Chapter Text
Izuku tried not to flinch as thunder roared and lightning flashed. He was under his covers with his girlfriend by his side and he was still shivering.
"Shhh... I'm here, Izu."
"Yui?" Izuku said with a small voice. "I-I'm scared..."
"Don't worry Izuku, I'm here. Hold my hand, that will help you". She grabs his hand in hers.
"I-it's so loud. Too loud..." he shivered harder and cuddled onto her like a lifeline in a hurricane.
"Shhh... I'm here, focus on me". She said as she rubbed his back. "Yui...!"
He tried to hold back his tears, tears of fear and sadness. His body shuddered, the thunder booming overhead sending waves of phantom pain over his body. His throat contracted, rasping with each shuddering breath he took.
"Izuku! Calm down, I'm here, focus on me". Yui said as she held him tight.
His memories of the war were swirling in his head. Each lightning strike carried with it the faces of those he let die, each crash of thunder echoed their last words. "Please...! Stop make it stop...!"
Then, like a ray of sun breaking through the haze, he felt a warm hand cupping his cheek, a soft touch bringing him back to reality.
"It's ok Izuku, you're safe. You're home, there's no danger here."
Honing in on the sound of her voice, his breathing stabilized as his tremors subsided. Her voice in his ears, her breath on his neck, and her touch to his face reminded him- he was there, nowhere else.
"Yui? Am I...? Where...?" He gave up, releasing his tears and hugged her tighter.
"It's okay Izuku, you're home, safe."
"S-safe...?"
"Yes, there is no battlefield, the war has ended, you are home, safe, loved."
A gentle caress of his cheek and the scent of Yui's shampoo- lavender with a hint of citrus- let the next strike of thunder go unnoticed. so absorbed in the here and the now,, the tension in his shoulders released as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.
"I l-love you..." he said, his voice nearly drowned out by the thunder.
"And I love you, Izuku. Feel better"? She asked as she ran her hands through his hair.
and remarkably, he did. No chills, no aches of battle, even the cold grip around his heart had faded. "Y...yeah. I do." another deep inhalation through his nose sunk his mind to a peaceful place- a land with only him and her. a world of safety and warmth.... and peace.