Mending Old Wounds

OFA

Thursday July 1st

Midoriya's POV:

Kacchan and I were on our way to meet up with All Might and Aizawa Sensei. Shoto, Kirishima, and Uraraka were going to meet us there, and to say I was nervous would be an egregious understatement.

Being able to tell Shoto, Kiri, and Raka this secret I've been holding on to for so long is going to feel so good. But. What if they're mad that I kept it from them in the first place? What if they don't trust me ever again? What if they're mad that I did tell them, and now they have to keep the secret too? I'll be asking them to lie to their friends and family and the world and they might hate me for it. Am I doing the right thing here? Should I even-

Kacchan grabbed my arm at the elbow and jerked me around to face him, "Stop it."

"Huh?"

"You're mumbling."

"Oh. S-sorry."

"Don't apologize, just... get out of your head for a second. Are you underestimating your friends?"

"Wha-? No! It's just a lot. I-"

"Shut the hell up. Do you really think they will be anything other than annoyingly happy and supportive?" Kacchan was glaring me down, challenging me to argue with him, and I couldn't. He was right. This is why I chose Shoto, Uraraka, and Kirishima, because they've always had my back and trusted me to have theirs.

"I hate telling you that you're right," I creased my brow at him.

Kacchan got a really smug look on his face, let go of my arm, and started walking again, "Get used to it, Nerd. You'll be telling me I'm right for the rest of our lives."

My heart squeezed and all the air left my lungs as I gasped out, "Kacchan..."

Kacchan rushed back and grabbed my shoulder, checking me over.  "What? What's wrong?!"

"You can't say things like that!" I was clutching my chest and trying my damnedest not to cry.

Kacchan's expression changed from concerned to agitated in seconds, "Tch. You're such a fucking sap." 

He strode away from me and I followed behind him muttering, "You're the one who said we'd be together the rest of our lives."

Kacchan's palms started popping with small explosions, "You're the one making it sound like I fucking proposed or something. We're becoming heroes together. We're going to be working together. Of course we're going to be in each other's lives. We'll likely di-" He cut himself off, but I knew what he was about to say. We're heroes in training after-all, and heroes don't always have the luxury of growing old together. "You don't have to be so damn sentimental about it."

"You know better than anyone that I'm always sentimental," I smiled at him.

"I know you're a fucking crybaby," Kacchan grumbled, but he smiled back.

We walked the rest of the way in a peaceful silence. Aizawa, All Might, Kirishima, Shoto, and Uraraka were already waiting for us around some bleachers at the training grounds. I greeted the group of my closest friends, took a deep breath, and smiled, before explaining everything to them. I started at the beginning, with the sludge villain attack. All Might and Kacchan helped me tell the story along the way, just as they have always helped me. Shoto was quiet and attentive, Kirishima made a few manly comments, and Uraraka nodded and gasped in all the right places. They all just listened for the most part and had very few questions. When I finished speaking, I felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders, a weight I hadn't even realized I'd been carrying, but I still held my breath in anticipation of their reactions.