Work Text:
Ochako felt the warmth of the sun on her skin and the ghost of a cool breeze across her face, and she knew today was going to be good. For weeks, Class 1A had been working on their musical performance - learning dances, designing outfits, getting their timing right. It allowed everyone to take a break from the real world and try to forget the terrible events involving Overhaul and his gang the month prior.
Ochako had especially thrown herself into her part, perfecting the dance routine Mina taught and helping Iida and Tsu to get their parts down as well. All the while her eyes had been drawn to the band… She was more than a little jealous of their talent to be honest. Jirou was dazzling like they’d never seen before, Tokoyami was talking excitedly to his classmates at every practice, Momo somehow looked as graceful as ever, and even Kaminari managed to look pretty cool when he finally got the chords down. Even Bakugo had been…a surprise.
She’d always seen him as less of a team player and more of a ‘shut-up-just-let-me-do-it’ kind of player. Ochako almost blushed thinking about how he’d looked the other day wearing his usual black joggers and a dark tank top, working up a sweat on the drums and shouting himself hoarse from screaming encouragement and advice at his classmates. He was somehow attentive to everything all at once, tapping out a rhythm one minute and shocking everyone the next when the song finished and he shouted across the stage, “Hey Cheeks! You nailed it that time.”
…If she wasn’t paying attention to him before she definitely was now. And hey, she HAD nailed the routine that time. She couldn’t shake the smile off her face after that comment, and she was even man enough to admit that she’d had a tiny little crush on him since their fight at the Sports Festival. The sight of him working up a sweat and absolutely killing it on the drums reminded her vividly of that day - weaving in and out of smoke clouds and rubble, getting just sooo close to touching him and winning the match - the adrenaline of that battle was so far unmatched. Even as she felt herself start to tire and waver, the feral smile on his face gave her such a high. She felt like a /hero/ that day.
Telling the rest of the Class 1-A girls about her feelings (her tiny and insignificant feelings of admiration of course) may have been a bad idea though. Late night sleepovers, whispered confessions, and Girl Talk could turn any little crush into a much bigger deal, and Mina had been especially insistent that Ochako “at least get to know him!” before writing him off completely. Her enthusiastic friend had definitely noticed Bakugo’s encouraging comment the other day, not to mention the borderline embarrassing giggle Ochako had let out in response.
Finally, she found herself at the main festival entrance. She had exactly ten seconds to take in the blue sky and colorful streamers one more time before a streak of pink excitement barrelled into her with a gasp. “Come with me!” Mina whisper-screamed into her ear. Ochako was dragged more than led toward the shadow of the main building, where Mina firmly pressed her back to the wall and caught her breath. “There’s been a development on the Bakugo situation.” Instantly, Ochako rolled her eyes and started walking back toward the auditorium.
“No wait! I’m serious this time! He’s not leaving the festival after our show!” Ochako remained unconvinced, but slowed her pace just enough to hear Mina out. She was allowed to be a little curious, she thought, finally taking the bait. “I thought he had something important to do? We all assumed it was something about his internship.” Late one night Ochako had unfortunately admitted to Mina that she had heard one of the General Studies courses was planning a spicy food cart for the event, and that if there was anything at the festival that might catch Bakugo’s interest, it would be that. She was, however, glad that she’d brought it up, since Mina was able to break the news early that Bakugo wasn’t even planning on staying for the rest of the day’s events. The disappointment was bitter at the time, but better to learn it early than to build up a whole scenario and embarrass herself. Now, though…the wheels in her head started turning again.
Mina went on, “Kiri was talking to him early this morning and Bakubro let it slip that he doesn’t even actually have plans later, he just wanted to bail on the festival, which like honestly we should have realized immediately... But that means you can do your plan! We know he’ll love the spicy food so it’s a great excuse, we know that you’re willing to ask /him/, and we know that he’s been watching your hips sway every practice, so there’s no way he’ll like reject you!” Mina left off on that less encouraging note with a huge smile, having worked herself up thoroughly.
Finally seeing an opening as her friend gasped for air, Ochako was able to respond, laughing nervously. “Ha…I mean that all /sounds/ good Mina, but I haven’t had any time to prepare… You can’t just confess to someone without a plan! Plus he’s gonna be so grumpy since Kirishima’s making him stay after the show… I just don’t think I can do it.” She smiled weakly, feeling more than a little embarrassed that she couldn’t work up the courage. Seriously, what kind of hero student was she if she couldn’t even ask a classmate to walk around a festival with her? Mina looked sympathetic, somehow making it worse.
“Hey, don’t worry about it! I just got excited and knew I needed to let you know ASAP. Let’s go help set everything up. And if you change your mind,” she winked loudly, “let me know!”
~
It was finally time. Class 1A had used all of their skills and hidden talents, and they were determined to bring some smiles to the rest of the school. Ochako took her mark near Tsu and Iida and felt that she herself couldn’t stop smiling if she tried. As the first notes of Jirou’s original song rang out, she felt like nothing could possibly ruin this day. She and her friends were nailing their choreographed moves, the lights and special effects were on cue, one after the other, and the band - the beat of the drum - was giving her such an adrenaline rush that she wished it would never end. On and on it went, cheering and flashing lights and smiles everywhere around. As Ochako spun around she saw Bakugo with the same feral grin he wore when they battled at the sports festival all those months ago. Did their eyes meet on her next spin? She couldn’t tell. The music got impossibly louder as Jirou brought the song to its climax, and Ochako suddenly felt like she could do anything. A moment in the routine had her facing the back of the stage, the band - and the drummer - now in full view for more than a second.
Bakugo looked almost wild as his arms circled around, back and forth, keeping a perfect rhythm to the very end. Drops of sweat gathered around his temples and were shaken off just as quickly as the erratic motions kept him moving. This time Ochako definitely caught him looking at her, that unhinged smile hitting her right in the gut. She was smiling already, but met his eyes firmly as the final notes played.
She thought to herself, you know what? I /am/ a badass hero.
~
Backstage was a chaotic and crowded mess, as students searched for their day clothes, put away instruments, and chatted excitedly about how well they did together. Ochako herself was walking quickly through the crowd, helping to clean up but also searching for a certain blond, determined to find him before she panicked and lost her nerve.
A familiar hand pressed flat against Ochako’s back, pushing her forward the same way she had this morning. Ochako looked back to see Mina’s pink curls dart away, just as another pair of hands grabbed her arms, stopping her movement abruptly. She looked up and stepped back quickly, finding just the person she’d been looking for.
He was slightly taller than the last time they had stood this near each other, and she reached for the little Mina inside herself telling her to be brave. Before she could back down, Ochako blurted out the beginning of a question, at the same time Bakugo had opened his mouth:
“Did you want to walk - “
“I was gonna ask if you - “
They looked at each other for a moment, before speaking over each other again.
“There’s spicy food - “
“There was mochi - ”
Bakugo cringed at their second failed attempt. She caught the subtle flick of his eyes to the right, and looked to see Mina and Kirishima standing only a few feet away, grinning like proud parents and not being subtle about it.
Courage, Ochako. Courage. She boldly stepped to the side, blocking his view of their somewhat meddlesome friends and grabbing his attention once more.
“Um, spicy food and then mochi?” she offered with a smile, reaching her hand toward his. Looking reassured, Bakugo gave her a lopsided grin in return before nodding his head toward the exit, “Sounds good, Cheeks.” He awkwardly reached his hand toward hers, and she grabbed it tight, dragging him out into the sun with her.