Chapter Text
Mina was tired. She’d been laying in her too hot bed for what seemed like forever, trying to fall asleep. She turned, then turned, then turned. Yeah, it was NOT working. Groaning, she stretched her arm out towards her phone. It was lying next to her and had been for what seemed like hours. She turned it on and winced at the adjustment to the light.
“Shit. 3 am,” she grumbled to herself.
At this point, falling asleep was probably pointless. If she did fall asleep she’d probably sleep through her alarm and not make it to homeroom. Nope. She wasn’t even going to humor the thought. She was at UA now. She had to be serious about class (and she didn’t want to disappoint Blasty). Cursing the time, she decided that if she wasn’t falling asleep she might as well go grab some water and snacks. She was getting hungry since her dinner had been lighter - Bakugou had been on a date with Kiri and hadn’t been able to cook for everyone he secretly cared about. They were cute together though, so she didn’t mind.
She used her phone’s flashlight to navigate the hall to the elevator. She was still stumbling, her tiredness clear in her walk. When she reached the elevator she fumbled for the button and swayed in her spot as she felt herself move down to the common room floor. The doors were quiet as they opened and she stepped out.
She made her way to the kitchen but halted when she got to the entryway. There, she saw Uraraka and all she could think was “Wow.” Floaty (a nickname Mina came up with after realizing Ochako tended to make her feel a little weightless when they talked, and decided pun nicknames were the best when the person did not know what it really meant) was standing at the counter, which was filled with ingredients. She was wearing a matching pink pajama set with hair in little space buns, the front strands framing her face. She was adorable. A literal cutie.
“Huh,” Mina thought, “I don’t think I can survive this.” Her stomach growled. Oh, well. She’d have to try to survive it at least.
Before walking any further into the kitchen, Mina realized that floaty hadn’t noticed her yet. Analyzing the girl she noticed the buds in her ears. She was swaying too. Listening to music it seemed. Mina’s heart was going to explode. She tried her best to get her attention, though. Ogling for too long would make her feel like Mineta. She shivered. “Ugh, Mineta.”
Shaking her head, hoping to get away from that terrible thought, she decided her game plan. She didn't want to wake everyone up, but she also didn’t want to scare Floaty. Whispering was her best bet. Hoping Uraraka’s music wasn’t too loud, she whispered, “Ochako…”
The girl still swayed, her hips pushing her from one side to another. The music seemed to be loud and was consuming the girl more than before. Her sways became wider, and she grabbed the bowl. Shoot, Mina really didn’t want to startle her. She also didn’t wanna get misunderstood as some creep who watches pretty girls dance in kitchens. Even if she was one right now.
“Ochako…” she whispered louder than before but Floaty didn’t even flinch. She noticed Uraraka began to turn, and hoped it was because she had heard her. However, the dancer with bowl and whisk in hand, begant to twirl instead. Slowly but steady, like someone was behind her, twirling her around. Mina imagined it was her for a second, but decided that was a train of thought for another day.
What was more important now was that the twirl meant Mina could see Floaty’s face. Her eyelids looked shut heavily, tired, but the rest of her face was calm. Her face was the epitome of peace. She was beautiful. Her natural blush, caught high on her cheeks, was highlighted by the kitchen’s minimal light. Oh, what Mina would do to cup those damn cheeks. Then, maybe she could lean forward and...
Instead of getting too lost in thought, Mina shook herself free from her imagination. As soon as her head slowed down from the back and forth shake, Mina caught sight of Uraraka’s eyes slowly opening, adjusting to the blurry sight in front of her, and then popping. Her eyes were wider than Mina had ever seen, her cheeks were more red than usual, and the bowl in front of her began floating.
“Shit!” Ochacko stopped the floating object and caught it in her arms before it splattered on the floor. Though some did splash onto her shirt and cheek. She was even cuter than before now. She looked up and a question showed on her face. What are you doing here?
Mina grasped at words to explain, stuttering, “Oh, well… you see… um...” Ugh, gay panic was a killer. Catching her breath for a moment, she found the words she wanted to say. “Sorry, Floaty,” she giggled, “I came down for some snacks. Couldn’t sleep and got hungry, I didn’t mean to scare ya.”
Floaty was clearly embarrassed. With her hands up to her cheek to wipe off the batter she was able to hide her ever so reddening blush that Mina liked so much. “Anyway, I liked your dance moves.” Mina tried to ease her embarrassment with a joke, “You might be even better than me. I can’t move my hips that well.” Okay, so what if her joke came off a little flirty? She couldn’t help herself.
Uraraka began to giggle a bit too. Her blush lessened, though she still tried to hide her face. But Mina was too courier. She had to ask. “Soooo… whatcha makin’ at 3 am?” She made sure the question wasn’t too bad. She knew if she got her going, Floaty would forget her embarrassment in her reply.
“Oh, well, I couldn’t sleep. I got hungry and I was thinking about all the times I couldn’t sleep all the time when I was younger. I was a rowdy kid.” She pulled her hand up to swipe a stray hair behind her ear. “My mom used to bring me downstairs. She’d hand me a bottle of apple juice and say that we had work to do. That we better get to it.” Mina wanted to keep Uraraka’s face in her head forever, the fond nostalgia was the prettiest sight she’d ever seen. “I was a little confused the first few times, but I got the hang of it eventually. She’d put everything out and I’d get to help her make a cake.” Ochako seemed captivated by her memory as she spoke. Mina was captivated by her.
With a tilt of her smile she finished the story. “She always said that cake was the answer to every problem, but especially the answer to being tired.” Pointing her finger towards Mina and placing her hand on her hip it seemed she was attempting to imitate her mother. “If you can’t sleep, eat cake and try again. Works every time.” Mina’s face must have been doing something a little too revealing to what she was thinking, because Floaty began to blush again. Yet she still puffed her chest out and raised a fist, declaring, “And she’s right! It does work everytime.”
Mina did not understand how someone could be so perfect. The story, her face, her everything was making Mina fall a little bit more in love and Mina did not know if she was ready to confront her feelings getting larger. She had come to terms with her crush ages ago, but if the feelings kept getting bigger her heart might actually explode.
She must have been quiet for too long because Floaty began to talk again. “Do you wanna join. If you can’t sleep, some cake may help. Or some company.” Mina swore that her smile was infectious. The hope in Floaty’s questioning eyes made her melt a little.
“Sure. I’d love to.” Her heart was pounding, but she could stay calm. She could seem calm. With a hop in her fumble-y tired walk she made her way to Ochako. Taking the bowl from her she postured herself as if she were taking on a challenge. Whether it was the challenge of a highschool crush or the challenge of baking a cake was debatable. Looking at the counter she noticed the cut up strawberries. “Oh,” she squealed, “is it a strawberry cake?”
Floaty started blushing again, but Mina was confused. Why would she blush. Was her squeal a little too much? Was she too close? Was the answer to the question personal? Then, Uraraka’s reply made her blush too.
“Yeah,” Floaty sighed looking up to her with her eyes that held an emotion Mina couldn’t quit, “I was in the mood for pink. I was hoping it would make me feel better.” Her face flushed further, “I think it’s working.”
Mina looked down at the cream-colored batter, looked to the unused strawberries, and back to Ochaco’s glittering eyes. The realization hit her like nothing before. Her face felt like fire and her breath was suddenly gone. Her heart beat faster.
“Oh.”