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The sky is blue, the grass is green, and Izuku Midoriya cries. These are simply facts of life.
Izuku has long since learned that he will cry at anything and everything. Happy tears, sad tears. Melancholy tears, hopeful tears.
He cannot help it; the Midoriya family genes in him are too strong.
When he fell and skinned his knee for the first time, he cried, tears of slight shock moreso than pain at the red drops welling on the surface of his skin.
After he stood between Kacchan and a young boy who needed protecting, he cried, overwhelmed by what he had just done, at who he had done it to.
And the day he got into UA, the day his mother presented the costume of his childhood four year old self’s dreams carefully stitched together by hand, he cried- no, he sobbed tears of joy and relief and love that his mother reciprocated. Elder and younger held one another in the kitchen that day for half an hour as they processed what had happened in spite of what they’d both expected and believed to be impossible for the greater part of a decade.
So Izuku Midoriya’s tears are not always a bad thing.
It takes his classmates a while to realise this.
~(1)~
It’s the Sports Festival, with Izuku’s emotions running high from the adrenaline of not only the 1-on-1 battles but also his whirlwind of an obstacle course win and the nail-biting cavalry battle.
Plus the apprehension of facing one of the strongest students in their class, the person who encased Sero from head to toe in a gargantuan glacier in his previous match.
And so, his blood rushing and surrounded by shards of shattered ice and staring at his classmate who is clearly shivering from the signs of frostbite, he screams his heart out at Todoroki.
And then Todoroki’s left side explodes with brilliant tongues of red and orange and golden flame, and Izuku feels something warm blooming through his chest. And he cries.
“Why?” Todoroki asks in disbelief and a little bit of concern.
A grin splits Izuku’s face as he smiles through the pain of four broken fingers. “Your power… it’s beautiful.”
~(2)~
In the aftermath of Hosu, Iida and Todoroki are sitting side-by-side on hospital beds in a white sterilized room, the scent of blood thoroughly cleaned away along with any traces of their illegal activities.
“I apologize,” Todoroki says solemnly. “It would appear that I am the Hand Crusher; anytime I get involved, somebody’s hand is hurt because of me.”
There is silence for a moment. Then simultaneously, Iida attempts to reassure Todoroki that is is by no means his fault, while Izuku bursts into tears.
“Sorry, Midoriya,” Todoroki intones, assuming the tears are mourning the mobility of Izuku’s fingers.
But Izuku shakes his head and waves his hands. “Ah- no, no. I’m just- I’m crying at how funny it is. Todoroki, I didn’t know you knew how to make jokes!”
Todoroki frowns, confused. “What did I say?”
~(3)~
They return from their internships, and the first day back, Aizawa-sensei assigns them a race through an industrial cityscape of sorts on Ground Gamma. Midoriya begins to smile internally to himself, although his teeth are still gritted and his face set in concentration with the exertion of sustaining his newfound Full Cowling ability, as he dodges pipes and launches himself from ledge to ledge. It’s going great–
–Until he misjudges one jump and tumbles painfully to the concrete floor, barely managing to tuck and roll enough to break his fall and land somewhat safely. (He can already feel the bruise forming, and he knows he’ll surely be getting a lecture from Recovery Girl, although maybe she’ll be proud of him for figuring out how not to break his fingers every time he uses his quirk?)
When he makes it back to the finish line where Aizawa-sensei and the rest of his classmates are waiting, he’s in dead last.
Izuku starts to sniffle, bringing his arm up to swipe at the droplets beading at the edges of his eyes.
“It’s okay, Deku! You did great!” Ochako cries out encouragingly.
“Yes, it was truly an admirable attempt,” Kirishima calls as well. “So manly!”
Izuku shakes his head quickly. “Thanks, but I’m just glad I managed to get my quirk under control,” he tells them. “I guess all my training and the ideas I had are working!”
His friends continue to watch him with concerned gazes even after he takes his spot safely in the back of the observation deck.
~(4)~
Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Izuku arrive home from Kamino Ward with Bakugou in tow. They’re all clearly shaken; who wouldn’t be after watching on live television the fall of the greatest hero the world had ever known, and the return of All for One?
The five of them are given a few moments to breathe, to take in all that has occurred. They are checked over for injuries, with Bakugou escorted away to Recovery Girl for a full inspection and healing.
It is at that time, one it has been determined that the other four of them are relatively unharmed and safe for now, that Aizawa-sensei’s lecture begins.
He lectures them on rules put in place for their protection; on trusting the plans that the pro heroes had already made; on recklessness and running into danger and self-preservation.
He tells them: “You’re grounded once we get back to the new dorms. And I will have the power to enforce this.”
Tears slip down Izuku’s cheeks; he recalls All Might’s mentor Nana, and all the countless others who had fallen at the hand of All for One, and those who never even came close to the supervillain before their lives were destroyed. All Might… may not have succeeded, but he won this battle, and that is a victory. He has lived another day, and that is more than enough for now.
Aizawa-sensei fixes him with a stern stare. “Disappointed that you’re being punished and grounded?”
“I’m… I’m just glad we’re all alive, sensei,” Izuku sobs. “I’m glad you still have somebody to ground.”
Aizawa-sensei looks away.
~(5)~
The moment the backup team of heroes arrives on scene to help with post-battle cleanup of any remaining yakuza, Izuku drops everything except his one priority: he takes Eri and runs. He runs only for a short time, just until Overhaul’s wretched compound is out of sight and they’re close enough to the nearest agency that the area is covered by patrolling sidekicks.
And then he gently sets the shaking girl down, and she wails despairingly, a high fractured sound that tears its way out of her chest, a burden too great for one so young to bear.
“I’m sorry,” Eri sobs. “I’m sorry that Mirio lost his quirk and Nighteye-san is hurt and you’re hurt and everybody’s hurt because of me–”
Izuku cries as well, but his tears are of relief. Relief that nobody has died, relief that they have created for themselves a chance to rebuild everything.
“You’re safe now, Eri,” he whispers, falling to his knees and burying his wet face in her matted hair as she clings onto his hero costume. “That’s all that matters.”
.
.
.
~(+1)~
Class 1-A has spent several weeks preparing their concert for the School Festival, and the day has finally come. They’re as ready as they’ll ever be; Ashido and Aoyama have made sure the dancers could nail their routines in their sleep, while the musicians know their scores inside and out.
Showtime.
Tapping her drum sticks together, Jirou kicks the performance off, and they explode into action. Everything is as planned… except for one thing that they are all still tentatively waiting and hoping for.
They make it to the final chorus. And then…
In the front row of the audience, a white-haired girl in a rainbow unicorn dress shimmies unconsciously to their music as she grips Aizawa-sensei’s hero costume with one hand and a candy apple on a stick with another.
On stage, Izuku glances at Jirou, and Yaoyorozu, and Ochako, and even Bakugou. That faint glistening on their cheeks that the stage lights illuminate—that’s not sweat or makeup.
As if sensing his presence, they look over to meet his gaze, and Izuku knows with surety that those are tears of joy, matching the ones welling in his own eyes.
He knows that they have seen the same sight that he saw:
Eri’s first smile.