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It’s all Mina and Tooru’s fault.
Like, it’s not their fault it’s raining right now, of course not! It’s also not their fault that Ochako forgot to check the forecast and didn’t bother to put an umbrella in her bag this morning. Oh, and she also can't blame them for the fact that even if she had brought the umbrella, it wouldn't make much of a difference because it's kind of broken and she seriously needs to buy a new one... anyway, the only thing that is, in fact, the girls’ fault, it's a conversation all of them had over a tea party in Yaomomo's room last week.
Summer always starts with a lot of showers that don’t last long and make the weather warmer, that's a known fact. Ochako is not a big fan of rainy days, while Mina and Tooru are the biggest enthusiasts, because, according to them, rainy days mean sharing an umbrella with that special someone. Oh, and there's that myth about the kiss too.
She has no idea where the two got this idea from, but they swear there's a myth that says couples who kiss in the rain are destined to be together forever. Okay, it's very cute and romantic, but Ochako would have rather heard about it AFTER she "got a ride" on Bakugou's umbrella, or rather… Katsuki’s umbrella, he practically demanded that she calls him by his first name, but it's still kind of weird.
The whole thing about them dating is kind of weird, actually. It's also pretty exciting, it always makes her happy to get a "Good night" message from him, or to see him put aside his squabbles with Deku, Todoroki and Iida and sit down with them to have lunch next to her. It's wonderful, but still weird, she's not used to it yet, and simple and ordinary things still make her feel super flustered.
Things like sharing an umbrella, for instance. Katsuki saw her standing at the entrance of the classroom building and asked why she was still there, Ochako explained that she didn't have an umbrella and waited for his signature scolding about always leaving the dorms prepared for everything and blah blah blah, but instead he just tsked, opened his red umbrella and told her to follow him. Simple as that. Her cheeks turned the color of his umbrella, but she agreed, there was no telling what time the rain would stop and she still had her homework to do. Off they went along the paved sidewalks of U.A. with her dying of embarrassment, having her mind bombarded by every shoujo manga she's ever read and not being able to stop feeling like she was in one of those stories.
“Oi, I’m talking to you, Space Cadet. What are you zoning out for, huh?” he nudges her shoulder a little harder.
“Huh?”
“I asked if there’s anything important in those pockets of your bag, they’re getting wet.” he points with his thumb to behind them, and she turns to look over her shoulder.
“Oh… nah, I don’t think so.”
“Tch, then just say that instead of spacing out, damnit.” he grumbles “Fucking stupid rain.”
Ah yes… his quirk and the rainy season don't get along very well, his explosions are still huge and impressive, but a little less strong than they usually are on sunny bright days, which must frustrate him immensely. On days like these, he even looks a little tired and almost, ALMOST docile.
“We’re almost at the dorms.” she tries to console him “Ugh, just remembering the pile of homework we have almost makes me think it’d be better to just stay here in the rain.”
“Quit being so dramatic, Uraraka. It’s just some fucking silly homework. If I help you, you’ll be done before dinner.”
“And will you? Help me?” she can’t see herself, but knows her eyes are shining with hope and excitement.
“Tch, whatever. But it’s gotta be whether in your room or in mine. Otherwise those nosy extras will start pestering us about it being a date, fuck them all.”
“O-oh… yeah, okay then. We could study in your room, then I can float myself back to the girls’ side when we're done.” she tries to sound chill and casual. It’s not the first time they do a small study session at his room, but Kirishima was there too. This time, it’s apparently only the two of them.
“Fine.” he shrugs “It’s not a date, got it?”
“Yeah, I know.” she does, and has no idea why he’s being so adamant about it.
“You’d better. Like I was ever gonna take you on a lame ass date like that. When we go out on a date, Cheeks, I’ll turn your world upside down, just you wait.”
She's mortified but immensely happy, he's... ugh, Ochako doesn't know why she's attracted to someone who phrases a date invitation as a threat, but he's so... cute and ridiculous and so... him! And she loves just about anything that involves him.
And look at them sharing an umbrella, there's no way his shoulder isn’t all wet by the way he’s tilting the umbrella to shield her completely from the rain droplets... Ochako takes a look around, it's late afternoon, but the sky is so dark it almost looks like it’s already late at night. It's just the two of them on the sidewalks of the campus, the flowers and trees are beautiful, even soaked... he's so close... if she calls his name and stands on her tiptoes when he turns around… it would be perfect, wouldn't it? Everything fits perfectly, the scenery, the moment…
Except for the fact that a van is coming in the opposite direction of theirs, and there happens to be a not-so-small puddle of water forming near the sidewalk, over which the van — probably being driven by someone from the school staff heading to some facility that got damaged by the storm from earlier — it's sure to run and soak them.
“Ah, watch out!” she yells and closes her eyes, raising her hands out of pure instinct, since she knows there’s nothing she can do to stop the water from getting spilled on them.
“The fuck is that…?” Katsuki sounds astonished rather than pissed off.
When she opens her eyes, Ochako gets why. He’s dry, both of them are.
And he looks this perplexed because it seems like he’s touching something solid in the air that looks transparent. Ochako looks at him, then she looks at the ground and realizes the rain drops aren’t falling where they’re standing. By looking up, she sees the droplets hitting something and going back up, as if there’s an invisible dome above them.
“What? Katsuki, is that y-?”
“It’s like a… gravitational bubble that repels stuff.” he analyzes and turns to her, his scarlet eyes gleaming in what looks like manic joy. “You're the one who did this, Ochako.”
“M-me? B-but how? It doesn’t work that way, I’d have to touch every raindrop to make it float and… I don’t think I can do that with water because of the density, well, at least I never tried, but… anyway, that’s not how my quirk works. Unless…” she widens her eyes “Unless…”
“Unless it evolved.” they both say at the same time.
“But… but how?”
“It’s rare, but it can happen for people from our generation when they’re in trouble. Not like some shitty rain is really trouble, but you get what I’m saying. You just got desperate not to get wet and it manifested.” he watches the bubble with fascination, she’s never seen him look at something like that besides All Might.
“I… my quirk… EVOLVED!” she yells and stops right in front of him “IT EVOLVED!”
“Yeah, didn't you already fucking understand?” he bites, then turns to her with a half-smile that makes her heart flutter “Not bad, Cheeks, but don’t you start getting all cocky, ya hear me? You’re gonna pull that new stunt in our next training session, I wanna see if you're a match for me.”
And that's what she loves most about him. Not the pathological competitiveness or the obvious fact that he’s kinda jealous that his quirk hadn't evolved too — like there’s even a need to get more powerful — but the way he puts all that aside so that she appreciates what she did, so that she challenges herself to explore more of it. Whether it's true or not, Ochako’s still not sure, but in his mind, she and Katsuki are equals in strength and determination. And there's nothing more flattering than that.
“Oh, so this is going to be the date you were talking about? A sparring session to test my newfound power? Pretty sure I’d be the one turning your world upside down, then.” she smiles as she comes closer to him.
“We’ll see about that.” he smiles back and leans a little towards her, kissing her softly and enthusiastically at the same time.
It’s not their first kiss, she’s not even sure how many time they’ve kissed already, and yet there’s something different about this one, something special.
Ochako wraps her arms around his neck to glue her body to his, earning an adorable sigh of satisfaction in response, he squeezes her hips and tilts his head a little to change the angle of the kiss.
“A kiss under the rain means the couple is destined to be together forever.”
She’s glad Mina and Tooru told her that. Ochako wanted the perfect moment and unintentionally created one herself.
The perfect moment ends, though, when they get drenched with cold, thick drops of water. It's a new ability, she doesn't know how to control it yet, meaning she doesn't know how to activate it... or how to deactivate it. There must be something to do with her focus, because the kiss distracts her too much and she ends up canceling her gravitational shield, and since the umbrella is on the ground, they both end up soaking wet.
Ochako has the impression that their date will be postponed because they’ll both have a cold. But does she regret this afternoon?
Not even one bit.