The End Of The War

Chapter 23

Ochako's face was a bit red at the sudden question. It was not something she was ready to answer. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell him.

"Um, well, I did say maybe after you asked if I'd tell you after, so..." she said.

She heard him utter an uh huh that held disappointment. In truth, Ochako had gotten a little caught in the moment back on Kashyyyk. A daring mission, pretty large chance of death, coin-toss chance of success, it almost seemed like the perfect time. Possible last words between them. But the moment had passed. And she was left kind of embarrassed by what she would have said.

"What would you do if I left?" Izuku asked.

"I'd go with you," she replied.

"I mean, if I left and didn't want you to follow. If I just left without saying anything. If I left unnoticed."

Ochako turned around. Izuku's back was to her, and she couldn't tell if he was still looking at Toshinori's broken lightsaber or if he was just looking down.

"Where's this coming from?" She asked, "You know that I don't ever want you to leave."

"But if I did--"

"If you did, I'd look for you. For the rest of my life, I would search."

He turned around to face her. Her first thought for what Izuku was doing was correct, as he had his master's lightsaber in his left hand.

"What if I didn't want to be found?" Izuku asked.

"It wouldn't matter. I would still chase after you. Y-you know, to make sure I could keep my promise... and... and because you're my best friend," She said, her face becoming a bit pink.

Izuku uttered an okay and said he was going to sleep now. He laid down facing her and almost immediately began breathing steadily. Ochako stretched and settled down, facing away from him, but a thought came to mind. She turned around and saw that he was hugging himself, but really trying to hug something or someone. She scooted close to him and nestled herself into him. In his sleep, he wrapped an arm around her front and pulled her close to him. Her face grew a new shade of pink as several... adult thoughts came to her mind. She shoved them to the back of her mind and settled in to sleep. Much like when he had done it their second night out of Carbonite, when they were snuggled together, she didn't have any nightmares.

Izuku woke up to a feeling of warmth in his lap and in his arms. He knew exactly what it was and just laid there, holding her tight. When he opened his eyes, he saw the back of her head and grinned. He placed his forehead on the back of her head and let out a little sigh. Last night, he had hoped that she would have told him what he believed would be her proclamation of love, but she didn't. After asking about what she would do if he left, she seemingly told him that she saw him as a friend. It didn't make much sense, though. Yesterday morning, he could feel her warm breath as she seemingly wanted to kiss when he did the same.

He felt Ochako stir in his arms, throwing him out of his thoughts. She turned her head and smiled at Izuku. She nestled herself even deeper into him and let out a contented sigh. Izuku was glad that she was facing away from him now, as his face turned a deep crimson. Now her telling him that she seemingly saw him as a friend made even less sense.

He looked over to the dresser and saw a suggestively shaped clock that read the time.

"Ochako, we should get back to the hangar." He said.

"Just a couple more minutes, Deku. Let me enjoy this." She sighed contentedly.

She squeezed his arm in a hug. Izuku decided to tighten his hug on her. She let out a little giggle. Almost immediately, he remembered the Talk Master Yagi had given him. He also felt a certain... excitement beginning to stir. And if Ochako didn't move soon, she would feel that excitement. Thankfully, before he was fully excited, she did scoot away from him. Izuku got up and sat on the bed. He dug through his pockets and pulled out a comlink.