Chapter Text
Staring out the window at the snowy fields before her, Ochako leaned against the frame of her lodge room. Excitement welled up inside her as she saw the frozen lake at the base of the mountain, where soon she and all her classmates would be skating and skiing for the next week.
Doing a little jump, Ochako hopped over to sit at the end of her bed, smile permanently etched onto her face. Reaching down she put her snow boots on, pulled over her gray sweater and stood up smoothing out her black skirt. Looking at herself in the full length mirror she closed her fists and pulled them in to her side in a determined stance ready to face the challenge ahead of her.
She hadn’t gone ice skating since she was a child, when her parents would take her to the small hidden lake near their home back in Kansai. Needless to say she was a little nervous, but that wasn’t going to stop her!
“Chako Chiiiiip, you ready?” Mina sang on the other side of her door.
“Yup, coming!” Ochako practically sprint towards the door. Swinging it open Mina gaped at her.
“Eeeeeee! You look SO cute!”Mina did a little wiggle pulling her hands up to her mouth.
“Thanks.” She chuckled scratching the back of her head.
They decided to head straight for the shop the lodge had for skiing and skating rentals, figuring everyone else would either be there or waiting outside for the rest of the class.
Walking down the main staircase of the wooden lodge, Ochako still couldn’t believe she was in such a beautiful place for winter break. The lodge was still decorated for Christmas, the pine tree rested in the corner near the communal couches decorated in the most beautiful trim and trinkets she had ever seen. Not to mention the tree itself reached practically to the ceiling with a star adorned on top. Fake trim and red bows wrapped around the banisters, along with white string lights and a mistletoe hung just above the fireplace.
“Chako, watch out!” Mina shouted.
Distracted upon seeing the mistletoe,Ochako missed the last step and stumbled into something soft but also solid, warm and tall.
Looking up at who she had bumped into she let out a squeak and jumped back seeing Bakugo glaring down at her.
“Sorry, Bakugo!” She spluttered, cheeks getting a little darker.
“Tch, watch where you’re going, Cheeks!” He snapped. Ochako could have sworn she say him glance her up and down as he turned away and shuffled into the shop with a huff, but it was too quick for her to be sure so she played it off as just her own mind playing a trick on her. Besides, why would Bakugo of all people look her way like that at all?
“Ya know, you could have just said be careful, Bakugo!” Mina said sticking out her tongue.
Following behind him, Mina walked up to the rentals and payed for her and Ochako’s skates. Ochako insisted that she could pay for her own but Mina wasn’t having it.
“Uh uh, no ma’am. You said you wanted to bring back a gift for your parents while we are here. I don’t mind helping you out bestie.” She winked handing Ochako her pair.
“Thank you.” Ochako said, looking at her gratefully, no longer worried about how she was going to afford a weeks worth of rentals and buy a gift her parents deserved. Thankfully food was provided as part of the package U.A got for renting out one of the lodges on the grounds.
Finally ready for a day on the ice, they joined their classmates and teachers outside. Following Mr. Aizawa down the snow packed path to the lake, Izuku, one of her other best friends, walked up to greet her, skis in hand.
“Hey, Uraraka!” He said with a big smile plastered on his freckled cheeks. “I see you’re going ice skating, i bet you’re really good! Maybe you can teach me a few tricks!”
“Haha, no, not really, I haven’t gone skating since I was probably 7 or 8.” She replied. “I’m probably gonna be really terrible at first, but I’m determined to get better.
“ That’s the spirit! He said eyes bright.
“What about you? Do you know how to ski?”
Nope!” He replied cheerfully. “Mr. Aizawa is going to teach those of us who want to ski and snowboard.”
They continue talking excitedly about all the things they wanted to try for the week, until they reached the lake and had to split off into their respective groups.
Ida, Momo, Hagakure, Aoyama, Mina and Ochako for ice skating. Jirou, Kaminari, Todoroki, Izuku, Kirishima and Koda made up the Snowboarding and skiing group, while Bakugo, Ojiro, Shoji and Sero went with 2 player curling.
Tsu couldn’t join in on much since the cold made her very sleepy, so she opted to make snowballs at the side of the lake with Tokoyami for the planned snowball fight later in the day. Mineta decided to join them on making snowballs, stating that his sport wasn’t specialized in any of the actual sports, but, in fact, it was in watching all the girls in the hopes he would get a glimpse of an upturned skirt, glancing mainly at Ochako. His comments were met with blank stares and one particularly hard snowball to the face from an unknown Source.
Stepping out onto the ice was a little scary at first as Ochako got her footing. Mina offered to stay close to her incase she needed help but Ochako waved her off saying she would be fine and to go have some fun.
Taking her time she inched out farther but decided to stay close to the snow banks just incase she fell.
Staying in her safe little spot of the lake she skated for a while, going around in small circles, slowly gaining confidence until she was no longer looking at her feet.
As she was ready to join Mina on the other side of the lake, she could hear some cheering behind her. Turing around she was met with a stunning performance by Aoyama as he skated backwards, launched himself into a triple lutz, both arms extended overhead and landed into an upright spin.
Everyone watching erupted into cheers and shouts as he came to a stop striking a pose. Ochako watched mouth open, blinking at what she had just witnessed. Coming back to her senses she realized she was drifting farther out to the middle then she intended to, suddenly hearing the curling team as they slid across the ice.
“Oi, try not to get in my way, tail!” She heard Bakugo shout.
Realization struck her that she was going to fast and getting way too close to the group. She noticed Bakugou was crouched on the ice next to the curling stone unaware of her approaching presence.
“Bakugo, watch out!” She screeched as she tried to stop her momentum.
Glancing back at the commotion, Bakugo saw her coming in, leaving no chance for him to get out of the way.
Feet going wobbly she lost her balance, knees slamming onto the ice as she slid full force into Bakugo’s back, arms stretched out over his shoulders as their cheeks collided with each other.
Eyes screwed shut at the pain she was feeling, it took her a moment to realize the position they were in, until Bakugo shifted his face away from her and her cheek suddenly felt extremely cold. She snapped her eyes open, deep brown meeting a piercing red glare. Her cheeks instantly heating at their proximity.
“GAH, didn’t I tell you to watch where you were going earlier!” Bakugo shouted peeling Ochako’s arms off his shoulders. Standing up he placed his hand on his cheek where they had collided, Ochako watching him carefully for a moment as the tips of his ears became red. But that could have just been due to the cold…right?
“S..s…sorry, Bakugo!” She stuttered leaned back onto her legs and wincing in pain. The expression didn’t go unnoticed by Bakugo as he offered his hand for her to stand up.
Upon seeing her legs, he grimaced. “Geez, Cheeks, your knees.”
As she fully stood and put weight back on her skates she looked down to see her very fast bruising, bloody knees. She gasped as her legs started to tremble feeling the ground moving beneath her as she started to fall again. Thinking quickly Bakugo put his arm out,catching her before she fell.
Shouts could be heard from across the lake as people rushed over to assess the situation.
“Uraraka, Bakugo, are two okay!?” Ida shouted on his way over, concern in his voice. Soon everyone wearing skates surrounded them to make sure no serious injuries had occurred.
“Oh my!” Momo whispered, hands to her mouth.
“We have to get her to the Nurse!” Mina panicked, trying to grab onto Ochako.
Bakugo shoved her hands away as he explained it would be easier for just one person to take her, shouted at everyone to give them some space.
“Can you walk, Round-Face?” He barked still holding her up and looking at her intensely. She started to tremble even more as she replied, feeling the cold numbness set into her legs. “I..i d-don’t k-k-know.” Her teeth chattering.
Clicking his tongue Bakugou wrapped his arm around her waist to draw her close.
“Activate your dumb quirk so I can get you to the nurse.” He grumbled. “Extras, outta our way!” He shouted as she activated zero gravity, holding onto Bakugo’s shoulder, pushing through the crowd.
“You better be gentle with her, Bakugo, or so help me!” Mina shouted pointing her finger at his back as they moved away.
Bakugo rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh.
All Ochako could focus on besides the pain was his hand on her waist. Her heart pounded in her ears. She hoped and prayed Bakugo couldn’t hear it.
Reaching the edge of the lake Bakugo stopped to pick up her boots. Her eyes widened at him. She definitely didn’t tell him which boots were hers so how could he have possibly gotten it right? She always knew Bakugo was an observer, but not to that extent.
Next was the daunting task of getting her up the long snowy path, silence set between them. She was just glad her quirk made her completely weightless, so all Bakugo had to worry about was not slipping and accidentally letting her go, which granted, was still a lot to worry about as the path was slightly icy already.
She felt like she needed to talk to cut through the silence, but she didn’t know what to say. Opting to let Bakugo focus on the task at hand, she decided it was best to stay silent until they reach the lodge.
After what seemed like hours of numbness they finally reached the front door, warmth wafted out as they stepped inside.
Ochako let out a contented sigh as heat started to return to her cold limbs. Luckily they didn’t have to go up anymore stairs before they reached the first aid station, but, yet another task sat in their way as they read the note left on the door by the medical team. Apparently there was an emergency avalanche that required all staff from the surrounding lodges immediate attention.
“You gotta be kidding me!!” Bakugo shouted in anger as he read the note. “Great, just great!” He ground his teeth.
Ochako suddenly felt like the biggest burden in the world as an embarrassing flush crept up her face.
Opening the door, Bakugo led her over to the edge of the bed where she released her quirk and gently sat down, a relief washing over her as he finally let go of her waist. She could feel control of her heartbeat again as it calmed down.
“Thank you for bringing me this far, Bakugo, but i should be able to handle it from here.” She said scratching the back of her head like she always does when she’s embarrassed, not meeting his eyes. His gaze snapped to her as he glared down at her face.
Thinking he would leave without a word she started to remove her skates. When he didn’t move she glanced up at him, a questioning look in her eyes.
“Just let me help, sides’ I need the first aid practice.” He replied with a voice much calmer then she expected.
“Uh, sure.” She nodded.
Freeing her herself of the skates, she started assess for any further damage to her feet or ankles. Thankfully it looked to be only her knees that needed attention.
“ Sorry for being such a burden today and ruining your game.” She sighed sadly, a bit of guilt weighing at her heart. Bakugo Paused his rummaging through the cabinet to look out at her and scoffed. “Who said you were a burden, huh?”
Turing around, he emerged with bandages, cotton balls and some alcohol, hoping she wouldn’t need stitches as he looked down at the condition of her knees. With the fall she’d taken it was a miracle she didn’t break anything, but they were pretty bruised and were starting to swell a little, so it wouldn’t hurt for the nurse to check on her when they returned just to be sure.
“Ya didn’t ruin anything, okay?” Ochako bit her lip at the comment.
“This is gonna sting. A lot.” He said matter-of-factly, jaw set in a hard line.
“Yeah, I know, but it’s gotta be done, right?” She chuckled nervously, looking up at him through her lashes, a small smile on her lips. He could tell she was worried it’d be worse then it looked and no forced smile could mask the look in her eyes.
Bending down, silence found them again as he got to work on her left knee, which seemed to be the worst of the two. Taking a cotton ball and saturating it in the alcohol, he started to dab gently at the wounds, feeling her whole body tense on the bed, eyes screwed shut, taking short calming breathing to bear through the pain.
What could only be thought of as worry crept across Bakugo’s brow as he paused his dabbing. “Lemme know if it gets to be to much for you, Cheeks.” He breathed out.
Opening one eye, she looked down at her knee and back up at him. “I will, just keep going, please.” She said as she closed her eye again preparing for the sting to return. At least she could feel it, which to her was a plus. It meant her legs were no longer numb and feeling like they were going to fall off.
As the stinging slowly subsided, all she could think about now were the way Bakugo’s hands gently held her leg.
Sneaking a peak at him, a small blush found her already pink cheeks, as she took in his concentrated face. She always thought he was handsome, but wow, did he look beautiful here, no scowl or glares to be seen as he continued his work, just heavy concentration. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.
She noticed his blond eyelashes, way longer then she expected, and the way his jaw was defined but no longer set in the usual hard line, and the way his nose was perfectly centered in the middle of his face.
Her eyes kept going down until she was looking full on at his lips, no scoffing, no growling or grinding of teeth, just sitting there perfectly set and-….and, suddenly she was met with his beautiful red eyes, staring right back at her, confusion set in his stare as it seemed he was waiting on an answer to something.
Realizing what she had been doing, she sat up straight, looking hard at the floor, fists in her lap as her face turned tomato red, begging to herself that Bakugo didn’t just catch her hard checking him out.
“Hey, hellooo, you gonna answer me, Cheeks? Is the bandage so tight that it’s cutting off your ability to speak?” He barked not taking his eyes off her.
“O-oh, no, it’s perfectly fine. Just got caught up in thought, sorry.” She managed to squeak out as she took a quick glance at him and immediately back at the floor. Her head felt like it was spinning being in this close a proximity to him. She thought she could actually smell him, like burnt sugar and slightly smoky? This was definitely not good for her heart, the rate it was beating right now.
With a suspicious look on his face, he stared at her a moment longer before deciding she must have hit her head somehow to, then remembered their cheeks had pressed together pretty hard and immediately shut the thought down.
Refocused, he got to work on her other knee, satisfaction flowing through him that her knees seemed to be ok, minus the swelling, bruising and cuts.
After he was finished wrapping, he stood up, put the supplies away and glanced back over to her. She had been oddly quiet the last few minutes, not that he minded the silence.
She seemed to have calmed down over what was bothering her as she glanced out the window. They could see everyone down the hill having fun and laughing, a sigh escaped her as her face fell. “What’s got you all depressed?” He asked, deciding he didn’t like the sad look she had on her face, although he didn’t understand why.
“It’s just.” She paused. “I was looking so forward to this trip and getting to have fun with everyone and I went and just messed it all up.” She said, gesturing to her knees, a pout on her lip.
“Just cuz ya fell doesn’t mean you can’t get back up, I didn’t take you for a quitter.” He sneered.
“That’s not it.” She huffed. “It’s not like I want to quit or anything, I just don’t know if I can even stand on skates with my legs all out of shape.” She shrugged.
“Just try again after a couple day a rest.” He spoke “don’t want to get shown up by a bunch of extras do ya?” He challenged.
“First of all.” She puffed out her cheeks. “They aren’t extras, Bakugo, they’re our classmates, and of course I don’t want to be shown up by them, I want to join them!” She exclaimed.
Bakugo went quiet for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. Then suddenly he was in front of her looking down his nose.
“Then you better rest up, Cheeks.” Challenge in his voice. “Cuz I’m gonna get you back out on that ice before the end a the week, and you’ll be leaving that sparkle boy in your dust.” He said with a devious grin.
Ochako gulped. She wasn’t so sure about this idea, both for her knees and her hearts sake.