[ ☘ ] continued from here with @distortedbeat
recap of the last episode, JIROU said: ❝I... UH... DIDN'T see you there,❞ she speaks out loud, too nervous to even be bothered by how hard it is to hear her own voice these days. an awkward, half-hearted little laugh escapes her as she finally scrubs away the remains of her tears, as if the smeared eyeliner left behind does any favors for her. ❝what're you doing here anyway? i'm fine, if that's what you're here about. just a silly dream, that's all.❞
Izuku couldn’t sleep.
Too much had happened in the past year and while he thought he was prepared to be a hero and do whatever it took, clearly, he still had a lot of growing in the path ahead. While his body was getting stronger, adjusting to the quirk he had been entrusted with and finding its endurance, his mind was still lacking in resilience. Otherwise, why would he toss and turn, unable to stop his thoughts from running wild.
Tired of staring at his ceiling and walls, Izuku decided it was time for a change of atmosphere. He went get some water and heard a scream that had him dashing towards the common room. Had there been an attack? Did the villains infiltrate the dorms?
His heart rate spiked, only to be calmed a second later by the sight of Jirou alone on the common room couch. She appeared fine, physically at least.
“I-I am sorry.” Immediately, Izuku apologized, unclenching his fist and telling himself he could relax.
She said I’m fine, which was a subtle prompt for him to not ask about what happened, right? Izuku knew was probably intruding - not everyone was okay with another seeing their tears - but he approached anyway.
“Do you want some water?” He extended the mug towards Jirou. Freshly poured, originally meant for himself, but he had not taken a sip yet. If she fell asleep here on the couch, maybe she would be cold and some hot water could do her good. “I have nightmares too, sometimes...” Izuku said carefully, glancing down to catch a hint of Jirou’s smear eyeliner and quickly looking away. “They are not real, but can still be scary.” He discreetly handed her a tissue. “My mom used to encourage me to talk about them, because once I do, they no longer sit on my chest and I can let them go. You can tell me about yours, Jirou.”
A pause.
“O-only if you want to! I am sorry if I am overstepping!”
