-x-

like reaching out for something and only grabbing air
bruised against the city lights

-x-

There's too much on his mind to sleep, but eventually Izuku has to relent.

It's inching toward 12 o'clock and he'll regret staying up when he has to crawl out of bed at 6 am to catch the train for school. He tries to wind down for a few minutes, sitting up in bed; he organizes his notebook, scrolls through the news feed to see if there was any Hero activity. It helps a little that it's quiet tonight. But once he finally lays down and pulls the blanket up to his chin, memories from the past week start piling together.

Stain. Iida. Being grabbed by that Noumu. (That scared, hollow feeling plummeting into the bottom of his chest.) Everything All Might told him about One For All, and All For One.

Izuku breathes out slowly, turning onto his back.

And on top of all that, he thinks, eyes tracing a familiar pattern across the ceiling, the end of term exams are coming up...

He lays there a few minutes longer, thoughts jumbled, a little frustrated that he can't easily put them aside, and then he surges upright, throwing back the blanket. He trades out his pajamas for the nearest pair of shorts, stumbling into them, decided.

He has to do something to clear his head.

Pocketing his phone, Izuku crosses the hall, pushing open his mother's bedroom door. He doesn't want to wake her, but he can't go out without telling her; if she gets up for something and finds his bed empty in the middle of the night she'll just worry, and he puts her through enough as it is breaking his limbs all the time. Izuku places one knee on the edge of the bed, gently shaking her shoulder. When she wakes up enough to murmur his name and rub her eyes a bit, he tells her that he's going for a run.

"I won't be gone long, I promise."

"Ohh, Izuku… keep your phone with you," she says groggily from behind her hand, "And if a police officer brings you home for being out so late, I'm going to be very upset."

Izuku laughs softly, "I'll stay close by."

He curls over the top of her for a second, squeezing her into a tight hug with his whole body. It makes her laugh softly, patting his arm. Izuku kisses the side of her face before he gets up and leaves.

-x-

The humidity is unforgiving tonight. It isn't hot, exactly, but Izuku can feel the moisture on his skin and the pressure building in the air as soon as he steps outside. In the distance, he hears a long, low peal of thunder coming over the mountains. A storm is building and the sky looks bruised against the city lights, swells of orange and dark purple bleeding into one another.

Well, I might have time for a jog… he thinks optimistically.

The wind gusts through every now and then bringing in the sudden warm front, so strong it lifts his hair and clothes. Determined, now that he's out here, to get what bit of exercise he can before the bottom falls out, Izuku stretches first on the sidewalk in front of his apartment building. The air's so thick, even just taking a few minutes to do that has him beading sweat.

Guess I'm taking a shower when I get back, he thinks absently, leaping into a light jog. I'll give myself five minutes like this, and then… one second in Full Cowl.

He goes like that for twenty-five minutes, keeping track with his phone. Focusing on the warmth and energy rushing through his body makes it easy to forget everything else. This is what he needs. Practice, precision. Experience. So it comes as naturally as breathing.

That's the one thing everyone else has that he's missing.

Before Izuku knows it, he's gone through the neighborhood twice, darting around the sharp corners, careful not to bust the concrete under his feet when he uses One For All. He jogs to a stop a few blocks from home, within sight of his apartment complex, but surrounded by nicer houses and a few trees peeking over high privacy walls. He takes a few minutes to catch his breath, bent with his hands resting on his knees. His hair is soaked at the roots, sweat pouring down his face.

"The fuck are you doing out here in the middle of the goddamn night?"

Izuku nearly leaps out of his skin, yelps, "Kacchan!"

He bolts upright, spins to survey the street. But it's empty, except for himself, no matter which way his turns to look. He feels cold all of a sudden, his heart shuddering from the scare, so he puts his hand against his chest, mutters faintly, "...What?"

He knows what he heard; that low, bored growl is absolutely unmistakable.

"Up here, Deku. Holy fuck."

Oh. Of course, the wall.

Izuku lifts his eyes, a little embarrassed. Kacchan is sitting at the top of the wall almost directly above him, one knee pulled up against his chest, an arm draped over it. He looks a lot more annoyed than he might have if Izuku had noticed him a moment sooner.

"Kacchan," Izuku says again, backpedaling out of habit to put some distance between them, "Wh-what're you doing here?"

"I was enjoying the view until a fucking second ago," Kacchan says flatly, "And I fucking live here."

Izuku glances past him, sees the tree swaying in a sudden burst of warm wind and the two-story house behind it. Of course, it looks different from the back, but it's Kacchan's alright. Izuku really hadn't been paying attention to where he was going or he probably wouldn't have come this way at all. He usually avoids Kacchan's entire street out of deep-rooted self-preservation…

"You didn't answer my fucking question."

Izuku jolts at the reminder. He doesn't have to explain himself - least of all to Kacchan - but the words tumble out before he can rationally process this and his hands flutter.

"I - I was just running -" Izuku stammers too loudly, face burning red as he tries to grasp what he wants to say quickly, "What - what I mean is, I thought I'd go for a run, even though it's late! There's been a lot on my mind lately and I couldn't sleep and I thought since I was going to be up, anyway, I didn't want to be laying in bed tossing and turning all night and that the exercise might help me be able to think a little more clearly and put some things into perspective, so I - "

Kacchan cuts him off, "Christ, shut the fuck up," and Izuku claps a hand over his mouth. Kacchan huffs out a breath, looking annoyed the same way a cat looks when it's soaked - like the weight of it is exhausting. "I wasn't that damn curious."

Kacchan doesn't say anything else.

Izuku doesn't realize he's holding his breath until he finally lets it out.

He's not - angry.

Izuku tentatively lowers his hand from his mouth, looks at Kacchan a bit more carefully as this dawns on him. He doesn't look angry. He's just watching Izuku stand there; eyes narrowed, brow knotted, like he can't figure something out. That's the most neutral expression he has in his arsenal and, while plenty intimidating, it's… it's softer somehow. It makes Izuku wonder why he's outside so late, but he doesn't dare ask. Was it really just to watch the storm? Or was he thinking, too?

The hair stands up on the back of Izuku's neck. The longer he stands there nervously looking back at Kacchan, the more he feels like he should probably go.

Like right now, as quickly as he can.

Bumping into Kacchan like this is tantamount to stumbling upon a leopard in the jungle. In the faintly yellow streetlight, Izuku can see the sweat beading on Kacchan's forehead, even though he's doing nothing but sitting there, and his gaze automatically jumps to Kacchan's hands. They're open, loose, palms angled away from his leg. He seems relaxed enough, but Izuku is suddenly on edge, remembering the rescue exercise, and Kacchan's rapidly deteriorating mood in the classroom.

The pressure between them had been building again, and it's ready to break.

It thunders - a hard rumble, heat crashing in the atmosphere - and Izuku flinches.

Whether it's because of his reaction or something else, Kacchan's face suddenly darkens. His fist pulls back and clenches against his knee, a harsh swear coming out under his breath, and Izuku braces himself for something, sudden panic gripping his chest, brain screaming Why! This always happens! Kacchan throws his leg out, rocking forward - but he swings himself around so his back is to Izuku and he drops down from the wall into his own yard, out of sight.

Izuku hears the soft grunt as he lands on the other side, the sound of his bare feet hitting the dirt. The back door sliding open and then slamming closed.

Kacchan is gone.

And Izuku is left standing there, stunned and keyed up for no good reason, his heart beating in his ears, sweat cold at his temples. Lightening spiderwebs across the sky and another roll of thunder shakes his ribcage. It finally starts to rain, a gentle patter on the concrete that turns into a roar.

-x-

-BobTAC