The air in the Heights Alliance common room was thick with the smell of cheap pizza, spilled soda, and something else—something lighter. Relief. It hummed under the thunder of Present Mic’s pre-quirk classics, vibrating through the mismatched string lights Mina had taped haphazardly to the ceiling.

Class 1-A was a tangle of limbs and laughter on the couches and floor, a monument to survival. Bandages peeked from under sleeves, a sling here, a fading bruise there. But for the first time in months, the silence that had haunted the dorms was gone, drowned out by the sheer, giddy noise of being alive.

The bottle made its way around the circle. Sips, not shots. Enough to warm cheeks and loosen tongues, but no one got truly drunk. The warmth was pleasant, a shared secret.

The mood was light, the laughter easy. Then Mina’s eyes, gleaming in the low light, landed on you.

Screw it.

You moved. On your hands and knees, you crossed the circle, the shag carpet rough under your palms. You stopped in front of Ochako Uraraka.

Her brown eyes were huge, her lips slightly parted in surprise. She didn’t pull away.

You leaned in. The kiss was soft. Slow. Painfully gentle. Her lips were warm and tasted faintly of the strawberry soda she’d been drinking.

A collective, sharp intake of breath hissed around you. Then a burst of gasps, a choked-off whistle from Kaminari, a loud “WOAH!” from Kirishima.

But it all faded into a distant buzz. Because Ochako… leaned into it. Her hands came up, not to push you away, but to rest lightly, trembling, on your shoulders. She kissed you back.

When you finally pulled back, just an inch, the world rushed back in. Ochako was breathless, her cheeks flushed a deep, beautiful pink. Your own hands were shaking.

The room was staring. Mina’s jaw was on the floor. Jiro had both hands clamped over her mouth. Iida was rigid. Bakugou looked vaguely disgusted but intrigued. Midoriya was smiling, soft and understanding.

And Ochako just looked at you, her eyes wide and searching, full of a question neither of you knew how to voice.