Chapter Text
It’s god-knows how late, and Izuku is falling asleep where he stands as he waits for his luggage to finally pop around the carousel. He just wants to grab his things and go to the nearest hotel to just pass out for the next 12 hours, but it seems like this airport plans on trapping him here indefinitely.
And Izuku is excited to be back in Japan, he really is, but there’s just something about being stuck in an airport past midnight that just sucks the joy out of traveling. Like even if he wanted to have the big airport reunions with his friends, there’s no way he’d want them to drag themselves out of bed at 3 in the morning just for this.
So he waits, and waits, and he really contemplates just passing out on the benches here- honestly, it’s not like they’d arrest the Number 3 hero for loitering, even though he would never abuse his power in that way, but still- when his measly two bags make an appearance.
He lets out a relieved sigh as he tosses one over his shoulder and hefts the other behind him. Now, he just needs to find himself a taxi, get to the nearest hotel, and sleep . He’d let everyone know he arrived when he actually feels like he has. Like he’s really here, really home, and not like he’s some half-dead zombie trapped in the liminal space that is all airport terminals.
He’s just made it outside the gate to the depressing site of absolutely no taxis- like come on, world, are you serious right now, Izuku’s been good, he has, like he tries, okay? - when he hears a cry of ‘Deku!!!’ cut through the night air.
Izuku spins around, and in moments, he’s got an armful of Ochako. He’s shaking as he breathes in the familiar smell of her strawberry shampoo- and no, he’s not going to cry, he’s older now, he’s an adult, and nope, okay, here they come - and cries into her shoulder.
“Deku!” Ochako is definitely crying too, even as she hits at the arms wrapped tight around her. “I can’t believe you would try to just sneak out of here without letting us know!”
“Sorry! I’m sorry, really, I just didn’t want to bother anyone-” Izuku gasps out between his sobs. It’s almost painful how happy he is to see her, and he is so, so grateful that she’s here and his friend and they get to just hug each other again.
“Seriously, Deku!? It’s been three years! Did you really think we wouldn’t want to be here for this?” Izuku can’t see her face, but he can clearly imagine the pout on it, and it makes him choke out a laugh.
“I’m sorry, Ochako, really. This means the world to me,” Izuku squeezes her as he says it, before looking around hesitantly. “Ah, um, are the others-”
“Nah,” she answers lightly. She lets go of Izuku for just a moment before grabbing his hand and tugging him toward the Arrival parking. “I pulled Best Friend Privileges. Wanted you all to myself for a bit. Though I did hear from a little bird that there maaaaay be a totally tiny, itty-bitty surprise party for a returning hero sometime tomorrow.”
“You’re the best, Ochako,” Izuku tells her, choked up all over again. She knew him, she just got him, and she was still here for him even after all this time. “Seriously. I love you. I missed you so much, Ochako, I’m so happy you’re here-”
“Jeez, Deku, I love you too!” Ochako laughs at him, squeezing at his hand before squinting up at him playfully. “Someone sounds a little sleep deprived if you ask me.”
“M-maybe a little,” Izuku laughs with her, wiping at his eyes even as more tears leak out. “That felt like the longest flight ever. And you know how anxious I get travelling-”
“Deku?” She gasps mockingly. “Anxious? Never.”
Izuku sticks his tongue out at her as she unlocks the door to the small car, and it isn’t long until they’re on the road to her place.
Ochako asks how he’s been since their last FaceTime call, so Izuku regales her with stories about his going away party.
“I almost died, Ochako!” Deku shouts as she loses it, slapping at the steering wheel in front of her. “I went head first through the office wall!”
“Oh my god , Deku! It’s like our one Christmas party all over again!”
“Right!? I told them not to get me drunk, and the next thing I know, I’m doing a keg stand,” Izuku laughs. As much as the memory makes him cringe, it was a good party, and he loved all the heroes he got to work with during his time in L.A.
He’ll miss them. The little life he was able to carve out for himself there wasn’t perfect, but it was his , and he made it his all on his own.
Granted, there was that, which wasn’t great - and nope, we’re not thinking about that right now.
The car quiets as their laughter dies down, and he looks out the window at the glowing lights of home. He hopes coming back to Japan was the right choice, and not him trying to desperately get into old clothes that don’t fit.
---
Izuku blinks awake. His body is the kind of sore that happens from sleeping way too long, but he’s also still tired.
He groans and slaps his hand at the nightstand, trying to grab his phone. He can hear Ochako in the other room moving around and the soft sounds of the TV playing on low, so he figures he should at least try to get his body acclimated to the new time zone.
He drags himself out of bed, tugging on a hoodie before finally grabbing his phone. He clicks on the screen as he heads out of the bedroom, and his heart thumps at the notification of 107 new messages.
“Mornin’, Deku!” Ochako calls, head poking around the doorway to her small kitchen. She laughs when she sees Izuku’s expression and the way he’s holding his phone in horror. “Don’t look like that, Deku! We’re just excited to have you back, y’know?”
Izuku does and he doesn’t. He knows he’s excited to see everyone, but it’s been three years, and with the time zone difference, it was difficult to keep up with everyone. So he understands if not everyone is as excited as he is. They’re all heroes now, and they have new jobs and friends and whole new lives , so he really does understand if seeing a classmate that they haven’t seen since graduation doesn’t rank super high on their list of things to be excited about today.
Except, apparently, it does. Izuku plops down on Ochako’s couch as he scrolls through the hefty backlog of texts, and he’s quickly overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness. He makes a point to like every ‘Welcome home’ and ‘Can’t wait to see you ’ and starts tearing up when he gets to Mina spamming old, terrible , high school photos of them all.
He scrolls down and his heart stops - shit, shit, shit, no. Bad Izuku. You are over this. Completely, totally, definitely over any high school crushes that were going nowhere - because it’s the photo.
The one he surreptitiously had as his phone background for his entire first year in America. The one he cried over when he got on the plane. The one he jerked himself off to - once, okay!? It was one time, and he panic-deleted it after he came, and then cried about that, so he’s not proud, okay?
It’s the three of them during their third-year beach trip. Izuku had just finished an overnight patrol at his internship, so he ended up passing out about halfway through the day. He was told that it started with Ochako innocently burying his legs in the sand, but it ended with Izuku being covered in over a foot tall dome of sand with only his head sticking out. In the picture, Kacchan is standing on top of the dome, shirtless and sweaty, explosions bursting from his hand as he scowls down at the camera. Shouto is squatting in front next to the words Mount Midoriya scrawled into the sand, waving a small flag made from a stick and a dry piece of seaweed. He’s also shirtless, his long hair is falling loose from his messy bun, and he has the small, close lipped smile that was becoming more and more commonplace that third year.
Izuku has already saved the photo to his phone before he even notices that it’s Shouto who sent it, along with a short message of ‘See you soon .’
Izuku feels his face melt into a smile, and his heart thumps with excitement - a totally normal amount of excitement. Yep, a normal, friendly, definitely-not-weird amount of excitement - at the thought of seeing his friend again.
He scrolls through the rest, saving a few more photos to his phone as he does, before he sends a quick message of his own:
Izuku: Friends! Thank you so much, I can’t wait to see you all again!
Katsuki: You crying, Deku?
Izuku: yes ;-;
Izuku laughs as the group quickly blows up at his response, but he takes a moment to tap Kacchan’s name, pulling up his contact information. He chews at his lip as he stares at it, unsure.
It’s been… awhile since Izuku last talked to Kacchan. After everything that happened between them, Izuku thought that they were finally friends - or at least as close to friends as the two of them could be. Kacchan would probably say rivals. But that’s good too, right? Being a rival is important! Not that that ever stopped you from wanting more - by the time they graduated and Izuku hopped on a plane to America.
But communication between the two of them was just hard after Izuku left. And that didn’t really make sense because Izuku could manage it pretty decently with his other friends. Ochako texted and FaceTimed him at least five times a week during his three years there. Iida and Izuku had their weekly 5 P.M. call every Sunday. And granted, Shouto just sent him the occasional cat picture in response to Izuku’s walls of text, but that was at least something.
And Izuku knows that Kacchan isn’t much of a texter - not that he’s ever really texted Izuku back. But that’s okay! It’s not like he expected him to message like Ochako did or anything, he just liked checking in is all - but he basically just ghosted Izuku after six months.
Which sucked.
So he stares at the screen and debates giving it another shot.
He jumps when a plate of food is shoved under his nose, and he takes it from Ochako as she sits down next to him. He figures that’s as good a sign as any, so he turns his screen off and tosses it on the coffee table in front of them. Izuku will see him soon enough, anyway. Texting him now will probably just be a bother.
Izuku takes a bite of the sandwich Ochako makes him, slumping against her as he chews.
“Aw, Deku,” she coos, petting through his hair. “What’s the matter?”
“‘M nervous,” he mumbles around his mouthful. He swallows before continuing, but his voice stays a soft mumble, “People are hard. It’s been so long since I’ve seen everyone. Just- what if everything’s different?”
“It’ll definitely be different,” she muses, her hand continuing it’s soft petting. “But you’re different too, y’know! And that’s not bad. I mean, it’s been years, so you should be different.”
“I guess,” Izuku hedges, taking another bite. “I just- I don’t know what people are expecting from me. How different should I be? Did I change too much? Or not enough? Should I be more confident? Cause Ochako, I don’t think that’s ever gonna change-”
“Deku!” Ochako tugs lightly at his hair, and Izuku clamps his mouth close. “I know this isn’t exactly helpful, but you really are worrying too much this time. I promise, we’re all just happy to have you back. No strings attached,” she says, voice gentle.
“Thanks, Ochako,” Izuku mumbles into her shoulder. What she said helps, it really does, but now shame is burning deep in his belly.
It hasn’t even been a full day back, and Ochako is already having to deal with his crap - some friend you are. Wasn’t going away supposed to fix this-
Izuku groans and slaps a hand against his forehead, trying to physically knock his thoughts off that particular track. “I need a therapist, Ochako.”
She giggles at that, saying, “Oh, I think we all do, Deku.”
They’re quiet for a moment, just leaning into each other and watching the reality show playing softly on the TV.
“But really, I can give you mine’s contact info. She’s amazing.”
“You’re an angel, Ochako.”
---
The party’s at Momo’s because she’s the only one with a house big enough to even remotely fit all of class 1-A in it. He remembers her and Jirou talking about buying it in the group chat not long after graduation, and he’s happy to see them still so happy and successful together.
Ochako just pulled in, and he’s trying to build up the courage to open the door. He’s excited and nervous - and a little nauseous and he can definitely do this if they just give him like 5 minutes. He just needs to do some deep breathing, and then he’ll definitely be totally cool and good - and Ochako is up and out of the car before Izuku even has time to process that he’s about to see all his old classmates again.
Ochako is talking to him, but he can’t quite follow what she’s saying as he walks toward the front door with shaky legs. She doesn’t even hesitate to open the door and pull him inside, and suddenly he’s met with cheers.
In the next moment, he’s swept off his feet and into a crushing hug as Kirishima spins him around with a shout of “Midoriya!”
Izuku does his best to hug him back as tears spring to his eyes, but Kirishima just tosses him forward into the waiting arms of the others. The next few minutes are a happy blur of hugs, and tears, and people grabbing at his muscles and petting at his undercut.
All of it is loud, and a bit disorienting, and Izuku is so, so relieved. It’s still early in the evening, but Izuku happily accepts the beer that’s thrust into his hand as they usher him outback. The porch is set up with fairy lights and candles, and there’s enough food to fill a banquet hall.
“Oh my gosh, Momo, this is incredible!” Izuku gushes, overwhelmed in the best way.
Momo laughs and blushes a bit at his enthusiasm, but she looks happy as she says, “We missed you, Midoriya. And it’s not everyday we get everyone together like this!”
“Yeah, I’m surprised so many were able to make it!” And Izuku very pointedly does not think about the lack of two people in particular.
“Oh, everyone will be stopping by eventually. We all did our best to take the evening off once we knew what day you were coming back. Hagakure and Tokoyami should be here around 7 or so. Oh, and Todoroki and Bakugo should be here within the hour!”
Something inside of Izuku uncoils with that, and he lets eager anticipation fill in the space that tight, anxious feeling left.
He stumbles a bit as an arm gets tossed around his shoulders, and he lets Kaminari carry him forward toward the deck chairs where a small group has already gathered.
“Midoriya, dude, you have got to tell us about that fight with that huge ass, Transformers-looking motherfucker. That fight was bad ass, dude!”
Izuku cringes a bit at the memory of that particular fight. There was a lot of structural damage with that one that he’s not proud of, but it was kinda cool to watch on TV. So he sits down with his friends - his friends! His friends, who are excited to see him, and did all of this for him, who want to talk with him and catch up - to share the highlights of the fight.
“I went through five buildings!” Izuku shouts, tears leaking out of his eyes as he laughs with everyone. “And then, he shoots me with a laser! A laser, like we’re in an anime or something!”
“Oh, fuck yeah, dude, I remember that! The media was eating that shit up cause it blew off like half your costume,” Kaminari leers at him before making grabby hands toward Deku’s chest. “You must have a sick scar from that, dude!”
Izuku slaps Kaminari’s hands away, blushing, but he begrudgingly admits, “It is kinda cool.”
Kaminari’s eyes gleam as he starts a chant of ‘Off! Off! Off!’ and within seconds, the rest of his old classmates join him.
Izuku knows his face must be beet red, but if he knows anything about his class, he knows that he won’t be able to escape this party without taking off his shirt at least once. So he stands, and his friends cheer and whistle as Izuku tugs up his shirt, showing off the huge X-shaped scar covering the length of his torso.
“What the fuck kinda party you throwing here, Deku?”
Izuku gasps, head snapping up to see Kacchan . Izuku’s heart picks up because he looks good - repress! Repress, Izuku, come on, be better than this - and Izuku can tell that he’s trying to scowl, but even he can’t hide his smile as he stomps across the deck to join them.
And then, Shouto steps through the door, and Izuku’s heart literally can’t beat any faster or he will actually die - holy shit, he is not over them, he is not over them, he is definitely not better than this - but it gives a valiant effort of trying to beat right out of his chest. Shouto's hair is long , and Izuku’s brain literally can’t process how good it looks as it falls loosely down his back.
“You just gonna stand there with your mouth hanging open like a fucking loser all night, nerd?” Kacchan mocks, and Izuku wants to give him a retort, he remembers being good at handling Kacchan’s particular brand of communication when he left, but his brain is still stuck on just looking at them, and his heart has yet to calm down, and then Kacchan wraps him up in a hug.
And that’s… new. He didn’t even hug Izuku when he left for America. But here he is, hugging Izuku, and Izuku can feel the muscles of his arms pressed against his back, and the breadth of his chest, and Izuku is pretty sure he dies on the spot. Izuku gets one good squeeze in before Kacchan lets him go with a smack to the head.
“Now, explain to me how the fuck you managed to get to fucking Number 3 all the way from America, you goddamn Deku!?”
Izuku laughs breathlessly, head still reeling from the hug as Shouto steps up next to them, squeezing his shoulder in greeting.
“Don’t listen to him, Izuku,” Shouto says - good god, when did his voice get so deep!? That’s borderline pornographic, and he’s not even trying, that’s not fair, whatthefuck - a sly smile crossing his face. “He’s just jealous that he’s yet to develop a personality outside of yelling in these 3 years. If you can believe it, it got even worse after you left. Like a puppy who lost his toy.”
“Now, listen here, bitch-” Kacchan lunges for Shouto, and Izuku laughs with the rest of their friends as the two of them bicker.
And it makes Izuku feel light, and happy, and emotional, and just good watching them. Being here with them again. The past three years of their weird non-communication with him fades away - more like shoved to the back of his brain and buried. He should probably talk to them about that sometime. Eventually - and Izuku just lets himself enjoy the moment.
Someone hands him another beer, and Kacchan demands to know the story behind the scar he was showing off even as he wrestles Shouto into a headlock. So Izuku smiles, and drinks, and they all spend some time sharing their best war stories.
The sun has long since set, and Izuku is well past tipsy, by the time Iida asks, “So Midoriya, what are your plans for getting back to work?”
“Oh,” Izuku hiccups out. “I dunno yet. Haven’t decided.”
Iida blinks at him, surprised. “Surely you’ve had offers? Or do you have designs to open your own agency?”
Izuku sputters out a laugh at that, “Oh, hell no. Definitely not that. Probably just see what All Might has to say when I see him.”
“Join ours.” Shouto's voice is calm and serious as he looks over at Izuku, and Izuku gets a little lost in the way the lights are reflecting in his eyes.
“Huh?”
“You should join ours. Right?” As he asks, he turns to look at Kacchan who was sitting nursing a beer next to him. The two stare at each other for a moment, and Izuku happily stares at the pretty picture the two of them make.
Kacchan breaks after a few seconds, looking away with a gruff, “Sure, why the fuck not.”
Shouto smiles at Kacchan, sweet and small, before turning that smile on him. “Izuku, join our agency.”
And Izuku doesn’t really have any choice but to nod with a helpless, “Yeah, sure, yes. Please.”
…
“You two have an agency!?” Izuku’s shout rings out across the group, and his friends laugh at his surprise.
“Really!? I can’t believe you didn’t tell him, bro!” Kirishima punches Kacchan’s shoulder, who scoffs and shoves him away, before turning to Izuku with a wide grin. “It was wild! It was - what, a year ago now? Yeah, and these two just come outta nowhere and tell everyone that they’re teaming up and opening their own agency. Bought a building and signed on like 5 other people like it was nothing.”
“Seriously?” Izuku sputters out, stunned. “How the heck did you even afford that!?”
“I’m not above exploiting my father for money,” Shouto deadpans, and Kacchan snorts into his drink.
“That’s crazy,” Izuku murmurs, looking between the two of them. They were all close when Izuku left, and it’s not like Izuku thought their friendship would fall apart or anything with him gone, but to trust each other enough to open an agency together…
Izuku can’t help feeling a little left behind - which is stupid. You left them after all. You literally, physically left them. What were they supposed to do, wait for you? The world doesn’t revolve around you, Izuku, get over yourself - but he shakes himself, and gives them the brightest smile he can. “You two are still so amazing, it’s really, really incredible. I have so much catching up to do, I’d be so grateful to get to work with you again-”
“Oi, come on, nerd,” Kacchan scoffs, reaching across to bury his knuckles in Izuku’s curls. “I’m not gonna listen to you fucking blubber all over yourself all goddamn night! Get your shit together or you’re not stepping one foot inside our building.”
Izuku laughs, a little wetly because he meant everything he said, and slaps Kacchan’s hand away. He quickly takes a drink to try and hide whatever expression his face is making right now, but he can’t take his eyes off his childhood friend as he sits back next to Shouto with nothing but a grumble.
He almost doesn’t believe it, but Kacchan just seems softer. There was the hug, and the knuckles he had buried in his hair were much gentler than they used to be, and even though his words were still rough, they lacked the vitriol he carried with him through high school.
So Izuku stares, and watches with a weird mix of happiness and disbelief as Kacchan laughs and smiles and throws an elbow into Kirishima’s side for some comment he made.
Yeah, definitely softer.
And Izuku is happy for him, he really is. But he hates that he missed it. After going through everything together, for him to just miss this last piece of it? That sucks, and it leaves a hole in his chest that he can’t quite ignore.
So he chugs the rest of his beer, stands up and only stumbles a little as he makes his way over to where Mina is draping herself across Shinsou’s lap.
“Mina,” he says earnestly, and she giggles as Izuku sloppily gathers up both of her hands in his.
“Yeah, ‘zuku?”
And Izuku can tell that she’s trying to be serious for him, so he looks her dead in the eye and asks, “Dance party?”
“Dance party!”
---
Izuku is sweaty and dizzy, and he laughs as Ochako spins him around. He bumps into Kirishima who grinds playfully against him before shoving him toward Aoyama.
Aoyama accepts him with grace, and Izuku blushes as his friend places a light kiss on his cheek and laughs as Aoyama takes him by the hips and lifts him. Izuku can’t stop laughing as he’s passed around among his friends, and it’s fun being here with them, happily drunk and dancing like fools.
Izuku stumbles out of the group for a minute to try and catch his breath, and Shinsou steadies him with a firm hand to his back.
“Doing okay there, Midoriya?” Shinsou looks him up and down with a small smirk and raised eyebrow, and Izuku knows he’s commenting on his obvious drunkenness, but he also doesn’t care.
“‘M doin’ amazing, Shinsou!” Izuku slurs, letting himself sway against him. “It’s so much fun, an’ it’s so good to see you, I missed you guys so much , Shinsou, so much-”
“Uh-huh, believe me, we all know, Midoriya,” Shinsou rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling, and Izuku is so happy that Shinsou joined their class. He’s opening his mouth to tell him so when Shinsou tugs him toward the backdoor. “Come on. I’m getting my idiots some water, you get some too.”
That’s so nice of Shinsou, so Izuku follows along happily. The rush of air conditioning as he steps inside helps steady him a bit, but he still hooks a hand into Shinsou’s shirt so he doesn’t lose him as they walk through Momo’s labyrinthian house.
Izuku is so focused on not getting lost that he doesn’t notice Shinsou stopping in front of him, and he stumbles a bit as he bumps into his back.
Shinsou groans out an annoyed ‘Seriously?’ so Izuku peeks around his back to see what he’s looking at.
And it’s -
It’s -
Them.
The two of them.
Shouto and Kacchan.
Shouto and Kacchan leaned up against the island, hips pressed together, and tongues licking deep into each other’s mouths.
Heat floods Izuku’s face even as his stomach swoops with- with something.
Something bad.
He thinks.
It’s probably mostly bad since his eyes are definitely pricking with tears, and his heart feels like it’s collapsing in on itself.
“Y-you guys-” And his voice cracks so badly that he can’t even finish that sentence, so Izuku slaps a hand over his mouth to keep anything else from slipping out. He heaves in a deep breath through his fingers, and he clenches his fist in the back of Shinsou’s shirt in an effort to try and keep himself together because even he knows that crying here, right now, will be bad .
He watches as Shouto jumps back from Kacchan, chest heaving, and lips shiny with spit - fuck. Just focus, Izuku. You are a pro-hero. You are not going to cry, you are not going to cry - and he looks at Izuku, then Kacchan, before finally settling on point just over Izuku’s shoulder.
Izuku wrenches his eyes over to Kacchan, but he’s determinedly looking away from them, jaw clenched and a flush creeping down his neck.
The silence is oppressive, and Izuku’s heart is beating so fast that he’s sure he’s going to pass out. He wants out, he wants out desperately - but that’s weird. He’s making it weird, why the fuck can’t he just be normal? They’re his friends, and they’re hooking up, that’s not weird, why do you think you have any right to be involved in that, get over it, Izuku - when Shinsou steps in and saves him from making an even bigger fool of himself.
“Seriously can’t even keep it in your pants for a night, huh?” Shinsou grouses. He places a steadying hand on Izuku’s shoulder as he continues, “Welcome to what the rest of us had to deal with for the past three years, Midoriya. Bastards can’t keep their hands off each other for a fucking minute.”
Three years?
“How about you go debauch each other in a place where we don’t keep our food, hm?” Shinsou calls out over his shoulder as he steers him away, and Izuku follows helplessly, legs numb.
He knows he didn’t handle that well, but he’s at least proud that he didn’t cry in front of them. That doesn’t stop a few tears from leaking out the sides of his eyes now, but Shinsou keeps them moving away from the kitchen, from Kacchan and Shouto, and Izuku lets himself do that much at least.
And he doesn’t question it when Shinsou tugs him inside a room and pushes him down into a chair because Izuku is trying very hard not to have a panic attack just because he saw two of his friends kissing.
“Those fucking idiots,” Shinsou curses quietly. He’s knelt down in front of Izuku, and it looks like he’s tugging a hand through his hair, but Izuku is crying a lot more now, so he’s just a blurry blob who’s stuck dealing with Izuku’s shit.
“S-sorry,” he gasps out between his hitching breaths. It’s getting much, much harder to breath, and Izuku is still drunk enough that curling up on the floor in a ball and crying doesn’t sound like that bad of an idea.
“Fuck, no, don’t apologize,” Shinsou tells him quickly. “Just- fuck, I’m terrible with this. Uraraka- I can get Uraraka for you. Would that help?”
Izuku doesn’t want to cause a scene. He really doesn’t want to cause a scene and ruin this night for everybody, but he is desperate for his best friend, so he nods and Shinsou leaves.
Izuku clutches a hand to his chest and heaves in a breath.
Holds it.
Lets it out.
The breaths are shaky and thick, but they help ground him, so he does it again, and again - it is not Ochako’s job to hold you together. You’ve been back a day , Izuku, come on, don’t do this to her, you’re stronger than this - and by the time Ochako bursts through the door, Izuku isn’t quite in as many pieces as before.
He still cries a bit when he sees her, and she doesn’t hesitate to throw her arms around him with a tight squeeze.
“Deku, hun, what happened? Shinsou just said you needed help-”
“S-sorry, it’s dumb, I just freaked out-”
“It’s not dumb if it made you this upset, Deku! I just wanna help, okay?” Ochako squeezes him extra tight, and Izuku soaks in the comfort as he tries to find his words.
He takes a breath; holds it; lets it out.
“Kacchan and Shouto are together,” it seemed simple enough to say in his head, but his voice still cracks as he says the words out loud.
“They are,” Ochako says slowly, pulling back so they can look at each other. She squints at him, and Izuku knows she’s trying to read between the few words that Izuku’s giving her. “Was it- was it just hard to see them together for the first time?”
Izuku snorts. Hard seems like a bit of an understatement considering the position they’re in right now. But he gets to the crux of the issue by telling her, “I didn’t know.”
Her mouth drops open, and Izuku can see her face morph from disbelief to killing intent as she lets out a seething, “What?”
And there’s something about seeing her anger that helps, that validates him, so he lets the words he was trying to keep tightly locked down come pouring out.
“I didn’t know, Ochako! They just- I guess it wasn’t important to them? A-and I know I didn’t talk to either of them much - but, I mean, I tried to, you know I did! B-but Shinsou said it’s been three years. Three years! Was it right after I left? B-because we were still talking then! Why didn’t they tell me? We were supposed to be friends, but they didn’t- they just stopped . Was it something I did? Did I do something wrong?”
And that’s the real issue.
The dating thing - that hurts, it makes his heart crack and cave in on itself every time he thinks about it. But that’s Izuku’s problem, those are his feelings that he hasn’t dealt with, and if the two of them are happy together, then Izuku can be happy for them. He can .
But the three of them- they were supposed to be friends. And maybe Izuku was a little over-invested in the relationship, and maybe they didn’t see their friendship the same way he did, but Izuku is sure that the three of them were friends when he left. So why didn’t they tell him?
Why didn’t they just talk to him?
What did he do wrong?
“Deku, no, absolutely not,” Ochako’s voice is firm as she physically shakes him out of his spiralling thoughts. “You are not putting this all on yourself. And I don’t know what happened, but what they did was ridiculously, horribly, shitty and that’s on them. And Deku?” Ochako leans in close, making sure the two of them are holding eye contact as she says, “You don’t have to be okay with it. You can be mad at them. You can be mad at them for a long time for doing this to you, you know that right?”
“Yeah,” Izuku sighs out. And he is upset. He’s mad, and hurt, and confused, but he’s never been good at dealing with those kinds of emotions unless they were directed at a villain. And he can’t exactly punch his feelings out in this situation - or he could, that’s the way him and Kacchan talk best, right? He was sure those fights in high school meant something to them both, changed things for them both. But that’s just you projecting again, come on, Izuku - so what can he do?
Talk to them?
Yeah, right.
“A-and, um,” and Ochako squeezes his shoulders as she hesitates saying this next part, “you can be upset with me too. I thought you knew, but I should have checked. I just- I knew how you felt, and I didn’t want to rub salt in the wound when I wasn’t there to help you, so I just thought I would wait for you to talk about it when you were ready. But I should have known something was up when you never mentioned it, so I’m sorry for not doing more.”
“Ochako!” Izuku tears up all over again at her words, and he squeezes her tight against him in a hug. “Thanks. Really. You have nothing to apologize for, but I appreciate the thought.”
They slump against each other for a moment, and Izuku tries to gather himself enough to figure out what to do next. He’s exhausted, and while that rush of emotions helped sober him up a bit, he’s still woozy from all the alcohol he’s had tonight.
Not to mention his reunion party, the whole reason all his friends are gathered here in the first place, is still going strong. And he does not want to leave this night like this. His friends deserve better than him causing a scene and then bailing on all their hard work. And he’s self-aware enough to realize that he handled that whole thing in the kitchen badly. That it was weird. That it wasn't a reaction that a normal friend would have.
So despite everything else going on with the three of them, he should at least clear the air of that. Maybe then he can find a way to enjoy the rest of the night and not make anything else weird.
“I’m gonna go apologize,” he says. He tries to stand up, but Ochako makes a wordless yell and yanks him back down.
“What? Deku, no- what!?”
“Okay, not apologize,” he clarifies quickly. “Just clear the air or whatever. I just want to enjoy the rest of the night, Ochako. I don’t want this to ruin how good everything else has been.”
Izuku can tell that she still wants to fight him on this, but she lets him stand and fusses over him to get him looking presentable.
“I guess this would be the time to be grateful that you cry so much,” she murmurs, wiping at his eyes with a tissue. “At least no one will think twice about it or anything. We can just tell them you got sick or something and needed a break.”
Izuku smiles at that. He’s long since accepted his tears as just a part of who he is, but he has been trying to reel it in a bit. He doesn’t mind the crying so much, but having some semblance of control over his emotions would sure be nice for a change.
Ochako holds his hand as they make their way back to the party. He has no idea how long he was away, but the impromptu dance party has wound down, and his friends are all kinds of sprawled out across the deck furniture. The vibe is mellow and happy, and Izuku is honestly relieved to step back into it and pretend he didn’t just have a breakdown - compartmentalizing is an important skill, okay? Heroes do it all the time, it’s fine, Izuku will definitely deal with it later.
It doesn’t look like anyone really noticed anything off, which Izuku is grateful for. So he squeezes Ochako’s hand once before letting go and walking toward Shouto and Kacchan. The two of them have sequestered themselves off in the only dark corner of the porch, and Izuku watches as they tense at his approach.
That hurts to see. But a lot of things have hurt tonight, so he pushes that down with the rest of his feelings and plasters on his best smile.
“You guys!” He doesn’t hesitate to toss his arms around the two of them because that’s what a normal friend would do, and Izuku is going to be normal , damnit. And it’s completely normal for Izuku to be crying, again, so he’s not going to even bother to try and hide it from the two of them this time. “I’m so happy for you! I can’t think of a better couple, really, you two have always been so good for each other. Honestly, you’re both so incredible-”
“Seriously, nerd?” Kacchan’s voice is rough in his ear, but he has a hand on Izuku’s chest that is keeping him from getting too close, so Izuku takes the hint and steps back.
And really, he’s going to have to stop getting hurt by all these little things eventually, right?
“Yes, seriously,” he laughs, just a bit wetly. And of course he meant it - he’s always meant it. “And just- sorry for freaking out in the kitchen. Y-you guys didn’t- I mean- that was just- a-alcohol. A lot of alcohol. A-and just surprised to, um, see that. But I am so, so happy for you both, and I just wanted to be sure you both knew that.”
“It wasn’t our intention to hide it from you,” Shouto says while still not quite looking Izuku in the eyes. “Or for you to find out like… that.”
“Not that it’s any of your fucking buisness,” Kacchan snaps out with a roll of his eyes. “If it was up to me, none of these nosy chucklefucks would know about it either.”
And ouch, but it is Kacchan, so he isn’t surprised to hear that come out of his mouth. Izuku tries to keep his voice light as he replies, “Well, you guys were making out in a kitchen-”
And it must work because Kacchan’s eyes flash with a familiar light as he steps forward saying, “ Oi, you trying to start something-”
“Knock it off,” Shouto huffs out, sounding exasperated as he tugs Kacchan back toward him, and Izuku can’t help but stare as Kacchan just goes with it, standing next to Shouto with nothing more than a scowl on his face. “Thank you for being so understanding, Izuku. As always.”
“E-eh? No, I’m not- I didn’t-”
Shouto huffs a laugh out at his stammering, and Izuku flushes as he forces his mouth shut. “It’s nice to have you back. We both missed fighting alongside you these past three years.”
Izuku’s heart thumps and the ache spreads just a little bit more even as Kacchan growls out, “ Hey, don’t you fucking put words in my mouth-”
“Honestly,” Shouto sighs as he pushes a hand up against Kacchan’s mouth. “He did mature some. He’s just acting out because he doesn’t want to embarrass himself in front of you.”
Izuku laughs as Kacchan bites Shouto's hand for that, and it’s a bittersweet ache to see his friends so happy and comfortable together. And maybe this reunion isn’t what he expected - or dreamed of, or hoped for, or laid awake wishing desperately for - but he can make this work.
He can.