Izuku Midoriya | Pro-Hero AU | 172732014

Farewell, But Never Goodbye

Maybe someday we will be two people meeting again for the first time.

The quiet of the room was deafening. Except for the occasional footsteps of hospital staff that roamed the halls outside, you felt a tightening in your chest, despondent after listening to Midoriya's sense of reason. He laid in the hospital bed, now freed from the casts across his limbs and had been conscious to hold visits to his room for some time. Family members held priority over everyone else, however, he had personally requested to speak with you after he had finally been able to see his mother.

Your fists clenched in your lap while you tried to suppress this overwhelming feeling; a mess of anger, sadness, and guilt. It burned your insides while your lips trembled, biting your inner lip to halt it from showing. Still, this passionate sensation bubbled inside before the rough fingertips of Midoriya's hand reached out to you, comforting your shoulder.

"I have to do this," he continued afterwards, his voice calm. "They're after me."

"Stop," you spoke, your voice trembling before you looked into his emerald eyes, eyeing the hospital gown he wore, and the bandages still present. "Just stop. Why should you have to carry this burden by yourself? We can help!"

"I can't let that happen. Shigaraki, All-For-One, they're after me, and they'll destroy everything to get what they want."

"Then what about what happened?" you spoke loudly, swiping his hand from your shoulder. "Did everyone's actions mean nothing now? All the people that we lost, all of the sacrifices made, does all of that account for nothing?"

"No."

"Then please, don't go through with this," you pleaded feeling the sting in the corner of your eyes and the hitch in your voice. "Stay with us."

"I'm sorry Cutie, I can't."

You stared at Midoriya, his tone stern and asserted. He had already made his mind about this decision, whether he was comatose or not. And by deduction, he had already spoken to his mother about this. If she was unable to change his mind, what hope did you have that you could. With a shove of the chair, you sat up and hugged Midoriya tightly, remembering the feel of his body on yours; warm, inviting, and kind. You couldn't care less what he was feeling now; you needed to remember this feeling.

Midoriya was taken by surprise from the sudden hug only to reciprocate with his own, his arms snaking around your back and clutching onto your head, holding you as if he never wanted to release you. His strength engulfed you. It felt like forever in this moment, something you hoped to hold onto when the inevitable time came.

"What about Bakugou, and Todoroki? Or Uraraka and Iida?" You questioned, still holding him close to your chest.

"You don't need to worry about them," reassured Midoriya. "I'll make sure everyone else knows. I just wanted to tell you in person. You weren't there when it happened, and I wanted to be sure that you heard my decision from me, right here in front of you."

Midoriya clutched onto your frame, digging his face into your neck just as much as you were into his. "You've been a great friend, and a great partner, and I'm so proud of you."

"But I haven't done anything," you replied in his ear.

"You've been there for me, in the smallest ways, but you've made the greatest impact, and this time, this is my chance to be there for you." Midoriya gently pulled you away from him, his hands on your shoulders before he lifted his pinky in the air. You stared at it confused before he linked it around your pinky, lifting it between yourselves.

"I'll come home to all of you," he started, bobbing the linked pinkies in between. "This isn't goodbye."

You watched that unassuming and calm smile across his lips before your eyes began to water. Tears flowed down your cheeks, only to be wiped away by Midoriya's fingers. He held you once again, his scarred arms grabbing a gentle hold on you, coaxing your head to lean into his shoulder. He felt his gown soaked by your tears that wouldn't cease, rubbing the square of your back soothingly while you clutched onto his arms, feeling the roughness of his scars that ran along his skin. Midoriya held onto you for as long as he could before nurses called for the end of visiting hours.