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Every class had traditions.
Class 1-A was no different.
Some of them were loud.
Some… Were so small that nobody remembered how they started.
Every morning...
As students wandered into the classroom...
Hanta Sero greeted everyone.
"Kirishima!"
A fist bump.
"Mina!"
A high five.
"Denki!"
An elaborate handshake that somehow ended with finger guns.
"Show-off."
"I worked hard on that!"
Then...
Izuku walked through the door.
Sero smiled.
"...Morning, Midoriya."
He held out his hand.
Izuku smiled back.
"...Morning."
They shook hands.
Simple.
Firm.
Then both sat down.
The next day...
Exactly the same.
"...Morning."
"...Morning."
Handshake.
And the day after that.
Handshake.
By the second week...
Nobody questioned it.
It had simply become...
Part of the morning.
One afternoon...
Ochaco frowned thoughtfully.
"...Hang on."
Jirō looked over.
"What?"
"...Why do you two shake hands every
day?"
Sero blinked.
"...We do?"
"You literally have for weeks."
He looked at Izuku.
"...Huh."
"I guess we have."
Izuku smiled.
"...I never really thought about it."
The next morning...
As usual...
Sero held out his hand.
Izuku instinctively reached for it.
Their hands met.
Then...
Both of them paused.
"...We're doing it again."
"...Apparently."
Neither let go immediately.
Not because it was awkward.
Because...
For the first time...
They'd actually noticed.
"...Should we stop?"
Sero asked.
Izuku thought for a second.
Then smiled.
"...Why?"
Sero grinned.
"...Good point."
They shook once.
Let go.
Started laughing.
From the back of the room...
Denki looked horrified.
"...Hang on."
"...You guys have your own greeting?"
Sero shrugged.
"...Guess so."
"...I want a greeting!"
"You literally have finger guns."
"...They're not exclusive."
Over the next few days...
The handshake quietly continued.
Only now...
They were both aware of it.
Which somehow...
Made it feel a little more special.
Not because it had changed.
But because they finally realized...
It had become something they always looked forward to.
Once they'd noticed it...
It became impossible not to.
Every morning...
Without fail...
Sero would spot Izuku walking through the classroom door.
"...Morning, Midoriya."
"...Morning."
Handshake.
Every single day.
It never changed.
No secret moves.
No complicated routine.
Just...
One firm shake.
A smile.
And the feeling that the day had officially started.
One Monday...
Izuku overslept.
Not by much.
Just enough that he arrived after the morning bell.
He hurried into the classroom.
"...Sorry!"
Aizawa didn't even look up.
"...Sit down."
Izuku nodded quickly.
"...Yes, sir."
He hurried to his desk.
Opened his notebook.
Class began.
Five minutes later...
Sero frowned.
Something felt...
Wrong.
He looked toward Izuku.
Then down at his own hand.
"...Huh."
At lunch...
He finally figured it out.
"...Midoriya."
Izuku looked up.
"Hm?"
"...We forgot."
"...Forgot what?"
Sero quietly held out his hand.
Izuku blinked.
Then laughed.
"...Seriously?"
"We didn't do it this morning."
"...You're right."
Without another word...
Izuku reached out.
They shook hands.
There.
Better.
Denki watched the whole thing from across the cafeteria.
"...You two are so weird."
Sero smiled.
"...Maybe."
"...Definitely."
The next morning...
Izuku arrived before almost everyone else.
He sat reading through his notes.
The classroom was quiet.
Peaceful.
A few minutes later...
Sero wandered in.
Still half asleep.
He yawned.
"...Morning."
Izuku looked up.
Smiled.
And...
Before Sero could even say anything...
Held out his hand.
Sero stopped walking.
"...You remembered."
Izuku smiled.
"...Apparently I did."
They shook hands.
Neither of them said another word.
Neither needed to.
That afternoon...
Tsuyu tilted her head thoughtfully.
"...Kero."
"I think I know why."
Ochaco looked over.
"Why what?"
"The handshake."
Everyone turned toward Tsuyu.
She looked at the two boys talking by the window.
"...It's not really a greeting anymore."
"...No?"
She smiled.
"...It's how they check the other one's okay."
The table fell quiet.
Denki frowned.
"...You think?"
Tsuyu nodded.
"They always smile afterwards."
The idea lingered.
Even after lunch ended.
A few days later...
Training didn't go well.
Izuku had been frustrated with himself all morning.
He barely spoke during class.
Hardly smiled.
When the final bell rang...
He packed his bag quietly.
Head down.
Already thinking about everything he'd done wrong.
He stepped into the hallway.
"...Midoriya."
He looked up.
Sero was waiting.
"...Morning handshake."
Izuku looked confused.
"...It's four in the afternoon."
"I know."
"...Then why?"
Sero simply held out his hand.
"...Because I think you need it."
For a second...
Izuku just stared.
Then...
A small smile returned to his face.
He reached out.
Their hands met.
One shake.
Nothing more.
When they let go...
Sero nodded.
"...There you are."
"...What?"
"My smile came back."
Izuku laughed softly.
"...I didn't even notice it'd gone."
Sero slung his bag over his shoulder.
"...That's what I'm here for."
As they walked home together...
The handshake no longer felt like a habit.
It felt like a promise.
No matter what kind of day either of them had...
They'd make sure the other one left it smiling.
After that afternoon...
The handshake changed.
Not in the way it looked.
It was still simple.
Still brief.
Still just one shake before class.
But...
Now it meant something.
If one of them had a bad day...
The handshake lingered for just a second longer.
If one of them was excited...
It came with a bigger smile.
If one of them was nervous...
The grip became just a little firmer.
Neither of them had ever discussed it.
Neither of them needed to.
One Friday morning...
Izuku arrived looking unusually anxious.
He had an important meeting with a pro hero agency after school.
He'd spent most of the night preparing.
Sero noticed immediately.
"...Morning."
"...Morning."
They shook hands.
Before letting go...
Sero gave his hand one small squeeze.
"...You'll do great."
Izuku blinked.
"...How did you know?"
"You've got your 'thinking too much' face."
"...I have one of those?"
"Oh, absolutely."
The meeting went better than expected.
When Izuku returned to Heights
Alliance that evening...
He looked relieved.
Happy.
Almost lighter.
Sero was sitting in the common room.
He looked up.
"...Well?"
Izuku smiled.
"...It went really well."
Sero stood.
Held out his hand.
"...Congratulations."
Izuku laughed.
"...We're really doing this for everything now?"
"...Pretty much."
They shook.
This time...
Both of them were grinning.
The next week...
Sero wasn't in class.
A mild fever.
Recovery at the dorms.
Nothing serious.
Still...
The classroom felt strangely
incomplete.
Izuku kept glancing toward the empty
desk.
At the start of class...
His eyes instinctively drifted toward the doorway. Waiting. Nothing.
He looked down at his own hand.
Then quietly smiled to himself.
"...We forgot."
That afternoon...
Permission was given for a few classmates to check on Sero.
Denki arrived carrying snacks.
Mina brought comics.
Kirishima brought sports magazines.
Izuku...
Brought nothing.
Except...
As he stepped into Sero's room...
He quietly held out his hand.
Sero stared at it.
Then burst into laughter.
"...Seriously?"
Izuku smiled.
"...Morning."
"It's three in the afternoon."
"I know."
"...You came all this way..."
"...for the handshake?"
Izuku thought about it.
Then nodded.
"...Partly."
Sero reached out.
Their hands met.
One shake.
Warm.
Familiar.
Comforting.
When they let go...
Sero smiled.
"...Thanks."
"...For what?"
"...I didn't realize..."
He looked down at his own hand.
"...I'd miss it this much."
On the walk back to the dorms...
Denki nudged Izuku.
"...Can I ask something?"
"Sure."
"...When did your handshake become..."
He searched for the right word.
"...Important?"
Izuku looked thoughtfully toward the setting sun.
"I don't really know."
He smiled.
"I think..."
"...It stopped being about saying hello."
"...Then what is it?"
Izuku laughed quietly.
"...It's more like..."
"...Making sure the other person's
there."
The answer was so simple...
It almost didn't need explaining.
Because every morning...
With one brief shake of a hand...
They reminded each other of something neither had ever said aloud.
"I'm here."
And somehow...
That was enough.
By the time winter arrived...
The handshake had become famous.
Not because it was elaborate.
Because it was so...
Predictable.
Every morning.
Without fail.
"...Morning."
"...Morning."
Handshake.
One snowy morning...
Denki arrived before either of them.
He stood exactly where Sero normally waited.
"...Today's the day."
Kirishima looked up from his desk.
"...The day for what?"
"I'm stealing the handshake."
A few minutes later...
Izuku walked through the classroom door.
Denki immediately held out his hand.
"...Morning, Midoriya!"
Izuku smiled politely.
"...Morning, Kaminari."
They shook hands.
It lasted approximately one second.
Denki frowned.
"...That's it?"
"...What?"
"...It didn't feel right."
Izuku blinked.
"...I'm... sorry?"
Right on cue...
Sero walked into the classroom.
He looked between the two of them.
"...Did I miss something?"
Denki folded his arms dramatically.
"I tried the handshake."
"...And?"
"...It isn't the same."
Sero grinned.
"...Told you."
He turned to Izuku.
"...Morning."
"...Morning."
He held out his hand.
Izuku reached out automatically.
One shake.
Nothing different.
Nothing special.
And yet...
Both of them smiled.
Denki stared.
"...How?"
Sero shrugged.
"...Practice."
Izuku laughed.
"...I don't think that's it."
That afternoon...
The class was assigned partners for rescue training.
By complete coincidence...
Izuku and Sero ended up together.
The exercise involved navigating a simulated collapsed building.
Visibility was poor.
Communication was difficult.
They were separated for a few minutes while searching different sections.
"...Midoriya?"
"I'm over here!"
A cloud of dust drifted through the corridor.
Neither could see the other properly.
Then...
Through the haze...
A hand appeared.
Held out.
Waiting.
Izuku smiled immediately.
Without thinking...
He reached forward.
Their hands met.
One quick shake.
"...Found you."
Sero laughed.
"...Guess I did."
After the exercise...
Recovery Girl watched the pair leaving together.
She smiled to herself.
One of the younger nurses looked puzzled.
"...What's so funny?"
Recovery Girl folded her arms.
"...They've found a language."
"...A language?"
"Mhm."
"Some people use words."
"Some people use hugs."
She nodded toward the two boys.
"...Those two..."
"...use a handshake."
That evening...
They sat together outside the dorms.
Watching snow settle quietly across the campus.
"...Can I ask you something?"
Sero nodded.
"Always."
"...What if one day..."
Izuku hesitated.
"...We stopped doing it?"
Sero looked genuinely thoughtful.
Then smiled.
"...I don't think we will."
"...How can you be so sure?"
He laughed softly.
"...Because by now..."
He held out his hand.
"...I'd miss saying good morning."
Izuku smiled.
He reached out.
Their fingers met.
One familiar shake.
This time...
Neither of them let go straight away.
Not because they were nervous.
Because for the first time...
They realized that somewhere between hundreds of ordinary mornings...
That tiny greeting had quietly become their favourite part of every day.
Several months later...
Graduation day had finally arrived.
The ceremony was over.
Families filled the campus.
Friends gathered for photographs.
Laughter echoed through the school grounds.
It should have felt like an ending.
Instead...
It felt like the beginning of something new.
One by one...
Class 1-A drifted back into their old classroom.
Almost instinctively.
The desks had been cleared.
The posters had been taken down.
The walls looked strangely bare.
It hardly looked like the room where they had spent so many mornings together.
Denki was taking far too many selfies.
Mina was trying not to cry.
Kirishima had somehow managed to make half the class laugh.
Iida was carefully organizing everyone's group photographs.
For just a little while...
Everything felt almost normal.
Eventually...
People began saying their goodbyes.
Agency cars arrived.
Families called from outside.
The classroom slowly emptied.
Until...
Only two people remained.
Izuku stood quietly by the doorway.
His hand rested lightly against the frame.
He took one last look around the room.
The familiar desks.
The windows.
The place where every ordinary morning had begun.
"...Ready?"
He turned.
Sero was standing exactly where he always had.
Near the classroom door.
Waiting.
Neither of them spoke.
There wasn't really anything left to say.
Sero simply smiled.
Then...
Without hesitation...
Held out his hand.
Exactly as he had done hundreds of mornings before.
Izuku smiled immediately.
"...Morning."
Sero laughed.
"...Midoriya."
He glanced toward the windows.
"...It's nearly four in the afternoon."
"I know."
"...Humour me."
Sero stepped closer.
Their hands met.
One firm shake.
Nothing elaborate.
Nothing dramatic.
Exactly the same as it had always been.
The same greeting.
The same rhythm.
The same quiet understanding.
Before letting go...
Sero gave his hand the smallest squeeze.
The one he always used before difficult days.
Exams.
Agency interviews.
Training exercises.
The silent reminder that had never needed words.
You've got this.
Izuku looked at him.
His smile softened.
"...Thank you."
Sero tilted his head.
"...For what?"
Izuku laughed quietly.
"...Every morning."
Sero rubbed the back of his neck.
A faint blush crept onto his face.
"...It was only a handshake."
Izuku gently shook his head.
"...No."
He looked down at their hands.
Still joined for just another second.
"...It wasn't."
They finally let go.
Not because they wanted to.
Simply because they had to keep moving forward.
Together.
Toward whatever came next.
As they stepped out into the corridor...
Sunlight poured through the windows.
The classroom door slowly swung shut behind them.
Neither looked back.
They didn't need to.
The memories weren't staying inside that room.
They were walking out with them.
Years from now...
People would remember great battles.
Hero rankings.
Graduation speeches.
The moments that changed history.
Izuku would remember something much smaller.
A hand held out every morning.
A simple greeting.
A quiet promise.
No matter what kind of day waited ahead...
Someone had always been there to
say...
"I'm here."
And somehow...
One ordinary handshake had become one of the most extraordinary expressions of love either of them had ever known.