Chapter Text
Saturday morning finds Izuku on the field again, feet in worn shoes scuffing against the soft grass. It had rained a bit last night, and today is cloudy and windy – not one of the better ones for flying, but Izuku didn’t come here to be dissuaded by a bit of harsh weather. His fingers tighten on the broom. Today, he thinks. Today, I’m going to learn to fly.
He gets on the broom, leans forward, and tightens his fingers on the handle. He can feel its magic a little more strongly now, his body a little more receptive to the wood’s latent, thrumming enchantment. He breathes in, then breathes out. What was it Sir Torino had said? Treat the broom as an extension of your body. He closes his eyes, imagines the open sky, the wind underneath his arms.
The broom lifts a tiny bit before falling. Izuku only barely manages to land on his feet.
Still, it’s a better showing than in class, when he couldn’t even get off the ground. He gets back on the broom, runs his fingers against the worn wood, and tries to concentrate.
“Deku?”
Izuku jolts and nearly falls off. His face heats up when he turns around and sees the source of the voice – “U-u-u-Uraraka! W-what are you doing here? W-we’re not due to meet u-until ten, right? For our Potions homework?”
“I took a shortcut from the Hufflepuff common room,” she explains in the lively way she does everything. “Iida told me you were getting some practice in before breakfast today.” She’s out of their school robes, in a soft pink sweater and jeans, and grinning at him far too widely for six in the morning, but Izuku has learned not to wince and turn away from Uraraka’s brightness, and despite himself he grins back.
Uraraka gracefully moves past his lack of response. “Does Sir Torino know you’re here?” she asks, eyeing his school-issued broom. She steps on the field, mud getting on her clean shoes.
“No,” he says. “But he did lend me the broom for this weekend; said I could practice in my own time so I’m on the same level as…you guys,” he adds lamely. She cocks her head to the side, curious, and he rushes to explain. “You and Iida.” And Kacchan, he thinks, but that’s neither here nor there.
“Ah.” She laughs, high and happy, and Izuku decides to chalk up his reddening cheeks to the morning wind. “It’s just beginner’s luck,” she says. “We’ve only had two classes. Some of the other Hufflepuffs haven’t gotten the hang of it either, Deku, and not all the Ravenclaws have, either,” she adds, referring to their joint flying class.
But he knows she’s being humble – he’s seen Uraraka fly, and she moves like she was born on a broom. There are already rumors that she’ll be recruited to the Hufflepuff Quidditch team soon – “Sero told me it was for a Beater position, but Uraraka’s strengths are better suited for a Chaser, don’t you think so, Midoriya?” Iida asked when he’d told him, hands unconsciously adjusting his glasses. Izuku had agreed; what Uraraka lacked in the raw power needed to send a Bludger careening across the pitch she more than made up for in speed and game sense. She’d be a great asset to Hufflepuff.
“Yes.” Iida had nodded when he said so. His face had been serious.
Izuku had scrambled for words. “N-not that I don’t think you’ll end up on the team, too, Iida! Of all the first-years, it’s you and Uraraka, probably, who’ll be on the team!” Iida is incredible in the air, too; he’s good at maneuvering without being reckless, fast without losing control. It’s a family thing, he’s heard – Iida’s brother was some sort of flying prodigy who carried Gryffindor to the House Cup two years in a row back in the day. Now, Iida would play well with Uraraka if they were on the same team; he could be a Chaser, too, or a Beater. He tries to be everywhere at once, which usually wouldn’t make him a good Seeker, unless…
“Deku, you’re mumbling again,” Uraraka teases, breaking his train of thought for the second time that morning.
“Sorry, Uraraka,” he says, sheepish.
She waves her hand dismissively. “No, it’s okay! I just you’d want help or company, is all.” His reaction must be something, because she takes one look at his face before turning red. “N-not that – if you don’t want my help, or anything, it’s – I’ll just go on back to the common room…”
“No!” he yelps, then mentally smacks himself. “I’d appreciate your help, Uraraka.”
Uraraka beams, then walks over to him. “Can I borrow the broom?” He hands it to her, and she gets on. “I don’t really think of it as flying specifically,” she explains, leaning forward on the broom. “It’s just another kind of magic. Imagine you and the broom, pushing up.” Her feet lift off the ground, and she’s floating next to him. “See?” With that, she’s zipping around the field before Izuku can even blink, and she’s back by his side before he can properly think about her posture and movements while in the air. “Try,” she says, getting off the broom.
He smiles weakly at her, exhales, and gets back on the broom. The thrumming magic in the broom is stronger now, perhaps brought out by Uraraka’s brief stint on it.
Treat the broom as an extension of yourself. Push up.
The broom zooms straight up, shakes him in the air, then falls. Izuku lands on the ground with an ungraceful thump. He looks up at Uraraka, who’s smiles as she holds out a hand to help him up. “That’s great, Deku!”
“Yeah,” he says, still wincing. “At least I was able to get off the ground.”
Uraraka turns back to the broom. “I guess the first push up is kind of like that first pedal when you ride a bike. Balancing and staying on it is a whole other thing, but…you get the hang of it, really.”
That gets him thinking. Kacchan had learned how to ride a bike before any of the other kids, and Izuku had watched him move his legs, balance his body, and steer the vehicle. Not even two days later, Izuku’s training wheels were off as well, not that Kacchan was particularly happy about that.
Kacchan had been flying since they were ten. The magic had eluded Izuku until very recently.
He gets back on the broom. The initial kick comes easy now, and he finds himself in the air with little trouble. He feels the broom buck, trying to shake him off, and thinks of the easy repetition of pedaling – left, right, left – Kacchan’s confidence, Uraraka’s posture – extension of yourself, feel the magic throughout your body –
And he moves. Forward, he thinks, and the broom obeys; left, right, and it follows the path set by his mind with no question. It’s thrilling, exhilarating; Izuku gets to the other side of the field and back, the wind whipping through his hair, laughter bubbling unconsciously, before the broom unceremoniously dumps him at Uraraka’s feet. Uraraka, arms bundled up in her pink sweater, hair windswept, the apples of her cheeks pinked by the morning cold, beaming as she helps him up –
“That was amazing!” She still hasn’t let go of his hand, and his shoulder feels her excited pull. “Deku, you did it! You’ll be acing flying class in no time!”
Maybe it’s the wind, Uraraka’s hand in his, or the sheer thrill of being in the air, but Izuku blushes again, his heart hammering. “I-it’s all thanks to you, Uraraka! You made it sound so simple and easy to understand.”
Her smile widens. “I’m happy I was able to help!” She lets go of his hand, clasping hers behind her back. “Especially you, Deku, you’re always…”
Her voice trails off as the breakfast bells sound, and he jumps a bit out of surprise. “I-I have to go back to the dorm, gotta put away the broom,” he blurts out.
She nods, smile still in place. “I’ll see you at breakfast, then.”
He nods eagerly. “Then the library at ten, right? I’m sure Mr. Aizawa’s looking forward to our paper.”
She winces. “Yeah, Potions.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, lifts her hand to wave goodbye. “See you later, Deku!”
“Good morning, Midoriya,” Yaoyorozu greets him at breakfast, gracefully making space for him at the Ravenclaw table. She blinks at him. “You seem a little tired today. Are you all right? Did you get enough sleep?”
Izuku looks over at the Hufflepuff table, where Uraraka’s sitting next to Iida. The two of them turn and look over at him, Uraraka pointing at him while talking a mile a minute. He waves at them, and they wave back, Iida sending him a thumbs-up.
“I’m fine, Yaoyorozu,” he says, turning back to her. “I had a pretty good morning, actually.”