Seeking Comfort ( Izuku X Uraraka)

Chapter 19

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Hi mom, how are you?" Ochaco started out when her mother picked up. Her father hadn't been able to attend her call, so the brunette had tried to reach her mother's cell phone instead.

"I'm fine honey, how are you?" Hearing her mother's voice filled her with a sense of calm that she hadn't thought possible. They talked for a few minutes about this and that until Ochaco's father could be heard in the background.

"Is Dad back? Yeah, put him on speaker. There's something I've been meaning to tell you both." Ochaco felt Deku's grip tighten on her fingers as she started telling her parents about the very first nightmare she had had.

She spoke and spoke and poured her heart out to her parents, revealing all the fears she had been keeping to herself for the past month or so. Time had started feeling like an abstract concept to her. She didn't feel the effect of time on a day to day basis, but every now and then she would realize how fast time passed and it would shake her to her roots. Right now, she had no idea that she had been on the phone for half an hour already and that it had started getting cold around her. She had noticed Midoriya's warm fingers wrapped around her free hand and she turned to him with a watery smile and squeezed his hand gratefully and he returned her smile.

"Oh my god Ochaco, why didn't you tell us? I'm so sorry we didn't pick up on it earlier, you must have felt so alone." Her mother's voice shook next to her ear and the brunette had to inhale deeply and exhale slowly to keep herself from freaking out.

"Honey I want you to know that your mother and I are so proud of you. I'm happy you told us how bad it's been and I want you to know that we have your back. Don't worry about how your problems will affect us, rely on us. We are your parents and we love you so, so much." Her father piped in as well and only someone as close to him as his daughter would hear the pleading in his words. We want you to depend on us.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner..." Ochaco trailed off, feeling every bit the small girl she had always been in front of her parents. A part of her felt ashamed that she hadn't been honest with her parents, but the more logical part of her mind reminded her how hard it had been to open up in the first place and her eyes once again sought the person she had come to seek comfort from.

Deku's attention was on the sky where the evening sun was slowly fading, but his body was turned towards her. His jacket had been left open and the shirt he was wearing underneath didn't seem that thick. His face was tilted up and he had a faraway look in his eyes as he watched the sky darken. In the back of her mind, Ochaco filed away the image for later inspection and just marveled at how this kind boy had become a constant part of her daily life.

"Don't apologize Ochaco." Her mother chided gently. The brunette had almost forgotten that she was still on the phone with her parents, she had been that distracted by the quiet boy next to her.

"It's getting late honey, you should go and finish your homework. Promise us you will go see the school counselor ASAP?" Her father asked. He didn't sound commanding, but there was a hint of sternness in his voice that Ochaco didn't miss. Since she had already promised Midoriya to see the counselor, she might as well promise her parents the same thing.

"Of course. I'll talk to you soon, bye." She bid them both good night before ending the call and staring at the display of her phone for a few seconds, not actually believing she had done it. Her ear felt hot from having the phone pressed to it for half an hour and there was a slight ringing, but she couldn't hear the deafening turmoil inside her any longer.

"Are you okay?" Deku wasn't looking at the sky any longer, but had shifted his focus to her. His voice had startled her out of her trance at first, but Ochaco found herself smiling at him. A huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders and her heart felt so light that she was afraid she would float away, but she just couldn't stop smiling.