Chapter Text
His hands grasp the flimsy fabric, the new addition to his hero costume. Wing covers. They’re a prototype, for now, until his wings are stronger, when they’ll be reinforced to provide more protection.
For now though, they remained lightweight. They weren’t too difficult to put on, but he chafed at the feeling of having his wings out, even when covered.
It had been a week since the scene on the roof, and a few days since Uraraka had preened his wings, but nothing had been said. He kept seeing Toshinori giving him sad and apologetic looks, and Aizawa seemed uncertain around him now. He didn’t know why they seemed to be acting guilty about something, because he was clearly the fuck up in the relationship.
Either way, he hadn’t stretched his wings since, and the muscles ached in protest against the movement. They had long since gotten use to his abuse of them, but he still thought about the out of place feathers, the burned and old and broken ones and wondered what that said about him.
“Okay everyone! We’ll start with some stretches first!” Toshinori said, and everyone sighed but complied. Izuku dropped to the back of the group, ducking into the shadows. He gently stretched his wings, gritting his teeth as they screamed in pain. Pressing them against his back for a several days straight probably wasn’t the best idea, in all honesty.
“Today we will be working on flight rescue and reconnaissance!” Toshinori said, looking over the class. Ochako raised her hand timidly.
“What about Izuku-kun, sensei?” she asked, and Izuku wondered that too.
“Midoriya will be working with me, one on one,” Aizawa said, stepping from the shadows. His wings were hidden under an impressive black drape, lending even more to his tired air. Ochako gave him a worried look, and he gave her a weak smile and thumbs up. He trusted Aizawa, at the very least, to be a good teacher.
“Come on,” Aizawa said, turning and walking away. He hurried to follow, waving a quick goodbye to his friends as he left.
“We’ll be working with your friend Hatsume today, I got special permission for her to help out," he said, and Izuku looked at his soulmate, confused.
“Mei-kun? Why is she working with us?” he asked, trying hard to keep up with Aizawa’s long strides. They were heading towards training ground Gamma, and Izuku was getting more curious by the second.
“You’ll see.” Is all Aizawa said, so he resigned himself to anxiety until they arrived.
When they got there, he didn’t see Mei, and he looked around curiously for his friend. They had talked on and off ever since the Sports Festival, Izuku helping give her ideas for new support items. She thanked him by not making him help her test them.
“Ten Million!! There you are!” He heard Mei before he saw her, the over enthusiastic girl leaping from the wall. She crashed into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
“Mei-kun!” he replied, already feeling a grin form on his face. Her excitement was becoming infectious.
“I can’t wait for you to try out my new babies! I’ve been working on them ever since the cavalry battle! Come on come on!” she said happily, already dragging him up. He followed her into the training ground, almost certain he heard Aizawa laughing at him.
She ran to a large crate set up near the entrance, throwing open the top and grabbing several things at once.
“I made a grappling hook belt to help you reach tall places! Isn’t it so cute? It pairs well with the boots we used in the Cavalry battle, but I made those lighter and smaller for you! We’ve also been looking into making gloves and boots that stick to walls like your friend Froppy! Try them on!” she said, already dropping things on him. He laughed excitedly, although with a bit of trepidation.
“Don’t overwhelm him. We can work on one thing at a time, then begin combining them,” Aizawa said, and Mei pouted.
“Fine, fine! Grappling hook first then!” she said, grabbing something out of the pile. Izuku gently deposited the rest before turning to her. She grinned brightly at him, wrapping a belt tightly around his waist. She showed him how to secure it, then turned to the buttons on the side.
“Press this to launch the hook. It’s reinforced steel launched with pressurized air, so be careful to only aim it at buildings. Then, you press and hold this button until you get to the desired speed and height, then hit this button to release the hook. The one on the other side works the same way, and you can use them both to swing around buildings! Aren’t they precious?” she said, and he finds the buttons, running a finger over them.
“It’s great Mei-kun, thank you,” he responds genuinely. They didn't realize it, but inside he was brimming with happiness. They gave him his flight back, in a way. They were giving him back the skies.
“Now, practice first. I’m going to fly up to a certain height, and I want you to get level with me. No higher, no lower,” Aizawa said, stretching his own wings towards the sky. Izuku smiled and nodded, and Mei cheered.
Aizawa flew up, hovering about 10 meters above the ground. He was right next to a building of the same height, but far enough away that Izuku didn’t have to worry about hitting him.
“Alright, so this button for shooting…” he said, reaching down. He felt awkward, with both their eyes on him, but he trusted Aizawa not to judge him, and he didn’t think Mei cared, as long as her inventions got used.
It took him a few minutes to get the buttons down, and even more to actually get in the air. Granted, he wouldn’t call ‘gently ascending up the wall’ in the air, but it was close enough. After that, it got easier and easier, and thirty minutes later Aizawa declared him efficient enough to move on.
“Here, try on these! They’re the same type of boots we used in the cavalry battle, with a few extra things!” Mei said, shoving a significantly smaller pair of shoes in his hands. He put them on, surprised at how light they were.
“They will activate automatically if you get too close to the ground, and slow you down. Otherwise, activate and deactivate them by clicking your heels together! The bottoms are also sticky enough to give you the ability to climb up walls, and reinforced to withstand heavy hits!” She explained, and her excitement was rubbing off. He couldn’t wait to try them out.
“So, like this?” he said, clicking his heels together. He felt them start up, and suddenly he was hovering several meters above the ground. Mei cheered, and he wobbled, trying to get used to the feeling of standing on nothing.
‘It reminds me of Gran Torino’s Quirk.’ He thought, thinking of how his mentor had propelled himself using his air and oh hell had anyone told Gran Torino he was Toshinori’s soulmate.
He fell sideways, distracted, struggling to turn off the boots before he propelled himself into the ground. Aizawa swooped in, righting him, and keeping his hands on his shoulders until Izuku could turn off the boots.
“Thanks,” he said as Aizawa gently deposited him back on the ground.
“Just be more careful. What got you so distracted so quickly?” Aizawa asked, and Izuku shuddered.
“Just… things,” he replied, Aizawa giving him an unimpressed look. Nonetheless, he let it go, Mei stepping up and giving him tips. It continued like that for awhile, him practicing while Mei watched, and Aizawa hovered close by in case he needed help.
He ended up falling a lot, Aizawa having to catch him. His mate was always sure to grab him by his arms or shoulder, avoiding touching his back or wings at all, and he had never been more grateful.
After he had gotten a handle on that, they combined the two. Mei and Aizawa hovered as he began testing, both rushing in if he was in trouble. He also got a chance to use the special gloves that let him stick to things, climbing up and down walls with ease.
‘Is this what Asui feels like?’ He wondered, climbing a wall before shooting over to another one.
They practiced like that until the class was almost over, Aizawa calling Mei and him back to the entrance.
“Good start today. We will continue working on this for the next several days. Meet back here during the same time tomorrow. Hatsume, if you would like to show your last invention to Midoriya?” Aizawa said, Izuku turning to his friend curiously. She was digging through the box, pulling out a large lump of fabric.
“My final baby for today! I’m most proud of this one, though it’s not done yet, here,” she said, shaking it out. It unfurled, revealing a wing cover of some sort. It was deep green, slashed through with red and black, matching his hero costume perfectly.
“And this,” she said, reaching back into the box and pulling out some sort of contraption. It unfolded awkwardly, looking to be almost wing-like, although only the bare bones of it.
“These are your true prototypes for your wing covers. The sheet is fire and ice proof, and woven from the same material as Aizawa-sensei’s scarf! And this is a wing brace! It will reinforce your wings without stopping their mobility, keeping you from breaking or twisting them again! They should also help with strengthening your muscles, as well as adding more power than you might have been able to get with your wings!” she explained. He reached forward, grasping the fabric gently.
“I made two different versions for you too! These ones fit your current wings, but the others will fit your own wings, once you get them!” she said, and he looked up sharply.
“I don’t know who your soulmates are, I was just made aware of the fact they know they’re your soulmate and offered up their own wing measurements for me to use,” she explained quickly, and he relaxed slightly.
“Thank you. I… words can’t express how grateful I am that you’ve done this for me,” he said, already feeling the water works. She was giving him back his ability to take to the skies, limited though it may be. And… She had made his wing covers fireproof.
“Don’t thank me! Aizawa-sensei was the one who put in a special request for all these things! I’m just glad my babies will be getting used!!” she said happily, and he froze, surprised.
‘ Aizawa did…?’ He thought, looking over to his teacher. Aizawa didn’t appear to be paying much attention, busy looking over the equipment, but Izuku could tell he’d heard every word. Clutching the fabric to his chest, he looked down at it, wondering what he could possibly do to thank his mate.
“Class is dismissed. Head back and get changed you two,” Aizawa said gruffly, and he smiled brightly at the man. He and Mei walked back to the main building together, talking about heroes and how she could improve her equipment, and the entire time, he wondered how he could possibly thank Aizawa for what he did.