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“Do you like my boyfriend?”
Ochako had exactly three seconds to process that question before choking on her coffee. After a few moments of trying to regain her ability to breathe, she glared at Himiko.
“What the heck kind of question is that?”
The blonde girl shrugged, glancing off into the distance. Izuku, Eijiro, and Denki were currently drawing up plans for something or other. Izuku was easily the most imaginative of the bunch, but the other two were unmatched in their enthusiasm. As long as the idea interested them, at least.
“I’ve seen how you stare at him. I’m not blind.”
Ochako wasn’t sure how to respond to that, given she was being called out at random. If it had been any of the other girls, she would have been able to laugh it off. Himiko was a different matter entirely. This was Izuku’s girlfriend. Sure, they hadn’t been together long, but that was a very important label!
“It’s fine, you know? He’s cute, and funny, and all kinds of amazing. But I think…”
The blonde girl hummed, turning her gaze from the boys to the woman next to her.
“... Maybe he’s into you too.”
***
Not even a week had gone by, when they all heard the news. The both of them had broken up on good terms, and they were still friends. Given how Himiko could be, any awkwardness would’ve been absolutely unacceptable. Sure, they hadn’t stayed together, but she’d never let that change the fact they’d been friends first.
Where did that leave Ochako? Well, Himiko had kept giving her incredibly unsubtle winks from a distance. As if encouraging her to do something. Just what the heck kind of person did she take her for?! Honestly! Going after poor, sweet, innocent Izuku right after he’d ended a relationship? That was downright predatory! It had to violate some kind of code!
As valid as that code could be when his previous girlfriend was encouraging her. With a groan, she flopped her entire upper half onto the table in front of her.
Fortunately, Mei had moved any sharp objects out of the way, expecting this reaction.
“Will you just go talk to him already?”
Ochako groaned, lifting her head to stare at the pinkette.
“Seriously? You too?”
Mei rolled her eyes, dismissively waving a hand.
“Please, everyone knows at this point. Well, all of the girls. Don’t know about the guys.”
She shuddered for a moment.
“It’s a miracle, really, that Mina hasn’t spilled the beans for you.”
Ochako breathed a sigh of relief.
“Don’t get me started on Mina. She’s almost as bad as Himiko in all this.”
Mei stared at the other girl, arms folded. While she wasn’t particularly interested in the love lives of her friends, she’d been a bit confused when Izuku and Himiko had broken up. Though, given what she knew now, she could see why the girl had done it. Had it only been a strategy to push Ochako to action? If so, it clearly hadn’t worked, and a more direct approach was necessary.
“Trust me, Ochako. The worst he can say is no, and I’m positive he wouldn’t even dream of it. He’s probably stressing over you as we speak.”
“You really think so?”
***
Izuku Midoriya was currently stressing over one Ochako Uraraka. He’d been at U.A. for a while now, and it was the best school in all of Japan. That being said, even someone as studious as him wasn’t exempt from temptations of the flesh.
That sounded far more vulgar than it actually was. What he’s trying to say is he has a crush. Had a crush? It’s all messy. He’d dated Himiko for a short while, a nice girl, but then she’d broken it off. That had been fine, dating was just that. A test run, an experience. Sometimes they worked out, sometimes they didn’t. He’d been bummed about it for a bit, but her radiant energy squashed that soon enough. He was fine with having her as a friend.
That brought him to his current major issue. Ochako was… a lot of things. Determined, cute, quite spirited, and apparently an absolute monster in karate? He’d watched her toss Katsuki on his ass once, and he was positive his heart might just explode out of his chest.
That being said, all of those positive qualities meant one thing: she was most certainly out of his league. He was just… just Izuku. Sure, he went to the gym but doesn’t everyone do that? He tended to prattle on and on about boring things, like Dungeons & Dragons, or medieval armor. Which, kind of went hand and hand, but still.
Could you really judge him? Armor was cool. Likely couldn’t stop a bullet, but knights regularly took on dragons and saved princesses. They were the medieval equivalent of heroes. Plus! They also made the wearer look bigger than they actually were. Izuku might have some muscle, but he could stand to look a bit more intimidating.
Gah! He was getting distracted again! Where was this tangent even going?! Ah, right. His many reasons as to why Ochako would never marry him in a million- Marry?! How did he jump to a conclusion like that! They’d never even gone on a date yet, was he insane?!
The light chop to his head stopped any further spiraling, as he blinked up at the mighty figure of his father.
“My boy! I can hear you thinking from all the way across the house! Is it a girl that troubles you?!”
Rubbing at his head, he cracked a slight smile towards his dad. “Well… kind of? Just a bit? No big deal.”
The man placed a hand upon Izuku’s head, flashing his million dollar smile. “Nonsense, my boy! Matters of the heart are of the utmost importance!”
The quite frankly insanely bulky man clenched a fist, gazing up at the heavens. “Remember to give it your all! Plus Ultra!”
With that, he walked towards the door. “I’ve got to get to work! Tell your mother I’ll miss her dearly!”
The goliath of a man paused, before chuckling. “Actually, don’t bother! I’ll let her know myself! I’m sure I’ll have plenty of free time to do so!”
And with that, he was gone. It was incredibly hard to believe that guy was the Chief of Police. Probably explained why Shoto’s dad was always so angry. Being upstaged by a jovial guy like that. Sucks to suck, but it is what it is.
Staring back down at his desk, a few moments passed. “Where was I…?”
He slammed his forehead into the surface before he could spiral again.
***
“A study session?”
Himiko nodded, waggling her phone in front of Ochako’s face. “Mhm. At your place.”
Ochako stared, unblinking. “Why mine?”
The other girl shrugged. “It’s cozy. You can practically smell the two parent household energy.”
“You do realize a lot of our friends also have that, right?”
“Do not argue with me, space cadet. We’ll use your house and that’s final.”
Sighing, Ochako shrugged her shoulders. “Fine, fine. Just let me know when to expect you.”
Himiko winked at her. “Don’t worry. It’ll be a riot.”
Ochako trusted that wink as much as she’d trust a beehive. That is to say, she wanted it nowhere near her. She might have lost her train of thought along the way, but she got the idea.
***
Ochako sat on her couch. A normal occurrence. Really, there was nothing strange about that at all. She did that almost everyday.
The real problem was the fact Izuku was on that same couch. With nobody else around. Because Himiko had either forgotten, or had set up an elaborate lie to orchestrate this event.
Reluctantly, she slowly turned to stare at Izuku. “... Himiko?”
The boy also turned, slowly nodding. “She said there’d be a group. I’m starting to think that was false.”
They both stared at each other, nodded once, and then went back to facing the wall ahead of them.
Ochako was going to kill that girl, actually.
And then her phone went off.
Vamprincess: You’ve totally got this. We’re all rooting for you! ❤️
Space Cadet: I hate you.
Vamprincess: Not for long. 🗿
Rolling her eyes, she put her phone away. Really, what was she afraid of? A denial? Yes, yes she absolutely was.
The two sat in an uncomfortably awkward silence, before Izuku pointed at a bowl in the middle of the table.
“Are those pinecones?”
“...Yeah?”
“Are they cinnamon scented?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool.”
And thus, another lull in conversation was had. Really, it was amazing how awkwardness seemed to come in spades. Never a dull moment.
She was this close to just telling him to go home, when she realized something. What was it someone once said? The only thing to fear is fear itself? She’s not sure that applied here, but all this time she’s spent psyching herself out has been actively damaging to her everything. She wasn’t focusing, she was stressed out, she just had to get it off of her chest, right? The worst he could say was no!
She could do this. She absolutely could. She could steel her nerves.
She turned to face Izuku, hands clenched in her lap. The dull background noise of the TV was as good a mood setter as any.
“I… I like you!”
As she’d made her declaration, she’d shut her eyes, angling her face to aim at her lap. She couldn’t stand seeing his reaction. They could probably still be friends after this, but only after years of therapy and her crawling out of whatever pit she crawled into.
After several minutes of no response, she’d lifted her head, gazing at Izuku.
Only to be met with a blank stare. As if he’d mentally tabbed out. A splendid sight to see! He was so repulsed by the thought of dating her that he’d stopped thinking just to escape the situation! That was it for her nerves for tonight. She’d done her best. Mom, dad, everyone… she was a failure.
She let the tears escape the prison that was her eyes.
***
Izuku didn’t think he was a genius. Anyone could get where he was with enough hard work. Katsuki was determined, Shoto was a prodigy, and Denki was trying his best. Everyone had special talents. Perhaps Izuku’s own talent was delusions. Creating realities in his mind that were unable to be separated from reality. As he’d sat there stunned on the couch, he couldn’t believe his mind had played such a trick on him.
Ochako? Being into him? A sick joke, but one he was familiar with. His friends teased him about his crush regularly, and his dreams frequently showed him a reality that was not meant to be. He couldn’t believe he was so far gone that he’d insult her in her own home.
Yet, through the fog of his own warped reality, he picked up on something. A noise that hurt worse than any pain. Even worse than that time Katsuki accidentally set off firecrackers too close to him. That bruise hadn’t cleared for a while.
But he was getting distracted. Focusing, he came to the conclusion that Ochako was crying. He hadn’t said anything in a long while, and perhaps she’d been weirded out by his staring. But that was a crazy conclusion, even for him. He had to jog his memory. What could he have done to upset her?
Had she actually confessed? And he’d just sat there like an idiot staring at her? Good lord, she was probably devastated! Did she think he was rejecting her?! How was he supposed to fix this mess-
His father’s words echoed in his mind, almost as if he was right there. “Plus Ultra, my boy. Follow your heart!”
He could almost hear a twinkle accompanying that statement. He was half tempted to check if the man was in the room with them, but that was impossible.
So, he lurched forwards, wrapping the girl in a hug. He had no time to ask if it was fine, just a single minded desire to make sure she was fine.
“I… Like you too, Ochako!”
***
As expected, all of their friends had various things to say about that. Their friends congratulated them, but there was a lot of good natured ribbing. He was a particular fan of Denki making fun of the situation.
“Oh, Izuku! Won’t you woo me with your thousand yard stare?”
Everyone had gotten a good laugh out of that one. But really, could he be upset? His friends were happy for him, the girl of his dreams was into him, and he was in the best school Japan had to offer! He was practically living a successful anime adventure!
Or something like that. As Ochako parked her lips on his forehead before heading out to class, Izuku stared at the desk he was sitting at.
Life was great. He certainly hoped he wouldn’t end up at some dead end desk job in the future, but that was a matter for future Izuku. Clicking a pen, he glanced at a random empty notebook. Speaking of the future…
“How I met your mother…” With helping notes from all of his friends. This would be a family treasure.