A/N: Sorry for lack of updates! It has been crazy busy with school and a wedding to attend etc. I would like to apologize for sounding so rude in my previous AN, it was not my intention to be so harsh about Eri's role and you guys have been so incredibly sweet about it! I loved reading every single review even if I was unable to reply to it. Just know that it means the world to me to have your support. And with that, get ready for some fluff at the end. Enjoy!
When Izuku entered his room and locked the door behind him, he made a beeline for his bed and plopped down face first. He was sweaty and aching all over, but his insides were all warm and mushy. His mind continued to replay the evening over and over making heat rise to his cheeks at the thought of holding Uraraka's hand. They had become a lot closer as of late, but this type of intimacy was very new to Izuku, so it was puzzling and exciting all at once.
A big part of him was nervous at the prospect of… something happening between them, but an equally big part of him wanted to explore this new territory. Uraraka had willingly hugged him numerous times and she had often taken his hand, which made Izuku think that she was starting to show interest in him. He had yet to determine what type of interest it was and how he felt about. Of course Izuku didn't want to jump conclusions and get his hopes up, but he was also fairly certain that it wasn't only friendship that she had offered him. There had been times when he had caught her looking at him and when she noticed, she would promptly look away and turn red.
Izuku himself had noticed a stirring in his chest whenever Uraraka smiled at him and he distinctly remembered his palms going clammy pretty often, especially around her. The teen had often heard people describe these types of feelings as love, but Izuku had never been involved with any girls before – he hadn't even befriended any before UA – so it was hard to tell what his reactions to her presence meant and how Uraraka felt about him.
'IF, she feels something for me. I gotta calm down.' He scolded himself mentally and groaned as he rolled to his side. His legs ached and his arms were sore, but stretching his tired limbs didn't help him in the least. Izuku considered going downstairs to shower, but couldn't be bothered to leave his room and so decided to use his own bathroom.
Once in the shower, the freckled teenager worked to loosen the tension in his shoulders by rubbing them. His neck felt stiff and his back was tired as well, which wasn't that surprising considering his day. The events of the morning still felt surreal to him and for a good minute Izuku wondered if the meeting really had taken place earlier that day or if it was some distant memory that had somehow resurfaced.
Washing away all the dirt and grime from his skin, Izuku turned the tap and shut off the water, but didn't step out right away. His hand had stilled on the tap and he didn't bother extracting it, but watched with disinterest as water drops slowly slid down his bare arms. Izuku's vision turned blurry as the events of the past few days finally caught up with him. All Might, Nighteye, Eri, Overhaul, Togata senpai, Uraraka – images of each person flooded his mind and he had to take a moment to calm down and suppress the feeling that he was suffocating in the steam-filled shower. His eyes starting stinging and he realized that he was crying from sheer frustration and willed himself to move after wiping his eyes with the heel of his hands.
Stepping out, Izuku took a shaky breath and started to dry off. Once he was dressed he headed straight for his bed and burrowed down under the covers. He realized that he hadn't eaten dinner, but didn't feel hungry so instead he closed his eyes and hoped sleep would claim him. Izuku couldn't stop thinking about Eri and wondered if she was even getting any sleep wherever she was being held captive. Thinking about Eri only made his stomach churn, so instead the tired teenager tried to visualize what All Might would have done in this situation.
Would the top hero have burst into whatever dungeon or sterile room she was being kept in or would he calmly let the other pros do their jobs and wait for green light from them before taking action? Obviously, All Might would have made the choice that endangered Eri the least which was to wait until everything was in place. But All Might was no longer in the picture, Izuku realized. His mentor was not part of this rescue mission and as his successor, he shouldn't make decisions based on what All Might would have done. Izuku needed to walk on the path All Might had laid out for him, but fill his own shoes as he embarked on his journey. All Might was no longer walking in front of him and now it was Izuku's turn to lead his retired mentor.
All the thoughts were muddling together in his head and Izuku turned to his side on the bed. In doing so, the green-haired teenager could have sworn he caught a whiff of Uraraka's scent and found himself inhaling deeply to locate its source, but he could only smell the scent of his own soap. The stirring in his chest returned and Izuku pictured her smile in his mind. Her laughter echoed in his ears and the sound actually calmed him. When had she become such a fixture in his life that the thought of her could soothe his nerves? And when did he start spending so much time thinking about her, when there was so much going on in his life?
With his mind swirling with thoughts about a scared young girl, a smiling brunette and All Might, Izuku fell into a restless slumber.
The following day Izuku was in a slightly better mood and was actually able to pay attention to his class for all of an hour. His sleep had been horrible and he had dreamt of being a bird locked in a cage and doctors wearing gloves and masks had plucked him clean of feathers and sliced off his flesh with ice cold scalpels. The doctors had used his flesh to make poison for All Might and he had died with a single trail of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth – the blood had been black.
Despite such a grotesque nightmare, Izuku was feeling surprisingly fine. There were instances where chills would run down his spine as he remembered the horrible images, but the freckled teen was able to shake them off. When it came down to it, Izuku had realized his nightmares were projections of his worst fears mixed in with whatever was nagging his sub consciousness and not the absolute truth. Did the dreams still strike fear into his heart? Absolutely. But had they also loosened their hold on him? Slowly, but surely. It had taken a while, but he was finally getting better. Or he was at least getting better at telling apart his nightmares from reality.
How Izuku had managed to numb his mind from the horrors of the previous day was a mystery he would never solve. Now that it was a new day, he remembered all the details much more clearly and was having trouble sitting still. Izuku itched to do something for Eri, but since he and the rest of the interns were on standby, there was nothing he could do. He just had to be patient. It didn't help that it dawned on him that he had missed his chance to talk to talk to Nighteye about All Might and ask some more questions. It had completely been pushed to the back of his mind to make room for the onslaught of information at the meeting.
Izuku had been pondering the meeting for the umpteenth time that day when Todoroki brought his attention to the forgotten food in front of him. He hadn't meant to zone out like that and judging from Iida's and Todoroki's worried glances he had been distant for longer than he thought.
He had worried both of them again and Iida's gentle reminder that they were friends and could always talk to each other made tears spring to Izuku's eyes. He had been so caught up in the mess that was his situation that he hadn't realized how lonely he had felt. He had forgotten about his friends and although they had reached out to him numerous times, he wanted to repay them for their concern, which was why he hastily wiped away the remains of his tears.
Izuku felt the back of his neck prickle and looked around him, only to catch Uraraka's eyes. She was sitting on the row opposite him, but with the rest of the girls a few paces down. The brunette raised her brows a little and tilted her head slightly in his direction, and Izuku managed to smile at her weakly and shake his head. He could feel her regarding him for a few seconds and felt relieved when she nodded and returned to the conversation around her. Izuku felt a fluttering in his stomach, which stopped again when Asui looked at him curiously from beside Uraraka.
It wasn't until Todoroki spoke and offered Izuku some of his yakisoba that the freckled boy realized others might have watched the silent exchange between him and Uraraka. Asui was no longer looking his way, but Izuku didn't want her to misunderstand the short interaction that had taken place, though there wasn't anything to misunderstand. Uraraka was his friend and she was just looking out for him, right? Izuku shook his head clear of the thought and tried to return his focus to his friends and their lunch. He could analyze his and Uraraka's shifting dynamics later.
It was late in the evening when Izuku's phone vibrated and alerted him of a new message. He had spent a couple of hours studying and had forgotten the time, but he could feel himself starting to grow sleepy. As he unlocked his screen he wondered who would text him after midnight and was pleasantly surprised to see a message from Uraraka.
Meet me downstairs? Her message read and Izuku instantly feared that she had been woken by a new nightmare. He replied and was out of the door in a matter of seconds. It had been a while since she asked him to come downstairs this late and Izuku hoped she was okay. Half expecting to find her curled up on the couch, Izuku was relieved to see her leaning against one of the counters in the kitchen, sipping from a mug that she put down when she saw him approach. Only the lamps above the dining tables were on and bathed her in a soft glow.
"Uraraka-san, are you okay?" Izuku headed straight to where she was standing and put his hands on her shoulders. She was wearing a tank top and the skin underneath his hands felt warm and made his fingertips tingle where they touched her. Banishing the thoughts of her skin from his mind, Izuku focused on the brunette in front of him.
"Yes? What's going on?" She asked, suddenly alarmed. Her eyes searched his face for signs of discomfort, but she was only confused when he sighed from relief and his head slumped down on one of her shoulders.
"I got your message. I thought maybe it was another nightmare. Sorry, I just got worried." Izuku spoke into her shoulder, feeling like an idiot. Although her nightmares hadn't disappeared completely, she was handling them better than before and it was unlikely that she had had another one when she had been fine the past few days.
Izuku felt her hand come to rest on his back and sucked in a breath when she started rubbing it in soothing circles. He hadn't realized their position and felt an incredible urge to straighten up and move a couple steps back, but fought it and instead stayed right where he was.
Izuku wasn't sure if he believed in the tale that an angel and a demon each inhibited a person's shoulder, but at this moment he heard no voices telling him whether it was right to stay like this or not. Instead, he could only hear the thumping of his heart in his ears and slowly moved his head so his nose was nuzzled into her neck. Izuku's hands moved down from Uraraka's shoulders and wrapped around her back, pulling her closer. If she was bothered by it, she didn't show it and just kept rubbing circles on his back until she let out a little chuckle and stopped her hand.
"Dummy, I was worried about you." Uraraka whispered and wiggled her arms around to fully return his embrace. Izuku buried his face deeper into her neck and discreetly inhaled the scent that always seemed to calm him.
"Why?" Izuku asked, his voice a murmur. Uraraka gave a shudder where his lips ghosted over her skin and licked her lips before replying.
"You looked so troubled today. I wasn't sure you were okay." Uraraka's voice was low and slightly husky and Izuku detected a tremor in her voice as she spoke. Her hands had grabbed the back of his shirt and tightened the hold on the fabric as she pressed closer to him.
"I'm okay. Iida-kun and Todoroki-kun looked out for me. Like you did." Izuku whispered back and lifted his head a little. He hadn't given it any thought before, but he was taller than Uraraka now and it was a little straining to keep his head bent down for so long. Izuku didn't loosen his hold on the brunette in his arms, but straightened up and noticed that her eyes were closed.
Izuku's heart skipped a beat at the sight and brought one hand up to brush some air back from her face. It had gotten a little longer and had actually tickled him when he had rested his head on her shoulder, but it still felt silky to the touch and easily slid back at his touch. Uraraka's eyes fluttered open and a soft smile spread across her features and caused Izuku's breath to hitch in his throat.
"I'm glad you're okay." Uraraka sighed and leaned in to him. She had pulled her arms away from his back and they were now resting against his chest and Izuku was terrified she would feel the frantic beating of his heart and move away from him, so he held his breath and hoped his heart rate would slow down.
For a few blissful moments she stayed in his embrace, but eventually she lifted her head from his front and looked up at him. Izuku was sure he had forgotten how to breathe when she looked at him like that with her wide brown eyes sparkling in the dim light. Before he could stop himself he bent down and pressed his lips to her forehead, making her gasp a little. With Izuku's arms still around her, she couldn't do much but wait for him to straighten up, and when he did, the green-haired boy was surprised to see a small smile on Uraraka's face. He had just kissed her without permission again, why would she be smiling at him?
"That was twice now." She told him and before he could ask her what she meant, she swiftly leaned up and pecked his cheek, effectively shutting down all function in entire being. Stunned and speechless, Izuku was unable to form a sentence and only managed a strangled sort of sound to which the brunette giggled once.
Grabbing hold of his hand, Uraraka started pulling him back towards the elevator – her mug long forgotten – and managed a few steps before Izuku finally regained the control of his legs and followed her. Her back was turned to him, but Izuku was certain he caught a glimpse of flushed cheeks.
The elevator arrived all too soon and the silence between them lingered. It wasn't a heavy silence, despite neither of them daring to address this new development of their friendship, but it felt light and meaningful. They were in no rush to start putting these new feelings into words and so when the elevator doors opened, Izuku let go of Uraraka's hand and smiled shyly at her before bidding her goodnight. The smile he got in return confirmed his suspicion that Uraraka felt the same way about their little moment as he did. With that in mind, Izuku headed to his room and went straight to bed, dreaming of giggles and hair that begged his fingers to comb through it.
God I needed some fluff after the weeks I've had... Also, it is nearing exam week for me again, so updates may be infrequent again. Hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for next update! (=w=)/