Chapter Text
“-really, you should see her! Mei has all the engineers under her command working so smoothly, you’d think they’d been working together for years instead of less than a month.”
Izuku leaned back in Yochi’s lap as he rambled on about their progress with the warp drive. His Uncle has snatched him up when All Might and All for One were bickering about who got to redo Izuku’s loose braid. It wouldn’t fix the braid on his actual body, but after too much fiddling, it was loose enough to bug Izuku, even in the One for All void.
Sitting with Yoichi also had the benefit of keeping his three visitors in sight. Even with his Father shooting Yoichi jealous looks while All Might looked like a kicked puppy, he preferred to be able to look over all his visitors rather than have one doing his hair.
His Father looked like he was doing fine, but that didn’t really tell Izuku anything. He was the only living person who had gotten a handle on influencing their appearance in the void, and Izuku had no doubt his father would hide anything concerning from him. From what he had said, he and Mom were spending more time together recently, which was nice to think about. He was glad his mom wasn’t alone without him. Izuku didn’t have many memories of his parents together, but they really seemed to love each other in the ones he did.
“-after all it has been through, we had to keep the plant, even if we didn’t technically go to its planet. It marked phase one of the prototype testing, coming to an end after all! And it’s not like we could keep the sentients we warped to the main Guild base.”
All Might was looking as well as he ever did. His smiles were just as reassuring as the ones he’d looked up to since he was young, just with the added warmth he’d come to find since becoming his successor.
It was a little odd, but mostly funny, seeing how used to All for One the man had grown. When Izuku compared their climactic final battle together to their earlier bickering over braiding privileges, it was a little dizzying.
“-we’ll be putting the original warp drive back together soon, now that production of the quick warps is underway. Mei and I are really looking forward to integrating it into the Kiro, especially with the ship protection already in place from the short-distance live testing.”
Aizawa looked more tired than usual. Which might have to do with the fact that he’d come off teaching classes only to give Izuku a short psychology lesson at the beginning of their meeting. The subject matter was a little rough, but Izuku was grateful to have guidance on how to approach Mina during the next shitty circle therapy session. She seemed to be doing ok, but she hadn’t opened up to anyone yet. What really went on during her time in the area was still a mystery to everyone but her.
But, while the lesson could be behind Aizawa’s extra exhaustion, given the deeper-than-usual eye bags, Izuku would guess it was because UA’s cultural festival was coming up. Apparently, class… 2-A was already working on their fundraiser event. They’d be raising money for extraplanetary travel research organizations. Which, to anyone who knew them, was a clear effort to encourage better ships to be created that they could then steal.
Aizawa had overheard something about their self-taught rocket science finally being useful, which did not bode well for the event. And that wasn’t even covering the fact that Dabi and Toga had been spotted helping out during some of the planning sessions. Or, well, somebody who looked suspiciously like Dabi but with a fake mustache straight out of Todoroki’s amateur detective disguise kit. And the presence of two Kirishimas in the same room, or two Tsus, or two of whatever student decided to give blood that day.
“-will probably be the first thing we do when we get the time. I’m sure we can figure out how to make a warp drive without a multiple-day cool-down. But it is all theoretical for now, since testing for the quick warp was limited to designs that were cheap and quick to make. And one use warp drives are kinda the opposite of unlimited use warp drives.”
Izuku just had to keep talking, keep his mind moving so he didn’t ruin the limited time he had with his dads. Keep talking and don’t think about the fact that the rest of his class, not up in space, were in the second term of their second year. Don’t think about the fact that this time last year, he was figuring out how to make candy apples for Eri. Don’t think about the fact that a few months more will mark a full year away from Earth.
Izuku was brought back from his spiralling thoughts by All Might’s voice. “Ah, about that, my boy. Once you have the warp drive back up and running, we were wondering if- I was just thinking- well..”
Aizawa picked things up where All Might trailed off. “Once it’s working again, is there anything stopping you from coming home?” Izuku’s not sure what face he made at that, but before he could respond, Aizawa spoke again. “I don’t mean forever. We understand that you need to get closure before you do that, even if we wish you didn’t have to. But just for a few days, until the warp drive recharges. You could rest and bring some backup with you when you return to your mission.”
“I…” Izuku’s heart clenched as Aizawa’s words drew pictures to his mind. Scenes of the Kiro touching down at UA, stepping out of a ship, and it finally feel right. The air would have the mild bite of autumn, smelling faintly of blooming cherry blossoms that were sure to be in full swing by now. Gravity wouldn’t weigh them down or leave them drifting with every step; it would be something they wouldn’t have to think about.
“We can’t.” Izuku finally said. It hurt to say, but it was true. “We’ve thought about it, but we just can’t. We’re the ones leading this fight; we have to be there. And if we show up back on Earth, you can’t tell me we’d just be able to leave again. We weren't given the letter of marque because Earth wants us out here; we were given it because Earth wants us back. Even if you wouldn’t stop us—the UN, GEED, the Japanese government—someone would try, and we just can’t risk it. Not with so many people relying on us. Not when we’re this close.”
“They wouldn’t be able to stop me,” Father said, a sinister undertone to his words that told Izuku all he needed to know about that plan.
“And then no one would be able to stop you from killing everyone and taking over space so you could enact vengeance on anyone who even looked at me funny. Not happening, father.”
“Not yet, at least,” All for One muttered.
Izuku sighed, feeling the weariness that sometimes made its home in his bones shudder. “We can’t go back to Earth until this is over. We can’t leave when we’re so close to helping the people we couldn’t before. It’s been so long and we’re..” Izuku leaned back further in his uncle’s chest. “We’re tired. If we went home now, I don’t think we would be able to get ourselves to leave.”
And oh, how true that felt. If Izuku were home right now, with the others safe beside him, he couldn’t imagine leaving after only a few days. His heart ached at the thought. But it was worse to think about all the people they’d be abandoning. They may not have the strength to leave Earth, but they had the strength to stop themselves from getting into that position in the first place.
“I’m sorry Izuku.” All Might said. “I’m sorry you have so much weight on your shoulders. I’m sorry I can’t help you carry it. Just know that I am so proud of you. I’m proud of all of you.”
The tears were rolling down Izuku’s cheeks before All Might finished. Gentle hands on his back helped him forward, and then he was crying, sheltered in his mentor's arms.
Long fingers rested on his head. “So very proud of you, my boy.”