Their shoulders collided lightly and Izuku was surprised by the amount of comfort he managed to gather from that brief contact. It reminded him of the other day when he was eating his lunch in a narrow alley several streets down from here. It was a dingy, unsanitary space, but also pleasantly quiet until a soft meow alerted him to the fact that he was not alone. The stray was mangy but seemed friendly enough as it crawled up his leg, stepped on his chest, and bumped its head against his shoulder.
He hadn't realized his desperation for companionship until now...After he had officially walked away from everyone because he needed them to be safe.
This moment here, with Katsuki, was selfishness - yes, Izuku was aware.
But he took the protein bar anyway, despite the guilt, because he could not physically refuse a gift from his childhood friend. Once upon a time, all he wanted was for Katsuki to turn around and look at him, now that he actually achieved that and more, he suddenly became fearful of losing it all.
He peeled back the plastic wrapping of the protein bar with no sense of urgency because he didn't feel hungry. Once he actually had the first bite, however, the bar disappeared in seconds. "Thanks." Guess hunger was something that could be ignored too when one was too single-mindedly focused on a higher goal.
Izuku allowed silence to sit between them for a while as he struggled with indecision, but eventually, did opt to verbalize the unreasonable request that was swimming in his head.
"Can I see?" His gaze drifted towards Katsuki's torso. "Is it fully he-"
There was a rustle in the distance - that was all - but Izuku could not stop himself from responding. He swapped their positions with a single swift movement so that he was between Katsuki and whatever made the sound.
His danger sense did not activate. It was only the wind, and his increasing paranoia.
"I am sorry, Kacchan." Was he apologizing for overreacting just now, for getting the other hurt in the first place, or for leaving without a proper goodbye? Even Izuku didn't know. "Can you...Go back to UA?" There was a chance he was inviting the blond's anger, but Izuku didn't care anymore. "You shouldn't be out here. Especially not looking for me."