Chapter Text
It started off innocent.
Feathery touches and light-hearted kisses on cheeks. Easy to misinterpret as just a close, friendly bond.
But over time the wisp that held them together became more and more taut, unyielding to let go. It looped around their fingers and drew them together so tightly sometimes that it was hard not to have their hands wrapped around the other's indefinitely. Sometimes, it twisted around their necks and suffocated them while they were dragged into each other, foreheads touching as they met in the middle.
It was a constant tug-of-war. Their hands burning from friction just trying to pull the wisp to their side. But then the other would yank hard and have a moment of power where they sucked the other in. The pull would hurt. It would jostle them and leave them disoriented. It was only after the destructive fall that they could reform again. Gather themselves up and pursue forward. Even if the conquest of tugging was lost—the other would always pursue forward.
It didn't matter how shaken they were or how bruised they had become.
That's just how Izuku and Ochako were.
They would always come back together. Whether they meant to or not. The wisp that held them together was a power that neither of them could match with their quirks. It was otherworldly and nearly indestructible.
Sometimes, a tear would occur. But it always sewed itself back together again, brand new.
So, after a while, it stopped being so innocent.
They knew after everything they'd been through that it was pointless to try and separate in any way.
Not like they wanted to.
They knew that as time went on, the way they felt for the other wasn't so friendly anymore. Ochako knew that for herself, of course. But watching the slow realization come to Izuku's face as she told him she was in love with him made it all the more real. They were lying next to each other, staring up at the stars. Grass from the hill at Troy they always went to when they needed to talk tickled her arms. She held her breath close in her chest. Izuku's eyes drew wide, and his face flushed.
Ochako turned her head back to the night sky. She whispered that nothing needed to happen if Izuku didn't want it to.
If he didn't feel the same.
Her eyes met his again as she started to tell him that she just wanted him to know. To finally let this weight off her shoulders. She knew that he probably didn't see her in the same light. She knew he adored her, but to the extent she was unsure. But she couldn't risk losing him over it. So if he didn't feel the same as her... she would accept that. No matter how hard it would be for her heart to do so.
Izuku stayed silent. Ochako had to turn her gaze away again. She could feel the familiar swell in her eyes as they clouded over.
She really hated crying.
But she knew holding back would only cause more harm.
She promised herself that she would never hold back again.
Especially when it came to Izuku.
Rough fingers wiped a tear just as it breached the surface of her lower eyeline. "Ochako," Izuku said her name. Her given name. For the first time. It danced on his tongue in such a harmonious way that made it feel so right. Ochako didn't know she could get addicted so easily to such a sentiment.
Izuku turned her head to face him, and she noticed how much closer he was to her now. A mere two inches separated their faces.
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Brows furrowed as he struggled to identify his thoughts and form them into words. The eyes of a lush forest locked with the eyes of a timid doe. The wisp tangled into their legs and swam up their bodies. It tugged hard on Izuku, enticing him to move. And when Izuku did, the way he said her name wasn't the only thing she became newly addicted to that night.
His chapped, nervously-bitten lips fluttered onto hers. Delicate and gentle, like a butterfly feeding on a flower. He consumed her and left her utterly shocked. She never would've guessed he'd do this.
Now, the wisp was tugging on her. It wrapped into her auburn hair before twisting around her throat. The tightness turned into pain. It tugged harder and harder until eventually Ochako couldn't resist any longer. She matched his movements, and the dam in her heart breached. A waterfall of emotions all came rushing out, swooping Izuku into the river of her mess.
There would be moments of hesitation. A pause in movement as their lips stilled. But it was only for a split second. That split second to catch the smallest breath. That split second to open their eyes and look into the other's. To confirm all of their biggest hopes and disregard all of their biggest fears.
Izuku pulled her closer, and Ochako reinforced the closeness by slipping her arms around his neck. She'd feel his hand eventually slide down to her waist, and it felt so perfect. They were two jagged puzzle pieces, unsure if they could ever fit with anyone. But somehow, because of their jaggedness, they managed to fit so perfectly with each other.
And after that, it just continued to blossom from there.
Their friends loved to tease them the further their relationship developed. Like when Ochako would confidently stroll up to Izuku and give him a chaste peck on the lips. Or when Izuku would slide his arm around her waist or shoulder. A low whistle from Denki or a wink from Mina often followed in a suit. At first, the couple would blush, and it would egg their classmates on more. But eventually, they became used to it. And soon, their friends let it rest.
Ochako originally thought she knew Izuku pretty well, but the closer they became, the more she found out about him. Even if it was the tiniest detail.
She learned Izuku liked to play a bit of a game on how to surprise her. He loved to give her things—whether it was food or clothes—or really anything she showed even the littlest of interest in. At first, it was overwhelming to Ochako. She wasn't sure she could ever get used to something like that, having grown up the way she did. But that was also part of the reason Izuku did it. He wanted to appreciate her while also giving her the stuff she deserved. It became a big love language of his, and she slowly felt more and more comfortable with it.
Ochako's love language was definitely physical touch. She loved to trace his scars, and kiss his face, and hug him. That was something Izuku wasn't used to. But then once Ochako started to do it, something in him just clicked. He admitted to her that he'd always wanted to be more of an affectionate person. He just never really had someone he was comfortable enough with to be that way around. She was happy he was able to do that now with her.
And as she learned more things about him, she also learned so much more about herself thanks to him. Izuku could read her so easily now—it was almost scary. He could sense when she was upset before she even realized she was. He could predict it with great intuition. And he always knew the right ways to make her feel better.
Giving her light kisses on her jaw, or holding her tight against him with his arms wrapped around her. Sometimes, she'd get so sad that she wouldn't leave her room. But Izuku simply grabbed his large comforter, turned on one of her favorite movies, and wrapped them up as he spooned her.
Other times, she'd be pissed and mad beyond what she could comprehend. Izuku often had two ways of soothing her—by training with her and letting her beat the shit out of him or by taking her for a walk. The walk would usually lead them to Takoba Municipal Beach, the beach that he cleaned up before he even made it into UA.
She asked him once how he could decide which option was better. He said that it depended on the Ocha-meter.
Her brows had furrowed in confusion.
"The what?"
"The Ocha-meter. Depending on how high it is depends on where to take you to cool off. I know if you're really upset, the best way to calm you down is to just let you exercise it out. But if it's a little lower, then you're usually good with just a simple, relaxing outing."
She stared at him with wide saucers, and he chuckled.
He really did know her so well. So well that he had a freaking Ocha-meter in his head. She almost suspected he had his own journal dedicated to notes just on her. Ochako even jokingly asked him one time if he did. He responded back by saying he had her so figured out now that he didn't even need notes anymore. Her jaw dropped at that, and it took Izuku a whole fifteen minutes to convince her that he was joking back and that what he said wasn't actually true.
But Ochako had him pretty well figured out too. Maybe not to the extent that she had a meter to register how the other was feeling, but still. There would be days where she knew Izuku was feeling left out. One For All's embers were slowly dying and Ochako knew it was frustrating for him. He had worked so hard to get ahead, but now it seemed like he was drifting behind again.
Once, when they were training, he was so upset that he lashed out at her. They had been sparring, and Ochako was trying to get Izuku more into the fight. She noticed he seemed lost in that head of his and wanted to encourage him to go harder on her. At some point, it became pestering. She hadn't meant for it to be, but it seemed the only way to capture his attention was to keep jabbing. That's when Izuku got fed up and yelled at her.
"I CAN'T OCHAKO!"
She startled from the out burst and stepped back.
He had never even so much as slightly raised his tone before. Not at her. It scared her a bit. But she would never admit that to him.
Ochako watched the shift in his face as he realized what he did. He looked so angry and irritated. It was like seeing a volcano explode. But then Izuku finally looked into her eyes and saw his mistake. From anger, to shock, to guilt. He stepped towards her and reached out, saying he was sorry. He was so sorry. It hurt to hear him say it.
Grabbing Izuku's hand, Ochako told him that it was fine. She apologized as well for not being able to see his frustration earlier. Tears formed in Izuku's bright eyes, and he ducked his head down.
"That doesn't— I still shouldn't have yelled at you like that... I-I'm sorry, 'Chako. Please, I'm so sorry," She saw his knees wobbled as tears dripped down his face and fell onto the ground. Ochako brought him into a hug and they slowly sunk to the floor. His hands held his face while he cried into her arms.
It took a while for her to soothe him, but Ochako was persistent. She peeled his hands away from his face and kissed his forehead. She moved onto his nose, then his cheeks, then his temples. Her hand held his, and she brought it up to kiss the scars that marked his battles.
She asked him if he wanted to talk about it. His response was yes, but he wanted to go back to the dorms first. Ochako understood, and together, they walked back. They reached his room and went to snuggle up in his bed.
He eventually opened up to her about what was wrong. He said he was worried he wouldn't be able to be the hero that he wanted to be. Izuku accepted that One For All was gone, but it still hurt to think about. He was worried he wouldn't know how to be a hero without it.
"You've always been a hero," She told him. "Your quirk didn’t make you special, remember? You've always had that within you." They reminisced about her speech. The declaration of a young woman that changed Izuku's life. He nodded, but tears formed again. He knew she was right. It would just take time.
They had time.
The wisp was a strong tether. It held on tight even when it shouldn't have. But sometimes, it became fragile, easier to tear.
But it always sewed itself back together again, brand new.
The wisp wasn't always as quick to regenerate itself. A bigger tear in the wisp would take a longer time for it to heal.
But this time, the wisp got cut.
Izuku can't say he's proud of himself. Not for what happened.
Everyone had moved ahead so much.
She had moved ahead so much.
He was happy for Ochako. It was a few weeks before graduation that she had told him her plan. She wanted to organize a better quirk counseling foundation. In honor of Himiko Toga. To help children. To save people.
"What do you think?" They were at Troy, sitting at their spot on the hill. There was a coldness that cascaded through the air, producing goosebumps along Izuku's forearms. He was looking down at their clasped hands. He was rubbing circles into one of her finger pads with his thumb.
Izuku looks up at her and responds. "I.." He was stuck on trying to figure out what he wanted to say for a moment. "I think that's great!" He put on a smile for her, hoping she didn't read into his facade.
He really did think it was great. It was an amazing idea that he wished for the absolute best outcome. But there was a bitterness lurking under his skin. An itchy, grotesque feeling that crawled up his spine and bit into his neck.
The wisp was tightening.
Ochako locked eyes with him and titled her head slightly, like a confused animal.
She knew something was off.
Izuku turned his head down to look at their hands again, avoiding her gaze, and cleared his throat.
"How do you think you're gonna get that going?"
He knew that she knew something was going on in his mind. But he couldn't say it right now. Not like this. It was selfish. He prayed she took to his redirect of the conversation.
The wisp started to wrap around his torso, constricting his lungs.
"I um— I've already gotten into contact with some of my sponsors about it," Ochako starts. Izuku nodded in understanding.
He felt her finger twitch.
"And they were telling me," She paused to breathe in. "That the best course of action would be to— uh, to travel across the country."
Izuku stopped rubbing her finger pad. His eyes drifted up to meet her eyes.
She's so much further ahead.
"What?"
Her finger twitches again.
She's going to leave.
"W-well, I mean, it would obviously take some time, and lots of resources and support from others! But.. I'm hoping at least one day I can get it to where I want it to be..."
She's leaving him.
He couldn't hear her anymore. Just the aching sound of his heart rate getting faster, which only grew louder in his ears as time went on.
But there was also something else.
The faint sound of fibers giving way under tension. At first, it was slow and creaky. But then it was abrupt and quick. A crack that ricocheted throughout his mind. Throughout time. Throughout them.
The wisp snapped.