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Chilling wind rustled the frosted trees as Izuku stared up at the glowing stars in the midnight sky. His breathes puffed out in smoky, warm huffs in the contrast of the cold. The metal of the park bench was freezing beneath him, but the ache in his legs told him not to care. He simply needed a break from his night time jog. His heart was pounding, blood roaring through his veins as he caught his breath. Rubbing at his sore muscles, he massaged his thighs for some type of relief. Maybe, running in the freezing cold wasn’t the best of ideas, but he really needed to clear his mind.
Studying and training had taken up so much of his time. He just wanted some time to himself for just a moment. Sighing, he continued to admire the brightly shining stars. Izuku needed something other to focus on.
“There you are.”
Nearly jumping out of his skin, Izuku flinched when he heard the voice. Quickly, he spun his head to face the sound. There stood Ochaco, clad in her own winter clothes. She had a beanie covering her chocolate locks, a pink wool sweater, and thick jogging pants. How she didn’t have more layers on, he didn’t know.
“U-Uraraka! What are you doing here?” Izuku asked, eyes wide and confused. Had she followed him from the dorms?
Hugging herself slightly, she glanced away. “I was worried about you when I saw you leave. You hadn’t come back yet, so I decided to come find you,” she turned to him with a small smile as she continued, “When you go for a run, you usually take the same route every time.”
Izuku gave a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, sorry. I hadn’t meant to stay out so late. Thank you for finding me,” he said with a rub at the back of his neck.
“Would you… like some company?” Ochaco asked with a shuffle of her feet.
Cheeks flushing, Izuku held in a subtle squeak. He nodded timidly. “Sure,” he breathed.
Ochaco took a seat next to him. The distance between them small, but enough for it not to be too awkward. She wasn’t looking at him at first. Izuku admired her features: the chestnut color of her hair and how her eyes matched the shade, the plushy softness of her pink cheeks, and her cute button nose. The tip turning a light pink in the cold. Her eye lashes were so long, framing her eyes perfectly.
His heart squeezed tightly in his chest. God, his best friend was beautiful. Inside and out. He was so lucky to have met her during his first steps at U.A. She really did mean everything to him.
Her eyes shifted, glancing sideways at him. She turned with a smile and a cock of her brow. “What?”
Struck out of his trance, he sat up straight. “Huh?”
Giggling, Ochaco snorted at him. “You had this dopey look on your face.”
With a hiss, he covered it with a laugh. “Sorry.”
He noticed a chill go up her spine, her teeth chattering a little. She rubbed her arms to warm her arms. Izuku immediately began pulling his hoodie over his head.
Ochaco reared back, wide-eyed. “W-What are you doing!?”
Snorting, he grinned before handing the green hoodie over to her. “You were shivering. Are you cold?”
“O-Oh,” she muttered out. She nodded and took the hoodie, hugging it to her chest. “Yes, thank you. I should have dressed warmer, but I didn’t think I’d be out here this long,” she said as she slipped the hoodie over her head. Ochaco sank on the bench seat, snuggling up in the hoodie to steal its warmth.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be gone so long. I’m surprised you came to find me…” he mused. Honestly, he regretted the words once they left his throat. Ochaco looked so defeated by his words.
She scooted closer, making Izuku’s heart leap into his throat. Ochaco bumped him lightly with her shoulder. “Why wouldn’t I? I worry about you a lot, Deku.”
“You do?” he asked, eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
She scrunched her brows. “Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t I? You’re always getting yourself into trouble, ya know.”
Guilty. That was entirely true. He wasn’t sure how danger always found him, but he had a knack for getting into hairy situations. Sighing, his shoulders deflated a little. “I’m sorry…”
Ochaco waved a dismissive hand quickly. “No, no! It’s alright! I know how you are. You always want to save people. You always want to fight to protect. I admire that about you. A lot.”
That surprised him. Someone as amazing as Uraraka admiring him? There were so many amazing want-to-be heroes in their class. So many other people she could admire. But she chose him? A used-to-be quirkless nobody? Eyes widening, he tilted his head. “Really? You admire me?”
“Well, yeah. You’re going to make a great hero,” she said, the smile on her lips growing. Her eyes were so soft when she gazed at him.
His heart fluttered in his chest. “You will too. I admire you a lot too… You are so brave and always have a plan of action. I have to figure things out as I go along,” Izuku murmured with a nervous chuckle. He ruffled his hands through his hair.
“I think the fact that you can assess a situation and figure it out as you go is very impressive,” Ochaco told him. “It’s a quality of a great hero. That’s why I know you’ll be successful!” she cheered with a fist pump.
Izuku laughed, shaking his head. “I know you’ll be great too,” he chimed, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Thank you,” she said sweetly before pressing her fingers gently against his.
The touch sent tingles up Izuku’s spine. It was like a beat. And everything suddenly changed. He gaped, cheeks flushing as he stared at her. Butterflies filled his stomach. Ochaco must have had a similar reaction considering her cheeks were a brighter pink than usual. Her eyes glinted away, refusing to make eye contact.
Boldly, Izuku slid his hand off her shoulder, bringing her fingers with him and twining them between his own earning him a gasp from Ochaco. He was honestly surprised at his own actions. Not knowing he actually had that type of courage within him. His heart was palpitating so harshly in his chest. He cared so much for Ochaco… and her kind words to him only motivated those feelings even more. He knew he shouldn’t act on them, not when he didn’t know how she felt. But he couldn’t help it. She was far too precious to him.
Her stunned expression didn’t leave as she gazed down at their intertwined fingers. She gave a gentle squeeze, as if testing if those fingers were really her own. “Deku…” she murmured.
“Yes?” he sighed, breath puffing out in front of him in the cold air.
“I…” she stopped before sucking in a breath. “You mean a lot to me, Deku. I—I don’t think you really know how much. I just want you to know…”
Izuku went to reply but Ochaco snatched her hand away, bending over and covering her face with her palms. “Augh! This has to be a dream! This is so embarrassing!” She buried her face into her knees. “Please, don’t think I’m weird,” she mumbled, words muffled.
Blinking in surprise, Izuku bent beside her and gingerly prided her fingers away from her face. “Uraraka… What exactly did you mean?”
Giving him a sideways glance, she sat up and curled her hands into her chest. “I just… You mean more to me than just a best friend is all. And it scares me to admit that to you.”
“More than a friend?” Izuku squeaked. Eyes still blown wide, a blush kissing his freckles, he was over-thinking that statement far too much. Surely, she meant like a family member? Like a love for a cousin? A brother? Not… in the way he felt for her…? Right?
Flushing more, she nodded. “Yeah. I can’t… I can’t say the words out loud yet. But I have these feeling for you that I’ve been too afraid to tell you about. I… I know nothing can happen right now. We’re too busy right now. We’re trying to become heroes and that should be top priority, right? I don’t want to distract you from your goal. Nothing should get in the way of your dream… Not even me.”
“Uraraka…” he drawled. Was she really saying what he thought she was saying? Ochaco liked him? …Like liked him!? His breath hitched as he gazed at her oh so flushed face. She was red as a fire engine. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Uraraka, I—I have feelings for you too.”
Ochaco sat up quickly, gaping at him. “R-Really!?”
Nodding, he smiled. “Yeah.”
Cupping her cheeks, she squealed with her eyes squeezed tightly and her nose scrunched. Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle at her. His heart was singing wildly in his chest. He couldn’t believe the girl of his dreams actually liked him back. But…
Now what?
“S-So, if we like each other—a lot. Does that mean…?” he muttered.
Sighing, her shoulders deflated. “Well, like I said we should probably focus on becoming pro-heroes first. But—I don’t see why after graduation we couldn’t see where things go.”
He visibly wilted. As if all the air had left him. Graduation was almost a year away. Waiting that long when he knew Ochaco liked him would be pretty gut-wrenching… but it was what was best for both of them. She was right, even though he hated the thought of it. He’d never really liked a girl before, much less have one like him back. The idea of not being able to pursue a relationship with her after finding this out really sucked.
“Let’s make a promise, okay?” she chimed with a smile. Holding up a pinky, her brown eyes gazed at him with so much admiration it made his chest squeeze. “We promise that our feelings won’t get in the way of our hero work, but we stay loyal to each other and promise to be with each other soon.”
Izuku’s eyebrows shot up with surprise. He blinked, staring at her outstretched pinky. Was she serious? That was a promise she wanted to make with him? To eventually be together when they were out of school. His heart thudded loudly in his ears. He was going to have a heart attack if his blood pressure didn’t lower before this night ended. If it wasn’t so cold, he may have been sweating.
Ochaco bristled a little, looking away with embarrassment. “Of course! You don’t have to! I know that a pinky promise may seem childish, it’s just the first thing I could think of. I-It may not even be that! If there’s someone else you’d rather be with, I understand! Waiting over a year for someone might be stupid…”
Izuku gently wrapped his pinky around hers, silencing her worries. Smiling, he shook his head. “It’s not that at all. I was just worried you may regret making this promise with me of all people. I’ve never… I’ve never had anyone feel this way about me before. It just worries me that I could mess it up.”
“You could never mess this up,” Ochaco reassured.
Squeezing his pinky around hers, he smiled. “Thank you.”
“Ya know, Deku…” Just when she had finally returned to her normal color, her cheeks pinked again. “There is one more way to solidify our promise.”
“Really?” he tilted his head like a confused kitten. “Like what?’
She shyly glanced away. “Just—Just close your eyes.”
And so he did. His eyes fluttered close as he tried to calm his nerves. And failed. Suddenly, he felt the heat of her breath fanning across his face. Before he could peak and wonder what she was doing, all he registered was the soft feeling of her lips against his own. He gasped against her, eyes shooting open. But Ochaco didn’t move, staying still against him. Her eyes tightly closed.
Her lips moved gently and Izuku absolutely melted. He went boneless against her, and puckered his lips against his own. When he had left the dorms that evening, he had no idea that his night would end with his first kiss.
But he certainly didn’t mind.