infreefall | redacted ★ andromeda

That's very sweet of you, Bucky. But being truly kind means sharing the burden with your friends.

[she nods at ochako. kid was literally just talking about rescue stuff, they're definitely going to outnumber bucky two to one on this.

elsa wraps the shawl around her shoulders—and smiles.]

I guess they must have.

This is my... my mother's shawl. I didn't have it with me before, or when I woke up. I just found it here. It's... [she hums, pulling it a little tighter, smiling wanely] very important to me.

Mm, mm! Even pro heroes need help sometimes, you know?

[ anyway, pay no mind as ochako comes a bit closer to get a better look at the shawl. ]

That's pretty nice of them. But if you didn't have it with you, I wonder how they got it... Maybe that's their quirk?

[ but for kidnappers to give their victims gifts... weird. she wonders if there's something for her and bucky-san, too? ]

It's pretty, Elsa-san! I've never seen anything like it before.

[ Bucky has NEVER SHARED THE BURDEN IN HIS LIFE AND REFUSES TO START NOW

He scoffs. ]

Fine. But when your back starts hurting from sleeping on the floor, know that you asked for it.

[ He eyes the shawl warily. ]

So they're stealing our stuff now too? And just dumping it in our rooms?

[she giggles, and tilts her head at Bucky, quite enjoying his consternation at two girls telling him to deal with it.]

I'll even let you tell me "I told you so" as many times as you like.

[elsa would, and literally has, died to avoid sharing any sort of burden? so they're probably going to enter a deadlock sooner or later?? it's fine. it'll be like a fun race.]

Seems like it. Not an encouraging sign, but... [she shrugs, sighing.] ...maybe it's a peace offering. A little something to make us feel more comfortable while we help.

Help with what, though? They haven't told us why we're here yet, and we can't help if we don't know what's going on.

[ aizawa-sensei would probably be reminding the class to be prepared for anything, or something along those lines, huh. too bad ochako has never been the best at that.

well. she's going to go check out the closet and see if there's something for her and bucky, after all. ]

Ah - my hero outfit! Wow, they really did bring our stuff, huh?

[ Bucky blinks in surprise. So now both of his roommates have some item of theirs from home mysteriously in their room? Odds are good, then, that Bucky does too.

He peers into the closet cautiously and after a few moments of fruitless searching, almost gives up. But then his hand brushes up against curved metal deep in the darkest part of the closet, and he pulls out a shield. ]

What the hell? This technically isn't even mine. Not anymore, anyway.

...I guess we'll just have to find out.

[she hops off the bed, though—and pads after ochako and bucky towards the closet, staring at their various things—which are significantly larger than hers.]

Oh. My. That's an interesting outfit. [very. puffy? and to bucky:] A shield? Is there a reason it's painted like a target?

[ nodding, she explains: ] It's a bit tighter than I wanted, but it's pretty well designed for my quirk. Helps with the nausea and everything!

[ anyway - ochako's leaning in to get a better look at the shield. ]

Wow, it's almost like something All Might would use. Are you a hero, too, Bucky-san?

[ "are you a hero" is a surprisingly tricky question for him! ]

Uh, kind of? I used to be. That's when I used to use this.

Mostly it's painted like this to match the American flag. Some people say it's target-like to attract more attacks to it instead of your allies, but [ he huffs ] I don't put much stock in that.

[ He gives Ochako's costume a quick onceover. From what he can tell, it looks like a solid design. ] Tight costumes are pretty much industry standard. Especially the more public you are.

[elsa holds up her hands to both of them.]

Okay, okay. Hold on. I have a few questions for both of you.

Ochako, I assume when you say "quirk", that's your country's term for someone's... power, or ability? And you get nausea from using it? [whatever it is] And you're a hero?

Bucky, what is America. A country? A group? And you used to be a hero?

[she laughs a little, clearly embarrassed by her own ignorance and inability to keep up with the two of them.]

And, um... how are we using hero, in this context? You both seem to know more about it than I do.

Ohhhh, so you've already retired. [ she gets it! ] And... yeah, I know about the outfit thing. It's just kind of embarrassing sometimes, you know?

[ do boys know about bad self-esteem days,

anyway, poor elsa over here needs an explanation. ochako gives a sheepish laugh. ]

Yeah, that's pretty much it. My quirk can make anything I touch float. [ she shows them her hands, and the little pads on her fingertips. ] But if I do too much at once, or make myself float, I can get a little nauseous. It takes a while to get used to zero gravity, and it kind of messes up your sense of balance, so...

[ she shrugs. ]

Technically, I'm just a hero in training, but I've got my provisional license already, so I can still do official hero work and al... You know, support and rescue stuff, or fighting villains, that kind of thing.

[ Bucky nods. ] America's a country. I started out in the American army back in World War 2--this shield was my partner's then, before it was mine. We didn't really call ourselves superheroes then, though, we were just...teams of people with powers in weird costumes fighting other people with powers in weird costumes. I think those names came out of marketing.

[ He blinks at Ochako in confusion. ] We don't have licenses or anything like that, though. [ He thinks. Oh jesus, do all the kids have to get licenses now? Is he out of touch??? ] You just...decide to be a hero and start doing it.

[ He also frowns a little, remembering what Ochako said at the start. ] And I didn't retire. I still do the same work, I just do it under the radar, mostly.

[elsa is. looking back and forth between them, slowly piecing things together. she's quiet as they talk, lips pursed.]

Okay. So... correct me if I have this wrong.

Ochako, you're a "hero"-in-training, you're training to rescue people from dangerous situations, for example, from a fight against a... villain. [sounds fake, but ochako said it completely genuinely, so she'll respect that.] A bad person, anyway. Your power, or quirk, is to make people float, but if you use it too much, you can feel ill.

Bucky, you made it clear you don't have any kind of... different powers, or "quirks", but you were still a "hero", or a "superhero". You fought in a war for your country, America, and had a costume, and you fought against other... "superheroes"? I assume that's what Ochako is working to become. You still... sort of work as a "superhero", which is possibly still fighting people, or rescuing them, but not... officially.

[she pauses, brow knitting in concern.]

Do I... have all of that?

Yep, that's pretty much it!

[ she's steepling her hands again, the finger pads of one hand pressed against the other's. ]

So you're an underground hero now, Bucky-san? My homeroom teacher is one, too! Most of his hero work is classified, I think, so no one really knows a lot about the stuff he's done.

But... World War 2? Wasn't that ages ago?

Well, my work is still official, and we don't have terms like "underground heroes" but otherwise yeah. That about covers it.

[ He snorts. ]

And yeah, it was a pretty long time ago. I just aged really gracefully. Plus it helps that I was a kid at the time. Probably about your age. [ He nods at Ochako. ]

[well, it's nice that these two have quite a bit in common! she beams at both of them, now that she's had her information confirmed, and makes her way back over to her bed, train fluttering behind her gracefully.]

I don't mean to interrupt, but... are you early risers? Night owls? Just so I know what kind of schedule you two might keep.

[it's been a little bit since she's shared a room, and... anna was not. an early riser.]

I'm pretty sure Aizawa-sensei's work is official, too? Or he wouldn't still have his hero license. He's pretty strict about following the rules, so I can't imagine him breaking the law to be a vigilante or whatever.

[ she's just gonna leave her hero outfit in the closet for now and go plop herself down on her new bed with a small, embarrassed laugh. ]

I like to sleep in when I can... but I'm used to getting up early for school. Aizawa-sensei even made us get up at dawn for our summer training camp. [ the grimace speaks for itself. ] But I'm kind of a heavy sleeper, so I don't think I'll be bothered if you guys get up before me.

[ Bucky still does not understand what Ochako is talking about. Heroes are vigilantes, usually--all this hubbub about licenses and laws is absolutely bananas to him.

But that's not so important now, it seems. Not when there's roommate ground rules to set. ]

I'm used to sleeping and waking up at all hours--anything goes for me. ...but if I get my choice, I'm more of an early morning kind of guy.

Good. Then, we can get up in our own time in the morning. I agree with Bucky—I'm no stranger to odd hours, but I think I fall in the "early bird" category.

[lots to do in the morning!!]

Do either of you need breakfast?

[ surrounded by early birds... rip. but maybe ochako should try to follow their example, and maybe get some extra training in...? (she will not.) ]

Don't worry about me, Elsa-san! I can make breakfast myself if I need something to eat.

[ or, you know, she'll skip the meal entirely, it's fine either way really. ]

I usually have breakfast but I can put something together myself. Or skip, if need be.

[ Look, he's used to all sorts of weird and harsh circumstances, and also he's a gremlin who would consider eating cranberry sauce out of the can and calling it a meal. ]

I usually make too much for just myself. Are you two sure you don't want to join me? It's simple, but filling.

[she raises her eyebrows at both of them. she's doing her best "you don't have to, buuuuuuuut..." face.]

Oh. Well, in that case, I wouldn't mind!

[ she likes sharing breakfast with friends? ]

I guess I'll join you, then.

...alright, fine.

[ he says it like he doesn't want to but secret: he extremely does ]

Wonderful. I'll have you both loving pickled herrings for breakfast in no time flat.

[is it a joke? she says it like a joke. but there's something in it that sounds less jokey? elsa??]

Do you have a favorite breakfast food?

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