His mom had wrapped Izuku up in a fierce hug as soon as he had gotten home. She had been crying, tears streaming down her face as she babbled about how worried and afraid she had been and how much she loved him. Izuku hadn't been able to hold back his own sobs at just howdistressed his mom was. He had hugged her back and whispered apologies and reassurances.
They had stood in the door for almost half an hour, just holding each other. When they had finally gone inside, they had curled up together on the couch, just taking comfort in being near each other and eating junk food and keeping the television on for background noise.
They got a call later in the evening informing them that classes at U.A. were cancelled the next day. It wasn't hard to figure out why.
They got ready for bed and, without saying anything, Izuku went to sleep in his mom's bed. He hadn't done it for years now, not since he was a little kid, but… it felt like the right thing to do. He wanted to stay close to his mom.
She hugged him as he got under the covers. "I love you, Izuku," she whispered, her voice firm and warm. "I want you to be safe and happy. I love you."
"I love you too, mom," Izuku muttered back. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," she told him. "It's not your fault. Please, just do your best to stay safe. I… I can't imagine what I would do if something happened to you."
"I'll do my best," Izuku said. "I promise."
She held him close. Izuku could feel her shaking.
It wasn't until a few hours later that either of them managed to fall asleep.
Izuku was planning to spend part of his day training and then the rest of it with his mom. He had just gotten back home from his morning run when the phone rang.
"I'll get it!" Izuku called into the apartment.
"Okay!" His mom yelled back.
After a mad, ten second scramble, Izuku found the phone and picked up. "Hello?"
"Midoriya-kun?"
Izuku blinked. "Iida-kun, is that you? How did you get this number?"
"Yes, it is I!" Iida's voice rang out with the distinct cadence that Izuku instantly associated with him. "Aizawa-sensei gave Yaoyorozu-san and myself a full list of the students in Class 1-A since we are the class co-presidents! Was… is calling you before asking if I could do so a bad thing?"
"No, it's fine," Izuku hurried to assure him. He didn't need or want Iida feeling bad over calling him. His friends should never feel bad for wanting to talk to him. "Were you calling about anything in particular?"
"Yes, I was!" Iida said, his voice back to its regular, upbeat tone. "I was jogging earlier and I had an idea! Seeing as there is no class today, I was wondering whether or not you, Uraraka-san, and myself would wish to 'hang out' together!"
The way Iida said "hang out" was so choppy and off-kilter that Izuku came to the conclusion that Iida had never used those words like that before. Izuku stopped himself from chuckling—definitely not giggling. "Yeah, sure. That sounds great. I just need to ask my mom and make sure that it's okay with her first. What were you thinking of doing?"
"… I didn't think of that," Iida admitted.
"That's fine!" Izuku told him. "We can always think of something!"
"What would you recommend?" Iida asked.
"Um," Izuku said. "I don't know? I didn't really have friends until I met you and Uraraka-chan, so I don't really have many ideas."
"… Oh," Iida said, his voice small.
"… Yeah, I guess—"
"Then we have many years to make up for!" Iida declared, his voice loud and determined. "The three of us will have the best 'hang out' in the history of all of U.A! I won't let you down, Midoriya-kun!"
Izuku couldn't stop laughter from bubbling up and out of him. "You're the best, Iida-kun. Thank you. Oh, and, uh…"
"Yes?"
"You can call me Izuku, if you want," Izuku told him. "I feel like we've been through enough together by now that you can use my first name. If you want."
"I would be honored," Iida said, something not unlike reverence coloring his words. "Thank you… Izuku-kun. You may also call me by my first name!"
Izuku smiled. "Thank you for letting me, Tenya-kun."
Iida—no, Tenya—laughed pleasantly. "You're very welcome. I'll call Uraraka-san and ask her if she wishes to join in on whatever it is that we shall be doing together. Hopefully she will have some exciting ideas!"
"Alright," Izuku said. "I'll talk to you later, then."
"Yes, goodbye for now, Izuku-kun!" Tenya said.
"Bye, Tenya-kun."
Izuku hung up the phone.
His mom came into the room. She must have been waiting before coming in so that I could have some privacy, Izuku realized. God, he loved his mom so much.
"Who was that?" she asked him.
"Ah, that was Tenya-kun," Izuku answered. "He's in Class 1-A with me at U.A. I think that I mentioned him before? He's Iida-kun."
"You're using his first name?" she asked. She didn't seem like she was judging him at all, just curious.
"Yeah," Izuku said. "Just… after everything, I feel like… it's okay."
His mom smiled at him, though Izuku could tell it was stained with a small amount of nerves. Yeah, having your son and a bunch of other kids go through a life-threatening incident probably doesn't put you at ease. Still, she seemed genuinely happy. "I'm so glad that you're making such wonderful friends, Izuku! What did Iida-kun call about?"
"Oh! He wanted to know if I wanted to hang out with him and Uraraka-chan," Izuku said. "We don't really know what we're doing or when or anything yet, but Tenya-kun thought that it might be nice to all just get together outside of school."
His mom's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh Izuku."
"I know," Izuku grinned, his mom's tears—even ones of joy—causing his own eyes to grow watery. "I have friends, mom."
She ran over to him and hugged him. Izuku squeezed his arms around her in return.
Not even ten minutes later, the phone rang again. Izuku picked it up. "Hello?"
"Izuku-kun!" Tenya greeted. "I have asked Ochako-san if she wants to 'hang out' and she agreed to it! She also told me to inform you that you are welcome to use her first name as well!"
"Oh," Izuku said. "Okay. I'll have to thank her and tell her she can call me Izuku when I see her."
"That would be most advisable!" Tenya agreed. "Now, Ochako-san was kind enough to speak with me about the most common ways that students typically hang out! She recommended that we go over to someone's house or going to the park or getting ice cream!"
"Ice cream two times in one week?" Izuku teased. "That doesn't sound like you, Tenya-kun."
"I am aware!" Tenya said. "That is why I believe that it is best to choose one of the other options!"
Izuku exhaled sharply through his nose. "Well, it would be nice to just stay inside and lounge around, you know? Especially after… well."
"Ah, yes," Tenya said. "I understand completely. Now it is simply a question of whose home!"
"Mine would work," Izuku said. "It's not the nicest place ever, but me and my mom keep it clean and I think that we have some board games somewhere. And if that fails, we can always watch a dumb movie and complain about how dumb it is."
"… Do people really do that? My brother mentioned it once or twice, but I had assumed that he was joking."
"Oh, yeah. It's really fun," Izuku replied. "I know that I like to commentate on movies when they're stupid. I like to think that some of what I say is really funny."
"I am sure that your comments are the peak of hilarity, Izuku-kun!"
Izuku almost choked on his own spit. He could feel his face heating up. "Oh my god, Tenya-kun."
"What is it?"
"Nothing," Izuku said. "Just wait one second. I need to ask my mom if it's okay for you guys to come over."
"Of course!"
Izuku pulled the phone away from his ear and covered the mouthpiece. "Hey, mom?"
His mom's head poked from outside of the kitchen. "Yes?"
"Um," Izuku took in a deep breath. "Can Tenya-kun and Ochako-chan come over and hang out here today?"
She gasped. "Oh, well of course they can! I'm sure we can find some of our old board games and make some snacks for them. Maybe you could rent a movie?"
Izuku smiled, soft and warm. "Thanks, mom. I don't know what we're going to do yet. I still need to tell Tenya-kun that you said yes."
"Oh! You're still on the call! Well, don't let me keep you!"
"I love you, mom."
"Love you too, Izuku," she smiled as she headed back into the kitchen.
Izuku uncovered the phone and held it to his ear again. "She said yes."
"That's wonderful!" Tenya said. "I will inform Ochako-san immediately! I look forward to seeing you, Izuku-kun!"
"Yeah, it'll be nice to hang out outside of school again," Izuku said. "Oh, you probably need my address. And, uh, what time do you want to come over at?"
"Would… would two in the afternoon work?"
"Yeah, I'm free all day."
"Fantastic!"
Izuku told Tenya his address and Tenya promised once more to relay the information to Ochako. With one last goodbye, Izuku hung up again.
I'm having friends over to my home. I have friends who are willing to go out of their way to be around me.
Fucking suck it, Bakugou.
At exactly two o'clock, there was a knock on the door. Izuku immediately sprang up from the sofa to get it and raced to the front door. "I got it, mom!"
Izuku could hear her laughing. "Okay, sweetie!"
Izuku stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. He opened the door. Standing there was Tenya, somewhat stiff and holding a gift bag of some sort.
"Hello! Sorry for the intrusion!" Tenya all but barked. Izuku couldn't help but smile at how formal and prim he was being.
"Come on in," Izuku said, standing aside to let Tenya past him.
After a bit of shuffling around, Tenya had removed his shoes and placed on the guest slippers that, for almost as long as Izuku could remember, he had never had need of before.
"Ah, here! For you, Izuku-kun!" Tenya announced, holding out the gift bag for Izuku. "It's nothing special—simply tea—but please accept it!"
So formal! Izuku thought as he took the bag. "Thank you, Tenya-kun. I really appreciate it."
"Of course!"
"Oh, Izuku, is this your friend?"
Izuku turned around to see his mom walking towards them. "Ah, right! Mom, this is Iida Tenya. Tenya-kun, this is my mom, Midoriya Inko."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Midoriya-san!" Tenya said. "Thank you for allowing me to come to your home!"
His mom smiled warmly in the way that only she could. "It's no trouble at all. I'm so happy that Izuku has made such a wonderful friend."
Tenya bowed at the waste. "I hope to prove myself worthy of such praise, Midoriya-san!"
Izuku and his mom traded smiles. He's silly, her smile seemed to say.
I know, said Izuku's.
"Well, I'm going to go in my room for a while," his mom said. "I am sure that You two can find something to do. It was nice to meet you, Iida-kun. Have fun!"
Once the door to his mom's room closed, Izuku turned to Tenya. "You can stop bowing now."
Tenya's spine straightened out in an instant. "I am simply being as polite as I must be for the situation!"
Izuku shook his head fondly. "Yeah, I figured as much. Still, we're friends, Tenya-kun. I wouldn't worry about it too much."
"… If you're sure," Tenya relented.
"I am," Izuku said. "Now, let's go and—"
There was another knock on the door. Izuku grinned as he opened it.
"Ochako-chan!" Izuku greeted upon seeing the familiar face of his friend.
"Deku-kun!" Ochako cheered, throwing her arms around him in a hug. "Sorry for the intrusion!"
Izuku laughed. "I would ask you to come in, but I think you've already done that!"
"Hush," Ochako told him teasingly as she pulled back. "Here, I brought you this. It's only some chocolate, but I hope that you like it!"
Izuku took the small, wrapped gift from Ochako. "Thank you. Oh, and, uh, you can call me Izuku. If you want."
"I think I'll stick to Deku-kun for now," Ochako said. "I like it a lot and it's like my own special nickname for you!"
Izuku smiled. While he still didn't enjoy being called by the name that Bakugou had used to degrade him, he couldn't find it in himself to tell Ochako to stop.
"That works, too," Izuku said.
Ochako smiled and then looked past him. "Oh! Tenya-kun! You're already here! Hi! One second, just let me get the slippers on…"
"Hello, Ochako-san!" Tenya greeted. "It is good to see you again!"
Izuku watched as Ochako took off her shoes. He noticed that despite the warm weather, she was wearing long sleeves.
The scars. She's insecure about them.
Izuku felt his blood boil.
I really need to work on killing Bakugou and making him suffer. Now more than ever, the fucker.
"Ochako-chan, let me get my mom," Izuku said after she had gotten the slippers on. "She'd love to meet you!"
Izuku knocked on his mom's door. She was charmed by Ochako's cute mannerism and smile. Ochako seemed equally delighted to meet Izuku's mom.
Once the introductions were out of the way, Izuku led his two friends down the hall and to the main sitting area. "Here, you two sit on the sofa. I'll go and grab another chair."
"Aw, we could all probably fit on it together," Ochako said. "We just need to squeeze in a bit!"
"… Are you sure?" Izuku asked.
"I'm fine with it!" Ochako chirped. "What about you, Tenya-kun?"
"I would not mind!"
"So what do you say, Deku-kun?"
"… Alright," Izuku relented. "Um, do you guys want to watch a movie or play a board game or…?"
"Let's find a bad movie and hate watch it!" Ochako suggested. Tenya quirked a brow at her in an expression that was just so… Tenya.
Izuku couldn't help it. He giggled.
Tenya and Ochako's gaze snapped onto him, eyes alight with something unfamiliar yet warm. Izuku just knew he was going to start getting flustered. Quick, think of Bakugou.
…
Welp, there goes my giddiness.
"That sounds good," Izuku said. "So how are we going to do this?"
It took some time and a little bit of maneuvering, but eventually all three of them managed to squeeze onto the couch. Izuku had ended up in the middle, with Tenya to his left and Ochako to his right. It was a little tight, but not in a way that felt uncomfortable. Ochako's warmth on one side and then Tenya's strength on the other… Izuku loved it. It just felt right.
Ochako had the remote in her hands and was now turning on the television.
"I don't see why people actually do this," Tenya said. "What's the fun in it?"
"We get to bond over how stupid it is and how much we hate it," Ochako answered. "It will make our friendship even stronger!"
"… somehow I doubt that."
"Just you wait," Ochako said. "Oh! This one looks dumb! And it's free! Perfect!"
Izuku looked at the screen. Ochako was right, it did look stupid. Only one and a half stars? It was bound to be awful. Perfect.
Ochako hit the play button.
"… Why are we watching a movie about sharks in a tornado?" Tenya asked, flabbergasted.
Izuku and Ochako shushed him as the movie started.
"—Even if winds were strong enough to take actual sharks out of the ocean, the sharks wouldn't be attacking! They would be incredibly frightened or dead, not ripping out throats—"
"Oh my gosh, Tenya-kun, that's what makes it stupid. Deku-kun, back me up here."
"It is pretty funny, Tenya-kun."
"But the physics and biology—!"
"Really? They named the main character Fin? How obvious can you get? God, this is dumb."
"Exactly, Izuku-kun!"
"Quiet, you two! Let me watch."
"A great white shark is far too heavy to knock aside with some barstool being wielded by a drunkard! This movie was made before the existence of Quirks, yes? There is no conceivable chance that we was strong enough to do that!"
"I don't know, Tenya-kun, that looked like a pretty solid hit to me."
"Oh, you're totally right Deku-kun. Look at those muscles."
"You're both insane."
"And what of it?"
"These graphics are terrible."
"There was absolutely no shading whatsoever on that obviously fake shark! Who thought that was good idea?"
"Hold on a second guys, I'll look up the budget for the movie."
"You're our true hero, Deku-kun."
"… Oh, that explains the general awfulness of the movie. They only had a little over two hundred million yen to make it."
"Deku-kun, that's a lot—"
"No, most movies have a budget of like, six billion yen at least. I just looked it up."
"… Huh. I didn't know that!"
"That still given them no excuse for the terrible script and premise!"
"You're not wrong, Tenya-kun!"
"That is their solution? Throwing homemade bombs into the tornadoes filled with sharks?"
"Seems like a great plan, I don't know what you're talking about Tenya-kun."
"Izuku-kun."
"No, he's right, Tenya-kun. What a great idea."
"This entire movie is an affront to science. "
"I mean… that's not untrue."
"Still, it's funny!"
"That," Tenya said once the credits had started to roll, "was, by far, the most stupid and inane thing that I have ever seen in my life."
"You had fun though, right?" Ochako asked.
"I will admit that it was enjoyable, in some odd way," Tenya conceded.
Ochako held up her hand for a high five. Izuku complied.
"You know who would hate this movie?" Izuku asked. "Aizawa-sensei."
"Oh my gosh, you're right," Ochako gasped. She quickly tried to force her face to look tired and bored. In a terrible imitation of Aizawa's monotone voice, she said, "So irrational. Those sharks could never be heroes. Zero marks."
Izuku couldn't help giggling. He could hear Tenya huff with laughter beside him.
"For real, though," Ochako said, her voice and face back to normal, "Aizawa-sensei is awesome. Did you see him at U.S.J? He just took oneveryone all by himself and he was winning !"
"Aizawa-sensei is a Pro Hero!" Tenya said, hands swinging through the air. Izuku was close enough that he could feel Tenya shift with every movement. "It is to be expected from someone on the top!"
"… I don't know, I thought it was really cool," Izuku said. This wasn't a story that Izuku had planned on telling his two friends, but it painted Bakugou as weak and it was somewhat relevant to the topic at hand so he was willing to share it. "I remember that about a year ago, Bakugou got caught by this slime villain. There were a bunch of Pro Heroes on the scene, but they all said that none of them had the right Quirk for the situation. So Bakugou was being suffocated while surrounded by no less than four Pro Heroes who claimed that they couldn't do anything."
"… What happened?" Ochako asked. The mood in the room had grown far more serious by this point.
Izuku shrugged. "I went in to save him. My Quirk hadn't come in yet, which sucked, but I still ran in and hit this villain with my backpack. It bought Bakugou enough time to breathe for All Might to show up and get him out of there."
"That was you!" Tenya gasped. "The school boy who saved another student! I remember seeing it on the news!"
"Oh my god, Deku-kun you were a hero even before getting it to U.A!"
"Well, I don't know about hero," Izuku said. "My point is that what Aizawa-sensei did yesterday was beyond amazing and something that I willnever take for granted. He hasn't known us long, but he… he was willing to just…"
Izuku couldn't bring himself to say it.
He would have died for us if he had to. He nearly did.
"… You're right, Izuku-kun," Tenya said after a few moments of silence. "We are truly lucky to have Aizawa-sensei as our teacher."
"You guys !" Ochako cried. She threw herself over Izuku, stretching her arms around him to grab onto Tenya. "I'm just so happy that you're alright. I was so scared and then Deku-kun got warped away—"
Izuku felt one of Tenya's arms wrap around him and saw the other wrap around Ochako. "We're fine now, though. You two were amazing, fighting villains and defeating Noumu. All I did was run."
"That's not true!" Izuku said. He was now firmly sandwiched between Ochako and Tenya as the two of them hugged him and each other. "You went to go get help. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't shown up when you did. You did what any true hero would do. Fighting isn't everything, Tenya-kun."
"Yeah, Deku-kun is right!" Ochako said. "I felt so safe and happy when I saw you and all of those Pro Heroes with you!"
Tenya smiled at them. "Thank you," he said softly.
"… You guys are great," Izuku said after a while. "I'm so happy that I'm friends with you."
"I feel the same way!" Ochako chirped. "You guys are the best !"
"I can confidently say that you two are my best friends!"
Izuku laughed.
From in between Tenya and Ochako, it felt like there was nothing that could go wrong.
Going back to school the next day was an uneasy affair. Izuku wasn't exactly looking forward to it, especially since Aizawa likely wouldn't be there. He desperately wanted to thank the man for saving his life and the lives of his friends. Izuku didn't know what he would have done if Ochako or Tenya had gotten hurt.
Probably cried and murdered whoever had laid a finger on them, Izuku thought.
Izuku stepped into the classroom. It was mostly empty, only Todoroki and Yaoyorozu present so far. Izuku quickly went to take a seat at his desk. Not too long after, other students started to come into the classroom. Izuku paid attention but, honestly, he didn't really care about his other classmates beyond what he could learn about their Quirks.
I care about Ochako and Tenya, Izuku thought. And Tsuyu, too, I suppose. Bakugou can burn in hell and grovel at my feet—
"Izuku-chan."
Izuku jerked out of his musings. "Tsuyu-chan. Hi. How are you doing?"
Tsuyu cocked head to one side. "I'm okay, kero. People have been staring at my scar, but that's okay. What about you?"
"I'm doing alright," Izuku said. "Do you have any idea who's going to be teaching today?"
Tsuyu shrugged. "I hope that whoever it is can teach as well as Aizawa-sensei can."
"For some reason, that seems unlikely to me."
"I think that you're right, kero."
"Deku-kun! Asui-chan!"
Izuku and Tsuyu looked up to see Ochako trotting towards them, expression as sunny as it usually was.
"Call me Tsuyu," Tsuyu said immediately.
"Got it, Tsuyu-chan!" Ochako grinned. She glanced briefly at Tsuyu's scar before meeting her gaze head on. She didn't look again. "Please call me Ochako then!"
"Okay, Ochako-chan," Tsuyu said. "Your Quirk is very impressive. I've never seen one like it before."
"Aw, thank you!" Ochako said. "Your Quirk is really cool, too! It's really powerful and super unique!"
"That's nice to say, kero," Tsuyu said. "Thank you."
"No problem!"
That was about the time when Tenya came into the room. "Alright everyone! Homeroom is about to start! Please get in your seats!"
"Welp, that's our cue!" Ochako chirped. She gave a quick wave. "I'll talk to you guys after class!"
"Bye, kero," Tsuyu said.
Only a few seconds after everyone had gotten in their seats, the door opened. Every student turned to see their new substitute teacher.
You have got to be fucking kidding me.
There, standing in the door, was Aizawa, covered head-to-toe in bandages. Izuku couldn't even see his eyes. What was Aizawa even thinking?
"Morning," Aizawa said, his gruff, monotone voice muffled only slightly by the bandages over his entire fucking face.
Tenya's hand shot up into the air. "I am glad to see that you are doing well, Aizawa-sensei!"
Aizawa wobbled and limped as he walked into the classroom. Izuku winced.
Aizawa is in pain. He is not doing better. But he's still here. He wants to teach us.
He cares about us.
Izuku really liked Aizawa.
"My welfare isn't important," Aizawa said. "Your own fight is far from over."
Izuku felt himself tense up. What does that mean? Have more villains showed up? What's going to happen?
With a dramatic pause, Aizawa announced, "U.A.'s Sports Festival is fast approaching!"
That was when Izuku realized that in addition to being an amazing person, Aizawa was also a dramatic little shit.
