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Chapter Text

A loud ringing cuts through Ochako's quiet studio apartment, interrupting her much-needed study session, and yet she couldn't be more thankful. She'd dedicated the entire weekend to preparing for finals in two weeks, but her need to keep her scholarship doesn't just magically make studying not brain-numbing.

After a quick stretch, she grabs her face down phone from the table and checks the caller ID, which stops Ochako in her tracks. Aside from spam callers, Ochako really only got calls from her parents, but now Deku's name lights up her screen. He'd never called her before, and that thought sends butterflies flying through her stomach, yet it takes the phone buzzing again for Ochako to come to her senses and actually answer the call.

"Hey, Deku! What's up?" she greets as casually as possible, but Deku doesn't respond like he should.

"Hi, Uraraka," he instead returns, sounding subdued; it's disturbing coming from Deku, who still forced an awkward laugh even when he admitted that Bakugou made fun of him in middle school. "Umm, I'm really sorry to ask, but... could I stay with you tonight?"

"Uh..." Ochako's mind completely blanks out for a moment. Honestly, her first instinct is to give a vehement no; not only would her parents be very displeased if she had a boy stay overnight in her apartment, but Ochako's not sure her heart could take having her crush spend any amount of time in her small studio apartment, let alone an entire night; but then she thinks about how weird he sounds and she hesitates. She bites at her lip, then asks, "Why?"

"I can explain later, just... please. You don't have to say yes if you don't want to, but..." Deku claims, but trails off. To her, it sounds like that sentence should be finished with 'I don't have anywhere else to go.'

Ochako nods to herself with that thought. She exhales heavily. "Yeah... yeah, you can come over."

"Thank you, Uraraka," he says, sounding so relieved that any reservations Ochako had immediately leave her.

With that, they finish up the call, Ochako making sure Deku has her address, and Deku saying he'll be there in about twenty minutes. Those twenty minutes then become the most productive she's been in months. She rushes through washing her dishes from dinner, takes out her trash, puts a kettle on the stove, and tidies up her apartment, focusing a lot of energy on the mess her table had become from her wild studying. Finally, she changes from her loungewear—a tank top and shorts—because she could never be confident enough to wear something like that in front of Deku.

By the time the knock comes, Ochako is still pulling a t-shirt on. As she finishes up, she rushes to answer the door but hesitates when her hand lands on the cool metal of the doorknob. It finally hits her almost hard enough to be considered 'like a train'; Deku is standing outside her tiny studio apartment, ready to spend the night... and she only has one bed. Her internal screaming is interrupted by another round of unsure knocking, so despite wanting to throw up, Ochako takes a breath and opens the door.

Instead of looking past her and developing a look of disgust like Ochako had been fearing—which is ridiculous, she knows, but that never stopped anxiety—Deku barely even glances up at her before gluing his eyes back to his feet. "May I come in?" he asks, voice both soft and raspy like it had been over the phone. She wonders if he's been crying or is maybe ill.

"Oh, yeah! Of course," Ochako answers all too quickly. She backs up to give Deku room to step into the genkan. Ochako doesn't have guest slippers to offer, she doesn't have an extra of anything to offer, so when Deku steps out of those same bright red shoes he always wears, he enters into her home, socked. He doesn't get any further than that, though, before falling into a respectful 45-degree bow.

"Thank you for letting me come over," he says so genuinely.

"Oh, don't worry about it; it's nothing," she squeaks and mentally curses herself. Honestly, with the embarrassment she's bound to make of herself in the coming hours, she'd be surprised if they remained friends for long; not that Deku was the type to cut someone off for being unbearably flustered, but Ochako may have to run away for good; that is, if she doesn't spontaneously combust first.

"I also got this for you," he says after a long, awkward moment, and reaches into a grocery bag in his hand, pulling out a small box.

"Mochi?" she questions and carefully accepts the offering.

"Yeah. You said you liked it, so..."

Ochako can't even remember when she would've mentioned her love of mochi, but apparently, Deku did. She wonders how apparent her blush—undoubtedly an early sign of spontaneous combustion—is. Not being able to look at Deku any longer, Ochako turns on her heel and walks into her 'kitchen'. She sets the box on the table as she passes by toward the cupboards.

"Do you want some tea?" she asks, looking through her stock of bags.

She can hear Deku follow behind. "If you're making it," he replies.

Ochako pulls out two of her three total mugs and places a bag of chamomile in each one. She takes the kettle of boiling water off the stove and fills the mugs, steam quickly rising from them.

"It's chamomile," she explains as she sets the two cups on the table and sits down. Deku follows and sits opposite her. Ochako blows on her tea before taking a slow sip while Deku wraps his scarred hands around his own mug, seeming to savor its heat rather than flavor. After a few seconds of mindless observation, Ochako catches herself staring and mentally admonishes herself. She quickly grabs a piece of mochi from the cute box sitting between them, bites it in half then just stares at the remainder in her hand while she vigorously chews. She lets the awkward silence stew between them, that is, until it's broken up by quiet crying. Surprised, Ochako looks up to find Deku wiping at tears that just keep replacing themselves.

Ochako swallows her mochi and hesitantly asks, "Deku, what's going on?" Because something is so very wrong, no matter how much she tries to let it go. "Please, Deku, you're scaring me," she admits when he doesn't answer.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. It sounds like if he says it any louder, he'll truly break.

"I don't want an apology, I want to know what's wrong; I want to help," Ochako pleads, her own frustrated tears stinging at her eyes. She roughly wipes them away before they can fall. Someone needs to stay strong, and this time it shouldn't have to be Deku.

After another stint of silence, just when Ochako thinks she's going to have to really beg, Deku starts, "If I tell you," he finally looks up at her with cautious eyes, "do you promise to keep it a secret?"

Ochako nods so quickly in response. In the moment, all she wants is to know what has changed the determined boy she knew and- "I promise."

"It's my dad," he says simply, "I think he's going to kill me."

Those words hit harder than Bakugou during a simulated battle; they steal the air from her lungs and the thoughts from her mind. "I- what- what do you mean?" It feels like a stupid question; there isn't much room for interpretation in those seven words, but her brain refuses to fully comprehend their meaning. 

Deku thumbs at the handle of his mug that he has yet to pick up. He still refuses to look at her. "Whenever my mom's not around, he says things; it's usually just him telling me that he wishes he could kill me, but sometimes he talks about how he'd do it," Deku admits so nonchalantly, but there's a slight tremble in his voice and a distant, haunted look in his eyes; it makes Ochako sick. "I know it's not... right, but I can handle it, I can handle that; but tonight," he pauses. A shaking hand seems to involuntarily move and hover by his neck, but it jumps back when his fingers ghost against his skin. "Tonight he grabbed me and I-I couldn't breathe; I was so scared, I don't want to die anymore," he cries softly.

Ochako's tears fall, and she doesn't even try to stop them this time. "That's horrible. Deku, why wouldn't you want me to tell someone about this?"

Suddenly, Deku's demeanor completely changes. He looks more aware than he had since she first answered the door, and he looks angry. "Because my mom is finally happy. With him around again, she doesn't have to work as much, and she isn't ever lonely. If she knew, then everything would go back to how it used to be, and I can't do that to her, not after everything she's sacrificed for me. And tonight was a fluke; it hasn't happened before, and I won't let it happen again. I'll stay out of the apartment whenever she's not home, and when I am home, I won't make him angry," he rambles, then finally takes a deep, gasping breath. He breathes heavily for a moment, then looks at her, pleading, "Uraraka, you can't tell anyone; please, you promised."

Ochako tries not to cry any harder. "Yeah... I did," she admits to the horrible act of making a promise to keep a secret, a secret that could very well get her best friend killed.

Deku slumps in relief. "Thank you."

Ochako nods listlessly and looks at the mostly full mug in front of her and the half-eaten mochi in her hand. The once-calming tea now feels undrinkable, her favorite treat now unedible. She puts the partial mochi back, stands up, and dumps the remaining tea into her sink. "I only have one bed," she explains as she rinses the cup out, "so one of us can take it and the other can sleep on the floor with my blankets and pillow."

"I'll sleep on the floor," Deku offers quickly, and Ochako nods again.

She finishes cleaning her mug and finally turns back to Deku, who stands behind her with his own empty cup at the ready. She exchanges her clean one for his dirty one and repeats the process. "I'm glad you came here tonight; I'm glad you're safe," Ochako decides, not that she's glad he's safe, but that she will make sure he stays that way, no matter what, because she loves Midoriya Izuku too much to keep her promise.

Chapter Text

Ochako stares at the normal-sized yet looming door in a state of low-grade dread. The teachers' lounge undoubtedly instills a similar feeling in other students brought before it, but that's because those students are being dragged inside to receive punishment for whatever stupid stunt they got caught pulling. Ochako, on the other hand, was here of her own accord, and that's what made her so nervous. If she goes through with this, then she may willingly destroy one of the best friendships she's had in her life. The possibility of Deku not being able to forgive her for going back on her promise weighs heavily on her heart but the entirely probable worst-case scenario if she doesn't come forward weighs heavier, to the point she hadn't slept a wink all weekend because instead of just losing her friendship, she could lose her friend.

Stealing her resolve, Ochako takes a deep breath and knocks. Her hand quickly retracts and returns to its death grip on her backpack's worn straps. Luckily, she isn't given too much time to stew in the storm of emotions that continues to brew within her, making her feel ill in a way only her quirk had before.

The door slides open, slamming into its place in the wall, revealing Midnight in all her R-rated glory. Aside from the handful of times she's assisted in fundamental heroics classes and appeared publicly for school events, the heroine always wears a far less revealing and slightly more professional version of her costume, but Ochako supposes that doesn't apply nearly an hour before classes start. "Well, well, well," the woman drawls with a sultry grin and cocks her hip, resting a hand right above her whip. "Who do we have here?"

Ochako swallows past the lump in her throat so she can force out the line she'd been repeating in her head for the past few minutes. "I need to talk to Aizawa-sensei."

Midnight's smile turns into something more euphoric and mischievous. "Shouta, someone's here to see you," she sings gleefully and steps aside, allowing Ochako to take a hesitant step into the foreign room.

"Who is it?" Her homeroom teacher demands, clearly annoyed, which Ochako had really expected. The man was always tired during the middle of the day; extremely early in the morning, he was bound to be even harsher than she knew him to be. However, this isn't something that she can put off, not even until the end of the day. Really, she wished she could have told someone about this sooner, but she'd only found out on Saturday night, so this was her first realistic opportunity to. She hopes her teacher understands her urgency.

"It's Uraraka," Ochako announces herself.

Finally, Aizawa reveals himself, sitting up at his desk to meet her eyes with his narrowed gaze and asks in an icy tone, "And what do you want at seven-thirty in the morning?"

Ochako doesn't flinch away from the man's irritated and extremely intimidating glare, no matter how much she wants to. "I need to talk to you in private. It's important," she pleads. The man must see or hear her desperation because after studying her intently for a moment, he grunts and heaves himself up off his chair.

"Come on," the man says and, without another word, begins walking toward a hall branching off from the lounge. Ochako has to jog to catch up with her teacher and speed-walk to keep up with him.

The air between them is still and silent, yet Ochako appreciates it. She knows her nerves would only grow stronger if she had to force herself through small talk.

Before long, they stop at a door with a nameplate labeling it as 'Meeting Room #2'. The man slides the door open and lets Ochako enter the room before he steps in after her and flips on the lights. "Sit," he commands her as he shuts the door behind them. Ochako does as she's told and sits on the edge of the nearest couch, placing her bag in her lap, so she can continue to anxiously fiddle with its straps. Aizawa walks around the coffee table in the middle of the room and drops into a cushioned chair opposite her. "Talk."

Ochako nods in acknowledgement, but her mouth opens and closes a few times before she's able to form any actual words. "I'm worried about Deku," she finally confesses, destroying any chance of changing her mind. With that, she chances a glance at her teacher. The man's expression gives nothing away as he crosses his arms and leans back in his seat.

"Why?" he asks in a flat tone that, from anyone else, would clearly convey disinterest, but Ochako knows her homeroom teacher well enough to know that when their safety is potentially at risk, he will stop at nothing to change that.

She swallows thickly. "He called me on Saturday night; he asked if he could sleep over at my apartment, but he wouldn't tell me why over the phone. He sounded off, though. I didn't know what it was then but... he was scared," she admits. After that, Ochako allows herself a moment to take a deep breath. Nothing she'd said yet had touched on the things that made her heart ache at the thought of confessing. That ends now.

"When he got to my apartment, I asked him why he wanted to come over again. He made me promise not to tell anyone the reason, but if I keep my promise, I think he might die," she quietly confesses. Her admission sits heavily in the air of the meeting room. Neither she nor her teacher makes a sound or movement as Ochako sorts through her thoughts about that night and the conversation that she probably wouldn't stop thinking about for weeks to come.

"Deku told me that, whenever his mom isn't around, his dad talks about killing him, like how he wants to and how he'd do it. Deku said he was fine with that, but something happened on Saturday night. He didn't say it, not really, but I think Deku's dad tried to strangle him. Deku said he could handle that too but I just keep thinking 'what if he can't, what if something happened?' and if something did happen, then it'd be my fault because I didn't help him."

A rough hand holds out a tissue in front of Ochako's downturned face. She grabs it and wipes at the tears that had started falling. "You were right to come to me with this, Uraraka," Aizawa-sensei says, and Ochako can't hold back any longer; she starts to sob. She hadn't realized how terrified she'd been that she would be told she was overthinking or overreacting, that she would ruin her relationship, only for nothing to happen but those words crushed all those fears. "I will talk to Midoriya before the end of the day. I can't say what will happen after that, but I promise I will do everything in my power to keep him safe," he swears with a sharpness in his eyes that promised protection for Deku.

"Thank you, Aizawa-sensei," she gets out between relieved sobs.

He sighs tiredly. "Don't thank me for this," he says and rises from his chair. Ochako quickly follows his lead and stands from her seat on the very edge of the couch. "Now go calm yourself down before class and let me worry about what happens next."

"Yes, sir," Ochako nods and gives the man a small smile, but that smile falls when she remembers one more detail. It's something almost unrelated, it's something that might be going to far if she exposes it too but it feels important. "Aizawa-sensei, there's one more thing. Deku said something else that night... He told me the reason he was scared was that he didn't want to die anymore." Anymore, he'd said, like there was a time he did.

Aizawa seems to understand immediately. "I see," he says slowly, "is there anything else I should know?"

"No, sir," she answers truthfully, and he nods, then opens the door to the room, again letting Ochako through first.

The two of them walk back to the teachers' lounge together, where they finally separate. Her teacher returns to his desk, but instead of going back to napping, as she'd assumed he had been doing before, she sees him get to work on his computer, instilling further confidence that her decision wouldn't be all for not.

With the crumbled tissue still in her hand, Ochako follows her teacher's advice and heads to the nearest bathroom to cool down. She throws away the used tissue when she gets there and replaces it with a paper towel run through warm water. She lays the towel on her face, letting the heat calm her and wash away the evidence of her episode. When she gets a hold of her breathing again, she pulls the damp towel off her and studies herself in the mirror. She looks exhausted, like someone who has barely slept in two days, and she looks full of dread, like someone who just betrayed the trust of their best friend.

She'd broken her promise, something that would hurt their friendship, maybe even end it, as much as the thought pains her, but she knows she did what was right. She may lose her friend, but she'd much rather have Deku alive to hate her forever than let him stay with someone who may very well kill him.

Chapter Text

After spending all of Sunday stewing in anxiety for the future and Monday in remorse for the friendship-ending sin she'd committed, Ochako had assumed the waiting was over, especially when—after seven hours of avoiding him—Aizawa had called Deku away at the end of the day. Sure, it had pained Ochako when Deku, while confused and anxious at the request, hadn't shot her even a single questioning look, having full faith that Ochako had kept her promise, but at the same time, it had felt like a breath of fresh air after a lingering smog. Seeing Deku trail behind the hero who had fought for their lives at the USJ and would go through it again for Deku's safety made Ochako think that, in the most important way, things would be okay. It allowed her to get her first full night of sleep in two days, and then Tuesday came.

Tuesday was supposed to go off something like Monday, only instead of her and Deku not talking because of her immense guilt, it would be because Deku felt angry and betrayed by her. Instead, when the final bell rang on Tuesday morning, indicating the beginning of their first class, every single seat aside from number 18 was full. Deku—who had never missed a day of class nor been even a second late—was nowhere to be found. Not in English, nor History, nor Math, and he didn't respond to a single one of Ochako's frantic texts sent during and between classes.

It couldn't be a coincidence, not the day after she had broken her promise, but she had thought that telling someone was the right thing to do. That's what she and all people had been taught to do as kids: when someone is in danger, you tell an adult, a teacher is better, and a hero is best. Ochako was none of those things; she couldn't make a change herself, so she'd told Aizawa-sensei, an adult, teacher, and hero. She'd done what was right, right? But now Deku was missing, and Ochako knew what could happen in abuse situations after a failed intervention. Ochako tried to do right, but maybe she just made things worse, and she could only think of one thing worse than attempted murder.

The school bell ringing sounds so distant; all day, things had felt so distant that she didn't even know what this one was indicating until the classroom suddenly got a lot louder and there was movement in her peripheries. Ochako, though, didn't move; she was in no condition or mood to eat. If she tried to even put food in her mouth, she's sure she'd throw up. Besides, how could she even think to eat when Deku may very well be dead?

"Uraraka," Tsu calls softly, like Ochako is a fragile thing that could break if spoken to too loudly, "are you alright?" Ochako didn't even realize how transparent she'd been until she opened her mouth, hoping a lie would just roll off her tongue, but only a choked sound came out. The sound grabs the attention of their surrounding classmates and friends, all of whom look at Ochako with concern like she deserves it.

"Uraraka?" Iida asks, brows furrowed. He takes a step toward her. Iida, Tsu, everyone's staring eyes, they all make her feel so trapped. Ochako can't think of anything but escape. She stands abruptly, chair scraping horribly against the floor, and rushes out of the room, bumping into Iida as she does. As soon as she's out of the classroom, her tears finally begin to bubble up, blurring her vision as she tries to navigate the crowded UA halls.

Ochako runs against the masses. Everyone else is headed to the cafeteria while Ochako has no real destination, and yet, eventually, she finds herself throwing open the door to a far-off bathroom.

From there, Ochako stumbles into a stall and fumbles to lock the door. The moment that lock slides into place, Ochako collapses to the ground. Her bones had felt like jelly for so long, but now that she's actually allowed her body to fail, it feels like they're made of stone. Her limbs are heavy, too heavy to move, so all Ochako can do is lie on the disgusting bathroom floor and let her silent tears devolve into mournful sobs. Sobs for Deku and the fate he'd suffered in her mind, for her betrayal that amounted to nothing, and for the fact that Ochako never even told him goodbye, having been too caught up in her own wretched feelings the day before.

For those things, Ochako cries and cries as time flies by with no indicator until a woman calls into the room, "Is that you, Uraraka?" Ochako recognizes the voice as Midnights, but if she'd heard the heroine entering the bathroom, she would've sooner recognized the clicking of her heels against the tiled floor. Ochako doesn't answer, but her crying does calm into pathetic sniffling. "Your friends are worried about you," she says, now right outside the stall door.

"I think I killed him," Ochako admits roughly instead of responding to Midnight's words.

There's a moment of silence. "Who do you think you killed, sweetheart?" Midnight asked in a softer voice than Ochako had ever heard her. That tone is what gives Ochako the strength to reach up and unlock the door with a click that seems to echo through the eerily quiet bathroom. With the implied permission, Midnight pushes open the door and steps into the stall with Ochako, then sits on the gross floor beside her.

"Deku," Ochako whispers in answer, "he's not here and he won't answer me. I broke my promise and- I think he might be dead."

Ochako chances a look up at Midnight and sees relief flood her eyes. "Deku, that's what you call Midoriya, right?" she asks, and Ochako nods her head. Midnight smiles and sighs. "Midoriya's fine; he's with your homeroom teacher."

Ochako suddenly inhales, and her lungs feel like they fully expand for the first time in hours. Her tears that had slowed to a stop appear again, but this time they are born of relief. "Where are they? What happened?"

At that, Midnight's expression turns to guilt. "I'm afraid I don't know any more than that. The only reason I was told was to excuse their absences," she explains, and Ochako looks down, disappointed. "However," Midnight begins, then uses a long-nailed finger to force Ochako to meet her serious eyes, "I do know that so long as your friend is with Aizawa Shouta, he will be okay."

Ochako wipes her tears with her uniform sleeve. "Okay."

"Good," Midnight says with a smile that looks closer to her normal smirk and stands back up. She offers Ochako a hand to help her up, too, and Ochako takes it. The heroine hauls Ochako off the ground like she weighs nothing. "Now, why don't you head back to your classroom, and I'll make sure someone brings you something to eat?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ochako agrees. Satisfied with Ochako's answer, Midnight leads them out of the bathroom and into the desolate hallway. The two walk side by side, back towards 1-A but it doesn't take long for Ochako to get restless. "Um, would it be alright if I used my phone to text Deku?" She asks, feeling rude to do so in front of a teacher without permission, especially with all the heroine had just done for her.

"Of course."

Ochako tries to give Midnight a smile that displays her gratitude, but she's a bit more focused on opening her text conversation with Deku. She'd planned on giving Deku space until he reached out first, but that had been before he failed to show up to school without any sort of notice or later explanation. Now their conversation looked incredibly one-sided on Ochako's part.

Deku

Hey, where are you?

It's not like you to be this late

8:41 am

I'm getting worried. Are you alright?

9:20 am

Please answer me

Please Deku

10:17 am

I'm so sorry deku just please say something

anything

just let me know your okay

11:01 am

All day, there had been no response or even indication that Deku had received Ochako's texts, yet she began to type up a new one anyway.

Midnight-sensei told you you're with Aizawa-sensei. I hope everything is alright. Please text me back whenever you can.

12:11 pm

Ochako's not a delusional girl; logically, she knows the chances of Deku actually responding to her message are slim to none, but hitting the send button feels like this reality has finally set in. Deku may be angry, he may hate her, but he's okay, and Ochako can live with that for now.

Chapter Text

Deku hadn't responded to any of Ochako's texts sent throughout Tuesday, and—unless he changed his phone settings since the last time they talked—he hadn't seen them either, leaving her messages on delivered. Yet when he walked back into class on Wednesday morning, he acted as if nothing had happened. Well, not nothing because something was obviously wrong with him. Deku looked exhausted, like this time it was him who hadn't slept in days, and he looked upset, specifically a mix between sad and angry. Not only that, but instead of stopping at the first row of seats like he did every morning, he just walked to his desk, secluded from the rest of their little group, and sat down heavily.

Tsu and Iida looked between each other and Ochako, but Ochako avoided looking them in the eyes, knowing it was her fault Deku hadn't greeted either of them. However, Iida, ever the class vice president, apparently wouldn't let the minor incident slide.

"Midoriya," Iida greets kindly and walks up to Deku's desk. Tsu easily followed behind him and gave Deku a warm smile, but Ochako hung back. "We're glad to have you back in class. I trust that you're feeling better today."

"I'm not sick if you're worried about me being contagious," Deku answers shortly, and the room suddenly feels much more tense to the point that even Kaminari couldn't miss it.

Iida looks back to Tsu for guidance, but she looks just as lost for words. "Well, no..."

"Pretty sure they were just worried about you, dude. I think we all kinda were," Sero thankfully interjects, but then his smile turns slightly mischievous and, in a suggestive tone, he adds, "but your lady friend definitely missed you most."

Deku's mood, which had been looking up quickly sours, though he hides it quickly with a fake smile. "Thanks for your concern, Tsuyu."

Those keeping up with the train wreck in slow motion look confused. "Actually, I was talking about Uraraka," Sero corrects awkwardly.

Now, Ochako has encountered mean girls in middle school and faced villains at the USJ, but never in her life had she ever been on the receiving end of such a withering glare as when those words processed. Without breaking that eye contact, Deku declares, "Uraraka isn't my friend," then returns to ignoring her like he had for the past day and a half.

"Midoriya, don't say that! Of course, Uraraka is your friend-" Iida exclaims, shocked.

"No," Deku says firmly. "A friend is someone you can trust won't stab you in the back. A friend is someone who doesn't make a promise only to break it less than a day later!"

The confession causes the entire class, even those who hadn't been originally invested, to turn to Ochako, looking at her with varying levels of suspicion and making her sink into her seat. She knew that, on some level, she deserved what she was getting, but since it was Deku, she never expected for her actions to be aired to the class like this.

Before anyone can think to respond, the warning bell goes off, so everyone wanders back to their seats, but based on the glances she gets for the rest of the day, it's clear Deku's words are still at the forefront of the minds of their classmates.

It was no surprise to Ochako that things began to change after the blow-up in front of the entire class; however, that change wasn't as horrible as she'd expected all things considered. When lunch came later that day, Tsu and Iida struggled with deciding where to sit—Todoroki only seemed to sit with them because of Deku anyway, so he didn't seem to have any internal conflict deciding on who to choose—; After Ochako confirmed the conflict between them was her fault, Iida decided to sit with Deku but Tsu stayed, insisting that while it may have been her fault, it didn't mean she deserved to be alone which honestly made Ochako cry and only partially due to her frazzled emotions

Surprisingly, though, it wasn't just their group of five that was affected. In the following week, Ochako found herself being joined for lunch by more classmates than ever before. It was mostly the girls of 1-A, namely Hagakure and Ashido, while Yaomomo—and Jirou by extension—would join them on occasion, and, oddly enough, so would Aoyama.

Thankfully, Deku also seemed to have people reaching out to him. Usually, it was Kirishima—which seemed to piss Bakugaou off—but Kaminari, Sero, Satou, and Tokoyami also made appearances at his table. Most surprisingly, though, was when the purple-haired boy from the general education track started sitting with Deku every day from Friday onward.

With those constantly shifting lunch tables and painful, dragging school days, a whole week without a single word spoken between Ochako and Deku had passed by, and it was doing terrible things to her grades. Despite being more prepared than ever before and starting finals prep weeks early this semester, with only a week left before finals, Ochako was worried that she'd not just do poorly on her exams but completely fail them, which is why, when Yaomomo suggested a 1-A girls finals prep session, Ochako was quick to accept the offer. That's how Ocahko found herself walking up the long driveway to the biggest house she'd ever seen in person at 5 PM on a Tuesday night, exactly one week before their first finals at UA.

With how fancy the outside of the building—which could probably be classified as a mansion—was, Ochako had expected a butler or something to answer the door, but soon after she rang the doorbell, Yaomomo herself answered with a kind smile. "Hello, Uraraka. I'm glad you made it," her hostess greets.

Ochako easily returns her smile. "Of course! I'm glad you invited me; I've kinda been in desperate need of something like this to be honest," she admits, but instead of a polite response or soft laugh, Yaomomo looks guilty, though Ochako isn't able to question her friend before she invites Ochako inside.

After removing her shoes, Yaomomo shows Ochako up a long staircase and down a hall, finally stopping at one of the tall doors that line it. She opens it, gesturing for Ochako to enter first, and when she does, she finds all four of the other 1-A girls already spread across what she assumes is Yaomomo's enormous bedroom.

"Hey, guys. Wow, you're all like really early," Ochako says, feeling late herself despite being exactly on time, but not one of them reacts either. Their collective odd behavior makes her nerves start really acting up.

Behind her, Yaomomo closes the door. "I apologize, Uraraka, but I'm afraid I misled you about the nature of this meeting."

"What does that mean?" Ochako asks.

For a moment, the five just look amongst themselves, seemingly trying to will someone to come out and say it. "We're worried about what's going on between you and Midoriya," Tsu answers, blunt as ever, and Ochako feels her heart sink a little. She'd really been hoping to use this time not only to study but to get her mind off Deku; that's what had been causing her to struggle with her work to begin with, after all.

"None of us have wanted to interfere with your relationship, especially because it seems neither of you is willing to share what happened, but with finals coming up, we're worried that if you two keep going as you have been, you won't be able to attend the summer training camp," Yaomomo explains, perfectly skirting around the fact they think she will fail her exams which is unfortunately a valid concern, still it frustrates Ochako because of course she is worried but the issues between her and Deku can't be resolved by someone on the outside because the issue is her breaking Deku's trust.

"Please, Uraraka, let us help you. You can trust us; Tell us what's going on," Hagakure adds when Ochako doesn't answer soon enough.

Ochako sighs tiredly, reminding herself they're just trying to help and that they don't know how delicate this situation really is. "If I told you what happened, it would only make things worse between us," Ochako explains.

"Then don't tell us what happened, just... give us an idea," Jirou pipes up.

That makes Ochako think. If she's vague enough, then it shouldn't be a problem, right? "Okay, okay, I'll tell you what I can," she agrees and takes a moment to work through exactly what that is. "Do you all remember when Deku came back to school after he missed that whole day of class? When he said I broke a promise I made to him?" She asks, and the shared glances and slow, agreeing nods make it clear none of them had forgotten. "Well, that's basically what happened. Over that weekend, Deku made me promise not to tell anyone about something, and I promised, but the thing he told me was really personal, and also dangerous, and I was worried something bad would happen if nothing changed, so I told Aizawa-sensei everything on Monday morning. And that's the last day we ever talked; I don't know what ended up happening."

"Alright," Yaomomo says thoughtfully, "well, you did break a promise, but you did it because it was the right thing to do, and since Midoriya is a reasonable person, I'm sure he'd be able to see that... if he was forced to talk to you."

Ochako has to stop herself from screaming. "But that's the problem! I can't force him to talk to me," she laments.

"Maybe you can't, but I bet a teacher could!" Ashido suggests.

And that's what led to Ochako standing in front of All Might alone in the 1-A classroom while everyone else was suiting up for one of their final practical heroics lessons of the semester.

"Is there something I can do for you, young Uraraka?" All Might asks, and Ochako takes a deep breath.

"Yes. I need to talk to you about Deku," she starts slowly, mentally reviewing the basic script she and the girls had come up with the night before. "You might have noticed that our relationship has been a bit... strained over the past few days, and I'm worried that it's been negatively affecting our school work, but we haven't gotten the opportunity to talk about what happened, so I was hoping we could get paired together for our next partner exercise."

"While I have indeed noticed the tension between young Midoriya and yourself," All Might says, looking uncomfortable, which feels like a bad sign for Ochako, "I'm afraid that, for the time being, I have been instructed to keep the two of you from being put in exercises together as either teammates or opponents."

Ochako feels her heart being squeezed inside her chest. That was a really bad sign, possibly a 'game over' sign depending on who gave that order. Still, she refuses to give up on her friendship with Deku just yet. "I understand, but I've been especially worried with finals coming up. I don't want either of us to miss the summer camp just because of our issues."

At that, All Might looks conflicted, and after a moment of silence, he says, "Yes, that would be rather unfortunate. Alright, I'll rearrange my plans so that the two of you can work together during today's exercise."

Ochako feels relief flood her. "Thank you so much, All Might! I promise you won't regret it!" She exclaims as she picks up her costume case and rushes out the door to change for the activity. Hopefully, this is the start of things finally turning around.

Chapter Text

Ochako nervously picks at the cuff of her hero costume. She takes a preparatory breath. This is it, she hypes herself up, the opportunity she's been waiting for. It's in no way perfect—she'd only been able to script out her conversation with All Might—but this was her chance to talk to Deku and to finally work things out, and she wasn't about to let it go to waste.

After longer than he'd usually take, All Might enters the room with the same energy that had become normal for him over the semester. However, he doesn't enter alone, because in his arm is a massive, familiar paper mache bomb. The whispers that break out across the room tell her that she's not the only person to recognize the prop either.

"Quiet, please," their teacher commands, and the group quickly listens. "Now, since you're coming up on the end of your first semester at UA, I thought we'd take this class to show off how much you've all improved by rerunning your first-ever exercise. Everything will be the same as before, from the situation, team pairings, and opponents; the only difference will be your alignment. If you were a hero last time, you'll be a villain today, and vice versa," he announces, and excitement returns to the viewing room.

Despite knowing he hadn't spared her a single look in days, Ochako is still cautious when she glances up at Deku, attempting to gauge his reaction too. She regrets it almost immediately when she sees just how angry Deku looks. His eyes are narrowed, his jaw is clenched, and even his hands are balled tightly at his side.

Ochako quickly looks away, her heart pounding. Not only does she regret looking at Deku, but she regrets seeking All Might's help in this endeavor; after all, part of the reason she and the girls chose to ask All Might was because they knew no matter what, Deku would never deny the hero he idolized. Now Ochako almost wished he'd go against his base instinct and denounce the pair-up.

He doesn't, though, and before she can process it, All Might calls for the first group, which, of course, just so happens to be theirs. Deku doesn't say a word, just starts walking toward the door, grabbing the faux bomb on his way out. Then Iida and Bakugou start following him, and Ochako's heart sinks even further than before. She hadn't even considered the fact that they'd be going up against the same opponents as last time. Not only would she have to get through to Deku, but she'd have to worry about Bakugou too. Her whole plan was very quickly spiraling into a massive dumpster fire that she didn't know how to extinguish. However, despite everything, Ochako refuses to do anything but her very best, so she starts racing after the small group of boys, only slowing when she reaches Deku.

"Hey," she greets and winces at the poor start. "It would make more sense for me to carry that, or I could at least use my quirk on it," Ochako offers and gestures to the bomb in his hands. 

Deku doesn't answer, though. He doesn't even react in a way that indicates he heard her. However, Ochako doesn't let that get her down or even slow her; it merely makes her change her approach. "We'll only have five minutes to prepare once we get into the building, so we should start thinking now. Last time Bakugou and Iida separated, so do you think they'll do the same again? Iida will definitely come in from the ground floor, but Bakugou could come from somewhere higher, which would affect where we put the bomb. What do you think, Deku?"

Yet again, Deku doesn't say a thing, but he seems to get more tense the longer she goes on, so Ochako decides to de-escalate. "I know you're upset, but we're gonna have to work together if we're going to beat Bakugou and Iida!" She exclaims, and finally Deku responds by stopping dead in his tracks.

"Don't talk like you understand anything," he seethes, then keeps walking without having once looked at or even toward her. With that, he enters the building, starting their five-minute countdown.

Ochako privately groans in frustration before throwing the door open and running after him. "Well, you can't expect me to understand if you won't talk to me!"

"I don't want to talk to you, and I don't want to work with you! I wish I never even had to see you again," Deku shouts. "You ruined my life!"

Ochako nearly wants to punch a wall or pull out her own hair. He's just so- so childish that she can't help but retort in a matching tone, "I'm sorry I wanted you to be safe! Would you rather I left you in a situation that could've gotten you killed?"

"Yes! At least then I'd still have my mom!"

Ochako feels the air in the room gets sucked out, and the blood in her veins turn to jagged ice. "What- what does that mean? Deku, what do you mean?" Ochako demands, realizing she'd been so worried about what would happen to Deku that she didn't even think about anyone or anything else. What if it wasn't Deku that his dad took his anger out on, but rather Deku's mom, and what if that was Ochako's fault?

Deku still refuses to look at her. Why won't he look at her?

"She chose him," he finally admits, his voice cracking. "They found out what happened because of you, so now I'm not allowed to see my dad anymore. My mom had to pick, and she chose to stay with him."

For a moment, Ochako feels lighter, but then she remembers the conversation that started it all. She remembers Deku talking about his mom, how she was happy now, and how Deku was risking his life to keep her that way because he knew that she'd leave that happiness behind in order to protect him. How much of a wretched surprise must that have been? She also thinks about her own parents and her relationships with them; how much would it hurt to lose one? How much would it hurt to be so completely betrayed?

Her throat squeezes tight. "Deku, I-" She tries, but finally, finally Deku looks at her, and his expression isn't of the breakthrough she thought they'd just had, it's of burning fury towards her.

"You what? You're sorry?! Well, sorry doesn't cut it! I lost my whole family," Deku cries, angry, broken tears. "My mom was all I had growing up. I knew I wasn't her everything, but I thought it was fine, it was fine until you opened your stupid mouth and ruined everything!"

Ochako's stupid mouth moves, but not a word comes out. All she can think to say is 'sorry' but Deku made it clear that's the last thing he wants. He was clearly right, too. Ochako really had ruined so much of Deku's life, how could a few words- how could anything fix that? And yet, Ochako can't just stand there while her friend cries, so she reaches out. She extends a hand, hoping to offer some sort of support, but Deku makes contact first, slapping her hand away harshly. Her palm stings, but she's more startled than anything else.

"Don't touch me! Don't you get it?!" He screams, and his body starts to light up with his quirk. Ochako's heart begins to beat out of her chest. Never before had she been scared of Deku, but with the pure hatred in his eyes, she can't help but fear him. So when Deku takes a step forward, the floor cracking under his foot, Ochako stumbles backward in turn, but quickly hits the hallway wall. Someone says something through her earpiece, but she can't hear it over the blood rushing past her ears. "I hate you! I fucking hate you!" Deku spits, he curses, something Ochako had never heard him do before.

Suddenly, despite her eyes being glued to Deku, something sturdy hits her and knocks her down the hall. She'd almost think he'd somehow attacked without her seeing if it weren't for the fact that, aside from knocking the little air out of her, it didn't hurt.

With a little caution, Ochako glances up and finds Iida, whose arms are still protectively wrapped around her.

"Midoriya, I'm going to have to ask that you stand down," Iida demands, but his voice shakes. He must be rattled seeing Deku like this, too.

With that, something changes in Deku's eyes, but she can't identify what before All Might appears in the doorway. "Young Midoriya," he says evenly, as if he's talking to a wild animal and not the boy they all know he favors, "deactivate your quirk and come with me."

Deku looks down at his glowing hands in surprise, as if he didn't even notice what he'd done. Slowly, the green arcs of energy fizzle out, and Deku follows the hero without a word.

When the door closes behind them, Ochako finds herself void of all adrenaline and collapses. Iida makes a sound of surprise but easily catches her. Ochako had honestly forgotten he was there.

"Thanks," she whispers to him absentmindedly. Then, "that was scary."

"It was," Iida agrees, still dazed but quickly seems to shake it off. "What happened?" He asks, but Ochako shakes her head, unable to explain.

Instead, she cries, "I messed up, Iida. I messed up really bad."

Because really, why did Ochako think she knew better? Why didn’t she trust Deku to handle it like he said? And yet, even now, could she regret what she did? This whole time, she's been so sure of that answer, but nothing seems sure anymore, nothing but the fact that her friendship was truly over.

Chapter Text

Ochako stares listlessly at her bare ceiling from her place sprawled out on her futon and floor. It's what she'd been doing for a while now, ever since she'd given up on studying less than an hour after arriving back at her studio apartment. After all, the only thing that's been on her mind since it happened was the disaster that was earlier's heroics lesson.

She sighs, exhausted. Even with only a few hours' difference, Ochako already wishes she'd handled that differently. It hurts, but Ochako can at least acknowledge that she couldn't've known what to say differently; however, she shouldn't have been so scared of Deku even after he'd activated his quirk. She knows Deku would never hurt her, and, having mentally replayed the events dozens of times already, it seemed like he wasn't even aware that he'd been using his quirk.

"Don't you get it?! I hate you! I fucking hate you!"

Her ex-friend's words stand out as the scene replays again. Don't worry, Deku, Ochako thinks, I'm kinda hating myself now, too.

Ochako's phone pings with a message, finally drawing her out of her spiraling state. With what feels like an exuberant amount of effort, she rolls onto her side and reaches for her phone. She flips it open and is welcomed by a text from her mom; Ochako welcomes it in return.

Mom

Good evening, baby. Your dad and I hope you're doing well.

5:53 pm

Another two messages drop in as she reads in quick succession.

I know you're bound to be busy studying with finals coming up, but don't worry yourself over them too much. You've been doing a great job so far.

Although we're both happy we’ll have you back home over summer break <3

5:54 pm

Her mom’s caring words bring more of Deku’s words to mind.

”At least then I’d still have my mom.”

She’d briefly considered it when Deku first confessed it, but now Ochako really wonders what she would ever do without her mom.

The question feels like taking a dull knife to her heart, and without really thinking, Ochako dials her mom’s number. She just wants—maybe even needs—to hear her mom’s voice right now. Luckily, her mom answers nearly as quickly.

“Ochako,” she greets excitedly, “I’m so glad to hear from you! I thought about calling, but I didn’t want to distract you from your studies.”

For some reason, hearing her doesn’t help like Ochako had instinctively thought it would. Rather, her own throat squeezes, making it difficult for her to choke out a polite, “thanks, mom. That was considerate.”

“Honey, is everything alright?” Her mom quickly asks. That alone makes Ochako’s eyes begin to water. Honestly, this whole horrible situation has got her turning into Deku with all the waterworks.

"No,” Ochako answers. ‘I need help,’ she doesn’t voice, but her cracking words still scream it.

“Talk to me, Ochako. What happened?”

“Mom,” she starts, not knowing what she wants to say until the words have already left her mouth. “If something happened between dad and me, and you had to pick one of us, who would you choose?”

“What? What’s this about?” Then, with concern and a tinge of dread in her voice, “Did something happen?”

The sound makes Ochako feel guilty, but she can’t answer in the way her mom wants just yet. “Please, can you just answer the question?” She begs instead.

“You, baby. I will always choose you. Now tell me what happened, I promise I will believe anything you say.”

The desperation and complete honesty finally break down Ochako’s floodgates. “It’s my friend, Deku,” she cries, “His dad hurt him, and his mom had to choose who to stay with.”

Her mom makes a noise of sympathy. “And she chose to stay with him,” she guesses, and Ochako weakly confirms. “Are you worried that I would choose someone over you?”

Ochako wipes at her face and gets snot and tears on her sleeve. Gross. “No,” she answers honestly. “It’s not that, it’s… it’s my fault,” her voice cracks on the word, “mom. He told me what happened, and I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing, but now? I broke my promise, and now he hates me. I don’t know how to fix it anymore. I’m not even sure if I can.”

”Oh, baby, that sounds hard,” her mom responds, and Ochako feels a sense of comfort that she only ever gets from the presence of her parents wash over her. She nods to no one in response. “Do you want my advice?”

Immediately Ochako perks up. “Yes, please,” she’s almost desperate to answer.

”Okay. Then, tell me, what is your end goal?”

Ochako can feel her face twist in confusion. “What do you mean?”

”Well, is your goal to rebuild your relationship with him?”

"I fucking hate you!" Ochako remembers and shrinks back down. “I seriously don’t think that’s possible anymore.”

“Don’t think about what you believe is possible right now, just tell me what you want.”

“I guess," Ochako thinks deeply for a moment. What does she want? "I really want him back, Deku’s my best friend, but more than anything, I just want him to be okay.”

“That’s really mature, Ochako,” her mom responds, sounding surprised. “Have you told him that?”

”No, he… doesn’t want to talk to me,” Ochako says, leaving out the details, but her tone explains in place of words.

”Then, instead of talking, how about you write it out. Write down everything you haven’t been able to say. Tell him about your side, your feelings, and that desire,” she advises, and, on that phone call, Ochako listens. She begins to spill out her guts onto a piece of paper.

Dear Deku,

When you came to me on that Saturday night, you looked so sad and scared. I'd never seen you like that before, and honestly, it scared me too. All I wanted was for you to feel better so that's all I thought about when I made that promise to you. I thought that if I could just make you happy, then I'd figure everything else out later, but then you told me your secret, and it terrified me. Afterward, all I could think about was what would happen if you couldn’t handle it like you said? The only result of that I could imagine was you dying. I couldn’t sleep for days afterward because I didn’t want to break my promise, but I care about you too much to let you die. Honestly, I didn’t think any further than that, though. I didn’t think about anything except for making sure you were safe; not once did it cross my mind what would have to change in your life to keep you safe.

Then, when you told me what happened with your mom, I felt awful that I caused that, but I also thought about how I’d feel if I lost one of my parents like that. You’re right, though, I really can’t understand what you’re going through right now, and I honestly hope I never will. No one should ever have to lose a parent like that, and maybe I’m a little selfish, but I think you especially shouldn’t have to. I’m so sorry that’s how it turned out.

I’m also sorry for how I acted during the training exercise. To be honest, the whole thing was my fault. I asked All Might to put us together because I wanted the chance to talk to you, so please don’t blame him at all. I know that’s most of the problem, too. I should’ve respected the fact that you didn’t want to talk to me (which I promise I’ll do from now on) even without knowing the full reason.

Finally, I just wanted to say that even though you hate me, I love you, Deku. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. If that friendship ends, then I’ll miss it forever, but as long as you’re safe and happy, then I’ll be okay too.

With love,

Ochako

It’s a hard thing to write, it takes time, and it’s a little embarrassing, but necessary to have her mom proofread it but after a day, the letter is finished, and Ochako is content. Then, throughout the day on Friday, Ochako makes arrangements one more time to make sure she and Deku have a moment alone. Sure, last time it didn’t work out too well, but this time will be different because this time she isn’t going to force a thing.

When the final bell rings at the end of the day, the 1-A classroom empties faster than ever before, leaving only her and a confused-looking Deku. With a deep breath, Ochako approaches him.

“I know you don’t want to talk to me, and I’ll accept that, but first, I have something to give you,” Ochako says as she holds out the envelope, worn slightly with worry.

Deku’s hands grip tighter to the straps of his backpack, but otherwise, he ignores her words as he walks to the classroom door. So, in a moment of desperation, Ochako calls out, “If you take this, I promise I’ll never bother you again. I’ll make sure you never even have to see me any more than necessary.” Of course, Ochako had planned to leave him alone regardless, but if she could just get him to take this, probably toss it aside somewhere, but hopefully remember it sometime in the future and read what she wrote so that he may finally understand Ochako’s side in all of this, that she never meant for things to turn out like this, that she loves him. She could finally be happy with the possibility of that future. And luckily, Deku does stop in his tracks.

“If I take that,” Deku glances back at her, “then you’ll never bother me again?”

Ochako swallows and then nods. “I swear on your life,” she promises and hopes he understands the significance. That’s what it’s been about this whole time, at least it has for Ochako.

Deku studies her for a moment before striding back to Ochako and grabbing the letter out of her hands. Then, without sparing it a single look, he walks back toward the door and drops her carefully crafted letter into the trash can beside it.

“Don’t talk to me again,” he says as the door of 1-A closes behind him. The sound of that door clicking into place is the sound of a friendship finished, and yet Ochako feels relieved—alongside the obvious stinging pain—as she thinks about the final words her mom said to her on that phone call.

“He’ll have to decide where to go from there.”

Ochako’s done all she can, but you can’t force someone to stick around, and, especially given the circumstances, Ochako wouldn't continue to try. Deku made his decision, and now it’s up to Ochako to find a way to live with it and finally stick to a promise she made.

Chapter Text

Finals are broken up across the week, but on Monday, the specialty exams take place. The support course has the day to create an item to solve a given problem, the business course presents their trimester-long projects, and the hero course has their physical exam. For the lattermost course, the stakes are high; they'll be kept from the summer training camp if they don't pass, so everyone is ready—if not prepared—and nervous. Everyone except for Deku, who is nowhere to be seen.

From that realization onward, the day moves on at a snail's pace. Ochako and Aoyama pass, most others do too, but some don't. Yet they'll all get to go to the training camp. Everyone except—maybe—for Deku, who never did show up, and this time no one ever explained why.

Chapter Text

Deku

Can we meet up?

4:12 pm

Ochako's not quite sure how long she stares blankly at the message lighting up her screen, but it's definitely far too long before she's finally able to shake herself from her surprised stupor. However, she tries not to let those feelings show through in her response when she regains consciousness.

Of course

Where do you want to meet?

4:21 pm

Bitter-Sweet Coffeehouse and Bakery

4:21 pm

Ochako immediately recognizes the name. It's that of a cafe a street over, the closest one to her apartment, though she's never been. It's not the type of luxury she's cared to afford herself. At least, it hasn't been before now. Right now, she'd happily buy an overpriced drink as an excuse to talk to Deku on his terms.

She begins to type up her next text, telling Deku she can be there in as little as five minutes, but stops, realizing that while it's a short walk for her, it's gotta be at least a good twenty minutes for him. Or rather, it used to be. Come to think of it, Ochako's not even sure where Deku lives anymore—although all she knew before was it was in the city and it took him about twenty minutes to get from wherever he called from two weeks ago to her—or who he's living with, if anyone. Just another way Ochako failed her former friend in how inconsiderate she'd been.

For now, she shakes off that shame. There isn't time for it, not when the ability to see Deku again is just within her grasp.

Okay. When did you want to meet there?

4:22 pm

Whenever you can.

I'm already here.

4:23 pm

Ochako's heart stops in her chest. He's already there?!

With deft fingers, she quickly types up a response, saying she'll be there as soon as possible. Then she pockets her phone and rushes to pull on her shoes. With her keys and wallet in hand, Ochako leaves her apartment in less than a minute, locking the door behind herself.

Her heart, which had stopped, begins to pick up pace as she rushes down the stairs of her building and down the street, but she's trained too well to be so affected by that. Rather, it's her nerves that are responsible. After over two weeks of hating her guts and avoiding her like death itself, Deku now wanted to meet and with so little forewarning. It makes Ochako wonder what he could possibly want to talk about. Personally, Ochako has her own question—such as why he's missed two days of their most important week of school to date, having now skipped their English and math exams on top of their physical one—but she'll refrain from asking them. Whatever is going on, she'll make sure it's for Deku's sake, and that means supporting him just like she promised, rather than questioning his uncharacteristic actions.

True to her estimate, Ochako makes it to the little coffee shop in just under four minutes, and before she can get too in her own head about it, Ochako opens the door. A gentle chime announces her arrival, causing a few heads to turn her way, though she only notes two. One is a barista who welcomes her in, which Ochako accepts with a smile, and another is Deku, who quickly looks away. With a whole lot of courage, Ochako approaches the latter.

Deku doesn't react when she steps up to his table, a small booth in the corner of the cafe, with a cup and a slice of cake sitting opposite him. "Hey," she greets after a moment. Finally, he glances up at her, but rather than the furious look he'd been exclusively directing toward her lately, he looks timid.

"Hi," he reciprocates. Then, "you can sit, if you want."

Ochako nods quickly and, after a moment of hesitation, sits on the opposite bench. "Thanks."

"That's for you, by the way," Deku says. "I know you like matcha, and I thought the cake looked good."

Ochako really can't help herself from glancing up at the board. Paying Deku back for this was gonna eat up a bit of her weekly budget, but it'll be okay. She would've paid a lot more for this opportunity, anyway.

Ochako smiles. "Thanks, you didn't have to do that."

Her smile falters when Deku looks away again. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say somehow. "It's to say 'thanks'... for coming."

Thanks for coming? Ochako thinks, what a ridiculous notion. If anything, she's grateful Deku's willing to be in the same room as her.

"What about you? Can I get you something to say thanks for inviting me?"

Deku glances back up at her. His face is twisted in some mix of pain and confusion. "No, I already had something. I've been here for a while."

"Oh." Nothing is said between them after that. A large part of Ochako wants to fill the horribly awkward silence, but she reminds herself that this meeting isn't for her. To busy herself, Ochako wraps her fingers around the cool cup and takes a long sip of her iced drink. Just when she sets the cup back down on the table, Deku makes a noise as though he's about to speak. Ochako straightens up, ready for whatever comes her way, but nothing does except for a disappointed sigh. Finally, Ochako notices Deku's hands in his lap; more than that, they seem to be holding something, but with the table obscuring her view, she can't tell what.

She isn't left to wonder long, though, because Deku pulls up what turns out to be a crumbled and stained piece of paper. He sets it in the middle of the table without a word. Ochako looks to Deku for a cue, but he refuses to even look at her again. Cautiously, she takes the placement as permission, and she slowly reaches over to pick up the paper, which she recognizes the moment the text faces her.

"This is my letter," she gasps. "But you threw this away." When Ochako gave him the letter a few days prior, she really hadn't expected him to throw it away so callously, but she hadn't expected him to read it any time soon either. She'd thought he'd leave it collecting dust for—at minimum—a few weeks, but it had only been four days, and Deku had already, at the very least, opened it. "Did you go back and get it?"

Deku nods, and that alone makes Ochako's heart soar. "On Sunday night. I had to go through the dumpsters."

At that, Ochako feels oddly touched. "You did all that? Why?" She questions.

Deku finally looks back up at her. His hands seem to grip something else under the table as he answers, "I don't... I don't really remember that well. I wasn't in a good headspace and everything's kinda blurry looking back, but I think- I think I just needed to know what you said."

"Oh," Ochako breathes, not having any idea how to respond to that. It feels like there are so many layers that still ultimately reveal nothing when peeled back.

"You said some- some really nice things," Deku continues, then sniffles like he's trying to hold back tears; it doesn't last. "And I said awful things," he cries. Deku wipes at his eyes, but the tears keep flowing. "I'm so sorry, Uraraka."

Ochako feels her own tears building. "Please don't apologize, Deku."

"No, I have to," he denies passionately. "I was such a jerk and a horrible friend. I just- I was hoping that you'd let me explain myself? I understand if you don't wanna hear it, I know it's selfish of me to want."

"Maybe it is selfish, but in that case, I'd be selfish too. I mean, a lot of my letter was just me explaining myself, wasn't it?" She encourages. "I want to hear whatever you're willing to tell me."

Deku nods once. "Okay." He takes a breath. "Well, I'm sure you know that I... I blamed you for what happened, but it wasn't just that you told Aizawa-san about what I said, I blamed you for everything." At that, Deku hesitates and begins picking at his nails. "I blamed you for my mom picking my dad over me. I realize now that I just wanted it to not be her fault because that way her leaving hurt less... But we were still allowed to see each other, like a visitation. It was only once a week, just on Sundays, but the judge was supposed to reevaluate eventually. Last Sunday, though, my mom said she didn't want to keep doing it. She said it was too difficult and she'd rather just move on. She said it like I'm just replaceable." A choked sob escapes Deku at that word, and the sound makes it feel like her heart is caught in a vise. He quickly bites his lip to keep any more at bay and once again, though more vigorously this time, wipes his eyes with his sleeve. Ochako really can't help herself. She reaches across the table and slowly grabs Deku's other hand in her own, giving him plenty of time and space to refuse, but instead, he ensnares it in a crushing grip.

"It wasn't your fault, it was hers. It was her choice," he cries quietly. "I'm sorry I refused to see it, I'm sorry I said I hate you; I don't hate you."

Ochako suddenly feels really choked up. Obviously, they'd hurt like hell, but she didn't realize just how much those words had been weighing on her until now. "That's good, I'm glad,” she whispers, her words shaking.

With that, she and Deku sit in relative silence again, but this time it's not something that begs to be filled; rather, it's space for them to process. It helps Ochako come back from the brink of tears, and it allows Deku to rein his in. 

"Thank you," Deku eventually breaks the quiet. He seems to hesitate before pulling his hand out of hers. "Um, we should probably leave soon. I've been sitting here for a while; it took me a long time to build up the courage to ask you to come. I really thought you wouldn't want to see me after everything I did," he admits quietly. "Plus, we should probably study for our finals tomorrow."

"Yeah," Ochako easily agrees, "hero law isn't one of my strong suits."

"I have to go back- um, but we can text later if you have any questions?" Deku offers. It feels like a true olive branch.

Ochako smiles. "That would be great."

“I do have time to walk you home, though, if you’d be okay with that?”

Ochako agrees to that, too, though it makes her face heat up. She quickly excuses herself to get a box for her untouched cake—which will now be a treat for after she finishes studying—which allows her the time to calm herself before a blush blooms.

Then, after she finishes her drink and returns the cup, she and Deku leave the cafe together. They walk side-by-side down the street, in sync again for the first time in weeks. They don’t talk for most of the walk; they don’t need to, but then Ochako remembers something important once they get onto her street.

“Oh, I need to pay you back for the tea and cake,” Ochako states and pulls out her wallet.

“No, you don’t need to pay me back. That was a gift,” Deku quickly denies. Then, awkwardly, “plus it wasn’t even my money; it’s from an allowance I got from my guardians.”

“Your guardians,” Ochako repeats, again realizing how little she thought about Deku’s life now. “Are they nice?”

Deku nods and fidgets with his hands before taking a quick breath. “I’m staying with Aizawa-sensei and…” he starts, but cuts himself off. He’s silent for a moment before continuing, “I’m supposed to call him Aizawa-san outside of school, but I’m not very good at it. He never gets mad though; he doesn’t yell at me,” he whispers, and Ochako can almost hear the unsaid ‘like my dad did’. Her throat feels so tight. Still, the knowledge feels like another breath of fresh air.

“I’m really glad you’re safe, Deku.”

“Thanks,” he whispers as they approach Ochako’s apartment building. The two arrive at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the main door and stop, neither one seemingly ready to say their goodbyes just yet.

“So… are we okay?” Deku asks cautiously.

“Yeah, we’re definitely okay,” Ochako says with a smile.

Deku smiles back, though his is smaller and more unsure. “Then, can I tell you one more thing?”

“Of course.”

Deku nods and inhales. “I love you, too,” he exhales and glances up at Ochako nervously. Ochako's heart flips in return as she remembers her own confession in her letter. That love confession was one of friendship—she wouldn't put those feelings on Deku's shoulders in the middle of this—and she doesn't doubt that Deku means it in the same way. They are two good friends, two best friends, who care for each other deeply, enough to ruin their friendship and spill their guts out for one another. That knowledge makes Ochako's smile grow even wider and makes her eyes wet with happy tears. She can't help but throw her arms around Deku, who, after a moment of processing, returns the hug. "I'm glad we get to become friends again.

“Me too,” Ochako agrees with her whole heart and soul.