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Ochako slides the hospital room door open slowly, peering inside. Himiko is sitting in the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest, her wrists shackled to the railing on either side. She turns her head, resting one cheek on her knees, to stare at her. Her face is solemn, tired, and maybe a little apprehensive.
“Hi, Himiko-chan,” Ochako says quietly, her voice barely carrying across the room. “Can I come in?”
Himiko nods, patting the end of the bed with one foot. Ochako settles there, folding her hands in her lap.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she says, studying the scars on her knuckles. “I didn’t want you to die for me.”
“I’m glad I didn’t kill you,” Himiko says, a smile tugging at her lips.
Ochako huffs out a relieved laugh. “Are they treating you okay? I told them you’re not a threat.”
Himiko pulls halfheartedly at the padded cuffs on her wrists. “I know it could’ve been worse. That’s why I had to save you,” she smiles wryly. “You make things better.”
Ochako blushes. “Oh, that reminds me!” She pulls her bag off her shoulder, settling it between them. “I’m gonna get you out of here, I promise. But until then, I thought I could do your hair? I probably can’t do those buns you usually have, but maybe pigtails or something?”
Himiko giggles. “Do I make you nervous, Ochako-chan?”
Ochako blushes even darker. “Do you want me to do your hair or not?”
“Mmhmm.” Himiko’s eyes sparkle as she nods.
It takes a bit of maneuvering, but Ochako manages to settle behind Himiko on the bed, sitting cross-legged with her shins pressed into the back of her hips. She runs the brush through her hair slowly, being careful not to tug too hard when she meets a tangle. Himiko sighs happily, melting under the gentle treatment.
It’s a little odd, how easy this feels. Because it shouldn’t. She’s brushing a serial killer’s hair, shouldn’t that feel… scary? She should be nervous, but not in the same way she used to get nervous around Deku. It should be the kind of anxiety that makes her stomach cramp, not the kind that gives her butterflies.
“You have really pretty hair,” she says, voice barely above a whisper.
“Thank you,” Himiko preens. “I like yours too. I like it short, it looks really cute.”
Ochako’s face heats, and she has to pause her ministrations to bury it in Himiko’s shoulder.
“Aww, are you embarrassed?” Himiko teases, a smile in her voice.
“Shush.” Ochako tugs lightly on a few strands of hair before straightening up and getting to work on parting it neatly.
She brushes half of Himiko’s hair over her shoulder, brushing the rest down her back before dividing it into sections for a braid. Pigtails would be faster, but Ochako doesn’t want this to be over that quickly.
“Do you really promise you’re going to get me out of this?” Himiko asks, all traces of laughter gone from her voice.
“I do.”
“How? It’s not like you’re really in charge of that.”
Ochako finishes looping a hairtie around the first braid, letting it rest against her back. She places her hand in the flat expanse between Himiko’s shoulder blades, careful not to let all five fingers touch. “Whatever it takes,” she says. “I’m working with Deku-kun and Todoroki-kun to figure something out. Not just for you, but for Dabi and Shiga— um, for Todoroki and Shimura. And All Might’s on our side, plus Aizawa-sensei and Mic-sensei are helping too. I don’t know how much you know about Kurogiri’s whole situation.” She chews her lip. “My point is, it’s not just me. But, you know… you saved my life. That counts for something.”
Himiko hums, and Ochako feels it vibrate under her hand. “I’m glad you’re helping Touya-kun and Tomura-kun too. Or is it Tenko-kun now?”
“I guess it would be, yeah.” Ochako brushes the rest of her hair back over her shoulder and starts braiding. “I haven’t actually talked to him, but Deku-kun’s been calling him Shimura, so…”
Himiko hums again, a happier sound. “I like it,” she says. “Super cute.”
Ochako giggles. She’s not sure that’s a word she’d use for him, but she kind of likes that Himiko does. That she can see people like that, no matter how worn or battered they are. “Not as cute as you,” she teases.
Himiko leans back, resting her head on Ochako’s shoulder and grinning up at her. “Is it ‘cause I’m the cutest?”
Ochako smiles down at her. “Yeah, exactly.”
Himiko giggles, nuzzling her face into Ochako’s neck and sending a thrill of heat through her.
“Okay!” She nudges her spine. “Sit up, I’m not done.”
Himiko laughs as she obeys, and the heat in Ochako’s cheeks doesn’t die down until she’s finished with the second braid.
“Alright, I’m done! One second.” She digs a hand mirror out of her bag, leaning over Himiko’s shoulder to hold it in front of them.
The way Himiko’s entire face lights up might be the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen. Her eyes sparkle and her lips part in delight before stretching into a wide, fanged grin. In the mirror she can see her own face, eyes soft and smiling, and she knows. She is completely, madly, head-over-heels in love.
It’s not as scary as she thought it would be.
Ochako slowly lowers the mirror. “You know… everyone thinks we’re supposed to be enemies. And we were, at one point. But I don’t feel like that about you anymore. I don’t want to be enemies.”
“So… don’t be.” Himiko twists just enough to face her. “I know what everyone thinks of me, and so do you. But you already accepted that, right?”
There’s anxiety in her face, her voice, and it pulls at Ochako.
“I know what you’ve done,” she says. “And I know what a lot of people will think about me if I… If I’m honest about how I feel for you. But you’re right. Even before that last fight, I decided to ignore all of that.”
“So… how do you feel about me?”
Ochako looks into those shining yellow eyes, and it’s the easiest thing in the world. “I love you.”
Joy has always looked beautiful on Himiko’s face, but this is beyond anything she’s seen yet. It steals her breath, and she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that she’ll do anything to keep putting that look on her face.
She leans in, their noses brushing. There’s a heart-stopping moment where she’s certain Himiko is going to pull away, that she’s misread this whole thing, that it was never romantic for her, but then there are soft lips pressing against hers and she melts into the kiss.
It’s a simple, chaste thing, but Ochako has to take a moment to breathe after she pulls away. Her eyelids flutter open to see Himiko watching her, and all she can do is lean in for another kiss. This one is longer, their mouths moving against each others’. When they part again, Himiko looks at her with wonder in her eyes.
“Beautiful,” she whispers.
Ochako buries her red face in Himiko’s neck, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind. Laughter fills the room, first Himiko’s alone, then Ochako’s joining in. She wishes she could bottle that sound, preserving this moment forever. But that would mean being stuck here, and despite everything, she’s excited to move forward. She wants to see what kind of life she and Himiko will build together. It’ll be tough and hard-won, but all the more precious because of it.
She’s looking forward to it.