A/N:

me? posting a chapter?

it's more likely than you think!

Chapter 13: "can i have a sip of orange juice, iida?"

Steven stepped into the cafeteria with a skip in his step.

He'd gone with Iida to talk to Aizawa before the beginning of the school day, and he would actually be taking the two of them to Iida's home in just a few hours.

Personally, Steven felt an odd mixture of anticipation and apprehension. If it turned out that he wasn't able to heal Iida's brother, then he'd at least know his limit on healing human injuries, something he'd never really been able to test before.

Lars was… a bit more than a simple healing.

And if he was able to restore the use of his legs? Well, he wouldn't complain about that.

Grabbing some food, he sat among the group he affectionately referred to (in his head) as the Bakusquad, given their tendency to cluster around Bakugou.

He tried to sit somewhere different each day, to spend time with as much of class 1-A as possible. Maybe once he got to know everyone equally, he could meet class 1-B…

As if summoned by his thoughts, a girl with orange hair from said class appeared, dragging a grumpy Monoma behind her.

"Sorry to bother you, everybody!" she grinned, though there was an air of menace behind it. "Monoma here just has something he wants to say, don't you?"

She shook the boy and roughly pulled him up to his feet, and the boy grimaced. The expression didn't last long, however, quickly melting off and replaced with sheepish embarrassment when he realized who he was looking at.

"Universe," Monoma mumbled, and the girl nudged him with her hand. "Universe-senpai," he corrected hastily.

"Yes, Monoma?" Steven said coldly, or as coldly as he could manage. He didn't hold too much of a grudge towards the boy, despite the incident that occurred a few days ago. He understood, really. The skepticism wasn't completely unfounded, but there was certainly a better way to go about expressing it than the direct confrontation that occurred.

Monoma pulled his mouth into a tight line, but eventually forced himself to say, "I'm sorry."

"What was that?" The girl put a hand up to her ear. "I didn't hear you."

"I'm sorry," he emphasized, louder this time.

She crossed her arms and looked at him. "Really, Monoma? Is that all you have to say?" She smirked. "Because back in the dorms, you said—"

He paled. "Fine, fine!" With a deep breath, he turned to Steven once more and ducked his head. "I'd like to… to apologize, Universe-senpai. I admit, it was childish of me to barge in the way I did and disrupt the peace. My decision was… hasty, made without gathering the necessary information— Ow!" He rubbed his head where he'd been whacked, grumbling all the while. "Fine. I shouldn't have done anything like that. I should have realized that I was making you uncomfortable and done my best to be polite."

"So, I guess," Monoma continued. "I'm sorry for not taking your word and needlessly antagonizing you. Are you happy now, Kendo?" he said as he turned back to the girl, and she nodded smugly.

Steven wondered how to respond. On the surface, it looked as if he was being forced to give an apology that he really didn't mean. But Steven wasn't one to just take one look at the situation and pass judgment. And it was clear from the way that he fidgeted while speaking and the way his eyes were downcast that he was nervous about giving a genuine apology, rather than him being forced to do so against his will.

So, Steven forgave him. Simple as that.

"It's fine, Monoma-san," he smiled at the boy. "I get why you were so worked up. Just… maybe don't do that again?"

Monoma bit his lip. "I understand. I— thank you."

"Of course!" Steven scooted over and patted the seat next to him. "Do you want to join us? I wanted to ask about your quirk, since it seems really cool and useful."

Blushing, the student flicked his eyes over to the rest of the table before stepping away. "Perhaps at a different time."

"That's cool, no worries!" He waved. "See you later!"

As Monoma and Kendo returned to their own classmates, Kaminari rested his chin in his hand and asked, "Dude, why are you being so nice to him?"

"Honestly, he's probably lying," Sero agreed. "Monoma's an ass."

Steven shrugged. "He could be lying, true, but what if he was telling the truth, and he was apologizing for real?" He tilted his head. "There's never a reason not to be polite."

Kirishima grinned, thumping his chest. "That's so manly, bro!"

Steven paused, struggling to figure out how to interpret that as the rest giggled (except for Bakugou, but that was to be expected).

Aizawa glowered at the two of them, his eyes betraying a familiar mixture of exasperation, exhaustion, and— Steven would never dare say this out loud— a hint of something approaching fondness or affection.

"You two good to go?"

"Hai, Sensei!" Iida immediately began bowing in thanks, and Aizawa grumbled even as Steven found himself chuckling.

"Good." The man turned and made his way outside, the two of them following close behind.

"I'd like to thank you again, Steven," Iida said as they made their way to the now-familiar train station. "My brother has been the greatest inspiration in my life, and it would be truly incredible if—"

"I can't promise I'll be able to heal him," Steven interrupted before Iida could continue to get his hopes up— though it seemed like it was too late for that. "I don't know how bad his damage is, and if I can't do anything for him… well, I don't want you to get hurt."

He let his sympathy show clearly on his face, and Iida remained quiet as they boarded the train and took their seats. Aizawa left, letting them know that he was going to the bathroom, accompanied with a stern glare that promised consequences if they didn't behave themselves.

The longer Iida remained silent, the more reluctant Steven was to break it. It seemed less and less likely that Iida was just mulling his words over, and it occurred to him that maybe he was truly upset at the possibility that this outing would be in vain. Just before he could open his mouth to speak, Iida beat him to it.

"I understand that the chances for a full recovery for my brother may be… slim. I'd accepted that impossibility months ago," Iida started, eyes hard. "But, if all you can do is ease a fraction of Tensei's pain, then it would all be worth it."

Steven paused for a moment, taken aback at the sheer love reflected in Iida's eyes for his brother, ignoring the brief sting in his chest when he thought of his own family (gone, taken, lost) and the lengths he'd go for them as well.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding with a slightly strained smile. "Well, I'm pretty sure I can promise that much at least! I think. I'm fairly confident, for what it's worth." He stopped to collect his thoughts before he spoke again, cautiously. "Is… does your brother feel a lot of pain from what happened?"

Iida gripped his pants tightly, eyes flashing with a combination of anger and sadness. "Unfortunately. Even paralyzed, with his spinal nerves damaged beyond repair, he experiences pain on the daily. Both him and my mother attempt to hide it from me, but I know he takes medication for it."

Steven nodded along as he listened, but the word 'nerves' in particular stuck out to him. He didn't know a lot (or anything, really) about anatomy, but it reminded him of something Pearl had mentioned after Spinel attacked Earth.

It was something about… something about his dad's arm, after it was hit with the bio-poison Spinel had brought. She said Greg's arm was 'nerve-dead' from the poison, and that he was lucky to have it in perfect condition again after Steven had healed it.

Nerve-dead.

If that was what was wrong with Iida's brother, and he fixed it for his dad's arm, then would he be able to fix it for someone's legs too?

He wasn't sure, but there was a glimmer of hope that definitely wasn't there when they first left. Still, he remained wary. His dad's injury was fresh, mere moments after it happened. Iida's brother's injury was months old by this point. Would that play a part into how much he could heal?

The only other time Steven could think of when he healed an injury from a long time ago was Connie's eyesight, and he didn't think that qualified as an injury. Plus, he hadn't done it on purpose. For all he knew, he had probably come into contact with a bunch of people who wore glasses without the same results.

It could have been a fluke, like a lot of things Steven did with his powers.

He looked up at Iida, sitting silent and steady beside him, sunlight shining through the train windows and reflecting off his glasses. He hadn't noticed earlier, but Iida held in one of his hands a large travel mug containing what was possibly water.

An idea formed in his head, and he nearly gasped at the thought. Well, there was only one way to find out…

"Hey, uh, Iida? What'cha got over there?" Steven asked as casually as possible, pointing at the drink.

"Oh, this?" Iida flushed. "Ah… it's orange juice. My quirk is fueled by ingesting copious amounts of citrus, while caffeinated drinks such as coffee and certain sodas stall my engines."

Huh. It suddenly made sense why he'd never seen the resident purple-haired coffee dealer ever do business with Iida.

He sighed, fiddling with the opening to the mug. "To be honest… I haven't been able to train with my brother ever since the injury, and I had a thought… well, I felt it would be best for my quirk to be in top form for today. Just in case."

Yeah, okay. This was fine. Steven could totally work with this. He just had a few more questions.

(If this worked, he hoped Uraraka would forgive him. She'd said on more than one occasion that she liked the way Iida's glasses made him look smart. Steven had to agree with her.)

"Cool," he said. "By the way, how attached are you to your glasses?"

Iida blinked.

Steven rushed to clarify. "Like, do you enjoy wearing glasses?"

Iida looked thoughtful for a moment, only hesitating for a moment at the sheer oddity of the question. "I suppose I'm not particularly partial to them. I tend to forget about them when I'm in a rush, and they oftentimes break during training, which means they get frequently replaced. My room is stocked with dozens of spares, and only a third of them remain."

Steven winced. That didn't sound fun. He had no real concept of money, and even that made his wallet cry out in pain. Connie had mentioned more than once how expensive glasses could be.

"Okay, sick! So, let's say, if you had the choice to fix your eyesight and never need glasses again, would you take it?"

Iida's expression just got even more confused. "My eyesight is, admittedly, much more trouble than it's worth, especially seeing how it hinders my activities as a hero-in-training. I think that yes, if I had the opportunity, I would like to be rid of those issues."

Steven was practically vibrating where he sat.

"Awesome! One last thing— can I have some of your juice?"

When Aizawa came back, it was to the sight of Steven looking smug, and a squinting Iida sitting beside him taking his glasses on and off with the most baffled expression he'd ever seen on a student.

Damn it. He'd been gone for less than five minutes.

Steven was just a tad bit nervous. Not only was he trying to live up to some high expectations from Iida, he was also forced to deal with a silent and stony Aizawa.

Maybe it was, perhaps, a mistake to heal Iida's eyesight in public, but Steven figured that no one would notice— which was right! But Aizawa still seemed to figure out exactly what happened with a single look, and now he was giving the two of them a surprisingly effective version of the silent treatment.

Aizawa stood as the train slowed to a stop, gesturing for them to follow. Steven and Iida exchanged a sheepish look, obediently following behind the hero.

Oh, stars… he just had a thought. His healing ability generally depended on how confident he was in himself— which, at the moment, wasn't very much.

Now, he was getting worried. He just had to stay calm, just keep reinforcing his confidence in his healing. He'd done even more before, this would be nothing.

As he repeated this mantra to himself, Aizawa led the way to the Iida household, which was a very short walk away from the train station. Steven nearly walked into Iida's back when they suddenly stopped, and he was taken aback by the size of the house. Did it qualify as a mansion? Either way, it was impressively large.

It definitely explained how Iida could afford so many pairs of glasses.

Iida spoke up first. "Excuse me, Sensei, but I believe it would be best if I went in first and explained to my brother what exactly is going to happen."

Aizawa nodded. "Fine. Step out when you two are ready."

Oh, crap. Iida leaving the two of them alone was the worst thing that could happen. Now Steven had no buffer between himself and the hero, and he was absolutely going to say something stupid from the tension he was feeling.

In about three, two, one…

"Aizawa-sensei, I'm so sorry for what I did on the train. I know I'm not supposed to use my powers but I just kind of… forgot, I guess, and I promise I won't do it again and I hope you're not mad at me!"

Yeesh. Of all the things to blurt out, he chose some word-vomit apology? Of course Aizawa was mad at him. What even was the point of that question? Now it was just going to be even more awkward, and any sort of positive relationship with the man would be ruined—

"Hm?" Aizawa turned to face him, caught unaware by his outburst. "Sorry, I was just thinking… nevermind. Kid, I'm not— I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?"

"Well, no, I am. A little bit," he sighed. "Look. Do you know why we're being so strict about your public quirk use?"

"Because the law—"

Aizawa interrupted him. "Not just the law. Universe, to any outside observer, you have multiple quirks. It just so happens that the League of Villains is well known for creating genetically modified beasts with multiple quirks."

Steven blanched. Was he… was he talking about…

"If a civilian witnessed you using multiple quirks before you were introduced to them, then they'd accuse you of being a Nomu." Steven flinched, but if Aizawa noticed then he didn't comment. "And the League of Villains? They would notice, and you'd become a target. I'm not just mad, Universe. I'm worried."

Steven nodded slowly, calming down as understanding dawned on him. His face suddenly felt a lot less warm. Did he accidentally start turning pink? Shoot.

Either way, Aizawa wasn't mad at him, he was just scared for his well-being.

Well, now he just felt silly.

"Sorry, Aizawa-sensei," he said, ducking his head down as his cheeks heated up. "I'll try to be more mindful next time."

Aizawa sighed. "Don't worry, kid. Just— I don't know— try not to do whatever it is you were doing in public?"

"Got it!"

Just as Aizawa was opening his mouth to say something else, Iida poked his head out of the front door and yelled, "Steven, Aizawa-sensei! The situation has been explained! Please come in!"

Steven immediately moved towards the house, not leaving time for whatever Aizawa wanted to say. He was in his own head, psyching him up for the big heal. I've got this, he thought. I healed Iida's eyesight, I can totally heal his brother.

Upon entering the house, he immediately felt inadequate compared to the way the interior looked. It wasn't as egregiously lavish as he saw on the occasional TV show, but there was an air of being well-off that shone through in the decorations.

"Tensei is right here," Iida led them to the first doorway on the left, which opened into a large but homey living room. Iida's older brother was reclining in a nearby armchair, but sat up when the three of them entered.

"Shouta!" The young man grinned and waved. "How're you doing, bud?"

"Tensei." Aizawa's voice was about as dead as normal, but he could see his expression soften slightly when greeted by Tensei— who Steven suspected was an old friend of his. "It's been a while."

The older Iida snorted. "It's been a bit hard to get out recently, can't blame me. Is this Steven?" he said, turning to face him.

"Y-yes sir!" Steven stammered, suddenly aware that he was in the presence of a former hero. Tensei looked uncannily similar to his younger brother, especially now that he was relieved of his glasses. His face was a little older, creased with a few lines likely caused by stress, but it would be obvious to anyone that the two brothers were related.

"Relax, kid," Tensei chuckled. "Y'know, I'm still a bit skeptical that you can really help, even if Tenya can vouch for you."

"He healed my vision, brother—"

"I mean, if Recovery Girl couldn't do anything…" he trailed away. "Nevermind. If you think your quirk can help, then feel free to try. No harm in that, right?"

"Right," Steven said, shuddering as he took a deep breath. He could do this. He knew he could.

"So, what do I have to do?"

Steven shook his head. "Don't worry. You don't need to do anything." He walked forward, standing next to the seated man. "Before I start, I just want to ask— would you prefer getting a kiss on the forehead, or for me to lick my fingers and touch you with those?"

Tensei chuckled. "That's pretty similar to Recovery Girl, isn't it? Doesn't matter to me."

"Alright." Steven licked two fingers on his right hand and got ready to do the deed. Tensei moved his head forward, exposing the back of his neck to him. Right, Iida had mentioned that the injury was on the spine.

With one last steadying breath, Steven closed the gap between his fingers and Tensei's skin, concentrating with all his might that it would work. For a moment, nothing happened.

In fact, nothing happened for several moments. Iida visibly deflated and Steven could feel himself drawing inwards from disappointment, but then Tensei gasped.

"Tenya, Tenya, come here," he gestured, eyes still wide in surprise.

"Brother? Did it work?" Iida rushed forward, wrapping an arm around Tensei and accepting his arm around his shoulder.

"I can't believe…" Tensei muttered, and Steven nearly jumped in excitement as the older Iida— slowly but surely— stood up with his brother's help.

"Yes!" Steven whooped, and Tensei laughed out loud as he took his first steps in months.

The next few minutes were a blur of excitement, tears, and calls, but one moment stood out to Steven in particular. Iida, with tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, turning to him as Aizawa tended to Tensei.

"Thank you, Steven, for helping my brother."

End Notes:

HEY ALL! ME HERE!

I finally got off of my ass and wrote a chapter (THANK YOU SM TO MULTISAKUBLOSSOM FOR HELPING ME OUT WITH THIS AND GETTING ME OFF OF MY ASS)

I have finished TWO (2) college apps (out of 18 total please kill me) so don't expect a chapter per week or anything lol. you might get another one by new year. maybe.

anyways, i hope you like this! i have so many things i want to get to but that means i have to actually get to those chapters so hopefully i can speed through my applications!

i love you all thanks for reading 3