Work Text:
It had been pure chance that they’d met, Tenko’s mother thought the day was far too nice to spend inside and asked her son if he’d like to play in the park. Shy at first, Tenko wanted to scratch at his eyes, but the itching faded as he imagined how good the air would feel whooshing past him as he went down the slide. A smile brightened his face as he nodded eagerly before running to the door to slide into his sandals.
When they got to the park, Tenko saw groups of children gathered around all the playground equipment. Unsure on how to interact with them, he settled for the swings at the far end of the park. His mother waved cheerfully from her seat on a nearby bench, so he took to kicking his legs back and forth to get a good swing going.
That’s when he saw a flash of green from a nearby sandbox that he couldn’t stop staring at, his motions slowing until his feet touched ground. The boy looked a few years younger than Tenko, but what kept his attention was the All Might costume that he wore over his regular clothes. In his hand was an action figure of the hero, the boy engaging in some kind of imaginary action scene.
Tenko couldn’t help but feel drawn in by the sight. It was all he ever wanted for himself, despite his father’s strict ‘no hero talk’ rule at home. He wanted to get to play heroes like the green-haired kid, but knew it was something that wasn’t meant for him.
“Hi!” a voice nearby startled Tenko from his thoughts, the boy now right in front of him. “I got too excited about All Might’s fight and he landed over there,” he said as he pointed to the ground close to Tenko’s feet. “I’m Izuku, do you like All Might?”
Leaving the swing, Tenko bent down to pick up Izuku’s figure, holding it as though it was something fragile and precious. It may as well have been, considering he’d never be able to have one of his own. He offered it back to the boy, nodding his head slightly to answer his question.
“We should play heroes together! What’s your name? Who is your favorite hero?” Izuku could barely contain his excitement over finding someone else that liked heroes. It seemed too good to be true, but the bright look in those emerald eyes waiting for him to answer offered enough comfort for him to find his voice.
“A-All Might, he’s my f-favorite. I’m Tenko Shimura.”
A huge smile stretched over Izuku’s face as he took Tenko’s hand and started to pull him towards the sandbox. “Awesome! He’s the best at everything, right? He saves everyone and always smiles! I want to be a hero like him one day, but for now we can practice, right Tenko? We can both be like All Might!”
As they start to play at being heroes, with Izuku rambling details of what and who they were fighting, Tenko started to feel like being a real hero one day could be possible.
As the sun started to set, both Tenko and Izuku’s moms came to tell them it was time to go home. Izuku took his mom’s hand but stopped to turn back. “Will you be here tomorrow, Tenko?”
Looking up at his mom, Tenko asked without words, getting a smile and nod in return. “Yeah, I will, Izuku.” The younger boy was overjoyed as he waved goodbye and left the park, Tenko and his mother doing the same. He couldn’t help but feel happy about his day at the park. He’d made a new friend and even got to play as heroes! He went to sleep looking forward to tomorrow.
“Looks like your little friend with the green hair isn’t here yet, Tenko,” his mom said as they walked into the park. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon, why don’t you start to play until then?”
Agreeing, Tenko took turns going from one part of the playground to another, feeling a little more down as he realized how much time was passing by. The sun was his gauge on how long he could wait, knowing once it got too low he’d have to leave. He found himself standing still, wondering if just one day of fun was all he’d be allowed when he heard a shout.
“Tenko!” Izuku yelled from the entrance of the park, running full speed towards him while his mother watched as she walked behind him. Tenko noticed he wasn’t wearing the All Might costume this time, but holding it in his hand. Once Izuku reached him, he took a moment to catch his breath, smiling the whole time before reaching out the hand that was holding the hero costume out to Tenko.
“It’s your turn to play All Might!” Izuku said as he encouraged Tenko to take the costume. He froze, realizing that little Izuku was giving him the chance to be the hero he always wanted to be. His throat felt tight, unable to verbally accept this precious gift he was given. Tears filled his eyes, but they weren’t the sad ones from other times. These were happy tears, from a happy place that Tenko found with Izuku.
Taking the All Might costume out of Izuku’s hand carefully, he swiped away his tears with his other hand and nodded.
“Okay. I am here!”
