Some of the first things Ochako had noticed when she befriended Deku were his incredible little quirks.

Not to be confused with his superpowered quirk, of course, although that had certainly grabbed her attention quickly. But as she got to know him, she started to observe a lot of little habits that piqued her curiosity.

First, it was the muttering. When Deku got really focused on something, whether it be math homework or heroics class, he would retreat into himself and start muttering a stream of consciousness about how to approach a situation. It was a little off-putting at first, seeing him spiral into intense self-debate. But over time, she came to admire how much thought he put into everything he did — far more than she herself tended to. It was endearing, in its own way.

Then she started to notice the little exercises he worked into his daily routine. Whether it be leg movements, lifting a weight or strengthening his grip, it slowly became rarer to see him not working out.

Seeing that level of dedication inspired her to push herself even more, despite how impossible catching up to Deku seemed to be. She tried to mimic him and although it took some getting used to, she also started borrowing a couple of his training routines. It helped that he was all too eager to offer advice.

There were many other little foibles Deku had. His face always used to heat up when he talked to her, although that faded with time — and somehow that blush migrated to her own cheeks. There was the stuttering whenever he got nervous, or him pinching his lip when he got really deep into contemplation. As her crush grew into attraction, and then grew into love, she came to appreciate every one of his little quirks.

But there was one habit she started to notice that she didn't like so much. One that came to unnerve her in its intensity.

It was the fact that he could never be satisfied with himself.

Ochako didn't really notice it as anything problematic, at first. He was always going on about the need for improvement and his focus motivated her in turn.

But there were times where his single-mindedness to self-improvement became a little…awkward. He would seem to shrink when she gave him praise, from winning the race at the sports festival to the little compliments about his work ethic. He would tend to brush those compliments aside like they were nothing.

It came to a head when they started dating in their third year at U.A. After Deku astounded the class by taking out five massive robots with one kick in a training session, she couldn't help but burst with excitement after it was all over.

"That was incredible, Deku! Do you have any idea how cool you are?!" she shouted as she swung her arms around him after he got out of the change rooms. By that point, she was long since accustomed to physical contact with him.

"Thanks, Uraraka," Deku replied timidly, a now-rare blush staining his cheeks. "Think I overdid it a bit though. My leg's pretty bruised up. Don't think I can do that again for a little while if I don't want to break it."

"Oh shoot, was it that bad?" Ochako replied, looking down pointedly at his leg, frowning at the thought of him injuring himself.

"I'll be okay," he tried to reassure her. "But I still got a lot of work to do to stretch my limits. Feels like it's getting harder the farther along I go."

"You'll get there. I know you will," she said earnestly, beaming up at him.

He nodded in acknowledgement, smiling back politely. "I gotta get going to some training with All Might. See you tomorrow after class?"

"Definitely," she responded, before he rushed off, leaving her behind again. She frowned as his back disappeared into the distance, left a little dumbfounded by his focus.

It was subtle, but it was the first time she realized she had never seen him take a compliment in full stride.

He never stopped looking upward. He was never really content with where he was or with what he had already achieved. He would never cheer or bask in the moment, instead focused on the next thing or contemplating how he could have done better. The world was his mountain, one he would never stop climbing until he reached the stars themselves.

It wasn't a bad thing. Todoroki and even Iida had similar qualities, shrugging off their successes in the pursuit of the next victory. Over time, many of their classmates tried to emulate what the best and brightest were able to accomplish.

But Ochako started to suspect the issue deeper than that with Deku. She remembered the nervous little boy he was when he met her, stumbling over himself and barely able to say a few words to her. How nervous he could be about succeeding despite having a truly awesome power. She had learned enough of his history to know how years of bullying had degraded any sense of self-worth that he had.

In time, she decided she would work on that little quirk of his. Of course, she didn't want to completely change him and see him be a braggart or lose focus on his goals. She doubted she could even if she tried.

But she wanted him to be more aware of how awesome he was in the present. Maybe let loose a little more to celebrate his successes.

It would take time, but Ochako knew it would be worth it. She wanted him to see in himself the incredible person that she did.

When Izuku first met Ochako, he was mesmerized by everything about her.

Beyond just the fact that she was a girl — although, in hindsight, he lamented how that fact alone had made him so flat-footed — it was that she was…special. Her cheery and friendly personality had made an immediate impact on him, leaving him a sputtering mess.

As he came to know her, he was incredibly touched by her selflessness, both in trying to help him and, as he learned, help her parents. The more he came to know her, the more he wanted to know about her.

Over time, he started to analyze her and her habits. As much as he did any of their classmates, he tried to lie to himself, for heroic study. He gathered a pretty good understanding of her quirk quickly, but beyond that…

Izuku noticed how often she was smiling, whether by herself or in greeting someone. Her sunny disposition was strangely alien to him, with his own tumultuous childhood rendering him unexposed to such unfettered positivity. At the best of times, it made her hard to look at as he thought his heart might fly out of his chest when he did.

But despite that bubbly exterior, he could see it was masking pure steel underneath her surface. She would let it out in bursts that were hard to ignore as she charged headlong into whatever came their way. No matter the challenge heroics class threw at them, she was eager and ready. Her fiery fighting spirit was something to behold, igniting with a brilliance that often left him flabbergasted.

But there were also the smaller things he noticed that he found…adorable if he was being honest. How she would sometimes float when she got embarrassed, covering her face from view. How she was extremely frugal whenever they all went shopping together, even suggesting to classmates where they might get better deals on various items. There was also her tendency to get flustered around him later on in their friendship — something that took him far too long to understand.

But despite how open she was and how much he came to understand her through various quirks, part of her always remained an enigma to him.

It was subtle, at first. When he was first getting to know her, she would sometimes get this far off look, as if contemplating something serious. Whenever he asked her what she was thinking about she would snap to attention and brush them off, defensive about her musings.

Then there was that moment after their first sports festival — where despite coming off of a crushing defeat, she wore a bright smile in front of him. He knew she probably in a lot of pain, both physical and emotional. He knew she was probably going to collapse as soon as he left the room for his match.

But Izuku didn't do anything. He didn't think he could, at the time.

Ochako's foible manifested itself in a lot of ways over the ensuing months. She started getting more evasive around him. Even though she wore the same bubbly demeanour, he always got a feeling that she was hiding something. Hiding so as to not bother anyone. Keeping her grief bottled inside.

The habit had, in hindsight, played a role in how long the two of them remained apart. But as their romance started to blossom, he decided he was going to address her little quirk.

He didn't have to wait long. On one of their earlier dates, out at a pleasant cafe, he noticed her starting to lose focus on the world around her. He wondered what exactly was disturbing her and this time decided to confront her about it.

"Hey, Uraraka, is everything alright?" he asked as he gently reached a hand across their table, ghosting his fingertips across the soft skin of her wrist.

She jumped with a vigour that surprised him, snapping her face and vision back onto him. Her face was slightly panicked as she spoke out in a quick huff.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine Deku! Sorry, just got a little distracted," Ochaka replied, managing to put on a shadow of her usual bubbly self. "Guess I've just been a little out of whack with how tough class has been lately."

Were he a little younger, he probably would have taken the explanation. Once upon a time, he didn't have the social wherewithal to take action. But this time, he knew could do more.

"You know, if something is bothering you, you can tell me about it," Izuku replied gently. He stroked a thumb across the top of her hand comfortingly, flashing her his best smile along with it. "Anything at all, Uraraka. I am here."

She looked taken aback by the intense sincerity, and her face quickly sank. She closed her eyes and breathed deep, letting her mouth crease into a frown. But as quickly as it came, it was gone. She looked back up at him with the same empty smile.

"Thank you, Deku," Uraraka replied as she intertwined her fingers in his. "I know I can. I'm just…not ready, not just yet. But I promise I'll let you know when I am. Okay?"

Her eyes shined as they bore into his, pleading with him desperately to drop the matter. Izuku's mouth stayed in a hard line. He had made a sliver of progress and felt somewhat compelled to press the matter farther.

But it wouldn't do to try to force her into something she wasn't comfortable with. He could wait.

"Sure, Uraraka. That's just fine," he said while maintaining a now fragile smile. He let a brief pause come between them before giving her an out to the subject. "So, what were you thinking of ordering?"

His date eagerly leapt at the chance, considering the menu with an overblown amount of enthusiasm. Izuku laughed through it all, letting himself enjoy her company.

He knew what she was doing wasn't healthy. It was an extension of the same selflessness that attracted him to her when they first met. But over time, he wanted to get her to open up. He wanted to be a shoulder she could lean on, to be a confidant to all her troubles.

Izuku knew personally how hard it was to bear one's misery alone. And how important it was to rely on friends to help you through your tough spots.

That was something she had taught him, after all.

AN: Written for IzuOcha Week Day 3: Quirks.

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