Tenya couldn't believe his eyes.

From the tear that had formed in the sky like an open wound, he saw a person emerge.

It was unexpected, but the several eyes on the mass lead to a quick reaction.

Pros had intervened, one or two applying their quirk to the space below the unknown anomaly to allow for a safe impact.

It was a little girl who'd come through, one visibly shaken and malnourished.

Was this...The power of Kagayaki's quirk?

He didn't eviscerate persons, but merely... displaced them?

Did that mean?...

Another person came through the warp, accompanied by several others close behind.

One after the other, about a dozen people came through the rift; until they abruptly stopped.

When the continuous flow of people stopped, there was a pregnant pause.
Everyone seemed to hold their breath, an ominous silence accompanied by the flashing of sirens.

Tenya was anticipating it; any second now for Izuku to come barrelling through, with Katsuki in tow.

Any minute now.

Was it...Even possible?

The opening seemed to be coming unstable...And everyone was beginning to lose faith.

Medics had begun to crowd Tenya and the civilians as the people had grown tired of waiting.

Just as everyone was about to lose all faith, Tenya sighed.

Where are you, hero?

The rift suddenly buzzed and crackled, before a static eruption burst from the opening, a blur of light flashing outward and landing directly onto the asphalt in a matter if seconds.

The pros were visibly bewildered, and somewhat paled at the thought of that being a person.

Tenya's vision began to double, and just before his lids grew too heavy to bear, he caught a glimpse of wild sacramento locks that had almost been lost forever.

And with that, the world went dark.

...

"Mn..."
The room was too bright; yet again.

Hurts...

He thought, covering his stinging irises with a sore forearm.
The fisheye effect caused by a temporary tunnel vision was not pleasant.

Izuku didn't even have the energy to wallow in the bittersweet nostalgia of waking up in yet another hospital bed.
He even had little to no recollection of the events that led up to hospitalization.

With so many blank spaces, one could hardly fathom just how many possibilities and explanations were swirling through his mind.

The thought of a two-year-long coma was enough to put him back to sleep, but then he finally recalled saving Katsuki.

He shot up from the covers without a second thought, painfully regretting the decision as an almost electric pain shot up his spine.

Nevertheless, he still frantically scanned the room for any indication of Katsuki's presence.

"Don't over-exert your energy. Your wounds are still fresh."

Izuku jolted at the unexpected company, but quickly recovered knowing that he could finally get some answers.

He stared at the well-kempt doctor, beginning to formulate such questions in his mind.

Wait... Did she just say...

Wounds?

Izuku glanced down at the soft casts that dawned his muscular arms. They were bandaged to a point where his arms were now indistinguishable as human limbs, now hidden under layers and layers of plaster.

Through the thin cloth of the bleak hospital gown, Izuku could see yet another set of bandages wrapping around his torso.

He could now vaguely recall the viscous substance that weighed agonizingly heavy on his limbs, leaving him in a near critical state.

Wait.

If he was like this, then Katsuki...

"Where is Kacchan?"
Izuku pleaded, an honest disturbance lacing his worrisome tone.

"Oh, Pro hero Ground Zero is a few rooms over. He hasn't received any life-threatening injuries--aside from a minor concussion--but he'll be just fine with a few weeks rest. Both he and the boy survived. All thanks to you."
She gave Izuku an earnest smile.

Izuku's breath hitched.

He wanted to thank her, but the overwhelming relief of those words was enough to stun him silent.

His heart felt like it was trembling; hesitant to take the next beat knowing that he could die with a pure bliss in that exact moment, but also rapidly thundering from his chest with a titanium will to live.

All for the love of his life.

All for Katsuki.

The door frame rattled for a split second, before bursting open with an almost terrifying force.

A trembling figure stood at the doorway.

"Y-You're...."

Izuku's veridescent eyes widened with surprise upon recognition.

"You're okay!"
Ashido cried, practically leaping at his bedside to throw her arms around him.

"You scared us there, bud."
Eijiro chuckled as he approached his bedside, drying a modest amount of tears from his eyelids.

Izuku's injuries were admittedly painful, but he endured it for them to oblige and welcome his friends' warming company.

Izuku glanced at the doorway by chance, catching sight of a hesitant Ochako standing at the threshold.

She appeared frail and sickly, as though she'd just been recently discharged herself.

She was walking in with the obvious intention of joining them, before suddenly stopping herself.

Izuku didn't understand at first, but then it clicked.

She was trying to give him room to breathe.

He smiled.

How silly,
He thought, outstretching a single cast-ridden arm to signify that there was room for another.

Ochako gasped, gaining a walking start to his side before joining them.

It was...Warm.

The four broke the embrace, before Izuku glanced around blankly.

"Where's Iida and Todoroki? Are they at home?"

He was blatantly confused with their absence, since they were both always the first to arrive whenever he was hospitalised.

The trio that stood opposite him all exchanged glances.

They didn't know either.

...

"Ugh..."
Tenya felt himself stir, a pulsing pain gripping at his temples and shoulders.

He was somewhat startled by the soft, patterned breathing that suddenly filled the room, before he let out a sigh of relief upon discovering its source.

Shoto had dozed off while resting his head on his husband's bedside, his short locks of deep red and snowy white hair pooling at the bedsheets.

Tenya smiled, and was instinctively about to reach his arm out to stroke Shoto's hair– when he came to a realization.

His left arm...Was gone.

He gasped, the sudden movement waking up Shoto.

"Mnn...You're awake."
Shoto said groggily, flashing a tired smile.

"I-It's gone. My arm is gone. W-What?..."
Tenya mumbled with stuttering lips.

He choked out a string of soft curses, before silencing altogether.

Shoto grew worried.
"Teny–?"

Tenya let out a harsh exhale.

"...I-I couldn't even evacuate a bridge without getting hurt. I wounded myself under the most ridiculous of circumstances..."

He bit his lip, now shaking,
"I'm...An utter fool for thinking that I could save like him.
At the end of the day, I'm still a weakling who can't seem to play his cards right."
He clenched his jaw, tears beginning to cascade down his pale cheeks.

He hadn't expected the sudden firm grip on his jaw, especially not when said contact had him craning his neck to face a rather stern Shoto.

"Shut up."

Tenya's expression fell.
He would've looked shocked if he wasn't already at such a low point emotionally.

"I-I'm sorry, I suppose you don't want to hear me ramble–"

"No, I mean shut up with that nonsense. You, Tenya Iida, are one of the most obnoxious, air- headed, self-deprecating persons I've ever met. You're a lot of things--but a fool and a weakling is not among them.
You're a wonderful son and brother, a loving father and a caring husband. I couldn't ask the universe for more than to be with you. You are the love of my life, and I'll be damned if I let you believe that utter bullshit coming out of your mouth."

He carded slim digits through Tenya's royal blue hair, speaking in a low voice.

"At the end of the day, you did save those people. You acted bravely while others in your position were none the wiser. And the truth is, you won't ever be a hero like Midoriya--because you're Imperium, not Deku. Your morals, and definition of heroism and general approach will always differ from your colleagues. That's the best part about heroes. They all ptotect for different reasons, and in different ways. You can't base your self-worth on 'what if's and 'maybe's.
You'd never let yourself live up to anything.
And lastly,"

Shoto took Tenya's right hand within his own, pressing the calloused palm to his own cheek.

"I'm sorry."
He murmured, drawing breath to refrain his voice from crack.

"You didn't deserve this."
He blinked, tears spilling from heterochromatic eyes.

Tenya pulled his husband to his chest, stroking his hair while exhaling a comforting chorus or shushes and reassurances.

"Shhh...It's not your fault."

"I love you."
Shoto's worlds were muffled against Tenya's neck, but he'd heard them clearly enough.

"I love you, too."

They really could never stand to see their beloved in agony.