Day 1: Firsts

First Injury/First "I love you"

Izuku's heart palpitated erratically as he stormed through the large school hallways of U.A. His brain was filled with a jumble of thoughts, but only one was clear: Uraraka. All he wanted was for her to be okay. She had to be okay. Feet moving on their own, his entire body was on autopilot to Recovery Girl's office. He'd been there enough times to arrive there without thinking.

Approaching the door, he held up a fist to knock. He hesitated, hand pausing and hovering over the door. Part of him nagged that he might not want to see her in such a state, but she had always, always been there for him when he was injured. It could be no different for him. Gulping down his reluctance, he carefully tapped his knuckle against the door.

Recovery Girl opened the door with a sad, knowing smile etched in her features. With a brief nod, she gestured to the unconscious girl lying in one of the recovery beds. "I knew you'd be here soon."

Sighing, Izuku leaned back against the door as he closed it behind him. "Is—Is Uraraka okay?"

"Yes, she'll be alright. She took a very hard fall, but she hasn't nearly hurt herself as much as you tend to."

With a nervous smile, Izuku shrugged guiltily. "That's good to hear."

Recovery Girl sat back in her chair, eyeing him carefully. "It's okay that you didn't catch her in time, you know. She's a strong girl. You don't have to always be her protector."

Izuku clenched his fist, opening and closing them anxiously as he glanced over at his girlfriend lay asleep and bandaged in the bed. He gazed up the nurse through hooded bangs. "But… I-I want to be."

"She knows."

Fidgeting, he turned his attention back to Ochako. "May I go over there?"

Recovery Girl considered him for a moment with a hum. When she gave a nod of confirmation, Izuku almost tripped over himself to get by Ochako's side. Pulling a chair up beside the bed, he placed himself right next to her. He placed an elbow onto the bed, leaning his cheek into his palm. With his free hand, he took her hand into his, intertwining their fingers together. The gesture was more for his own comfort, he had to admit.

Izuku just wanted to convince himself that she was fine. Everything was okay. They held hands like this every day when walking to class. The pads of her fingers were always soft against the back of his hand as they always were. If he just focused on the feeling of her, maybe he could convince himself that nothing had happened. A lie, he knew.

She had been so close to him. So close. Close enough that he should have been able to catch her in his arms when she had over used her quirk like that. But he couldn't. He wasn't fast enough. How was he supposed to save anyone if he couldn't even save his own girlfriend from her own quirk?

Tears weld up in his eyes. Scrunching his eyes, he tried to will them away with no avail. Izuku knew he had to be strong for her, but the guilty kept piling up. The hiccup that left his lips was only the beginning of the stream cascading down his cheeks. He buried his face into his arm, squeezing her hand as he did so.

The feeling of fingers squeezing back in return took him by surprise.

Shooting up to sit upright, Izuku frantically wiped tears away with the back of his hand. "Uraraka?"

Ochako's eyes fluttered open, obviously dazed and confused. Glancing around the room, she searched for him before their gazes met. A soft smile smoothed across her lips. "Hey, Deku… Are you crying again?"

"Uraraka!" Izuku shot from his seat, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. He hovered over her, an exasperated expression on his face. "O-Oh no! I'm so sorry. I should've caught you. You were so high! I should've known this would happen. I know you didn't want my help, b-but that shouldn't have stopped me! Now, you're concussed because I didn't move faster and—"

Reaching up, Ochako covered his mouth with her palm. Her face was deadpanned, brows flat as she stared at him. "My head hurts too much for you to talk that fast, you know."

Blinking in shock, Izuku's face softened into a smile. He gave a chuckle. "R-Right… Sorry." He sat back into the seat next to her, twiddling his thumbs nervously waiting for her to say something else. It was everything he could to hold back profuse apologies.

Ochako sighed softly with an amused grin twitching at her lips. "You don't have to be sorry all the time… I knew my limit, and I pushed it. I'm not going to get any better without working hard. I want to be strong—like you, Deku."

"You don't have to be like me," he mumbled weakly. "I used to hurt myself all of the time before I got better control of my quirk… but I'd never want to wish that on someone else."

Her eyes fell downcast a bit. "I know… I watched you get hurt all of the time. It made me always worry, but you were so positive about everything. No pain, no gain right?"

"Uraraka…"

Ochako intertwined her fingers with his again, rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand. "I'm okay, Deku."

Izuku let out a sigh. "I know."

"I promise it's not as bad as you think. I'm talking just fine, ain't I?"

His brows shot up, lips twitching as he held back a chuckle. It was rare the accent came out. She felt comfortable enough around him for it to pop up, but he mostly overheard it when she was talking to herself or on the phone with her parents. Ironic that she was loopy enough for it to come out during such a statement. "Yeah. You sound fine."

"See? No biggie."

"I'm just worried about you. Don't throw yourself into danger just to be like me. I don't set a very good example, do I?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

Beaming at him, she gave a small shake of her head. "It's not that. I just think you're great. I love you, ya know?"

Izuku's heart clenched at the statement. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Deciding to ignore the soft laughter from Recovery Girl, he sat up straight. Ochako hadn't reacted… Did she even know she had said that? What drugs did Recovery Girl have her on!? "Um… w-what did you say?"

"That I think you're great," she hummed.

He shook his head frantically. "N-No, Uraraka. You said something after that."

"Oh." Ochako stared at him for a moment, processing her own statement. Her eyes widened, a flush spreading across her cheeks. "O-Oh!"

Izuku shifted slightly. "You—You love me?"

Chewing her bottom lip, she gazed down at the sheets of her recovery bed. "U-Um."

He smiled, rubbing soft circles on her hand. "It's okay. I love you, too."