sfw// bittersweet// angst with a happy ending
p.s feel totally free towrope me a request on anything thank you for your support <3
The rain outside fell hard against the windows of the common room, blurring the city lights outside into soft, smudged glows. You sat curled up on the sofa, knees pulled to your chest, watching the droplets race down the glass. It was lateâfar later than you usually stayed awakeâbut sleep had been impossible ever since youâd seen him earlier.
Midoriya stood near the doorway- his back to you, shoulders hunched under the weight of his cape. Heâd only just returned from a mission, and even from here, you could see the way his body trembled, the way he held his left arm close to his side like even breathing hurt him. His costume was torn in several places, dark with rain and dried blood, and there were fresh bandages peeking out from the collar of his suit.
Youâd lost count of how many times youâd patched him up, how many nights youâd stayed up waiting for him to come home, terrified that one day he wouldnât. Every time he walked out that door, you felt like you were losing a little more of himâlike the world was slowly wearing him down, piece by piece, until thereâd be nothing left for you to love.
âYou should be asleep,â he said softly, not turning around. His voice was rough, worn thin from exhaustion and overuse. âI couldnât,â you answered, voice quiet. You stood up slowly, your legs feeling heavy, and walked over to him.
âI never can, when youâre out there.â When he finally turned to face you, your heart ached so bad it hurt to breathe. His face was streaked with rain and grime, dark circles hung heavy under his bright green eyes, and there was a deep, fresh cut along his jawline. But what hurt most was the look in his eyesâguilt, and sadness, and a quiet kind of resignation that had settled there over the last few months. You reached up, brushing a strand of messy green hair away from his forehead, your fingers trembling. âYouâre hurt again.â
âItâs nothing,â he said automatically, the same lie he told every time. He leaned slightly into your touch, though, his eyes fluttering shut for just a secondâlike you were the only thing keeping him standing. âIâm okay. Really.â
âYouâre not, Izuku.â Your voice cracked. You rested your hand against his chest, right over his heart, feeling the fast, heavy beat beneath your palm. âYouâre never okay recently. You push yourself until you break, and you never tell anyone how much it hurts. You just⊠carry it all alone, you won't even share it with me.â
He opened his eyes, and they were shiny and brimmed with tears. He took your hand in his, holding it tight against his chest, his fingers cold and rough from fighting. âI have to. You know I do. Thereâs so much I have to doâso many people I have to save. If I stop⊠if I slow down⊠what happens then? What happens to everyone who needs me?â
âWhat happens to you?â you whispered, tears spilling, rolling down your cheeks. âThatâs what Iâm afraid of. That one day youâll push too hard, and you wonât come back to me. That I'll lose you before I ever get to tell youââ You stop yourself, biting your lip hard. Youâd promised yourself you wouldnât say it. Not now, not when he had so much on his shoulders. Not when loving you would only be one more thing he had to worry about.
But Izuku knew you too well. He always had. His expression crumpled, and he pulled you close, wrapping his arms around you carefully, like he was scared heâd hurt you if he held on too tight. You buried your face in his chest, crying quietly, listening to the steady, strong rhythm of his heartâthe same heart that gave everything it had, every single day.
âI know,â he murmured, his voice thick with pain. He rested his chin on top of your head, his hand rubbing slow, soothing circles on your back, even though he was the one who was hurt. âI know. And itâs not fair to you. You deserve someone who can stay safe. Someone who doesnât come home broken every other night. Someone who can give you all the time and attention and love you deserve.â
He pulled back just enough to look at you, his thumbs wiping away your tears, though his own were falling freely now too. âI want to be that person for you. More than anything. But⊠I donât know if I can. Not yet. Maybe not ever. My life⊠itâs dangerous. And I canâtâI wonâtâlet you get hurt because of me. I canât bear the thought of you getting caught up in this, or losing you, or⊠or leaving you behind one day because I wasnât strong enough.â
âItâs not your choice to make,â you said, grabbing his wrists, holding onto him like he was slipping away. âI chose this. I chose you. Every part of youâthe good, the hurt, the parts that are always trying to save the world. I donât want anyone else, Izuku. I just want you.â
He closed his eyes, a quiet, broken sound escaping his throat, and pulled you back into his embrace, holding you tighter this time, like he was scared to let go. The rain kept falling outside, and the room was quiet except for the sound of your crying and his shaky breaths. âI love you,â he whispered, so soft you almost didnât hear it. âGod, I love you so much it hurts. Thatâs why this is so hard. Because every time I leave, I wonder if thatâs the last time Iâll get to say it. If thatâs the last time Iâll get to hold you like this.â
He pulled back again, his hands cupping your face, looking at you like he was memorizing every last detail, terrified heâd forget. âBut I need you to be safe. Even if it means⊠even if it means I have to stay away from you. Even if it hurts us both.â
Your heart felt like it was splitting open. âIs that what you want? To stay away?â
âNo.â His answer was immediate, fierce, raw. âItâs what I have to do. To keep you safe. Even if it kills me.â
You leaned into his touch, your eyes closing as you let yourself feel this one last timeâhis warmth, his scent, the way his hands felt against your skin. You knew he meant it. You knew heâd carry this pain quietly, alone, just like he carried everything else. And you knew youâd wait. No matter how long it took. No matter how much it hurt.
âIâll be here,â you promised, your voice barely a whisper. âWhenever youâre ready. Whenever you can let me in. Iâll be right here.â
Izuku kissed your forehead, slow and gentle, his tears falling onto your skin. For a little while longer, he held you in the dark, while the rain fell around you.
The first few days after that night were the hardest. You half-expected him to come backâmaybe late at night, maybe with that familiar, tired slouch, maybe with a hundred apologies. But days turned into a week, and the door to his room stayed shut, and every time you passed him in the common room or the corridors, Izuku didnât meet your eyes.
He was there, physicallyâalways first out the door for training, always the last to finish, always pushing his body past its limits until he was swaying on his feetâbut the warmth that used to follow him everywhere was gone. It was like heâd built a wall around himself, thick and high, and heâd locked you out on purpose.
You found him one evening sitting on the roof, knees drawn up to his chest, staring out over the city lights. The wind tugged at his hair, and his arms were wrapped tight around himself like he was cold, even though the night was mild. His costume was off, replaced by a loose hoodie, and you could see the faint, pale lines of fresh bandages peeking out from the sleeve.
Your throat tightened, but you walked over anyway, sitting down a safe distance awayâclose enough to be there, far enough that he wouldnât feel cornered. âYou havenât been sleeping,â you said quietly. It wasnât a question; the dark circles under his eyes were deeper than ever, his face thinner, his movements stiff with exhaustion. He didnât look at you. His voice was flat, emptyânothing like the soft, earnest tone you knew so well. âI sleep enough.â\
âYou donât,â you insisted, voice shaking just a little. âAnd you havenât spoken to me properly in ten days. You walk past me like Iâm⊠like Iâm just another person. Like we didnâtââ You broke off, swallowing hard. Like we didnât love each other.
Izukuâs shoulders tensed. He stared harder at the horizon, his hands gripping the edge of the concrete so tight his knuckles turned white. âItâs better this way.â
âBetter for who?â You could feel tears pricking at your eyes again, hot and sharp. âFor you? Because you get to carry everything alone? For me? Because I get to sit here and watch you destroy yourself and pretend I donât care?â Finally, he turned his head. The look in his eyes nearly broke youâhollow, aching, full of a pain he wouldnât let himself speak aloud.
âBetter for you,â he said, each word rough and heavy. âEvery time I talk to you⊠every time I look at you⊠I want to break every promise I made to myself. I want to run to you and tell you I donât care about the danger, or the risk, or anything else. But I do care. Because if anything happened to you because of me⊠Iâd never forgive myself. Never.âHe looked away again, voice dropping to a whisper. âIâm doing this so youâre safe. Even if you hate me for it. Even if I have to be a stranger to you from now on. Itâs the only thing I can do right.â
âI donât want safe, Izuku,â you cried softly, tears spilling over. âI want you. The boy who cries when heâs happy, who stays up all night writing notes about everyone, who holds me like Iâm something precious. Iâd take every risk, every heartache, every second of fear⊠if it means I get to be with you. Donât you see? Youâre worth every bit of it.â
He flinched like youâd struck him, and for a second you thought heâd reach for youâthought heâd finally let the wall crumble down. But instead, he stood up quickly, turning his back to you. His hands were shaking at his sides. âPlease,â he said, and his voice sounded like it was tearing apart. âPlease just⊠let me go. Itâs easier if you let me go.â
Before you could say anything else, he walked awayâfast, like he was running from you, like he was running from his own heart. You stayed there on the roof long after heâd gone, the wind cold against your face, staring at the empty space where heâd been.
Somewhere inside the building, a door clicked shutâanother barrier closed, another mile added between you. And you knew, with a heavy, aching certainty, that this wasnât over. But for now, all you could do was wait, and hurt, and hope that one day soon heâd realize: love isnât something you protect people from. Itâs the only thing worth fighting for.
Three weeks later, the alarm blares through the dorms at 2:17 a.m.âsharp, urgent, and impossible to ignore. Youâre out of bed before your mind fully catches up, pulling on your hero costume and rushing to the common room, where everyoneâs already gathering. The screen on the wall shows the live feed: a high-risk villain attack in the city centre, multiple hostages, and a threat of a large-scale explosion.
Your eyes immediately search for him. Izuku stands near the front, shoulders squared, face set in that determined mask he wears when danger is near. But even from here, you can see the toll the last few weeks have takenâheâs paler, sharper around the edges, and when he shifts his weight, thereâs a faint wince he tries to hide. He hasnât spoken to you since that night on the roof; every glance, every accidental brush past each other, has been met with him looking away, his jaw tight with pain he wonât let show.
âTeams are assigned,â Aizawaâs voice cuts through the noise, steady and grim. âMidoriya, youâre on front-line rescue and evacuation. Move fast, and donât take unnecessary risks.â Izuku nods once, already moving toward the exit. Just before he steps out, he glances backâonly for a split secondâbut his eyes lock with yours. Thereâs so much in that look: fear, longing, regret, and a silent goodbye that makes your chest ache so bad you can barely breathe. Then heâs gone, disappearing out the door with the others, and youâre left standing there, cold dread settling heavy in your bones.
Youâre assigned to support and perimeter securityâstaying back to guide civilians to safety and block off danger zones. Itâs safer work, the kind meant to keep you out of harmâs way, and you know exactly why it was arranged. Because he asked, you realise with a sharp twist of pain. Heâs still trying to keep me apart from everything, even now. For the next hour, you work on autopilot, guiding people, checking for injuries, listening to the comms crackle with updates from the front line. But every second feels like an hour. You can hear Izukuâs voice through the speakerâbreathless, strained, shouting instructions, pushing himself harder than youâve ever heard him push before. Heâs faster, stronger, reckless, throwing himself between danger and anyone else whoâs in the way.
Then comes the sound that makes your blood run cold. A deafening boom, loud even through the comms, followed by the screech of crumbling concrete and shouts of alarm. Static fills the line for a terrifying few seconds, before you hear his voice againâweak, breathless, and tight with pain. âStructure⊠unstable. Get everyone out⊠now. Iâll⊠Iâll hold it up.â
Your heart stops. You know exactly what that means. Heâs going to use One For All to brace the collapsing section of the buildingâtaking the full force of the weight and impact onto his own body, knowing it will break him, knowing he might not be able to get out in time. Without thinking, you run. You ignore the calls behind you, you duck past safety barriers, you sprint straight toward the smoke and dust rising from the city centre, your legs burning, your lungs aching, all you can think is I canât lose him. Not like this. When you burst onto the scene, the sight makes you want to scream.
Part of the multi-storey building has caved in, huge slabs of concrete hanging precariously, and standing right beneath the heaviest section is Izuku. His arms are raised, muscles straining, veins popping, green lightning crackling wildly around his bodyâevery ounce of his power forced out to hold the weight up. His costume is torn to shreds, blood running down his face, his legs shaking so hard you can see it from metres away. Heâs already broken, you can tell; his body is tearing itself apart just to buy everyone else time.
âIZUKU!â You donât care about the debris, or the danger, or anything else. You run straight toward him, scrambling over broken stone and twisted metal, until youâre close enough to see his eyesâwide, terrified, and full of agony. âGet back!â he gasps, voice cracking, blood dripping from his mouth. âGet outâpleaseâitâs going to come downââ
âIâm not leaving you!â You reach him, grabbing his arm, trying to help support the weight even though you know you canât possibly take any of it from him. Tears are streaming down your face, mixing with the dust and smoke. âIâm not going anywhere, do you hear me? I told youâI chose you! Every part of you! And Iâm not letting you die here just to keep me âsafeâ!â
He lets out a broken, ragged sob, his head falling forward. âI canât⊠I canât do this anymore⊠Iâm so tired⊠I just wanted to keep you safeâŠâ
âSafety means nothing without you!â You shout it, loud and fierce, gripping his face in your hands, forcing him to look at you even as the ground shakes around you. âDo you think Iâd rather be alive and alone, than with you even if itâs dangerous? Do you think thatâs ever been a choice for me? You are my safety, Izuku! Youâre the only place Iâve ever felt whole!â
The building groans louder, shifting, and Izukuâs knees buckle. Heâs reaching his limitâevery bone, every muscle, screaming in protest, his vision starting to blur. But your hands on his face, your voice, your wordsâthey cut through the pain clearer than anything else. All the walls he built, all the distance he forced between you, comes crashing down in that second, because he realises, with blinding clarity: he was wrong. He thought keeping you away would protect you, but all he did was hurt you, and hurt himself, and miss the only thing that makes all of this worth it.
âIâm sorry,â he chokes out, tears mixing with the blood on his face, his grip faltering just a little. âIâm so sorry⊠I was so scared⊠I love you⊠I love you so much it destroys meâŠâ
âThen let me love you back!â You wrap your arms around him, pressing yourself as close as you can, shielding him as much as you can, even though you know itâs hopeless. âLet me stay! We face it togetherâeverything! The pain, the fear, the battlesâall of it! Or we donât face it at all! But Iâm not letting you carry it alone anymore!â
For a second, everything goes still. The dust hangs in the air, the noise fades, and itâs just you and himâbroken, bleeding, terrified, and so deeply, desperately in love it hurts. And then, with a roar of effort, he pushes. He draws on every last reserve of strength he has left, fueled not by duty or responsibility this time, but by youâby the promise you just made, by the fact that youâre here, that you love him, that youâre not letting him go. He shoves the heavy concrete slab upward, just enough, just long enough for the rescue teams to rush in, to pull you both out, to get you clear before the structure finally collapses behind you.
You land hard on the ground a safe distance away, rolling, but you donât let go of him. You drag yourself over, pulling his broken, shaking body into your lap, holding him tight as he gasps for breath, his entire body trembling with pain and exhaustion. Heâs hurtâbadly. You can already tell there are multiple fractures, internal injuries, the kind that will take weeks, maybe months, to heal. But when he lifts his head to look at you, his green eyes are bright, clear, and full of something he hasnât let himself feel in so long: hope.
He reaches up, his hand shaking so hard it takes all his strength just to touch your face, his fingers brushing gently over your cheek.âI was such an idiot,â he whispers, voice rough and weak, but soft, so soft. âI thought⊠pushing you away would keep you safe. But I didnât realise⊠that losing you was the most dangerous thing of all.â
You kiss his palm, tears falling onto his skin, holding him closer. âYouâre never going to lose me. Not again. No matter what happens.â He closes his eyes, leaning his weight fully against you, finally letting himself restâfinally letting himself be yours.
âOkay,â he breathes, a small, broken, relieved smile tugging at his lips. âOkay⊠together. From now on⊠everything⊠together.â The sirens are getting closer now, voices calling out, but none of it matters. All that matters is that heâs here, heâs alive, and the silence between you is finally brokenâreplaced by the truth youâve both been too scared to say, but needed more than anything.
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