The Man Behind the Screen

Some Form of Hello

MIDORIYA'S POV

I paused the movie to answer the door. "Hey, guys, the pizza is here." Daiki, Rimi, Sakura, and Takara ran from Daiki's room and sat around the coffee table. I had placed a juice box and a plate with a slice of pizza for each of them. The kids all dug in as me, Uraraka, and Todoroki grabbed some pizza. Todoroki and I had morning patrols, and Uraraka had just started her leave, so we decided to hang out. Iida had an evening patrol with Sero, who hangs out with us sometimes.

I Waited for the kids to finish and go back to Daiki's room to play before I un-paused the movie. Uraraka picked 'My Best Friends Wedding,' an old rom-com. Not sure if that was such a good idea. She reached for another tissue. "Uraraka, it's not even a sad part." I gave her a knowing look. Her hormones are out of control.

Giving me the side eye, she said, "I am pregnant. Leave me alone. You should know better, Deku. You went through this with your wife." I felt a punch of guilt. My mood dropped, and I know they both could tell right away. "Deku, I'm sorry I di-"

Before she could finish, I leaned back into the couch. "It's alright, Uraraka. It's just sometimes I wonder if I'm being selfish. I broke up my own family, and I can't even talk about it." They both gave me a sad smile as I fought back the tears.

My friend's big brown eyes took me in. "Why, exactly, can't you talk about it?"

I let out a sigh. "Itsuka wants to keep it just between us for now. I am trying to respect her wishes. I already took so much from her. I will not take this too." I said as a rouge tear fell without permission.

They both nodded at me in understanding. "What if you talked to someone anonymously?" Todoroki asked me. I bit the inside of my bottom lip, contemplating the idea. "There is an app where you can talk to people. No profile pictures or identifying information."

My eyes met Todoroki's. "I don't know. Is it really that private?" 

"Yeah, I heard of that app, but I don't remember from who. You chat just by a user name and no pictures or exact location. They only know what you tell them. Anything on your profile that could be identified stays completely private. They ask questions when setting up your profile, so the app knows who to send as possible connections."

Still not sure about this, I raised a brow at them. "Are you guys sure?"

"Midoriya, I know that look. You are worried it will blow up in your face." Todoroki was right, and I knew it. "It can't hurt to make a friend you can talk to without them knowing who you are. Maybe even get some things off your chest that you can't tell us right now."

I closed my eyes and let out a breath. "What is it called?" I asked against my better judgment.

Uraraka piped up as she smiled at me. "Blindly Yours, BY for short."

"I don't know, that sounds like a dating app." I started to overthink like normal.

Todoroki's eyes never left mine. "You could use it for that or for making a faceless friend. It is what you make it. Let's face it you need someone to talk to. You could try a therapist."

Picking up my phone and unlocking it, I frowned at him. "You know I don't like therapists." They both smiled as I went to the app store and downloaded the BY app. It didn't take long for the app to download. I opened it and started making a profile. "What should I put for a username?"

The three of us started throwing names around. "You don't want it to give too much away, so nothing with your name, birthday, or physical features, and nothing about heroes or quirks."

"Well, that doesn't leave much." I let out a large sigh.

We sat in silence for a while before. "Hey, you still have all your hero notebooks," Todoroki said as he pointed at my office door.