Iida stares at me, eyes wide and watery. Why are his eyes watering? Are they dry? Does he need eyes drops? His hand went up to his glasses, taking them off in a swift motion. He rubbed his eyes, sighing heavily.

His eyes weren't dry. He didn't need eye drops.

Iida Tenya was crying.

"Iida-"

"I'm sorry, I should go." He said, putting his glasses back on and turning. He starts to speed walk down my hallway, towards the elevator.

I come to my senses, shaking the curtain of shock from my shoulders.

"Iida!" I exclaim as quietly as possible as not to wake my neighbors, "Iida Wait!" I jogged after him, trying to get to him before he got to the elevator. Even walking this man was fast.

I caught up just as he had stopped to push the button for the elevator. I put my hand on his shoulder, turning him to face me.

"Iida, what the hell?" He looks away from me, tears now streaming down his cheeks.

"I'll go, I shouldn't have come." He said calmly, trying to turn back as the elevator opened.

"Iida look at me." I said sternly, not letting my grip cease. I started talking to him on my victim voice, one I used when a victim resisted. "What's wrong? You wouldn't have come and you wouldn't be crying if everything was fine."

I was still taken aback by his tears, stunned that the great hero Ingenium was crying. He always walked with purpose and dignity, proud to be who he is and where he came from.

"I didn't know where to go." He said, still not looking at me. "I thought you would calm me down, so I came here, but I realize now I shouldn't have, so I'll leave you alone." He said quickly.

"Iida, come inside. Let's talk." I said, leading him back to my room. I still had my hand on his shoulder, my other hand rubbing his back lightly as we made our way to my apartment. He reached up and wiped his face, pushing his glasses up in the process.

Pushing open my door, I walked us both inside. I sat him down on the couch, walking towards my kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Iida asks, voice wavering. I didn't answer, striding back into the living room holding a massive bag of candy.

"Behold! My stash!" I exclaimed, crossing my legs on the couch, prying the bag open. I held it open to Iida, and he looked in, pausing. "Candy makes everything better." Upon heading my words, he takes out a small chocolate bar and begins to unwrap it. "So, do you want to tell me why you showed up at my door crying?" I asked, taking a bite of my own piece of candy.

Iida swallowed down his chocolate, eyes locked onto a spot on the coffee table.

"I visited my brother today. The original Ingenium. It's never usually this bad, I usually don't cry, I—"

"Iida, honey, it's ok. Just talk to me." I rubbed his back as he leaned forward, putting his head in his hands.

"He almost died. He could have died, and I couldn't do anything. I just felt so helpless, seeing him in the hospital bed. Sure he's ok now, but Tensei is paralyzed!" He took a deep, shuddering breath. "During first year internships, I tried to get revenge on Stain for what he did to Tensei."

I knew about that, I remember. But didn't Endeavor fight Stain?

"Wait, Wait, didn't Endeavor fight Stain?" I asked, looking at Iida. He shook his head.

"Todoroki, Izuku and I fought the battle, but the police said it was all Endeavor so we wouldn't get in any trouble for illegal quirk use."

I nodded for him to continue, disregarding the fact that Tsuragamae broke code. I don't blame him though, I would have let them off too.

"But I couldn't even do that. Izuku and Todoroki fought the battle for me. I couldn't even do anything. I came to avenge my brother, and then somebody else fought for me. Am I even a real hero?" He asked, looking down at his hand.

"Iida, of course you're a real hero!" I said, chuckling a bit. "You're crazy if you think otherwise. You're a great hero! People feel safe with you because you save them. You're a wonderful hero."

Iida looked up at me and gave a weak smile.

"Thank you for saying that. I needed it." He wiped his eyes under his glasses, looking away from me.

Tomura flashed in my mind.

"Stain is dead, so I guess I am the most wanted criminal."

"Stain is dead." I said simply. Iida looked back towards me.

"What?"

"When I was with Tomura, he told me Stain was dead and that's why he stopped killing." I explained, leaning down to get a better view of his face.

"Oh." He said simply. He reached for another piece of candy.

"So you're crying because of Tensei?" I asked, still trying to grasp the situation.

"Every time I go and visit, I have this overwhelming wave of guilt. Like if maybe I had done something differently, than maybe he would still be a hero." He bit into the miniature candy bar, giving me a minute to think.

Should I show him?

Yeah. I should.

I stand, taking Iida's hand.

"Come on."

"What? Why? Where are we going?" He says, flustered.

"Just come on." I dragged him into my room, sitting him down on my bed. He turned the color of summer roses once he realized where we were.

"Geez, dirty mind. Don't worry, I just wanted to show you something." I chuckled, opening my closet.

Iida was at a lose for words for a few moments while I rummaged around. "Th-that's not!" He exclaimed. I laughed, telling him I was kidding.

I emerged from the closet holding about ten hangers to my chest. I threw them down on the bed, beside a positively pink Iida.

"Go on," I urged, "look through them." I turned around to my small vanity, opening a drawer. I heard Iida fiddling with the hangers, looking though the shirts as I threw a notebook down beside him as well. I walked over to the corner of my room and reached into a box. Pulling out the rolled up poster, I laid it down beside Iida.

His brow was furrowed as he looked from the shirts to the cover of the notebook. He put both down, picking up the poster and unrolling it. He quietly gasped, looking at the signature written across the bottom.

"Well?" I prodded.

"It's all... Ingenium merchandise. Ingenium First Gen, it's Tensei's stuff." He said, still not looking up from it all.

"He was one of my favorites. When I heard he got hurt, I was devastated. I only wore black ties to school for a week, and dressed in dark clothes in public. I was in mourning. But I recovered, and one day I had a day off from field training. And I'm sitting at home and the TV is on on the background, and I hear the name Ingenium. I instantly run to the living room and I saw that the original Ingenium had a brother. And now, his brother was carrying on his work under the same name.

"When the new Ingenium was asked to comment, he said, 'I'm trying to avenge my brother, it's what he wants,'"

"'so I'll do my best to be the best. For my brother.'" Iida said along with me, looking up at me.

"I was an instant fan." I sat down on the bed, and Iida resumed his position beside me.

"Iida, you can't control what happened to Tensei. But you can control what you do to honor him. You honor Tensei everyday by using his name and by fighting crime just like he would. You make him proud, Iida. And that's all you need to do. You don't need vengeance, or to do something differently. You just need to make him proud. And I know he is." He swallowed hard and looked at me, tears brimming in his eyes.

"Thank you. I needed to hear that." I smiled at him.

"Anytime, Iida," I said, grabbing his hand, "I'm always here for you." He looked into my eyes, my wall already up, and flushed.

"So, do you wanna eat candy and watch a movie? That always makes things better." I ask, cocking my head to the side.

"I would like that." Iida says, clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses.

In case you can't tell, I love Iida.

Fun fact: Denki has a huge social media presence! (Y/N) has appeared in a few of his posts, spiking media interest in her. Fans chalk up their relationship to a simple friendship.

Reminder: I love you all 🥺💞💞

Also, shoutout to @22Bandages @0FishBait0 and @seafoam_child for keeping me on the edge of my seat. Your performance brought tears to my eyes 🤧✌️

Over and out.