#minus last night where i dreamt of my last crush no i’m not still in love get out of my subconscious pls !

[ihopeucomehomesoon]

real

#the way this has happened to me many times !! #minus last night where i dreamt of my last crush no i’m not still in love get out of my subconscious pls !

[ionlyspeakinmyheroacademia]

Late Nights and Lavender Tea

series masterlist ☕️ 

Pairing: Izuku Midoriya x Ochako Uraraka

Warnings: Some lauguage, gets a lil steamy at some parts, slow burn, MAJOR SPOILERS

Summary: After a year of friendship, Uraraka realizes that she is totally in love with her best friend, Midoriya Izuku. There's just one slight problem. She's in a happy, committed relationship with Iida Tenya.Or is she? As their relationship progresses, she sees a side of Tenya that scares her- and she wonders if she made the right choice to get with him in the first place. And her resurfacing feelings for Izuku aren't helping her case, not in the slightest.Midoriya Izuku always avoids romantic relationships, but he simply cannot avoid his feelings for Uraraka Ochako. She's taken, but Izuku can't help but hopelessly pine after her. After seemingly the millionth late-night talk over tea, he realizes that he's head over heels in love with her. He's in love with a girl who's off-limits. He can swallow his feelings for her sake, of course.That's okay with Izuku. If she's happy, he's happy for her. It's really okay, honestly.Teenage relationships are hard. That's one thing they've both realized.

Notes: This is my first fic, let me know what you think! (cross posted on ao3)

Chapter 3: Katsu’s a Bitch for the Drama

Ochako watched proudly as her boys received their medals. Tenya had tied for third with Todoroki and Izuku had taken first, just barely beating Bakugou in the finals. Bakugou had been angry, but he seemed to be somewhat calmed down, despite muttering foul words under his breath when he thought no one was listening. 

She had been so worried throughout Bakugou and Izuku’s match. She could see the determination in Izuku’s eyes to win, and he almost didn’t. He had used too much of his flying it seemed, he had sunk down to the ground, and barely landed a powered kick on Bakugou before knocking him back and scooping him up with his black whip and throwing him backward, just barely out of bounds. Kirishima had been extremely frightened, running down to check on his boyfriend. 

Ochako had honestly been surprised Izuku hadn’t held back with Bakugou. She knew he had always had a soft spot for him, and she never thought he’d be so violent. But that was how it went in the Sports Festival, and honestly she was glad it was over. She was so proud of Tenya and Izuku. 

“Congratulations on third Tenya!” she cried, throwing herself towards him and hugging him tightly around the neck. He hugged her back, but not with as much enthusiasm. He seemed angry with her for some reason, and she couldn’t figure out why. 

“Come with me,” he whispered in her ear, and pulled her into the building before she could congratulate Izuku, who was surrounded by their other classmates, minus Bakugou, Kirishima, Sora, and Todoroki. 

“What’s going on Tenya?” she asked, when they were in a closet right inside the building. “Are you alri-” She was cut off by his lips crushing against hers. She kissed him back for a moment, then pushed lightly against his chest. “Hey, hey, whoa what’s going on? Usually you wouldn’t do this unless we were where no one else would see- are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he huffed. “Am I not allowed to make out with my girlfriend?”

He didn’t let her answer, just pressed his lips against hers again, and put his hand on her back to pull her closer. She squirmed slightly under his strong grip, uncomfortable. She didn’t know if it was the shelf digging into her back, or the fact that Tenya had never been this rough with her, and it was making her nervous. He pulled away, looking to see the shelf in her back, and pulled her closer so that she wasn’t touching it, pressing her against the wall next to it instead. 

“Sorry about that,” he mumbled, and brought his lips back to hers. She was starting to panic slightly, her breath quickening, heart-pounding, and she pushed Tenya back, gasping. 

“I’m sorry Tenya. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t feel comfortable making out with you when you’re like this. I think you need to calm down,” she said breathlessly, moving to open the door. He mumbled something incoherent. “What was that?” she questioned, turning to face him again. 

“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to just be with me every once in a while. I was kissing you. I’m your boyfriend Ochako. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if Midoriya pressed you up against the wall and kissed you like that, would you?” he barked, ignoring the dumbstruck look on her face. “Well? Would you?”

After a moment of shocked silence, Ochako finally regained her voice. “First of all, why are you doing this? We’ve been doing so well. And honestly, I don’t like this side of you. Come find me when you’re done acting like a child,” she retorted angrily, pivoting and hurrying towards the doors to the dorms. She didn’t let herself cry until she was out of earshot from him. And even though she knew he could catch up to her easily, he never came.

…

Later that night, after avoiding Tenya all afternoon, she was sitting in the kitchen staring at a cup of lavender tea. She was lost in her thoughts, so upset over Tenya, that she hadn’t gone to dinner with the rest of them, and couldn’t sleep. 

“Hey,” she heard someone call softly, and felt a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay Uraraka? I haven’t seen you since before the awards ceremony.”

She turned to see Izuku, hair messy and sticking in all directions, brows slightly furrowed in concern, but his eyes were soft, and he was smiling slightly, but it was full of warmth. She shook her head, and felt the tears start to fall. 

“Hey, hey, shhh,” he murmured, putting his arms around her softly. She tried to ignore how it made her heartbeat rapidly. She sobbed lightly into his T-shirt, staining it with tears. He pulled her back and looked into her eyes. “What happened Ochako?” 

She smiled at the use of her given name and wiped her nose with her arm. “Tenya and I had a fight today.”

“Over what?” he asked. 

“Nothing, it was stupid- it doesn’t matter…” 

“If it made you cry, then it’s important to me.”

“Well,” she sighed, sniffling. “I don’t know, he was being so rough, and he was upset, and when I asked him why, he got mad, and just retaliated with ‘am I not allowed to make out with my girlfriend?’ and then he just got rougher and it made me nervous, so I pushed him away, and that made him really angry, and he said things I hope he didn’t mean…” she said breathlessly, choking down sobs as she spat out the words. “I don’t know what happened, I don’t know if it was him getting third place or what but he’s always been such a good sport and he’s never been that rough with me before,” she sobbed, tears slipping down her cheeks. 

Izuku pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her and letting her cry it out. 

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, wiping her eyes and nose. “I shouldn’t have forced that at you-”

“No, I’m glad you told me. We’re best friends, we tell each other everything, right?” he said, and grinned at her, wiping a tear off her cheek. She then realized how close they were, and pulled back quickly. 

“So… congratulations on placing first! I wanted to congratulate you, but I…” 

“That’s alright,” he said, clearing his throat and smiling at her. “Thank you. I’m honestly really surprised.” They looked into each other’s eyes, lingering for a few seconds too long. Ochako cleared her throat and looked down at her mug. 

“Do you want some tea?” she asked, turning away from him to hide the flush rising on her cheeks. 

“Uh… sure,” he said, his voice shaking slightly, not enough to be noticeable to a normal person, but she knew Izuku, and to her, it was as loud as a siren. She wondered if it was from their eye contact. Probably not, I mean, he does like Tsu, so if he is uncomfortable, it’s only because you are, she thought and busied herself with making him a cup. 

“So…” she said innocently after they had been sitting and drinking their tea in silence for a few minutes. “How has the whole thing with Tsu been going? You still like her right?”

“Umm, about that-” he started but was cut off by Bakugou. 

“What are you two nerds doing down here?” he asked, his voice bleary from sleep. 

“Uh, we couldn’t sleep so we were having some tea,” Ochako said quickly. 

“Whatever Pink Cheeks,” he said sleepily, and walked over to the fridge, grabbed a cookie, and started back for the elevator. 

“Wow, it’s late! We should probably go to bed,” Izuku said, smiling softly at her. He turned around to set his cup in the sink and started towards the elevator behind Bakugou. 

“Wait!” she burst out. “Thank you. For everything.”

His smile was breathtaking when he replied; “Always.”

She watched him go, smiling and sighed when he got on the elevator. She shook her head, slapping the side of it repeatedly. What is wrong with you Ochako! You have a boyfriend! Stop thinking about Izuku! Her brain was berating her, but her heart was melting, she was just so happy. She had almost forgotten about her fight with Tenya, and when she got back up to her room, she fell asleep and dreamt warm and happy dreams compared to her usual restless nightmares. 

The next morning, Izuku was heading towards the kitchen when he saw Iida and Ochako. He felt a swell of jealousy and a stab of pain as Ochako stood on her tip-toes to kiss Tenya on the lips. He looked away, his appetite gone, and flopped on the couch next to Sora and Todoroki. 

“What’s wrong Midoriya?” Sora asked, taking in his friend’s expression.

“Nothing,” he grumbled, and Todoroki looked towards the kitchen and then turned back, nodding. 

“That’ll do it,” Todoroki stated plainly. 

“I guess they made up,” Sora said, after taking a peek. “Iida was so torn up yesterday, he said he really messed up, I don’t know what he did, but it seemed bad, he was so upset…” 

“I know, I talked to Ochako last night.”

“Ooh, Ochako? Since when were you two on a first-name basis?” Todoroki teased quietly, so the others didn’t hear. 

“Oh shut up,” Izuku said, giving Todoroki a look. Todoroki laughed, and Sora elbowed him in the ribs. 

“Um, ow,” Todoroki yelped indignantly. 

“Oh hush,” Sora teased, kissing his boyfriend lightly.  

“Can you two quit it?” Izuku mumbled. “Can’t you see I’m trying to mope over here?” 

“Why are you moping, Midoriya?” Kirishima prompted, popping up from behind the couch. Sora, startled, fell over onto Todoroki. Bakugo stood up next to him, looking annoyed (per usual), causing Sora to throw his hands in the air in exasperation.

“Is this about Pink Cheeks, you idiot? You really need to get over yourself,” Bakugou practically yelled. 

Izuku’s face blanched. “Kacchan! What the hell is wrong with you?” He swiveled around in his seat, pushing Bakugou violently out of the way to see that they were no longer there. He breathed a sigh of relief while simultaneously feeling hurt. How did she forgive him so quickly? She was so upset yesterday… 

“Why the hell do you think it’s okay to push me you idiot? Don’t think I won’t blast you into the sky!” 

“Calm down babe,” Kirishima said, setting a gentle hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Anyway Midoriya, sorry we were eavesdropping, we just couldn’t help ourselves. Katsu over here is a bitch for the drama.”

“Shut your piehole Ei,” Bakugou muttered, earning a grin from Kirishima. 

Izuku laughed. “It’s alright, I guess. Just don’t be so loud next time, Kacchan.”

“Don’t tell me what to do nerd,” Bakugou muttered, but was smiling slightly at his boyfriend. 

“So… what are you gonna do about Uraraka?” Kirishima asked, cocking his head to the side slightly. 

“I don’t know, I’m kind of hopelessly in love with her, so it’s awkward to be around her without other people there, and we keep running into each other in the middle of the night, and honestly Kacchan, if you hadn’t shown up last night, I probably would’ve confessed to her. And that wouldn’t have been good, considering she went right back to Iida this morning, so she obviously loves him, not me, which I already knew…” he was rambling, his friends looking on sympathetically, except for Todoroki and Bakugou, Todoroki was staring down at the ground, a look of concentration on his face as he watched a bug scuttle underneath the couch. Bakugou was rolling his eyes, watching Izuku with a sneer. 

“You’re an idiot Deku, you know that? How could you fall in love with your best friend? You’re hopeless!” Bakugou laughed maniacally, doubling over, and earning a swift kick from Kirishima right in the shin. “Why the hell did you do that Ei?!” he asked, hurt creeping into his voice, as he stopped laughing, looking at his boyfriend with puppy-dog eyes. It was very out of character for Bakugou, and Izuku almost laughed. Kirishima lovingly ruffled his spiky hair, grinning, and looked back to Izuku, still smiling, while Kacchan’s face was set in a deep pout. 

“You’ll figure it out Midoriya, don’t worry about it,” Kirishima reassured him, patting the green-haired boy on the head. “Anyway, Katsu and I are gonna go eat now, eavesdropping is taxing work,” Kirishima said, earning a laugh from the boys on the couch, and a mumble of agreement from Bakugou. 

Izuku watched the couple walk away, Kirishima throwing his arm over Bakugou’s shoulders and Bakugou just shrugging it off, smiling, and then turned back to Sora and Todoroki. 

“Well, now that we have internships coming up, I’ll at least have a week to think about what I need to do about Uraraka,” Izuku said, massaging his temples. 

“Yeah,” Sora replied, and then brightened suddenly. “So where are you going for your internship?” 

“I don’t know,” Izuku answered truthfully. He most likely had lots of offers coming in from different agencies, but he wasn’t sure. “I might go back to Endeavor’s agency. After all, I did learn a lot when I was there before.”

“That’s where I think I’m going as well,” Todoroki said, nodding. “As much as I hate the bastard, I’m still getting used to using my fire all the time.” 

“No fair! You two get to go somewhere together while I go off somewhere else!? You guys’ll be having all kinds of fun without me!” Sora whined, pouting. 

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to make it up to you then,” Todoroki proposed, leaning in to his boyfriend and kissing him lightly on the lips.

“I’m going to take that as my cue to leave,” Izuku said quickly, standing up and hurrying towards the kitchen to grab a Pop Tart before Sora could protest. 

Now, where are the Pop Tarts again? I could have sworn they were in this cabinet, he thought, rummaging through the boxes. 

“What are you looking for Midoriya?” he heard a voice from behind him ask. Iida. Izuku turned around, forcing a smile onto his face. 

“Just grabbing a Pop Tart, well, I would be if I could find them,” Izuku answered, taking in Iida’s disheveled appearance, his lips a bit swollen, hair tousled. He could see Ochako sitting at one of the tables next to Yaomomo and Jirou, her hair looking like she had tried to tame it after someone (cough-Iida-cough) had run their fingers through it wildly, her cheeks flushed as her friends teased her. 

“Can we talk?” Iida asked, his head cocking to the side. “Preferably outside?” 

“Um, sure,” Izuku gulped, turning back to the cabinet. “Just let me get my Pop Tart first.”

“Alright,” Iida said unwillingly. “By the way Midoriya, the Pop Tarts are in the other cabinet.”

“Oh, duh. Thanks Iida,” Izuku laughed, walking over to the other cabinet and opening it to see the Pop Tarts sitting right in the front. Of course. He opened the box, pulling out a strawberry one and ripped off the wrapper, biting into it absently. He wondered what Iida wanted to talk about, although he had a pretty good idea. He wasn’t looking forward to getting chewed out, even though he knew he deserved it. He sighed, watching Iida walk towards the doors to the courtyard, and discarded his wrapper before following. 

Izuku walked out into the courtyard, preparing himself for a lecture. 

“Midoriya, we need to talk,” Iida started. Izuku nodded, bracing himself for the harsh truth that he needed to get over Ochako, that she was Iida’s, not his. “I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted yesterday, I don’t know what came over me, to be honest. I guess it was getting third place or….” he trailed off, anger flashing across his features before wiping clean again. “Anyway, I was harsh with you yesterday, and I felt I needed to apologize. I hope you can forgive me.” 

Izuku stared at him in shock, disbelief coloring his face, before he shook it off and smiled. “Of course Iida, don’t worry about it.”

Iida bowed, smiled at Izuku, and walked back into the building. Izuku felt weak in the knees. He had been so nervous that Iida was going to yell at him, or at least get angry. For the first time since Iida and Ochako had been dating, Izuku had felt that maybe, just maybe, she liked him back, and would be his if he asked. He had been ready to fight for her, he realized with a jolt. He would’ve fought Iida for her. It scared him a little. He’d never been the type to just fight people, he wasn’t like Bakugou, who just threw himself into fights constantly, who constantly wanted to fight. 

But for Ochako? Izuku would do anything. But she was with him. At least she’s happy, he thought, as long as she’s happy…

#my hero academia #bnha fanfic #boku no hero academia #midoriya izuku x uraraka ochako #midoriya izuku #original character #slow burn #kiribaku #fanfic #spoilers

[mirageofrenarouge]

That Fateful Night (Part 3/3)

Part 1 Part 2

Read it on AO3, if ya like!

“Ladybug, is that you? I heard you fly in from the window.” Adrien feigned drowsiness and sat up in his bed. Marinette was frozen in place, silhouetted in the darkness of his pitch black room. The only part of her that Adrien could see where her alluring blue eyes, a mask of white light across her face. She stood frozen in place, caught between a rock and a hard place. She wanted to confess to Adrien herself, not through Ladybug. Ladybug was not a girl who could be his girlfriend alone. At the same time, Marinette Dupain-Cheng could not have just gone feet first through a window and landed perfectly. Neither of them noticed their kwamis, one hid in darkness and the other a purse, shaking their heads identically in disbelief.

“It is me, yes…” Marinette finally said, putting on her heroic Ladybug voice. “But I’m not transformed right now. Honestly, I was coming to confess my love to you as myself. I-It sounds so stupid out loud.” Her fake confidence faltered, and she took a more awkward posture. She was probably giving herself away majorly right now.

“I don’t think that sounds stupid. That’s...really romantic, mi- err, Ladybug!”

Had he almost said her name? Did he know? How could he possibly already know who she was?

“That being said though,” Adrien continued. “Why tonight, of all nights?” He couldn’t help but smirk at being the one in the know for once. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered to be visited by the heroine of paris like a blushing Juliet, but…”

She wondered briefly if she should be honest, because the answer was honestly just as stupid to her. There was really nothing any more special about tonight than any other night she hadn’t told him how she felt, any other day at school she had failed to get the words out to him between classes. She looked down at the floor for a moment. She could feel Adrien’s eyes searching for anything to identify her in the darkness.

“Chat Noir,” she said at last. “He showed me that I was being silly in wasting time wishing.”

A familiar smirk crawled across Adrien’s face. Marinette, not seeing the correlation, simply blushed at the young model’s dazzling smile.

“That Chat Noir, he’s quite a guy then.” Adrien remarked, clearly pleased with himself. “But why me instead of him? He not your type?”

The flirtatious tone that Adrien was taking with her was making her heart do jumping jacks, and sending her mind into a confused semi-panic. There was clearly something he knew that she didn’t. Had he put Chat Noir up to this? Did he somehow know about her crush ahead of time? Was he just playing with her heart? No, Adrien wasn’t like that. Still, nothing was making sense.

“Well...now that I know that it’s you, what do we do?”

He had really charged right at the elephant in the room. Marinette was scared. Her heart was pounding for so many reasons all at once that she felt faint. Still, it was far too late to back down now. Even if she wanted to just transform, hop back out the window into the night, and disappear into the light of the moon... she couldn’t. And what’s more, she didn’t want that. She wanted love; she wanted his love. She had admired him from afar for far too long. It was time to make her move. Marinette wanted to be his girlfriend, but she couldn’t by herself any more than Ladybug could. He had to know both sides of her, to love them both for their relationship to truly be what she had always wanted.

“I want to show you who I am. It’s asking a lot of you, to keep my secret. I trust you, though. I know you, and I know you can be trusted with a secret.”

You have no idea, my Lady.

“So unless you don’t want it…”

She gave him time to chime up, but heard nothing. She took a shaky breath, another. A third. She stepped out into the light. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was bathed in natural light. Her blue eyes shone in contrast to her dark hair. The pastel colors of her outfit stood out as well. She stood like this, afraid of rejection but hopeful.

Adrien sat back in disbelief. An attempt to say her name died in his throat as he took in that she was really there. Marinette, his shy classmate, the savior of Paris. She was his partner that had been through so much with him. She was the one to always save the day. Of course it was her, who else could it have been? The dark blue hair, the sky blue eyes. She was the spitting image of his Lady, minus a bright red suit and mask and a yo-yo. She acted like his Lady too, just in different ways. Ladybug saved the day with her lucky charm, while Marinette…

Marinette gave him her lucky charm.

“W-wow…” was all he eventually got out. She crinkled at the word, feeling unsure how positive a reaction that was.

“You’re probably disappointed. I’m not-”

“You are a hero, Marinette.”

Her self-deprecation was snatched from her lips. She formed a blush at his words. She could scarcely believe that he so easily saw the hero in plain old Marinette, the baker’s daughter who was late to everything.

“It makes so much sense. The noble nature, the knowing everyone’s name from our class...the disgust whenever Chloe called you her ‘best friend.’” He shook his head and laughed. “I can’t believe I never put it together.”

He got out of bed, feeling a little silly for having put on pajamas. “This makes it all so clear. I love you, Marinette. I have for so long, and I never even realized.”

Her cheeks ignited instantly, heat radiating from them as her eyes watered. They moved towards one another, feeling something was about to change between them.

“It’s only fair then, that I let you in on a little secret as well.” His smirk had returned to the Adrien smile that made her heart melt. He looked at her with the love in his eyes that she had missed so many times beneath his mask. It was mystifying. He too, had missed the way that she had gazed at him in the halls. He realized that now, and he wanted to make up for every wasted minute.

Finally, they reached each other, and embraced as if destiny had drawn them to do so. Marinette never wanted to move from his hold, his arms around her like a security blanket. He melted from the feeling of her head resting against him, a love that he had only dreamt about since his mother’s disappearance. He knew it was time. He pulled away just slightly, not daring to let go. At half arm’s-length, he stroked her cheek and looked into her eyes. He brushed her hair behind her ear, revealing her miraculous. The black earring, not possessed by the power of Tikki, shone slightly in the moonlight that eclipsed them both. He touched her cheek again, letting his ring touch her ear. The silver was much brighter even in the dim light, and almost sparkled. She felt the touch of his miraculous to hers, and suddenly the stars aligned.

“You’re Chat Noir!” She cried, breathlessly. His hand flew to her mouth, ring reflecting light in his eyes at his reaction. He stopped this just as quickly.

“Sorry, reflex. Someone could hear.” He put his offending hand behind his head in embarrassment

“You’re...you’re my kitty!” She tried again at about half volume. “I can’t... you ? You made all those dumb cat puns? Flirted with me non-stop?” she sounded almost annoyed that she had never realized, but then her expression softened. “Saved my life countless times? Showered me in compliments every time I-” she stopped before she gave herself an aneurysm from the energy of Oh my God Marinette how did you never see how obvious this is ? Instead, she let her nervous energy out the only way she could think of. She grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him down into a kiss.

The kiss. That was what they would call it for years to come. The dancing around each other, both in civilian and superhero life. The almost confessions and misunderstandings, it all became clear. Suddenly, there was only love. Adrien was shocked, but kissed her back like it was all he had.

“You stupid tomcat,” she said as they finally broke, struggling to catch her breath. “You knew I was coming her to confess my love to you the whole time!” She feigned offense but giggles gave her away.

“Guilty, my Lady.” They both felt the world pause when he called her that for what felt like the first time, and the millionth.

They spent the next few hours introducing their kwamis, recounting their battles from each perspective. They couldn’t believe how often they had barely missed each other transforming, or detransforming.

“We’re just...we’re…”

“Completely blind .” Plagg interjected.

“Like the rest of Paris, apparently.” Tikki added, with a chuckle.

“I guess, ironically, I only had eyes for you. Even I didn’t know it.” Adrien heard himself say. He chuckled right after. “That was maybe too cheesy even for Chat.”

“It was a Chat line for sure, but...sweet.” Marinette said. “A perfect blend, just like you.

Their lips met again, and they held each other for the longest time.

As the sun began to tease its arrival over the horizon, Marinette and Adrien echoed each others’ yawns.

“Another sleepless night,” he said frankly. “We’ve had enough of those to last a lifetime.”

“It’s alright, though. Knowing that it’s you with me on patrol, Chat and Adrien, makes me feel even better about it. Let Hawkmoth do his worst. We’re gonna kick his ass.”

Adrien gasped. “Marinette...did you just say that?”

“I guess I did.” she giggled nervously. “Too much?”

“No,” he shook his head emphatically. “It was...bold, but hopeful. Only my Lady could do both so effortlessly.”

“Okay, Kitty. Your flirting is adorable, but I have to go before my parents wake me up for school.” Tikki flew to Marinette’s side, stomach growling.

“How about a ride on the Chat Noir Express?” The Chat smirk returned, looking more real on his face than it ever had. “Plagg, claws out!”

The kwami, who was sitting idly and digesting cheese, was forcibly sucked into the ring as Adrien became Chat Noir in a flash of neon green. Marinette was spellbound throughout the transformation.

“Well, how could I say no to that?”

He held out his hand, the eyes of Adrien Agreste looking at hers, and they bounded into the early morning light. Though that morning they would be fighting fatigue in class, they never felt stronger together.

#Marichat #Adrinette #Fanfiction #fanfic #identity reveal #fluff #miraculous ladybug

[renus-justine]

PALEx Graduation, my Valedictorian

I was 3. My mama told us a story of a plane crash in our neighborhood that took place many years before I was born. The story keeps repeating in my mind. I started to fear airplanes.

I was 4. It was raining so hard that it's almost impossible to hear any sound other than the heavy rain. But I heard it— the frightening roar of an airplane passing. I hid under the table, covered my ears, and prayed that it will not fall on us. The preschool teacher explained to me that the roaring is a normal sound created when the airplane is traveling in opposed direction to the wind. My hands still sweat whenever I hear the roar.

I was 5 and starting to like geography. My father and I are discussing the landmasses of the Americas when I told him that I want to get inside the Atlas and walk my way through the different countries found inside. He said that I'm already big enough to fit the poor book but there are people that work in the airplane who get see different countries everyday. I asked him if they are "astronauts", he said that they are some sort of like those minus the weird helmets and space suits. I said that I'd like to become one. He answered that it can only be possible if I grow into some 5 ft 6 inches tall and got my crooked teeth fixed. That was the first time I dreamt of becoming a Flight Attendant.

I was 11. My classmate said that one of the requirements or becoming a Flight Attendant is jumping off from a moving airplane that is 10,000 ft above the ground. I hate heights, they make me feel nauseated. I told myself to set aside that dream and focus first on my high school entrance exams. I completely forgot about my dream for years.

I was 14— a school pub writer and a weird adolescent. I have this big crush on a Thai Actor named Jirayu "Kao". I wrote a story in my diary where we get to meet each other in the plane; him being the cool rockstar as he is, and me being the FA assigned to serve him. It's humiliating to remember that I wrote that story— I still laugh at myself sometimes.

I was 16, an incoming college freshman with absolutely no idea on what course to take on. I qualified in a scholarship program in a local college where I got to choose from three courses; Computer Science, Information Systems, and Tourism Management. I have chosen the latter because I've had enough of binary language and Visual Basic back in high school. I hate programming.

I was 18. I am nearly finished with my college course but has never rode nor even got close to a real aeroplane. Sure my college conducted Educational Tours and Cultural exchange programs, but I was never able to join because we cannot afford them. I wonder what does it feel like to be up there and flying.

I am 20. Few days ago, my friends told me of a mass hiring of a local airline happening in our city. I said that it's quite impossible for me to attend due to work commitments. I woke up early, I hear that little voice inside me saying that I should give it a go. But I just can't, it's another busy day at work. Due to a reason unknown to me now, I had to stay a little longer at work. I was left by the company shuttle. I told myself that maybe, in one way or another, being a Flight Attendant is a profession not destined for me. As I motioned my way to go, one of my workmates offered me a carpool going to the mass hiring venue.

It was already 3:30 pm at the time I reached my destination. The employee in the registration area told me that I am the last person they will accommodate before registration closes. For a brief moment, I thought that I'm lucky— not until when he asked for my resumè. I wasn't able to bring one. Thinking.... Thinking.... I heard a voice calling my name. There he goes— my best friend waving at me saying, "I printed your resumè." All I can think of was, "God, what a save."

It was the third stage of the hiring process when one of the HR asked me, "Why shouldn't we hire you?". I was caught off guard. I thought that marketing yourself in front of five professional looking individuals was hard, until this question came. I was quiet for two minutes, I didn't know what to say. It was then that I decided to just be honest and answered, "I'm a fresh graduate. There's nothing much I did in my past two months of employment that I can truly be proud of. I have crooked teeth, that's why I'm still required to wear braces until such time that my teeth get straight. I have an imperfect complexion— mosquito-bite marks everywhere, dark elbows and knees. I have poor eyesight, I've had it eversince I was 7. And most importantly, I haven't been in an airplane before. I don't have the slightest idea of what the interior of the airplane looks like. I'm not even sure, on whether I can stand airsickness or not."

What are the odds of getting hired after hearing those things? One from the HR team said, "We can feel the genuineness in your voice whenever you speak. You need not to be perfect, you just have to be yourself. Congratulations, welcome to PAL Express." Seeing your dreams, the things that you have prayed for, for years, unfold before your eyes was surreal. I always pray for the same thing every night, that God will help me find my vocation in flying. And I did.

To my tatang— the first person who believed that I can be a Flight Stewardess, see you in the skies. To my mama— the wind beneath my wings, we will reach places together. To my family and to friends who treated me as their own family— I owe everything to you. Maraming salamat po!

Not many are blessed to know what they really want to become in life, so when you find it, make sure to give it a good fight. It sure is a turbulent journey, but never let circumstances sway you from your resolve.

Mirjan Hipolito 2P-9917 Former First Rider, now flying with you.