Chapter Text
The crunch of snow under Ochako's boots with every step is a welcome sound on this cold, winter evening. She looks up to watch the large, fluffy flakes fall from the sky, lit beautifully by the street lights. A smile crosses Ochako's face as she's bittersweetly reminded of past holidays spent meandering around town with her parents around Christmas time.
It's a shame her hometown is so far from school. Security has been tight all year, but today, U.A. offered students the chance to visit their respective families, by means of secure shuttles and chaperones. Tsu is with her parents and siblings. Iida is attending a holiday gala with the rest of his family. Deku’s mom lives in the area, so it made sense for him to go home to see her. It would've been nice for Ochako to go too, but a round trip to her hometown is far too lengthy, and wasn't worth the trouble. Even if she misses her parents.
This walk was supposed to take her mind off of how lonely she'd been lately, not emphasize it! She wants to scream, but the campus is so peaceful that she would rather not disturb it. Ochako trudges on, gradually, back towards Height's Alliance.
She looks down towards her plastic bag full of snacks. Even if today wouldn’t be terribly exciting, she decides to make the most of it! She could finally warm herself up in her cozy bed, and eat all the delicious snacks she wants! With everyone gone, there isn’t anyone to bother her while she watches YapTube videos, or catches up on her shows. She doesn’t have any real reason to complain. Right ?
No one answers her (not that she expected anyone to, anyway).
It's so quiet out. Not another soul is outside, besides her, and whatever other footprints in the snow Ochako can see are slowly being filled with a fresh coat of snow. She wonders how many students are still in the dorms. Looking towards Class 1-B’s dorm building, she makes it a game of counting how many lights are on.
Let’s see. There’re two rooms lit on the second floor, none on the third floor, and…one, two, three on the fourth floor, she counts to herself. Five people in total! At minimum, anyway.
She looks towards 1-A’s building to do the same, but raises an eyebrow once she realizes the building is as dark as can be, which is…concerning. At the very least, even if there aren’t any students inside, the common area lights would be left on. Something must be up. She picks up her pace to investigate the scene as soon as possible.
While kicking excess snow off her boots, Ochako digs into her pockets for her keys to the building. She unlocks the door, opening it carefully, and peeks inside. It’s pitch-black. None of the carefully-placed night lights in the lobby are on. It’s completely silent. Ochako doesn’t hear anything, not even the ambient hum of the fridge that she would expect on any other day. .
"Hello?" Ochako calls out as she shuts the door behind her. No response. She flips the lightswitch. No electricity, either, it seems.
She sighs to herself, removing her boots, leaving them by the door. She pokes around the cold, wooden floors with her foot for her slippers, which should be right around... here ! Perfect. She wiggles her feet into her slippers.
"Anybody here?" Ochako's voice echoes in the room.
She flinches upon hearing a door pop open in the distance, and places her bags down to assume a fighting stance. Gunhead hadn’t prepared her for hand-to-hand fight in complete darkness, but she hopes her instincts will kick in. A figure walks out, dimly-lit by a single candle. Ochako can vaguely make out the person's build: not terribly tall, but the frame suggests at least some level of strength. She squints to see a curly mop of hair, and as this mystery person walks closer, she lets her guard down once she spots his freckles.
"Uraraka-san!" a familiar voice cracks with concern. "Where have you been ?"
Ochako knows Deku’s voice anywhere.
"Just takin' a walk." Ochako points down to her grocery bags. "And gettin’ some stuff to eat."
"Why didn't you have your phone?" Deku asks. The candle in his hand barely illuminates his uneasy frown, but Ochako can hear the sadness in his voice.
"I…" Ochako purses her lips. "...didn't think I needed it, I guess? Most of the people I normally talk to are supposed to be busy today with their families. Like you, actually! What are you doing back already?"
"I got a text in the 1-A group chat saying the power went out,” Deku explains, pointing to his phone. “Pretty much everyone was accounted for, except you."
"Ah." Ochako winces. “I guess I shouldn't have left my phone in my room. When I was walking back from the store, I noticed all the lights in the building were out. But the other dorms still had power. Was there some sort of villain attack?"
“It definitely wasn't a villain.” Deku laughs, almost embarrassedly. “Apparently some of the boys that stayed here today got bored, so they got into a heated game of truth or dare. Long story short, Mineta was taped to a chair, Sero was stuck to a doorknob, and Kaminari licked one of the electrical outlets. But it’s okay now! They’re all fine, accounted for, and I applied some first aid to the ones that needed it.”
Ochako has too many questions all at once. “How long have we been without power? Where’d you get the candle? Did Yaoyorozu make it with her quirk?”
“You must have been out for a while. The lights have already been out for an hour or two at the most, I think. But, no, Yaoyorozu-san didn’t make the candle. As soon as I got the message in the groupchat, my mom drove me back. She also insisted–for emergencies of course– that I brought back candles for everyone, so if you want one, I’ve got plenty of different kinds in my room. I think this one was called–” Deku pinches his bottom lip, staring deeply into the candle. “Chai’s To Meet You.”
Ochako snorts. “I don’t know if I should roll my eyes or laugh at the name.”
“It’s pretty bad,” Deku jokes, “but the scent is nice, right?”
“Yeah.”
The two stand in place timidly, staring at nothing in particular.
"Anyways, we should make ourselves comfortable!" Deku suggests, breaking the silence between them. “Or as comfortable as we can be, at least.”
“Definitely! Did you wanna hang out in my room or something? I’ve got this great space heater that we could…” Ochako’s voice trails off as she realizes her mistake, “...only use if we had electricity. Right.”
“I think we’ll survive without it,” Deku assures, pointing over his shoulder, farther into the room. He walks away towards the sofas, turning back to look towards Ochako. "Follow me."
Deku continues walking and Ochako stays close behind him. It’s not like she’ll get lost; she knows where she is. Though, she admits it’s significantly easier to navigate when she can see. She stares forward, towards Deku’s back. Peering up to the top of his head, she debates on whether or not he’s grown taller or not. Whether or not it’s the case, there's no doubt that his shoulders are broader than before; it’s crazy to think how much he’s changed since they first met on their entrance exam.
“Soooo,” Deku says, motioning around them. Ochako spots plenty of blankets laid out on the sofas, enough snacks to easily last them for the next few days (though she hopes it doesn't come to that), and what looks to be a tall stack of what books to keep them occupied. “What do you think?”
“It’s a pretty sweet set-up, Deku-kun. It's like a stakeout mission, but way comfier." Ochako feels her smile fade as she watches Deku place his candle on the table's corner. “Were you just gonna wait for me here all night?”
"Well, yeah. My best friend was missing, and no one else had heard from you." Deku sports a grin that would make All Might proud, plopping onto the sofa. “I'm glad you showed up when you did. If you'd taken any longer, I would’ve gone out to look for you. Not like I mind, of course.”
Ochako can only smile. Despite the earlier loneliness, she’s reminded just how good of a friend Deku is. But she knows by now not to expect anything less.
“It’s for the best. It was starting to get a little chilly out there.” A shiver jolts through Ochako’s body. Her hands are still cold from outside, so she starts to rub them together, breathing onto them. In her peripherals, she sees Deku scoot closer, reaching his scarred hand reluctantly towards her own. He hesitates.
Ochako looks towards her friend. The orange glow of the candlelight shows uneasiness on Deku’s face. His fingertips make the slightest contact with the back of her hand before he retracts his hand back.
“Your hands are cold,” he says. “You should put them by the candle.”
Ochako nods in agreement, holding her hands out towards the tiny flame. She’ll take what she can get, she’s surprised how nice it feels.
“I’m sorry if the power going out derailed your plans tonight,” Deku apologizes.
"Honestly, I would've been doing the same thing as we’re doing now. Though, I figured I'd be comfy in my bed, not here in the dark on the common area. But look on the bright side.” Ochako laughs. “We can keep each other company."
Deku smiles and nods. “Yeah, you’re right.”