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She knocks on the door, and the first thing she thinks when it opens is green. She jump tackles him into a hug. “Izuku!” To his credit, he’s not even startled. It only takes a moment for his arms to wrap around her.
“Ochako! I thought you were still in London?” His voice is a bit slow. A quick check to her watch tells her that it’s half-past two. Oops.
She nods against his shoulder. “I came as soon as I heard. Getting number one hero is amazing!” She’s not imagining it when he slumps and his arms tighten, just a little bit.
“Yeah.” There’s no inflection on that, and it almost sounds robotic.
Ochako finally releases him from the hug and smiles at him. “Can I come inside?”
He steps back, “Come on. Do you have somewhere to stay? I have some extra blankets.”
She shuts the door behind her and sets her luggage on the floor by the couch. “I’d really appreciate that.”
Their rhythm is familiar, and it’s honestly a relief to be speaking her native language again. Finally, the couch is all set up, and he gives her one last hug before heading to his room. He stops at the door. “Good night, Ochako.”
In the moment she takes to look at him, she sees it. He’s tired in a way she hasn’t seen since high school. His eyes seem dimmer, and even the earnestness that he’s known for seems dulled. “Good night.” She settles herself in the blankets and turns the lights off.
- - - - -
They’re both sitting on the couch the next day, her leaning on his shoulder while they watch some meaningless sit-com. The laugh track dings, and then he speaks. “You know, All Might has the record for holding #1 hero the longest?”
“Really?” She doesn’t look at him.
He nods. “It wasn’t just about how many villains he beat. All Might... people trusted him to take care of them. Some still do.”
Uraraka looks at his ratty apartment in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood, at the walls of old merchandise in the bedroom. His clothes are mostly secondhand but for the limited editions that he absolutely had to have, a habit he never kicked. The rest of the money from heroing? That goes to charities and to the damage he does and anyone he sees in need of help. “They knew All Might would take care of them because he was good.”
“Yeah.” He doesn’t say anything else.
Alright. She’s done with this. “You’re good, too. They trust you for a reason. They know that you care about them first and fame second. It’s about saving them all, right?”
“Yes, but- but how am I supposed to keep this up?” The TV continues on in the background but they’ve both forgotten about it. “They trust me to save them, to protect them and take care of the problem. They trust us to take care of them, but do you know how many I haven’t saved? There are so many people that probably need my help right now, but I don’t even know who they are! How can I be the #1 if they’re-“
She sits up, takes his face in her hands and forces her to look at him. He’s crying again, because of course he is. “Listen to me, Izuku,” It’s Izuku, not Deku. Deku is the mask, and Izuku is the hero. They’re both him, but she doesn’t want to talk to the mask. “You are the best of us. Not just because of skill, or because of some sort of magical, fate-gifted quirk, you care. If you can, you help. If you can’t, you get someone else because we all trust you, both the heroes and the civilians. So get this through your head if you take nothing else. We trust you because you care. We trust you, Izuku, as you are. Not as some fabled version of you who saves every single person — because that’s not possible — but the one in front of me now. Okay?”
He looks into her eyes, and whatever he’s searching for, he must find. “Okay.”
“Good,” she nods, then turns back to the TV. “And even if you couldn’t do it, you know any of us would be there for you until you could.”
“Yeah.”