[When Izuku hears no, you can't what he replaces it with is find another way. Especially when it comes to Shouto, his childhood friend, his best friend. The one person in the world he would do anything to protect- though god knows Izuku's the one that needed to be protected when they were kids.
He chokes back a sob once Shouto's hands arms are around him, squeezing back. Real, solid. Not his imagination.]
You're here... I've got you...
[Trying to reassure Shouto just as much as himself.]
[ While he's never been a very tactile person, there's always been an exception for Izuku. And that exception is blown out of the water, now, as he curls his fingers in the material of Izuku's uniform, fisting his hands as tight as he can like he can ground them both there. Like no force could separate them if only he holds on like his life depends on it.
After what he went through, it's possible it does.
It also helps Shouto ignore the tremor of his hands, slowly leading to the rest of him as exhaustion and shock weigh heavily on his shoulders. But he just breathes in that familiar smell, telling himself that it's real. ]
You came. [ His voice is muffled and a little raw, both from his abused throat and emotions he doesn't know how to sort through. ]
[It's real. This is real. They're not in the prison any more, they've managed to get out with all the other soldiers. As much as Izuku does care that everybody is safe- they don't hold a candle to his childhood friend.
Feeling Shouto cling to him- he just clings even tighter. There's nothing that could break their bond- twenty-two years of being at each other's side could never disappear.]
I'll always come for you, Shoucchan. [It's rough from emotion, but he means each and every word of it.] Nothing could stop me. [It's true, he would fight the whole world for Shouto, not a single bit of hesitation in his voice.]
[ Pressing his face further against his hair, Shouto squeezes his eyes shut and takes a shuddering breath. He hasn't cried in years - not since his mother was sent away, and his father had taken the last shred of his childhood that he'd clung to, before the Midoriyas had practically taken him in when their son's friend had felt that final break - but he can feel the prickle of them, now. The relief, the horrible things that he's seen and had done to him. All of it catches up to him.
And Izuku is there, he's not going to let anything happen to him. Years of watching out for each other all culminate in this one moment, this single rescue, and he couldn't be more thankful for the bond.
He doesn't say thank you. Not aloud, anyways. Everything about how he holds onto him speaks volumes of it, anyways. ]
[He hugs him closer, face pressed against his shoulder, his tears quickly soaking through. I love you, he thinks, what would I do without you?
He doesn't need to hear a thank you. He wouldn't know what to do with one anyway. Shouto is his childhood best friend and he has no idea what he would do without him- With Shouto gone to war there went all of his self-control and any reason he'd stop himself from doing something entirely reckless.
But he's glad he did. He's glad he answered he hated bullies, he's glad he took the serum, he's forever grateful that Shouto is right here in his arms instead of locked up to a table with their enemies doing god knows what to him. Shouto deserves better than that.]
[ Curling forward a little further, Shouto firmly drops his face into Izuku's own shoulder, closing his eyes tight and grounding himself like that. He's solid and real, and even if he's a little different from the Izuku that he last saw before going to war, it's still him. Everything about that realization calms him, as much as being off that table does, and he huffs out a rough breath.
I'm here. He believes it. He believes that Izuku would tear down the world to find him, if he had to.
And Shouto knows he would do the same. Everything in his path would be razed and gone, if it tried to stand in his way. So he comforts himself in that, and in how much he loves this one person.
After a few moments of standing like this, he murmurs: ] You got bigger.
[ Shouto can't help the hoarse laugh that escapes him, brief and tired, but real. He tilts his head and knocks it gently into Izuku's, still holding onto him. ]
Never doubted that.
[ He's not a scrawny little runt anymore, but those eyes are the same. That heart is the same. ]
Still Izukkun. [ He doesn't use the nickname as much anymore, compared to Shoucchan, but it comes out now. He knows. ]
[ Slowly, his fingers loosen their hold on the material of Izuku's uniform. It's so strange, seeing him here, like this - at war with the rest of the world. Midoriya Izuku has always had fight in him, and has always wanted to stand up to the bullies, so it's not that. All of it amounts to the fact that he didn't have the power to always stand and fight.
He takes a deep breath, another faint shudder, and nods his forehead into his shoulder. ]
[He's a little different now... but the heart of him, the part that's always wanted to stand up for every single person who's ever been trampled on? That stayed. It aches at the way Shouto was treated, how they found him strapped to a table- but he's okay now.
He's solid and real and nothing is wrong. Everything is fine because they're finally together again. As long as Izuku is here, he's going to make sure nothing bad ever happens to his childhood best friend.
He's never felt pure terror grip him before. Even the super serum didn't terrify him the same way seeing Shouto hurt did. He might... have to re-evaluate his feelings. Is Shouto really just his childhood friend, or is there more to it than that?
The musing can wait for later. For now, all he wants to do is be here for his friend.]
And you're still my Shoucchan. You know you can always talk to me.
[Even if most of their childhoods were spent with Shouto protecting Izuku from bullies. Izuku was the one who tried to protect Shouto from Todoroki Enji.]
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no subject
He chokes back a sob once Shouto's hands arms are around him, squeezing back. Real, solid. Not his imagination.]
You're here... I've got you...
[Trying to reassure Shouto just as much as himself.]
no subject
After what he went through, it's possible it does.
It also helps Shouto ignore the tremor of his hands, slowly leading to the rest of him as exhaustion and shock weigh heavily on his shoulders. But he just breathes in that familiar smell, telling himself that it's real. ]
You came. [ His voice is muffled and a little raw, both from his abused throat and emotions he doesn't know how to sort through. ]
no subject
Feeling Shouto cling to him- he just clings even tighter. There's nothing that could break their bond- twenty-two years of being at each other's side could never disappear.]
I'll always come for you, Shoucchan. [It's rough from emotion, but he means each and every word of it.] Nothing could stop me. [It's true, he would fight the whole world for Shouto, not a single bit of hesitation in his voice.]
no subject
And Izuku is there, he's not going to let anything happen to him. Years of watching out for each other all culminate in this one moment, this single rescue, and he couldn't be more thankful for the bond.
He doesn't say thank you. Not aloud, anyways. Everything about how he holds onto him speaks volumes of it, anyways. ]
no subject
He doesn't need to hear a thank you. He wouldn't know what to do with one anyway. Shouto is his childhood best friend and he has no idea what he would do without him- With Shouto gone to war there went all of his self-control and any reason he'd stop himself from doing something entirely reckless.
But he's glad he did. He's glad he answered he hated bullies, he's glad he took the serum, he's forever grateful that Shouto is right here in his arms instead of locked up to a table with their enemies doing god knows what to him. Shouto deserves better than that.]
I'm here.
no subject
I'm here. He believes it. He believes that Izuku would tear down the world to find him, if he had to.
And Shouto knows he would do the same. Everything in his path would be razed and gone, if it tried to stand in his way. So he comforts himself in that, and in how much he loves this one person.
After a few moments of standing like this, he murmurs: ] You got bigger.
no subject
I did. I volunteered for an experiment.
[But he's still himself at his core. Still the same person who wanted to help his country, wanted to protect people the whole world wide.]
I'm still me, Shoucchan.
no subject
Never doubted that.
[ He's not a scrawny little runt anymore, but those eyes are the same. That heart is the same. ]
Still Izukkun. [ He doesn't use the nickname as much anymore, compared to Shoucchan, but it comes out now. He knows. ]
no subject
His breath catches at the nickname. It's been far, far too long. He gets it, Shouto's grown up-- but he's always Shoucchan in Izuku's heart.]
Still your Izukkun.
[Quiet enough that just Shouto can hear him.]
no subject
He takes a deep breath, another faint shudder, and nods his forehead into his shoulder. ]
I know. You always will be.
no subject
He's solid and real and nothing is wrong. Everything is fine because they're finally together again. As long as Izuku is here, he's going to make sure nothing bad ever happens to his childhood best friend.
He's never felt pure terror grip him before. Even the super serum didn't terrify him the same way seeing Shouto hurt did. He might... have to re-evaluate his feelings. Is Shouto really just his childhood friend, or is there more to it than that?
The musing can wait for later. For now, all he wants to do is be here for his friend.]
And you're still my Shoucchan. You know you can always talk to me.
[Even if most of their childhoods were spent with Shouto protecting Izuku from bullies. Izuku was the one who tried to protect Shouto from Todoroki Enji.]