Chapter Text
The quirk incident is stupid.
Not dangerous.
Not dramatic.
Just inconvenient as hell.
Some civilian with a spatial tether-type quirk panics and accidentally binds Ochaco with Sero Hanta into a proximity lock.
Two meters.
Any farther?
Instant migraine, blinding, icepick-through-the-skull.
Ochaco’s agency was doing a collaborative patrol with Sero’s, and she was honestly excited because it was often that she got to properly work with her classmates again. Despite them being pro-heroes, most of her old friend group moved out of the prefecture and took up patrol in different cities. She tries to keep in touch, but well, life gets in the way sometimes.
But apparently now, life was doing something about that for her.
They had proceeded to medical immediately alongside the identified civilian. Unfortunately for them, the civilian was a 10 year old who didn’t understand how his quirk worked any better than them. His mom had assured them that it was time-bound, and in the previous times this had happened, it usually came off in about a week.
Ochaco had suggested some quirk specialists they could go to, to help them better understand his quirk for public safety reasons moving forward, and thankfully the mom was more than happy to agree.
But unfortunately, that wouldn’t really help them right now if the kid’s quirk really was time-bound.
Their agencies compromised to restructure patrols and redistribute missions to sidekicks so that both Ochaco and Sero could still continue to work, albeit within three meters of each other.
So basically,
They would remain together until it wore off.
Sero had given her a sideway smile and shrugged, “no life harder than a hero’s”
Ochaco had laughed.
But internally? She’s spiraling.
Just a little.
Not because of Sero. God no, Sero had always been a good friend to her in high school. And as far as she can remember, he was easygoing enough. But the thing is—
It’s been years.
Ochaco is twenty-nine now and high school feels nothing but a good memory.
Reunions are inconsistent.
Schedules are brutal.
People eventually had to pick priorities.
Ochaco had eventually had to pick priorities.
But despite all of that, somehow, Sero Hanta still ended up being close with his friends.
She sees it all the time whenever she gets the chance to go through her socials. Kaminari posts them the most. Training together, brunch out together, dumb screenshots of messages in private stories. There was even one time where they went on vacation for a few days right after graduation. Ochaco remembered half of Class A under Mina’s comments whining about not being invited.
Not that there was anything wrong with that, she’s happy for them.
It was just that her own friend group kinda fizzled out.
Ochaco still meets up with Tsuyu, or atleast, she tries to whenever their schedules align.
Iida was in a different city.
Todoroki got incredibly busy once he broke top 2 on the hero charts.
And Izuku—
Well.
That's a different conversation altogether.
And she does not want Sero casually asking, “so how’s Deku?”
Because she will lie.
And Sero will know.
And she doesn’t have the energy.
Her prefecture was killing her in patrols lately, and there was so much god damn paperwork and meetings she had to settle for her National Quirk Counseling Program, that it almost always took up her time to actually talk to the kids.
Now they were in Cellophane's agency conference room, finishing up the rest of the post-patrol debrief.
As they walk out, Sero keeps small talk by bringing up patrol patterns they could do, a new underground hero café, and about how Kaminari accidentally endorsed the wrong brand in a livestream and had to publicly apologize.
Nothing invasive so far.
But not shallow either.
Actual back-and-forth.
After a while she blinks at him.“You’re surprisingly good at making small talk sound like legitimate conversation.”
Sero grins. “You try talking to someone with five stacks of NDAs signed worth seven lifetimes.”
She pauses, then “Shinsou?”
“Bingo.”
God.
When was the last time she thought about Shinsou?
Ochaco barely even remembers him in high school, the man was always asleep. She knows Aizawa had trained him personally back then, and it made sense to her now, given that Shinsou was the only one in Class A that ended up being an Underground Hero.
She hasn’t heard anything about him since.
When the end of shift came around, housing logistics became the next issue.
They tried her place first, because Sero is a gentlemen and said that he was more than happy to adjust to whatever Ochaco was comfortable with.
So they squeezed into her place, and pretended it was fine.
Because it was fine.
Initially.
Cozy.
Very Ochaco.
But it was small.
Too small for two pro heroes with gear bags, and one of them being 5’8 and broad as hell.
They keep bumping into walls.
Sero scratches his neck. “…You wanna just crash at mine, instead? It’s closer to downtown patrol zones anyway, and I have a good extra futon the gang uses whenever they’re over.”
She hesitates for half a second.
Then nods.
Sero pulls out his phone, then looks up suddenly “Oh, also… I probably should have led with this but, you don’t have a problem with dogs do you?”
Ochaco blinks, “you have dogs?”
“One.” Sero grins, “her name’s Monkey.”
She laughs a little, “who names their dog Monkey?”
Sero puts a hand to his chest in mock offense “I do, and will you be nice to her yes or no.”
Ochaco doesn’t even realize she’s smiling, “yeah yeah.”
By the time they get to Sero’s apartment, Ochaco was already mentally prepping herself to come face to face with a guy’s apartment.
Laundry chair.
One plate.
Maybe a desklamp on the floor.
And also apparently a dog monkey, so probably dog smell.
But when Sero opens the door for her to walk in, Ochaco immediately pauses.
It’s clean.
It’s nice.
Not showroom, nice.
Lived in, nice.
Decorated, nice.
Plants by the window, a big ass couch, wall art that actually matches. Shelves installed properly, and there's even a welcome mat too.
It smells like citrus cleaner and something warm.
She looks at him.
He sees it immediately “You’re shocked.”
“I’m not—”
“You are.”
“…Maybe a little.”
“Uraraka, I am offended”
She bursts out laughing. “No offense!”
“Full offense”
Ochaco looks around as she steps in, “no but seriously, I genuinely didn’t think a guy can have a place this put together.”
Sero snorts, as he closes the door behind him “It’s Katsuki. He keeps giving me shit for having a dirty place whenever he comes over, so I just keep it clean in case he does.”
Oh.
That explains… everything.
Katsuki Bakugo would absolutely do that.
Ochaco blinks.“That’s… convenient.”
“Fear is a powerful motivator.”
She blinks, looking around “I thought you said you had a dog?”
Sero was already pulling her by the sleeve as he moves to put away his shoes, so that they would stay two meters close.
“She’s next door,” he explains. “Called my neighbor when we were heading to your place.”
Makes sense.
“I can pick her up later, once you're settled” Sero shoots her an easy grin.
After he shows her where to put her things, they then figure out the logistics of getting changed. Which wasn’t as complicated as she thought it would be, since two meters is generous enough, and the quirk doesn’t trigger if there was anything between them.
So one of them would stand flat against the door, while the other tried their best to maneuver on the other side in the bathroom.
Manageable.
She supposes.
And then Sero starts cooking.
No hesitation.
Once they both changed into more comfortable clothes, the man just rolled up his sleeves and made Ochako move with him around the kitchen as he got to work.
Ochaco watches him dice vegetables with terrifying competence.
“You cook?”
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t know you could cook. You never cooked in the dorms.”
He scoffs. “Yeah, ’cause if Katsuki knew I could cook, he’d stop cooking us five-star fucking dishes.”
She bursts out laughing. “You’re kidding.”
“I am not,” he says, taking out a pan. “He would absolutely retire from feeding us out of spite.”
Twenty minutes later, she sits there and she thinks—
Dinner is good.
Actually good.
Balanced. Seasoned. Intentional.
Ochaco takes a bite and just stares at him.
He points at her with the fork. “Uraraka, you gotta stop being surprised that I know how to be an adult.”
“Sorry, sorry! I just— we were seventeen! You survived off convenience store bread!”
“That’s what you call growth, baby.”
By the time they finished up, Ochaco dutifully followed Sero outside to pick up his child.
The moment the door even cracks a centimeter open, Ochaco immediately hears barking. And soon enough, a massive dog comes running through the door and jumps at Sero.
He ruffles her mane “MONKEY!”
Adorable.
Ochaco looks up, and sees his neighbor. Sweet old lady that called Sero by his first name, and even gave them homemade pie. She waved them goodnight, but not before smiling up at Ochako and going “oh honey, you’re definitely prettier than the last one he had.”
She immediately blushes then shakes her head hard, “Oh I’m not! This isn’t—”
But Sero waves a hand dismissively at the old lady, grin lopsided “Ma’am, you can’t keep outing me like this, come on.”
The lady chuckles, and swats his arm.
When the door closes, Ochaco gives him a look “didn’t take you as a player.”
“I’m nearly thirty, leave me alone.”
Monkey barks and jumps a little at Ochaco, excited.
She pats her head “what breed is she, anyway.”
“Bernese Mountain” Sero says, unlocking his front door. “She’s usually calm, don't worry. Sheds like crazy though, so I apologize in advance.”
The days settle into something surprisingly easy.
They patrol together.
They eat together.
They watch trashy hero documentaries together from opposite ends of the couch, carefully within the two-meter limit.
And Sero never once pushes.
Not about Class A.
Not about the old group chats.
Not about why she sometimes goes quiet when certain names come up on hero rankings.
One night, while they’re both sprawled on the floor stretching after patrol, she says it first. “…It’s weird, you know. How some friendships just… drift.”
Sero hums “Yeah.”
“I thought we would all stay close forever.”
“We kinda did,” he says lightly. “Just in… different configurations.”
She lets out a slow breath. “I miss it sometimes.”
“I know.”
No pity.
No awkward reassurance.
Just acknowledgement.
After a moment he adds, casually “Doesn’t mean it’s gone. Just means it changed.”
She turns her head to look at him. “You’re really good at this.”
“At what?”
“Not making things heavier than they need to be.”
Sero grins “Uraraka, that’s just adulting.”
She smiles softly “I guess so.”
Just adulting.
But why was that so god damn hard, most days.
There was work, and there was responsibilities, and she’s not even in the top 10 rankings but Ochako feels like she doesn’t even have time to call her mom.
Its almost 10:30 and they're still awake.
Ochaco had grabbed her laptop to look through some data her team had messaged her about.
TV on low volume, some rerun hero interview playing in the background.
Sero is half-slouched, scrolling through his phone, Monkey at his feet.
From the corner of her eye, Ochaco could tell he was typing.
Pause.
Typing again.
A small smile pulls at his mouth.
Ochako notices.
She looks away quickly.
He’s probably texting one of his friends, or their groupchat.
Sero’s phone buzzes in his hands.
Damn, when was the last time Ochaco was in an active chat with friends.
There’s that small ache, again.
Her phone used to light up every night, now it’s mostly work notifications, agency memos, and messages she hasn't replied to in years.
She forces herself not to dwell on it.
Then Sero glances up at her.
He hesitates.
And then he gives her this slightly bashful, almost sheepish grin.
“Okay. First of all,” he says, holding up a finger, “you’re allowed to decline. Completely fine. Zero pressure.”
Her stomach drops immediately.
That tone means something.
“But,” he continues, “Hitoshi just got back from a mission. Nobody has seen him in like seven months, and somehow everyone’s free Saturday.”
He rubs the back of his neck.
“If you wanna come with me.”
She blinks. “…Me?”
“Yeah.”
Sero shrugs, like it’s obvious (well it was obvious.) “They know about the quirk incident. Everyone’s chill if you came. They’re actually kinda excited.”
He’s grinning at her.
“Mina says she hasn’t seen you in forever.”
Boom.
That one hits.
Because she hasn’t seen Mina in forever, and they used to be inseparable. Dorm sleepovers, late-night gossip, crying over crushes, hero costume fittings.
And then—
Schedules.
Distance.
Life.
And somewhere along the way she stopped replying as fast. Stopped initiating. Missed a reunion. Then another.
Not intentionally.
Just… gradually.
Ochaco swallows. “I mean— yeah! Sure! I don’t have work that day.”
Sero opens his mouth, but before he could say anything, she immediately sits a little straighter “But like… are you sure it’s fine?”
He blinks,
“Oh yeah, hundred percent.” Sero gestures with his phone. “It’s literally just us, and the gang— you remember the gang right?”
She nods, because she does.
The self proclaimed bakusquad. Some of the loudest people in Class A back in high school— minus Shinsou, of course, who communicated via long stares and sharp snark, who, for reasons unknown to Ochaco, was also in the squad despite rarely ever being seen with them.
Sero keeps going, “So yeah, it’s just the gang plus Monoma, ‘cus of Katsuku ofcourse.”
Ochaco blinks back.
Monoma Neito?
From Class B?
Phantom thief?
Her mind lags for a bit, trying to figure out the connection when—
OH.
Ochako gasps, claps her hands together “I didn’t know Monoma and Bakugou were still together! How long has it been?!”
Sero pauses, peers into her.
And then his grin turns evil.
“Uraraka,” he says carefully.
She leans away by instinct, furrows her brows “...what?”
“.... They’re married.”
Silence.
She stares at him.
You can see it on Ochaco Uraraka’s face, she’s not even looking at Sero anymore.
Just… staring ahead. Like her brain is trying to catch up to a timeline she accidentally stepped off of.
Sero cackles so hard Monkey starts barking.
She turns to him slowly. “Bakugou got married.”
“Yep.” he says, popping the ‘p’.
“To Monoma.”
“Mhm-mm.”
“What the fuck.”
Sero starts cracking up again.
“Sero, don’t mess with me!”
“I’m not I swear!”
“Show me photos then!”
“I don’t have any.”
Ochaco stands up and points a finger at him like a prosecutor “SO YOU ARE LYING!”
Sero puts his hands up in surrender, still grinning “No, I’m not”
“But you said—”
“Katsuki and Monoma didn’t have a wedding.” he explains, “they just signed papers and got a portrait taken ‘cus neither of them wanted to deal with a crowd.”
Ochako makes a face at him, “that’s not how weddings work”
Sero snickers, “they got officiated and everything, just without the ceremony and shit”
“And where were you?”
“Probably asleep”
“Sero, what the actual fuck—”
“Listen listen listen” Sero goes, pulling her closer a little by the wrist because she was moving further back, and the beginnings of a migraine was starting to form. “They didn’t tell anyone, not even their parents. The gang literally found out a solid month after.”
Ochako’s jaw drops, “you’re joking.”
Sero shakes his head “I wish I was, but nah. I can show you pictures of the reception Mina planned after we found out, but neither blonde showed up either.”
She was speechless.
“Thats Katsuki for ya.”
She puts her head in her hands. “I hate it here.”
Sero laughs, but softer this time.
Ochaco looks back up, “I feel like I missed so much of life.”
Sero just hums.
Not teasing.
Just… understanding.
“I had agency work, the quirk counceling, family stuff, and like everything with—” she cuts herself off slightly, but they both know what she didn’t want to say.
Sero doesn’t push.
Just nods.
“And then it just got…” she gestures vaguely. “Hard to jump back in.”
“Yeah.”
“And then more time passed.”
“Yeah.”
“And then it felt awkward.”
“Yeah.”
“And then I just… didn’t.”
Sero leans back, exhaling “Classic.”
She glares at him a little. “This is not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.”
“It’s not!”
“It is—but not in a mean way,” he says quickly, hands up. “Just in a ‘we’re all idiots about friendships sometimes’ way.”
Ochako sighs, sinking back into the couch. “…Did they ever talk about me?”
Sero doesn’t even hesitate, “ofcourse.”
Her head snaps toward him. “Wait, what?”
“Not in a bad way,” he clarifies, scratching Monkey who moved to put her head on his lap. “Just like—‘haven’t heard from Uraraka in a while,’ ‘hope she’s doing okay,’ that kind of thing.”
Her chest tightens.“…They didn’t think I just—dropped them?”
“Nah,” Sero says. “We all kinda knew everyone was dealing with their own shit.”
She thinks about that.
About Tenya Iida buried in responsibility.
Shoto Todoroki juggling family and hero work.
Tsuyu Asui probably still steady, but… distant.
And—
…yeah.
“…It still feels like I messed up,” she admits.
Sero shrugs, “not your fault, sometimes stuff just happens.”
Ochaco lets out a weak laugh, “that's easy for you to say, you guys still seem pretty close.”
Sero smiles, small, genuine.
But he doesn’t say anything, because Ochaco knows there was no way else to talk about his friends without making her feel bad.
After a second she goes,
“…I think I miss everyone more than I realized.”
Sero’s expression softens.
“Cool.” He tosses his phone onto the coffee table. “Then you’re coming on Saturday.”
She laughs nervously. “What if it’s awkward?”
“It won’t be.”
“How do you know?”
“Because we’re all adults now,” he says lightly. “Awkward only lasts like five minutes. Then Deki says something stupid and we move on.”
She huffs.
“…I’m nervous.”
“That’s allowed.”
A beat.
Then he adds casually “For what it’s worth? They never stopped liking you.”
That makes her chest ache in a different way.
Softer.
“Even if I sucked at keeping in touch?”
“Especially then.”
She looks down at her hands.
“…Okay.”
Sero grins.
“Also, full warning. Katsuki is just as loud and aggressive as you remember.”
Ochako snorts, “Yeah, I see the news.”
He cackles.
They pull up to the house on Saturday and Ochaco actually stops walking.
Because that is not a house.
It’s a statement.
Glass panels reflecting the evening sky, warm wood siding, stone accents that look intentional, not decorative. Clean landscaping, soft outdoor lights already on.
Modern.
Minimal.
Expensive without screaming it.
Sero saw her gaping up at the house and grins “Katsuki’s dad was an architect and his mom’s in fashion. Monoma just has generational wealth.”
“Ah,” Ochaco says flatly, “plus the fact they’re both in the top 10”
“Yeah, that too.”
They walk up the stone path that led to the front door, and Sero keeps the conversation going. “Kats keeps yelling about how he doesn’t know why people keep showing up to his house, but that's stupid coming from a man with a triple-burner grill and a six-seater table.”
She laughs nervously.
And then Sero casually pulls out a key.
She freezes. “…You have a key?”
“Yeah?”
“…Why do you have a key?”
He shrugs.
“Everyone has keys.”
She stares at him in horror. “Everyone has keys to Bakugou’s mansion?!”
Sero snorts “Not everyone, just us.”
Ochaco blinks at him
“Pissed Monoma off for a while,” Sero admits, opening the door for her like he lives there. “But I think he just accepted that we come as a non-refundable package to Katsuki.”
That’s—
Insane.
But also… kind of beautiful.
The inside of the house, to Ochaco’s very humble opinion, was worse.
Or better.
A thousand times better.
God, so this is what a Number 3 Pro Hero ranking check gets you.
Open concept.
Warm lighting.
Stone counter tops.
Industrial range.
Custom cabinets.
It smells like expensive candle and food.
It feels warm.
Not flashy.
Intentional.
Ochaco grew up modest. Even now, financially stable as a pro hero, she still instinctively thinks in terms of practicality.
This house?
Quality over basic necessity.
Everything looks hand picked or handcrafted
Jesus.
And yet—
There were scuff marks near the door.
A burnmark on a cabinet door.
A stack of mismatched mugs.
A hoodie thrown over the back of a chair that suspiciously looks like Dynamite merch.
Ochaco can’t wrap her mind around the fact that Bakugou Katsuki not only lives here, but he lives here as a married man.
And speak of the devil—
Number 3, Pro Hero Dynamite, walks in from the hallway.
Same scowl, same red eyes, same blonde hair.
Ochaco realizes suddenly that she’s seen Bakugou more on the news than in real life in these past few years.
“Yo,” Sero raises a hand in greeting while leaning over to grab an orange from the counter without breaking two meters from Ochaco.
Bakugou fixes his glare at her for a second, then scoffs.
“tch, haven’t seen you in a minute, Round Face.”
Exactly the same tone as seventeen.
The breath she didn’t realize she was holding leaves her lungs. “Hi to you too,” she says, smiling.
Bakugou’s already padding to the kitchen “when's the quirk shit, expiring.”
Sero shrugs beside her, peeling the orange “the mom said seven days, but we’re on day four and nothing’s really changed so far.”
He hands Ochaco a slice, and she takes one just as the front door opens again.
She doesn’t even register who it was before a flash of pink takes up her vision. Warm hands around her, a familiar voice.
“URARAKA” Mina pulls back just enough to beam at her. “I MISSED YOU SO MUCH”
Ochako laughs.
Bright.
Happy.
“URARAKA'S HERE?”
She looks to her right, and sees Kaminari poking his head through the open doors that led to the back porch.
“HOLY SHIT, URARAKA, I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU IN SO LONG.”
It’s easy.
It’s warm.
It’s not accusatory.
She greets them smiling.
A few minutes later, Kirishima arrives and—
“Kirishima you’re massive,” Ochaco says looking up. This man was probably 6’5 at least, and built like a god damn fire truck.
He grins, shark teeth sharp and charming “thanks.”
Sero looks around “dude, where’s the main event?”
Kaminari waves his phone, “Toshi messaged just a while ago, said he had to do something for Eri so he’ll be late.”
Ochaco gasps “oh my god, I completely forgot they were siblings.”
“Yeah!” Mina says, looping her arm with hers. “You should see Eri now, the kid’s a whole ass teenager!”
“Holy shit,” Ochaco can feel her jaw drop even further, she pinches her two fingers “Eri was like this big”
Sero shakes his head, sighing "literally two apples tall."
Conversation comes naturally.
By the time the first hour passes, Ochaco completely forgot why she was so nervous about coming here.
“Oh and by the way" Kaminari says, brows knitting together "Hanta where the fuck are my black boxers?”
Ochaco almost chokes on her orange slices.
“How should I know?” Sero raises an eyebrow.
Not even sounding nearly as surprised as he should.
Kaminari had his hands on his hips “BECAUSE YOU STOLE THEM.”
“DENKI THE ONES AT THE POOL WERE MY BOXERS.”
“NO THEY WEREN’T.”
Kirishima walks past shaking his head, "this is why you don't leave underwear by the pool, children."
'THEY WERE DRYING!"
"That's what a clothes rack is for dipshit." Bakugou calls out from the kitchen.
"I love the implication that Sero was just naked." says Kirishima.
'"SERO WASN'T NAKED, I WAS, 'CUS THOSE WERE MINE."
What the fuck is happening.
Mina rubs her face “Denki yours have the red tag on the side.”
Kaminari pauses, and then his face clears “Oh yeah.”
Ochaco whips to look at her "why do YOU know that.”
Mina holds up a hand and looks away, “unfortunately against my will.”
Kirishima switches on the TV “Anyway, bro the top five looks solid as hell, this month. It's the first time it hasn’t budged in a while.”
Japan’s Top 5 Pro Heroes:
- Lemillion
- Shoto
- Dynamite
And—
4. Deku
Ah
Yeah.
Ochaco feels the knot in her chest again. Her brain looping the same train of thought it always did every time she remembers him.
How he had been so gentle.
So understanding.
Which somehow made everything incredibly harder.
She still thinks she handled it terribly.
No— she knows she handled it terribly.
And Ochako one hundred percent knows that Midoriya Izuku had never held it against her, because that man was one of the best the world had ever seen. There was not a single bad thing said to her, or said about her, from his mouth since it happened.
But Ochako knows— she knows— that if there was anyone Izuku had vented to about what happened between them, he would have vented to Bakugou Katsuki.
Because those two rebuilt something solid in high school, and actually stayed close even years after. Not just personally, professionally too.
Joint missions.
Sometimes joint merch line and campaigns.
Dynamight and Deku was basically a brand in and of itself.
So yes.
Ochako was lowkey terrified of how Katsuki might look at her.
Whether there’ll be a shift.
A colder tone.
A protective hostility.
Something.
But instead—
Bakugou was arguing with Kaminari about seasoning ratios, he was yelling at Sero for opening a cabinet wrong. He shoved a plate into her hands at the start of dinner, and going on about “Eat. You’re too fucking skinny.”
She blinks. “…I’m not—”
“Shut up.”
Same.
Completely the same.
Okay, relax.
Its fine.
You're fine.
The sun was starting to paint the sky a lovely pink and orange when the front door opens again. Ochaco's self soothing gets interrupted when she looks back from where she was seated on Bakugou’s expensive sofa, and sees Monoma Neito walk in.
Oh my god, that's right they're married.
Monama spots her immediately, and a smirk slides onto his face. “You people just keep multiplying in my house, do you?”
Ochaco opens her mouth—
“Stop, it’s alright.” Monoma waves a hand dismissively, while taking off his shoes, he points a finger at Bakugou who was already giving him a look. “Yes, my love, I will behave.”
Once again,
Her jaw drops.
Mina throws her head back laughing.
Sero snickers, shaking his head, “this never gets old.”
Later, they’re outside near the fire pit.
The night is soft.
Uraraka ends up next to Bakugou while he’s flipping something on the grill.
She swallows.
“…You’ve been busy,” she says carefully.
He snorts. “Always.”
A beat.
Then Bakugou goes, “the quirk counseling shit you're doing is good.”
Ochaco blinks, then she feels a smile creep up on her. “Yeah?”
Bakugou just hums, “you should probably focus more on getting more diverse specializations than expanding to different fucking cities.”
She clicks her tongue. That was initially the plan, but the screening process for experts was so selective since Ochaco didn’t want to risk pulling in bad people, that it ended up making everything a lot more difficult.
Before Ochaco could say anything, her eyes had wandered off and she suddenly jolted in her seat. Hand to her chest “—shit.”
Shinsou Hitoshi was literally sitting right across from her.
Sprawled on a porch recliner, head propped on his hand.
“You scared the hell out of me.”
There's a tiny pull at the corner of Shinsou’s lips, “nice to see you too.”
What the fuck—
His voice was deep as hell.
Wait, when did he get here?
Mina smacks Shinsou with a spoon, “you did that on purpose.”
“Prove it.”
“You fucker.”
Ochaco stares at him.
At this point, they were all in their late twenties so it was normal for them to look like actual adults. Especially given that they were pro-heroes, so they were jacked. But maybe it was because Ochaco has genuinely not seen Shinsou since they were seventeen— not even on the news— that she can’t help being absolutely taken aback.
Purple hair still defied gravity, but there were a few strands curling down his forehead. There was a tattoo on the side of his neck and on his forearm, and the man even sitting down looked tall.
Ochako laughs nervously, “I don’t think I’ve seen you since graduation.”
Kaminari snorts while he bites into a barbeque. “Please, the only thing that has seen Toshi consistently, is the sweet sweet darkness of the abyss.”
Sero, who was sitting next to her (of course), nods at Shinsou. “What’s up with Eri, by the way.”
Shinsou lets out an exaggerated sigh and rolls his neck, “dad let her stay the night over at her boyfriend’s”
Kirishima spits out his drink, “SHE’S FOUR.”
“DON’T SPIT ON MY FURNITURE SHITTY HAIR.” Bakugou smacks his head, “and also, Eri is fucking sixteen!”
“Eri is sixteen.” Ochaco repeats in horror.
Kaminari shakes his head staring into the fire pit, “we’re so old.”
Mina grimaces, “can’t believe Eri has a boyfriend and I don’t”
“Well, its not that hard to believe.”
“The fuck did you say, Hanta?!”
Kirishima straightens, "holy shit, by the way!"
Everyone stops and stares.
Kirishima looks at Kaminari and goes "your yoga pants are with me, the parcel got sent to my address."
"OH THANK GOD."
"Bro the material is really nice."
"Dude I got you, we can totally match—"
And god, does Ochaco miss being around friends.
She pulls out her phone and looks through her messages.
She can text Tsu right now.
I mean, why not?
But when she pulls open the message thread, she sees that she hasn't replied to a text Tsu had sent her from—
Jesus
Last month.
Ochaco takes a breath and puts her phone back in her pocket.
The ache gets a little sharper when Mina bring up another inside joke with Kaminari.
But there's nothing Ochaco can really do about it.
These people had put effort into staying close, they deserve the reward of having each other.
You know what.
Enough.
Breathe.
That's about as much stress she's willing to accommodate for one night. She supposes she should just count her blessings that Bakugou isn't chewing her out, or how no one here looked like they were going to talk about anything remotely close to Class A right now.
Ochaco had chosen her priorities, and everyone else had chosen theirs.
That was all.
Two days before the dinner at Bakugou’s
Group Chat: 2 assholes and gay circus monkeys
10:28 PM
Sero: ok quick heads up
Sero: since i cant not be there.
Sero: cus im like the most important person ever
Sero: uraraka might come sat
Mina: URARAKA????
Denki: WAIT LIKE OCHACO URARAKA URARAKA??
Kiri: BROOOO
Mina: I HAVENT SEEN HER IN YEARS
Kiri: she hasn't been to the last reunion right?
Kiri: I don't remember
Denki: yeah nah
Mina: I think I saw her last 3 years ago ???
Denki: lmao I saw her last on a commercial
Mina: HOLY SHIT HANTA DONT TELL ME UR HOOKING UP WITH HER
Sero: FUCK NO
Mina: I SWEAR TO GOD
Kiri: SERO FR ?
Sero: STOP
Sero: EVERYONE STOP
Denki: u have 3 seconds to explain urself young man
Sero: yeah so we got into a quirk incident at work.
Sero: NOTHING SERIOUS.
Mina: ????
Denki: oh fuck
Kiri: what happened
Sero: civilian panicked then boom quirk accident. its proximity based. Ill explain on sat
Sero: anyway LISTEN
Sero: Uraraka can come right.
Sero: ??
Kiri: YES
Denki: YEAH ITS CHILL
Mina: YES PLS I MISS HER SO MUCH WTGF
Kiri: i love how everyone is giving permission except the owner of the house we’re having dinner in
Sero: we have partial claim over that house
Denki: yeah mine is the third brick to the left of the entrance
Mina: IS URARAKA WITH YOU NOW TELL HER I SAID HI
Sero: oh ok so back to topic
Sero: rule number one
Sero: !! NOBODY BRING UP MIDORIYA !!
Denki: oh
Mina: oh.
Kiri: oh.
Kiri: shit
Three typing bubbles appear at once.
Then disappear.
Then appear again.
Mina: wait wait wait have they......... you know.....?
Sero: NO I HAVE NO IDEA AND WE ARE NOT FINDING OUT AT DINNER
Denki: RIGHT RIGHT GOOD PLAN
Kiri: yeah thats fair
Kats is online
Kats: what the fuck are you idiots talking about
Denki: NOTHING
Mina: HI KATSUKI
Kiri: HELLO FRIEND
Kats: tf you blowing up my phone for at 10
Sero: uraraka might come tomorrow
….
The typing bubble appears.
Disappears.
Appears again.
Kats: so
Sero: so
Kats: don’t ask about shitty deku
Mina: OKAY SEE I WAS GONNA ASK—
Kats: don’t
Denki: NOTED
Kiri: YEP
Sero: thanku thats literally the only rule
Sero: also I think she feels bad abt missing reunions n shit
Denki: damn that whole shit was a train wreck can't believe kaachan nearly killed someone
Kats: I DID NOT
Mina: wait hold on
Mina: timeline check
Sero: dear god
Kats: stop
Mina: they dated during second year right
Mina: midoriya
Mina: our green bean
Denki: i thought it was third year??
Kiri: it was like
Kiri: complicated ?? didnt she make him cookies on val day in first year tho
Mina: and like since the
Mina: you know....
Denki: the great happening
Mina: yes that
Mina: they never like saw each other again?
Sero: GUYS
Sero: THE POINT IS WE ARE NOT DOING A POSTMORTEM
Kats: that shit stressed me the fuck out
Kiri: understatement
Denki: that shit stressed ME out
Denki: I was like this is it this is where kaachan loses his job
Kats: shitty deku was at my office every god damn week
Mina: EVERY WEEK??
Kiri: TALKING ABT URARAKA? I DIDNT KNOW THAT
Sero: lmao
Mina: WAS HE CRYING
Kats: no
Kats: surprisingly
Denki: damn
Kats: just pacing
Kats: and mumbling
Kats: and analyzing his own feelings like a fucking case study
Denki: THAT IS WORSE
Mina: OH MY GOD
Kats: i thought he was gonna pass out from overthinking
Sero: guys shut up, uraraka keeps glancing at me i think she can sense this shit
Kiri: NO WAIT WHat happened tho ??
Kats: they talked
Kats: settled it
Kats: end of story
Toshi is active
Hitoshi: so the rule is simply not interrogating her about past relationships
Sero: correct
Hitoshi: easy
Denki: watch mina forget in 12 minutes
Mina: HEY
Mina: I CAN BE NORMAL
Kats: no you can’t
Sero: okay but actually thanks
Kats: also
Pause.
Everyone braces.
Kats: if any of you dumbasses make it weird
Kats: i’m kicking you out of my house
Denki: THIS IS WHY WE HAVE KEYS
Kats: I WILL CHANGE THE LOCKS
Sero: you tried already
Mina: we kept breaking in