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The hellish cycle of nightmares trapping Izuku always began with Sir Nighteye’s forewarning, strained and tangled in the man’s shaky gasps: “Overhaul is going to kill you. He’ll kill us both.” He knew how everything would inevitably play out, how it already played out. Even in his dreams, he could not change a thing.
A paralyzed passenger in his own body.
Togata bundled Eri in his torn, red cape, and held her close. Izuku scooped them up and leapt, kicking a giant escape hole clean through the wall.
I have to protect them. Dread raced to the rhythm of his pounding heart. He couldn’t let One-For-All disappear with him; not because of Overhaul nor even fate itself. When he saw the unwavering determination in Togata’s eyes, Izuku made his choice.
I can’t make Togata eat my hair.
“We need to get Eri out of here.”
But my saliva has my DNA too.
He pressed his lips to Togata’s before he could say another word in a desperate rush to pass One-For-All, his tongue slipping between Togata’s lips when he gasped. Izuku made his choice, but stole Togata’s. Nauseous with guilt, he poured his pleas for Togata’s forgiveness into the kiss.
“Midoriya…?” Izuku kept his eyes shut, unable to bear the helpless confusion he saw in Togata’s.
This will keep you and Eri safe.
Time in his nightmare-scape rushed ahead to when Overhaul stood over him amongst the ruins, the muzzle of his pistol pointed straight between Izuku’s eyes. Overhaul could end his life, strip everything from him with a single bullet through his brain; the thought alone, enough to render Izuku drugged with immobilizing fear.
Overhaul angled his aim lower. “How about I cure you instead?” In the split second before Overhaul shot him, he knew he’d made the right choice by transferring One-For-All to Togata. His own scream rang hollow when Overhaul shot him in his stomach, the white-hot agony searing away the remnants of One-For-All lingering in his system.
“Midoriya, you awake?” Togata’s voice sliced through the nightmares. “Midoriya?” The sound, a call of analgesic reality that numbed the waves of phantom pain. Izuku jolted awake. He would have toppled off the surgical table had Togata not grabbed him.
No, he thought. Not Overhaul’s table. He stopped being a powerless thing for Overhaul to rip apart and repair the moment Aizawa found him.
Izuku had been hospitalized for four weeks now, but he’d been awake for less than half the time. Only Aizawa, All Might, Recovery Girl, and his mother were explicitly permitted to visit him. Their haggard appearances left a feeling of sinking dread in the pit of his stomach that none of their reassurances could alleviate. With each visit, they spoonfed Izuku enough information for him to fill in the blanks between blacking out Aizawa’s arms and waking up in his mother’s.
Togata snapped his fingers in front of his face. “You in there?” He looked miles better than the last time Izuku saw him, no longer teetering on the edge of defeat. However, something in his expression, in the worried creases between his eyebrows, kept Izuku tightly wound.
You look tired. “How’d you get in here?”
“Uraraka floated me up and I snuck in through the window.”
“What? We’re eight stories up! That’s breaking and entering! How’d you even get—!”
Togata’s hands shot up before him, gesturing for him to take it easy. “Kidding! You’re allowed to have more visitors now.”
The coils of tension slacked from his body once he saw Togata’s bright smile; the smile he’d known long before this absolute mess had transpired. “Really?”
Although Aizawa explained that his classmates being physically present would cause “too much strain” on Izuku’s recovery, he still brought Izuku their gifts. Comforting reminders filled with their care and well wishes.
“Yeah,” Togata affirmed. “Since you’re out of the ICU. Plus, I think Eraserhead got tired of us trying to break in and see you.”
Izuku’s eyes widened. Togata chuckled into his fist. “You should have seen Uraraka!” He reached for the ceiling, like he was reliving the crazy moment. “She made it all the way up to the fifth floor before she got caught.”
His story left Izuku dizzy with laughter. Uraraka tried to sneak into the ICU to see him! And that was only one break-in attempt!
While Izuku caught his breath, Togata plopped down on the edge of his bed, a mischievous look forming on his face. “That reminds me, problem child. Why didn’t you mention you had two Quirks?”
“What? Two Quirks! What are you—?”
“No one’s ever made Eraserhead lose his hair faster than you! You got a balding Quirk?”
“No!”
“Haircut Quirk? Mind using it on Tamaki? He needs a trim.”
Izuku realized their lopsided conversation was Togata’s way of re-breaking the ice. When they lapsed into silence, it held none of the awkwardness of his last few conversations.
“You’re able to transfer your Quirk through a kiss.”
Through my DNA . Izuku wanted to correct him, but his tongue weighed like lead in his sandpaper mouth. He couldn’t blame Togata for his deduction, especially considering that Izuku being able to transfer his Quirk at all must have been a shock.
“I want to…” Togata looked away from him, the tips of his ears turning pink. “Give it back to you.”
Izuku blushed heavily, his breath escaping him in a quiet, “Oh.” He understood that Togata only intended to return One-For-All, but all he could think was, Senpai’s asking permission to… kiss me .
Before Izuku could respond, Togata continued, “Thank you, by the way.” The sincerity of his gratitude stunned the boy. “If you didn’t pass your Quirk to me, I wouldn’t have been able to save Eri or Sir. I probably would have— No. I definitely would have died that day. So,” Togata turned to face him, his smile as brilliant as sunshine. “Thank you for saving me, Deku!”
His reassuring words called to mind something Sir Nighteye told Izuku minutes before he’d been accepted for his internship. The ring of truth in its echo prodded at an old despair from which Izuku could never truly rid himself of: There is a person who is worthier of One-For-All . And that person, undoubtedly, was Togata. Because he sat there, waiting for Izuku’s consent, accepting becoming Quirkless for his sake with an unwavering smile. Because Togata had been proficient at wielding One-For-All from the moment he received it. Because he was noble enough, brave enough, strong and smart enough.
The best decision Izuku had made then had been to give Togata his Quirk; if not, Izuku would have caused the most powerful Quirk in existence to vanish.
“No.”
Togata’s smile vanished. “Why?” Izuku saw the color draining from his face. “Don’t tell me that you can only pass it once,” he whispered, horror dawning in his voice.
“That’s not it.” But it would have been easier to let him believe that. “When Overhaul had me, I realized the best move I made was giving you my Quirk. And I kept thinking that maybe you should have been the one who—”
“Nope. You’re wrong.” Togata slung an arm around his shoulders. Izuku didn’t find the steely determination he expected in those blue eyes, but rather a soft affection. “Think about it. Even if it can be passed on or whatever, you were born for it.”
Before Izuku could refute him, Togata cupped his jaw, his thumb grazing the corner of Izuku’s lips. “Your decisions protected Eri. Protected all of us, and the Quirk.” Izuku saw his look of surprise reflected in Togata’s eyes. “I’m not sure where this idea that you're unworthy or whatever is coming from, but even I can tell you were born to be a hero.”
Togata’s thumb slid slowly along the swell of his lower lip. “Is it OK if I…?”
Izuku nodded, his eyes fluttering shut. That was all Togata needed to press his lips to Izuku’s, his mouth moving in slow, chaste kisses. His tongue trailed the seam of Izuku’s lips before slipping between them, deepening the kiss and dizzying Izuku. He could taste the richness of Togata’s experience and confidence, could hear the resounding, “Thank you. I’m so glad you’re alive,” in the tenderness with which Togata held him.
When Togata reeled back, flying off the bed in his haste, Izuku felt stupefied. Until he heard All Might awkwardly clearing his throat. No way! He shakily turned towards the door, praying that All Might didn’t just catch them kissing. But there he was, standing there with an embarrassed, if not knowing, look on his face.
His burning blush returned full force. Of all the things All Might have caught him doing before, he had no idea where to begin in explaining this one.
Togata’s thumbs-up and happy explanation of, “Not to worry! I was just returning his Quirk!” was not where he hoped to start.
The End.