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Sitting in the shared common room by himself with his green-tipped black wings folded neatly across his back, Izuku was attempting to finish his late-night studying before retiring to his dorm room. After dedicating so much of his time to the Shie Hassaikai Raid, the School Festival, and training his quirk, he had unfortunately fallen behind on his coursework. Requesting help from Momo and Tenya, the three of them set up a study group with many of their other classmates, quickly finding that most of them found themselves in a similar situation.
After reading and rereading the current paragraph four times and still not understanding a single word he read, Izuku closed his eyes and let out a sigh, leaning back into the couch behind him as he reached up and rubbed one of his eyes. The study group started early afternoon and lasted into the late evening with only a small break for dinner. Many of their classmates had come and gone throughout, jumping in where they could before disappearing once more, with Tenya being the last to retire after wishing him a good night.
Deciding he could use a quick break before trying to continue, Izuku opened his eyes and pushed himself to his feet. He looked around the common room to confirm that he was truly alone before he stretched his arms over his head while simultaneously unfolding and stretching his wings to the widest they could go, ruffling each feather separately. Similar to his cousin’s quirk, Keigo Takami’s Fierce Wings, his green-tipped black wings stretched over three hundred and fifty centimeters in width throughout the empty room.
As he lowered his arms and brought his wings back into a more comfortable position behind him, Izuku glanced out the windows of the common room, noticing how the bright moonlight cast UA’s campus into a beautiful white glow. It felt like the skies were calling out to him, silently tempting him to stretch his wings and take a short flight, to soar through the clouds lit up by the moonlight and stars above. Soaring through the sky always allowed his mind to relax, to forget the troubles of the world for a moment, allowing him to feel free as the wind ruffled his hair and feathers.
Taking a glance towards his phone to check the time, confirming it was after curfew and knowing they weren’t supposed to leave the dorms unless it was an emergency, Izuku hung his shoulders in disappointment. He thought back to the scolding he received from Nezu and Shouta the last time he took a ‘quick’ night flight. Having forgotten about UA’s perimeter sensors in his excitement, Izuku flew too high and too close to the invisible walls surrounding campus, sending the whole school into lockdown mode. He was forever grateful he only got a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again.
Knock, Knock, Knock!
Izuku startled where he was standing, whipping his head towards the entrance of the dorms, wondering who would be knocking this late at night when everyone was supposed to be sleeping. Using a trick that he had learned from his cousin, Izuku reached behind him and pulled out two feathers that instantly hardened into blades, almost replicating two katanas perfectly. As he cautiously approached the entrance, Izuku sent out his feathers on either side of the door, poised and ready to attack if someone forced themselves in. Using one of his feathers to wrap tightly around the doorknob as he stood a few steps away, he twisted it and threw open the door in one quick movement, raising his blades in front of him in preparation to defend himself.
With a flash of red coming from the man’s eyes in front of him, Izuku lost all control over his feathers that were surrounding the door causing them to begin falling slowly towards the floor, while his Feather Blades hung limply in his hands after having returned to normal feathers. Taking a reactive step backward, Izuku’s eyes went wide as he recognized his homeroom teacher standing on the other side of the doorframe, his eyes glowing red while his hair and scarves idly floated around him. If Shouta was impressed with Izuku’s display of readiness, the man didn’t let it show as he deactivated his quirk.
“Mr. Aizawa!” Izuku exclaimed. Releasing a breath as his quirk returned, Izuku recalled all of his feathers to his wings, allowing them to return to normal before falling into a resting position behind his back. “I wasn’t expecting anybody to come by the dorms this late at night,” he told his teacher as he reached up and scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “so I thought I would prepare for the worst.”
Shouta hummed at his explanation but didn’t have a chance to respond.
“Izu!” A younger feminine voice called out from behind Shouta before they ran around the man’s legs.
Izuku’s eyes widened in surprise and happiness at seeing the girl, crouching down as a few of his feathers flew towards her. Eri giggled as she was picked up by the green-tipped black feathers and brought into Izuku’s arms, causing the two to embrace in a tight hug. “What are you doing up, Snowball?” he asked quietly, knowing that it was well past her normal bedtime.
“I had a nightmare,” Eri whispered against his chest, rubbing her horn into Izuku’s shoulder as she attempted to tighten the hug. Izuku’s heart broke at how small and afraid her voice was, something he hadn’t heard since they had first rescued her, confirming his suspicions about what the nightmare could have been about.
“How bad was it?” Izuku asked as he looked up towards his homeroom teacher, noticing the look of worry and concern behind his eyes as he looked at the two embracing. Ever since Izuku had helped save the little girl from Overhaul during the Shie Hassasikai Raid, Eri had been having nightmares almost nightly, to the point that Shouta looked even more sleep-deprived than usual being the little girl’s main caretaker.
“Probably the worst she’s had so far,” Shouta replied quietly, catching Izuku’s eyes with his own and conveying how bad it really was. “I heard her yelling your name before I opened her door, finding her sitting up and crying as her horn glowed. She requested to make sure you were okay.”
“Overhaul…” Eri whispered into his chest, tightening the hold around his neck as she began shaking, “he… he…”
“Shhh,” Izuku responded as he also tightened the embrace, feeling the girl staining his t-shirt with her tears. He lifted the girl into his arms as he began swaying back and forth, hoping to comfort Eri the best way he knew how. “I’m okay, Eri,” he continued quietly, “Overhaul can’t hurt us. Not anymore.”
And that was the truth. During Overhaul’s transfer from where he was being held to the high-security prison of Tartarus, his transportation convoy entered a tunnel moments before it was ambushed by an unknown source. The guards that were transporting Overhaul in the armored vehicle claimed to have seen a flash of red before Overhaul’s hands were lying on the floor of the vehicle. The news reporter went into detail explaining what had happened to the villain, claiming an unknown source made the cuts quick and clean, before reporting that Overhaul would never be able to use his quirk again.
“Izu?” Eri asked quietly, causing Izuku to shake himself from his memories before looking back down towards the little girl. She was looking up at him with those big red eyes filled with tears, her cheeks stained from all the crying, with a question behind them. “Can I stay with you tonight? Please?”
Izuku looked towards Shouta with a question of his own, receiving a short nod from his homeroom teacher. “Of course, you can, Eri,” he responded as he looked back towards the little girl, watching as her eyes widened slightly before she buried her face back into his shoulder. “As long as it’s okay with Aizawa, you’re always welcome to stay with me.” Eri’s only response was to hug Izuku tighter, causing him to respond in kind to the embrace.
“Here,” Shouta said as he held up a necklace with a button, “if she happens to activate and lose control of her quirk, just press this button. It’s directly linked to my phone, as well as the Rat’s main computer, and is meant to send a distress signal.” Izuku nodded as a feather floated up from behind him and carefully grasped the button, bringing it back towards him and hiding it within his wings until it was needed. “I’ll be back in the morning to pick her up. Don’t keep her up too late.” With that, the man turned on his heel and walked back out of the dorms, softly closing the door behind him.
Izuku released a quiet sigh before turning around, and walking towards the kitchen. He had limited experience on how to take care of Eri, having been one of the only people she trusted when she was first rescued, thanks to some late-night conversations he had with his mother, Inko. Knowing the little girl wouldn’t be able to fall asleep right away thanks to the nightmare that was still fresh in her mind, Izuku decided that he needed something to take her mind off the experience, and a late-night snack always seemed to work for him when he was growing up.
“Would you like an apple and some milk, Eri?” Izuku asked as he carried the girl into the kitchen. He felt the little girl nod against his shoulder as he walked over to the table, making sure to stretch out his wings slightly so he could sit comfortably. “Do you want to watch me use my quirk again?” He smiled softly to himself when he felt Eri slowly pull away from him, carefully turning around so that she could sit in his lap comfortably, before looking around the kitchen. He had learned early on that Eri took great comfort in watching his feathers work, knowing they were the same feathers that had protected her when Izuku confronted Overhaul.
Thankful for his years of training his quirk, Izuku released some of his feathers from his wings, controlling them individually as they soared around the kitchen. He couldn’t help but smile wider as Eri was transfixed on the feathers, attempting to follow one as they moved around the kitchen before rapidly changing to the next one. Noticing that Eri’s eyes were snapping from one feather to the next in quick succession, Izuku slowed down how fast his feathers moved, allowing Eri to look at all the different feathers as they worked on multiple tasks at once.
A handful of feathers soared towards the cupboards above the counters, retrieving a plate and glass they could use before bringing them back over to the table. Another feather flew towards where they kept the apples sitting on the counter, taking all of them out before finding the biggest, juiciest red apple and bringing it over to the plate in front of them. A couple of feathers were seen opening the fridge not far from where they sat before a different pair of feathers flew into the fridge, finding the milk carton on the top shelf and bringing it towards the table. While a pair of feathers worked on cutting the apple on the plate, another pair of feathers worked on pouring the milk into the glass before returning the carton to the fridge.
As the feathers finished their tasks and slowly returned to Izuku’s wings, they soared in front of Eri’s face causing her to light up with a smile. He watched as Eri reached out for the feathers, knowing the little girl loved to have the feathers around her. Izuku brought them closer to Eri and comfortably wrapped some around her midsection and her arms, causing her to giggle quietly as they tickled her gently. The next few minutes were spent in silence as Eri worked on finishing the apple slices and drinking the milk. Once Eri had finished her late-night snack, she released a yawn before turning back around and cuddling into Izuku’s chest, her small horn rubbing against his shoulder and chest once more.
Sending out his feathers to take the dirty dishes to the sink, Izuku stood up and walked back towards the common room. He softly rubbed his cheek against the smaller girl’s head, feeling Eri melt further into the embrace before she sighed contently against his chest. Smiling softly at the little girl in his arms, Izuku approached the couch he was sitting in before, taking a seat once more.
Using his feathers that were still wrapped around Eri, he moved the little girl to his side before completely wrapping her up in one of his wings. He watched as a small smile tugged at her lips at the comfort and warmth the wings provided even in her sleep. Once she was better situated beside him on the couch, Eri attempted to curl further into his side as she slept, causing Izuku to softly smile at the little girl he had saved.
After spending the better part of the last hour staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that littered the ceiling, Ochako let out a sigh as she realized that she wasn’t falling asleep any time soon. Pushing herself out of bed and putting on her slippers, Ochako quietly slipped out of her dorm room and made her way to the shared kitchen below.
Without looking around the common room as she passed through, Ochako beelined straight for the kitchen, taking down a glass from the cupboards before grabbing the milk carton out of the fridge. As she finished pouring her glass of milk, Ochako picked up her glass before turning around and leaning against the counter. Closing her eyes as she raised the glass of milk to her lips, she savored the taste of the cool liquid as she drank.
Hearing an odd noise from outside the kitchen, Ochako's eyes opened as she looked towards the kitchen's entrance, waiting to see if anybody would join her. It wasn't unusual that her classmates would come into the shared kitchen late at night, either wanting to grab their own glass of milk or a late-night snack, before retreating back to their rooms.
As the silence continued to stretch on and nobody entered the kitchen, Ochako half-shrugged before finishing her milk and placing the dirty glass into the sink. She paused when she noticed the sink wasn't empty, instantly recognizing the recently used glass and plate within, knowing they belonged to her best friend and crush.
Hearing another odd noise coming from the common room, Ochako shook her head softly before turning around and making her way out of the kitchen, planning to investigate what could be making the odd noise. As she stepped back into the shared common room, she found herself pausing when she recognized someone sitting on the main couch.
“Midoriya?” Ochako whispered to herself after seeing her best friend still sitting on the couch with a notebook in his hand. Having spent most of the afternoon beside him studying, and knowing he woke up early for his training, she was surprised to find him still awake.
Her eyes trailed over his beautiful green-tipped black wings, noticing one appeared to be extended out beside him and wrapped around something while the other one was neatly folded against his back. She remembered asking him during their first semester why he sat with his wings folded against his back instead of resting normally, and Izuku claimed it was more comfortable for himself and the people around him if he kept them folded up.
“Uraraka?” Izuku whispered in surprise, turning his head in her direction, having heard his name in the quiet of the common room. Ochako could see how tired her best friend was, but even in his tired state, his eyes began shining as soon as they caught sight of her. It was something that Mina had pointed out to her recently, and she couldn't help but notice how his eyes shined every time Izuku looked in her direction, causing her heart to skip a beat. “I wasn't expecting someone to be up this late,” he admitted with a soft smile, one that instantly made her knees weak.
“I couldn't sleep,” Ochako admitted as she looked to the side, knowing it was the only way she was able to respond when he looked at her like that. She felt her own soft smile creep onto her lips before she attempted (and failed) to brush some hair behind her ear. Taking a few steps closer to where Izuku was sitting, her eyes caught the mess of notebooks and textbooks that still scattered the table in front of him, causing her to shake her head lightly again. “I can't believe you're still studying. I thought you'd be sleeping by now, considering how early you get up for your morning workout.”
Izuku nodded as he turned back towards the table in front of him, looking over his mess of notebooks and textbooks. “Normally I am,” he admitted with a small yawn, proving how tired he really was, “but after Eri fell asleep, I didn't want to wake her up again so soon just so I could move her back to my room.”
Ochako blinked as what Izuku said registered, quickly scanning the common room in search of the little unicorn. “Either I'm much more tired than I realize,” she began quietly as she reached up and rubbed her eyes, “or Eri isn't here.” She looked over the common room again, seeing no difference from last time, before she focused on Izuku again.
“Isn't here?” Izuku blinked before snapping his head towards his side, finally realizing why Ochako hadn't seen the little girl. Eri was still wrapped up inside his wing, completely hidden from view to anybody looking towards them. Izuku released a breath before chortling lightly so as to not wake up Eri, causing Ochako to raise an eyebrow in question. “I forgot I had her wrapped up in my wing,” he explained before slowly peeling back his wing to reveal the little girl.
As Ochako looked towards the newly revealed unicorn curled into Izuku's side, she felt her heart melting at the cute sight. Eri's hands were wrapped around two of Izuku's larger feathers (the ones he used for his Feather Blades), tightly hugging them to her chest, while multiple smaller feathers were wrapped around different sections of her limbs. Ochako was one of the few who knew how safe it felt to be wrapped up in Izuku's wings, having experienced them when Izuku had saved her during the Entrance Exam.
“Aizawa informed me she had a nightmare and was calling my name when she woke up,” Izuku explained sadly, his smile turning into a small frown. Even though Ochako didn’t know the full story of what happened to the little girl, it wasn’t hard to see what the cause of her nightmares were after the bandages were removed. “She wanted to make sure I was okay before she requested to stay the night with me.”
“She looks so warm and comfortable,” Ochako commented quietly, while Izuku nodded in agreement. Seeing how peacefully Eri was sleeping, and knowing how it felt to be wrapped up within Izuku's wings, Ochako found herself longing to do the same. She wasn’t sure if it was because of how tired she was, or how comfortable Eri appeared to be, but Ochako couldn’t stop the words before they slipped out of her mouth. “I wish I could wrap myself up within your wings again…”
There was a beat of silence before the words registered for Izuku, causing him to slowly turn towards Ochako with wide eyes, his face beginning to change into a shade of red that resembled a tomato. Watching as Izuku slowly turned towards her, noticing how red his face was getting, Ochako's eyes suddenly widened as she realized what was meant to be an internal thought was actually said out loud. She felt her cheeks heating up as a blush rushed up her face and to the tips of her ears, quickly matching that of her best friend and longtime crush.
Turning away from Izuku in embarrassment, Ochako brought her hands up to cover her face, accidentally activating Zero Gravity and sending herself floating towards the ceiling of the common room. Even though Izuku was still struggling to register what Ochako had just said, he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he watched his best friend float aimlessly through the air, lightly bouncing off different sections of the ceiling as she muttered to herself.
Izuku continued to watch Ochako bounce off the ceiling a few more times with a fond smile before sending one of his feathers toward her. Gently wrapping his feather around her wrist, Izuku began guiding her back down to earth with his quirk. Ochako pulled her hands away from her face when she felt the feather wrap around her wrist, taking a deep breath before her feet hit the ground, she deactivated her quirk before stealing a glance towards Izuku and quickly looking away.
“I…” Ochako squeaked before she coughed quietly, attempting to keep her voice down so she didn’t wake Eri. “That… What I meant… Well…” she tried again, only to continue to stumble over her words, causing her to slump her shoulders in defeat. “I didn't mean to say that out loud…” she finally managed to mumble out.
As Ochako debated on just retreating back to her dorm room, wanting to chalk up what just happened as being tired from the day, hopefully forgetting it ever happened, a green-tipped black feather suddenly appeared in front of her face. Her eyes followed the feather as it idly danced in front of her before it closed the distance between them and tickled her nose softly, causing her to giggle. As the feather pulled back again, it seemingly pointed in the direction of the couch behind her, causing her to turn back towards Izuku. Right before she was about to ask Izuku why he stopped her, the feather moved down and wrapped around her wrist, attempting to guide her back towards where the duo were sitting, causing her to take a few small steps towards them.
Even though Izuku hadn’t moved from where he was sitting (thanks to Eri still being curled into his side), he glanced towards her before quickly looking away again, a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes as a blush still adorned his cheeks. Ochako found herself softly smiling at his own response to what she said, remembering how embarrassed Izuku would get when they first became friends after starting UA.
“I have two wings…” Izuku finally responded quietly, unfolding his wing from behind his back and extending it out beside him. Ochako’s eyes widened again as she looked between Izuku’s face and the extended wing, wanting desperately to sit down beside him and curl into his side, mirroring Eri on his other side.
“Are you…” Ochako whispered as she took another step closer to the couch, “are you sure?”
Izuku took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, an action Ochako recognized meant he was about to make a decision. The soft smile that was on his face fell into a more determined look, surrounded by the blush that still adorned his cheeks. As his emerald eyes caught her auburn eyes, Ochako instantly noticed the determination and seriousness flashing behind his eyes, the look suddenly stealing her breath away.
“Yes,” Izuku responded with no hesitation in his voice, “I’m sure.”
With her heart threatening to beat out of her chest at what was happening, Ochako nodded slowly as the feather wrapped around her wrist began gently guiding her forward once more. Taking another step towards the couch, she slowly eased down beside Izuku before watching as his wing began wrapping around her. Looking towards Izuku with a question behind her eyes, her cheeks heating up even at the thought of what she wanted to ask, Izuku nodded slowly to her unasked question as a blush returned to his cheeks.
Before she could lose the nerve for what she was about to do, Ochako pulled her feet up and curled them under her before leaning against her best friend and crush. The wing continued to embrace her slowly, slowly blocking out the lights in the common room, bringing her a strange comfort and warmth she hadn't experienced before. As she became more comfortable beside Izuku, she felt his arm snake around her waist and pull her tighter to his side, causing her to sign quietly in contentment as she melted more into the embrace.
As Izuku shifted slightly beside her, Ochako looked up towards the boy she was cuddling with, finding him watching her with a soft smile. His emerald eyes were shining with affection for her, bringing her a warmth different than what the embrace provided, while a dusting of a blush still colored his cheeks. Her eyes trailed down from his emerald eyes to his soft lips curled into a smile, knowing if she pushed herself up slightly, she would be able to kiss him like she always dreamed.
Before she could even consider if it was a bad idea, Ochako closed her eyes and pushed herself forward before capturing his lips with her own. Even with the kiss only lasting a few seconds, the two both melted into the soft touch of the other, attempting to convey all the pent-up feelings they held for each other. As Ochako pulled back slowly, blinking her eyes open, she found herself already missing the warm touch of Izuku's soft lips with her own. She watched as Izuku blinked his eyes open before they slowly widened in disbelief, causing Ochako to giggle softly at his reaction. Izuku couldn't help but chuckle along quietly before he leaned down and captured her lips again, allowing the two to melt into the kiss for much longer than before, leaving the two breathless once they finally separated and stared into each other's eyes.
“You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that,” Ochako whispered as she closed her eyes, curling back into Izuku's side and resting her head against his chest. She could hear how his hammering heartbeat matched her own, bringing another soft smile to her lips.
“If it's been anything like how long I've been waiting,” Izuku responded quietly, moving his hand from her waist and into her hair, gently running his fingers through it, “then I might have a pretty good guess.”
Ochako hummed in contentment, melting further into the embrace Izuku provided, feeling her original tiredness finally catching up with her. “We'll need to talk about how this affects our relationship,” she mumbled, “but that can wait until morning. Good night… Izuku.”
“In the morning it is,” Izuku responded softly, his voice continuing to lull her to sleep. “Good night… Ochako.”
Shouta arrived at Height Alliance just as the sun peeked over the horizon, basking UA's campus into a beautiful warm glow. He didn't bother knocking before entering the dorm, his teacher's pass automatically registering on the door and granting him access.
He stopped just inside the dorms, looking towards the bundle of green-tipped black wings that were still on the couch, noticing the scattered notebooks and textbooks along the table. They didn't appear to have moved since he dropped off Eri last night, but knowing his Problem Child, he would have tried to get in as much studying as possible before retiring for the night, even if he was watching Eri.
Taking a few steps towards the couch, Shouta quickly realized why Izuku hadn't appeared to have moved from the couch, with only the difference in where his wings were. On Izuku's left side, hugging some of his feathers to her chest, was Eri sleeping peacefully with a soft smile on her face. On the boy's right side, her head resting on his chest with their arms around each other, was Ochako snoring quietly against him. He couldn't help but smirk behind his capture scarves at how cute the trio looked, and if he was anything like Nemuri, would have already taken out his camera and taken pictures.
Deciding to leave them be for the moment, he walked silently towards the kitchen, wanting to put on a pot of coffee before any of the other students woke up. He was surprised to find Momo and Katsuki sitting in the kitchen, each of them nursing their own breakfast in the near silence of the early morning.
“Mr. Aizawa,” Momo greeted respectfully, already dressed and ready for the day, having pushed her empty plate aside as she worked on finishing the tea she brewed.
“Good morning, Yaoyorozu, Bakugo,” Shouta greeted respectfully in return.
Katsuki grunted in response, but still managed to point his thumb over his shoulder, directly toward the steaming pot of coffee on the counter. “Just brewed, strongest blend, black,” he said simply before returning to nurse his own mug of coffee. Shouta nodded in thanks before moving towards the counter, using one of the provided UA mugs and pouring his own coffee, before turning around and leaning on the counter.
“I take it you’re here to pick up Eri, Mr. Aizawa?” Momo asked once he finished his first sip. “I was about to wake Midoriya, thinking he fell asleep as he was studying last night before I noticed who was wrapped up within his wings.”
Katsuki scoffed before Shouta could respond, causing the two other people in the kitchen to look towards him. “Took the Nerd and Round Face fucking long enough,” Katsuki grumbled before taking another swing of his coffee. “Was getting tired of those two dancing around each other.”
Katsuki looked towards Shouta, pointing his near-empty mug towards the teacher. “If the Nerd is anything like Auntie Inko, and I can guarantee you that he is, that little shit is as good as family to him. Wouldn't be surprised if he already convinced Auntie Inko to look for ways to adopt her.”
“Midoriya would go that far for someone he barely knows?” Momo asked curiously, looking towards Katsuki.
Katsuki scoffed again before finishing his coffee, turning to point his empty mug towards the black-haired beauty. “I grew up alongside the Nerd, and I've witnessed firsthand the distance that family will go for the people they care about.” Katsuki pushed his chair back and walked over towards the still steaming pot of coffee, pouring him another mug.
“It sounds as if you speak from experience, Bakugo,” Shouta pointed out.
“It's because I do,” Katsuki responded simply, turning around and leaning against the counter beside Shouta. “I wasn't the nicest kid growing up,” he shrugged before continuing, “wouldn't be anywhere close to who I am today without the Nerd and Auntie Inko.”
Downing his whole mug of coffee, not caring how hot it was, Katsuki put the dirty mug in the sink before walking towards the shared common room. “I'm gonna wake them up before anybody else catches them. The last thing they need is Racoon Eyes, John Cena, and the Grapist making unnecessary comments about their current predicament.”