The Couples of Class 1-A

LCO | Ch. 32: The Very Thing He Feared the Most

*WARNING: discussion of childhood neglect

The precise moment the elevator doors closed, Melissa let out a long, weary sigh.

"Well that took a lot longer than expected," she chuckled awkwardly, leaning against the back wall next to Midoriya, "Your friends were rather adamant about staying together. I can't believe this is the first time today we've had the chance to be alone."

"It's okay. Everyone's been having a lot of fun, so I don't mind losing a few minutes," Midoriya paused slightly, a subtle sadness creeping into his eyes, "Though now that we're here, I kind of miss the lively atmosphere. I guess it... helped distract me from things."

They were both quiet for a moment or two. Melissa rocked back and forth on her feet as she considered what else to add, but the elevator let out a shrill beep and opened before she had time to speak.

We're finally alone, she processed serenely, stepping out of the elevator beside Midoriya, But what is Midoriya expecting right now? Does he want me to just jump into what he told me over the phone, or would he rather we decompress somewhere first?

Judging by the grave look on his face though, Melissa decided now probably wasn't the right opportunity to talk. Despite how infrequently Midoriya usually called her, she was close enough with him to understand that he was the type to go quiet when confronted with emotional pressures. If she pushed too hard too early, he would likely shut down on her; and given that she would only be in town for today, Melissa had to avoid that outcome at all costs.

She cared about him a lot, after all. He was such a gentle soul, that imagining him with any sort of burden made her want to carry him along on her shoulders. Yet, timing was important—meaning their talk would have to wait just a little bit longer. For now, she needed to uplift him with something cheerful.

"You said there were some shops you wanted to see," she began perkily, shooting him a glance, "Any particular requests?"

"Shops? Ah—" Midoriya glanced down at his map, and then pointed down the long walkway, "We passed a 'gadget' shop on the way up here. I just wanted to know what they were selling, since support items aren't supposed to be available to citizens."

"Right? I'd wondered about that too!" she exclaimed back, beaming a little too brightly, "Let's go back together and take a look."

Midoriya seemed a little bewildered at first by her stunningly joyful attitude, but managed to smile back once they'd begun walking.

As the two approached the store, the sign came into view, reading: "G&G"—which seemed to be short for "Gadgets and Gizmos". Upon closer inspection through the glass window, Midoriya and Melissa were shocked to see a display of items that almost looked like support items.

"Support items are limited to just those with hero licenses, right?" Midoriya commented, raising an eyebrow.

"They are," Melissa nodded, "meaning these must not be support items somehow. Let's take a look."

They walked around the display and entered through the front door, only to be greeted by rows upon rows of curious inventions. The two of them gawked at first, trying to process how such a store could exist, until they stood in front of one of the shelves and began handling some of the objects.

The first one Midoriya picked up was an automated grabbing device, ideally used for retrieving items from hard-to-reach places. It was more comfortable to use than a classic grabber, and more precise too because of its automatic operation. Melissa picked up what looked to be a digital tape measure; one that could measure distance using a laser. They both turned the items over in their hands a couple of times before placing them back down on the shelves, and spun to see what else was in the shop.