Something Behind Those Eyes

Semantics, am I right?

"Him!"

Izuku glanced over, confused and slightly worried as to who his pup could be talking to.

He had trouble comprehending just what exactly he was seeing.

Looking over, it was easy to see the people on the other side of the screen were feeling the same.  Izuku thought it was the proper amount of disbelief on their faces.

"Here's your receipt, sir."

A young woman cheerfully handed him the slip of paper, oblivious to the sudden tension.

Izuku blankly took the receipt and gave his thanks.  He was running solely on autopilot.  Turning towards the shopping cart, he plastered on a tremulous smile.

Pushing the cart towards the exit, Izuku gently tapped the phone.  "I'm gonna take this, okay?"

Katsuji gave a glowing smile and nodded.  "Mhm, okay!"

"Thanks, sweetie," Izuku said.  Taking the phone, he directed the camera at the sky.

When they reached the car, Izuku set the phone in the spot next to Katsuji.  Picking up the pup, he strapped him into his carseat.  Shutting the car door, he went to the trunk and opened it.  This way, he could see Katsuji and load groceries.

For a long moment, Izuku stood still and debated with himself on what to do.

How do these things always happen to me?

Sighing, he reached out a trembling hand and grasped the phone. Hesitantly, he turned the camera to face himself.

He opened his mouth and shut it with a click. 

What am I supposed to say?  'Hi, fancy seeing you on this lovely day!'  What do people say in this kind of situation?  Do people even have these kinds of situations? Or is this just me?  People probably try to avoid these things.  Just my luck, huh?

"Deku?  Is that really you?"  a soft voice asked.

Izuku knew that voice.

It's been so long since I last heard Ochako

Jerkily, he nodded.  He hung his head; avoiding looking at his friends hurt, but it hurt to see them too.

Eijiro spoke next.  "I didn't expect us to meet again so soon."

Izuku shook his head, whipping his hair around.  "No," his voice cracked.  He rubbed roughly at his eyes with the back of his hand.

"No," he repeated, "I didn't.  I really really didn't."  His voice started to choke off at the end and he didn't say anything else.

Tears dribbled down his cheeks in waves.  Biting his lips stifled most of his sobs, but a small sound still escaped.

"Are you alright, Izuku?" Momo gently inquired.

Am I okay?  I don't think I am.  What exactly qualifies as okay at this point?

Izuku responded honestly, "I don't know anymore."

Hitoshi asked what was on everyone's mind, "Who was that pup?"

They don't know I'm an omega.  They don't know that me giving birth to my own pup is a possibility.  Kacchan doesn't remember anything.

"I'm babysitting for a neighbor of mine," Izuku lied weakly.

The lie passed easily, as it only seemed to appear weak because he was upset and crying.

"Izuku," Shouto began, "why did you leave so suddenly?"

"Don't hound Izuku," Tenya chided.  "He'll tell us what he's comfortable with and we will respect that."

"Right," Mina nodded.  "Whenever you're ready, Izuku."

"We're here if you want to talk; if you don't, that's okay too," Shouto continued.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Izuku finally looked at the faces of his family.

Everyone was open and honest and sincere.  It was a scene straight out of one of his dreams.  Should he expect to wake up after they jumped through the screen and declared to help him get his life back on track?

"I left- I left you guys.  You should be- be yelling and- and demanding to know everything."

"Well, none of that's gonna bring you home, is it?" Denki concluded.

"We trust you," Kyouka said.  "We trust that you'll come to us and come home when you're ready to."

Izuku shook his head.  He understood their logic.  He really did; it just made every offer harder to resist.

"You will," Ochako insisted.  "It may be another two years.  Hell, you could be an old man before you come back, but you will.  That's just who you are.  Never forget who you are.  Don't leave your heart behind.  If you let it rot in the ashes, you won't have one for better times."

Izuku laughed softly at the comment about him being old and then fell quiet.

"Thank you," he whispered, emotion drenching the words.

"You have nothing to thank us for," Tooru said.  "But, if I may ask, where exactly are you right now?  It looks like a-"

The rest of her questions failed to register through Izuku's panic.

They can't know where I am!

"I've gotta- I've gotta, um, go right now.  Uh, bye!"

Quickly, before he could hear too many more protests, he hung up and powered off his phone.

Trembling hands loaded the box and few bags into the trunk before standing still to gather himself.  He smiled as he listened to Katsuji trying to sing along to a song on the radio.  Closing the trunk, he quickly walked over to the car door and got in.  He sang along with Katsuji as he left the store and drove towards his apartment.

She asked where I was 'right now'

The realization hit him suddenly after he had sufficiently calmed down and was parking his car.

'Right now'.  She was looking for the answer 'store', not my address.

Izuku scrubbed his hands over his face tiredly.

Well, I can't exactly clear that up any time soon

Izuku got out of the car and helped Katsuji out.  He held the box under one arm and the bags in his hand.  The other hand was holding Katsuji's as they walked up the apartment stairs.

Well, Izuku joked to himself, that training came in handy for a lot of things

Opening the door, he set the box down to the side and led the pup towards the kitchen.  He put the few items in the bags away before walking back over to the doorway.

Grabbing the box, he hauled it to the sitting room.

"Let's put this stand together for Tupper, yeah?"

"Okay, mama!"