The Universe Lies Docile in Your Eyes

Coffee Shops and Secrets Untold

Hey all! So, I ended up rewriting most of this chapter 3 times because I couldn't get it to go where I wanted it to. I mean, it's still lacking a bit, but it's a lot better than my first 2 drafts. I hope you all enjoy it! 

Shinsou didn't know what to think when the strange man came up to them or when he tapped Izuku on the shoulder. He was even less sure of what to think when both Izuku and the man began to sob heavily after wrapping each other into a hug.

He and Bakugou exchanged a confused look while the two blubbered, unsure of how they should react in a situation like this. They stood silently, Shinsou tapping the tip of his shoe on the concrete as they waited.

After a moment of silence filled with awkward crying in the middle of the sidewalk, Katsuki cleared his throat, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Hey, uh, Deku, who the fuck is this?" Bakugou asked in his regular no-nonsense tone. Shinsou tossed him a look, to which Katsuki just shrugged at.

Izuku unhooked from the man and exclaimed a soft "oh!" before introducing them to the yellow-eyed man.

"Guys, this is K-" Izuku looked back to the man, whose face was carefully neutral. Izuku looked back at them. "This is K. He helped me out when I was... when I..." He didn't know how to say it. He knew he wasn't that big of a deal. He knew he should have just been able to say it. But he couldn't, and it immediately frustrated him. He sighed.

"When I was with the villains." He said in a rush. He didn't have to say it, however, as his friends' faces were already ones of anger, regret, and vengefulness, the last one more heavily on Katsuki's face than on Shinsou.

He regretted finalizing his sentence. They didn't need to be reminded of his downfalls or his history.

He smiled at them and to Kurogiri, who stood awkwardly across from the others, which was justifiable. This was probably the first time he had spoken to non-villains and monsters of the underworld in a long time, and it didn't help that he was out in the open in broad daylight. That line of thought led to another, however, and his smile dissipated.

"K, what are you doing out in the open?" a sense of urgency found its way in his voice and a part of him that he had silenced long ago berated him for allowing the emotion to show. He hated that part. He guessed it was because he was speaking to Kurogiri. He was so used to hiding everything when he was around the man that it was just ingrained in his mind.

Kurogiri gave him a calm smile. "I'm out on business right now. Don't worry, I'm safe." Izuku nodded, feeling a little better. He guessed that he probably shouldn't have been so concerned, seeing as the man wasn't even enveloped in his usual wisps of black. He was unnoticeable in a crowd without it.

"Alright, good. Still, we should go somewhere else. We're blocking the way." And with that, he led them all to a cafe not too far from Shinsou's apartment that they had visited once or twice before.

A little bell alerted the happy-looking barista of their entrance and she greeted them politely, her eyes resting on Izuku for a little longer than the rest of them. She made quick work of getting all their orders in and they found a table near the back, away from the windows upfront. Izuku sat next to Katsuki and across from Kurogiri, who sat awkwardly next to Shinsou.

"So, K, what sort of business are you out on? Usually Sens-" He paused. "Usually he keeps you in the base to watch over..." He pauses again. It was a lot harder to talk about these things in front of his friends. He was used to talking to his dads about certain things, but not even they knew everything, like of the nights he and Shigaraki actually got along and the rare occasions Sensei praised him. But Kurogiri knew everything, and Izuku was trying his best to keep some divide between his life now and his life then.