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Today had been hard for Izumi, too hard. Bakugo yelling, Aoyama’s laser, even her hero suit felt wrong and itchy. It was all bearing down on her and made her want to tear her hair out. The moment classes had ended for the day she’d dashed back to her dorm room.
Her dorm being the well-furnished, two bed space that she shared with her girlfriend. Izumi went straight to her bedside table and picked up the case that sat on it. She took the headphones out and put them over her ears. In an instant life became that bit more bearable.
With her ears comfortably swaddled in the protective embrace of the headphones, Izumi took the opportunity to relax. She sat down on her bed, feeling the softness of the sheets with her hands, slowly grounding herself until she was alone with her thoughts.
Izumi’s hands went to the lighter in her blazer’s inside pocket. She took it out and flicked it open, watching as the tiny flame danced before her. Izumi sat for several moments as she observed the flickering fire, focusing all her attention on it. She put all her worries from the rest of the day aside, all that mattered was the heat of the flame, and the way it shifted before her eyes.
After a few minutes, Izumi inhaled the flame and swallowed, flicking the lighter off. She felt the heat flow down into her stomach before it vanished, and the familiar tingling in her forehead returned for a fleeting moment. She immediately regretted it. Fire Eater activated and instantly her brain was alive with activity.
It was a good quirk, boosting her intelligence, great for plans and strategies when she had a job to do. But when it was just her and her thoughts, Fire Eater suddenly brought all her worst anxieties to the surface. She felt overwhelmed again, drowning in the crushing wave of information that her brain was processing.
Izumi tried to steady her breathing again, and after what felt like an agonising exercise in reigning in her mind, she felt an iota more relaxed. But she still felt a bit raw. She needed more support right now. Getting up from the bed, Izumi took a moment to breathe again.
She left the dorm room, padding down the hallway of the dorms trying to find her girlfriend. Eventually, Izumi came to the common room, and spotted Ochako, standing and talking with Mina and Mashirao.
Mina’s voice was loud enough for Izumi to hear her even through the headphones from the other side of the room.
“Come on Uraraka! You have to tell us! Why’ve you been off talkin’ with All Might so much lately?” Her voice was pleading.
Izumi watched as Ochako scratched the back of her neck. “I’m not really sure yet, I guess he just sees something in me.”
Izumi tried to call out to Ochako, but the words got stuck in her throat. It was one of those moments then, she’d gone non-verbal. She silently walked up behind Ochako as she continued talking with her classmates.
“I wonder what that something is then? Before he was talking with Bakugo a lot, what’s changed?” Mashirao asked.
“Again, I don’t know, he’s just said that I could go far.” Ochako replied.
Izumi approached Ochako from behind and lightly tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. Ochako turned, her caramel eyes looking down at Izumi.
“Oh, Izumi, what is it?” Her voice was as cheery as ever.
Izumi could simply look up at her silently pleading with her eyes and another gentle tug at her sleeve. She couldn’t get the words out, so she hoped that Ochako understood her. Fortunately, Ochako did.
“Oh, um… sure.” Ochako said warmly, placing a calming hand on Izumi’s shoulder, “You get changed while I wrap up here, then I’ll be right along with you.”
Izumi nodded, her heart swelling with happiness. She was about to get going, but not before Ochako pressed a light kiss to her forehead. Izumi felt her cheeks heat up at the affection.
“Aw Uraraka you’re such a sap.” Mina teased.
Ochako’s face went redder than Izumi’s “No I’m not! It’s just- she was- and I- Shut up.”
“Look at you.” Mina was barely suppressing a giggle. “You’re a sap, admit it.”
Izumi watched as her girlfriend flailed for an excuse as to why she wasn’t a sap. It wasn’t going well. She retreated to the dorm room, leaving Ochako to the merciless teasing of Mina and Ojiro’s amusement at the situation.
Izumi wasted no time switching from her uniform to a nice set of green pyjamas. The fabric was much nicer on her skin, and Izumi felt her body relax a little.
She didn’t have to wait long to see Ochako again. Her girlfriend rapidly entered the room, narrowly avoiding slamming the door behind her. Ochako took a few moments to let the blush drain from her cheeks before turning to Izumi.
“She’s terrible…” Ochako sighed, as she walked towards Izumi, wrapping her in a comforting embrace, “But that’s enough about her, right now it’s just us.”
Izumi accepted the hug, burying her head into the crook of Ochako’s neck. She breathed in Ochako, her scent equally sweet and earthy, like a mix of strawberries and freshly tilled soil. Izumi pulled out of the hug, and took a moment to appreciate just how beautiful Ochako was.
But Ochako wasn’t quite dressed for the occasion. Izumi pointed to her own clothes, and then to Ochako’s uniform.
Ochako chuckled, “You’re right, I should change.”
Ochako gave Izumi another squeeze before breaking the hug. Izumi watched as her girlfriend took her pyjamas from under her pillow and went to the en-suite bathroom to change.
After about a minute or so, Ochako returned, dressed in her usual faded black tank top and pastel pink pants. Izumi couldn’t help but feel that her girlfriend looked even better like this, completely open, not a hero, not a student, just Ochako.
Ochako led down on her bed, and opened her arms.
“Izumi?”
Izumi didn’t hesitate, she quickly clambered onto the bed and wrapped her arms around Ochako. And when she felt Ochako’s arms return the embrace, Izumi felt like she was home.
She snuggled as close as she could into her girlfriend, her legs wrapping round Ochako’s to keep her as close as possible. Izumi savoured every moment of contact between them, trying to wring as much heat as she could out of her girlfriend. Izumi felt one of Ochako’s hands creep up her back and into her hair.
Izumi couldn’t stop the satisfied hum that escaped her lips as Ochako ran her hand through her curly hair. Ochako new just how to make her feel as relaxed as possible; Izumi felt herself melting further into her girlfriend with every gentle tousle.
“Hard day today ‘Zumi?” Ochako asked.
Izumi just nodded in response, clinging tighter to Ochako’s shirt. She laid her head against Ochako’s chest, feeling the gentle rise and fall of her breath, letting her own breathing follow suit. Ochako continued running her hands through Izumi’s locks, sometimes applying a little more pressure to massage the scalp beneath.
“It’s okay… you’re safe now. You’re with me now.” Ochako gave Izumi another light squeeze.
Izumi giggled slightly, enjoying the closeness. Her hands gripped a little tighter into Ochako, feeling the slight rolls of her stomach through her shirt. Ochako was plain and simple, a bit chubby, and Izumi knew she didn’t exactly like that part of herself.
Izumi wished she could convince Ochako that the shape of her body wasn’t a bad thing, that she actually liked that Ochako had a little extra to her. That it gave her something to hold onto, making her even better at the cuddles that they shared so often.
Maybe one day Ochako would finally realise how Izumi saw her. But for now, Izumi was content to simple cuddle closer to her girlfriend, hoping to show how much she appreciated this simple act.
Izumi gently nudged Ochako’s arm with her elbow, silently asking for her to adjust her position. Ochako quickly obliged, shifting her arm so that she now held Izumi in a slightly more comfortable way.
Izumi let out a small, satisfied purr at the new hold, nuzzling closer to Ochako.
“Better?” Ochako asked, tightening her grip again to hold Izumi close to her again.
Izumi let out a small “Mhm.” She looked up at Ochako, and simply gazed into her eyes for a few moments. Ochako’s eyes were so large, so expressive, and Izumi had to fight to stop herself from getting lost in them. She reached an arm up to cup Ochako’s cheek and Ochako pressed her head into Izumi’s open palm.
“You’re adorable…”
Izumi blushed at the compliment. She hid her face from Ochako, but the only place her face could go was between Ochako’s breasts. This didn’t help her blush in the slightest.
“You’re really not helping your case ‘Zumi.” Ochako said, with only a hint of teasing in her voice.
Izumi wished she could at least tell Ochako to shut up, but all that came out was an embarrassed grumble. Ochako went quiet again, loosening her grip enough for Izumi to wiggle in place in her flustered state. Once Izumi had stopped wriggling, she felt Ochako’s arms close around her again.
The cuddle resumed, and Izumi’s blush faded. Even if Ochako occasionally flustered her with her compliments, Izumi could never stay mad at her. She accepted her for all she was, and nothing could change that.
This was where she felt safest, where she’d always feel safest. Here in Ochako’s arms. It felt like nothing could hurt her. And nothing would hurt her, Ochako had always protected her. Like when the Nomu nearly pulverised her at the USJ, or when Stain came after her saying nonsense about who her father was. Ochako had stepped in every time, putting her body on the line just to keep her safe.
If that wasn’t love, Izumi didn’t know what was. So, she was happy to stay in her arms forever, clinging to Ochako like she was the only thing in her world. Ochako had stayed with her, so Izumi would return the favour. Their breaths aligned once more, and Izumi let herself drift off to sleep in the arms of the best girlfriend in the world.