A day or so after he'd woken up in that alley with Ejiro grinning down at him, Izuku was already back in the office. He fought back the urge to sigh aloud as he held his office phone close to his ear, fingertips drumming on the top of his desk. He hated being cooped up in his office. He put up with it because it was vital to keeping Aegis running smoothly, and that was vital to being a good hero, but that didn't make it any less unpleasant.
Speaking of unpleasant, Izuku heard the person on the other end finally stop talking, and took the opportunity to jump in. "I'm very sorry, Miss, but I won't be attending the mayor's gala," he said, doing his best to avoid letting his irritation show. "With the increasing instability in the lower levels, we feel that it's best to remain focused on-"
Takao's PR manager, a woman with a voice that would have been sweet if her constant simpering didn't grate on Izuku's nerves, interrupted, "The mayor is quite confident in your ability to keep things well in hand. Are you really not able to take a single night off for yourself? Besides, if the people are worried by this supposed "instability," wouldn't it be best for them to see their Number One Hero making a public appearance to assure them all is well?"
Tightly controlling his voice, Izuku replied, "It's not a matter of taking time off for myself. We simply believe that the agency, and the public, would be better served by my presence on the ground than at a fancy party, taking pictures with the mayor's donors."
The woman hummed, perhaps unsure how to reply to that. It wasn't as if she could deny it; both she and Izuku knew why Takao wanted Atlas at this party. Election season was coming up, and Takao always campaigned on a tough-on-crime platform that heavily emphasized the supposed closeness of his relationship with Musutafu's heroes. In a city that existed in a state of more or less perpetual low-level guerilla conflict with the feared mutants of the Depths, Takao was seen as a savior; his fifteen-year tenure as mayor had proven to be the most peaceful period in the city since before the Underground had been formed. The fact that that "peace" didn't include the mutants regularly targeted by heroes and police…wasn't seen as a downside.
To put it mildly, Izuku wasn't inclined to be a political prop for a man like Takao, and that had been before he'd gotten a close look at the conditions the man seemed entirely comfortable ignoring. He couldn't look at Takao without seeing the sneer the man had worn as he spoke of mutants, right here in Izuku's office. He wanted nothing to do with the man.
Unfortunately for her, the woman tried again. "Mr. Takao will be deeply disappointed to hear this," she began, sounding somewhere between ominous and resigned. "Are you sure you are unable to come?"
Izuku scowled. He opened his mouth to reply, only to close it again as a loud, familiar tapping sound came from his window.
Whirling around, Izuku was…less surprised than he probably should have been to find a slim, masked figure knocking on the glass. Indignantly, he gestured to the phone held against his ear, but Mina-who else could it possibly be-seemed not to care. She shrugged, then kept knocking.
Izuku rolled his eyes, then turned away just long enough to say, "I'm afraid I have to go. Tell the mayor I sadly won't be able to make it."
He heard the woman start to say something, maybe a protest at the dismissal, but he'd already hung up. Sighing with relief at being freed, he rose to his feet, making his way over to the window.
Izuku tried his best to ignore the warmth pooling in his chest as Mina slipped gracefully into his office, ripping off her mask and shaking her short, close-shaven hair free. He was in deep now, and he knew it. Every time he saw her, every time those dark, golden eyes turned on him, he fell deeper. He couldn't have escaped it, even if he'd wanted to.
And yet…he had to hold back, had to fight the part of him that wanted to pull Mina close and hold her there. She didn't feel the same way-how could she? She tolerated him because he'd proven to be more than the costume he wore, the costume she hated. There was nothing more than that; not in a million years could someone like her fall for the kind of person who represented everything she'd been wronged by, everything that kept her down in the dark.
Izuku shoved his regrets aside. He couldn't have anything more than what he had now, so it was best just to enjoy what he did have-and try not to ruin it. He smiled, feeling brighter and happier in Mina's presence than he ever did outside of it.
"Hey, Mina," he said softly, warmly. "How's it going?"
She looked at him, and Izuku's heart clenched. Mina's face was a mess of emotions; she looked tired, and scared, and hopeless, yet a smile spread across her face anyway. Her eyes were shining-darkly, yes, tempered by some fear she was clearly fighting to contain, but shining nonetheless. But still…the hesitation in her eyes when she looked at him hurt Izuku like a knife to the heart. She'd never lose that, would she? She'd always hold back, never forgetting that he was a hero, that he could hurt her with impunity. He never would, couldn't even imagine it, but that didn't matter. Some part of her was always going to be scared of him-and he couldn't blame her.
With a sigh, the woman Izuku could finally admit he'd fallen for asked, "Izuku, can we talk?"
This wasn't like Mina. She seemed…timid. Unsure of herself. She'd never been like that before. Izuku would have said yes anyway, without hesitation, but seeing the way Mina barely seemed able to meet his eyes made him concerned enough to not care about the tone of his voice as he replied, "Of course, Mina. What's going on?"
Mina sighed, still looking uncertain. "Not here," she said, gesturing at Izuku's office. "If…that's okay with you?"
Izuku would have followed Mina to the depths of hell. He knew that now; maybe he'd always known it, from the day she took his hand and led him into her world. He nodded immediately. Then, to satisfy his curiosity, he asked, "Of course, Mina. Can…I ask what you want to talk about?"
Mina beamed at him, though her body language was still uncertain, still conflicted. She looked like she wasn't sure if she wanted to be next to him or as far away as she could get. The grin on her face was a pale shadow of the mischievous smirk she usually wore, but it still made Izuku's heart skip a beat.
"You'll see," she replied cryptically. "Now, are you coming or not?"
She strode back towards the windowsill, tilting her head as if telling him to get moving. Izuku sighed to himself, grateful that being his own boss-and a hero who might need to change into their costume in a hurry-meant he didn't have to wear a suit or anything else that might have hindered his ability to jump out a window.
"You sure do love making me jump, don't you?" he teased fondly, stretching luxuriously as he rose.
Mina had a strange look in her eye as she watched him move. She wasn't wearing her mask, even though she was about to leave again; Izuku realized she almost never did around him anymore, even in public where someone might see her. When had that started? She replied, "Oh, you have no idea. Now, try to keep up!"
She launched herself backwards with a whoop, making Izuku grin despite the whirlwind of emotions in his chest. For a moment, he could forget all the things that stood between them, all the reasons he could never have her, and just…be free. He could shed it all, and love Mina Ashido the way she'd always been meant to be loved; wholeheartedly and without regret or fear.
He was still smiling as he jumped from the window, green lightning surrounding him as he chased after her.
As Mina ran through the city, leaping from roofs and running along walls, she did her best to hold her feelings in check. Izuku was running alongside her, keeping pace, the both of them laughing and carefree, rejoicing in the joy of moving. And that was dangerous, not because of the risk to their bodies, but because of the way it made Mina want more of this.
She was ready to admit that, to herself if not the world. She wanted Izuku. She wanted to be with him, to enjoy the heady rush she always got whenever she saw him. If this was what she felt just from running through the city with him at her side, she couldn't even imagine what it would be like to kiss him.
And that was the problem. Despite Tsu's words, Mina was scared, dammit. She didn't know what she would do if she got the smallest taste of feeling like this, only to never get another. If he didn't feel the same…
Then she would pick up the pieces and figure out what to do, she decided, a voice that might have been Tsu's echoing in the back of her mind. It would hurt, so much, but…but she had survived worse. She wouldn't fall to pieces over this. She wouldn't.
It was a long way to the place Mina wanted to go; even after crossing the whole second level, they still had to take the smugglers' tunnels up to the first level. There was a place Mina wanted to show Izuku, the kind of place she could imagine herself kissing him in. She may not know much about what it was like to be in love, may have had no experience with it, but she was determined to do this right, dammit. She wasn't going to waste a chance like this, not when she knew that this kind of happiness might be the reward. Ever since she'd met him, she'd felt… lighter. It felt like she'd been missing a piece of herself and not even known it; her memories from before she'd found Izuku in that alley, on the brink of death, all felt cold somehow, dimmer than these new ones she was only just starting to make.
"Why is it that, after just a month, I already divide my whole life into "before him" and "after him?" she thought to herself.
It was the story of her life, really. She didn't have a past so much as she had an endless series of dividing lines in the sand. Before and after, over and over again, each break in the record another time when her life had been shattered and remade. No stability, nothing to cling to, nothing but era after era, like geological epochs inscribed in her skin, written in stone.
Before the Depths. After the Depths. Before Fumi. After Fumi. Before and after his death. And now...before Izuku, and after Izuku.
What happened when she ran out of room? Did she even dare hope that this time, it would last?
Izuku didn't even hesitate as he followed her into the dark, tangled tunnels, and Mina felt her heart swell even more. God, she loved him. Brave and kind and caring, and willing to throw away so much to come follow her. Kinder than she thought a hero could be, gentler than any man she'd known. If she hadn't seen his strength for herself, she wouldn't have believed it.
The ridiculousness of it made her want to laugh, sometimes. She, a homeless mutant thief, was in love with Atlas. It should have been ludicrous, should have been terrifying-and it was. But at the same time, it was bright, and hopeful, and insanely, maddeningly real. She loved every second of it.
At long last, the tunnels opened up, revealing a small ledge, like a cleft in the rock. They were high above the first level, overlooking it. And the view…
As they slipped from the narrow tunnel entrance, Mina heard Izuku gasp quietly, and smiled.
"I found this place a few years ago, looking for a new way up to this level. What do you think?" she asked, sitting down and letting her legs dangle over the edge of the cliff.
It took a long, hushed moment for Izuku to respond; he still seemed stunned into silence.
"God, Mina," he whispered. "It's…amazing."
She couldn't blame him. It was a really nice view. From the entrance to the smuggler's tunnel, high up on the sheer wall, they could see the entirety of the First Level sprawl out beneath their feet, jagged spires of masterfully carved rock, mixed with the green of gardens that defied nature itself, growing from long-ago tragedy, as if to mock it, beautiful like a dandelion growing through concrete. Both Izuku and Mina knew the realities beneath this beautiful, fantastic vista, knew how it swept the dark and the undesirable into the corners, papered over it to hide the flaws…but it didn't make this view any less magnificent. This was a city beneath the ground, embodying all that that meant, the contradictions and the glories, the victories and the failures; a place carved and shaped by humanity, in all its flawed, imperfect, magnificent glory. For every tragedy, a triumph; for every beautiful thing, a dark secret. And over it all, the titanic statues of Craton and Faultline dueled, tireless gods of light and metal and earth. From up here, Mina felt like the queen of the world...or all the world she'd ever known, at least.
Mina hesitated for a moment, wondering what to say. How could she say this? How could she let Izuku know the truth? She decided to make it slow, to do it right. She…needed time to work up the courage.
Slowly, cautiously, she began, "So…I've been thinking."
"About what?" Izuku asked, settling down on the edge of the cliff. His legs dangled over the edge as he stared out at the city that worshiped him nearly as much as it did the legends cast in bronze that dominated the skyline.
Mina let herself relax beside him, some part of her marveling at how far she'd come, to the point where she felt no danger from the Number One Hero sitting beside her. Indeed, she felt safer here than she did anywhere else. Once, that realization would have scared her, made her think she wasn't being hard enough. Now, though, she accepted it as logical. Why wouldn't she feel safe next to Izuku? Why wouldn't she trust him to be good, and kind, and caring?
Why wouldn't she love him?
Mina took a deep breath, then answered, "About what happened the other day. With the cavern collapse."
She had to start with the truth. If this was going to work…it would start here. No hiding. Not from him.
Izuku nodded slowly, but said nothing. When Mina turned to look at him, she found him staring at her close-shorn hair and gleaming horns again; when he realized he'd been caught, he turned red and looked away. She snickered at him, baring oddly white teeth. Silly boy; she wanted him to look. Her greatest fear was that he wouldn't, that he would never give her a second glance.
Both of them sat in silence as the events of the day before returned to them; falling stone and crackling thunder and screams of pain and terror filled their minds.
At last, Mina gathered her thoughts up, and quietly said, "You saved more than a hundred people's lives…and most people will never know about it."
Softly, Izuku replied, "I don't do what I do so people will know my name, Mina."
"Then why do you do it?" Mina demanded, fixing Izuku with a firm glare. "What makes you so determined to be the Number One Hero?"
There was as much venom as there always was in Mina's voice when she said the title, but it was aimed at the title, not at the man behind it. That…was new, to both of them. But it made sense. Izuku was a hero, and Atlas was a good man, but…Mina refused to believe that she couldn't love Izuku and simultaneously believe that what Atlas did was wrong. She could distinguish between the man and the actions…because one of them could change. Had changed.
For his part, Izuku met Mina's stare head-on. Something flickered deep in his eyes, and for the first time, Mina understood how this shy, fumbling, slightly dorky man could be the Number One Hero she'd watched hold the weight of a collapsing cavern on his back. Because there was fire in that gaze, the kind that came from willpower so great it could break enemies like ships on a rock, or push against the world itself. For the first time, Mina saw what lay at the core of Izuku's heart, and it left her breathless.
With the certain, steady growl of a man with ironclad conviction, Izuku told her, "I am what I am because…because someone has to be. Because if nobody else will stand up when things go wrong, when people are in trouble, and say, "I will not let this happen," then I will."
"Even if you're alone?" Mina whispered.
Izuku fixed her with an odd gaze, half smiling and half wistful.
"I'm never alone," he replied. "I will never be alone. There's more good people in this world than you think, Mina. And they'll stand up when they have to."
Izuku's charisma, even in his quiet, understated words, was like a fire raging in Mina's veins. It left her feeling breathless, warm, as if she'd run a hundred miles without stopping or tiring. How could she not love him for this? But still, those words burned in her chest, unspoken, determined to get out.
Mina hesitated, letting silence drag on and on as she searched for a way to say what she needed to say. At last, staring off into the distance, legs dangling over a gut-hollowing drop, she began, "The other day, with the cavern…when you stopped the collapse. I watched you do it. When I saw what you'd done…for a moment, I believed in heroes."
Izuku was silent; Mina's words seemed to linger in the air like smoke, heavy and persistent.
Mina exhaled softly, and continued, "In that moment, when I watched you do something no human should ever have been able to…I felt hope. Do you know what that's like, Izuku? To feel something you'd given up on a long time ago suddenly burning in your chest, because of a man you used to hate?"
Softly, doing his best not to react to Mina saying that she used to hate him, Izuku said, "It must have felt…very strange."
Mina laughed, soft and hollow; it was an odd sound, angry without anger, hateful without hatred.
"It felt awful," she told him. "I hated it. I've spent all my life not needing hope; I knew how the world worked, knew my place in it. Whatever happened, whatever I got, I got because I worked for it. I earned everything I had with my own hands. I stopped worrying about how things should work, and lived in the real world, accepting things as they were, worrying about surviving first and the unfairness of having to survive later. And now, all of that…it's still there, but now I know what hope is like. And I hate it, because it's something I can never have. Not for long, anyway. Not even you can give me that."
Mina's voice trembled, and finally gave out; for a moment, tears threatened to spill from her eyes, until she fought them back and plowed onwards.
"But most of all," she finished, "I hated it because…because if heroes are real, if people are good and kind and all those things you said they are…then what does that make me?"
Mina's voice shook, and she hung her head, unable to meet Izuku's eye. This was the truth., the last reason she could think of to hold back, to not take the risk of daring to hope that Izuku might love her back. She wasn't the kind of person who could stand on even footing with him. She was no hero, not even a good person. She was paranoid and bitter and hated with a fire that ran deep and hot. She'd been a criminal before she turned fifteen. What possible reason did he have to love her, when she wasn't worthy to stand in front of him?
Izuku's hand folded over top of hers, soft and tender. Mina didn't even care about being touched without permission; the shock sent her head up again, and she saw the gentle kindness in those soft green eyes.
"It makes you a survivor," Izuku told her softly, with that same certainty he'd spoken of heroes and goodness with. "And you were right beside me when I held up the world. You saved those people, Mina, not just me. I've seen you do incredible things, all to help people. You saved me. You're…you're an amazing person, Mina. I know you are."
Mina hadn't seen the sun in over a decade, but she thought she remembered it feeling like the shine of Izuku's smile as he spoke. It was like a balm on her soul, a blanket for her fears. She wished she could wrap herself up in it, never let it go.
"T-there's something you need to know," she whispered. "About me."
Izuku's hand was still on hers. She didn't want to draw attention to it, in case he took it away. She was so unused to physical contact…and yet she didn't want this to end.
"You can tell me anything, Mina," he murmured. "Anything at all. You know that."
"Is it true, though?" she wondered, half terrified, half excited. "What will you do once you know the truth?"
He'd run for the hills. He had to. She was going to ruin everything, break her own heart.
And yet…what if she didn't? She teetered on the edge of a knife, scared to move, scared to speak. She wasn't ready for this, had no way of knowing whether she would land safely once she leaped. But she had to know. She couldn't run from it anymore.
Something snapped in Mina's chest. She leaped to her feet, adrenaline making her desperate to move. She stood, backlit by the golden lights of a city she could never be a part of, met Izuku's gaze as he turned to look at her questioningly, and said, "I…I'm in love with you."
Izuku…didn't move. He was quiet, frozen, his mouth hanging open just a little. If Mina's courage hadn't immediately failed her, she could have seen something in his eyes-the sight of the greatest hero in all of Japan breaking into a thousand pieces, then reforming in an instant, into a better shape, a more hopeful shape.
Shaking, blinking back tears as the silence held, Mina turned away from the man who didn't seem able to meet her eyes anymore. In a voice tinged with heartbroken irony, she continued, "I…I realized it in the alleyway after you stopped the collapse. I…knew you wouldn't feel the same, but I have to say it. It's…impossible, and pointless, I know that, but I had to tell you. Just so it's out in the open. I don't expect you to feel the same, but-"
Izuku was on his feet. When had that happened? One second, he was sitting, frozen, the next he was taking up all of Mina's world, his hand coming up to cup her scarred cheek…only to stop.
"M-may I?" he asked, in a broken, choked voice. He was trembling, as if he was fighting something in his own mind. Mina didn't understand what he was asking. Her thoughts had totally fled. She could almost feel his fingers brushing over her scar from all those years ago, when Fumikage had saved her life. She wanted it. Couldn't he see that?
"W-what?" she asked, her own voice just as weak and whispery.
Izuku leaned in closer, and Mina saw his eyes. That look, that love, was unmistakable; it made her start to tear up, as she understood what he was asking, what he was saying.
Izuku took a deep breath, both of them shaking like leaves, barely able to speak anymore. He asked, "C-can I kiss you? I don't…don't want to do something you're not okay with…but God… I love you too, Mina. I've known that for a while. I just thought…there was no way you'd be interested…"
Mina's eyes went wide, and she wanted to laugh hysterically. At the way both of them had assumed the other wouldn't reciprocate, for one, but also at how stupidly kind and perfect Izuku was being. She'd literally just confessed to him, and he was still holding back from her boundaries, still giving her the power to set the tempo. How the fuck could someone make her fall so deeply for him?
"Yes," she gasped, fighting desperately for some small amount of sanity, "on…on a few conditions. I'm sorry, but…there's something else I need to say first, if…if you actually want to…you know, do this."
Izuku's expression fell a little, the longing in his eyes looking almost painful. Mina could feel it in her heart, just as strong.
She put it aside, even as Izuku's body remained so close to hers, in a way she'd imagined in some dark recess of her mind since she'd known him. She wanted nothing more than to let herself be gathered up by Izuku's arms, but this had to be said.
"Of course," he agreed instantly in an effort of unimaginable willpower, eyes skimming across her face as if memorizing every detail. "Of course I want you, Mina. I don't care what form it takes…but I want to be with you. I'll listen to anything you need to say."
Mina took a deep breath. She…couldn't believe it. He wanted her. Izuku wanted her.
"Fuck it," she decided. She couldn't fight the instinct to draw close to him anymore. She worked herself closer to him, hands trailing across his chest. She felt him shiver under her palm, and let out that breath, forcing herself to stay focused.
"First things first," she said firmly. "This…whatever we want to call this, it doesn't mean you get to…to control me, okay? Or try and fix me, or anything like that. I know I'm… broken, but-"
Gently, oh so gently, Izuku reached for her hand. Understanding, she nodded. Mina didn't even flinch as his fingers, just as scarred as her own, interlaced with hers, folding their hands together. There was no distance between them anymore; she could feel the heat coming off his body, and wanted more. She wanted to kiss him, needed to kiss him. But she fought it…for now.
"Please don't say that about yourself," Izuku murmured. "You're not broken. You're…you're amazing."
Mina swallowed down a lump in her throat at the sheer love she could feel in Izuku's voice as he spoke. It should have scared her. Why didn't it scare her? The thought of someone loving her so powerfully, so completely, should have been overwhelming; she should have felt suffocated by it. Instead, it was the sweetest, warmest feeling she'd ever had.
Forcing herself to keep speaking, knowing this needed to be said, Mina replied, "I'm only being honest, Izuku. I know what I am. And I won't change that, won't pretend. Not for you, not for anybody."
Maybe it was insecurity talking. But Mina didn't care. She had to say it, had to make it clear that she wouldn't bend, not on this. She was who she was, and her greatest fear was losing herself. She didn't care if Izuku was an abovegrounder, but she wasn't. She couldn't be.
Izuku met her eyes, and there was a layer of steel under the tenderness that once again stole the air from her lungs. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Mina," he promised. "I don't want to change you. Besides…"
Izuku let go of her hand for just a moment to roll up a sleeve, revealing burns and scars of his own. His arm was pitted and marked with the remnants of a hundred battles, and Mina knew the damage wasn't just skin-deep.
A man didn't become a legend without carrying more than his fair share of demons. And Mina knew in her bones what Izuku would say, even before he told her, "You've got scars…but so do I. They may be different…but I understand, better than you probably think I do."
Mina couldn't resist the urge to smile. It was a small thing, shy and weak, but to Izuku, it looked like sunrise.
"I guess so," she agreed, slowly resting her hands on Izuku's shoulders, letting him draw her in. His lips were getting close again, and Mina was losing the will to deny herself for any longer.
Part of her wanted to laugh at how insane this was. He actually loved her back. What the hell was she doing? How was this going to possibly work? The rest of her didn't care in the slightest. "Fuck, we're…really gonna try this, aren't we?" she whispered. It was inescapable, now; she was in his arms, she'd confessed, he had too. Inexperienced Mina may have been, but this…she knew this. And for the first time, there was no fear. There was just bliss.
Izuku smiled, clearly just as stunned and ecstatic as Mina was. That expression was more proof than Mina could ever need that he did feel the same "Only if you want to," he reminded her. "But I'll take you, scars and blemishes and all. For what you are- always what you are. I love you, Mina."
"What the fuck am I supposed to say to that?" Mina thought. In the end, there was only one response she could ever have. Her hands shifted to Izuku's face, cupping it, holding it tight as she leaned in close.
"I'll hold you to that," she growled, low and heavy, her voice sending shivers down both their spines. "Because you're mine now, and I never plan on letting you go."
Izuku smiled again, basking in the way Mina felt in his arms. He couldn't believe it. Everything he thought he'd known about her, about their chances…all of it tumbling down in a few seconds, replaced by something he'd barely even dreamed about.
"Does that mean I can kiss you now?" he asked lightly. They were well and truly entangled at this point, a mess of limbs and flushed faces and hearts beating in time, overlooking a city that would doubtless be horrified by the sight of them. Neither of them could find space in their hearts to care.
"Yes," Mina laughed, her body heating up with every beat of her heart, her anger and her grief and her bitterness falling away-not forever, maybe, but that didn't matter. Here, she didn't need to wear it like armor. Here, she could let herself be vulnerable. And that was a victory of the highest order. For the first time, she understood why Tsu had told her not to bottle her feelings up. The thought of hiding from this was unbearable. Barely a minute of really, truly loving, and she already felt like the world had changed forever. It hadn't, of course, but for now, she could pretend.
When their lips met, it was finding where they belonged, at long last.