Work Text:
Monday - Downtown Musutafu
2330
Ochako considered herself to be a patient person. She had no choice. A hero cannot not survive in the rescue field without the ability to maintain their composure during emergencies. In fact, Ochako regularly flourished under pressure. Today was no exception as she assessed the damage on the apartment building in front of her and immediately activated her quirk to stop it from collapsing.
Upon her arrival, citizens went from screaming in fear to shouting for joy while they evacuated from their homes. The sight of Ochako’s signature bob and pink costume blossomed into a symbol that provided hope. Surely, someone in the crowd got a few pictures. She could picture the headline now:
URAVITY THE RESCUE GODDESS SAVES THE DAY.
It wasn’t until after all the civilians were safe that Ochako learned the truth: the reason the building fell apart was because Katsuki Bakugou decided to blast away despite the intel that said the perpetrator’s quirk could bounce long-range attacks off of his body.
Any other hero with basic martial arts knowledge would have engaged in hand-to-hand combat instead. A jab followed by a simple snap down to an ankle pick would have caught the villain off guard and allowed a hero to take the fight to the ground. Once she got the villain there, Ochako would have used her grappling techniques to safely force them face down and place quirk-suppressing cuffs on their wrists. Easy. Freaking. Day.
Unfortunately, Dynamight decided to launch all logic out the window. Instead of using his quirk to catch up with the bouncy bastard, he used his dumb testosterone-induced brain cells to justify using an AP shot. His decision turned what should have been an easy arrest to an absolute nightmare. Ochako wasn’t known to cuss often, but she was sick of Katsuki’s foolishness and needed to vent. She knew exactly who to call.
Shoto Todoroki was downright vicious when he wanted to be. He had no mercy towards Endeavor after the face-scar-inducing Nomu fight. After Shoto described the incident to Ochako—reenacting with a bowl of soba for authenticity— she knew that if she ever needed to be messy, he was the one to call.
“Hello, Uraraka. How are you doing?”
“Are you in a public place?” Ochako asked.
She struggled to keep her eyes open while unlocking her door. Her shift was supposed to be over by 8 pm, but cleaning up after the building collapse, speaking with reporters, and submitting mountains of paperwork held her back until 10 pm. It took another hour to get home thanks to traffic. It was a long day.
“No. Why?”
“Because I am really mad,”—she chucked her helmet and boots to who knew where—“and I need to vent, but I don’t need anyone other than you to hear me because I wanna say so many bad words!”
“What happened?”
“Katsuki Bakugou is a fucking jerk!”
“And a horrible influence, it seems.”
“Huh?”
“You just referred to Bakugou as a ‘fucking jerk’.”
“And?”
“You don’t typically cuss unless Bakugou is involved.”
Choosing to ignore his comment, Ochako instead took time to discuss one of most infuriating days of her career while getting ready for bed.
“What did you end up saying to him?”
“My momma said that if you have nothing nice to say,”—Ochako spat out toothpaste into the sink—“you shouldn’t say anything at all.”
“You gave him the silent treatment, didn’t you?” Shouto deadpanned.
Ochako pouted. “So what if I did?”
“Don’t you have to work with him during the community toy drive on Saturday?”
“Why’d you have to remind me?” Ochako groaned in misery. It was finally time to grab that one pint of ice cream she kept stashed in her freezer for a rainy day. Freshly brushed teeth, be damned. This was an emergency.
“As much as I love to pester Bakugou, I think you should talk it out.”
“ I know,” Ochako complained with a mouth full of red bean ice cream. “But I hate, hate, hate that I have to initiate!”
“The man is emotionally constipated. If you shoved a piece of coal up his ass, he’d poop out a diamond.”
Ochako gagged. “I’m sorry, but since when did you talk like that?”
“The moment you forgot that Bakugou will never talk first.”
“I hate when you’re right.” Ochako huffed, putting her ice cream back in the freezer.
“I don’t.” Shoto responded with a smirk heard over the phone.
“You’re lucky I love you.”
“I am. Also, don’t forget to brush your teeth again.”
“Good night, Dad.” Ochako rolled her eyes before doing exactly what he told her. She fell fast asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
Monday Morning - Best Jeanist’s Office
0800
Katsuki kicked the door shut behind him as he stomped towards his boss’s desk. “What do you mean you don’t want me here for overtime on Saturday?!”
“It means that I have denied your request for overtime, Dynamight.” Best Jeanist ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “It has been six months since you’ve completed community service—”
“I SAVE LIVES.” Katsuki yanked a chair out and sat down with a huff. “That’s more than enough community service!”
“You need to connect with the community you serve. Get to know them.”
“Connect? With the community?” Katsuki replied sardonically. “ My job is to connect fists with the faces of villains who wanna do dumb, illegal shit.”
“I am well aware of what your job entails.” Jeanist pulled an emery board out of his front pocket and began to file his nails. “However, the Hero Council has mandated that each full-time hero must complete at least 50 hours of community service per year. And you”—Jeanist pointed at the young hero with the emery board—“have only two hours left. You will complete the remaining two hours of your time this Saturday at the Community Recreation Center. You and Uravity will be collecting toy donations for the less fortunate.”
Tuesday - Musutafu Mental Health Clinic
Dr. Aino’s Office
0600
Dr. Aino greeted Katsuki with a cup of hot coffee as they sat down for their weekly session. “Good morning.”
The men had begun working together while Katsuki recovered from his near-death experience during the war. Back then, Dr. Aino quickly learned that caffeine, in combination with scheduling their sessions after Katsuki’s morning work-outs, led to fruitful sessions. The hero needed the time to organize his thoughts before talking about them. Something about repetitive body movements and cardio made everything easier.
“Morning, Doc”—Katsuki sipped his coffee, then smirked—“I see that you haven’t gotten rid of that shitty cardigan of yours.”
“Ah”—Dr. Aino smiled, taking the jab in stride—“I see you haven’t thought of better insults.”
The rapport they built, although unconventional, proved to be successful. Katsuki trusted Dr. Aino and the doctor respected Katsuki.
“How has work been going?” Dr. Aino asked.
Katsuki set his cup on the table, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and reclined the seat. The position was effective at getting him in the zone.
“I fucked up,” he grumbled.
“How so?”
“Don’t you watch the news?”
“I do.”
“So you heard about the incident? With Uravity?”
“Yes. She was successful in helping evacuate a rather large apartment building without any casualties.”
Katsuki shifted uncomfortably and stared at the ceiling. “The only reason the building fell in the first place is because I fucked up.”
“Did you do it on purpose?”
“Of course not.”
“Was it out of your control?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Oh?”
Katsuki clenched his teeth. Despite it being a good idea at the time, the decision he made left Ochako in the midst of a clusterfuck.
“I was going after a villain with some sort of shield quirk. They can deflect any long-range attacks from hitting them. The bastard was running away and I was the first on the scene.”
Dr. Aino took notes while Katsuki spoke.
“Uravity is really fucking reliable.”
“And?”
“And sure she’s got the whole girl-next-door rescue hero vibe, but she can and will knock a villain out if she needs to.”
“Of course.”
“That being said”—Katsuki took a deep breath—“I noticed, based on their trajectory, that the son of a bitch was headed towards an elementary school. We had no idea if he had any explosives or other weapons on him. I knew that I wasn’t going to make it on time. Physics is an unforgivable bitch. ”
“So I've heard.”
“I aimed a blast at an angle that would force the villain to change directions. Wanted to get him away from the kids, and I knew Cheeks was there. If he managed to land near her, she’d be able to handle it.”
“Did you have time to tell her about your plan?”
Katsuki covered his face with his hands as he muttered, “Damn it.”
“Should I take that as a ‘no’?”
“The fuck else would it mean?”
Dr. Aino rolled his eyes, used to Katsuki’s tendency to lash out during moments of weakness. “Did you talk to her after the fact to explain yourself?”
“Nope. Got bombarded by reporters and by the time I made it back to headquarters, she was at her desk working on paperwork and ignored me.”
Saturday - Ochako’s Apartment Building
1300
Every holiday season, agencies across Japan organize community outreach events. Some held yearly food drives for the homeless while others hosted free festivals for the public. This year, Gunheads’s agency partnered with Best Jeanist’s to facilitate a toy drive at the Musutafu Recreation Center. The goal was to gather as many donations as possible to hand out to orphanages and children’s hospitals around the city.
Ochako refused to let Katsuki Bakugou ruin her enthusiasm for the event. So what if she had to partner with him? Interacting with him wasn’t required. All she had to do was greet the citizens who came by with donations, sign a few autographs, take pictures with Uravity fans, and help carry heavy boxes when necessary. Bakugou would stay on his side and she would stay on hers. Perfect!
Fate seemed to have other plans. Ochako’s mood shifted from ecstatic to frazzled on her way to the toy drive. She didn’t normally use the elevator in her apartment building, but contractors were there to paint the stairwells, leaving them off limits for the weekend. The moment the elevator doors shut behind Ochako, the machine began to malfunction. Being the hero that she is, Ochako spent half an hour carrying civilians out to safety through the elevator shaft. After unloading the final resident from her arms, she caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror in the lobby. Debris and dust were stuck in her hair, her hands were dirty, and there was snot on her shoulder from the crying baby she held earlier. It suddenly dawned on Ochako that all of this could have been avoided if she had floated down from her balcony. Agitated at the situation, she floated up to her apartment to shower and change clothes.
Musutafu Community Center
1330
Katsuki Bakugou became a better man after the war. The intensive physical therapy after his brush with death delayed his hero debut and with it, plenty of free time. With not much to do in between appointments, he found himself alone with his thoughts. The introspection led to his decision to go to therapy. There was a lot to unpack. Sure, he made strides in how he treated others and finally forgave himself for what he put Izuku through, but he didn’t know how to maintain positive relationships with others. His friends wormed their ways into his life and refused to leave him alone. Although he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he was glad they stayed in his business. As Eijirou once said, “You’re stuck with us for life, man.”
Small talk bothered Katsuki. It’s why he had trouble initiating new friendships or, in the case with Ochako Uraraka, a conversation that didn’t involve him accidentally saying something insulting. The man had no trouble taunting someone for the sake of competition but talking to a girl he had been crushing on since high school wasn’t as easy as shouting, “Suck it, extras!” at Denki or Sero while beating their asses in Wii Sports.
Ochako wasn’t making it any easier to talk to her when:
1) She chose to ignore him on Monday when he tried to apologize.
2) She was thirty minutes late to the toy drive her agency organized.
Katsuki had to admit that if he were in her position, he would ignore the person responsible for giving him extra work. She got a pass for that. However, he outright refused to give her one for being tardy. Ochako Uraraka is a pro-hero and pro-heroes need to have their shit together—period.
“Sorry I'm late!”
Ochako didn’t spare a glance at Katsuki as she rushed to apologize to the volunteers. Not one to be ignored twice in one week, he shouted after her.
“Where have you been?! You were supposed to be here half an hour ago, Cheeks!”
“Excuse me for just a moment, everyone. It looks like my partner”—Ochako shot a glare hot enough to rival an AP shot—“needs some assistance.”
“No worries, Ms. Uravity! We’ll be right here!”
Ochako strode over towards Katsuki with a smile on her face, but he knew better. She wasn’t happy with him. Never one to step back from a challenge, he returned a grin and immediately regretted it. After inconspicuously activating her quirk on him, Ochako dragged Katsuki to an office and shut the door behind them. Before he had a chance to speak, Ochako lifted Katsuki high enough off the ground to give him a harsh landing upon releasing him. He landed on his ass. Hard.
Quickly, he stood to face the much smaller hero, “The hell is your problem?!”
“My problem? Why don’t you look in the mirror, Dynamight?” Ochako sneered.
“Real mature of you, Cheeks.”
“Says the man who thought it was appropriate to call me out with a nickname in a professional setting!”
“You were late!”
“You didn’t even give me a chance to explain myself!”
“Oh, like you gave me a chance to explain myself and apologize on Monday?”
Ochako went silent, eyes wide in shock.
“You ignored me, Cheeks!” Katsuki raised his hands in frustration. He promised his therapist that he’d try talking to Ochako about the incident soon but not like this.
“The audacity!” Ochako rolled her eyes. “Do you even listen to the intel that comes through the radios or do you just LOVE to make a grand entrance to save the day all the time?”
“Grand entrance?” Katsuki raised an eyebrow. “I was trying to—”
“You knew that that villain could deflect long range attacks and you still used your quirk on him instead of getting close enough to bring him down! You just had to do something flashy for the cameras with no regards to—”
“FOR FUCK’S SAKE, WILL YOU SHUT UP AND LET ME TALK?” Katsuki shouted, fed up with the accusation. “THEY WERE HEADED TOWARDS AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND I WASN’T GOING TO GET TO HIM IN TIME.”
He took a deep breath, steeling himself to be vulnerable with someone other than his therapist, Kirishima, or Izuku for once.
“I had to find a way to slow him down. My only option was to distract him with a blast. I saw you on the field and figured that you’d be able to handle anything he would throw your way.”
Ochako crossed her arms. “And?”
“And what?”
“You didn’t think to say anything?”
“I didn’t have time!”
“Well, you could have said something—”
“When? Afterwards?”
Ochako realized that she, too, had fucked up. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.”
Suddenly it dawned on Ochako what Katsuki was trying to say in his own way. “You think I'm reliable?”
“Cheeks. I know you are. You’re one of the best damn rescue heroes. Anyone who doesn’t think the same is a moron.”
Ochako genuinely smiled. “Thanks for believing in me!”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Oh, I—”
“ Especially not to Soy Sauce or Dunce Face. I have a reputation to uphold, after all.”
He reached for the doorknob to hold the door open for Ochako, “Sorry I was an asshole earlier.”
She walked ahead, “And I'm sorry that I ignored you on Monday. I didn’t give you much of a chance, huh?”
“Tch. I walked all the way to your agency before going home and everything.”
Ochako giggled. “Aw. Sweet little Kacchan went through all that trouble for little old me?”
“That’s it. I’m never apologizing to you again.”
The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Volunteers rotated shifts while Ochako and Katsuki stayed for the entire event. Ochako took it upon herself to assign tasks to volunteers, welcome guests dropping off donations, and used her quirk to move large piles of items into the trucks headed for the shelters. Katsuki was in charge of ensuring shift changes went smoothly, organizing gifts into age groups, and wrapping any gifts that hadn’t been wrapped already.
Their teamwork was so smooth that a group of high school volunteers took notice.
“Did you see how they talked without words?.”
"It's giving chemistry.”
“Bruh. I bet they made out after that argument they had earlier.”
“I’m screaming.”
By the time it was all over, Ochako and Katsuki were worn out and their stomachs were screaming at them to get dinner.
“Hey Cheeks, you wanna grab dinner? My treat.”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to apologize again?”
“I’m not. It’s a continuation of my mandatory community service.”
“The heck is that supposed to mean?”
Katsuki grinned. “I am sparing everyone from having to deal with a hangry pink-cheeked demon.”
“I’m not that bad!” Ochako swatted his arm. Katsuki barked out a laugh.
“She says while smacking the person who offered her free food.”
After walking a few blocks, they stepped inside a Kura Sushi. Ochako couldn’t decide on what to eat, so Katsuki suggested the conveyor belt sushi restaurant. “You can grab a little bit of everything.”
It ended up being one of the best nights Ochako had in a while. The food was great, and Katsuki was comical when he wasn't threatening their friends every five seconds. She managed to make him ugly laugh with her post-electrocution Denki impersonation, and she liked the sound. When she asked for training advice, he listened and gave her constructive feedback. The moment she expressed her doubts in her hand-to-hand capabilities, he got in his metaphorical soapbox and listed all the reasons why she needed to be more confident.
“I still don’t understand why you lack confidence. Last week I watched you grapple a villain twice your size and manhandle his ass into a pair of quirk-suppressing cuffs while using your quirk to keep his dumbass friends in the air so they wouldn’t escape.”
“Oh? You were watching?”
“Tch. Of course. Gotta keep an eye on my rivals.”
“Rival?”
“Yeah. We’re both fighting for spots in the top ten, yeah?”
“Not really…”
“Well, you’re gonna get there.”
Ochako’s heart skipped a beat. The man considered her—sweet little Uravity—as a future top ten hero? Maybe she should take more time to get to know the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight? Making him smile more would be nice. He looks gorgeous when he isn’t acting like a gremlin.
Throughout the night, Katsuki noticed some things about Ochako he hadn’t before. For one, she had the tiniest fucking hands. The irony of such a dainty pair of hands giving out so many asswhoopings made him chuckle on the inside. Who knew someone so short and cute could be so badass at the same time? His therapist was going to have a field day with this. He was allowing himself to feel things. The tiny crush he locked away years ago was coming back to the surface.
When the bill came, Ochako tried to pay for herself, but Katsuki wasn’t having it. “Hell no, Cheeks. I’m buying.”
“But—”
"I will find a way to bottle up Shitty Hair’s protein farts and throw them into your locker at work if you don’t shut the hell up and let me pay.”
Ochako’s mouth clicked shut. There was nothing left for discussion. The redhead was noxious during their time at U.A. and she didn’t miss his so-called ‘manly fumes’.
“That’s what I thought.” Katsuki placed his card on the tray and handed it to the waiter.
Ochako didn’t want the night to end. “How about I pay for drinks?”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow. “Drinks?”
“Yeah, unless you have plans or anything else to do tonight. I figured we could hit up a bar and celebrate some more!”
After pondering for a moment that seemed like an eternity to Ochako, Katsuki agreed to go under the condition that he would choose where they went
The bar was decked out in Christmas decor. There was an opulent wreath on the front door, and small christmas trees were located at each corner. The smell of fresh pine wafted throughout the room. Twinkling Christmas lights and soft jazz music set the perfect vibe for winding down—just the way Ochako liked it.
The duo sipped beer, swapped work stories, and talked about life for hours.
Ochako checked her watch. “Wow! It’s already nine o’clock! I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun, doesn’t it?”
“Glad you don’t think I have a stick up my ass.” Katsuki sipped his beer, amused that he had caught her off guard. “Oh, c’mon. Don’t act so surprised. I know what Icy-Hot says about me.”
After Ochako closed their tab, they walked out side by side, hands lightly brushing each other. It was obvious neither wanted the evening to end. Katsuki was panicking on the inside. Should I ask if she wants to hang out again? No…she’s just being nice.
The cold evening air violently welcomed them as soon as Katsuki opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. Ochako couldn’t help but shiver, silently cursing herself for forgetting to grab a thicker jacket. Katsuki noticed her suffering and took off his scarf.
“Take this.”
“There’s no need to—”
“I can hear your teeth chattering. If you keep that shit up, you’ll crack every last one of them.” He gently wrapped the scarf around her. “There ya go.”
“Thank you. Um, Bakugou?”
“Yeah?”
“Um, look up.”
“Why?”
Ochako pointed above them to a mistletoe hanging from the entrance of the bar before gently tugging him down to kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks for dinner and the pep talk.”
Katsuki was stunned into silence for the first time in a while.
“Oh my gosh, did I misread things? I’m so—”
Katsuki gently tipped her chin up to plant the softest of kisses on her lips. “You didn’t. Can I drive you home?”
“Sure!”
“Good.” Katsuki smiled from ear to ear. “Wouldn’t want you to freeze.”
As they walked hand-in-hand towards the public parking by the community center, the group of teenage volunteers were watching from behind a bush.
“Oh my gosh! Who knew that Dynamight had it in him?”
“I know, right? I bet you don’t think I'm crazy for putting up the mistletoe now, huh?”
“I called you crazy when you said we should follow them. Didn’t need the mistletoe part to come to that conclusion.”
“Guys. I’ll be honest: I didn’t think those two had any chemistry before.”
“EXCUSE ME?”
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?”