Chapter Text
Ochaco Uraraka sat next to her new boyfriend Todoroki on one of the couches in the common room of the class 3A dormitory. Half of her class was seated around them, chatting excitedly and glancing towards the big TV set where Kaminari and Jiro were finishing setting up the electronics. Ida had just provided them with a pen drive passed to him by a team of business class students that had made the whole class take part in their project. Now, weeks later, the class was supposed to watch the interviews done with them and if they would approve of them the business class students would upload them on the school site for everyone to see. Ida was reminding everyone to remember to be objective about their opinion and be quiet, but judging by the level of noise in the room no one was listening to him.
The boy seated to her left glanced at her with a barely there smile and she returned it with a big grin, tuning out the rest of the world. Their relationship was still so fresh, so new to them and she knew they had to talk about many aspects of dating, but she was just glad she had managed to gather enough courage to talk to him. He could be so oblivious at times, and it was as endearing as exasperation.
“Okay, we’re ready,” Jiro announced as she stood up and walked over to where her girlfriend had saved her spot next to her on another couch. Ochaco turned her head to cast a quick glance around and see who was gathered for the first viewing of what she hoped to be a highly entertaining material. Ida somehow had managed to gather almost everyone who wasn’t visiting with their family for the weekend, even Bakugo was there, surrounded by his squad on one of the couches towards the back of the room. Judging by the way his friends surrounded him she supposed they were worried he might want to evacuate the room as soon as they looked away. Which would be totally in character for him.
“If anyone needs blackmail material later I saved the files on my laptop,” Kaminari waved his hand and grinned at the other future heroes. “And if you have any opinions go to Momo.”
“Ah, yes,” the vice president of the class tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll be gathering any remarks and requests of change you want to send to the project team.” She smiled and lifted a notebook she was holding in her lap.
Ochaco blinked at it, realizing that their resident note taker wasn’t in the room with them. Briefly, she wondered where he was, but she supposed that he was probably training somewhere with AllMight or catching up with homework. Well, in this case she would have to make sure Denki sent the file with their interview to him. Scratch that, knowing Deku he’d want to see all the interviews, especially if their classmates had talked about anything hero training related.
“Let’s start,” Ida commanded, doing his favorite karate chop in front of where he sat on Todoroki’s other side.
The group of almost adults settled back down, eyes glued to the TV screen where Jiro was already prepared to hit play on the highly anticipated viewing material. Lights were turned off thanks to Sero’s accurate tape shot. A few suddenly materialized packs of snacks crinkled a bit from various places around the room.
The screen lit up showing a neat title card. ‘Class 3A Interviews’ flashed across a pastel pink background A slew of sakura petals flew over it and then they saw a familiar set, with the project leader and interviewer introducing herself and her team. While the girl from the business course jokingly announced the interview to be an attempt to direct some of the spotlight away from the famous class A and towards their class Ochaco interlocked her fingers with those of her boyfriend’s.
The set was a simple affair. Three chairs surrounded a table under a tree, a tea set ready for the students to use, the school forest in the background providing a sense of openness and serenity. Ochaco knew that spot well, many of her classmates liked to spend time around it. Her first date had been there, a week after the shoot, with a blanket and a picnic basket instead of a more formal sitting arrangement. Shoto had looked comfortable in the familiar setting. They had so much fun talking, even if at the beginning it had all been so awkward and nerve wracking.
When she focused again on the TV she realized that the interviews were already commencing. She blinked as the scene flowed from the image of the interviewer talking to Tokoyami and Kaminari to a new pair - this time it was Deku and herself sitting in the guest chairs. Ururaka giggled when she saw herself and Deku there, both looking skittish, uncertain. Out of them both she had looked less frightened by the camera, waving sheepishly when her name had been spoken by the business course student. Deku barely looked up from where he had been fidgeting with his hands.
A couple people on the couches snickered at the poor shy boy. He was known from his attitude to the media - he could fight multiple villains and haul weights no one else dared to lift without heavy machines, but show him a camera or a microphone and he was a mess.
The interview started pretty normal, with introduction of hero names and a bit about each one of them. Followed by a bunch of honestly generic questions like 'who is your favorite hero/ that Uraraka thought had been put there to ease the pair. It had succeeded, especially for Deku, who of course had launched into an in depth word vomit about
bit about each one of a few of pro heroes he admired, AllMight being the most obvious of his choices. The poor Honda-chan had had to rein in his sudden enthusiasm after what felt like a little eternity.
Then she had to do it again, this time for Uraraka, who had gone a bit too in depth on the internships and work studies she had gone to. Uraraka noticed a few of her peers casting her amused glances when she blushed where she sat next to Todoroki, who just calmly watched the screen.
After that Honda, the interviewer, had smiled a bit mischievously and had started with a new set of questions.
"Uravity, are you dating someone?" she had asked. Her response had been a small blush and a shake of her head, then the business course student had directed the same question towards Deku, who had looked ... Well...
The whole class erupted in laughter and Kaminnari leaned in to pause the video on the shot of startled to death boy.
"Let me guess, he had missed the bit of the info that it was White Day interview," Mina cackled, obviously wishing Midoriya was there to witness his torture and all the joy it brought to his friends. Uraraka wondered if this was the real reason Deku wasn't at the dorms yet, opting to hide from the impending doom somewhere on campus.A brilliant tactical decision,.
"Of fucking course he did," Bakugo snickered from the middle of his squad on the couch behind her. TUraraka suddenly remembered the rest of that shoot and started to pray that the project team had edited some bits out of it. She also hoped that if not that no one would notice....
After exchanging some more good hearted jokes at the expense of the green-eyed boy the class settled down again and Kaminari started the video back, the holder of One For All stuttering negatives and casting glances around as if looking for a way to escape. Honda had snickered at his reaction and Uraraka had patted his shoulder with amusement sparkling in her eyes.
"Well then, is there someone you are fond of?" the hostess asked, glancing between them with apparent anticipation. “A crush?”
"Um... There's a boy..." they had muttered in unison, both looking down and fidgeting with their hands.
That hadn’t been the answer Honda had been expecting, her eyes growing big when she had stared at the pair, who had turned to look at each other with knowing grins and flushed cheeks. Uraraka prayed that the next thirty seconds weren't there. Surely, the business course students had cut that part, right?.She barely felt the reassuring squeeze of cool fingers around her hand, her eyes not daring to look away from the screen. The class around her was strangely silent and still.
“I can guess.”
Deku's eyes had been full of amusement at that time, focused on her as he had mouthed something and had gestured with his hands, holding them to his sides, palms up and poised as if he had been holding something in them. Chacos Cheeks had gone red and she had covered her mouth in embarassed panic. Then,, with an almost vengeful glee she had used those hands to make a gesture of her own, waving her fingers in the air as she had moved them outwardly in front of her chest. Her lips had moved with the action too, remaining soundless as well.
His cheeks had gone so red his freckles had disappeared and he had turned away from her, mortified. Honda had looked between them both in utter confusion. Uraraka guessed that the team had not expected this outcome when they had planned for Midoriya and herself to be a pair for the interview.She was not deaf, she knew some people in the school spread rumors they were smitten with each other. The poor business studies students had probably hoped for a cute confession and confirmation of that rumor.
The gravity girl smiled as she watched the adorable communication between them, for a time not worrying about the consequences that might follow such an exchange. While she wasn’t keen to tell more people than her close friends that she had a boyfriend, she wasn’t going to hide that either. With Midoriya, well, he was still in deep woods when it came to doing anything about his crush. Not that she faulted the boy, his love life would probably not bloom after a love confession. More likely it’d explode. She enjoyed seeing the interaction on the screen, it was adorable, but she dreaded what was probably going to happen next. There was no way her classmates wouldn’t get curious.
Soon to be pro hero Uravity gulped when Kaminari once again paused the video. She wasn't sitting among her classmates anymore, she was in the midst of birds of prey watching her every move and ready to pounce. Todoroki, bless his steadfast courage, shifted to sit closer to her in silent support.
“So….” Mina grinned in her direction/ “Is there any chance you are willing to share with the class?”
“I’m dating,” she squeaked. There was no way she could lie to those unusual eyes. Mina nodded, sparing a glance at her hand clasped in Todoroki. She raised a brow when Ochaco didn’t say anything more and Ochaco shook her head.
“In this case we shall not prod,” Ida declared and pushed his glasses up his nose . She sighed in relief. She knew that sooner or later Mina or any other of the gossipers would try to get the info out of her though. She could already imagine sitting with all her girlfriends and retelling her date to them. It was fine, she would love to do that, but there was a secret she wasn’t going to share, no matter how much they were going to ask. Some of her classmates groaned in disappointment.
"Wish we could just read your lips," and with that single remark from Jiro her heartbeat sped up again. There was no way the rowdy class wouldn’t pass a challenge of a riddle,she realized now. It had been a mistake, guessing on camera, now she realized. "There was no sound caught on your microphones.
“Ah, hehe….” she scratched the back of her head. She needed to distract them and fast, but no idea came to her mind.
Meanwhile, most of the class started talking among themselves, speculating about the luckily missing boy. A few people came over to congratulate her and Todoroki, distracting her from her panicked thoughts of figuring out how to steer a bunch of investigative hero students away from her best friend’s nonexistent love life. After a while she was able to take a breath, ready to say something that would, hopefully, work.
And that was when Koda, of all people, spoke up.
"She said 'AP Shot',"" he announced in his smally, shy voice. All the little discussions and snickers stopped abruptly, as if the noise was sucked out of the room. Everyone knew that he knew JSL and if someone could read from lip movement it would be him. Uraraka froze as if her boyfriend's quirk iced over her brain. Like sunflowers in the sunlight, all the heads turned to face one way, towards a certain blonde.
He looked somewhat dazed, staring at the paused scene on the screen. Kirishima dared to poke his shoulder tentatively. Pink started to coat pale cheeks and it felt like a spark was traveling the fuse of a bomb. Detonation was imminent and Ochaco already mourned the dorm building. Someone snickered and was quickly hushed by Sero when Bakugo rose to his feet.
As if life was merely a poorly budgeted stage play of the gods, one could hear the telltale sound of the dorm door opening and slight footsteps of someone coming from the genkan. No one seemed to breathe or move.
And then Midoriya was there, standing in the doorway, eyes impossibly big as he took in the tense class, the standing blonde, his mortified likeness frozen on the TV screen.
“Oh fuck,” fell from his lips, a hushed whisper barely audible despite the silence filling the big open space.
Bakugo started to turn.
“Deku, run!” Uraraka Found her voice and yelled as if she had Present Mike’s quirk. Whatever was going to happen, it was better to move the blast zone from the common room of the dorms.
Before she finished her last word, a rush of smoke filled the air, muted explosions could be heard from where Bakugo had stood a moment ago. It was clear he wasn’t there anymore, she could hear him yelling from outside already.
Waving their hands in front of themselves to disperse the residue smoke from Deku’s quirk, the class burst into cackling and cheering, talking amongst themselves in excitement. Uraraka clung to her boyfriend’s hand, gasping for air and hoping that Aizawa’s problem children would come back hand in hand and hopefully not in bandages.