Chapter 16: I Saw It in the Movies! The Manual for Comforting Giantesses Doesn't Come Included Either

The walk back to the apartment was the quietest trip Izuku could remember since he'd met her. Yu walked half a step ahead of him the whole way, back stiff and lips pressed into a thin line, without giving him a single glance, while he followed with his hands in his pockets, dragging along the uncomfortable feeling of having broken something important that he still couldn't quite understand.

She put the key in the lock, shoved the door open, and walked in without waiting for him. Izuku stepped in behind her, and the door slammed shut at his back with a sharp thud that left the street noise and everything else outside, leaving them alone with a slightly uncomfortable silence.

Yu dropped her purse on the table carelessly and started pacing around the living room, from the couch to the window and back to the couch, arms crossed and heels marking every step against the floor, while Izuku watched her from the entrance before daring to speak.

"Want me to make some tea?" he offered, grasping at anything normal he could hold onto. "You've got that peach kind you like, I'll put the water on and in a bit you'll have it ready, and then we can talk about whatever you want, nice and calm."

"I don't want tea, Izuku."

"Okay." He raised his hands in what he considered a conciliatory gesture. "You want me to order something for dinner? If you're hungry I promise everything looks way more manageable with food in front of you, it's a principle that never fails."

Yu stopped for a moment, shot him a glare, and kept walking without answering. Izuku took a deep breath and decided calm wasn't working either, so he tried the only thing he really knew how to handle: logic.

"Look, I know at the restaurant everything got kinda messy with Midnight-san hanging around bothering us," he said, taking a couple of steps toward the living room, "but if you set the noise aside and look at the deal cold, it makes total sense; you give the seminar at UA, I come in as your assistant, we sync our schedules, and on top of that you get access to the facilities without dropping a fortune on private gyms every week. We both come out winning, boss."

Yu stopped and turned to face him.

"We both come out winning?" she repeated. "Do you even hear yourself when you talk?"

"I hear myself pretty well, actually, that's how I know the numbers add up."

"Don't come at me with numbers!" Yu huffed, uncrossing her arms only to cross them again instantly, unable to stay still. "It was never about numbers, you knucklehead! Not schedules or gyms or any of the things you love jotting down in your stupid notebook, you don't get what I'm talking about!"

"Then help me out, because I'm not seeing it," he answered with genuine honesty. "I'm offering you the best solution I could come up with, tell me where the flaw is and I'll fix it."

"That's not the problem!" She pointed at him with a trembling finger, clearly exasperated. "The problem is that you went to see that rat with a god complex, accepted a job, let them saddle you with a babysitter, and even signed me up as a teacher right in front of Midnight… and I was the last one to find out! What am I to you, Izuku, a piece of furniture you can move around without asking? At what point did it occur to you to think: 'Hey, maybe I should ask Yu before deciding her life for her'? Because I must've missed that moment completely!"

Izuku opened his mouth to defend himself and closed it again. He felt like the floor was moving underneath the conversation and he couldn't find where to plant his feet.

"I didn't do it to walk all over you," he said finally. "I… I did it because I was excited and I thought that…"

"That you knew better than me what was good for me?" she cut him off, letting out a short, bitter laugh. "Wow, that one I know by heart, the agency and the sponsors and the Commission, they all had the perfect answer for Mt. Lady's life: 'Smile more,' 'wear this outfit,' 'strike that pose,' 'don't say that'; always deciding for me, like I just had to look pretty and nod along. And now you're gonna do the same thing?"

She looked down and sighed.

"Was it really that hard to ask me what I wanted? Because believe me… that would've been a pretty original touch."

Every word he spoke seemed to throw more fuel on the fire, and no matter how hard Izuku searched for the right phrase, he only found the wrong ones, so he tried with the data again, because data was his safe ground.

"But I'm not the Commission, Yu; I did it thinking about you, everything I learn at UA is to make you stronger, every Quirk I study becomes a tool to…"

"Stop treating me like I'm a tool too! What I want is for you to take me into account!" The words came out on their own, before she could hold them back.

Yu brought a hand to her forehead and stared at the window, breathing hard, fighting to regain the control that was slipping through her fingers.

"You know what pisses me off the most?" she said without looking at him. "That I really thought this mattered to you too, that my agency… us… meant something, but all it took was UA opening the door and you were already thinking about something else: students and famous heroes and a bunch of new Quirks to analyze… that's what makes your eyes light up."

"I didn't run off, I'm still here, aren't I?" he protested.

Yu let out a short, bitter laugh.

"Yeah, for now." She pressed her lips together before going on. "Right now I'm your boss because I'm still useful, but once you start rubbing elbows with the big fish, with heroes who show up on the Top Ranking every day… what am I gonna be? The rookie who got famous for screwing up her debut, one day you're gonna look at me and think: 'I can aim for something better,' and then you'll leave."

She lowered her gaze for a moment.

"Everyone leaves in the end."

Her legs seemed to decide for her, and Yu let herself drop onto the couch, hugged her knees, and dropped her eyes to the floor, suddenly much smaller than the heroine who cracked asphalt with a single kick.

"My whole life I wanted to be under the spotlight," she went on, without looking at him, "to be the one everyone points at, the one everyone picks, to be… important, for once."

A short laugh escaped her, no humor in it, and it bothered her to admit it out loud.

"And when I finally get it… turns out none of it is guaranteed: the fans and the contracts and the fame… you. It can all disappear in an instant if someone else shows up and shines a little brighter."

She swallowed, but kept going, this time in a lower voice.

"I'm tired of falling behind while everyone else keeps moving forward, tired of smiling like it doesn't matter when it feels like it's never enough… And the worst part is that… even when I have everything, I still feel alone."

And there, on the couch, with her eyes shining from anger and tears she didn't want to let fall, Yu was left without a mask; there was no star pose, no magazine cover smile, just an exhausted girl saying out loud what she'd been holding in for a long time.

Izuku stood in the middle of the living room not knowing what to do with his hands, and inside he entered a silent panic that squeezed his whole chest.

Okay, this is really bad, this is bad and it's my fault, think, Izuku, think fast. What would a pro do? A pro doesn't have a protocol for this, that's exactly the problem. Do I offer her water? No, water is for fainting spells, and a pat on the shoulder falls way short. A motivational speech like the ones in sports movies? Even worse, she's gonna chuck the remote at my head. Oh no, now she's covering her face with her knees, that's expert level and I started this job today.

And in the middle of all the noise in his head, the only idea that really mattered dropped into place.

I'm an idiot.

"Yu," he said, "forget the plan, forget UA and the seminar and everything. If it makes you feel like this, it's not worth it even a little bit; I'll toss it in the trash right now, tomorrow I'll tell Nezu no and that's that."

Yu lifted her head a little, eyes red and full of distrust.

"Don't try to sugarcoat it just because I'm crying… I'd rather have the truth than some pretty line that doesn't mean anything."

"I never say things I don't mean, it's one of my worst habits, you know me," he answered, moving over to the couch. "I… I messed up, I should've asked you before moving a single piece, and I didn't because I was so wrapped up in my own idea that I forgot the most important part, which was you."

He sat down beside her on the couch, hesitated for a second with his arms halfway in the air, and then wrapped them around her and pulled her against his chest in a warm, pretty clumsy hug. Yu went rigid from the surprise.

"Huh…? What are you doing?"

"It's a hug," he answered, without letting go, "I saw it in the movies: when the main character does something dumb and makes the girl cry, he sits with her and hugs her like this, real tight, and somehow everything starts getting better. Though, to be honest, I'm not at all sure I'm doing it right; I've never comforted anyone in my life, I've got no idea if you're supposed to squeeze more or less, or how long you're supposed to stay like this."

Yu opened her mouth to answer and not a single word came out. She felt something loosen inside her chest, and to her own embarrassment, the tears came back stronger than before, soaking her cheek against the fabric of his jacket.

"But I do know a couple of things," Izuku went on, his chin resting on top of her head, "the first is that we're done with secrets between us; I'm not making any more decisions about anything that has to do with you without asking you first, I promise, even if I think it's the greatest idea in the universe. The second is that I believe in you, Yu, I think you're gonna be a huge hero, and I'm not saying it to make you feel better, I'm saying it because I've seen it training with you. And the third, the most important one, is that even if you didn't have a shred of potential, even if you stayed stuck in last place on the ranking forever, I still wouldn't go anywhere, because I'm not staying for your Quirk or your money; I'm staying because you're my friend, and you don't leave friends behind."

Yu trembled against him, unable to decide whether she wanted to laugh or cry harder, and ended up doing both at the same time.

Izuku pulled back a little, reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a white handkerchief, folded and ironed, ready to use at the exact right moment, and wiped her cheeks with a care that didn't match anything else he'd done that day.

"Allow me, dear boss…" he murmured, sliding the fabric gently under her eyes. "A top hero can't walk around with her face like this, imagine if a paparazzo came flying through the window right now."

Yu let out a wet laugh between tears, and curled up against his shoulder without thinking too much about it, letting him finish the job.

"Seriously?" she asked, her voice still hoarse. "You actually carry a handkerchief in your pocket like this is some movie or what? You always come prepared for whatever drama pops up?"

Izuku thought about the answer with a seriousness that didn't fit the moment at all.

"Mmm, no," he said finally, shrugging under the weight of her head. "The world didn't prepare me to have a boss like you."

Yu laughed again and gave him a soft punch in the side with her fist.

"You're an idiot, Izuku Midoriya."

"I'm starting to think it's my real Quirk."

They stayed like that for a good while, in no rush, with the city outside and the room dimly lit, while Izuku started stroking her hair slowly, with a clumsiness that eased up little by little, strand by strand, and Yu closed her eyes and let him do it, feeling the anger from a moment ago melting away without leaving a trace.

"Hey," he said after a bit, "want me to make you dinner? I learned to make a pretty decent curry last month, and you still owe me the chance to prove it; I promise I won't leave your chest bigger this time, I've learned my lesson."

Yu hugged him tighter, without opening her eyes, a tired smile finally sneaking onto her face.

"Let's just order in…" she murmured, letting her body go limp. "I don't feel like doing anything today, I just wanna stay here a little longer, without moving."

She paused, looking back at Izuku.

"And you're paying, got it? For a change, because after making me cry, the least you can do is make it up to me."

"Deal, boss; order whatever you want, today I'm not arguing about the price."

Yu shifted a little against his shoulder, more relaxed now, and when she spoke again it was in a new tone, lighter, with a pretty poorly hidden curiosity floating in her voice.

"Hey, Izuku…"

"What's up, boss?"

"Just a quick question, that's all." She lifted her head to look him in the face. "Tell me the truth… Did you really touch Nemuri's boobs?"

Izuku's eyes went wide. All the warm calm of the moment left his body, and inside, the panic hit again, this time in all caps and with exclamation marks.

SHE STILL REMEMBERS?!

Yu saw the guilt written all over his face before he could get a single word out in his defense, and she straightened up on the couch, cheeks flushing a new shade of red and a vein starting to pulse dangerously on her forehead, no trace left of the girl who'd been crying a moment ago.

"IZUKUUUUU!"

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​A/N: My bad, everyone. I suck at writing drama, mainly because it’s really not my thing.

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