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“Mom, dad?” Ochako calls as she opens the front door to her apartment back home.
They both hurry over and give Ochako warm hugs as she takes off her shoes and jacket. “Ochako! You’re home early,” her mom says.
“Yeah! I’ve missed you two so much,” Ochako says, returning their hugs tight. Together they all head into the kitchen, where her parents are already busy cooking dinner together. She starts to move towards the counter, rolling up her sleeves to help.
“Nope! You sit right there,” her mom says, steering her into a seat at the kitchen table. “You’ve been working so hard, and you’ve had a long journey! So just relax and let us take care of you.”
Ochako could cry with happiness at the familiar, comforting act of simply sitting at home with both her parents.
“You must’ve been homesick since moving into the dorms,” her dad says, “But living with all your friends must be fun, right?”
“It’s been great!” Ochako says, and she means it – but something in her expression, or her tone of voice, must give her away.
“Is something wrong, honey?”
She’s been planning to wait until later to tell them, but as her dad looks at her with wide, concerned eyes, she finds she just can’t hold it in anymore. She’s never kept anything from her parents, and it’s been hard enough not telling them over the phone. “Mom, dad… I think I’m gay. Or bi. Pan? I-I haven’t figured it out yet,” she babbles.
Her parents exchange a look, turn off the stove and sit down at the table with her. Ochako swallows hard and glances between them, wondering what their reaction will be.
“Thank you for telling us, Ochako,” her dad says with a kind smile. “We love you and all we want is for you to find someone who makes you happy!”
“I know that maybe it’s not what you would’ve wanted for me...” Ochako looks down at her hands, twiddling her thumbs together.
Her mom looks troubled, almost ashamed as she leans over the table to give her a hug. “Ochako, sweetie… I’m sorry if we ever said or did anything to make you feel like we wouldn’t accept you for who you are. We’re here for you, no matter what.”
“I think I knew that, but… you know, it’s hard.” Ochako presses her face into her mom’s shoulder and squeezes her eyes tight shut – although she can’t stop tears from leaking out.
“Well if there’s anything we can do to make it easier, just let us know,” her dad says, joining in on the group hug.
Once they’ve hugged it out, and Ochako’s shed quite a few tears of gratitude, her parents make her a big cup of tea and go back to cooking. Ochako messages the 1-A girls’ group chat, typing, it went great! They took it really well, receiving a round of congratulatory messages and emojis in response.
“You knowwwwww...” Her mom says, shooting a shifty glance at her dad, “you should bring one of your friends to visit again. Maybe that Asui girl you’re always telling me about on the phone? She was so nice the last time she was here. We really liked her, didn’t we, dear?”
Her dad stepped on her mom’s foot and gave her a sort of, ‘what do you think you’re doing?’ look. She was undettered
Ochako puts her face in her hands to hide her blush. “Mom!”
*
The first one to corner Ochako when she gets back to UA is, of course, Mina.
“So, Ochako!” She gushes, dragging Ochako into her room like a fiend dragging some poor soul into purgatory, “Who’s the lucky girl? How’d you know? Tell me everything!” Her voice rises to a shriek on the last word.
Ochako’s mind goes blank, and she sits on Mina’s bed while she thinks back. “W-well, I think the you-Momo-Kyouka polycule really opened my eyes to a lot of things...”
Mina puffs her chest out and looks disgustingly proud of herself. “Glad to have done our part!”
“And when I was at Ryukyu Agency, well, one time after a mission, we were relaxing at the beach. And everyone was wearing swimsuits...” Ochako covers her face and blushes furiously, thinking back to Nejire’s figure overflowing the confines of her swimsuit, Ryukyu’s broad muscled shoulders, Sirius, and of course Tsu.
“Oooh, I’m soooo jealous… I bet everyone was really hot!” Mina jumps onto the bed next to Ochako, making them both bounce, and holds her hand. “I can’t believe you didn’t send me pics!”
Ochako gives Mina a playful shove. “You!”
Mina giggled. “So? Any other juicy thoughts?”
Ochako goes bright red as she remembers another glowing rainbow sign on the path to queerness. “The Hero Licensing Exam… Camie’s outfit...”
Mina was practically drooling, and her cheeks had gone a darker shade of pink. “Oh. My. GOD. That skintight catsuit that wouldn’t even zip up over her huge tiddies?”
“Mina!” Ochako gasps, scandalized, even though she’s caught herself thinking the exact same thing… although definitely not as crudely worded.
“It’s like she was spray painted into it! Did you see her butt when she turned around?!” Mina grabs Ochako’s arm and shakes her giddily.
“Sh-she was so hot! I thought I was jealous ‘cus the others said Deku had seen her naked. I didn’t realize I was jealous of him!”
Mina nods like a wise old sage and strokes an imaginary beard. “Understandable. Very understandable.” She narrows her eyes and leans close to Ochako. “So, any other hotties catch your eye?”
Ochako covers her face again, but another image does float into her brain, preserved there as if her brain wants to remember it for all eternity: various shots of Mei Hatsume in the support division. Particularly the first time she’d seen her there, with her lying on top of Deku, her breasts pressed against him. “Um… Mei. And that little black tank top she’s always wearing...”
Mina looks like she’s going to explode with delight. “Oh. My god. And she’s always got like, these sexy little grease smudges on her cleavage, right? Right?”
Ochako nods furiously. “And she’s always kinda sweaty and shiny and she always gets really, really close and she’s so touchy!”
“I bet she loves getting her hands all over you,” Mina teases, poking Ochako’s ticklish spots and making her giggle. “Is that why you spend so much time in the workshop, O-cha-kooooo?”
“No! It’s for suit improvements, I swear...” Ochako fends Mina’s tickling hands away and then admits, “Um… well, maybe. I was trying to figure things out after all, and I thought if I had more data...”
“Who’d’a thunk you were such a horn dog, Ochako!” Mina gives her a big hug. “Not that I can talk. So? Anyone else on your radar? Or have you got a thing for Mei?”
Ochako’s mind flashes back to something she’s not sure she can talk to anybody about: straddling Toga in the forest; holding Toga down as hard as she can, feeling her hips tremble underneath hers, the rush of power and – in retrospect, she realizes, arousal. She enjoys the memory of holding Toga down a little too much… Is she a top? Maybe she can talk to Mina about that particular aspect of her sexuality another time. Everybody knows Mina, Jirou and Momo get up to some kinky stuff.
Something else from that night stands out. As the screams had issued from the surrounding woods, Tsu had told her, “Hold hands and we’ll be fine. I’m not scared.” And the memory of holding Tsu’s hand was something she constantly comes back to. In fact, now that she thinks about, that might have been what started this whole thing off.
“Mina, I, um… I think there’s someone I like.” Ochako says, wringing her hands together. “But I don’t know what to do about it...”
Mina’s eyes light up like Ochako’s given her the world’s best Christmas present and she clasps Ochako’s hands between hers. She’s practically vibrating with manic excitement. “Tell. Me. EVERYTHING.”
*
A party is underway in the UA dorms, and the timing is completely coincidental and has absolutely nothing to do with Ochako’s recent coming out. None whatsoever. At least, that’s what the MinaJirouMomo polycule tells her.
Ochako’s at the buffet table, piling her plate way too high with food and wondering if Tsu will show. It’s nearly Christmas, after all, and it’s a cold night, so she might well be hibernating in her room. Maybe if she doesn’t show Ochako can take a plate of food up?
“Congratulations, Ochako, I heard coming out to your parents went really well,” Tsu’s voice emerges from behind Ochako’s shoulder.
Ochako yelps, spins a hundred eighty degrees and drops her paper plate, splattering food all over the floor. “Ah! Y-you startled me,” she says, trying to get her heart under control. This isn’t easy, because Tsu looks incredibly cute and cozy in fluffy slippers, wool Christmas socks, and two ugly Christmas sweaters, one of which has the hood pulled up. She’s adorable.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Tsu says, helping Ochako clear up all the spilled food, throw it away, and get her a new plate. “Are you okay, Ochako? You seem a little jumpy tonight.”
“Do I? Haha! Why would I be jumpy?” Ochako giggles hysterically as the two of them start getting food. She feels like every student in UA must be watching them.
“Welllll, there’s a rumor that someone you like might be at the party, and that you’re gonna ask her out,” Tsu says, poking the tips of her index fingers together and looking down at them. “So maybe that’s why? Ribbit.”
“Where did you hear that?” Ochako asks, way more shrilly than she intends. “I-I mean… u-ummmm...”
Tsuyu looks rather alarmed. “I’m sorry. This is all new to you and you’re probably feeling overwhelmed. Would you like me to leave you alone now?”
Over Tsu’s shoulder, Ochako catches a glimpse of Momo, Mina and Jirou in the crowd. Mina’s giving her double thumbs up and jumping up and down on the spot like an overcharged energizer bunny. Jirou’s waggling her eyebrows lewdly, holding her thumb and forefinger together in a circle and thrusting both her earphone jacks through it. Momo is miming an apology for the behavior of the other two and trying to drag them away by the scruffs of their necks.
“No!” Ochako says, turning her back on the thoroughly unhelpful trio and leading Tsu away. “Actually, I am kind of overwhelmed. Maybe we can just go somewhere quiet, just the two of us, and talk?”
“Sure, Ochako. What would you like to talk about?” Tsuyu asks, blinking curiously.
Ochako thinks about all the half-explored feelings she has for Tsu, all the things she wants to say, all the fantasies she has. In the end she says, “Anything. I just really wanna spend time with you!”
A slow blush colors Tsu’s cheeks, and her eyes go wide. It’s not always easy to read Tsu’s expression, but if Ochako isn’t mistaken, she looks… tentatively hopeful. She squeezes Ochako’s hand. “There’s no one else I’d rather spend time with,” she says, smiling.
Ochako’s heart leaps with happiness, and she smiles back. It’s going to be a wonderful evening.