Work Text:
Calling Kacchan
The wind combed through his hair roughly, entangling the strands with each other and folding the shades of green together. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant sensation, it was cold. Too cold. But Izuku supposed a lot of things felt cold these days.
Ringing….
He felt the push of it. The nudges it gave him towards the end.
But that felt wrong. Nothing was pushing him, no, it was more of a pulling force. The wind pulled at his shirt, his jeans. It grasped at his sleeves and beckoned him forward. Forward and down.
Ringing…
Izuku didn’t release his gaze from the sky. The stars were gorgeous tonight; they poked bright, shining holes into an otherwise encompassing wall of black.
He didn’t want to look below him. He already knew what awaited his tired stare; a limited hole of darkness. The ground was going to be hard to make out, it would make this so much more terrifying. Izuku didn’t want that. He wasn’t being pushed, he was being pulled. And he kept his eyes on the sky.
The moon, especially, was glowing a beautiful white. It laid amongst the speckles of light as if it was orchestrating them. And… it kind of was. The stars followed the moon in its path. Like a dance. It all reminded him of snow. A flurry of snowflakes all collapsing into each other…
Izuku would miss snow.
Ringing…
Beep!
”What.” Spoke a voice from over the line. Izuku gripped his phone tighter. ”It’s the middle of the night, you dunce. Why the hell are you callin’ me?”
A small smile rose to his face unbidden. It was nice to know that he could keep this, at least, “Hey, Kacchan. Sorry for waking you up.”
The greenette wasn’t ignorant about the way he sounded at that moment. He knew his voice came across as scratchy and parch, he knew he seemed tired. So, so tired.
And, it turned out, Kacchan noticed the small details. As always.
”Is that wind? You out of the dorms?”
“Yeah… just on a nightly stroll, that’s all.”
”We aren’t allowed to leave the dorms without permission, idiot. And no way Aizawa would let you out so late.”
“Well, I may have… snuck out.”
Kacchan scoffed, ”I can’t believe you— why’d you decide to up and leave instead of going to sleep like a normal person?”
“I told you, Kacchan. Nightly stroll. Couldn’t sleep.”
”So you had to wake me up for that?”
Quietly, Izuku chuckled to himself, feeling a little sheepish in that moment. The lightness, unfortunately, went under-appreciated, “Sorry. I just… I thought it’d be nice to talk to you.”
One last time, the freckled teen thought sombrely, just one last time.
”…Where are you?” Kacchan spoke after a second of hesitation. Shuffling was heard on the other end, followed by the quiet sounds of footsteps.
“Oh… uh—“ Admittedly, he didn’t really think that far ahead. Izuku really just wanted to call his childhood friend. He… he wasn’t really the best at thinking things through, not when he was set on something.
What an unfortunate trait for a hero. Though, All Might would probably smile at that particular quirk of his.
“I’m just… in the city. Enjoying the view.”
He was a terrible liar. His friends knew this, his mother knew this, his teachers knew this, so of course Kacchan would know it better than anyone. Kacchan would pick up on any dishonesty quicker than anyone.
”Where are you specifically, nerd?”
“It’s not important.”
”Shut up. I get to decide if it’s important. Now tell me where you are before I wake up Aizawa and sick him on you.”
Well, shoot.
Izuku could feel the way his hands began to tremble. He bit his lip, trying to focus on the cold metal of a railing behind him.
Suddenly, the feeling of his socked feet hanging over empty air felt dangerous.
“A… you know the old park we used to hang out at?”
Something clicked over the line and the crisp sounds of wind crackled in his ear.
”I remember.”
“There was a rundown building near that… I’m— I guess I’m close to that.”
”What’re you doing all the way over there, nerd?”
“Oh, nothing, really. Relaxing.”
”We both know that you’re not the kinda person to relax.”
“Well…”
”And never once have you winded down with a mysterious nighttime trip. One, you’re clingy. You spend time with your friends to chill.”
“They’re all asleep—!“
”Two, you usually go on morning runs and ruin mine.”
“We don’t even have the same route—“
”Three, not even you could clear your head in the cold.”
“…It is cold, I guess.” Izuku spoke after a few silent moments.
”Yeah, obviously. You wearing a jacket?”
“…No.”
”Of course not. You’re probably walking around in your pyjamas like a loser.”
He didn’t have a reply for that.
”See? I’m right.”
“Kacchan? Are you outside, too?” Izuku tried to change the subject when he felt a faint blush creep up onto his face.
”Yeah, so? I’m coming to get you, stupid nerd.”
He felt his breath hitch, “Don’t.”
”What?”
“I— I mean—” he quickly backtracked, mentally slapping his forehead. Kacchan was already upset, Izuku couldn’t just go and make things worse by acting all weird.
…As if he wasn’t already acting off.
“You really don’t need to, Kacchan. It’s fine. I can handle myself.”
”Says the one who gets into some sort of incident every other week.”
“It’s not that frequent! I didn’t even run into any trouble this week!”
”That ain’t exactly an achievement, y’know.”
“Well, it is for me, so…”
”Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just stay there. I’ll be there soon. There’s this short cut I know. Hell, I could even use my quirk…”
“Do not risk your license, Kacchan.”
”Heh? They wouldn’t dare take away my license! Especially for something as minor as this. I’m too awesome at hero work!”
He sighed, but it wasn’t anything short of fond, “Yeah, you are… You’re gonna be a great hero.”
Kacchan seemed to falter in his movements for a second, all noises (baring the wind) going completely quiet. Izuku was afraid he had said something wrong.
After a beat, though, the hurried footsteps started up again.
”You bet. I’ll become the number one and blow you out of the water.”
“Yeah… You will.”
Usually, he’d challenge Kacchan on that.
I’ll surpass you!
Just watch me!
I’ll do my best, Kacchan!
In that moment, however, he couldn’t bring himself to lie another time. Not over this.
”…You wanna tell me what’s up with you?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”
”Liar. You sneak outta the dorms in the middle of the night and call me ‘just to talk’ then expect me to ignore it? You’ve been acting weird, moron, don’t think no one noticed.”
…Damn it. Izuku knew his friends had been worried but… to hear it said out loud made it real.
Briefly, his stare flickered away from the sky and to the buildings in front of him.
”So? What’s going on?”
“I— I’ve just been a little tired recently, that’s all.”
”Tired?”
“Yeah. You know, we’re all under a lot of pressure and— and we’re all anxious.”
”Yeah? What’re you and the other idiots anxious about?”
“Well… we’re all thinking about grades and stuff. The— uhm— villains. Work studies. Memories.”
”Memories about what exactly?”
“Just… bad times. It’s— well, there’s just been a lot of stuff on our minds.”
Kacchan hummed, ”And the others are doing something to help, yeah? They wouldn’t just sit there and take it.”
“Y—Yeah. They’ve been hosting more movie nights… they keep inviting me to study sessions. Aoyama gave me some cheese. But I— er— I’m fine without that stuff.”
”Uh-huh. Big shot doesn’t need all that useless crap, huh? You got your own coping mechanisms?”
“I mean, well, I do. I like looking at the scenery. The city— it’s really nice from up high. But their way of doing things isn’t useless, Kacchan.”
”Then why don’t you try ‘em sometime, huh? Instead of looking at stuff from— what, a helicopter?”
Izuku, before he could think, let out a snort, “It’s not a helicopter, Kacchan. There are easier ways to look over things. Have you ever been on top of UA? It’s incredible.”
”I… No, I haven’t. How many times have you been up there, Deku?”
“Not many.”
”Right… what’s so good about the view, anyway?”
“Oh, a lot! Its UA, so of course it’d have the best of everything. Not really surprising... Uh— you can see people coming in and out of the school, they’re all so small from so high. For some reason, it’s peaceful. I mean, it’s really quiet up there most of the time. I wonder if All Might ever went on the roof? Imagine that… he probably saw the same things I did! Wow…”
”You’re such a dork.”
For some reason, Izuku wasn’t able to pinpoint any vitriol in the other’s voice. If anything, Kacchan’s light tone reminded him of All Might’s hair ruffles, or Aizawa-sensei’s exasperated, ”Problem child,” or even Mom’s gentle looks. His friends’ soft smiles. Warm. Fond.
Izuku almost snorted at the thought. Man, he was really out of it…
“Sorry…”
”Don’t apologise to me, nerd. Doesn’t anyone else see you up on UA?”
“Oh, well, not really. I only climb up there when I know no one else is training or having lunch. It’s nice to just be alone for a while. Sometimes, you can see a flock of birds pass by. And— and when it’s windy, you can see the sun lighting up the forest. The leaves. It’s… it’s like a bunch of tiny stars. The horizon is breathtaking, too. It feels like you can make out every detail of the city and the cars driving by and the buildings and stuff…”
”Sounds… sounds cool, I guess. Weirdo.” Kacchan spoke, a weird lilt to his voice.
Despite himself, Izuku’s small smile widened a fraction, “Yeah. It’s different to other rooftops. It’s probably my favourite, actually.”
”Different… okay. Okay. You’ve got a lot of experience, then. Especially since you have a favourite and all.”
Abruptly, he felt his mouth go dry.
Izuku was an idiot. What was he doing? He just blabbered on about whatever and now Kacchan was probably way more suspicious.
The blond, no doubt, was looking for this outcome.
Kacchan was always amazing. It often became Izuku’s downfall.
“I guess so… Anyway, uh, I’ve gotta go now, Kacchan.” Something in his chest shrivelled up. Izuku almost slumped against the railing. “It… it was nice talking to you. Thank you. You… you mean a lot to me, you know?”
”Nerd—“
“Look under my pillow later. There’s an envelope for you.”
”Wait, hold on—“
“You’re gonna be the number one hero, I know it.”
His vision blurred.
“Bye… Kacchan.”
”One second—!”
Before the explosive teen could say anything else, Izuku hung up and stuffed his phone into his pocket. He ignored the immediate sound of his ringtone. It was alright. Kacchan would figure things out later.
He’d had his time now. He waited long enough.
With a lump in his throat, Izuku chanced a glance behind him. There, on the roof, lay two lumps of crimson. His shoes.
For some reason, he wanted to wear them in that moment. Those things were with him for as long as he could remember, he never once tried to wear a different pair. Even if they were just inanimate objects, it would feel like a betrayal to wear a new design. Izuku could recall multiple instances when he cried over losing them before being forced to put on the spares his mother bought.
They felt like apart of his identity. They defined him, or some small part of him.
Izuku Midoriya wasn’t worth much, he wasn’t exactly someone with individuality.
…It wouldn’t really matter either way. The greenette would be nothing more than a sprawl of loose bones soon, his get-up wasn’t important. Especially some beaten up shoes.
Maybe someone would find some use for them. Better a random kid than him.
Just like One For All. It would be alright, Izuku was at least sure of that. More than anything, he trusted that the envelope under his pillow would be in safe hands.
The wind was dying down. That was saddening, he always liked the wind.
With a deep breath, Izuku steeled his nerves.
Sorry, Mom. Sorry, All Might. My friends, my teachers, Kacchan… I’m sorry.
He released his grip on the railing, heart in his throat.
With his eyes snapped shut, Izuku fell forward.
Suddenly, he was jerked to a stop. Something gripped onto his wrist, tight enough to bruise. Izuku felt a sharp pain race up his arm.
He opened his eyes. For a second, Izuku could only see the dark plummet that had awaited him. There were no stars, no moon, no peaceful wind blowing through his curls. There was only the barely-there sight of cold, unforgiving pavement.
Izuku felt a shudder run through his spine at the view.
He didn’t dare linger on it for too long, though. Instead, the boy whipped his head upwards to where his wrist was practically being crushed by the weight of—
A hand.
A familiar hand.
Red, glittering eyes stared back at him.
“You idiot—”
One second, he was suspended in the air, hanging on the edge of a roof and the ground. Teetering on a picket fence of life and death. The next second, Izuku was being pulled upwards and, with too much force, he was twisted and flung onto the building.
The greenette yelped when he landed harshly onto the concrete, a dull ache spreading through his bones.
For a second, he could only register the disorientation. Loose specks of concrete stuck to his shirt and dug into his skull, causing him to wince at the sharp sting.
He was sprawled out onto the calloused surface. Under the cloak of night. Wind dying down. Just as he planned to do.
Except… there was no pain. No cracked bones, no blood splattered out onto the ground.
There was only the disappointing sounds of ragged breathing.
And, eventually, a strangled growl.
Before he could say anything, he was being roughly pulled upright by the shoulder, snapped out of his brief stupor.
Kacchan’s hands were a heavy weight on his shoulders, keeping him firmly in place on the floor. Still, they were warm.
Despite the near-bruising grip, Izuku couldn’t bring himself to focus on it much. Not when Kacchan— he looked…
“What is wrong with you?”
His childhood friend looked tired. His hair was scruffy and unkempt, his shoes were barely hanging onto his feet, like he had just jumped out of bed and raced all the way here on a whim. Even if his words were probably supposed to be taken with a heap of spite and vitriol, Izuku couldn’t help but hear the cracks in his voice, the distress that hung from it.
Kacchan’s hands were trembling in their vice grip and he was glaring at Izuku with no sort of ferocity. The lack of fire in his gaze was startling, but what really got to the greenette was how his friend’s red eyes looked so overwhelmed. Scared. Confused. Sad.
Kacchan was— he was tearing up.
“Ka— are you alright…?”
All at once, the familiar edge returned to the blond’s features.
He tensed up, an inkling of a snarl dropping from his lips.
“Am I— you’re the one who— who was about to die!” Katsuki exclaimed, seemingly in disbelief. Izuku flinched at the bluntness, the events of the night coming back to him.
Weakly, he tried to grasp onto anything placating that he could say, “I… I wasn’t…”
“You kidding me? Don’t try to lie about this, idiot!”
“I’m—“ Izuku’s mind was reeling. He needed to somehow deescalate the situation but even he knew that he wasn’t in the right headspace to do so. And, judging by the conversation so far, Kacchan probably wouldn’t appreciate it.
Inwardly, the freckled teen groaned.
“How are you even here? Why would you be out right now?”
“You called me!” Kacchan all but screamed; a strangled, pained sound, and lowered his head to the floor.
Izuku, face softening slightly, immediately felt any irritation die in his chest.
“You called me out of nowhere then acted so weird and I knew something was wrong and I was right because you… you…”
The tears were falling from his face, now. One after the other; round, fat dregs of murky water spilled out of his eyes, though Kacchan made no move to mop them up. He was still holding onto Izuku, and it was warm. Warm.
Still, the display was practically a slap to the face.
Honestly, he would rather that. The greenette didn’t want to see his childhood best friend like this; distraught, tired, inconsolable. It hurt. It made his heart ache. And, maybe this was being a little dramatic but, it felt worse than anything he had experienced, the things that lead him to this roof.
Izuku, feeling his own eyes start to water, raised his shaking hands to lightly grasp onto Kacchan’s, trying to provide any sort of comfort for his friend. Kacchan tensed at the contact, though.
“Hey… Kacchan. Kacchan, it’s okay—“
“Don’t.” The older gritted out, another wave of anger passing over his face. “Don’t you dare tell me that you’re okay!”
“But— I am!“
“Shut up!”
“You don’t get it! I— this is just a misunderstanding!”
“Stop lying!”
“I’m not! Nothing’s wrong!”
“Everything is wrong—!“
“I can handle it!”
“Izuku.”
That made him snap his mouth shut.
Kacchan lifted his head, allowing Izuku to see his wrecked features, the way he was looking at Izuku like the boy would disappear if he wasn’t being observed.
The blond took in a large, stuttering breath, “I’m not an idiot. You aren’t— you aren’t okay.”
He shook the greenette, as if to hammer the point into his very being.
“This isn’t okay.”
“…It—“ He had nothing to add. Nothing more to say. In that moment, he felt breathless. He wanted to refute it, he did, but…
“Listen to me, Izuku.” Kacchan’s voice came out a little steadier, now, and the tears streaming down his chin lessened, if only slightly.
How the explosive teen could compose himself, Izuku had no clue.
“You were about to die, splatter onto the pavement and it— it would’ve damn well hurt. You— you jumped off a… a roof.” He seemed to waver a little there. Instead of lingering on it, though, Kacchan just swallowed and continued without comment “You were alone. You snuck out in the middle of the night. You tried to kill yourself. Does that sound okay to you?”
“I…”
Izuku found his gaze darting away from Kacchan’s, flittering around the floor as if he could find any sort of adequate response there.
A cold, heavy feeling settled in his chest. Suddenly, the only source of warmth that Izuku could reach for were the hands holding him in place, holding him up.
The teen found that he was much too choked up to even swallow around the lump in his throat.
His voice came out shakier than he intended it to, “I… I don’t…”
“Does that sound okay to you?”
At the desperation in his tone, Izuku looked back up, once again seeing ruby eyes search every inch of his face. Trying to scrounge up any information they could.
Soon after, he felt a constant stream of wetness drip down his cheeks. It made his face colder, but for some reason, it was relieving. In every awful, agonizing way, it was relieving.
It seemed as though it was his turn to cry, now.
With a hiccup, the greenette curled in on himself slightly, a flood of clarity completely washing away any excess haze that he held in his mind.
“I… don’t—“ Izuku’s breath hitched, “I don’t know…”
With a sob, he leaned forward, even more tears blurring his vision.
“Kacchan…”
It hurt. All of a sudden, he realised that it hurt.
“I don’t know.”
With a choked off sound, Izuku gripped tighter onto Kacchan’s hands, latching onto the burning he felt in his palms.
And then—
And then he was warm.
Arms encircled him, tight enough to hurt, but that didn’t matter. Not when there was a palm in his hair. And a chin digging into his shoulder.
A head knocked into his temple. His face was pressed into a hoodie, trembling under the weight of the night. Suddenly, the wind, or lack thereof, felt obsolete.
Kacchan was hugging him.
For a second, he could only stare, wide eyed, at the roof in front of him. His mouth was hung open, probably, and he was confused, definitely. The details were lost on him briefly. In that moment, he was frozen.
When the other teen didn’t let go, Izuku blinked.
Then, slowly, he came back to himself.
The greenette’s head fell into the crook of his friend’s neck. The overwhelming smell of caramel and burnt sugar flooded his senses. Memories of home, his mother, the carefree days of his childhood— they all came rushing back to him.
Somewhere, in the depths of his mind, Izuku could pretend that he was a kid again. A fresh bandage on his cheek, an All Might cap on his head, and Kacchan’s hand in his own as they ran off into the woods again. Ready for adventure, uncaring of how the sun beamed down on them.
Every little detail made the scenes warm and peaceful. Every nostalgic recollection made Izuku ache for what once was.
And that, ultimately, is what sent him over the edge.
After a shaky intake of air, then a hiccup, tears began to spill over quicker than ever before. A sob tore its way out of his coarse throat, leaving him with the few choked off breaths he managed to collect.
When the cries started to make their way out, Izuku raised his scarred hands and clutched onto the back of Kacchan’s hoodie with a white-knuckled grip. Harsh, blubbering sounds fell from his mouth unbidden. Izuku just let the waves of heartache rip through him, helpless to stop the way he hurt.
An image flashed across his mind briefly. A glass. Full to the brim with water. The image All Might had described One For All with. In that picture, the glass cracked under the weight. Water seeped over the rim due to the incompetence of the container.
Izuku cried at the scathing reminder. He cried over his uselessness, he cried over his weaknesses, he cried over every single time he was beaten down and chipped apart a little more. He cried at what he was reduced to.
A sobbing, hysterical mess.
A lone figure on the edge of a building, cold and ignorant to the void below.
Except… he wasn’t alone.
He wasn’t cold.
He wasn’t on the other side of the railing, he couldn’t see the sky nor the ground from where his face was tucked away.
Because Kacchan was right there, arms wrapped around him, practically holding together his shattered pieces with an unrelenting grip. The blond had pulled him away from the edge and Izuku couldn’t feel the wind and he couldn’t see the stars but he couldn’t feel the chill or ignore pavement below, either.
Izuku didn’t know why his friend was even here to begin with. Hell, the freckled boy was surprised by the fact that he got here so fast. Kacchan was amazing and he only did as he pleased, so why was he hugging Izuku? Why could Izuku feel the way his shoulders shook? Why did he know that the blond’s cries were ones of an ineffable feeling?
Why did the two always manage to mirror each other so perfectly?
Izuku, regretfully, couldn’t find it in himself to pick apart the intricacies of the situation. How could he, when he was writhing while it all unfolded?
But then, after he worked through another strangled noise, the hand in his hair pressed him closer into the familiar black hoodie, and Izuku lost whatever apprehension he still had.
Tears soaked through the cloth below his eyes and dripped down his chin in a wretched path. Like a cruel stream of misery. It was ruining the hoodie but Izuku didn’t really think either of them noticed.
He was tired. He was— he was just so tired. He was sick of never being enough and sick of the pressure that weighed him down, down, down until he couldn’t see the surface anymore. And he was tired of the guilt that came with that. And the actions that accompanied his thoughts.
Damn it, he almost killed himself.
“I— I’m— sorry.” Izuku hiccuped, words blending together in the mess of emotions.
“‘m so—orry, K’cchan, sorry—”
“Shut up.” Kacchan spat, though he was struggling to get out clear words, too, “Just— damn it— Izuku.”
The blond sucked in a sharp breath while Izuku sputtered some more nonsensical apologies. Kacchan turned his head and buried it into the green locks, which only served to make Izuku cry harder.
“Why?”
Kacchan spoke, voice barely above a whisper. It was a feat that went unappreciated as Izuku curled further in on himself at everything the question entailed.
“Tired…” was what he could say through the pain in his chest, “Just… just so tired, Kacchan…”
It was too much.
“Too much…”
It all became too much.
“And I—“ Izuku let out a shuddering breath, “I’m— not enough.”
That was the issue, wasn’t it? His life, dreamlike and wonderful as it was, was building upon itself at an impossible rate. Like a tower of bricks.
Like a pile of garbage on a spotless and nearby beach— during the sunrise.
One after another, more and more abrasive bits of trash were added onto the stack until it began to topple under its own weight.
Little by little, the bikes and fridges and washed up valuables all came together to form a peak. And at the top of it all was Izuku himself.
It would make sense for it to collapse, eventually.
So for once, he wanted the easy way out.
He stood at the summit, high above the ground, in view of a beautiful sky, and it wouldn’t take much to just… jump off.
When another strained noise left his mouth, being muffled by the damp hoodie he was weeping into, Izuku tightened his hold on his friend.
“You’re an idiot.” Kacchan managed to croak out between tears, exasperation and woe and warmth lining the syllables. The greenette, at least, found it in himself to feel lighter.
“Idiot, idiot, idiot. Stupid nerd.”
Izuku sniffed, “Yeah—“
“You really think— All Might isn’t a moron.”
That took him aback. For a moment, in his confusion, something lifted off his chest, “Huh?”
“He— he wouldn’t chose some lame, incapable, dipstick to pass his— his power on to.”
If the situation was any different, perhaps Izuku would’ve laughed at Kacchan’s way of describing things. But as it was, the teen could only feel his mind stutter and his cries lessen in their severity.
Wide-eyed, Izuku could only listen as his friend began to rub a thumb across his hair.
“You’re… You aren’t alone, e— either. How many times have I said that… Your friends, Aizawa, All Might, auntie… they all want to help you.”
Kacchan took a deep breath, steadier than the ones before.
“So that you aren’t tired. That’s the whole point.”
“But— they— I—“
“If you told them how you were feeling—“ his voice softened, cracking open Izuku’s heart a bit more, “—then what would they do?”
Worry.
Was the first thing that came to his muddled mind.
And I don’t want them to. There’s no going back. There’s no going back. It’s too much.
“They’re supposed to worry, genius.” Ah. He must’ve said that out loud. “ ’s not a problem. And if it is then so what? It’ll be worse if you ain’t around to be a problem.”
Then, with those shots to his soul, Kacchan sighed and leaned back so that he could look Izuku in the eye, though he was still holding onto the younger like a lifeline. Izuku did the same, a tad bit more literally.
His eyes were redrimmed and his face was blotchy from the constant flow of tears, but still he stared at Izuku with sureness and unyielding determination, “Just— just talk to someone before you go… sneaking out in the middle of the night. We can still help.”
For a few seconds, the freckled teen didn’t have a reply. He was stunned, to be fair. He wasn’t used to this, he didn’t know how to navigate it all.
But still, deep down, amongst all the dying hope and grief, there was a want. It was always there. His entire life. Izuku could never squish the way he daydreamed for better days, even if the entire world tried to beat it out of him.
He wanted to get better, of course he did. But the road to recovery was as long and treacherous as the things that wounded him to begin with. Dependant, Izuku was. How could he possibly drag himself along without a hand to hold?
Except he wasn’t alone.
He wasn’t alone.
Instead of the billowing wind amidst stars and a full moon, instead of the unforgiving concrete and the way blood seeped onto the rocks, instead of the chill there was the familiarity of vermilion eyes, shimmering with unshed tears and the firm hold of calloused palms.
There was Kacchan, and, naturally, Izuku would stay in his orbit.
So, with reluctance, a backbreaking pressure stitched into him and a gruelling effort; Izuku sniffed, face crestfallen, and nodded.
Relief washed over Kacchan’s features at the meagre action. Izuku couldn’t help but feel the ghost of a smile fall onto his lips.
Kacchan hugged him again. This time, the greenette didn’t hesitate before returning it.