Work Text:
Ochako watches out of her window as the rain batters against the glass, resting her chin on her hands as she leans forward. If it weren't for the storm today they would be in class at Yuuei, but everyone has to make acceptances for the weather.
It's funny how even though society is more advanced than ever, that things that used to be impossible happen every day, people still can't control the world they live on. If they could though, it probably wouldn't be any better. What would happen then?
Ochako stops that train of thought abruptly and focuses on the howling wind. She doesn't really like deep thinking. Why ask questions you don't need the answer to when you can have everything you need without them?
Well, that's debatable. Everyone needs different things. Deku needs someone to keep him grounded. Iida needs someone to support him. Ochako... well, she's not quite sure.
"Ochako! Somebody's here to see you!" A shout drifts up the stairs through her open door, startling her out of her reverie. The wind must have altered the words somehow. That can't be right. Someone, coming in this weather?!
Stretching her stiff muscles as she gets up, Ochako rubs at the red patch on her chin self-consciously, though it's a bit silly since no one's there to see her anyway.
The steep stairs creak underneath her feet and she's extra careful as she goes down. She's wearing fuzzy socks, and, as she's learned the hard way, fuzzy socks on wood is not good combination. At least she can make herself float if she slips.
Behind her and the stairs, the door to her house closes with a familiar click. So, someone really did come all the way here in this weather. She has to be sure to apologize.
When Ochako peers around the banister, she sees, much to her surprise, a sopping wet but familiar face on the entrance mat. It's Tsuyu.
The frog girl is wringing out her hair, drops of water splashing on the mat as she squeezes them out like you would squeeze a sponge. Her usual ribbon and ponytail has been ditched for a bun, an alarming amount of hair piled precariously on top of her head. Funny, Ochako never realized just how long it was.
Tsuyu looks up, eyes wide, and waves large fingers with even larger fingertips in Ochako's direction. Ochako suddenly feels oddly self-conscious about her sweater and shorts, which are dry. In comparison to Tsuyu's raincoat, sweatpants, and boots --which are definitely not.
"Tsuyu!" Ochako exclaims, voice coming out embarrassingly squeaky. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Tsuyu doesn't answer, instead focusing on unbuttoning her bright yellow raincoat. A memory strikes Ochako--she remembers getting that coat. It was at one of Yuuei's festivals, so long ago she can't even remember what the festival was in celebration of. Just that the coat was from a stand there, and Ochako got a matching one that she wore continuously until there was an unfortunate incident with Bakugou. She smiles now, just a little, until she remembers she's in the company of a very wet and very cold guest and rushes to help her.
After they manage to undo the buttons- a collaborative effort- Ochako continues her rant. "This is no weather to be out in! You're going to catch a cold or something- something worse!"
Tsuyu takes off her boots, leaving them on the mat as to not track mid anywhere--though to be honest it wouldn't make much of a difference since the floor is covered in dirt, dust, and all manner of other things. She looks up to meet Ochako's disapproving, narrowed brown eyes and lets out her familiar croaking laugh.
Ochako crosses her arms, intending to create an intimidating effect, but Tsuyu is not affected in the slightest. She just laughs and laughs, and as hard as Ochako tries to ignore how much she adores that laugh, eventually she gives up and lets a smile take over her face.
"Are you girls good in there?" Ochako's mother, ever the doting parent, asks from the kitchen. "Anything you need, food, water, clothes?"
"I'm alright, thank you Uraraka-san!" Tsuyu replies with a smile in her voice. It's also slightly hoarse, something Ochako didn't notice before but is now very concerned by, because going out in the cold with a cold seems like an even worse idea.
She hooks an arm around Tsuyu's and pulls her along before her mother can worry herself out too much, only letting go when they reach the bottom of the stairs.
"Tsuyu," Ochako starts, face deadly serious, "do you- do you have a cold?"
A guilty look crosses Tsuyu's face for a split second, so quickly that if Ochako wasn't so attuned to noticing the miniscule expressions Tsuyu makes she would've missed it. "Hello to you too," Tsuyu says. It's not an answer.
"What were you thinking?!" Ochako tries to impress upon Tsuyu that this is not something that should be repeated, though she can't deny it's nice to have company. Especially Tsuyu's company.
Tsuyu frowns slightly as they start up the stairs. She doesn't ask where they're going, because she knows this house as well as Ochako does. "Nobody was home."
Ochako goes quiet for a moment, letting the stairs and the wind fill the silence. Sometimes Tsuyu's parents are both working, and with her brother out of the country the apartment would be completely empty. Ochako knows too well how much Tsuyu hates being alone.
After a moment to collect her thoughts, she retorts, "You could've called! Someone could've came and picked you up." Even as she says it, Ochako knows that would have been a lot of trouble, but she'll be damned if she doesn't win this.
"Give it up, Ochachan," Tsuyu says, and Ochako tries to restrain her smile at the nickname. It's better now, since Tsuyu isn't frowning. That's all Ochako really wants. "Don't you remember? I'm the Rainy Season Hero."
Ochako swiftly muffles her snort, concealing it as a cough. "You know what else you are?" She pauses, though she doesn't leave enough room for Tsuyu to reply. "Sick."
"Not anymore," Tsuyu replies, but the end of her sentence is interrupted by a small sneeze. It shouldn't be as cute as it is.
Ochako grins triumphantly until she trips on air and falls foward. Thankfully Tsuyu catches her, and suddenly she finds herself in Tsuyu's arms. Her face flushes red and she buries her face in the crook of Tsuyu's neck. She pats Ochako's back mock sympathetically.
When Ochako recovers, she avoids Tsuyu's gaze and collapses on her bed, closing her eyes and twitching slightly when another weight drops next to her. "Better?" asks Tsuyu teasingly, leaning forward to kiss the tip of Ochako's nose.
"Yeah," Ochako smiles and sighs, scooting closer until she's practically curled against her. Though Tsuyu's shirt is still a little damp and her pants moreso, she's warm, and Ochako relishes it.
Tsuyu rolls into her side and throws an arm around Ochako. Ochako doesn't complain about the wet fabric like she usually would, because Tsuyu is closing her eyes and preparing herself for a nap. That's fine. Ochako would gladly stay like this forever, if she could.
She thinks back to what she was wondering about earlier--what and who she needs. She's pretty sure she knows now. In fact, she's not sure how she forgot in the first place.