Romance and Heroics

Spoilers for the current arc!

All Ochako saw was the color white. From the floor, all the way up to the ceiling. Some paintings hung from the walls in an attempt to add some color to the room, but they weren't helping much. The sight was starting to become a regular occurrence for her. and she was beginning to hate it. The only thing keeping her from being completely uncomfortable was the chair she was sitting on. Soft yet firm, perfectly supporting her back, allowing her to relax and unfold in it. However, she'd give up the comfort in a heartbeat just to see Midoriya.

The battle with Overhaul left Midoriya's body in shambles yet again. Ochako was used to seeing Midoriya sacrifice his well being for the sake of those around him, but that wasn't entirely the case this time. What bothered her the most was that most of his injuries weren't self inflicted. Deku's muscles and bones were strained heavily by using Full Cowl 20%, but other than a few bruises he didn't harm himself. Midoriya was in this much pain because of someone else. The thought of someone causing intentional harm to him made Ochako boil with hate.

'Who could ever want to hurt someone so selfless and kind?' She thought to herself, beginning to grow impatient.

She needed to see him.

The last time she set her eyes on him, he was on the ground next to an unconscious Overhaul. Midoriya's hero costume was in tatters, riddled with holes. He was covered head to toe with cuts and gashes, all of which were covered with blood. His left arm was bruised, but his right arm was broken by one of Overhaul's attacks. The boy's legs were the most unharmed, but still covered in scrapes. The worst of all though, was that he was impaled with one of Overhaul's rock spikes, right through his shoulder. Blood was slowly dribbling out of his mouth, and the only noise he was able to make was a quiet gurgle. The second she saw him, she was frozen with shock. Ochako was only capable of looking at him in complete horror. She's seen him in terrible shape before, but this was different. This was actually life threatening. Recovery girl was nowhere around, they were underneath the area where the ambulances and paramedics were, and they were still a good 20 minutes from the nearest hospital. She knew she had to help him get to an ambulance, but her feelings completely took over her senses. Instead of safely trying to help him up, or even cover some of his wounds, she found herself embracing Midoriya, pleading with him not to leave her all alone.

"Y-you can't die here, D-Deku! Y-you can't leave me h-here all by myself! W-we s-s-still have so much w-work to d-do!" She had her head buried into Midoriya's collar, crying uncontrollably. She was crying so much she was stuttering over her outburst of tears.

"We still n-need to become heroes! T-t-there's so much left t-to learn! W-we have s-so much to ex-experience TOGETHER! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME YET, PLEASE!"

Everyone else looked on in heartbreak and concern. Most of the heroes were tending to Nighteye, trying to keep him alive, but the sudden outburst of such tender affection turned everyone's heads. Tsuyu considered going to help and console Ochako, but she figured she shouldn't smother Midoriya. Tsuyu had no idea how to tend to wounds that serious, anyway.

Ochako suddenly found herself being pried off of Midoriya. She tried desperately to cling onto him, but a voice immediately cut her off.

"Clinging onto him like that and crying into his neck isn't going to do anything for him! If i'm going to get him out of here, I need you to get off of him and let me do my job!"

Ochako looked up to the hero who was trying to tear her away from her friend. It turned out to be Rocklock, looking down on her with annoyance, but a hint of pity. She immediately collected herself, and let go of Midoriya.

"Now, you need to either leave, or help the other heroes. You're not injured as bad as the rest of us, so you could help a lot more if you tended to injuries instead of crying like a useless scared child! I'll get Deku out of here, you can trust me with that!" Rocklock was now fully annoyed.

"R-right! I'm sorry! I-I'll go help the others, but please get him somewhere safe!" She was wiping her eyes, struggling to fight the tears. She ran in the direction of Tsuyu, and the both of them played the role of support until everyone was lifted out of the hideout.

The second she was able to leave without feeling guilty about leaving anyone behind, she rushed to the nearest hospital where Midoriya was likely taken to. Using her quirk on her costume to make herself weight less, she sprinted the entire distance to the hospital, not stopping for anything. Her thoughts didn't waver from him, so she easily neglected her exhaustion and screaming joints.

Bringing herself back to the present, she once again looked around at the plain white waiting room. Confirming she didn't miss anything or anyone, her mind started to shift on something else. Why did her heart hurt so much? Ever since she saw Midoriya like that, her heart felt like it was stabbed by a thousand knives. This pain went beyond what she normally felt when she saw someone she knew get hurt, and she didn't understand why. Was it because she was still exhausted from the fight and the run over to the hospital? No, this wasn't exhaustion. It couldn't be. She's pushed to her very limits through training before and she's never, ever felt her heart beat this way before. Maybe she actually was injured and she hasn't noticed it yet. However, she remembered being looked at by the paramedics who were helping the heroes. The EMT said she only had scrapes and bruises, so that couldn't be it either.

That's when she felt her heart rumble. Like chains were shaking, desperately trying to unlock themselves. Why would she feel this? It was almost like her feelings for Midoriya were trying to-

"No." She immediately cut herself off from her thoughts.

"Not now, I can't show my feelings any attention. I need to be strong for him, I can't be selfish like that. I have to keep them locked up." She said.

She felt a different kind of pain in her heart. An emptiness. almost. Like she's denying herself something she really needs. Her heart became much heavier, and she sunk into a sadness.

'I can't act on my feelings. At least, not now. I can't get in the way of our dreams. But...'

She began to question herself.

'Why can't I? If friendships are important and helpful in a heroic career, then why can't-'

"Uravity?"

She was immediately pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of an old, rough voice.

"He's still in rough shape, but he's conscious. You can come in to see him, if you'd like. I'm sure he'd enjoy the company."

She sprung straight out of her seat and over to the doctor who lead her to Midoriya's room. The doctor let themselves in, and closed the door behind them.

Midoriya was covered head to toe in bandages. His right arm was buried in a thick cast, and his neck was in a neckbrace. He was looking out the window, admiring the view with his emerald green eyes she loved so much. Upon hearing the door open, Midoriya looked towards them, and immediately lightened up. He was weak, so he could only manage to give a small grin. But his eyes lit up with affection and care when he saw Ochako.

"Deku!" She ran towards his bed. Careful not to hurt him, she slowly brought herself into his arms, giving him a tender embrace.

"I'll leave you two alone, then. Call if you need anything." The doctor said, feeling like an unwanted presence in the room.

"D-Deku! You had m-me so s-scared! I thought y-you were gonna d-d-die!" She didn't notice her out of control sobbing.

"I'm f-fine U-Uraraka-san. B-but are you ok? D-Did Overhaul hurt you at all?"

She was in disbelief. He was the one in the hospital bed, but he was more concerned about her. That's another thing she loves about him, his selflessness.

She felt her heart rattle again.

"I'm fine, Deku! Don't worry about me!" She started to wipe her tears and collect herself. She wanted to be strong in front of him.

"Are y-you s-sure, Uraraka? You're crying." Midoriya wasn't going to die from his injuries at this rate, Ochako was so close! He could feel his face flare up in embarrassment. It's not like he didn't like it, though.

"I... I'm fine, Deku! Really!" Her cheeks became redder than usual. She couldn't help it! Deku was so close, and her heart was all over the place. Not to mention, she noticed how red Midoriya was.

"W-Well, thanks for coming to s-see m-m-me! I'm s-surprised Tsuyu isn't w-with you, though. I-is she ok?"

"O-oh! Yeah, Asui's ok. She went back to the dorms. I asked her to come with me, but she felt said she didn't want to be the third wheel."

Midoriya's face turned into a tomato.

"W-W-WHY WOULD T-TSUYU S-SAY T-THAT?!"

Seeing Midoriya's reaction, her face became just as red.

"I-I DON'T K-KNOW, I B-BET IT W-WAS J-JUST BECAUSE SH-SHE DIDN'T W-WANT T-TOO MANY P-P-PEOPLE C-CROWDING Y-YOU IS ALL!" She instinctively let Midoriya go, and covered her face in her hands.

Midoriya started to bury his face in his one good hand, but something didn't let him. He didn't want her visit to be ruined by being so awkward, so for the first time, he made a solid effort to hide his flustered expression. He instead tried to change the subject.

"Uraraka, is... is Nighteye ok?"

Ochako's face suddenly went pale. She dropped her hands, and started to look down.

"I... I don't know. Last time I saw him, he was being taken into an ambulance. He's probably here, too."

"I... I see." Midoriya saw how uncomfortable he made things, and how sad Ochako seemed to now look. So he made one last attempt to alleviate the mood.

"I really appreciate you coming to see me, Uraraka. You mean a lot to me, so it means a lot that you'd come see me. Thank you."

That's when Midoriya truly noticed Ochako. How truly beautiful she looked. Despite being in her hero costume he finally noticed just how cute she was. Her silky smooth chestnut hair, her beautiful deep brown eyes, her adorable rosy cheeks, her flawless skin, and even her attractive figure. He hated how he sounded like Mineta just then, but he didn't care. She was stunning, and he felt something in his heart shift. A feeling he's never felt before. He didn't know what to call it, so he decided to bury it for now and ask All Might or his mom about it later.

Ochako noticed him staring at her, noticing his eyes looked different. Like he was admiring her, inspecting her almost.

'Could he actually be... checking me out?!'

She went back to how she was only a minute ago. An embarrassed, flustered mess. Her face flared up to the color of the sun, and buried her face in her hands.

"wellimgladyou'reokdekuandijustrememberedTsuyuwantstohangoutsoillcomebacktomorrowokbye!"

She ran out of the hospital room and closed the door behind her, leaving Midoriya shocked and confused. She walked back to the waiting room, and sat down to collect herself.

'What did I just do? Izuku must be so confused right now, I just ran out of the room! I have to go back and tell him I'm sorry, then-'

She remembered why she ran out of the room. How she caught Midoriya staring at her in awe, and how embarrassed she felt.

'Was he really checking me out like that? It's so unlike him to do something like that! He wouldn't just stare at his friend like that! Unless maybe he... likes me too?'

Her cheeks erupted into the brightest shade of red anyone has ever seen, and she curled up into a ball on her chair. She didn't realize she was muttering to herself. Or that the doctors were all looking at her in a mix of confusion and shock.

'No, no, no, no no, there's no way someone as amazing as Izuku could ever...'

Her heart became 10 times heavier.

'But the way he was looking at me, could he actually?'

Her heart became as light as a feather.

'Maybe, but I'm too embarrassed to even ask! What should I do? What if everyone thinks bad of me because I brought romance into hero-work? What if he rejected me? What if he doesn't even like me? I don't know what to do...'

She couldn't know what to do. How could romance and hero work ever interact? Was it impossible, or was there any way she could make it work? She needed help from an actual hero.

'I... I could ask Ryukyu... or maybe Gunhead. Or maybe even All Might since Midoriya looks up to him so much. Maybe. I'll come back tomorrow to check on Midoriya, but right now I just... I can't. I need to get myself under control before I can face him again.'

Finally making up her mind, she un-wound herself from her ball of comfort she set herself up in, only to see all the doctors looking at her. Now even more embarrassed than she was before, she apologized, and quickly made her way outside.

Back inside his room, Midoriya was frozen.

'Oh no, did she see me staring at her like that?!'

Now, Izuku was burying himself in only working hand. He was such an idiot! Ochako saw him looking at her like that like some kind of pervert.

'Will she treat me like Mineta now? Like some kind of sex crazed pervert? I'm such an idiot! She came all this way just to see me and I botched it up by being so selfish!'

Yet, Izuku couldn't help but think of how gorgeous Ochako looked before. How truly stunning she was. Then he remembered how Ochako was the only one who came to visit him. Not even his own mother has come yet! She was the first one. He then remembered how she threw herself onto him when she finally saw he was ok. After thinking about how amazing that hug was, he started to vaguely remember what Ochako said when she found him lying next to Overhaul when he was a bloody mess. She kept saying We, like they were some kind of couple.

He started to feel his heart tighten again. That same unknown feeling he felt when he noticed how stunning Ochako was. He felt like his heart was a jumbled mess, like he had to get something out. But he didn't know what that was, or what this new feeling was.

'Could she... like... me?'

Izuku's face flared into a blinding shade of red, bright enough to outshine the sun.

'H-h-h-how could s-s-someone l-l-like O-O-Ochako even... h-how c-could A-ANYONE e-ever like m-me... r-romantically?A q-quirkless n-nobody. There's n-no way s-she d-does. B-but...'

He again remembered all the times Ochako got flustered around him. How weird she would act when Hatsume-san would interact with him. How she teamed up with him in the Sports Festival when no one else would. How she ran away from him at the mall when they were all alone. All of this seemed to say there could actually be a chance that she could actually have feelings for him.

'I-It's probably not true. Who c-could ever h-have f-f-feelings for m-me? B-but still... all t-those times... could s-she really?'

Izuku felt his heart flutter. That same, unknown feeling came back stronger than ever. He felt like his injuries have disappeared and all of his worries were gone. Just the thought of Ochako having feelings for him made his heart feel weightless.

'I...I still don't k-now about this... or if s-s-she even t-thinks of m-m-me that w-way, but... I need to know what this f-feeling is. Every time I see Ochako... my h-heart just gets all... jumbled. I can't be f-feeling this way while I-I'm doing Hero work. Do these f-feelings even h-have any place in heroics? I... M-Maybe All Might could help. H-He'll know what this feeling is. And i-if it can e-even exist in h-heroics.'

Exhaustion hit Izuku like a train. His thoughts shifted from these selfish personal desires to that of his allies.

'Was Nighteye ok? What about Mirio? Eri, what about her? Was she safe? She was with Ryukyu last time I saw her...'

Izuku yawned. He was absolutely shot. Between the dozens of cuts and the giant gaping hole in his shoulder, he was done for today. He'd save his concerns, questions, and feelings for tomorrow. He was both dreading and anxiously awaiting Ochako's next visit. He retired back to his pillow, and was about to drift off to sleep.

"IZUKU!" A heavenly, innocent voice shot through the silent air of his room.

"M-Mom?"

He was brought into a tight hug by his kind mother, bless her heart.

"IZUKU! ARE YOU OK? HAVE YOU EATEN? DID YOUR FRIENDS COME TO VISIT?"

"I-I'm fine, mom. Really. Nothing I can't recover from. I didn't hurt myself this time, honest!"

Izuku spent the next half hour assuring his mother that he was ok and all of his friends made it out ok. He couldn't mention Mirio or Nighteye though, his mom would never allow him to see All Might or U.A again! But finally, after that long and exhausting half hour, Inko allowed her son to sleep. She was tired too, so she fell asleep besides her son, holding his hand. Assuring him that everything was going to be fine.

Ochako returned to her dorm, and fell onto her bed like a ton of bricks. She tried to return to sleep, but her thoughts about Izuku kept her up most of the night. She knew she couldn't just deny these feelings like she did before, and she knew it wasn't going to be healthy to keep them locked up forever, so all she could do was wait until someone explained what she should do to her. She tossed and turned, until she found that glorious one comfortable position, and finally fell asleep.