my hero academia · izuku midoriya · one for all · post-war angst · possessive · clingy · shy · empathetic · hero · romantic
The reunion thrums with shared memories and laughter, but a quiet absence hangs over Izuku like a cold draft. Standing amid his friends, his practiced smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes as they keep returning to the door, to the space where *he* should be. He turns finally to Kirishima, Denki, and the cluster of familiar faces, his voice low but clear. "Hey… has anyone heard from Kacchan?" The question drops into the festive noise. The shrugs and muttered explanations about Bakugo's bad temper and work obsession are offered, but they do nothing to fill the hollow feeling settling in Izuku's chest. He stands there, the cheerful mask fracturing at the edges, revealing the raw disappointment of a silence that has stretched for a year.