Chapter Text
Moon didn’t know what was going on with Izuku, and she couldn’t care less. Well, she does care, but Izuku doesn’t need to know that.
One minute she was enjoying her udon and chatting with Kurogiri, and the next Izuku was shaking. She tried tapping on his shoulder, but got no response.
“Izuku? Hey, Izuku?”
Silence. She was starting to actually get worried. She shook his shoulder, trying to get a reaction. Nothing. Was he-?
He was crying.
“Izuku? Are you okay?” And that seems to gain a response. He looks up, meeting her eyes. He opens his mouth to speak, then closes it again. He looks away. After a while, he tries again.
“I’m okay, Moon. I was just thinking,” he says with a laugh. It’s forced, and he’s obviously not okay, but he says it anyway.
“I don’t believe that,” she says. “You were just hunched over your bowl of udon and shaking - and you’re still shaking.”
“I’m fine, really.” She scowls.
“Fine, I won’t press about what’s wrong.” It’s silent for a moment, filled only by the sounds of them slurping their dinners. “Do you want a hug?”
The question appears to catch Izuku off guard. He hesitates for a moment before silently leaning into her, bringing her into a hug. And he would not stop trembling.
They stayed like this for a while, until she felt Izuku steady, and he was the one to pull back.
“I should probably eat my udon before it gets cold.” Both of their udons are no longer steaming, no longer that comfortable temperature that warms your bones, but it’s still fairly warm.
“Yeah,” she responds, turning in her chair to face her food. She takes a bite of the udon, and hears Izuku mumble a soft thanks.
“Don’t mention it. Seriously, if you talk about this again I will punch you.” She turns to Kurogiri. “And that goes for you, too, Mr Bartender. Do not say a word.”
Kurogiri nods and goes back to what he was doing before; washing the shot glasses on the counter. Whenever Moon sees Kurogiri, he’s always doing it. Strange.
In any case, they both went on with their evening as if nothing had happened. Moon knew that Izuku would need some space, and she was happy to give it. If he wasn’t talking about it now, and was giving no sign of such, he probably didn’t want to talk about it, and that was just fine in her book.
He was so stupid. Why had he let his emotions get the better of him? Now, everyone who was there, which was everyone he knew, probably thought he was a crybaby and weird and weak and useless just like everyone else he’d known before he had joined the league had thought and they were right and he didn’t deserve to be here and he didn’t deserve them and-
A knock on his door brought him back to reality.
“Izuku?”
It was Moon. Again. As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough when she had to see him break down earlier, now she was seeing him in an embarrassing state again. He really needed to pull himself together.
Another knock.
“Hold on, I’m coming.” He wiped the tears he hadn’t noticed falling down his cheek (seriously? Crying twice in one day? He really was pathetic) and opened the door.
Moon was holding a tub of ice cream and two spoons.
“Don’t talk to anyone about this,” she said while looking down at her feet. “You seemed sad earlier, and I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but Kurogiri told me once that it’s important to communicate your feelings and it’ll help you feel better and that’s what you need right now so I don’t care what you say I’m staying.” She rushed out that last bit like she didn’t want to say it, or she was embarrassed to say it.
All Izuku did was step beside the door to make room for Moon to come into his room.
She sat down on his bed and he followed, sitting next to her while she offered up one of the spoons.
He accepted her offer, and they both ate the ice cream. It really wasn’t that much ice cream, but it was still gone in less than 5 minutes. Izuku had a brain freeze. Moon was laying on the floor, digesting the unholy amount of dairy she’d just eaten.
After the freeze was gone, the only thing in Izuku’s brain was dinner that night. The ice cream made him feel better about the godawful mistakes he made and how weak he had looked after trying so hard to make these people like him - but when he had gotten hugged by Moon, he just felt so safe and so heard.
Moon’s hugs were unlike any hugs he’d ever had before. Sure, maybe that’s because he was touch starved all his life, but it felt nice nonetheless. Maybe, just maybe, if he asked her really nicely and promised to get her more ice cream, she’d let him hug her. Hopefully she didn’t think he was gross, like-
“Izuku, stop your muttering and give me a hug.” Oh. Had he said that out loud? Whoops. Just another thing to add to the ever-growing list of his screw ups!
But Moon’s arms were out wide, so he accepted the invitation. It was warm and even better than he’d remembered it, and he closed his eyes to try and cement this feeling in his memory, before he went back to the cold nothingness again. Yes, he’d closed his eyes, and yes, he’d intended to open them again, but his eyelids felt too heavy. And suddenly, everything felt too heavy.
He couldn’t stop himself when he fell asleep. And Moon didn’t either. Izuku didn’t know, but Moon stayed with him to make sure he didn’t need anything and he got the hug he needed. Eventually, though, she had to leave herself, so she set Izuku under his blankets and headed back to wherever it was she came from.
“Goodnight, Izuku. Sleep well.”