Heartsick || An Izuku and Ochako story

Early Apples

The night sky was studded with stars and fading into a rosy pink as the sun peeked up from the horizon. Ochako raised her hands again, the fingers encased with a faint pink glow as hundreds of rocks lifted themselves and floated in the air.

She whispered the words 'release' under her breath and all the rocks crashed to the ground, breaking into smithereens and shattering across the field. Ochako took another breath, her chest bumping up and down, as she perfected her new move: Gravity Wave.

Folding her hands to her chest, her eyes lit up with determination and she spread her hands out, sending a thin, pink wave of energy spreading throughout the courtyard. All the rocks and small pebbles began to float again, spiraling towards each other and creating unintentional shapes.

Ochako was panting as she folded her arms to her sides. She had done it. She had found a way to use her power without having to touch the person. As long as she had touched the object before, she could send out her Gravity Wave.

¨Uraraka-san.¨

Ochako spun around to see a sheepish-looking Izuku Midoryia, wearing a running jacket, shorts, and his trademark red shoes.

Ochako jumped at his voice. ¨O-oh! Sorry, Deku-Kun. I was just practicing.¨ She gestured to the floating rocks.

¨N-no, there's nothing wrong with that!¨ The boy flailed his hands around. ¨I was just coming outside to go on a run.¨

Ochako smiled. ¨Guess we both woke up early to train.¨

Deku beamed back at her, and she could feel the pitter-patter of the drops of her melting heart against her rib cage.

¨Would you like to join me?¨ He asked.

Ochako grinned and nodded eagerly. ¨Sure, Deku-Kun!¨ The brunette laced up her shoes as tight as she could, trying to avoid getting any more hurt than she needed to get. She was in the hero course, after all.

The two set off on a trail near U.A, dotted with blooming cherry blossom trees. The long, lanky branches intertwined and formed a canopy underneath the Izuku and Ochako. Their rosy pink blossoms fluttered in the wind's loose grasp like butterfly wings, wings that would wilt with crisp, red apples growing in their place. The thought brought her back to another time, where she had been in this spot, reaching her slender fingers up to touch one of the smooth, red globes...

She had been standing on the tips of her toes, cursing her unfortunate height. If she could just touch the apple, she could activate her quirk...

Another hand, rough and scarred, reached out from behind her and plucked the apple from its brittle branches. She turned around and saw Izuku, holding out the apple to her.

Blushing, she took it from him ¨T-thanks, Deku! You didn't need to do that!¨ She stuttered. 

He just smiled and plucked another apple from the branches, making it seem so simple in the process. ¨Sorry, Uraraka. You just looked like you were having trouble, so I decided to help.¨

She held the large fruit in her gloved fingers, gazing at her hazy reflection. Deku was always helping people, in big or small ways.

She looked up to see Izuku taking the apple and rubbing it against his shirt before taking a bite of it.

Ochako walked over to a grassy hill, half-hidden behind the cherry trees. Deku, who followed in suit, sat down next to her and began eating the rest of his apple.

Even in the city, the stars still glittered beautifully in some places. Each one tinted and scattered across the night sky. Ochako tried hard to identify some of her favorite night constellations, but fluffy white clouds drifted in front of her view.

In no time at all, her apple was practically gone. The fruit itself hadn't satisfied her hunger, and her stomach grumbled in complaint. It had been waiting patiently during her training that morning. Deku turned his head at her stomach's pleas and grinned. He got up and before Ochako could say anything, returned with yet another apple.

He reached out to her, presenting the apple in his palm like a present. Ochako smiled and took the apple, but not before she felt his hand. Even though it was just for a second, maybe even less, Ochako couldn't help but love the feeling their sudden close contact- how her hand dipped into the valleys of the scars on his hand; how the stitches felt underneath her soft fingers.

"Yeah, I know I should probably use more lotion."

Ochako snapped out of her daydream at the sound of Izuku's voice. ¨What do you mean?¨

He blushed.¨Well, y-you were holding my hand and I thought you might have realized just how wounded it was."

Ochako squeezed his hand, dropping the apple into the soft grass below.¨No. Don't say sorry. These hands-¨ she raised their hands so he could see ¨-are amazing, Deku-Kun. Don't let anybody tell you something else. They show that you've risked yourself, that you put your hand under the blade for someone else. That you took that explosion, for someone else. The scars, they show you've been through so much and are still in one piece...¨ Ochako looked at her own smooth, soft hands. ¨Sometimes, it makes me feel like I'm not risking enough to truly do what it takes to become a hero.¨

Deku stared, his eyes wide as saucers. For a moment, Ochako wondered if she'd said too much.

¨Deku-Kun?" she whispered.

He silenced her. ¨Ochako.¨

Now it was her turn to widen her eyes. He had never called her by her first name before, even when she had allowed him to.

"You shouldn't put yourself down like that. You're even more amazing than me. You saved me from falling before the entrance exam. You saved me from falling to my death during the exam, Uraraka-san. "

Ochako didn't know what to say. Or if she should say anything at all. All she could do was stare at the white, wet center of the core of her apple, the black seeds slipping out slowly

Deku seemed to realize just how much he had poured out and his face turned red. ¨I-I'm sorry, Uraraka-san! I shouldn't have-¨

Ochako began laughing, at Deku's density, at her stupidity, at the whole awkward morning they'd had.

She glanced around for the apple she'd dropped, finding it in the grass nearby. ¨Deku-kun, you don't have to say sorry. It's just...nobody has ever said those types of things before. To me, at least. And when they did, it was never like that. The way you said it was...¨ Ochako sighed with content. ¨The best advice I could ever have gotten.¨

Deku stared at his lap, his face turning redder and redder, although his expression was actually quite calm. ¨I...I just wanted you to know that you're important. That you're strong, and that you deserve to be in this hero course just as much as everyone else.¨

She looked up at him and he flashed a warm smile at her. Lips parting, she smiled took another bite of her apple, the flavor simply crisp, cold, and refreshing.

Yes, Deku always knew how to make her feel better. And that was one of the reasons she liked him so much.