Chapter Text
Izuku didn't think much of it, when he pressed the piece of paper into his hands. Neither of them had cellphones at the moment, and he was banking on both the fact that he'd be able to retain his old number and that Rody would eventually purchase a cell phone of his own.
"In case you want to get a hold of me."
Not. " Please stay in touch ." Or " Don't forget about me ." Or even a simple " Call me" would have sufficed.
No. It had to be awkward, a beat after hugging him and telling him he'd see him again, even though he protests. Despite the impassive way Rody stares at his number, feigning cool neutrality, Pino fluffs her wings happily where she sits and Izuku feels a little bit better about it.
Izuku didn't think much of it, in the sense that he didn't expect anything to come from it. However, he thought about it most every day. Even if Rody didn't have a cell phone, surely he could call? Izuku wanted him to. More than he was expecting.
Why wouldn't he want to talk to Rody? They had spent a harrowing few days on the run from the government together, saved the world, and stayed in the same hospital room while in recovery. There was a lot there to unpack.
But Izuku knew that was a flimsy coverup for the truth. In all honesty, all of that, while serving to build a bond between them that felt ages older than it was, was not the real reason he wanted so badly. So pathetically .
It was just… Rody. Plain and simple, though he was anything but. It wasn't the running and the saving and the recovering. It was all the bits in between. The soft private conversations, traded under a vast sky untouched by light pollution. It was the caterwalting, the thumping of hands against the steering wheel of the van, not truly trying to sing, just in case it came off as too earnest. It was the brush of knuckles across his shoulder blades as strangely steady hands taped him back together again.
He didn’t want to lose how that felt.
Izuku was no stranger to want. He had wanted nothing more than to have a quirk, be a hero, make All Might and his mother proud everytime he stepped up to the plate, to prove himself, to be worthy . It burned red hot in his blood, as stubborn and hard headed as he was.
But this? This simmered in his gut, bubbly and warm and so very distracting and noxious. It slipped and slid and refused to be held down by his grasping hands.
And somewhere in there, perhaps worthiness played a part in this too. He wanted to be worth it, worth the call, the attention. God he wanted.
It had been two weeks. Which wasn't a long time, at all. In fact, by most standards, it was barely any time at all.
But the days passed in a drag. It did not help that each time he closed his eyes, he saw Rody's expression, the one right before he introduced himself properly. Soft. Assessing. The clever grays of his eyes shining and curious and… awed. He'd seen the look before. In Kota. In Eri. In Mahoro. In the faces of kids continuously let down by hero society.
Seeing it reflected in the cynical face of a teenager his age, someone who had sat and stewed in their mistrust, their resentment for many formative years… he felt honored. Deeply.
Izuku wanted to hear from him.
And then, at the end of all the angst, Izuku didn't even recognize him when he reached out.
((To be fair, Rody could've been more clear.))
Unknown:
Yo.
Unknown:
Deku?
Izuku had been scrubbing his towel through his wet hair when his phone pinged. It was an outrageous time to be awake, but he had had a lot on his mind lately, and a good run and a shower, even at ungodly hours, were a good remedy for that. The lateness of the hour was the only reason he stopped mid scrub to look at his phone.
Instantly, he was on high alert. This could be anything, anyone. Was he about to receive a threat? A warning? Who would message him so late at night, and about what?
He sat on his bed.
Me:
Uh, hello? Who am I talking with?
The three little dots played at the bottom of the screen, and Izuku felt anxiety make his throat tight. And then:
Unknown:
Wow. Two weeks, and you've forgotten all about the guy who totally swooped in and saved your, and like, the rest of the world's sorry asses. Typical.
Izuku's chest expanded rapidly, and his face felt hot.
Me:
Omg, rody???????
Unknown:
One and only, obviously.
Obviously!!! Izuku hadn't given his number to anyone else. Still, his hands shook as he thought about what to say in response, when his phone vibrated again.
Unknown:
I know it took a second, but I had to scrounge up enough extra dough to get this thing. Still figuring it out.
Me:
U text with perfect grammar
Unknown:
Why wouldn't I? I'm a working man now, very classy, very legal. You'd be proud.
Izuku's eyebrows rose to his hairline, and he suddenly released the breath he didn't realize he was holding, coughing a little bit.
Me:
thats great rody! what r u doing for work? how r ur siblings? hows pino?
That was good, the questions he wanted to ask that had been eating away at him, at least they were out now, and Rody seemed happy to answer them. Or, Izuku assumed he was, because he sent several blocks of text detailing his new job, and of course, an update on his little siblings and Pino.
Unknown:
Look at this. Really captured your likeness.
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It was a sketchy drawing of himself in his hero costume, clearly done by inexperienced hands, but he felt his heart melt. He had had the pleasure of meeting Rody's siblings in passing, while they were in the same room recovering, but he hadn't expected to have such an impact on them.
Me:
I love it!
Unknown;
Of course you do.
Me:
What's that supposed to mean?
Unknown:
You're just sentimental. Of course you'd like it.
Izuku rolled his eyes, but found his heart so unbearably full. He had been waiting for this. And yet-
Me:
U could've called.
Izuku watched as the typing dots lit up the bottom of their messages. It spanned on and on, for several minutes, and Izuku started to get nervous. Either Rody was about to stomp all over his weird longing with a long winded dismissal (unlikely) or he was retyping his message over and over again (more likely). Neither of those responses sounded entirely good.
Izuku began to type out an apology and an excuse, when a chat bubble popped up.
Unknown:
Yeah. I know.
All that typing for that? Izuku frowned, but Rody wasn't finished.
Unknown:
I don't know. Thought maybe you'd need time to readjust? I did.
That was fair. A lot had happened.
Me:
Yeah.
Izuku paused, neither of them typing for a moment, before he quickly sent;
Me:
What changed?
This time, Rody's response was instant, and it had Izuku's breath catching in his throat. The speed of message signaled a certain surety that made Izuku's mouth feel dry.
Unknown:
Missed you.
Unknown:
And I wanted to get a cellphone first. Which meant getting a paycheck.
Izuku huffed at that, fingers poised to say something witty, but instead, he found himself being honest, as he so often couldn't help but be.
Me:
I missed u too.
Unknown:
Obviously. It's me. I'm a joy to be around.
Izuku snorted.
Me:
Har har
Unknown:
Don't deny it.
Me:
Wasn't going to.
Izuku bit his bottom lip, his heart pounding as he waited for a response. It was so familiar, so easy to fall back into, the banter they had. Even after a couple weeks of radio silence, and over text no less.
Unknown:
See. Sentimental.
Me:
Is that such a bad thing?
Unknown:
Never said that.
Izuku's stomach twisted again, such a strange reaction, foreign and different and confusing.
Unknown:
Anyways, I know it's got to be late for you over there, so I'll let you go.
Unknown:
Sleep well
That last text message would have been innocuous enough, if there hadn't been a winking kissing emoji after his words. Izuku's face flamed, and he stared at it, mouth slightly agape. Rody probably knew what that was, even if he hadn't had a cellphone before. Izuku knew he had some access to the internet! He was probably teasing him, the asshole. He shook his head.
Me:
u too.
Rody didn't send anything else, and Izuku took a moment to stare at their messages, before he went to save the number to his contacts. At first, he had him in there as "Rody Soul" but it seemed too impersonal. So he changed it to "Rody" which was better, but not perfect yet. So he added a bird emoji, different from the one for Tokoyami. There. That was much better.
He stared at the contact name for a moment more, before he clicked edit again, and with a face that began to burn, put the same stupid winking emoji next to his name that the other had sent to him, before he flung the phone away from himself and buried his face in his knees. There were no high speed chases, but his stomach was flip flopping like he was on one.
God, what was he getting himself into?