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No matter what Mina did, she couldn’t keep her from entering her thoughts and making her melt into a puddle of flustered lesbian panic. She tried to keep it a secret, constantly making excuses to find a quiet, deserted place to hide her blushing face and dropped jaw or the hissing from the acid coming from her talons and billowing smoke from her nostrils, depending on whether she was in her human or dragon form when a certain adorable witch popped into her mind. Then again, you can only keep the ground melting beneath you hidden for so long. That’s part of why Mina was so sure Eijirou had figured her out. She could feel it in her bones.
Eijirou was Mina’s best and closest friend. Each was an open book to the other. Mina had quickly discovered when Eijirou began to crush on Izuku, and Mina had no doubt that he too would be able to pick up on Mina’s crush in no time. That’s exactly what he did.
“Mimi?” Eijirou called one morning. Mina stretched her wings, careful not to knock them into any of the surrounding branches and trees. She hopped down from her perch and met Eijirou in the clearing.
“Yeah, Ei?” Mina asked, tired from a long night of very little sleep.
“I wanted to ask you about something. Feel free to ignore me, but… do you like Uraraka?” Mina cleared her throat, surprised despite being sure Eijirou knew.
“Y-yeah,” Mina replied. She stuttered. Geez, she couldn’t remember the last time she stuttered.
“You know how when I first told you I like Izuku, you-” Eijirou began before he was interrupted.
“Nope! No, I’m not telling her!” Mina exclaimed. Eijirou took a step forward and smiled. Normally, that smile would be sweet but now it was incredibly menacing.
“I was like that too,” Eijirou’s grin grew.
“I know you were, I was there! But this is different!” Mina huffed.
“How?” Eijirou asked.
“What-”
“How is it different? I’m genuinely curious,” Eijirou repeated.
“It’s- she’s… um…” Mina desperately searched her brain for a proper response.
“I’m not saying that you have to confess, but if you were too, I think it would turn out well,” Eijirou sat, silently inviting Mina to sit with him.
“I guess… maybe I do kinda want to. A little bit. I mean, I won’t know unless I try, right?” Mina sighed.
“That’s the spirit! Uraraka’ll be over here tomorrow around sunrise with some ingredients for Izuku’s concoctions,” Eijirou exclaimed. The threatening nature of his grin disappeared, the reassuring look back.
“Thank you, Ei,” Mina said quietly.
“Of course!”
***
Mina couldn’t stop the anxiety from bubbling up in her stomach. It wasn’t everyday that she confessed to the cutest, sweetest girl in the entire world, as far as Mina was concerned. That night had been even more restless than the one before, so keeping her eyes open in the darkness of the woods proved to be a challenge. Mina pushed through, though, thoughts of Ochako’s sweet gaze and bubbly voice motivating her.
As the sun began to peak over the far-off horizon, painting the sky pink and gold, Mina heard humming in the distance. She recognized it immediately. Mina listened to it as often as she could. Ochako hummed that song all the time.
A pink hat appeared through the cover of the trees. As Ochako advanced, more and more of her could be seen past the branches and leaves. Mina fidgeted with the tips of her hair, making sure to keep her breathing steady. Mina stood up from the tree base she had been leaning against, waving at Ochako and jogging towards her.
“Good morning, Mina!” Ochako greeted cheerily. Mina inhaled sharply, suddenly unsure if she could do this. If just a simple greeting was enough to make her stop in her tracks and internally scream, what would a whole confession do? Mina shook the thoughts from her mind, finding new determination to do this, and do it right.
“Morning!” Damn you, brain.
“Oh, Mina! Are you okay? You look all red…” Ochako placed her bags on the forest floor and stepped in front of Mina. Ochako stopped right before Mina and slipped the white glove off of her right hand, pressing her hand against Mina’s forehead. “Oh, you’re all hot! Hold on, I have a spell I can use to check temperature, I’ll just have to check over my books-”
“Ochako. I’m all right, I know exactly why I’m… having those symptoms,” Mina said, breaking Ochako from her muttering.
“You’re sure?” Ochako asked.
“Absolutely certain,” Mina assured her. Ochako laughed nervously.
“Sorry for getting worried,” Ochako responded.
“Don’t worry about it, you don’t need to apologize,” Mina affirmed.
“Okay. Well, um, then I guess I should… Mina, you look like you want to say something,” Ochako said. Mina paused. “You have since I got here, but I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up or not.”
“Oh. Was it that obvious?” Mina asked.
“Pretty much. You don’t have to tell me,” Ochako looked at the sky, slipping her glove back on and stepping back to pick her bags back up.
“No, I will. I just need a second. And, my wings. Just in case,” Mina laughed. She was grateful for Ochako’s ease in the situation. It made everything a bit easier. Mina focused her mind on her wings for a moment, and soon, they grew from her back, extending until at their full size, at least for when her body was still in human form. Mina gave them a few flaps for good measure, then caught Ochako’s attention again.
“Okay. I’m ready,” Mina announced. Ochako turned to Mina.. “I like you. A lot. You’re the most genuine, smart, pretty person I know,” Mina blurted out, anything else she had planned disintegrating when she looked up and saw the softest smile she’d ever seen lining Ochako’s lips. In that moment, any anxiety or nagging thought about bad things that could happen left Mina’s conscious and she felt the most honest feeling of comfort she’d had in her life. Ochako strode forward, her arms falling around Mina’s shoulders.
“I like you too,” Ochako whispered next to Mina’s ear. Mina found her arms wrapping around Ochako, her wings enveloping them in a cocoon of warmth and joy.
Ochako lifted her head from its place on Mina’s shoulder, gazing into Mina’s eyes. They shared silent smiles. Mina returned her wings to their resting position. Without a word, Ochako grabbed Mina’s hand, intertwining their fingers. She began forward, Mina following right behind her. They walked through the trees, watching the sunlit patterns on the floor. Ochako made her way to Izuku’s little cabin, releasing Mina’s hand to place her delivery securely in the doorway. They hiked back to the clearing, listening to the beginnings of the bird’s morning chirps.
“This is a good morning,” Ochako said, sitting at the base of the tree where Mina had been resting before.
“One of the best, I think,” Mina replied, sitting beside her.
The sun had risen further into the sky, blue now overtaking the pinks and yellows. Mina didn’t really see it, though, as she had finally fallen asleep soundly, arms resting gently around Ochako.