AND SO THE WEEK ENDS!!! I tell you guys, these past few days have really reminded me why I love writing for these two adorable dorks. There’s so much to explore and say with them, and I would like to thank @izuochaweek for giving me, and so many other, this opportunity to express that love.

Here’s hoping next year is just as good! But for now, enjoy this one last fic for the week!

Izuku has a broken leg, a dislocated shoulder, one eye so swollen he
can’t open it, and also possibly a concussion.

Despite all that, he can’t help but feel profoundly at peace. Perhaps it
was because he had finally managed to bring down the League of Villains once
and for all, the final battle with Shigaraki being to blame for most of his
injuries. Maybe it was the fact that he was able to sit down and breathe
for the first time in the literal weeks since the final assault on the league
began.

And what a place he choose to finally sit his (incredibly sore and
bruised) ass down, on top of a wrecked League combat machine in the middle of a
field and direct view of the sun slowly sinking into the horizon.

The soft and calm sounds of Eri by his side didn’t hurt either. The
girl’s kidnapping at the hands of the League was what spurred on the final
operation, and when Izuku burst into the heart of their home base and saw her,
she was in rough shape.

Now though, she rested boneless and exhausted next to him, having
dropped there an hour ago before placing her head on his shoulder for what she
promised would only be “a minute to rest my eyes.” She caved to her
fatigue almost as soon as she said that, and has been snoozing quietly ever
since.

Izuku himself was in no hurry to wake her, knowing that reinforcements
would come shortly to clean up any remaining stragglers and drag them to jail…and
possibly take him to a hospital once they had the time.

For now, he was content to wrap a limp hand around the young girl’s
shoulder as she rested, quietly waiting for whoever showed up first to take him
home.

“DEKU-KUN!”

Izuku blinked before turning to the sound, a frantic call to ascertain
his whereabouts and condition, no doubt, but his lethargy (and possible
concussion) was making it hard to place both the owner of the voice, and where
exactly they were shouting.

“DEKU-KUN WHERE ARE YOU!?”

The volume suggested Kacchan, but kun dismissed that
notion right away. Not to mention that he was fairly certain that, regardless
of whatever improvements had occurred to their friendship, he would likely not
care enough to come looking for him.

If Izuku had to guess, Kacchan probably figured he would drag himself back
eventually, so why bother looking?

…not to mention that, now that he was listening to the voice more
closely, it sounded distinctly female.

“IZUKU!”

“…Uraraka?” He shook his head and leaned over the edge of his
perch on the fallen machine to look down, seeing the very same heroine running
about the scorched battlefield, whipping her head back and forth to find him.
“Uraraka-san! Up here!”

Her head whipped upwards, her face lighting up when she caught sight of
him. She quickly touched various points on her person, pink flashes erupting
when her quirk activated as she did. As soon as she started to float above the
ground, the raised her legs for a second before kicking at the ground as hard
as she could, sending her rocketing upwards towards his perch.

She overshoot only slightly, putting her hands together as she passed
him. “Release!” Soon she slowed her ascent and began to drop
downwards, rolling as she hit the metal surface of the robot, bringing her face
to face with him, noses inches apart.

“Uh…hey?”

“Hey?” She muttered with a shake of her head. “We lose communication
with you for 3 hours and all you have to say is hey?”

“…I have a concussion?”

She shook her head again in disbelief, “you are unbelievable Deku…”
She looked left and right a few times, looking for something. “Where…where’s
Shigaraki?”

Deku’s expression sobered and he nodded towards another wreck to the
left, beneath laid the unconscious body of the leader of the League, arms tied
in a way his quirk would be unable to free him.

“Is he…ya know.”

“He’s alive.” Izuku said firmly, shaking his head as he
thought back to the raving rants the man sent his way during their battle,
“but he won’t be hurting anyone anymore.”

Uravity nodded firmly, a fiery look on her face as she looked at
Shigaraki. The look vanished as she suddenly realized something, “wait!
What about-” She stopped as she caught sight of the young girl sleeping at
his side, the sudden tension in her shoulders vanishing. “Eri-chan…”
She sighed and put a hand on Eri’s head, slowly moving her fingers through her
white hair. “Thank God you’re okay…”

The girl leaned into the touch in her sleep, mumbling contently,
“Ochako-san…” She turned to nuzzle her head in the palm. “I’m
home…”

Uraraka smiled wide enough that it looked like her cheeks would start to
hurt, eyes shining with tears, “that’s right Eri-chan.” She looked
back at Izuku, who felt a warmth spread up the back of his neck as he locked
gazes with her. “You’re home.” A few tears went down her cheeks.
“You’re both home.”

Before Izuku knew what was going on, he found himself wrapped up in a bone-crushing
hug. A few wet spots formed on his neck where Ochako buried her face and wept
in relief. “U-Uraraka?”

“You have no idea how worried I was.” She mumbled into
his neck, tightening her grip slightly. “How worried we all were,
just about the whole class rushed off to go find you.” She laughed
a bit deliriously. “Even Bakugou ran off before anyone could stop
him.”

Izuku would have to remember to apologize to Kacchan later. If he could
get his brain to work long enough while it was stuttering over the fact that Uraraka
was hugging him that is.

“Some of the pros started talking about the worst case…and I just
couldn’t take it and rushed off.” She tightened her grip again, to the
point where it actually somewhat hurt. “Don’t you dare scare me
like that again!”

“Uraraka-san.” Izuku choked, half because of the pressure of
the hug and half because of its simple existence. “I promise I won’t,
and I’m really happy that you-you and all the others came to find me but…”
He took in a thin breath. “Could you please let go? I kinda have a
dislocated shoulder.”

“Oh!” She leapt off of him, face flushing from embarrassment
and worry. “Sorry! I was just…I’m just so happy you’re okay.” She
looked at his shoulder and his leg, which bent in the wrong way. “Well…as
okay as you can expect.”

Izuku chuckled a bit at that, wincing as the action moved his injured
shoulder.

Ochako winced in sympathy, “that doesn’t look good…want me to help
with that or do you wanna wait until we find Recovery Girl.”

He shook his head, “no, no need to bother her with this.” He
grabbed his belt and put it between his teeth. “Do it.” He paired the
muffled request with a nod.

Ochako sandwiched his shoulder between her palms, took a breath, and
quickly pushed his shoulder into place with a firm crack.

A sharp groan escaped Izuku before he spat out his belt. “That’s
gonna hurt in the morning.” He leaned against the robot behind him with a
gasp. “T-thanks, Uraraka-san.”

She shook her head again. “Don’t mention it.” She glanced at his
leg. “Too bad I can’t do anything about this though…” She looked at
the sleeping Eri. “And I think Eri has had enough to do today.”

Izuku curled the arm he had over her shoulder as she mumbled in her
sleep, nodding mutely, “yeah, I think we all did.”

Uraraka pressed a finger to her ear, activating her communicator.
“Command do you copy? This is Uravity, do you copy?” A muffled voice
sounded from her earpiece, slightly panicked and causing her to laugh
nervously. “Y-yeah, sorry about that Aizawa-sensei…but yeah.” She
looked at Izuku again with a soft smile. “I found him, along with Eri-chan…they’re
okay.”

Izuku made himself comfortable as Uraraka made her report and requested
for extraction, eyes once more drifting to the softly glowing red sunset, heart
and mind calming at the sight…before drifting back to her, the red glow framing
her like a halo of fading embers.

Has she always been that beautiful? How could he not have seen it
before? Of course she was beautiful…did he ever tell her that?

Izuku blinked. Wow, he really needed his head looked at.

As she finished her report, she looked back to him as he was still staring,
raising an eyebrow at him as a faint pink bloomed on her cheeks, “is
everything okay Deku-kun?”

“Yes!” He squeaked out before clearing his throat and repeating,
much more calmly, “I mean…yeah, yeah I’m okay just…” He lingered on
her still, framed by the sunset, before he gulped the sudden lump stopping him
from breathing. “I was just…admiring the sunset.”

“O-oh!” She laughed nervously as she looked behind her,
expression softening as she laid eyes on the setting sun, “…I don’t blame
you…” She slowly walked backwards until her back hit the wall and she slid
down, making herself comfortable next to him, “it’s really
beautiful.”

He gazed at her for a long time, the wind blowing her hair as the fading
glow of the departing day shone on her face and glimmered in her eyes like
stars. He smiled softly to himself as he settled down, leaning his shoulder
against hers, “yeah, really beautiful.”

And so they waited for the rest of the class to come with the rescue
team, promises of reports and an extended stay at the hospital looming beyond
the fading sun.

Their victory today was no small feat, it was hard fought and hard won,
but it will be far from the last. One day another threat will come to threaten
all they hold dear, and they will stand again to fight it back to defend those
they love and those unable to protect themselves.

The future was rife with promises of peril and danger that he would need
to prepare for…but for now, Izuku contented himself with where he was right
now, calm and at peace, taking in a gorgeous sight.

Whatever the following days and years and decades my bring, they will always
have this sunset.