Magne couldn't help smiling the last couple of days.
She been able to text her cousins more and was even more happy when she was added to their sibling group chat as 'Sis Magne'.
Which she may have ended up shedding a few tears over.
Having been at arms with her parents for so long and being defensive with 'most' of her family, she had forgotten how much acceptance from family meant to her.
Family dinner every month was all but mandatory and she loved it.
She loved being around them and had even gone out with her cousins for small day trips and looked forward to when her youngest cousin Lexi would be back for the holidays.
Dabi's family situation also seemed to be improving.
He was texting his 'uncle' more often, she even overheard a conversation where Dabi was talking about how it was about time his uncle found a new job.
So yeah, life has been really looking good recently.
And on top of that she was even having a good time at work, since Lil' Mez seemed to have come to realize that he liked Uraraka thanks to Awase.
She remembered when the boy used to be only half her height and would fall asleep on her when his mom was out late, and happily thanked her for clumsily sewing a cat on one of his masks for his birthday.
But even now that sweet little boy was taller than her and built like a brick-house he was still just as shy and sweet as he used to be.
Coming to her of all people for advice, the poor boy not wanting to read too much into what Uraraka said or did around him, and wanting to know about things he could do to be more helpful with the girl's training.
So, if she started making more of Uraraka's favorite treats then that was something to be kept between the two of them.
The fact Uraraka was also asking her for any tips for making bugs taste good as well was another secret she was keeping.
Magne only wished she could be more help to the girl, she'd learned to balance some flavors, but her experience was limited towards baking rather than proper cooking like Uraraka wanted to learn.
Still her dedication to try and enjoy the things Mez liked was sweet of her.
Though Magne would draw the line if Uraraka asked her to taste test any of her bug dishes, as much as she loved the two kids, she wasn't going to willingly eat bugs for them.
Just another reason that she respected how dedicated Uraraka was.
Speaking of the young girl, Magne watched on as Uraraka sat in her shop and was starting down the salad she made herself, with roasted crickets as a topping.
Uraraka likely trying to talk herself into actually eating it.
Magne wondered if she would ever find someone she'd be so in love with that she would willingly eat bugs, then shook her head.
She probably wouldn't find someone she'd eat bugs for.
Besides, it wasn't like she was in any hurry to get hitched or anything, she and Inko could be the singles of the group for a little while, she'd include Yua in the singles club they had going but she was certain that Twice would scratch up the nerve to ask her out one of these days.
The two of them were dancing around each other but she was sure they'd end up getting in a relationship.
Most people could see the two making heart eyes at each other aside from the kids, though she was sure if Mez wasn't so wrapped up in his own romantic meandering, then he'd probably be worrying over how to act with his mom's boyfriend.
She was sure that Twice would love being a dad though, Magne could already see the two going out and having fun, if not sitting together and knitting something.
Lil' Mez had really gotten into weaving things, mostly with yarn but he'd done other stuff too.
Which was a fantastic thing, Magne was so glad the boy was finding his own interests outside of his future career, the boy needed to have a life outside heroism in the future.
And as if summoned Mez walked into the shop, a group of the apartment complex kids following after him, coming for their usual after playdate/study dates treat.
More than a few kids piled on his shoulders and back.
Uraraka of course perked up upon seeing the boy, and she naturally melted watching Mez interact so sweetly with the children.
To be fair to the girl, as a woman that wanted a family one day she absolutely could understand how heart-warming it would be to see her man being good with kids.
Or future man in Uraraka's case.
"Hi Jiji, do you need some help there?" Uraraka asked already standing up and walking over to him, and she took the offered toddler when Mez knelt down some for her.
"Just a little." Mez admitted, readjusting his hold with one less kid and then before the two could really start a conversation one of the kids piped up.
"Uki-Chan can I play with the puppies?" the young girl asked tugging on Uraraka's shirt.
Uraraka blinked confused while Mez cheeks flushed "Aoi-Chan, I told you, neither Uki nor I are going to get a puppy any time soon." Mez told the girl, making the one-eyed girl pout.
"Then why does my sister keep saying that you and Uki-Chan are in puppy love?" Aoi questioned crossing her arms and being all huffy, like most six years olds could get.
"Eh!?" Uraraka squeaked her face turning red.
"Aoi-Chan I-I've already told you, Uki and I aren't in puppy-love." Mez said clearly having had this conversation more than once on the way over and his face red, a color that only became worse when Uraraka turned to stare at him.
"You are too!" Aoi exclaimed stomping her clawed foot down on the tiles.
"I've asked the other neighbors too and they told me you were in puppy love!" Aoi argued loudly.
Magne had to put a hand on her mouth to keep from laughing as the two teens tried their best to explain that they weren't in puppy love and that 'puppy love' didn't mean they were going to get a puppy.
"But then why do they call it puppy love?" Aoi questioned getting frustrated, which wasn't helped when the other kids also started to pile onto the questioning Aoi was doing.
"It's a figure of speech kids, for when someone is so in love with someone else and they follow around the person they love like a puppy." Magne answered for the two, giving Uraraka and Mez a break from the kids questions.
"Oh, then they're definitely in puppy love, Uki-Chan and Jiji-Chan always following each other." one of the older boys commented.
"W-we don't, I- We," Uraraka sputtered.
Magne chuckled "They do, I think it's something that they need to talk about actually, so why don't we give the both of them time to talk about it." Magne suggested throwing a wink over to Mez and Uraraka.
Both of them flushing and it looked like Mez was going to protest but Uraraka suddenly grabbing him by the arm and then leading him out of the shop, with the boy stared at Uraraka wide-eyed as she did.
When they did the kids cheered and Magne turned to look at them, a few high fiving each other.
"Something tells me you lot knew what you were doing just now." Magne said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Duh, my sister said it's important to lock down good sugar daddies as soon as possible, and Jiji-Chan deserves a good sugar daddy." Aoi replied rolling her eyes, Magne meanwhile choked on her laughter.
She wondered how Saori would react to her daughter being called a sugar daddy, maybe she should text the group, she was sure everyone would get a real kick out of it.
"Uraraka would be a sugar mama, not a daddy." Magne softly corrected but the oldest boy in the group shook his head, pulling a sucker he swiped from his mouth.
"Nan uh, Uki-Chan wears the pants in their relationship, she'd be a sugar daddy." the boy told her.
"Well, I mean... you're not wrong." Magne managed to say somehow without laughing.
Ochaco couldn't help burying her face in her hands.
This wasn't the first time the kids in the South Side had hinted about her... feelings for Jiji.
It wasn't exactly like she was being that subtle in hindsight as she came to realize in the last week.
She'd been eating bugs for nearly a week now for heaven's sake.
Well, more like trying to eat them but she had managed it most of the time, and without throwing it up, as she fully expected to when she first started.
But still the fact she was trying to get used to eating bugs at all was something that should have been the thing that tipped her off that she really, really liked Jiji.
This did not mean she'd fully come around to being quite okay with having a crush on her friend, much less having everyone rubbing it in her and Jiji's faces.
And she wasn't the smartest person when she was flustered.
Hence why after being completely overwhelmed by the others teasing them, she, in her infinite wisdom, grabbed Jiji and ran out of the shop, fled to the roof top with him and now sat on said roof top.
Really not her finest moment.
So now she was sitting with her head buried in her hands and couldn't even string together her words to... she didn't even know, apologize maybe?
Why did this have to be so complicated?
Ochaco sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she reluctantly raised her head, seeing that Jiji was awkwardly sat across from her and was avoiding looking directly at her.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and rubbed her arm trying to calm herself, so that she could finally just get the words off of her chest.
But just as she mustered up the courage to speak Jiji, he beat her to it.
"I am sorry Uki, this is all my fault." Jiji told her, his shoulders slumping as he shamefully apologized.
"Jiji," she said surprised and confused for why he'd be apologizing to her, but Jiji didn't stop and hung his head.
"I'll try and talk with them about this, and I understand that everyone bringing up my crush on you is making things uncomfortable, I get that you don't like me that way-" Jiji began rumbling clearly flustered, from shame and embarrassed.
"I do like you!" Ochaco shouted back interrupting Jiji as she leapt to her feet.
Jiji's head snapped up and he stared at her with wide eyes, clearly shocked and whatever caused her sudden outburst fled her and her heart jumped up into her throat.
"I- I just don't want to date you. N-no, I do it's just- I mean, I-I, augh!" Ochaco sputtered out before she slapped her hands over her eyes with her face burning as she grew frustrated with herself for not being able to say what she meant.
The feeling of a pair of familiar warm hands being placed on her shoulders nearly made her jump and when she pulled her hands away she saw Jiji was right in front of her, and before she could freak out even more Jiji gently took her hand and held them with a pair of his secondary hands.
"Uki, it's okay, breath then take your time and I'll listen." Jiji softly told her, rubbing circles in the back of her hands, and honestly the way he looked at her was making her heart flip.
Shaking her head she closed her eyes and tried to get her heart rate back down so she could properly string together her thoughts.
Taking a few very deep breaths before she opened her eyes again.
"Jiji, I like you. Like, really like you in a way that scares me sometimes because it feels like everything is moving so fast when I'm still trying to wrap my head around it and it's just been so," Ochaco said, the words mostly just pouring out of her mouth one after the other.
"Overwhelming." Jiji finished for her.
"Yes!" Ochaco exclaimed relieved that Jiji understood "We're barely fifteen, we aren't even finished with Middle-School yet, but I can't stop imagining what our life would be like when we're older together and going on dates." Ochaco continued to explain.
"Like star gazing at Kamikochi?" Jiji suggested, and Ochaco stared at him, a little breathless as she imagined it now.
Laying down in a clearing with Jiji, with a night sky full of glittering stars, wrapped in blankets and Jiji's arms while listening to the quiet serenity of the world around them without the white noise of the city.
"Yes," she said squeezing Jiji's hands, a lump form in her throat.
"But I've always planned to focus on my career until I at least finished school, I'd be too busy training to be a hero and settling into being an adult to have the time to be a good girlfriend for anyone." Ochaco told him soberly, her head hanging.
"I... I want to date you Jiji, eventually. But now isn't the right time, not for me." Ochaco explained feeling horrible for saying it.
"And I don't want to be so selfish as to ask you to wait for that long for me, you shouldn't have too either! Not someone as amazing as you are... " Ochaco said as she teared up, a weight having been lifted from her chest, leaving her a touch hollow now that she'd spoken her mind.
She closed her eyes, waiting for Jiji to say something, anything at all.
Instead Jiji pulled her close, hugging her with secondary his arms and cupped her face with his primary hands tilting her face up to look him in the eyes.
"Uki, I'm not the best with words but you don't need to ask me to wait for you," Jiji softly told her "I would've been happy just to be your friend for as long as you'd let me, and if you want to wait until we finish school to try dating," Jiji said, his sincerity causing tears to finally fall from her eyes.
"Then that just means we'll have more time to plan and prepare for our first date together." Jiji promised her, the ghost of a smile being seen through his mask just barely.
"J-Jiji." she whispered, her swelling with disbelief and overwhelming joy.
Unable, or perhaps unwilling to sit still Ochaco launched herself at Jiji, causing the boy to step back a bit as he stumbled slightly, with her hugging him around the neck tightly.
"I'll make it the best night of your life, I promise." Ochaco swore burying her face in his neck.
"I can't wait." Jiji hoarsely whispered back, not with one of his hand mouths but his real mouth Ochaco realized, making Ochaco's heart skip a beat.
This... this was absolutely worth learning to enjoy eating insects.
Bloopers notes
Jiji: Guys I think I might have a girlfriend now
Jiji: Help
Awase: Dude you finally asked Uki out?
Awase: Fuck yeah man!
Jiji: Sort of, I don't know what to do now though cause we aren't really dating but plan to later.
JIji: She wants to hold off on dating, which I'm fine with, but how am I suppose to act around her now?
Jiji: Is holding her hand okay?
Zuri: Guys, I hate to point this out, but you both remember that Uki is also in this chat, right?
Awase: Fuck.
Jiji: Alternative question, where is the nearest shop that sells rope and a large piece of concrete?
Uki: Oh no you don't, I was promised a fantastic first date years from now and you are not getting out of it mister.
JIji: Yes dear.
Uki: JHDBEGIGJBWESD
Jiji: Mido-Kun please shoot me.
Zuri: No, the embarrassment will get you before I can load my gun.
Awase: hoLD THE FUCK up!
Awase: Zuri has a gun!?
Awase: FR?!
Zuri: Yup, legal and everything.
Zuri: Want to see the permit?
Awase: WAIT
Awase: CAN I GET A GUN?!
Awase: ZURI ANSWER ME!
Zuri: I mean, I could train you to use one?
Awase: {YESYESYES gif}