Part 3: Where My Heart Is
"It's so weird to think that in a couple months I won't be coming around here anymore." Midoriya's thoughts remarked to themselves as he passed by door after door in the apartment complex; the sky outside the windows turning golden with the setting sun. "I can already see myself getting off at the same train stop out of habit..."
Outside of the old dorm rooms and the occasional hotel when one of them was away on business he and Uraraka had basically lived their whole lives in apartment buildings. An actual house would be a major change for both of them, let alone one that they had picked out together. There'd been a few times where they had actually considered backing out. It wasn't a huge home or anything but they still found themselves a little intimidated by all that extra space and what they could possibly do with it. But it was too good a deal to pass up and they committed.
Besides...Midoriya's blushed as he did every time he thought of it...the image of carrying his bride over the doorstep into a home all their own? It was hard for him not to be completely captured by the idea.
Finally arriving at the door bearing their number, Midoriya inserted the key into the doorknob.
"Hm? It's already open?" He said in surprise, feeling no resistance from the lock when he turned it. "So that means..."
He pushed open the door with deliberate quietness. It was a short trek down a small hall before he'd get to the kitchen but he could already hear the clinking of moving jars. Even if there was no noise whatsoever he'd still have known she was here. She left her shoes on the mat.
The sight Midoriya walked in on was almost comedic, especially when Uraraka finally turned away from the refrigerator and gave a sudden freeze upon seeing him; a single slice of toast with jam on it still hanging from her mouth.
There was a long few seconds of silence between them, allowing Midoriya to fully take it all in. The counter that was a mess of flour. The pile of unevenly cut onions on the cutting board. The rice cooker with its lid wide open as the water hadn't been added yet. And the package of pork in Uraraka's hands that she'd been fighting to get open as she'd was taking it out of the fridge. Between all that and the very wrinkled t-shirt and shorts that looked like she'd just thrown them on without thinking as soon as she got home (which naturally she still looked really good in), it would seem that she'd been in a hurry.
"You...started making dinner?" Midoriya asked to finally break the awkwardness.
Getting her second wind, Uraraka tilted her head back to quickly force her toast into the rest of her mouth, chewing it fast and swallowing just as so that she could finally speak.
"That's-(COUGH!) That's right! And there's nothing you can do about it!" Uraraka declared with a point of her finger, smiling oddly triumphantly for someone as disheveled looking as she was right now.
"But you just got back from your trip."
"Doesn't matter. I'm still within the rules we set." Uraraka smirked as she set the pork down on the counter, feeling that assured of her victory. "Whoever is already home is the one who should be cooking dinner while the other relaxes, and you got here after me."
What she was referring to was a little agreement the two had eventually needed to come to, odd as it was given the context.
The thing about heroes is that they had a natural urge to want to take care of everyone around them, and that feeling doesn't become any less so when it comes to the person they're dating. Quite the opposite, really. So imagine what it's like for two heroes dating each other.
It never resulted in any kind of major fight or argument or anything of the like. It was amazing, really, to have someone who loved him so much she actively wanted to do things for him like make him dinner or start a bath for him so that he could relax after work.
The problem was how often Uraraka would try to do stuff like that despite her own exhaustion from her own job. Just like when they were younger she placed herself as a secondary priority, thus why Midoriya pushed to be the one taking care of her, arguing she was the one who needed it more.
...Which naturally resulted in her calling him out for trying to do so much regardless of whatever kind of day he'd had, how late he had to stay at the school, how much paperwork he'd be doing after she went to bed, and so on.
Essentially, they were fighting over who got to take care of and pamper the other.
Eventually, the two came to an agreement. Whoever was already home, they would be the one who cooks dinner. It wasn't a perfect solution but it was one neither could fully argue wasn't a mostly fair compromise. Whoever was getting home later was usually the one who had the longer day and, for their own health, needed to take some time to unwind.
In Midoriya's opinion he'd gotten the better end of the deal, at least as far as he viewed it. His job at UA meant he was mostly stationary, whereas especially after her work with Quirk Counseling got off the ground Uraraka had to frequently travel, meaning he got to be the one cooking for her more often than not. Once he returned to Pro Hero work the scales started to be a little more balanced but overall it was still mainly in his favor.
Evidently, this was the counterattack strategy Uraraka had come up with in retaliation.
"You're kind of violating the spirit of the agreement." Midoriya pointed out, hands on his hips in a huff.
"I sure am." Uraraka playfully stuck her tongue out at him; a habit he was pretty sure she'd picked up from Ashido over time. "But I still haven't broken it, so there's nothing you can do about it."
"And to think All For One considered himself a demon lord. He's got nothing on you."
"One of the best ways to know how to fight villains is to learn from their tactics. Consider this a lesson that'll make you an even better hero, sensei."
Oh. It's on now.
Uraraka went back to the rice cooker to fill it with water, moving at a more casual pace since she no longer was rushing to get dinner done before he'd get home. However...something was off. She'd been expecting Midoriya to continue trying to argue with her or, though it was more unlikely, to give in and go to their bedroom to change, accepting that he'd lost this round.
But neither possibility occurred. Instead, Midoriya just simply and calmly made his way to the refrigerator, doing nothing to keep her attention off of him.
"What are you up to, Izuku?" Uraraka watched him with a raised, suspicious eyebrow.
Opening up the door, Midoriya carefully moved and rearranged the various contents out of the way, after something in the far back.
"Wait a minute... Did you move everything up to the front so that you could hide something in there?" Uraraka said in realization.
In response, Midoriya just gave sly smile and continued his efforts, working his way through until, finally, he pulled out a plastic wrap covered plate. Along its surface were several white balls.
Actually...now that her eyes were adjusting to the light reflecting off them, it kind of looked like they had a little bit of pink to them.
"Hold on...! Those are-!" Uraraka uttered in complete shock.
"Strawberry Daifuku." Midoriya puffed up his chest, saying his statement with pride that matched Uraraka's own earlier display. "The perfect dessert to follow Katsudon."
There was not even a second of hesitation before he found Uraraka slamming into his body, the sensation being somewhere between a hug and a tackle.
"You-!Are-! AWESOME! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!" She cheered happily into his chest as she squeezed him tightly. Even after all these years and sweets were still her weakpoint.
Not that he was immune to his own, of course. He was pretty sure he could taste his heart with how far up his throat it'd just jumped. It was taking all his will to not just melt in her arms right now.
"But..." Midoriya forced himself to finally spit out, causing Uraraka to look up at him as he held the plate up and out of reach. "We'll only have it for dessert if you let me help with the cooking. Otherwise I'll be so hungry in the meantime that I might end up eating them all myself. I was the one who made them, after all. I would be within my rights."
"You're-...You're holding the Daifuku hostage?!" She let her breath in horror.
"You're not the only one who can learn from the tactics of villains. I teach whole lessons on dealing with them."
Uraraka's cheeks puffed up in a pout, though she still refused to remove her chin from his chest or to stop looking up into his eyes. Credit where it was due, such an adorable sight was definitely doing damage to his resolve. As the moment dragged on Midoriya felt his loss was rapidly approaching and that he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
But mercifully...
"...Fine." Uraraka finally gave in, eyes shifting off to the side in shame of her defeat. "But only for the sake of the hostages."
"Of course."
She wasn't going to let him off that easy though, making sure to stare at him with the biggest amount of sulk she could muster, forcing him to counter with a face full of smugness; probably trying to replicate what he'd seen on Bakugo's over the years.
Finally, after a few more seconds of clashing wills, the dual snorts let out; a signal of them both breaking.
Midoriya could not put the plate down on the counter fast enough. Their kitchen was filled with laughter as he threw his arms around her, their foreheads touching as he spun her around.
"Welcome home, Ochaco." Midoriya said when he eventually stopped their momentum; the quiet happiness of his voice making no attempt to hold back how much he'd missed her.
"I am home." Uraraka said dreamily; eyes closed as she leaned into the warmth of his hold.
Their lips met, gifting each other with the kiss that'd been a wait three weeks too long.
Even with all the joking about dinner, dessert, and late nights, some things were well worth making the time for.
Case in point: even with how much of a hurry she'd been in to get dinner started before Midoriya got back, even with how uncaring she'd been to the rest of her appearance, Uraraka had still taken the time to fish her engagement ring off the necklace and put it on her finger.
"So you two already made the arrest?" Uraraka said in amazement, needing to pause in her cutting of the breaded pork. Though they'd cooled to the point they wouldn't burn her fingers small pockets of steam could be seen wafting off the sections she'd already gone through.
The kitchen was filled with the satisfying sizzle of the onions cooking in the pan that had Midoriya's attention. He'd taken his jacket and tie off and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He could have changed out of his work clothes but frankly he hadn't been entirely lying before about how hungry he was and cooking up the pork had only made him more so. Helping didn't just mean that dinner would come sooner, it also kept his mind and stomach occupied.
"Yep. That clue had been the final bit of evidence we'd needed." He continued his story, using a pair of chopsticks to carefully stir around the onions to make sure they were getting cooked evenly. "Once the school day ended Iida and I headed right out and by the time the police arrived to take them in we were already done. It went so efficiently, it's why I thought I would have still been able to beat you home."
"Better luck next time, Izuku." She teased him happily. "Still, that's impressive. The way you guys made it sound on the phone the investigation could have gone on for another week with how stuck you were,"
"We definitely had a lucky break, that's for sure."
"Lucky, huh? So when I talk to Iida about it he's totally not going to go on and on about the details you noticed and connected that led to the big break in the case, right?"
"Ummm..." Midoriya scratched his head awkwardly.
"That's what I thought." Uraraka smiled proudly, having seen right through him. "No need to be humble about everything, dear. Case in point, oh my gosh, how do just onions smell that good?" She drooled over the scent that was driving her crazy. That toast earlier had done very little to help suppress her appetite.
"Growing up with Kacchan definitely helps. You get him yelling at you once about proper oil levels and the importance of a low flame, you remember it forever."
"Well, I'm both happy and a little upset that he did so. I've definitely put on a few pounds since we've been together."
"Not that I've noticed. I think you look great." Midoriya said without hesitation, his eyes peeking over to admire the view. He had pictures they'd taken together and of course the Uravity merch but nothing came close to the real deal. "Maybe your arms are a bit bigger but that's certainly not a bad thing in my eyes. It shows how hard you've been working."
"Oh? So your eyes like what they see, huh?" Uraraka asked him flirtatiously. She held up her arm to flex it dramatically, clasping onto her raised bicep with her other hand to feel its solidness. "Who knows? Maybe in a couple years I'll be matching up to Mirko's standard. I imagine you wouldn't be too upset by that, huh?"
Redness from his cheeks to the edges of his ears overtook Midoriya, filling them with so much warmth he was almost afraid he was glowing.
"No... No, I definitely would not..." He said simply and shortly, turning his attention back to the onions. Between the real woman here with him and that image now in his brain he might end up so distracted that they get burned.
"He's so cute when he's honest." Uraraka remarked to herself as she returned to cutting the pork, though her cheeks started to wear a matching pink to his own, as she certainly wasn't complaining about his body either from this angle either. Even after the embers of One For All finally faded after graduation Midoriya had still kept up with his training. He'd had no idea about the suit they were trying to have built for him and the support gear that was available at the time wasn't good enough for him to be a particularly effective Pro Hero if he'd used it no matter how in shape he stayed. Even Aizawa and Shinso would be the first to admit how many times they'd have been of no help without their Quirks alongside all their gear and training. It was more something Midoriya did so that he'd be a better help to his students in the physical side of their lessons, as well as to simply be setting a good example for them.
While you could kind of tell regardless of which work suit he was wearing, it was still nice feeling for Uraraka that she was the only one who got to enjoy the full fruits of his labors, especially as he had very little reason to be shirtless for anyone else.
"An-...anyway..." Midoriya pushed to change topics Uraraka handed him the sliced pork. "It's not like I'm the only one who can be a little too humble. There's a reason there's talks of you being nominated for next year's Imamura Peace Prize. Of all of us only Shoji's been given recognition of that level and even he agrees you deserve it.
"Now that's just fighting dirty." Uraraka pouted again at his successful turnaround. "If I was to get that award it'd just be because I'm the face that's associated the most with the program. The Quirk councilors are the ones, you know, doing the actual counseling with the kids."
"Yep, all you did was help bring attention to the shortcomings in the old system and push to help the councilors and anyone entering the field be better equipped to help the children coming in through, whom you also over time gave easier and more plentiful access to Quirk counseling." Midoriya listed off as easily as he breathed as he poured their pre-prepared stock over the onions, punctuating his statement with a nice big cloud of steam and an applause of sizzling. "Absolutely nothing worth heaping tons of praise on you over."
"You jerk." Uraraka impishly gave him a light bop on the shoulder with her fist.
"Careful. You'll make me drop the meat. Then I'll have to steal one of your Daifuku to compensate." He smirked just as so back at her.
"The hostage card can only work as a threat for so long, Izuku. Keep it up and I might have to sneak them out while you're distracted." Uraraka said as she went into the fridge, joking like she was going for the sweets but in reality she was just getting the eggs, as Midoriya would need them soon.
With reasonable haste she cracked the eggs into a bowl and whisked them into a nice smooth yellow throughout. Midoriya was laying the pork down into the pan on the onions so they must have just caramelized.
Once he finished she handed the bowl over to him, and after thanking her he drizzled it all over the dish, letting the egg spread out all over the pan's surface and over the rest of the food. Once it set it'd be ready to serve over rice, and knowing that it was no surprise that Uraraka got to work quickly chopping up some scallions to have on top without him even needing to ask.
He naturally appreciated it...though he couldn't help but notice the silence that'd now come over the kitchen as he looked over his shoulder to her backside.
The conversation had been going almost nonstop since they'd started cooking together; the two of them catching the other up on every event or thought they'd had over their weeks apart, even repeating plenty they'd already talked about on their phone calls during that time, simply because it was such a different experience having them right there with them. It's not that there was anything wrong with the conversation dying down and the two just enjoying some quiet now. It's just that this end to it didn't feel quite natural to Midoriya. Something nagged at him in the back of his head, telling him it felt a little too...deliberate.
Most of what they'd talked about was in regards to his students. To their hero work. To their friends. But when her Quirk counseling efforts came up...
"One of the kids you told me about... They reminded you of Toga, didn't they?"
Uraraka stood frozen for the longest moment. One of the best...and sometimes most frustrating...things about living for so long with someone who loves you is that they have a tendency to notice when there's something bothering you, no matter how much you try to hide it.
Her every instinct told her to just play it off. Laugh and quickly change the subject. To push down these feelings.
Her shoulders slumped, the tension releasing from her with a breath. "...Yeah." She admitted, still looking away. "Especially her smile."
Midoriya turned off the flame under the pan. The eggs might get a little overdone on the bottom but who cares? "Hey, come here." He said softly as he made his way over, putting his arms around body and hugging her from behind.
Uraraka gave no resistance to his hold, leaning her back into him to let him support her as her arms hugged his own closer to her waist.
"What was her name?" Midoriya asked. "If you can tell me."
"Gumo." Uraraka told him. There were plenty of cases that she was expected to keep all details private on and he made sure to respect that, never pushing too hard when she couldn't say much. "She's fine now. She got to go home with her parents. And I really do think things are going to be better for all of them going forward. They all looked really happy."
Despite the jokes they made earlier, Midoriya knew it wasn't just humility that held her back from properly enjoying what she'd accomplished, any more than it was with him. She repaired another family. Made another child's life better.
Specifically...another's.
"It's been eight years...but some days it still feels like yesterday." She said, feeling the warmth of Midoriya's body against the scar along her stomach. It hadn't hurt in a long time but rarely was she ever not at least partially aware of its presence when she got to be alone with her thoughts. "You'd think it wouldn't still bother me so much."
"Would you ever tell me I should be over Tenko by now?" Midoriya asked her simply.
Once again...he didn't fight fair. Not that she would if their positions were reversed, she supposed, as they had been at least once or twice in their years together.
"You wouldn't be you if it didn't still bother you." Midoriya assured her, squeezing her snuggly as he spoke. "Uravity is the hero who cares. It's definitely what makes her my hero. And it's what made you hers too."
Uraraka squeezed his arms a little tighter. He hadn't been the only one to struggle after the war with accepting that there was only so far her hand alone could reach. And reaching back in time was certainly beyond them both, no matter how much they may wish otherwise.
Their own efforts and intentions would never be unimportant. They needed to be sure to remember that, especially during hard times.
But until the world was perfect...until it wasn't possible for more Tenkos and Togas to suffer...it was doubtful they'd ever stop feeling this anxiousness.
The two just held each other. They didn't want to do or be anything else in this moment.
One day at a time. One foot forward after another. And this person alongside them certainly made the never-ending journey a lot more bearable.
Uraraka let herself be held by him for a little longer before finally giving him the signal that she was ready to break away and he released her.
"Thanks."
"Anytime. I wouldn't exactly be a very good boyfriend if I couldn't even do that much for you." Midoriya assured her, the softness of his smiling making clear his sincerity. "I'd be an even worse fiancé."
She gave a chuckle, some life coming back to her. "You really like that word, don't you?"
Midoriya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I mean...it's a nice word. Far from the worst thing I've been able to call myself."
"Well, don't get too used to it. You do remember that the point of being my fiancé is to eventually become my husband, right?"
Uraraka found herself having to cover her mouth to prevent a laugh from escaping, as the dopiest smile she'd ever seen in her life spread across Midoriya's face. Guess she found a word he liked even more.
Midoriya tried (and failed miserably) to regain his dignity by clearing his throat and quickly going back to the stove to check on dinner. It wasn't burnt but the egg had set enough where it was definitely going to be a bit of a pain getting some of it unstuck from the pan.
Uraraka went to open the rice cooker, taking out a small white spatula so that she could fluff what was inside. But that didn't mean she was done teasing yet. "I wonder if Tenya ever got like this. I can totally see him referring to them strictly as "Husband!", "Wife!" "Mrs. Iida, it is I, your husband, Mr. Iida!" in every conversation they have." She played pretend, her back straightening to robot-like stiffness as her free hand mimicked his signature motions. "Marital bliss is no excuse for poor manners, I'm sure he'd say."
"Imagine how formal Tengen's first words will be." Midoriya quipped, half focused on carefully chiseling his own spatula under the eggs to separate it from the pan. This thing was definitely going to need a proper wash later. "Instead of mama or dada he might just say their full names."
"Probably in a complete sentence too."
That got a good laugh out of both of them. There was only a small pang of guilt over poking fun of their friend like this...in part because they knew he wouldn't exactly be offended by anything they'd said. They were only slightly exaggerating.
"At least being like that will probably make him easy to babysit." Midoriya said. "If he's hungry or needs his diaper changed he'll just directly tell us. We couldn't ask for a better practice baby."
Uraraka paused in what she was doing. His words caused the same pit to form in her stomach as Dr. Alina's had earlier that day.
"Yeah." She said, trying to move those thoughts away by moving her body from the rice to the vegetables they were going to have as their side dish. She just needed to distract herself.
Unfortunately for her, with the conversation not continuing, the focus on food preparation was not enough to keep her brain occupied. If anything, it only made it harder to keep the intrusive thoughts at bay.
"We both just got home. We're having a good time. One that I already interrupted once. We don't have to talk about it right now." Her desperation tried to justify itself to her as she messily bowled up the sliced veggies. "It'll ruin the mood we just got back. We'll have time later. We'll always have time later, I just want to enjoy-..."
It was definitely just her imagination. Her own worries making the ring around her finger feel like it was squeezing just a bit tighter than normal.
She leaned with her knuckles against the counter. She could feel her nails digging into her palms from the stress. It just wouldn't let up.
She turned her head, looking to Midoriya's backside as he worked.
"...No. It has to be now." Uraraka gave in, unable to defend her fears any more. "He deserves to know. He deserves the chance to...decide." She told herself, looking down sadly at the ring.
Midoriya felt a light pull on the back of his shirt.
"Hm? What's up?" He asked, it not taking much deduction to figure out it was Uraraka was trying to get his attention even before he turned his head to see her.
Her hand held onto his shirt for a moment longer. Immature as it was, it was almost like a security blanket right now.
Eventually she had to force herself to let go. "Izuku. There's... There's something we need to talk about."
"Okay...?" He said in a bit of confusion, sensing the sudden serious change in the mood.
"It's something...something we really should have talked about before we got engaged."
Why did she seem so small right now? She was standing right in front of him but to Midoriya it almost looked like she was shrinking; her body closed in on itself. Her head was lowered and her eyes couldn't bring themselves to meet his own. Her whole face seemed trapped in shadow.
Her hands...one was cupped around the other, her fingers turning her ring back and forth along her skin.
"Ochaco?" Midoriya said, his words colored by the worriedness he couldn't keep out of his voice.
It was like a lump of lead was stuck in her throat. Something heavy blocking the way of her words. "Izuku, I-..."
They just wouldn't come out. She didn't want them to. Once she said it, things were going to change between them. They couldn't not.
But...it was too late to go back now. Even with just the quick glances she snuck, she could see the fear she'd already put in Midoriya's eyes because of her stalling. She couldn't leave him trapped in uncertainty like this. She had to tell him.
"...I don't think I want to have kids."