07 — the only thing i've ever had any faith in

[upfall]

(continued from here!)

Deku...

[uraraka studies him, the furrow at her brow becoming more and more pronounced by the second.

there's something about his smile that feels—off. out of place on his face. she's always known deku to be the type of person who exemplifies what it means to be a hero, even if that sometimes includes shouldering his burdens on his own. he's gotta be reliable and reassuring and strong, and maybe in the past she thought it was kind of cool of him, but right now he just looks sad. and she doesn't like that.

the hand she keeps on his shoulder squeezes down gently, reassuringly; it's a small effort to ground him, in case he gets that glazed look again.]

We're friends. I'm going to worry about you whether you want me to or not!

Comments

[shootstyles]

[Her hand on his arm feels warm and pulls him out of Akvos and back to where he stands in the Circle, staring into her face. He's suddenly painfully aware of how much he missed her. He'd missed her called him "Deku", missed laughing with her and Iida at lunch, just... missed his friend.

He sniffles as tears spring to his eyes. He tries to hold them back but they leak out anyway. His nose runs.

This is so embarrassing.]

...Uraraka. I'm- I'm glad you're here. I really missed you.

1/2

[upfall]

[lessons at u.a. never prepared her for this?!?! what?!!!!

her eyes widen into saucers at the sight of his tears, but she doesn't recoil or avert her gaze. even as she, rather dumbly, spends a good second merely looking on, her mouth slightly agape as she internally fumbles for the right course action, uraraka understands. she understands that it'd taken time and trust for him to be this vulnerable with her.

....but still.... what would a good friend in this situation do? uhhhh... uhhhhhhhhh....

oh, to hell with it.

without a word of warning, she rushes forward, her arms wrapped around his torso in a big, tight bear hug. uraraka's not sure if it'll really do the job of comforting him, but she gives it a shot, anyways.]

2/2

[upfall]

I don't know what you've been through, and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to relive it, but— [considering how her face is pressed against his shirt, her words thus far have come out a bit muffled, but here she leans back to look at him, salty tears and snot and all.] —you've done your absolute best up 'til now! Not everyone can do that.

I'm really proud of you, you know?

[shootstyles]

[He makes a choked squeaking noise as she wraps her arms around him because... being hugged by a girl... holy woah... his day has finally come.

But also because it proves that she's here. She's really really here. And he feels just a little bit closer to complete. A little bit closer to content. And she's telling him the words that he's needed to hear from someone that he can trust. Who feels the way about saving people like he does. Who knows how much it would hurt to fail.

Slowly, he moves his arms up to wrap them around her, keeping her close as he starts crying in earnest. Eyes and nose pouring like faucets.]

I-I'm sorry. I must be so gross right now. What a reunion.

[upfall]

[much like how he'd comforted her earlier, her hands move in a circular motion on his back, slow and steady. partially, it's for her own benefit, too. seeing deku so scared and upset makes her wonder just... just what kind of place this is. there's fear sprouting in her gut, but so long as she focuses on helping her friend feel better, she can keep it in check. this is what she tells herself.]

Why are you apologizing? You're allowed to be gross, Deku!

[shootstyles]

[That makes him wanter to cry harder, really. But he's really doing his best to stop crying, swallowing his tears until he's just sniffling and hiccuping. He keeps wiping his face to try to make sure he doesn't get any snot on her-! She's already done so much for him with just a hug.]

I know. But I don't really want to be gross! It's not like a cool hero to be gross.

[upfall]

[shoving aside whatever insecurities or doubts might have been stirring up in her insides, uraraka plants both of her hands square on his shoulders—and pushes deku back so that she can fix him with an earnest look.]

That's not true. You have to know that's not true.

[shootstyles]

[He knows. He's been better about letting self-doubt get to him but this place has thrown him off his game. He sniffs loudly and wipes his face on his sleeve, letting himself lean a little into her grip.]

You're right. I need to keep it together.

[And he does manage to stop further tears and just hiccups.]

[upfall]

...I'm not telling you to keep it together.

[there's no admonishment in the way she speaks to him, her voice deliberately light. as gentle as her grasp on him. although, considering his slight lean just now, she's wondering if she should tighten her grip, in case he starts swaying or if his knees buckle from under him. despite his best efforts to drag himself back into working order, he's still asking to be comforted—at least, subconsciously.

uraraka tries to stand straight and tall enough for the both of them. she's here. she isn't letting go.]

Even if you're sad. Even if you're scared. Even if you're someone gross, who cries big, fat, baby tears and rubs their snot all over their friends— [uraraka pauses here, less for dramatic effect, more because she's running out of pep talk material. also, her throat is closing up a little and her eyes are getting all watery, so that might be a sign that her emotions are overwhelming her. darn it.

but she presses on, because that's all a person can do sometimes. that's all any of them can do.]

Even if you're all those things, you can still be the coolest hero in the world, Deku. And you're the one who taught me that.

[shootstyles]

[Oh gosh now she's crying. And when he sees people cry, he starts to cry but he's already crying so now he feels like maybe he should try and stop crying. At least for her sake.

He reaches up and puts his hand over hers when it grips his shoulder as if to reassure her and steady himself. He still has trouble believing that someone would think of him as a cool hero, even if it's what he wants more than anything. He spent so many years trying to push away the doubts into the corners of his mind that sometimes they come out and attack him from the shadows

But this is Uraraka. She'd never lie to him and she's doing her best to make sure that her words reach him, to make him keep believing. Now he has to take her words to heart.

He takes a shuddering breath and reaches up to wipe his face.]

It's because I have friends like you that I'm able to do those things. You're always supporting me.

...Thank you, Uraraka.

[upfall]

[the peal of her laughter's a little too loud, a little too stuffed up, but it's all she can manage with a drippy nose and increasingly leaky eyes. uraraka releases her grip on him with one last squeeze, and then relocates her hands so that the heels of her palms are pressed air-tight into her eyes. geez, and she'd been doing such a good job, too. keeping everything—her fear, her doubt, the slow-coming realization that home is farther away than she can possibly fathom—all nicely sealed out.

but that's the thing about deku. even when he isn't trying to, he penetrates through whatever barriers and defenses anyone's tossed together, forcing every ugly, hidden emotion to the surface until it overtakes them. until it makes them want to come up for air.]

Of course. [it's quiet, quiet enough that deku might not catch it if he's not listening closely. with a sniff, she removes her hands to reveal the red rims of her eyes, swollen and still slick with unshed tears.] We're going to be okay here. So long as we keep supporting each other.

[shootstyles]

Yeah, we'll be okay.

[And he believes it. He's not good at relying on others, especially when it comes to his feelings. Probably a result of so many years of just being on his own most of the time and not wanting to trouble his mother. But he knows he can be vulnerable around Uaraka, even if sometimes he doesn't want to be. She won't judge him. And he certainly wouldn't ever judge her.

He reaches up to wipe his running nose again. It's impressive how much snot he can produce.]

Though I guess right now... we maybe look a little ridiculous.

[He laughs little. It's quiet but it's real. They probably do look like an odd pair. All red swollen eyes, runny nose, and sniffles. Geez is it pollen season or what.]