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Ochako hated summer. She barely got any time to shine since that overheated jerk, Bakugou, always took the spotlight for the season. For some reason he refused to look at her during the day, which made her job very lonesome. Since he seemed to dislike her, she focused on Earth. Earth was wondrous in her opinion; full of beautiful life, delicious food, and interesting stories. What made summer even more horrendous was that Bakugou kept creeping into her territory and night wouldn’t come until most of the children were already asleep. She missed the children most of all. They looked in awe at her and told her in their whispers of sleepiness that they felt safe with the light she provided them in the night. They’d smile up at her and thank her for smiling back. Ochako missed the other weather gods during the summer since Bakugou made it a point to be the only one in the sky until he was too tired to carry on.
One day, when Ochako was in her human form drinking tea in her garden and admiring her multitudes of nocturnal plants, she heard her gate open and a thud as someone fell. She looked toward the noise and saw a blonde, spiky haired man face first on the ground. He was dressed in reds, oranges and golds, but Ochako couldn’t place him. She had never seen this form before but he must be like her since no mortal could come into her garden.
Ochako quickly ran over and turned his face toward the sky.
His eyes were closed and his breathing was ragged. Ochako brushed the dirt off his face.
“You’re not doing so well,” she whispered and the man grimaced.
“Obviously,” he growled.
“Oh, so you are awake,” Ochako chuckled. “Can you stand?”
“If I could I wouldn’t be on the ground now would I?”
Ochako giggled, which caused the man to barely open one eye.
“You laughing at me?” He said loudly but his breath caught and coughed.
“Yeah, if you were in my situation I think you’d be laughing too.”
The man rolled his head back.
“Do you have Night Gladiolus or not? That’s the only reason I’m here. Spell said this was the closest place to me.”
“Why do you want that? It’s poisonous.”
“To mortals maybe. You obviously know I’m not one.”
“Hm, most people like us want my plants for humans. To woo them to create demigods or to kill them.”
“That’s stupid. Why would a god want a human partner?”
“Some gods hate commitment,” Ochako mused. He scoffed.
“Idiots. Bet they get an ego boost from it. Humans have done nothing but worship me. I don’t have to do anything except my job and they praise me for everything.”
Ochako wondered who he could be but now wasn’t the time to ask.
“But your ego is fine, right?” Ochako smiled at him. He glared at her.
“Are you going to give me what I want or not?”
“Night Gladiolus won’t heal you,” she said.
“I know that!” he raged. “Summers are brutal and I have the elixir already. Night Gladiolus makes it taste better.”
“What?!” Ochako laughed. “You came all this way for that!”
“Makes it spicy,” he said with a tired smirk before passing out. Ochako shook her head in disbelief.
“You’re lucky it’s my night off,” Ochako whispered as she heaved the man onto her shoulders and carried him to one of the nearby benches. Once she was sure he wouldn’t fall off, she made some soothing tea and grabbed some moon pies she had picked up on her last lunar eclipse trip to Earth. Ochako was a sucker for earthly sweets and she loved that they had named something after her.
When Ochako got back, the man wasn’t on the bench but was picking some of her Night Gladiolus, crushing it up in his hand before putting it in the bottles that had been clipped to his belt.
He turned around when he heard her coming and scoffed at her offerings.
“Human food is disgusting.”
“Have you tried it?” Ochako asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course not. Humans are weak so their food must be too. They burn at the slightest bit of heat you know.”
Ochako tilted her head and finally realized who this man was.
“You’re the sun god,” Ochako said curtly before she placed the tea and treats on her table.
“You’re the moon goddess. Are we just saying obvious things tonight?” He asked angrily.
“I didn’t know what your human form looked like,” Ochako pursed her lips. “I only ever see you in the sky. Not that you see me.”
Bakugou caught her tone and his face hardened.
“I couldn’t care less that you don’t like me,” Bakugou growled. “Who needs that? Who needs anyone?!”
He grabbed a few more flowers and stuck them in his pocket.
“I won’t come back, Round-Face. Won’t force you to see me again.”
Bakugou walked angrily to her gate but Ochako couldn’t let him leave. He was the first celestial being she’d seen in weeks.
“Wait!” Ochako cried. “You owe me!”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
“You took my flowers! You’ll have to go to earth if you want them again.”
Bakugou groaned before he turned around.
“I don’t have anything to give you. Unless you need something burned.”
Ochako looked at him carefully.
“As payment for the flowers all I ask for is a smile.”
“What?!” Bakugou shouted at her.
“It’ll help me forgive you for the summers. I don’t get to see the children smile during them. So you owe me a smile.”
Bakugou stood like a statue for a few seconds then gave an exasperated sigh. He looked at her with his piercing red eyes and then his face turned into a warm, full smile. As quickly as it happened it was over.
“There! Can I leave?” Bakugou asked, his hands clenched as if he was ready to fight someone.
“If you need more flowers, please come back. It’s lonely here, especially in the summer. Even seeing you was nice.”
Bakugou scoffed as he opened the gate.
“I’ll be back in a month,” he said quietly and he looked at her one last time.
“Thank you,” Ochako smiled at him, tears in her eyes from happiness. She wasn’t necessarily happy it was him but she had company.
The next month, Bakugou came back looking worse than last time.
“You overwork yourself,” Ochako said after he’d taken a few swigs of his elixir mixed with the plant. He’d stayed for tea this time.
“The Earth needs me. If the summers don’t happen, the humans won’t have any food. The ice won’t melt and the rains will flood the Earth.”
“Even gods need rest,” Ochako smiled as she took a bite of cake. “Take it from me. I have an important job just like you. The Earth needs its tides, even human emotions are affected by me. I only have one day off every twenty-eight days but it’s important.”
“Not me. It’s never ending for me.”
“So, how are you even here right now?”
“I’m both awake and asleep at all times. There are two sides of me, just like the Earth. When I go to sleep, I look like this. When I’m awake, I’m in the other form. It’s not a restful existence.”
“So if you want to see anyone or anything you have to stay up during your sleep cycle?” Ochako asked.
Bakugou nodded. No wonder he was so exhausted all the time.
Ochako looked at him sadly but didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.
“Is this the same side as last time?” She asked to change the subject.
Bakugou looked at her with a mischievous gleam in his eye.
“No.”
“I thought you were less angry,” Ochako joked.
“We’re not two different people. I’m less angry because you’re not as annoying as last time.”
“Hey!” Ochako laughed. Bakugou chuckled. They drank tea and talked and soon Ochako saw the sunrise in the distance.
“I have to go,” Bakugou said, getting up from his seat.
“My smile!” Ochako reminded him.
Bakugou exhaled in annoyance and turned around. The smile wasn’t the same as before. It was smaller, more relaxed but just as warm. It was gone in an instant.
“I’ll see you in a month,” he said as he jumped over the gate. Ochako saw him start to glow as he ran out of view.
This continued even after the summers ended. Every month on the new moon, the sun god would come and drink tea with her. Bakugou would pick her flowers as she talked with him. He wasn’t a god of many words but that suited the pair better. She loved to talk and he loved to listen. It seemed to ease both of their loneliness. Ochako had many fleeting visitors in the Fall, Winter, and Spring, but when Summer came back Ochako was alone once again.
“How can you entertain those idiots?” Bakugou asked her one June night.
“The power I need depends on my phase. They say hello and I say hello back. They tell me their plans and I smile at them. That’s really all I can handle.”
“No one tells me their plans,” Bakugou grumbled. “Some days I've prepared for an extra hot day and then the rain god and that electric dumbass will create a thunderstorm.”
“Tsu and Kaminari do like to keep us on our toes,” Ochako laughed. “I love the smell of rain.”
“She doesn’t like to make it rain as often when it’s sunny. I don’t know why.”
“Maybe you scare her?” Ochako smirked as she took a sip of tea. “I know you scare a lot of the gods and demigods. They tell me. They can’t imagine why I even allow you into my garden.”
Bakugou hesitated on his own cup.
“It’s better that way.”
Ochako looked up at him.
“For them or for you?” Ochako asked gently.
Bakugou looked deep into her eyes and then got up to leave.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry,” Ochako said hurriedly. Bakugou turned to her and gave her a smile. She noticed that it didn’t reach his eyes. His face turned back into a scowl as he left her garden. Ochako also noticed that he hadn’t said he’d be back.
Ochako spent that summer fully alone. She didn’t want to admit it but her heart had been broken. Bakugou had been the only god she’d had a real conversation with, the only god that had made her feel like she wasn’t completely alone or separated from the others, the only one that had made her feel like she was worth the extra effort to see.
It wasn’t until the next spring that they met again.
Ochako knew the solar eclipse was coming and had mentally prepared for seeing Bakugou. They had met in the sky for many solar eclipses but this one would be different. As their celestial forms moved together, Ochako projected her other form to him. Bakugou did the same but he looked away from her.
“This will be over in a few moments. You won’t have to see me again. I just wanted to say goodbye for real,” Ochako said sadly. If she had truly been in her human form, she probably would have been crying.
“It’s better this way,” Bakugou said quietly.
“So that’s your answer,” Ochako looked at him. Bakugou refused to meet her eyes. “It’s better for you.”
“It’s better for both of us!” Bakugou shouted, the sound radiating through the sky. “I have a job to do that I cannot stop. I’m never around like all of your other friends. You deserve better.”
“You didn’t bother to ask me what I wanted,” Ochako told him.
Bakugou looked at her and sighed.
“Your eyes are a trap, Round-Face. I see them and I just want to stay. But I can’t.”
Ochako melted at his words but Bakugou continued.
“The day I fell into your garden, I felt like I was dying. Choking from the pressure of being everything the Earth needed me to be. Then when you looked at me with those eyes, I caught my breath. Then you talked with me and your voice became my peace. I hear it and I relax. I see your smile as you pass me in the sky during the day and I want to see it in the garden. But I’m needed elsewhere. It’s better to have someone that can love you all the time than someone who always has to leave.”
“I would rather have you for one night a month then never again,” Ochako said. The solar eclipse was ending and they were being pulled apart. “Please. You broke my heart once. Don’t break it again.”
Bakugou looked at her with fierce eyes as if she had challenged him to a game. She watched Bakugou mouth something but they were too far away already. Ochako reached out to him but Bakugou had already stopped projecting his human form to her.
On the next month's new moon, Ochako nervously waited in her garden. She paced back and forth between her flowers and clenched her fists in anticipation. If he didn’t show, she’d forget about him. She had survived millions of years without him and could survive the rest of eternity without him as well.
She waited for hours.
When Ochako resolved that he wasn’t coming, she sat on the same bench she had carried him to their first night together and thought of all the things she could do to pass the time in the upcoming summer.
The gate to the garden creaked and Ochako’s head snapped up.
“Bakugou!” Ochako shrieked as she put her tea down and ran into his arms.
“Round-Face,” Bakugou said softly as he hugged her to him. “I didn’t mean to be late. The days are getting longer and hotter this year than it has before. Even took my elixir before coming so I could make it without falling through your gate again.”
“So you don’t need my flowers this month?” Ochako asked as she looked up into his eyes.
“Only came for you,” Bakugou smiled warmly at her. “But I’ll still pay up.”
“The payment has increased, you know? For all the months you left me alone.”
Bakugou looked confused and slightly panicked for a second before Ochako pulled him down to her and kissed him. She held onto his face and Bakugou grabbed her thighs to lift her up to him.
“I’ll come every night even when you can’t talk,” Bakugou promised when Ochako pulled away from him. “You’ll never be alone again.”
“Neither will you. Even when it’s the day.”
“Really?”
“I still shine brightly even next to you. You’ll find me,” Ochako kissed him again and they spent the rest of the new moon in each other’s arms.
Both of them kept their promises. No matter how tired Bakugou felt, he would come every night and see Ochako in her meditative state. He’d tell her a story he heard from the humans or how much he loved her or a joke he’d come up with during the day in hopes of hearing her laugh. Sometimes Ochako would smile or say hello or say she loved him back. He’d even get full sentences when the moon was just a sliver in the sky.
During the day, Ochako willed herself to shine a little more brightly so that Bakugou could see her smile more clearly. She’d make funny faces at him and blow kisses toward him. He’d roll his eyes or smirk at her or frown at her if the face she made was horrendous. It was only in her garden on a new moon that he smiled for her. Ochako looked forward to it.
Summers quickly became her favorite for now it was when she saw her love the most. Neither of them were ever lonely again.