Work Text:
The story of Icarus goes as such.
Icarus and his father were trapped in a labyrinth. His father (Daedalus) built wings of feathers and wax to escape. Daedalus told Icarus not to fly close to the sun, as it would melt the wax and he would fall. Icarus listened to his father, trusting his words. But when the sun hit his face, he flew closer and closer until the wax melted.
Icarus would fall to his death.
Melissa could admit that her soulmate was very different than she expected when she met him. He was a scrawny guy, his green curls untamed, and his demeanor introverted.
However, Izuku’s personality is what brought them close. Both of them were able to bond over being quirkless in a world that revolved around quirks, and their interest in bettering the world around them kept them talking for hours at night.
It was especially hard due to the time difference between the two of them. Melissa living in I-Island and Izuku living in Japan. The two made it work and eventually would fall in love.
Years later, Melissa and Izuku are two happy adults that live on I-Island taking life one step at a time. Melissa can recall meeting Izuku and receiving the shock of her life.
Izuku had no wings.
She remembers the first time seeing him when he got off the flight from Japan. He was all bundled in winter clothes and all nervous from the anxiety of just making it there. Melissa remembered when he pulled off his jacket, and boom, no wings.
It shocked her, that was for sure. She remembers almost screaming in shock because almost nobody was born without wings. There were a lot of explanations and tears that day.
The hardest thing about that day was just...I-Island isn’t the friendliest place for wingless people. The architecture of the island was almost dependent on the fact that a person would have wings. I mean sure there were stairs, but they were long, twisty, and (sometimes) not the safest.
Izuku however, transitioned well to live in I-Island. He had grown up having to find alternative ways to get from place to place and this was no different. Melissa personally liked how spirited Izuku was.
The more time that Melissa and Izuku spent together, the more things she liked about him. His freckles were cute and reminded her of the stars she’d see at night. She liked his skills in analysis, he always had a fresh and new perspective on everything, and working on her experiments became so much easier with him around.
The one thing though that she absolutely loved, was how he treated her wings. Wing Grooming was a big part of her wife. Her father and she used to groom each other's wings as a way to spend time together. Taking care of each other in such an intimate way.
Izuku researched a lot about wings. Melissa’s wings took a lot of care. Her wings are big, fluffy, and white. Izuku looks months before he’d even touch her wings, and it was honestly comedic to Melissa. He cared so much for the wings and was soft with each touch. Melissa could only feel a sense of happiness that she got so lucky.
Izuku was always happy to take care of her wings, but Melissa always knew that Izuku wanted to fly. She always could see the longing in his eyes when he watched her fly, or the days where Melissa would carry him to the platforms he needed to get to if they were too high.
Melissa always wanted to do something nice for Izuku. Something that would make him happy, since he was always giving things up to make her happy. Like moving to I-Island, figuring out how to travel, staying up late, and helping her with experiments.
So Melissa built Izuku a pair of wings. It took years to perfect them. From the type of metal to the hardware, down to the very color of the wings. Melissa could say that this pair of wings was her best work, and seeing Izuku’s reaction to them made it all worth it for her.
To say he went nuts is an underestimate. He cried he laughed, he jumped around and swung Melissa around. The joy that Izuku felt at the very idea of being able to fly with her brought an unhinged sense of joy to Izuku, and it absolutely delighted Melissa.
Izuku underwent a long and complicated surgery to get the wings attached to his back. Fusing the metal and attaching it in a way that would make it so that they were like a muscle for Izuku when he awoke. Recovering was a long and hard process and just being able to move the wings was a challenge in and of itself.
Izuku had to adjust to the weight of having wings on his back, which was funny to Melissa. As luckily, Izuku could remove his wings at will like a fail-safe. Melissa internally wished for that luxury with how large her own wings were but chose to focus on the man in front of her.
Learning to fly was a whole other challenge. Not only did Izuku have to learn how to operate the pair of wings, but learning how to adjust to wind pressures, and shifting wings was difficult in and of itself. Izuku would learn to fly around their home and laboratory, but also in a simulation tank.
Izuku took the entirety of this experience in stride, and after a year Melissa and Izuku decided to take the wings out for a spin in the real world. The two flying all around I-Island, full of mirth at being able to do something as wild as this.
Izuku and Melissa would fly all the way to the beach, and take a break. Eating Ice-cream and reminiscing about the day that they had. Staring down at the setting sun, the beach was hot, and so Melissa suggested one last fly before they went home. A race of sorts.
Melissa would fly as fast as she could, jeering at Izuku and testing him to fly faster and higher. Melissa obviously didn’t know the story of Icarus at the time. For if she had, she would’ve known that Izuku was like Icarus and shouldn’t have flown so close to the sun.