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It was in that moment, when he saw his beautiful wife fast asleep on the bathroom floor, slumped against the side of the bathtub, that he remembered. Her greasy hair was pushed back from her face by a much-loved chipped plastic headband, there was a wet patch on the shoulder of her pyjamas from her open mouth, and her skin looked clammy and pale. She breathed deeply in her sleep, like a big sigh, scrunched her nose, and brought up a hand to drape it protectively over the adorable roundness of her pregnant belly. Her features relaxed.
Seeing Ochako like that - beautiful and strong and soft - it was then that that he remembered whole-heartedly how much he loved her.
So much.
God, he loved her so much.
Izuku knelt down by her side and smiled at a little wisp of hair that was falling out of Ochako’s headband. He stroked it gently back into place and whispered her name softly. She needed to get back into bed, or at least get somewhere more comfortable.
Ochako had grown her hair out a lot over the years, and now it was so long it trailed down her back in a bouncy sheet of hazel. When she'd found out that she was pregnant she'd considered getting it cut short so that it wouldn't get in the way with looking after the baby, but she'd seemed so upset by the idea that Izuku had gone out and bought her a box full of hair ties and headbands to pull it back with instead. (All in pink, her favourite colour.) He'd watched as many tutorials about tying up hair that he could, just so that he could surprise her after the baby was born with how many different ways he could style it. For now he loved to sit behind her and tie it back in a simple braid, enjoying acting surprised when Ochako giggled at how good he was getting at them.
“Ochako, baby, you need to wake up,” Izuku whispered.
“Mh?”
“Hey,” he said with a reassuring smile, “are you okay?”
“Izuku?” Ochako blinked owlishly a few times as if she was confused to see him, and then relaxed as she seemed to become aware of her surroundings. She sat up properly and uncurled her legs from beneath her with a wince. “Owch – I think my legs have fallen asleep.”
“I think all of you has been asleep,” he teased.
Ochako laughed a little and stuck out her tongue. “Nuh-uh. Was just... resting my eyes is all.”
Izuku brushed a thumb over her cheek. “Well, I mean, sure, you're allowed to do that anywhere in the house, including the bathroom floor, but it would be more comfy in the bed. Are you feeling okay?”
“Mm,” she hummed sleepily. “I was just feelin' a bit queasy and it woke me up.”
Izuku bit his lip and gently rested his forehead against Ochako's, keeping one hand on her cheek, and putting the other over hers on the large baby bump.
“Y'skin's cold,” Ochako mumbled.
“Sorry, I'll-”
“Don't go - missed you. Stay. Please,” she said with her eyelids fluttering shut.
“I'm right here.”
Seeing her like this was harder than he thought it would be. It wasn't that he regretted their decision to start a family together, of course not, and they'd both seen first-hand the ups and downs of pregnancy after having watched all of their friends go through it before them, so they'd known what they were getting into. But... he just hated seeing her in any kind of discomfort and not being able to help.
Izuku leaned back and smiled affectionately. She looked asleep again. “Ochako?" he said in a quiet tone, not wanting to startle her. “Do you want to go back to the bed? How are you feeling now?”
“Hm? Oh – yeah. Still a little,” - she yawned - “still a little queasy, I guess. I think I’ll just stay here for a while longer.”
Her skin was still just as pale as when he'd walked in, with a sheen of sweat on her brow, there was no pink in her cheeks, and there were dark smudges under her eyes. But... She's the mother of my child, Izuku thought, with pride and admiration filling his chest with so much warmth it felt like it could burst, she's still the most beautiful person in the world.
“Okay, but just for a little while. You’re heavily pregnant. And it’s cold. And hard. And it’s probably not hygienic down there.”
“Aw, don’t listen to him,” she cooed, patting the green tiles, “he doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about. You’re plenty comfortable enough, and I mop you nice and shiny all the time.”
He smiled wryly. “You’re going to make me apologise to the bathroom floor, aren’t you?”
“I think the baby wants you to.”
Izuku laughed as he joined her in leaning against the bathtub. He draped an arm over her shoulders and she snuggled against his side. “You’re going to be so upset when you can’t use that as an excuse anymore.”
“An excuse?” She gasped. “I would never! The baby really does always want me to have extra helpings for them, and to watch our favourite movies, and they're always telling me to have more mochi - it's their favourite treat. Not me, the baby.”
“Well, you’re doing all the hard work here, so I think they know you deserve it.” After a small pause Izuku let concern seep back into his voice when he added, “But, uh, seriously though, do you want me to get anything for you, to help?”
Ochako smiled and shook her head, the action tickling his neck. “Just stay here with me? You could keep talking and take my mind off it? Me and the baby both love the sound of your voice.”
It was silly that a simple compliment from his wife could still make him blush, but Izuku looked up at the ceiling bashfully.
“I can't wait to meet them, y'know?” Ochako said after a small pause. “Girl or boy, doesn't matter.”
“Me too.”
“But I...”
Izuku waited patiently for her to finish her thought, but the statement remained unfinished hanging in the silence between them. "But?" he prompted.
“It's just... I'm so used to us being together now. I'm already sad that they're going to leave me.”
“Ochako… The baby won’t be leaving you… Well- I mean-” Izuku scratched his nose. “I-I guess, in a way. Sure, I guess the baby will leave you, but only because it actually comes out of you- like, physically- but, uh-”
Ochako giggled so loudly she snorted, and there was a bloom of pink over her nose that Izuku was glad to see. “This reminds me of our pre-natal classes.”
“Oh, no, please, you said you’d never bring those back up again! You know what happens when I get nervous, my mouth just doesn’t stop! I’ve never wanted the ground to open up so much in my entire life.”
“I will forever treasure the memories of when that poor midwife asked you a question about the birthing process and you just couldn’t stop explaining the whole thing in just, more and more detail. I think even she felt a little sick at the end!”
Izuku groaned and hung his head at Ochako's wide, teasing grin.
A comfortable silence settled over them.
Finally, Ochako broke the silence as she said hesitantly, “I do need to confess something though.”
“Anything.”
“I am a little scared. About what happens after. I mean, when the baby will be out here, instead of safe in here.” She gestured at the room and then rubbed a protective hand over her stomach.
“Oh,” was all Izuku could think of to say at first. Because, in a way, she was right. It was a scary thought; their child being out in the world when it could be such a scary place – when it could be so dangerous. He let out a small breath. “I guess… I guess that’s one way of looking at it. But… I think…” He scrunched his face in thought before he continued, “There’s something amazing about being alive and living – not being held back by what’s safe or isn’t safe- not to say that being reckless is a good idea- but, you need to be out there to make good choices like, um, you need to be allowed to have the opportunity to mess up to… to live? That doesn’t really make sense,” he muttered. “It’s like, sometimes you make bad decisions, but that’s why you’ve got people around you to support you. Sometimes you make good decisions and they can be a mistake too. But they’re your decisions. Because you’re alive.
“So even though having them in this scary place is a scary thought, because so much can happen that we’re not prepared for, that’s what life is all about and that’s what we’ve made. A life. A person.” Izuku placed his hand over hers and entwined their fingers together. “And don’t forget, that this baby – our baby – is going to be connected to both of us forever because our love made them. No matter how far away we are, no matter what happens to us. The three of us are in each others hearts now forever.”
Izuku glanced down at Ochako and there were tears in her eyes. “O-Or something like that, I don’t really know how to word it all properly, this sounded much better in my head- ah, all of this sounds so corny and weird now I’m saying it out loud, but you know what I mean, r-right?”
Ochako was smiling so tenderly at him that he could barely stand it. He loved her so much.
“I-” Ochako started, then suddenly tilted her head as if she was listening hard for something.
“Ochako, are you okay?”
Then she sighed and said, “Oh, the baby just said they love your rambling.”
Izuku let out a breathy laugh and squeezed her hand. “I think you two are the only ones.”
“And your voice is already making me feel so much better. Do you think you could keep talking a little while longer?”
“Of course,” he said immediately. “Um, what else do you want me to talk about?”
“Anything.” Ochako sighed happily, nuzzling her head onto his shoulder. “Anything at all.”
“Okay, hm… Okay, this might sound weird but- no, I can’t do it, it’s going to sound too weird.”
Ochako peered up at him through her lashes with a smile. “You don’t have to feel embarrassed with me. The stuff you say that you think is weird are always my favourite.”
Izuku leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the end of her nose. “But just so you feel better, and then you’re going to go sleep in the bed okay? That’s the deal. My weird story for you going to bed.”
“Deal.”
“So… Do you believe in soul mates?” Izuku checked her reaction before he continued, but she only smiled gently and tilted her head a little more against his shoulder as a prompt to continue.
“Because,” he continued, looking at the ceiling, “I’ve always had these weird dreams about us. And at first I used to think it was because I loved you so much that you always appeared in them, but, I… I don’t know- I think… this sounds really weird but, I think it might be like, me and you, but in other lifetimes or something. Other worlds maybe? - Hear me out before you laugh though-” Izuku rushed out, but when he peeked back down Ochako didn’t look like she was going to laugh at him at all. Her big brown eyes were blinking up at him with curiosity.
“I would have these dreams where we met as children, playing in a park, or- or we met when we were adults working in an office job, introduced by friends. Or one time I had a dream that I was a florist and you were my customer, and you kept coming back to buy flowers from me. There were these dreams where you worked in a coffee shop and I couldn’t stop coming back for coffees just to see you, even though you know caffeine makes me twitchy. Or- or the one where we were both teachers at a university!
“I had all these vivid dreams where I was a paramedic and we lived in the same apartment building, and you- you nearly died in one of them, and I woke up crying. I dreamt that you’d fallen in love with someone else when I met you a few times, so we were only ever friends, and I woke up crying from those too,” he admitted with a sheepish chuckle, looking back up at the ceiling.
“Izuku…”
“One time you were a mage or something, and you had a staff and magic powers. I think I had a magic sword. And we rode a dragon!”
“A dragon?!”
Izuku laughed. “I know!” He gestured into the air with the hand not still holding onto Ochako’s. “I think you were a fairy or something once too, and I couldn’t understand a word you said to me, and I still fell in love with you!” He let out a much-needed breath and peeked down at Ochako, but she was still smiling with an excited gleam in her eyes. God, he was so lucky that she loved him. “But the most vivid ones I’ve ever had,” he continued, throat thick with emotion, “felt so real that sometimes I’d wake up confused, almost like I was surprised that that was the dream and this was reality.”
“Oh? What happened in those?”
“We were- well... we were, um. Superheroes.”
“Superheroes?” Ochako echoed with a gasp.
“A-And you could make things float, or even make yourself float! You would beat up bad guys and you were so amazing! And you wore this like, s-skin-tight suit that drove me crazy.” Izuku laughed. “All of our friends were superheroes too, at the superhero school we went to. And I was so in love with you, but I didn’t think you liked me like that so I couldn’t tell you, and I had this… really scary power… so I didn’t want to drag you into that either. I think I broke my bones a lot, I remember there was a lot of pain in those dreams…”
Izuku looked down to gauge her reaction, but Ochako was looking up at him with such a sad expression that it made him feel self-conscious and he laughed a little too loudly to try and disguise it. “How crazy is all of this? I know, it’s really weird, right?”
Ochako reached over and gripped the hand that was still gesturing madly in the air, holding it steady, before pulling it down to make their hands into one big tangled pile of fingers on the bump. “Izuku, that all sounds amazing and terrifying. You got to have all these super cool and scary adventures in your sleep, and we were there together in all of them. Oh um, even if we weren’t y’know, together, I’m glad I was always there.”
“Mm, even in those you were always my best friend. We were always a we.” Izuku nodded with a shaky, watery smile, wondering if he was about to start crying, and hoping not because Ochako had seen him cry enough times, and he was supposed to be talking to her to make her feel better, and he realised he probably shouldn’t have mentioned the superhero stuff. It scared him sometimes.
“I-I dreamt that we met in hundreds of different ways at different times, and even the sad ones made me happy because we were together in them,” he blurted, trying to speak to stop his mind from running away with him.
“I think I like the sound of the ones where we’re together like this the best,” Ochako whispered as she leant down to kiss their tangle of hands. “And everything's okay.”
“Me too,” Izuku said softly. “Everything's okay.”
“So, you think,” Ochako continued, puffing out her cheeks slightly in thought, “that somewhere out there we’re… actually living through all of those things you’ve seen in your dreams?”
“Uh, y-yeah… I mean, maybe? I know it sounds crazy, but it just, always feels so real.”
“Hm… I like that.” Ochako looked radiant as she beamed at him. Her cheeks pulled up and crinkled her eyes with a happiness that brought a bloom of pink back onto her pale skin. “Like we're together across universes or something.”
Izuku kissed her smiling lips softly. “I like that too.”
“Destined to find each other, no matter what happens, who we are, or where we are. It’s such a cute thought!” Despite her initial happiness, Ochako's expression clouded and her smile became sad. “Soulmates...” she said, voice full of emotion. “Soulmates sounds nice.”
Izuku shivered at the sensation of hearing her voice say the word he’d been rolling around in his head for so long. He gripped her hands tightly, where they were still resting on her stomach – over their baby. “Soulmates,” he confirmed. “Forever and no matter what.”
A tear escaped Ochako's beautiful brown eyes as she locked her gaze on him, holding his cold hands as hard as she could. “Wait. Don't go.”
Izuku realised he’d started crying too. Hot tears were making wet tracks down both of his cheeks and he couldn’t make them stop. “I have to. I'm sorry, I have to.”
Ochako didn’t untwine their hands, even as tears ran freely down both of their faces, and she didn’t stop smiling. “Izuku,” she said, voice thick with her tears, “you know I love you- I love you so much. You know, right? I'll never stop. I promise. I'll love you in every universe-”
“I know,” Izuku replied, struggling to speak. He could feel her shaking and he knew he was too. “I know, because I love you so much too- so so much, in every version of myself, in every life I have, I love yo-”
----
It was in that moment, when she woke up alone on the bathroom floor, slumped against the side of the bathtub, that she remembered. Her greasy hair was pushed back from her face by a much-loved chipped plastic headband, her cheeks were wet with tears, and her skin felt shivery and cold. She breathed deeply as she looked at the space next to her, where just a second ago her husband had been. Her hands were clasped over the roundness of her pregnant belly, empty and freezing cold.
Seeing Izuku like that - funny and loving and soft - it was then that that she remembered whole-heartedly how much she missed him.
So much.
God, she missed him so much.