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1
Ochako is not the jealous type, okay.
She knows she doesn’t own anyone, no one is hers. Everyone is their own person and everyone has their own goals, interests, friends, and crushes. Ochako just can’t help the steam coming out of her ears when she sees Hatsume talking to Deku. Hatsume, one of the prettiest girls Ochako had ever seen. Deku was her friend, and possibly her crush?
Honesty and coming clean was something Ochako lived by. And, if she was coming clean, the feelings she held for Deku weren’t romantic, not at all. But, what else could they be? He was a boy, she was girl—shouldn’t it have been obvious? They were together all the time, and they both always got really flustered around each other.
Could it be, that those feelings were forced onto her by her own silly brain, confusing and trying to create something out of absolutely nothing?
Seeing Hatsume talking animatedly with Deku made jealousy bubble inside her, but she genuinely couldn’t place why. Deku was her friend, and Hatsume was also Deku’s friend.
Besides, her brain supplied helpfully. Deku and Todoroki are plenty close and probably on the brink of dating. Even if Hatsume liked him, she had no chance.
An even darker part of her mind whispered. And neither would you.
Ochako shook her head, smiling, and jumping into the conversation about hero agencies, ignoring the tug in her chest when Hatsume smiles at her.
2
Being around Hatsume became a natural part of Ochako’s routine.
Since Deku and the other girl were becoming close, she had become a usual at the Class 1-A table. Ochako’s classmates didn’t bother with getting rid of her, though Bakugou did complain a lot about some ‘support class loser’ sitting with ‘the better of the two heroics classes.’ No one else cared, so as Hatsume weaseled her way in-between Iida and Deku, Ochako seethed quietly.
Why won’t she sit next to me?
That’s when it dawned on Ochako—
No. She wasn’t jealous that Hatsume was talking to Deku. She was jealous that Hatsume was talking to Deku. That Hatsume—one of the prettiest girls Ochako had ever seen—was talking to Deku, and not to her.
Faintly, she recalls seeing Momo reading with Kyoka on her lap, one arm wrapped around her waist while Kyoka’s head rested on Momo’s shoulder as she played on her phone. It was an intimate moment, Ochako realizes. The way Momo looks at Kyoka, the way Kyoka blushes whenever Momo is in her hero costume—
Ah.
Ochako feels embarrassed. She’s not just jealous that a pretty girl is unintentionally ignoring her existence. She’s also a really, really big lesbian.
She feels her face heat up when Hatsume turns to her, ignoring Deku sandwiched in-between the two of them.
3
“Hey,” Hatsume says one day, sitting between Ochako and Iida. “Engine Boy, you won’t believe this new upgrade I came up with for your hero costume—” The support student babbled on about new babies being added onto Iida’s costume for maximum use of his Engine quirk. Ochako found the babbling very endearing.
“—What do you think, Uraraka?”
She flushes slightly, being put on the spot surprising her when she was hardly paying attention to the conversation. “Oh, it sounds like a good idea. Iida’s engine often needs to recharge, so having a backup while it recharges is a good idea to make up for his recoil,” she paused. “Also, I think you should call me Ochako.”
Hatsume smiles warmly. “As long as you call me Mei.”
Iida looks happy with the two of them getting along, and he begins to ramble about something Ochako doesn’t understand. Hatsume—no, Mei looks at her briefly with a look of fondness that reads can you understand this mess of a guy? Mei’s crosshair-eyes look back at Iida, with a dorky smile on her face and a slight flush on her cheeks.
In that moment, Ochako feels her heart break a little. Mei has a crush on Iida.
You’ve just experienced a lesbian experience, her brain supplies. Congrats for falling for a girl. Too bad she doesn’t like you back.
4
“Hey, Tsuyu?” Ochako says quietly, laying with her back on the frog girl’s dorm floor. Tsuyu makes a noise of acknowledgement, before Ochako sucks in a breath of fresh air. “I think I’m a lesbian,” she admits, quietly. “Well, I don’t think. I’m pretty damn sure of it, actually.”
Tsuyu is quiet, and Ochako feels her eyes begin to well-up. She can’t lose a friendship over this—
Ochako’s frantic thoughts are sated when Tsuyu replies: “Oh, me too.”
“Wait,” Ochako’s brain stutters. “You—you are?”
Her friend, best friend, nods, green meeting brown. “I’ve known since I was younger,” she said. “Never doubted it. A girl held my hand once, you know—‘cause that’s what girls do, and I knew in that moment that I never wanted to hold a guy’s hand. Ever,” she paused, flicking her tongue. “I was nine.”
“I, I like Mei,” Ochako whispered. “This is the first time I’ve said it out loud. I have a crush on Hatsume Mei,” she says, louder. “But, she doesn’t like me back. She likes Iida, and that’s okay, but this is the first time I’ve ever liked anyone this way, and it’s fine that she doesn’t like me because she’s not obligated to but. Oh my God,” Ochako laughs, slightly delirious but so happy she said the words out loud for someone to hear. “Girls,” she sighs. Tsuyu nods, looking down.
“Girls.”
5
“Ochako,” Mei says one day. Deku and Iida haven’t arrived to their table yet. “I need your help.”
The brown-haired girl looks at Mei with longing in her eyes, before clearing her throat. “What do you need?” She fiddles with her hands, careful not to accidentally activate her quirk, especially around Mei. Just because Ochako knows it’s hopeless does not mean she’s willing to embarrass herself around her.
“How can I impress Iida?” Mei blurts out, her cheeks reddening. She’s so cute, Ochako’s brain whispers to her. Ochako feels her own cheeks flush at the sight.
“Oh,” Ochako says dumbly. “I—Iida isn’t very hard to impress, I don’t think,” she says quietly. “He’s very smart. Intellectual conversations like that tend to get him excited. Talk to him about some history, probably having to do with heroics,” Ochako advises. She’s honest about it, too. “Iida loves talking about it. Do you want his number? I can give it to you,” Ochako offers. Mei looks at her like she just hung the stars in the sky.
Ochako texts Mei the number.
Mei smiles, texting away. “Thanks, by the way,” Mei says, after sending a message. “I’ve liked him for a while now, I think ever since the Sports Festival, after our battle. He’s smart, and admirable, and pretty handsome. Talking to him only made it worse,” she admits. Ochako’s hanging off her every word.
I’m such a lesbian.
Instead of imagining Mei, this time though, green hair and large hands fill her brain instead of yellow eyes and a pair of goggles.
+1
Two months pass, and Ochako is over Mei. She’s gotten used to seeing her and Iida hold hands under the table, or seeing the two of them talk animatedly over a sketch of a hero costume, shoulders brushing and cheeks flushing. It doesn’t ache anymore. If she’s honest, she’s pretty sure her affections have switched to someone else.
It’s a Tuesday night when Ochako’s phone dings loudly in-between the music blasting into her ears. She bites her lip, staring at the unfinished English assignment, before turning to her phone.
It’s a text from Tsuyu.
[ tsu ❦ ]
hey. do you want to get some sweets with me sometime? cake and ice cream, specifically.
Ochako smiles fondly.
[ me ]
yes, i’d love to. when and where?
[ tsu ❦ ]
the little shop near the mall. and tomorrow?
Her heart does a little dance, and she looks back at her English assignment. It wasn’t due until Thursday, anyway.
[ me ]
it’s a date
[ tsu ❦ ]
great. see you in class ♡
[ me ]
♡
After the heart wrenching crush and fleeting emotions for Mei had passed, Ochako definitely knew she liked Tsuyu. Mei, that had been her realization. As much as she would have loved to hold Mei’s hand and kiss her senseless two months ago, the desire has shifted.
She smiles, cheeks flushing a bright red as she sends a text to Deku.
[ me ]
guess who has a date with tsuyu!!!