Chapter Text
Ochako woke up the next morning with Izuku’s arms around her; a sensation that was getting more familiar with every day. It took a minute or so for the rest of the world to bleed into her perception, as she slowly felt the morning sun and heard the bustle of the city waking up outside her window.
The streets were already so loud, and she knew that a whole world of stress and worry awaited her out there, but in Izuku's arms, she felt insulated from it all. Nothing could hurt her while she was snuggled against him. He was the most powerful man in Japan, if not the world, and he was laying next to her, holding her like she was his everything.
She gently slipped a hand out of its mitten and reached up to touch his hand, running her pad across his skin. In his sleep, his hand reflexively closed around her thumb, holding it gently, but firmly. As her fingers rested on the back of his hand, she felt new warmth spreading through her.
It was almost enough to make her cry.
Shortly after, Izuku began to stir. His grip around her finger loosened, then tightened as he realized what he was holding. He began to slowly prod her thumb pad with his finger as he leaned down and kissed her on the neck.
“Good morning,” he mumbled in a deep, husky morning voice.
Ochako was a little surprised how much she liked that, and was grateful he couldn’t see her face suddenly turn red. She quickly replied, “Mornin’, babe.”
“I didn’t dream all that, did I?” Izuku asked.
“Dream what?”
“Taking my mask off on national television.”
Ochako couldn't help but giggle. “No, that was real.”
He rolled over so he was on his back, and Ochako rolled with him, her leg hiked over his as her arm rested over his chest and her head lay on his shoulder. Izuku stared at the ceiling, and she could almost hear his thoughts.
“Too late for regrets,” she reminded him.
“I don’t regret doing it,” he began, “I’m just thinking about how today is going to go.”
“Just like every other day. Except with about ten times the media houndin’ us.” Ochako sighed a little. “I wonder how long it will take for them to put together that we’re dating.”
“I give it until noon at the latest,” he joked. Well, half-joked. Ochako laughed softly, then sighed.
“I’m going to be late if I keep cuddlin’ you,” she reminded him, rolling over to get up.
However, his arm held her in place. “Who’s going to get you in trouble? Your boss? Oh wait, that’s you.”
“Izuku, you dog!” she laughed, before rolling the other direction so she wound up on top of him, laying on his chest. Izuku wrapped his arms around her firmly, holding her there while Ochako leaned in and gave him a deep kiss, trying to show him how much he meant to her.
“Your payment is accepted,” he sighed, opening his arms and letting her roll off him.
She stood up, then cocked her hip and looked down at him. “If I can pay you in kisses, then I’m a rich woman.”
“Sounds right to me,” he muttered dreamily.
“Then you shall address me as Lady Ochako,” she teased in a posh accent.
He sat up on one arm and looked at her. His hair was even messier than normal, and he had a just-woke-up smolder that froze her in her tracks. His shirt was bunched up, revealing his scarred, but heavily defined abs, and doing little to hide his muscular neck, shoulder and arms. It was moments like this when she really understood she was dating the number one hero.
“Are we doing roleplay already?” he asked.
Her face went bright red as her mind went places and she quickly ran off to the bathroom to get ready, with Izuku’s warm laughter following her as the door shut. She heard him get out of bed and walk past the bathroom as she began to tidy her messy hair.
“I’ll make breakfast,” he called through the door, still chuckling a little.
“Thank you,” she muttered back, still a little flustered.
Soon, the smell of freshly-brewed coffee began to waft into the bathroom, urging her to hurry up. She finished as quickly as she dared, but she was acutely aware that there would be an incredible amount of media scrutiny on her that day—more than anything she had faced in the past.
Izuku smiled as she exited the bathroom and offered her a cup of coffee, which she took eagerly and thankfully. In the months and months Izuku had known her, he had not only memorized how she liked her coffee, but he had perfected it. No matter how she made it herself, it never matched what he could make for her, even using the same ingredients.
Ochako sighed happily. “You really are incredible, you know that?”
A year ago, Izuku probably would have politely rejected the compliment, or at least made some blustering excuse, but things were different now. He smiled warmly over his mug at her. “Thank you. You’re incredible, too.”
“Ain’t we just a pair of incredibles?” she joked.
“I think that’s under copyright still,” he noted with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her face. They ate breakfast together happily, peacefully, domestically , but before long, it was time for her to go. She headed back into her bedroom while Izuku cleaned up breakfast, opening her closet and quickly slipping into her hero costume. She clamped her helmet on and attached the braces around her wrist before sliding her feet into her sleek boots. With her equipment and personal effects squared away, Ochako walked back out of her bedroom to find Izuku whistling as he washed dishes in the sink.
He leaned down for her to give him a peck on the cheek. “Be safe, love you.”
“Love you, too,” she replied after the slightest hesitation to give her heart time to settle back into her chest. Those words were so simple, but they had incredible weight. She bolstered herself, then was about to step out into the hallway, when she had a realization.
“Hey, Izuku,” she began, “could you lock up the window behind me?”
“Window?” he repeated, before he understood. “Sure.”
She grinned and opened up the window in her living room, then climbed up, used her quirk on herself and jumped away. Before she didn’t have anyone behind to lock the window, but now she did. What’s more, to tell the truth, leaving through a window made her feel just that little bit more like a superhero. Next on her bucket list was getting into uniform in a telephone booth. Shame those didn’t really exist anymore.
Ochako avoided the streets on her way to her agency, instead sticking to rooftops as she crossed the city. While the city looked the same, sounded the same, smelled the same, it didn’t feel the same. There was a change in the air, and she suspected she wasn’t the only one who felt it.
Redacted was no more. The identity of the mysterious number one was no longer a mystery, and everyone knew it. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t change too much, but right now the entire country was going through the process Ochako herself went through months ago. Now they all could put a name and a face to the hero, it made him more human, more personal, but all that much more impressive. No longer was it some faceless, unknowable monolith that did all those amazing things. It was a cute green-haired man in his early twenties.
On paper, that didn’t seem like that big of a deal, but in practice, it felt like everything. There was something in the human brain that made it seem like a huge difference. Now, Nimbus was relatable. Knowable. Real. She’d felt the same way when they first patrolled together, then again when he revealed his identity to her, so she couldn’t blame others.
Ochako stopped on a rooftop a block or so away from her agency and saw that, despite her hopes, the media had put two and two together very quickly indeed. A veritable sea of reporters, cameras, and microphones was surrounding the building like a flock of vultures around a dying animal.
“They probably worked through the night,” she muttered to herself. This was the story of the year, she supposed, and it shouldn’t surprise her that they had figured it out so quickly. It was times like this when she was very glad that she had an entrance on the roof. With a single, graceful jump, she landed on top of her building, sending a ripple through the reporters who noticed her above them.
Ochako quickly slipped into the door and down to her office, flipping on the lights before she had a realization.
“Oh no, Suzuki!” Ochako was able to jump over the crowd, but Suzuki didn’t have a mobility quirk. Sure enough, when she ran to the window and looked out, she spotted her employee trying her best to navigate the sea of media predators. Ochako dashed downstairs and threw the front doors open, shocking the reporters into a momentary silence.
“Back off!” she demanded. “Let her through immediately!”
Ochako channeled some of the fire she usually reserved for villains into her words, which seemed to have an effect on the temporarily-stunned crowd. Suzuki was able to squeeze through and dash behind Ochako just in time for the reporters to recover and begin rushing toward the hero.
“Uravity! Uravity!” one of them shouted. “Can you confirm that you are in a relationship with Izuku Midoriya?”
Ochako stood her ground, holding up a firm hand. “No comment. I need to get to work; crime isn’t going to wait just because Nimbus revealed his identity.”
“The people want to know!” another yelled.
Ochako sighed. “Fine. I’ll give a statement later in the day, but I do have work to do. Do not harass my employee or anyone else who comes into my agency or I will personally arrest you.”
With that, she turned on her heels and shut the doors behind her, leaving the media outside as she walked toward Suzuki’s desk.
“Th-thank you, Miss Uraraka,” she stammered, looking clearly flustered from the experience.
“Aw, please don’t worry about it!” Ochako replied. “I’m always gonna look out for you.”
“Thank you,” she repeated, then looked at Ochako for a few seconds, clearly wanting to say something.
Ochako sighed, then laughed. “Yes, I knew Izuku was Nimbus.”
Suzuki squealed. “You didn’t tell me?!”
“I didn’t tell my best friends,” Ochako explained with another laugh. “It was a big secret!”
“I’ve talked to Nimbus!” she realized. “He’s so nice!”
“As if I’d date anyone who wasn’t,” Ochako teased before she gave Suzuki a smile and headed back up to her office. There was a certain part of her that was feeling incredibly smug that everyone was realizing just how amazing of a boyfriend Ochako had snagged. She had the nicest, sweetest, most considerate, cutest, and hottest man in all of Japan all to herself and maybe she was feeling a little proud; who could blame her?
However, she hadn’t lied to the paparazzi. Crime was still out there, and still needed to be dealt with… but so was that massive stack of paperwork. She had neglected it yesterday, what with the whole Izuku-revealing-his-identity thing, and it was really piling up. She supposed patrol would have to wait for later.
No matter how much she did it, paperwork never got any less obnoxious. She had gotten faster at it, more practiced, but it was still the worst part of her job. Ochako recognized it as important; they were heroes, not cowboys, but she was still allowed to complain.
The next couple hours passed painfully uneventfully. Her torpor was interrupted by a rise in volume from the crowd outside, but before she stood up and walked over to the window to look, Suzuki’s voice played over the speaker.
“Someone here to see you for a sidekick application, Miss Uraraka.”
Suzuki’s voice had an undeniable levity to it, as if she was stifling laughter, causing Ochako to raise an eyebrow, but she was more concerned with this applicant. Who would come to apply on today of all days? Were they just trying to get close to her because of Izuku?
Ochako pressed a button and spoke. “Send them up.”
“At once!” Suzuki chirped eagerly.
Ochako leaned back in her chair, pondering who it could be walking up the steps to her office. As her mind worked, it was suddenly filled with realization at the same moment the door opened and Izuku walked in.
“Is that sidekick offer still on the table?” he asked, his grin wide on his face.
Ochako groaned and her head fell down to her desk, making an audible thump. “Really?”
“Of course!” he exclaimed, walking over and grabbing onto her shoulders gently. “As if I could let this opportunity slip by!”
“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” she asked, trying to stifle a smile as he lifted her face from the desk.
“Probably not.” He tipped her chin upward and leaned down, planting a gentle kiss on her lips.
Her resistance broke and a wide grin spread across her face. “You’re the worst.”
“You love me.”
Ochako rolled her eyes, still smiling. “Irrelevant.”
“But seriously,” Izuku began, looking down at her as he took a seat on her desk. “Now that I’m public, I will need an agency.”
“Izuku…” Ochako looked up at him seriously; she knew what he was asking. “You’re the top hero. You deserve your own agency.”
“Why would I go through all that headache when you already have one!” he retorted, his arms going wide. “It’s already in a perfect location and the woman I love owns it!”
She bit her lip and looked away as she thought. “I suppose that makes sense, but… people will think you’re just doing it to appease me or somethin’.”
“We can change the name if you insist; Uravity and Nimbus Agency or something,” he muttered, “but I really don’t care.”
“Fine, we can talk about it,” she relented. “Nimravity… Urabus… we’ll workshop it.”
“You sound like one of those people online making ship names,” he teased with a sly grin.
She flicked his nose, causing him to jump. “How dare you!”
“Assaulted for telling the truth!” he feigned injury and insult for a half-second before both of them fell into loud laughter. Ochako’s world felt a thousand times brighter with him here; it was amazing just how much of a difference he made.
Once they calmed down, she stood up and stretched a little. “How’d you get through that crowd outside?”
“Smokescreen,” he answered simply. “I’m sure they realized quickly who caused it, but I was already inside.”
She looked up into his eyes as she put two fingers on his chest and slowly walked them up to his collarbone. “And how’s your day been?”
“About what you’d expect. Busy, annoying, tiring. Sorry that you have that big crowd out there. My fault, huh?”
She smirked. “Yep. Sure is. That’s why you’ll be makin’ dinner tonight as an apology.”
Izuku barked a laugh. “I’d be happy to.”
“By the way,” she began, “I did promise those reporters that I’d give them an interview. Want to join me?”
He sighed and shook his head in resignation. “Sure. We’ll have to get used to this, won’t we?”
“Absolutely,” she replied with a wide grin. “But we can’t take too long. I gotta get on patrol soon.”
He hopped off her desk, looking down at her proudly. “Of course. We’ll keep it short.”
They walked out of her office together, and he began to walk down the steps when she had an idea and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go out the roof. I don’t like them all pressing in on me.”
“Understandable,” Izuku replied, turning around to follow her. “Just let me know if you’re feeling uncomfortable. N-not that you need me to protect you or anything.”
She smiled back at him kindly. “Thanks, Izuku. I appreciate it.”
The pair reached the roof and stepped out into the mid-morning sun. After taking a moment to gaze over the Tokyo skyline, Ochako looked up at Izuku, who looked down at her. They both nodded, then walked to the edge of the roof and jumped.
Ochako and Izuku floated down toward the crowd of reporters that had only gotten larger over the past few hours, landing on the portico above them and sitting down on it. She released her quirk and looked over the crowd, which was furiously taking photos already.
“We don’t have a whole lot of time,” she began, projecting her voice, “so we’ll only take a few questions. Make ‘em count.”
A reporter raised her hand quickly and Ochako pointed at her. “Are you dating?”
“Yes,” she answered simply, and a bit proudly, which caused waves of excited whispering from the media as they wrote and typed furiously. It felt good to finally get that off her chest.
“For how long?” another blurted out.
“About six months,” Izuku answered. “We began dating last autumn.”
“How long have you known his identity?”
Ochako smiled softly, recalling the memory. “He told me on our first date. I could hardly believe what I was hearing.”
Izuku called on a reporter. “So you didn’t tell her before you started dating?”
He smiled sheepishly. “I felt incredibly guilty, let me tell you. I told her the very next day.”
Ochako smiled up at him warmly.
“Did your feelings for her influence your decision? Was that reckless?”
Izuku furrowed his brow. “I do not regret what I did. Ochako has helped me find a better path through my life, and I will always be grateful for that.”
“Uravity, did you use your relationship to your advantage?”
Ochako had a few choice words she wanted to say, but she kept her cool. “I only ever supported Izuku. All the decisions he made were his own.”
“Are you worried your relationship will be a distraction?”
Izuku was ready for that one. “Actually, we make each other better heroes. If you run the numbers—and I have—you will see that both of us have had our incidents-resolved-per-day increase by several standard deviations over the past year, even when adjusting for standard IRD increases attributed to gained experience or other factors.”
Ochako grew a small, smug smirk. Izuku would know that. She turned back to the crowd, eager to bring this impromptu press conference to an end. “Okay, one more, then we need to go. How about you?”
The man cleared his throat and took a moment, then asked, “Do you see yourselves staying together? As in permanently?”
Ochako blinked. She slowly turned to Izuku, who did the same. Their eyes met as they looked at each other for a few moments.
They both smiled.
A year and some months later.
Izuku and Ochako stood up from their seats on the train. It was a chilly autumn day, which meant they could wear heavy, concealing clothing with less discomfort, allowing them to travel incognito. Since the last time they had arrived in this quiet town, a lot had changed. Uravity had become a household name after she broke into the top 10 this past year, and well, Izuku’s own face was now perhaps the most well-known in the country. They had to go basically everywhere in disguise, which was a little frustrating, but they were happy for the peace and quiet it offered.
The two strolled through the town, hand-in-hand as they talked quietly and comfortably about nothing much at all. For everything that had changed in their lives, this town hardly seemed different at all. The sun was shining on the modest shops that were in the same place, decorated the same as the same people walked down the road. It was almost like stepping into a time machine.
However, as they walked up the hill toward the edge of town, something did catch his attention. Izuku overheard some kids squealing and shouting. The three of them were standing in a small alleyway outside of a corner store, one of them jumping up and down, holding in her hands what Izuku recognized as a hero card pack. They couldn’t have been older than eight or ten.
“I got a Nimbus card! I got a Nimbus card!” she cheered.
“No way!” her friend shouted. “Show me!”
Izuku stopped and looked down at Ochako, who gave him a smile under her scarf and nodded toward the children. “Go on.”
Izuku squeezed her hand once then walked over to the kids, who were so wrapped up in their celebration that they didn’t notice him until he was just a few feet away. The boy pointed behind the dancing girl when he finally noticed.
The girl whipped around and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Can we help you, sir?”
Izuku crouched down so he was at eye level with the children, then pulled his scarf down to reveal his face.
The children all gasped audibly, but Izuku was able to put a finger to his lips before they shouted. “Shh, don’t yell. I’m here in secret.”
The boy crouched down, looking around excitedly. “Is there a villain here?”
Izuku chuckled at his exaggerated whisper and shook his head. “No, I’m here with Uravity. We’re going on a hike on that mountain outside of town.”
“Miss Uravity is here, too?!” one of the girls whisper-shouted, looking around frantically until she saw Ochako standing across the street, looking at them. She waved as hard as she could, which Ochako returned warmly.
“Can I see that card?” Izuku asked, holding his hand out to the girl in front of him.
She blinked at him for a few seconds, then nodded furiously, handing it over.
Izuku took the card and smiled. It was one of the runs from last year, the first one that had his real face and name on it. He whipped out a small marker and wrote his autograph on the front before using Black Whip to hand it back to her. “There you go.”
The girl looked like she was about to faint. “T-thank you, Mister Nimbus! I want to be a hero just like you some day!”
He smiled widely, holding out his fist toward her. “Put your heart into it, and you will.”
She punched his fist as hard as she could, and he pulled it back, pretending to be injured.
“You hurt Nimbus!” the boy shouted indignantly.
Izuku laughed brightly. “Don’t worry, I’m okay. I have to go now, you all stay safe, okay?”
“Yes, sir, thank you sir!” the other girl replied eagerly.
Izuku stood up and jogged back to Ochako, taking her hand before glancing back at the kids. All three of them were staring wide-eyed at the pair like they would vanish if they dared to blink. Ochako giggled in that angelic way that made Izuku’s knees weak as she squeezed his hand tightly.
“You’re so good with kids, honey,” she hummed as they began to walk again.
He laughed softly. “It’s easy, I just think back to myself when I was their age. Seeing a hero, especially one like All Might, changed my entire life. And now I can do that for them.”
Ochako leaned her head against his arm as they walked, making him feel warm even against the chilly air. Even after all these months, he still couldn’t believe how lucky he had gotten in life.
It wasn’t long before they reached the edge of town and stepped onto the path that eventually led to the trailhead. Before Izuku could say anything, he felt his weight swiped out from under him as he was picked up in Ochako’s arms.
“Hold on tight,” she warned playfully. With another touch of her hands, she took to jumping down the road, just like they had the first time they had come out here. This time, there were no secrets between them, no fear hanging over Izuku’s head, allowing him to appreciate the natural beauty rushing past him as Ochako carried him miles down the road. There was still a surprise awaiting her, but he wasn’t afraid of that one. He knew her too well.
Soon, they arrived at the trailhead, like they had exactly two years before. Ochako set him down and returned his weight to him as he took a deep breath of the clean, crisp mountain air.
“It shouldn’t have taken us two years to get back out here,” he mused.
“Well,” Ochako said with a shrug, “we are pretty busy.”
“Fair enough,” he chuckled, grabbing her hand again as they began to walk up the trail.
Izuku and Ochako began their hike up the mountain, and he had to admit, it was a far more pleasant experience than before. He was able to enjoy the walk without worrying about his twisting, guilty gut, and he was sure Ochako enjoyed not having to worry about his strange silence.
They crossed over hills, across streams, and through clearings. They saw Akiko up in the trees, and she came down as they waved, eagerly eating a treat that Ochako had brought for her. They raced to trees, stopped to take pictures, and even had a rock-skipping competition at a small lake they came across. It was fairly even until quirks got involved; Izuku accidentally sent a pebble through a boulder, and Ochako’s hit a bad bump and flew off into the distance, never to be seen again.
“I think that means I win,” she muttered as she squinted up into the sky.
“I dunno, I think that still only counts as one big skip,” he retorted.
“Pfft, whatever,” she scoffed. “Yours only skipped like once before you shattered it into dust.”
“Tie?” he offered.
“Tie,” she agreed with a firm nod.
It seemed like forever and no time at all before they turned a bend and arrived at the same vista from all that time ago. The same bench sat there, overlooking that same valley as the breeze blew through those same trees.
Ochako and Izuku walked hand-in-hand to the bench, tossing their backpacks on it before leaning against each other. They were silent for a moment as they both looked out over the river flowing through the valley below.
“You know,” Ochako began softly, “things are so different than the last time we were here. But this place is exactly the same.”
Izuku smiled. “I feel the same way. I don’t know how it makes me feel.”
Ochako was silent for a moment again. “I think it gives me hope. It makes me feel that, despite everything, some things remain the same. It lets me pretend that I can be here, with you, forever.”
Izuku’s arm squeezed around Ochako a little tighter. “Change is good, too.”
“Yeah,” she said with a dreamy sigh. “So much has changed. I met you, I learned about Nimbus, your quirk. I got my own agency. I got into the top ten! I still can’t believe it. I have people who work for me! Sidekicks!”
Izuku smiled warmly. He couldn’t be more proud of Ochako. For all the luck he had in his life, he didn’t think any came close to Ochako. He would give up his quirk for her in a heartbeat. He would give up Serendipity. Anything, really.
He guessed that meant it really was love. True love.
Izuku realized that he had gotten lost in thought, but quickly remembered that he had an ulterior motive for coming out to this mountain. He had to-
He blinked as he realized Ochako was no longer holding him. Izuku looked over to his side and saw that she had sneakily lowered herself into a kneeling position, looking up at him with tears welling in her eyes. She was holding something up to him in her hands: a small box, opened and showing a golden band.
Izuku stared at her as a smile spread slowly across his face.
“I-Izuku,” she began shakily, her voice unsteady, “you’re the kindest, sweetest, most darling man I’ve ever met. I wake up next to you every morning and realize I’m the luckiest woman in the whole world. I love you with all of my heart… will you marry me?”
Izuku’s eyes closed as he blinked away some tears and chuckled softly. “Stole my lines…”
“What?” she asked softly.
“I will,” he answered her proudly, “but only on one condition.”
She tilted her head, her brow furrowing. “What’s that?”
Izuku kneeled down as well, reaching into his pocket to grab his own small box. He held it up to her just like she was to him. “Only if you agree to marry me, too.”
Ochako blinked once before she burst out laughing, lunging forward to wrap her arms around him. They held each other, their laughter echoing through the trees and down into the valley. The hug felt different than all the others that came before. Affection and joy poured through their connection as they committed to taking the next step of their lives together. Her hands gripped him tightly, only a single pinky pulled up to keep them from floating away, at least for now.
As much as he loathed to, Izuku finally released her, if only a little, so she could lean back enough for him to grab the ring and slide it onto her finger. Her fingerpad should have caused an issue, but the ring had a special mechanism that let it slip over it easily before tightening further down her finger.
Ochako gasped softly, looking at the ring in amazement. “It's beautiful, Izuku, and it fits perfectly!”
He chuckled warmly. “Mei helped me design it. She has your finger measurements, of course.”
His fiancée smirked, grabbing her own ring and sliding down his finger. “Melissa helped me with yours.”
“Thank you,” he began softly as he reached his hand up and cupped her cheek, “for everything. For being my best friend, for helping me, for seeing that I was suffering even when I didn’t admit it. For being a hero, selflessly sacrificing for others. For being the most wonderful and caring woman I have ever met.”
Ochako didn’t say anything, she just leaned forward and kissed him deeply. Both of them were crying softly, warm tears of joy running down their cheeks and their lips touched and love passed between them. He held her with all of his strength, and she did the same. Over two years of friendship, two years of dating, and nearly that long of realized love culminated in this moment.
Izuku didn’t know how they had gotten into the air. He didn’t know if Ochako had removed his weight, or if he had activated Float by accident, but as they rose above the treetops, gazing over the valley below in a way that they hadn’t before, he realized something.
He was—no— they were living their best lives. Together.
The End