Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"Oh, it's you. Of course it's you,” Ochaco says when Deku wanders into the waiting area. Why does it have to be him of all people?

“Yeah, that's not a problem, is it?” Deku says with a nervous smile, his hand ruffling through the back of his hair.

So genuine, so lovable, she gets it. She gets why everyone wants to see more of him.

“It's just, you don’t do this kind of stuff.”

He is sure to carry the show, to make it a success, to fill in where she might fail. She should be happy about it. As much as she likes spending time with him outside of work, here, he’ll only be a distraction. She is here to make a name for herself.

Not to mention, she had agreed to do secret tasks over the course of the show that might prove difficult with him around. Her first task is already assigned when they ask questions in the getting to know you game, tell the truth.That should be easy enough; she has very little to hide anyway.

If she completes all the tasks, she will get enough money above her base pay for the first installment to keep her family from financial ruin. She is in dire need of every single yen she can get. Her parents are at risk of losing their home and business due to a large client not paying them after the work was completed. They had not demanded a retainer as they believed the client to be reputable, and now, while they are tied up in legal proceedings, they can lose everything before it is resolved. Neither she nor they can afford the hit in social status of bankruptcy.

“I-I made an exception, but, umm, can we talk about it later?” he says, glancing at one of the cameras. He is always so acutely aware of cameras.

She nods, although she doubts they are on. They haven't even been told what to do yet.
“I know you'd mentioned getting invited and agreeing to come on the show, but do you have any idea what we will actually be doing?” he asks, rubbing his arm through his costume to where she knows one of his more prominent scars is.

“A game show with wilderness survival is what I was told, but hey, we survived the first year with Mr. Aizawa. It will be fine.”

“If that is your comparison, you are not easing my anxiety in any way." Deku huffs a nervous laugh.

“Well, it's fun to see you in costume again. It's been a minute since I last saw that on you. You look extra heroic today.” She flexes her arms. She had thought him-in-a-suit-and-tie made her knees weak. Apparently, his hero costume does a number on her as well.

But Deku doesn’t do the media circuit; he isn’t trying to build his brand; he hates this stuff. Elite Island had asked her to use her connection to him to get him to join her on the show, and she had said no. He wouldn't want to, so she never asked, never even mentioned it to him. She was glad when they dropped the issue because he’d be impossible to outshine.

“Yeah, I guess the producers preferred this to a suit and tie,” he says, his smile tight.

How the heck had they convinced him to come on this show, after hiding himself from the public eye for so long? Why now? It’s the absolute worst timing for her.

“I think I saw some tea and snacks down the hall. I'm going to get us something.” He excuses himself, chivalrous as always, grabbing food for her… It’s going to be difficult to not be distracted by him. His face always draws her in, giving her little bouts of hope for something more.

But just now with his listless eyes… she had seen those eyes before.

Six months ago, Ochaco and Deku sat in the UA staff room eating cold bentos. The school was closed for summer break, and they were talking about this student and that, brainstorming solutions regarding different problems. when she remembered a case a teacher had brought forward.

“I have a kid that was put on my list for quirk therapy, and I wonder if I could get your take on it. He is seven and has not presented with a quirk; he is effectively quirkless. I'm not really sure how to support him. Any thoughts?”

“Yeah, seven years old, you say?” Deku paused for a long beat, deep in thought. “ I think whatever you do for the kids with atypical quirks, just make sure that he joins a team, or is part of a club or something. I'm sure he will be fine,” Deku said, smiling in an attempt to convince them both, but his eyes didn't get the memo.

“I got us an assortment of things. I didn't know how hungry you were.” Deku has two plates stacked high with assorted quartered sandwiches, another plate with sweet treats, and two cups of tea, all precariously balanced in his hands.

“Well, unless you are absolutely ravenous, I think this should do,” she quips, helping him to set them all down on a small end table beside some chairs.

They chat about this and that while they eat. Deku keeps things light and friendly as always, but she knows something is bothering him.

She has years of practice ignoring her impulse to reach out and touch him, saved only for the most extreme of situations. What harm can it do? It’s just the two of them here, and he looks like he needs comfort. She reaches across the table and gently squeezes the back of his forearm. “Deku, are you okay?”

—

Izuku had thought he’d be spending his week catching up on marking homework and tutoring remedial students. Instead, he finds himself wading knee deep into some kind of nightmare. He had been conned into this, and he knows it. He feels foolish for agreeing too easily. The stuff they told probably isn't even true, but he couldn't ignore them and let one of his best friends suffer. Not if he could help.

He’s done all this stuff before. It is nothing new. He would show up and answer a few questions, play a few games, whatever the variety of the week was at the time. What’s one more time? It’ll be worth it to protect Uraraka.

He has been able to maintain his hero status even now, four years after losing his quirk. People seem to like him enough for what he had done in the past that he doesn’t really need to do any hero work to stay somewhat relevant.

One year ago, just after his first year being a teacher in training at UA, he had been doing an interview. The show host asked him how it felt to be going to teach rather than going into hero work? Did he regret his fight with Shigaraki? Did he have any active hero duty plans in his future? It was stuff he had been asked before. That day, it made him feel hollow inside and not for the first time. He was so tired.

No one was ever going to see him for anything outside of that one thing. They all loved him for what he had done. He was probably the most famous 19-year-old in the world, and he’d never felt more invisible. That was when he realized showing up to things like this is just a painful and constant reminder that he had already shot his shot. He’d lived his dream. Wanting anything more was selfish; he couldn't lose things he didn't have. He may not be able to carve out new dreams for himself, but he could help others realize theirs.

A gentle squeeze on the back of his arm pulls him out of his thoughts.

“Deku, are you okay?” his friend asks, her caramel eyes locked on his. He reaches over and squeezes the back of her hand with his free hand.

“I'm fine. It is going to be okay,” he tries to reassure her.

She doesn't look convinced, nor does she pull her hand away, so he lingers, reveling in the comfort of the rare closeness. Even though he isn't at liberty to talk to her about what is bothering him, she somehow knew and delivered what he needed before he knew it himself. She’d always been that way, showing up for a night out when he was starting to feel lonely, texting him just the right thing when his student made him question his sanity. She had been supporting him from the first day he met her. Which is why he had to be here for her too, even if this was the last place he wanted to be.

It's not long before the comfortable, quiet room is buzzing with activity. He is pulled away from Uraraka. A staff member who now has him seated in front of a mirror while touching up his face asks if he is comfortable or if he needs anything, and Izuku can't help but wonder who here all knows that he was coerced into this and if they are keeping tabs on him. It's not like anyone needed to physically stop him from leaving. He is thoroughly convinced that Uraraka's hero aspirations would suffer a death blow if he let that story get out.

Microphones have been attached to his costume and whatever else they deemed important to have him stage-ready before he is directed to a circular room, the set where they will be filming the first segment of the show. The lighting and the shape of the room make him feel like he is under a microscope. His gut churns at the thought, but he pushes himself to do as instructed and sits on a modern grey sofa chair. Uraraka is seated next to him. Right next to him, so close they are touching, somehow that makes this more bearable.

Thankfully, there is no studio audience; he is stressed enough as is.

“Start the cameras 3, 2, 1 action,” someone says as if they are about to film a car chase. A tall, elegant woman wearing a shiny black dress walks on the set.

“My name is Taka, and I will be your host here on Elite Island. Welcome, Deku and Uravity, ”she says, greeting them both with a bow. "It's a pleasure to have you here for this. We are going to have so much fun together.” Her face seems warm enough, but Deku knows better than to trust anyone here. “Despite Elite being in our title, I hope you two are used to slumming it, because our game involves earning your keep. You are going to start with only the clothes on your backs.

“But 1st things first, we want to get to know you two a little better, I have been told you two are quite good friends. Tell me, can you recall the first time you met?” Taka asks.

Uraraka looks at him with a grin so wide it's a little scary. “You see, Deku here, despite how brave he looked on the battlefield, he gets nervous just like the rest of us. He had to attend UA’s Infamous hero exam like any UA student, and well…do you want to take the story from here Deku?”

“But you were telling it so well,” he laughs nervously, “umm, it's like she said. I was heading into the UA exam and I tripped on my own two feet. She, being the kind benevolent hero she is, caught me and saved me from falling on my face. What more can I say.” He shrugs. “She hasn't been able to shake me since.”

“Is that how you remember it, Uravity?” says Taka.

“Pretty much. It worked out really well for me. I saved him just that once, and he has returned the favor for me at least a dozen times,” Uraraka says.

He can't help but smile at her banter. It's amazing how comfortable he feels under the microscope with her there next to him. It's never been this easy.

He waves his hands. “She is making me sound much cooler than I am. She is the one who has been saving me over and over again.”

“Is that so? And you two are just friends?”

“Yes,” they say in unison.

“Well, you both seem like you trust each other. In fact, we caught you two in a little moment before we brought you out here,” the show host says.

A TV screen lights up behind them, replaying Uravity taking his arm and checking in on him. There is no sound, and somehow the video makes the moment seem so much more intimate than it was. He doesn't mind the insinuation, unfathomable as it may be; she is one of his closest friends. But he makes a point of not looking Uraraka’s direction in case she is cringing.

“Care to explain that?” the host says.

“Sheesh, it's not like we were kissing,” Uraraka says matter-of-factly to the host, “We are just friends. There is nothing to read into here.”

The host looks at him, and Izuku doesn't have anything else to offer, so he just nods in agreement.

“Ok, well, let's get into it. You obviously already know each other, which is great, as this is a team challenge. This first game will earn you guys some basic supplies, depending on how many questions you get right. “Deku, move over here,” she directs him across from Uraraka. “You are each going to a whiteboard to write your answers. The more you match, the more supplies you get to start with.”

Whiteboards ready, the questions begin. They’re asking about Deku first.

Two trivia points so far. Next up, why did Deku choose to be a teacher?

Izuku curses internally at this and hopes that Uravity will lie. Everyone knows it was not his first choice, and they all know why, too. He writes down a practiced line.

“What? I have never seen you read,” Uraraka retorts.

“Yes, you have. I read all the time. Text messages, hero news, students' homework assignments.”

“Marking coursework isn’t your free time, Deku,” she glares at him.
“Well, technically speaking, I usually sketch as a type of analysis, but you are right. I do sketch a lot.”

Uravity questions are up next.

Izuku's jaw drops. “What? You had a crush on me?” He can't hide his surprise. “Me?” He points to himself.

“It was a long time ago, Deku, don't overthink it. It's nothing,” she says and her cheeks are a deep pink “ancient history!" She waves her hands adamantly, probably embarrassed to admit it, something so ludicrous….

“Wow, that’s– but I.” He claps one hand over his mouth. I am not even in the same league as you. His brain struggles to catch up. It was a long time ago, not now. And yet still his mind is suddenly caught on the idea that she had even considered him to be worth crushing on.

Him!

He certainly had never entertained any notion that anyone who actually knew him could possibly see him as anything other than a nerd. Definitely not her.

His heart suddenly starts beating uncomfortably fast.

Is the room getting warmer?

She is his friend!

She is his wonderful, kind, endearing, attractive friend.

Whom he is decidedly going to keep as a friend. Him entertaining anything else is absurd.
He can't make this weird. She is his friend who may have, at one brief moment in time, had a crush on him. Before, not now.

“I guess I was wrong. I would have never guessed,” he says, trying to act nonchalant.

“Care to elaborate?” the host asks.

“I do whatever the occasion calls for. I will stay up late and get up early, and the next week, I will go to bed early and sleep in,”she says.

“Correct. Interesting that you should know that, Deku?”

“We did live in the same dorm for three years, and I may have sampled more than my fair share of her finished products,” he says, feeling as though that microscope is zooming in on him.

“I do finish my drinks,” she defends.

“No, you don't. You always have like this much left in your cup.” He holds his fingers a centimeter and a half apart.

“Okay, sure, that's what you see, but I do finish it later, when I am alone.”

“Uh-huh,” he shrugs. "I bet if we found your tea from earlier, we would find proof.”

“No, no, no, that is not necessary,” Uraraka squeaks.

Suddenly, the screen shows her tea cup from earlier with just a little tea left in the bottom. The host says, “Well I guess that settles that, although you still don't get the point, seeing as your answers did not match.”

The questions and answer session wraps up with Deku and Uravity receiving six and a half points.

The host explains that they are going to be taken off-site to the survival camp portion in about an hour.

They are given a little time to text anyone they need to before their phones are confiscated, and they are told to go to the baths and wash up. The clothes they have picked to wear for the week are to be inspected along with their bags to ensure no contraband items make it to the survival camp.