Work Text:
Step. Step. Crunch. Snap!
Izuku idly watches his footsteps as he walked towards the station. Gravel rumbles under his leather shoes as he steps over the debris of a construction site, and twigs and leaves crunch when he walks through the park. He looks up at the familiar buildings around him—the apartment complex to the west of the main street, the corporate high-rises beside and across it—and notes products for the Dynamight x Adidas Collection and the Uravity Fitness Line displayed on billboards. He’ll have to check them out and hope they’re still in stock when he gets home.
He arrives at the station and enters his train. It’s a few stops away, so he tunes into to Earphone Jack’s daily podcast. Today she has Mindblank, an advocate against Quirk Discrimination, as a guest host to talk about just that. Izuku catches the end of the segment when he puts on his headphones.
Do you have any final thoughts to share on this issue, Mindblank?
Well, at the end of the day, the most important thing to remember is that whether or not you are strong- or weak-quirked, or have a quirk generally looked down upon, we are not defined by our quirks. Rather, we are defined by our humanity. We’re all human you know, and our similarities outweigh our differences; we shouldn’t fixate on those differences, but the humanity and goodwill that binds us together as people.
Wise words. Thank you for joining us today Mindblank! Next, we have this week’s top 20 songs lined up for you listeners, starting with Pop Step’s newest single!
Izuku lets the music wash over him as the commercial district passes by.
Izuku clocks in at 8:53 when he arrives at his office building. He sets his bag under his desk, which has a lone picture of his mother on it, as well as several filler notebooks and pens and pencils. He leans back on his chair, and closes his eyes before the work day officially begins.
When he starts, it’s just another slow day at his dour office job. He talks to their clients, overthinks the politeness of his work emails, sets up schedules, and attends meetings. He types notes on his laptop, and listens to the click clack click of at least twenty other laptops in the room. He gets up once or twice to refill his coffee, and in the two minute intervals he waits as the kettle heats up, he leans his head against their break room wall. The kettle dings!, and he sighs and gets up. He makes his coffee and goes back to his desk.
The hour hand of the clock on the far wall moves at a languid pace; 1:00 becomes only 1:30 when he’s sure at least an hour has passed by already. 1:30 becomes 2:00, and then 3:00, and eventually 5:00. Izuku shuts off his laptop, arranges his bag, and clocks out.
Izuku uses a different train line when he goes home. Instead of taking the fastest route, he takes a detour. He counts the distance by the number of songs that have played on the radio since he got on the train car; at three and a half songs, the intercom announces his stop.
He gets off, and Izuku feels his steps lighten. He walks at a bubbly pace, unlike his dragging of feet on the way to work. He closes his eyes, and soaks in the pleasant cool warmth of the sunset. It’s okay—Izuku can walk this street with his eyes closed. He knows the directions like the back of his hand, like the joints in his toe.
He stops at the community center, and enters.
Izuku nods and smiles at the receptionist, who waves back at him. He checks the bulletin board on her left, and confirms with this week’s schedule posted on it. Under Monday, 5:30 pm: Arts and Crafts.
Izuku loves volunteering at the community center. He loves the look on the children’s faces (wide age range, from six to thirteen years old; majority from low-income families) when he accompanies them through games, lessons, story-times. There’s Tadashi with the dark hair, Megumi with the big eyes, Akira with the pale skin. Tall Nagisa, little Satoshi, baby-faced Renji, and more. He greets them all when he enters, leans down and gives a hi-five! low-five! too slow! to the littler children, and nods and waves at the older children. He sets up the crafts stations, explains today’s activity, and proceeds to spend the next hour smiling and laughing at messy drawings, splattered paint, and children showing him their art with an excited Look, Midoriya-sensei!
He greets the kids goodbye when they leave, and tidies up the room before he departs as well. He greets the receptionist again, and walks down the street once more. It’s dark by now; the sun’s orange rays are gone, the sky now a deep blue color. He takes a deep breath, and inhales the cool night air.
Izuku buys a convenience store bento on the way home. When he arrives at his apartment, he heats it up in the microwave before dressing down into a t-shirt and shorts.
He turns on the news while he eats his dinner. The gyudon and rice are warm outside (but cold on the inside). He chews as he watches reports on villains apprehended by heroes like Ingenium and Froppy, reports on heroes like Creati and Mindblank and their advocacies, a report on Shouto and his stand on the Heroes Public Safety Commission’s newest policies. He wonders what it would be like to see his name on the TV screen; Hero Mighty Jr. apprehends villains involved in downtown hostage situation!
Yeah, right.
He sets off the TV and leaves the used silverware in the sink. He lays down on his bed, scrolls a little on his phone, and closes his eyes.
Tomorrow... Tomorrow will be another day.
Izuku goes to sleep.