Ochako woke, panic setting in, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling before memory came to her rescue: tequila

“Morning,” she turned, finding Hanta walking in the living room, where she had apparently spent the night, carrying two cheeseburgers and what she assumed was a bloody mary.

“Ugh,” she moaned, eying the drink.

“It’ll help,” he smiled.

“When did I pass out?”

“During Uno. You would have won by the way.”

“Damn,” she laughed, forcing herself to sit up. “Have you seen my phone?”

“On the charger,” he pointed to an end table beside her as he sat, sliding her burger over to her. “You really ought to get a new one.”

“Yeah, the battery is pretty sucky,” Ochako said, reaching for the device, remembering how it had died at lunch.

[𝐌𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢]: 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐧?

[𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢]: 𝐈’𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

[𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢]: 𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨.

[𝐃𝐞𝐤𝐮]: 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝟏𝟏𝟎𝟎.

Ochako glanced at the clock at the top of her screen, seeing that it was nine-thirty. “Shit.”

“Sup?”

“I need to get home, shower. Change into… well, not this.”
Hanta made a face. “Midoriya?”

“Yeah,” she exhaled. “Burger looks good though,” she gave him a pity smile.

“How about next time we 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 with the burger so you’re not drinking on an empty stomach?” he suggested, setting his down.

“Sounds like a plan.” Ochako stood, head rush hitting her. “Do you have a bottle of water or something?”

“Sure,” he smiled, popping back into his kitchen. “Dasani or Perrier?”

“Fancy,” she giggled.

“It was my old roommates,” he justified the selection, bringing her one of each, Ochako opting for the non-carbonated one.

“Aww, did Kisho move out?”

“Yeah. He’s getting married.”

“There is a lot of that going around lately,” Ochako unscrewed the bottle. “Are you on the hunt for a new one?”

“Kind of have to. Can’t afford this place alone.”

“You know, Mitsuki has an apartment in my contract. I’m sure you could talk to her and negotiate it into yours since I’m not using it?”

Hanta blinked. “That’s actually a really good idea. Thanks.”

Ochako found herself blushing, staring down at her feet. “Sorry for passing out like that.”

“That’s what happens when you only eat chips with that many shots of tequila.”

“Yeah,” she toed the floor. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

“Of course. That’s what friends do.”

Ochako looked up, meeting onyx eyes. “Hey, uhm, did Katsuki show up here last night? He sent me a text…”

“Nope.”

“Oh. Well, I should get going.”

“Yeah.”

“So,” Ochako didn’t know what to do exactly so she opted to hug him. “Thanks.”

His arms wrapped around her. “No problem.”

Their hug lasted a moment or two longer before Ochako finally took a step back. “See you at work tomorrow?” she tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah. Coffee?”

“Please,” she smiled before retreating to his door. “Bye, Hanta.”

“Later,” he waved, shutting the door behind her.

Ochako stood outside his door dumbstruck, nausea and butterflies at war with one another as she collected her breath.

By the time she made it to the elevator, guilt hit her.

[𝐌𝐞]: 𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲.

She fired off the text to Katsuki, pushing the button for the lobby, never getting a response back.

----------------------

Katsuki was nowhere to be found when she got home, the empty apartment making her uneasy.

𝐼'𝑚 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢.

𝐹𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜𝑜.

Ochako wasn’t entirely sure that Katsuki hadn't come looking for her. But the more she thought about it the more that didn’t sit right with her either.

Sure, they had made plans but nothing was concrete.

She checked her texts again as she dug through her dresser.

[𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢]: 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫?

[𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢]: 𝐈’𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

[𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢]: 𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨.

He had 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 come looking for her. Why hadn’t he found her? He knew she had been with Hanta. He also knew her phone's battery lasted three hours at best.

[𝐌𝐞]: 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲?

Ochako changed into a flattering outfit, that stated she wasn’t wallowing and she had moved on.

𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢? Hanta’s words rose in the back of her mind.

She had gotten over the pain of rejection, thanks in part to her arrangement with Katsuki.

But love… Deku had been her first crush. Her first love. Her first everything. She knew you never got over your first but part of her couldn’t help but question her feelings on the possibility of Deku wanting her back.

Logically she knew the answer was no. She had told Hanta as much. But she also knew that 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 him would be a different matter altogether.

1021. Ochako brushed her teeth, throwing on a coat of mascara before running out the door.

------------------------------

1103 she made it to the restaurant, finding a familiar head of hair sitting at their old table overlooking downtown Tokyo. Every anniversary dinner was held at that exact table, Deku always ordering the prime rib while she ordered the fish. One of their many traditions.

“Hey, Ochako,” Deku stood, hugging her awkwardly. “Thanks for coming.”

“Well, you were pretty persistent,” she replied, taking a step back out of the hug.

“You’ve never not answered your phone,” he countered.

“I was busy.”

“So you said.” Deku exhaled slowly. “Sit, please.”

Ochako sat before he had a chance to pull out her chair, noting that he’d retained his manners since their breakup. “I was at a photoshoot,” she explained, seeing the skepticism on his face as he sat across from her. “For Mitsuki.”

“Right,” his face registered acknowledgement. “I’d heard something about that. With Hanta right?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s big. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

The waitress came by Deku taking it upon himself to order for the both of them, habits clearly dying hard.

“Actually,” Ochako interrupted him as he was ordering her usual. “I’m going to have the porterhouse,” she paused. “And a bloody mary,” she added, wishing she had downed the one Hanta had made her.

“Very good,” the waitress scribbled her order down before turning to leave.

“It’s not even noon,” Deku commented.

“I have the day off,” she shrugged.

“Guess things ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 changed,” he muttered.

“You saw to that, didn’t you?” She realized how bitter she sounded the seconds the words sprung from her mouth.

Deku inhaled deeply. “I’m not here to fight, Ochako.”

“Then why are we here?”

“Two things actually. One was to tell you that Melissa and I are getting engaged.”

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝, 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The waitress dropped off her drink, Ochako instantly taking a sip before her hangover nausea told her otherwise.

“Tabloids said you were already engaged,” she took a sip of mostly vodka.

“Tabloids say a lot of things.”

“That they do,” she took another sip.

“I just… I wanted you to be the first to know. After her parents of course. And my mom.”

“Of course.”

Deku paused, unsure what to say next.

“Did you want some kind of blessing or…” Ochako asked, hearing how bitter she sounded.

“I just wanted you to hear it from me before the news officially broke.”

“Thank you,” she set her drink down. “So what's your other reason?”

Deku leaned forward. “I need you to retract your statements from the article.”

“Article?”

“The one about you and Kacchan?”

“Wait… the interview with Aoki?”

“That one. I need you to take back everything you said about me leaving you for Mel.”

“Excuse you?” she blinked, feeling her pulse begin to pound.

“Have you read it?” he asked as the waitress came back by with their lunch.

“Have 𝑦𝑜𝑢?”

“My publicist managed to snag a copy before it went to her editor,” he said casually, picking up his fork to stab at his side salad. “It was illuminating to say the least.”

Ochako’s hand reflexively balled into a fist beneath the table. “Meaning?”

“Aoki has a theory that Kacchan has been in love with you since high school.” he said casually.

“What?!” she sat up, bumping the table as she did just enough to cause the water glasses to clank, earning looks from other diners.

“Honestly, surprised I didn’t see it myself. I mean, I knew you had a thing for him but after reading the whole thing it makes sense.”

“𝑀𝑒?” she snapped indignantly.

“Stop being so cryptic!” she slammed the table, causing him to pause mid chew. “What do you mean I had a thing for him?”

“It was pretty obvious, Ochako,” Deku took a sip from his water glass. “To everyone but you. I assured myself it was just a crush but--”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“Would you keep your voice down?” Deku asked, looking around at the sea of camera phones facing them.

“You ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠 me into coming to this damn lunch, and then accuse me of ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 for Katsuki?” Ochako shouted, the entire restaurant silent.

“Am I wrong? You two were inseparable in high school. Moved in together right after graduation--”

“Because you left!

“I bought that apartment so 𝑤𝑒 could be together but you stayed with him--”

“His arm was ripped off!”

“You never gave us a chance, Ochako,” Deku sighed. “I won’t say I wasn’t to blame either. I should have been there. Fought harder for us.”

“Yes, you should have! But you didn’t! I waited for you, 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝒚𝒐𝒖, while you were busy with Melissa! Thanks for ruining that friendship, by the way.”

“That’s not--”

“Tell me, how long 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 you two together before you decided to break my heart? Weeks? Months? 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠?”

“It wasn’t like that--”

“Then what was it like?! Cause you’re being real quick to pop a ring on her finger. Did ya knock her up?” Ochako snapped, gripping the edges of the table.

Deku blinked, his expression giving him away.

“Oh my god,” Ochako’s jaw dropped. “She’s pregnant. Why didn’t I see this coming? You want me to take back the article so what… the number one hero’s new baby doesn’t have some kind of 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑔𝑚𝑎 attached to it?”

“It’s only fair.”

“Fair?” she seethed. “How the fuck is that fair?”

“You realize you sound 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 like him right?” Deku’s eyes narrowed. Ochako could see the shift in his demeanor, one reserved for villains and criminals. “Not surprising after what Kenji said, though.”

Ochako swore she felt her heart stop at the mention of the bartender's name. “What?”

“How long did Kacchan wait to make his move? A month? A week? A day?” Deku threw her own petty words back at her.

“I get it. Truly, I do. Kacchan is all the rage if the numbers in the article are accurate.”

“You know what, fuck you,” Ochako pushed back from the table to leave, tears of frustration building.

“I was going to propose to you, you know?” His words were like a slap to the face. “Bought the ring and everything. Wonder if you ever would have truly been happy with me?”

Before Ochako could think she grabbed her drink, tossing it at his face in a red-stained mess before getting up to storm out.

--------------------------

Katsuki woke, head pounding, world spinning, on a couch that smelled like a frat party covered in body spray. Prying his eyes open he looked around, quickly realizing that he was in Eijirou’s apartment.

He looked up finding Mina standing above him, arms crossed as she tapped her foot. “We’ve gotta talk.”

-------------end ch 18/more