him down or discourage him.

Now, he was standing with the blonde reporter on TV and discussing his most recent rescue of a movie star who had been kidnapped and taken hostage by her stalker.

It was all pretty par for the course until the reporter decided to veer way off into inappropriate territory.

"Deku, can you tell us a few more details about why we hadn't seen you for two months after you graduated from UA?"

He clearly looked uncomfortable with the question but didn't blow her off for some reason.

Deku and His suspensions had been kept very quiet from the media and were not expanded upon other than they were breaking from hero work for a couple months.

People had been understandably upset about it and demanded more answers but none had ever been given.

"We've heard rumors that you and Ground Zero had your licenses revoked due to a personal incident causing you two to fight. Can you elaborate on that?"

"That sounds like wild speculation," he said as kindly and firmly as possible, "Ground Zero and I are perfectly fine with each other. We've been friends since we were children. In fact, let me tell you about the time he played drums at our school festival in first year..."

He'd sidestepped that like a master. She was impressed and relieved.

She flipped the channel again after the interview was over and was able to settle on watching a nature show about lions surviving out in the savannah until Nate came back out looking much better rested.

They ordered sushi to gorge themselves on for dinner and it was some of the best Ochako had ever had. She already felt her unease recede spending time with him and catching up on all the things going on in each other's lives.

Nothing particularly new had happened with Nate. He'd taken a few more trips overseas to London and to Dubai. He'd met a guy in London that he thought he'd liked and gotten along with and he was even gay this time! It had seemed so perfect! But he'd had a boyfriend and was actually kind of a dick for leading him on like that so Nate was, once again, back at square one, single and lonely.

Ochako had kept him abreast of what had happened between her and Him and he'd even soothed her down from some very difficult moments late at night, when dreams had gotten the best of her.

But she hadn't given him much in the line of details about everything else and chose to fill him in now, trying to keep the conversation, and her mind, far away from difficult subjects.

"I'm so glad you came out here," Nate said, throwing an arm around her to pull her in for a hug as they relaxed on the couch, "I would've hated to have to befriend all new people. Being charismatic and optimistic all the time is stressful."

Ochako snorted lightly in amusement as she laid her head on his shoulder, taking in his obviously expensive cologne and missing a different scent that belonged to sweat and heat, "I'm glad I can be your reprieve from that. You don't have to be all proper around me. I'm not a perfect, well-mannered hero all the time in front of you."

"Mmm, well mannered? No. Perfect? I suppose not. But still a super sweet person who deserves every kindness? Yes," he said petting her hair.

She sighed and tried to relax as they watched a game show on TV. Her mind struggled to keep its focus, though.

"Nate," she asked quietly, "Did you love that guy in London?"

Nate considered a moment, then said, "Nah, not really. I only knew him a few days. I liked him, sure. But obviously I didn't even know him."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," she agreed, "Do you still have hope you'll find someone?"

He thought about her question again.

"Yeah, I'll always have hope. I don't believe in soul mates or anything but I do think that there are people out there who are capable of loving exactly who I am at this very moment without wanting to change a single thing and I think it's likely I'll meet one of them one day. I think the same is possible for you."

Ochako liked the sound of that. But it was hard for her to even imagine who that person might be. It was hard to consider even trying to care about someone again. She supposed three months had still not been long enough.

If she was being honest, it was more like one, though.

She had still held the tiniest inkling of hope that the two month suspension would be up and He would have called her or come to see her and said he'd changed his mind. But those two months had come and gone and she got no call or visit or even anything from Mitsuki. And, because she'd realized she had been a complete fool, her heart had crumbled anew those weeks ago. It had been one of the nights she'd had to call Nate and bare her soul.

No. She wasn't ready for something new. Maybe she wasn't being dumb or holding out hope anymore but she was still sore and bitter. No one deserved a face like that.

She fell asleep not long into watching TV and slept for the rest of the night, feeling at least somewhat comforted being around a warm presence that understood her and cared for her in the supportive way she needed most right now.

The next couple days were spent trailing Nate around, going to fancy estates and visiting with other diplomats and politicians.

Ochako still didn't know how Nate did it. It was beyond boring for her to stand around and make small talk and shake hands with- sometimes- some really slimy characters. But he was always there with a smile on his face like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

On Nate's fourth day, things began as they had for the last few days.

She woke up at 7 am to her alarm, took a shower, got dressed in her costume, and ordered breakfast from room service.

Nate was out and ready for the day by 8 am and they headed down to the street and went in to visit the coffee shop next door.

"Hi! Do you want your usual?" the barista greeted her in a rather excessively chipper tone, she thought, for this early in the morning.

"Uh...yeah... You know my usual?" she asked awkwardly, eyeing him a little suspiciously.

The dark-haired man with thick rimmed glasses (who she realized was actually pretty decent looking) smiled at her knowingly, "Yeah, you've come in here the last few days in a row with your boyfriend. After the second or third time, you kinda tend to recognize people."

"Ahhmmm? My boyfriend? You mean Nate?" she asked, looking over at the tall dreadfully gorgeous prince sitting cozily in an overstuffed armchair.

"No, the other guy you walk in here with every day," the barista laughed.

"Oh, Nate's not my boyfriend," she said simply, "We're friends and I also happen to be working for him right now. Notice how I'm dressed like this," she gestured to herself, "and he is wearing very expensive clothing. I'm his bodyguard."

The guy shrugged, "Ah well you could've been meeting up for coffee every morning, who knows."

She paid for their coffees with Nate's card and moved down the line to wait for them to be made.

When they were ready, the same barista that had taken her order handed her her drinks. His brown eyes brightened a bit when he said, "Well, I guess goodbye until tomorrow, Uravity." He already knew her name from her giving it every morning to put on their order.

"Thanks..." she replied and turned away slowly, feeling like she was being stupid.

"Did that guy finally hit on you?" Nate asked, standing as she walked up to him to hand him his coffee.

"Was that what he was doing? I thought he was just being overly familiar and weird," she remarked.

"Not everyone is straightforward in letting you know they're interested, Uravity," Nate laughed, opening the door to let them out onto the sidewalk again, "That guy noticed you since the first day we came in here but I guess he didn't get up the nerve to ask you about me until today."

"If you knew he was interested, why didn't you say anything to me or alleviate his concern about you or something?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"I'm gonna be honest," he said with a grin, "It was just more fun watching him be awkward and cute around you."

Ochako rolled her eyes but smiled with amusement as they continued walking down the sidewalk toward their destination only 10 blocks away.

"Ugh, Nate. You know I'm not ready for any of that," she groused.

"I know," he said in a conciliatory manner, "But you can't always help when things just fall into place, ya know?"

"I don't think the barista is going to fall into place for me, Nate," she snickered.

He shrugged and they continued on.

Six blocks away from the estate they were set to visit, they were waiting on a light to cross the street when she thought she heard the boom of an explosion in the far distance. It was just at the edge of her range of hearing so she wasn't quite sure if she'd accurately picked it up.

The light turned and allowed them to cross.

When they were just past halfway, she heard screams and a loud engine revving to go faster.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement and that was enough for her instincts to take over.

"Nate, get back!" she ordered and pushed him away, reducing his weight so she could easily chuck him the rest of the way to the sidewalk.

She could see and hear better now, a souped up sedan was speeding their way, paying no heed to the laws of the road as it swerved in and out of traffic and ran red lights, forcing other cars to swerve to miss it and people to scream and yell in horror and outrage.

"Go back!" she yelled at the few people behind her as the car sped nearer.

It was going so fast, she knew they weren't going to stop staring at her with dumbstruck faces in time to heed her warning.

She pushed each and every one of them back, reducing their weight, then released everyone, just in time for her to jump out of the way as the car sped past, the driver completely ignorant of the people he almost ran over.

Ochako was pissed.

She spotted a bench for a bus stop sitting nearby and got an idea.

"Stay on the sidewalk," she commanded Nate as he stood up, brushing himself off from taking a tumble at her push.

She didn't wait for confirmation as she ran for the bench, reducing her own weight, then floating the object.

The car was already a block away and getting further. She knew she couldn't completely catch up before she got tired but she could stop it.

If He were here, her mind started but she shut it up before she could even finish the thought.

She pushed off the ground and shot forward, weightless bench in tow. Each of her strides was a massive gain in ground and each push forward increased her speed, which was also increasing the bench's speed.

Ochako finally reached a speed she felt was right, the car only a half block away from her now, both of them having travelled a handful of blocks away.

She released the bench from her grip, giving it a massive shove forward.

The bench launched at her unsuspecting prey and she released it just as it was about to hit the car. Then she heard a crunch, the sound of twisting metal, and surprised shouts as the bench collided with the car, sending it spinning out of control and people scattering in every direction.

It was easy to catch up with it now and Ochako didn't hesitate as she jumped for the car, touching it and sending it up into the air to stop its spinning away from the danger of hurting people.

People were running down the block, one of them being Nate who had a wide-eyed look of amazement as he beheld the car just beginning to stop it rotations as it floated above them.

She released it.

The car fell to the street with a crash, the men inside knocked out cold. Looking inside, she saw they had a slew of guns and a large bag of money that had ripped open, sending it flying all around the car like one of those whirlwind machines that they put people in thinking they could catch the money in them. It was just settling to the bottom as she approached the vehicle.

All around her, people cheered and applauded, thanking her for stepping in and keeping them out of danger.

She smiled and bowed humbly, feeling partially embarrassed by the attention and partially exhilarated. Back in her small city, nothing like this ever happened. It was an exciting day if she caught muggers or could pull someone out of a car crash. Stopping a getaway car mid-flight? That was damn near unthinkable.

Something seemed odd about the car, though. It had taken a lot more blows than she had given it.

She circled the car, kneeling down to inspect it closer. She could see bits of it were charred and the paint was bubbling in places like it had been under intense heat.

What had these guys gotten into?

Then she heard thunderous booms resounding off the buildings all around her.

Her heart began pounding in her chest as she heard a painfully familiar voice bellowing as it came nearer and nearer, " -when I catch you, you fucking bastards!"

The blasts stopped short and she heard boots hit the pavement and scrape across it as they tried to stop their momentum.

She stayed kneeling on the opposite side of the car, unable to move.

"What the-" she heard the voice say.

The bystanders began tittering and talking excitedly.

Ochako's heart dropped to her stomach.

She wasn't sure she was ready to see that face again. She was terrified. She didn't want to move, didn't want to make a sound. Her whole body was trembling and she just could not make herself get back up.

"Nate," she heard Him say to the man standing on the sidewalk not ten feet away from her, his boots thudding as he took each step toward the prince.

"Oh hello, Ground Zero now is it?" she heard Nate greet him cheerfully.

He didn't respond to the question, just went on, "You're here with a guard, I assume. Did they do this?"

"Uuuuuhhh," Nate's eyes went to her, unsure what to say and she gave him a sour look, knowing she'd just been ratted out.

His eyes snapped back up but it was too late.

He was turning in her direction.

Ochako stood, her head held high while her chest constricted painfully as Bakugo Katsuki turned to face her fully.

Looking at his face hurt so goddamn much, she thought she might burst into tears. Yet, at the same time, her heart soared and leapt like it had been set free from a cruel and agonizing cage.

And because she was the absolute idiot that she was, she didn't do or say anything cool, like she had always imagined she would if she saw him again.

She just sighed and gave him a stupid smile because that's what her face wanted to do when she laid her eyes on his.

Something shifted in those crimson orbs as they appraised her cooly.

Then he looked away again, moving to inspect the car, "I should've guessed it was you. It's Nate afterall, and no one else would throw an entire bench at a car."

She blushed a little, "Sorry, I got overzealous because I was trying to protect Nate and I don't really get to see a lot of action in my area so I might've-"

"Floaty, it doesn't matter. I'll handle the car."

A bolt of lightning shot straight through her at his name for her and the accompanying squeezing on her chest was unbearable.

A couple more sets of boots came running up to them, and Ochako stared at the two boys (not much younger than she was), one with firey red hair and the other with deep blue hair. Interns, she realized.

"Wow, that's some kick-ass work Ground Zero-senpai,' the red-head squawked. The other nodded.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at them, "She did it, you idiots."

Both of the boys' eyes went to her, widening in awe.

"Stop ogling her and get this mess cleaned up," he snapped.

They jolted and got to work taping off the area and pulling the men out of the car to handcuff. Police had also begun to arrive.

"Pfft. Why would anyone give you interns?" she blurted, completely forgetting herself.

"Ehhhh?" he responded, a look of shocked rage crossing his face.

The two boys froze in horror at her boldness.

But Ochako, despite not having initially intended to insult him, found a spark of fight in her at his expression.

"Sorry, I just thought that you were above baby-sitting," she said, recalling how they'd had to handle newbie interns together less than a year ago and now these boys that were trailing after him had to be second or third years, "I don't know who thought that might be a good idea."

The boys looked at her now with astonished admiration, respect for her bravery growing in their faces.

"Edgeshot, that's fucking who," he retorted, then shot another glare at the boys, "I thought I told you to clean this up! I don't see this car gone yet. If I catch either of you even looking at her again, I'll rip your eyes out and feed them to you."

They both blanched and quickly went back to their jobs.

"It seems his faith in you was well-placed," she snorted, doing her best to stifle a laugh.

Katsuki whirled back to her, eyes blazing with a cool fury, "What would you know, floaty? You'd rather give them ice cream cones and headpats."

Her smile disintegrated and she scowled at him. He was also alluding to their former interns who she had babied and had had endless patience for while he had been harsh and penalizing them at every step.

"You're still jealous our interns liked me more than you?" she shot back, feeling her pulse quicken as she watched his lips curl back from his teeth.

"Im not jealous of shit! Heroes aren't given second chances in the real world. You weren't doing them any favors."

Ochako felt her face flush, rage seeping through her body as her heart raced and she opened her mouth to hiss back another venomous response but Nate interrupted them.

"Okay, well we've got places to go. It's been great seeing you again, Ground Zero, we should catch up some time," he said, laughing nervously as he put an arm around her shoulders and began herding her away.

Ochako shot another hateful look over her shoulder that Katsuki returned whole-heartedly.

That pissed her off more. What did he have to be glaring at her for?

"She can't go," Katsuki said haughtily and Ochako damn near whirled around to start a whole new fight but he added, "You got em. It's your bag. And you get to make the statement to the police... and the media."

She cast her eyes around their surroundings, suddenly noticing that a larger crowd had gathered and the police were waiting to speak with whoever could tell them what had gone on. A reporter was also standing just behind the tape, speaking to a camera.

She let out a huge sigh and said snippily, "You can have the bag, I don't care. I have places to be."

"No," he said with a frustrated tone, "I wasn't here when you caught them, I can't tell them what happened."

Ochako looked at Nate for help and for guidance.

Nate gave a small shrug, "I don't know how all this works."

"Fine," she snapped, "I'll stay. You" she met Katsuki's eye, "can go with him since you're doing nothing here. I'll take care of your interns."

Katsuki's eyes flared, "Who the fuck said you got to give the orders?"

She clenched her fist as she tried to remain in control, "Is that a problem? Too independent to take orders from the likes of me now?"

She knew she'd said one thing too many when she felt her chest give a throb of pain.

Fuck, she thought to herself, I'd been doing so well.

Katsuki didn't say anything back to that.

Instead, Nate piped up as he typed feverishly on his phone, "It's okay. Don't worry. I think I can get this meeting with Miyake-sama."

He finished up and pushed his phone into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, "Yep, got that all fixed up. We'll go see him tomorrow and push lunch back with the councillor to dinner. How about that? Now we can handle this."

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at Nate, folding his arms in front of him, "Miyake-sama as in Miyake Toshihiro?"

Nate pulled his phone out and checked to make sure, then replaced it, "Yes, that's him."

Katsuki's eyes narrowed to slits, "What business do you have with him?"

Ochako frowned at Katsuki. He'd never been this pushy with Nate, nor had he ever asked him anything about the people he visited with.

Nate looked a little taken aback as well and somewhat intimidated despite being three years his senior.

"Ah well-"

"It's not your business what his business is," she interrupted, stepping in front of Nate.

Katsuki's attention went to her and she saw indecision in his expression as he considered her, but he seemed to have finally reached a verdict when he said, "This guy is dangerous. Leader of a relatively new yakuza. The Lurkers have had their eye on them for a while now. They've practically taken the place of Shie Hassaikai."

A coldness gripped her at that name and memories of her first year, the raid she'd been a part of, what they'd done to Eri. Sir Nighteye...

She knew she trusted Nate not to be a part of any kind of criminal activity but what if he or his family had gotten involved with something so dangerous without knowing?

She turned to him, "Did you know this, Nate?"

Nate looked shocked right along with her, "No! I didn't know anything! I mean, maybe my parents did but all I know is that we have business dealings with him. It's all legit and on the books, though."

"Do you know what you're walking into over there?" Katsuki asked her, his stare intent.

That question chafed her a bit. Did he just ask if she could handle a job?

"Not that this is any of your business, but I know what I'm doing," she answered, her tone clipped, "I'm not stupid either. We'll go in, then we'll get out. Nothing else."

Katsuki seemed dissatisfied with her answer but he gave no indication of continuing to argue with her.

"Now if you'll excuse me, boys, I have more work to do," she huffed and stormed away quickly before she could let anything else get under her skin.

It took her almost two hours to make her report with the police, then give a small interview with each of the reporters while the car was towed away and the debris was cleared.

The criminals were hauled into the back of police cruisers as she finished up with the last reporter, bowing politely, and went back to Nate, who was sitting around on the curb.

Much to her relief, Katsuki had moved on to continue his patrol with his interns, who she hadn't actually gotten the names of.

She sat, leaning against Nate, and he put his arm around her.

"You did good," he said gently.

"He's totally fine," she sighed, her voice catching in her throat.

Nate said nothing and pulled her closer as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"There's no way he's fine," he consoled her, "No one does the things he did for you and is just fine after three months. You already know he's really good at hiding these things."

"Why did he have to be here? Why didn't Mt. Lady tell me he was working for Edgeshot?" she asked no one in particular.

She wasn't sure if she could continue doing this knowing he was in such close proximity. Only knowing that she had a limited amount of time with the prince of Croatia was keeping her from packing up her bags and running back to her tiny little city and her solitary apartment.

"Do you want to go back to the hotel?" Nate asked, rubbing her arm.

"Yeah," she said, rising to her feet again.

"You want to get a cab?" he said with a smirk.

"Yeah," she answered, smiling back, appreciating that he understood how much she'd taxed her legs today.

They spent the rest of the day binging a TV drama and screaming at the TV how stupid the protagonists were being while eating salty snacks and drinking sodas. It felt like a much-needed day off for her.

At night, they went to bed early because Ochako was still feeling a bit down and wanted to be well-rested for the next day.

Katsuki's warning still stuck in her head. She didn't know these people and she didn't know what she could expect.

She was a hero. Would they even let her on the premises? Should she really be concerned for her and Nate's safety? Should she even allow this to happen?

Ochako tossed and turned for a little while, mulling these thoughts over until she finally fell asleep.

The next day started the same. Alarm, shower, suit, breakfast.

Nate joined her at the elevator and they rode down together, unease about today's visit still eating at her.

But as the doors drew open on the bottom floor, a familiar head of spiky blonde hair and sulky face greeted her.

As soon as she saw him, she was livid. She knew right then and there that he really truly didn't think she could handle guarding Nate on her own at this Miyake guy's compound! Nevermind the fact that she somewhat questioned it herself.

"You. Bastard," she seethed, walking right up to him.

"I'm really excited to see you too, floaty. I'm glad this is gonna be a fun day," he replied, straight faced, disdain dripping from every word.

"Okay..." Nate cut in, his eyes rolling, "I'm too tired for this just yet. Can we get some coffee, please?"

Ochako snorted leading the way outside and into the coffee shop next door.

Nate handed her his card and she went up to make their usual order.

"The usual?" the cute glasses-wearing barista asked cheerfully, his brown eyes shining.

"Yes, please," she smiled back as kindly as she could, hardly feeling like humoring this guy today.

She paid with Nate's card again and waited for the coffees.

When they came out, barista guy handed them to her again. Her fingers lightly brushed his when she took them from him and his cheeks darkened, "See you tomorrow, Uravity."

"See you," she replied and turned toward the table, glad to finally be free of that awkwardness that apparently barista guy did not feel as acutely as she did.

When she approached the table they were sitting at, she found Nate smirking at Katsuki whose foot was tapping impatiently on the floor as he watched her coming closer, then looking behind her toward the coffee bar.

"Took you long enough," he grumbled as they stood.

"Oh yeah," Nate said with sarcasm, though Ochako detected a twinkle of amusement in his eye, "Today will be fun."

They'd arrived at the Miyake compound at around 9 am.

It was now 12pm and Ochako was feeling bored out of her mind.

The boss, Miyake Toshihiro, was a stickler for tradition. He had a traditionally built house with tatami floors and fusuma and shoji doors throughout.

He made them sit through a tea ceremony and a traditional fan dance performance. Then, he fed them lunch with extremely expensive cuts of sushi and sashimi.

She knew she should feel honored that he was treating them (well, technically Nate) to such finery but she just wanted to get out of here. Being in the den of a yakuza, no matter how friendly they were with her friend or how well they treated their guests- even the likes of her and Katsuki- was stressful and she always felt like she had to watch her back.

She also just couldn't wait to get out of here and give Katsuki hell for overreacting and being a complete asshole.

The boss was finally pulling Nate into his office for whatever his business was and they were told they had to wait outside.

Ochako tensed at that and sent a questioning look to him.

He nodded at her, telling her it was okay and she assented, knowing she could do nothing now.

So they sat and waited in front of the fusuma doors, assuming proper respectful seated positions.

She could hear Nate and Miyake's voices occasionally through the door but couldn't make out exactly what was being said. They were speaking in relatively calm and low tones. Knowing that she would be able to hear if Nate's voice were ever stressed eased her anxiety somewhat.

"Can't believe the boss is letting heroes in here, for crying out loud," came a harsh masculine voice somewhere near the front of the house, "and that Ground Zero guy at that."

She saw Katsuki still at the mention of his name, he could hear it just as well as she.

"Apparently this prince guy is a big deal," another, deeper voice came, "and he's able to hire heroes as bodyguards. Must be nice having that kind of authority."

Geez, voices carried like crazy in these halls...

She continued listening in on their conversation knowing Katsuki would be too, just to be able to report back anything important he might've learned.

"Yeah, but did you see that piece of ass he brought in with him too?" yet another voice sounded, a rough scratchy voice that had probably smoked way too many cigarettes.

Ochako clenched her jaw. Of course they would start talking about her...

The other two voices sounded their appreciative agreement.

"She looked young too, fresh out of school," the deeper voice said.

"I wonder how much he paid for her," the scratchy voice pondered, "and if he pays extra to get her out of that suit too."

She could hardly breathe for how closely she was listening now.

"Probably nothin," the first voice answered, "Did you see him? She probably spreads those pretty thighs wide open for that mug of his and being a prince and all that."

The other two made sounds of assent.

Ochako felt like her body was being dunked in ice-water. Heat came to her cheeks but warmed no part of her.

She heard Katsuki let out a burst of air and looked over at him, her eyes widening as she did so.

He shook with rage, his gloved fists clenched tight. Looking at his face, she wasn't sure what kind of emotion she saw there. His teeth were bared in a snarl and his eyes were practically manic. Surely anger was there but the grimace on his face was also tortured. It scared her to see him this way.

"Do you think he'd give her to us just for an hour?" the scratchy voice said with a chuckle, "I bet we could ask him. Imagine that pretty mouth-"

Katsuki jerked and looked like he was going to spring up from his spot, one foot already under him. But Ochako put her hand on his knee and he froze, looking back at her.

She couldn't say anything for fear of being heard but she looked up at him and shook her head. The moment they did something to anyone in this house, it could have dire consequences, the least of which could be the loss of his hero license permanently.

They're just talking, she told herself, They're just saying words that mean nothing.

Katsuki resumed his position, his eyes still on hers, looking furious, looking agonized. He placed his hand on hers at his knee as if in apology.

Was he really not so okay after all? The look he was giving her right now made her think maybe not.

She knew her face was completely betraying her hopes and fears as she stared back at him but she couldn't hold them in.

She moved closer to him and he didn't push back. Just watched her, his eyes turning from enraged to something softer.

She couldn't even hear the men's voices now as she stared into those heated ruby irises.

Her eyes searched his for answers and hope.

Do you miss me like I miss you? they asked, Do you feel the way that I do with just a single touch?

Her hand tightened on his knee only fractionally but his eyes flared to life and his lips parted slightly as she leaned into him further.

Her heart beat so hard against her ribcage, she thought he might be able to hear it as she closed the distance between them, her face turning up to his.

He just watched her come nearer and nearer, not moving closer, not pulling away.

He was so close, she could feel his breath on her face and smell his burnt matches scent. His eyes glowed with untold emotion.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind the door and they sprang apart just before it slid open revealing Nate and the middle-aged Miyake-sama.

"We can go," Nate said jovially, looking no worse for the wear.

So he had been right. His family was involved in nothing untoward. They simply had business.

Ochako let out a breath not only of relief but also from the tension that had been mounting between her and Katsuki just now as she rose from her sitting position.

She'd almost kissed him! He'd almost let her! What could something like that mean?

They all bowed to the master of the house, then a butler led them out to the front.

They passed the three men who had been speaking earlier. She could tell because they were still speaking loudly and joking around as they passed the living area.

They leered at her as she passed and Katsuki, walking behind her, placed a protective hand on her hip, heating her entire body, until they had passed all the way out of the house, then removed it.

"Phew, it was kinda tense in there," Nate said with relief as they exited the estate, "I don't know if I ever want to go back in there again."

"You probably shouldn't," Katsuki said with annoyance.

"Well, thanks for coming with us just in case," Nate smiled at him warmly, "If you have somewhere else to be, we'll let you get to it. Tell Edgeshot thanks for letting us borrow you."

Ochako felt a pang of sadness that she tried not to show as she looked for the town car they had taken here and signaled for it to come around and pick them up.

When she looked back over at Katsuki, his eyes were on her, an odd mix of emotions shifting in them, and she stilled, unable to look away from those warm scarlet orbs.

"You have me all day," he told Nate, not looking away from her.

"Oh?" Nate inquired, his voice becoming playful, "Then you'll come have dinner with us and the councillor tonight?"

Katsuki blinked and tore his eyes away from hers finally, looking back at Nate, a bored expression back on his face, "I guess. Is that all you want from me? You don't need me to babysit you until then?"

"We're just going back to the hotel," Nate chuckled, "but you're free to come if you want."

No please don't, her mind pleaded. It was hard enough being around him like this. Her mind was muddled enough from having almost kissed him back there. She thought she might break if she had to sit around with him another few hours before dinner and pretend that being near him wasn't excruciating every second.

"Nah," he replied with a shake of his head, "I got shit to do if you don't need me."

"Okay then," Nate accepted his response easily, "We'll see you in the lobby at 6:30."

Katsuki nodded once and turned his eyes on her once more.

Ochako shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, unsure exactly what to say.

"Bye," she said in a tiny voice.

"Bye, pink-cheeks," he replied, flipping her ponytail exactly like he knew she hated.

She sent him a glare and he sent one right back. Although it warmed her inside. Somehow, it didn't really feel like a glare.

He strode away, hands in his pockets. She watched him, her eyes tracing the muscles on his back that were still visible through his shirt, already missing him. God, what an absolute and utter idiot she was...

"Jesus Christ," Nate broke into her thoughts, "I don't know what the happened while I was in that room but all I know is I came out and you two have been doing nothing but making 'fuck me' eyes at each other since."

Ochako's palms flew to her cheeks as she felt her whole face burning up.

"NATE!" she squeaked.

"What? It was kinda hot. You could say 'Thanks for inviting him to dinner, Nate', ya know."

Ochako sighed and rubbed at her forehead, loving and detesting this sassy man at this moment, "Thank you for inviting him to dinner, Nate."

"You're welcome," he beamed, "Now you're gonna tell me everything that happened while I was working."

"I'll tell you in the car," she conceded, rolling her eyes.

Nate grinned even wider as he opened the door and jumped in.

Notes:

I made some of yall a PROMISE and I am KEEPING IT. No more chapters ending in angst! Be blessed, my readers!

Chapter 27

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ochako looked at herself in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom.

She was wearing the dark blue dress she'd worn months ago in first term that had shown off her cleavage so well. It didn't hurt that it came just a couple inches above her knee too. She had remembered all the boys that had seen her in it that night had given pause for at least a second, even Katsuki.

This had to have been the first time she had ever cared so much about how she looked. She kept checking and rechecking her boobs and her legs, making sure they looked good but not so good that it was obvious she was putting so much effort in.

You're dumb. You're such an idiot, she kept warning herself. And yet, she kept on going, even going so far as to put on some makeup to punch up her eyes and stain her lips a deeper pink.

She was pinning her hair up into a bun as Nate walked by her open door and stopped when he spotted her, backing up a couple steps and peeking his head in.

"Oof," he said, taking her in with a grin, "You're not even gonna give him a fighting chance, girly. That's cruel."

Ochako blushed furiously, "Is it really that obvious? I should take it all off if it's obvious."

"Don't do that. It's not gonna be obviousif you make it seem like you're dolled up to impress the councillor," he advised, "Just bat your big brown eyes at him a couple times when we greet him and then you can make googly eyes at Ground Zero the rest of the night if you want."

"Uuuuggghhh, why do you have to make me sound so desperate?" she whined.

"To be fair," he said with authority, "I'm the king of desperation. I'd be desperate to hit that too."

"Oh my god, Nate, you are a pervert," she shrieked.

"You're just now realizing this?" he laughed, making a swift retreat before she could locate a pillow to chuck at him.

She went back to her reflection in the mirror, wondering to herself if it was enough. Wondering if she was being smart even letting hope grow in her again.

With one more check up and down her figure, she finally made the judgement that she was ready.

Meeting up with Nate, looking stunning as usual in a three piece suit, they began their trek down to the lobby.

Ochako's nerves were making her jittery the lower they went and she grabbed onto his arm for support, trying to keep herself from bouncing on the balls of her feet while they waited.

Finally, after what had to be hours, they reached the lobby and the elevator doors slid open.

She didn't immediately see Katsuki and her eyes searched the lobby, trying to pick out a head of spiky hair among the other guests. But he was nowhere to be found.

"What time is it?" she asked Nate, giving him a confused frown.

Nate fished out his phone from his pocket.

"6:35," he told her, then placed it back, "Don't worry. I can see you worrying."

He was right, she was already chewing at the inside of her cheek. Was he not coming after all? Had he changed his mind?

"We can wait for a few minutes," Nate told her calmly, pulling her toward the front of the lobby so they could be near the doors if Katsuki walked in.

Ochako just nodded, not trusting her voice to sound normal when a lump was starting to grow in her throat.

So they stood near the door for another five agonizing minutes. The whole time, she was doing her best not to search frantically and just kept her eyes on the door.

She felt so stupid. This was exactly what she shouldn't be doing. Getting her hopes up and waiting for Katsuki was such a mistake. She needed to be working on healing and getting on with her life.

"I can't do this," she told Nate, pulling on his arm to leave toward the limo waiting for them outside.

"Are you sure?" he asked, concern lacing his voice as he let her drag him along.

"I don't know," she admitted, closing in on the black vehicle, "I just don't want to be standing there like an idiot all night."

"That's fine," Nate soothed, his hand going to her back to rub at it gently.

They finally reached the limo and she reached out to open the door but another large, masculine hand reached it first.

Ochako started and looked up into the breathless, exerted face of Katsuki.

She backed up from him a step and let him open the door, his crimson eyes not leaving hers as he breathed heavily, trying to cool down.

"Ground Zero..." she heard Nate from behind her with a clipped tone she'd never heard him take before as he laid a hand on her shoulder, "We didn't think you were going to make it."

Katsuki tore his gaze away from her to look over at the man, his eyebrows notching up in apparent surprise as well.

Finally beginning to catch his breath, Katsuki said, "The train was late. I damn near blasted my way all the way over here from the station."

That explained the shortness of breath and the taxed expression on his face.

Ochako took him in now as she realized he was dressed nicely as well in a maroon dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top two buttons of the collar undone. Simple dress slacks adorned his bottom half that looked like they were stretched a bit trying to contain his thighs. Looking at them made her mouth go dry and she had to glance back up, jolting as she realized he'd caught her ogling him.

Her cheeks burned.

"Alright," Nate said, his voice returning to a more jovial tenor as he stepped into the car, "maybe try to be early next time and that won't happen."

Ochako widened her eyes at Nate as she ducked in after him, giving him a surprised look for the way he was talking to Katsuki. Was he being protective of her? And Katsuki wasn't snapping back at him. Was he really just going to let that slide?

He just gave her a look back with a nod as if to say, "I've got your back."

She took a seat next to him on the long bench seat, leaving Katsuki to sit alone at the back as they took off toward their destination.

Geez, why does he have to look like that? she thought to herself, inspecting him again out of the corner of her eye.

She remembered the wedding they'd worked together and didn't remember him looking this distracting when she'd tried to force him into gelling his hair down. She noticed now that his hair was still jutting out in every direction. He'd made no attempt at taming it for tonight. More was the better, though, because his wild hair was part of what made him seem so irresistible.

It sort of stung her that he hadn't even paused at how she looked. Even now, his scarlet gaze was directed out the window watching the buildings pass by. Maybe she had needed to try harder?

Stop! You're better than this! You know you look good! she admonished herself.

Nate, a man not even interested in women, had said she looked good. Maybe Katsuki just hadn't taken the time to notice.

She shifted a little in her seat, crossing her legs and letting her skirt ride up a little further on her as she turned to Nate who was watching her with a knowing look.

He ducked his head to bring his mouth close to her ear when he said, "You trying to make him cry before we even get to the restaurant?"

She backed up from him, giving him a bewildered look.

He pulled her closer again, "He's clenching that fist under his chin looking like he's trying to break his own fingers and you go and show him more leg?"

Ochako pulled away and discreetly slid her eyes over Katsuki's way.

Nate was right, the fist he had his chin on as he seemed to look leisurely out the window was white-knuckled despite the fact that nothing else about him gave away how tense he was. But was Nate right that it was because of her?

She pulled her skirt back down her legs, feigning as though she'd just noticed it had ridden too high for her liking.

Her heart skipped a beat, realizing Nate had been right as Katsuki let out a long sigh like he'd been holding in a breath for a while, then he finally turned toward them, his eyes going to the prince, "Where are we going?"

"Oh no where super fancy," he answered, "Councillor Sakai loves his steak so we're headed to a steakhouse. It's only a few more minutes away."

Ochako's mouth watered. She didn't get to eat steak very often.

She looked over at Katsuki, letting her excitement show and he let his attention shift to her, giving her a smirk when he saw her face.

"Hungry, floaty?"

The way he said it sounded so lewd. Or was that her imagination? What was wrong with her?!

She looked away from him again and nodded shyly.

"Great! Cause we're here!" Nate exclaimed as the limo pulled up to the curb next to a very fancy looking steakhouse that even had the words written up at the top in English.

Katsuki opened the door and exited as quickly as possible, waiting to the side while she and Nate stepped out as well.

Nate stepped up to the host and mentioned his reservations which the host nodded at immediately and ushered them in through the restaurant and to an area near the bar which had all kinds of incredible libations shelved behind it.

She saw Nate eyeballing some of the bottles back there and already knew he was picking one out. For her part, Ochako knew she had no interest in drinking again, especially not tonight. The last thing she needed was for her inhibitions to be stripped away to allow her to make a complete fool of herself. She did that enough on her own.

When they reached a private knook of the restaurant where their table was located, a relatively young man (for a councillor at least, she thought) stood and came around to greet them. He had simple brown hair, hazel eyes, and a fair amount of stubble that looked like it had grown in over the last couple days. A smattering of grey hairs peppered his temple, making him look rather distinguished in her opinion.

"Councillor," Nate greeted, bowing politely to the older man, "nice to see you again."

The councillor bowed back graciously, then took note of Ochako and Katsuki behind.

"Ah, yes, this is Uravity and Ground Zero. My bodyguards for my visit while I'm here in Japan. I hope it's alright that they join us? I can get them their own table if you'd like," Nate suggested.

The councillor's eyes alighted on her and she bowed along with Katsuki. At least she let herself assume he bowed.

Right right right! Nate said make it seem like you're trying to impress the councillor, she recalled, not wanting to miss her chance to have an excuse for caring so much about her looks.

"It's nice to meet you, Councillor Sakai-sama," she said, giving him a kind smile and letting her lashes lower slightly.

Nate gave her a thumbs-up out of the other man's range of vision.

"Likewise," he replied distractedly, looking somewhat sheepish now.

"No, it won't be a problem if they join us," he told Nate, going back to sit down. Nate followed suit, sitting himself across from him.

Before she stepped forward to also seat herself, a rough hand caught her elbow.

"What the hell was that?" Katsuki growled low into her ear.

Ochako nearly melted at that gravelly voice so close to her.

She had to catch her breath quickly as she replied in a whisper, "Nate said he wanted to impress the councillor. I'm just trying to do that."

"By giving him flirty little smiles and making him sport a semi with your little outfit?" he shot back.

"What is a- No, I don't want to know. Can we just sit? They're going to think we're being rude," she hissed.

He let her go and she entered the little private area, sitting next to Nate. Katsuki took a seat at the head of the table nearest to her, as the councillor was seated on the other side of it.

"Sorry about that," she said humbly, "hero stuff and all."

The councillor nodded while Nate rested his cheek on his fist, giving them a look that said he was not at all convinced.

It turned out to be a rather uninteresting dinner, all things considered.

The councillor ordered some very fine sake for the table that he wished for everyone to take part in.

Ochako poured the smallest amount she could from the bottle and drank once with everyone else at the table out of respect. She nearly gagged trying to swallow it though. Sake was not for her.

Nate drank wine along with his dinner and had consumed nearly the whole thing himself before it was through.

Katsuki also didn't drink more than the one shot of sake, though his cup seemed to be considerably fuller than hers had been before he drank it down.

Nate and Councillor Sakai talked shop over dinner and none of it interested her. It was all about economic stuff, trades, other politicians they did or didn't like. She had to stifle a yawn or two before the end.

Katsuki stoically sat, not really paying much attention, just staring off into the middle-distance or focusing on his plate. She occasionally traded looks with him over what was being said by the other two men or sometimes just because she could.

"I think we're gonna need to help Nate out of here," she whispered to him after seeing the prince nearly spill his glass of wine for the third time and burst out laughing at his clumsiness.

Councillor Sakai wasn't far behind him, having taken a few more shots of the sake himself.

"Probably," Katsuki said, rolling his eyes and giving Nate a pointed look that went unnoticed.

"A small price to pay for this dinner, though," she commented, rubbing her stomach appreciatively.

"Yeah," he agreed, his eyes following her hand down.

Ochako swallowed, noticing how his gaze lingered on her.

"Um..." she began, her face flushing, unsure of how to go about asking her question. His eyes came back up to her face. "I was wondering if, when we get back to the hotel, you'd want to-"

"Uravity, honey, my most darling, dearest friend in the whole world," Nate broke into their conversation, "I do believe it's time for us to leave."

He went to stand and nearly stumbled just doing that.

Ochako stood immediately and went to his side, lending him her arm to stabilize himself with. She wasn't sure she should actually carry him out of the restaurant with the councilor watching if that might tarnish his reputation somehow.

Councilor Sakai stood as well, not quite as drunk as she had initially thought he was, and came around the table, putting a hand to the small of her back, "I can help him back to the car, you don't need to burden yourself."

Katsuki, who she hadn't even seen stand, cut between them to get to Nate, not caring at all about propriety and throwing the prince over his shoulder.

"We've got him," he snarled, then turned to her with a fierce glow in his eyes that made her heart skip a beat, "let's go."

"Oh," Nate said from his back, "this is pretty nice, actually."

Ochako turned to the kindly older man bowing, "Sorry about... the both of them. We'll handle the bill. Thank you for an enjoyable dinner."

"Thank you, young lady," he replied, bowing politely in return.

"Floaty," Katsuki growled at her, putting a hand on her waist and pulling her away toward the exit.

He removed it the moment they were out of the vicinity of the bar and Ochako grabbed Nate's card to pay at the front while Katsuki carried him outside to get the limo to pull around. Both of them were relatively well practiced in handling these tasks, having worked with Nate before. Although carrying him was rather new.

By the time she got outside, Katsuki had Nate packed into the limo already and she took up her seat next to him, letting him lean against her for support.

"Uravity," Nate whispered hotly in her ear, his breath smelling purely of alcohol.

She glanced at Katsuki, who watched them, eyes unreadable, saying nothing.

"What," she responded.

"I thought you should know. I was back there a while and his ass is unbelievable."

Ochako's eyes went wide and she had to keep from covering her face with her hands as it grew hot at his words.

"Nate!" she hissed at him quietly, "No more talking!"

Nate breathed a velvety chuckle as he said, "I'm just saying."

She chanced a look over at Katsuki who still watched them but didn't look like he had heard anything at least.

She didn't need Nate to tell her about his ass, though. She'd ridden on his back often enough to have seen the curve of that part of him and gotten a plenty good idea what he was working with. She was kind of disappointed with herself, though, for having never copped a feel any time she'd had the chance to let her hands roam his body in the past. He'd gotten to do so to her after all.

"What were you wondering?" Katsuki asked abruptly, causing her to abandon her train of thought and look up at him.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"At dinner," he reminded her, his eyes pinning her where she sat, "you said you were wondering if I'd want to...?"

Ochako ducked her head slightly, trying to staunch the heat she was practically glowing with. She'd intended to ask him to come up to the penthouse with them, with her. To do what, she wasn't sure. She just didn't want her night to end with him. Now the notion seemed ridiculous to ask. She was hoping for too much, pushing her luck too far.

"It was nothing," she said, trying to brush it off.

"Shitty lie," he retorted, frowning at her.

"It's nothing," she said again, more firmly this time as she felt her blush spread down to her neck.

She turned away from him to look back at Nate who just slouched against her with a smile on his face, looking comfortable but completely out of it.

To her relief, Katsuki didn't push her further on the matter and they were able to ride in silence the rest of the way to the hotel.

As they stepped out of the limo, he waited for them once more, and shut the door when she finally got Nate to stumble his way out.

They stood awkwardly in front of the hotel entrance for a few seconds, Ochako unsure if she should really ask him to come up, not at all wanting to have to tell him goodnight and quite possibly goodbye for a long time, if not forever.

The silence hanging between them was oppressive as Katsuki stared at her, indecision swirling in his eyes. Did he not want to go either? Was he realizing, just as she was, how permanent this parting could be?

"Ugh, I'm bored," Nate practically whined, "It's not that late, let's watch a movie when we get upstairs."

Sighing a little too heavily, Ochako turned to her wobbly friend who had hold of her arm to keep his balance.

"Ok, I guess," she told him, sweeping hair back from his face that had fallen in his eyes. He was such a mess when he was drunk.

She turned back to Katsuki with sad eyes, preparing to say her goodbyes, and his eyes met hers with a heat that made something her chest compress painfully.

"You're coming too, right?" Nate's voice came again,obviously directed at Katsuki.

He didn't look away from her, a question in his molten gaze now.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come up," she said, her heart leaping into her throat at finally getting up the courage to spit out her original question.

He was quiet for a few more seconds as his ruby eyes burned into hers, making it harder and harder for her to breathe.

Finally, he tore his eyes away from her and addressed Nate, "Fine."

He didn't wait for their reactions and headed toward the automatic door.

"You gotta be a little braver than that, girly," Nate whispered into her ear once more as he threw an arm around her, resting his hand on her shoulder as though out of friendship but it was mostly for his own balance.

They rode the elevator up in silence as Nate began shucking off his jacket.

He threw it in a heap on the counter when they got up to the penthouse and she saw Katsuki halt a few steps in, looking around as discreetly as possible.

"It's all pretty much the same, right?" she said with a grin as she unbuckled and removed her heels

He nodded and walked further in toward the living room after her when she was done.

"What do you wanna watch?" Nate asked, ungracefully hopping over the back of the couch to claim the left of it.

Ochako looked at Katsuki but he shrugged. Why was he acting so awkward all of a sudden?

She smirked at him and said to Nate, "How about that new puppy movie?"

Katsuki scowled at her. She knew there was no way he would ever want to watch such an overtly sappy movie but she wanted to force him into a more open discourse. He'd been so standoffish so far tonight.

She could hear Nate's grin when he replied, "Oh! You know I've been wanting to watch that..."

"How about that new horror movie with the family that eats people?" Katsuki offered up, a dangerous glint in his eye as he lifted his brows in challenge.

Now it was her turn to scowl. She wasn't a huge fan of horror movies despite them not really scaring her. She just didn't like all the blood and guts in most of them.

"Oh, ah, yeah... that's a thought," Nate said unconvincingly.

"Or maybe that romcom where the princess and the regular school girl swap places," she said with a raise of her own eyebrows, hands on her hips.

"Or maybe that heist movie where they rob a bank to expose corrupt heroes," he countered.

Damn, that one actually sounds interesting, she thought to herself and she saw his eyes spark, noticing her apparent interest. She set her jaw again but she was too late. He knew.

Nate had stopped responding but she wasn't giving this game up yet.

"Or maybe that cute animated one with the mice-"

"My god, this is harrowing," Nate exclaimed, "Fine, I'll pick it and we're watching a comedy. Now get over here." He motioned to the space left on the sofa.

Ochako threw a self-satisfied look at Katsuki as though she had won and he sent her another one of those glares that wasn't a glare before she moved around the couch, taking up a seat next to Nate.

She wondered where Katsuki might sit as there was a recliner and still enough space on her right for a seat if he so chose.

She saw him considering the same as he came around as well.

These decisions had never been so complicated before. They would always just sit next to or away from each other with no extra thought to it. Even at her parents' house, she'd had no problem pulling him down to sit next to her. Now her nerves were bouncing around inside her like those little pieces of snow in a snow globe when it got shaken up.

"You gotta be a little braver than that," Nate from 15 minutes ago reminded her.

Ochako caught his hand and pulled him down next to her, quickly letting him go and looking away from him to Nate who was searching through the channels for a movie to rent. She wanted to be brave but she wasn't that brave yet.

Katsuki was rigid as she pulled him down but he relaxed into the couch a few seconds later.

"This one," he said casually as Nate landed on a comedy about a group of friends going on a road trip.

Nate looked at her and she shrugged.

"What, don't trust my taste?" Katsuki grinned wickedly.

"Well now I'm questioning it," Ochako said with a wary look at his expression.

He nudged her gently and she pushed him back.

Nate started the movie with a shake of his head.

—

Ochako burst out laughing, practically cackling, as she watched a group of college age kids getting into yet more trouble on the road to... she couldn't even remember where.

It had only been about a half hour and she was not at all regretful they'd chosen this movie. It was hilarious and full of all kinds of low brow and slapstick humor.

Nate had been laughing at first too but he'd calmed into something more of a chuckle here and there. His alcohol addled brain must've been finally exhausting him.

Katsuki laughed often as well, the laugh that she hadn't heard since the last time they'd been in this penthouse together. It was startling and intoxicating for her every time it happened but she never got up the nerve to actually look over at his smiling face.

Ochako did her best to remain on her cushion in the middle of the couch but she would occasionally lean into Nate's side and vice versa.

Eventually, Nate leaned into her, putting his arm around her and his head on her shoulder.

"I'm tired, girly," he said in a whimsical voice.

"Good," she laughed, petting his raven black hair, "you need to sleep off that bottle of wine."

She saw Katsuki watching them from the corner of her eye but he turned back to the movie before she was able to look his way.

They stayed this way for another few minutes until Nate's body slumped onto her completely as he fell asleep.

His full torso weight was uncomfortable and he was starting to slide so Ochako scooched over a little bit to give him more room to lay at least his top half on the couch, gently laying his head in her lap.

Ochako's heart stopped when she shifted her legs to cushion Nate's head more comfortably and her knee met Katsuki's as his legs were spread relatively wide.

She stilled, her eyes slowly moving to see her bare knee against his clothed one. She could tell he'd stilled as well, not reacting to the movie any longer.

Her heart beat wildly as she looked down at the smallest connection between them that somehow had her whole body on alert.

She feared he might pull away. He had lots of room to move his knee in after all.

But he didn't.

He kept it there, not moving.

Katsuki loosened up once more, letting more of his knee relax against hers and her body felt like it was on fire.

Ochako could hardly breathe as her eyes went back to the screen, too much of a coward to look up at him.

She did her best to relax again but that pressure against her knee had her whole body crackling with energy. Any time he brushed against her or laughed even minutely, she could feel it to the tips of her toes. What was wrong with her?

They watched the rest of the movie like that. Nate's sleeping head in her lap, her knee resting gingerly against his.

When the credits rolled, Ochako wondered how long she could stay like this with him before he moved away from her. But Nate's head was getting heavy on her lap and it wasn't like anything was going to happen with him there, even if he was asleep.

"I gotta get him in bed," she said, lifting Nate's head and floating him so she could stand and put his arm around her shoulders so she could take him to his room.

Before she could get a few steps, Katsuki took up the spot on the other side of him, putting Nate's other arm around his shoulder.

She considered telling him that she didn't need help but didn't see the point in doing or saying anything that might push him away.

They brought Nate into his room and Ochako unbuttoned and pulled off his vest, then untucked his shirt before laying him on the bed. He would cover himself if he got cold or undress himself further if he got hot. She just wanted him to be able to sleep comfortably.

They exited the room and she shut his door behind them.

She walked hesitantly down the hall, not wanting to be the first to mention how familiar this situation was.

Then she realized abruptly that this was the end of the night once again and, most likely, the end of her time with him. He was going back to his regular patrols tomorrow.

Suddenly she wished the elevator were miles away instead of yards.

"How much longer will Nate be here?" Katsuki asked disinterestedly, as though just trying to make conversation.

He never tried to make conversation, though. Was he actually trying to ask her how much longer she would be here? She wanted to believe he was but she also didn't want to get her hopes up that it was for any positive reason. He could've been asking so he knew how long she was going to torture him with her presence.

"He's here two weeks this time," she told him casually, "so another week after this one."

He didn't ask or say anything after that and they reached the elevator too soon.

Ochako's heart sank further and further as he hit the elevator button.

"Thank you for coming today," she said, feeling her face heat slightly, "not that I needed the help or anything..."

He lifted a blonde brow at her, "I never said you needed it."

That comment pricked at her for some reason. What an obvious lie.

"Well, I mean, you did because you showed up without being asked" she commented putting a hand to her hip, "but it's fine because Nate liked being able to hang out with you again."

Now who was the liar?

"You never asked why I was there. You just assumed that I was undermining you," he argued back, his brows lowering.

"And, I assume, you're gonna tell me you weren't?"

He gave her a hard look, his expression irritated, "I've never once underestimated you or went easy on you, now you're gonna act like I have all along? Tch."

She considered this. Technically, he was right. He'd only ever assumed she was strong and capable. In fact, he'd depended on her ability plenty of times, knowing that she could pull through.

"Fine, then why were you there?" she asked, crossing her arms.

She thought he might be too stubborn to answer her now that she'd copped an attitude with him, but he did to her surprise, "I had an in, Edgeshot said I should take it. He said to trail Nate as long as I needed to if I thought I could get more info on Miyake."

"You could've told me," she chided.

"You could've let me tell you," he shot back.

She pouted, not wanting to admit that he had her again. The minute she'd seen him, she hadn't given him a chance to explain himself before marching up to him and giving him a piece of her mind.

"Fine," she spat with contempt, "I'm sorry I assumed you were undermining me. But also you're welcome for letting you come and do your little recon mission."

Katsuki lowered his lids like he was unamused by her attitude, "This is Lurkers jurisdiction, you know. I had more right to be there than you."

She snorted, "But would you have even been there if it weren't for me and Nate?"

"Rrrrrgh, why are you being so impossible?" he growled, "You can just say thanks for being there and leave it at that."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she snapped, "Me to thank you for just being around and existing."

"Yeah," he snapped back just as quickly, his expression showing more and more frustration, "I probably would like that if you could stop being such a brat for five seconds."

"A fucking what?!" she shrieked, her face growing hotter as adrenaline shot through her veins.

"I said, you're being a brat, pink-cheeks," he growled, poking her cheek where she, no doubt, had pink splotches staining them.

Fury bright as a flame rose up in Ochako as she smacked his hand away viciously.

Katsuki's crimson eyes glowed a warning that she wholeheartedly ignored.

"And you're being an arrogant know-it-all jackass, like usual," she barked back, "and you don't get to call me your little pet names anymore. You lost that right."

What was she doing?! She liked when he called her those names! She was screwing herself over by trying to hit him low! Stupid stupid stupid!

"I'll call you what I want, pink cheeks," he growled again, not phased at all by the boundary she'd laid, "What are you gonna do about it, brat?"

Katsuki's eyes flamed with challenge and Ochako thought she might burn alive with the rage that flared inside of her.

"You're such a bastard," she breathed just as the elevator finally reached their floor.

As the bell chimed its arrival, Ochako launched herself at him, capturing his lips with her own and kissed him with fervor.

Katsuki easily caught her and responded as if he'd been expecting it, waiting for it.

His lips were soft and warm and welcoming as he let her tongue pass to meet with his own.

The taste and the caress and the way his soft growls issued from his chest felt so familiar, it was like shifting a loose gear back into place in her life and suddenly everything made sense again. Everything felt real and vibrant around her instead of the subdued, desaturated world she had been forced to endure these past few months.

His hands at her waist, pulling her into him felt like the comfort blanket she never knew she needed as she pawed at his chest, unable to help running her fingers over the thick muscle there.

He groaned deliciously when she took his bottom lip into her mouth and sucked on it seductively then went to kissing and nipping at his neck.

Removing his hands from her hips, he began pulling the pins from her hair, running his fingers through it when he finished and it fell down her back as though it were a toy he was endlessly fascinated with.

Eventually, he tired of toying with it and he grabbed a fistful instead, eliciting a gasp from her lips as he pulled her head back from his neck so he could claim her mouth again.

The hand not in her hair ran delicately over the curve of her ass and cupped it, pulling her closer yet.

He grunted into her mouth when she audaciously pushed her thigh between his legs and lifted it, caressing his groin lightly.

The hand on her ass pushed and squeezed, willing her to keep it up.

Ochako moaned, feeling drunk on the way his breath shuddered every time she pushed her leg back between his and his hardness throbbed against her.

She pulled back from him, looking into his heavy-lidded eyes full of lust and some other emotion that clouded them.

"I missed you so much," she whispered with adoration she was otherwise unable to express, before taking his lips with her own, more gently this time.

Katsuki pulled his hands away and gently placed them at her neck, his thumbs on her cheeks, like he had once the first time he'd kissed her.

He let his movements slow and his kiss deepened, becoming less feverish, more loving.

I've missed you too, his kiss told her and she clutched at his shirt, her heart aching with the love she let pour in.

Then he suddenly inhaled sharply and pushed back from her as though she'd just burned him.

The way he looked at her when she looked up at him, confused, was that of torment and fear.

"Ochako," he said quietly, his voice weak, "I can't do this."

What the fuck?! the voice in her head screamed.

"What? Why?" she asked in a strained voice, already feeling that blissful world she thought she'd glimpsed in his arms shatter like glass back into that colorless hell she'd known before.

"We were just- You were-" she didn't know how to describe or argue the evidence she had of his obviously shared desire to reconnect. He'd willingly accompanied her and Nate to the Miyake estate and to dinner. He'd agreed to come up! He'd kept his knee pressed to hers. He'd kissed her back!

"I know, I shouldn't have," he said, his voice sounding harsh like he was admonishing himself.

The elevator dinged again, startling her. The damned traitor. It decided to cut in just in time to remind him he had an easy getaway?

"Don't you fucking do this to me again, Bakugo Katsuki!" she yelled at him, rage transforming her features even as tears streamed from her eyes.

She grasped at his arm, his hand, anything. But he slid from her grip as though he were practically ethereal and stepped onto the elevator.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, his voice and eyes conveying that he really meant it.

"Don't tell me that! How dare you say that to me for the first time now?!" she cried, her tears not letting up, her voice ripped apart by her pain.

He averted his eyes away from her and turned as the doors began to close. She wanted to stop them. She wanted to follow him but knew that would earn her worse pain for her effort.

"I hate you! You fucking asshole!" she screamed at him, "I've been dying without you! I hate you so much!"

His jaw tightened and his head dropped into his hand just before the door closed and the elevator was moving down.

Ochako screamed in uncontrollable rage at the elevator doors and punched them, denting the metal slightly.

Sliding slowly to the floor, she hugged her arms and squeezed them until they shook.

Warm arms surrounded her suddenly, pulling her into a firm chest.

"Nate," she choked out, "I fucking hate him so much. I wish I'd never worked with him. I wish I never knew him."

"He's an unequaled idiot, darling," Nate said warmly in a low, soothing tone.

Ochako allowed him to coax her up off the floor and lead her into his room.

"Come on," he said in the same tone, "lay down. Let it all out. I'm here."

He lifted the sheets for her to get under them, then covered her up to her chin.

Coming around the other side of the bed, he got under the covers as well, both still dressed in their dinner clothes, neither caring.

He pulled her into his chest again and petted her hair, waiting for her tears to stop.

Ochako fell asleep, tears still staining her cheeks, listening to Nate's slow breaths behind her head.

Waking up was miserable. Her eyelids stuck to each other and she had to pull them apart before opening her eyes.

There was no grace period between unconsciousness and consciousness this time. Her dreams had been no reprieve from those crimson orbs. They'd followed her with their look of regret and self-loathing.

She'd known she was being foolish last night. She'd warned herself not to be an idiot. But she'd been so sure that he felt the same, she'd run headlong into disaster.

Why did he have to hurt her this way again? Why did he have to realize he didn't want this after he'd made her fall in love with him? It felt like some kind of sick joke.

"Hey, girly," Nate's kind, soothing voice sounded behind her, "are you going to be okay for today or should I reschedule my meetings?"

The last thing she wanted was to have to sit around all day having to relive last night's regret or beat herself up over her mistakes. It had nearly driven her insane the last time she'd had nothing to do after graduation.

She couldn't do that again. She needed to get out.

"No, let's do whatever we gotta do."

"Do you just want me to fill the day up with all kinds of meaningless activities?" he asked, seeming to understand what she wanted.

She nodded, rubbing at her eyes.

"Okay then, get your ass dressed and let's get out of here," he smiled, giving her a pat to her back.

So she did, taking a shower and trying to scrub away the grime and sweat and heartbreak of the night before.

When she dressed once more in her suit and threw her hair up into its usual ponytail, she started to feel more like herself, pushing away the feelings of rejection and bitterness, strengthening her resolve and sense of responsibility as a hero.

"Okay," she said to Nate as she strolled into the entrance area, "I'm good."

It was oddly jarring to find Mt. Lady waiting for them in the lobby when they reached the bottom floor, looking cheery.

"Uravity, long time, no see," she said as they approached, pulling her into a hug, "and Prince Nathaniel, I'm so pleased to see you again. I trust Uravity is treating you as well as ever?"

"Of course she is, she's my favorite person," he replied with his winningest smile.

"Did He send you here?" Ochako asked her, trying her hardest not to sound bitter.

"Who?" Mt. Lady asked in confusion, "Oh! Ohhh! Ground Zero. I had heard he was sniffing around these parts." She tossed a sheaf of her platinum hair behind her shoulder, "No, I came to see how things have been going and was hoping I could shadow you two for the day."

"It's a pretty busy day," Nate warned, "I hope you're ready for that."

"Oh, I've had to punch villains all day without rest for hours. I'll be fine," she assured him.

Ochako hoped she was being honest and found no reason to distrust her. Another person to talk with and distract her from the dark cloud hanging over her would actually be a blessing.

So she, Nate, and Mt. Lady spent the day riding the town car around the city, making stops at fancy estates and political buildings, visiting various important people, many of which were excited to see such a well-known hero trailing behind him.

Ochako was able to keep herself busy, especially with Mt. Lady at her side, keeping a solid stream of conversation going regarding hero work and the ins and outs of life at her agency. She was actually making her miss Mt. Office a lot.

Mt. Lady slid into their group dynamic quickly, getting along with her and Nate easily and always making the mood lighter with her carefree attitude. It reminded Ochako of why she enjoyed working for her before and what she wished she were like sometimes.

Back at her smaller agency was nice and peaceful and calming in its own way. But Mt. Lady reminded her of all of the most exciting things she forgot she had wished for as a hero and now made her wish for again.

But she'd dreamed of those things most richly when she'd stood next to Him and shared in his vision.

He was living it still, despite her not being there.

She was cowering and licking her wounds in safety and ease.

"I wasn't being completely honest with you when I said I just wanted to see how things were going today," Mt. Lady said as they rode back to the hotel from the final errand of the day.

"Oh?" Ochako asked, her heart sinking, fearing that He really had sent her in some messed up attempt to make her feel better or distract her.

"Yes, Uravity, I came here hoping to tempt you into letting me steal you away to work for me at my agency again. It was such a pleasure having you before and you are a spectacular hero, with or without Ground Zero."

Ochako's spirits lifted finding out why she had really been there. It'd had nothing to do with Him after all... She wanted her back at her agency... She valued her...

Nate smiled approvingly, lifting his eyebrows at her to nudge her on to answer.

She sighed.

"I... I'm so flattered," she said honestly, "Thank you so much for asking me to come back. And I really want to but-" she shifted her eyes to Nate who only watched her for her response, "but I don't really get along with Ground Zero anymore. Like... at all. I don't think I could work at an agency he's affiliated with. And that's not me saying it's me or him. I want him to stay with the Lurkers doing what he loves. I just... can't be around him."

Mt. Lady gave her a knowing look of sympathy, "I understand, Uravity. I'm sorry things ended so badly between you two. I hope something changes eventually to make you change your mind."

Ochako shrugged, "Maybe. You never know." Though, she was pretty sure nothing would make her okay with working around him again. Maybe when he started his own agency she could come back...

The car stopped at the front of the hotel and all three got out, Mt. Lady turning to her again.

"Well there will always be a place for you. I'd love for you to work for me again," she hugged her again, then gave one to Nate as well.

"Thank you," Ochako said with a genuine smile she mostly felt for the first time that day.

The next couple days Ochako did her best to keep moving forward, letting herself heal and focus on her work.

He was gone. He knew what he wanted and it wasn't her. She had to accept that. She had to stop the hope she felt creeping into her sometimes.

'What ifs' and 'should haves' did nothing to help her.

So she pushed forward and stopped trying to look back at the painful pieces of the love she'd barely gotten the chance to nurture behind her.

They finished their last day of work and she was excited that for the entirety of the up and coming week, she would be able to take Nate around sightseeing all of the amazing places in Tokyo and the surrounding area.

"Mt. Lady offered to take me out for drinks tonight," Nate told her that evening as the sun was setting, casting the living room in a pink glow.

They sat together on the couch, continuing their binge of the drama they had begun days ago, but he was getting up now, putting his suit jacket back on.

"I assume she's aware of your... preferences?" she asked him, quirking a brow.

"Well," he laughed nervously, "I would hope so. If not, she'll be pretty disappointed pretty quickly."

Ochako let out a small laugh, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Do you want to come with me?" he asked, an offer in his words. He wanted to see her happy again, she could tell.

She hadn't been planning on going out tonight. She was so tired and anxious to start their journey tomorrow.

"Well, since I assume you'll be safe with Mt. Lady I'd rather stay, if that's okay with you."

He smiled at her, petting her head like an older brother might, "It's fine, girly. Get some rest. Relax. Watch a movie."

She nodded, giving him the best smile she could muster.

Nate went around the couch and pressed the button for the elevator.

"Have fun," she called, turning back to the TV.

"You too," he chuckled.

He disappeared into the elevator when it came and Ochako was alone for the first time in a while in the penthouse.

She tried not to consider her loneliness as she turned it off and went to take a bath.

Baths made her feel much more relaxed and cleansed. If there were something she needed, it was a cleansing body and soul.

So she soaked, putting on calming music and just letting all of her worries roll off of her back.

She must've spent an hour in there until she heard the elevator out in the entrance ding and she frowned, wondering what could have possibly gone wrong for Nate to be back so soon.

Drying herself off and draining the tub, Ochako dressed in the nightwear she'd laid out for herself.

"So, I take it she wasn't aware of your preferences," she giggled, walking down the hall to greet him.

But it wasn't Nate who greeted her as the elevator came into view.

No. Please, no, her mind begged, the smirk she'd been wearing melted from her face.

Her eyes met those of impending devastation as Katsuki stared back at her from the entrance.

Notes:

A/N: "What the eff, Moofy? Why you posting in the daytime all of sudden?" Idk. I finish a chapter and I proofread it once before getting it out to you. There is no schedule. So I finish at 5am, it's posted at 6am.

Mmm still keeping my word with that no angsty chapter end. But LOL the cliffhanger thooooo

Oh ya, I am moving on Wednesday from Florida to Utah so I'll be driving for literal days which means I may or may not be able to post the next chapter quickly depending on just how incompetent I am at posting on Wattpad, AO3, and FFnet all mobile. I know you all REALLY want to know what happens so I will TRY to post it before I make the move. I've been writing on it a ton already so it shouldn't take much longer. Here's hoping, fam.

ETA: I've noticed that a lot of you really like Nate. Nate is actually modeled after one of my best friends who is a little bit more crude than I made Nate but is just as affectionate and willing to go the distance for me. And, ya, he is JUST as lovable as Nate is. He also is lonely and looking for the right guy and is one hell of a catch cuz he's a NURSE ffs. We met in WoW and we became friends because he would always hit on guys who messed with me. Literally the best dude ever. I've joked with him before that he's probably my actual soul mate XD. So just FYI, Nate is real, yall. Just some background for you.

Chapter 28

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Molten crimson eyes burned into hers as she stood in the hallway.

"I-" he began, reaching his hand out and taking a step toward her.

Ochako's heart jumped and she stepped back a pace. What was he doing here? Why did he keep coming back?

He stopped.

"Don't," she ordered him, clenching her fists painfully, "Don't touch me. Don't come near me."

Don't hurt me. Don't make me hope for you again, was what she was really saying.

"Okay," he agreed, pulling back his outstretched hand, "I won't do anything you don't want me to. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it. Just don't kick me out."

That was exactly what she wanted to do, though. She didn't want to see his face. Just seeing him was already fraying the edges of her sanity.

An ache was beginning to burrow into her chest, squeezing at her heart and making her feel sick.

"Fine," she said, hating that she was already agreeing to what he asked of her. What a moron she was.

But he'll do what you say, she reminded herself, You can kick him out whenever you want.

She clung to that knowledge as she leveled a suspicious glare at him, "Then tell me why you're here. And be honest with me. Don't be coy or put some bravado on. I'll kick your ass out right now if you start that whole 'I'm sorry but I'm not saying sorry' shit. And if you're not here to apologize you can go. Now."

His jaw worked for a moment, probably struggling to figure out how to say the words he wanted without his usual attitude.

"You know I'm shit at saying things, floaty," he admitted, a strained expression coming to his face.

"That's fine," she answered curtly, "just do your best."

He glared at her, "Don't patronize me."

"I'll do whatever I want! You're the one who came to me! If you don't like my tone then get out! I can't just-" she stopped herself. Her breaths were already becoming heavy and a lump was forming in her throat. She tried to calm herself. Getting this worked up already was not going to help.

"Please just tell me why you're here," she said coldly, pulling herself together again.

He watched her with sorry eyes.

"Because I fucked up," he said honestly, "I pussed out like I told you forever ago that I wouldn't. I fucked up a lot lately and I want to try and fix it if you can just... try to see me like you did before."

I will never not see you like that, her heart cried out to him.

He tried to step forward again.

"No," she stopped him, "what I want you to do, remember?"

He stepped back again, nodding.

She saw his chest rising and falling distinctly. His breathing was labored. He was nervous (scared?) as well...

"It's not that simple. You can't just come in here and say you want to fix things and expect me to just be okay with it.. How am I even supposed to trust you won't freak out and leave again if I give you another chance?" she asked.

"If I do, you never have to see me again. I won't bother you anymore," he offered.

"That's not good enough," she snapped, "I'm already at my wit's end. I put myself back together twice now because of you, both times I was sure you were gone for good, just for you to show up again. I can't do it anymore."

Katsuki looked at the floor, his face barely containing his rage. He was angry at himself, she realized, for hurting her.

"Then... I'll give you something," he offered again, rooting around in his pockets, "This."

He pulled out a small card, his hero license, and held it out to her, "As collateral."

Ochako's eyes widened and she gasped.

"Are you serious?"

"If I fuck up again, you can ruin my whole fucking life, angel-face. But I know I won't. So just..." He shook the card, willing her to take it.

She stepped warily toward him, his eyes following her every movement, and she reached a trembling hand out to take his hero license.

She held it up in front of her, reading it as though it could hardly be real.

Family Name: Bakugo

Given Name: Katsuki

Hero Name: Ground Zero

Birthday: April 20th

Quirk: Explosion

A picture of his grumpy face was to the side of this information. She knew on the back was all of the fine print of the additional rights a hero was granted.

They had to carry these on them at all times. It was like a police badge. They could get in serious trouble and possibly harshly penalized if they lost this.

"This is your whole life," she breathed, looking up at him with watery eyes, "You left me because of this. Now you're just giving it to me?"

"It is my whole life," he said, "and I would never give up being a hero for anything. So now you know how serious I am about not fucking up anymore. Give it back when you finally believe me."

Ochako swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in her throat. He was staking everything on this...

"Why?" she asked shakily, "What made you change your mind?"

"Fuck, floaty, why do you gotta ask me tough questions like that? I'm gonna sound like a sap."

"So?" she argued back, "It's just us here. I won't tell anyone else your deep dark secret of having human emotions."

He huffed a laugh and smirked at her, "I have a reputation to uphold."

She spun her hand in front of her, motioning for him to continue as she set the card on the counter next to her.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I was doing really shitty those two months I was suspended. I was pissed all the time and just trained pretty much all day, every day. I was so fucking pissed at myself for almost completely throwing everything away."

Ochako lowered her eyes. He'd left her the first time because he hated he'd done that because of her.

"I still thought about you, though. I didn't want to. I wanted to get over you and stop being such a fucking idiot but you'd just pop up out of nowhere like if I was just sitting at my desk and I'd think you were just to my left, taking notes or wanting to scold me, or I'd be wiping sweat off after a tough workout and expect to look over at you eyeing me like a cat in heat."

Ochako blushed furiously at that, "I never did that!"

He smirked, "Yeah. You did. I know cuz I liked it."

She covered her burning cheeks with her hands, trying to calm her racing heart.

He continued, "I got through those months through sheer willpower and at the end I thought I was doing better. When I went to work finally, it got even easier. I was able to keep my mind on my job and being a hero and I felt like I was over you and able to be happy."

The strings of her heart pulled painfully at that. He'd been happy without her. He would've been fine without her. And all that time she'd barely been putting herself back together...

"I see your face, floaty. Stop. I'm not done," he admonished.

She looked up at him again, waiting for him to continue.

"Right. Then, you showed up here. I just saw you standing in front of that car you completely totaled like some kind of valkyrie and it was like not a goddamn thing had changed in those three months. And I thought I'd be angry or sad or some toxic ass shit but I was just... excited to see you again. I felt like I was coming back to life."

He paused, as though reliving that moment in his mind.

"When you smiled at me, I knew I was fucking done. I wasn't ever just gonna get over you or move on."

Ochako felt something in her heart blooming. Something bright and warm. And it spread from her chest into her face, to her limbs, all the way to her toes.

Until she remembered that he had still pushed her away after that moment.

"Okay, but a couple days ago..."

"Yeah..." he recalled, hanging his head, "Realizing that shit is... disturbing. Knowing that you would, and already had, risked everything for one person and realizing that if you want to be with them, you have to trust that they're not going to ask you to do that is not fucking easy to accept."

"But I told you-"

"I know. I still didn't like it. That's too much power over my life not in my hands. Even if I'd love every minute if you'd dragged me down to my ruin."

Ochako's jaw clenched and she understood. He wanted to be in control of his life. He also loved her so much that he would give anything for her. Even his job. Even his life. That was a danger to someone who had, up to this point, only valued themselves highest of all.

"I couldn't stop coming back to be near you and everyone just kept giving me reasons to! So when we went out to dinner and watched a movie, I could hardly think about anything but touching you. Then we fought like we always do and things got heated like they always had, and when you kissed me and I liked it and wanted you so badly I thought I was dying, I had to get away or I was gonna do it. Just give in. Give you everything and not give a shit."

Remembering that moment hurt her all over again. She'd been ready to give him everything too. Nothing had changed in those months for her either. Not really. She'd practically begged him to stay again and he'd walked away again.

"So what changed your mind?" she asked again, letting the lingering hurt from that night show through.

Katsuki swallowed.

"I thought I could put it out of my mind and go back to work and stop fucking obsessing over you so goddamn much. But it was too fucking late for that. I already knew by then that I've only ever been half as happy without you- even doing what I love- than I ever was with you, especially when you were sharing that love for being a hero with me."

It was becoming difficult to breathe hearing him say all these things she only ever dreamed he'd tell her again.

"I saw Nate in the lobby just now. He said he was going out drinking with Mt. Lady or something and he wasn't happy with me but I convinced him to give me the room card. He said I could come here and try to fix things but you were pissed so I needed to make it good."

He saw the confusion in her eyes. Nate had left over an hour ago.

"Yes, I fucked around in the lobby trying to decide whether or not to puss out again," he admitted, rolling his eyes, "I knew you might try to kill me or scream at me or something so..."

She shook her head at him and his eyes softened.

"So I guess... I hope I made what I'm saying good enough for you. I get why you hate me but... I don't care. I can't not be around you anymore. I fucked up after graduation and I fucked up two days ago. I'm a goddamn dumbass. You know that by now. I just need you so fucking much, Ochako. I can't breathe when you're near me and I'm not touching you and I can only hope you're not half as much of an asshole as I am if you're gonna reject me now."

Ochako's chest felt like it was about to burst.

This was not a half bad confession, she had to admit.

But had he made it good enough for her to risk her heart again? From the sound of it, he was risking it all too. Putting his future, his career, his dreams on the line for her. The depth of what he felt for her was, once again, so extraordinary to her, she still marveled at how someone could feel that much for her, especially Katsuki, who she'd once thought was nothing but self-centered and single-minded.

"Yeah," she answered straight forward, not interested in beating around the bush. It would be wrong, and a complete lie, if she said she wasn't still helplessly in love with him, even to the point of stupidity,. But, if she was to believe what he was saying, so was he. "Yeah, you did... make it good enough."

Katsuki let out a huge breath of air, relief coming over his features.

"Ochako..." he said in his sweetly tender voice he'd only ever reserved for her, reaching out and stepping toward her again.

She was only a few feet away this time but she stopped him, extending her arm and keeping him back for the third time.

His brow furrowed in confusion and frustration as he stepped back again.

Mischief sparked in her though.

"You said you would only do what I want you to do, didn't you?" she asked, quirking a brow.

He blinked, "...yeah."

"And if I wanted you to get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness?"

His eyes widened, then flared to life, a feral expression of desire transforming his features.

"I'd do anything," he said, almost breathless.

"Then. Do. It," she commanded, pointing to the ground.

She had him. Katsuki was hers finally, after everything they'd endured. He'd made her feel things no one else had ever even come close to making her feel.

And he'd walked in here and offered her the perfect opportunity to feel the power and strength she so craved right now without even realizing it.

Katsuki fell to his knees, his molten eyes still on hers, glazed over as he submitted to her.

"Please-" he halted as she took a step toward him but she halted as well, looking down at him expectantly.

He began again.

"Please forgive me for being a total and complete dumbass," he said, his voice becoming smaller and more breathless as she stepped closer still, "I'll do anything to make it right."

His head was tilted back as he looked up at her with those smoldering crimson irises. She stood in front of him now and she could see his hands shaking in the fists he had them in at his sides.

"So please," he begged, a whine coming to his voice.

A wave of red-hot desire washed through her at the note of desperation she heard in his voice.

"Give me your hands," she ordered, holding hers out for him to take.

He did. Placing his large, calloused palms in her petite, softer ones. They still shook, whether from nerves or his struggle to control himself, she wasn't sure.

"Touch me," she told him, placing his hands on the outside of either of her thighs.

He let out a shuddering breath when his palms touched her soft skin. They were so warm and only grew warmer as he began caressing the curves of her thighs, savoring every bit of contact as though she were a goddess he was worshipping.

His hands were under her nightgown now, moving slowly and gently up to her hips, gripping them and digging his fingers into the soft, supple skin there.

Ochako bit her lip, breathing more labored than ever as his hands moved around to her backside, softly squeezing and kneading the flesh there.

She heard him barely stifle a groan when she pushed even closer to him, pressing her upper thigh, still covered by the night gown, into his face. His nose was practically at her groin.

"Do you want to... taste... me?" she questioned, her voice rough with lust, face burning with desire and embarrassment, unsure she was doing it right.

He made a small sound like a whimper, then answered her, "Yes. God, fuck yes. Please, Ochako."

A shiver went through her. She could actually feel herself getting wetter at his words and she lifted her nightgown inch by inch, loving the way his breaths became more and more labored as she revealed more skin to him, nuzzling his nose into her groin.

When she'd pulled it up past her hips, high enough to fully see the cute pink polkadot cotton panties she was wearing, he wasn't able to contain the growl that issued from deep in his throat.

"Those are so you," he breathed into her hot skin.

"You like them?" she asked, momentarily forgetting her position of power.

In actuality, she'd obviously had no idea this would be happening, thus had no sexy underwear prepared or even packed. She'd hoped her simple panties would be good enough. Apparently they were more than good enough.

"Fuck. I love them," he groaned, continuing to massage and grab her ass as he tried to push his face further into her crotch.

Ochako squeaked when his tongue came flicking out, lapping at the wetness soaking her panties.

She grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled him back, a pained hiss issuing from his lips as she removed him.

"I don't recall saying you could do that," she scolded.

His glazed ruby eyes glittered with mischief.

"I'm sorry, Ochako-sama," he smirked.

She lifted her brows at his audacity despite the thrill the name sent through her.

"Maybe you shouldn't get to taste me afterall," she considered.

His smirk dropped from his mouth, humor gone from his eyes, replaced with desperation.

"No! No! I'm sorry! I'll listen! I'll do what you say. Please just let me taste you. Just once, please."

Ho-ly shit. She didn't know what turned her on more. The groveling, puddle of a man that kneeled before her, or the dominant alpha male that pushed her around and wrapped those huge hands around her neck. She couldn't believe they were both this man. She liked them both. She wanted them both. And she'd have both before the night was done if she had any say in it.

"That's good," she praised him, "Now you can taste."

But she pulled him back again when he tried to move in and his eyes looked physically pained as he stared up at her.

"But start here," she pointed near the bottom of her thigh, "where you left off before."

His eyes glowed with recognition and he nodded greedily, dipping his head to start where his tongue had stopped last Halloween.

He pulled his hands from her ass to support her as he extended his hot pink tongue (ugh just seeing it made her squirm) and pressed it to her thigh, already causing her breath to hitch.

Then he began licking upwards, leaving a trail of wet heat behind that burned far more than just her skin.

Up, up, up, his tongue traveled, his hands gripping her higher and higher as well. And when he finally reached the hem of her panties, he paused, lifting her thigh up and resting it on his shoulder.

Ochako realized suddenly that that left her wide open to him as his tongue trailed lazily over the thin cloth covering her sex and she moaned.

He growled with want at her response and seemed unable to hold back any longer as he hooked one finger into the leg band of her panties and pulled them to the side, fully baring her to him like this for the first time.

An animalistic sound rumbled from deep in his chest as he took her in a split second before extending that delicious tongue again and burying it deep into her folds, licking languorously toward the front of her slit.

The moment his tongue slid against the small bundle of nerves at her core, she cried out and grabbed at his hair with both hands, pulling him closer and letting her nightie fall back down, covering his head.

He chuckled deviously and extended his tongue again, going twice as fast. Then, beginning to focus solely on her clit, circling it with his tongue, sucking on it until she screamed, then starting all over at licking from her opening to the front.

The pleasure was astronomical. Ochako never wanted him to stop and she was so overcome, she could hardly stand.

He kept his pace and vigor perfectly, even after pleasuring her for minutes on end.

"Katsuki, ah," she whimpered, feeling something building inside of her as he continued to pay undivided attention to her clit, lapping up her juices that were pouring out of her and appearing to love every second of it.

He pulled back for just a second and she grunted in frustration.

"Are you close? Do you want me to make you cum?"

"Mmmmph," was all she could say, nodding instead and pulling his face back into her.

He redoubled his efforts, adding speed, and that feeling of taut tension built quickly in her lower abdomen.

Her cries became more fevered and desperate. She barely had enough control to not grasp his hair with all her strength.

Then he did the unthinkable. He made the experience even better, bringing two fingers to her opening and slowly pushing them in, causing her to jolt, her eyes wide.

"Oh my god, Katsuki," she gasped.

Still sucking at the little bud within her folds, he curled his fingers inside of her, hitting a spot that felt like fucking heaven and she was gone, over the edge of oblivion.

Ochako screamed her pleasure as her orgasm rocked her, throwing her head back, her eyes closed, and pulling him in deeper before pushing his head away, unable to stand his tongue on her sensitive flesh any longer.

Time lost all meaning and she felt like she was floating off into eternity as her body continued to spasm. What the hell? Wasn't he new at this too? How had he known every way to touch her and lick her?

She heard a low chuckle escape his lips and he said, "That's... interesting."

What?

She opened her eyes, bringing her head forward to look at him and he released her from his grip.

She started, thinking she was about to fall over but realized then why he'd laughed as she began floating upward.

Her quirk had activated when she'd orgasmed?

"That's so fucking- I have so many ideas, I don't know where to start," he said, eyes filled with hunger.

Even though she'd just been shoving his face into her crotch, Ochako still felt her cheeks heat under that piercing stare full of raw desire.

She was finally calm enough again to release herself to stand on the ground again, though her legs were incredibly shaky.

Katsuki got to his feet, licking his lips, a question in his eyes. He was still following the rules. He would only do what she told him.

Ochako held a hand out to him, allowing him to finally come to her and he immediately rushed her, gathering her in his arms and crushing her to him.

"Ochako," he sighed with relief and sheer happiness.

For her part, she clung to him as well, pressing her cheek to his chest, hearing the rapidly beating heart there.

"I'll make you happy," he whispered into her hair, "I'll give you fucking anything."

Tears sprang to her eyes. She looked up into his bright, glowing irises and was lost.

"I just want you," she told him, a tear trickling down her cheek, "I want to share everything with you, work with you again, fight with you again."

His calloused thumb grazed across her cheek, wiping away her tear and planting a soft kiss in its wake.

"I'd give you anything and everything as well, Katsuki," she confessed, "You're not alone. I was ready to offer my license just for you to get yours back if they were really going to revoke them. I couldn't let them just take your dream away like that. And it was my fault anyway."

Katsuki frowned down at her as he ran a hand absently through her hair.

"It wasn't your fault. I was stupid. Deku was stupid. He said fucked up shit and I reacted bad because I'm pretty much guaranteed to punch out anyone who talks shit about you like that."

"What a romantic," she joked, looping her arms around his neck.

"You know what you signed up for," he growled back with a smirk.

Ochako pulled his head down wanting to feel his lips on hers but he resisted at the last second, pulling back.

"Are you sure? After I just..."

Her eyebrows drew down at his question, "If it doesn't bother you, why should it bother me?"

His eyes glowed brighter at her response and he closed the distance between them, planting a soft, slow kiss on her mouth.

She grinned as he pulled back and her heart melted, feeling safe and wanted and warm.

A smile, one that had made her heart stop on New Years, came to his lips as well and he nuzzled his nose against hers before closing the distance once more, kissing her longer and deeper.

Ochako opened her mouth to brush her tongue against his lips but he was already eagerly following her lead and met her tongue with his own, inhaling deeply as they timidly stroked against each other.

She could taste the remnants of her own juices on his tongue and, contrary to his worries, it not only didn't bother her, it excited her.

She pulled him in further, stroking his tongue with hers more hungrily, wanting to taste more, explore every facet of that gorgeous mouth.

He groaned into her and pulled her closer, letting the hand not in her hair, slide down to cup her ass and squeeze.

"Mmmm," she whined, already feeling ready for him again. He hadn't been satisfied yet afterall and she had built up a certain amount of anticipation to finally see and touch and feel the part of him that he had occasionally let grind into her and had once come so close to being inside of her already.

As if knowing exactly what she desired, a firmness twitched at her hip upon hearing her voice.

She let him push her into it, grinding his arousal against her through his sweatpants.

Not letting herself hesitate, Ochako pulled one hand away from his neck to slowly trail its way down his torso.

She heard his breathing pick up as he realized what she meant to do and he completely stilled, possibly holding his breath, when her hand slid past his waistband.

Shyly, she inched her fingers into his boxers, venturing onto delicate skin she'd never had the chance to witness with her own eyes yet.

He remained still, hardly even breathing, even pulling his mouth back from hers and just resting his parted lips against the corner of hers.

Finally, her fingertips grazed a soft, velvety skin like none she had ever touched before in her life and his sharp intake of breath told her that that was what she had been looking for.

She explored more confidently now, letting her hand travel inch by inch, barely brushing the firm length of his erection pulsating beneath her palm, until she reached the base where the back of her hand met wiry curls of hair. Then, further still, until she was cupping his sac gently.

He jolted when she softly massaged his balls, being careful not to put too much pressure and his labored breaths started up again.

"Fuck. I want you so bad, I don't know what I want first," he groaned as she stopped massaging and slid her hand up the bottom side of his shaft, at full attention, standing straight up against his lower abdomen.

He grunted and involuntarily bucked his hips as she ended at the soft mushroom tip once more and suddenly wrapped her hand around his considerable girth.

She had nothing more to go off of other than the few lewd pictures she happened to see accidentally on pornographic ads or dick pics one of her friends got, but she considered his size to be more than acceptable with the way it filled her palm.

A heat pooled at the apex of her thighs, already demanding more attention and she bit her lower lip as she imagined the gently pulsating length in her hands, moving inside of her.

She pumped her fist up and down his shaft a couple times and he rocked his hips against it, letting out the most delicious half groan, half whine that made her mouth water.

Abruptly, she pulled her hand away and Katsuki's frustrated growl was fierce, causing a jolt of electricity to travel through her, right down to her core.

But Ochako was tired of standing near the elevator, hardly having anything to lean against or sit on. She wanted him to be comfortable. She wanted to straddle him or feel his weight on top of her body.

"Come with me," she ordered, pulling out of his embrace and taking his hand to lead him toward the living room and the couch.

Katsuki let himself be pulled along until she stopped in front of the plush sofa and shoved him roughly onto it.

"I want you," she said huskily, leaning down to claim his lips with her own and hastily pulling at the waistband of his sweats. She was tired of waiting and just feeling and touching. She wanted to see what her efforts had bought her. Needed to know what that soft broad tip and that thick, veined shaft really looked like.

He felt her fervor and lifted his hips to allow her to pull his pants and boxers down his hips, to his thighs, and his fully erect cock finally sprang free from its confines, revealing itself to her at last as she pulled back from him and kneeled before the couch taking the sight in.

She didn't know if he felt self-conscious with the way she was practically inspecting every inch of him but he didn't stop her, just watched, his molten eyes smoldering on her in the low-light.

His cock was, for lack of a better word, exquisite. Ochako's mouth watered just looking at it.

Thick veins wrapped around his flesh-colored shaft, a thicker cord running along the bottom that, after pulsating, produced a bead of liquid at the tip of his dark pink mushroom-shaped head.

She already knew how soft and sensitive that skin was and how much he liked when she touched it.

Curiosity got the better of her and she brought a single finger to the pearly bead of liquid at the tip, making his cock bob in response to the contact.

Katsuki just continued to watch her, fascinated, a ravenous look in his eyes.

The liquid was somewhat viscous, trailing a string after her finger as she pulled it away.

She brought that finger to her lips, extending her tongue to taste the small bit of liquid there. It was mildly sweet but hardly tasted like anything really, making her wonder if she should have tried more.

Katsuki sucked in a breath, his erection twitching at the sight of her, "Fuck, pink cheeks. Im not gonna be able to fuck you for very long at this rate. You're driving me goddamn insane."

"Should I... Do you need to... you know," she blushed furiously.

"If you make me cum first, I'll be able fuck you as long as you want when I get it up again," he told her matter of factly, not ashamed or uncomfortable with explaining his body to her, "Which, at this rate, won't be long."

"O-Okay," she said timidly, suddenly feeling incredibly shy about the fact that she had no practice at this.

Unsure how to start, Ochako leaned forward, her mouth open, tongue slightly extended toward his length.

Katsuki said nothing and didn't try to stop her as her tongue reached his shaft and began sliding up toward the tip.

He did, however, emit a ferocious growl, baring his teeth, when she reached it and clamped her lips around the whole of his swollen head, licking at the soft skin there and lapping up the small beads that gushed forth from the tip.

He dug his hands deep into her hair, gathering it all into one hand like her own personal hair tie as she began to inch him further into her mouth. His size was considerable and she was unsure if she could take the whole of him.

When he hit the back of her throat, she almost gagged but pulled back a bit to regain her composure, her eyes watering.

"You don't have to take the whole thing," he purred, groaning as she tried to push forward again.

Well now he said it, it felt like a challenge.

She bobbed her head up and down slowly, sensuously, but also working to get accustomed to his size in her mouth.

Every time she pulled back, she let her tongue drag at the underside of his shaft until she reached the tip, where she would lick broadly, hoping for more pearly liquid to come forth.

He would hiss in a breath almost every time she did this, then release it slowly when she would take him in again, still gripping her hair in his fist.

When she became more accustomed to his size and how she should move, she began to go faster, bobbing up and down, keeping her lips sealed around his shaft.

His breaths became more erratic and he gripped her hair tighter, almost painfully.

She felt him beginning to push her up and down with the hand fisting her hair and allowed him to lead her for a little bit.

That was until she finally became more confident with her ability to take him further in and grabbed his wrist to tell him to stop pushing her as she pushed him further and further into her mouth, hitting the back of her throat.

He groaned deeply, his head falling back in ecstasy, but she still wasn't done yet. There was a little more to go. Her eyes watered slightly but she was able to control herself better this time and pushed him the rest of the way in, feeling him slip just barely down her throat.

"Och-chako..." he moaned breathlessly, his whole body shaking, "I'm gonna..."

He pulled her back, mostly off of him and bucked quickly into her mouth three more times before he pulled her all the way off, grunting heavily as he grabbed his cock to keep control as hot ropes of white liquid shot from it, landing mostly on her face, some into her mouth and hair.

"Fuuuuck," he groaned loudly as he rode out his orgasm, spasming and still holding tight to his shaft as it pulsed a few more spurts of cum that dribbled down the head and onto his hand.

Ochako, for her part, wasn't quite sure what to do with the substance in her mouth. It was warm and tasted nothing like the sweet liquid that had issued from his tip earlier. It's taste was distinct but not comparable to anything she'd ever tasted before. She couldn't say she hated it, but it was surely something new.

"That's... kinda hot," Katsuki said, still breathing heavily, but finally beginning to come down from his high.

She looked at him with wide confused eyes, her mouth still open with his cum on her tongue and covering her face.

"Fuck, that's even hotter," he growled bringing a hand to his face, "You don't have to just keep that in your mouth. You can spit it out if you don't like it or you can swallow it, it won't hurt you."

Not sure what else to do, she closed her mouth and swallowed the still warm liquid. It left an odd sensation on her tongue in its wake that she could only describe as slightly tingly.

"God, angel-face you are..." he got a dark, sultry look in his eye, "I wish I could've done this sooner."

He stared at her for a few seconds, his scarlett irises glowing with intent, then began pulling up his boxers, while shucking off his pants.

"Hang on," he told her quickly and got up to walk into the kitchen.

A few cabinets banged open and closed and she heard water running. Then he came back around the couch holding what looked like a hand towel.

He sat again and pulled her closer as he began to wipe the sticky residue from her face and neck with the damp, she realized, and warm cloth.

He wiped gently at her face and even got the bits that were in her hair. For some reason his efforts to clean her off felt intimate all on their own and made her heart flutter restlessly knowing he cared for her in this way too.

Giving her one more once-over with his bare hand, he finally found her face to be acceptably clean and he paused at her mouth and her swollen lips, dragging his thumb across them as she looked up into his face.

"This mouth," he purred, leaning forward and planting a kiss on her lips, "is dirty," he kissed her again, "and hot," another sensual kiss, "and I loved fucking it."

Ochako's whole body warmed as he pulled her in for another kiss, drawing this one out by plunging his tongue into her mouth once more.

She readily kissed him back, tenderly at first and then more hungrily as his tongue massaged hers like she tasted like the sweetest candy.

He pulled her up off the floor and onto his lap, pulling her legs to either side of him so she was straddling his hips.

As they continued to make out vigorously, Katsuki began caressing her thighs, gliding his hands up and down them, dipping his fingertips under the leg bands of her panties each time he slid them back up.

Ochako clutched at his neck, running one hand through the short hairs at his nape, while dragging her fingernails of the other slowly down into his shirt.

His shirt was bullshit, she decided, and she dropped her hands to the bottom of it, tugging it up.

Understanding what she was trying to achieve, he broke the kiss and let her pull it off of him and she discarded it roughly on the floor.

He chuckled that sultry, incredibly sexy sound that was starting to be an aphrodisiac for her and said, "The shirt didn't do anything to you."

"It was covering you," she snapped back, "It's lucky I didn't tear it off."

His torso glistened with a thin sheen of sweat and Ochako felt her mouth water with hunger.

He leaned into the back of the couch and let her run a hand down his torso, stopping at the waistband of his boxers. Then she ran her hand all the way back up, watching as her fingers moved over the hills and valleys of his muscles.

She couldn't hold back any longer and she leaned into him, bringing her lips to his chest and kissing all across it. Then extending her tongue to lick from the bottom of one pectoral to the top, savoring the delicious taste of sweetness and spice on her tongue as she lapped up his sweat.

"I knew you liked it," he purred low, dipping his fingers under her leg bands a little deeper this time and making her vaginal muscles squeeze, wishing his digits were there instead.

She licked him again and he gasped suddenly when her tongue grazed his nipple.

"Do you like that?" she asked, stopping and going back to run her tongue over it again.

He let out a repressed grunt as she did and when she did it a third time he actually growled deep in his throat and pulled her head away.

"You tell me if you like it," he said seductively before pulling the thin straps of her night gown down and exposing her breasts, letting it pool at her waist.

Before she was able to figure out what he was doing, he had already taken her own peaked nipple into his mouth and was sucking at it gently, rolling his tongue slowly around the hardened bud.

Ochako cried out, her fingers going to his hair once more to pull him closer.

His hand went to her other breast so as to not neglect it and he leisurely palmed it, pinching delicately at her other nipple.

This treatment was beyond torturous and made warmth pool and ache between her thighs once more.

"Katsuki," she sobbed, her need becoming a strain burning for him to relieve.

She moved her hips against his long and slow, feeling that he was, in fact, hard again and grinding herself against his length. He let out a deep animalistic sound that originated within his chest, vibrating up through his mouth as he continued lavishing her breasts with all of his attention.

It did wondrous things to her and made her wish for his mouth at her clit once more.

"Katsuki," she said again, a more desperate whine coming to her voice this time and he paused his work on her nipples to look up at her, lust coating his every feature.

"I need you," she whimpered frantically into his ear.

That was enough for him and he lifted his hips to begin pulling his boxers down.

When she saw his firm erection between them at attention once more, her frenzy reached a fever pitch and she brought a hand to it, pushing it against her soaked panties and grinding herself against him, panting with need.

"Fuck! Fuck! Ochako!" he hissed, gritting his teeth as he held her hips to still her, "You can't do that to me or I'll just fuck you right now."

"That's what I want," she purred, trying to move her hips again.

"You have to wait just a second," he said breathlessly and held her to him as he laid her down on her back.

He reached over the edge of the couch and grabbed for his pants, digging around in the pockets again and grabbing out a square packet, containing what she assumed was a condom.

"Oh," she laughed mildly at herself, "Right."

She watched with restless excitement as he opened the packet, pulling out the tiny rubbery-looking circle.

"Do you know how? To put one on?" he asked her, seeing her intense interest.

Putting on a condom hadn't really been explained much to her in detail in the past. The most she'd been told was that the guy should wear one every time.

She shook her head.

"Here," he said, taking her hands and showing her how to place it and letting her unroll the latex down his shaft, quivering when her petite hand wrapped itself around him again, testing the feel of the slick, prelubed rubber in her hand. Would this feel good? Would he still like it covered up like this?

The way his eyes burned into hers when she looked up at him made her question less and just want to try.

Her breath hitched when he began to slowly tug her panties and her nightie down her hips. He was gentle and halting, pulling them from one ankle, then the next.

And then she was naked before him, and he before her as he moved back up her body and settled his weight over hers, taking the sight of her in.

Nothing in her entire life had ever looked as gorgeous as he did above her now, looking down at her now with the reverence of a man who'd seen the face of God.

Kastuki leaned down to her now, bringing his lips to hers in a slow, sensual kiss that made her toes curl and she undulated her hips up toward him, feeling his thickness there, waiting for her.

He slid effortlessly back and forth across her folds as she moved and she shuddered when the cleft of his head glided across her clit.

"For fuck's sake, pink-cheeks," he pulled back, breathless, "You're not innocent and pure at all. I'm trying to go slow for you and you're just so fucking hot."

She stopped her movements and looked up at him, pleading in her eyes.

"Are you ready?" he asked, smirking down at her.

She nodded, "Yes. Please, Katsuki."

His crimson eyes burned brighter as he gripped her hip and positioned himself at her entrance.

Nerves from excitement and anxiousness bounced through her, feeling him there. But she wasn't afraid. He'd already proven to her time and time again he would take care of her, make sure she was comfortable first and foremost.

"I love you, Ochako," he breathed and pushed slowly inside of her.

Ochako gasped, unsure if it was from the shock of his admission or the new sensation of feeling him moving within her. She'd fantasized about it, wished for it but this was... so much more.

He'd halted immediately, watching for her reaction but it didn't hurt.

"I'm okay," she told him, "More. Please."

Katsuki let out a long, slow breath as he pushed further and further inside of her, groaning as he filled her completely, pushing in to the hilt.

"More," she groaned, ready for him to move. Ready for him to go faster.

"Fuck, Ochako," he grunted as he started rolling his hips against hers. Pushing in and pulling out slowly at first.

She growled as she wrapped her legs around his hips, trying to pull him in closer each time he thrust in, loving the way his cock slid against her inner walls and pressed against that heavenly spot he'd so easily found with his fingers before.

This sensation was incredible. It felt like he was a part of her now, moving inside of her, body and soul. She began moving against him as he rocked his hips, finding a perfect rhythm that had her panting and occasionally letting tiny whimpers escape her lips.

"Harder," she whined.

He drove into her harder, sweat glistening on his skin as he grunted with each delicious thrust. Plunging in decisively with force, then pulling out at half the speed.

"I love you," he said again, breath ragged as he watched her face contorting in pleasure, "you're fucking gorgeous."

"Katsuki!" she whimpered, the stronger thrusts driving perfectly into her core.

His words flowed through her, filling her with intense emotion at the same time her body writhed with intense pleasure.

She dragged her short, trimmed nails down his back and he hissed at the pain mixed with ecstasy.

"You feel amazing," he grunted, continuing to drive into her with seemingly endless energy, "I could fuck you for hours."

When he talked to her like that, it lit Ochako on fire. She opened the eyes she'd previously closed from euphoria and met his crimson gaze.

His face was completely open for her to read the adoration and bliss he felt staring down at her, his lips parted as he panted in time with his thrusts.

His movements were slow and unhurried, savoring every sweet moment, every tiny cry, and Ochako basked in the perfection of it all.

She pulled him down to kiss her again and his mouth welcomed her eagerly, stroking her tongue just as languidly as he pumped his cock into her.

Pulling her face back again, she sighed as he rested his forehead against hers, concentrating once more on his hips rocking back and forth.

Pleasure mounted within her and she knew her orgasm was coming soon.

"Katsuki," she whispered, "I'm- mmhh."

The wave mounted further, stealing her breath away as all she could focus on was that hot, thick member filling her and driving into her core.

"You're gonna cum for me," he growled. No question in his words.

God, he was so sure of himself. Sure of her and his effect on her body. It only added to the building pleasure within.

She was close now, so close. Just on the edge. Every muscle in her body going taut. And she let a tiny mewling cry escape her lips, begging for her release.

Katsuki pumped into her with renewed vigor, picking up his speed and strength, savage grunts issuing from him as she felt his muscles begin to tense as well.

"I- love you- Katsuki," she haltingly breathed out and the animalistic groan she got in response told her that those words helped him find his pleasure.

His cock throbbed in her as he kept thrusting, and knowing he had cum and was climaxing inside of her pushed her over her own precipice.

Ochako cried out, her nails digging into his back and her whole body tightening and drawing him in closer.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," he gasped as she clenched around him, pulling him deeper.

He shook with his overwhelming pleasure as she held him close, riding out her orgasm as wave after wave crashed over her.

Finally, after a couple long minutes, she was able to relax her muscles and freed him from her grasp.

He pulled back but only enough to see her face as he smiled down at her, his face full of genuine contentment.

"You liked it," another statement, not a question.

Ochako covered her face, suddenly embarrassed by his assessment.

He pulled her hands away, grinning at the pouty face she gave him.

"So what if I did? So did you," she grumbled.

"I fucking loved it, angel-face," he purred, kissing her softly then pulling back and out of her to sit up and remove the condom which was probably now near overflowing with hot, sticky cum he had initially shot all over her face.

She bit her lip, remembering that moment. The way it had looked and the way his voice had become so rough when he had climaxed. She imagined that happening inside of her and it made her squirm with delight.

"Are you imagining lewd things again already?" he asked with feigned shock, his voice sounding a little shaky.

She pushed herself up as well, leaning into him, her breasts brushing his arm.

"Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry at all, "I was just imagining what you cumming inside of me might look like and-"

She cut herself off when she saw his face practically leering at her with hunger, his mouth open.

"You are... a fucking wet dream come true. You have no idea how hot what you just said is. I-" he shook his head, "I want to fuck you again but I fucking can't yet. You're fucking killing me."

Ochako's face warmed and she felt lightness spread throughout her body. This man. This open and honest and loving and horny man was hers now. He was what she had always wanted.

"That's okay," she soothed, circling her arms around him, "we can do other stuff for now. When do you have to leave?"

His eyes went to her, amused.

"I don't have to if you don't want me to."

Her chest squeezed, heart overflowing with surprised joy.

"You'll- You'll stay? With me?" she asked timidly.

He pulled her face closer to his, foreheads and noses resting against each other.

"I'll stay with you every night you want me to, Ochako," he said assertively, leaving no room for question.

Ochako's chin quivered, emotion overcoming her at his simple declaration. He really was sure of this now. He really was putting all of his faith in her.

She felt such a sense of pride and responsibility now that he'd given himself to her whole-heartedly.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, not wanting to make him concerned if she were to cry again, especially after just having sex.

She smiled at him instead.

"Then stay, and we can watch a movie or something and maybe later..."

His crimson eyes glowed in understanding and he nodded, grabbing his boxers off the floor and pulling them on before getting up to throw the condom away.

She dressed herself again, pulling her nightgown back over her head but unable to put her panties back on as they were soaked through. She doubted Katsuki would mind.

She let her eyes rake over his well-toned body for as long as she wanted for the first time ever as he reentered the living room holding a blanket, not hiding her appreciation. She'd just had that body between her legs and let him rock her world. It was hard to be ashamed of that.

"Like somethin you see, floaty?" he teased, noticing her lingering gaze as he plopped back down on the couch, spreading the blanket out over the both of them.

"Maybe," she replied nonchalantly, shrugging, not wanting to feed his arrogance too much.

He huffed a laugh as she reached for the TV remote to see what was on.

"I hope you're ready to watch that heist movie now," he said, grabbing the remote from her to search the On Demand channels for it.

"We didn't even ask Nate if we could," she sassed him, not really putting up much of a fight.

He shrugged, "I'll give him 5 bucks, whatever."

She giggled and cuddled up next to him, his arm casually snaking around her waist to pull her closer.

It was that easy. It was that natural. They'd gone from brokenhearted and nervous, to loving and comfortable as though this was how it had been meant to be all along and they were just coming to rest in their proper place as they always should've.

Katsuki started the movie and looked down at her, his euphoria clear as day in his ruby eyes as she stared back up at him, thinking to herself she probably looked much the same.

He brought his lips to hers for a sweet, tender kiss before turning back to the TV and settling back into the couch.

They were about halfway through the movie when the elevator chimed its arrival and Ochako startled as raucous laughter issued from the inside.

Katsuki ran a calming hand through her hair and they both looked over the couch back as Nate, Mt. Lady, and Kamui Woods emerged.

They halted and quieted when they realized the scene they had walked in on.

"Aww, we missed it," Nate lamented, particularly noting Katsuki's partially undressed state.

Ochako's cheeks burned hotly and she pulled the blanket up tighter around her, suddenly regretting not going to get new panties on.

"Fuck off," Katsuki snapped, rolling his eyes, although not looking all too upset or abashed.

The trio, clearly a little tipsy, all laughed.

"Uravity-chan," Mt. Lady cooed, looking so weird to Ochako not dressed in her costume, "does this mean you'll consider coming to work for me now?"

Her body heated further as she sputtered, "Um... I don't-"

She looked up at Katsuki. Everything was so new, she couldn't just start making plans like that so suddenly, could she?

"Maybe," she answered, as she stared up into his unwavering gaze. He seemed like he was interested as well.

"Okay," Nate relented, "Sorry to bother you. We'll be out near the pool if you need us!"

He went into the kitchen quickly to grab a bottle of wine and glasses before leading the other two out to the large patio, waving at Ochako with a smirk as he shut the door.

Their laughter and talking was still audible but much more muffled as they resumed drinking on the patio.

"Mt. Lady asked you to come back?" he asked her, quietly.

She flushed, unsure how to go about talking about these things already, "Yes. A couple days ago. After... you know. And I told her I couldn't because... "

He was silent a moment before he asked uncertainly, "Do you want to come back?"

Honestly, the answer was yes, even if she didn't get to work with Katsuki again. Mt. Lady had reminded her of exactly where she wanted to be and what she wanted to do. But all of this was so complicated when Katsuki was thrown back into the mix now. Wasn't it?

"Yes," she answered him, not wanting to seem unsure.

"Then come back," he said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"You want me to come back?" she asked him curiously.

He sighed, "I want everything back, angel-face. And more."

Her heart soared and she thought she might cry again as she looked back and forth between his assured molten eyes.

"Okay," she murmured and that was that.

He smiled at her again, threatening to melt her heart where she sat and he kissed her, dipping his tongue delicately into her mouth and she sighed into his blissful affection.

They turned back to the movie, having to rewind the past 10 minutes, thanks to the interruption.

When the movie ended, Ochako gathered up the clothes they'd left scattered on the floor and squeaked when she felt Katsuki's hand at her bare ass, his fingers already threatening to wander further.

She glared back at him and saw heat pooling in his eyes.

Immediately feeling hot for him, she finished gathering their clothes and pulled him along into her room to throw him on the bed before she pounced on him again.

This time she got to be on top and she rode him, panting and groaning and whispering dirty things into his ear until they both collapsed side by side to fall asleep in each other's arms.

Notes:

A/N: I swear to glob, yall better not go anywhere. I'M NOT FLIPPIN DONE! We still got some loose ends to wrap up, right? Where tf Deku been? What's he doin? I mean we saw him on TV but we don't know how he's been all this time. We'll find out next chapter…

Might be a little bit tho cuz of that whole moving business. I just had this smut bouncing around in my head for a WHILE so here it is in all its glory. Hope it was hot enough for you to forgive all my angst.

Chapter 29

Notes:

A/N: I'm back! Horray! Moving was horrible. Traumatic even. No one ask me about it.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Ochako inhaled deeply first thing as her mind drifted slowly back into consciousness. A struck match smell came to her nose as she snuggled in closer to the enticingly warm body next to her.

The body was smooth and hardened with muscle, back turned to her. He was completely naked too. Come to think of it, so we she.

Ochako opened her eyes to find her face pressed into a lightly-tanned, minorly-scarred back. A familiar back she had pressed herself into a thousand times over. But somehow, now it was far different.

Katsuki.

She recalled the night before. His apology, his confession, her acceptance, the way he begged her...

Her face grew hot remembering the things they'd done. Her heart pulsed with affection remembering the things he'd said in the throes of passion.

She pressed her naked body even closer, letting her softer curves mold around his hardened ones. He was hers now. Truly. There was nothing and no one coming between them ever again.

Nate's comments from their dinner with Katsuki returned to her unbidden as she felt the curve of his ass butting up against her hips.

It was pretty nice... and firm...

She let her hand drift to it and took a handful of that rounded muscle, squeezing gently. Okay, maybe not so gently. It was delicious.

She heard Katsuki groan into his pillow as he awoke.

He shifted and she could tell when his consciousness was mostly returned as he went rigid, feeling her smaller, softer body at his back, her hand still groping him.

"Mmmhhh, floaty," he grunted groggily, loosening up again, "You really are a pervert."

"For you maybe," she murmured into his back with a kiss.

He growled lightly. That must've been the right thing to say.

"You're grabbing the wrong side, angel-face," his voice rumbled, gripping her wrist lightning fast and bringing it around to his front, to an already rock hard erection.

Ochako gasped, pulling back quickly and a chuckle rumbled through Katsuki, reaching her through his back.

"You're awful," she squeaked, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Am I?" he asked, turning himself over to face her, "That's not what you said last night when-"

"If you remember correctly," she cut him off, "you got slapped the last time you started that line with me."

He grinned his devilish grin.

Ochako drank his body in in the burgeoning sunlight. He was gorgeous. From the hinted at line of his incredibly muscled thighs through the sheets to his thick, broad chest. She couldn't get enough of him.

Reaching out, she laid a hand on that well-chiseled chest and looked up into his eyes that were watching her, as they often were, with a softness that she'd only ever seen when he was looking at her.

She could hardly believe that a little over a year ago, she'd thought he was genuinely a terrible person. Cruel and malicious. Someone she thought only wanted to be a hero for the glory.

Although, she was willing to admit to herself now that she had always hoped there was more to him. Deku had looked up to him and still worked at befriending him for a reason. There were always these random things he'd surprise her by being good at, like cooking and playing drums. She'd wanted to believe those were indicators of something deeper within him.

Maybe there had always been a part of her who had noticed him. But she had held it back because she had never deluded herself that bad boys were anything but just that because that was always the case.

Maybe that interest was why it had been so easy to kiss him back that day of the sports festival. She had believed that her hopes of there being more to him might be confirmed and she had been somewhat devastated when she'd thought it was all a lie.

It wasn't though. Everything she thought she'd ever seen had been there. She didn't know when she had realized it but that had probably been when she had fallen for him.

If he had said something far earlier... If she had... If either of them had said or done something about their feelings sooner, maybe...

Ochako didn't let herself think back, to regret what could've been if she had just chosen him that night on New Years. Looking back would change nothing and, in the end, they'd ended up here and happy and that was all that mattered now.

She glanced down at the outline of his arousal jutting out under the sheets.

"I suppose you want me to take care of that now?" she asked, feigning annoyance.

He quirked a brow at her, "I never said that. In fact, I'm pretty sure I owe you something."

She frowned at him, confused.

Throwing the sheet off of his lower half, he rolled onto his back and wrapped a hand around his stiff member, lightly stroking it.

He looked at her, his molten eyes radiating heat and his lips parted, a sigh escaping them.

"Oh," was all she was able to choke out as she couldn't stop looking between what he was doing with his hand and his searing gaze.

Katsuki stopped stroking a second to run his hot pink tongue broadly over his palm a couple times, leaving it slippery with his saliva.

When his hand returned to his shaft, it slid more easily up and down, even gliding over his swollen head and he inhaled heavily as though this was more pleasurable than before.

Ochako could hardly breathe watching him as his chest rose and fell with more labored breaths and his abdominal muscles tensed with the pleasure he was giving himself.

He still watched her, his eyes half-lidded, his cheeks reddened, and his lips still parted, letting sighs of bliss escape them.

She sat up to watch more eagerly.

This was... hot. And it was everything she had fantasized when she imagined him masturbating after hearing him that first time.

She couldn't hide the way she licked her lips or her nipples pinching as they hardened at the sight of him, especially when her gaze slid back down to his now glistening cock as his fist kept smoothly gliding up and down.

He let out a familiar soft grunt that sent a jolt of electricity all the way down into her core and warmth pooled between her legs. She wouldn't be able to hide that either eventually.

It was getting harder and harder to watch. Even moreso when a bead of pearly liquid escaped his tip and he used that as well to lubricate his hand once more.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and moved forward, her mouth already partially opened, ready to lick, ready to taste him.

But Katsuki's unused hand caught her around her throat and she was forced to stop.

Something between a whine and a growl escaped her lips and she glared at him with venom.

"I don't think so, floaty," he purred huskily, not halting his stroking, "This was supposed to be your gift. You wanted to see what was behind that door last year, didnt you? Don't you want to see what it was like every time I thought of you riding this cock?"

Ochako's whole lower body squeezed painfully in response to this question. Of course she did but she also wanted to just do it.

She brought her sad puppy eyes up to him on full blast, pouting her mouth.

"Katsuki," she whined and she saw a shiver travel through his body.

"No," he growled, a tiny roguish smile playing at his lips.

She was helpless to even so much as reach for him as he held her at arm's length, still pumping his fist up and down.

Watching him with hungry, desperate eyes, Ochako brought a hand to her own soaked sex, letting one slender finger glide across her clit.

A small gasp issued from her as she ran her fingers over herself in time with his fist. It still didn't feel like enough. Her wetness yearned for that length to be inside of her again. To fill her completely.

"Floaty..." he murmured, seeing what her fingers were doing.

The fingers at her neck twitched and he pulled her face toward his, kissing her softly.

She bit at his lip and he hissed in a breath, chuckling that rich laugh as he pushed her back again.

Ochako bared her teeth at him.

"Fine," she snapped.

She wouldn't be allowed to touch him while he forced her to watch him pleasure himself. And her fingers were just not doing it for her.

But that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to touch her.

She lightly tugged at his hand circling her neck and it came free easily enough.

Katsuki's eyes became more alert as he felt her pull his hand free, suspicion in his gaze wondering if she was going to try to reach for him again.

But she held fast to the hand she'd pulled from her neck and pressed it to her chest as she let it trail down.

She dragged it over one breast that she let him cup for just a second before she pulled it lower.

Katsuki's breaths became more ragged as he realized her intention and his hand stroking that delicious length between his legs began to pump faster.

She trailed his hand down, down, down, past her belly button, then twisted it so his palm was facing up. Pulling it further down, she finally was able to push his hand between her legs.

She heard him groan as she pushed two of his fingers between her slick folds.

"Katsuki," she mewled, soft and sweet, beginning to move her hips against his fingers as she pressed them against her, letting them occasionally slide against her clit.

"Oh my- Fuck! How are you so fucking hot?" he ground out, his hips involuntarily bucking into his hand as he watched.

"I just want you," she whimpered, barely able to get the words out, still wanting more.

Katsuki's fist pumped even faster, not taking his eyes from how she rocked against his fingers.

Her lips barely moving as she concentrated on the pleasure she took from him she said, "I want you to be here," and she easily slid those fingers inside her, stifling a tiny cry.

"Holy... Shit..." he breathed and let out a ferocious growl as she pushed and pulled his fingers inside of her, trying to move her hips against this as well.

"Ochako," he said through gritted teeth, "you're gonna make me-"

But before he could even finish his sentence, his hips jerked and he let out a guttural grunt, warm white cum spilling from between his fingers and landing on his abdomen as well as dribbling down his hand and shaft.

Ochako whined, watching his body writhe as his orgasm gripped him, disappointed at not getting to touch him after all.

"Don't be sad, angel-face," he purred, beginning to calm, "You're next."

And completely ignoring that the mess he'd just made was getting on the sheets, Katsuki roughly pushed her back into the pillows, settling his head between her legs.

Fingers still inside of her, he took control and began moving them in and out, dragging them along the place inside of her that made her let out a tiny whimper every time he hit it.

He began, slowly, sensuously trailing kisses up one thigh and then the other, never pausing his fingers thrusting inside of her.

Ochako was practically sobbing with need and anticipation when he finally brought his tongue to the small bundle of nerves within her folds.

A hand went to her mouth to keep from screaming outright, knowing that Nate would almost definitely hear, but she used her other to run her fingers through his soft, blonde hair and push him further into her, eliciting a carnal growl from him that vibrated through her and made her cry out in ecstasy despite her hand.

His fingers still thrust inside of her and now they moved faster, pushing harder.

"Katsuki," she whimpered, her voice rising higher with each word, her breaths coming fast and heavy, "don't stop. Please!"

He moaned again, clearly enjoying that he was driving her crazy.

Her climax mounted too quickly for her to even warn him but she was sure he knew when her muscles squeezed around him and her hand fisted in his hair, screaming her pleasure into her hand, trying to muffle it as much as possible, as wave after wave of ecstasy crashed into her.

He pulled his fingers and face away from her and climbed up higher to lay his head on her abdomen, holding her to him- and effectively holding her down when her quirk floated her again- as the last of the waves of her orgasm washed over her.

When her breathing finally slowed to a normal speed enough to release her quirk and she removed her hand from her mouth to run through his hair, he planted a kiss on her belly and looked up at her.

She giggled shyly, "If you would've done that in front of me on White Day, I still don't think I would've been able to keep my hands to myself."

"That was the point, pink-cheeks," he grinned.

Ignoring his sass, she pulled him up and kissed him sensuously, letting her tongue lazily drag over his. Then she rolled them both over so she could lay partially on top of him, one leg resting between his, her chest pressed against his side as she snuggled up under his arm that naturally circled around her, his hand coming to rest at her back, drawing small circles on it as they lay there.

She watched her fingers trace slowly over the muscles of his chest, enjoying the feel of his skin under her fingertips.

Watching his chest rise and fall, she knew he was about to speak when he took a larger breath.

"You are- you were a virgin," he said softly, he said it like a statement but she knew there was also a question to it.

She nodded, her cheeks warming at the admittance.

"Last night... didn't hurt you?" he asked, wondering the same as she did about her lack of pain when he had first pushed into her.

She shook her head, "No."

"Isn't it supposed to? Did something happen?"

She had a feeling he was trying to ask her something incredibly sensitive but she had been just as surprised as he was about it. There was nothing in her past what would've torn her hymen.

"No, nothing like that," she replied quickly, not wanting to worry him.

But then she recalled learning something about this in health class. Or maybe read it in a magazine?

"I've seen somewhere that girls who are really active can just... tear it sometimes. It could've happened to me at any time the past few years. I'll bet all of the girls in class are-"

"Well thanks for that visual I didn't need," he cut her off shaking his head, "I don't wanna think about the other girls in the class losing their virginity in any way, thanks."

Ochako snorted. But she realized she also had a similar question for him. He seemed well versed, like he knew what he was doing with her.

"What about you?" she asked, looking up at him expectantly, "Were you?"

He looked down at her, a smirk on his lips, "Yeah, why? Was I that good?"

Relief of an anxiety she hardly knew she was harboring washed through her and she couldn't bring herself to hide it, "Yeah... actually... I thought maybe..."

The smirk dropped from his lips and his eyes softened toward her, "I already told you, I've never touched anyone the way I touch you. That includes sex."

Ochako looked away, biting her lip, "I just- I mean you know you were better than a virgin..."

His chest vibrated with a small laugh and he brought a hand to her hair, combing his fingers through it.

He was quiet for a long moment before saying, "You always make me reveal my most embarrassing bullshit, floaty."

She glanced up at him quizzically, surprised by this answer.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and sighed, "So I did a lot of research, so what?"

Ochako sputtered, trying not to burst out with laughter, "What like... porn?"

He glared at her, "Porn is a lie. No. God, do I have to tell you about every single websearch I did? Isn't it good enough that I wanted to seem like I know what I'm doing? It worked out didn't it?"

Ochako bit her lips to keep her laughter in but couldn't hold back her amused smile. She lifted herself to lay her chest against his so she could more easily look into his eyes.

There was a light dusting of pink across his cheeks and he had a pout to his face. He was embarrassed!

"And you brought condoms too," she pointed out, teasing him, "Did you expect me to say yes?"

His face grew redder still, "I didn't expect you to... I thought you might... I hoped-"

He saw her grin growing as his discomfort became more apparent and he scowled at her, grabbing her roughly behind her neck and pulling her face to his.

"You're lucky I love you so goddamn much," he growled at her before crushing her mouth to his, stealing away any laughter she might've been holding back.

Her lips answered back instinctually and she wasn't surprised when he pulled her body to lay on top of him, spreading her legs to either side of his waist.

She felt his length, ready again, throb against her and she shuddered.

"You're going to exhaust me before I even get out of bed," she giggled, pulling back.

"Good. Then maybe you'll stay in bed with me all day," he chuckled and pulled her back down to his waiting lips.

Ochako's chest felt like it was exploding with elation. Every second kissing him, every moment touching him, felt like a moment she could live in forever.

The way he moved against her was magnetic, the ying to her yang. The way his hands held onto her like she was something rare and treasured made her body feel like she could be at home anywhere he was.

Him pushing into her and her pushing herself against him felt like the most perfect thing in the world.

His grunts and growls and moans into her ear were like music. His tongue against her skin was like a live wire to her body.

She wanted to stay in bed with him all day if it meant hearing him whisper every sweet nothing to her and seeing his face contort with pleasure, his eyes close and breath hitch when she did something he especially liked.

This was how she wanted it to be. This was how it should always be.

When they'd finally spent themselves on each other again, Ochako sat up, remembering she had places to go with Nate.

"We have to get going!" she panicked, going to her dresser to grab clothing to change into after her shower.

"I'm pretty sure Nate is still sleeping off his night," Katsuki grumbled sitting up as well, his displeasure at her abandonment clear.

"I told him I'd take him around the city for his vacation, though!" she said, still looking for a dress after finding a bra and panties.

Katsuki rolled off the bed and sauntered up behind her. She felt him pressing his chest into her back as she rummaged in the closet and she froze as he put his arms around her waist.

She inhaled his scent as she leaned back into him then turned in his arms.

"Do you want to come?" she asked hopefully, "Do you have to work?"

"I don't have to work today. I go back tomorrow but I'll come back after if you want," he told her, a question in his eye.

"Yes!" she said hastily, "Yes, I do want!"

He smirked down at her and she blushed, knowing that she was probably being a little too overt in her answer. But after all of the time she'd spent denying it and hiding how much she did want him, she felt it was only fair that it be so obvious now.

"So you'll come with us today?" she asked, her eyes shining up at him.

"No need to turn on the doe-eyes, pink-cheeks," he pinched at her cheek at that, "I'll go today. I'll come back tomorrow. I'll do whatever."

She grinned up at him and his own smile answered hers before he leaned down to kiss her softly.

Finally finding a dress, Ochako jumped into the shower after Katsuki told her he had to leave to his apartment for a shower of his own and fresh clothes. She had been hesitant to let him go, a part of her still afraid of him not coming back. But he had pressed his lips to her cheek sweetly before he went and reminded her, "You still have my license. Don't forget you still pretty much have me by the balls for as long as you want."

This had comforted her enough to let him walk out the door before heading into her shower.

When she finally emerged, she found Nate sitting at the breakfast table as she came out to the living area. He was scrolling something on his phone, being a little too obvious in his ignoring her as a smile crept onto his lips.

"So..." he began, setting his phone down gingerly as she sat across from him.

"Yes?" she replied, unable to keep a smile from her own mouth.

"I think we have time before he comes back. Give me all the details," he said, leaning forward and resting his chin on his folded hands.

Ochako grinned as she launched into an overview of the night before.

"How much did you tell Nate?" Katsuki growled into her ear as they walked into the coffee shop next to the hotel.

He stood with her in line as she answered him, her cheeks going hot, "Oh.. you know... some stuff."

"'Some stuff'?," he glared at her, "The way he's eyeballing me makes me think you told him fucking everything."

Ochako ducked her head. Maybe she had been a little too graphic in some places...

"To be fair," she argued, "He's been worried about me and he's been here for me all this time. I wanted him to know that things were okay. That he didn't have to be protective of me."

Katsuki looked down at her and huffed testily, "You didn't have to tell him my dick size or whatever though."

Ochako's eyes widened and she felt her entire face heat up.

"Katsuki!" she scolded in an aggressive whisper.

He just shrugged, "You're the one who told him."

"I didn't tell him that!" she snapped. She had maybe only compared it to vegetables she knew of...

"Yeah..." he grunted, not believing her.

They made it to the front of the line to order and Ochako realized just then why Katsuki was lined up with her. The cute barista that greeted her every morning stood frozen as Katsuki stared at him, his arm possessively circling her waist. The guy's brown eyes went from her to Katsuki a couple times before realizing he needed to greet them.

"H-Hi, Uravity," he said with an unsure quality to his voice, "Do you want your usual?"

"Yes, please," she said kindly, a smile gracing her features.

"And a black coffee for me," Katsuki added, pulling her closer.

Ochako rolled her eyes and pushed him away, "You're being obnoxious."

She handed the card to the barista and gave him an apologetic look, "I'm sorry about him. He's my boyfriend and he can be... jealous."

Katsuki made a "tch" sound.

"But, yes, we'll have the usual and his black coffee," she smiled sweetly as the barista punched in their order and ran the card.

"Sorry, I didn't realize..." he said quietly, handing the card back to her, hardly even looking at her.

Ochako sighed, taking the card back and dragging Katsuki along with her to wait for their drinks.

"That was rude," she scolded him, shooting him a glare, "I would have never seen him again after this week. He wasn't even being inappropriate."

"He was flirting with you before," he said with a shrug.

"That's hardly inappropriate," she shot back.

"You can't say you wouldn't be the exact same way, " he countered, his arm snaking around her hip once more.

And to that, Ochako knew she had no argument. She had to admit he was probably right. For now at least, their relationship was so new and she was still so apprehensive about something going wrong or him changing his mind that she would likely cling to him just as hard or spout venom at a woman who even said something she could possibly construe as flirtatious.

It was a fragile time for them. They'd been through a lot and now had to feel each other out as significant others, to figure out their boundaries.

She sighed again, grabbing the drinks that had just come out, handed to them by a different barista.

"Okay," she conceded at last, "then from now on, how about you get our drinks?"

That seemed like a fair trade off.

"Fine," he agreed without any argument, taking a sip of his gross (in her opinion) black coffee.

She handed Nate's coffee off to him and the three of them began their day.

She took him here and there, visiting museums and taking him shopping, which he seemed to enjoy greatly. Unsurprisingly, Nate was a big fan of trying on new clothing and playing dress up with her. He found a restaurant in Shibuya that he insisted they come back to later that night, even though it looked ridiculously expensive.

He was oddly excited to ride on the train to visit another part of town and Ochako couldn't help but see the rich boy in him showing through at his interest in "commoner" things.

Ochako thought she did a pretty good job keeping Nate from feeling like a third wheel. Whilst she did often walk around hand in hand, or more preferably to Katsuki, his hand resting on her hip, she would often be talking with Nate and humoring him in going into shops or stopping to look at one thing or another.

Katsuki weathered their excited sight-seeing with minimal annoyance. He seemed content to walk with her and remain close.

At one point she turned to him, her eyes lit up, wanting to share her excitement with him. She did it before she recalled that he wasn't the type to share in her bubbly nature. And she was right, he wasn't very excited about the kittens she was pointing out in the window of the cat cafe they'd stopped in front of, but her heart still melted at the look he gave her. One of adoration, one of enjoying just seeing her happy and grinning at him, and that was enough for her she realized. He didn't have to enjoy everything she enjoyed. He didn't have to share her excitement at the things she gushed over. But he was there with her, supporting her and loving that it made her happy.

He seemed rather surprised when she pulled him to her then and kissed him, uncaring of who saw. But when she pulled back, his eyes glowed with warmth and a low burning desire for her that made her ache to pull him back into her bed soon.

They visited a park to rest for a little after they ate a late lunch and they halted on a bridge overlooking a lake where other people were roaming around in paddle boats shaped like swans.

"I'm feeling parched," Nate stated, running a hand through his raven hair and Ochako figured in a place like this, he might finally be feeling a bit like a third wheel, "I'm gonna go find a vending machine. Do you want anything?"

They gave him their drink requests and he went off to find a vending machine, unlikely to return in a timely manner, she assumed.

She turned to Katsuki then to find his eyes already on her as he leaned against the railing.

"Are you having fun?" she asked, drawing close to him, her hands twisting in each other behind her back.

"This isn't really my idea of fun, floaty," he replied, watching her come closer.

"Well... you didn't have to come," she reminded him, a small pout coming to her lips.

"Didn't I?" he inquired, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, I might've been upset if you didn't come," she admitted, rolling her eyes, "I don't recall that stopping you from doing whatever you wanted before, though."

"Yeah, that never stopped me from doing what I wanted when you gave me your little 'don't even think about it' glare when a little shit was harassing me," he commented.

"You mean when a kid was trying to just talk to you?" she leveled a judgemental look at him.

"Yeah," he quipped.

"I'm so sorry I forced you to make time for your fans," she retorted with obvious sarcasm.

"You really are a fucking brat," he growled, pulling at her ponytail as he stood up to face her.

"Says the guy who can't talk to children," she shot back.

Katsuki's eyes flared, a fight burning in them as he readied his next response, gathering the front of her dress in his fist and pulling her closer.

Electricity shot through her as she saw his eyes light up and she set her jaw, ready to sass him back. Or kiss him. Whichever one suited her best. Either seemed likely at present and she saw him warring within himself, trying to decide which he'd rather do more.

It seemed his desire won out and he pulled her closer still, his face moving forward to meet hers.

But when his lips were only millimeters away, a hair-raising energy filled the air and the ground shook slightly as she heard boots hit the gravel near them.

She pushed back from him, both of them turning to see the cause of such a commotion.

"Deku," she whispered as her eyes met bright green ones, his forest-colored hair rustling in a non-existent wind as lightning crackled around him.

Katsuki immediately tensed against her, pulling her close again, his arm securely around her waist.

Deku's power ebbed and his eyes returned to normal, the lightning petering out.

"Ochako-chan," he said gently, his expression not giving her any sense of hostility. He turned his eyes to Katsuki as well, "Kacchan."

"Deku," Katsuki said in a low warning voice.

Deku held his hands up, though, in a placating gesture.

"No, wait. I'm not here to cause problems, I'm-" he released a large breath of air, looking nervous and shaky. He met eyes with hers again, "I saw you were in town again and I was hoping I could talk to you."

"About?" Katsuki snapped, his eyes narrowing.

Deku fidgeted. Katsuki's presence was clearly making this harder for him but Ochako knew that the last thing she should do was stand up for Deku in any way against him. He would just have to work his way through on his own.

"I wanted to apologize again. For everything. And thank you again for the things you said in Principal Nezu's office. It meant a lot and it might've saved us from losing everything," he said hesitantly.

Katsuki looked at her, his eyes conveying that he thought something similar.

"Ignoring the fact that you were there because of me in the first place," she replied, sadness tinging her voice.

"I already told you, it wasn't your fault. Not really," Katsuki growled at her, "Aizawa told you that too."

Deku nodded his agreement.

It was weird to see them actually agree on something and she looked between them for a second before addressing Deku again, "Well I'm sorry anyway, for how I broke up with you and told you everything. It wasn't right."

"Actually, that was something else I wanted to tell you about. I didn't get the chance to say it last time," he said, ducking his head. What looked like shame crossed his face before he continued, "I had a lot of time to think on some stuff, though and I'm glad I could say something to the both of you because I feel like I owe it to you."

Surprisingly, he faced Katsuki first, "You were right, I wasn't as clueless as I made myself out to be."

Then he looked back to her, "I could see something going on, even from the start. Even when you denied it, I knew that wasn't true. But I didn't want to believe it because I was being selfish and prideful and possessive. I convinced myself that he only wanted you to mess with me or to just mess around with you. And even when I started seeing that that wasn't the case, I refused to believe it. I messed a lot of stuff up and I shouldn't have. I should've trusted you. Both of you. And I'm sorry."

An overwhelming sorrow filled Ochako as she took in his words, her mouth turning down in a grimace.

"Did you... Did you really tell him to stay away from me after consoling me by saying he would eventually come around to being my friend again? You knew I was trying to make things okay between us and you went behind my back to keep him away?"

Regret filled Deku's eyes as he looked back up at her, "Yes, I- I don't have any good excuse for it. I was just afraid. I could tell that you were really truly upset about losing him and I... was pretty sure that if you made up he would win you over."

His fears weren't unfounded, she knew. But she also wondered how he might've been able to stand even being with her, feeling that unsure about her feelings for him.

He went on, "And I knew, that day after the exercise before final exams, that you'd probably made your choice and I couldn't face it. I knew you wanted to tell me something and I was so unwilling to let you go, let my pride be hurt, that I did everything I could to make it impossible for you to say anything. So... I kinda forced you into that situation of confronting me like that..."

Pain stabbed at Ochako. A different kind of heartbreak tore her heart apart. That of a loss of trust, betrayal of a close friend, someone she loved.

He stepped toward her, his arms outstretched, looking like he wanted to comfort her somehow. But Katsuki pulled her away from him, just an inch, just enough to warn him not to come closer.

"And you... you thought I was ruined? After I told you what happened with me and Katsuki?" she asked as her voice broke. She wanted to know everything now. Get it all out in the open.

"No! I mean... Ochako-chan, I never thought you were ruined. That wasn't the right thing to say. I was so angry, I just started saying whatever. I was upset when you told me about it and I should've said so then but I didn't want to lose you, even if I had to deal with how jealous I was. I'm so sorry for what I said."

His eyes became misty and he cast his gaze to the ground, ashamed and trying to keep his emotions in check, "I came here because I want to make things right. I heard about what happened with you and Kacchan after graduation and I knew that if I'd never gotten between you or held on to you so tightly, it wouldn't have turned out that way. I actually wanted to help you somehow, see if I could talk to him or something."

A sad smile came to his lips then as he looked between them, "But I guess I was a little late and you figured it out on your own. So I guess all I can do is just... tell you I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me some day."

"Deku..." she said with empathy. Even after all he'd just admitted to, she still wanted to comfort him, still felt an affinity for the messy-haired boy in front of her.

Katsuki released the arm holding securely around her waist and ran it soothingly through the ponytail she had her hair pulled into.

She looked up at him but his eyes were trained on Deku, a look of determination on his face.

He pulled away from her then and stepped toward Deku. The slightly smaller boy turned his face toward him as he drew nearer, tensing slightly, unsure what would come of this development.

"Deku," he said, the name coming out more respectful than he'd ever said it before. Like he was acknowledging the hero and not insulting the quirkless boy he'd always disliked. "What you did was shitty but it's not up to me to forgive you. What I will say is I should've said what I really meant from the start but I was an ass cuz I wanted you to feel, even for just a minute, as shitty as I felt having to see her fawn all over you every day."

He kept his gaze firm, fixed unflinchingly on Deku. He was facing him, this issue, and his feelings, head on for once.

"I love her. I'm not playing a game with her. I already told her I fucked up when I pushed her away. That's my own forgiveness I have to earn. But I'll only ever do anything to make her happy from now on."

Ochako's knees went weak upon hearing his words. He'd already told her these things last night, but to hear him say it to someone else, and in no uncertain terms, made her whole body go numb with pure joy.

She looked up at him with adoration. This man who had grown from a bitter enemy to the only person she ever wanted to kiss again. He'd come so far and changed to be a better person, someone who would be honest about his feelings instead of ashamed of them, for her.

He shot her a look back, noticing her eyes on him. His face was open, full of reverence for her.

Deku looked between them for a moment, understanding coming over his features.

"You always wanted her," he said finally, more a statement than a question, "It never had anything to do with me."

Katsuki turned back to him and nodded once and the two shared a moment of understanding between them.

"I hope you guys can forgive me eventually. I'd like... if we could maybe go back to being friends, or something, someday," he said hopefully, feet shuffling nervously.

Ochako considered his words carefully.

You did just forgive Katsuki some pretty serious indiscretions last night, she reminded herself.

Deku had also just poured his heart out to her and all he was asking her for was the possibility of getting back to the friendship they'd once shared. She couldn't deny that he'd hoped for that too.

Being offered the first step toward it, Ochako couldn't help but let an inkling of hope begin to grow inside of her.

"I think I'd like that, Deku," she said, also stepping toward him, next to Katsuki.

A certain amount of relief came over his features and he gave her a small, hopeful smile that she returned.

It was then that she remembered they'd come here with someone else as she heard footsteps approaching behind them.

"Hey guys," Nate said casually as he walked back to them with their drinks, "It took a few machines but I got what you asked for!"

He handed them each their own and Ochako gave him a quick "thanks" before turning back to Deku who eyed the newcomer to their group quizzically.

She opened her mouth to introduce them, realizing she was being rude but Nate beat her to the punch.

"Oh, hi! Sorry, if I was interrupting!" he apologized noticing Deku just then.

"I'm Nate," he said, stepping forward and holding out his free hand, smiling brightly as he usually did with new people he met, "And, if I'm not mistaken, you must be Deku, right? Uravity has told me all about you. You look like how she described you."

Deku's eyes widened minimally and he reached out to take Nate's hand.

A light dusting of pink spread across his freckled cheeks as they shook hands and he was barely able to get out a choked, "Y-yeah. Nice to meet you, Nate. She told me about you too."

Nate's smile widened fractionally at that, "I hope she wasn't too honest..."

"No! No, she only told me the good stuff," Deku said awkwardly and then looked away as if chastising himself for his stupid words.

Ochako's brow furrowed slightly and she slid her gaze over to Katsuki as discreetly as she could. He was already looking at her with a similar expression of "What is happening right now?"

She remembered what she'd said to Katsuki, what seemed like ages ago, when she'd asked about why he wasn't interested in Nate.

"Because I don't like men. You should know that better than most," Katsuki had responded.

And she had come back with, "I don't know could like both."

Katsuki hadn't liked both.

But Deku...?

Looking back and forth between them a couple times, Ochako drew herself up next to Nate, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Deku, we're having dinner tonight at this super fancy place Nate found in Shibuya. Would you like to come with us?"

Nate jumped at the idea, "Oh yes! That would be awesome! Come to dinner with us! My treat!"

They still hadn't let each other's hands go. Wasn't that a little... long for a handshake?

"Is that really okay?" Deku asked awkwardly, finally letting his hand drop from Nate's.

"Yes!" "Of course!" she and Nate said at the same time.

"Kacchan?" he asked, peeking over at Katsuki apprehensively.

Katsuki just shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. He was probably just going along with whatever she and Nate wanted.

"O-Okay!" he said with excitement and a grin spread across his face, "Yeah, I'll come."

Nate beamed at him, making Deku look away quickly, his cheeks darkening further.

Mischief sparked inside of Ochako.

"Here," she said genially, holding out her hand, "Give me your phone, Deku."

He reached into one of the pouches around his belt and handed her his phone, giving her a curious look.

"I'll have Nate text you when and where," she smiled sweetly, innocently.

She shot Nate a text from Deku's phone that just said, "This is Deku ;)"

Then she handed his phone back and he gave her a hard look after he read the text.

Ochako only raised her eyebrows at him like she had no clue what he was looking at her for.

"Got it," Nate said with a chuckle, "I'll send you a text a little later, Deku."

Deku's attention immediately shot back to him and he agreed, "Okay! Well, I gotta go, guys but I was really happy to see you again, Ochako-chan, Kacchan. And I'm glad I met you, Nate."

"We'll see you at dinner," Ochako said warmly, a small smile playing at her lips while she tried to keep in maniacal laughter.

He nodded and walked away, shaking his head after a few steps. She heard him muttering under his breath, "I'm glad I met you?" But she didn't hear more as his body glowed and he jumped into the sky.

"Wow," Nate commented, "You get all the tasty ones don't you, Uravity?"

Ochako snorted and exchanged looks with Katsuki who looked amused when he said, "Gross, Deku's not tasty."

She couldn't hold back from howling with laughter at that. Of course he wouldn't deny that he was.

"You just couldn't keep your nose out of other people's business, could you?" Katsuki remarked unbuttoning the cuffs of his dark blue dress shirt he was sporting, rolling them up to his elbows and exposing his muscular forearms to her.

She had dressed herself in a maxi dress Nate had purchased for her earlier that day that fastened like a halter top at the neck and was completely backless.

Now she was rummaging through her shoes, trying to decide which she liked best with it as Katsuki readied himself in the clothing Nate had also purchased for him.

"Yeah," she shot back, "Like you didn't see the sparks flying between them."

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at her, "Deku just told you all the ways he manipulated you and kept you from me but you're gonna go and trust him with Nate?"

"If I didn't know better," she grinned at him over her shoulder from the row of shoes she was pouring over, "I'd say you're being protective of Nate."

"It's a good thing you do know better," he retorted, a dangerous glint in his eye, "and don't try to change the subject."

"Deku did those things to keep hold of someone who was slipping through his fingers," she said, finally finding a pair of shoes she liked with the large floral print dress she was wearing.

She picked them up, carrying them to the bed as she sat to put them on.

"And I also think Nate is a little smarter and more experienced than me," she admitted, buckling the straps of one shoe.

"So your answer is, no, you can't mind your own business," he challenged sardonically.

Irritation spiked in her as she fumbled with the buckle on her second shoe and she felt it being channeled at him.

"It is my business. They're my friends. I can set up my friends if I think they might be good together," she huffed.

"And you know they're good together how?" he questioned with fake interest.

Her fingers fumbled on the tiny buckle again and she let out a growl of annoyance, turning to him to vent it, "Why don't you mind your own business? If you don't like it, then you don't have to come!"

Katsuki's face darkened and Ochako immediately saw the fight spark in his eyes. Heat prickled throughout her body as she saw that familiar stance he took when he was about to get in a real whopper of a fight with her.

"You don't want me to come?" he growled, his eyes glowing with barely contained rage.

She turned back to her shoe as she tried again and finally got it to buckle properly.

Setting her jaw, she stood and faced him fully, her head held high, "Not if you're gonna be a killjoy all night."

Katsuki's lips peeled back from his teeth as he glared at her, eyes flaring.

"So I'm a killjoy?" he spoke in a low voice, stepping toward her.

"Sometimes," she replied, tilting her head in challenge, not willing to back down.

"And you're totally fine spending all night without me if it'll ruin your little matchmaking?" he questioned as his crimson gaze burned into her.

Her resolve wavered slightly but she kept her back straight, leveling her own glare at him and tossing a piece of her hair over her shoulder like she'd seen Mt. Lady do a million times.

"Maybe."

Katsuki's eyes grew brighter, predatory, "I doubt that, pink cheeks."

Her rebellious attitude at his challenge got the better of her and she snapped at him, "Well you don't know shit."

Katsuki lunged for her and she barely had time to bring her hands out to meet him. It didn't really matter though, because he easily caught her wrists with his own, much larger, hands and pushed them to either side of her, steadily forcing her back to the wall.

"You have a dirty fucking mouth, floaty," he snarled at her, his face only inches from hers, hot breaths blowing across her face.

"I know," she spat back at him, heat spreading through her body, "You told me last night."

Recollection sparked in his gaze and she could see his desire roaring to life as his eyes went from hers to her lips.

She ran her tongue along her upper lip and saw the very moment his self control snapped as he crushed his lips to hers in a bruising kiss.

His tongue battled with hers as an animalistic growl tore from his throat.

He pressed the whole of his body against hers, eliciting a desirous cry of her own when his hardness prodded into her lower abdomen.

Bringing her hands above her head, he held both of her wrists in one hand in order to free the other to fall to her breast, squeezing it roughly through the fabric of her dress. When she responded with a tiny gasp, he ground his hips into hers to let her know he liked that sound.

His free hand went to the back of her neck to unfasten the clasp there but his fingers were unable to figure it out with one hand.

Breaking the kiss, a wicked smile crossed her lips as his frustration became apparent.

"Having a problem?" she asked, her tone antagonistic.

Katsuki leaned into her, his lips grazing her ear as he growled, his voice so rough it was hardly recognizable, "You're on thin ice, pink cheeks. Keep it up and I'll make you beg before I fuck you til you scream."

A shiver ran down her spine as heat and longing pooled between her legs.

"You can't," she gasped, pausing to bite her lip as he bucked his hips against her again, "Nate will hear."

A low chuckle escaped his lips, blowing warm air straight across her ear, "I guess you should've thought of that before you gave me a fucking attitude."

Hot lips met her neck as she felt him begin kissing and licking at her throat.

"Katsuki," she whimpered as quietly as she could, her panties starting to feel too restricting.

His fingers finally figured out the clasp behind her neck and he unclasped it, letting the strips of fabric covering her breasts fall around her waist.

He brought her trapped wrists back behind his own neck gritting out a warning into her ear, "You're gonna be a good girl and keep your hands where they are, got it?"

Ochako nodded, hardly able to catch her breath enough to speak.

"Good."

His hands fumbled with the buckle of his belt, then the button and zipper of his pants.

Finally, he pulled a condom from his pocket. He pulled her long skirt up, bunching it around her waist along with the top of her dress. Groaning with feral delight, he slid his cock along the wetness of her panties.

Just as she was getting into it and moving against him, he pulled back, making her whine pitifully. He tore the condom package open and placed it at his tip, rolling the latex down his shaft in record time.

Up until this moment, she'd been standing on her own, but now he lifted her, propping her against the wall as he pulled her knees up, nearly to her chest, letting her legs rest on his arms as he cradled her ass, holding her close.

"You want this?" he ground out, rubbing his length against her still clothed but completely soaked slit.

Ochako didn't know how he always managed to find the most inventive ways to bare her to him and give him easy access to do whatever he wanted to her. It never failed to make her hotter, leaving her aching for him.

She nodded, licking her lips in anticipation.

"Fucking say it," he commanded.

"I want you," she whimpered, her voice trembling with need.

"What do you want?" he asked her, pulling her earlobe into his mouth to toy with and bite.

"I want you inside of me," she replied, nearly sobbing, "I want you to fuck me."

"Yeah?" he asked again, eyes alight with rapture as he roughly pulled the crotch of her panties to the side to exposing her glistening sex to him.

"Yes," she whined, "Fuck me, Katsuki! Please!"

Without needing more coaxing, Katsuki pushed into her, easily sliding in to the hilt. He let out a long, guttural grunt as he did so and had to catch his breath for a couple seconds before continuing.

The moment he began to move against her, Ochako knew nothing more than the feel of him inside of her.

He was being rough, his skin slapping against hers loudly as he slammed into her, fierce grunts issuing from his throat letting her know he was enjoying himself as much as she was.

"This what you want?" he snarled at her, his voice shaky as he continued pumping into her, "You need me to remind you why I'm not a killjoy? Why you can't spend all night without me? Hm?"

"Yes!" she cried out, her voice pitching higher with each utterance, "yesyesyesyes!"

She hardly even cared what kind of sounds she was making or how loud she was being anymore.

Somehow this rougher, more savage side of sex with Katsuki felt like a whole new experience.

Was this what they'd been angling toward every time they'd gotten into a heated argument? Was this the kind of desire for each other they felt every time they'd gone back and forth, seemingly on the edge of ripping each other's heads off but actually wanting this?

If so, she wished she'd wrapped her legs around him at the sports festival and had known this kind of ecstasy long ago.

"So you do want me to come with you?" he asked, his voice getting more rough as he spent his energy.

"Yes, I want you with me. Please, stay with me," she begged.

"Fuck, Ochako, you're so goddamn hot," he growled, somehow managing to slam into her even harder.

Ochako cried out, a long whine coming from her lips that was interrupted each time he drove into her. She felt her orgasm mounting and she was partly disappointed that this might be over already, partly excited to feel Katsuki throbbing as she milked his cock once again.

"That's right- pink-cheeks," he grunted, sounding like he was near the edge himself, "You're gonna cum for me and you're gonna fucking scream like I fucking told you you would."

"Katsuki," she whimpered pathetically, "I can't. Nate!"

"Fuck Nate," he snapped, "Stop thinking about Nate. I better not hear another guy's name come out of your mouth again while I'm fucking you."

She clamped her mouth shut and nodded obediently, her euphoria beginning to make her mind go blank. She wasn't sure that she would be able to be quiet now, even if she wanted to.

Her orgasm built higher and higher. She was so close now. All she needed was-

Katsuki bent his head to her breast, pulling a nipple into his mouth and sucking on it, dragging his tongue over it.

"Katsuki!" she cried. This was too much for her and she felt herself being pushed over the edge.

She moaned over and over, her voice getting louder and higher with each thrust that he'd begun to pair with his sucking. And he was right, she did scream for him as she clamped down on him and her orgasm rocked her entire body.

Ochako saw stars as she heard Katsuki groan loudly, gritting his teeth as his whole body tensed, then spasmed, and she felt his cock throb inside of her.

Not for the first time, she wondered how that would feel without a condom to catch his cum. How it might feel for him to fill her with it.

She would have to get herself birth control soon. Then, maybe she would find out.

Ochako, feeling properly chastised now, fixed her dress, fastening the clasp at her neck again and smoothing her skirt back down.

Katsuki cleaned himself off and tucked himself back into his pants, buttoning and zipping them.

She did her best to fix her hair in the mirror but the red tinge to her cheeks was probably not going away any time soon.

As Katsuki opened the door for them to exit, he whispered in her ear, "Next time, it's a spanking." And he swatted her ass for good measure

Her eyes widened and something in those words enticed her once more.

Now she'd have to figure out how to piss him off again and earn herself her next punishment...

Nate was waiting for them at the elevator, his face looking, understandably, sour.

He narrowed his eyes and looked between them like he was a teacher about to punish his students.

"Thanks for sharing," he finally said, his voice clearly annoyed, "You were so loud I bet the floor below us heard you."

Ochako made the properly shamed face and bowed her head, "Sorry."

Katsuki did no such thing, though, his face only looking prideful. She didn't know why this kind of attitude surprised her anymore.

Nate's eyes softened toward her, not seeming to be truly upset.

"Next time, I'm recording it to sell the sex tape for money," he warned, looking like he was only half joking.

"Come on," he said, throwing an arm around her and pulling her into the newly arrived elevator as she was still trying to wrap her head around the possibility of having a sex tape, "We have a hottie waiting for us at the restaurant. You're lucky he entertained me this whole time."

Katsuki snorted with derision, "That's fucking gross. Deku's not-"

"Shut up, I just listened to you having sex for the past 10 minutes. I don't want to hear about gross," Nate remarked.

And, oddly, Katsuki shut up.

Notes:

A/N #2: I hope enough happened in this chapter to please you all until next time. I should be getting back to a normal routine. But it doesn't matter much anyway, this fic is almost done! Still lots that needs to be wrapped up tho!

Chapter 30

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Deku was waiting for them on the sidewalk dressed in what Ochako figured was probably the nicest clothes he had. A black dress shirt with a cream colored vest and matching cream pants.

He cut a nice figure and she wondered if Nate had noticed.

From the broad smile gracing his features upon stepping out of the limo, she'd say he had and Deku's answering blush said that he'd been hoping for a reaction like that.

"You look nice," she commented to Deku, flashing a sweet smile

"Thanks," he replied, hand coming to rub at the back of his head as Katsuki came up behind her, laying a hand at her lower back.

They entered the restaurant, Nate holding the door for them all then talking to the host, who was more than happy to accommodate them. The perks of being a party of 3 heroes and a prince, she supposed.

They were seated near the back- as they often seemed to be- in a half circle booth that had more than enough room for the four of them. Ochako sat with Nate to her left, Katsuki to her right and Deku took up the area to Nate's left.

She'd been worried for a moment that Deku might sit next to her. Sure, they'd mended their bridges a bit and were on their way to being friends again, but that didn't mean Katsuki would take kindly to Deku being so familiar with her as to take the seat next to her.

Fortunately for everyone, Nate had nonchalantly slid in to the spot beside her, no words having even needed to be spoken. Ochako couldn't tell if he had read the atmosphere, was just trying to do what would make her most comfortable, or didn't notice any of that and was trying to make himself most comfortable.

It had been an accurate assessment to think this place was expensive. Some of the entrees here were enough to buy her groceries for a week. Food this expensive made her nervous. How was Nate just so accepting with paying for four people's meals here?

He didn't seem to mind at all, even when Katsuki unapologetically ordered one of the most expensive items on the menu.

Ochako gave him a look as if to say, "Are you serious?!" which he returned in kind with a look saying, "Yeah and?"

Well... he was a prince after all. And, thankfully, a pretty generous person. That or just completely distracted by the "hottie" sitting next to him.

Deku talked and laughed with her and Nate, Katsuki doing his usual aloof affectation, an arm slung casually over the back of the booth behind her. She knew he wasn't completely uninterested though, as he kept jumping into conversations sometimes to add his two cents or sass her when she said something about him.

But Deku seemed so happy and spirited sitting there conversing with them. It seemed like he'd grown a bit doing all of the introspection he had.

Unlike her and Katsuki, he had truly healed from the ordeal between them those three months apart, had moved on with his life, and was doing well. Seeing that made her less apprehensive about the way he looked at Nate.

For his part, Nate was open and excited to learn more about Deku's life as a hero and share his own experience as the crown prince of an entire country. He seemed flirtatious in a way Ochako had never seen him be, even knowing he'd liked Katsuki before in some fashion. She knew from him talking about his past that he had rarely liked guys who had liked him back or had been good for him and now it was fascinating to see him knowing that the other guy was interested.

She wondered if being in this new situation made him feel confident enough to be more himself around Deku or maybe Nate had done some of his own growing in the past year.

Ochako was surprised at how unperturbed she was to see one of her dearest friends essentially courting her ex. Wasn't she supposed to be possessive or catty or something like that? But Nate was a good person and deserved someone who appreciated him. He'd already proven to be caring and loyal and mature enough to handle any kind of inexperience Deku might have.

And before he had ever dated her, Deku had been her best friend. She knew what he was like. The kind of person he was when he didn't feel pressured to be in a relationship he was unsure of and unconfident about. She knew he deserved someone forthcoming and understanding and someone who enjoyed the way he doted on them or was flattered by his protective nature.

Looking between them now, Deku's eyes glittering as Nate told him about some of the heroes from his own country and those well-known around Europe, she understood that how she felt about it didn't matter anyway. It was their happiness, not hers. She had found hers and all she needed to do was support her friends in finding their own.

As their dinner wound down, Ochako could read the anxiety all over Deku, something similar to that which she had felt when she'd known her night with Katsuki was coming to an end with an uncertain future of ever seeing him again.

But Nate seemed wholly unbothered as he signed the receipt.

"So, we're probably just eating take out tomorrow but you're welcome to come by if you want," he told him simply, not even realizing there had been a tension over this exact subject.

Deku's form relaxed and he nodded enthusiastically in agreement, "Sure!"

Ochako found herself even breathing a sigh of relief for some reason.

They parted ways, Deku waving jovially as their limo departed.

Ochako smiled, her heart feeling lighter watching Nate's heartbreaking dimples come out to play.

When Deku was out of sight, she turned a predatory grin on him, "So..."

He let out an amused laugh, his crystal blue eyes sparkling, "What do you want me to say?"

Katsuki turned away from this conversation, probably wishing there was a way he didn't even have to hear it.

"Well what do you think of him?" she asked interestedly, resting her chin in her palm, elbow on her knee.

"I think he's nice... and I think he's hot, obviously..."

Katsuki turned further and she could just imagine the look on his face right about now.

"-and I think he's a little naive, but in a cute way. How is he one of the strongest people in your class when he's so adorable?"

Ochako nodded, "This is a good question."

"The fuck am I, chopped liver?" Katsuki muttered under his breath.

"Oh, do you need attention?" Ochako said, a playful pout in her lips, pressing her body against his turned back as she wrapped her arms around him

"I'll tell you what you are when we get back," she whispered, knowing it had carried up to his ears when he went rigid.

"You better," he grumbled lowly, his fingers brushing lightly over the back of her hand, making her squirm

"Please wait until I'm asleep to start making animal sounds," Nate pleaded, pulling out his phone and starting to type something out, his thumbs flying across the screen.

Ochako glanced back to him, wondering who he might be texting, but suspected she already knew.

—

"I want to put this as kindly as possible because I don't want to hurt your feelings," Nate began, sitting with her as they waited for Katsuki to bring their coffee two days later.

Was it wrong that she enjoyed seeing him wait up there to get her drinks and then serve her?

"Can you maybe... go away... for tonight?"

Ochako blinked as she came back to the conversation at hand. Then her eyes widened, realizing what he was saying.

"Nate..." she began, wanting to remind him of how things had gone with her and Deku when she'd attempted intimacy with him, but Nate stopped her before she could.

"I'm not gonna try anything," he assured her, rolling his eyes, "Think more of me than that please."

She bit her lip, considering what he was asking her.

Deku had showed up promptly for dinner last night at the penthouse. They'd been in the middle of eating when he'd been pulled away to deal with an issue at Endeavor's agency and he hadn't come back.

Nate had seemed like it didn't bother him and, in all likelihood, it hadn't. He understood hero work, especially since interacting with her for so long.

But now he was essentially telling her that not only had he gotten ahold of Deku again last night after he was done with work but he'd already made plans to see him again.

Not as cool under the collar about him as you're making yourself out to be... she thought, grinning inwardly.

"What are you gonna do then?" she asked, a tiny smirk coming to her lips.

"I'm not sure," he shrugged casually. Why was he playing things cool like he wasn't as excited as she could tell that he was? "Cook dinner, maybe watch a movie or go swimming?"

She nodded at these activities as though they were all good options.

"And I need to be gone for you to be able to do these things?" she asked, her smile getting wider.

Nate sent her a rare cold look. He knew that she knew what he was asking for.

"If you're not gonna do stuff," she paused dramatically, and his eyes narrowed toward her, "then what are you going to do all night? Should I be coming back at some point?"

His face reddened slightly at this, reminding her just how beautiful he was. He could stun even her sometimes with his unexpected endearing expressions.

"He said he'd sleep in the extra bedroom," he answered, toying with his phone as it lay on the table.

She chose not to pry further, not wanting Nate to feel more uncomfortable than he already was. If he wanted privacy for... whatever, then she would give him what he asked. She knew he'd do as much for her.

"Well... where am I supposed to go?" she asked, genuinely unsure of her accommodations for the night. Her apartment was a pretty long train ride away, after all.

"I wonder..." Nate said with a glint of mischief in his eye, turning his face to Katsuki who was returning, hands full with beverages.

Ochako turned to him as well, her eyes raking down his body clad in his costume as he bent to set her cup on the table. Yeah... something about him bringing her her cup of coffee was doing it for her. This deal of him ordering was working out better than she had imagined.

When he noticed her attention a wicked grin spread across his face.

"Nice lewd expression, floaty. What kinda shit are you thinking with a face like that?"

She wouldn't be cowed with his boldness now though. Not when she knew he'd gladly make her fantasy come true.

"You really want to know?" she asked, not hiding her appreciation or the way her vision traced the lines of his torso.

His smile slipped a fraction and she saw a familiar heat beginning to warm his scarlet irises.

"Hi, I'm right here," Nate interrupted, forcing their attention back to him, "Do you know you're in public? You can't just bang on the table, you know."

Now she felt a flush come to her cheeks and she covered her face, officially out of commission for the next few minutes.

"Well, now that's handled, Uravity has nowhere to go tonight, Ground Zero. Might you know where she could spend the night?" Nate asked, trying to sound as obvious as he possibly could.

"Why, you busy or something?" Katsuki questioned, completely oblivious to the information being spoon-fed to him.

"Do you really want to know?" Nate replied, mimicking Ochako's tone from moments ago.

Looking up from her hands, Ochako saw a look of bewilderment, then understanding, then dawning horror pass Kastuki's features.

"No," he said curtly, ending that line of conversation.

"Then you can help Uravity with a place to stay tonight?" Nate asked a little slower, trying to verbally lead him to the conclusion he wanted.

Katsuki's eyes went back to her and she looked up at him questioningly.

He seemed to finally be realizing what was being asked of him as he stared at her, then gave a small nod.

Nate gave a faux sigh of relief, "Great. I'm glad that's settled. Thanks for being so help...ful..."

But he didn't need to continue because Katsuki's attention was trained solely on her.

He leaned down to her, resting his gloved hand at the side of her neck as he put his lips to her ear.

"I'll meet you down here after work. Then we'll see where you'll be spending the night," he purred.

Goosebumps rose across Ochako's body and she felt a shiver make its way down her spine.

She could only nod in response. Her words had momentarily left her.

Standing back up to full height, he let his hand glide across her neck and through her ponytail as he passed by her and out the door, not sparing a glance back.

When he was gone, Ochako took a deep, calming breath in and let it out slowly, then abruptly turned to Nate, her face gravely serious.

"We need to go shopping. Right. Now."

Nate quirked an eyebrow, flashing her a knowing smile, "I figured as much."

Ochako was practically bouncing with anticipation when Katsuki finally came strolling up to the hotel lobby near sunset.

When Deku had shown up, she'd taken a moment to pull him aside, the first time they'd been somewhat alone since graduation.

"Deku," she'd told him in a low, dangerous voice, "I know things didn't go perfect with us and some of it was my fault and that's all in the past now."

He'd nodded, agreeing with her as he listened closely.

"But Nate is an amazing person. He's not hiding anything. He's not... like me," she'd said, looking down at her feet guiltily.

"Long story short, I will crack your skull open if you hurt him somehow," she'd warned and left it at that, not even giving him a chance to respond.

She could tell that the power dynamic between the two men leaned more heavily in Nate's direction, making him the one who would push things forward when he wanted, if he wanted, but Katsuki had been right, she was at least a little worried for him and had felt compelled to issue the warning and make it clear her eye was still on him.

Then she'd left, saying a quick goodbye to Nate before jamming that L button maybe a little harder than was necessary in her haste to get down to the bottom floor.

Now, Katsuki gave her an assessing once-over and seemed pleased.

She'd decided on a yellow sundress, nothing too short, that buttoned up the front, with matching wedge-heels. Her hair was only half pulled up in braids that met at the back of her head. She'd hoped to look cute for him with this ensemble.

He'd also taken the time to change out of his hero suit and into more casual black slacks with a dark red button up shirt of his own. The color of it made his eyes seem to glow brighter than usual.

Before she could say anything, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, clutching her to his chest.

They hadn't gotten to be truly alone much since their first night they'd spent together and Ochako hadn't realized how she'd been craving this kind of intimacy with him until now. Just the way he held her felt like a balm to her soul.

"You wanna go somewhere? Do something?" he asked into her hair, his voice that calm, contented timber he reserved for her.

"Like a... date?" she pulled back to see his face, unable to stop the excitement showing on her own, "You'll take me?"

"If you want," he replied, trying to play it off like it didn't matter that much.

"Yeah!" she practically squealed, "Of course I wanna go!"

"Then let's go."

"Where?" she wondered, unsure of what might be going on near them.

"Come on, pink-cheeks," he said, explaining nothing as he pulled her along with him, one arm still kept securely around her.

He led her to the train station and they got on a train together, him still not telling her anything.

Riding together like this reminded her of all the times they'd gone to and from Hawks' agency. All of their rides contented to be quiet, their rides where they whispered excitedly to each other, their rides where they fumed silently until they could get off at the station and start tearing into each other. She'd missed them so desperately when he'd quit, it had made her heart ache and dread build up in her throat every time she'd had to step on a train alone. Had she really not known then how crazy she was about him?

Taking his hand in hers now, she looked up into his eyes, searching them. She knew he could tell what she was thinking about when he read the look on her face. His softened crimson irises warmed her right to her bones as if to say, "I'm here now, though."

They only travelled a few stops away before exiting and heading back up to the street.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked, unable to hold back the question any longer.

He didn't deny her an answer.

"The shrine near my apartment is putting on their summer festival right now. I figured you'd enjoy that."

But all his other words after "near my apartment" were lost on her. She cast her gaze around as if she would be able to locate it by just searching.

He chuckled in the low sexy way he did, pulling her head toward his chest to murmur, "Not yet, floaty." Then he released her.

Ochako's cheeks heated as he pulled her along once more toward the shrine "near his apartment."

When they got there, all kinds of the usual stands lined the walkway, lanterns on strings crossing to and fro overhead.

It being the summer, there were a great number of people milling about. Families, friends, other couples on dates.

Now that he'd brought her here, Katsuki let her lead him around to the different stalls. They grabbed snacks and played games and generally partook in the festivities.

Ochako loved how natural and easy it was to enjoy this time with him. She would smile and bounce around from this to that and he would follow along obligingly, seeming like he would never tire of it. For tonight, it felt like they were a normal couple on a normal date and she couldn't feel any more content than this.

They watched the fireworks go off at the end, Ochako marvelling at their beauty as she stood in front of him, her back pressed to his chest, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. He was so gentle with her when he wanted to be. He was accommodating and patient. When had that happened? Had he always had this in him? Or had something changed in him over the past year, the same as it had in her?

He did seem so different from the Katsuki that she'd known at the beginning of third year. She didn't know if that was because she was seeing him with different eyes or because he had genuinely bettered himself. Maybe it was a little of both.

When the fireworks ended, Katsuki leaned his head down to tell her, "Let's go."

And that easily, all of her reveries about the past were wiped away as she allowed herself to be led toward an apartment building a couple blocks away.

Unsurprisingly, Katsuki's apartment didn't differ too much from his dorm room back at school, she noted, as she walked into the living area immediately upon entering. Everything was simple. Practical. Nothing was messy.

"Do you even decorate a little bit?" she asked, looking around at the sparsely furnitured room.

It was a simple one bedroom, one bathroom apartment, reasonably sized, much like her own.

"I don't need to. I'm never here," he supplied, shrugging his shoulders.

"You never just sit around at home on your days off?"

He clenched and unclenched his jaw a couple seconds, looking like he was debating something in his head.

"I never really took days off before..." he said finally, "I would just go back to work on days I was supposed to be off unless I had to rest. Then I'd just sleep all day."

And he'd thought he'd been happy like that? Hearing that made her chest ache. For her part, Ochako had at least sat around watching crappy drama shows on TV and eating junk food on her days off, trying to distract herself from anything she might be trying to think or feel.

"Do you think you'll actually take your days off now?" she asked interestedly.

He quirked an eyebrow at her as they moved further into the living/dining room area.

"Are you asking me to spend my days off with you instead?" he asked, not allowing her to beat around the bush.

"I guess," she replied, chewing at her lip.

He took her chin in his grip, capturing her eyes with his crimson ones.

"You already know I will," he growled, leaving her lungs struggling to fill with air properly as she stared into that burning gaze.

"Even if you end up working with me every day again?" she asked, barely able to breathe out the question, "You won't get tired of me or something?"

His face took on a slightly annoyed expression when he answered, "What do you think, floaty?"

Ochako fidgetted, dropping her eyes from his before she changed the subject.

"I- I wanted to give this back to you," she said timidly, setting her purse on the table next to her and digging in it before pulling out a small card and handing it back to him.

Katsuki looked down at it, a small, gentle smile curling the corners of his mouth. God, she loved that smile. She wished she could see it on his face every day.

"So you believe me, now? That I'm not gonna fuck this up again?"

A small huff of laughter escaped her lips, "Well... I can't say I think you'll never fuck up again but... I trust you... not to leave again..."

"Good," he said simply, slipping the card into his pocket. He finally pulled her toward him to meet her lips with his own.

Ochako's eyes fluttered closed as she felt those warm lips on hers. It was a sweet kiss, soft and loving, and when he pulled back, she saw heat pooling in his half lidded eyes.

"I... I went shopping today with Nate," she told him, stepping back a pace, starting to feel a little anxious.

Katsuki knew she was aware that he didn't give a flying fuck about her going shopping most days so interest piqued in his eyes as he waited for her to continue.

Her fingers shook as she reached for the top of her dress and his attention flew immediately to the dress' neckline, seeing her unfasten the first button.

Heart beginning to race as she watched his eyes become more eager, Ochako nearly fumbled with the second button. She delighted in the way his lips parted when his breaths became more labored following her hands, especially when he finally caught a glimpse of pink lace peeking out from the slowly parting fabric. It made her gain confidence as she reached for her third button and unfastened it.

Most of her chest was exposed now and she could feel the tension building between them as his eyes darted from her face to her lace-covered bosom.

She only needed to unbutton two more until the dress was loose enough on her for her to drop it to the floor, revealing the full outfit to him.

His eyes drank her in, looking ravenous. She could practically feel his gaze as it traveled from the tiny spaghetti straps, to the pink, lacy bustier she wore, thin mesh covering her breasts that had embroidery strategically sewn on it. She felt her face and neck go hot when his eyes lingered on that embroidery an extra moment before moving on, tracing the lines of the bustier until it stopped just above her navel.

Then, his attention went to the matching panties. When she knew where his focus lay, she did a slow turn for him, hearing his sharp intake of breath as he noticed their high cheeky cut. By the time she had done a full rotation, his eyes were already back on her face, looking wild with lust.

His voice shook when he said, "You need to tell me right now if you want any scrap of that thing left usable."

Ochako had to try to remember how to breathe as she looked up into those feral, glowing eyes. Heat pooled between her legs, making her thighs clench slightly.

Even this didn't escape Katsuki's notice and she saw the leash on his self control slip further.

"I just wanted you to like it." she breathed, her voice hardly audible.

"I'm about to show you how much I like it," he growled, grabbing for her but she danced away just out of his reach, an idea coming to her.

It seemed that she always got her best ideas when Katsuki was moving toward her thinking he was going to get his way.

She remembered his warning to her before dinner the night before last, after he'd made her scream for him up against that wall.

"Next time it's a spanking..."

And that cruel, playful side of her came out in a new way now, wondering how far she could push him before he snapped.

His eyes already lit with frustration as he stood a few feet away from her now, watching her.

Good, she thought mischievously, but keeping her face trained in a timid expression.

"What part do you like?" she asked innocently, gesturing toward her ensemble.

Katsuki's eyes narrowed at her. Was he already figuring out her game?

"Is it... this?" she ran her hand lightly, curving over the swell of her breast.

Those crimson orbs flared as they followed the trail of her hand. His self control was already being pulled thin.

"Ochako," he growled a warning at her.

That authoritative voice shot straight to her core and she felt her panties dampen.

"Do you like these?" her fingers traced the lacey elastic waistband of her panties, keeping her voice inquisitive, her eyebrows still turned up as if she was unsure of herself, while inside she was anything but.

He knew it.

She saw his jaw clench tightly. He still followed her fingers and she could actually hear his breath catch when she dipped her thumb under the elastic, pulling on it just barely.

"Ochako," he bit out a second time, this time his voice sounding more strained, anger bubbling at the edges.

She ignored him.

"It sounded like you really liked this," she said, letting a little more surety come into her words as she turned her back to him and planted her hands on the table behind her, bending ever so slightly over, her back arching.

An almost inhuman growl tore from his throat and he moved toward her lightning fast.

She pushed herself up, about to move away again to play some more but her game was over now, she realized, as his massive hand wrapped around the back of her neck and he slammed her back down, pushing her cheek into the hardwood.

A thrill like she'd never known went through her at his display of strength. Was there nothing about him that couldn't turn her on?

"You. Fucking. Cocktease," he growled dangerously low, pressing his hips against her ass.

She gasped as his hardened length still restrained by his pants slid between her cheeks.

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

She wanted to give him a smart-ass answer but she couldn't even catch her breath enough to say a word.

She felt his weight on her as he leaned over her back to breathe into her ear, "First, I'm going to turn your ass as pink as your face."

A shudder went through her at that and with his chest pressed against her, she knew he could feel it.

The smirk in his voice when he spoke next confirmed it, "Then, you're going to get on your knees and suck my dick until I cum in your mouth."

Ochako was panting now, her panties already soaked and they hadn't even begun yet.

"And then, if you've been a good enough girl, I'll bend you over this table and fuck you."

His fingers around her neck loosened slightly, enough for her to move her head.

"Now tell me you understand."

She still couldn't find her voice to talk so she stayed silent, digging her fingers into the wood of the table.

His body moved away from her and a large rough palm slapped across her ass, making her jump.

"I want you to fucking say it, Ochako," he commanded.

She had to take a second to catch her breath but her voice finally came to her as she was able to choke out, "I take it, that's a yes... you like it?"

She wished she could see his face when another enraged growl issued from him and his grip on her neck tightened once more.

"You little fucking- I'm going to fuck you so hard, you won't be able to sit for a week," he ground out between clenched teeth.

She honestly didn't know how he was restraining himself. He had to like this game too.

Another slap, harder this time clapped across her ass and she squeaked, jumping again.

"Now say it," he ordered once more.

"I... I... under- stand..." she panted out, impatient to get started.

"That's good," he purred and took his hand from her neck finally, "Now stay there. It'll be worse for you if you don't."

Ochako was able to turn her head to see him now but she kept her chest pressed into the table, her hands splayed at either side, unwilling to disobey him in this.

His gaze travelled the length of her first, as though he were trying to imprint the way she looked right now- vulnerable, submissive- into his mind before he began.

Then, she felt his left hand at the small of her back, pressing down lightly- for balance she realized.

Oh shit, the thought a little too late. She might've gotten herself into a little bit more trouble than she'd bargained for.

His right hand caressed her ass cheek first, gripping it, massaging it, then moving on to the other.

Following the line of her panties, his fingers dipped between her legs, to probe at the soaked cloth there and she heard a guttural grunt escape his lips.

"Yeah, I knew you were fucking with me cuz you wanted this," he said, withdrawing his hand causing her back to arch up fractionally, an involuntary response to her need for his touch.

"But first," he snarled and Ochako barely had time to prepare herself before his hand was coming down on her ass again, a loud smack filling the still air. She jolted, pain stinging at one of her ass cheeks.

She didn't even have time to recover before he lifted his hand again- wait, why so far back?- and brought it down again on her other cheek.

"Nnhh," she whimpered, feeling the same stinging on this one now too.

"Is that too much for you?" his lust-roughened voice reached her ears. There was a mocking quality to it but she knew that there was sincerity in it too. He was asking if she was okay, if she wanted to keep going.

It wasn't too much, though. It hurt but it sent electricity surging through her body every time his hand connected.

"Is it too much for you?" she mocked him.

She heard him take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"You're so fucked," he whispered and drew his hand back again.

He spanked her, hard and mercilessly, holding nothing back as he brought his hand down onto her rump over and over.

Not even a handful of smacks into it she'd begun crying out each time his palm connected.

He'd started admonishing her at some point saying things like, "Is this what you wanted, huh?" "You need to be taught not to fuck with me?" "You think you can tease me?" "I better see those panties around your ankles the next time you bend over like that."

A few minutes later, he halted, panting heavily from the exertion and Ochako's ass burned when he pulled back from her.

Tears were streaming from her eyes and she knew that if she could see her ass, it would be a bright angry pink.

She felt him behind her again and she jumped when he laid his hands on her but they were gentle this time, caressing her ass once more.

"Mmmm," he purred as his calloused palm moved across her ass cheeks, eyes filled with red-hot desire when they met hers.

He pulled her up, turning her to face him and he leaned down to her planting a soft kiss on her lips before moving across to her cheek and kissing away her tears.

"You're fucking gorgeous," he said, his voice full of reverence, dropping his domineering attitude for just a moment to praise her.

Ochako clutched at his shirt as his lips met hers again, parting hers hungrily to relish in his taste.

Their kiss deepened, his tongue meeting hers and caressing it in long, languorous strokes that made her nipples harden and her breasts strain against the mesh of her bustier.

He let her have this reprieve for just a minute before he pulled away, his dominance securely back in place.

"Now, you know what to do, don't you?" he told her, his molten eyes ablaze with hunger, bringing a thumb to her swollen lips, brushing it across them.

She nodded obediently and slid her body down his until she was looking up at him from her position kneeling on the floor.

She could tell he was still rock hard from the bulge in his pants and she nuzzled her face against it, eliciting a hiss of breath from him.

Tangling his fingers in her hair, he grabbed a fistful and pulled her head back, much like she'd done to him the first night they'd been together, maybe not quite as rough.

He deftly unzipped his pants with one hand, lowering the waistband of his boxers enough to pull that thick, luscious cock out and hold it out for her, that light sweet liquid beading at the tip already.

She wasted no time and pulled him into her mouth, going deep to the back of her throat.

She heard him let out a long sigh, clearly pleased with her actions, then she began to move, her head bobbing back and forth, as her tongue licked at the underside of his shaft. He moved with her, his grip tightening and loosening as he made tiny thrusts into her mouth along with her movements. The tiny grunts he made were absolutely delicious.

After a little bit of this, she brought her hands up, one reaching to massage his balls, causing him to grunt in approval. The other hand wrapped around the base of his shaft, lightly squeezing as she began to pump him along with the rhythm of her mouth.

"Fuuuckkkk," he groaned, his hand in her hair gripping a little bit harder.

She continued pumping him but stopped her mouth at his head bringing her eyes up to meet him as she licked the tip broadly, then took him in her mouth again, sucking hard for a few seconds.

Katsuki's legs shook and he made that sound she loved between a whimper and a moan.

"I'm gonna fill your whole fucking mouth up at this rate, Ochako," he grunted as she resumed moving back and forth along his length.

She looked up at him again with pleading eyes, pulling her mouth off of him a second to say, "I wish you'd fill me up."

His fist tightening painfully at those words, and he moaned deeply as she wet back to her task.

"You can't fucking say that," he whispered, his voice hoarse. She could tell he was getting close.

She knew he was right. She knew she shouldn't be saying that. To even be asking or tempting him. But she couldn't help what she fantasized.

His muscles tensed and she felt his hips buck involuntarily before he let out a loud groan, his cock pulsing in her mouth as a hot substance spurted from it. Her mouth was quickly filled with it and it began dribbling down her lips.

"Swallow it," he commanded. So she did, swallowing the whole mouthful down as the last of the pulsations ceased and his muscles relaxed.

Katsuki sighed contentedly and released her hair, allowing her to fall against him, resting her head at his thigh.

"You're doing great, angel-face," he murmured lovingly, running his fingers through her mussed hair and tucking himself back into his pants.

"Does that mean-"

He pulled her back up to standing, wiping away the cum that still remained at her lips as his glowing eyes looked back and forth between hers.

"That means get back on that table and get those panties off," he told her.

She couldn't even bring herself to talk back, she was so in need of feeling him inside of her, rushing back over and pulling her panties down to step out of them.

She spread her legs, planting her hands on the table again as she bent slightly over it and arching her back, like she had initially when she'd been teasing him, as she looked over her shoulder.

His eyes were definitely on her, still lit with desire. He was taking his time unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging out of it, though, making her wait for him.

His pants were already unbuttoned and unzipped, all he had to do was drop them to the floor and step out of them, then he finally approached her, leaning into her, his hand coming around to rest at the front of her neck.

"I'm gonna fuck you til you're sore for being such a good girl now," he informed her and her muscles clenched at that, "Then we can go to bed if you want."

She nodded, shivering when his rough fingers pulled away from her neck to trail down her back and cup her ass once more. She was still so incredibly tender...

They travelled between her legs again and she let out a small cry when one finger ran along her slit.

"You're so fucking wet for me, angel-face," he growled, grinding his cock- already hard again- between her ass cheeks.

Ochako whimpered and pushed her hips back, wanting him, needing to feel him moving inside of her.

"Katsuki," she barely wheezed out, "Please."

She heard him fumbling with the packaging of what she assumed to be a condom and she waited impatiently, lifting her hips to him again.

She sighed gratefully when she felt him against her again, gripping her hip firmly while he guided the tip toward her opening.

Then he was there, sliding slowly into her and she let out a long moan, hearing him do the same.

"You always feel fucking amazing, Ochako," he murmured, his lips at her shoulder, as he began rocking his hips into her, slowly at first, then picking up speed.

"Katsuki, I-" she groaned as he began slamming into her harder, slightly aggravating the soreness of her ass.

He was not being gentle but she loved it. She craved the way he panted in her ear, beginning to grunt with each thrust as pleasure began to overwhelm him. She was absorbed by the clapping of his skin meeting hers every time he drove into her. His fingers digging into her hip as though he were holding on for dear life made her feel insatiable.

He brought her body life with every touch and sound and thrust.

She felt his fingers pulling at the mesh covering her breasts, wanting to free them. But this thing was not as simple as just to be pulled aside and she could sense his frustration as he pulled at the lace. She was too caught up in her passion to remind him that he had to unhook every tiny hook in the back if he wanted to get the accursed piece of clothing off. So she was unsurprised when he gave up being considerate and gripped the front of the fabric in his fist, pulling at it as his palm lit up and the smell of burning lace filled the air.

When he opened his fist again, scraps of mesh and lace fell between his fingers and he brought his hand back up to finally be able to fondle the mound of flesh he'd wanted. She groaned as she felt his calloused palm, feeling excessively warm now, grope at her breasts that had been aching for attention since the very beginning. When he rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, she gasped, dropping her weight to her elbows, which in turn bent her over further.

Katsuki grunted his approval of this turn of events and slowed his movements but thrust into her harder, eliciting a cry of ecstasy from her as he hit that perfect spot inside of her.

"You like that?" he growled into her shoulder, continuing to slam into her, "You like being bent over my table like my own personal fuck toy?"

"Yeeesss," she whined loudly, feeling a sob completely derived from pleasure being wracked from her throat.

She felt her orgasm mounting as he continued to plunge into her, his thrusts as fierce as the grunts spilling from between his clenched teeth.

"You want me to make you cum?" he asked her roughly, sounding like he was close to the edge himself.

"Yes! Yes please, Katsuki," she begged, not letting her pride get in the way of what she knew she needed most right now.

"Are you gonna try to fucking tease me like that again?" he questioned.

"No! No, I swear," she whimpered, her pleasure beginning to overtake her mind as she knew there was absolutely no truth to that.

"You're a little fucking liar," he chastised her, slapping her ass one more time, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Now you're gonna fucking cum on my dick like a good girl, aren't you?" his voice rasped out. He was losing control.

Ochako nodded her head, no longer able to speak as she concentrated on the delicious cock slamming into her, driving her insane.

"Good," he grunted as he moved his hand from her hip where he'd had it this entire time and brought it to her front, reaching between her legs to slide his finger along the bundle of nerves there.

"One day, I'm gonna fill your pussy with so much cum," he panted into her ear, "that you'll have it dripping down your legs for fucking hours."

And that was when she lost it. Her mind went blank as she screamed, her whole body seizing up and she clenched tightly around him, pulling him in.

She felt his lips at her neck again, his tongue running along the section of skin between her shoulder and neck. And when his muscles finally went taut, she gasped as he sunk his teeth into her flesh, sucking ferociously as his cock pulsed inside of her.

He held her close, nuzzling the bruised spot he'd just given to her, until his body stopped convulsing, then released her, allowing her to collapse to the table, her energy completely spent.

She lay there for a long moment, not caring that she was still naked and splayed out across Katsuki's dining room table as she basked in the afterglow of such an incredible experience.

"Katsuki," she called to him, knowing he was still right behind her.

"Yeah," he answered, exactly where she knew he'd be.

"I love you so fucking much," she told him, her eyes going momentarily misty knowing just how true that statement was.

He huffed a laugh and laid a hand at her shoulder, coaxing her upward and gathering her up in his arms.

"I know," he finally replied, "I knew before you did, remember?"

She smiled, her heart feeling warm as she snuggled into the crook of his neck. She remembered feeling safe like this in his arms before. She'd been half asleep and hadn't allowed herself to think too hard about how good it felt to be wrapped up in those arms. Another time she should've realized there was something more there...

Carrying her into his bedroom, he laid her softly on the covers, crawling in right beside her.

Ochako turned her face into the pillow, breathing in the familiar soft scent of him and sighing.

Then she turned back to him, seeing that he was just watching her, his face looking peaceful. A question suddenly burned at her to be asked.

"How did you know?" she asked timidly, keeping her eyes on her fingers as she reached out to trace nonsensical circles on his bare chest, unable to look up at him for this, "That I loved you, I mean. I couldn't even tell that you wanted me for anything but sex until you told me."

Katsuki blew out an amused sigh and she wondered if he really even wanted to tell her about this.

"I knew you wanted me since the sports festival, obviously, but the way you freaked out afterwards, I knew you still thought I was a shitty person. Honestly, I thought that was it for me and I figured I'd lost my chance by being too impatient and aggressive."

His fingers ran across her cheek, large calloused pads caressing her softly.

"So I was pretty surprised when you asked to go back to us being... whatever it was we were in first term. It was me who should've been asking you but I was too much of an ass to do that and you just did it for me like you knew I couldn't bring myself to do it or you really did miss me somehow. That was when I started thinking, or maybe hoping I guess, that you might actually be interested in me."

He paused to begin running a hand through her hair and Ochako finally got the nerve up to gaze up at him.

"I knew for sure you were falling on the last day of summer break we worked together and you asked if we could still be 'us' at school. You started crying when I thought I was giving you an out to just forget everything and have nothing to do with me again. And then you looked at me like you were hoping for something more when I kissed your cheek." Katsuki had a far away look in his eye as he recalled, "I was fucking ecstatic when I realized. It was so fucking hard not to kiss you right then and there."

"Why didn't you?" she asked curiously, wondering herself what she would've done if he had.

"I thought you might freak out again and I'd be back at square one. I knew you liked me and trusted me more but I figured you might take it all back if I pushed you again. So I told you we could be whatever you wanted and let you decide."

And, like an idiot, she had chosen to be friends...

"The more we hung out, the more sure I was that I was winning you over. And when you actually admitted that you wanted me and stopped being afraid of us constantly wanting to fuck each other," Ochako's cheeks warmed at this, "I knew you weren't far from admitting that you wanted more than that too. I was so fucking sure of myself and of you finally figuring it out after I came for your birthday and you didn't freak out when I kissed you again."

He let out a troubled sigh then and she also grew sad, remembering how dumb she'd been.

Remembering the way his face crumpled as she walked away still haunted her.

She traced the length of his jaw now, trying to keep this face in her mind, remembering he was happy now, he would never show her that horrible devastated face again.

The focus of his eyes came back to her and it seemed like he'd noticed her sadness anyway.

"Floaty," he said, his face serious, "Fuck all of that. Don't think back on that shit. It wasn't just exclusively any one person's fault and it's all fucking done now. I knew you were in love with me because I was in love with you first and I saw the moment you looked at me the way I always wanted you to. That's fucking it. That's the secret."

He pulled her to him and kissed her temple, allowing her to curl up to his chest.

Ochako didn't know if her heart could feel more full than it did right now. Katsuki was far from the perfect man, but the way that he valued her and treated her felt like it could never be surpassed.

"I love you, angel-face," he breathed quietly into her hair.

Her heart skipped a beat. This was the first time he'd said it just to say it and without a high emotion situation to lessened his inhibitions.

She kissed him softly, her body pressed flush with his. And when she pulled back to look into his eyes, that raw emotion that he rarely let show through glittered in his softly glowing eyes.

She kissed him again, more feverishly this time and she felt him respond in kind, his arms tightening around her.

He made love to her slowly and sweetly this time, like he had their first night together. Every toe-curling, breath-taking moment, searing into Ochako's mind as he made her shake and sweat and cry out with passion.

When they finally fell asleep in each other's arms, Ochako had to admit that she probably needed to thank Nate for the night off.

Something was... odd when they came back to the penthouse the next morning.

The moment she got there, Deku seemed in a hurry to get going. His cheeks blazed as he hardly said so much as a goodbye to either Nate or anyone else.

When he'd disappeared into the elevator both her and Katsuki turned back to face Nate (his hair not yet gelled into place already for some reason) with a questioning look.

Nate, for his part, also looked slightly bashful when a grin spread across his face.

"So, I kissed him this morning. So what?" he shrugged, turning to finish getting ready.

Ochako exchanged the same wide-eyed look with Katsuki and went racing back to his room after him to get the full details.

Katsuki stayed behind in the living room, plopping down on the couch.

The next few days were her last with Nate and she spent them taking him to hot springs and just relaxing.

Deku joined them again on his day off and Nate, somewhat unceremoniously, kicked her off guard duty again.

She wasn't angry, she understood why, and that was the day she decided to take care of contacting her agency back in her small city, to inform them of her decision to take a job with Mt. Lady.

Mt. Lady, of course, was expecting her visit but, thankfully, didn't tease her too badly about knowing all along she would end up with Katsuki. Apparently, Ochako had been right in guessing that every single one of them had seen right through the both of them during the summer and there had been a betting pool on whether the two dumbdumb interns would end up together by the last day of that summer. Mt. Lady had been disappointed she'd lost, even after she and Edgeshot had made a joint effort to push them together. But Kamui Woods had won with betting that they would be too stupid or prideful to work it out.

Her last comment on it had been, "Who would've guessed you'd take a whole other year to figure it out," making Ochako blush and hide her face. Mt. Lady was nothing if not candid.

Her landlord had been less understanding. She wouldn't let her out of her lease until she got her apartment rented out to someone else. This was worrisome for her, as she knew her pay, while reasonable, would never be enough to afford two apartments at the same time. For the time-being, she would have to bite the bullet and commute every day, meaning long hours of riding back and forth and less time spent with Katsuki or doing her job...

Soon enough, her weeks with Nate were up.

Ochako felt like her heart was breaking as she went with him back to the airport, her sense of loss even greater than the last time she'd had to say goodbye.

To no one's surprise at all, Deku was there too waiting to say goodbye and it was at this moment that Ochako realized how complicated making something work between those two would be. Nate was a prince, a title and profession he loved and would not (could not?) give up. Deku was a hero, also a profession he wouldn't give up. If neither were going to budge on this, how would they see each other?

But Nate, as usual, seemed calm and unbothered as he approached the hero waiting for them but he stopped her a few yards away, turning her to him with a serious look in his cerulean eyes.

"Uravity," Nate said, his tone sheepish, "I think... I like Deku... like a lot... and I wanted to ask you before I took any serious steps because I know he's your ex and you had a kinda messy breakup and I don't know how much you'd actually support a real relationship between us..."

He looked genuinely worried for once as his eyes searched hers.

Ochako put her hand on his cheek and pulled him down to kiss his forehead, "I love you, Nate. I owe you for so many of the great things in my life right now. I want you to be happy. I want Deku to be happy. And if you're happy together that's even better. You don't have to ask me to be with someone you care about. I trust you'll do better than I ever did."

Nate beamed down at her, the happiest smile she'd seen on him yet.

"Thank you, Uravity. I love you too, girly."

He pulled her in for a bear hug that lasted a few seconds then pulled away to turn back to the green haired boy waiting for him at the gate.

Wanting to give them their privacy, Ochako strolled back the way she'd come and ventured to the airport exit where Katsuki waited for her, his day off having lined up to allow him to go with her today.

"You ready to go?'' he asked, pushing up from the wall he'd been leaning against.

She grinned at him, "You're not even going to ask how it went with Nate and Deku?"

He made a "tch" sound, "Would I ever ask how it went for that nerd?"

She rolled her eyes, "I guess not but you know I'm gonna tell you anyway."

It was his turn to roll his eyes and he stepped toward her, grabbing her by the hip and ignoring the appalled looks thrown their way in the busy airport as he pulled her closer, kissing her gently.

"I figured as much. Let's go angel-face," he said turning to walk away, his arm catching her waist to pull her along, and her body heated.

The way his hand covered the whole of her hip always sent a shiver through her and made her feel like doing something to make him squeeze her ass (which was still sore, by the way) instead. Geez, her thirst for him was almost embarrassing... And now that they were on their own they'd have more opportunities to-

She mentally shook her head. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

He was supposed to be going with her to her apartment to help her get things ready for her to move. She hadn't been able to tell him yet about what her landlord had said. Now was as good a time as any, she supposed.

"I wanted to tell you," she began and he slowed his is pace, glancing at her with a small amount of interest.

"My landlord... she said she wouldn't let me out of my lease..."

When she looked up at him, she saw his eyebrows turned down into a confused frown.

"So what, you can't come after all?" he asked warily.

"No! It's just... I'll have to commute pretty far every day. You know, as far as we have to go now. I won't have much time for more than work and commuting" she answered him, ducking her head, "At least until she rents it out to someone else."

She hurried to add, "but I'm sure it'll happen fast. It's a nice place in a good location."

Katsuki stopped, pulling her to a halt as well.

"That's two hours away," he commented, the crease between his brows deepening.

She shrugged, chewing nervously at the inside of her cheek, "Gotta do what I gotta do. It's only for a little while."

He kept frowning down at her, looking annoyed as his jaw worked.

"It's okay. Really," she assured him, "It'll only be for a little bit. I can deal."

Her attempt at reassuring him didn't seem to alleviate his stress as he continued to clench and unclench his jaw, his eyes searching hers.

Finally he opened his mouth to respond to her.

"Stay with me until you find a place."

Ochako's eyes widened and she drew back from him.

"Katsuki... I can't! We've been together only a week! You don't know anything about my living habits! I don't know anything about yours! We could end up hating each other!"

The look he gave her told her he expected this reaction out of her.

"I'm never gonna hate you, even if you're a slob or keep your girl stuff on the bathroom counter," he told her, his face saying that he meant it.

She glared at that. He knew she wasn't a slob.

"You know what I mean, Katsuki. It's a big step that people usually take months or years down the road."

His eyes took in her face and he snorted. "And I should give a shit, why? I want you with me. Stay with me. Fuck commuting four hours every day. Wouldn't you rather just be able to come and be with me?"

She had to admit that it was a tempting argument. But she was scared. She didn't want him to lose that glow of newness that surrounded them so soon. She didn't know if he would tire of her being around not only every day at work, but every moment at home. There was only so much of another person one could take, wasn't there?

But then she considered her own feelings. Would she tire of him? They'd technically already lived together, been in class together every day, worked together, trained together, then come back home and eaten dinner together every night. And while doing all of that, she'd only fallen for him harder. Now she would get the added bonus of sharing his bed every night.

She set her jaw, her mind made up.

"Fine, I'll stay with you but only until my apartment is leased again and I find my own place" she relented.

"Fine," he agreed readily.

"And you have to let me make it look nice," she added.

He leveled an incredulous stare at her, "It looks fine like it is, floaty."

"No, it's boring. Let me make it nice," she fought back.

"Fuck. Fine. But no flower print curtains or whatever."

She hadn't intended to put those in his apartment anyway so she agreed and they finally continued on their way to the train station, chatting back and forth about what she was and wasn't allowed to decorate his apartment with.

Finally arriving back at her apartment in the early afternoon, Ochako couldn't wait to show him inside and prove her interior decorating prowess she'd been bragging about. She knew he would like it. It was simple and practical, not overly flowery. She never just put things in her apartment that had no purpose just to make it look nice (with the exception of some artwork and posters on her walls, cause no one liked just barren walls).

She pulled him along, up the stairs toward her modest 1 bedroom flat but stopped short when they were only a few yards away.

A light was on inside. She knew she hadn't left that on. Not for two weeks.

She knew Katsuki could sense her discomfort as well when he tensed next to her, his hand coming to a rest at her back.

She was a hero, things like this shouldn't have been a bother to her. She stopped break-ins every day but something about it being her home got under her skin.

As she drew nearer, she could hear someone moving around inside and the door opened suddenly, revealing her mother standing in the doorway.

Ochako heaved a sigh of relief and gave her mother an exasperated smile.

"Oh Ochako, I thought I heard-"

Then she froze mid sentence, her eyes going to the figure that lay behind her daughter.

Ochako felt Katsuki tense further, having never relaxed in the first place.

Shit, she thought to herself. She had forgotten that she hadn't taken the time to call her mom and explain anything yet.

The look of intense fury that spread across her mom's face told her that this was about to be a big problem.

Shitshitshit.

Notes:

A/N: Oh wow! Lookit that! Moofy wrote a NICE chapter that is HAPPY and FILLED WITH RAINBOWS ...and smut. Yall wanted that spanking right?

Sorry it took longer than expected. All kinds of things are coming up.

ALSO OMG 200k words! I wrote a frickin novel!

I've been convinced to have a presence on Twitter so go ahead and follow me if all you want to see is me retreating kacchako stuff and yapping about my fic. moofykitten -shocking, right?

Chapter 31

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"You," her mom spat, an abundance of venom seeping out of just one word.

Katsuki, realizing that this was not an ideal situation for him, stayed silent. True to fashion, he didn't back down or look away from her, but he also didn't put on a condescending or aggressive air either.

"You- You!" her mom spluttered, fuming and at a loss for words. His presence had clearly surprised her and she was trying to put her thoughts together as quickly as possible.

"Mom, wait! I'm sorry I didn't call you," Ochako tried to deescalate the situation, "I was going to but-"

Katsuki silenced her, his hand rubbing at her back, eyes still not leaving her mother.

"What are you doing here with my daughter?" she asked him, not giving him a chance to answer before turning to her and asking the same, "What is he doing here, Ochako?"

"Mom I-"

"I thought you cared about her! I let you in my house! Your mother and I supported you, even after New Years, and then you went and-" she cut herself off with a huff, arranging her thoughts once more.

"You left her. You left her alone, out there just crying! Never said another word to her for months! And I picked up the pieces!" she pointed at him, her voice as harsh as Ochako had ever heard it.

"Do you know what it's like to see your daughter so upset she hardly eats? Do you know how long it took for her to even just-" she had to stop again and Ochako could see she was about to cry.

Tears sprang to her own eyes. She was right. Her mother had watched over her. Had forced her to eat when she was so heartbroken, she didn't even want to breathe. She had worried incessantly when she'd decided to move out and take a job so far away and she found time to come visit almost every weekend.

She'd been so happy for her when she'd heard Nate was coming back. It had probably seemed like a sign of her healing, her taking a job with him.

She should've known her mother would want to see her first thing after getting back. And now she had surprised both her mother and Katsuki with a confrontation neither they nor she was ready for.

"Mama..." she choked out, pulling away from Katsuki to go to her mother, taking her hand.

"Ochako," her mother finally turned to her, voice going gentle as she put a hand to her cheek, "why are you letting him do this to you again?"

Ochako couldn't find the words to reply as she stared into her mother's eyes, seeing the heartbreak there.

But Katsuki was there, at her side again. She hadn't seen him move but he combed his fingers through her ponytail, calming her, before addressing her mother.

"I do care about her. I love her," he told her firmly, his hand finding its place at her waist once more, "I've already told her but I might as well tell you: I shouldn't have hurt her. I can't take back what I did but I can guarantee I won't hurt her again. And, just so you know, she gave me a hard time about it too. She didn't take me back just like that or nothin."

"That must be nice for you to get her back when she was finally coming around," she snapped at him, not at all persuaded, "You weren't there when she seemed like she was wasting away. You didn't see her face when, even after two months passed, she had to realize all over again that you weren't going to show back up to fix everything when you went back to work."

Ochako blushed at this, hanging her head. She had thought she'd hidden her disappointment well when her mother had visited then. She hadn't told Katsuki about that or any of the rawest details of those three months. Things were still so new between them. That pain was still so recent that she didn't want to have to face it again right now.

Katsuki's hand tightened around her.

"Mom, please," she begged.

"Ochako, you don't understand. He has a lot to answer for! You deserve better than a hot-head who will drop you and leave you for no good reason," her mother scolded.

She turned back to address him, "Your mother thought Ochako was good for you. She asked me to trust you with my baby girl and I did because I could tell she cared about you and I thought you might be better than the person you seemed to be. But you proved me wrong, you proved your mother wrong."

Ochako didn't know how Katsuki wasn't getting angry- or at least annoyed- by her mother's tirade. She was being harsh with him.

"Maybe," Katsuki answered, his expression serious, "but I'm trying to make it up to her. I'm not leaving now. Even if you want me to. I will if she does. But only if she does. You don't have to believe me or trust me. She does. Nothing I say is gonna prove anything to you so I'll just prove it by staying and making her happy."

She could see her mother about to come back with something else but she didn't allow her to get it out before saying, "Mama, he's been with me for the past week. He came back every day after work when he could've been relaxing at his apartment. I'm sorry I made you worry like that but... I love Katsuki. You know I do... And you know he loves me too, you saw it with your own eyes. Please just trust that I know what I'm doing."

Her mother's eyes softened toward her, her eyebrows turning up in an expression of utter affection and worry for her only child.

"Baby girl, I don't ever want to see you hurting like that again," she said, reading the determination in Ochako's eyes.

She sighed, pulling her into a hug, "I trust you. But I will murder him if he even makes you cry a single tear." She leveled a glare at him, "Your mom will help. Don't think I'm joking."

Ochako's eyebrows raised at that and she looked back at Katsuki who, to his credit, only looked mildly disgruntled by this information, "Yeah, I know. She's tried a thousand times already for last time."

Her mom just gave a one shoulder shrug as if to say, "Seems fair."

"So you'll give him another chance?" she practically pleaded, searching her mother's eyes for approval.

"Do I even have a choice?" her mother threw back, shaking her head, bemused, "You're an adult now, sweetie. I can't stop you from whatever choice you make, even if I don't agree with it."

That wasn't exactly the kind of support she'd been hoping for from her mother but she knew she'd have to make do with the fact that she wasn't trying to stab him at least.

"Come on, I started making lunch for you. Maybe while we're eating you can tell me how this," she motioned between Ochako and Katsuki, "came about."

She turned to go back inside, pulling Ochako along with her and Ochako took Katsuki's hand in turn, pulling him along too.

Katsuki did not look comfortable with the situation at hand, especially when he'd been forced to sit at the table with them while Ochako recounted what happened between them when she'd been in town to guard Nate. Well she told her the PG version...

Her mom's eyes kept snapping over to assess him every so often, especially when she was being told about his explanation of why he'd left her and how he'd convinced her to give him another chance.

Ochako could see her mother coming to understand her daughter a little bit better as her brow became less furrowed, she was a generally understanding person after all. She had gotten her intense dislike for not being on good terms with people from her.

Things got a little bit more complicated when she had to tell her mother about her decision to not only take a job offer from Mt. Lady while she'd been gone, but also move back to the city.

She watched as her mom chewed at her lip considering what she was being told. This information didn't change much how far she would be living from her parents- it brought them a bit closer actually- but it probably bothered her a bit that she was making such a rash decision.

Dread coiled in her stomach at the thought of having to inform her mother of her next rash decision, knowing she absolutely could not keep that information from her. She was the type to drop in any time she could. She would visit her so there was no keeping her in the dark.

"S-so..." she started off ever so gracefully, and her mom already got a suspicious look in her eye. She knew her too damn well, "about moving..."

"Spit it out, Ochako," her mother cut straight to the point and she saw a new hint of respect come to Katsuki's face at that. Of course he would appreciate that she didn't let her get awkward and talk in circles.

So Ochako just went for it, getting it all out in one breath, like ripping off a bandaid.

"So my landlord won't let me out of the lease until she finds someone else for this place and I can't afford two apartments so I'm gonna be living with Katsuki until this place is leased again."

The look on her mother's face was dumbstruck. Then it slowly melted into incredulity.

"Ochako," she told her in a matter-of-fact tone, "you can't just move in with him. You just started dating."

"Mom, you just said I was old enough to make my own decisions even if you didn't like them!" Ochako complained, not shocked by her mother's response but still knowing she had to disagree.

"Yes but, baby girl, this is a big step," her mom explained as though she were still a child, "You can move back in with us until your apartment is leased."

"Mom! That's still at least an hour away! Katsuki lives right there! Why wouldn't I just take up this opportunity to-"

"Ochako, you don't even know if this is going to last and you're going to put the entirety of your future, your career, and your home in his hands?"

Ochako struggled to argue with her on this. It was an extreme leap of faith. She'd agreed to come back and work with him, live with him, be in a relationship with him. If it didn't work out, she would be a little bit screwed. Sure, she'd still have her job but there was no way she could still work around him. Her life would practically fall to pieces.

She looked across the table at the man she loved, the man she'd been so excited to move in with just an hour ago. He stared back at her, his eyes soft and warm, his face open and accepting. He could see her indecision and her fear. But just looking at him, seeing the way he loved her whole-heartedly, knowing he'd give anything for her and falling into that love despite being terrified of it, her doubts drifted away. She could do this much, take this chance.

She turned back to her mother, her heart determined anew.

"He would do that much and more for me, Mom. I want to stay with him. I trust him. I know you don't completely understand it, even after I explained it to you but I do and this is what I want so please."

Her mother sighed, shaking her head, "I really can't do anything to stop you from these things. I understand how you're feeling about him right now. It's a very intense feeling. And I know you two went through a lot so it's probably even more intense for you. I just don't want you to lose sight of what else you have in your life, sweetie. There's more than just a guy."

Ochako swallowed thickly and nodded her head, "I know, Mama."

Her mother considered for a moment, picking at her nails.

"Ok. Fine. Do it. But here's what I need you to do for me to feel even remotely comfortable with this..."

Ochako sat with Katsuki and her mother for another half hour as she listened and agreed to her mother's list of demands. They weren't too outrageous. She wanted to still be able to visit her daughter (which Ochako thought was a given). She wanted her to visit with her friends more often. She wanted a few more things that Ochako found a little inconvenient but agreed to anyway. But the most concerning for her was that she wanted them to get Mitsuki's approval as well.

Her mother departed her apartment not long after their discussion with a teary goodbye and one final warning to keep her wits about her. Then, she was gone, leaving them alone.

"Well... I'm sorry about all that," Ochako said uncomfortably, "She was upset. It could've probably been a lot worse."

Katsuki just smiled and pulled her to him, running his hands up and down her back.

"It's fine. Things went fine," he assured her, then a more serious expression crossed his face, "You never told me how things went for you in the past three months. Your mom said..."

Her jaw tightened and she looked away, trying to conceal how tender she still was about that time. It had only been just a few days ago after all...

"I didn't really want you to know. I wish she hadn't said any of that," she admitted.

"You thought I'd call you after the suspension was up," he checked with her, making sure he'd gotten that information right.

She still refused to look at him, "I hoped you might. I was dumb. So what?"

Katsuki ran a hand through her hair once more, sighing.

"I wanted to. I thought about it. I didn't know how nice you would be toward me if I ever showed my face to you again so not being sure about it and just running myself ragged every day kept me from trying. Like I told you before, when you showed up and you were... well you were pretty pissed still but then you made it pretty clear that you weren't that pissed, it got a lot harder."

Ochako buried her face into his chest, wanting to just move past this conversation. The wound was still too new to rehash this all.

He must've seen how uncomfortable she was with it and let the subject drop.

They were silent for a few minutes, letting thoughts swirl through each other's heads, then suddenly Katsuki tensed and drew back, a look of dismay on his face.

"Right, so... about my mom..."

1 DAY LATER

"Ochako-chan! Oh my god, I'm so happy my dumbass of a son came back to his senses," Mitsuki sobbed, running out to greet her before they'd even gotten to the door.

"Are you fucking serious, you old hag?" he snapped at her as she scooped Ochako up into her arms, only turning to her son for a hug after she'd held onto her for a few seconds.

But Katsuki, predictably, pushed her away, a scowl marring his features.

"Can you try not to be an embarrassment for five minutes?" he asked, contempt obvious on his face.

Mitsuki ignored him and just began leading Ochako inside, arm around her shoulders.

"I'm so glad you're here, sweetie," she said, giving her arm a light squeeze, "Dinner is almost ready!"

Katsuki had called his mom soon after they'd discussed her yesterday. He'd taken the time to explain how things had been a little tense with her after he'd left Ochako at graduation. When he'd come back from Ground Beta, he'd just pulled his parents away, not explaining anything and his mom, while knowing something had been wrong, hadn't found out exactly what until Ochako's mom had gotten ahold of her and informed her.

She had been outraged to say the least. She'd ranted and raved at him, giving him nothing but attitude for days on end. But when she realized he was set on his decision, she'd given up and just gone back to acting the same way she always did but still got testy if anything even remotely related to the subject was brought up.

He also had not taken the time to inform his parents of recent events. Though, granted, he was less likely to do such a thing.

So when Katsuki had called Mitsuki yesterday and vaguely explained that he and Ochako wanted to come to dinner together, he'd had to hold the phone away from his ear as she'd shrieked all kinds of things Ochako couldn't quite make out.

Sitting at the dinner table now with Katsuki's parents, they would have to take this opportunity to ask permission to live together. All of these hoops they were having to jump through felt so exhausting and having to tell yet another person about this decision who may or may not approve made Ochako anxious.

"Ma," Katsuki began, addressing his mother first, knowing that was where their difficulty would lie.

"Ochako is taking a job with Mt. Lady and moving back in town," he said, getting the easy explanation out of the way.

"Oh great! Will you be working together again?" she asked hopefully.

Ochako nodded and Mistuki's ruby eyes shone brightly with excitement.

"Wait," he stopped her, "There's more so chill out."

She sat back, looking like she was trying to temper her emotions.

"Ochako's landlord isn't letting her out of her lease until someone else takes her apartment so... I offered to let her live with me..."

"WHAT?!" both of Katsuki's parents blurted out.

"Katsuki," his father began, "I don't-"

"Ochako-chan!" Mitsuki turned to her with serious concern in her eyes, "Does your mother know about this? Did you tell her?"

"Yes, Mom," Katsuki sighed, rolling his eyes, "we told her first."

"YOU TOLD HER FIRST?!" she rampaged at him, "INSTEAD OF YOUR OWN MOTHER?!"

"SHE WAS JUST THERE! SO WE TOLD HER!" he bellowed back.

Ochako swapped commiserative glances with Masaru, Katsuki's father.

"Ah..." she cut in, trying to take control of the situation, "Well, the thing is..."

Katsuki and his mother calmed themselves enough to look over at her, listening as she spoke.

"My mom didn't really like the idea," she explained, poking at the pads on her fingertips while still looking between Mitsuki and Masaru, "so she said we needed to clear it with you as well before we went ahead with the idea."

Mitsuki sat back, her rage dissipating, replaced by contemplation.

"I'm not sure if you're ready for that yet, son," his father spoke up, "that's a big step in a relationship and you haven't been together very long."

Ochako's nerves were beginning to feel rattled. She hadn't been sure how Mitsuki would react to the news but she'd never expected any pushback from Katsuki's father.

"It would only be until the other apartment is leased," she backpedaled, "It may not be long at all!"

Both of Katsuki's parents looked deep in thought, worry creasing their brows.

They looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between them, and Ochako saw that there was a great amount of mutual respect and understanding between them. They knew each other inside and out and were coming to a unanimous decision right before her eyes.

For some reason, she felt compelled to reach into Katsuki's lap to squeeze his hand under the table and he returned the gesture, gazing over at her with affection.

"Katsuki!" his mom called, snapping their attention back to her, "Are you sure about this? You're not going to change your mind again? Because if you do and you mess this up again, so help me, boy-"

"I know, old woman!" he snapped, then his eyes softened slightly, "I'm sure. I'm not gonna change my mind."

Mitsuki's attention turned to her then, "And you too, Ochako-chan?"

Ochako gave a small smile and nodded, "I'm sure. I won't change my mind. I love Katsuki."

His hand gripped hers under the table as Mitsuki beamed at her. She'd heard what she wanted. And Ochako could see that Masaru was pleased as well.

"Then fine. Live together, stay together, get married, have a million babies. I don't care!" Mitsuki grinned widely.

Ochako felt her face get extremely hot and she pulled her hand from Katsuki's to cover it with both. Get married? Have babies?!

"Mom! What the fuck?!" Katsuki barked.

"What?" she asked, sounding overly innocent.

1 WEEK LATER

Ochako slowly ground her hips against Katsuki's as she sat astride him, driving him deeper into her core.

Katsuki let out a desperate keening cry, struggling against the shackles holding his hands above his head, attached to the headboard (newly delivered to his apartment yesterday).

She loved when he sounded so pathetic.

"Is that what you wanted?" she inquired, gradually lifting herself off of him inch by torturous inch.

His eyes were an inferno of passion as he stared at her, easing herself at such an agonizing pace up and down his cock.

"Nnnnngh, -chako, please," he gasped, sweat glistening on every inch of his body.

"That's not what you wanted?" she asked as though she were oblivious.

"Faster- please," he rasped out, letting out another desperate groan as she slid back down to seat him deep inside of her again.

She leaned forward, gliding her tongue up his torso to capture that sweet, burning perspiration in her mouth and he shuddered.

"Fuck, Ochako," he panted as her tongue connected with with his nipple, licking at it broadly before taking it in her mouth and sucking gently.

She felt him throb inside of her, clearly enjoying her attention.

"You want it faster?" she asked, moving her hips back up again.

"Yes," he hissed out, pulling at his restraints again. She wondered how wild he would behave if she freed him right now. He'd probably bend her over and fuck her into oblivion.

That was tempting...

But she enjoyed the way his cheeks were reddened and the pleading way he looked up at her as she sat on top of him. She revelled in the power that coursed through her veins.

"Yes what?" she asked him authoritatively.

"Yes please," he growled irritation flashing in his eyes.

She raised an eyebrow, stopping altogether and he whined in agony, dropping his head back onto the pillow. He knew that was the wrong tone of voice.

"Yes. Please," he said more calmly, trying to hold himself together.

"Good boy," she purred and rewarded him with more movement, rolling her hips a little bit faster.

Sitting up again, her body slick with her own sweat and his, she began kneading one of her breasts. Rolling its nipple between her thumb and forefinger, she moaned seductively, watching him the whole time.

Katsuki's eyes burned into her hungrily, knowing he couldn't touch but testing the shackles again, just to express his desires.

"Katsuki," she moaned and felt him throb inside of her again.

She moved faster against him still, starting to ride him in earnest now and deriving a great deal of pleasure from hearing him gasp, his breathing become more labored.

Soon she had to abandon her breast to lay her hands on his chest for balance as she began practically bouncing on top of him, the clapping of their flesh against each other getting louder along with Ochako's moans of pleasure.

"Yes- fuck, Ochako- fuck me," he panted, writhing as best he could beneath her without throwing off her rhythm.

She felt her pleasure mounting, that wave within her building, still slamming down on him, burying him completely to the hilt.

Her cries grew more desperate and higher pitched, each one escaping her lips as she plunged him into her over and over.

"Fuckfuckfuckfuck," he roared, his muscles tensing and back arching, restraints groaning as he pulled against them again, his orgasm overtaking him.

Feeling his cock jerking inside of her as his release came, Ochako rode him harder, bringing herself to the precipice and then crashing over it as his hips jerked up, hitting her most sensitive spot perfectly.

"Katsuki!" she screamed as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her, making her whole body shake and digging her nails into his chest.

"Fuck, yeah, pink-cheeks, cum for me," he growled low, watching her with reverence, his breathing just barely beginning to slow.

Ochako collapsed against him, her energy spent and her hunger that she'd felt ever since watching him emerge from the shower in nothing but a towel, sated. Living together really might be a problem after all if she was going to jump him every time he bathed.

It didn't feel like so much of an issue now though as she finally reached up to release him from his bonds and feeling his massive arms come to wrap around her body.

He nuzzled her hair gently and kissed her temple.

"The headboard was a good choice," he noted, moving his palms in slow circles at her back.

"I told you, I know what I'm doing," she whispered as she closed her eyes to drift off to sleep comforted in his arms.

1 MONTH LATER

"My landlord just called," Ochako said, coming back through the Mt. Office door clutching her phone. Katsuki was there, getting a drink as he waited for her to return.

He looked at her now with curiosity and she had to look away, a small amount of despair pulling at her heart, making it ache.

"She said that she was able to find someone. I'm out of my lease..."

Heartache gripped her as she squeezed her eyes closed, trying- and failing- to keep her sorrow from her face.

Footsteps approached and she felt Katsuki's large, gloved hand at her cheek, willing her to turn her face back to his.

He regarded her with uncertainty, waiting for her to speak on this first.

She couldn't stop her chin from wobbling as she pressed her lips together, begging herself to keep it together.

"I don't-"

"Then stay, floaty," he soothed, running the fingers of his other hand through her ponytail.

She gazed up at him, desperate hope in her eyes, "Am I- Am I allowed to do that?"

A crease formed between his brows as he looked down at her, "Yeah. Why wouldn't you? It's my place- our place. Stay as long as you want. There's no reason not to."

"But we told our parents..."

"Okay, and we're grown ass adults, Ochako. We don't need their permission to keep being happy. What are they gonna do? Rent you another apartment? I don't think so."

Relief flooded her and she pulled him closer to meet his lips with hers.

"Thank you," she breathed as she pulled back.

"Stop thanking me. I want you to stay too, obviously. It's pretty convenient not having to travel across town for a piece of ass," he grinned.

Ochako glared at him, "You're gross."

He shrugged, unoffended as he held the door open for her to exit, then followed her out into the sunlight.

1 YEAR LATER

Ochako stepped inside the empty office space and grinned.

"This is perfect! Don't you think?" she said, turning to Katsuki coming through the door behind her.

"It looks fine," he replied, giving the space a once over.

That had been his response to the space before this and the one before that as well.

"Do you even care what our agency looks like?" she questioned, turning a pouting face on him.

"I care if it's infested with rats, I guess," came his response, shrugging.

"Wow, such high standards," she grumbled sarcastically.

"All this shit is boring anyway," he huffed, moving further in to look out one of the windows, "And we gotta do twice as much paperwork cuz it's both of us."

Ochako snorted in amusement, "As if I'm not the one doing it all..."

Katsuki uncharacteristically had nothing to say back to that as he gazed out over the city. It was a decent view for an office so small.

"So..." she pressed, walking over to join him by the window, "Do you think this is the one?"

He met her eyes, his own crimson ones looking overly uncaring for such a big decision as choosing the first location for their agency. They'd probably be working out of this office for the next few years at least, after all.

"Do you?"

Ochako swept her gaze around the office space again. There were only two offices separate from the rest of the larger space. The rest of it was only enough to fit a handful of desks. It was nowhere near Hawks' or Mt. Lady's agencies' sizes and they wouldn't get locker rooms or anything like that for now. But they got their own bathrooms in it at least, instead of sharing with the rest of the floor.

"I like it," she smiled excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet in front of him.

He gave her a look like he thought she was ridiculous and adorable, then turned his attention back to the cityscape outside the window.

"Then let's get it," he suggested, "Start the paperwork."

She grinned at him, digging in her purse for her phone to call the realtor. Pulling it out, she scrolled through her contacts, finding the number and putting the phone up to her ear.

"Prolly be easier if we were married or somethin though," he muttered under his breath.

Ochako frowned, unsure of what exactly she'd just heard over the ringing of the phone on the other end of the line.

"What was that?" she asked, pulling the phone away from her ear.

Katsuki didn't answer, just kept staring out the window as he tapped out a rhythm on the sill.

Hanging up the phone, Ochako's eyes went from his fingers to his face, still purposefully averted from her.

Her heart picked up speed.

"Did you just..."

He shrugged.

Her breaths became shallow, wishing she'd heard him better the first time as she stepped closer.

His rhythm faltered slightly but he held his position, eyes still fixed on the buildings in the distance.

"Katsuki?" she placed her hand over his, heart pounding as she looked up into his face.

His fingers interlaced with hers and he gripped her hand, finally bringing his eyes back to meet hers.

Her breath caught in her throat and something in her chest squeezed tight. He looked terrified. As scared as the night he'd come to beg her forgiveness such a long time ago.

"You-" breathing became a struggle as her eyes misted over, "You want to- marry me?"

Katsuki gripped her hand tighter looking like he might be sick.

"Do you?"

Ochako let out a small huff of laughter, a single tear escaping her lashes and tracking down her cheek.

"I- I..."- why were words failing her now?!- "Yes, Katsuki! Of course I do!"

He abruptly pulled her to him, his lips crashing against hers.

He kissed her and held her to him as though she were the most precious treasure on earth and she melted into him, clutching his shirt as she circled her arms around his thick body as best she could.

She felt so thankful in that moment. The struggles they'd been through, the hurt they'd felt. It hadn't been for nothing. It had been for this, to be here now. To know there was nowhere else they'd rather be.

"Good," he said, pulling back, and a mischievous grin spread over his face, "Now take off your clothes so I can bang my new fiancé in our new agency office."

Ochako couldn't pull her shirt over her head fast enough.

—

3 MONTHS AFTER THAT

"Are you sure you want to be here?" Ochako asked the soon-to-graduate third-years sitting in front of her desk. Katsuki stood nearby, his arms crossed, leaning on the window sill.

"It's your third year and you're at the top of your class. We just started our agency. I'm sure you had lots of other offers for your work study..." she said humbly.

"Yes! Of course!" Chitose squealed, "Everyone is talking about the Zero-Grav agency! Some of the youngest heroes to ever establish their own agency? Yes! I want to work for you! I want to learn from you!"

"You too, Ito-kun?" she asked, turning to the gruff boy sitting at Chitose's left.

"I never said any of that. I don't think you're all that special," he grumbled, his expression sour.

"Hikaru!" Chitose scolded him but he held his scowl.

"No one asked you to be here, kid," Katsuki snapped, "You guys we're the ones who came to us."

"She asked me to," Ito shot back, "I could be at Endeavor's agency, working with Deku!"

"Then go there!" Katsuki practically yelled, his lips pulling back in a snarl.

"Well, actually," Ochako cut in, trying to calm everyone down, "We work with Deku a lot. He's our friend and we see him often so-"

"So you can hook me up to work with him?" Ito asked haughtily.

Katsuki looked like he was about to throw the kid out the window.

"Hika-chan, you were the one who said you thought Ground Zero was so cool," Chitose corrected him gently.

Ito ducked his head, a blush blooming across his cheeks, "Chitose..."

"Ora ora, what's this now?" Katsuki taunted with a grin, "You think I'm cool? What's the matter, shiny-boy? Too afraid to admit it to my face?"

Ito's hands were in fists, shaking on the chair's armrests.

"Katsuki!" Ochako scolded him as well. Did a mouthy kid really get under his skin this much? Ironic that he didn't see their similarities...

"We'd be happy to have both of you and I will have words with my husband on how to behave like an adult before you come back on Monday," she assured them with a smile.

Katsuki put his hands out, palms up as if to say, "What did I do?"

Chitose smiled brightly and thanked them as the two stood up, Ito still silent, his face unseeable.

Ochako left Katsuki in the office to brood as she walked them to the door.

"Thanks for giving us a chance, Chitose-chan," she told her with a bow.

The pretty brunette smiled sweetly, "I really do look up to you, senpai. And I never got to tell you, I'm really happy you worked things out with Bakugo-senpai. You looked so sad when you told me you were dating Deku. Obviously, I think Deku is awesome and amazing but it didn't seem like you wanted that. I know we haven't gotten to talk much but I hope that can change when we come to work here for the next few months."

Ochako beamed at her kohai, appreciating her honesty and kindness, "Of course, I'd like that too! Make sure to rest up. Things are gonna get pretty intense come Monday."

Chitose nodded and Ito followed her out the door, tossing a glance back behind Ochako's shoulder, where she knew Katsuki was waiting at her office door, then he went through and the door clicked shut.

She turned, leveling a glare at Katsuki, "You could be nicer. You know he's just like you, right? That's the first thing I thought when I saw him on the first day of third year. 'He's like another hot-head I know.'"

"That brat is nothing like me," he said with a scowl.

"Okay, whatever you say, explodey-boy," she replied, walking into his arms, circling her own around his waist.

Katsuki had nothing to say to that and just let her pull him close.

—

ANOTHER 2 YEARS LATER

"So I booked this spot... on this show..." Ochako brought up one night as they were getting undressed for bed.

Katsuki's eyes slid to her and regarded her with reserved distrust.

"Mmk," he said, waiting for her to go on as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"It'll only take a little bit and it's for a good cause..." she said haltingly, buttoning up the front of her pajamas.

She still liked to wear her little pajama sets and nightgowns. Katsuki was more of the type who slept in his boxers.

Katsuki's eyes narrowed at 'for a good cause', "What the fuck did you do?"

Shock spread over her features like she was offended he already didn't trust her. She put a hand to her chest and everything.

"Why do you have to think it's something you wouldn't like?" she snapped.

His eyes narrowed to slits then, very much suspicious now, "Well? What is it then?"

She hesitated, pulling her lips into her mouth and looking away uncomfortably.

He just stared her down, waiting on her answer.

Finally she let out a large burst of air, as if she'd been holding her breath the whole time. That was probably close to being the case.

"Fine, I booked us on a game show with a few other heroes to raise money for children in need. And we're probably gonna have to meet at least one. Child I mean."

"You did fucking WHAT?!" Katsuki practically screeched.

Ochako winced and grimaced slightly, expecting his response to be something like that.

"It's for a good cause!" she repeated, like that would persuade him.

"I don't give a fuck what it is. I'm not doing that shit, floaty. You know I'm not," he spat, looking like he meant it.

"We don't have a choice!" she argued, "I already told them we're coming!"

"Well they're gonna have to be disappointed, cuz I'm not gonna fucking go," he growled irritably.

Ochako felt a glimmer of anger spark inside of her at his comment. She knew that she probably should've asked him first but she'd also known he would not have said yes, much like how he was saying it now. She had to corner him with it for him to do it.

"It's not that bad," she tried to reason with him, "We'll just have to be there for a few hours and play a trivia game or something. Please."

He glared at her, jaw set. His mind was made up.

"Mina and Kirishima are gonna go!" she tried again.

"Then go with them!" he retorted.

Now she was getting really upset. She'd thought he would take some persuading but his sense of responsibility would win out in the end. She had been mistaken.

"Why are you being such an ass?!" she bit out.

"I said I'm not doing it, Ochako," he replied more calmly but still clearly displeased, "You should've asked me first."

Ochako set her mouth in a pout, stomping her way to her side of the bed and getting under the covers with a huff. She turned her back to his side of the bed, scooching as far to the edge as she could. Was she being childish? Yes. Should she have asked him first? Yes. But she just really wanted to do this. She liked to help people in any way she could and this had the added benefit of getting their names out there even more. She'd thought he would at least see how much she wanted them to do it.

Katsuki let out a frustrated sigh of his own as she felt his weight on the other side of the mattress.

"You can't just force me into shit like this, babe," he said, the anger slowly ebbing from his voice.

She didn't answer, her emotions still feeling raw, knowing she'd just snap at him again if she said anything right now.

"Floaty..." he murmured, calming, comforting.

She tried to stay angry, she still wanted to do this, she didn't want to disappoint anybody. Could she even call them to cancel now? But her anger was melting away, much like it was in his voice.

Now she was left just feeling hurt and dejected.

She turned to him, keeping the pout on her lips.

"You suck," she told him, more sadness in her words than rage.

He moved closer to her, reaching out to put a hand to her waist, stroking her side softly.

"I know," answered, not seeming too upset about it.

He pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her sweetly on the forehead.

Was he doing this to assuage her disappointment? Why was it working so well? Dammit, for someone so adept at pissing people off, he seemed to know really well how to calm her down.

She snuggled up to him, laying her forehead to his chest as he began running deft, caressing fingers through her hair.

They lay this way for a few minutes, basking in each other's presence and warmth. Then Ochako looked up into his eyes again, her own looking wide and sad. Her doe eyes, as Katsuki called them.

She felt more than heard his breath catch as she was still pressed close to him.

"Katsuki," she pleaded, her eyes fixed on his, pinning him down, "Do this for me... and I'll let you do it."

She heard him swallow thickly as he kept his eyes glued to hers, starting to look a little like cornered prey.

"Do what?" he breathed. It sounded like he already got the drift, though.

She reached up, pulling his hand from her hair and dragged it down, down, down her back until it landed on the large swell of her ass.

Still looking into his eyes, she saw a fire blaze to life and the realization that her trap was sprung.

"God fucking dammit," he whispered, looking like he couldn't decide on if he was pissed that he'd been played so well, or excited about the treat he was about to receive.

"Fine," he growled, gripping her ass firmly and shoving her hips into his as he ground his already hard lengthl into her.

Ochako sighed with desire then squeaked when he abruptly flipped her onto her stomach, settling himself above her after digging in the side table drawer a second and coming out with lube.

"Oh... This will be worth it," he grinned before ripping her pajama bottoms off with fervor.

3 YEARS LATER

"Okay sweetie, your next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can, just bearing down," the OB said from between Ochako's legs as she lay back against a bevy of pillows, knees bent toward her chest, "Can you do that for me?"

As sweat beaded on her brow, she nodded, trying to concentrate on not hurling her guts up. She was numb from her waist down and could hardly feel anything save for unsettlingly uncomfortable pressure in her lower abdomen. But something in her stomach roiled and made her feel like she might lean over and puke whatever minimal contents were left in it as she awaited her final moments before bringing her and Katsuki's first (and, due to their dedication to their hero work, their only) addition to their family into the world.

They had agreed only one year ago to try to have a baby. She would always remember the light of excitement that came into his eyes when she finally threw the last of her birth control pills away.

She hadn't been able to tell if he was more excited about the fun he would get to have trying to make the baby or the prospect of her wanting to have his baby. But it had only taken three short months for those two pink lines to show up on her pregnancy test.

She'd screamed and danced and jumped into his arms, kissing him passionately.

He'd pouted for a little while that the every day (sometimes multiple times per day, when she was feeling frisky) sex was now over.

But he had come around to accept it finally when she'd placed his hand on her abdomen, still flat, but now growing a life inside and said, "You're gonna be a daddy, Katsuki."

Something changed in those crimson eyes forever when he came to that realization and he'd made long, sensual, romantic love to her again that night in celebration.

A large, warm hand petted her hair and Katsuki planted a simple, sweet kiss atop her head.

"You got this," he murmured into her hair.

She nodded again, still trying not to hurl.

A pressure mounted in her abdomen she heard the nurse say, "Okay! Here we go!"

Katsuki returned to her right leg, being one of two people holding them. The other person being a nurse at her left.

"Take a deep breath in!"

Ochako filled her lungs to capacity.

"Now push!"

She beared down with all of her might.

"Pushpushpushpushpush!" the doctor coaxed.

Ochako pushed and pushed, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut, letting a savage growl emanate from behind her teeth.

"Good! Good! You can relax now, Ochako-chan," the doctor instructed.

She relaxed and tilted her head back.

"You're doing amazing! The baby is already crowning! This won't take long! You're so strong, momma!" the nurse told her.

"Holy. Shit," she heard Katsuki's rough voice grit out.

Ochako's gaze went to him but his eyes were on her nether regions, presumably the top of the baby's head. His face was white as a sheet.

She heard the doctor clear her throat, looking at one of the other nurses assisting her and flicking her eyes over toward him.

The nurse moved next to him, although she didn't do more than that.

Another contraction began.

"Okay, again!" the doctor ordered, "Deep breath in!"

Ochako did as she was bid, pushing all over again.

After that push, she looked up at him but he was still staring mouth agape.

Another round of pushing and the doctor told her excitedly, "The head is out! You're doing great! That was the hard part, one more push and you'll be done!"

Katsuki was still hanging in there but was more of a statue than a support figure right now.

"Okay! Last push! Give me all you got! Pushpushpush!"

Ochako pushed again for the last time, giving the last of her strength and energy to it.

"Fuckfuckfuck," Katsuki wheezed out, though Ochako could hardly pay attention to him.

"Perfect!" The doctor cried, "She's out! It's a beautiful baby girl!"

Katsuki fell to his knees, face-down on the bed.

The doctor nodded to the nurse who moved to Ochako's side, taking his place.

"Well... I guess we'll just... cut the cord ourselves..." the doctor sighed and made a quick snip, handing the baby away to be weighed and measured.

"Are you kidding? Did- did he just..." Ochako began to ask.

"It happens at least once a day," the doctor told her, unworried, "he'll come around in a few minutes."

"But... we're heroes. He's seen all kinds of horrible things," she reasoned.

"This isn't quite the same," she told her calmly as she pushed around at her abdomen some more for reasons she was sure she didn't want to know about, "The excitement and high emotions paired with the shock of seeing someone giving birth for the first time can be overwhelming for some partners. We can lay him down somewhere if you'd like."

Ochako shook her head with a distinct lack of sympathy, "Leave him."

When Katsuki jolted awake 10 minutes later, the doctor and nurses had left the room and she held their daughter, Setsuki, to her breast, nursing her for the first time.

"What-"

She silenced him with a glare.

"You passed out! You loser!" she accused at a low volume.

A flush came to his cheeks and he ducked his head in shame.

Her heart melted, though, as his eyes went to the little round face with a shock of blonde hair at her breast, peeking out from its pink swaddle, and softened with undeniable love.

"A girl, eh?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Setsuki," he wondered at her, pushing up from the ground.

He made his way around the bed to stand at her side and Ochako extricated the infant from her breast, Setsuki beginning a little whine of distress.

"Here, Daddy," she offered, lifting her for him to take.

Katsuki took the infant in his arms, supporting her just like they'd been taught and she settled again, wrestling a tiny fist from her swaddle to suck on.

He smiled, "Hi, chubby-cheeks."

Ochako's chest warmed and her heart felt full. That smile he only reserved for her. The one that made her heart stir all those years ago on the stair of that shrine. The one that left her breathless even now.

Not just for her anymore. But for their daughter. For the newest love of his life.

And her eyes filled with tears at knowing what an incredible man he was.

She could definitely bear sharing that smile with one more girl...

**BONUS** (I hope yall wanted to see what that kiss between Nate and Deku looked like cuz I know I did! And you also get a fun peek into the dynamic between the two.)

Midoriya Izuku

Izuku sighed and stretched his limbs as he awoke in a large, plush bed, surrounded by white sheets.

As he slowly drifted back to his senses, he recalled the night before and felt a tiny smile curl at his lips, his heart squeezing lightly.

Nate had invited him to come to the penthouse again for dinner but had offered to have it just be them. He assured him that he wasn't trying any "funny business", he just wanted some more one on one time, to get to know each other better.

Izuku had liked texting with him ever since Ochako had somewhat forced his number on Nate. They corresponded almost every night and most days too.

It had started out with Nate just saying "hi" and asking him how work was going not long after he'd first given him his number. Izuku's stomach had done flip-flops when he'd responded, his hands shaking as he typed.

Then, Nate had texted him again right before their dinner that night, saying they might be late because there was some kind of obnoxious delay and they'd talked a little bit more, asking him what else he did for fun besides work.

Their dinner had been exciting and nerve-wracking, Izuku feeling almost hyper as he chatted with the beautiful man next to him, almost completely forgetting about Ochako and Kacchan at the table sometimes.

He'd been practically spiraling into despair about possibly never seeing him again when Nate invited him to dinner the next night as well.

And then there was last night... After Ochako had left, he'd cooked dinner for them, then they'd sat on the couch to watch a movie. To say Izuku had felt sick with nerves was an understatement as they sat apart, but not at opposite ends of the couch to watch a hero movie and he'd wrung his hands together until they were practically raw.

At some point, Nate must've noticed because he calmly, nonchalantly reached one of his soft warm hands over to lay atop his. Izuku had stilled at that, his heart practically stopping and then racing a mile a minute when he looked over to see Nate's clear blue eyes crinkled as he smiled at him.

He'd moved closer, his hip hitting Izuku's and he'd thought his whole body was on fire with the contact. He hadn't done anything more than that and his hand stayed laying atop Izuku's own rougher, scarred ones for the rest of the movie.

Why- How was he so nice? How did he seem like he understood the right thing to say and do without being told? How was his presence so frenzying, yet so soothing at the same time?

It occurred to him that Nate, being Ochako's friend and confidant, probably knew a lot about their former relationship. Probably even knew about their disastrous attempts at sexual encounters and how awkward he'd been. The thought embarrassed him and he wondered if that bothered the prince at all.

Izuku rolled himself out of bed and dressed, knowing Ochako, and probably Kacchan hot on her heels, would be coming back soon.

He'd stayed in a separate room last night, despite the closeness they'd shared over the movie. He was fearful and shy about moving quickly in any respect as far as a relationship was concerned. Was that what they were doing here? Was that what was happening between them? He didn't even know. He knew he'd liked Nate since the first time their eyes had met and that dimpled smile had shot his heart through. And it seemed like Nate liked him too but there had been no real words on what his intent was with him and Izuku didn't like being stuck in limbo like this.

A knock came at his door as he was buttoning up his shirt and he answered it to find Nate, his hair loose and out of its usual gelled state. Izuku thought his heart might've jumped to his throat seeing that gorgeous face with that raven hair hanging across it. He suspected that the man might be gelling it back to keep from possibly giving people heart attacks looking like this.

"Hi," Nate said, smiling brightly, as he often did. That smile was a balm to his soul.

"H-hi," Izuku muttered awkwardly, his cheeks heating.

"I think Uravity might be back soon," he said, confirming Izuku's own suspicions.

The green-haired boy nodded.

Nate pushed a little bit further inside, making Izuku step back to make room for him.

"I hope you had fun last night- ah- Is it okay if I call you Izuku instead of Deku? I know I call Uravity by her hero name but that just seemed like the respectful thing to do but I was hoping... with you..."

It was the first time he'd sounded unsure and Izuku was quick to waylay any concerns.

"Yes!" he asserted a little too loudly at first and shrunk back slightly, embarrassed, "Sorry... I mean, yes. That's fine."

The smile on Nate's face grew wider and he stepped a little closer, "Okay... Izuku... I hope you enjoyed last night."

Izuku nodded excitedly, his face heating further.

He stepped closer still and Izuku tried to take another back, unsure if he wanted to come further into the room, but Nate caught his hand and kept him in place, the smile on his face fading away as his sapphire eyes became more serious.

"I hope... this doesn't scare you away," Nate intoned slowly, cautiously, "I wanted to do this last night but I thought you might freeze up or push me away... Now I just..."

He didn't finish his thought before he closed the distance between them, brushing his lips lightly against Izuku's before pulling back again.

Izuku thought his heart might be trying to beat its way out of his ribcage and he was trying to remember how to breathe. The kiss had been so soft, gentle, cautious, like Nate knew he was skittish about these things.

"No..." he squeaked out, "No, I'm okay."

It was Izuku now who moved forward, still anxious and unsure but wanting to show he wasn't running away. He kissed Nate more firmly, eliciting a surprised gasp from the man, who quickly responded in kind and gingerly, slowly pulled Izuku a little bit closer.

They jumped apart, both of their faces flushing when they heard the ding of the elevator.

They stared at each other in silence as they heard two sets of footsteps emerge from the elevator, one light and lithe, the other heavy and tromping.

"You'll come again tonight?" Nate whispered quickly as he saw the urge to dart reach Izuku's emerald eyes.

Izuku nodded, unable to get enough air in to speak before he covered his burning face as best he could with one hand and flew out the door, passing Ochako and Kacchan by with hardly so much as a "goodbye" and catching the elevator before it left.

He let out a massive burst of air as the doors closed and wiped shaky fingers across his brow.

This was... this was something intense and completely new. And Izuku loved it and was completely terrified at the same time.

But he knew he would come back here again tonight. And probably the next night as well.

He could hardly wait.

Notes:

A/N: And, with that, this baby is practically complete! PLEASE HOLD for the epilogue, coming probably ~tomorrow? I hope you loved this chapter because my heart was SO FULL writing it. I can't even right now.

Chapter 32: Epilogue

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Bakugo Ochako was deeply, undeniably, unfathomably in love with Bakugo Katsuki.

She had been for years.

When had been the first time she'd realized it? Probably far later than she should've, that day she'd won the race near the last week of high school.

But she'd definitely felt it even earlier. Maybe that New Year's night he'd confessed his own feelings for her? That time he'd almost kissed her on their last day of summer break? Or maybe it had been even before that. Maybe when he'd cornered her in a kitchenette and had told her he wasn't looking to be a mere distraction for her.

She didn't know exactly when those feelings had become so strong for her. But she knew she loved him now and she knew that would never change.

Ochako stood on stage in front of a crowd of people, all seated around beautifully decorated tables, eyes focused solely on her.

"Hi," she began, swallowing her nerves as she had been trained, "For those of you who don't know, my name is Bakugo Ochako, or Uravity for those who know me as a hero."

She glanced to her right, seeing Katsuki seated at a table near the front along with many of her friends from school, now also heroes she often worked with.

Katsuki raised his eyebrows at her, willing her to continue.

"I've known Nate and Deku for... well, quite a few years now. I was close friends with Deku throughout most of high school and I met Nate when he hired me during my summer internship at a hero agency."

Feeling more confident now that she'd gotten going, her eyes turned to Nate and Deku who were sitting side by side at the table in front of her, their fingers intertwined.

"I am fortunate to consider the both of them my best friends and I feel honored that they asked me to speak here at their wedding reception."

She looked back out over the crowd then, "I introduced Nate and Deku not long after we graduated from high school and I could tell that there was something special between them the moment they laid eyes on each other. And since I knew Deku would be afraid to make any moves, I kinda forced him to give his number to Nate and asked him to come to dinner with us."

A small smile came to her lips as she remembered that moment and the blush that had spread across Deku's cheeks

She breathed deeply, calming herself once more before going on, "I guess the rest is history because they got together not long after that."

Looking back at the couple she spoke directly to them, "You know I love the both of you as if you were my own brothers. You're both such incredibly kind and caring people and deserve every happiness. I can't tell you how ecstatic I am that you found it in each other. I thought so from the very start."

Both men smiled at her and she smiled back, "Thank you, Nate for being there for me through some of the hardest times I've had to deal with and trusting me despite my lack of experience. Thank you, Deku, for inspiring me to be a great hero like you and being my friend through some of the most awkward stages of my life in high school. I wish you two nothing but happiness."

She stepped down from the stage to thunderous applause and took her seat with a smile, the music for the reception starting back up.

"That was nice!" Mina complimented her, "Super sappy. I'm sure their parents like it."

Ochako glanced over at the front table again to find Deku's mom sitting next to All Might, who had also taken up a seat next to her at the ceremony. She guessed it made sense. It was pretty well known All Might was Deku's mentor and somewhat of a father figure. Of course he'd want to be here.

On the other end of the table, a refined and kindly couple were sitting. Nate's parents, the king and queen. They seemed happy to be here and Ochako saw the beautiful woman- whom Nate had gotten his looks from- wipe a tear away once or twice. She was so unmistakably proud of her son, it warmed Ochako's heart.

All of these parents (and parental figures) seemed very pleased with her speech and had huge smiles on their faces as they continued conversation with their sons.

She was so glad they'd been able to make it to the wedding. Her mother had pushed them to go and have fun in Croatia for a few days, guaranteeing one year old Setsuki would be fine for a little while without Mommy and Daddy.

Ochako wasn't quite sure when her mother had finally stopped giving Katuski the cold shoulder but it had been some time between her crying to her over the phone that they were engaged and when they'd managed to break the top 10 heroes in Japan less than a year later. Now she practically treated him like family and Ochako imagined she'd been wanting to do so with the gruff boy from the moment he'd sat on that couch with her.

Ochako turned back to her table and grabbed her glass of champagne, drinking the whole flute down. Even though she'd kept it together on stage, her nerves were shot now. Not to mention, this stuff was far more delicious than whatever wine Nate had offered to her in the penthouse those years ago. It was sweet, almost fruity. She doubted it had hardly any alcohol in it at all. It just went down so smoothly, there was no way it could be as bad as the wine or the vodka.

"Calm down there, pink-cheeks," Katsuki warned, "You know you haven't had any alcohol in, what, seven years now?"

"It's fine," she brushed him off, "This stuff doesn't seem that stiff and we're about to eat dinner so it'll be fine."

Katsuki's eyebrows notched up in his customary, "You're wrong but you'll figure it out" expression but he let the subject go as dinner was being served.

She had another glass with dinner and another glass after that with dessert. It was really good stuff and, she'd been right, it wasn't that effective.

After polishing off yet another glass of champagne, the music was turned up, signalling that dessert was finished and the rest of the party was beginning. Ochako quickly found herself swaying with the melody and wanting to dance.

She pulled the sleeve of Katsuki's jacket, giving him a toothy smile, "Dance with me."

He gave her a look of bewilderment.

"Dance? No, I don't dance, floaty."

"Please?" she whined, sticking her bottom lip out and giving him the saddest eyes she could.

He eyed her, making an odd face as he took her in.

"I'll dance with you, Ochako-chan," Mina said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the dance floor before she had a chance to respond.

It was then that Ochako realized that maybe she hadn't been so right about that champagne afterall. She hadn't really felt it until she tried to move her feet, but her whole body felt slightly numb now and her mind had a certain fuzziness she couldn't shake.

But, for some reason, she didn't feel all too concerned about it right now. If anything, she felt wonderful, excited to party with her friends.

She moved with Mina on the dance floor along with the rest of the crowd that had amassed, their bodies swaying to the beat and she was feeling light and free. Suddenly, she saw a soft blue dress floating toward them and heard Toru's voice laughing along with them as they danced to the rhythm of the upbeat music.

Kirishima joined them then and she laughed at some of the more awkward moves he attempted. He didn't seem to be taking it all too seriously, though.

Then came Kaminari. And not long after that, Momo, followed by Kyoka. Soon, Ochako didn't even know who was dancing around her nor did she care how they were dancing as she felt her body melding to the beat of the song.

Mina took her hand once more to begin twirling her around the floor, dipping her sometimes and them roaring with laughter when she almost tipped all the way over.

When she was upright on her feet again, Ochako looked Mina in the eyes, then grabbed her face suddenly.

Mina got a slightly concerned look in her eyes, but kept her smile, "Ochako-chan?"

""Mina!" Ochako spoke over the music, "You've always been such a good friend to me, I love you!"

"Oh, Ochako, sweetie, you are drunk but I love you too," Mina said, pulling her hands away and holding onto them, her eyes less concerned now.

"You're so pretty, Mina," Ochako told her breathily, feeling overly affectionate.

"Thank y-"

But she completely froze as Ochako pushed her lips against hers in a sloppy kiss, then pulled away just as fast.

"Ochako, you are VERY messed up right now," Mina laughed, not taking offense.

Ochako made a pouty face, knowing she was being inappropriate but also wanting to seek out more affection.

Mina hadn't been the one she was looking to kiss, she realized groggily.

She went to the next person she could find, latching onto Momo's arm and dancing with her for a few seconds.

She heard Mina calling to her and to Momo but before Mina could get to them, she pulled Momo in for a wet, mostly unpleasant kiss as well, shocking the poor woman and making her entire face flush.

"Ochako-chan, are you-"

But Ochako pushed away from her also. She wasn't the one either.

Hearing a more masculine voice, she butted up against Kaminari who turned to her with a huge grin. He looked like he was having fun.

"Ochako-chan!" he called over the din and pulled her in to dance with him, Kyoka, and Toru.

His grin died completely when she gripped his head almost brutally and forced his lips against hers.

He didn't even have time to react before she pushed him away again, hearing Toru's peals of laughter and Kyoka looking mildly amused as Kaminari spoke in a panicked voice, "I did not kiss her! Someone tell Katsuki that I did not kiss her!"

"Ochako," she heard a rough voice growl into her ear as a large hand wrapped around her wrist and began pulling her off the dance floor.

"Oh my god, Katsuki, I DID NOT KISS HER!" she heard Kaminari yell, his voice getting smaller with each step away.

"Am I dead? Am I gonna die?" was the last thing she could make out before Katsuki pulled her all the way off the dance floor to their table which was now devoid of any occupants.

"Sit," Katsuki barked at her but she refused, deciding instead to pull him in too and pushed her lips against his.

She sighed into his mouth. This was the one she'd been looking for. She didn't know now how she'd gotten it all confused. It had to have been all the dancing and the music and- how many glasses had she drunk again?

When he pulled back from her, his voice sounded calmer.

"Sit," he commanded, pushing her into a chair and pulling another alongside hers, "You are the sloppiest drunk in existence, angel-face."

She grinned at him though, not really caring what he was saying, just enjoying looking at his handsome face.

He pushed a glass of water toward her, "Drink this."

She did, not wanting to disappoint her beautiful husband.

After taking a few gulps of water she let out a huge breath of air and said, "Ugh, I'm so glad I made you fall in love with me. You're the best husband ever."

He rolled his eyes but they definitely glittered with a certain amount of pride.

"I told you to ease off the glasses," he admonished, his voice mostly soft now, "You should go back to the hotel room and sleep it off."

Ochako scrunched her face up in a stubborn pout, "But they haven't even thrown the bouquet yet..."

"They're not gonna throw a bouquet, floaty! There's no bride!"

She slouched down in her chair, defeated. She wanted to party more. She wanted to spend more time with her friends outside of work. Now she was being dragged away for "being bad."

"Fine," she relented, letting him pull her up again, liking the feel of his muscled arm around her waist.

After a few hurried goodbyes, he led her out of the ballroom and into an elevator to travel up to their room.

Katsuki sighed heavily, rubbing at his temple, "I can't believe I'm having to say this, but you're gonna have to apologize to those guys tomorrow."

"What?" she asked, confused, "Who?"

"Fucking who-" he scoffed, "Ashido, Yaoyorozu, Denki! You assaulted them with your lips!"

Ochako thought he might be right but she also found herself feeling put out by the idea. Did they not like her kisses?

She decided to ask her husband this question. He seemed to be a fan after all.

The elevator dinged, the doors sliding open and he ushered her through them quickly, almost a little too rough. Then, began half walking her, half carrying her down the hall.

"That's not the point!" he retorted, grunting as he pulled her down the hallway step by step, "It's not about whether they liked your kisses! They didn't want them! Now Denki thinks I'm gonna murder him cuz you kissed him right in front of my face!"

That thought jarred her and terror seeped through her veins, her wide eyes gazing up at him regretfully.

"Are you- Are you gonna murder him?"

"What the fuck? No! I'm not gonna- Ugh, you're impossible to reason with like this. I forgot how you acted when you're drunk," he said, shaking his head.

As they approached their room, she pulled away from him, nearly stumbling in the process.

Katsuki reached out to try and balance her but she slapped his hands away, feeling offended by his words.

"So?" she snapped, pushing him back a pace, "What are you saying? You don't like when I drink?"

"That's not what I'm saying, floaty," he growled with annoyance, "I'm saying you get a little handsy and extremely belligerent."

She snorted, her anger flaring a little brighter.

"Well fuck you too!" she slurred, pushing him again.

Yeah, he was right and she couldn't think of anything smarter to say back right now so that was what she went with.

He looked down at her, irritation sparking in his own eyes as well.

"You better cut it out, Ochako," he warned, his voice sounding rougher now, deeper.

"Or what?" she snapped, pushing him again, his back hitting the door to their room and he bared his teeth at her dangerously.

Recognition shot through her. They'd been here before, in this exact situation. And looking into his glowing molten eyes, she could tell he recalled it too.

"What are you gonna do? Grab my neck? Push me against a wall? Bite me?" she said, slower now, her anger petering out as her body filled with heat.

Katsuki looked her up and down as his chest heaved, his blazing eyes finally meeting hers again, "You want me to?"

She gave him her own scorching stare as she pushed him against the door again, a thud sounding at his back.

"Yes," she replied like a taunt and pushed herself up on her tiptoes to meet his lips, already waiting for her, responding with enthusiasm as he wrapped one arm around her, the other, fumbling with the keycard in the lock.

Finally getting it open, they pushed their way into the room and slammed the door, stumbling toward the bed.

This scene was so familiar and it was practically poetic to be reenacting one of their first sexual encounters as Ochako landed on top of him with a tiny grunt, never taking her lips from his.

She ran her hands over his body and he explored hers as well as if it were all brand new.

This time, however, when Ochako finally reached for the button of his pants, he definitely did not stop her.