Chapter Text
Ochaco learned very quickly that no one was a villain for no reason. Himiko, specifically, was not a villain for no reason. Ochaco learned this when she was woken up in the middle of the night by her newfound girlfriend, the literal villain.
The two had been fighting for a while, Ochaco sneaking out to go after her, but the fights eventually shifted from physical skirmishes to heated arguments to heartfelt talking to… dating.
Ochaco hummed and rolled over, stiffening as she heard a noise. She shot up and turned to the figure crawling through her window. Oh.
“Himiko, you scared me,” Ochaco leaned back, “I thought you were gonna come tomorrow night?” Himiko didn’t respond with anything other than a quiet sniffle. She walked closer to the bed and Ochaco frowned. “Himiko? Are you okay?”
“…no,” She crumpled quickly, Ochaco barely having time to grab her to prevent her from falling to the ground. Shit. Ochaco quickly pulled Himiko into bed and wrapped her arms around her as the blonde sobbed into her shoulder. She whispered comforting words and rubbed circles into her back.
“What’s wrong, Himi?” She whispered, painfully aware of the fact someone could wander in whenever. It was fairly late for anyone else to be up, though, and you weren’t really allowed to wander around.
“I- I can’t-” Himiko paused and took a deep breath, clinging to Ochaco tighter, “Shiggy ye-elled at me, and- and I just- I don’t kno- ow-” Himi buried her face into Ochaco’s shoulder again. The two stayed like that for a while, simply holding each other, while Himiko’s sobs tapered off into sniffles and whines.
Eventually, Himiko moved a little away from Ochaco, so the two could kind of face each other while they talked. Ochaco patiently waited for Himiko’s breathing to steady. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” She reminded her girlfriend (girlfriend! How crazy was that?) but Himi was insistent on explaining herself.
“I, ah… I messed something up, I don’t even remember what, and Shigaraki yelled at me. He yells a lot, and it’s usually joking, and I don’t care, but this time I- I… don’t know.” Himiko sighed and closed her eyes, “I, um, I was tired and I guess it reminded me of my parents.” Oh.
Ochaco frowned, “You don’t have to-”
“I want to,” Himiko took a deep breath and rolled over, “My parents’ names where Kumiko Toga and Hiroto Toga. I haven’t seen them in years.” Ochaco moved closer to Himiko. “They didn’t like my quirk, no one did. No one does. It’s kinda my fault now, to be honest, I choose to hurt people with it. They didn’t like that I had fangs, my mom even tried to file them down one time, but I panicked and bit her, so they decided I was a lost cause.”
Ochaco frowned and leaned forward, “That’s awful, Himi. They- they shouldn’t have tried to change who you were.” Himiko from offered a sad smile and looked away.
“They were mean. You know, the way parents are, but extra mean. I kind of deserved it, I was a nightmare of a child,” She fiddled nervously with the blankets, “They stopped recording my height, when I was five, because I… I got my stupid quirk.” Ochaco nearly winced. That was so awful…
“I just- I guess the yelling reminded me of that. Of them,” Himiko screwed her eyes shut for a moment, “Sorry for just… showing up here.” It was weirdly docile considering the usual nature of Himiko.
“I don’t mind, especially not when you’re upset,” Ochaco pulled Himiko closer and pressed a kiss against her forehead, “Your parents were awful, I’m sorry you had to be around people like them.” Himiko was silent for nearly a minute. Ochaco almost thought she cried herself to sleep.
“I’m awful, Uraraka.”
Ochaco stiffened and dread filled her. “…Himi?” She never called her Uraraka. Always Ochaco or Ocha, sometimes playfully Uravity, but never Uraraka.
“I’m an awful person, and you know that,” Himiko spoke slowly, and Ochaco held her tighter as she felt the girl shaking, “The only people who can stand me are other villains, or unreasonably nice people, like you. I- I don’t- I don’t think I’m mad at my parents for what they did to me.”
“Don’t say that, Himi,” Ochaco frowned and leaned her head against Himiko’s head, “Please don’t say that. I love you, and- and you’re… you’re not some kind of monster.” Deep down, Ochaco knows that Himiko has killed people, she knows that. She knows that when she holds her hands, they are the same hands that have taken lives, and when she kisses her lips, they are the same lips that have sucked the blood from her victims.
Maybe Ochaco is a bad person, but in this moment, she really can’t seem to care.
“Why haven’t you turned me in?” Himiko turned to face Ochaco, looking up at her, “Why haven’t you thrown me out?” Her eyes will filled with tears that were streaming down her face. Ochaco moved the hair away from her eyes.
“I’m in love with you,” Ochaco pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Really, truly, in love. And I know you have a good heart. I know… I know you can be a good person, if you’d like to try.” Ohcaco and Himiko had discussed this before, in detail. Himiko barely even killed people lately, she had blood from Uraraka, and the League was mostly inactive for now. But she couldn’t leave her family, and she was scared of jail. Ochaco would never pressure her into anything she wasn’t willing to do, and likewise for Himiko.
“…you really think so? You don’t think I’m like… destined to be evil?” Himiko mumbled, sniffling, “That I was born a monster?”
“Of course not,” Ochaco frowned, “Do you believe that? Because of your parents?” Himiko just looked down. Ochaco swallowed. “If I ever meet them, I swear, I might just become a villain.” Himiko let out a quiet snort.
“…thank you for being here with me,” Himiko leaned into Ochaco, “Um- the League doesn’t know about us, but if you ever need something, if you’re sad, I’ll find a spot you can go, or I’ll get a phone or something that only has one number.” Ochaco smiled, fondly, and warmth spread to her cheeks.
“Okay, Himi. That would be lovely,” Ochaco breathed. “Do you… would you like to talk about your parents or the League more? Would it help? To talk about things?” Himiko was quiet again.
“I, um…” She closed her eyes and pulled Ochaco closer, “Ocha? Can- can I tell you something? About middle school?” Ochaco swallowed and nodded, humming affirmatively. “I… shit, this- okay. I was- I was on my roof and I- I was gonna… jump.”
Ochaco’s felt her heart stop beating for a second, she swears. Her grip on Himiko tightened, and she held her like she was afraid the blonde would shatter at any moment. “I was, like, twelve or something. Maybe thirteen? Either way, I was gonna jump. I just kinda sat there for a while, it was the second story, and I thought it would work, but my parents just got mad about me making a mess.” Himiko opened her eyes ever so slightly and glanced up at Ochaco. Her eyes widened immediately and she tilted her head up. “Please don’t cry, Ochaco, it’s okay! I’m okay now, I- don’t cry, please.” Ochaco hadn’t noticed she was crying.
“Hi-imiko!” Ochaco’s voice was all wobbly and high pitched, “Plea- please, never try something like that again, okay? I-” Fuck, she was shaking now, too.
“I won’t, Ocha, just stop crying!” Himiko seemed progressively distressed and panicked, “I- I’m okay now! I have the League and you and my parents aren’t around, at all!” She learned in and gave Ocha a soft kiss on the forehead. “Please don’t cry anymore, okay?”
Ochaco took a few minutes of gentle whispers and deep breaths, and the two had both calmed down enough, holding each other not quite as tight.
“I’m sorry for- for telling you, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Himiko frowned, shuffling awkwardly.
“Don’t be, I’m… I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me,” Ochaco gave a soft smile, “I’m so sorry about your parents. They were awful, and… and you didn’t deserve that.” Himiko sniffed.
“Thank you, Ocha.”
The two were quiet for a little while, laying together. The wind blew through the still open window, and there was a strangely comforting chill in the room.
“I wish you could stay the night, Himiko,” Ochaco whispered.
“Me too.”
“We have an hour or so… before anyone gets up or does anything.”
“Mmm… that’ll work.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”