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

[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.]