Work Text:
Ochako stared down at the note in her hands, the note Deku left all of them. A sadness pricked her heart as she read every word. “That Dummy” she whispered to herself. But as she watched Bakugo rip his letter apart an idea struck her. They were all going to appeal to principal Nedzu to go get Deku back.
The night before their meeting was to happen Ochako found herself outside gazing up at the sky as clouds overtook the stars, signs that rain was moving in.
She sighed as a shiver from the nights cold air hit her lungs. “We’re coming, Deku.” she breathed.
“What’re you doing out here, Cheeks? It’s freaking cold.” a voice came behind her. Ochako jumped at the sudden sound as Bakugo came up to her.
“Oh! Bakugo, you scared me!”
Bakugo grimaced “Maybe if you paid attention you’d have heard me coming, you’re a hero, you gotta stay vigilant at all times. What if I was a villain who just so happened to sneak up on you? Besides, this isn’t the first time we’ve done this.” He grumbled.
Ochako blinked as she took in his words. “Were you worried about me? I can take care of myself ya know.” she said as she puffed out a cheek and set her hands on her hips.
“Tch, I know that! And of course I wasn’t.” He said as he grit his teeth and turned slightly away. A silence fell over them for what seemed like an eternity until Ochako decided to speak again. “What are you doing out here, Bakugo? I thought you’d be asleep by now.” Bakugo glanced over at her then up at the sky. “I just needed some time to think.”
Ochako watched him from the corner of her eye. “Yeah, me too. I’m nervous about tomorrow. What if they don’t let us go?” She said as as she hugged herself.
“Regardless of what they say, we are getting him back no matter what.” Bakugo glared at the sky.
“And what if HE doesn’t want to come back?” Ochako said as she looked at Bakugo with pleading eyes, a worry in her brow. Bakugo looked down at her, a confidence in his own eyes. “He will.”
As Ochako stared into his eyes she could feel her heart speed up. This had become a familiar feeling too her in the last few months, going back to when their conversations started around Christmas. She looked away her own determination back. “You’re right, we will get him back, no matter what.” She said repeating his words. Then her smile fell as she remembered Deku’s letter, conflict on her face. She sighed deeply trying to find the words to voice her thoughts. “I just…I wish he could have told us sooner.” Bakugo watched her silently.
“I know he couldn’t, really, it just makes me feel like a useless friend. Someone he couldn’t confide in.” She said as she felt tears start to form.
“You’re not a bad friend, Uraraka. All Might made him keep it a secret, for everyone’s safety.” A knowing smiled crept on Ochako’s face. “You knew, didn’t you?”
“He told me after our first heroes vs villains practice. I didn’t believe him at the time until much later. They asked me to keep quiet so I did.” He said scuffing the ground.
“That makes sense since you guys are childhood friends and all.” She chuckled. “Thanks, by the way. I feel a little better now.” She said smiling softly at him.
Bakugo placed a hand on the back of his neck as he felt a small blush reach his ears. Clearing his throat he shoved his hands in his pockets. “ You were right by the way, what you said back in the class room a while back. I was afraid. I didn’t want him to get close to me. I kept him at arm’s length because I thought I was better than him. I know now that I was wrong.”
Ochako couldn’t believe her ears, mouth agape. Bakugo “Lord Explosion Murder God Dynamite” Katsuki just admitted one of his faults, to her of all people.
“Oi! Close your mouth, it’s not that big a deal!” He sneered at her.
Ochako looked at the ground awkwardly. “S..Sorry.” She stuttered. “I just wasn’t expecting that.”
“But.” She said straightening herself with confidence in her eyes. “I believe when we find him, you’ll be able to get through to him the most.”
Now it was Bakugo’s turn to stare mouth open at Ochako.
“Anyway, it’s getting pretty late and we have a big day tomorrow, we should get some sleep” she said turing to start the walk back toward the dorms.
Collecting himself Bakugo caught up to her. They walked in comfortable silence until they reached their floor. As they stepped off the elevator Ochako turned to Bakugo. “You have to wear a tie tomorrow. It will make us look serious.” She said peaking up at him.
“Tch, whatever.” He grumbled.
“I can help you put it on if you need me too.” She said with a cheeky grin.
“Hey, I know how to put one on myself!” He whispered-yelled aware that others might already be asleep.
Ochako softly chuckled as she started to head for her room. “Goodnight, Bakugo.” She whispered loud enough for him to hear. There was no response for a moment as Ochako started to turn not expecting a reply.
“Night, Cheeks.” He said not looking back at her as he walked to his own room, opened the door and disappeared inside. Ochako stood watching his door for a few heartbeats with a small smile on her face before she walked into her own.
~~~~~~~~~~~ PT.2 Promises
Katsuki walked out onto the familiar grass of the dorms courtyard, the night quickly approaching. Tomorrow would be the day they leave U.A and their families to move to Makeshift Fortress:Troy.
As Katsuki walked the grounds he spotted Uraraka in the same place they’ve chatted many times before. He felt the all familiar pull to go join her.
“Why do you always choose to sit out here at night, when it’s cold?” He said plopping himself next to her in the grass, brow furrowed.
“Hey! I heard you this time.” She grinned looking over at him.
“As you should.” He said rolling his eyes and smirking. They both watched as some of the civilians passed, heading in for the night.
“You know it’s cuz I like watching the stars.” She said.
Uraraka sighed next to him, clutching something in her hands. He recognized it as the All Might doll he brought to the secret Santa party. He swallowed wondering if he should finally tell her it was from him. Thinking back he could remember all the times her and Mina gushed over that doll thinking it was from Deku. Maybe she’d not see it as important if she knew it was from him, but he decided to keep quiet on that point. “Why do you have that thing out here?” he asked
She looked down at the doll, tenderly gripping it in her hand. “It reminds me of happier times, that’s all.”
Shifting over she clipped the doll back on her bag. “I’m scared.” Her voice trembled as she looked away. “What if I’m not strong enough? What if I fail?”
“You won’t, have more confidence in yourself. You’re not some frail girl who can’t help herself. Don’t think I’ve forgotten for a second our fight at the school festival. That was all you back then and that’s all you now.” Katsuki said bluntly giving her a firm stare, not the signature glare he gave everyone else.
Uraraka stared at him mystified. “There you go again, making me feel better.” She smiled softly. “You know, back when we found Deku and you apologized to him, the last words you spoke stopped me in my tracks. Seeing Deku like that made me remember one of the reasons I wanted to become a hero, to save other heroes. Your words are what gave me the confidence and inspiration to speak out up on that roof, not just for Deku, but for myself, for all of us.” She said as she looked out at the sky.
“My words may have inspired you, but give yourself some credit too, that confidence was already there you didn’t need my words to make you move, you did that on your own.” He replied back looking at her intensely. Katsuki could feel his heart speeding up as he looked into her eyes and noticed her cheeks getting darker than the natural pink she always had. He had begun to notice that was happening to her often. He looked away hoping to calm his heart down by glaring at the ground when she caught his attention again.
“Look!” She breathed nodding toward the sky. “It’s a Vanilla Twilight!” She said excitedly as she leaned closer to him, bumping their shoulders together. Guess his heart wasn’t going to calm down after all. They watched the sky as the sun dipped behind the horizon casting its last rays of light on the distant clouds, causing them to illuminate in a soft pink hue as the sky turned from dark blue to a stunning Pink and and flaming orange. As the first stars began to sprinkle the sky Katsuki glanced down at Uraraka’s trembling hand. He decided in that moment he would never miss the opportunity to take a hand again. Reaching down he grasped Uraraka’s hand in his causing her to gasp, the pink returning to her cheeks again as a heat formed on the tips of his own ears reaching to the back of his neck. Another feeling that was starting to become familiar around her.
At first Uraraka was frozen but slowly she turned her hand to twine her fingers with his as they continued to watch the stars appear. Everything in this moment feeling perfect.
“Bakugo.” She whispered. “Promise me we will watch the stars again when this is over.”
“Sure, Cheeks, I promise.”
*********
He couldn’t believe it, he couldn’t believe that Shigaraki got the upper hand on him, his arm crushed and his entire right side destroyed. He had to think fast through the shock because everyone there depended on him. Picking himself up he told Best Jeanist to look after everyone before launching himself back into the fight, ignoring the pleas as Best Jeanist tried to stop him. Dodging Shigaraki’s attack, He launched himself into the air and let off his final cluster. he found himself wondering in that moment as he realized the intense pain he was in if he’d ever Catch up to Izuku. Reaching out his hand he aimed knowing that this would be his last chance. As his vision started to blur his memories thought back on Uraraka and their promise. “Sorry, Cheeks.” He thought as his world faded to black.
~~~~~~~~~~ PT.3 Always and forever
Ochako placed her bag on the ground, the All Might plush swaying off to the side.
“We graduated today.” She said with a small smile, but only silence answered her.
“There’s gonna be an after party for everyone, even Class B is going to join us. We’ve all become good friends.” More silence.
Ochako swallowed as she slowly reached her hand out to the stone in-front of her, her fingers brushing every letter that read “Bakugo Katsuki”. She let the silence engulf her for a while before continuing.
“I thought you’d want to know, Mirko finally decided to open up her own hero agency and she wants me to join! She said the abilities I showed in the war were just the kind of guts she was looking for in a sidekick. She came to me after she got back on her feet and offered me the spot for after Graduation. I leave in a few days.” She said grinning, the smile not quite reaching her eyes.
“Izuku went off to America to study and learn more about controlling his Quirk. He wants to open his own agency one day. Melissa’s been a big help for him. Todoroki is still trying to figure things out with his family but slowly things are working out for him too. Oh! Kiri and Mina finally got together too. They’re going to start at an agency together in Jaku to help rebuild the city.” Glancing down at her bag she smiled a little to herself.
“You know, Mina let it slip that you were the one who brought the All Might doll as a gift. I wished I’d know back then so I could tell you Thank you. It means the world to me. I’ll always think of you when I look at it.” Ochako stared at the doll as she felt the familiar prickle of tears that she desperately tried to keep at bay.
She looked up at the sky to keep them from falling. Spotting the stars as they glistened above, her eyes widened. “Remember the promise you made me?” She whispered. “The stars are out now, they’re beautiful, I wish you could see them.” She choked as the tears finally burst from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She reached out her trembling hands to grasp the sides of his stone as she leaned in and placed her forehead against it, letting the sobs finally break free.
“There I was, so confidently talking about being the hero that wanted to save other heroes and I couldn’t even save you.” It was hard to breathe “I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.” All she wanted to do was curl into herself and stay by his side.
A hand reached out to her shoulder as Mina came up behind her. “Hey, Chako’.” She said gently. “We’re going to head out, you’re still welcome to join us if you feel up for it.”
Ochako took a deep breath as she looked up at Mina. “Yeah, I’m coming.” She said as she stood up to dust off her skirt and wipe the tears from her face. Reaching down she grabbed her bag as Mina turned to start heading to where Kirishima was waiting. Ochako paused one more time. “Give me just one more minute.” She told Mina. Understanding Mina left her to her privacy once again.
“I’ll always miss you.” She whispered as she stared at the stone.
Kissing her fingers she placed them a top it and whispered one last time. “I love you, always and forever. Goodbye, Katsuki.”