Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya sat on the floor of the backroom, a notebook in his lap, a pen laying uncapped on the page as he silently went through the books in the box before him. It was the latest set of used books the store had gathered and Toshinori had left it up to Izuku to deal with sorting them and marking down what genres they were, authors, etc. Izuku enjoyed this kind of work; it was quiet and easy and he could just spend some time flipping through books. His laptop was open and next to him too, just in case he couldn’t figure out some book’s genre for some reason. But he so far hadn’t needed to use it, and he was almost through with the box. The notebook held a list of the books, broken down by genre. It wasn’t as organized as Tenya would’ve liked, he knew, but it was good enough for now.

The store in front was quieting down, he noted absently as he picked up the next book. Napoleon and I: BFFs , he scribbled under “Historical Fiction”. Today had been unusually busy for the staff of Plus Ultra Books. They had gotten a shipment of the new book in a big YA series, Part-Time Reaper , and thanks to Tenya’s knack for negotiating, the shipment had included some signed copies. People flocked to the store to grab them before they ran out, and the day had been a blur of customers demanding books, running to the back to carry huge stacks of books only to watch a horde of people fall down upon it and leave no book behind. The high school workers they had hired looked like they were going to drop from exhaustion and Izuku felt wiped himself.

Still, it had been a good business day. Tenya seemed incredibly happy and even Toshinori had smiled. That made it all worth it.

“Izuku!” Tenya poked his head into the backroom. The twenty year-old’s dark blue, almost black hair, was almost, almost , unruly looking but his eyes were shining behind his glasses. Good business always made Tenya extremely happy even if it exhausted him later.

“Yeah?” The shorter teen looked up at him, his green curly hair a bit more of a mess and his hoodie wrinkled and rumpled compared to Tenya’s somehow immaculate button-up. “You need something?”

“A customer requires assistance,” Tenya explained, his hands moving quickly and erratically. As was his nature, Izuku thought, smiling. “I’ve let Emi go on break as she seemed exhausted. Normally I would help out but she needs something in the back and I’m expecting a call from a publisher soon.”

“Sure, I’ll come see what she wants.” Izuku got up, stretching a bit. His legs had gotten stiff from sitting there so long. Sure, they had a desk but he preferred the ground for stuff like that. Gave him more room to work and he liked the messy feel of it. “Is she just upfront?”

“She’s waiting over by the graphic novel section,” Tenya said as he hustled to the office off to the side. “Thank you, Izuku!”

Izuku waved a hand and watched his best friend hurry into the office. He smiled; Tenya had been stepping up as a manager and with Toshinori slowly giving more and more responsibility to the boys, Tenya had begun to thrive. And so had the bookstore, if Izuku was being honest.

Shaking himself out of his reflection he ambled over to the comic-- graphic novel he corrected himself with a grin-- section. The store was almost empty, with a few people browsing through the other sections. The couple of regulars that were there waved to Izuku and he gave them all a friendly smile in return. A friendly smile and pleasant talk did a lot to keep people coming back to their store rather than another’s, he had learned long ago. He made it a habit to always say hi to them, even outside of work. It helped that most of them were really nice in general.

Standing in the graphic novel section was a girl who was maybe an inch or two shorter than him. She was in profile to him, but was wearing a simple brown fall jacket, faded looking jeans, and tennis shoes. Her brown hair wasn’t too long, falling just to her shoulders at its longest and it seemed to frame her face. Izuku smiled as friendly as he could and stepped up. “Hey, you’re the girl who needed help right? I’m Izuku, nice to meet you!” He offered a hand out; Tenya told him to always offer to shake with a new customer for whatever reason.

The girl turned and smiled. Her hair did actually frame her face, or at least the two longer locks did, with the rest in what Izuku guessed was in a bob. Her eyes were warm and brown, matching the friendly smile she gave him and adding to the faint pink of her cheeks. She was….she was pretty cute he had to admit. “Hi! Nice to meet ya, Izuku! I’m Ochako!” Her handshake was firm and vigorous, pumping his arm up and down quickly before letting go.

“So, what were you looking for?” he asked. “Anything in particular?”

She nodded and pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, handing it to him. “It’s a book an art teacher recommended to me. I couldn’t find it anywhere before but I figured I’d give you guys a shot.”

Izuku scanned the page, his mind searching for the book’s name or the author’s name. “I don’t think we have any copies in the front,” he said slowly, hand holding his chin. “However, I’m pretty sure we have a copy or two in the back. I’ll go look for you.”

“Can I come with?” He had already started to turn around to go to the back when she asked and he spun back around. Her expression was open and she was just smiling. “I’m interested in seeing how many books you got back there.”

He raised an eyebrow and smiled sheepishly. “Normally I would say no, but….eh, we’re pretty lax here anyways. Follow me, Ochako.” He started to walk off again, nodding to Ikko who sat at the register, flipping through a thriller he had picked up. The teen raised a hand in greeting, not even looking up.

“So, you guys are named after the All Might books right?” Ochako asked as they stopped at the backroom door. “Or at least his saying? Does the author run this shop? I know he went off the grid a while back.”

Izuku chuckled and opened the door, letting her in before following. Pretty much everyone asked that at first. The author of the All Might books, a series of popular illustrated novels detailing the life of the titular superhero, had always been reclusive and had straight up disappeared a few years ago. “Nah. The owner, Mr. Yagi, is close friends with the author though.  He managed to get a deal so his store always got the books first, and once the books took off he renamed the store. That way, everyone would know he had a connection to the author.” He had gotten good at telling that lie. It seemed like every week he had to say it now.

“Damn,” Ochako groaned. “I would’ve liked to meet him. His drawings in the books are amazing! The action especially just pops! Though you seem to be a big fan too, huh?”

“I’ll let Mr. Yagi know and maybe he’ll pass it on. And yeah, you can say that,” Izuku said with an awkward chuckle as he began to weave between shelves and boxes. He had forgotten he was wearing the green All Might hoodie with the ‘ears’ attached to the hood and Plus Ultra! written on the front. “So, do you draw then?”

“Trying to do it professionally,” she said with a small laugh. “I’m hoping to be able to do my own graphic novel one day but well, it’s a lot of work.”

“I know the feeling,” Izuku said, turning to give her a sympathetic smile. He stopped in front of a bookshelf filled to the brim with art books. Scanning the shelves he managed to find the book she was looking for in a few moments. “Ah yup, there we go. Second to last copy I think. You okay with it being used?”

“Of course,” Ochako said. “I’m not picky. As long as it’s readable, I’m happy.” Izuku smiled and began to head back towards the front. The girl, Ochako, seemed nice enough, all things considered. He hoped she came by again; he would love to talk about her idea for a graphic novel with her.

“Are you new around here?” Izuku asked as they reached the register. Ikko had vanished, probably to help someone out or to get himself a coffee. “Sorry if I’m prying, it’s just that most people in town have been in here at least once, if only to ask about the owner.”

Ochako waved a hand and laughed. “You’re not prying! And yeah, I moved here pretty recently. I’m going to Yuie actually.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow as he rang up the book. “Twelve dollars please. And really? I have some friends who go there.”

She handed him the money and took the book graciously, stuffing it into her full looking backpack. “Well, maybe I’ll see you around then more often, Izuku.”

“Maybe,” he said, smiling. “Feel free to come by anytime, too. Especially if you’re looking for some inspiration. We have some amazing graphic novels and manga here.”

Ochako grinned. “Well, if I have money to drop, I might do just that. Have a nice night!”

“You, too,” he said, waving as she walked out of the store, the little bell on the door chiming as she left.

“She was cute,” Ikko said as he walked over, sipping a cup of coffee. A second one was in his other hand and he offered it to Izuku, who took it graciously. It was getting late and he was exhausted. There was still more to do, too.

“I guess so,” Izuku said. She was cute, but no need to let Ikko know he thought that. The kid would find a way to tease him about it. “Now, you better get back to watching the register. If Tenya finds out you were gone he’ll lecture you again.”

Ikko groaned but gave a little salute as he took his place at the register; leaning onto the counter, paperback open in one hand, coffee at the ready. The boy seemed to relish living up to any and all stereotypes about teen boys and he played the part well.

Izuku took a gulp of the hot coffee. Ikko had remembered to put cream and a bit of honey. Bless him. He groaned and marched back to the backroom, plopping down at his place and getting back to sorting the used books. He loved his job but it was looking like a long night and he did not want to deal with that. Well, no use in stalling, he thought, grabbing his notebook and pen. Let’s do it.

That Night at Home

“That was such a loooong day,” Izuku groaned as he drudged up the stairs of his apartment building. Well, their apartment, as Tenya kept up with him nimbly.

“Indeed, though we did stellar business,” Tenya said, a huge grin on his face. “We need to get more deals like that one though next time I would bring in a couple more of the temp workers so we don’t have to deal with as much chaos ourselves.”

Izuku shook his head and looked at his dark haired friend. “How did the call go by the way? Anything good?”

Tenya sighed, his hands moving this way and that. “Of a sort. I got another publisher agree to have a shipment of signed copies of the next release by one of their bigger authors and scored an author to come to the store to do a signing within the next few months. But...the Project remains unfinished as of yet.”

Izuku made a tsk sound and grimaced. The Project, as they called it, had been something Tenya had been striving for since Toshinori hired them both on as managers. It had only been the last year or so that Tenya had been pushing for it to become finalized but he had done almost everything else on his list. The Project was all that remained and the day it was finished was going to be an amazing day.

“Any closer at least?”

“Getting better at the negotiating, I think,” Tenya admitted. “It’s one thing to deal with publishers but this….this is something else entirely. I am beginning to think it may be impossible for the time being. We may need to be bigger.”

Izuku smiled and patted his friend on his back as they reached their floor. “Eh, you can do it, Tenya. Those business classes have got to be helping somehow, right?”

Tenya laughed and opened their door. “I suppose so. Thank you for your faith, Izuku.”

“You two are home late,” their roommate said from the kitchen. Shoto Todoroki watched the two of them enter their shared apartment with a faint smile, a mug of tea in his hand. His mismatched eyes; one grey, the other blue, tracked them with an amused look as they made their way into the kitchen.

“It was a busy day. I had to stay behind to finish up last minute work,” Izuku said with a yawn. “Tenya offered to stick behind and help out.”

Shoto made an ah sound and nodded. He jerked his head to the oven, his white and red hair bouncing a bit. “There’s some pizza leftover in there. Hopefully it’s still warm.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” Izuku said. His stomach was empty except for the coffee ikko had given him and pizza sounded perfect. He pulled it out and immediately grabbed a piece, tearing into it. It wasn’t piping hot but it wasn’t cold either. And it was food so he ate it with relish.

“How was your day, Shoto?” Tenya asked as he helped himself to the pizza as well.

Shoto rolled his shoulders in a shrug. “Had classes, did some work, went to the gym. Same old, same old. Though, I did see Momo and Kyouka and we got to talking.”

“You and Momo, hmm?” Izuku said, smirking at his friend. “What about?”

It had taken him a while but Izuku had mastered how to detect when his friend was blushing, like he was now. “Kyouka was there, too. And it was about Tsu’s new roommate and their new friend. They want to introduce her to the ‘gang’.” Shoto didn’t have to make the air quotes for Izuku to get that he was quoting Kyouka, but the other boy had anyways. “So naturally, I offered to host dinner for the seven of us.”

“We’re hosting?” Tenya asked. “I’m always happy to play host to friends but Momo and Kyouka have a much larger place.”

“Yeah, Shoto,” Izuku piped up, looking around their place. “It’s not like our place is….big.” They had been lucky to get the place, if he was being honest. It wasn’t bad; two bedrooms, a decent living room, and a kitchen with an oven, stove, and fridge included. It even had a dining counter that the three of them used, leaving them with extra room with the lack of a table. They had hosted get togethers before, but usually of the “drinking soda and the rare beer and watching shitty movies” kind, not the “having a dinner” kind.

“I know but Momo asked if we could. Their place is a mess with all that’s going on in their building and Tsu’s place is smaller than ours.”

Tenya sighed and nodded slowly. “I suppose you make a good point, Shoto. Very well. When is this dinner?”

Shoto smiled and took a drink of his tea. “They suggested Thursday and I know you two have the evening off that day. Or at least, you do, Tenya. Izuku, you’re just not working right?”

Oh no. He knew where Shoto was going with this. He faced his friend and gave him a begging look, opening his eyes as wide as possible. The puppy dog eyes had worked before on Shoto but not this time. Shoto stared right back at him, as cold and as immovable as a glacier. Izuku sighed. Dammit . “Yeah, I’m free all day. I’ll do the shopping.”

“We both will. And the cooking. Come on, Izuku. You’re the best of all of us.”

“This is true,” Tenya said. “Compared to you our cooking is bland.”

“I get it,” Izuku grumbled. “I’ll figure something out for the dinner.” He grabbed another piece of pizza and stuffed it into his mouth with a pout.

“Knew we could count on you,” Shoto said with a grin. “Don’t worry though, I’ll make sure it’s worth it. Momo offered to bring dessert and I know how much you love her baking. I think it’ll be fine.”

“Mmmmf,” Izuku grumbled with pizza in his mouth. He swallowed and sighed before grinning. “I do have to admit I’m excited to meet Tsu’s new roommate. I know she’s been excited for a while now to meet her, too.”

“I wonder what she’ll think of us all,” Tenya said. He opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of root beer. He gave one to Izuku and popped open his. “Well, I suppose we’ll just have to wait.”

Izuku grinned and opened his up as well, taking a long drink. “Yup! Here’s hoping it’s a new friend!”

“Indeed!” Tenya said, thrusting his bottle skyward. “To new friends in our journey through life!” Izuku laughed and thrusted his bottle up next to Tenya’s and they both turned to look at Shoto.

Shoto rolled his eyes but was smiling. “Dorks,” he said as he raised his mug.

“To new friends!” All three yelled out before laughing.

Chapter Text

Ochako Uraraka stared at the open notebook in front of her and let out a growl of frustration. Three hours. For three hours she had been sketching and trying to sketch, alternating between the two seemingly at random. And she had….nothing. Nothing of note, nothing special. The latest drawing was of an angel soaring into the sky, wielding a flaming spear, but it was generic. The angel was female with long white hair-- like that was original. Flaming weapons were such an easy shorthand for holiness that she was upset she had even drawn one for her angel. And finally, the art wasn’t even that good. She had done better, way better, before and she knew she could do better now.

The only problem was she wasn’t feeling it. She loved art. Drawing was something that brought her joy like nothing else and she wanted to share what she made with the world. But, when Ochako didn’t feel inspired, no matter how hard she tried, she could never create a good drawing. And her current drought of inspiration had been going on for a few months at this point. Even the art book, which her old professor recommended in the hopes that it would help, wasn’t doing much for her.

She needed something to wow her. Desperately, anything. Otherwise, how was she going to make it as an artist?

“Ochako!” She turned and saw Tsu walk in. Either Tsu was supernaturally silent or she had been to consumed in thought to hear her roommate enter. Either way, she pushed away her dark thoughts and smiled at her new roommate and old friend.

“Tsu! How was work?”

The other girl shrugged and took off her coat. Tsu was gangly compared to Ochako, with longer limbs and big feet and hands for her size. Ochako had once heard a couple of guys back in middle school call Tsu “plain looking”, with one of them daring to insinuate that her friend looked frog-like. Ochako had always found her friend to be adorable and puberty had been kind to her, giving her some curves and taking away the awkward stick-thin gangly-ness that had been Tsu at an earlier age.

“It was fine,” Tsu said, moving over to Ochako. “How about you? How has your day been?”

“Classes were fine and quick,” Ochako said with a smile. “Work was….well one of the managers is kind of a jerk but hey, that’s just life, right?” Her old boss had helped get her a new job at a coffee shop in the area who’s owner she was on good terms with.

Tsu nodded wisely. “I understand completely. Hopefully you won’t have to deal with them all the time.” She patted Ochako on the shoulder and moved to her room, where the rustling of clothing said she was changing. Tsu worked at a daycare nearby and while she loved it, from what Ochako could gather, every night when she got home she would immediately change into pj's and just collapse onto the couch. “How about your drawing? Any progress there?”

Ochako chuckled awkwardly and shook her head even though she knew Tsu couldn’t see her. “Nah, not really. Not for the lack of trying though.”

“You’ll get it,” Tsu said. She walked back out of her room, wearing her usual green and yellow striped pj’s. “Oh, remember how Momo mentioned to me about a dinner for you?”

“You still don’t have to do that, you know,” Ochako said. “I don’t need to be treated like a special guest.”

“Stop it,” Tsu said. Ochako had tried to convince her before that she didn’t need to throw a party for her but Tsu had insisted that she just wanted Ochako to meet her friends and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “We’re not treating you like a special guest, Ochako. We’re just treating a friend to dinner and introducing you to new friends. That’s all.”

Ochako sighed but smiled. “Fine, fine. You win. So, what about the dinner?”

“Well, Momo got back to me earlier. Apparently Shoto, a friend of ours, had agreed to host the dinner on Thursday. She just found out this morning so that means, we don’t have to worry about dinner that night.”

“Does Shoto live alone?” Ochako asked, her brow furrowed. “Is he rich or something?” Tsu snorted and shook her head.

“Shoto? Not really. His family, or rather, his dad is, but he’s not. No, he lives in an apartment with two other boys, Tenya iida and Izuku Midoriya. Izuku will probably be cooking.”

Izuku….wait, wasn’t the boy at the bookstore yesterday named Izuku? “Does Izuku work at a bookstore called Plus Ultra Books?” Ochako asked.

Tsu nodded but then tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, with Tenya, too, but how did you know that?”

Ochako laughed and held up the art book. “I went there yesterday and met him! He seemed nice.”

“He’s a sweet guy,” Tsu said with a firm nod. “We met back in high school. He can be extremely nerdy and sometimes seems to just space out, but all in all, good guy.”

“Well, at least I know one of them,” Ochako said with a small smile. She tapped her pencil against the sketchbook absently and grimaced. “Do you think they’ll like me?”

Tsu, who was now lying down on the couch flipping through channels, looked up at Ochako and smiled. “You don’t have to worry about that, Ochako. Shoto may be a bit cold on the surface and Tenya is a huge dork, but they’re all really good guys. Trust me on this. You’ll fit in great.”

Wednesday

Ochako wasn’t quite sure why she was here again but well, here she was. Standing outside Plus Ultra Books on Wednesday, one day before the dinner. She didn’t know why but for some reason she felt compelled to thank Izuku in person for hosting the dinner for her even though said dinner hadn’t happened yet.

What is wrong with me? She thought with a sigh. Well, she was already here, no use in turning back. Pushing open the door she stepped into the shop. It was busier than it had been Monday night when she went but it was far from hopping. A sullen looking teen was running the register and an energetic looking man around her age was bouncing around the store, his hands and arms everywhere as he gestured to a teenage girl. The girl, for her part, simply smiled and nodded as if this was an everyday occasion.

She couldn’t see Izuku though. Frowning she began to search through the shelves and….were they aisles? Sections , she decided, they’re sections, not aisles. She searched through the various sections looking for him but still didn’t see him. Of course she didn’t even know if he was working today so he could’ve been off…..which would’ve made the whole trip a bit of a waste.

“Do you need help with anything?” a deep voice said behind her. She turned around to see a tall, thin man standing behind her. His face was all sharp cheekbones and chin, with sunken blue eyes that seemed to stare right through her. His blond hair was a bit of a mane, with two locks falling around his face. He looked almost sick, his body feeling almost too thin. And yet, his smile took some of that ease off. It was just a warm expression that made her a little less worried.

“Um, kinda?” she answered, laughing a little. “Do you work here?”

“Mmhm,” the man said with a small nod. He chuckled. “I know the store pretty well, too if you need anything.”

“Well, I’m not looking for a book.” He cocked his head to the side. “I’m looking for a person. Izuku Midoriya? I don’t know if he’s working today but I wanted to come by and talk to him, thank him for doing something nice for me.”

Somehow, the man’s smile got even warmer and his eyes seemed to dance for a second. “Ah, of course, of course. Last I saw him he went on break but I’m sure he would be happy to talk to you. I’ll go get him.” Before she could thank him, the man ambled off, moving surprisingly limber for someone in his state.

She browsed the shelves nearest her as she waited only to realize she was in a section of travel books. Oh, maybe that’s why he had asked her if she needed help. This didn’t exactly look like the section a college girl would be in if she knew what she wanted.

Footsteps sounded behind her and she turned to see Izuku walking up, wearing the same dorky blue All Might hoodie from Monday, though he left it open this time, revealing a red T-shirt beneath. His red sneakers were also incredibly noticeable and gave him an air of childishness that she thought suited him. “Hey! Ochako, right? Mr. Yagi said you needed to say something to me?” He smiled and stopped right before her, his dark green hair a bit more managed this time around. She opened her mouth to say thank you and then blinked.

“Wait, that guy was Mr. Yagi? The owner?”

Izuku laughed and nodded. “Yup! Toshinori Yagi, owner of Plus Ultra Books and my boss, that’s him. He likes just walking the store, meeting all the new customers and just chatting.” He dug his hands into his pockets and smiled. “So, you wanted to tell me something?”

Right, she had. “Yeah! I just wanted to say thank you before the dinner for hosting and doing your best to make me feel comfortable. I know that sounds kind of silly but I just thought it was so nice for you to offer to host and--” she stopped, his shocked expression finally registering to her. “Izuku? Everything okay?”

“You’re Tsu’s roommate?” Izuku asked, his expression of shock sliding away to a big grin. “Oh my god that’s awesome! What a small world huh?”

She giggled and nodded. “Yeah, I know. When Tsu told me that you were the one who was hosting I felt so shocked. Like, come on! How could it be possible that one of the new people I meet here is also one of her friends?”

“So, how do you like Tsu?” Izuku’s eyes sparkled and he looked adorable for a second. “She’s awesome, isn’t she?”

“Hell yeah she is! I’m so glad I got to see her again after so long!” Ochako smiled at Izuku’s look of confusion. “We were friends in middle school and after she moved away we spent most of high school texting each other to keep in touch. I haven’t seen her since.”

Izuku made an ‘ah’ sound and nodded. “You’re pretty lucky then to have known her for so long.” He checked his watch, which, Ochako noticed, looked like it could’ve been All Might-themed too, judging by the colors. “I would love to talk more, but my break is about to end and Tenya always tells me to not slack off since I would set a bad example for the ‘impressionable teenagers’.” He grinned and turned to walk away before whirling back to face her. “And about the dinner tomorrow, don’t worry about it! Now that I know it’s you I’m three times as happy to host for you! I just hope you like it!”

“I’m sure it’ll be awesome,” Ochako said. She began to walk back towards the entrance and he followed along. When they reached the door she waved. “I’ll see ya tomorrow!”

“Come hungry!” Izuku called and she laughed and nodded. She could see Mr. Yagi standing nearby and she waved. He turned to her and smiled, waving back.

She stepped out into the chill fall air and felt extremely happy. That went really, really well. Though she had gotten a good impression when she first met him but talking with him more left her feeling even more sure of it. Izuku Midoriya was good people, she felt.

When she got back to the apartment, with Tsu still out, she walked into her room and, as always, took out her sketchbook and began to sketch. She didn’t really have anything in mind and did a few basic sketches of people, creatures, anything that popped into mind. As she turned the page though, she thought of Izuku standing in the bookstore and her hand began to move. She sketched him as best as she could, taking her time. Making sure the get the shading just so on his hair to show the darker part closer to his head. Getting the shoes with their large tongues right.

“Is that Izuku?” Ochako yelped and nearly jumped in her seat. She turned to look at Tsu who was staring at the drawing, finger on her mouth. Apparently, Ochako had lost track of time sketching. She smiled ruefully. That only happened when she was really into it and of course the one thing she would get really into as of late would be drawing a boy she didn’t know all that well.

“Yeah,” Ochako admitted sheepishly. “I just saw him again at the bookstore and well, I felt inspired I guess. What do you think?”

Tsu tilted her head and seemed to seriously consider it. “I think it’s pretty good. It looks a lot like Izuku but in your own style.” She smiled. “I like it a lot.”

Ochako smiled and bowed her head. “Thanks, Tsu.”

“Of course. Now, how do you feel about Thai for dinner? I don’t wanna cook tonight.”

Thursday Night

“Aren’t we a bit early?” Ochako asked, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. “I mean, what if they’re not ready?”

Tsu looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. The two girls were standing outside of Izuku’s apartment a few minutes before the official beginning of the get-together. “Ochako, it’ll be fine. Trust me. Shoto and Izuku won’t mind at all.” Without giving Ochako a chance to protest further, Tsu knocked on the door a few times.

A moment later and it opened. The man behind the door was a tall guy, with white and red hair, the two colors almost evenly divided between left and right. His eyes were two different colors: one grey and the other a bright blue. The blue was made even brighter by the horrible looking burn scar around his left eye. “You’re early, Tsu,” the man said, looking between them. His eyes fixated on Ochako for a moment, studying her intensely before he shrugged and stepped aside. “Well, Momo and Kyouka will be here soon anyways. Make yourself at home.” Ochako let out a little breath she had been holding and followed Tsu inside. Once she was in there she turned to face Shoto and offered her hand.

“I’m Ochako Uraraka,” she said, giving him her biggest grin. He seemed a bit aloof and cold and she just wanted to make sure he liked her. “Thank you so much for hosting this dinner for me!”

He took her hand and firmly shook it, meeting her eyes dead on. And then he smiled, just a slightly twitch of his lips. “Nice to meet you. I’m sure Tsu already told you, but I’m Shoto Todoroki.” He let go and walked into the small kitchen, taking out a large bottle filled with water and setting it on the counter. “Tenya should be here soon, too. I think he’s getting a ride with Momo. My other roommate, meanwhile, is passed out in his room. Tsu, could you wake him up while I get stuff ready?”

“I can get him,” Ochako offered. Shoto raised an eyebrow but shrugged and pointed at a room down the hall. She nodded and walked off to get him as Tsu passed her by to help Shoto. Honestly, she had no idea why she volunteered to get him. Maybe it was because she wanted to be helpful, maybe she wanted to see what kind of room Izuku had. Maybe it was a bit of both.

The door was opened and she stepped in. The room wasn’t all that big, with a desk shoved against the wall opposite the door. Izuku’s bed was to her left, with a large poster of All Might above it. A couple of small bookcases were at the foot of the bed and a larger one was right next to her. Other All Might posters, along with posters for other books and comics, dotted the room, but All Might prevailed. She even spotted what looked like a stuffed rabbit that was dressed like All Might.

Izuku was asleep on the bed, sprawled out and snoring softly. His green hair was a mess and his hoodie was rumpled, but he….he looked so peaceful. She found herself smiling, looking down at this sleeping teen. She hadn’t noticed his freckles before, but they seemed incredibly obvious now. Well, she couldn’t stand here all night, she thought, so she reached down and gently shook him. “Izuku?” she said softly.

He groaned and slowly woke up, his eyes fluttering open a few times before he sat up and yawned. “Wha?” he mumbled. Ochako giggled and watched as he rubbed his eyes and turned to face her. His eyes immediately shot open wide and his face turned a light pink. “Um, Ochako? Why are you in my room?”

“Shoto sent me to wake you up,” she said cheerily. Okay, technically that wasn’t true, but well, it was close. “He said he needed help with something.”

“OH!” Izuku scrambled out of his bed and nearly fell to the ground before Ochako grabbed him. He grinned. “Thank you. I almost forgot about the dinner! Ah!” Ochako trailed behind him as he burst out of the room and practically ran into the kitchen.

“I woke him up,” she called. She heard Tsu giggle and when she reached the kitchen she could see a faint smile on Shoto’s face.

“So you did,” he said. “Izuku, is everything all ready?”

Izuku nodded as he took a covered pot out of the oven. “Yup! Chicken tenders are good, mac and cheese is ready, and the….is the salad all good?”

“It’s premade,” Shoto said with a tone that reminded Ochako a lot of her dad, especially when he was trying to tell her something she had heard before.

“Right, right.” Izuku grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “So we’re just waiting for the others?”

A knock came from the door and Shoto opened his arms wide with a subtle smirk on his face. “I don’t think so anymore.” He walked over to the door as Ochako made her way over to Tsu.

“Your room is cute, Izuku,” she teased. The green-haired teen looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen half of those All Might posters.”

“He was crazy back in high school,” Tsu said with a small nod. “Constantly trying to get every little bit of gear he could.”

“Tsu!” Izuku protested. “Come on! Let me have some dignity.”

“At this point, I don’t think that’s entirely possible,” a new voice said. Ochako turned to see two girls and a young man enter the apartment. The man she guessed was Tenya and she realized he had been the one she first talked to at the bookstore. The girls she didn’t recognize but the one that spoke was shorter and had short purple hair with bangs that had been cut at an angle. She was dressed in a cool fashion, or so Ochako thought. Leather jacket, dark jeans, a shirt that looked too long but was ripped at the hem, and combat boots that went up halfway her calf.

“Kyouka!” the other girl admonished, though her smile took some of the edge off of it. She was taller than everyone there but Shoto and Tenya, and even then it was close. Her black hair was pulled back into a large ponytail. Bangs fell on the right side of her face but left her eyes uncovered. She carried herself with an air of elegance and distinguish that made her seem older than she was, but at the same time, her playful grin gave her a bit of youth.

The man, Tenya, walked past them both, carrying a large Tupperware container. He smiled as he saw Ochako and offered a hand out, balancing the container on the other. “You must be Tsu’s new roommate…..Ah!” His arm flailed and Shoto wordlessly took the container from him, freeing both of Tenya’s arms to gesture wildly. Ochako watched, both amused and very confused. “You’re the girl from the bookstore!” His hands whirled as he pointed at her, his eyes glinting. “Well, it is a pleasure to meet you! I am Tenya Iida!” He offered his hand again and Ochako smiled and took it, shaking lightly.

“Nice to meet you, Tenya. I’m Ochako Uraraka. Thank you again for hosting this.”

“No thanks needed,” he said with a warm smile. “Anything for a friend of Tsu’s. Now! Izuku, is dinner prepared?” Tenya hustled by and Ochako giggled as she heard Izuku try to ease Tenya’s worries and convince him that, yes, dinner really was ready.

The taller girl stepped up and smiled at Ochako. “Nice to finally meet you, Ochako,” she said. “I’m Momo Yaoyorozu and that’s my roommate, Kyouka Jiro.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Ochako said with a big smile on her face. Despite her air of sophistication, Momo seemed easy to get along with all things considered.

Kyouka smiled slightly and walked up to Ochako, waving. “Yo,” she drawled. “Glad you decided to move in with Tsu. You seem pretty chill so I’m excited to see what happens….especially when you meet the rest of the gang.”

Ochako blinked. “Wait, there are more of you guys?”

Kyouka laughed and grinned. “Well, there are Denki, Eijirou, and Katsuki, then Toru and Mina, and Mashirao and Fumikage, just for starters. There used to be even more, if you can believe it, but Rikido, Hanta, and Mezo went off to study abroad this quarter.”

“I decided to take it slow,” Tsu said as she walked up behind Ochako. “No need to throw twenty people at you all at once.”

“She picked only the coolest,” Kyouka said with a smirk. “Anyways, we can catch up over food. Izuku! Is food ready?”

“Denki is rubbing off on you,” Momo said with a sigh as Izuku gave Kyouka a thumbs up.

“Food’s ready to go if you guys want to eat!” Izuku said, partially, Ochako thought, just to get people to stop asking him if it was ready.

The food was delicious and Ochako was amazed that it was all homemade and done by Izuku. That boy was pretty good at cooking it seemed. There was a strange taste to his food, something warm and familiar. Everything tasted like it had been made for a big family, she decided. That’s what it was. It reminded her of family dinners back home when her mom went crazy to make an amazing dinner for relatives. Even just nightly dinners had this kind of taste.

As tasty as the food was she didn’t have a whole lot to eat, mainly because she was kept busy with conversation. She bounced around the room, talking to people or listening, trying to figure everyone out. This was something she had been good at, introductions. She could smile, talk cheerfully, and get people to like her. It was easy all things considered.

She had gotten some basic information on everyone and got a feel for them. They all seemed like nice people with their own little quirks and she could see hanging out with them more. They were just unique and interesting to be around. Tenya’s hand motions were especially hilarious and she found him the most fun, just for that. Overall though, she thought Tsu had been right. She did like everyone here.

But after talking for what seemed like several hours, she was exhausted. Ochako collapsed onto the couch as people kept talking. They had moved to dessert-- the chocolate and cinnamon cake Momo had made was absolutely amazing-- and coffee and she kept her mug at hand. She would need it for later, just to replenish her energy.

“Mind if I join you?” Ochako turned to see Izuku smiling at her, holding his own mug.

“It’s your couch,” she said with a laugh, scooting to make sure there was room. He plopped down next to her with an audible sigh. “All done dealing with people?”

He laughed and shook his head. “Nah. I can’t be done with them, not really. No, I just decided to come over and chat a bit.” He smiled at her, his eyes warm and bright. “You said you’re working on a graphic novel, yeah?”

Ochako nodded and smiled sheepishly. “Kinda….I want to make one but everytime I try it just….falls apart. Either the story is lame or the art isn’t want I was hoping for.”

“I get that,” Izuku said with a small smile. “I’m trying to write a book of my own, and I get that feeling big time. Half the things I write just feel like they suck.”

“Exactly! Like every little thing is a flaw, right?”

Izuku nodded. “But then someone else can read it and say it’s good….it’s weird, right?” He smiled. “Speaking of which, do you have any drawings I could see?”

Ochako debated showing him. She had brought her sketchbook in her bag, just as a worst-case scenario type thing, and while she doubted Izuku would be mean at all. It was just….what if he didn’t like them though? She looked at him, with his big green eyes, soft smile, adorable freckles and realized that the guy probably didn’t have a single mean bone in his body. “Sure,” she said, digging into her bag to pull out her sketchbook. She handed it over and Izuku bowed his head in thanks, He opened it up and slowly started to look over the pictures and Ochako waited nervously.

He stopped at a page where she had drawn a monster that came to her one day. It was a wretched looking beast, humanoid but so muscular its skin was bursting at the seams. Its arms ended in strange skeletal claws and its head was a human skull with a wolf’s maw and deer antlers. Half of the skin though seemed to have rotted off, revealing patches of muscles and bone. “God this is terrifying to look at,” Izuku said. “I love it though. This is really good!”

Ochako blinked and looked at him. “Wait, really? You like it?”

Izuku nodded. “Yup! I mean, look at it! I’m not an expert at drawing or anything but it looks amazing. The way the skin has tiny rips here and there where you can the muscles, the visible stretching around the hands, it all looks really cool.” He looked at her, his eyes sparkling and she felt herself smiling. He liked it. That made her ridiculously happy for reasons she didn’t quite get, but it made her very, very happy and that’s all she cared about right now. “Did you have any idea as to what kind of story you would use this for?”

She shook her head. “I mean I’ve always liked fantasy but this was just a sketch, not really for any kind of story to be honest.”

“I love fantasy, too,” he said with a big, goofy grin. “I’ve wanted to write a superhero story, too, but I feel like I would just end up rewriting All Might , you know?” He paused, seeming to think about something. “You know, if you wanted to, I could show you some of my writing too….It could be fun to maybe try and do something with each other, you know?”

“Like, write a book together?”

“A graphic novel! Why not? Or at least work together on our own projects.” She considered this for a second. On the one hand, she did feel comfortable with Izuku and that could be a lot of fun, but on the other hand….didn’t she want to make the novel on her own? Well, yes and no. She wanted to make it, and if she did it on her own that would be awesome. But Izuku seemed like he would be a huge help and that would be appreciated.

“Sure!” Ochako said happily. “So do you have any writing I could see?”

Izuku laughed awkwardly. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask but I do and I’ll show you if you really want.” He bit his lip. “I have an idea though. How does this sound; give me a week to write a short story related to your pictures and then I’ll show you that? A little way to prove that I’m on your level.”

“A week huh?” Ochako raised an eyebrow. “You think you can do it?” She was hoping he could though. If they ended up working together on a graphic novel she would honestly love that.

“I think I’ll make it work,” Izuku said with a smile.

Shoto watched the two while he listened to the conversation before him. Kyouka was talking to Momo about some concert that was coming to town, while Tenya was also earnestly discussing with Tsu a professor they shared this quarter. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to talk to them all; quite the opposite. But he liked being in the background a bit more. Besides, he was gathering material to use at a later date. He watched as Izuku said something and Ochako laughed. The two were huddled together on the couch, bent over a large notebook looking over it. Izuku had ran to his room and returned with one of his notebooks which Ochako was reading at the same time. Both of them were grinning like idiots.

“They’re kinda cute together,” Momo said from besides Shoto. He tried not to start and turned to look at her. He hadn’t realized he had been staring at them.

“I suppose so,” Shoto said with a small grin. “They should both be glad Mina and Toru are out of town for the week.”

“Mina would be all over this,” Kyouka agreed. “Though that would probably ruin the moment.”

Tenya sighed and shook his head. “Shouldn’t we leave them be? They only just met.”

“He has a point,” Tsu said. “Though it’s nice to see them bond.”

“Is Ochako also a big nerd?” Kyouka asked with a grin. “Because if so then those two are meant to be best friends.”

“Big enough,” Tsu said with a smile on her face. “She digs fantasy books and is a big fan of comics. She and Izuku could probably talk for days about that.”

“Well, let’s leave them to it, then,” Momo said, herding the others back to begin talking again.

Shoto chuckled as Izuku excitedly gesture, his arms swinging wide as he demonstrated something to Ochako. He couldn’t hear them over the talking in the background but he was fine with that. This talk was for Izuku and Ochako, not him.

Izuku needed this, he decided.

“Come on, Shoto,” Momo said with a light laugh. He turned and gave her a small smile. “Kyouka is trying to get Tenya to let her buy textbooks for cheaper.” Shoto snorted. That was worth watching.

Izuku stopped at the last page of the sketchbook and felt his cheeks warm up slightly. It was him, wearing his All Might hoodie. Nothing special, just a sketch of him standing, hands buried in his hoodie pockets, a big smile on his face. The drawing looked amazing to him, and yet he felt like something was off with the picture. It looked like him but it looked….better than him, he realized. This Izuku was attractive, with a big smile, happy looking eyes, and freckles that gave him charm rather than take away. He stood tall, was slim without looking sickly, and his hair curled off from his head in a way that made it look intentional, rather than just a mess.

“Is that me?” he asked softly.

Ochako looked up from his notebook and her cheeks turned a bright pink. “Uh, yeah. Sorry but I just felt inspired after seeing you in the bookstore that day and well, there ya go.”

He didn’t really know how to respond. He wasn’t upset; he felt awed. She drew this based off of him. “This me seems handsome,” he joked.

“Only him?” Ochako scoffed. “Don’t sell yourself short, Izuku. That you is you, ya goof.” She smiled at him. “Glad to see that you seem to like it though.”

“It is really good,” he said. He smiled at her and closed the sketchbook, handing it back. “I have to say your art is pretty good, Ochako. I’ll have to work hard to match you.”

Her eyes lit up and sparkled and damn it was honestly adorable. “You think so? Thank you, Izuku! But I don’t think you’ll have to work that hard to catch up. I like your writing, especially the one about the prince. You have a way with crafting a picture in my head and the action parts are so goooood.”

“You’re gonna make me blush!” Izuku said. Or rather, she did, he realized. His cheeks were warm.

“Ochako?” The two of them turned to see Tsu, Kyouka, and Momo standing with their stuff. “We’re gonna head out for the night. You ready?”

The girl in question nodded and hopped up, running off to grab her jacket. Izuku stood up and said bye to the others, waving as they headed to the door and thanking them for coming. Ochako hurried back and nearly collided with him. “Almost forgot to give you this!” She thrust his notebook into his hands and smiled. “I left my number in the inside cover so we can talk and plan on meeting up. You better wow me, Mr Writer!”

“I’ll do what I can,” he said with a small smile. “Bye, Ochako!”

Once the girls started down the stairs, Shoto closed the door and smiled at Izuku. “Well, now that we have our place back, you know what that means.”

Tenya nodded solemnly, pushing his glasses up. “Indeed. It is cleaning time! Izuku, you may be excused as you cooked. I shall do this on my own!”

Shoto watched with a raised eyebrow as Tenya rolled up his sleeves and stomped into the kitchen. He then turned to Izuku and his smile felt a bit more smirk-like. “Ochako seems nice. You two planning on teaming up to write something then?”

“I guess we’ll see,” Izuku said as he headed towards his room. “Thanks for cleaning, Tenya! I’m going to chill in my room for a bit! Let me know if you need anything!”

“Of course” Tenya yelled back.

“Go relax, chef,” Shoto said. “We got this.”

Relaxing wasn’t on Izuku’s mind though. He sat at his desk, grabbed a pen, and opened the notebook. The images of the angel and the disturbing beast played through his head, ahead of all the other pictures he had seen and loved. He tapped his pen on the paper, trying to think of a scene to write. Something to wow her.

And then the image of the him that she drew popped into his mind, all happy and confident looking. That was how she saw him, and she thought his writing was good. She didn’t seem like the type to lie to just make him feel better either. She genuinely thought his writing was good.

He smiled softly. Well, if she thought that then he couldn’t let her down. He had to make this good, had to wow her. Maybe he was as good as she thought. Maybe the two of them would work together to complete their dreams. Maybe she could help him fulfill his dream and follow Toshinori’s footsteps like he craved.

Izuku put his pen to the page and began to write, thoughts filled with ideas about stories, monsters and angels, and what could come next.

Chapter Text

The angel glided in on flaming wings, golden sparks falling away from her as she floated to the ground. Her landing was graceful, settling onto the ground as if she weighed nothing at all, her wings outspread. The demon watched her, its expression unchanging, uncaring. The angel didn’t care: she had a job to do and the demon didn’t need to like it. She grabbed her spear and let out a clarion war cry, charging forward across the field--

Izuku groaned and scribbled a line underneath the short passage, marking its end. He was sitting in the backroom of the bookshop, at the desk they had shoved in the corner. Since he was on break he had decided to try and write the passage he had promised Ochako but it didn’t feel right to him. It didn’t feel like it did her drawings justice. Nor had the other ones he had tried.

It had been a week since the get together and he was still trying. He wanted to write her something awesome, something amazing, befitting her drawings. And yet, he found himself coming up short every time. It wasn’t like he wasn’t inspired or didn’t have the will to write: he had those in spades. Instead, it felt like his skill couldn’t keep up with what he desired. And that was driving him damn near insane.

“Still working hard?” He turned and smiled at Toshinori Yagi. He hadn’t heard the owner come in but he was often like that. Toshinori could just walk into a room and surprise him.

“You could, uh, you could say that,” Izuku laughed. Toshinori smiled at him knowingly. The store had been pretty empty that day, which was a blessing and a curse. It was nice to relax after the craziness that had been last week, but whenever the store was slow Tenya slowly went insane, convinced that he had to draw in customers no matter what.

“What are you writing there, young Midoriya?”Toshinori looked at the notebook with its numerous scribbled lines breaking up the various passages with interest. “A story? It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you write so enthusiastically.” He didn’t mention that it had been awhile since Izuku had written really at all, something Izuku appreciated dearly.

“A new friend showed me some art of hers,” he said with a small smile. “I want to write a piece for her based off of somethings she’s drawn.” Toshinori nodded in a way that made it clear he understood the feeling.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” he said. “Though, I am curious, young Midoriya. Is this friend the girl who was in the shop the other day?”

Izuku nodded with a big grin on his face. “Yup! Ochako Uraraka is her name. She’ll probably be around more often if you want to meet her.” Toshinori smiled and his eyes seemed to sparkle. That was an expression Izuku was used to seeing, usually whenever he and Tenya discussed ideas for expanding the shop with Toshinori. So, why was he doing it now?

“I would love that,” he said. “Anyways, enjoy the rest of your break, young Midoriya. I’ll be upstairs catching up on some work myself.”

“See ya, Toshinori!” Even though he had insisted that Tenya and Izuku, hell, all of the employees, called him Toshinori he always called them by their last names, adding ‘young’ when he grew fond of them….at least that was how Izuku thought it worked. He didn’t know for sure. Toshinori Yagi was sometimes an enigma to him.

Izuku turned back to the page and began to write yet another passage, still attempting the same angel fighting the demon. This one died from the start and he growled in frustration. A buzz in his pocket interrupted him before he could scribble the ending line. When he checked his phone he grinned.

Heya! she texted. Just got out of class and thought I’d see how you were doing :). Ever since they had exchanged numbers, the two of them had texted a lot each day. It had been a long time since Izuku had talked to someone like that and he loved it.

Just relaxing during my break, ” he replied quickly. Tenya was a bit crazy earlier but he’s calming down. The store is pretty chill today. How was class?

She responded almost immediately. It was class, you know? Nothing crazy, nothing boring. Just class. She sent a little sighing emoji followed by one that was laughing. Oh, by the way, Izuku, I was wondering if Saturday we could meet up?

Meet up? What do you mean?

Like get coffee together or something. You know, just chill and hang? If that’s cool.

Izuku smiled and nodded. He knew she couldn’t see him but he couldn’t help it. Yeah! Of course! I know a good little cafe by the bookstore if you wanna meet up there?

Hmm, well that sounds awesome!

“Izuku!” The boy in question looked up quickly and spotted Tenya smiling at him. “I hate to call you off of your break like this, but I’m going out to finish some details for a delivery in a couple of days.” He sighed and pinched his nose, pushing his glasses up. “The deal with that sci-fi author, Nicholas Goddard, is going through and now I just have to meet with his representative in town. Ugh, why is it, Izuku, that tasks like this always fall to me?”

“You love the challenge?” Izuku guessed with a grin. Gotta go watch the store. I’ll text you later!

Tenya considered that and then nodded. “Indeed, I suppose I do. The feeling after getting an especially amazing deal is not something to be underestimated! And with that science fiction convention happening only a couple days after our signing we will truly have excellent business!” Tenya clenched his fist, his eyes burning bright. Izuku had to keep in his laugh but Tenya just looked so happy and dorky. “Soon, Izuku, we will be the preeminent bookstore in the city! All will know the name of PLUS ULTRA BOOKS!”

Ikko poked his head into the backroom and raised an eyebrow. “Tenya, Boss, aren’t you going to be late if you don’t go soon?” Tenya’s eyes widened and Izuku chuckled this time.

“IZUKU! Watch the shop!” Tenya called out as he ran out of the backroom. Izuku managed to see him run out of the shop, briefcase in hand and resisted the urge to laugh again. Tenya’s whole family were runners and Tenya himself had been a track star in high school. When he wanted to, the guy could move.

“And there he goes,” Ikko said, face up against the glass as he watched Tenya run. “Damn, he’s not gonna be that late. I was mostly joking anyways.”

“Better make sure he never finds that out,” Izuku said with a chuckle. “Tenya would scold you for weeks.” Ikko rolled his eyes but Izuku picked up on the little wince right before. For all his talk the teen did respect, or at the very least, feared, Tenya and last time he had done something like that, Tenya had him count every single book on the shelves in the store. Ikko had moped for the rest of the week.

“Is Mr. Iida gone?” Emi asked, the younger girl coming down the stairs to the upstairs. She stood a foot taller than Ikko, though Ikko himself was rather short, and was incredibly slight. However, Emi was a darling and loved by the customers. Izuku never told her it, but both he and Tenya were trying to find a way to keep her on for as long as possible. Same with Ikko, as the boy was actually good at customer service and was clever when he wanted to be.

“He just ran out,” Izuku said, taking his place at the register. “He didn’t leave me any tasks to give you,” Ikko rolled his eyes and Izuku grinned, “but you guys know what to do anyways. Just make sure the display setup is ready by Saturday, okay, Emi?”

“Already working on it!” the girl chirped. She hurried back upstairs and Izuku turned to Ikko.

“I know, I know,” he said with an over the top sigh. “I’ll keep working on sorting the used books, boss.” He saluted and went back into the shelves where Izuku could spy a box full of the latest used books he had sorted through.

He checked his phone and spotted Ochako’s last text to him. Have fun, working man! I’ll talk to ya later! He grinned and shook his head as he sat down and opened his notebook, pen in hand. The store was quiet, he could afford to write for a bit.

Besides, now he wanted to finish by Saturday. Seemed like a good of time as any to share the story with her.

Early Saturday Morning

Izuku stood with Tenya, ikko, and Emi, looking at the pile of boxes before them with an air of anticipation and excitement filling them. They were in the front of the store, with a small display to the side in the front of the store, near the register. “I can’t believe they’re actually here,” Ikko said with an air of awe. “I mean, I know that obviously they were going to come sooner or later, but still….to be here, right now….damn.” Izuku found himself agreeing but shook himself out of his reverie.

He knelt down and gingerly held the boxcutter. “Should we get Toshinori for this?” he asked Tenya.

“Don’t worry, I’m here,” Toshinori called from farther back in the bookstore as he made his way over. “No need to wait up. Open them up, young Midoriya!” Izuku nodded and cut through the box’s tape, opening it with the care one might open up a treasure chest.

They had been working to get these for months, being one of the few remaining things on Tenya’s grand list besides the Project. The deal had been made almost a year ago and that night Toshinori had taken them all out to dinner as a way of celebrating. And now, now they were here.

Reaching in carefully, Izuku pulled out a small black figure. He held it gingerly and the others crowded in for a closer look, even Toshinori peering over Ikko to see. The figure in Izuku’s hand was about four inches tall, primarily black with jagged bands of red on the arms, chest, and legs. It’s head was topped with pink in a strange, brain like pattern, with it’s empty looking eyes popping out from the pink. The beak-like mouth was open to show sharp looking teeth bared in a strange almost grin and overall the thing was both adorable and terrifying.

“They actually made them,” Emi breathed. The five of them huddled around the figurine of Nomu, one of the villains All Might fought in his books, for a few more seconds before the quiet was shattered.

Emi and Ikko dove into the boxes, pulling out other figures. Some were hard plastic like the one Izuku held, others more of a plushy feel. Tenya began to direct them and soon all of them were filling the display case with the toys. “I can’t believe we got them!” Izuku laughed. “How long ago was it that you bargained with the toy makers, Toshinori?”

The older man placed a small All Might plushie on a shelf next to a plushy of Nana Shimura, and laughed. “Too long. The proof they asked to prove I was who I was was insane if you ask me.”

“But we have them!” Tenya laughed. “The struggle is worth it! Not only do we have All Might figures, we are the only store in the area who does! The only one for days, too!” He laughed again, his eyes wide and bright. Izuku found himself smiling too, and so were Emi and Ikko.

“Easy there, young Iida,” Toshinori said, but even his eyes were sparkling. This had been something they had all been waiting for ever since they had ordered them all those months ago. “Young Yusa, young Eto, did you announce this on the webpage?”

Emi nodded and Ikko pulled out his phone. “I was just gonna tweet it out on the official page,” he said. “Once we get them all on the display I was gonna take a picture and tweet that.”

“Excellent idea,” Tenya said. He rubbed his hands together and Izuku knew what he was thinking: anticipating the rush of business. “Emi, Ikko, finish setting up the display. Izuku, how many of our friends did you tell?”

“Those who are in the fandom,” Izuku said with a grin. The day before he had sent out a mass text to all of his friends who were fans of All Might about the figures. “And even a few who aren’t, just for good measure. I also made a couple of forum posts last night, telling them to watch the Plus Ultra Twitter account for some big news today.”

Tenya’s eyes burst into passionate flames and his smile grew. “Perfection! Today we go beyond! Even if it doesn’t happen today, it will over time and with our head start, well, we will blow the competition away!”

“What’s in here?” Emi asked, picking up a smaller box. She turned and looked at Toshinori, holding it out to him. “It’s addressed to you rather than the store.”

Toshinori smiled and took the box. “Ah, yes. I went ahead and got you all a gift for working so hard on this and the store in general.” He opened the box with some effort, Izuku watching him carefully. Toshinori didn’t like to show it but his sickness did hamper him in a lot of ways. Still, he cut open the box and pulled out five plushes from it. “I went ahead and preordered a few plushies for us all, as a way of thanks.” He took one of Gran Torino, All Might’s old teacher from the books, and held it up carefully. His smile was so tender, so warm, it made Izuku’s heart ache. That, and the act of getting them all plushies, made his eyes water.

“Toshinori,” he said quietly.

“You didn’t have to do that!” Tenya said quickly. “Honestly!”

“I know I didn’t have to,” Toshinori said gently. “But I wanted to. You four have been beyond amazing, working tirelessly to turn this from just a small bookstore, an old man’s dream, to something amazing.” He shook his head, blond locks bouncing. “You all went beyond.” He clenched a fist and punched the air. “You went PLUS ULTRA! And for that, you deserve these. Take your pick.”

Ikko was the first to step up and he took one of Suneater, a young hero who All Might dealt with regularly. He turned to Toshinori and bowed his head deeply. “Thank you, sir.”

Emi grabbed one of Nezu, a cute anthropomorphic animal that worked closely with All Might. “Thank you so much, Mr. Yagi!”

Tenya and Izuku both stepped up next and nodded to each other. Izuku grabbed the All Might plush while Tenya grabbed the one of Ingenium, another hero in the books. “Thank you, Toshinori!” they said together. Izuku closed his eyes tight to prevent himself crying but he still felt a tear fall. He always had been a bit of a crier, he thought to himself.

“No need for all the thanks!” Toshinori said with a laugh. “You all just keep up the good work. Maybe I’ll treat you all out to ice cream sometime.” He chuckled and headed to the stairs going up. “If you need anything just come and get me!”

Izuku and Tenya looked at each other and then back at Ikko and Emi. They nodded and got back to work. Each of them had nothing but love and respect for Toshinori, something Izuku sometimes thought Toshinori knew and used. “Let’s get this display down,” Izuku said, stepping up to help out. “The sooner it’s finished, the sooner we can open up and get these things selling like hot cakes!” Ikko snorted and Emi laughed but the three of them set to work, with Tenya standing back and chiming in every now and then.

It took an hour, but as the store officially opened, the display was finished, meeting even Tenya’s strict scrutiny. The four of them had quickly gulped down coffee and donuts while they could, knowing that any minute, fans would come pouring in. The tweet Ikko had sent out had been retweeted by a fair number of people, and the All Might forums were buzzing with the news.

And then they came rushing in. Teens, adults, little kids, everyone who was a fan of All Might came pouring into the store and it was go time. Emi and Tenya worked the registers, while Ikko and Izuku worked to make sure the display remained well stocked, replenishing whatever figure got low. As much as it tired him out, Izuku always liked busy days like this because of the energy. Tenya and Ikko and Emi always felt so excited and when Toshinori dropped down to talk to customers about the figures it was clear that he was enjoying himself too. Plus, how happy some of the customers were was amazing. Izuku spotted a little girl hugging one of the larger All Might plushes to her chest tightly, the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face as her mom paid for it. That. That’s what he loved to see. What he lived to see.

As he turned to grab his probably empty coffee cup he saw a shadow fall over him and looked up. Ochako was standing up, hands behind her back, smiling down at him. “Izuku! Looks like you’re plenty busy!”

He laughed and stood up, looking at the store. “I guess you could say that. The figures are certainly turning a profit.”

Ochako laughed and looked at the people in line with plushes. “I gotta say, I’m impressed you guys got these so early. I didn’t even know they were coming out.”

Izuku opened his mouth when someone yelled at him from the entrance. “Deku!” He tried to not flinch, not in front of Ochako at least. He knew Kacchan would show up but it still shocked him for some odd reason. He turned to face his old friend as he came walking up. Katsuki Bakugo’s hair was in its usual spiky, messy, state, though it seemed a bit more kempt today. He wasn’t actively scowling which was good sign, and actually seemed to be in a good mood.

“Katsuki, not so loud, you idiot,” his roommate said. Eijirou Kirishima punched his friend in the shoulder and rolled his eyes, though his smile belied a sense of amusement. “Yo, Izuku! Your store is crazy today! These figures are pretty cool.”

Kacchan rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath that Izuku assumed was begrudging admittance that, yeah, the figures were cool, or an insult. Really, those were the only two options. However, as the two kept walking over to Izuku, they paused and Kacchan’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s the girl?” he asked.

“Dude!” Eijirou groaned. “Not so rude!” He smiled at Ochako and offered out a hand. “You a friend of Izuku’s? I’m Eijirou Kirishima, Izuku’s friend and this idiot’s roommate. Nice to meet you!”

Ochako looked at Eijirou, then Izuku, and then back again, a question clearly on her mind. But then she smiled and took Eijirou’s hand. “I’m Ochako Uraraka,” she said with a big smile. “It’s nice to meet more friends of Izuku. Are you guys also friends with Tsu?”

Eijirou nodded enthusiastically as he shook Ochako’s hand just as enthusiastically. “Yup! Part of the old high school squad!” His eyes widened and his smile widened. Izuku watched with amusement; he loved Eijirou’s smiles and was glad he smiled as often as he did. “You must be her new roommate! Oh, duh! It’s nice to finally meet you!” He turned to Kacchan and raised an eyebrow. “Katsuki, you gonna say hi or do I have to force you?”

Kacchan sighed but waved a hand. “Yo,” he said. “I’m Katsuki Bakugo. Nice to meet you and everything.” Then he whirled to face Izuku. He gulped and smiled shakily.

“W-w-what’s up, Kacchan?” Izuku asked, trying to not shake.

“You’re out of All Might plastic figures in his original costume,” Kacchan said, his eyes flashing. “I was really looking forward to getting my hands on one.”

Izuku didn’t know if they had anymore; those had been selling like crazy. Before he could ask, Ikko walked up and offered one to Kacchan. “There you go, sir,” he said with a big smile. “I just didn’t get the chance to restock them yet, that’s all.” Kacchan looked at Ikko and then the figure.

“Thanks,” he said, taking it from the teen’s hands. He turned to walk over to get into line, grabbing a Nomu plush on his way.

Eijirou sighed and shook his head, his red hair shaking a little with the movement. “Sorry about that, Izuku. You know how he gets with merch. No wonder Denki wanted to hang back.” Eijirou laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Anyways, it was nice to meet you, Ochako! Hope to see you around! Izuku, you still have some Crimson Riot comics, yeah?”

Izuku nodded, still trying to get over his nerves. Kacchan could scare him at times, and the look in his eyes had been terrifying. “Yeah. So long as you buy one!”

“Of course!” Eijirou said with a laugh. “See ya!” He walked off, disappearing into the store.

“Well, that was something,” Ochako said.

“No kidding,” Ikko chimed in. He grinned. “Such is life here though.” He whistled and went back to the boxes of figures, grabbing a few to restock the display with.

Ochako looked at Izuku, her eyes full of concern. “You okay, Izuku? You seemed nervous.”

He tried to smile and laughed it off. “I’m fine. Just a bit jittery I guess.” He checked his watch. “You know, I think it’s about time for my break anyways. I did promise you some coffee, didn’t I?” He smiled at her. “Wanna go?”

“Can you leave while it’s like this?” Ochako asked.

“Oh, we’ll be fine,” Ikko chimed in from the display. He looked at the two of them and shrugged. “It’s slowing down a bit as customers take their time, the display is doing fine, and Tenya and Emi are doing awesome. Just bring us back something to eat, Izuku. I’m starving.”

“Will do,” Izuku said as he began to walk towards the entrance, Ochako trailing behind him. “Thanks, Ikko!”

As soon as they left the bookstore Izuku took a deep breath. It felt nice to be away from the chaos of the bookstore. Ochako walked up to his side and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, smiling. “So, who were those two guys exactly?”

“Eijirou and Kacchan?” Izuku asked. “Eijirou is a high school friend and one of Kacchan’s roommates. They actually live in the same building as me, just a couple of floors up. Kacchan is an old friend from grade school.” Izuku sometimes thought calling Katsuki a ‘friend’ was a bit of exaggeration but he still hoped. “We’ve known each other….well, for as long as I can remember.”

“And he calls you Deku?” Ochako asked. Izuku grimaced, preparing himself for the teasing. Kacchan had always called him Deku once he learned that it meant “the one who can’t do anything” and made sure to make that clear to Izuku. He hated the name and when he started high school, away from the kids who knew him as Deku the weakling, he was glad to start over. Even with Kacchan following him, he still found friends, managing to escape the torture.

They knew Kacchan called him that, but they never asked why. He thought that Tenya had an idea, but the topic was never broached. And while he doubted Ochako would actually tease him, it might change how she saw him.

“I think it sounds cute,” she said cheerfully. Izuku nearly stopped when she said that and looked at her, eyes wide and his mouth falling open a little. She turned and smiled at him. “Deku. I think it suits you. It sounds cute and almost….heroic! Like someone All Might would work with! Deku the Hero!” She clenched her fist and grinned like All Might, teeth bared in a friendly smile. “‘Come, Deku! We have to stop Helken before he frees All for One!’” she said in an over the top, deep voice.

Izuku laughed and felt his worry ease away. “I never thought about it that way before,” he said. “But you know, when you say it like that, it does kinda sound heroic.” He grinned. “Though your All Might impression needs some work.”

“Well, Deku ,” she said in a huff, her eyes sparkling, “you give me yours!”

Izuku scrunched up his face, performing All Might’s trademark grin, and gave a thumbs up. “‘Never fear, for I am here!’” he said with as deep of a voice as he could. Halfway through ‘here’ though, his voice cracked and the two of them ended up laughing.

“Okay, maybe both of us need to work on it,” she said as they stopped in front of the cafe. She opened the door and waved Izuku in and he lead the way to a small table. The cafe was a local place, in a too small building, and the owners were the sweetest people imaginable. Izuku and Tenya had spent plenty of late nights in here working on paperwork for the bookstore, and they were close to the owning family.

“What do you want?” Izuku asked as she sat down. He smiled and took out his wallet. “My treat.” She frowned and opened her mouth to speak but Izuku shook his head. “Nope, not taking no for an answer. You can treat me next time but let me do it this time?”

She pursed her lips but nodded. “Fine, but next two times are on me.” Izuku laughed and nodded, even though he had every intention of treating her every time. His mom had drilled into him that he should always offer to treat, to be polite and kind.

He grabbed a tea for himself and a latte of some kind for Ochako. While coffee sounded amazing to him he knew that having three coffees in as little time as it had been often ended up extremely poorly for him. So, a simple tea would have to do for now. He sat down and passed Ochako her latte and then smiled sheepishly. “So, I know you said you wanted to meet up and hang out, but I was wondering….I finished the piece for you.”

Her eyes widened and she smiled. “You did?! Can I read it?? Please?”

She was adorable, he thought. “Of course! Just, uh, no promises.” He took out the notebook and opened it up to the correct page before passing it to her. “I kinda wrote it all last night so it’s probably not very good, but I wanted to do my best.”

“I bet it’s awesome!” She happily took the notebook and started reading. Izuku still had the entire short piece memorized and began to reread it in his head as he waited, trying to find anything that was immediately terrible.

The demon before Iliasa was a wretched looking beast, its own power too strong to be contained within its body. Skin tore at various sections of its body, dark red blood leaking from the tears. Its head was wolf-like, but sections of its skin had either been torn or rotted away, revealing muscles and bone. Half of its jaw bone was revealed and it glistened with blood as the demon faced her. Its claw like hands curled, the beast threw its head to the sky and released an eerie, clacking, whistling howl into the night sky.

She didn’t let her fear show. Didn’t allow the demon to see the slight quiver passing through her. Instead, she allowed her spear to burst aflame, along with her white wings, illuminating the area brightly. Her golden eyes sparked and she was tempted to allow them to burn as well. It always added to the powerful air when she did. But this wasn’t a beast that would care about that. All it wanted was to kill her. Well, it would have to try very hard. Her armor, glowing a light dusk color from the flames, adjusted itself, changing to allow for her to be more mobile, and she shortened her metallic bronze hair. No need to give it anything to grab.

He figured the first paragraph or so would bore her. Just generic stuff, he thought, describing the beast and the angel, and she already knew what they looked like. She would probably be bored by it. Hell, even the fight scene wouldn’t be anything interesting.

Iliasa swept her spear at the demon, keeping it away from her. Her spear’s flame cast strange shadows on the ground as it just missed the demon. The demon, for its part, didn’t even seem to care about the flame. It dodged and then rushed her before she could react. She leapt back, her wings pushing her away, but not before she felt a searing pain at her side. The demon’s claws had ripped into her flesh and she could see her silvery blood on its claws, its eyes glinting in the light of her flame.

She screamed in pain and anger, and as she landed on her feet, as the demon rushed her again, she twirled her spear and slammed it along the ground, releasing a blade of golden fire. The wolfish beast didn’t move fast enough, and the fire sliced through it. Two halves stood in place as the flames died no, the wounds cauterized from the intense heat, and Iliasa allowed herself a smile. Only to have it die out as the two halves began to turn to ash, which swirled around on the ground before her. Slowly the ash reformed itself and the demon stood among her again, hardly injured.

The demon looked at her with a sick grin and slashed the air. The air itself seemed to buckle and then break, screaming, as dark waves slammed into Iliasa. She screamed and leapt to the sky, her wings pushing her up, leaving flames falling behind. And yet the demon followed, leaping up into the sky after her, dark energy brimming around him as he howled. “ENOUGH!” Iliasa screamed. She brought her wings together and then pushed out hard in a mighty flap. The air around them shimmered as a wave of tremendous golden fire was released, directed at the demon, bright enough to light up the field for miles and drive back the darkness around the twisted creature. “BURN, fell creature!” Iliasa commanded, her voice carrying for miles around as the flames not only burned away the beast’s body, even as it reformed, but threw him to the ground. She held her spear high, twirling it above her head as flames gathered onto its point, becoming almost a second sun in the sky, and then she plummeted towards the stunned monster.

It was fast enough to react though, even with its legs still gone, pushing out with a wind of darkness. Iliasa plunged through the shadows, her spear leading the way, its flames and point severing and burning the darkness before her. When she got close, she plunged the spear into the beast’s chest. It howled in pain but reached up and dug its claws into her side, talons piercing her flesh as it started to squeeze. Iliasa grit her teeth though, and poured power into her spear, creating a pillar of flame to burst forth from the spear, burning the beast.

The howl that came from it was one of pure pain and rage and was the most disturbing thing she had ever heard. And then, its claws releasing her, the howl ended, and the demon died.

Izuku knew the ending was a bit anticlimactic but he wanted to finish for her today and well, he hoped it was good. He watched as she stopped reading and prepared himself for the comments. For the “It was okay” or “Eh, could be better”. And that was assuming she didn’t just tear into him for not having done her pictures justice.

Instead, she smiled, her eyes incredibly bright. “Deku! Oh my god! That was awesome!” He blinked and tried to speak a few times, but he couldn’t manage it. Words couldn’t come. “I can’t believe you came up with this just by a couple of my drawings.” She laughed. “They weren’t even that good, too!”

“Are you kidding?” Izuku asked. “Your pictures were awesome! I thought I didn’t do a good enough job though of showing how cool they were!”

She laughed again and shook her head. “Nope! Your story blew my drawings away.” She clenched her fists and leaned across the table, her eyes determined and focused. “Now I just have to do better! I’m going to draw a scene from this, and I’m gonna blow your socks off, Deku! Just you wait!”

Izuku grinned and held out a fist. Ochako looked at it and then met his eyes, a fire burning in hers. Well, this was certainly getting interesting. “And I’ll just have to match whatever you make.”

“Let’s go beyond!” Ochako said with a big, happy grin.

“Plus Ultra!” They shouted and bumped fists and Izuku felt himself feeling something he hadn’t felt for a long time.

He was feeling excited about writing again.

Chapter Text

Sunday Evening

Ochako looked at the drawing before her with a critical eye. It was good, she decided, the flames rushing off of Iliasa giving the page plenty of life and power and the darkness looming from the demon a nice contrast. But it didn’t feel right just yet, she decided. It wasn’t giving off enough energy and excitement, the kind of energy that reading Deku’s piece gave her. Still, she had time to improve. She knew she could do better. Deku deserved nothing less than her best.

She put the drawing to the side and stood up to stretch, a big yawn escaping her lips. She had been working on the drawing for the last couple of hours, and continuous work like that always tired her out. Ochako turned off her desk lamp and drudged from her desk to her bed, throwing off her clothes and changing into sweats and a long T-shirt. A text from Deku was waiting for her on her phone and she smiled at the nickname. It felt so right to her; she couldn’t help but think of him as Deku now.

I know you said you were going to be drawing for a while but I thought I would check up and see how you’re doing. She smiled at the text, imagining his voice and soft smile.

I’m all good, she replied. Tired, but such is the price for good work, you know? Drawing is coming along great.

He replied immediately, despite the fact that it was probably close to one. She didn’t have classes the next day so she was fine with staying up, but she could hear Tsu softly snoring in the next room. That’s awesome! But, of course it would be great, it’s you doing the drawing.

Ochako giggled and shook her head. She collapsed onto her bed and held her phone up, typing her reply back. You spoil me with praise, Deku. Why are you up so late, anyways?

Can’t sleep. I don’t know why, but I just can’t. I thought talking to you would help. She smiled softly.

Well, I’m always happy to talk to you, Deku. She paused and thought about him for a second. They had talked a lot, mostly about common interests, but she had never really learned much about his personal life. Mind if I ask you some questions though? I feel like I know a lot and nothing about you at the same time.

Go for it! Deku sent a sticker of All Might giving a thumbs up and Ochako laughed, trying to keep it down to not wake up Tsu.

Well, let’s see….how did you meet Tsu and them all? Tsu’s never really explained it either and I’m really curious.

A minute or so passed before he responded. Honestly, I’m not really sure how it happened. We were all in homeroom together and things just started coming together. Tenya was my first friend, Tsu was soon after. We just seemed to click and then the others slowly joined up as well. That class was crazy to be honest but I miss it.

Aww, Ochako replied with a small smile. That sounded way better than her days in high school. It wasn’t that she had been lonely but none of her friends had felt like….well like friends. None of them gave her the same warm feeling that she got talking with Tsu or Deku. Any embarrassing stories from back then?

At the same time, Deku sent her a text as well. What about you? How was your high school?

Her smile died a little and she was tempted to lie….but Deku didn’t deserve that. He deserved the truth. Honestly, not great. I had friends but it was nothing like how I was with Tsu back in middle school. Just a couple of people I talked to and hung out with.

I know how that feels, he texted back after a few seconds. In middle school I went through something similar you could say.

Well, at least neither of us have to worry about that now! Speaking of which, sad talks are no good for when you’re trying to have a chill night! Tell me something embarrassing that happened back in high school!

Deku sent another All Might sticker, this one of the hero sweat-dropping. Um, well there was that brief point in time I had a crush on Tsu. That was….god that was something else.

Ochako grinned. Tsu had never ever mentioned that. You and Tsu dated?? Deku, I need details! That’s my best friend you’re talking about!

We didn’t date! She could practically hear his panic. It was a brief crush I had on her and it was so one-sided it’s embarrassing. Let’s just say, long story short, I tried to ask her out to a school dance sophomore year but got so nervous I ended up falling into a fountain. Ochako laughed, picturing a young Deku-- his freckles were much more prominent in her imagination-- blushing and tripping into a fountain. And then I got super sick the next day. My mom was worried sick for weeks after and she thought I was going to die because of the fountain. I uh, I took that as a sign and gave up on liking Tsu.

That was it. That killed Ochako and she just started laughing, flopping onto her stomach to bury her face in her pillow, trying to muffle the noise. When she finally calmed down she replied to him, still giggling slightly. You’re kidding! How was Tsu never told me about this?! That’s amazing!

I mean, now it’s pretty funny. Well, even back then Shoto and Tenya thought it was hilarious. I was just a little miffed at the universe for treating me so poorly.

Any other crushes? Ochako asked, a sly faced emoji following her words.

For me? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooope. I decided that the fountain incident meant romance wasn’t for me. The others had some phases though. What about you? Any big drama back in high school?

She bit her lip and chuckled quietly to herself. Not really. I was just focused on doing well in school to want to date anyone. That was close to the truth she decided.

It took a bit before Deku replied back, during which time she felt her eyelids grow heavy. Sorry, sorry, Eijirou needed help with something real fast upstairs. I should probably let you go to sleep too.

I’m fine, she texted, puffing up her cheeks. The fact that she dropped her phone on her chest a moment later and almost fell asleep right there meant nothing.

Uh huh. He was clearly unconvinced. Night, Ochako. We can talk more tomorrow….or rather later today. Get some sleep.

She sighed but decided that he was right. Sweet dreams, Deku! She put her phone onto her nightstand and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

Thursday Afternoon

The next couple of days went by uneventfully for Ochako. She had settled into a familiar grind; go to classes, go to work, draw and talk to Deku and Tsu when she could. It was nice, familiar, and easy. It felt like every night she and Deku texted, usually about nothing in particular, just sort of aimless chatter about books or movies or music. He really was a huge, adorable nerd and it was fun teasing him about it. But he was super sweet and the stories he told her from high school gave her the sense that he had always been that way. But there was something hiding there that she wanted to dig at. Little things that he mentioned that got to her, made her think and try to figure out ways to broach the topic.

At the same time though, she had been drawing like crazy. The more she talked with Deku, the more she wanted to finish the drawing and wow him. And this draft, this one was the one. Or close to it. She had done the sketch and was working on touching it up before she decided to ink it. She couldn’t wait to show Deku and see what he thought, and, even better, see what he wrote up for it. Ugh, it was driving her crazy with excitement.

She began to think about another drawing idea she had, one that Deku hadn’t written but seemed like it fit in well. Besides, she had to give him something new to write, didn’t she? As she began to plan out the drawing, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, Ochako saw a text from Tsu. Ochako, I was gonna go out to lunch with Jiro and Momo and we were hoping you would come with. Toru and Mina are back from their trip and we were planning on meeting up with them.

Ochako considered it. She hadn’t spent a whole lot of time with Jiro and Momo and they seemed like great people, girls she should get to know better. And if she was being honest, having only Tsu and Deku as friends probably wasn’t the healthiest thing. So she texted back a cheery Yeah! and then set out for the address Tsu sent back.

It wasn’t too far and she found herself there about twenty minutes later. Her jacket, though, was not enough for the chill fall air. Winter wasn’t too far off and she knew she needed a new jacket but….it could wait.

Tsu was outside the small diner and waved as she walked up. “Hey, Ochako! Glad that you could come!”

She smiled back and hugged Tsu briefly. “I’m excited to meet more friends of yours, Tsu. So, is everyone inside?” Tsu nodded and led her into the diner. The group was near the back, at a big semi-circle booth table. Jiro was the first to notice them, waving with a lazy motion. Momo looked up and smiled warmly. The other two girls, Mina and Toru, looked over and both grinned.

“Mina, Toru, this is my roommate, Ochako,” Tsu said. She slid into a seat next to them both at one end and Ochako sat down next to Jiro, opposite Tsu at the other end. “Ochako, this is Toru and Mina.”

“Nice to meet you!” One of the girls reached over the table, her hand extended. She had messy looking short hair that was….Ochako couldn’t tell if it was dyed pink or was that way naturally. Her face was kinda flushed as well and her eyes were bright gold in color. “I’m Mina Ashido!” Ochako smiled and shook her hand, pausing as she realized the girl had horns. Was….was that even possible? Mina tilted her head and then laughed. Her other hand reached up and pulled a headband with two yellow horns attached. “Just an accessory of mine, don’t worry about it.”

The other girl, Toru, laughed and Ochako smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, it just blended in with your hair.”

“Kinda cool, huh?” Mina said with a wink. She leaned back and grinned, her eyes shining.

“My turn!” Ochako turned and smiled at Toru. She was shorter than the others, with a big smile on her face and an energetic air about her. Her eyes sparkled and twinkled like little stars and Ochako thought she was rather cute overall. “I’m Toru Hagakure! It’s so nice to finally meet Tsu’s new roommate!”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Ochako said with a smile. Once introductions were out of the way, the booth seemed to devolve into chaos. Mina began to talk animatedly about her and Toru’s trip, with Toru chiming in every now and then about crazy things that had happened. Ochako just sat there and watched as the conversation went on, Kyouka making a snarky remark about Mina being thirsty as hell after the girl discussed, in detail, a guy who worked at a cafe near where they stayed. The conversation only paused so they could give their orders. Ochako was amazed that Mina even knew what she wanted; she hadn’t glanced at the menu once.

Mina ended the story of the trip rather abruptly, but by that point, Ochako had sort of zoned out. She couldn’t keep up with the story and the little in-jokes. She was then surprised when she heard Mina call her name. “So, I talked up a storm,” Mina said with a pleased smile, “now it’s your turn, Ochako! What brings you to our city?”

“I go to Yuei actually,” Ochako said with a small smile. “I study art, mostly for comics and stuff like that.”

“An artist?” Mina nodded, her eyes closed. It almost seemed like she was approving of Ochako’s choice. “That’s awesome!”

“Oh, so that’s what you were talking about with Izuku,” Momo said, nodding in understanding.

Ochako nodded and turned to Mina and Toru. “What about you, Mina and Toru? What do you guys do?”

“Nothing too exciting for me,” Toru said with a sheepish laugh. “I’m just taking the education course over at Yuei, trying to become a grade school teacher with a focus on English.”

“That’s plenty exciting,” Tsu said with a smile. “Don’t sell yourself short, Toru.” The shorter girl laughed again and nodded enthusiastically, her hair bouncing around.

“I’m a dancer,” Mina said with a big grin. Ochako wondered if she ever didn’t grin, though she didn’t mind. Mina had a friendly air about her and her smile was cute and welcoming. “I’m not really studying anything. Instead I work at this dance studio where I help teach dance lessons to kids. It’s so much fun!”

Kyouka snorted and then glanced over at Ochako. “I never really did talk much about myself at the party did I? I go to Yuei too, studying acoustics.”

“Her professors adore her,” Momo said with a fond smile and Kyouka rolled her eyes, blushing. “You should come drop by her little studio! It’s very cool!”

“Denki certainly likes it,” Mina said with a glint in her eyes. “I wonder what else goes on in there.”

Kyouka turned a deep red and Ochako looked on with interest. Something was going on and she was very, very intrigued. “Mina Ashido, you continue to joke about that and I will stab you with this fork. I swear to God.”

Momo turned to Ochako and smiled apologetically as Mina burst out laughing. “You’ll have to forgive them, Ochako. They can be a bit much.” Ochako smiled and resisted the urge to giggle. Tsu and Toru were having a calm conversation; well, Tsu was calm. Toru was as energetic as Tenya, if a bit more in control. Mina was still….teasing Kyouka, Ochako thought. And Kyouka was clearly trying to not hurt her. If anything, Momo seemed to be underselling them. And yet, Ochako loved it. It felt like a big family in a way, just chaotic and fun.

“It’s all good,” Ochako said with a big smile. “Besides, this is kind of new to me. It’s fun to watch.” A thought occurred and she tilted her head to the side. “You go to Yuei too, right? What do you study?”

“Material science,” Momo said. “It may not sound like much, but it’s sort of like an offshoot of chemistry, but focused on making new things.” Her eyes sparkled and Ochako got a feeling this was something Momo was ready to talk about for days.

“Ooh! What made you get into it?”

Momo put a finger to her chin and thought for a bit before she shrugged. “I don’t know to be honest. My parents are both from a wealthy background, my dad is in finance, so it wasn’t like I had a science based upbringing. I just always loved to learn and chemistry amazed me. Then, when I was older and got into history, I loved the stories of alchemists and their pursuit of transmutation, and then the discovery of the elements. I wanted to do something similar I suppose.” She smiled and shrugged her shoulders again, in a lazy rolling motion.

“That’s awesome though!” Ochako said. She had never liked science herself, but Momo sounded so passionate that she couldn’t help love it in turn.

“Thank you, Ochako,” Momo said, giggling slightly. “So what made you want to pursue art? Money wise it seems a bit risky.” Ochako bristled slightly, trying to ignore the old her who saved every penny, who obsessed over finding the most profitable thing to study in school to help out her family.

“It is,” she admitted slowly. “But I always loved comics and always tried to make my own when I was younger. My parents were the ones who eventually decided to push me to really pursue art, because they knew how much I loved it. At this point, I guess it’s out of my love for it and because I want to come back to them as a known artist.” Ochako stopped and blinked, finding Momo’s eyes watering and her smile trembling. “Momo? Are you okay?”

“That is so sweet,” she squealed, clasping her hands together. “Truly, your parents are blessed to have you, Ochako.” She wiped away her tears and smiled. “Sorry, sorry. I got carried away a little, I suppose!”

“Just a bit,” Ochako laughed. “Mind if I ask you a bit more about your group? I didn’t really wanna intrude during the party.” Momo nodded and made a gesture as if to invite questions. “Did you guys all go to school together? Izuku mentioned high school with a lot of you, but he was never very clear.”

Momo nodded, her smile a bit more nostalgic seeming. “We did. In fact, we were all in the same homeroom, oddly enough. It was a bit of a crazy mess and at times, it felt like we were all competing with each other. At least I was with Shoto.”

“For what?”

“To be the best student,” Momo said. “Our teacher, Mr. Aizawa, was…..intense and fostered an environment of both competition and cooperation. I was determined to be the smartest in the class. Shoto was one of the smartest kids in the class as well, alongside Izuku and Tenya. I remember the nights of study sessions that often devolved into us quizzing each other and then watching anime.” Momo sighed happily. “Those nights were something else. I met all of my best friends in that class. Without it, I wouldn’t know Kyouka or Mina or any of them.”

“Damn straight,” Kyouka said, leaning towards them, apparently finished threatening Mina. “That class brought us all together, for better or for worse. There are days I miss it, with the awkward relationship drama, the hilarity.” Kyouka grinned. “Good times, though, some of the drama never really ended.” She gave Momo a knowing smirk, and Momo looked away, blushing.

Ochako’s eyes widened and she leaned forward. “What kind of stuff happened?”

“After food,” Kyouka said, eyeing the waitress as she approached with their plates. “Then I’ll give you some of my favorite stories about high school.”

“I wanna join in!” Toru exclaimed. “There are some great stories back then! Like how I and Mashirao got together or that day when Izuku punched Shoto in the face!”

Ochako nearly choked on her water and the waitress asked if she was okay as she passed out the plates. Ochako waved that she was and turned to Toru. “Izuku?! Punching someone?”

“It was complicated,” Tsu said. “Personal too, from what we know about it.”

“They don’t really talk about it,” Mina said.

Momo sighed and nodded. “I’ve asked Shoto about it before and he would just get this distant look in his eyes and say that it was a long story.”

“And then they became really close,” Tsu said. She shrugged as if to say ‘Boys are weird’.

“I mean, that story is good,” Kyouka said, popping a fry into her mouth, “but my favorite is the first time Momo watched anime.” Momo blushed besides her and muttered something under her breath that Ochako couldn’t hear. “See, it was me, Momo, Shoto, Izuku, Denki, and….Toru, you were there, yeah? Yeah, that’s right. Anyways, we had just finished studying and Denki wanted to watch something so he went online and pulled up Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. And it turns out that Momo hadn’t seen it or any anime so Denki got this crazy idea--”

As they sat there telling stories and laughing, Ochako found herself enjoying the girls’ presence a lot. She had always enjoyed hanging out with Tsu, but it was nice to see her best friend laughing and telling stories with her friends from high school. And the girls were so sweet. Mina was something else, and she would probably exhausting after a while, but Ochako thought she was nice and funny. Toru was so cute with her energetic air about her, and while Kyouka seemed to be laidback and chill, she got into as much as everyone else. Momo wasn’t as posh as Ochako thought at first, or at least, she was able to go between having fun and being elegant. And even though they talked a lot about high school, the girls did their best to include Ochako and for the first time since middle school, she felt welcome.

Momo insisted on picking up the check, saying that she was happy to pay for everyone. Ochako tried to protest, but Momo didn’t allow for debate. As they left the diner and parted ways, Tsu and Ochako started walking to their apartment, waving bye to their friends. “So,” Tsu said after a bit, “what did you think?”

“They’re super great,” Ochako said with a big smile. “Mina and Toru are so fun to talk to, and Momo and Kyouka are just awesome.”

Tsu nodded and seemed happy with the answer. “I’m glad to hear that. Oh, by the way, do you mind if we stop by Plus Ultra? I need to pick up a book for class.”

“I don’t mind one single bit,” Ochako said with a chuckle. “It just means I can bother Deku.” She froze a bit, feeling embarrassed that she just called Deku, well, Deku, in front of Tsu. No one else but Katsuki called him that. What if Tsu found it weird that she called him Deku? She looked over at Tsu, who was just smiling. She did make a little ‘hmm’ sound, but seemed unphased by the slip up on Ochako’s part.

“Good,” Tsu said. “I think Fumikage might be there too, so maybe you can meet him too!” Fumikage….that name sounded really familiari for some reason but Ochako couldn’t place it.

A few minutes later they entered Plus Ultra books. A tall, skinny redhead girl was at the counter and smiled cheerfully at them as they entered. “Welcome to Plus Ultra Books!”

Tsu waved hi and then vanished into the shelves, letting Ochako know she would text her when she was ready to go. Ochako, for her part, wandered the store, just looking around. It was slow again, but it seemed rather peaceful. She could see finding a spot in here and just sitting and reading.

As she walked the shelves she spotted a flash of green and moved towards it. She soon found Deku squatting on the ground next to another boy. “Deku!” The green-haired boy whirled and smiled at her.

“Ochako! Glad to see you! What’s up?” The boy sitting on the ground next to Deku looked up and eyed her. He had strange red eyes that looked rather birdlike, sharp features, and a beakish nose. His black hair was a mess from what she could see of it under his dark hood. The hoodie he wore had a hood that hung over his face, casting it into darkness, with a beak at the end, giving him a raven-like appearance. And he looked very familiar too, but she couldn’t place how or why.

“Just stopping by with Tsu so she can a book,” Ochako said with a smile. “Looks like you’re just chilling today, huh?”

Deku laughed and shrugged. “Not every day can be crazy.”

The boy on the ground looked up and spoke, his voice shockingly deep. “You must be Tsu’s roommate.” He stood, coming up a couple of inches below Deku. “I am Fumikage Tokoyami, a close friend of Tsu’s. It is nice to finally make your acquaintance, Miss Uraraka. Tsu has told me much about you but alas I was away for a while and could not visit to properly introduce myself.” He closed his eyes in a dramatic fashion. “Truly, Fate is wondrous and mysterious, though.”

Ochako blinked and looked at Deku who smiled sheepishly. Then she turned back to Fumikage. “Tsu’s mentioned you before, too, Fumikage. It’s nice to meet another friend of Tsu’s!”

“There you guys are,” Tsu said, walking behind Ochako with a bag. “I found my book faster than expected and was looking for you guys.” She smiled when she saw Fumikage and moved up to him quickly, pulling him into a tight hug. “Fumi! You’re back!” Fumikage’s face turned beet red but he hugged Tsu back, resting his head in the crook of her neck.

Fumikage….Ochako remember where she had heard that name before. It had been in high school, Tsu excitedly texting Ochako about this boy that she had liked, culminating in Tsu asking him out in senior year. The two of them had then gone out and Ochako remembered seeing the picture of them together at a dance. That’s why he looked familiar, though in the picture he hadn’t looked so dark and brooding.

“Oh! You’re Tsu’s boyfriend!” Fumikage seemed to blush even more but Deku chuckled at her side.

“Did you seriously forget?” Tsu asked, giggling as she separated. “I told you all about him!”

“Two years ago,” Ochako pointed out. “You may have mentioned him last year, too, but come on, Tsu. I had a lot going on.”

Tsu laughed and nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll give you this then.”

Fumikage stepped back a bit, but Ochako noticed how he kept a hold of Tsu’s hand. “It has been too long since I’ve seen you sweet, Tsu. My trip was busier than I had expected, and so I ached for you day and night. I will have to make it up to you somehow.”

“Well, you can start by coming over some night,” Tsu laughed. “Come on now, Fumi, walk with me to check out my book.”

Ochako chuckled as the two of them walked to the front, still holding hands. “One of the only successful couples in our group,” Deku said from besides her. She turned to see him bend down and grab a few books off the ground, putting them back on the shelves. “Those two never seemed like they would work but they’ve been together longer than anyone else. I’m kinda shocked he dropped by here before coming to see her first but he was probably trying to write a poem for her. They’re sappy like that.” He chuckled and turned and smiled at Ochako. “So, how are the drawings going? You mentioned you were starting a second one?”

“It’s a secret, Deku,” Ochako said with a wink. “You’ll find out, don’t worry. Though, speaking of secrets, I had lunch with the girls today and they told me you once punched Shoto in the face.” She grinned and leaned in close. “Mind telling me why?”

Deku flushed and started looking around, as if for help. “I, uh, i-it’s a long story! Let’s just leave it at that!” Ochako laughed and patted his head.

“I won’t push,” she said with a smile. “And don’t worry about the drawings! I’ll get them done and you’re gonna be floored.” She clenched a fist and gave him her ‘determined’ look. “Just you wait!”

“I’ll wait as long as I need to,” he said with a small smile, his cheeks still flushed. “Take your time.”

“Will do! Now I should go meet up with Tsu so we can get back and so you can keep working! Bye, Deku!” He waved bye as she retreated to the front of the store, a small, cute smile on his face.

Fumikage and Tsu were hugging when Ochako met up with her roommate. She let them have the moment; Fumikage had been gone for a couple of months. Tsu had let her know when he had left and had occasionally lamented feeling alone. As Ochako waited though, she felt a pang of envy. She was happy for her friend but she had never had anyone like that in her life. Never once did she have a guy ask her out or even seem to like her.

Sometimes she forgot how lonely high school had been.

That Night

She hadn’t meant to sketch out the picture before her, but Ochako found herself loving it. After dinner and the subsequent cleanup, Ochako had retreated into her room as usual to work on her art. She had been intending to go right into the drawings of Iliasa but found herself feeling oddly inspired to create something new. For some reason, she remembered Momo standing outside the dinner as they were leaving and she was soon sketching out her figure. But instead of drawing Momo as she was, Ochako decided to give the drawing some flair. She gave her form fitting armor with a long, flowing cloak. In her hand was a warhammer that seemed to weigh a ton, a shield on her other arm. The armor was flawless looking and Momo gave off an air of self assured confidence, elegance, and power.

When she finished, Momo looked a lot like a paladin from a video game and Ochako found herself giggling. It was sort of a funny idea, imagining the sweet Momo bashing in skulls with that hammer, but she was also interested in it. Maybe she would show Deku the image and see what he thought about it.

Maybe he….she blinked. An idea struck her and she smiled, ripping out a piece of paper and scribbling down her idea to make sure she didn’t forget when morning came. She would tell Deku about it when she finished the drawings. For now though, she was tired, and decided to head to bed. She turned her lamp off and flopped onto bed with her phone. Briefly, Ochako imagined what it would be like to have someone waiting in bed for her. Tsu had been honest, sometimes too honest, about her and Fumikage and she knew Fumikage would spend nights over. She didn’t mind at all, but still, she found that familiar pang of jealousy. It wasn’t much, she thought, to just want one person to care about her like that, was it?

She turned on her phone and saw a message from Deku. So, I know I should probably wait until you show me your new drawings but I couldn’t resist. I started writing another thing with Iliasa. If you get mad, blame your awesome drawing! I can’t help it!

Ochako giggled and sent a text back, sleep in the back of her mind.

Chapter Text

Friday Afternoon

Shoto Todoroki had a singular objective for the day as he walked towards the science building on campus. Talk to Momo and arrange a study date for just the two of them. Simple, really. Anyone could do it and he had done it before in fact.

So, why was he breathing quickly in an attempt to calm his nerves? Nerves, he thought, that should’ve been calm from the start.

Okay, he knew exactly why. The study session was more than a study session, or at least he hoped it would be. He had liked Momo Yaoyorozu since sophomore year in high school. It was possible that he had liked her since even earlier, but it was sophomore year that he became aware of his crush. He had even worked up the courage to ask her when Kyouka had asked her out first.

Shoto grimaced. He didn’t know why he thought about that time; it always hurt him. Not because Momo went out with Kyouka, though he’d be lying to himself if he denied that entirely. Instead, it was the darkness it had sent him into. He had cut off his feelings for Momo entirely, letting them wither and die. At the time, he had thought it would be better than letting his feelings for Momo cause him pain.

Letting them die, though, hurt more than he thought. It felt like smothering a part of him. He ended up avoiding her for a couple of months, when he could, trying to stop feeling for her. It worked, but he was left feeling cold and had a hard time being friendly with her for a while. He hated himself for that. She deserved his friendship, not him being a cold jerk. But, his plan had worked, and even when Momo and Kyouka split up a couple of months later, he hadn’t felt a thing for her.

Until graduation. He hadn’t intended on it happening but it did. At first he didn’t even notice it but when Izuku asked if he had a crush on Momo, he had to reevaluate himself. All of the texts he had sent, the days he had spent with her studying and hanging out. The flutter of excitement when he saw her, the sparks of joy and affection at her smiles….He had fallen for Momo again and now it was driving him insane, trying to figure out if she could like him the same way he liked her. At the very least he knew she did like guys; she had confided in him junior year her attraction to an upperclassman of theirs. But, him? Could Momo Yaoyorozu, the beautiful, intensely smart, kind, and amazing girl, like Shoto Todoroki, the seemingly aloof boy with issues that threatened to drag him down into darkness?

He sighed and shoved the thoughts away. No time to question himself endlessly, letting his doubts get the best of him. No, this was the time for confidence, for utter faith in himself.

Once he reached the science building he waited, hands in his pockets. The air outside had been getting colder as of late, winter making its arrival well known.

Winter always reminded him of his mother-- she had always loved the snow and found icicles inexplicably beautiful-- and as he waited, Shoto absently thought about her. He had seen her just a couple of days ago, and had plans to see her again this weekend. Fuyumi was coming with too, which was good. Mother enjoyed it when Fuyumi visited and discussed her teaching job. It made her smile a lot more, lifted her spirits.

“Shoto?” He snapped out of his reverie and looked up to see Momo and Kyouka approaching him from the building. Denki was just behind them as well, swearing loudly as he ran to catch up. Momo looked at Shoto, her head tilted slightly to the side, a warm, but bemused, smile on her face. “What are you doing here?”

He fumbled with his thoughts for a bit, trying to prepare himself. Dammit! He shouldn’t have gotten distracted. “I was hoping to talk to you, actually,” he said. “I forgot my phone at the apartment, otherwise I would have texted you about it.” That was true; he did forget his phone this morning but he also knew that he still would’ve approached her in person. It seemed more fitting.

Denki caught up to them, his blond hair stuffed beneath a knit cap, though some stuck out beneath, framing his face. “Finally! Jesus, Kyouka! Would it kill you to wait up for me?”

Kyouka gave Denki a look, raising her eyebrow, a small smirk on her lips. “Maybe, and wouldn’t that be a tragedy.” She turned and eyed Shoto for a second. He found her confusing to be around. She was a self-confessed cynic and often acted as if the world around her was uninteresting, and yet she loved to tease. Then there was her past history with Momo and present friendship; she had no feelings that Shoto could determine, but still. Kyouka Jiro was an enigma and she seemed to know something, the way her eyes lit up.

“Ah!” Momo said with a warm smile. “So, what is it that you wanted to tell me?”

“Well, we have a chemistry exam coming up,” he said, “and I was hoping you would help me out with studying. This weekend would work best if that sounds okay with you. Say tomorrow?.” He didn’t mention that he had made sure that would be a time when both Izuku and Tenya were out all day due to work, and classes on Tenya’s part.

Momo’s smile grew even bigger. She had loved the study sessions back in high school and seemed to love teaching and helping. Shoto had once told her that he always thought she would make a great professor if she ever got sick of her research in the future. “Of course! I would love that!”

“Since when do you need help with any exams, Shoto?” Denki asked, raising an eyebrow. “You were the one who helped me out!”

Kyouka made a growling noise and Shoto thought he saw her hand clench into a fist. “I’m not as great at chemistry as of late,” he replied. It wasn’t that far from the truth, if he was being honest. He got chemistry, but it didn’t come as naturally as most subjects did. “Besides, Momo, you’re a chemistry major. You know it much better than me.”

“I would love to help!” Momo said. “I’ll drop by tomorrow then. Early afternoon work for you?”

“Sounds great,” Shoto said. He smiled, and tried to ignore the elation and cheers in his heart. Or at the very least, he tried not to cheer out loud. That would’ve raised some suspicions. “I’ll see you then. Have a nice day. Good to see you, Kyouka, Denki.” Shoto waved and began to walk back to his apartment, planning tomorrow. Tenya, he decided, was rubbing off on him, but for now he decided to use it to his advantage. Tomorrow, he decided, was going to be perfect.

A Bit Later

Momo walked down the street, trying not to smile too much. Well, she was a naturally smiley person at the best of times, but still. If she smiled too much, she might give away the fact that she extremely excited by what had just happened.

It was just her and Kyouka, walking down the street towards their apartment. Denki had another class to attend which explained why he wasn’t with them. He and Kyouka had been dating since junior year, though Momo only found out after graduation, and only when she saw them kiss briefly. Kyouka liked to stay tight-lipped about her relationship and Momo wondered if she would have opened up at all about it if she hadn’t been found out.

But, Momo couldn’t blame her. She was much the same when it came to Shoto. Her crush on him was not a recent development. No, it had been brewing for a while, since just before graduation. It had shocked her when it happened, too, as she had spent much of her sophomore and junior years convinced that Shoto no longer liked her. He had been so cold, then, so aloof. And of course, the return of her loathing hadn’t helped. Those years had been hard, the constant whisper of self-doubt telling her to give up. Murmuring half-truths, twisting words….she shuddered.

It had been because of her struggle with that loathing though, that she found herself falling for Shoto. Senior year, during the exams, she had been falling, harder than she had before. An episode unlike any others. He had seemed to notice something was wrong and had come to her. Somehow, he lifted her up out of her pit, and she saw a side to him she never had before.

“Don’t get so caught up in your thoughts there, Momo.” She blinked and turned to see Kyouka smirking at her with a knowing glint in her eyes. “Though I know how excited you are.”

“Excited?” Momo asked, trying to play dumb. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kyouka. All that happened was Shoto asking me for help. Why would I be excited over that?”

Kyouka’s look told Momo that she wasn’t buying it one bit. “Uh huh. Suuuuure. I mean, it’s definitely not like you like him.” She chuckled to herself as if she made a great joke, while Momo felt her cheeks grow warm in the cold weather. “I’ll let you have this special moment to yourself. But, if you want my opinion, I think you have a good shot.” Kyouka shrugged. “But, what would I know?”

Momo stammered for a second and then sighed. “Is it really that obvious?”

“To me, yes,” Kyouka said with a small smile. “I know you pretty well, Momo. Should I list the reasons?” Momo shook her head no, a feeling of despair, but Kyouka didn’t seem to notice. “Well, one, you talk to him pretty much every day, almost all day. Every time you see him or a text from him you get this cute smile on your face. You bring him up in conversation without meaning to, should I go on?”

“No,” Momo said with a frown. “You didn’t even need to start.” She loved Kyouka dearly but sometimes the girl was too much. Besides….even if she did like Shoto, which she had to admit she did, why would he like her? She was full of self-doubt and questioned her every move. That very thing had destroyed her relationship with Kyouka.

“You’ll be fine,” Kyouka said, her voice quieter. “Trust me, Momo. You got this and I’ve got your back.” Momo looked at her friend and smiled. She opened her mouth to say something and then saw Kyouka’s playful smirk. “And if he messes up, I’ll set him straight.”

Momo sighed but smiled. “Thank you, Kyouka.” Her friend waved it off.

“Psh. As if I don’t always have your back. Now, come on. I have a project to do with Mei Hatsume and I would like to get a head start so she doesn’t do it all again and make it insane.” Kyouka groaned and pinched her nose. Momo tried to hide her smile. “Why do I always get paired up with her?” Momo chuckled and Kyouka shot her a wounded look, but her eyes twinkled with mirth. “Seriously, Momo! I wish you were in engineering with me! Mei is great and all but my god she’s a handful! One of these days, she’s going to make something that will either change the world or kill me. Probably both!”

The Next Day

The oven timer beeped with a methodical and impersonal sense of urgency. As if the oven was telling Shoto that his muffins were at risk but also didn’t give a damn one way or the other. Well, Shoto was feeling nervous enough to appreciate that impersonality. He took out the muffins, checking them with a toothpick to make sure they were good, and turned off the oven, putting the machine to rest. Izuku was the cook of the house, but Shoto had picked up a thing or two. Mainly baking, as his mom loved it when he was younger. Muffins were some of his favorite to bake, and today he had made cinnamon muffins with chocolate chip. Momo’s favorite.

He took in a deep breath. It was ostensibly to calm down but he let himself appreciate the sweet cinnamony scent that wafted from the muffins. A teapot sat on the stove, filled with water and ready to be heated. The day before he had made sure they had plenty of tea, much to Izuku’s confusion. When Shoto had explained what was going on, Izuku had smiled and wished him luck.

Shoto hadn’t said anything about asking her out properly during today to Izuku, but he had still known. That seemed to be a little annoying, in Shoto’s opinion; after all, the only crush Izuku had ended with him falling into a fountain. The guy should not be as good at picking up on subtext as he is.

A knock at the door brought him back to reality and Shoto took a deep breath. Let’s do it, he thought. He walked briskly to the door and opened it, smiling when he saw Momo. “Right on time,” he said, stepping aside to let her in. She smiled gratefully and stepped in, pausing by the kitchen.

“Did you make muffins?” she asked, a curious expression on her face. She sniffed the air. “Cinnamon muffins?”

“I thought having something to snack on would be nice,” he said, his heart thumping. Please don’t think I’m trying too hard. Please, oh please don’t. “And muffins happen to be a speciality of mine.” His smile dimmed a bit.

She turned to face him, the expression gone and replaced with a gorgeous smile. “Thank you, Shoto. That’s incredibly sweet of you.”

He felt his whole body relax and he realized he had been tensing up. “Of course, of course. So, shall we get to work? Make yourself at home on the couch and I’ll get the muffins on a plate.” He walked into the kitchen and turned back to look at her. “I’m assuming you wouldn’t mind a cup of tea, would you?”

“You spoil me,” Momo laughed. “Please, that sounds perfect.” Shoto hid a grin and got everything ready before taking his place next to her, a plate of muffins in his hands. He set them on the small coffee table and Momo grabbed one. “So,” she said as she grabbed a small piece, “shall we begin?”

The next couple of hours flew by quickly, faster than he wanted them to. While they did study, and Shoto actually learned some things he hadn’t realized would be useful for the exam, it slowly devolved into them talking and joking around, with small sections of studying. Shoto found himself feeling at ease, his fears washing away like they so often did with Momo. Despite the fact that they had always felt okay with each other by themselves he had worried that for some reason, this time would be different. Would be worse. But it was the most fun he had had for days. And as they talked and laughed-- about classes, about their friends, about shows they watched-- he found himself growing more and more sure. He could ask her. And it wouldn’t be the end. He could ask out Momo Yaoyorozu without ending their friendship if things went wrong.

“Hey, Momo,” he said in a lull of their conversation. She was currently looking at her chemistry notebook and looked up.

“Hmm? Something wrong?” He hadn’t realized his tone had shifted into something more serious.

“No, nothing’s wrong,” he said, speaking slowly as he tried to gather and collect his thoughts. He could do this. I will do this. “I was just wondering if--”

A knock at the door cut him off and he and Momo shared confused looks. He held up a hand, as if to tell her he’ll finish the thought later, and got up to open the door. What he found nearly caused him to scream with frustration.

“SHOTO!” Denki exclaimed with a big grin. Eijiro was with him, and so was Mina, the two of them at least having the sense to look sheepish. Denki, however, seemed to be unable to pick up on anything. “And Momo! Perfect! I was hoping you guys would still be studying.” His face morphed into one resembling a puppy dog and his lower lip quivered. “We need serious help with our upcoming exams and you guys are the smartest people we know. Can you help us? Pleeeeaaaase?”

Shoto wanted nothing more than to say no, shut the door in his face, and finish asking Momo out. He turned to look back at Momo and she gave a small smile and a shrug. Letting out a small sigh, Shoto stepped aside. “Come on in. Always happy to help.”

God fucking damn it.

Same Time, Momo and Kyouka’s Place

Kyouka was glad that Momo was out of the apartment. She loved her friend dearly, she really did, but she sometimes felt like she had to hold back with Momo. When Momo was in, she couldn’t just let go and lounge in her pjs on the couch, watching shitty movies for no reason than that they were there, or practice her guitar and singing without a fear. Plus, she could invite Denki over. It had been a while since they had some genuine alone time and she could do with a cuddle. Not that anyone would hear her say that; Kyouka had airs to keep up.

It wasn’t that Momo minded having Denki over; she seemed to enjoy his company if anything, and found them ‘adorable’. But it was more anxiety on Kyouka’s end; she hated PDA and she didn’t like the feeling of other people knowing about her intimate moments. It made her feel vulnerable and she hated that feeling with a passion. Even with Momo, that had taken forever to get out of her system. Probably why they hadn’t worked out. With Denki, though, it was easier for some reason. He teased her about it all the time and she had punched him on the shoulder more than once for that, but she never felt scared being vulnerable around him. It was weird.

She grabbed her phone to text her boyfriend and found two new messages waiting for her. One from Momo and the other Denki. The Denki one was him explaining that he, Eijiro, and Mina were studying. The Momo text was a half hour later, and it seemed urgent as it wasn’t punctuated properly….

Kyouka’s eyes widened and she leaped off the bed. The text had read, “Your boyfriend came by just as Shoto seemed to be getting ready to say something and now things feel awkward and I don’t know what to do. Please come!” She ran into her room and hurriedly threw on some clothes, cursing under her breath. Of course. OF course. He would do that, the lovable idiot. He was so bad at reading cues. It had taken him weeks to figure out that Kyouka had asked him out one time, and he only realized it when they started dating, He wouldn’t get what was going on. Ugh! Why?!

As she ran out of her apartment, Kyouka made a small promise to kill Denki. Not too terribly; she still loved him. But just a little, for Momo’s sake.

An Hour Later, the Apartment of Shoto, Izuku, and Tenya

How did this all happen? Shoto thought as walked into the kitchen to get himself some water. Everything had started so promising and he had just been about to ask her out when, boom! Surprise Denki, Eijiro, and Mina. At least Mina seemed to grasp she had interrupted something, as she had pulled him aside to apologize profusely and ask if she should get the others to leave. She didn’t need the studying, she pointed out; she had just been with Eijiro that day. Shoto had been tempted to follow up on the offer but the boys did need the help and the moment was ruined. So he let them stay.

Didn’t mean he didn’t feel a little annoyed when Toru showed up a big later, but he kept in check. She had been told by Mina-- who looked incredibly ashamed when Shoto shot her a glare-- that they would all be studying over here and she needed help with a paper. And then Kyouka showed up, though she seemed to know what was going on. She quickly talked with Momo and then sighed heavily, sitting next to her and Denki, half listening to everything. She seemed almost as mad as Shoto was frustrated.

As for Momo…..Shoto couldn’t tell. She was in full teacher mode, holding the attention of whatever student needed her help. If she was upset she didn’t show it. As far as Shoto could tell, she wasn’t bothered at all. Of course she wasn’t. She probably didn’t know what Shoto had intended to do.

He sighed as he leaned against the kitchen counter, trying to think about it all in a positive way. He would have another chance, surely…..surely.

Another knock at the door caused him to nearly growl in frustration but then it evaporated. The damage was done and one more person wasn’t going to cause more harm than had already been done. He opened it up and was genuinely surprised to find the round, cheery face of Ochako Uraraka looking up at him. “Ochako?” he asked, lifting his eyebrows up. Why was she here?

“Is Deku in?” she asked, the nickname seeming to barely register to her as it passed her lips. Shoto raised an eyebrow though; only Katsuki called Izuku that. But it at least explained why she was here.

“He’s at work, unfortunately,” Shoto said with a small, apologetic smile. “You’re welcome to wait inside for him if you want. His room is empty.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Nah, it’s okay. Thanks anyways though! I was just going to drop some stuff off for him, anyways. I should’ve texted him first.” She frowned and looked up at him. “You okay, Shoto?”

He raised an eyebrow. Could she tell? “Just a bit tired,” he said. Ochako nodded, warily though. He smiled again and stepped aside. “Why don’t you drop the stuff off on his desk? I’ll grab paper so you can leave a note if you want.”

“That would be great!” She moved inside and waved hi as a chorus of hellos welcomed her. Shoto grabbed a pad of legal paper from a drawer in the kitchen-- Tenya’s ‘Chaos Drawer’, the one drawer that was randomness no matter what he did-- and a pen. When he turned to give them to her, he found her being greeted by Denki.

“So you’re Ochako! Nice to finally meet you! I’m Denki Kaminari, Eijiro’s last roommate!” He held out a hand and gave a big grin. Shoto had to admit that even when he was mind bendingly frustrating, Denki was very much a friendly person who you wanted to like.

“Nice to meet you,” Ochako said with a smile. “Glad to see there are still more of you. Keeping me on my toes.”

He laughed and moved to say something else but then shook his head. “We’re a bit much, huh? But don’t worry, the ones that are gone are actually the calmer ones.” He leaned in conspiratorially, and Shoto raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know how they deal with us.”

“Neither do I,” Shoto said dryly. Denki straightened up and laughed again. He waved to Ochako and returned to his place by Kyouka who leaned down to whisper something that caused him to flush a bit. Shoto shrugged and handed Ochako the paper and pen. “Here you go. Anything you want me to tell Izuku or will the note explain it?”

Ochako was looking over at the couch, her gaze seemed to be fixed on Momo. Shoto followed her gaze and met Momo’s eyes. She smiled weakly but then turned back to Toru who was seemingly struggling with a problem. Shoto frowned and turned to see Ochako giving him a comforting look. Her eyes were soft and warm and her little smile seemed sad, for him though. “Not what you wanted, huh?” she said quietly as she took the pad. He blinked and she quickly wrote the note, tearing the page off of the page. She hurried down towards Izuku’s room and he found himself following.

“What do you mean?” he asked, standing in the doorway as she put some papers on Izuku’s desk.

“This,” she said. “The get-together.” She turned back to him, and her brown eyes seemed so knowing, as if secrets were written in the air between them. “You like Momo and you don’t like all these people here. You want it to be just the two of you.” She smiled softly again, and Shoto caught a glimpse of real pain behind her eyes. “I know what it feels like to like someone like that. At least your friends aren’t doing it on purpose.”

He opened his mouth and then closed it. How did she know? And what did she mean by that last part? Before he could ask, she walked to him and gave him another smile. “Don’t let it get to you. If it makes you feel better, she’s just as upset as you are.” Her smile turned a bit goofier, a bit happier. Like what he had seen on her before. “I’m sure things will turn out great!”

“I-- Thank you,” he said, still at a loss for words. He smiled though. “First Izuku and now you….am I truly that easy to read?”

Ochako laughed. “Oh, gods no! I’m just good at this, I guess. Or at least, I learned to be good at it.” She smiled again, a bit more wicked though. “Though, the crush part, just a little easy to figure out. I won’t tell anyone though.” She chuckled and started to head out before whirling around and bowing her head to him. “Thank you again for letting me drop that stuff off! Good luck!”

Shoto watched her leave, hearing the chorus of goodbyes. He glanced at the desk, seeing what could’ve been a drawing or something, but let it be. It wasn’t his place. Besides, he was a bit preoccupied by Ochako seemingly knowing his secret. Confused and a little surprised, he left the room and headed back to the living room, his mind a mess.

An hour later, everyone left. As was the usual, instead of a slow trickle of people leaving one by one or in pairs, the entire group just got up and went to leave. Shoto had always found that odd, but he had been a part of the leaving group before; it just happened. He waved goodbye as people left, until only Momo was left, lingering by the doorway. Kyouka turned and Momo just waved her along before facing Shoto. Kyouka gave him a pointed look and then headed down the stairs.

He held his breath, debating whether or not to say anything. Maybe he could ask her now? Maybe this would be a chance?

“Everything okay?” he asked, frowning slightly. She seemed off-kilter, a sad look on her face….or at least, he thought it was sad. It was hard to tell what emotion, or emotions, she was feeling. He hadn’t seen that expression before today.

It took a little while for her to speak, but she looked up and met his eyes. “I’m sorry everything got so out of hand.”

“Not your fault,” he said with a shrug. “And it was still nice.” What little time we had, anyways.

She chuckled slightly and nodded slowly. “Yeah it….it was.” She paused, looking like she wanted to say something more, but then she shook her head. “Thank you for inviting me over though. It was fun. Maybe we can do it again sometime, though maybe well before exams.”

“For sure,” he said. “Be safe on your way home, Momo.”

“I will,” she said softly. “Bye, Shoto.” With that she walked out the door and he closed the door, sighing as she left. He walked with heavy feet over to the couch and collapsed onto it, his stomach grumbling. It was getting close to dinner time and he knew he should eat something; he hadn’t had anything since the muffins. But he was too tired to make something and Izuku and Tenya weren’t going to be back anytime soon.

He groaned and got up to go see what they had left in the fridge when he noticed a message on his phone from Mashirao.

Shoto, Toru told me about the study thing. I put the pieces together. I’ll be over soon. I’ll bring some of that pasta we like; sounds like you’ll need the pick-me-up. It had been sent about twenty minutes ago. He raised an eyebrow but sighed. Pasta honestly sounded perfect to him right then so he fell back onto the couch and waited for Mashirao.

It didn’t take too long before Mashirao was knocking on the door. When Shoto opened it up he found the blond man standing with a plastic bag in one hand, a case of cream soda in the other, and a small, apologetic smile. Shoto raised an eyebrow but smiled. “You think it’s that bad, huh?” he joked, letting his friend enter.

“I remember sophomore year pretty well,” Mashirao said with a laugh. “It’s better to be over prepared then underprepared in my book. Now, let’s eat before we get into the nitty-gritty. I’m starving and riding my bike here like a maniac did not help.”

The two of them attacked the pasta, making small talk when possible. Never out of a need to fill the silence, though. Shoto had long since become comfortable with Mashirao. Their friendship had been a new development, in terms of the group. He had always gotten along with Mashirao, but they hadn’t been close. However, during a post-graduation camping trip the group had gone on, Shoto had ended up driving into town with Mashirao in Tsu’s mom’s minivan to pick up supplies, only to get caught in a storm and forced to stay in town. The two, spending the night in a small, cheap motel room, ended up talking and got along well. Shoto admired Mashirao’s calm in even the most trying of circumstances and found himself enjoying the blond boy’s company. The talk turned to their group and Shoto ended up revealing his crush on Momo.

He could still remember that vividly. The storm raging outside, wind howling and rain pounding the roof. Mashirao hadn’t seemed surprised and instead just offered comfort. He had just started dating Toru and was willing to help buck up Shoto when he let his doubt get to him. Ever since, the two of them had been close, trying to hang out, just the two of them, every month or so.

Once they finished, Mashirao fixed Shoto with an even look. He wouldn’t ask about how things went; he preferred to have Shoto willingly open up. With a sigh, Shoto pushed away his plate and swirled the soda remaining in his bottle. “You know pretty much what happened.”

Mashirao nodded. “Pretty much,” he said.

Shoto grimaced at the unasked question. “It’s frustrating,” he said after a moment of thought. “I….I didn’t want it to feel like a date. Didn’t want to make her feel pressured. But as soon as something happened that made it clear we weren’t dating I….I got frustrated. Is that silly?”

His friend shook his head with a small smile. “No. When I had a crush on Toru every chance I got to be alone with her was a godsend. When they got interrupted I always felt this weird rush of frustration and guilt; like I was upset at whoever ended it but felt guilty because, well, they didn’t do anything wrong.”

Shoto sighed and nodded. “That….that pretty much nails it.”

“Do you think Momo was feeling something similar?” Mashirao shrugged. “When I told Toru, after we started dating, about those moments we spent together and how I felt, she said she had always felt something similar. If you think Momo did too, then maybe you have a shot.”

He didn’t have an answer for that. He….he was still bad at reading people. Even with how much he had grown from freshman year of high school, he still had trouble deciphering what people felt. Simple emotions were easier, but more complex ones, like what Mashirao was asking if Momo felt, were so much harder. “I don’t know if she did,” he said slowly, “and I don’t know how I would find out.”

“Well, you might not,” Mashirao said. “People are complex, Shoto. You know that. We’re weird and hard to predict and understand. And, at the same time, we’re super emotional. I think you’ll figure it out, given time.” He stood up, and smiled. “If you want my opinion, I think you should try again. Don’t be afraid to take a risk either, Shoto. You two are adults. You can handle it and so can she. I believe in you.”

A Couple of Hours Later

Mashirao had left the apartment an hour earlier, after refusing Shoto’s every attempt to pay him back for the food. He was always like that, but Shoto always insisted. His mother would have been appalled if he didn’t offer.

Once he was alone, Shoto got to cleaning the apartment, making sure not a single crumb remained on the floor. It was mostly to help him think, let him collect his thoughts. Izuku wouldn’t care that much and Tenya wasn’t that much of a neat freak. But cleaning helped him think, so he cleaned the entire kitchen and living room.

Tenya called to let him know he would be home late. He had promised to help a teacher out at school and had ran into Mei Hatsume, an old….flame? Shoto wasn’t sure what she was to Tenya and doubted that Tenya knew either. Point was, Tenya had got caught up and was going to be home a bit later. Izuku walked in a few minutes later, smiling as always.

“Shoto!” He found himself smiling as his green-haired roommate practically bounced into the apartment. “How did your study session go?”

“It went….well,” he said absently. “How about you? How was your day?”

“Another day at Plus Ultra,” Izuku said with a shrug. He started to head towards his room, still chatting. “It was actually kind of slow today though we’ve been getting a lot of online orders for the plushes. Ikko was going kind of crazy.” Shoto made a humming sound of acknowledgment as his mind flitted between ideas. He had been debating asking Momo for another study session again, or to just go get coffee or something. He was running out of ideas.

“Hey, Shoto.” He turned to see Izuku standing behind him, a curious look on his face. He was holding the papers Ochako left. “Ochako dropped by?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry I forgot to mention that. She left those behind for you and a note. Should’ve mentioned it to you when you got back.” His phone buzzed and he checked it real fast. Izuku still looked a bit odd, almost awestruck, but Shoto couldn’t figure out why.

A text from Momo was waiting for him when he turned on his phone screen. I know things went a bit sideways, for both of us, but if you want, I could go for some tea on Sunday. He felt his cheeks warm up but he smiled and typed back his reply.

That sounds amazing. He hesitated but decided to try to risk it. Hopefully no one will interrupt us this time. I had something I wanted to say.

He looked down and saw Izuku giving him a lopsided grin. “Looks like you got a lot on your mind,” he said. “I’m going to make myself a quick dinner. If you wanna share, feel free.” He walked off to the kitchen, humming the opening notes to the short-lived All Might cartoon.

Shoto shook his head and debated whether to tell Izuku what had happened. He probably would, but it was more about if he should tell him about the….other things going on. Also probably, he admitted to himself. Izuku was easy to trust and talk to.

His phone buzzed in his hand and he looked down at it. There was, wasn’t there? Well, I suppose you can try again on Sunday, Shoto. As he looked at the message, grinning, another one popped up. I look forward to hearing it.

He fought the urge to laugh and pocketed his phone. “Actually, Izuku, I think I have a story to tell if you want to hear it.”

Chapter Text

Sunday Afternoon

Izuku was still amazed at the drawing of Momo as a paladin, even several hours later. He didn’t quite know what about it entranced him so much; sure the drawing was amazing as he expected from Ochako, but there was something else. Perhaps it was how well it seemed to fit with Momo as a person, this image of her as a brave paladin. He could easily imagine Momo holding off an army of monsters to defend her friends, a grim look of determination on her face.

He sighed and put the drawing down, looking at the cup of tea before him. With any luck, Ochako would be able to tell him more about this “idea” she hinted at in the note that was left with the drawing. He had been trying to figure out what that meant as well and couldn’t really get it. Still though, if had anything to do with the picture, he was all in.

The bell at the cafe door jingled and Ochako hurried in, a smile on her face. Izuku found himself smiling back and his heart did a little skip. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold and her old pink scarf was a bit loose around her neck, the ends falling down onto her brown jacket. She looked cute, he thought, and he found himself blushing. “Sorry I’m late Deku! My boss asked me to stay a little longer to discuss some scheduling stuff.” She slid into the seat across from him and gave him a more sheepish, apologetic smile.

“Don’t apologize,” he said with a soft chuckle. “I did sort of call you over here very last minute so if anything, it’s my fault for being early.”

“That makes no sense, Deku,” she laughed. “But, I’ll accept your apology.”

He laughed again and waited as she went to order her coffee before rejoining him, shucking off her jacket. As she did so, he found himself watching her face carefully. She really was cute, with her big grin, flushed cheeks, and big, light brown eyes. He had known that since they met but for some reason it was jumping out at him. As she turned her attention to him though, he snapped out of it and tried not to seem awkward. “So, why did you call me over here?” she asked.

“The drawing you left with me and that note,” he said, tapping the drawing on the table. “You said you had some sort of idea you wanted to talk about and when I texted you about it you refused to elaborate, like some sort of jerk.”

Her face lit up and she leaned in. “I do! You’re gonna love it! You ready?”

“Totally ready,” he said with a grin.

“Remember how we had talked about working with each other on a graphic novel of sorts? Well, I have an idea for one!” She tapped the drawing excitedly and then dug her sketchbook out of her bag, opening up to a page towards the back and thrusting it into Izuku’s hands. On the page in front of him was a very rough sketch but it looked like….Shoto, but in some sort of old-fashioned finery, a sword buckled at his waist.

“Is this Shoto?” Izuku asked.

“Yup! So, here’s my idea. A graphic novel starring our friends!” Izuku blinked and gave her a quizzical look, trying to wrap his head around it. She must have noticed his confusion because she seemed to backpedal a bit mentally.

“Not like, them completely,” she said, “but like, fictionalized versions. A fantasy world with our friends as characters, as the heroes! Momo the paladin and Shoto the….noble? Lord? I don’t know yet with him, but do you get the idea?”

Izuku thought about it and a grin spread across his face. The idea was actually really interesting. His friends were a varied group with a lot of interesting dynamics and personalities and such. Honestly, he had always toyed with the idea of making a character or two based on them. “I think I love it,” he said. Ochako’s eyes seemed to dance with that and she pumped her fist. “So, what kind of story are you thinking about?”

“No idea yet!” she admitted cheerily. “That’s where you come in, Deku! Honestly, I was just struck with the idea after having lunch with Momo but then when I saw Shoto yesterday something just clicked and well, boom!”

He sat back in his chair and thought, looking at the sketch of Shoto. “Hmm, so do you want all of our friends to be in it?”

“Most of them, I’m thinking. I don’t think I’ve met them all, but you can help fill in the blanks. We should probably show them first and get their permission. I can work on the drawings and maybe you can create backgrounds for them all? That way we can sort of play off of each other’s ideas, improve upon each other as we go!”

Izuku grinned and took a gulp of his tea. The idea was good and could be really fun. Plus….he loved the challenge of it. When he had been trying to match her with Iliasa it had been so much, always trying to meet her art with his writing and make sure they were on the same level. “Let’s do it!” Ochako gave a small little cheer and extended her fist, and he bumped her fist with his. “So, let’s get started, partner.”

“That’s why I brought with my drawing stuff,” she said, pulling out pencils and erasers. “How about you work on an outline for the story? Or maybe for Shoto and Momo?”

Izuku nodded and pulled out his writing notebook; he never left home without it. “First though, do you want us to be in it?” he asked.

“Of course! We’re going to be a part of the main cast, goof!” She made a small frown, like she was thinking and tapped a pencil’s eraser against her lip. “I mean, maybe not the main characters, but in the group for sure.”

He nodded, not adding that he wasn’t sure if he was main character worthy. Instead, he focused on Shoto, or rather, fantasy Shoto. Definitely of noble birth, but that wasn’t much to write about. So, Izuku borrowed a bit from Shoto’s real life. His white and red hair would have to be in it, as it was too cool to not include in a fantasy story. So, why not find a reason for it? “How do you feel about Shoto being magic, to a degree?” Izuku asked as he wrote.

Ochako looked up from her drawing and gave a decisive nod. “I like it. I was actually thinking about that but I’m not sure what kind of powers. You?”

“I like the idea of maybe some sort of conflict,” Izuku said slowly, still thinking. He knew Shoto and his dad….well, saying they didn’t get along felt like a bit of an understatement. “Maybe he has a power he hates? Like it reminds him of someone he hates, like his dad.”

Ochako made a humming sound in thought but nodded, her hand flying across the paper as she drew. Izuku turned back to his page, and focused on writing.

An hour or two later he had a decent backstory written up for Shoto. Or, at least decent enough. Ochako was still drawing as he went over what he had written. It wasn’t anything amazing, but it was interesting enough he thought. A prince made to be a weapon for his father, running away to rebel and discover himself, while trying to hold back the power he inherited from his father. Good stuff without being overly heavy.

As he waited for Ochako to finish what she was working on, he studied her. It had been only two weeks since he had met her and yet, he loved hanging out with her. She had quickly risen up the ranks in his texts, becoming the person he texted the most, and he had spent more than a couple of late nights just texting her. Plus, her drawings wowed him and made him want to write again. The girl was amazing, he thought. It had been a while since he thought about someone quite like this….

“Deku?” He blinked and smiled at her. She smiled back. “You seemed a little out of it. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s okay,” he said with a laugh. “I was just thinking, you know?”

Ochako laughed and nodded. “Well, I finished up another sketch if you wanna look. It’s super rough, but I mean, it’s something.”

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “You would say that even if it was finished.”

“Like you wouldn’t for your writing,” she countered with a laugh. “But if you insist….here. I hope it’s okay.” She passed the notebook over and she seemed nervous. More so than she ever had been about sharing her art before.

“I’m sure it’s great, Ochako,” he said with a smile as he took the sketchbook. She smiled back at him, kind of weakly, and then he looked down at the drawing.

There were two figures in it; one was a girl wearing what looked like traditional style witch clothes, but a bit more individualized, with a skirt that swirled out from her, as if she had just jumped in the air. Her hat was floppy and seemed ragged and old, but fit her well. Beneath it, he could see two long locks of hair framing her face….Izuku blinked. It was Ochako, or close to it.

The other figure in the drawing stood with a big smile on his face. He wore what looked like trousers meant for traveling but on his torso he wore a waistcoat and button up shirt, or something like it. His eyes seemed big and cheerful looking and his hair was a mess of curls. The dusting of freckles on his cheeks made him gave him a look of youthful energy, and his hand rested lightly on the simple pommel of a sword at his waist.

Izuku looked up to see Ochako blushing and looking down at the table. “Is that me?” he asked.

She nodded and grimaced. “I’m sorry, I know I should’ve let you know but I just….well, I thought we could both be in the story and I was even thinking maybe you could star in it, and well….once I started drawing I couldn’t stop.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Izuku smiled and looked at the drawing again. It was just a sketch, but it was a good one. His character….was that really him? He passed the drawing back and chuckled. “I don’t know if I agree with you on me being a main character but I like the art. Your character is especially neat looking.”

Ochako bit her lip and nodded, taking the drawing back when he offered it. Something seemed off with her, but Izuku wasn’t sure if he should ask. “Thanks, Deku,” she said softly. She smiled briefly and checked her phone. “I have to go to class soon, but wanna meet up in a week or so again? I’ll get these two done and maybe a couple of others as well.”

“You can drop by the bookstore whenever you want, too,” Izuku said. “I like hanging out with you.”

“Thanks,” she said, whatever was going on seemingly melting away. “I’ll see you, Deku!” She waved and ran off. Izuku sat at the table, watching her leave, waving back, his heart thudding gently. It had been two weeks. Only two weeks since he had met her. Almost three weeks, now that he thought about it. And yet….something was different than before.

Izuku frowned and looked down at his empty mug. He….he couldn’t like her so soon, could he? Crazier things had happened but this? This seemed a bit much. He sighed and got up, waving goodbye to the owners. He was off for today and he needed some time to think.

Monday Morning

Izuku unlocked the door to Plus Ultra, pushing it open with its customary jingle and then locking it behind him. It had been a while since he was the one to open the shop, but Tenya had an appointment with an author’s agent. That didn’t really bother Izuku; he liked opening up. The shop was always so calm and peaceful in the morning and being able to just wander the shelves and do some simple work by himself was good.

But, first he went up the stairs. A floor above was the break room that they all used, with its coffee pot, couch, and table. He got the coffee pot ready and started it up, and then went up the next set of stairs, taking out a coppery key. When he reached the top he knocked and then pushed open the door.

Toshinori’s apartment was well-lived in, and everything in it looked like it had been there for years. The old, ratty looking but incredibly comfortable couch, the faded looking rug, the nicked but clean coffee table. The room was packed with bookcases too, full of worn and well-read books. Toshinori had always loved reading and many of the books Izuku knew were from his childhood, saved over the years.

“Toshinori? It’s me, Izuku!” he called as he walked over to the kitchen. He heard shuffling and turned to see Toshinori walk from his bedroom, already dressed.

“Morning, young Midoriya,” he said. He opened his mouth to say something else and started to cough. His shoulders shook violently as he coughed with a terrible racking sound. Izuku burst into action, running to grab a glass of water from the cabinet along with a small container of pills that always lay out. His heart thudded with worry. Please not today. The doctor said you were still okay! Toshinori’s coughs slowed and he wobbled a bit on his feet. His hand was bloodied from the coughs and when Izuku took his arm to help him, the older man nearly collapsed on him.

“You didn’t take your pills yet,” he said quietly as he helped Toshinori into a seat.

“I got up late,” the man said with a heavy sigh as he took the container and water. He popped it open and downed the pills, followed by a deep gulp of water. He groaned and leaned forward, propping his elbows onto the table. “Sorry to worry you, Izuku. I promise, everything is fine.”

Izuku didn’t say anything but he let his doubt show. Ever since he and Tenya had learned about their boss’s illness senior year they had taken it upon themselves to watch after him carefully. They didn’t quite understand what the illness was; Toshinori never elaborated, but the way he seemed drained after each hospital visit made it seem serious. The coughing fits especially were worrisome, as was the ugly looking scarring on Toshinori’s side and stomach from where he had surgery to help treat whatever it was. Tenya had guessed cancer of some sort. Izuku hadn’t wanted to guess.

“Trust me, Izuku, I’m fine,” Toshinori said. He flashed a smile and a thumbs up at Izuku and he felt his worry wean a little. “I was late one time. I’ll be fine.”

“Good.” Izuku started to head towards the door but stopped. “I….just be safe, okay? We all care about you.”

“I know, young Midoriya.” Toshinori smiled softly and Izuku felt himself smiling in return. “Tell me, have you started working on the book that you told me about? I remember you mentioning working on something with young Uraraka.”

“We started, yeah,” he said with a chuckle. “We’re working on flushing out the characters for now, but I think it’s actually gonna happen.”

Toshinori nodded and smiled again. “You know, she’s good for you.”

Izuku blinked and felt his heart race and his cheeks flush. “W-w-what do you mean?”

“Whenever she comes over you smile more, and more warmly, and seem more alive. You’ve been writing more too, in your notebooks, ever since you met her.” Toshinori got up and walked over to his fridge, grabbing a carton of orange juice. “She….how do I put this? She makes you happy and strive to be better.” He nodded as if satisfied with those words. “That’s an important thing to find in someone, Izuku. You should keep her close.”

He laughed awkwardly and tried to not blush too noticeably. “I….I mean, she’s a great friend, Toshinori. Of course I want to keep her close.”

Toshinori gave Izuku a cryptic looking smile and just nodded. He seemed to know more than he was letting on, but Izuku didn’t need him sharing more. The whole thing was troubling enough on its own. “Well, if you don’t need anything else, I’ll be downstairs,” Izuku said, inching towards the door to get out of whatever happened. “You know how to reach me if something happens.”

“I’ll be fine, young Midoriya.” The older man smiled and his eyes flared to life with blue fire. For a second, instead of the thin, sickly man he was, Toshinori Yagi became the confident, inspiring author he had been when Izuku first met him. No, Izuku corrected himself as he headed down the stairs, he’s always been that man. It’s just not as obvious.

The work went by quickly that morning, with Emi popping in when he officially opened the store. Tenya was always excellent at getting any paperwork done well in advance, so most of Izuku’s morning consisted of preparing the store for the day and checking stock. As much as Tenya loved and craved the thrill of a busy day, Izuku liked these slow days. It gave him chances to relax, chat with the customers and Emi, and just have a good time.

Of course, the slow day also gave him plenty of time to think. Normally, he loved that and for the most part, he loved it that day as well. He thought intently about the novel, trying to craft a backstory for all of his friends. Tenya he could picture as a knight or something, from a long line of heroes perhaps. Momo as a lawful paladin made a lot of sense but crafting her backstory was a bit harder. A wealthy family made sense, explaining her detailed armor. But why would she be a paladin and adventuring? That thought took up a lot of time.

When he reached his character though, he found himself sidetracked. He started thinking about Ochako, subtly at first, before it turned to him thinking solely about her. Her smile when she talked about her favorite authors, that focused look on her face when she drew…he forced himself to stop before he went too far, but he found himself blushing. He tried to get back to thinking about the story, trying to figure out Paladin-Momo’s past, when it happened again. Time and time again he thought of Ochako and her smile, her warm brown eyes.

Izuku sighed and smiled weakly at Emi when she gave him a concerned look. He hated it, but he had to admit that he liked Ochako Uraraka. Of course he did. Of course he did. He wasn’t really all that surprised as he thought about it; she was sweet and smart and cute and liked some of the same books as he did and she pushed him in a way no one else had. Hell, she had gotten him back into writing often.

No, it didn’t shock him. It just….irked him, he decided. After the incident with Tsu and the errant crush here and there that had never gone anywhere, he had shut down the romantic part of him. Why, he thought, would anyone bother liking him? Especially if they got to know him better. Shoto and Tenya, they had ideas about who he was deep down, about that pit of darkness he had drifted into often when he was younger. He still did, the only difference being that he knew how to hold it in now.

But if anyone actually dated him, actually saw that sadness that so often consumed him, why would they stick around? Even if they managed to get over everything else about him, that would scare them off for sure.

Izuku sighed, sadness weighing on his heart even as his cheeks flushed thinking of Ochako. He couldn’t stop liking her, not easily at least. But he wouldn’t act on it. No reason to show her what a pathetic guy he was.

Saturday Evening

Ochako knocked on the door to Deku’s apartment-- well, his and Shoto’s and Tenya’s, she corrected herself-- and waited anxiously. She had been working hard on the drawings since their last get-together and when Deku suggested meeting up at one of their places to work, she loved the idea. Unfortunately Tsu was having Fumikage over for one of their planned date nights and while Tsu insisted that it would be fine, Ochako would have been looking for a way out regardless. So, Deku offered to take her in for the evening. Shoto was out with Momo-- something Deku went over way too fast for her taste-- while Tenya was spending the night visiting his brother.

It would just be the two of them. Alone. At his place. Ochako found that utterly terrifying and absolutely amazing.

The door opened and Deku stood before her, smiling sheepishly. His hair was messy, like he had been rolling around on the floor, and there was a bit of chocolate or fudge smeared on his chin. “Ochako! Hey! Come on in!”

“Sorry again to have you host, Deku,” she said as she walked in, kicking her shoes off.

Deku made a scoffing sound as he passed her. “I was the one who suggested we get together and hang tonight. Besides, I didn’t want to get in the way of Tsu and Fumikage.” He smiled faintly. “Fumikage gets surprisingly nervous around other people when he and Tsu are together.”

Ochako raised an eyebrow and filed the information away for later. It might come in handy. She then pointed to the chocolate on Deku’s chin. “What were you making?”

He raised his hand to his chin and his eyes widened. He chuckled awkwardly as he rushed over to the sink to scrub it off. “I was, uh, making brownies.” The way he said sounded almost hesitant, as if saying it was embarrassing or something he was upset about it. Whatever it was, it confused Ochako and made her a little worried.

But still, the fact that he made brownies was kinda cute.

“You didn’t have to make brownies!” She laughed a little at his sheepish expression and gave him her sweetest smile. “But, I do love brownies so I will totally eat them if you let me. Please tell me though that you didn’t also cook up a three-course meal, too.”

“I actually held myself back,” he said with another sheepish grin. He still had a little bit of chocolate on his chin but she decided to let it be for right now. It made him look cute. “For one thing, I was wiped so I didn’t feel like cooking. Plus Shoto said it would seem to be a bit mu--” he paused, eyes widening, before continuing, “I mean, he said that I should leave some of the groceries for him and Tenya.”

“Wait, back up,” Ochako said with a chuckle. She decided to ignore his slip-up though it was definitely something to keep an eye on. “You were too tired to cook but you still went and made brownies? How does that work?”

Deku gave her a strange look and made his way to the couch, plopping down. She followed and sat next to him, waiting for his answer. “Baking is easier than cooking,” he said. “Baking is relaxing. Ask Rikido, he bakes all the time and he’s super relaxed. There has to be a relation there, right?”

Ochako laughed and shook her head. “I mean, you seem pretty chill yourself, Deku. I don’t think you need to bake to become more chill.”

He paused and then laughed. “Shush! Maybe I just like baking, then.”

“You could have just said that you know,” she said with a teasing tone. “But I’ll drop it for now, so long as you tell me what we’re having to eat. As much as I love sweets, my parents would not approve if that was all I ate for a dinner.”

“My mom would be disappointed in me if I let you,” Deku laughed. “Though I wasn’t thinking anything special. There’s a good pizza place that does delivery if you’re okay with that?”

She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. “Well it depends. What do you like on your pizza? Because if you like anything but mushrooms I think we’ll be all good.”

“I’ll leave those off,” he said with a smile.

About an hour later the two of them were still sitting on the couch, now with a pizza box opened on the kitchen counter, notebooks next to them flipped open to various pages, and drawings and notes scattered across the couch and coffee table. Currently, Deku was looking at her revised sketch of Shoto, which she was actually really proud of. She had colored it a little, giving him a background of ice crystals and flames. The ice arched up along the wall behind him, curving a little, while the flames burned along his body, arching off of his skin. Together it made him look like he had wings of fire and snow. It fit what Deku described of his character earlier, she thought, and he seemed especially thrilled by it.

She, meanwhile, was reading some backstory Deku had written up for all of their characters, and some of the others. Tenya, he described as a knight from a family of knights, with a strong drive for justice and carrying on his lineage, but easily caught up in minutia and an obsession with following codes of honor. Tsu was a water sprite, or at least part water sprite, and was a kind hearted soul who didn’t quite get human customs, causing her to be a bit blunt and forward. That made Ochako laugh when she read it, much to Deku’s surprise. It fit Tsu so well and the idea of her friend being this fairy-like creature was actually really cool.

Katsuki’s character, who Deku sometimes slipped up and called Kacchan in his writing, was….interesting. She could see what Deku described easily in her head; a muscular, rough looking man with a shock of white hair and tattoos on his arms of tribal origin. He wore an open short vest and carried a wicked looking saber. Despite his barbaric appearance, intelligence still gleamed in his eyes. Overall Ochako liked it a lot but one thing seemed odd.

“Does Katsuki have to have a dragon?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at Deku who blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head.

“I, uh, technically no,” he said with a small chuckle. “But if we want his permission, it might be for the best. Kacchan has always loved dragons and fire and stuff like that. He thinks its fierce and well, you may not have met him for very long, but trust me, if anyone could actually conquer and tame a dragon, it would be him.”

“Okay, sure, but still. Makes him seem a little crazy powerful. I mean, dragons kind of solve a lot of problems.”

“We don’t have to keep it,” Deku said after a moment of thinking. “Maybe something can happen to it. But I think to get his permission, Katsuki needs a dragon.”

Ochako pursed her lips but nodded. Drawing a dragon would be hard but it wouldn’t be impossible. Whatever, she thought. She would make it work, probably.

Funny , she thought with a small smile as she flipped to the next page in the notebook. If it comes to Deku I seem to find myself more willing to try and risk things without fear.

She ignored those thoughts and quickly read the next page, her cheeks flushing as she read. It was her character. Deku described her as a cute girl with a round face and flushed cheeks. Her eyes were a warm brown and always sparkling with joy and excitement. She was a hard worker and enthusiastic about her magic, if a little inexperienced at first. Her favorite part though, was right near the end.

“Ochako may have been a young mage, may have been inexperienced, but she didn’t let that get to her. She’s the heart of the group, her smile and words of encouragement keeping the others moving forward even in the darkest of times. Second only to Tsuyu in her kindness, Ochako is always ready to make everyone in the group smile and is the one the others turn to when they feel lost. For example, when Izuku and Shoto both find themselves at a loss following a major defeat, both ready to give up, Ochako is the one who keeps them inspired, even though she was devastated as well. She is the one who inspired Izuku to join the party, after all, who pushed him. This young mage means more than she thinks she does.”

Ochako looked up and stared at Deku, her eyes wide and….watery? She felt like she was going to cry from that passage and she….dammit. He didn’t know, couldn’t have known, about her high school life-- Tsu barely knew-- and yet, what he wrote, about her being the heart, the one who kept the others going….the one they turned to. It hit hard in a way she didn’t expect it, making her think of high school again.

The loneliness. The pain. The forced smiles and laughs even as she just wanted to break. Even as she did break. Those hollow smiles she got, the fakeness, the heartbreak that ruined her. All of it rushed in and then was held back. Was this how Deku thought of her? As this person to be trusted and who could inspire others?

The boy in question looked up, his eyes shimmering and sparkling. He smiled at her softly, and held up her picture of Shoto. “This is amazing, Ochako! I mean, genuinely awesome! I love the idea of him having fire and ice as a power as it just seems to mesh with his character and that duality and trying to control it and you really made it so beautiful.” He paused and his smile dimmed as he looked at her. Was she crying? She didn’t think she was yet, but she wasn’t sure. Dammit, this one thing shouldn’t be affecting her so much. “Hey, are you okay?”

She sniffed and wiped her face, just in case. “Yeah, yeah. Just feeling a little sick. I’ll, uh, be right back.” She hurried off to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, leaning against it. What was happening? Why did she feel both sad and ecstatic? Why was her heart thudding so hard?

Then, it hit her. She had known for a while that she had been thinking of Deku as less and less of a friend and more as a crush…..but this cemented it. She liked him, and that terrified her. The last crush she had didn’t end well. She could still remember the utter feeling of betrayal and the crushing despair.

“‘I can’t believe you’re crying over getting rejected,’ her ‘friend’ said with a small smirk. ‘He never liked you. Hell, I wonder if he even liked you as a friend or if he just kept you around because you amused him.’ She laughed as Ochako felt her heart thunder in her chest. ‘It is kinda funny that you never noticed. That you thought he liked you back. God, what an idiot. Why would anyone like you?’

‘Why?’ Ochako asked in a small, weak voice. Her accent was pronounced and that caused another bit of laughter, which, in turn, caused more tears from Ochako. ‘Why?’ There was no answer. Ochako was alone, in more ways than one, crying as laughter echoed in her ears.”

“Why?” she asked herself as tears fell. She had promised herself that she wasn’t going to let high school hold her back anymore, that she wasn’t going to let it rule her anymore.

And here she was crying because of it. Because she was scared it would repeat. Because she hated herself for feeling so weak.

She liked Deku and she was scared of losing that. Scared of him laughing at her for liking him, for thinking that he could ever feel the same way. He was great and amazing and she was….her. Deku wouldn’t laugh at you , a part of her thought. I thought the same thing about Daichi though.

It took a few minutes for her to properly compose herself, but when she felt like she wasn’t as broken as before, she left the bathroom to return to Deku, putting on her best smile. She accepted that it was too late to stop liking him. Even as she turned into the living room, she caught a worried look on his face and care in his eyes. He cared about her as a friend, and even that little thing made her heart ache. No, she couldn’t stop liking him. But she could never tell him. It would hurt too much.

She couldn’t deal with losing him as a friend, this person who saw her as something more than what she was. Who saw her as an artist worth admiring, a friend worth having. Someone whole. She couldn’t lose that.

“Feeling better?” he asked softly.

“Much better. Just needed some time, is all.” She gave him another brilliant smile, and it didn’t feel false, or at least too false. With him it was a bit easier to be real. “Don’t worry.”

He didn’t seemed convinced but nodded and turned to her other drawings. She picked his notebook back up and flipped to the last passage he wrote. This one was shorter than the others and as she read she learned why.

It was his passage. This Izuku Midoriya was just an average kid with some skill in swordplay who decided to join the quest because of Ochako’s inspiration and Tenya’s ideals. He never seemed to be in the center of attention, rather was just another member of the group. While Tenya was the brains, Izuku seemed to be a bit more strategy minded, but that seemed to be his main focus.

She frowned a little. The passage wasn’t deprecating but it didn’t feel like Izuku was anything special. He was just one of the characters, just a guy who didn’t have anything unique going on. He was there to help out his friends and support them in every way he could, but he didn’t seem to have any goal of his.

“What do you think?” Ochako looked up to see Deku looking at her with a smile. “I finished going through your drawings and writing notes for what I want to change in my writing. How about you?”

Ochako smiled, deciding to worry about Izuku later. It was something that could be fixed as they went on. “I like it. I think we have a real masterpiece in the works, once we figure out a story for it, that is.” Deku laughed and rubbed his head.

“Yeah, that would be good, wouldn’t it?” He got up and stretched and walked to the kitchen. “How about we think it over brownies and tea? You in?”

“You had me at brownies,” Ochako said, hopping up to join him.

No, she couldn’t stop liking him. And as painful as that was, that flutter in heart when she saw him smile back at her, it made it worth it for now. She could enjoy that feeling.

Chapter Text

A Few Weeks Later

The weeks passed by quickly for Ochako as she worked. Worked on schoolwork and studying, worked at her job, and worked on the book with Deku. Almost every chance she got, she was drawing or planning out drawings. She had gotten hesitant character drawings down for each of the main characters, and several of the side ones, along with the villains. Deku had been writing like crazy as well, creating an outline for the plot as a whole and then trying to write out a more specific, beat-by-beat type plan. The hardest part was still trying to figure out who exactly the story was following. They both knew the group was the focus, but who in the group was the main character? Did there have to be a main character?

For now, they left that to the side as they worked on the first chapter. With a ton of needling, Ochako managed to convince Deku that it should follow him as an intro to the group as a larger collective. It was coming along really well, and she was pretty proud of the drawings she was working on for it.

Despite how much she enjoyed it all though, she was still extremely stressed out. For one thing, Christmas was only a few days away, less than a week. School had gotten out already and she had been taking on extra shifts at work to cover the costs of gifts and her train ticket home. She hated flying; she always got nauseous and while the train would be about two days worth of travel, it was worth it if she could avoid vomiting at all. Her parents were excited to see her, though busy as always. She was excited to see them. Calling them on the phone or video chatting with them could only do so much to relieve her sense of longing for home. Every time they talked she felt like she could have talked for hours.

That wasn’t the only thing stressing her out though. She sat at her desk, just idly doodling a battle scene involving Tenya, and tried her hardest to not think about Deku. Realizing she liked him had been surprisingly difficult to deal with. Well, she thought, and not that hard at all. It was weird, like so many things in life. When she was with him, her feelings sort of just faded. Or rather, they didn’t matter as much. She just enjoyed his presence and focused on what they were doing together. There were the occasional moments of her noticing her attraction to him and then feeling her emotions both rise and plummet with joy and despair, but they were getting few and far between. When they were apart though, it was worse. Texting him often caused blushing and she had fallen asleep some nights dreaming of dating him, while others ended with her crying softly as the past pain caught up to her.

But she was going to ignore that now. No more pain! It was almost Christmas time, a time for joy and cheer and all of that good stuff. She found herself smiling fondly, thinking of her mom’s cooking, her dad’s terrible  puns, the whole house smelling like cinnamon from the cookies they baked every year. She couldn’t wait to leave.

“Ochako, you’re still not ready?” She snapped out of her reverie to find Tsu watching her from the doorway. Her roommate was dressed in a gaudy red and green Christmas sweater that he younger sister had made her. Ochako thought it was utterly adorable looking, but also a bit much. Tsu wore it with pride though, and wore it every chance she could. “We’re supposed to be there in twenty minutes, you know.”

“Sorry, Tsu,” she said sheepishly as she scrambled towards her closet. “I just got distracted by drawing.” That and trying to push down her feelings. But being away from him for a couple of weeks would make that easier, she decided. Definitely.

She focused back in on her closet before she descended down the rabbit hole that train of thought was leading to. She finally managed to find the Christmas sweater her mom had gotten her a couple of years ago. It was a simple white and light-pink piece and Ochako had found it cute but not really ‘wear-outside-of-Christmas’ cute. She tugged it on over her t-shirt and opened her arms wide, twirling in front of Tsu. “How does it look? Holiday sweater enough?”

Tsu made a humming sound of thought, her finger by her lip, before nodding. “It’s a bit more attractive than most but I think it’ll work. Let’s get going now.” Ochako smiled and followed Tsu, tugging on her winter gear by the door, and then the two friends set out.

Momo had invited pretty much everyone, or at least as many people who were still in town, to her apartment for a Christmas party, now that the renovations in the building were finally finished. Bad holiday sweaters were apparently mandatory dresswear. Ochako was pretty damn excited though; she had never been to a holiday party thrown by friends before and Momo had made it sound really awesome.

The air outside was crisp with the chill of winter setting in, snow already piled up in the streets from the last several days of snow, oddly heavy for the year. Gone was the pure white snow; grey icy mush lined the streets and salt covered the sidewalks. The trees still held the pure snow though, and the grey clouds in the sky threatened to drop more, though they were quickly becoming harder to see with the fast coming of night,

Ochako loved being out in the cold for the most part, loved that tingling feeling when she breathed the cold air in deeply through her nose. But they were in a hurry and quickly boarded a bus to take them across town. She would have time to enjoy the cold later.

“How many people do you think are going to be there?” Ochako asked Tsu as they got off of the bus a few minutes  later, just a short walk from Momo’s apartment. “I mean, there’s no way it’s everyone, right?”

“It’s hard to tell with Momo,” Tsu said with a small chuckle. “I know that Mashirao and Mina already left to go back home, but I think everyone else should be coming. I guess we’ll see.”

The door to the building was locked, and Ochako let Tsu buzz in and ask Momo to let them in. She stood slightly off to the side, watching the sky. The moon was peeking through the clouds a bit, night having fallen almost entirely. It’s light always seemed so much cleaner in the winter, she thought. She smiled at her own musings; it felt like she was rambling, trying to focus on anything but what her mind screamed at her.

Deku and failure.

“Tsu! Ochako! Lovely!” She turned out of her musings to see Tenya standing in the open doorway. She hadn’t gotten much of a chance to interact with him in the last few weeks, but the times she did were always fun. He was such an odd, amusing, and kind hearted person. She found his seriousness hilarious but never admitted it to anyone, especially not him; she honestly thought it would break his heart to hear it.

He looked like he was enjoying himself though, shedding his more serious shell. His sweater was a loud one, dark blue with just…..just so much going on. Snow and trees and reindeer and snowmen and…..was that a fairy or two? Ochako felt dizzy looking at it but Tenya seemed to enjoy wearing it.

“Merry Christmas, Tenya!” Tsu said cheerfully, giving her friend a hug before walking in. Ochako followed behind and smiled to Tenya, who responded with a damn near adorable grin in return.

“Happy Holidays, Tenya,” Ochako said.

“Indeed! With you two here it certainly is. Now, come, come!” The three of them rushed up the stairs, Tenya taking lead and talking the whole way up, all four stories. “The elevator is sadly still broken even though the recent renovations were supposed to fix it, or so Momo says. Honestly, such shoddy work is very disappointing but I suppose it is bound to happen eventually to everyone. Momo was going to come down to get you herself but I offered; after all, a hostess should attend to her guests at the party and as a guest it should be my duty to do everything I can to help out. And, while I am enjoying myself, I was feeling a bit cooped up and needed to move, you see. Too much coffee earlier perhaps, or simply too many sweets. I always was a bit of a glutton for a good cookie.”

Even after all the stairs, he still didn’t sound winded in the slightest. Ochako felt a little miffed at that.

The door swung open the moment Tenya knocked and Momo smiled at them blindingly. She somehow made her sweater-- a green one with a large red-nosed reindeer on it-- look like the latest fashion. “Tsu, Ochako! I’m glad you guys could come! Come in, come in! Tenya, thank you for getting them.”

He bowed his head a little and then took Tsu and Ochako’s coats and hats without a word. Momo shook her head with a small smile as he walked off, his movement brisk and robotic as usual. “Tenya is too kind sometimes.” She turned back to them and clapped her hands together, grinning. “Now! Please, make yourself at home! We have cookies and brownies and cake and pie all set up in the living room, as well as plenty of refreshments. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate-- of course-- and eggnog.” Her eyes sparkled and she leaned in conspiratorially. “Denki’s parents gave him a bottle of bourbon as well, which goes quite well with the eggnog, though it’s a bit strong.” She smiled and then whirled off to hurry back into the party.

Tsu smiled at Ochako and then walked off herself, Fumikage coming out of nowhere almost to walk with her. The raven haired man seemed out of place without his hood, his hair a wild mess that seemed to stand up. The way Tsu smiled and looked at him though, it made it seem like he was the most attractive person on the planet.

Ochako wondered what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of one of those smiles.

“You gonna stand there all night?” For the third time that night she snapped out of a reverie to find someone talking to her. This time though, it was Deku, smiling at her with a glass of eggnog in each hand. He offered one to her, and she smiled and took it.

“I mean, I was thinking about it,” she joked. “But now that I have something to drink I guess I’ll go join the party.” He chuckled a little and took a sip of his eggnog. She noticed hers had nutmeg on top. Her mom always insisted on using fresh nutmeg with eggnog during the holidays; it was a treat for one season.

Ochako went to sip hers but then stopped and eyed Deku. “This doesn’t have anything else in it, right?” She had tried eggnog and bourbon once; she found that she couldn’t stand even the faintest taste of it.

Deku laughed and shook his head. “Oh god no! Just pure eggnog. I don’t mind a little alcohol but eggnog, eggnog is just fine on its own.” She nodded and downed a gulp. Eggnog always reminded her of bubblegum in taste, but not in a bad way. She had tried to explain to people before but no one ever seemed to get it.

Deku started to move back towards the others, and she followed, looking around a bit. Momo’s place was big, but not huge. There was, she decided, a fine line between the two and the apartment didn’t cross it just yet. It was much bigger than her and Tsu’s apartment, and nicer too. From what she understood, Momo’s parents paid for a lot of the rent to help their daughter out, but still. It was a really nice place. And it fit everyone; she could see Eijirou and Denki laughing, Denki’s cheeks already flushed, while Kyouka sat nearby, rolling her eyes every now and then but smiling faintly. Toru was chatting happily with Tsu as Fumikage lingered nearby, discussing something with Tenya who was as energetic as always. Katsuki grumbled quietly as he tapped Eijirou on the shoulder, holding two plates of cookies, but a tiniest hint of a smile shone through. Shoto walked out of the kitchen, giving her a faint smile, trailed by Momo who was carrying a platter of cookies.

“She really went all out, huh?” Ochako asked. “I mean, this is kinda incredible.”

“Oh yeah, Momo doesn’t hold back with parties,” he said, smiling fondly. They made their way through the living room and Deku sat down on a couch off to the side, watching his friends with attentive, caring eyes. Ochako found herself smiling softly, looking at him. He looked so happy to just be there, to just see his friends being happy. It was adorable, she thought.

“So,” she said, sitting down next to him on the couch, taking another sip of her eggnog, “what are you doing for the holidays? I never actually asked.”

“Going home to my mom.” The way Deku said it made it sound like that trip was the greatest thing in the world. “I haven’t seen her in a while and I miss home sometimes.”

Ochako nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I get that. I miss my home a lot, too. Just something about home, ya know?”

“It’s special,” Deku said with a soft smile. He turned to her, eyes warm. He looked away a second later, but kept the smile on his face. Ochako giggled softly to herself and watched the party next to him.

“Where does your mom live?” she asked. “You talk about her as if she’s hundreds of miles away.”

“She’s not that far,” Deku admitted. “She lives in the city, just on the other side, and I’m always busy so I don’t see her as much as I would like.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Ochako asked.

“About two weeks ago,” Deku said wistfully. Ochako raised an eyebrow and then laughed, a sort of snorting chuckle. Deku turned to her, looking almost offended. “What? What did I say?”

“You talked as if it had been months since you last saw her!” Ochako laughed. “It hasn’t even been a month!”

Deku pouted, a decidedly adorable expression on him, and that just made Ochako laugh more. “Stop it!” he said, his pout cracking into a grin. “Stop! Come on, it’s not that funny!”

Ochako slowly came out of her laughing fit, but was still chuckling a little when she finished. “Yes, yes it is! Come on, it is funny!”

He rolled his eyes but kept grinning. “Okay, well fine, it’s a little funny, but nowhere near as funny as you seemed to think of it.” His expression turned a little more somber, but his eyes still retained their sparkling joy. “Besides, I love seeing my mom. It’s just her and me so it’s good to see her when I can.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Ochako said, her voice still carrying some of her laughter. “Honestly. It’s cute that you do that, that you care about your mom so much.” She smiled wistfully. “I feel the same about my family, but at least my mom and dad have each other. Your mom must get kinda lonely.”

“Sometimes, I’m sure,” Deku said softly. “But knowing her she finds other things to do and keeps busy. Besides, she’s tough. She can handle anything.” Ochako took note of the way Deku’s voice swelled with pride and love, the flare of warmth in his eyes. The guy really was a sweetheart.

“Well, that explains a lot about you,” Ochako said, lightly pushing Deku’s shoulder. He gave her a confused look but she just smiled. He’d figure it out eventually. “Is it just you guys for the holidays then?”

“Used to be, yeah,” he said. “Since high school though, Shoto has been coming. He’s usually there for Christmas Eve and then heads back to see his mom and sister on Christmas. My mom loves having people over though, so she treats him like royalty.” He chuckled. “I should bring you over sometime. I’m sure she would love you.”

Ochako decided that she did not hear that last part, or if she did, it definitely did not cause her heart to race like crazy.

The subject changed to the book after that and then the two of them mingled and joked around with the others, the next couple hours passing by quickly. Ochako quickly learned that Denki could not handle his alcohol at all; even tipsy he looked completely out of it and ended up just sleeping on an armchair, but not before Kyouka laughed at him extensively. Otherwise, it was a very low-key, relaxing night, and Ochako loved it. When eleven o’clock rolled around she found herself shocked it was so late. Eventually though, she found herself back on the couch chatting with Deku. She didn’t mean for it to happen, it just did. But she wasn’t really going to complain.

“Izuku! Ochako!” The two of them looked over to see Eijirou waving them over, a huge grin on his face. Katsuki stood nearby, a small smirk on his face. “Come on! We’re running to the park! And don’t think you’re getting out it, Ochako! Since you’re new, you are required to come with!” He and Katsuki turned to leave, and it was only then that Ochako noticed that everyone else was getting ready to leave.

Deku bounced up off of the couch, dropping his mug of eggnog off onto the coffee table, and almost ran off, but then turned back to Ochako with an apologetic, she thought, smile. “What’s going on?” she asked giving him what she hoped looked like a confused look.

“A bit of weird tradition,” he laughed. “See, every year at New Year’s we all get together and run in the snow together barefoot and with no coats, usually at a local park. Since we’re all out of town though during New Year’s, we’re doing it now, while most of us are still here!”

Ochako got up and followed him out the door, grabbing her coat from Tenya who stood with her and Deku’s coat. The three of them were the only ones still in the apartment, but she could hear excited whooping from down the stairwell. “You guys are weird,” she said with a grin. And yet she loved the oddness.

“Everyone's a little weird, Ochako,” Deku said with a laugh. “Look at Tenya!”

“I am not weird, Izuku,” Tenya sniffed, but a smile ruined his illusion of haughtiness. “I am punctual and hard-working.”

“Right, weird,” Ochako teased. Deku laughed and Tenya let out a small little chuckle.

“Maybe so,” he admitted, “but compared to the rest of you I’m as normal as the sky being blue.”

“Being weird is what makes life interesting,” Deku said with a grin. Tenya rolled his eyes but seemed to concede the point.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and went outside, finding that the others had already started moving on except for Shoto and Momo. Ochako knew that Shoto liked Momo but….they were awfully close together and had been the whole party. Could they have?

The snow swirled around in the air, getting heavier and heavier. It felt properly like winter and it was honestly beautiful. The way the snow blew in the air around Shoto and Momo especially caught Ochako’s eye and she made a mental note to draw it later; the aura of snow wrapping around them both as they stood waiting.

“Didn’t want to leave you three behind,” Shoto said, a small smile on his lips. He then turned and the five of them started walking together.

Ochako found herself between Tenya and Deku as they walked, and with Deku talking with Shoto and Momo about something she turned to Tenya. “Tenya, I never asked, but what are you doing for the holidays?”

He glanced down at her and smiled. For some reason he always reminded Ochako of a big brother, especially to Deku, and the way he smiled just reinforced that view. “Ah, yes I suppose I never mentioned it. I’m going back home to visit my  brother and parents. The entire Iida clan always meets up for the holidays at my grandfather’s home, but I like to spend some time with my brother before we all leave. I don’t get to see him much.” His voice turned wistful, but his smile never wavered. “What about you? Going back to your parents, I presume?”

“Yup! Though I wouldn’t exactly say that the Urarakas are a clan. It’s just me and my parents.” She grinned and shook her head a bit; she forgot to put on her hat and the snow was clinging to her hair already. “I haven’t seen them for a while.”

“Mmm, I understand that feeling.” Even with the cold Tenya still did his hand movements as he talked, though the fact that he was wearing fluffy looking mittens made it even funnier and cuter. “Regardless, that will make your reunion with them all the sweeter!”

She smiled and let out a little laugh. “You know, Tenya, that’s a pretty positive way of looking at things.”

“I’m a very positive person,” he said with an air of confidence. “I alone am the optimist in my apartment I’ll have you know.”

Shoto turned back and raised an eyebrow at Tenya. “Bullshit,” he said with a laugh. “You’re the realist, Izuku is the optimist.”

Deku looked over and shrugged. “I mean, Tenya can be optimistic at times.”

“Remember when he was convinced he was going to fail simply because he accidentally wrote crooked on an exam once? Or the time he thought he was going to be kicked out of school for being on school grounds at night that time we left our bags there? We were simply on the lawn and he freaked out.”

Tenya tensed up but then laughed when Shoto cracked a grin. “Shoto, you have been getting worse and worse with your sarcasm.”

The dual-colored haired boy shrugged. “I am what I am.”

Momo looked back at Ochako and smiled while rolling her eyes in a decidedly Boys way. Ochako tried to not giggle at that, and was mostly successful.

“About time, slowpokes!” Ochako realized they had reached the park and the others were all waiting. Tsu and Fumikage were sitting on a bench that was draped with coats, and the others were standing in a loose circle, their shoes untied and coats off. Denki’s ears were bright red but he was grinning like a madman.

“Not everyone is like you, Denki,” Kyouka said with an eyeroll. “Though it is almost midnight. Get ready, nerds.”

The others hurried and Ochako found herself moving with them even though she still had not real idea why she was doing this. But off went her coat, hat, and gloves, and then her shoes and socks joined the pile the others started making. The snow was freezing and soft and wet and amazing beneath her bare feet and she found herself scrunching her toes just to feel the snow move beneath them. It was so cold and yet she felt so energized.

And then more cold rushed her system as a snowball hit her back. She turned, shocked, to find Deku smiling innocently, a snowball in hand. “Oh you suck!” she laughed, grabbing snow and quickly packing it in. “Come here you little jerk!” Her throw just barely missed him as he ducked down, as his throw sailed past her shoulder. Ochako laughed and ran forward and tried to grab Deku, her barefeet kicking snow up into the air.

“Come on, Ochako!” Deku laughed as he danced out of the way of her grab. “You can do better than that!” Ochako growled and lunged again, but this time, Deku’s foot slipped and he lost his balance. She collided with him and pushed him down into the snow, covering them both with the wet snow. “All right, all right!” he laughed. “You got me!”

“Damn straight,” Ochako said, grinning at her victory. “No one gets the best of Ochako Uraraka.”

Deku laughed again and looked up into the sky, still lying in the snow. “I pity those who oppose you,” he said with an air of jovial solemnity. She looked at him and couldn’t help but stare at that goofy grin, his bright green eyes. Her heart jumped a little but she, she wanted to kiss those lips. At the very least his forehead, feel his hair against her cheeks….and she didn’t feel that loathing boil up. She just felt….affection, love, for this boy.

“Come on, come on!” The two of them turned to see Eijirou waving nearby. He was practically jumping up and down as he waved everyone in towards him. Ochako found herself following the others as they grouped around him. He was looking intently at his watch and was holding his other hand up as he counted down silently. “Alright, here we go folks! Get ready!” He began to count down. Ten, nine, eight, seven….the others grew more and more excited and even though she still didn’t fully get what was happening, Ochako grinned with them. Three, two, one…

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” they screamed into the sky, Ochako joining in with them as she realized what was happening. The crisp night air seemed to break from their shouts and then returned to normal as laughter rippled through the group.

“Crazy right?” Deku asked as they grabbed their stuff. Her feet wet and cold, Ochako stuffed them into her wool socks and grinned back at Deku.

“You guys realize that everyone who heard that thinks we’re all drunk, right?”

“I mean, they’re not wrong exactly,” Deku said with a smile. “Denki is probably still drunk.”

“I’m sober as hell, man!” the blond boy yelled back before tripping and falling into the snow. “Sober as hell,” he muttered as Kyouka broke into a giggling fit.

Ochako laughed and pulled on her coat. Her arms were freezing but she couldn’t stop smiling as they started walking back, laughing and messing around like the stupid young adults they were. “You know, it was pretty fun though,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like this back in high school.”

“It was weird the first time it happened,” Deku said. “Eijirou was the one who got us all to go out to do it, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer. And yet, it was super fun.”

She hummed quietly in acknowledgement and looked behind them. Katsuki and Eijirou were walking together and throwing snowballs at each other, though some of Katsuki’s looked more like straight piles of snow. Denki was cheerfully and loudly humming while walking hand in hand with Kyouka, who seemed to be humming along with him. Shoto and Momo were in the back, just quietly talking and enjoying each other’s presence. Ahead of her and Deku were Tsu and Fumikage. Tsu was leaning on Fumikage as they walked and the two of them looked blissful. Tenya was just behind the couple, hustling and acting like the leader while Toru hurried besides him, asking him to please slow down a bit.

Even with her wet socks, Ochako concluded that this was a fantastic night. Honestly, if not having any of this in high school meant this one moment being so perfect, well, she would take it.

When they got back into Momo’s apartment every collapsed onto her chairs and couches, pulling off wet socks to hang on the radiator while Momo and Shoto made hot chocolate. Ochako tried to ask Deku about them but he just gave her an apologetic look and said he couldn’t say anything.

Still, ignoring that, the night proceeded amazingly. The hot chocolate was wonderful and just listening to everyone talk and chill in the warm apartment after the strange bonding experience was….well, it was everything she had missed from high school. Everything she had ever wanted out of a friend group.

And then her phone buzzed. She frowned and pulled it out to see an email from the railway. “That’s odd,” she said, opening it up.

“What is it?” Tsu asked.

“An email from the train line,” she said as she scanned it. “Seems a bit late….” Her blood froze. No. No. Not this, not now.

“Ochako?” Deku asked softly. “You okay?”

“There…..there was a landslide,” she said slowly, the words coming out numb. She could barely believe them. “The….only railroad leading to my hometown was covered by a landslide. They can’t get through.” The emotions started hitting her and she felt herself begin to shake. Dammit! Dammit all to hell! “I….I can’t….I’m not able to go home.”

The tears started to fall as the room burst into motion, people rushing towards her. She barely noticed.

She needed her mom and dad.

The Next Day

“Ochako?” She didn’t want to look up but she forced herself too. Tsu was at the doorway, her bag over her shoulder, a concerned look on her face. Ochako knew she was concerned, knew she was worried about her. After last night they had returned home and she had sequestered herself away in her room. She had spent the entire day in there.

No need to cry in front of Tsu.

“You heading out?” she asked, trying to put on a smile. It probably looked fake as hell. She was sitting, wrapped in her blankets, on her bed, her eyes clearly red. But she still tried.

“Yeah,” Tsu said slowly. “Ochako, are you sure you don’t want me to stay behind? You shouldn’t be alone.”

The sadness that broke her threatened to break the remaining pieces, but she kept smiling. “I’m sure, Tsu. You should still spend time with your family. I’ll be fine, promise.” They both knew she was lying but Tsu didn’t push it. She nodded, unhappily, but still. She agreed.

“Call if you ever want to just talk,” she said, eyeing Ochako. “I’m here for you.”

“I….I know.” That part wasn’t a lie. Tsu nodded, as if that had settled something, and then left. The door shut close a few moments later and Ochako was alone.

The rest of the day passed. Not easily, not slowly. It just happened. Ochako felt numb to everything. She….she had been looking forward to going home. To unwinding with her parents, asking them for help, feeling truly safe in her house. And the world itself seemed to say that she wasn’t allowed to go. Wasn’t allowed to just relax for once.

It was near night when she got the text from Deku. Can I come over?

She was tempted to say no, but….she hated being alone. The longer she was alone the worse things would get. So she typed back a quick reply. Yeah, feel free.

About twenty minutes later she was letting him in, amazed at how fast he got there. Deku smiled softly as he walked in, and Ochako could feel his eyes on her as she plodded over to the couch and sat down. “What’s up, Deku?” she asked, trying to put on at least somewhat of a cheerful air.

His smile got a little bit sadder.

He sat next to her on the couch and looked straight ahead, his cheeks lightly turning pink. “I….You shouldn’t be alone for the holidays.” His voice was warm and strong, despite the tiny tremble in it.

“Deku, I’ll be fine,” she said, trying to cut him off. She didn’t want him to offer to stay behind with her. No one else had to suffer because of her situation. “You should go see your mom and have a good time. I promise I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not offering to stay behind.” he said quickly, but then his face turned a deep red and he started to stammer. “N-n-not that I wouldn’t! But it’s….” He took a deep breath and turned to face her. Ochako looked at him, her eyes red and puffy. She was curious about what he was going to say, honestly. Plus, talking to him made her feel a little better. Him being near made her feel better.

“I talked to my mom earlier today,” he said, “and I asked her if she would be okay with having another guest over for Christmas. And she said of course you could come.”

Ochako paused. She hadn’t been expecting that. She really hadn’t been expecting that. “Wait,” she said, trying to catch up. “Did….did you invite me to your mom’s for Christmas?”

He blushed again but laughed. “Yeah, I guess I did. I mean, I did. Or at least meant to.” He smiled that sad, soft smile and reached out to gently take her hand. His was trembling a bit but he took her hand in his and enclosed his fingers around hers. Her heart started thudding but she also felt calm, incredibly calm. “Being alone is painful,” he said, his voice raw with emotion. “No one should have to be alone and well, I don’t want you to be. Shoto already comes over every Christmas Eve so it’s not like it would be anything different for us.” His thumb gently rubbed the back of her hand and Ochako found that pain inside slowly draining away. Not entirely, but it was leaving. “I don’t wanna see you hurting, Ochako, and if I can help, I will. This is my way of helping. My mom would love to meet you; she sounded super excited to be honest. So, what do you say?”

She….she didn’t know what to say. No one, no one had ever offered to take her in so willingly. To act as if she belonged with them as family. She didn’t know what to say.

So she hugged Deku in close, tears streaming down her face. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and pulled him tight, squeezing as she laughed and cried gently. He stiffened but then relaxed into the hug, squeezing back.

“I’ll go,” she said after a few moments. Her voice was raw and it was clear she had been crying. But at least she said it. “I’ll go.”

Chapter Text

Afternoon of Christmas Eve

Izuku felt extremely nervous as he led Ochako up the stairs to his mom’s apartment. He didn’t quite know why, but having her here, at the place where he grew up, felt….strangely intimate in a way he wasn’t quite he was ready for. Then again, it wasn’t like it meant anything either. He was just bringing a friend to Christmas Eve dinner with his mom. A friend who he happened to like a lot. Like….more than anyone else.

He felt his cheeks grow red and tried to ignore her right behind him. It didn’t work, but he tried. He really did. Instead, he focused on Shoto and Momo behind her, the two of them walking side by side. The four had come together on the train; his mom was only across the city and the ride had taken maybe an hour total. He and Ochako had brought bags; Shoto and Momo were only coming for the dinner and were planning to leave that night to get back.

As Izuku thought about it he realized he was overreacting like always. It wasn’t like it was just Ochako with him. Shoto always came; this was nothing new, bringing friends over for Christmas Eve. But….Shoto had brought Momo with Izuku’s permission. And, they were dating, something Ochako had probably picked up on by this point. Izuku’s veins froze as he realized that it probably felt like a weird double date to Ochako. Oh god. How was he going to explain that?

“Deku?” He turned and saw Ochako giving him a bemused smile. “Everything okay?” Her voice was pitched low, so only he could really hear her.

“Yeah,” he said, taking a breath. Yeah, everything was fine. Ochako smiled at him again and nodded. He was worrying over nothing. Izuku shook his head and turned back to his mom’s door. He rang the doorbell and waited. He could hear the radio playing Christmas music in the kitchen and even outside he could smell his mom’s cooking.

“You still sure your mother is okay with this, Izuku?” Momo asked, a small frown on her face. She had been over a couple times for study sessions but Izuku had usually went out rather than bring friends in. Not that he was embarrassed about his home; it was just small and his friends had a tendency to take up a lot of space. As such, Momo didn’t really know his mom that well.

“It’ll be fine,” he said with a smile. “My mom loves guests and she already said I could bring over friends. Besides, Shoto’s been coming for years!”

Shoto smiled lightly and nodded. “Trust me, Momo,” he said softly, “Mrs. Midoriya will be happy to have you. Don’t worry.” Izuku ignored the way Shoto gently squeezed Momo’s hand for a second; no need to make a scene.

The door swung open behind him and Izuku turned around with a huge grin on his face. Inko Midoriya, his mom, stood there with one of the biggest smiles Izuku had ever seen on her face. “Izuku!” She hugged him tight and he gladly hugged her back. It hadn’t been that long since he had seen his mom, but it always felt like years.

“Hey, Mom,” he said, and then they separated. He grinned at her and then looked back behind him. “Mind if we come in?”

Her eyes widened and she laughed and stepped aside, waving them in. “Of course, of course! Please, have a seat!” Izuku smiled and stepped in, kicking off his shoes by the door and walking into the apartment in just his socks. “You must be Ochako!” He turned to see his mom smiling at Ochako, who gave her a smile back.

“Yes, that’s me!” Ochako said with a laugh. She then bowed her head. “Thank you very much for hosting me!”

“No need, dear,” Mom said with a big smile. “I always love meeting Izuku’s new friends and even happier to give them a place to go to.” Izuku couldn’t see Ochako’s face, but her bow deepened a bit, causing his mom to chuckle a bit. “Izuku,” she called, “can you show Ochako to your room? Just for her to put her stuff in for now?”

Izuku felt himself blush a bit; oh god his room. But he nodded. “Yeah, sure thing. Come on!” Ochako picked up her bag and ran after him, leaving her shoes off as she followed. Izuku could hear his mom greet Shoto and no doubt give him a huge hug as he walked in. She loved Shoto to death.

It didn’t take long to reach his room and he gently pushed open the door and then looked back at Ochako. “Just….don’t laugh please.”

“Why would I laugh?” she asked, brow furrowed. “Come on, Deku. There’s no way your room is embarrassing. I know you.” Izuku didn’t say anything to that; what could he say? She did know him pretty well after all. He sighed and stepped into his room and to the side, letting Ochako witness it. Almost every surface of his room was covered in All Might memorabilia. Posters hung on the wall, action figures from the short lived cartoon. He could remember those days of frantically collecting every bit of merch he could, and he remembered how great it had all felt. But now he felt kind of embarrassed and worried. Not….not worried, no, he decided as he thought about it. Ochako was his friend, and he could trust her more than anyone else. But that didn’t stop Izuku from still feeling embarrassed.

“Pretty much what I expected,” Ochako said with a teasing grin. She then elbowed him gently in the side. “I like it, Deku. It’s very you.” Izuku grinned sheepishly and rubbed his head.

“Well, uh, thank you. You can just drop your stuff off in here for now. We’ll figure out sleeping later, cool?” He assumed at least; his mom had not really made it clear where Ochako would be sleeping.

“Sounds great,” Ochako said, gratefully dropping her bags onto the floor. Izuku did the same and then the two of them returned to the living room. Momo and Shoto were sitting on the couch, talking amiably with his mom, who seemed to want to hear every last detail about their lives. As was her way, Izuku thought with a smile. When Shoto first started coming over, his mom nearly smothered him. She would gently probe about his life and do anything to make him happy. It had been rather sweet to watch. And now it was clear she was going to do the same to Momo.

“My family actually does not usually do anything on Christmas Eve,” Momo was saying as she sat upright on the couch, a cup of tea in hand. Mom had probably had the water ready for an hour or so, just so tea would be readily available to any who needed it. “So, they were happy to let me come. And again, I must thank you for hosting us, Mrs. Midoriya! It’s too kind.”

His mom sniffed and waved a hand, laughing it off. “Nonsense! I love having guests over, Momo, especially delightful ones like you!” She gave Shoto a big smile. “Congrats, you two. You seem very happy with each other.”

Izuku nearly burst out laughing as he and Ochako lingered in the hallway for just a second, listening to the exchange. Ochako shot Izuku a look, both amused but also somewhat fiery. I was right! The look seemed to scream. Izuku just nodded and tried to contain his laughter. Shoto and Momo were both frozen on the couch, but then Shoto relaxed and nodded, a small smile on his lips.

“Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya,” he said with a small bow of his head. Izuku and Ochako decided that moment was fine to walk in, and the two of them reentered the social gathering. Shoto gave him a look that Izuku couldn’t decipher, but something about it bugged him.

“Ochako, Izuku,” Mom said with a big smile, “would you like any tea or hot chocolate? Dinner is in the oven so I thought we could just sit and chat for a bit while it cooks.”

“Hot chocolate sounds great, Mom,” Izuku said with a smile as he sat on the floor in front of the couch. The couch could have easily fit him, but he wanted to let Shoto and Momo be….when he thought about that he realized sitting on the ground next to them was probably a silly idea but he decided to go through with it. It would be weird if he scooted away. Ochako glanced at him and the couch with raised eyebrows but then sat next to him on the floor, giving him a shrug and a grin.

“I’ll take some, too, Mrs. Midoriya,” Ochako said as Mom caught up to go get the drinks.

“Of course! Give me one second.” Izuku tilted his head back and grinned up at Shoto and Momo. Shoto looked at him with a look of quiet amusement; he was used to Izuku’s more childish antics. Momo looked a bit more curious and confused, but she smiled back at him.

“I forgot how much I enjoy coming here,” Shoto said with a warm smile. “Every year I forget and every year I’m reminded.”

“Your mom is a very sweet woman, Izuku,” Momo said with a smile. “You must have been lucky growing up.”

I was , Izuku thought with a smile. There had been hard times, a lot of them. Katsuki and the bullying….his dad’s death. There had been a lot of struggle, but his mom had always been there. He wasn’t quite sure how to show her the proper thanks for it-- how does one thank the greatest mom alive?-- but he did his best to show her his love. “Thanks,” he said out loud instead, “but don’t say it too loud. My mom might get a bit of an ego.”

Shoto snorted and shook his head, as if he was saying that was impossible. And it probably was.

A few seconds later, Izuku’s mom came back in and handed Izuku and Ochako their hot chocolate, beaming at them as she took her seat again. “So, Ochako, how have you been finding the city?” she asked. “Izuku mentioned how you’re new here.”

Ochako smiled and nodded her head. Izuku looked at her out of the corner of his eye, curious to hear what she said. He thought she was doing well, and she did tell him that, but still….his mom had a habit of getting people to open up. “It’s been good so far,” she said. “Very different from my small town. It’s so big but the people all seem really nice.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” his mom said with a big smile. “And I’m glad you all are friends. You should come by more often, all of you.” She gave Izuku a meaningful yet loving look. “I love having the company.”

“Work keeps me busy, mom,” Izuku said with a chuckle. “Besides, I still call every week.”

“I know, I know. Still, it would be nice to have more company.” She shook her head and sighed, but never stopped smiling.

“For one, i would love to come over more often,” Shoto said softly. “It’s always nice to come over here, Mrs. Midoriya.”

Izuku grinned as his mom’s smile grew larger. “That’s so sweet, Shoto,” she said, sniffing a little. “Honestly, you are quite a sweet boy.” The five of them began to chat somewhat aimlessly, mostly keeping his mom up to speed on how work and school was going, what they were all up to, stuff like that. A timer rang in the kitchen a few minutes later and Izuku’s mom clapped her hands and stood up. “Oh! Well that means the food is all ready!” She got up to go grab it, only to have Izuku get up and join her.

“Thought you could use some help,” he said with a small smile. She didn’t say anything but just smiled back and the two of them went into the kitchen. Izuku piled up plates and utensils to set the table with, and helped his mom get everything ready to be taken over to the table. He could hear his three friends chatting in the living room and he felt happy to be here with them. As sad as it was for Ochako to not be with her family, he was….happy she was with him here.

“Ochako seems like a great girl.” He turned to see his mom smiling at him, her eyes twinkling. “I’m glad you found someone, Izuku. She’s so sweet and very cute.” His mom quickly closed the distance and gave him a nearly bone crushing hug.

He gulped and struggled against his mom’s embrace. His entire face went bright red and he could feel it burning. Oh no , he thought with a sense of incredible despair. “Mom, she’s, she’s uh.” Izuku gently separated himself from his mom and rubbed the back of his head, not looking at her face. “Ochako and I aren’t dating.”

His mom tilted her head to the side and made an ‘ah’ sound. “I see. Sorry about that Izuku, but I do think that you and her would be nice together.” Izuku felt his cheeks blushed and tried not to meet his mom’s eyes. He didn’t want to think about that too much. She then smiled again and gently rubbed her son’s hair, having to reach up a bit. “As long as you’re happy though, I am too. That’s all that matters.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he said with a small smile. He turned and hugged her, his mom returning the hug with no hesitation. “I’m glad to be back home.”

“I’m glad you’re back,” his mom said. They pulled apart and she smiled again. “Now come on, let’s get dinner out and ready.” He grabbed some of the dishes and followed his mom out. Shoto wordlessly got up and took some of the dishes from Izuku’s mom, and the two of them quickly put them out on the table and headed back to the kitchen to grab the remaining dishes.

“Everything okay?” Shoto asked quietly as they walked into the kitchen, grabbing glasses and a large bottle of water from the fridge. “You seemed odd earlier.”

Apparently he was easy to read tonight….well, damn. But, it was Shoto. Shoto knew him better than almost anyone. “I’m okay,” Izuku said with a smile. “Just confused, earlier.”

Shoto nodded and turned back to the dining table, pausing for a second. “You do know that you would have a good chance with her, right?” he asked quietly, smiling. “Just something to consider.” Izuku sputtered and tried to find something, anything, to say back to try and counter Shoto. But he had nothing and just sighed and followed after the other man, trying not to let his blush show too much.

“Perfect! Thank you, boys,” his mom said with a laugh. The table was all set, the food all out, and Momo and Ochako had already taken their seats. Izuku slid into the chair next to Ochako, and Shoto sat next to Momo. “Well, everyone, dig in.”

Dinner was a chaotic, friendly mess, and Izuku would have it no other way. He piled his plate high with food; potatoes, lamb, green beans, anything his mom cooked he added to his plate and dug in. Ochako, he noticed with some amusement, seemed to practically wolf down the food while still trying to be polite and maintain conversation. It seemed like she was stressing herself out trying to not go too crazy. He gave her a gentle nudge while his mom focused on Momo and Shoto for a bit.

“It’s okay to go crazy,” Izuku said softly, giving Ochako the best reassuring smile he could muster. “Honest. My mom loves to cook and she would think of it as an honor.” He gave Ochako a bigger smile. “Promise.”

Ochako smiled back and nodded. “Thanks, Deku,” she whispered, before going back to her food. He smiled and returned to the conversation at hand, chiming in about the apartment when Shoto brought it up.

“I still can’t believe you found such a nice place so close to the bookstore, Izuku,” his mom said with a chuckle. “And so cheap!”

Izuku and Shoto shared a glance and both knew they would not bring up the trouble the building has had before. Or that they were in a, while not dangerous, certainly not safe neighborhood. Better for Mom if she never knew. “Yeah, neither can I,” Izuku said. “So, what about you, Mom? What have you been up to?”

“Oh, you know. The same old same old.” She laughed a bit. “Helping out at the community garden when I can, reading, catching up on old movies. Volunteering. You know, the usual.”

“You really should come visit us more often, Mrs. Midoriya,” Shoto said. “You host so often. We would be happy to have you sometime.”

“Yeah! It would be great! I could cook for you! And you could see the bookstore again. We’ve done a lot with it, Mom.”

His mom smiled and nodded. “Well, I’ll do my best. I don’t know why I don’t come by more often, honestly. Sometimes it just feels like I’m getting too old to go out that much.”

“Nonsense,” Momo said with a smile. “You look amazing, Mrs. Midoriya.” Izuku saw his mom flush pink a bit, but her smile grew larger. “And your cooking is amazing, I almost forgot to mention. Honestly, I see now where Izuku got his skills from.”

“Momo! You are too much for me, honestly! Thank you so much, dear. It means a lot.” Izuku smiled and took a bite of potatoes as his mom and Momo continued to talk. It felt good to be home with his friends.

After dinner, Ochako volunteered to help with dishes. She and Momo both, that is. Izuku’s mom tried to protest, saying she would take care of it, but Izuku and Shoto sat her down with some eggnog and the three of them began to talk and laugh as Momo and Ochako got to work. It felt like the least she could do. The cooking had been amazing, on par with her mom’s, and she was stuffed. She always did that during the holidays; eating until she was full, and then eating beyond that. It was a problem, but when the food was good, she couldn’t help it.

“This has been really fun,” Ochako said as she handed a washed plate to Momo.

“It has,” Momo said with a big smile. “I have never been here before and never met Izuku’s mom. She is a sweet woman, and it certainly explains a lot about Izuku.”

“Yeah, it does,” Ochako said with a chuckle. “He and his mom are a lot alike, it’s kinda cute.” Momo chuckled and nodded her head in agreement. “Speaking of cute, Momo, when were you going to mention that you and Shoto were dating?” Ochako eyed Momo, smirking as the girl flushed a deep red color.

“Ah, yes, that….I, uh, well,” Momo stammered, putting the dried plate down and taking the next one from Ochako. “I’m sorry?”

Ochako laughed. She couldn’t help it; Momo’s acting all flushed and embarrassed was cute and adorable and it was just funny. “What for? I’m just messing with you.” She smirked again. “Besides, I knew since the study date he was into you.”

Momo was quiet for a few moments, her face still red, but when Ochako turned to hand her the next plate, her friend was smirking. “And yet, you did not tell me about you and Izuku.” Ochako nearly dropped the plate in shock but Momo took it from her without fear, her eyes never leaving Ochako’s. “Don’t lie to me, Ochako. You like him a lot.” She did, oh god she really did. But she couldn’t talk about it. She couldn’t open up and admit it to anyone else. Memories flashed through her mind, of laughter and cruelty. Momo wasn’t like that, she knew that, but it still scared her.

“We are not talking about this here and now,” Ochako said. She tried to sound tough and powerful, but even she heard her voice tremble. Dammit. “Seriously, though, can we just drop it?” Ochako could see Momo purse her lips but then she nodded slightly. “Thank you….I’ll tell you more later but...not now.”

“It’s okay, Ochako,” Momo said softly. “Those are your emotions and you are entitled to feel them, trust me. Whenever you feel safe talking with me about them, let me know.” Momo smiled again. “I am your friend.”

Ochako smiled and nodded. It meant a lot to not be pressured into telling Momo anything….it was weird feeling that. Both the relief but also the fear that it would happen. None of her new friends had ever done anything to make her feel pressured or hated. But she couldn’t let that fear go. “Thank you, Momo. It means a lot to me.” She gently nudged the other girl. “You will be the first person, I promise.”

“Well, I think Izuku should be the first,” Momo teased. Ochako laughed and the two of them got back to work.

Ochako hugged Momo tight a couple of hours later. It was late, almost midnight, and Momo and Shoto were heading back in for the night. Despite Ochako’s insistence earlier to Izuku that she would be fine spending the night and Christmas at her place, he had insisted back that she should spend the night and the next morning with him and his mom. The prospect actually made her decidedly nervous, but she tried not to focus on that. “Have a safe trip back,” Ochako said as she and Momo separated. “And Merry Christmas, Momo!”

“Merry Christmas, Ochako,” Momo said, smiling widely. “I will be plenty safe and I will see you after the holidays, okay?”

“For sure.” Ochako then turned and poked Shoto in the shoulder. He turned away as Izuku moved to say bye to Momo and gave her a smile. He extended his hand out but Ochako pulled him into a hug. She felt him sigh but he hugged her back anyways. “Merry Christmas, Shoto.”

“Merry Christmas, Ochako,” he said, stepping back out of the embrace. He gave her a soft smile and patted her shoulder. “Have a good night. I think you’ll have a pretty good Christmas over all.” He glanced at Izuku giving Momo a goodbye hug and his smile grew a bit. Ochako felt herself begin to blush but she did her damndest to shut it down. Her efforts were mildly successful, judging by the fact that her face only felt mildly warm, rather than burning hot.

“I, uh, thank you, Shoto,” she said. Well, she didn’t stammer that much so that was a plus. He just shrugged and continued smiling. Ochako stepped back and let Mrs. Midoriya give him a big hug. Once the goodbyes were all done, Ochako watched with Deku as their friends walked off, talking quietly to themselves. She smiled a little when she noticed Momo slide her hand into Shoto’s. It was awkward looking and the two of them both stiffened a little, but they seemed very comfortable with each other. Ochako didn’t know either of them as well as she would have liked but she was happy for them both.

Deku gave her a smile and gently closed the door before yawning. “I think I’m beat, Mom,” he said, stretching his arms. “What about you, Ochako?”

Seeing him yawn made her realize just how exhausted she was too. It had been a crazy day, though it had sort of snuck up on her. She had really enjoyed it all though. It had felt like a very odd family gathering. It was new to her, for sure, to feel like that. That a gathering of friends could feel like family, but she felt safe here in the Midoriya home. Ochako still wished she was home in her own bed, with her mom and dad, but….she was glad that out of everything bad that had happened in her life, at least this had turned out well. “I’m getting pretty tired, too, Deku,” she said with a chuckle.

Mrs. Midoriya clapped her hands and smiled. “Well, it is rather late! Izuku, do you mind setting up the air mattress in your room?” Ochako and Deku both immediately flushed and she could feel herself starting to stammer. Oh god, she took back everything good she thought about coming here.

And yet she was kind of excited.

“I uh, really, it’s okay, Mrs. Midoriya!” Ochako protested. “I can just take the couch, honest!”

Deku’s mom gave her a look that said she would not take any argument on this. Ochako was sleeping in Deku’s room and that was that. “Ochako, dear, I can’t allow that! The couch is not the most comfortable place to sleep in the apartment, and the cot is honestly quite nice.” Ochako opened her mouth to protest but she couldn’t think of a reason. Not one that didn’t sound childish at least. Plus, Deku’s mom seemed so set on it. Her green eyes were shining with a determined light- a lot like Deku, she thought- and she just looked concerned. Like Ochako’s comfort was the most important thing in the world to her at that moment.

“Well….I suppose it’ll be good then,” Ochako said weakly. Deku next to her stiffly nodded and hurried off. “Do you need help, Deku?” she called.

“I’ve got it!” he said down the hall. “Though, you might wanna grab your bag and get all ready.” Ochako nodded and ran into the room, grabbing the bag with her clothes, and jumping into the bathroom. She took the time to brush her teeth and floss, washing her face after. Then, she leaned on the sink, breathing heavily while staring at herself in the mirror.

“You can do this,” she muttered, trying to ignore the pink flush on her cheeks. “Come on, Ochako. It’s just spending the night in his room. In a separate bed! You got this.” She wasn’t entirely sure she did, but she decided to convince herself of that. Ochako sighed but stripped down and threw on her pjs-- a loose, ratty t-shirt and flannel pj pants-- and then opened the door.

“Good night, dear,” Mrs Midoriya said cheerfully as she walked by. “Sleep well.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya,” Ochako said, bowing her head. She then took  a deep breath, and walked over to Izuku’s room. The door was closed and she couldn’t really hear anything. She reached forward and grabbed the handle. As she moved to open it, she paused. What if he’s shirtless? She thought, her blush deepening. Or worse! Her hand leapt from the door handle like it was on fire and she took a few seconds to just breathe before knocking on the door. “Deku? Is it okay for me to come in?”

Rustling sounds came from the room and a few moments later the door opened, Izuku smiling at her. His hair was messed up and he was wearing a loose t-shirt and gym shorts. “Yeah, yeah! Sorry, I was just getting changed.” He slid by her and smiled again. “I’m gonna brush my teeth, but call out if you think you need another blanket or something.”

Ochako nodded and walked into the room. The cot was on the floor across the room from Deku’s bed and the small room felt even smaller. She sat down on the cot and felt the blankets. A sheet, and then a couple of warm, heavy feeling blankets, along with two pillows. It seemed like it would be warm enough.

A couple of minutes later, after she wrapped herself up and laid down in the bed, Deku walked back in the room. He smiled when he saw her lying there and she smiled back. “You all good?”

“I’m great,” she said. “Thanks, Deku.”

“Of course! Night, Ochako.”

“Night, Deku,” she said quietly as he flicked the lights off and crawled into his own bed. Ochako lay there, staring up at the ceiling. She was warm and comfortable and….she felt safe. It was hard to explain, even to herself, but being there felt right. Despite her thudding heart, Ochako managed to smile softly and fell asleep.

However, it didn’t take long for the dream to begin. It was a familiar one, a dream that she had at least once a month. A visceral, painful dream that she hated with every fiber of her being. It changed between its appearances, but the base was always the same.

She stood in her old homeroom from high school, wearing the uniform. Next to her was her old friend, Haru, the girl she had thought of as her best friend. And across the room….she didn’t want to look but she couldn’t stop herself. Across the room stood a group of students. She knew who they were supposed to be; her memories of those days were crisp and burned into her mind for all of time. But now, those people were replaced with her friends. And the boy she liked back then, he was gone.

Deku stood there instead.

“So, it’s him, huh?” Haru asked in a conspiratorial tone, a smirk on her lips. Ochako wanted to scream No! , say or do anything to end the nightmare. But she just nodded meekly. “Well, at least you got good taste.”

And then Haru seemed to change. One second, she was Haru. Then, she was Tsu and Ochako felt herself shaking. She knew what was happening. And she couldn’t stop it. “Hey, Izuku!” Ochako’s dream self started to panic as Tsu got up and strolled over to the nearby group with Deku. They all turned to face her and Tsu hooked a thumb back at Ochako. “She likes you. Can you believe it?”

Her heart plummeted into her stomach and she wanted to rage, scream and shake dream-Tsu. How dare she! Ochako trusted her! But, instead, she watched it all happen with growing dread. She knew what happened next.

Deku looked at her with a raised eyebrow and then his smile turned cruel. “Really? Well, then.” He strolled up to her and looked down at her. “She has good taste, for such an idiot.”

She felt herself breaking. “I….Izuku?”

He laughed at her as her tears began to well up. “Why would I like someone like you? Wasteless, stupid, useless little old you.” He laughed and Ochako broke. Tears began to fall down her face and she let out a whimper that turned into a sobbing scream. The others began to laugh and slowly surrounded her.

Please stop. She just wanted it all to end.

When Izuku heard the scream, he bolted wide awake. That was odd for him; he was usually a heavy sleeper, but the moment he heard the scream from nearby he was wide awake. He looked around wildly, noting that he had only been asleep a couple of hours, and then his eyes came across Ochako. Her blankets were a rumpled mess as she twisted and turned in her sleep. She whimpered in her sleep, her face twisted in an expression of pain and sadness. The whimper was heart-wrenching, too. It just sounded so sad, so painful, that Izuku felt his own heart break a little.

Before he could think about it, he swung out of bed and went to kneel by the cot. He gently grabbed her shoulders and shook her awake. “Ochako? Ochako, wake up.”

Her eyes fluttered a few times before they slowly opened. He noticed the wet stains on her cheeks and he could see the tears still in her eyes. Oh, Ochako , he thought sadly. “Deku?” she asked softly, her voice wracked with whatever sadness she was feeling. He gently released her and she wiped her eyes, sitting up to lean against the wall. “What’s wrong?”

“I was going to ask you that,” Izuku said softly. He sat on the cot next to her and gave her a soft look. “I heard you scream and cry in your sleep, Ochako. What’s going on?”

She paused and looked away from him. “Oh… sorry about that, Deku.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Ochako,” he said, scooting closer to her. Every part of him was telling him to hug her and tell her it was okay, but he resisted. He… he couldn’t do that yet. “In fact, don’t. You can be sad and have bad dreams, i just want to know what’s going on.”

He could see her lips twitch as she tried to think of an answer before she just sighed. “I get nightmares,” she said quietly. “They’re always based off of bad memories from high school and well, they’re never happy.”

“How often?”

“It, it depends. Sometimes I can go a full week or two, even more, without having one. Sometimes, it’s every night. They usually end with me sobbing.” She sighed and pulled her knees to her chest. “I’m sorry for dumping that on you.”

Izuku didn’t think. He just moved his hand across and gently took her hand in his. “Don’t be. I don’t know what happened to you in high school, and I won’t push. You can tell me whenever you feel comfortable. But, I’m here for you.” He gently squeezed her hand in his. “No matter what, Ochako, you’re my friend and I care about you.” Izuku’s face was warm and he was sure if it was light in the room, she would see his blush clearly. But he didn’t care, oddly. This felt right, like it was something that needed to be done. “I’ll always help you if you need it.”

She was quiet for a few moments and they sat there in the dark, holding hands. Izuku wondered if he had said something wrong when suddenly she pulled on his arm gently and then gave him a tight hug, burying her head in the crook of his neck. “Thank you,” she muttered.

“Of course,” he said, hugging her back just as tight. A few moments passed before they separated, but he found that their hands slid back into each other. She probably needs the comfort, he thought. “Anything that can help? If you want, you can sleep in my bed or vice-versa. I can be your teddy bear?” He froze after he said that. Oh god, that was embarrassing. He turned to say something, but, even though it was dark, in the faint light he could see a small smile on her lips.

“I think I’ll be okay,” she said. “But….could I be closer to your bed? It’s easier when I’m close to someone.”

“Say no more,” Izuku said with a smile. They got up from the cot and pushed it up next to his bed. He noticed that they would be lying down the same direction but didn’t think much of it. He climbed into his bed and looked down at her. And then, he dangled his hand down, just idly. And her hand grabbed it. “Night, Ochako,” he said softly.

“Night, Deku,” she said. And the two of them lay there, holding hands, in the dark. Izuku waited until he heard her breathing slow and grow steady, signaling she was asleep, before he allowed himself to drift off.

The last thought he had was that she hadn’t let go of his hand in her sleep.

Chapter Text

A Few Weeks Later:

Last time Izuku had been as nervous as he was now was back in high school. And there was plenty of stiff competition back in those days, too. The time he went to go ask out Tsu, and then fell into a fountain. The time he had to present a big project in front of Mr. Aizawa and nearly died. Really, high school was a very nerve-wracking time. But this, this was something else.

Ochako shot him a look, her eyes showing that she was just as nervous as he was. He tried to give her a smile back, trying to reassure her. But he was pretty sure it came across as all feeble and weak. So, exactly how he felt.

The rustle of papers caused them both to whip their heads around to look at the source of their anxiety. Toshinori Yagi was holding the pages of their book, or at least a very rough draft of it. Since Christmas Izuku and Ochako had gone double time on working on the book, with Izuku buckling down and writing out as much as he could for the plot. They had agreed that their best shot would be to have someone else check it over. Early on, they figured, would be better than later. At least that way they wouldn’t have to start all over with a ton of work already done. And Toshinori was the person Izuku trusted the most with the work.

Toshinori looked up at them, and smiled. Today was one of his better days, Izuku thought. Winter was usually rough on the older man, seeming to exacerbate his illness. Today though, he seemed to be in good shape. His eyes flashed with that light of his, too, as he regarded the two young adults across from him.

“So?” Izuku asked hesitantly. “How….how is it?” God, his voice cracked. He felt like the awkward teenager who first talked to Toshinori all those years ago.

“Well, I couldn’t help but notice something,” Toshinori said slowly, his face rather somber. He grabbed a page and turned it to show them. Izuku could see Ochako blush next to him and he felt himself go a bit red, too. It was Ochako’s rendition of All Might, drawn in their story’s more fantastical style. Izuku and Ochako both opened their mouths to say something, only to be stopped by Toshinori’s wicked smile. “Bit inspired, huh?”

“We needed a good mentor figure,” Izuku said, a sheepish smile on his face.

“And well, what better figure than All Might?” Ochako asked. Izuku could see her blush still on her face, and she looked just as awkward as he did. “Plus, I mean, One For All in the books was just a super cool concept, passing powers on, and it felt like it would make for a great backing for a fantasy book.”

Toshinori nodded solemnly, stroking his chin. “I see. I did enjoy the fact that it was contained within a sword, very creative.” He then tilted his head to the side. “I never did think of using it in a fantasy story though, so I will give you two props for that.”

Izuku could see Ochako utterly freeze in place at that, but he just let out a sigh of relief. “So, you’re okay with it? I was worried you would be a little miffed.”

“Miffed?” Toshinori laughed. Izuku always forgot that he could still manage such a loud, booming laugh. “Young Midoriya, I’m flattered and rather impressed.” He tapped the pages with one finger, his smile now warmer, almost parental. “You two took some of what I wrote and created, and spun it off into your own creation that feels rather alive and uniquely yours. That’s creative and impressive.”

“Wait,” Ochako said, seemingly unfreezing. Izuku looked at her with a rather big grin on his face. He hadn’t let her in on the secret yet. The only ones who really knew were the bookstore people and some trusted confidants of Toshinori. Izuku was almost surprised that his boss let it slip to Ochako. “You’re the creator of All Might?!”

Toshinori smiled and threw his arms out to his sides, hands open. “Indeed,” he said, his voice becoming deeper, more booming. “Have no fear, for I am here! Toshinori Yagi, or as you better know me, T. Shimura, creator of All Might!”

Ochako gaped and looked at Izuku, her eyes wide, and then she grinned. “I….This is amazing!” Then her eyes widened even more, almost impossibly big now. “You saw my drawings. All Might’s creator saw my drawings.”

Izuku smiled softly and patted her shoulder. “I know how you feel. When I learned, I had already shown Toshinori some of my writing. I nearly fainted when I figured it out.”

“You did faint,” Toshinori pointed out. He chuckled. “At the time I was terrified you had died, but it didn’t last long, thankfully. And, young Uraraka, please, no need to praise me so. I made those books a long time ago. And, truly, your art is quite wonderful.” He held up a second picture, one of Shoto with fire and ice swirling around him. “They’re very expressive, and very unique. Each carries with it your own style.”

“Thank you,” Ochako said, her voice nearly a squeak.

“Though I hope one day that you both will be able to move on from using real people as inspiration.” Toshinori chuckled again. “Though, I’m one to talk, I suppose. And these are different enough.” He looked at Shoto’s drawing with a critical eye. “I can see young Todoroki in here, but it is also different enough. I’m going to guess you haven’t talked to them about this yet, have you?”

“We wanted your opinion first,” Izuku said. “Plus, I mean, it’s not like this would be published anyways. All Might doesn’t exactly belong to us.”

“No, no it doesn’t,” Toshinori said thoughtfully “Though, as the creator, I’m sure I could give you permission.” Izuku felt his jaw drop and he and Ochako shared a look. That was the last thing they were expecting.

“You’re kidding, right?” Izuku asked. There was no way Toshinori was being serious.

“Why would I joke about this?” Toshinori gently went through the pages again, before neatly putting them into a pile and handing them back to Ochako. “I like what you two have made and I haven’t exactly been using the All Might name recently. Sometimes it’s good to breathe fresh air into a franchise. Take it in new directions.” He got up, moving slowly. “I think it could be quite interesting, don’t you? Now then, if you two don’t mind, I need to get some rest.” He cracked his neck, wincing.

“Of course,” Ochako said. She and Izuku stood up, with Ochako clutching the pages like a lifeline. “Thank you so much!”

Izuku smiled and turned to follow her out, but hesitated. “I’ll be right out,” he said. Ochako frowned but nodded, walking out of the apartment. Izuku could hear her footsteps down the stairs as he turned to Toshinori. “Mind if I ask you something, Toshinori?”

Toshinori raised an eyebrow but waved his hand in a welcoming manner. “What’s on your mind, young Midoriya?”

“Are you okay?” Izuku asked. “You… you’ve never talked about giving away the rights to All Might or letting someone continue to write for it.” Izuku felt a pit in his stomach. He and Tenya had talked before about what would happen if Toshinori died, but even with the illness they thought it would be a few years. This though, this was worrying. In all of his years knowing Toshinori, the man had never said anything about passing on All Might.

“I’m fine, young Midoriya.” Toshinori smiled as reassuringly as he could manage. “But I am getting old. We both know I don’t have forever on this earth.” He raised a hand as Izuku opened his mouth. “That does not mean that I’m dying now or anytime soon. But, young Midoriya, you know that it will come.” He sighed and looked around his apartment. His eyes seemed to have lost a bit of their fire and he looked like the sick, tired man he was. “I just would prefer to help make sure what I created would continue without me, I suppose. And you and young Uraraka are perhaps my best chance at seeing All Might go on and evolve without me. I want to help you two while I have the time. And I have every intention of being there when this fantasy book of yours is published.”

Izuku smiled and nodded. “Okay, just making sure. I’ll see you tomorrow then, Toshinori.”

“See you tomorrow, young Midoriya,” Toshinori said. Izuku turned and headed out of the apartment, walking slowly down the stairs.

He believed Toshinori about almost everything. But one thing stuck in his mind. He couldn’t shake the idea that Toshinori knew more than he was letting on. Like he knew that he was going to die sooner rather than later.

“You okay?” Izuku looked up to see Ochako giving him a small frown.

“I’m fine,” he said. It was obvious that she didn’t really believe him, but Izuku tried to put on a happy smile. And he was happy, mostly. He tried to ignore the thought about Toshinori. After all, he and Tenya had been checking up on him every day for the last few years. He seemed to be in great shape, always took his medicine. It was fine. Izuku checked his watch and his smile turned a bit more genuine. “You know, it’s basically lunch time. Wanna grab a bite to eat?”

Ochako laughed. “How could I resist? Only, however, if you let me pay this time.”

“You’ll have to fight me on that.” Izuku gave Ochako a grin and the two of them walked out of the shop laughing.

Yeah, Izuku thought, things are fine. Things are great. He put the worry into the back of his mind and focused on Ochako. He had been worried that things would be awkward after Christmas Eve-- neither of them talked about the hand holding-- but nothing came of it. They simply carried on as if nothing had happened.

Later That Day

“We’re seriously considering this, huh?” Shoto asked, leaning against the kitchen counter. He, Tenya, Momo, and Tsu were gathered in his, Izuku’s, and Tenya’s apartment. They had decided to meet up to discuss something that had been on all of their minds. Namely, Izuku and Ochako. Shoto found the whole thing ridiculous, and yet, oddly enjoyable.

Tenya grimaced and looked away, as if ashamed, but he still nodded. “I am, at the very least. As much as it bothers me it….”

“It’s a way to make them both happy,” Tsu said. Tenya nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. It’s clear they both greatly enjoy being around each other and care deeply for one another,” Tenya said.

Shoto sighed but accepted the point. It was painfully obvious to everyone, if he was being honest, that Izuku and Ochako had feelings for one another. “I’m not denying that,” Shoto said, “but I just feel like pushing them towards each other is not the way to go. It feels like something Mina would do.”

“Something Mina has done,” Momo added. She gave him a small smile. “I agree Shoto. The thought of trying to push our friends together feels false to me. Or, perhaps not false, but rather…I feel like it has a chance to backfire on us.”

“Agreed,” Tsu said, raising her hands. “I’m not advocating for going full Mina.” Shoto snorted at that-- he remembered back in high school when Mina had shoved Tenya and Mei Hatsume in a closet together.

Tenya emphatically shook his head while making a violent x-shape motion with his arms. “Absolutely not! We are going to respect their privacy.” He calmed down a bit and gave a sheepish smile before looking down at his coffee cup. “It’s just that Izuku seems happier with Ochako than he has for a while, Shoto.”

Shoto frowned but didn’t deny what Tenya was saying. Izuku, the guy did not have an easy life. Never had. And sure, he hid it well, but Shoto knew Tenya was right. It had been a long time since he saw Izuku as consistently, genuinely happy as he had been since meeting Ochako. He couldn’t even remember the last episode Izuku had had. “So, you think this would make it better?”

“I think we should at least see,” Tenya said. “If Izuku doesn’t want to pursue anything, we drop it and let them be as they are. But, if he does, we let him know we’re there for him. He deserves nothing less.” Shoto smiled, slightly, remembering the day years ago that cemented within his mind who Izuku was as a person. He still felt like he owed Izuku for that. And beyond that, Izuku was his best friend.

“I’ll do it then,” he said. “I’ll talk to him with you, Tenya.”

“And we’ll talk to Ochako,” Momo said. Tsu nodded, a grin on her face. “Do you think they’ll act on their feelings if there are any?”

“No clue. He likes her, I’m sure, but I don’t know about acting on it,” Shoto said. He looked at Tenya. “You knew him better for most of high school. Did he ever tell you about any crushes?”

Tenya hesitated for a second but then shook his head. “One crush, but he never did anything about it. Honestly, I have no idea how he would behave.” Shoto tilted his head and gave Tenya his best ‘you’re holding something back’ look. Tenya ignored it, which annoyed Shoto. The idea of Tenya hiding something bothered him, but he figured he would get it out of his friend later.

“What about Ochako?” Momo asked, turning to Tsu. “You two were friends back in middle school, right? Did she ever talk to you about crushes, even during high school?”

Tsu rubbed the back of her neck and smiled sheepishly. “We didn’t talk that much in high school,” she said. “Mostly because we were both busy and….there’s not really an excuse. I don’t know. I know in middle school she had crushes but she never acted on them. Never really tried from what I remember.”

“Well, looks like we’ll have to see how this goes then.” Shoto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know, I never thought we’d be doing something like this out of high school.”

Tenya chuckled. “Neither did I, Shoto, but life certainly is strange sometimes, isn’t it?”

“At least this time it’s not with Mina’s knowledge,” Tsu said. “Though, I’m sure she has a feeling about it.”

“Let’s hope not,” Momo said. “Poor Izuku and Ochako if she knows.” Shoto agreed with that; Mina meant well, but she was a bit extreme. And extreme was not something Izuku needed. For all he worried though, Shoto had a good feeling about this. Tenya was right though. Ochako made Izuku happy, happier than anyone else.

“Well, let’s give this our best shot then,” Shoto said. “For Izuku and Ochako.”

That Night

Izuku yawned when he stepped through the door, cracking his neck with a rather satisfying sound. After meeting with Toshinori with Ochako and getting lunch, he had spent the day in the shop. Luckily it had been a slow day, and it ended up with him doing inventory while Emi watched the front. So, a pretty relaxing day. It gave him time to think, which was sort of a mixed bag if he was being honest. On the one hand, he got to think about the book some more. They had the general plot outlined and so he spent some time flushing out details. But, it also meant he had time to think about Ochako. As happy as he was with where things were, he was also extremely confused. The confusion typically came up whenever she was gone, as he began to think about her without fear of blushing or doing something stupid. And when he thought about her, he went a bit crazy.

The fact that they hadn’t talked about what happened on Christmas Eve… he didn’t know how to feel about it when he was off by himself. He was happy it wasn’t causing any ill feelings or awkwardness between them. But, that wasn’t something friends did right? Fall asleep holding hands? Or maybe they did? It just felt like a lot more to him in retrospect and he couldn’t help but wonder; did it mean more to Ochako too? He had been worrying about that on and off ever since Christmas.

“Something on your mind?” Izuku looked up to see Shoto looking at him. He hadn’t even realized he had walked into the kitchen until his friend spoke.

“Just writing stuff,” he said with a laugh. Wasn’t a full lie.

“Uh huh,” Shoto said. He watched Izuku closely, a small smirk on his lips. “Just writing stuff, I’m sure.” Izuku whipped his head over to stare at Shoto. His roommate was opaque though, nothing slipping through his exterior. But he was definitely referring to something more.

“Shoto,” Izuku said. “What’s going on? You’re hiding something.”

“I would never,” Shoto said dryly. “Izuku! How could you even suggest such a thing?” His smirk was just getting bigger though.

“Don’t tease him, Shoto,” Tenya admonished from the couch. He looked up and smiled at Izuku. “Though, there is something we want to ask you about, Izuku.”

Izuku felt his whole body tense up. He didn’t know why, but this felt like being interrogated by his parents. His mind frantically ran through everything he had ever done, trying to find something they would know or ask about. “What….is….it?”

“Ochako,” Shoto said, leaning against the kitchen counter. Oh, Izuku thought with some measure of relief, well, that’s better. I think.

“What about her?”

Tenya got up and walked over to the kitchen, leaning on the counter from the other side. “You like her, don’t you?”

That was extremely blunt for Tenya. Shoto, Izuku figured, already knew. He had made that clear at Christmas Eve. But Tenya? How on Earth did Tenya figure it out? Nothing against his friend, but he was not the most observant person. “Maybe,” Izuku said with a sheepish smile-grimace. He didn’t really know what his face was doing if he was being honest.

“Izuku, don’t bullshit us,” Shoto said with a sigh. “It is pretty damn obvious.”

He thought about it for a minute and then admitted to himself that, yeah, Shoto had a point. Plus if Tenya had figured it out it really was obvious. “Okay so you both know. But why bring it up?”

“We want to know if you want to do anything about your feelings,” Tenya said gently. “Not push you into it. We’re just curious.”

Izuku never thought his heart would both speed up and start pumping ice through his veins, but there it went, doing both of those things. Freaking, annoying heart. “Why? Why curious now?”

Shoto tilted his head side-to-side. “We like seeing you happy,” he said. “Ochako makes you happy and you’ve been spending a lot of time with her. So, if you like her, we want to help encourage you to pursue that.”

Tenya nodded. “I know the struggle you’ve had before, Izuku.” He gave Izuku a small smile. “But, Ochako does truly make you happy, right? You enjoy being with her?” He did, a lot. And he knew they knew, so he just nodded. “Then we want to help you pursue that. Go ask her out.”

“You don’t know she likes me back,” Izuku said, not really looking at either of his friends. They didn’t, they couldn’t know that, and he couldn’t risk it. She meant a lot to him and that, that was too big of a risk. Too much to lose.

“I didn’t know Momo liked me,” Shoto said. He smiled. “And yet, I still went for it. You gotta at least try, Izuku. Otherwise you might regret it. Spend time wondering what if you had.”

Izuku bit his lip and looked up at Tenya and Shoto. “You...but what if I mess up our friendship? Say something weird? Say something to freak her out or she says no and then things are weird or what if we date and then break up and never talk and I,” he stopped, trying to catch his breath; all of that had just come pouring out of him, like some dam had been broken, “I just can’t risk that.”

“I understand that,” Tenya said. “Doing this requires putting yourself out there, opening yourself up and risking things. But, Izuku, that’s what makes life worthwhile. We can never know what will happen for sure in life, but we have to try and pursue what makes us happy.” He walked over to Izuku and gently laid a hand on his shoulder, giving him a warm smile. “You can do this. You know Ochako; do you honestly think if she turned you down she would refuse to be your friend?”

He didn’t even need to think about it, not really. A voice in him screamed that she would, but he knew otherwise. Ochako wouldn’t leave his side over something like that. “No,” he said quietly.

“Then try,” Tenya said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “Things could be awkward, yes, but we both know that’s the worst of it.”

Shoto rubbed Izuku’s hair and give him a grin. “You got this, Izuku. I’ve already told you that I feel good about this. Trust me, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” He yawned and turned to walk off. “And now, bedtime for me. Night, guys.”

“I’m heading off too,” Tenya said, giving Izuku’s shoulder one last squeeze. “Give it some thought, Izuku.” He nodded and soon, he was alone in the kitchen. Izuku leaned against the counter and thought about what had just happened.

He….could he do it? Could he actually gather up the nerve to ask out Ochako? In theory, yeah. He had done crazier things before, hadn’t he? Well, besides punching Shoto. Besides that, he hadn’t really done anything quite as daring as asking out a girl he liked. He had tried once with Tsu and that had ended poorly.

But, the more he thought about it, the better he felt. It wasn’t like he felt comfortable with it, or even totally excited, but the prospect didn’t terrify him as much as he thought it would’ve. Instead, he felt strangely at ease. The prospect of failure haunted him but he also thought about what it would be like to be with Ochako. What it would be like to date her, to truly and openly express his feelings for her. His face went red at the thought, but he couldn’t help it. Thinking about telling her that, about holding her tight on dates, or just being together….it made him happy. A quiet, warm kind of happiness that spread throughout his body, making him feel more alive than he ever had before.

Failure, he thought, seemed so pale in comparison to that feeling.

That Same Night

Ochako closed her textbook with a thunk and leaned back at her desk, letting out a heavy sigh. It had been a busy day, between meeting with Mr. Yagi and then work and classes, followed up with schoolwork. She had barely had time to draw, but she figured tonight was a break from drawing. So she could focus on everything else in her life. It wasn’t much of a break.

But, as busy as the day had been, she was still thrilled and excited. Her work had been looked at by the creator of All Might! And he had liked it! It….it was almost too much to believe, if she was being honest. But it had happened, and here she was, still happy as ever, smiling like a madwoman. Honestly, what a day. And it was because of Deku, in more ways than one. She needed to do something to thank him. Well, she was working on the special drawings for him. She could not, would not forget about those and Mr. Yagi seemed to have implicitly given them their blessing. But maybe she should do something sooner, just to let him know how much she appreciated him?

“Ochako?” Tsu called from the entryway. “Are you home?”

“In my room,” Ochako replied, putting her school stuff away for the moment. Tomorrow’s homework was done. The rest of the week’s work was another problem for another time. “How was date night?”

She could hear Tsu laugh as her roommate made her way over to her own room. “Well, Fumi certainly had a lot of fun, right up until he accidentally said that he loved me. After that he blushed so hard I thought he would actually fall over from lack of blood in his legs. But, overall, it was pretty great.” A few moments, Ochako saw Tsu peek her head in and give her a smile. “How about you? How was your night here? Low key I hope.”

Ochako glanced down at her pajamas-- a pair of gym shorts and an old, loose t-shirt-- and then looked up at Tsu with a smile. “I think you can guess.” Tsu laughed and then looked around the room.

“Mind if I come in?” Ochako looked up at Tsu, dressed in her pajamas, and shrugged. It wasn’t uncommon for the two of them to end up in one of their rooms talking late into the night. It hadn’t happened in a while, but they had both been crazy busy. But something about tonight seemed different. Tsu seemed distracted by something.

“Yeah, of course.” Ochako turned her chair around to face Tsu as her friend sat down on the bed. “What’s up? You seem like something’s on your mind.”

Tsu smiled and laughed a little. “You know me pretty well. I actually had something to ask you, Ochako.”

She didn’t really understand why, but her stomach dropped when Tsu said that. It was like being told by her parents that they needed to talk; even though she knew nothing was wrong, it suddenly felt like absolutely everything was wrong. But, she decided to do what she had always done with her parents; pretend like she was perfectly calm. “What’s up?”

“I know this is probably super awkward,” Tsu said slowly, “but I was wondering how you felt about Izuku?”

And there it was. That sudden drop in her stomach, the pressure building and the sick feeling spreading throughout. Her mind flashed to the nightmares. The actual memory, that distorted laughter, tears falling down her face. Loneliness, just horrible, crushing loneliness that had seemed to eat her alive. It was happening again. Why was it happening again?

No , she thought, trying to shake herself out of it. The tears she could feel forming, but she didn’t want to cry in front of Tsu. Doing that, doing that would be too much. It would hurt too much. “I, I mean he’s a good guy,” she said, putting on her best brave face. “A sweetheart.”

Tsu made a humming sound as if to acknowledge her point. She wasn’t looking at Ochako, not directly, and didn’t seem to pick up on her distress. For that, Ochako was genuinely grateful. She was only just holding on, and having Tsu see would probably break her in a sense. She already showed weakness once, she couldn’t keep doing that. “That’s true,” Tsu said, “but, Ochako, you feel more for him than that, don’t you?”

Her heart was racing. Pounding, like a hammer against steel. Beat. Beat. Beat. It was so loud, it felt like it was going to drive her insane. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. “What do you mean?”

“You like him, don’t you?”

POUND.

She broke. The cracks spreading, the facade shattering, falling away. “Tsu, please.” Her voice came out in a choking sound. “Please stop.”

Tsu looked over at Ochako, but Ochako couldn’t see much more than that. She was staring at the ground, her fists grabbing her pajama pants. “Ochako? Ochako, what’s wrong?” She heard rustling and then Tsu was next to her, kneeling down to look at her face. Ochako didn’t do anything. She was barely keeping in the tears.

Why? She….she thought after high school this would be over. Tsu was her friend. Her best friend, she wouldn’t hurt her. But Ochako still felt that weakness, that openness. And she couldn’t forget the betrayal. That sting. No, the tearing. Everyone she knew turning on her. Lonely days turned to weeks to months to years. It all felt like too much, like it was going to come down and smother her. No one able to help her out from that great weight. And it was happening again. Tsu wouldn’t do it, but Ochako couldn’t convince herself. She couldn’t feel safe.

“Please don’t ask,” Ochako whimpered. Tears fell now. She couldn’t stop them anymore. “Please, Tsu. Don’t hurt me.” I don’t want to be hurt anymore , she thought, squeezing her eyes shut.

The room was silent for a few moments, and Ochako thought for a second that Tsu had left. But then, she felt arms wrap around her as Tsu pulled her into a tight hug. Ochako stiffened, still crying. “I’m sorry,” Tsu said. “I’m not going to hurt you, Ochako. Promise.” She pulled her in tighter. “You are my best friend, Ochako. I spent so long missing you and when I heard you were coming here, coming to be my roommate, I was ecstatic. I… I would never do anything to try and hurt you.”

Ochako couldn’t stop crying, but she wrapped her arms around Tsu. She… she did believe Tsu. Not just rational her, but almost all of her. There was that voice, that little nagging voice that reminded her of Haru. Of that pain and the laughter, that mocking laughter. But she pushed it to the back of her mind, and hugged Tsu as tight as she could. Both of them were crying, if only a little, but Ochako laughed a little. “It feels like middle school again,” she said.

Tsu laughed too. “So you do still remember that sleepover.”

“How could I ever forget?” Ochako laughed again, and she could feel the sadness, that great weight, falling back. It was still there, but it wasn’t as heavy as it had been. A few more moments passed, the two of them holding each other, before Ochako gently separated. “I, I’m sorry, Tsu. I didn’t mean for things to get like this.”

Tsu looked up at her, eyes still wet and worry etched into her face. “Ochako, don’t apologize. You have emotions, everyone does. But, that’s why you have friends, too. To help deal with moments like that.” She reached out and gently laid a hand on Ochako’s. “What’s going on?”

“It’s….I don’t know how easily I can tell you,” Ochako said slowly. “High school wasn’t easy for me and it left some scars, I guess you could say. I can’t really explain, Tsu. Not because it’s complicated or I don’t trust you, it’s just--”

“It hurts too much,” Tsu said gently. Ochako smiled bitterly and nodded. “Well, okay. I’m not going to push, about that or Izuku.” The way she said it made Ochako think that Tsu knew more than she was letting on, which would be a very Tsu-thing. “But, if you ever need to talk, about it or what’s going on now, I’m always here for you, Ochako. Promise.”

“I know, Tsu,” Ochako said. And she did. She truly did know that.

Tsu smiled at her. It was warm and happy but also sad, like she was upset that she couldn’t help but accepting of it all the same. “But, before I go, whatever happened in high school? Won’t happen here. I won’t let it, and you know Izuku won’t either. He may be a bit dense at times, but he’s a good guy, Ochako. Last thing he would ever want to see is one of his friends in pain.” She squeezed Ochako’s hand and stood up to leave. “I’ll let you get to sleep, Ochako.”

“Thanks, Tsu,” Ochako said quietly. “Night.”

“Night,” Tsu said cheerfully. As she left, she closed the door behind her.

Ochako felt drained. Incredibly, thoroughly drained of all energy. She turned off her desk lamp, the only remaining light in the room, and then padded over to her bed. She collapsed onto it and stared up at the ceiling.

What if….what if Tsu was right about Deku? He was sweeter than Naoji had ever been, and they knew each other well. She blushed, thinking about Christmas Eve. And that had happened. Neither of them had brought it up. Ochako thought it was because he had been embarrassed or annoyed about it, having to bother helping her fall asleep. But what if, what if it was because he had liked it and didn’t want to embarrass her? Or was embarrassed himself?

It was possible, she thought. Deku could like her, maybe. He did spend a lot of time with her… but he was also very sweet. Maybe it was just how he treated everyone?

Ochako couldn’t think straight, but as she lay in bed, she entertained an idea. One of her and Deku, together, in bed, cuddled up next to each other. She could feel her face growing warm, but she felt comforted by the thought. It felt very natural.

Maybe Tsu was right. Maybe….Maybe Ochako stood a chance.

The weight was still on her as she fell asleep, but it didn’t bother her. No, this time, as she drifted off to sleep, she found herself determined to overcome it.

Chapter Text

Two Days Later

Tenya Iida had always been an excitable person. His friends and family had always made that clear to him and he had long since come to accept it. It was a part of him and a part of him he rather liked at that. He didn’t see the value in suppressing what he felt, not anymore. High school him had done that more than a few times, but he was mature now. No, he wanted the world to know how he felt.

And today, he was incredibly excited. Finally, after months if not years of hard work, the Project was done. All the blood and sweat, the sleepless nights spent working on it, they finally paid off. Tenya took a deep breath of the crisp morning air, and then, with a grandiose air about him, threw open the door of Plus Ultra Books with a loud crash. Ikko and Emilia looked up at him, their eyes wide with shock, and Izuku poked his head out of the backroom.

“Tenya?” Izuku asked. “Um, you all good there?”

“Everyone!” Tenya said as he walked in. He adjusted his glasses, making sure they were set just so on the bridge of his nose and smiled at the others. “I have excellent news!”

“This early?” Ikko asked. “Seems early for great news.”

“What is it, Tenya?” Emi asked, leaning against the counter.

“Indeed,” Toshinori said as he walked down the stairs slowly. “I’m interested in hearing this excellent news myself, young Iida.”

“The Project is finally done.” Tenya felt a rush of pride fill him up as he said it, and his smile grew wider. Emi’s mouth fell open and Ikko gapsed. Izuku looked utterly shocked, and then a great smile spread across his face. Toshinori smiled a little as well, and his eyes seemed to ignite.

“You’re serious?” Izuku asked, rushing over, his eyes wide. “You got it done?”

Tenya nodded. “Plus Ultra Books is now the proud owner of the next door building, and the Ishidas have agreed. Renovations for the cafe begin in a couple of months!” Tenya clenched his fist and punched up towards the ceiling. “We’ve done it! Plus Ultra Books and Cafe is happening!”

The bookstore exploded into noise, Izuku giving Tenya a bear hug while laughing, Ikko and Emi high-fiving with giant grins. Toshinori gave Tenya thumbs-up. Tenya and Izuku had been working on the Project for almost as long as they had been working at the bookstore, and Ikko and Emilia had jumped onboard when they began to work more at the store. It had been years in the making, years of business negotiations, research into how profitable it would be for both sides, discussions with the Ishidas--the owners of a nearby cafe that they all frequented--and constant saving of money for this singular goal. But it was done. All of that hard work was done.

“We gotta celebrate!” Emi exclaimed. “I mean, come on! This is huge!”

Tenya agreed, but shook his head with a smile. “We do need to celebrate, but our first priority is still making the bookstore as excellent as possible! We need to work even harder now to make sure that the effort does not go to waste. We will be the preeminent bookstore in the city!”

Izuku laughed and walked back over to the others. “Tenya’s right. Let’s go, guys, we gotta keep working. But now, now let’s go--”

“--PLUS ULTRA!” Everyone cried, fists towards the ceiling. Ikko and Emi laughed but went back to checking over the shelves while Izuku went towards the backroom again.

Toshinori walked over to Tenya, his eyes still shining bright. The man had looked weaker than usual when he first came down, but the news seemed to bolster him a bit. “I always knew you and young Midoriya would change this old store of mine,” he said, resting a hand on Tenya’s shoulder. Tenya smiled softly and stood up a little taller. Even years later, praise from Toshinori caused pride to fill him up. “Good job, young Iida.”

“Thank you, sir,” Tenya said. “I’m just glad we’ll be able to finally do it.”

“As am I,” Toshinori said. “I honestly was beginning to doubt if I would still be around to see the day, but you all continue to surprise me day after day.”

“From what I remember, sir, we had made a promise to you to make this bookstore the greatest in the city,” Tenya said. “Part of that promise was making sure you would see it.”

The older man’s eyes softened, and his smile grew ever so slightly. “What did I do to deserve you two, young Iida?”

“You and I both know the answer to that, Mr. Yagi.” Toshinori Yagi laughed and nodded to himself as he turned to head back up to his apartment.

“I suppose we do, hmm?” He chuckled again as he headed up the stairs, Tenya watching him go. He couldn’t help but smile again at the older man, the one who had taken him and Izuku in. Who had given them a purpose and a second home. Tenya Iida would do damn near anything for that man if he was asked.

He blinked and focused back on the task at hand. The bookstore needed to get ready for opening! “Ikko! How is stock going? Everything had better be ready! Just because the Project done doesn’t mean you get to slack off!”

A Few Hours Later

Izuku drained the last remaining coffee in his mug and looked at the bottom of it in disappointment. He had been at the store since opening and had been working hard all day, especially after Tenya’s news. Even thinking about it got him excited, though he no longer got that rush of energy it had when he first heard it. But that didn’t counter the exhaustion that had been plaguing him all day. The night before had been a tumultuous one, involving a lot of tossing and turning and plenty of waking up in a cold sweat. And he knew exactly what had been causing it; the dreams had been very vivid.

Ochako Uraraka. Ever since Izuku had talked with Tenya and Shoto about his apparently obvious crush on Ochako he had been haunted by thoughts of her and more importantly, asking her out. Several of the dreams and thoughts he had involved a recreation of his attempt to ask out Tsu, which, well, honestly wasn’t that bad. But the rest involved various degrees of failure and embarrassment. The worst ones were the ones about the aftermath. Awkwardness ruining his friendship with Ochako, pushing them apart. Those always hurt the most.

But some of them were amazing. Izuku smiled softly as he put down his coffee mug, thinking about one of the corny dreams involving a Ferris wheel date. He did his best to stop himself from blushing, but it happened regardless. His cheeks grew warm and he knew they were glowing. Not that it mattered much; no one was in the back with him. The corny dreams were his favorite, if he was being honest with himself. He had no idea how dating actually worked. Sure, he had seen how his friends had dated and he had been witness to some truly awkward moments of couples being couples, but he didn’t really know the mechanics of it. But those dreams, they made it seem easy even if he knew they were incredibly unrealistic.

He sighed and then chuckled quietly to himself as he finished marking down some notes in the inventory notebook. Honestly, his dreams felt a lot like the corny romances he had watched with the group back in high school during some movie nights. Everything seemed easy and perfect once the main couple got together.

And all he had to do was ask out Ochako. The nervousness set in again and he grew a bit jittery. It was just so nerve wracking to think about, in seriousness. Dreaming about doing it, about the two of them dating was easy because it was just harmless fantasy. No one could get hurt from that. But to think about him going up to Ochako and saying, “Hey, I like you. Wanna go out?” or something like that was just so much more real and held some much more potential for harm.

“Izuku?” He jumped and whirled to see Tenya watching him from the doorway, an eyebrow raised. His friend had rolled up his sleeves and he looked tired but energized.

“Tenya, what’s up?” Izuku asked, giving him a sheepish smile.

Tenya chuckled a little and checked his watch. “Aren’t you heading home soon? From what I remember your shift is almost over for today.” Izuku blinked and checked his watch. His face grew red and he chuckled awkwardly.

“I, uh, I lost track of time, I guess.” Tenya’s smile widened a little and he nodded in understanding.

“Ah, yes, of course! I completely understand myself.” His eyes grew a bit distant but then snapped into focus as he clenched his fist. “We have worked so hard, Izuku! Years of struggle, sweat, blood, and tears! And now look at us! We are rising to the top, and we have to continue to rise ever higher! We will, one day, be the most dominant bookstore in this city!”

Izuku smiled watching his animated friend, Tenya’s arms moving in several directions quickly as he talked. “You know it, Tenya. We’re going to make Toshinori proud.”

Tenya smiled and nodded, his eyes flashing for a second. “Indeed.” He extended a hand to Izuku. “Let’s do our best, Izuku.”

“Always.” Izuku took his hand and the two gripped each other’s hands in a tight handshake, determined smiles on their faces.

“We’re going Plus Ultra,” they said together, their grins wide. They had made the same promise, the same handshake, years ago when they started. Back then, when Toshinori Yagi chose the two of them to help his bookstore, chose them to know his secret, and to help carry on his legacy. They owed him.

Izuku let go of Tenya and the two laughed a little. “I’m going to head out then, okay? Don’t stay too late, though. You need to rest, too.”

Tenya opened his mouth, no doubt to argue with Izuku, but then he closed his mouth and waved his hands. “Point taken.” Izuku laughed and grabbed his stuff, heading out of the backroom. Ikko looked up from the register and lazily waved.

“Peace, Izuku,” he said, a new paperback in his hands. The teen read more than Izuku ever had, and judging by the titles, had gone through a good chunk of the store’s historical fiction section.

“See you, Ikko. Get some rest later, too.” Ikko snorted as Izuku left, as if the idea of rest with Tenya in charge was absurd. Which, Izuku admitted, it kind of was.

Izuku stretched as he walked away from Plus Ultra, his legs and back killing him. He had been there all day and the evening sun was beginning to set. The night air was cold, but the cold helped keep up him awake as he walked to the apartment. Shoto had texted earlier that he was out for the night, presumably with Momo, and so Izuku looked forward to crashing on the couch and just lazing about for a few hours. They didn’t have a whole lot of food in the apartment; Shoto had promised to go shopping on his way back, and so Izuku ran through in his head what he was going to get for dinner. Pizza was always good, but he had been craving some Thai and Tenya was a big fan of Thai food himself.

He smiled to himself as he walked, hands in his pockets, realizing he was just trying to distract himself. He really did not want to think about Ochako and what he was feeling for her. And yet, he really did, and the conflicting emotions drove him crazy.

Though, he admitted, the fact that he was even thinking about possibly asking her out said a lot him as a person. It had taken him weeks to decide with Tsu to ask her out, and even then he backed away the moment one bad thing happened. With Ochako, it hadn’t even taken him that much time to honestly consider what would happen if he asked her out.

If he did, he thought, if , how would he do it? He would have to say it somehow, and it should be in person. Asking her out over the phone, whether through a call or text, felt too impersonal, too distant for him. Izuku chuckled at that; he was actually shunning the methods that could have prevented some pain.

Then again, he thought, if he asked her in person there was a pretty good chance he would stumble and stutter. There was a definite chance that would happen. So, what other way could he do it in person?

Writing. He could write, or at least so Ochako thought. And if she liked his writing, why not? Maybe write a little note to give her when his words failed him, inevitably, and it would explain everything. Izuku considered the idea; it wasn’t as good as asking in person with his words, but it was still pretty good. Good enough, he thought.

It was only when he reached his apartment building and started up the stairs that he realized he was already writing the note out in his head. Somehow he had decided, without his own input, that this was what was going to happen. He chuckled to himself, his cheeks warm. Well, it appeared he had made up his mind. This was going to happen.

As he pushed open his apartment door and chucked off his stuff, he grabbed the Thai menu to grab himself some food and a pad of paper and a pen. He had a note to write.

An Hour Later

Ochako took a deep breath as she walked into Plus Ultra Books. Was her heart supposed to feel like it was trying to escape her heart? That didn’t feel particularly normal but she did her best to ignore it. She was on a mission, one she had never thought she would do. It was time, she thought, to ask out Izuku Midoriya.

Oh god why was she doing this? The last couple of days had been spent in agonizing thought and reflection, digging deep into her thoughts and trying to figure out if she was really, honestly, truly going to do this. Put herself out there and risk getting hurt like all those years ago. It was hard to shake that fear, the memory haunting her every step to the bookstore. But, Ochako had slowly made up her mind. She had even managed to talk with Tsu about it, a little, and she felt ready to do this.

Besides, she wanted this. Just thinking of Deku made her feel a little lighter, a lighter warmer. More than anything she wanted to feel that more, feel that all the time with him. And there was no sense in trying to deny that anymore. This was what she wanted, to be with him and to give herself a chance at happiness. No more hiding away behind her past, telling herself it was for the best. She was scared, her legs weak as she crossed the border into the store, but she held her head high, and focused on the feeling of warmth when she thought about Deku.

Tenya was passing by, talking to the teen Ochako had come to know as Ikko, but stopped and turned when he heard the door close. His eyes lit up and a smile stretched across his face when he saw her, and Ochako found herself smiling happily back. “Ochako! It’s good to see you!” Ikko flashed her a smile and quietly slipped away from Tenya, easily avoiding his waving arms. “But what brings you here so late?”

You can do this, Ochako told herself. Did her legs always feel that weak? “I was hoping to talk to Izuku, actually,” she said. Her voice was shockingly calm and steady for how much of a wreck she felt like. That was a nice surprise.

Tenya raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m afraid you just missed him. Izuku headed back a little over an hour ago.” He tilted his head and seemed to be ready to ask her another question when understanding seemed to wash over him. He smiled, a bit softer and more knowing this time, and pushed up his glasses. “He’s probably back in our apartment by now, if you want to talk to him. Otherwise I could deliver the message for you?”

Ochako’s eyes widened slightly and she fought to hold the blush back. “No, no, no! It’s, it’s fine!”

“You could text him as well, I suppose,” Tenya said, stroking his chin. “Though, I suppose it must be something rather important. Perhaps about your book?”

She had no idea if Tenya was just messing with her, but she saw the out and took it. “Yeah, that’s it! I just wanted to talk about our novel. I’ll, uh, I’ll just swing by your place and tell him myself!” She laughed nervously and spun on her heels to head out the door with a quick, stiff stride. “Thank you, Tenya!”

He chuckled behind her as she left the store. “Of course, Ochako! Anytime!” Ochako was pretty sure he knew more than he was letting on but she left it be.

It took her a little while to realize that she was walking quickly towards Deku’s apartment. She could have stopped, turned around and went back to her own apartment. Her plan failed, she had an out, an excuse. She could just try again!

No, she knew that was just a halfhearted excuse. If she didn’t do it now, she never would. It was either now, or she never does it. This was her moment, her chance to finally go after something that truly made her happy, more than happy. It had been too long since she tried, and she was tired of hiding and running from her fears.

“Let’s do this,” she muttered to herself.

It didn’t take long to reach his apartment building, and she anxiously texted him, Hey, Deku, I’m outside your building? I just wanted to stop by for a second, if that’s okay. Could, uh, you let me in?

He replied almost immediately: Ochako! Yeah, sure, I’ll be right down!

A few moments later, and the door opened up, Deku smiling at her from inside. His hair was a mess of green curls and he was wearing a loose open hoodie and sweats. He was adorable, she thought. “Hey there! You wanna come on in?”

She nodded and slipped inside. The two of them went up the stairs, Ochako trying to figure out what to say, if anything. “Sorry for dropping by with so little notice!” Of course that’s what she settled on. Figured.

Deku glanced behind him, and she thought his cheeks were a bit pink. “It’s no worry! Having you around is always nice, Ochako.” The smile that followed the statement nearly made her legs give in. She had no idea if he was just being sweet because he was Deku, or if it meant something more, but it still made her heart soar.

They reached Deku’s door and he unlocked it and held it open for her. Smiling, Ochako stepped into the apartment and kicked off her shoes. “So, what’s up?” Deku asked as he walked over to the couch. He stopped halfway and whirled around to face her, eyes wide. “Oh, wait! Do you want anything to eat or drink? I have some Thai food in the fridge if you want?”

Ochako giggled and shook her head, not quite meeting his eyes. “No thanks, I’m good. But thank you, Deku.”

He smiled and walked over to the couch, plopping down. “Well, what’s up then? Everything okay?” Ochako nodded and walked further into the apartment but stayed near the kitchen counter. The nerves were starting to get to her, she could feel them rising up and taking hold. You can do this , she told herself.

“Y-yeah, everything’s okay.” She could see, out of the corner of her eye, Deku frown and get up. As he walked closer, her heart thudded faster and faster. I got this, I got this, I got this , she chanted internally. I’m not losing now!

“You sure?” Deku asked, looking at her closely. “It seems like something is up.”

She opened her mouth slightly, then closed it. Then opened it again, closed it. Finally she looked up and met Deku’s eyes. Her hands balled themselves into her fists and she took a deep breath. I can do this. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” she said. “I just had something I wanted to say to you.”

Deku’s eyes widened a little and a slight tinge of red colored his cheeks. “O-oh? What is it?”

This was it. This was her moment, her chance to finally do it. It felt like everything else faded into the background. All that mattered was her, him, and the next words she would speak.

“I like you, Deku. A lot.”

And there. They were out into the air, free from her heart and exposed to him. Ochako wanted so badly to just turn and run, to hide in a hole for weeks. She wanted to look away and not meet his eyes, not see his reaction out of fear. But she forced herself to stay rooted in place. Forced herself to meet his eyes. The world seemed to get a bit distorted, like she was underwater, and she realized she could feel tears forming in her eyes. But she focused on Deku.

His eyes widened even more and it seemed like he didn’t even fully register what she had said. Like he was just in shock. But then, like a switch had been clicked, his whole face went red, a deep blush overtaking him. He began to mumble to himself in a nervous, stuttering fashion. She couldn’t make out most of the words. Deku seemed to realize what he was doing and stopped. He looked to the side, and his expression changed slightly, from shock to something like concentration. And then he turned back, and she realized he was smiling this small, trembling, impossibly perfect and Deku-ish smile.

“I-I like you, too, Ochako.”

The world got even fuzzier and Ochako realized she was crying, and yet, she had never felt happier. She could feel the smile spreading across her face and her own blush got warmer and deeper. And she cried, tears falling down her cheeks. And she laughed, happiness and nervousness and more emotions than she could even keep track of, pouring out of her. “Ochako?” Deku asked, alarm filling his voice. “Ochako, are you okay?” She choked back her laughter and met his eyes, smiling.

“You like me,” she said. She had heard the words, but even then. She could hardly believe it, hardly believe that someone like him would ever like her.

“And you like me,” he said with a nervous chuckle. “I, I had been planning on telling you. But I just couldn’t believe that you would….well, you know.” That started another bit of laughter from her, just at the absurdity of it all. Deku looked alarmed again. “What? What did I say?”

“Here I’ve been,” she said as the laughter died down, “thinking you could never have liked me, when you’ve been thinking the same thing.” She shook her head and looked at him. “We’re idiots, huh?”

He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, we are.” He met her eyes and she could… it wasn’t even seeing, so much as just feeling, the affection he had for her. At that moment, Ochako could have sworn that life was never going to get better.

Ochako smiled and then stepped forward, closing the distance between them. She didn’t want to speak again, and just went with her heart. Deku opened his mouth to say something, and Ochako just wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him in tight. “I really like you, Deku,” she said softly.

A moment later, she felt Deku’s arms wrap around her as well and his head gently rest on hers. “I really like you, too, Ochako,” he said.

They stood there for who knows how long. Ochako didn’t want to think about it; she just enjoyed the feeling. Both of Deku, and of the happiness that just flowed throughout her. It wasn’t so much a rush or a flood of joy either; rather, it was a constant, humming warmth that just spread throughout her. But eventually, the two of them separated. Their faces were glowing red, but they were both grinning like idiots. Somehow, Ochako noticed, their hands ended up grasping each other.

“That was really nice,” Deku said with an awkward chuckle. Ochako nodded in agreement, basking in the moment. “So, uh, I guess we’re a couple, huh?”

Ochako smiled and gently squeezed his hands. “I would certainly hope so, dork,” she teased. “I should probably go soon, but do you want to….Go out sometime?” She didn’t really know being a couple was going to work; it seemed to be different for everyone. But she did know all she wanted was to spend some time with Deku. “Like grab coffee or go for a walk or something?”

Deku smiled brightly and squeezed her hands right back. “One hundred percent. But….why don’t you stay for a while? Just a bit?” His smile turned a bit sheepish, but he never looked away from her eyes. “I, uh, kinda wanna spend some more time with you tonight, if that’s okay! I mean if you have to go you should go, and I don’t wanna keep you from anything or something!”

She giggled and leaned forward, gently kissing Deku on the cheek. He immediately stopped talking and his blush, which had been subsiding, flared back to life. “I think I can do that,” she said.

The Next Morning

Tenya yawned as he unlocked the door to Plus Ultra Books. He had worked late last night, as Izuku was fond of pointing out, and hadn’t gotten too much sleep. His mind was too abuzz with thoughts of the Plan. Renovations, designs, so much to do and plan and so, so little time. Honestly, how did Izuku ever sleep himself?

Thinking of his close friend made him smile as he slipped inside the store, closing the door with a gentle click. Tenya had come home the night before to a smirking Shoto and a blushing Izuku. Apparently, Ochako had been over and Shoto had walked in on the two of them just holding hands and talking. Despite the minor nature of the act, Shoto said the two of them panicked. But, as Izuku confirmed, it meant that the two of them were dating. Tenya was happy for them; he liked Ochako quite a bit and Izuku was like a brother to him. Seeing the two of them finally admit their feelings for each other and just be together was a joy. Izuku deserved to be happy like that, Tenya thought. True, he himself had little to no luck with relationships as of yet, so he didn’t truly know what that happiness was, but he could see it in Izuku. A powerful glow.

But, enough about romance, he thought to himself. He had a store to open up. Everything appeared to still be in its place from the night before, but he double checked anyways. Even if it was him who closed the night before, he figured it never hurt to be thorough. After sweeping through the store, he nodded, satisfied. Everything was as it should be. The floor was clean, the books were orderly, everything was as he wanted it.

Tenya checked his watch and walked up a floor to the break room, setting up the coffee pot and putting a couple of the bagels they kept in there into the toaster. He had some time, as he expected, before opening time so he should at least eat and get some caffeine in him. A yawn reminded him of how exhausted he truly was and he waited impatiently for the coffee to brew. Once it was ready he got himself a cup, with just a couple of sugar packets in it, and ate his bagel.

Once he finished his breakfast he got up and started up the stairs to Toshinori’s apartment. It was custom for him and Izuku to check up on their boss and mentor every morning. Toshinori never complained, and Tenya was sure Toshinori knew it was out of worry. His sickness didn’t appear to be getting worse, but it certainly wasn’t getting better. They couldn’t afford to just ignore it.

As he clicked his key in, and gently opened the door, Tenya found himself smiling again. Honestly, yesterday had been a truly amazing day, for him and the store and for Izuku. He was sure that Toshinori would love to hear about Izuku and Ochako.

Tenya pushed open the door and strode into the apartment. “Morning, Toshinori,” he called out as he closed the door. “Business as usual, you know.” No response came, and Tenya frowned. Toshinori did sometimes sleep in late, but it was rare. He walked further into the apartment and turned to head towards the bedroom when he looked into the kitchen.

Slumped on the ground, was Toshinori Yagi. His chest was moving, but barely, and a cup was on its side next to him, orange juice spilled out onto the floor. Tenya’s eyes widened and he felt his heart begin to pound. No, no, he thought desperately as he rushed over. No! This is not happening! He and Izuku had both taken first aid classes, in case something like this ever happened, and he had emergency services dialed up before it even registered to him.

As the operator came online, Tenya found himself acting mechanically, trying to shut down everything but what was needed to help Toshinori. He told the operator what was going on, the address, everything that would help. Toshinori was breathing, which was good. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. But it was still bad.

When the ambulance arrived, the EMTs rushing up the stairs, Tenya stood to the side, numb. Everything had been going so right. Why did this have to happen?

Why?

Chapter Text

And here he was, standing in the cemetery. He knew it was bound to happen again, burying another loved one. It was just….why did it have to be so soon! Izuku wasn’t ready for this. How could he ever be ready for it? Burying Toshinori like it didn’t tear him up on the inside. Dammit. He had no one else left.

Izuku Midoriya looked at the grave before him. Toshinori Yagi , it said, followed with his date of birth and then death. He was a Hero to all , the epitaph read. Izuku kept staring at it, his mind and body completely numb. Suddenly, he felt like the scared boy back in middle school. Standing before a grey tombstone, tears rolling down his face as he realized he was being left alone in the world. And it was happening again. Toshinori, the man who became a father to him, the man who gave him a job, a life worth living, was gone.

“This is your fault,” Izuku muttered, looking up at the dark sky. It was completely pitch black, but he could still see clouds swirling above, forming an almost twisted face. “You hear me! IT’S YOUR FAULT! YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO TAKE HIM!” He felt the tears begin to pour down his face as he screamed at the sky. Thunder rumbled, like laughter, and the face grew larger and seemed to swirl down towards him. “YOU SON OF A BITCH! GIVE HIM BACK! GIVE HIM BACK RIGHT FUCKING NOW!” He had never felt as angry as he did now. Never felt as absolutely furious and broken as he felt now. But he didn’t care. The rage, the pain, they were flames burning him up inside but they were energy. He grabbed ahold of them and focused on that pain and rage. Let it fuel him. Even as he felt his knees crumble, even as he sunk to the ground crying, he didn’t stop screaming at the sky. It had been years since he felt that kind of rage and sadness.

Deku. Deku.

Who was calling him?

The sky began to swirl more and more and Izuku lost the will to keep screaming. He just kneeled there and sobbed painful, wracking sobs. “I just...why him? Why him? He didn’t do anything wrong to you! All he’s done is make the world better and you just take him? How is that fair?!” Thunder rumbled in the sky and Izuku felt rain began to fall. One drop, then another, and soon it was pouring. His hair was soaked and he could feel his clothes start to weigh down on him.

He felt so goddamn alone. Like back in middle school. One by one, everyone he loved was just taken away from him. As the rain kept falling, Izuku Midoriya just stayed there before the grave of his teacher and his friend.

Deku. Wake up.

That Evening

Izuku’s eyes opened up and it took him a bit to realize where he was. The bright lights, the clinical attempt to look comfortable. He was in the hospital, a waiting room. He groggily turned his head and saw Ochako looking at him with a small, worried smile. “You okay, Deku?” she asked. He smiled softly, looking into her soft brown eyes. The day had been an awful one but...God she made it better just by being there with him. As soon as he got the call from Tenya, he had let Ikko and Emi know the bookstore was closed for the day and had ran to the hospital first chance he got. When Ochako heard she came over immediately. Plenty of his friends had dropped by but Ochako had stayed by and waited with Izuku and Tenya.

For all of this shit, she made him smile. He was beyond lucky to have her in his life.

“Yeah I’m fine,” he said with a smile. She didn’t get any less worried, if anything she looked more concerned, and he knew she saw right through him. It hadn’t even been a day since they started dating and it already felt like she knew him inside and out. So he dropped the smile and just sighed. “I’m scared,” he said quietly. “It’s been hours and we still haven’t heard anything.”

She silently grabbed his hand and just smiled. He blushed slightly and he could see a faint pink coloring her cheeks as well, but it...he could handle this. It was comforting. “I know. It’s scary as all hell.” She squeezed his hand gently and reached over to gently pull his head down to her shoulder. “B-but, you’re not alone. No matter what, you’re not alone, Deku.”

He smiled softly and let her push his head down onto her shoulder. It was nice, he thought, to just be with her. She provided him with comfort and made him feel safe. “Thank you, Ochako,” he said, gently rubbing his head against her neck. She didn’t say anything in response, just squeezed his hand. The two sat like that for a while, just trying to breathe. It helped a lot, Izuku thought, to have someone else to just be there with him as he waited.

And then his stomach growled loudly and Izuku’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast and while he figured it was bound to happen sooner rather than later he had desperately hoped it wouldn’t come to light. Ochako looked at him and then she giggled, a soft smile on her face as she laughed. “Deku! Have you eaten today?”

“I, uh, no?” he answered, bracing himself. Her smile faded and she fixed him with what could best be described as a glare, lips drawn into a firm line.

“Deku. You need to eat.”

“But what if when I leave something happens? I should be here until we hear more about Toshinori!”

“No,” Ochako said firmly. “Even if we hear news do you really think you could talk to him if you’re starving?” She sighed. “How would Toshinori or your mom react if they heard you were doing this?”

Izuku smiled faintly. His mom would kill him if she found out he was purposely not eating, and Toshinori would just give him that look of disappointment before forcing him to go and eat. “I guess you’re right...but still, if something happens--”

“Then I’ll let you know.” Izuku glanced up to see Tenya walking in, holding a cup of coffee. His friend’s eyes were ringed with dark circles and he looked exhausted. Izuku knew that hospitals were painful for Tenya to be in. The memory of what happened to his brother was no doubt weighing on him, but Tenya still smiled at Izuku. “Honestly, Izuku, if I had known you hadn’t eaten I would’ve made you go and eat myself. You two should go and get some food. If anything happens, I’ll text you.” Izuku tried to think of something to protest but Tenya just fixed with him a hard gaze.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “I’ll go get food.” He sighed but stood up, Ochako standing up with him. Their hands were still entwined and Izuku enjoyed the feeling. He never knew that hands could be so soft and warm, but hers were. It was amazing.

“Come on, Deku,” Ochako said, dragging him off, “I think there was a sandwhich place nearby. We’ll grab something there.” Izuku chuckled and waved bye to Tenya as his girlfriend dragged him off.

Girlfriend. The word still felt funny in his head. He had never dated before, never thought he would date anyone before and now that he was, well, it was insane. Too much had happened to let him just relax and come to terms with the fact that, yes, Ochako Uraraka was his girlfriend and he was her boyfriend. And, despite the pain tugging at his heart and his intense worry for Toshinori, Izuku had never really felt happier. And, oh god, his mom would probably be over the moon if she heard. It was such a weird mix of feelings, the despair and worry and the joy and just love he felt. Or at least, it sure felt like love. He would probably have to hold off on that word for a little while. It was too soon to start saying that he loved her. Way too soon. They hadn’t even gone out yet and--

“Deku,” Ochako said with a tiny laugh as she squeezed his hand. He blinked and looked at her, realizing they were somehow already by the sandwhich shop. When had that happened? “You were mumbling, goof,” she teased, gently bopping his nose with her finger.

Oh. OH. His face went bright red and he prayed to whatever power there was up there that she hadn’t heard what he was mumbling. “Oh, s-s-sorry!” he stammered. He was now acutely aware of the people around him shooting them quick looks, which only made the blush worse. “A….a lot is on my mind.”

Ochako just smiled and nodded, as if she already knew that. She probably did, if he was being honest. “It’s okay, just thought I’d let you know. Besides, I didn’t mind.” She laughed a little. “I think it’s cute.”

Welp. Izuku Midoriya felt his heart beat faster at that. He was dating this girl and yet just saying she found something about him was cute was enough to almost cause him to pass out. He was weak. “I...thank you?” His voice was almost a squeak and he felt his limbs grow weak. She chuckled again and the two of them got into line at the small shop in the hospital. As expected, it was expensive, but not outrageously so. Izuku and Ochako ordered and before he could say anything, she paid for their food. He tried, he really did, but she just shot him a look that made him back down.

As the two waited for their food, just sitting at one of the small tables, Izuku noticed Ochako looking out the window, a forlorn look on her face. “I’m sorry,” he said. She turned to face him, a quizzical look on her face and Izuku looked at the table. The old darkness was up again. It had been lurking the whole time and it was as he sat and had time to think that he realized just how unworthy he was. The first day they were together and he was forcing his girlfriend, Ochako, this amazing girl, to spend the whole day with him at the hospital. “I’m not a very good boyfriend, huh? I, it is okay if you go home, you know? I mean being here isn’t exactly the best thing ever and you shouldn’t have to suffer just because of me and I--” He stopped as he felt her hand wrap around his and the other one gently lift his chin. He didn’t want her to see that he had tears in his eyes. Didn’t want her to see the absolute self-hate that was in his eyes, the darkness.

Her warm brown eyes greeted him, her pink, round cheeks. An adorably perfect smile. The two, cute strands of her hair that somehow always fell down to frame her face. “You don’t have to apologize, Deku.” Ochako smiled brighter, and Izuku knew that yeah, he loved this girl. “I know this is far from the ideal first day as a couple, but, who cares? We’re not the normal kind of couple, you know? Plus,” her smiled dimmed a little, and she squeezed his hand tight, “you could use someone. You were there for me when I felt down, sad and scared. You made things better and were there for me. So, I’ll always be here for you, Deku. That’s a promise.”

And here he thought the tears had vanished, but now they welled right back up. He smiled and squeezed her hand right back. “Thanks, Ochako,” he managed to stammer out while trying to hold back his tears. He then took a chance and leaned forward, just enough to plant a kiss on her cheek. His face was bright red but her cheeks became flushed as well and she looked even cuter. So it was totally worth it. “I’m glad you got my back and I’ve got yours.”

Their food arrived not too long after and they took it with them back to Tenya, hands still tightly entwined. The conflicting emotions within Izuku still raged, but he was used to it. Even if this day was one of the worst in history, it still had some pretty good moments in it. Some of the best.

“Yo, Izuku!” The boy in question blinked and then smiled when he saw Denki and Kyouka sitting next to Tenya. Eijirou was there as well, sitting across from the three. Denki waved and smiled a bit. Even with what was going on, the blond boy never seemed to get down. “Figured we’d stop by and say hi.”

“Katsuki had work,” Eijirou said with a small smile. The short-tempered blond boy had been in earlier, eerily quiet and somber. It had been disturbing but nice in a strange way. “So we figured we’d come in his stead. You guys could probably use some company.”

“Any news?” Kyouka asked, her normally bored expression replaced with one of worry.

“Not yet,” Tenya said with a small sigh and a smile. “They have not given us any predictions either. I don’t think they want to crush us or get our hopes up. But…” Tenya didn’t need to finish his sentence. Izuku and the others could tell what he was thinking; there was probably a good chance Toshinori wasn’t getting out of this alive.

Denki frowned and then shook his head. “I can’t believe the guy is just going to go out like that,” he grumbled. “It isn’t fair, you know? He’s always been nothing but a good dude when I’ve seen him.” He smiled a bit. “Do you remember back in junior year when he came to our class for a pep talk? Just called up Mr. Aizawa and said he was coming by.”

Eijirou chuckled. “Yeah, I remember. I think it was because he got worried about us for some reason.”

“Because it was midterms week,” Kyouka said with a small smile. She pointed at Izuku and he smiled, remembering the day. “You had mentioned about how stressed we all were to him and next thing you know, boom, Mr. Yagi was in our class giving us a pep talk. Even Katsuki was quiet that day.”

“Did he really do that?” Ochako asked.

Tenya nodded. “Izuku and I were the only ones who worked for him but the rest of the group had visited the store more than a few times.”

“He knew all of us by name,” Eijirou said. “Calling us stuff like ‘Young Kirishima’. He was the one who helped me find those old Crimson Riot comics. Noticed my hair and commented about how it reminded him of the hero. Next thing I know, the store starts stocking the comics.”

Izuku laughed, remembering the weekend he had walked in. Toshinori had been happily opening a delivery box to reveal nothing but old superhero comics. When asked about it, he had just shrugged and said ‘They fit the theme, don’t they?’. “He was super excited about them,” Izuku said. “I swear, he’s read all of them at some point or another.”

Kyouka shook her head smiling. “He also showed up to that goddamn awful concert we put on during the festival. Clapped and said it was the best show he’s seen in years.”

Ochako smiled and looked at Izuku with wide eyes. “Did he really? I….I keep thinking this, but I wish I had been in high school with you guys.”

“Oh, it was definitely an interesting time,” Eijirou said. “Mr. Yagi was there near the end to support us all, but the rest of the time felt like pure goddamn chaos. Our homeroom teacher was named Aizawa. Great guy but man was he terrifying when he wanted to be.”

“A lot happened,” Denki agreed. “Hookups, breakups, rivalries, the works!” Izuku’s smile grew bigger when he caught Ochako looking at him with a big smile. He had told her some of the escapades before and she mentioned hearing some stories from the girls, but it was cute to see her reaction in person. “Like, oh man, do you guys remember Neito?”

Kyouka laughed while Eijirou shook his head with a huge, teeth-baring grin. Even Tenya seemed amused by the memory. Izuku himself chuckled slightly and turned to Ochako. “Neito was a guy from one of the other classes our year. He was--”

“Completely insane,” Kyouka said. Ochako’s eyes widened and she gave Izuku a look of disbelief.

“I would say competitive,” Tenya suggested. “He had some obsession with us. Everyone else in his class was quite nice.”

“Hell yeah they were.” Eijirou’s grin widened a bit more. “Tetsutetsu and I are still tight. Though I haven’t seen him lately. We should have him and Itsuka over sometime.”

The conversation slowly shifted to what the others from their school were up to nowadays. Izuku ate his sandwhich while chiming in occasionally when he felt like he had something to add. Ochako seemed to just enjoy absorbing the stories and laughed pretty often. It was nice. He knew why they were doing it and why Denki and Eijirou were the ones to come by. They were here to distract Tenya and Izuku from the sadness that the others knew was plaguing them. And it was working. The two of them were always some of the cheeriest people in class, shy of Mina and Toru, and just being there made things better.

Time passed quickly and soon it was early evening, the five friends still waiting. Ochako had closed her eyes not too long ago and actually drifted off to sleep, her head on Izuku’s shoulder. His blush felt like fire and Eijirou’s huge grin was far from subtle in his approval. But he was at least somewhat relaxed; he had expected himself to remain as stiff as a board the entire time she rested on him. Kyouka and Denki were listening to music together, both of them subconsciously tapping out the beat on the arm rest between them. Tenya was reading, a thick looking book titled something or another Economics. Izuku didn’t really pay it much mind.

“Tenya Iida?” All four of the still awake friends turned to see a nurse, exhausted but smiling slightly. “Doctor Shuzenji sent me to get you and….Izuku Midoriya?”

Tenya bolted up to his feet and Izuku gently moved Ochako’s head off of him to get up. “Is there news about Mr. Yagi?” Tenya asked, anxiety riddling his voice.

Ochako opened her eyes and looked around with an exhausted look. “What’s going on?”

“Doctor sent a nurse for Tenya and me,” Izuku said gently.

“Mr. Yagi is awake,” the nurse said slowly. “He’s okay to take in visitors starting now but only a couple at a time. He’s still very weak and well, the doctor would like to talk to you both. He mentioned you two by name when he was fully awake.” Tenya and Izuku shared a look; in any other situation, they would’ve been flattered by that but now they were just worried. “If you want, I can lead you up to his room.”

“What about the--” Izuku started to say before Eijirou cut him off.

“Nah man, we’ll be fine,” he said with a grin. “Toshinori asked for you and Tenya. We can come up and visit him later.” His confidence was infectious and Izuku felt a little better. He turned and looked at Ochako who smiled and waved him on.

“Go see him, Deku,” she said, yawning after. Even her yawns were adorable. “We’ll be here when you’re done and with any luck, we can visit him after as well!” Denki flashed a thumbs-up in agreement and Kyouka gave a small smile. Izuku nodded and turned to the nurse.

“Let’s go you two,” he said with a tired smile. The three of them headed off towards the elevators and then went up.

The ride was quiet, and intensely uncomfortable. No one wanted to speak, it seemed. Izuku was terrified to talk about it with Tenya. Terrified that if he brought up the possibility that Toshinori was okay that it would just collapse. Away from the others, his confidence fell away.

Luckily, it didn’t take long for them to reach the floor and from there it was only a short walk to the room. The nurse grabbed the door handle and turned to give Tenya and Izuku a small smile. He seemed so tired, like the day had just taken everything out of him. “The doctor is inside with Mr. Yagi. She’ll explain everything.” With that he pushed open the door and let the two young men in.

Toshinori was laying in the bed, hooked up to a few machines. His chest was barely moving, but his eyes were open and immediately flickered over to Izuku and Tenya as they entered. He smiled, a sad, tired one, but a smile nonetheless. Next to him was the doctor, a small old woman with grey hair bound up in a bun. Tenya and Izuku had met her before, dealing with Toshinori’s illness. Chiyo Shuzenji gave the two of them a smile as well, but it looked like it took a lot out of her.

Tenya and Izuku stood frozen near the entrance for a second, before moving quickly forward, almost bursting into a run. Izuku could feel the weight lifting from his shoulders. Toshinori was alive. He was still alive. “Toshinori!” Izuku cried as they reached his bedside. “We were so worried.”

“Sorry to worry you, young Midoriya,” the older man said. He started coughing, an intense, wracking fit. “But, I’m glad the two of you are here. It’s fitting this happens with the two of you.”

“What do you mean?” Izuku asked, but he felt a pit in his stomach. He could see Tenya straighten besides him, a look of realization and...reluctant acceptance coming over his face. Izuku looked to Dr. Shuzenji, but she just sighed and looked at the floor, and then to Toshinori. His boss, his mentor, smiled sadly. “No.” That was all he could manage. All that could escape his mouth as he realized what was happening.

“Are you sure?” Tenya asked slowly.

“Honestly, I’m surprised it’s been this long,” Dr. Shuzenji said as she walked over to the other side of Toshinori’s bed. “But, we’ve done everything we can. The disease is taking its payment with interest, Toshinori, Tenya, Izuku.”

“Chiyo already explained everything to me,” Toshinori said. He closed his eyes and then looked up at the ceiling. “I’ve always known this would happen eventually. I was running on borrowed time as it was.” He turned back to Izuku and Tenya, a smile on his face and fire in his eyes. “I’m going to die today, young Midoriya and young Iida. And I could not have better company.” He coughed again, this one much worse. “It’s strange, you know? Before I met you two, before you two entered that bookstore of mine, I had almost given up. I had done everything, in my eyes, I had set out to do in life. I would’ve been content with this illness of mine taking me out of this life.” Izuku watched, stunned, as Toshinori talked so candidly about his death. He wanted to yell, to scream that they still needed him. Would always need him. But he could only stand there and listen, tears beginning to fall down his face.

“And then you walked in. The two of you, so young and yet so….so passionate. As you worked for me, as I got to know you both, I realized I was far from finished in life. You two, you were worthy successors. Worth living for. So I pushed on, helping you in any way I could because you had helped me more than you ever could.” He sighed, settling into the bed with a content smile, before turning to Tenya. “Young Iida, you have such passion within you. Such drive. From the day I met you I knew you were going to do great things. You pushed the bookstore beyond what I thought possible. I know this isn’t ideal, and I know this may be selfish of me. I do not meant to hurt you, young Iida. But, can I trust you to keep running and growing Plus Ultra Books alongside young Midoriya?”

Tenya sniffed and Izuku could see him crying as well. But his friend smiled and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Yagi. We’ll keep it going! We’ll make it something great enough to honor you and everything you’ve done for us, for everyone.” Tenya’s voice broke part way through his speech but he kept going, head held high even as he cried.

Toshinori nodded and looked to Izuku. “And young Midoriya, can I trust you to keep writing? Your writing is truly something wonderful. You may not always know it, and i know how painful it has been for you to write and to love it.” His smile grew a bit wider, a bit softer. “I know the pain you’ve been through, young Midoriya, but you have grown so much. The friends around you, including young Uraraka, have helped you grow just as you have helped them as well. So, please, young Midoriya, can you promise me you’ll continue writing? You’ll continue that push for your dream?”

Izuku could barely speak. The tears were pouring down his face and everything seemed to just hurt . But he felt that spark of light, of happiness and hope, that had first come to life when he met Toshinori. So, even though it was painful, Izuku nodded. “I promise, Toshinori. I promise I won’t give it up.” He didn’t care how his voice cracked, or that he could barely meet Toshinori’s eyes. He promised it, and that was what mattered.

“Good.” Toshinori’s eyes closed and he sighed one last time. “I’ve already written you two into my will, long ago. I….I’m sorry, my boys,” he said, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I wish I would never have to leave you, but you’re strong. You two can do this without me. Good luck, and don’t forget,” his voice was growing softer, weaker, and his breathing slowed and slowed as he spoke, “to go beyond. Go Plus Ultra.”

Izuku didn’t have to hear the beep of the heart monitor. He knew, as Toshinori spoke, that his mentor was gone. Toshinori Yagi, the man the world knew as T. Shimura, creator of All Might, died smiling.

And Izuku never felt weaker.

Chapter Text

Toshinori Yagi’s funeral had been a simple affair. No one knew, truly knew, that the man who died in the hospital room that day was the the famous creator of All Might. He had no next of kin, but his lawyer, in talking to Tenya and Deku before the funeral, revealed Toshinori had set them up as his heirs, for all intents and purposes. The All Might name and franchise belonged to them, as did Plus Ultra books.

With the fact that they were his heirs, Tenya took it upon himself to take over the arrangements for the funeral. It was just a few people, the employees at the bookstore, Shoto, Chiyo Shuzenji, and Toshinori’s old friend and editor Naomasa Tsukauchi. Ochako went as well, invited by Deku. He had asked her, in a quiet, broken voice, to come with him. He didn’t seem like he could handle the pressure of going without her. After seeing him the day Toshinori died, the heartbreak that etched itself into him, Ochako couldn’t say no. She wouldn’t let him face that alone. So she went.

It was simple and close. Tenya, Naomasa, Chiyo, and Deku all gave speeches talking about Toshinori, the man he was, and what he meant to the world as a whole. Tenya barely got through his before he began to cry, but the smile on his face never left. Naomasa managed better, joking about the days he spent in high school with the famous author. Even Chiyo managed to be upbeat and praised Toshinori’s strength and resolve. When Deku took the stage, Ochako was scared for him. He had barely talked in the days since his mentor’s death.

But when he took the stage, he smiled. It was shaky, and weak, and tears were already welling up in his eyes. But he smiled. His speech was short, but heartfelt. “Toshinori Yagi,” he had begun, “was the greatest man I had ever met in my life, maybe ever will. He took in a young, scared, hurting boy, and helped him see his own worth and talent. His store became a second home to many, and his advice helped us all so much.” His voice was shaky, and Ochako saw the tears coming down his face. But the smile never left his face. “I used to admire him as T. Shimura, author of the All Might books, a writer who brought joy to many. But, meeting him and getting to know him as Toshinori Yagi, I now see why he could write those books. He was, in so many ways, a hero. He may never know it, and if I had told him he would have just laughed it off, but Toshinori Yagi was a hero. And may he rest in peace.” After that, Deku came back to his seat, slumped over, eyes distant. He managed a small shaky smile to Ochako, but then, it was like he was gone.

That had been over week ago.

After that, Deku had locked himself in his room, only appearing for a few minutes at a time. Whenever he did appear, he barely talked, just grabbed food and locked himself back up. Ochako had barely seen him in the time since the funeral, and even her texts and calls went unanswered. She was terrified for him. And so here she stood, in front of the door to his, Shoto’s, and Tenya’s apartment. She had been in the apartment several times over the last week, always spending time at Deku’s door. About four days in though, she had begun to lose hope. And yet, she was still here. She took a deep breath and almost laughed at herself. Her dad had always joked that she didn’t know how to quit, but after high school she thought that part of her had vanished. Looks like Deku brought it back full force.

She raised her hand and gently rapped on the door. A few seconds later, it swung open and a tired looking Shoto smiled at her. “Figured it’d be you,” he said as a way of greeting, stepping into the apartment and leaving the door open. “Still no change, but you’re welcome to try.”

“Thanks, Shoto,” she said as she closed the door behind her. “I…” Shoto looked up and gave her a small smile again.

“I’m worried about him, too,” he said softly. “Problem is, he knows that. Causes him to hate himself for making us worry, which just makes things worse. Doesn’t help a whole lot, but we gotta keep trying, huh?”

Ochako nodded and walked over to the closed door of her boyfriend. She gently knocked on it and waited. As always, there was no sound from within. “Deku?” she called out softly. “It’s me, Ochako. Can I talk to you?”

Nothing for a few moments, and Ochako gently leaned her head against the door. She was really out of her element with this kind of stuff. Dealing with her own emotional baggage had been hard enough, and she barely knew how to handle that. Still didn’t, if she was honest. But, dealing with another’s… she wanted to help him, really wanted to, but she just didn’t know how to go about it. Then again, why let that stop her? “Deku, if you want to talk I’m here. I… I can’t say I know what you’re going through,” she said gently. “But, I’m still here if you wanna talk. I know it’s hard, that I know, but it does help sometimes. So, please.” Nothing come from within, and Ochako sighed, but forced herself to smile for herself. “Okay, that’s okay, Deku. Just...you know I love you, right?”

Her eyes went utterly wide as she said that and her cheeks flared pink. That had not been a part of the plan! Dammit, Ochako! , she thought. You probably made it worse! But, then she heard something move in the room. Her phone buzzed a moment later, and when she checked it, there was a message from Deku. I love you, too.

That was it. But, Ochako thought, it was something. She smiled and gently knocked on the door again. “I’ll be back soon, Deku. I won’t stop until you come out.” There was no response, but hey, she already got something out of him. For now that would have to do. She wasn’t satisfied by far, but she knew just how hard it was to crawl out of a shell. Any victory counted.

Ochako headed back into the main room of the apartment, finding Shoto on the couch reading. He put the book down as she walked in and gave her a small smile. “Well, any luck?”

“He texted me,” she said, taking a seat in a nearby chair. “So, something.”

Shoto nodded and watched her carefully. Ochako did her best to hide both her disappointment in her own ineffectiveness and her sadness over her boyfriend’s slump. “He’ll come out of it, you know,” Shoto said quietly. Ochako looked up at the strange-haired boy who turned to look down the hall at Deku’s door. “Izuku, for as long as I’ve known him, has probably always been depressed. I’m sure you know, but it’s hard to see that kind of stuff until big moments like this happen.” He sighed. “Hard to do stuff to help, too.”

“This isn’t the first time he’s had a slump?” Ochako asked quietly. Shoto shook his head.

“From what he’s told me, no. It was before we met, in middle school, but his dad died. Izuku said it hit him hard, crushed him. His dad had been a huge supporter of his writing. A lot like his mom, was how Izuku described him. So losing him must have hurt, a lot more than I can imagine. Izuku was in a slump all of middle school, coupled with some other problems he never went into.” Shoto sighed heavily. “The poor guy’s had a rough life. I think high school might have been one of the first really happy times in his life, and let’s be honest with ourselves, that is messed up.”

Ochako frowned and nodded sadly. Her own high school experience had been miserable but she remembered Izuku hinting at troubles before high school. “Do you know what happened to him? What...helped him?”

Shoto opened his mouth and then closed it, getting up and walking into the kitchen. “We might be here awhile,” he said, “so I figured I’d make some tea. You want any?”

“Oh, sure. Chai if you have it.” Shoto nodded and got two mugs ready and turned the water on before returning to his seat on the couch.

“So, what helped Izuku out?” Shoto leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. “He said it was a book. Or, rather, a lot of books. That year, during his slump, he found out about All Might. When he told me the story years later, he joked that he devoured all of the books in a single week. He said that reading them….helped him out. Taught him joy again, or something like that. He wasn’t super clear about what the books did, but well,” Shoto smiled at Ochako. “You’ve read them, right? I’m sure you can imagine.”

She could. The books probably didn’t teach him joy again, but they probably gave him hope. Something about them, about the story of the Symbol of Peace, just gave the reader hope. When she first read them, years ago, she had found herself laughing and smiling more than she had for a while. They had just a power to them, and she could see how they helped Deku snap out of his funk. “It’s a shame that won’t work this time,” she said quietly. “They’ll probably just remind him of his pain.”

“Possibly, but he’s a tough guy. Tougher than I think anyone really knows.” Shoto smiled, a little sadly this time. “He’s helped out so many people, it sucks that we can’t do much for him right now, but I guess that’s life, huh?”

Ochako let out a bitter little laugh and shook her head as the kettle begin to boil. Shoto got up and turned it off, and then prepared the tea as she sat there. “He helped me out, too,” she said softly. “It’s...It’s part of why I like him so much. That heart, the way he just helps without really trying to.”

Shoto set the mugs down on the coffee table and nodded. “I get that. Honestly, he’s been like that since we first met. Though, with me, he had to try a bit harder.” Ochako reached for her mug and then paused, looking up at Shoto.

“He...he punched you, right?” Shoto raised an eyebrow at that and Ochako flushed a little. “Sorry if you don’t like to remember it, but it’s what I heard from the others.”

“It’s fine,” Shoto said with a laugh. “I’m guessing Izuku never explained it to you, or else you wouldn’t worry so much about it.” He chuckled again. “Well, we got time if you want to hear it.”

Ochako was a bit surprised by that; why would he want to talk about getting punched in the face by one of his closest friends. But she would be lying if she wasn’t incredibly curious. “I uh, sure!”

“Well, let’s see how to start this off,” Shoto said with a small smile.

Freshman Year of High School

Shoto Todoroki didn’t get why his classmates tried so hard. If he had to put money on it, he would guess that even today, after school, they would be studying their asses off, pushing themselves hard to get better and to do better. Mr. Aizawa made the classroom competitive, and everyone bought into it. Shoto didn’t see the point.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He saw the point for them. But not for himself. His father was watching, always watching. He expected Shoto, his heir -- Shoto tightened his fist at that thought-- to be nothing less than perfect. For years, Shoto had been terrified to disappoint. But now in high school, he saw his chance. He wouldn’t fail or drop out, as tempting as that was to spite his father. God, becoming a drop-out would infuriate father, and the sheer thought of his rage made it tempting. But no, instead he just went middle of the road. If he failed, his father….no, Shoto corrected himself, Enji, would almost certainly beat him. Shoto had to make it to college at the very least. But if he was perfectly average, then the top schools would never accept him. Enji would be pissed, seeing all his hard work go to waste. It suited him, Shoto thought bitterly. Fuck that man. Fuck what he did to Shoto, to Shoto’s mom. His life, raising Shoto to be his heir, would be nothing but a waste.

Soon, Shoto would be free from his father. But first, he had just had to ruin this for him.

And so, Shoto Todoroki left class, bag on his shoulders. He was not looking forward to returning to his father’s house. Enji was usually out until late in the evening, but when he got back, he demanded to see Shoto. Fuyumi was the only other one in the house, and though she tried, she couldn’t really help Shoto. She didn’t understand what it was like. What it felt like to have his father, this monster, pressure him so much. To feel so responsible to what happened to his mother. She could never know or understand.

The weather was oddly cool for June, and the sky was dark. Shoto wondered briefly if it was going to storm, only for his thoughts to be interrupted by someone yelling his name from behind him. He stopped, and turned around. A short, messy green-haired boy ran up to him. His tie was too short and his backpack seemed too big for him. It took Shoto a second to recognize the boy as Izuku Midoriya, one of the kids from his class.

He stood there for a few seconds as Izuku caught his breath, curious what the boy wanted but also annoyed at him for stopping him from walking home. After a bit more time passed, he coldly asked, “What do you want?”

Izuku looked up at him with surprise and his fingers fidgeted for a moment, until he clenched them tight into a fist. “I wanted to talk to you, just for a second, Shoto.”

“Well, you are. You have.” Shoto turned to go but Izuku grabbed his sleeve and looked up at him. His green eyes were hard and aflame with determination. Shoto sighed and turned back to face his classmate, arms at his side. “Say it then. Just hurry up.”

“Why are you holding yourself back?”

Shoto froze for a second. The question was asked with heat, passion, and what almost sounded like rage. Izuku seemed pissed that Shoto was holding himself back, and more importantly, how did he know that? “What do you mean?” he asked, keeping his voice even. Why did this bother him so much?

“You’re holding yourself back. Why?” Izuku clenched his fists again, not looking away from Shoto’s eyes. “Everyone else in the class is giving it their all and you’re not even trying.”

“Maybe I’m just not a good student,” Shoto said cooly. “For all you know, I am trying my best.”

“You got in by recommendation,” Izuku pointed out. “Someone thought you were smart enough for this school!”

Shoto laughed. “Ever heard of money?” he asked bitterly. “My old man is rich, he just put me in.”

“Don’t lie to me.” Though he said it quietly, Shoto could still feel the heat in Izuku’s voice. “I know you’re smarter than that, Shoto! You got in on recommendation and you carry yourself with too much ease. You’re not just some average student! So why the hell are you holding yourself back? Everyone else in the class is doing their best and all you’re doing is disrespecting them by holding yourself back!”

“Shut up,” Shoto growled. Izuku’s eyes widened at his tone, and he actually took a step back. “You. You don’t know a thing about me. Sure, maybe I’m holding myself back, but I have to.” Shoto took a step forward and got close to Izuku’s face. He felt enraged, and wasn’t entirely sure why. He knew the others in the class were trying hard, he watched them. But that didn’t mean he was disrespecting them by slacking. That had nothing to do with him! “I can’t let that fucking bastard get what he wants after treating me this way. I won’t give my old man the pleasure.”

“Your… your dad?” Izuku asked. His eyes widened more. “You’re doing this just to spite your dad?”

Shoto chuckled. Rage and frustration and emotions he didn’t know he carried were bubbling up to the surface. “Yes. That bastard wants me to be his heir, the smartest student to get into the best university and then the best law school. I won’t give him the satisfaction. I’m his life’s work. But after what he did to me, to my mom , I’m going to make sure that work was for nothing. So, there, that’s why. Now leave me alone.” Izuku opened and closed his mouth like a dying fish as Shoto turned and started walking away, his breathing harsh. He didn’t know why he just let that pour out, but he couldn’t stop himself. As he thought about it he just got angry and then, it was all coming out. But...now Izuku knew. And maybe he could finally leave him alone.

“Shoto Todoroki!” Izuku was yelling his name again. Shoto sighed and turned around, only to watch Izuku run up to him, eyes ablaze with fury. “YOU’RE NOT HIM!” And then, the kid’s fist slammed into Shoto’s nose.

There was a crack and then Shoto was on the ground. The pain he almost didn’t feel, rather he was just shocked. Izuku Midoriya, a boy he had pegged as quiet and shy, had punched him in the face. He raised a hand to his nose, hissing in pain. He could feel warm blood trickling down; his nose was broken. Izuku stood in front of him, holding his right hand in his left. His thumb looked swollen, like he had punched wrong and ended up hurting himself.

“What the hell?” Shoto breathed. He could see students gathered near the school entrance, watching the exchange between them. They probably expected him to get up and punch Izuku. He… he didn’t even feel angry though. Just surprised.

“You’re not him,” Izuku repeated, quieter this time. Shoto snapped back to the boy who looked up to meet his eyes, “and he’s not you. You are not your dad. What you do… it isn’t for him, it shouldn’t be for him. It should be for you.” Looking at him again, Shoto realized Izuku wasn’t really furious. He was… concerned, passionate, and determined. He had been worried.

“Wha-What are you talking about?” Shoto asked.

“Holding yourself back is only hurting you,” Izuku said. He breathed in deeply. “Shoto, you’re just ruining your own life for the sake of spiting your dad! You’re still letting him control you!”

Shoto inhaled sharply, his eyes widening. No. No, he couldn’t. He wasn’t! This was him getting back at his dad….right? Right? He felt despair set in and almost wanted to laugh. The kid was right. He was right. “I….I…”

Izuku smiled softly and offered a hand out to Shoto. “I know you’re angry at him. I’m sure you have you reasons, but, don’t let that or him rule over you. You want my opinion? To get back at him, live your own life. Do what you want, on your own merits.” Shoto let out a little chuckle and grabbed Izuku’s hand, letting the boy help him up.

“I’ll think about it,” he said quietly.

“What is going on here?” a quiet, almost deadly voice said. The two boys froze as Mr. Aizawa walked up to them. The perpetually exhausted teacher looked between them, taking note of Shoto’s nose and Izuku’s hand and sighed. “Shoto, do you need to go to the hospital?”

“No, sir,” Shoto said. “I can take care of it myself.” It wasn’t the first time he had broken a nose. Aizawa nodded and turned to face Izuku who squeaked.

“Izuku, come with me. You and I are going to have a talk.” Shoto stepped forward, opening his mouth to defend his friend when Aizawa shot him a glare. “Don’t worry, Shoto,” he said cooly. “I just want to get events straight. Now, head home and get that patched up.” Aizawa walked off and Izuku followed meekly behind, hanging his head. The other students seemed to finally animate and began to head their way, so Shoto took it as his cue to leave. He didn’t want to get swamped by people. Besides, his nose hurt. Fuyumi would annoy him about it, but that was something he could deal with.

That night, after Fuyumi helped take care of his nose-- it actually hadn’t been broken, but it still hurt-- Shoto sat in his room, tapping a pencil against his textbook. He couldn’t get Izuku’s words out of his head. Was the boy right? Shoto couldn’t really get the idea out of his head--what if he had just been wasting his time, wasting effort? He sighed. Dammit, he didn’t need this.

“Shoto.” Enji Todoroki’s baritone voice froze Shoto’s blood and then inflamed it with rage. He turned his head to see his father standing in the doorway. Broad with deep red hair and goatee, he cut an imposing figure. “I heard from Fuyumi you got hurt today.” Shoto resisted the urge to his nose from his father; the sooner Enji left, the better.

“It was just an accident,” Shoto lied, turning back to his desk. “I tripped and fell like an idiot.”

Enji grunted. “Hmm. Well, be careful; I don’t need you getting a concussion. And,” Shoto heard his father step forward, “if you got into a fight, however, cut. It. Out. No son of mine will be a delinquent.”

“Of course not, Father,” Shoto said, still facing his books. Enji grunted again and then walked out of Shoto’s room, his lecture apparently over. Shoto grimaced and stared down at his blank notebook. He had wanted to snark back, say something clever or cruel to just get back at his father. But, he couldn’t get Izuku’s words out of his head. Wasn’t that still letting his dad win? He sighed heavily and laid his head on his desk. He had a lot to think about.

The next day, after class, Shoto walked up to Izuku before leaving the room. The whole classroom had been tense the entire day, and he caught whispers about what happened between him and Izuku. They didn’t really bother him; gossip would be gossip. He doubted anyone really got what happened.

“Izuku,” he said, his voice cool. He didn’t really want to sound shaky or emotional; it was better to act as stoic as possible he thought.

The shorter boy whirled around and practically fell apart looking up at Shoto. “Sh-Shoto! What are you doing here?”

“It’s my classroom, too,” he replied, raising an eyebrow. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Izuku looked around the classroom in a panic before he swallowed with an audible gulp. “Uh, sure! L-l-let’s go!”

The two walked out of the classroom, and Shoto could feel the eyes of everyone on him. It didn’t bother him, but Izuku next to him looked like he was going to faint. They walked off down the hall, and Shoto could feel Izuku practically vibrating with anxiety. Finally, they reached the end of the hall and Shoto leaned against the wall. “Thank you,” he said after a moment. Izuku froze and Shoto forced himself to smile gently.

“Thank...me?” Izuku said slowly.

“Mmhm.” Shoto let out a breath and leaned his head back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. “I thought about what you said last night. How I was still letting my dad rule me. And I...I couldn’t see how you were wrong. I kept trying to find a way to convince myself you were wrong. But I couldn’t. No matter how I thought about it, my dad was still ruling my life.” He shook his head and looked back down at Izuku. “You made me realize that just sabotaging myself wasn’t the way to go. So thank you.”

Izuku visibly relaxed and let out a weak chuckle. “Oh...well, I’m glad I could help.”

“Why though?” Shoto asked, fixing Izuku with a stare. “Why did you care?”

The green-haired boy thought for a moment. “Because I could see everyone else trying their best,” he said. “Everyone is here because they want to do their best and be better in life. Even those who aren’t as talented are still trying. Seeing you just wasting your talents, it kind of annoyed me. But, I guess, it also felt like you were looking down on all of us. And then, when you talked about your dad, something just clicked in me.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t just turn away from you. You seemed like you were in so much pain. Like you just needed someone to help you out, even a little.”

Shoto laughed, he couldn’t help it. Here he was, wrapped up in his own life and his own problems, and so was Izuku no doubt. And yet, the kid cared enough to try and help him. Not only that, but he cared enough for everyone else in the class to stand up to him. He shook his head, still smiling. “I can’t believe it. You know, though, you didn’t have to punch me.”

Izuku laughed at that and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I know… I just got passionate and caught up in the moment. My bad. I hope it didn’t hurt too badly.”

“It’s fine,” Shoto said, waving a hand. He then looked up at the ceiling again, overcome with nervousness. “I...I can’t guarantee you anything, Izuku,” he said softly, “but I’ll give your advice a try.”

“All you can do,” Izuku said cheerily. “Just trying living for yourself for once, and then we’ll see what happens.” He turned to go but turned back. “By the way, Tenya and I were about to get tea...would you wanna join us? Having some friends would be a good start to living your own life.”

Shoto stared at Izuku for a second, and then nodded. He had never really hung out with people his age before but...well it would be living his own life, wouldn’t it? “Sure,” he said, walking after Izuku. “As long as neither of us speak of the punch again.”

“Deal,” Izuku said with a laugh.

Present Time

Ochako smiled and shook her head. “That was why? Seriously?”

Shoto nodded, a small smile on his face. It was hard for Ochako to reconcile the Shoto in front of her with the cold one in the story, but she believed it. “That was why. I still laugh about it sometimes. Izuku got so caught up in his emotions, his worry, that he just lashed out. God, the look on his face after when my nose was bleeding was priceless. He looked like he had just murdered me.” Shoto chuckled. Even when he looked behind Ochako, no doubt to Deku’s door, he seemed happy. “That’s why I want to help him. He helped save me. It took a while, like that entire year and beyond, but he helped rescue me from a destructive path. And so, now, I want to help the guy.”

“He sounds like some kind of hero,” Ochako said softly. “I mean, he could’ve gotten into trouble for that.”

“Aizawa I think picked up on it,” Shoto said. “Izuku never mentioned anything about trouble. But yeah, he is, isn’t he? A green-haired, dorky hero.”

“If only he can see that, too,” she said.

“It would probably help some,” Shoto admitted. He got up and grabbed their empty mugs to bring into the kitchen. “He gets so down on himself, downplaying everything he’s done. It’s been better since you two started working o the book, but well, still.” Shoto sighed but still offered Ochako a weary smile. “Tenya and I will keep trying. Thanks for coming by, Ochako.”

She nodded, upset and frustrated at herself a bit. The story was sweet, and reminded her of why she loved Deku as much as she did, but the fact that she didn’t know how to help bothered her a lot. More than she cared to admit. “Thanks, Shoto,” she said, getting up and walking to the door. “I think I’m going to head home for now, but text me if anything happens.”

“You’ll be the first to know,” Shoto said with a smile. “Have a nice night, Ochako.”

As she walked down the stairs of the apartment building, Ochako though about Deku. There had to be some way she could help him like he helped her and Shoto and, she was sure, so many others. She couldn’t think of a lot of ways; it was hard when she couldn’t talk to him face-to-face like he had with her.

She paused when she reached the bottom, an idea forming in her head. Shoto had given it to her, inadvertently, by mentioning the book. Maybe she could help show Deku he was her hero after all.

Six Days Later

Izuku didn’t feel like getting up again that day. Not that he had for most of the days since….since it happened. He would get up only to shower and then he would go right back to his room. Shoto and Tenya brought him food, which he was thankful for, but he felt awful for it too. Knowing that they were worrying and still caring for him. He didn’t deserve good friends like them. All he was doing was being a drain on them, worrying them and making them work harder. Tenya especially, he was probably dying trying to run the bookstore after everything that happened.

And yet, Izuku couldn’t find the energy to move. All he could do is lay in his bed and wallow. He didn’t even feel like crying; he cried enough the first few days. It just felt like he failed everyone he met. Toshinori… he couldn’t do a thing. Toshinori expected such great things out of him, but how could he rise to meet those challenges? He was nothing but a failure. He couldn’t even handle Toshinori’s death without collapsing. It was just like when his dad died. He knew he should move, try to get better, but he couldn’t. All he could do was disappoint the dead, over and over again.

Then there was Ochako. God, thinking about her tore him up. He loved her, he really did. And yet, how could he face her? How on earth could she still love him after seeing him fall apart like this? He was weak, and pathetic, and she deserved so much better. Yet even thinking about that killed him a little inside. She… deep down, he knew she still cared for him. He still remembered her words. Her voice gently saying I love you . Izuku had replayed that over and over again in his head. It helped, a little, but it also made him feel worse in a weird, paradoxical fashion.

Plus, she hadn’t been back. He had scared her off. Or maybe she had just realized he wasn’t worth her time and love. He sighed and buried himself into his covers. Even reading his old All Might books hadn’t helped. Just reminded him of the pain of losing Toshinori.

His phone buzzed gently next to him, and he looked over at it. His mom had been texting him nonstop since the funeral. She… he was killing her too. He remembered after his dad died how broken she had been, but she had still tried to help him feel better. That had been both one of the moments in his life where he felt the most loved, and the lowest. He did his best to put on a front to her now, but he knew she saw right through it. That also tore him up, but he didn’t know what else to do. She had more important things to worry about than him.

He grabbed his phone and checked the message. His eyes went wide as he saw it was from Ochako.

Deku, I’m outside right now. I have something for you. Mind if I slide it under the door?

Was...no she wasn’t breaking up with him, right? If she was, she would just do it via text. But… maybe a note would be better? But also, Ochako didn’t seem like that kind of girl….Deku sighed and rubbed his head, trying to think clearly. It was hard, with the darkness weighing down and his heart pounding. So he just reacted with his gut.

Slip it under.

A second later his phone buzzed.

Here you go. Hope you like it, Deku. <3

His cheeks flushed at that and he turned to see a thin folder slide into his room. He forced himself out of bed, his body protesting at the action as if it was the hardest thing in the world, and padded over to the folder. He carried it over to his desk and sat down, blanket wrapped around him. Turning on the desk lamp, hs squinted against the bright lamp as his eyes adjusted. The folder was unadorned and so he just opened it. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at the page before him.

It was him, the version of him that Ochako had drawn before, but more fully realized. His eyes were so bright and his curly, messy hair, somehow seemed to fit him. He was smiling broadly and besides him...was All Might. A version of All Might in armor and carrying a massive sword, but the hero was completely recognizable. The bottom of the page was captioned “Deku and Sir All Might, his Mentor”.

He turned the page, already feeling tears welling up. The next picture was similar, but All Might was thinner, almost ragged looking. He….he looked just like Toshinori. But that fire was still there, and the man had a hand on Deku’s head, grinning broadly. Deku was smiling just as broadly, and holding up a short sword with teal sparks dancing on its surface. Izuku smiled softly, looking at the art. It felt so Ochako, the brightness and the cheer that he loved about her. This one was captioned “Deku, taking on Sir Yagi’s Mantle”.

The next picture was of Deku, battered, bruised, kneeling against a rocky terrain. His short sword was planted into the ground. His clothes were torn and it was clear he was bleeding. A terrifying shadow stretched across the ground before him, but Izuku could still see in Deku’s eyes raw determination, a fiery light that would not go out. “Deku, pressed to his limits” the caption read. Was….was that how Ochako saw him? Someone who didn’t give up even when pressed to his limits. His smile grew slightly bigger and he could feel a tear roll down his cheek. Dammit, he thought. This girl is too good.

Izuku didn’t know what to expect from the next picture, but as he turned the page, he found himself excited. And it did not disappoint.

Deku stood in the same rocky field, but he was glowing. Teal light, fire almost, danced around him in the air, on the ground, and he had a cocky smile. His eyes were glowing, and the light seemed to chase away the shadows. His sword was held above his head, and behind him….behind him was a rainbow of light. Green, blue, purple, red, all of that spilled out from behind Deku like an aura, But gold rose up from it all, and it took on the form of...All Might. A golden, fiery version of Ochako’s fantasy All Might, wielding a greatsword, in the same pose as Deku. As if he came from Deku, as if the power was Deku’s. The caption was simple, “Deku the Hero Rises Up”.

Tears fell as Izuku looked at the picture. This was how she saw him, huh? A hero. Just looking at the picture helped banish the dark thoughts away. It was like that a lot with his episodes; one small thing could make everything better just as one thing could set it all off. And seeing these pictures made him feel better. That girl, she was something else.

Beneath the drawing, he found a note.

Hey, Deku, it began. I know that you’re going through rough times. This isn’t me writing to berate you or to tell you to talk to me. I mean, if you want to talk I’m happy to listen! But, I guess, what I wanted to say, was how much you meant to me. I care a lot about you, and while I know you’re hurting, I’m always here if you need someone to talk to or just vent to. I’m here for you, Deku. I hope I helped a little. Feel better, okay? Love, Ochako.

He got up on shaky legs, smiling. Tears still fell down his cheeks but he wiped them away; he didn’t want to ruin the pictures or the note. It had been a long time since he cared about people seeing him cry. Izuku walked over to his bedroom door and opened it to find Ochako. She looked a bit worried, her index fingers pressed together tip-to-tip. When she saw him though, she smiled. It wasn’t one of her huge grins, but it was a small, sweet smile. He was sure he looked awful, but he didn’t care. Seeing that smile made him smile too.

“Thank you,” he said softly. Ochako didn’t say much, but she reached out and gently took his hands in hers.

“Nothing to thank me for, Deku,” she said. “I told you. I’m here for you.”

Izuku smiled again and gently leaned forward. His head met hers and he stayed like that for a moment or two. Just, enjoying it. “I… It’ll still take a bit of time for me to be fully normal again,” he said slowly.

“I wasn’t expecting a miracle cure,” Ochako said with a small giggle. Her talking felt funny with his head against hers and it made him chuckle himself. “But, hey, you’re starting to feel better. That’s good news right there.”

“Yeah, I guess it is, huh?”

Ochako gently stepped back, still holding his hands. “I have to go to work soon,” she said, “but, text me, okay? Anytime you wanna hang out, I’m there, even if it’s just in your room.”

Izuku nodded, a surely dumb smile on his face. “I would like that. Now go work, you goof.”

“One last thing,” Ochako said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She stepped forward, fast, and gave Izuku a kiss on his lips. Just a quick, soft, lovely, amazingly perfect kiss that caused his knees to grow weak and his face to warm up to the surface of the sun. “Something to remember me by,” she teased. “Bye!”

Then, she left, and Izuku stood in the hallway staring after her, dumbstruck and still warm. God, he loved that girl.

“First kiss, huh?” Shoto said from the living room. Izuku jumped and turned to see his friend lounging on the couch with a book. He wasn’t even looking up, but still smirked. “Yeah, I was like that when Momo and I kissed. Though, I was the one who kissed her.”

Izuku sputtered for a moment before chuckling. “Shut up, Shoto,” he said. “You can’t judge.”

“Just did,” his roommate said. Shoto looked up from his book, his smile warmer and more genuine. “Good to have you back, Izuku.”

“It’s good to be back,” Izuku said softly.

He walked back into his room, turning on the lights to face the walls and shelves of All Might merchandise. It was hard, and it caused the darkness to rise up. But, he looked at the drawings Ochako gave him. “All Might’s mantle,” he said softly. “Toshinori had given us the rights to it, I guess. I suppose...I guess he really did pass his mantle on.” He took a deep breath and looked at one of the framed pictures on his desk. It was him, Toshinori, and Tenya inside Plus Ultra, smiling and posing. Toshinori was even giving peace signs. The past has ended, but that didn’t mean the present had to as well, or the future. “I’ll live up to your legacy.”

And then Izuku Midoriya decided, step one of that was to get changed into actual clothes. Small steps.

Chapter Text

Izuku couldn’t sit still. He had too much energy to simply sit still and wait to hear back from Ochako. Nope, he couldn’t do it. Izuku Midoriya was about ready to explode if he didn’t hear back soon. The incessant finger tapping against the coffee table and foot tapping the floor was just a way for him to slowly release that energy. It was necessary, obviously. Definitely not a sign of complete and utter anxiety. So what if his heart felt like some kind of motor for a racecar, just pumping faster and faster without stop? That didn’t prove anything, at all.

“Izuku?” The green-haired boy jumped and squeaked at the sound of his name being called, the phone in his hand being thrown up into the air. He fumbled with it as it came back down and managed to catch it, only to then turn slowly to see a bemused Tenya standing in the kitchen.

“Oh...uh, hey,” Izuku said, his face slowly warming as he realized what a nervous wreck he must seem like to Tenya. Only seem like though, he thought, because he obviously was not nervous at all. Nope. Not one little bit. He dropped his phone onto the table, as if pretending it wasn’t driving him crazy.

Tenya smiled slightly and shook his head. “You do know it’s only been about ten minutes since you texted her, right? Ochako’s phone is probably charging or on silent. She could be working on something.”

“I--I know that!” Izuku spluttered. “I uh….” Tenya gave him a look, raising one of his thin eyebrows and Izuku bowed his head. “It’s only been ten minutes? Really?”

“Honest,” Tenya said with a small chuckle. “It’s okay to be nervous.”

“I’m not!” Izuku said quickly, his head shooting up to give Tenya wide-eyed look. Only, he realized that made him look really nervous. And, if he was being honest, he was. “Okay, fine you got me. I just, I’ve never done this before. What if she says no?”

“You two are dating,” Tenya pointed out. “It’s pretty normal for couples to go on dates, and in case you forgot the events of last week, Ochako is pretty devoted to you. If I had to take a guess, I would say she would say yes a hundred times over.” Tenya shook his head with a smile. “Just breathe, Izuku. It’ll be fine.”

Izuku nodded quickly, trying to expel a bit more energy, before forcing himself to take deep breaths. He was okay, it was okay. Tenya was right, Ochako cared for him. She...she loved him. Even thinking about that caused his heart to thud heavily, but it also made him smile. He was incredibly lucky.

“Good,” Tenya said. “Calming down is a good idea. Makes you less sweaty. From what I remember about dating, sweaty palms were never exactly a good thing.”

“Tenya!” Izuku squeaked, resisting the urge to rub his palms against his pants. Oh god, they were probably so sweaty.

“I’m joking, Izuku,” Tenya said with a chuckle. “Though I realize that was probably not the best joke to make at the time, but, well, my bad.” Izuku chuckled weakly back and sank into the couch, waiting. He was glad Tenya was here with him. His roommate had been at the bookstore managing but had swung by during his lunch break to check up on Izuku. It had been a week since Ochako got him to come out of his room, but Shoto and Tenya had insisted on making sure someone was around at all times, to keep him company. Izuku appreciated the concern and the distractions from his own head they provided. It helped keep him from that dark place, as did the pictures Ochako had given him.

“It’s okay, Tenya. Bad jokes happen, besides, it was kinda funny.” Izuku chuckled again, this time a bit more seriously.

And then his phone buzzed and Izuku nearly fell onto the floor grabbing it. His whole body just jumped, like he was electrified. Frantically he checked it and saw a text from Ochako waiting for him. The world faded around him as Izuku slowly opened the text, unknowingly holding his breath as he read it.

Hey there Deku! It’s good to hear from ya, especially after the day I had. And I would love to go out, one hundred percent! When and what were you thinking?

Izuku released his breath and smiled, a huge dumb grin. Okay, things were okay. He thought for a moment, trying to find the perfect reply. Mentioning that he had spent the entire day yesterday just filling up a notebook page of possible date ideas was probably not really a good idea… he would have to pick the best ones.

For when, I’m happy with whenever you want but probably evening so it doesn’t conflict with work , he texted back. As for what, I have a few ideas. I was thinking that there was this crepe place not too far from the bookstore that Tenya says is really good and they have dinner stuff and there’s a park nearby and...um, I mean, wanna get dinner at that place? Even when texting his own thoughts tended to run out of control.

His phone buzzed a second later, and he saw Ochako sent a laughing emoji. That sounds great, Deku. <3. How about tomorrow night? Maybe I can meet you after you get off of work depending on the time? It is your first day back, right?

It was his first day back tomorrow. Tenya had insisted he take the week off even after he felt better, to make sure he could properly feel back to normal, without having to deal with the stress of working. The lack of structure didn’t help the recovery, but Izuku didn’t need stress either so he appreciated the time off. I get off at like seven tomorrow , Izuku replied, so if you’re okay with a later dinner that sounds good to me.

It’s a date! See ya then, Deku!

See ya then, Ochako . Izuku leaned back into the couch, smiling. It felt good to get that done with, better knowing that he was going to go out with Ochako on an actual date.

“All done?” Tenya asked with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s all good,” Izuku replied. “It’s more than good. I can’t wait.”

The Next Day

Ochako stood outside Plus Ultra, rubbing her hands together. Winter was slowly coming to an end, but the cold still gripped the city, determined to stay till the bitter end. Not that Ochako minded horribly; she was a bit of a fan of cold weather and the winter months were her favorite. But when winter should just learn to move on with its life? That started to annoy her.

Luckily, or unluckily, depending on how she looked at it, her mind was more preoccupied by other thoughts rather than the cold weather. She was waiting for Deku for their first date and she….god she was terrified. Not that he would stand her up or anything-- old her would’ve been terrified of that. No, that didn’t scare her anymore. She genuinely loved and trusted Deku and she knew that he felt the same, and what a feeling that was. No, instead she was terrified because this was her first date and how the hell were you supposed to behave on a date?! Was she supposed to hold his hand the entire time?! Were they supposed to hug when she first saw him? Oh god, what if they were supposed to kiss?! Could she kiss him? Well, yeah she already had but that was, that was different! Totally different. He was in trouble and there were so many emotions and so much was going on and it just happened.

Totally different.

The door opened and she looked up from her feet and felt a smile spread across her face as Deku walked out. He smiled right back at her, his eyes sparkling and his dark hair messy as it always was. “Deku!” she greeted, her nervousness not quite sliding away but more like burying itself further down. It didn’t matter, not really. He was here and that was the important part. Focus on the now.

He smiled right back at her and hurried over to stand by her. “Hey there Ochako! It’s good to see you!” Deku’s eyes widened and his whole face went red. “Wait, I uh, that’s not what I meant! I know how that sounds but I just meant that it’s always nice to see you!”

She laughed and shook her head. “Don’t worry, Deku! I know what you mean.” He smiled gratefully and then the two just sort of stood there, awkwardly. Ochako didn’t know what to do; she had never done this before and her indecisive was paralyzing her. She really, really did not want to mess this up.

Finally, Deku spoke up. “Uh, so you want to go to the place? It’s not too far of a walk...unless you changed your mind! That’s totally cool, too!”

“No, no!” Ochako shook her head and laughed a little. “I’m still super down for cr êpes, I’m just awkward. Let’s go!” Deku chuckled and the two began walking together. The cold wasn’t quite as bad with Deku around, Ochako noticed. However, it was a little awkward between them as they both walked. Ochako didn’t know what to do with her hands, or where to walk. Should she be near him or farther away? Ugh, she hated this awkwardness!

“Uh, Deku?”

“Hmm?” Deku turned to face her, his cheeks flushed.

“I just wanted to say sorry for being so awkward back there...and probably right now.” Her hands fiddled with her coat a bit as she talked and she tried to make sure she met his eyes. “I just, well, I know this is a first for both us but god I feel so unsure! Like about everything! Not about being here, with you, but just like, how does this work?”

Deku nodded and seemed to think about it for a moment. “I know what you’re saying,” he said, his voice shockingly steady for how red his cheeks were. “And trust me, I’m just as nervous as you are. But, maybe this is good? It let’s us decide what works and what doesn’t, let’s us test things out? If that makes sense? Does it?”

“It does,” she said softly before giving him a soft smile.”It’s like an adventure!”

“Yeah, an adventure we take together.” Deku smiled before he blushed again. “Wow that was sappy though!”

“It really was,” Ochako said, trying to hold back her giggles. “But it was also pretty cute, Deku. Thank you, for just being you.”

“Of course,” Deku said. The two continued to walk, the silence back but more comfortable. And then, as they walked, Ochako felt Deku’s hand gently grab hers. She returned the motion, letting his hand slide into hers and entwining her fingers with his.

It felt just right.

“Is this okay?” Deku asked softly.

“More than okay,” Ochako said, squeezing his hand.

“Good...I figured we should both at least try what we want and see what we like….And, I’ve, uh, I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now.”

He was adorable, and she let him know by pulling him in closer so she could lean against him, just for a moment. “Well, keep it up.”

Izuku looked at his girlfriend and couldn’t help but let himself feel a surge of affection, joy, pride, and love. She was dating him, him , and seemed completely happy being with him. It still blew his mind, but as they sat there, talking over their long-since gone crêpes. It felt so natural. They didn’t even focus on the book, which Izuku had been terrified was all they could easily talk about. No, they talked about everything under the sun, anything was fair game.

“You’re seriously trying to tell me that you think Codex of Alera is better than Mistborn ?” Ochako asked, laughter bubbling beneath her words. “Come on, Deku, there’s no way you honestly think that!”

“All I’m going to say is that Codex is about Roman legionnaires fighting wolfmen, yetis, and aliens with Pokemon. That is just awesome!” Izuku felt like his grin couldn’t get larger, and he never felt happier than he did now, arguing about fantasy books.

“Yeah, yeah, but awesome doesn’t make it better .” Ochako rolled her eyes, but her smile never faded. God, she was perfect. “ Mistborn had an amazing world and great characters and a fascinating villain!”

Izuku opened his mouth to continue to argue when the waitress came by and smiled at them both. He decided it was best to wait. “How was everything you guys?”

“Amazing!” Ochako said. Izuku nodded in agreement.

“Excellent! Would you guys like to see a dessert menu?” Izuku and Ochako shared a look and nodded.

“Yes, please,” they said together.

A few minutes later, and they looked at the delicious chocolate raspberry crêpe. “That looks soo good,” Ochako said, her voice practically moaning. “Oh my god, Deku, I can’t wait.”

“Then let’s go crazy,” Izuku said with a laugh. The two picked up their forks, grinned, and then tore into the dessert crêpe. Ochako groaned with delight as she bit into it and Izuku found himself strongly agreeing as he took his first bite. It didn’t take long before the rest of it was devoured, and the two young adults leaned back in their seats with satisfied grins.

“That was delicious,” Ochako groaned as she took a sip of her chai. “Remind me to thank Tenya for recommending this place.”

“Same.” Izuku smiled softly at her as she took another sip of her chai, just watching. Her contented smile, the way her eyes almost closed just before she took a sip of the latte, it was all just so cute and perfect.

“Deku.” He blinked and realized Ochako was watching him with a teasing grin on her face. “You were staring again.”

Oh. His face grew warm but he tried to laugh it off. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry.” Ochako leaned forward and gently took his hand in hers. “I don’t mind. Just thought you would be embarrassed if someone else caught you.” She gently rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb and Izuku smiled down at their hands, entwined. It felt natural in a way that most things had never really felt to him.

They stayed like that for a few more moments before gently letting go of each other’s hand, their faces red. There were people around and well, neither of them were quite ready for that. But it was still nice. Something to work on, Izuku thought. “I’ve been wondering something,” Izuku said as a thought crossed his mind. It was something he had been debating with himself while recuperating. “So, the book. Like we have most everyone sort of figured out so I’ve been thinking about how we’re going to tell them, you know?”

Ochako bit her lower lip and leaned back again. “Yeah, I’ve been wondering that too. Like, we have concept art and you’ve been planning how to handle them, but it’s not like we have the whole book written.”

“Probably better than we don’t, honestly,” Izuku said. “I mean imagine how sucky it would be to have this grand novel written, the art all done, and then Katsuki or someone is all like ‘Yeah, no, can’t use me’.” Izuku shook his head. “We need to win them over first. The only question is how.”

“Hmm, I got nothing,” Ochako said after a moment of thinking. “I mean, besides just asking them and explaining it to them all.”

“Yeah.” Izuku shrugged. “Well, I suppose that’s a problem for later. We should just enjoy the here and now huh?”

“That’s what I was thinking.” Ochako flashed him a dazzling smile. “Let’s just have some more fun while we can.”

After they finished dinner, Deku insisted on walking Ochako home. She had argued that she was fine, she was an adult too, but Deku refused to take no for an answer. At least she had stopped him from paying for dinner on all his own; honestly, she thought, that boy was determined.

Not that she minded, if she was being honest. Having him walk her home was honestly sweet and she enjoyed spending more time with him. Plus, both of them felt better holding hands while just walking than sitting; it was easier to hide and made them feel less self-conscious.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” Deku said softly as they approached her building. Ochako turned to look at him and found him smiling gently, just looking up at the sky. “I was super nervous but….it was really nice.”

She was tempted to tease him, just a little, about being nervous around her. But she couldn’t bring herself to ruin that smile. So, instead, she just squeezed his hand. “Yeah, I had a lot of fun, too, Deku. It’s always nice being with you, especially when it’s just us two.”

“Though we have to work on your taste in books,” Deku said with a completely serious tone. Ochako felt her jaw drop as he continued. “I mean, gosh, thinking that somehow Way of Kings isn’t the greatest book ever written is just a travesty.” He turned to face her, smirking, his green eyes twinkling.

“You asshole,” Ochako laughed, giving him a little shove with her shoulder. “You and I both know you liked the All Might books better, don’t you dare lie to me!” Deku laughed and the two of them continued to walk. They didn’t really talk much more, but it was fine. They didn’t need to.

Finally, they stopped in front of her building and Ochako felt a little nervous. She didn’t really know how one was supposed to end dates. Did she just wave and go inside? Hug him, kiss him? Could she kiss him? The thought of it kinda freaked her out but also made her all warm and fuzzy and she didn’t know which was more important.

“Thanks again for coming, Ochako,” Deku said, smiling. His cheeks were flushed and he seemed to know how awkward he sounded, but she didn’t mind. It was part of Deku. “I really had fun tonight.”

“Same here,” she said. “Sorry we didn’t go for a longer walk though.”

“It’s cold out, don’t worry.” Deku shuffled his feet and then looked up at her, before glancing to the side. “Uh, hey, Ochako?”

“Yeah, Deku?” Her heart would not stop pounding, oh god, why?

“Is...I know this might sound silly, but is it okay if I give you a hug?” He looked so innocent and nervous and cute and just Deku. She nodded and the two stepped closer, wrapping their arms around each other. He pulled her in close and she rested her head on his shoulder. Deku was shockingly firm feeling and Ochako enjoyed that feeling, enjoyed the entire sensation. She let her eyes close and a small sigh escaped her mouth.

It felt like it lasted forever and like it barely lasted at all before the two of them parted, smiling at each sheepishly. His face was flushed and she could tell hers was as well, but it was okay. “That was a good way to end,” she said softly. Somewhere in her mind, she noticed they were still holding hands.

“I’m, I’m glad you liked it,” Deku said. “S-sorry if you were expecting more, though. I just… I’m not sure if I’m ready to kiss again?” His eyes widened in typical-Deku panic and she grinned a little at that. “Like don’t get me wrong! I really, really liked it, but I… I just want to take it a bit slower? If that’s okay?”

Ochako gently hugged him again, taking him by surprise, before separating again. She grinned at him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Of course it is. Like you said, this is our adventure, we should be honest about what we want. I… Honestly, I’m sort of with you. Like I want to kiss you,” and so much more , she mentally added, “but I’m also nervous about the idea. So let’s take it slow.”

“Tell me though,” Deku said. “Like, if you ever feel like you’re ready for something just, uh, let me know.”

“And don’t you ever dare let me pressure you,” Ochako said. Deku chuckled but she scowled at him. Judging by how the chuckles turned into laughter, it wasn’t very threatening. “I’m serious though! Just because I feel ready doesn’t mean you have to do whatever it is, okay?”

“I won’t,” Deku said, his laughter slowly fading. “It’s just, I cannot see you ever pressuring me into anything.”

Ochako sighed but grinned. “Well, as long as you get what I’m saying. Now, I’m gonna head on inside. Night, Deku.”

“Night, Ochako,” he said. They hugged one last time, and then Ochako walked into her building. As the door closed she turned back to see him watching her, a huge grin on his face. She grinned back and waved. Deku waved and then, seemingly satisfied, turned and walked off into the night. Ochako watched him go for a while before turning to go up to her apartment.

It felt right being with him, she thought.

Shoto sat on the couch of Momo’s place on his phone as he waited. It was nice to be out, though he still vaguely out of place in her apartment. His place had been empty when he left, but it was bound to have people again. Izuku was out with Ochako, which Shoto was proud of. His shorter friend had always seemed like dates would be too much for him to bear, but people changed. Shoto was glad Izuku had finally started dating Ochako, even with everything else that happened. The two had been infruriating as hell before. But, as Shoto had been thinking, Izuku would have been home eventually, as would Tenya. And he….he wanted to have time for him and Momo. And so when Kyouka had said she was going to be out for the day and the night for some unexplained concert, and Momo had invited him over, Shoto had been thrilled.

“Happy much?” Shoto chuckled and turned around to see his girlfriend stroll into the room, dressed up in her PJs, which he realized was one of his old shirts and baggy shorts. Not that he was complaining. She looked stunning, especially with that smile.

“I’m always happy,” he retorted, smiling as she sat down next to him. “Well, with you at least.”

“Shoto Todoroki, that was sappy!” Momo laughed and leaned against him. “You’re opening up.”

“It’s your fault,” he said dryly. “You have a way of getting into my head and just messing with me.”

“Mmmhm.” Momo sighed happily as he wrapped his arms around her and leaned back himself, so the two of them were reclining on the couch with her on him. “And yet you enjoy it, admit it.”

“I’ll say no such thing.” She laughed again and then the two of them fell into an easy silence, just being with each other. It happened often. Shoto knew he wasn’t much of a conversationalist with most people, especially with emotions involved, but he did his best with Momo. For her part, Momo was a saint and went with it. She got him in a way few people ever had.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Momo said after a few moments, “how’s your mom?” It still amazed Shoto that he had been able to take Momo so quickly to see her, and that Momo had been so happy to do so. She hadn’t known the whole story of his family at the time, only izuku and later Tenya knew, but she still knew it was important to him that she met his mom. Momo was damn near psychic.

“She’s good,” Shoto said as his hands moved to start playing with Momo’s soft, long hair. “Keeps bothering me to see you again. Asking about ‘that gorgeous girl of yours’. That’s a direct quote, for the record.”

Momo giggled and scooted up further so her head was closer to Shoto’s as she leaned against him. “Well, I’m happy to see her again. She was sweet, Shoto.”

Shoto didn’t say anything for a second but he leaned down and gently kissed Momo’s head. “How did I end up with you?” he asked softly. “Thank you, Momo.”

“I ask myself the same thing about me with you,” Momo said, reaching a hand over to take his left hand. She always preferred the cooler hand compared to his warmer side, even though he hated that his body was so weird. He let her grab his hand though and gently hold it, bringing their hands closer to her to be more comfortable. “By the way, how was your exam the other day? I almost forgot that you had a physics exam.”

“It went pretty well,” Shoto said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Honestly, I think Aizawa over prepared us for college. Nothing seems that threatening anymore. What about you though? Didn’t you have a big chem thing recently?”

“Started a big chem thing recently,” Momo corrected gently. Shoto made an ‘ah’ sound and took a mental note. The two of them didn’t really share every detail with each other and both tended to forgot details. But it still worked. “A new project with Professor Uwabami. She’s a bit odd, but I can’t say she isn’t brilliant. And, oh! I saw Itsuka and Tetsutetsu recently!”

Itsuka, Shoto remembered. She was rather memorable in how she handled Neito whenever he got out of line. Even high school Shoto had made a note of that. Tetsu though… who was he? He felt Momo shift and saw her looking up at him with a knowing look. “You forgot who Tetsu was, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly.

“He and Eijirou were friends, remember? They were super alike?”

“Oh!” Now Shoto remembered; the guy had been a Eijirou clone and the two of them had gotten along amazingly. “Okay, cool. How are they?”

“Pretty good, still together after all these years if you can believe it.” Momo sighed in what Izuku, if he had seen it, would’ve described as a dreamy fashion. “Anyways, they asked about you. Well, Itsuka did at the very least. We should go out with them sometime.” Momo squeezed his hand. “Whenever you’re ready, of course.”

Shoto chuckled and gently placed his hand on her stomach. “Maybe not quite yet, but it would be…. fun, I think. Speaking of dates, though, I wonder how Izuku’s is going?”

“They’re still together?” Momo asked, a big grin spreading as she turned to face Shoto. “That’s lovely! I was worried after the funeral and Izuku’s breakdown.”

“Those two are stronger than I think most of us give them credit for. Also, do you remember who bet against them dating?”

“Denki, mostly to mess with Kyouka. Toru, oddly enough. And Katsuki. Most of the others stayed out of it. Going to go and collect?”

Shoto shrugged but his lips twitched into a smirk. “I mean, it was a rather large sum we bet if I remember. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have some extra spending cash. Though we shouldn’t tell Mina about it just yet either. I think those two need a little more time before Mina comes crashing down on them.”

“Well, she still doesn’t know about us,” Momo pointed out. “I think the others know to wait a bit longer. They’ll be fine.” Momo then stretched and yawned, and Shoto decided that this was truly the best possible life he could live. He never thought of himself as a pervert but Momo had a way of getting him to think about less than… acceptable things.

“Getting tired?” he asked, partially to keep his mind off of the way her body looked when she stretched like that.

“Yeah, I am.” Momo rose, almost lazily and then began to walk to her bedroom, before turning to look back at Shoto. She was blushing, and Shoto was sure he was too, but she still managed to give him a teasing smile. “Coming?” And then she went around the corner and Shoto hurried after her, trying to breathe.

When he entered the dark room, the first thing he noticed was that Momo was under the covers of her large bed, and his barefoot had touched something soft and fabricy on the ground. He bent down and noticed it was his shirt. Well.

“You suck,” Shoto said with a sigh as he changed into his pajamas. He heard rustling and knew Momo was watching him and the thought made him smile. She didn’t even hide it when he turned back to her. “You know that’s just unfair.”

“Like you don’t like it,” Momo said with a laugh. “Now come on! I’m tired and wanna cuddle.”

Shoto briefly debated making another snarky comment, but the rest of him won over. He practically leaped into the bed and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, feeling her soft skin against him. Momo sighed and kissed him gently. “Much better,” she said.

“Much, much better.” Shoto kissed her back and their hands began to wander. There were times were Shoto questioned a lot of his life and the inherenet shittiness of most of it.

Then, there were times like this that made it all worth it.

Chapter Text

A Couple Months Later

Eijirou stroked his chin as he looked at the picture before him. The others were clumped around him in Izuku’s living room, looking over each other at the pictures and writing that Izuku and Ochako had put out for them to look at. The last few weeks they had worked tirelessly together to finish up rough drafts of everyone and the story itself. Izuku thought the drawings looked anything but rough and he told Ochako literally every time she had the audacity to say they weren’t good. His writing was definitely rough, but he kept that to himself. Ochako tended to get very assertive when he was down on himself.

Right now though, the two of them sat together in the armchair, squeezed in together and gently holding hands out of sight. Every other chair had been pulled up and even then, Mina, Mashirao, and Toru ended up on the floor. The group was over to examine the draft and to see if they would give their blessing to Ochako and Izuku.

“Dude,” Eijirou said. He looked up at Izuku and Ochako, his eyes shimmering with tears. The picture in his hand was one of him that Ochako drew; it depicted fantasy-Eijirou, a half-dao who accompanied the heroes on their journey to strike down the demon caller Shigaraki. Fantasy-Eijirou was shirtless, his body partially rocky and stony, and a huge grin on his face. “I look so manly!” Eijirou sobbed out.

“I...thank you?” Ochako said. Izuku laughed and squeezed her hand with joy; one down.

“Though,” Eijirou wiped away his tears as he spoke, “I have to say, you did my abs justice. Like damn.”

Mina popped up behind Eijirou and gave a wolf whistle as she looked at the picture. “Damn. Like I’ve seen the real ones, but still. Damn.” Mina smirked. “Been thinking about Eijirou much, Ochako?”

Ochako’s face turned bright red and she shook her head fervently. “No, no! It just made sense for a fighter, that’s all!” Mina raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything else, instead looking between Ochako and Izuku with a grin. She still didn’t know the two were officially dating as everyone who knew agreed to give them time before unleashing the ship-goddess, but it was clear she knew something was up.

“Well, thanks a ton either way, Ochako!” Eijriou’s grin was as large as any Izuku had seen before. “You made me look amazing.”

“I must admit, these are pretty well done,” Tenya said, looking at the knight version of him. “I look quite dashing here, though I do notice the changes so that it’s not me. Well done. Though, why a knight? Who….is fast?”

Izuku laughed. “Well, I mean, you are pretty law abiding so a knight of the realm made sense, and Tenya, do you remember how fast you were in high school on the track team? You were a running star.”

Tenya grinned at that. “I suppose I can’t complain there then.”

“Did you two seriously make me a bard?” Jirou asked. “Like I mean, damn I look awesome, but a bard? My life isn’t just music!” Even through her complaints she was grinning, staring down at her picture.

“Bards aren’t just for music,” Izuku interjected.

“Yeah, we just thought you were charismatic,” Ochako added. “Plus, Jirou, you can fight with music.”

Jirou chuckled. “You convinced me. As long as I can blow away a fighter with the power of rock, I’m in.”

Denki poked her shoulder and practically shoved his picture in her face. “I’M A FREAKING SUAVE AF SWASHBUCKLER! FUCK YEAH!” He turned to Ochako, eyes sparkling and smile almost as big as Eijirou’s. “Did you talk to Jirou for inspiration for this? Because like damn, I know I’m suave but not this good, she probably told you how to make me better huh?”

“Shut the fuck up, you idiot,” Jirou growled, a light blush on her face.

“It was actually Deku’s idea,” Ochako pointed out. Izuku chuckled awkwardly.

“I just remembered how you acted in school with some of the girls and thought that would’ve been a fun character to write. The design sort of spun out of that.” He didn’t add the fact that Denki flirting with those girls had always ended in chaos and his character was….much less suave than he thought he was.

The room continued to buzz with activity as everyone took in their characters. Most of them just looked at the pictures, but Momo read her backstory with intent and gave Izuku a soft smile as she finished, mouthing ‘Thank you’ to him. Shoto looked up at this and fixed Izuku with a strange look. “Did you make my character literally hot and cold? Like evenly divided?”

Izuku chuckled and moved over to squat by his roommate. “I mean, yeah, I thought it would be interesting. Two opposing powers contained in one person.”

“And my mother….is an ice fairy.”

“Winter Fey, but yeah.”

Shoto raised an eyebrow. “I also noticed you made my father a Summer fey .”

“Mmhm. I hope you also noticed he was a major dick.”

This got Shoto to grin. “Oh, I noticed. Little true to life there, Izuku. But, I can’t fault the design. Besides, I see the dramatic appeal to have a vaguely villainous father.”

“Vaguely?” Izuku chuckled. “He’s an asshole, Shoto. Plus there’s your older brother. Things for you will be interesting.”

“Do me justice,” Shoto said simply. “Though I’m excited to see how it goes. And also, Momo are you my servant or something?”

“Guardian,” Momo corrected. “And from what Izuku writes, I’m the competent one.”

Shoto leaned back and crossed his arms. “I have magic powers though. I’m literally called the strongest person in the group.”

Momo rubbed Shoto’s hand and smiled. “Yes, but I’m also the one who helps keep you out of danger when that magic gets to be too much.”

“And you have trouble with the fire,” Izuku added. “Emotional hang ups, you see.”

“Do you punch me in this story?” Shoto asked. “If so, please at least explain why first.”

Izuku laughed and shook his head. “Not sure yet, but should I run it by you first before I write that scene?”

Shoto chuckled. “No, let’s leave it a surprise, hmm?”

“Deku.” Izuku froze and turned to see Katsuki standing over him, holding both his backstory and picture in one hand. “I see you made me some sort of wild man, huh?”

Izuku gulped and stood up. “Uh, yeah. We thought t-that maybe having you be someone who went to the wild to get stronger would be a good character idea.”

Katsuki grunted and looked at the picture again. His scowl didn’t vanish, but it did soften a little. “And I don’t really have magic?”

“You have some, but mostly fire and explosions.” Izuku thought for a second his knees were trembling. If Katsuki said no it would suck-- his character actually played a larger role than Izuku meant for him to at first, but he worked so well as a foil. “We thought that it would be cool for you to be an awesome fighter who didn’t really need to rely on magic.”

The blond man grunted again. “You gave me a dragon, too.” His eyes narrowed. “I know what you’re doing here, Deku. Trying to butter me up make me think my character is awesome.” He sighed. “It fucking worked, you scrub. Though I swear to fucking god, Deku, if you kill my dragon you. And. I. Will. Have. WORDS.” Katsuki got up close to Izuku’s face, scowling, and then backed up, pushing the papers into Izuku’s chest. “Thanks, scrub.”

Ochako walked up to Izuku and watched Katsuki move back by Eijirou who was comparing with Mashirao their characters. “That...went well?”

Izuku held the papers to his chest and let out a breath he had barely realized he had been holding. “Y-yeah. He seemed happy at least.”

“He was almost nice to you,” Shoto added from his seat. “I think he liked it a lot. Well done, you two.”

“When are you guys going to start writing it for real?” Momo asked.

“We already have,” Izuku said, sitting down on the floor near the other couple. Ochako sat down next to him and gently leaned against him. The two of them had become much more comfortable with those small acts of affection, even around others. “We’ve got maybe like a third of the book written out?”

“More like a half,” Ochako corrected. “The main group is gathered, the quest is given, and they’ve already come away from a conflict with the main villain.”

“I forgot we got so much done,” Izuku said. “It doesn’t feel like we wrote a lot.”

“ You wrote a lot,” Ochako said, chuckling. “I just drew pretty pictures for you.”

“They’re gorgeous, Ochako! Don’t sell yourself short!” Momo held up hers and smiled. “You somehow infuse so much into them!”

“The snow and fire for mine looks amazing,” Shoto said. “It’s pretty great. Good enough for a cover, I’d say.”

Ochako laughed and shook her head. “You’re not the main character though, Shoto. You don’t get the cover for the first book!”

“Well, who’s the main character?”

Izuku blushed as Ochako happily said, “Deku!”

Shoto raised an eyebrow. “Seems a little biased.”

“I fought against it but she won out.”

“It just makes sense! Yagi passes on One for All, the sword and the power, to Deku after he proves himself a worthy heir, just like how Yagi in real life passed the bookstore and the rights to All Might to you. And Tenya, but Tenya’s already a knight.” Ochako reached over and grabbed Izuku’s hand and gently held it. “Besides, look at him. Deku is totally hero material. Small town boy to hero of the realm! It’s a classic.”

Izuku sighed but saw Shoto smiling at the two of them. “I get it. Well, those are some big shoes to fill, Izuku.”

He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a high pitched scream. Everyone’s heads whipped around to see Mina staring at Ochako and Izuku with the biggest, shit-eating grin imaginable. “I FUCKING KNEW IT! Ochako how could you not tell me?!” She looked around and realized no one else was that excited. “Guys, how are you not stoked? Look at them! They’re so fucking cute!”

“We kinda knew, Mina,” Eijirou said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Mina froze and then her smile slowly turned into something much more frozen and almost violent. “How many people knew?” More people raised their hands than Izuku thought actually knew-- as far as he was aware, Eijirou, Shoto, Momo, Jirou, Denki, Tsuyu, and Tenya were the only ones who really knew. But Fumikage and Toru both raised their hands, along with Katsuki. Mina looked around and her smile sharpened-- that was the only way Izuku could describe it. “And. None. Of. You. Told. Me?”

“It wasn’t really our place,” Eijirou said. He walked up to Mina and gently put his hands on her shoulders. “Hey, Mina, just breathe?”

“I’m fine.” Izuku could hear her teeth grinding from across the room. “EVERYTHING IS FINE.”

“Katsuki,” Toru said, “how do you know?”

“I’m not a fucking idiot,” he said. And that was his entire explanation.

Mina screamed and Eijirou had to hold her back from launching herself at Katsuki, who watched the whole situation with a frown. It took a few minutes but Mina finally calmed down and smiled at Ochako and Izuku in a much less threatening way. “Sorry about that. I’m happy to see you two have finally started dating. Like god, months ago I thought you were two were already fuc-”

“AND gathering over!” Izuku squeaked as Eijirou clapped his hand over Mina’s mouth, shutting her up. “Thanks for coming everyone, it was good to see you! Uh, feel free to keep the stories and drawings….yeah, bye!”

There was a smattering of laughter as everyone gathered their stuff and headed out, Mina practically being dragged by Eijirou as she whined that she didn’t do anything wrong. It took a bit but soon the apartment was empty of everyone but the three boys, Momo, and Ochako. “Well, I think I should head out as well,” Momo said, stretching as she stood up. “I have an exam coming up soon.” Shoto stood up and the two hugged before Momo walked to the door. “Thanks again you two! Your drawings are really, truly good, Ochako! I look forward to the book.” The couple waved bye, still holding hands despite all the chaos.

Shoto looked around the room and stretched a little. “It’s not that late yet so I’m going to go out to the gym. I’ve been lazy lately. Peace.” He walked off to his room and then out of the apartment with his duffel bag.

“And I’ve got to check up on the final bits of renovations,” Tenya said, rushing after Shoto with his usual energy. “Everything must be perfect!” The door slammed shut behind him and Izuku and Ochako were left alone in the apartment.

The two looked at each other and Izuku blushed. “Uh, do you like wanna sit on the couch or something?”

Ochako smiled gently and squeezed his hand. “Sure thing. I could do with a nice mini cuddle if you’re okay with that.” Izuku nodded and the two of them got up and sat down on the couch, leaning against each other. They didn’t let go of their hands the whole time. Ochako leaned her head down on Izuku’s shoulder and he put his on her head and the two just sat there, enjoying each other.

“I’m glad today went so well,” Izuku said softly. “I really want this book to work.”

“It will, Deku,” Ochako said. “You know why?” Izuku smiled; he knew what she was trying to do but he decided to play along.

“Why?”

“Because you’re a great writer. People will love it!”

“And your art is amazing, Ochako. I’m positive that was the biggest thing that convinced our friends.”

Ochako laughed and mover head out from under his. Izuku turned to face her and smiled at her. “You know, we’ll just keep doing this for hours if we let ourselves. So I’m calling it here.”

Izuku laughed and nodded. “You’re probably right.” The two grinned at each other and then Izuku noticed how….close her face was. And how cute she was, and how soft those lips looked. They had kissed a couple of times since their first date but each time it made Izuku nervous as all hell. He was about to say something when he noticed how...soft Ochako looked at him. “D-d-do you want to?”

“Yeah,” she breathed. “Do y-yo-you?”

“Y-yeah.” And that was all they needed. Their lips crashed against each other and Izuku pulled Ochako against him, eager to feel her warmth. She was soft and warm and smelled like vanilla and cinnamon and god she was perfect.

He wasn’t quite sure when or how they ended up laying on the couch, their lips separating only a few times so they could catch their breaths. Even during those moments they stayed linked to each other, holding hands or letting their hands roam their bodies. All over the clothes; both were too nervous to try anything else. But making out like they would die if their lips weren’t in contact? That was par for the course for them.

When they finally finished, both gasping for air but smiling at each other, Ochako laying on Izuku, it was late. “Do you wanna get something to eat?” Izuku asked, his arms wrapped tight around Ochako.

She laughed and looked down at Izuku. “I’m always up for going out, Deku, but it would help if you let go.”

Izuku bit his lip and thought about it for a moment. He really thought hard. “But, see, then I have to let go of you, and that just seems silly.”

“It’s a little silly,” Ochako said, her twinkling eyes betraying her serious tone. “Counterpoint, though, getting food would be pretty nice. And then, when we get back, we can cuddle again.”

“That’s called cuddling? I can’t wait to see what this ‘making out’ business that Denki keeps talking about is.”

“Shut up,” Ochako laughed. “Now come on! Let’s get food.” Izuku sighed and released her with a smile. She got up and offered a hand to him, pulling him up. “You know, I never did say it again,” she said softly.

“Say what?”

“I love you.” Ochako looked at Izuku, her face red, and he felt his world freeze for a second. But then he smiled back, his heart pounding, and gently took her hands in his.

“You said it that one time already,” he said softly. “A time when I really needed to hear it. I know that hasn’t changed, Ochako.” She smiled softly at him and he leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. “Though, I never said it in person, so here goes nothing. I love you too, Ochako Uraraka.”

He could’ve stayed like that, just leaning against her and holding her hands. Feeling her heartbeat against him, her breaths. But they stepped apart and smiled at each other. She looked radiant, stunning, any other word that meant beautiful and all of them at once.

“I know,” she said with a grin. “Now, come on, let’s go out.”

Izuku Midoriya grinned and followed the love of his life out the door.

Three Years Later

Izuku Midoriya leaned against the front counter of Plus Ultra Books and tapped a pen against his cheek absentmindedly. The cafe connected to the shop was bustling with activity, plenty of people coming and going from the two stores. Quite a few people would buy their books and immediately sit and read in the cafe.

Business was good, really good. Tenya had even allowed himself a couple months off to relax, though Izuku had a feeling that his friend and co-owner would be back sooner than he had said. It was how Tenya worked.

Ikko and Emi still worked at the bookstore, and Izuku was forever grateful to them. They helped the shop stay stable, but even with them, he still felt understaffed. It was probably time to start looking for another couple of workers. It was good luck that Toshinori had bought the building instead of leasing it; that took a few things off of Izuku’s mind.

Thinking of his old mentor and boss brought Izuku’s attention to the posters hanging nearby. One was an old vintage All Might poster, showing the hero in all his glory, cape billowing in the wind. Izuku had dug it out of his room to hang up as part of the store’s memorial to T. Shimura, Toshinori, the man who gave the world All Might.

Next to that poster was one for the latest book in what they called the Akatani Chronicles. It showed Izuku, now called Mikumo Akatani, though Ochako still insisted on nicknaming him Deku, standing against a dark and smoky background. His short sword, Laornofel, the vessel for his power of One for All, was held in front of him, teal flames leaping off of it. Behind Mikumo rose a golden, fiery figure in armor, a great sword on his shoulder. Sir Yagius, the hero All Might and Mikumo’s predecessor. The title was below them, in dark purple. Legacies .

Izuku looked at it a lot, recently. It comforted him in a way to see his creation next to All Might. Writing Legacies had been taxing on him, more than he admitted, and even therapy only lessened the pain rather than eliminate it. But, he was glad it was out. People seemed to like it, too, judging by how many copies were swept off the shelf the week it had been released. Katsuki even bought one the first day, though he said it was only for his character and the dragon.

But, sometimes, Izuku looked at the posters and wondered what Toshinori would’ve thought. Would he have liked what Ochako and Izuku had made? They had gotten his blessing but still, the story had changed a lot over the time and maybe they had fucked up somewhere.

Whenever Izuku thought those thoughts though, he would look behind him at the framed picture hanging behind him. It was Toshinori as he had been, as Izuku knew him; a sick man with the conviction of someone who could move mountains, blue eyes shining bright, his mouth wide in his trademark grin. In many ways, it comforted Izuku, knowing his mentor was still watching over him.

The bell ringed and Izuku looked to the entrance, only to smile as Shoto stepped around the corner, pushing the hood of his sopping wet raincoat off his head. Shoto gave his friend a smile and hung his raincoat up on the large coat rack near the door. “Hey there, Izuku. I see the store’s still doing well.”

Izuku shrugged. “You know, same old, same old.” Shoto chuckled and leaned against the counter, looking around.

“It still amazes me,” he said softly. “You two did a lot to this place.” He looked back at his friend, his grey eye shining. “He would be proud.”

“I hope so,” Izuku said softly. He pointedly looked down at Shoto’s hand and the simple metal band around his ring finger. “So, when’s the wedding? Is that why you’re here?”

Shoto chuckled but shook his head. “Not yet, not yet. Just a promise, is all.”

“Still can’t believe you’re engaged,” Izuku said.

“Denki and Kyouka are getting married in a couple of months,” Shoto pointed out. “Me being engaged is far less of a big deal.”

“Fair enough. How is the new place with Momo?”

“Smaller than the old one,” Shoto said. “But in that nice way. Close to my mom and Fuyumi so that’s a plus, and not too far from Momo’s family.”

Izuku smiled. “I’m happy for you guys. I really need to swing by and visit.”

“We’ve all been busy,” Shoto said. “Momo’s working like mad at the school, and I’m working my job along with grad school. You’ve got the bookstore to manage and writing. Speaking of which, started the next book yet?”

“Sketches and ideas. Too early to start writing for me. I need a breather.”

Shoto nodded and looked to the cafe. “I came by to grab Momo an old chem textbook. Think she would care if I grabbed a coffee too?”

“Only if you didn’t get her one.”

Shoto snorted and nodded. “Yeah, true. I’ll be back in a bit then. Coffee first, then book. See ya in a bit, Izuku.” Izuku waved as his friend and old roommate walked off to the coffee shop next door.

Things had changed a lot, he thought. Shoto had moved out of the old place to be with Momo in their own place about two years ago; Tenya had pushed Izuku to finally move into Toshinori’s place while Tenya got his own, smaller place near the bookstore. It didn’t take much time either for Ochako to move in with him. Living in his mentor’s old place was weird and hard, but comforting at the same time. It felt like him, like home in the best possible way. Reminded Izuku of why he wrote, of what Toshi had done for him.

It was pretty quiet for a while, everyone finishing up school or working. Once they graduated though, Denki and Kyouka revealed they were engaged. That had been maybe a year ago, probably less though if Izuku remembered correctly. Part of the reason was that Kyouka was pregnant, which caused nothing less of a panic amongst the entire friend group. But, the two of them had been dating for years and years at that point and it just seemed right. Little Michiko was born only a couple of months ago. She had been by the bookstore a few times with Denki and Kyouka; the blonde girl was utterly adorable.

Honestly, Izuku thought, the more things changed, the better they seemed to get.

“Daydreaming?” Izuku turned around to see Ochako standing behind him, smiling. She must have come from upstairs, probably having woken up not too long ago.

“You could say that,” Izuku said, smiling back at her. She laughed and gave him a peck on the cheek as she walked by.

“Well, focus so you don’t upset any customers. Anyways, I’m heading out to work! I’ll see you later, Izuku! Love ya!”

“Love you, too,” Izuku said, watching her leave. He never really got tired of looking at her, and she always looked amazing. It was incredibly unfair, he thought, to the rest of humanity. They could just never compare.

“Yo, boss.” Izuku turned to see Ikko poking his head out from the back room. “Just a heads up, we got a new box of those YA novels, the Freemont Conspiracy or something like that? Do we need more out front?”

“We should be good,” Izuku said. “I’ll double check later but just mark that we got them in.”

“Aye,” Ikko said, throwing off a lazy mock salute, before vanishing back into the back room.

Izuku stretched for a moment, tempted to ask Ikko to come up and watch the register while he grabbed a coffee from next door. The cafe made damn good coffee and he could smell their blueberry muffins. But, he would wait. It was slow enough where he didn’t need the caffeine that badly, yet.

Besides, whenever he got tired he pulled out the old drawing Ochako did. Her art had grown and improved with each book, but he never tired of looking at that picture she drew. Mikumo, sword aloft, with All Might behind him.

Izuku thought of the small box he had hidden in his bookcase upstairs, containing a small, simple ring that his mom had given him when he last visited. “Just in case,” she had said with a downright devious smile. He had been wondering if it was too soon to ask, or too chaotic of a time. A wedding, a child in the group, and another engagement already announced.

A customer came up, snapping him out of his thoughts, bearing a copy of the first Akatani Chronicles book, Passing the Torch . The girl was maybe sixteen, with a beaten look about her. Life had not been kind to her. But the way she clutched the book made it seem like a life preserver, something keeping her afloat amidst a sea of hardship. Izuku rang the book up and smiled at her. “Have you read this one before?” he asked.

The girl looked up at him and shook her head no. “I, uh, no. I just heard that it was like the All Might books and my friend recommended it.”

“The All Might books, huh? That’s high praise. Which one of his books was your favorite?” Izuku asked idly as he put the book into a bag, while also pulling out a sheet of paper and writing on it. “Oh, and can I have your name? Just a little thing I like to do for customers sometimes.” He gave her his best Toshi smile, which made her...well, not smile, but frown less.

“It’s Akiko,” she said. “And uh, I’d have to say Downfall , because it has the return of All for One and Nomu and it’s such a cool battle. Plus, All Might’s determination at the end there was really awesome.”

Izuku smiled and finished up the note addressed to her, quickly signing the book as well with it out of view, before passing both to her. “That’s a pretty good choice. Personally, I’m a sap so I love the first one, One for All . Just a good read in my opinion. Well, enjoy your book, Akiko. Hope to see you here again.” He watched her leave and wondered how long it would take for her to see the note, and his autograph, the same as the author’s name on the book. Ochako had convinced him not to use a pen name but to own who he was. Izuku hoped that his autograph made the girl feel better.

Plus, she said his book was like All Might’s from what she had heard. That was a huge compliment.

He thought of the ring again as he watched the store, and decided it could wait. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry Ochako; why wouldn’t he want to? But, what they had for now was good. They were finding their footing in a chaotic world, making their mark. Making people smile and laugh like Toshinori did. For now, they could just be together without the title or ring. One day, he would ask her.

But for now, Izuku Midoriya was content to be as it was. Sometimes, change wasn’t needed for life to be good.