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“My boy?”
Izuku startles at the voice, turning from staring in horror at the counter to look at his mentor. All Might has an eyebrow raised inquisitively, tilting his head as he waits for Izuku’s response.
“Um,” Izuku swallows. “I’ll try the… the in-line s–skates?”
All Might grins and pats him affectionately on the head, muttering something about how he’s made a good choice, before he resumes speaking to the man behind the counter in english. Izuku, though not as terrible at the language as he used to be, doesn’t catch a single word of it. He’s too focused on the uncomfortable dryness in his mouth and the sinking feeling of oh shit what have I done in the pit of his stomach.
The in-line skates are dropped haphazardly into his arms, and it’s all Izuku can do to not drop them. All Might leads them over to a bench where they can switch out their own shoes, and he slides easily into his own in-line skates. Izuku is not so lucky, fumbling with the array of clasps and ties.
Three years of hero school, and he’s defeated by a dumb shoe on wheels?
Izuku feels like he should’ve seen this coming.
When All Might asked Izuku to accompany him to America in celebration of his graduation, Izuku didn’t hesitate to say yes. He eagerly pictured the wide expanses of the west coast, the food, the heroes. He fantasized about revisiting the location of All Might’s debut, and retracing the steps of his mentor’s fledgling career.
Izuku did not plan on the roller skating rink.
He’s not… against it, he supposes, but still. This is not how he saw the first day of their vacation going. Izuku doesn’t know the first thing about skating.
“Need some help?” All Might chuckles, leaning over slightly to gesture to the confusing straps on the skates.
“Please,” Izuku squeaks.
All Might smiles easily and lifts Izuku’s skate-laden foot up onto his leg, pulling on the straps carefully while Izuku watches. He didn’t have the first clue as to where to start with them (and genuinely wonders why he didn’t just choose the other roller skates – they look so much easier to lace! He feels stupid, really), but All Might adjusts them with an attention to detail that suggests years of familiarity. Some of his anxiety fizzles out under the gentle ministrations and when All Might asks him if the straps are too tight, he shakes his head no and he means it. The skate feels comfortable.
The other skate is tightened in similar fashion, and then they’re ready to go. Or should be, in theory, but Izuku has no idea how to move in the things.
“I– I, uh, don’t know how?” Izuku flusters.
“Here, my boy. Hold onto my arm and I’ll lead you.”
He clings to All Might’s arm and shuffles awkwardly over the dirty carpet, a stubborn blush of embarrassment on his cheeks. All Might lets him set the pace, looking ahead for the both of them while Izuku watches the ground in wide-eyed fear.
He’s taking another step when one of his feet nearly goes out from underneath him. Izuku lets out what is a decidedly less than hero-like shriek and presses himself even closer to his mentor, holding on tightly so he doesn’t fall.
Oh.
He hadn’t meant to do that.
Holding his breath, Izuku steals a glance at All Might. He expects to see some embarrassment on his face, maybe some discomfort, a signal that Izuku should pull away. But none of it is there.
Instead there’s something… almost fond, on All Might’s face. His eyes crinkle just slightly at the corners, and the beginnings of a smile pull at his lips. There’s no lines of tension on his forehead. He doesn’t look uncomfortable at all. Just… happy. That’s it.
Izuku looks away again before All Might can notice him looking, but he doesn’t forget that expression. He carves a place for it in his memory and let’s it settle there to be treasured and re-examined later. Despite his struggle to stay upright, in that moment a pleased hum bubbles up in his throat.
“So,” Izuku begins once they’ve transitioned onto the rink. He’s still moving awkwardly, but his steps are a bit less stiff than they were before, so Izuku will call that a win. All Might still hasn’t let go of his arm, either. “What made you decide to bring us here?”
“A couple of things, really. Dave and I used to come here when we had some free time, back in the glory days. And, well, roller skating is fun! I figured it was something we could do together.”
“Wow! Really? You and David Shield?!”
“Yep!” All Might grins. “Can you picture it? Me, a lumbering oaf tripping over my own skates on my first try? But, heh, that was a long time ago... I haven’t been skating since I returned to Japan. I’m glad to be doing it again with you, Izuku.”
“Me too! Er, well– learning with you, I suppose,” Izuku cringes, looking down at his and All Might’s feet. All Might glides smoothly over the floor, setting a steady and comfortable pace for him.
All Might ruffles his hair good naturedly. “Right. Well, if you’re learning, would you like to try something a bit more complicated?”
Izuku’s mind goes blank at the words more and complicated. “Uhhhh–”
“It’s nothing as bad as you’re thinking, I promise. Here, let me show you.”
All Might gently untangles their arms and Izuku can’t help the small whimper of loss that escapes him. The hero doesn’t hear him, thankfully, instead slowly demonstrating how he moves across the floor.
“Do you see how I’m angling my feet, and lengthening the time between my steps?” All Might asks, lifting his foot to demonstrate. Izuku nods. “Good! Do you think you’d like to try?” Another nod.
“O–okay,” Izuku squares his shoulders and stares at the floor grimly. “Here goes!”
All Might grins at him from a few feet away, and Izuku makes his first tentative movement. Then, another. He tries to mimic how All Might moved, sweeping his feet across the floor one after the other until he’s almost gliding.
Izuku laughs, then, feeling much more at ease. This is… fun! Yes, it’s fun!
All Might mirrors his joy, pumping a fist into the air and rushing to meet him, and Izuku’s heart swells. “I knew you could do it, my boy! I’m so proud of you!”
Four years ago meeting All Might under that bridge, could Izuku ever have pictured this? His hero, proud of him for something as simple as learning how to roller skate? Izuku doesn’t think so, and yet, it still makes him flush with happiness. He’s never wanted to presume All Might’s affection for him, but it always feels so unbelievably good to hear it.
Caught up in his thoughts as he is, Izuku forgets to pay attention to the careful movements of his feet and immediately loses his balance. Even worse, it happens just as All Might reaches him, meaning Izuku crashes into his mentor and knocks them both to the floor.
Painfully.
“Nnnghhh,” All Might groans, and Izuku jumps off of him.
“I’M SO SORRY!”
“I–It’s quite alright—” All Might tries, sitting up and dabbing at some blood dotting the corner of his mouth.
“OH MY GOSH, I CRUSHED ALL MIGHT! I’m going to have to go into hiding, and I’ll never debut as a pro-hero, and I’ll be ashamed forever, and– and–”
“Not so loud, please, it’s–”
“PLEASE FORGIVE ME!” Izuku bows deeply, head so low his locks of hair brush the floor.
“Izuku!”
Izuku stills and suddenly realizes how ridiculous this must all look. He tentatively looks up and grimaces. Skaters scattered across the rink are doing a bad job of pretending not to watch them, leaning over and whispering into each other’s ears. He picks up on a few words, and a couple shocked exclamations of ‘All Might?!’.
“S–sorry,” Izuku squeaks again, much quieter.
All Might manages to surprise him again with his booming laughter, reaching over to pat Izuku’s head fondly. Izuku blinks, stunned.
“My prince of nonsense, it’s quite alright. I’ve had my own fair share of falls! You certainly won’t have to skip your hero debut over it. In fact, I’d be quite disappointed if you did.”
“...really?”
“Really.”
Izuku feels a blush spread across his cheeks and ducks his head. “Can we… try again, maybe?”
"As many times as you’d like, my boy. I’ll be here for you.”
“A–Alright!” Izuku smiles tentatively at first, before it blooms into a full toothy grin. All Might beams right back at him and offers his arm, gesturing for him to take it.
“Together, this time?”
“Together.”
And then, they’re off.