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Winter always seemed to sneak up on U.A. High.
One day the grounds were crisp and cool, the next they were buried beneath a soft blanket of snow that muted footsteps and turned the campus into something almost unreal. From the upper floors of the dorms, the training fields looked distant and quiet, stripped of their usual intensity.
Inside the Class 1-A common room, warmth reigned.
The overhead lights were dimmed, replaced by lamps and the glow of a television left on mute in the corner. A couple of blankets were draped haphazardly over the back of the couch.
Someone, probably Yaoyorozu, had arranged mugs of cocoa neatly on a tray, steam curling lazily upward.
Izuku Midoriya sat at the low table, notebook open, pen poised.
He wasn’t writing.
His notes from earlier training were meticulous as ever, pages already filled with observations, diagrams, and frantic arrows pointing to ideas he’d had mid-spar. But now, his pen hovered uselessly above a blank margin while his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Specifically-
Toward the couch near the window.
Ochaco Uraraka sat curled up there, legs tucked beneath her, wearing a hoodie that very obviously belonged to him. It swallowed her frame, sleeves covering her hands until she pushed them back to gesture animatedly as she spoke. Her laughter was quiet but bright, cutting through the low hum of conversation like something warm and familiar.
Izuku realised he was smiling.
He snapped his gaze back to the page immediately.
Focus. Training analysis. Today’s key takeaways-
“You’re staring again.”
Izuku jumped so hard his pen clattered against the table.
“I-I wasn’t-!”
Kirishima leaned back in his chair, arms folded, grin wide. “Bro. You absolutely were.”
Mina popped up beside him, eyes sparkling. “Wow, Deku, you weren’t even trying to be subtle.”
“I was just- thinking!” Izuku protested, face heating rapidly. “About Quirk synergy! And teamwork!”
“That so?” Mina tilted her head, then glanced meaningfully at Ochaco.
“Funny, your thinking face looks a lot like your heart-eyes face.”
Izuku made a strangled noise.
“O–Ochaco, I’m sorry-! didn’t mean-!”
Ochaco had turned at the commotion, blinking in surprise before her expression softened into an amused smile. “It’s okay,” she said gently. “You do kind of zone out when you’re deep in thought.”
“That’s worse!” Izuku squeaked.
Laughter rippled through the room. It wasn’t sharp or mocking, just the easy teasing of people who knew him well enough to push without hurting.
“Relax, man,” Kaminari said, slouching against the counter. “We’re just messing with you.”
“Yeah,” Ashido added. “It’s cute.”
Izuku’s soul very nearly left his body.
Yaoyorozu cleared her throat politely.
“Perhaps we should give them some space.”
“Oooh, yes,” Mina said immediately.
“Because if they get any redder, we might need a medic.”
Ochaco’s face flushed now too.
“M–Mina!”
Before things could spiral further,
Aizawa’s voice drifted faintly from down the hall. “Keep it down. Some of us are trying to pretend we sleep.”
The room froze for half a second, then burst into suppressed snickers.
“All right, retreat!” Kirishima said, standing and stretching. “Snack run?”
A chorus of agreement followed. One by one, the rest of the class filtered out of the common room, some deliberately oblivious, others throwing knowing glances over their shoulders.
Mina paused in the doorway, turned back, and gave them a thumbs-up.
“Don’t overthink it!”
Izuku whimpered softly as the door shut behind them.
Silence settled, not awkward, but noticeable.
Izuku stared at the table, shoulders hunched. “I’m really sorry about that. They can be a lot.”
Ochaco shifted closer on the couch, pulling the oversized sleeves down over her hands. “They mean well,” she said.
“Mostly.”
He risked a glance up at her. She was smiling, not teasingly, not embarrassed. Just… warm.
“They don’t bother you?” he asked.
She shrugged lightly. “Not really. I kind of like that they care.”
That made his chest ache in a way he couldn’t quite put into words.
They sat there for a few moments, the quiet broken only by the soft ticking of the heater and the distant sounds of laughter echoing down the hall.
Then Ochaco’s gaze drifted upward.
“Huh,” she murmured. “What’s that?”
Izuku followed her eyes.
Tied clumsily to the low beam above the couch was a small sprig of green, leaves glossy, berries pale against the wood.
“Oh,” he breathed.
Mistletoe.
His brain immediately went into overdrive.
Mistletoe. Cultural tradition. Associated with kissing. High probability of embarrassment. Also high probability of emotional significance. Dangerously high-
“It’s okay,” Ochaco said quickly when she noticed his expression. “We don’t have to do anything. It’s just… there.”
“R–right! Of course!” Izuku nodded rapidly. “Just a plant. Plants are very neutral.”
She giggled. “You’re doing it again.”
“S–sorry.”
They both laughed softly, the tension easing into something gentler. Izuku became aware of how close they were, how the space between them felt warmer, smaller than before.
“I think,” Ochaco said after a moment, voice quieter now, “it’s supposed to be if both people want to.”
Izuku’s heart thudded so loudly he was sure she could hear it.
He met her eyes. Really met them this time. There was no teasing there. No expectation. Just honesty, waiting patiently.
“I-I do,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “If… if you’re okay with it.”
Ochaco smiled, cheeks pink. “I am.”
They leaned in at the same time- and promptly bumped noses.
“Ow-!”
“S–sorry!”
They froze, then laughed, tension dissolving into shared embarrassment.
“Let’s try that again,” Ochaco said, still smiling.
This time, Izuku moved slower.
Carefully. Like he approached everything important.
The kiss was brief. Gentle. A little awkward.
But it was warm, and sincere, and filled with a quiet bravery Izuku recognised instantly, the courage to stop overthinking and just be.
When they pulled back, neither of them moved away.
Izuku’s heart raced, but his mind was strangely calm.
“That,” he said, then cleared his throat.
“That was… really nice.”
Ochaco nodded, eyes bright. “Yeah. It was.”
From the hallway came an exaggerated cough.
“Wow,” Mina’s voice whispered loudly.
“That was precious.”
Izuku yelped. “Y–you were listening?!”
Kirishima leaned into view, grinning.
“Couldn’t miss that.”
Ochaco buried her face in her sleeves, laughing. “You guys are impossible!”
Kaminari gave a thumbs-up. “Ten out of ten timing.”
Despite the renewed embarrassment,
Izuku found himself smiling, wide, unguarded, unafraid.
Because Ochaco was still there beside him.
Because the teasing was affectionate.
Because, for once, he wasn’t worrying about what this moment meant for the future.
Outside, snow continued to fall.
Inside, beneath a sprig of forgotten mistletoe, two heroes-in-training sat shoulder to shoulder, hearts lighter than they had been all day.