Iron Deku

Chapter Twenty-One - Totally Platonic Hand-Holding...

"Alright sweetie, do you have everything? Your tools? Your overalls? Your babies?" Mei found herself batting away her mother's finicky hands as they attempted to tidy up her clothes; a want for death washing over the inventor as she watched her mother lick her thumb, before using it to try and wipe off what she had to guess was a smudge on her cheek. No matter how often she had tried to convince her mother of the fact that those grease and oil smudges were aesthetic and intentional, she just wouldn't have it. Then again, it was her father she had gotten all of her inventing spark from, so she could never hold it against her.

"M-Mum, stop; I don't need you to-"

"Nonsense honey! It's exam day! You want to look presentable, don't you?" Mei groaned once again, turning her head to the side when the sound of sniggering made its way to her ears; glaring as she watched the green-haired genius watch her suffering unfold; a cup of coffee in his hand, already dressed in his usual black attire and leaning against their wooden table; ready to leave for his exam.

"Yea, honey, we want you to look presentable!" Midoriya smirked, pushing himself off of the table and swaggering over to the doorway where Mei stood; taking a quick gulp of coffee in the process.

"You, need to shut up!" Mei pouted, stopping Midoriya from walking by placing a finger on his Arc Reactor through his shirt; the blue glow encompassing her finger as the clinking of metal let her know she had hit her mark. Slowly, Midoriya moved his own hand to grab at hers, before peeling it off of his reactor; his smirk still spread across his face. The sound of coughing brought the two of them back into the real world; turning to face Mei's mother, who seemed to have a mischievous glint in her eye.

"If you two are just about done, I think it's time for you to set off!" His eyes widening slightly, Midoriya looked down to his wrist at the time, before moving to open the door.

"Ah, 'Zuku, wait a second! Don't you think you're forgetting something?" Pausing for a moment, he turned back to Mei and her mother; an eyebrow raised.

"The Mark 5?" Mei sighed, shaking her head as she watched the gears turn in her friend's mind.

"Wait... CRAP!" Midoriya yelled, his head frantically darting around their living room as he searched for his new prototype suit; a suit that could condense down into the shape of a briefcase; brilliant for transport and accessibility, not so great when you put it down somewhere and then forget where only a few minutes later.

Just as the boy began to sprint in the direction of their lab's entrance, he was yanked back into place by Mei, who still had a hold of his hand; a slight choking sound jumping out of his throat in the process.

"Relax, it's here!" Mei chuckled, turning and picking up the cold, green and silver briefcase from behind her; passing it over to the boy as he released a sigh of relief.

"Don't... do that to me... you're gonna give me a heart attack!" Midoriya pouted, crossing his arms with briefcase still in hand; watching as Mei finally had her turn to laugh at him.

"Call it... payback honey! " Rolling his eyes, Midoriya went to open the door once again; this time not being obstructed by Mei.

"Besides... I don't think you can have a heart attack... can you? Y'know, with the whole battery-powered heart?" Giving a wave to Mei's mother, Midoriya and Mei finally left their house; beginning their journey to the train station; to UA.

"Technically, I can have a heart attack, but not in the traditional way; you remember back... y'know... back in the cave?" Mei visibly cringed at the mention of said cave.

"Well, when my reactor was damaged and it set off that EMP, that was similar to a heart attack. Theoretically, a heart attack for me would be the same, just without the EMP blast!" Slowly, Mei nodded; processing what Midoriya had been saying as she took in the new streets and roads that the two of them needed to go down to get to the train station; enjoying the early-morning sunset and the crisp air that accompanied it.