Caramel || Kacchako

11. Growing

Snow.

The white puffs of crystal flakes fell softly from the grayness of the sky above. Ochako was sitting at the front steps of the dorm building, watching the little puffs merge with the fallen snow on the ground. The grass, the trees, and the concrete were covered with the crystal shine of whiteness and the cold drifted from the soft covering onto Ochako's face. Her exposed hands turned red due to the chilled weather and her puffed up cheeks contained the pink color from the cold as well. Ochako was too absorbed in the beauty of the snowfall that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her. The owner of the footsteps appeared next to her, standing on the steps. She looked up in surprise to find a boy with red hair and a half-grin full of sunshine.

"Hey, Uraraka." Kirishima spoke in a kind manner as usual. His usual spiked up hair was down and he wore a coat, covering the muscles he has built over time. Ochako smiled up at him as she scooted over so he can sit parallel to her. Not too far and not too close. 

"Hi Kirishima. Here to enjoy the snow with me?" She looked out to the scenery once again, almost forgetting the boy's company. 

"Yeah. I figured I might as well get some peace and quiet for once." Ochako raised her eyebrow and gawked as she turned her head to him. It wasn't like Kirishima at all. For as long as she has known him, the boy was always doing something and working hard at that something. He would never "half-ass" things, according to Katsuki. But something did not seem right. There was some sort of bleakness in his eyes that Ochako couldn't comprehend. 

"That's surprising to hear. Is everything okay? You don't look too well." She asked with concern written all over her face. 

"I guess. I mean I haven't been sleeping very nicely," He looked down, feeling distress taking over his body, pushing him down to the ground. "I've been having nightmares. A lot, actually. About that day when we saved Katsuki from..." 

He trailed off and Ochako nodded her head in understanding. She didn't know exactly how Kirishima felt but she also had that urge to protect Katsuki as well and save him from his past and future troubles. 

"So yeah. That's basically it. It's just that I haven't been able to talk about this and it feels nice letting it out. A manly man isn't supposed to feel this way about childish nightmares." A chuckle filled with no humor escaped him and he sighed, feeling as if the world was pushing him down. Ochako put a hand on his shoulder with her pinky sticking up, attempting to float his feelings up from the ground. 

"You know, it's alright to feel this way. It's alright to not feel brave and confident all the time. You, especially, need some time to sort things out and find someone to talk to." Ochako smiled at him as he looked at her, eyes beaming with more confidence than before.

"So it's okay to feel..." 

"Human." She finished his statement. As the familiar word sparked interest in both of their eyes, Kirishima grinned even more and stood up from the cold steps. 

"Thanks, Uraraka. You're right," He smiled at her. "I feel like you're more manly than me sometimes." The two laughed at the statement, sending puffs of heat into the chilly air.

___

It wasn't long until another set of footsteps reached her. Kirishima already left so she knew it wasn't him. Ochako kept her eyes in front of her, trying to guess who is stalking up on her from behind. The footsteps stopped right behind her and she then felt the warmth of strong hands gently wrapping around the bottom of her chin, tilting her head up. A kiss on the forehead concluded her assumptions of the owner of the footsteps, and she leaned her head up into the kiss. Just as she was enjoying it, Ochako accidentally wrapped all of her fingers around the wrists of her kisser, and the weight of the kiss was soon lifted. 

Bakugou Katsuki was floating, upside-down. He hated being upside-down. 

"Cheeks," he struggled in the air, cursing, arms waving frantically. "Get me the hell down." Ochako was laughing hard at that point and was trying her best to grasp for air. When Katsuki heard no response except laughing, he unleashed his quirk and hurled himself towards the grass covered with snow. Ochako followed him, still laughing as he struggled. 

Katsuki was facing down, trying his best not to float up any higher, and reached out for Ochako's hand. Instead of taking his hand, she put her fingers together in front of her and smirked at the raging Katsuki. 

"Release."

Katsuki face-planted into the snow. His face. In the snow. Ochako wasn't sure if she were to be scared or entertained by the fact that his face met the snow. 

His face. The snow. 

Ochako knew at that point that she had to make a run for it. But first, she scooped an armful of snow up and threw it onto Katsuki's back, covering his body with snow. She heard him scream, and then she ran for it, laughing until her stomach hurt. It wasn't long until he caught up to her, crashing her into the soft covering. The two tumbled into the grass and through the trees separating the buildings of the campus. They rolled in the snow until Ochako ended up on top of him. She had him chained to the ground with her body, her legs wrapped around his hips and her arms holding down his biceps. 

A smug grin appeared on Ochako's face as she leaned down to kiss his cold forehead. He snorted under her and put one hand on her waist and one hand on her bottom, supporting her weight. Her soft lips moved down to his chapped lips and Katsuki deepened the kiss, biting her lower lip as she sighed into his mouth. The two sat up and Ochako's hands were already digging into his hair, pushing his head closer. The hands wrapping around her tightened and the body she was resting on stiffened.

Not wanting to get carried away, Ochako let her hands fall from his head and into the snow. On her right side, she lifted the bunch of snow from the ground and collided it with the top of Katsuki's head. She heard him snarl as she got up and ran away once again. She looked back to see him faced down in the snow again and blushed as a thought ran through her mind.

"Cheeks, meet me at my room later at five. We have some unfinished business."

He shouted. Not too loud and not too quiet. 

_________

*Note from August 17, 2020*
This is actually my favorite chapter so far not just because of my writing but due to the fact that Ochako is learning from her partner, Katsuki. She took Katsuki's advice and is now influencing her fellow classmates who yearn for bits of guidance. It's just a small bit of character development that I really like.