Work Text:
Uraraka ended up catching Deku a lot. It was odd how often it happened. It seemed almost past coincidence. Their first meeting, as brief as it was, was Uraraka catching Midoriya as he took his first steps into UA. Their next had an odd number of similarities to the first, despite the vastly different stakes. Uraraka once again caught Midoriya, although this time it was after he had saved her, his legs and an arm shattered and useless.
Uraraka would always catch Midoriya. Catching onto his plans, catching his ideas, catching him, and catching feelings for him. And she would hold him when she did. Hold his head up high, hold his books when he couldn’t, hold his emotions when he broke, hold his hand to help him walk forward.
She would help carry him to his first win against Bakugo. She kept an eye on him as he recovered after USJ. She would carry him in the Cavalry Battle of the Sports Festival. She would help him carry his confidence into his battle against Todoroki, even as she herself was breaking down. She would help him feel safe at UA after the Stain incident, even if she did not understand what was going on.
Sometimes she didn’t need to catch him. She needed to throw him. To help him go higher. Her quirk was helpful with that. When on I-Island, and he and Melissa needed to reach the top floor. When at the Quirk Training Camp, and he needed to catch up to the villains who had stolen Bakugo and Tokoyami.
There were times where she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to catch him, nor hold him, nor throw him. She didn’t know, and that broke her. So she would just be with him. When All For One made his presence known to the world. When they barely managed to get Bakugo back with their lives. When All Might’s true form was revealed. She didn’t know what to do. She knew she didn’t know everything. That she was left out. But still, she would be there for him. Always, at the very least, standing beside him.
They worked well together. It was something they were both damn proud of. They got to show it off a little bit at the Provisional Hero License Exam, along with Sero. Their teamwork with not only each other, but with large hero teams would soon be tested. During the Shie Hassaikai Raid, both of them would rise and fall. They came out victorious, but not without deep scars. And of course, Uraraka would be there to hold him as he healed.
The heights Uraraka had to catch him from varied. Sometimes he fell from skyscrapers, needing a net right at the very bottom. Sometimes, he’d slip from a step stool, and she would make sure he didn’t land on his tailbone. During their Work Studies, she felt like she had been catching him from steadily increasing heights. During the U.A. School Festival, it was kind of like she got a break. She only had to catch him from falls or slips during practice a few times, and it was never anything too frightening. Although she knew these simpler catches wouldn’t be all she’d have to do for long, she wished they had stuck around longer than they did.
She knew things were changing. It was obvious to anyone who looked. Still, when this fact was thrust directly in her face during the Joint Training between Class 1-A and Class 1-B, she was caught a bit off guard. Yet when power she didn’t understand enveloped her Deku, she didn’t hesitate. She reached out to him, and held onto him. She caught him, as she always would. She ensured he was grounded. Made sure he was okay. And she held him as close as she could while she did, though it always felt like it was never close enough.
The Paranormal Liberation War was devastating. For their ranks, for their morale, for Japan. Nothing came out unscathed. And she knew, she just knew, how torn up Deku would be. She wanted to be there for him, as she always had been. Despite not knowing, despite being in the dark, despite the new pains and wounds they all had, she wanted to be able to hold him. To help him. It devastated her when he left. The betrayal she felt that day stung more and more. But she would find a way. She would catch him again.
Uraraka knew the being before them was her Deku. He may look and feel different, he was still her friend. It took everyone’s efforts combined to catch him. To bring him back down to Earth and explain he wasn’t alone. But they managed it. She knew there was more to it, and when they reached UA she knew that she would have to catch him one last time before he allowed himself to be held. As she shouted to the restless crowd, she hoped that he heard her. That he understood her. That she would catch him, hold him, protect him.
The war continued to loom. But they would hold each other through it. And after, when the dust was settled and it was time to heal. When the war became a part of history rather than a part of the present. When time marched and life continued on. They would hold each other. And every time he fell, no matter how high the height, she would catch him.