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Izuku spent a lot of time with Toshinori these days-- not that there had been a time since the beginning of high school when he hadn’t seen him most days. Still, they didn’t spend a whole lot of time together in circumstances where they were entirely alone, nor where they couldn’t escape each other if they wanted.
It kind of figured that the one time they were going to be alone together for an extended period of time was when Izuku started itching to tell him how he felt.
(And no, they weren’t literally stuck together; Izuku could escape if he really wanted to. But it would involve him jumping out of a speeding car and landing in a ditch on the side of a highway, so…)
Right now they were on a long stretch of mostly empty road on the way to a town sort of in the middle of nowhere. There were some sick kids there whose wishes were to meet them. Most of them were more interested in meeting Deku, but a few were old enough to remember when All Might had been the big thing, or had picked up an interest in him from their parents or popular media. So it only made sense for them to go together. (They'd been told that was usually a winning combination with the kids, even if they hadn't specifically asked to see both. Two for the price of one was always good.)
They'd done this a few times before, but they usually kept closer to home, or went in larger groups with other heroes, in busses or on trains like school field trips. This time though, they'd been contacted more directly by the hospital itself instead of a charity acting on their behalf, so they filed for some time off (separate from vacation, they had days set aside for charity work), hopped in a rental car, and went.
Izuku didn't really think about how awkward it was going to be. It shouldn't have been awkward. They were friends; they'd never had a hard time getting along or talking about things, especially not since Izuku had graduated and Toshinori stopped feeling as bad for forgetting to hold his tongue around him. The only reason it was awkward was because of the stupid little voice in the back of his head that had sort of popped up out of nowhere, telling him that he really ought to tell his mentor how he felt. About him. About them. About the idea that maybe perhaps they could consider being together, Izuku being long-since graduated and all. He'd avoided thinking too much about it until then, but it really just figured that it would be nearly the only thing on his mind once they got on the road.
For the first 30 minutes or so they chatted, catching up with each other as usual. An hour or so after that and the conversation had lulled down to a comfortable slow pace, lapsing into near silence as they left behind all traces of the city and became pleasantly distracted by the country scenery. The hum of the traffic was a nice white noise, but it did nothing to stop Izuku’s brain from pecking at him. Forty-five or so minutes later, with another several hours yet to go, it had gotten so bad that he could feel himself nearly shaking from the tension.
Hands clenched in fists settled over top his legs, posture too straight, too rigid, Izuku glanced over at Toshinori. He looked far more at-ease than his passenger felt, one hand firmly grasping the wheel, the other resting on it, back slouched just a little. He didn’t look like he was fighting to figure out how to expose a big, possibly life-changing secret of his, which was probably because he wasn’t . That was a good argument for Izuku not spilling his guts about this big stupid crush.
A few minutes later, he did it anyway.
After struggling for what felt like a century, but really couldn’t have been that long because they were still on the same stretch of road, Izuku took a deep breath, turned to Toshinori, and said, “...Can I tell you something?”
Toshinori didn't seem suspicious when he glanced at Izuku out of the corner of his eye, keeping most of his attention on the road. “Sure,” he said easily. After all, they were always open with each other.
“I…” Izuku cleared his throat. He took another deep breath, looked out the window at the scenery speeding by, closed his eyes, opened his eyes, let the breath out, turned back to Toshinori and said, “I…’m, ....in love with you.”
The change in Toshinori’s posture was sudden and noticeable. He went rigid, his eyes wide, and he turned to look at Izuku, his expression fearful and… something else. His gaze twitched back and forth across Izuku's face, though what for, Izuku didn't know.
“...Midoriya…” he said, staring as Izuku shivered with nerves.
“I… I've wanted to tell you for ages, but it just… never seemed like the right time. I know this maybe isn't a great time either but…” He ducked his head and averted his eyes, shy, guilty for putting them in this situation.
Toshinori looked vaguely panicked. “I don't --...” He frowned, apparently unsure what to say. His hands shifted on the steering wheel, drawing Izuku's attention to them, which was when he noticed that they'd drifted slightly into the oncoming lane-- and that there was a truck heading right for them.
“All Might!” he yelled, lunging for the wheel and yanking it back towards him. The car jerked back over to their side of the road, overcorrected until Toshinori snapped to attention and righted their position. The whole thing only took a split second, but with their hearts beating a mile a minute, it felt like an eternity.
The silence in the car after that was palpable, thick. It oppressed any words they might have thought of saying, and stopped them from more than glancing at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Even Izuku, whose natural instinct was to ramble when he was frightened, could think of nothing to say. The rest of the ride was quiet except for the softly playing radio, providing just enough background noise to keep the tension from snapping. The next words that came out of either of their mouths were, “Here we are” from Toshinori, followed by Izuku's, “We made it”, which was the most either was willing to allude to the fact that they nearly didn't.
As if nothing was wrong, they grabbed their bags and entered the foyer of the small hotel. They were checked in with minimal fuss (relatively speaking; someone always got at least a little excited to see them) and given their key-cards. Then they carried all their luggage into the elevator, rode it up to their floor, found their room, went inside, set their stuff down by their beds, and then… looked at each other.
“...H… hungry?” Izuku asked, trying to smile and probably failing if Toshinori’s expression was any indication. He looked a bit queasy for the short moment when he remained unguarded, before putting his face back to neutral.
“Sure.”
The walk down the street to peruse dinner options started off rather quiet, but it slowly picked up into more of their usual pace of conversation as they passed interesting places and people that they wanted to point out to each other, and by the time they’d picked a restaurant (a local place, instead of a chain they could get anywhere, because what was the fun of traveling if you didn’t experience new things?) and sat down to their meals, things were nearly back to normal. They didn’t talk about what Izuku said, or what happened, or the lingering tension that permeated the space around them, and for the time being, that was fine.
Going to bed was another matter. Izuku had been able to avoid thinking about the situation for most of the evening, but now they were settling down to spend eight hours, quietly, in the dark, in private but from each other, and Izuku couldn’t help but overthink. He thought back to Toshinori’s reaction, back in the car, to the look on his face as he stared at Izuku, as he… searched for meaning. Was he upset? He didn’t seem very upset all afternoon, but All Might had always been good at keeping up pretenses. Was he scared? Scared that Izuku was going to come on to him now? Ah, if only Izuku could open his mouth again and explain , tell him that… that nothing had changed, not really, that he’d felt this way for so long, and Toshinori didn’t have to suddenly worry that Izuku was going to treat him differently. But would he even want to hear the excuses?
He wondered what Toshinori had been about to say. “I don’t--”. ‘I don’t feel the same ?’ ‘I don’t understand ?’ ‘I don’t think it’s appropriate ?’
He took his clothes into the bathroom to change instead of stripping down to his underwear like he normally would have. Toshinori gave him a curious look when he headed that direction, but he was already in his own bed with his eyes closed and his light off when Izuku emerged, so he had no way of knowing if his more conservative state of dress was reassuring to Toshinori or if he didn't care.
Sleep came eventually.
Morning came much faster, Izuku's slumber mostly dreamless but for the usual inscrutable sort.
Breakfast followed a fairly practiced morning routine, during which time Toshinori didn't look any more bothered than he sometimes just did on early mornings. It was still on Izuku's mind though, and with each minute that passed he wanted more to better explain himself and get out of Toshinori whatever reaction he was going to get.
They'd agreed to meet the kids at the hospital between breakfast and lunch, so instead of going out somewhere they just ate in at the hotel’s little kitchen. Nobody else was around, so as they were finishing their patched-together meals of cereal and fairly-fresh fruit, Izuku cleared his throat and caught Toshinori’s eye.
“So… About yesterday. In the car.”
Again, Toshinori’s posture changed, a minute shifting of the muscles in his back giving his form a tense line. “I’m sorry I put us into that dangerous situation,” he said, lowering his face in what looked like shame.
“Ah, no, it’s okay! I mean, before that,” Izuku said, starting to reach across the table but stopping before the motion was too obvious. “You know, what I was talking about. I just…” He looked off to the side and scrubbed a hand through his hair, trying to think of how to phrase it, how to explain himself and put Toshinori back at ease. “I’m not expecting anything, and I don’t want this to change things between us. I just… It’s been so long, and I had to tell you.”
A soft sadness came over Toshinori’s face. “How long?”
Izuku gave the table an embarrassed, guilty smile. “A long time,” he said. “You probably don’t want to know. And it… doesn’t really matter now anyway, does it?”
“Izuku, I--”
“Is that Deku!?”
Izuku looked up from the table to see they’d been joined by a few other guests, who were grinning excitedly at them. His gaze passed over Toshinori on the way, noticing his pained expression and how it shuttered and switched over quite expertly to the one he always wore around fans. Izuku wiped the worry from his mind and followed suit. This wasn’t strictly a vacation, after all, so they were as prepared as ever to deal with the usual occupational hazards.
The fans were polite enough not to bother them for more than a minute or two, but it had been more than enough to break the flow of their conversation, and it left Izuku feeling tense again as they got ready to head to the hospital. He wished he could find the time to get a proper response from Toshinori, for the man to finally tell him… whatever it was that he was going to say. Whether that was a request that Izuku never bring it up again, or an apology that he didn’t feel the same way, or whatever it might be, he just wanted to hear it so he could know and be done worrying.
He caught Toshinori looking at him out of the corner of his eye a few times as they drove, but the man was careful to keep most of his attention on the road this time, and as much as Izuku wanted to start the conversation again, he didn’t want a repeat of what happened last time. And he hadn’t really built back up the nerve to try again anyway, so the drive remained pretty quiet, the sounds of traffic and the GPS periodically chiming at them the only noticeable noises.
When they arrived at the hospital, Izuku found it easy enough to focus on their goal. This was part of being a hero that he loved, and he wasn’t going to let his own turbulent emotions distract him from giving these kids all the attention they deserved. Luckily, Toshinori was much the same way.
“Ready?” he asked, with a grin much sunnier than he’d afforded Izuku any time in the past day.
Straightening the lines of his costume, Izuku responded in kind. “Always!” He led the way into the hospital, as he’d taken to doing since his own current fame had surpassed All Might’s and necessitated his more frequent appearances. Toshinori followed behind in his work clothes, the closest thing he had these days to a recognizable costume. (He’d toyed with the concept of having a new All Might costume made, for occasions like this, but eventually decided it was too confusing to fans and that he was better off fully embracing his retirement. Best to leave the All Might costume to the shape of the man who wore it before, even if that was only in people’s memories now.)
The receptionist was pleased to see them, and sent them up to the third floor where the pediatric ward was. They passed quite a few workers and patients on the way, and waved to them all, occasionally stopping to say hello. The adults may not have been their intended audiences, but it never hurt to spare a moment for someone whose day might be made better by a quick word of encouragement.
This pediatric ward looked much the same as any other they'd ever visited, and the kids looked much the same as any other kids, but their bright smiles made Izuku's entire week. The way his little fans looked at him, he couldn't help being reminded of himself as a child. He laughed at the comparison, knowing that things weren't likely to turn out for them the way it had for him. After all, All for One was done for, so the chances of him passing his quirk on to anyone, let alone one of these kids, was slim to none. And with any luck, they'd never find themselves awkwardly confessing their love to him.
But that was a train of thought he didn't need to entertain at the moment, so he pushed it away and focused on the kids instead, asking them about their quirks.
They spent the next hour there, telling stories and handing out gifts, absorbing the glow of the children's joy. It was definitely a mood raiser, and a distraction from the worries that had been bothering him. By the time the nurses came around to thank them and get the kids ready for lunch, Izuku had forgotten his dread from earlier that morning.
Toshinori hadn't.
As they got ready to leave the pediatric ward, Izuku stopped by the vending alcove next to the visitors’ room, to get a drink for the drive back. Toshinori followed along, as Izuku expected. What Izuku didn't expect was for Toshinori to grab him by the elbow and turn him around and kiss him.
“Whu--?” was the sort of unintelligible sound Izuku made before his mouth was otherwise occupied and his brain was too busy wildly grasping at straws to do much else but kiss back.
Toshinori’s hand left Izuku's elbow and found its way around his shoulder instead, drawing him nearer, and Izuku melted into him. He was flooded with relief. The conscious, overthinking part of his brain tried to tell him that this didn't necessarily mean what he was hoping it meant, but every other part of him was aware that nobody grabbed someone and kissed them quite like this if they weren't at least a little interested in them, so he ignored his overthinking for once in his life and let himself enjoy the damn kiss. He was sure they'd talk right afterward.
And that was a pretty good assumption, pretty reasonable. It might have gone that way if they'd broken apart of their own accord, in their own time. Instead they heard from the doorway a sort of nervous laughter, almost tinged with hysteria. Eyes wide, they turned to see one of the nurses from before, grinning like, well, like they probably were.
“Wow,” he said, staring at them with the expression of a kid in a candy store. “So, you two, huh?”
Izuku glanced at Toshinori, who looked about as relieved as Izuku felt. “Uh, yeah. I guess so.” He smiled at the nurse with a confidence that was itself a little bewildered.
“That is wild,” the nurse said, almost disbelieving. He shook his head softly, and then snapped to attention as a thought apparently occurred to him. “Hey, I'm sure you're busy--” (Izuku glanced at Toshinori again and they shared a somewhat bashful look, a bit embarrassed for having gotten ‘busy’ in such a public place.) “--but if you're not on a tight schedule, do you think you could stick around a little longer? I know you just saw the kids, but… a few of the older ones, y'know, I think they'd be thrilled to talk to you a little more personally. Together, if you're up for it.”
Still coming down off the high of whatever had just happened a mere few moments ago, Izuku was more than happy to agree, but he had the sense to look to Toshinori first. He appeared just the slightest bit apprehensive, but when he looked into Izuku's eyes, it melted away. He nodded and told the nurse, “We have some time.”
And that was how it got out that they were dating, at least an hour before they officially agreed to it. Of course they didn't tell the awestruck teenagers that they'd literally just gotten together; they were familiar enough with each other that they pulled off an experienced couple fairly well. The several teenage patients that the nurse had pulled together all looked at the two of them like a beacon of hope, and Izuku was pretty sure neither he nor Toshi would regret spilling this newly-hatched secret to them, no matter what came of it. The light in their eyes was enough to counter any drama that might arise as a result of the Twitter posts the teens would later make.
Social media might have blown up, but at least it waited until they'd gotten back to the privacy of the hotel, set their phones to silent and set them on the nightstand. They might have received more texts and voicemails than they could count, but they wouldn't find out until the next morning. They were busy apologizing in myriad ways for the weird lapse of communication the past day, and the unfortunate gaps in the truths they'd been telling the past few years.
It was a long process, all that apologizing, and they both agreed it was better done here than in the car. So they called up their offices and requested a few days of real vacation time. And since it was an official vacation now, they stayed in. It wouldn't do to be interrupted this time. Getting caught once was enough for them.