“Hey, Yui-nee? Can we talk?”

Izuku tried not to grin when his sister jumped, her head snapping up from her computer as her eyes widened to see him balanced on the tree branch outside her window. She closed the computer, “Izu, what the fuck are you doing outside the window? It’s…” Her eyes flicked to her phone, “Kami, it’s almost two. You should be asleep.”

“So should you, it’s a school night, nee-chan.” Izuku reminded her, keeping his voice gentle as she looked away from him. “Since we’re both up…come up on the roof with me.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, easily jumping to the next branch before clambering up onto the roof. He sat down as he looked up at the clear sky, the dark blue with its sparse collection of stars, only the brightest able to shine from the light the city gave off even in night.

His lips twitched up in a small smile when Yui-nee sat down beside him, stretching her legs out and leaning back on her hands. He’d been kind of worried she’d refuse to talk with him, with how much she’d been avoiding well, everyone lately. It hurt to see the walls that had lowered over the years come back up, voice flattening and that blank expression taking over. The only time they seemed to lower now was when it was just the two of them.

“They’re going to get worried if they find us up here, Izu.” Yui-nee’s voice shook him out of his thoughts, one teal orb glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

“Dad’s on patrol until four today. And pop’s asleep. It’s just the two of us awake right now.” He reassured her, something twisting in his chest when he saw a tightness in her shoulders drop. So, whatever was happening, she did not want Aizawa or Yamada to know. “I just…I wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Izu, if this is about the conversation we had yesterday, I’m fine-“ Kami, he was really starting to hate that word whenever she said it.

“No, it’s not about that nee-chan.” He was quick to interrupt her, legs crossed as his elbows rested on his knees as he laced his fingers together, thumbs fiddling nervously as he looked down. “I wanted to talk about… my mom.”

Yui-nee leaned toward him at that, angling herself so she was directly facing him. He’d never gone into detail with her about his mom, sure, she knew some stuff about his family, she’d had to know basics when she was going as ‘Yui Midoriya’ but that’d been more on his absent father’s side. She’d never asked him about his mom. And he’d never brought it up.

At first, when they’d first met, the memories of his mom hurt so much, the wounds were still so raw in his heart... and Yui had still been a stranger at that time. And then the situation with her parents, and then school, and meeting Himi and Dabi and becoming vigilantes...it’d never seemed like a good time to bring it up.

But now...maybe if he could open up about his mom...maybe Yui-nee could confide in him too? He hated to even think of doing this, he knew it was emotional manipulation, but that look in her eyes when she didn’t think anyone was looking...he’d try anything to get her to open up to him.

“Her birthday is coming up... I was wondering if you’d go with me to the cemetery? I know you never knew her, b-but I thought it might be time to umm, introduce you in a way? If you don’t want to go, I completely understand, I just-” He started to ramble, words spilling out as he picked at a hangnail, eyes down as his shoulders hunched before two hands squeezed his shoulders.

“Izu, shh, it’s okay.” Her voice was gentle and even, making him still as he met warm teal eyes, “I’d be honored to meet your mom. If you’re really sure you want me there. I don’t want to impose, green bean.”

“You’d never impose, nee-chan... I tell her about you all the time.” He quickly blinked back the tears that had started to well from even the thought of her refusing.

“Are you sure? I thought you’d be worried about me retelling any embarrassing stories I remember.” He snorted at the teasing tone in her voice, her hands giving one more squeeze before she let go to sit back down beside him.

“I’m sure she knows everything. She had that mom omnipotence where you could never get away with anything because she knew, sometimes before you did it. I always thought she had a mind-reading Quirk.” He chuckled softly, his thumbs tapping against each other at a much more relaxed pace than before.

“She had some sort of telekinetic Quirk, right?” Yui-nee asked.

“Yeah, she could pull small objects to her. Like toys or dishes. I think...she had a five pound weight limit?” He hummed softly, “I made her a hero persona when I was five...I called her Mighty Mom. Her specialty was making bad guys feel bad about hurting people and they’d give up...” He let out an embarrassed chuckle, rubbing at the back of his neck at the memory.

“Heh, her special move was Guilt Trip.” Yui chuckled softly, before she turned to him, “Can you...if you’re comfortable, tell me more about her? All I really know is from that one memory I saw when we tried that experiment with my Quirk that one time and her name.”

“Of course, nee-chan... Mom was an only child and both of her parents unfortunately passed before I was born. She was a social worker, she always loved kids and wanted to do her best to help them. I think she wanted to be a hero when she was a kid, but she didn’t think her Quirk was suited for it. She helped people in her own way though, making sure any kids she was assigned to went to loving homes and kept track of them. She still kept in contact even after I was born and she took a break to stay home with me.”

“My memories are pretty hazy...I don’t really remember much before I was four. I don’t know if that’s normal?” His nose crinkled as he turned to her, scratching at the back of his head. “I remember going to the doctor and being told I was Quirkless though... my mom was so sad, she just kept telling me how sorry she was...”

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“Izu...”

“Thinking back on it now... I think she was really scared of what I’d have to grow up with. In a world full of people with amazing abilities and mutations, being someone who didn’t have one would make me stand out. And I’m sure she knew...about all the statistics after working with children...” Izuku cleared his throat, his smile wobbly as he looked away from her. “But mom was always looking out for me, and encouraged me when it came to analyzing heroes and the fights and everything. She didn’t make me feel...less? I guess is the word.”

He let out a little sniffle, “She worked a lot, she had to, to support us after Hisashi left. But she’d make sure Auntie looked after me, and make sure I always had notebooks and pens for my hobby...”

“Auntie? You said she was an only child?” He jumped a bit when Yui-nee spoke, turning to her with an awkward chuckle.

“Oh right...Auntie is Mitsuki Bakugou...they were best friends growing up. So, when my mom stayed late at work, I’d be at her house. Or I’d be playing with Kacchan.”

Yui-nee's nose crinkled at the name, “That’s the kid who scarred you, Izu... did his mom know about that? Or your mom?”

“No!” He quickly waved his hands, shaking his hands. “I...I never told them about it. They teachers knew, but they never cared. I was just a Quirkless kid, they didn’t think I had a future and Kacchan...he did. They didn’t want to risk marring his record with something so meaningless.” His sister’s eyes glowed in the darkness, the ends of her hair matching as her jaw clenched.

“They were fucking wrong, Izuku. Kami, if I ever see any of your teachers or that brat again.” She mimed strangling something before she growled out a huff, the glow starting to fade as she regained some composure. “They were so stupid to not take notice of you beyond your Quirk status. And to rise that little shit up because of it. There are plenty of villains with flashy Quirks and that kid got damn near close to going down that way.”

“Nah, Kacchan would never be a villain, Yui-nee...don’t look at me like that. I grew up with him. I might never know what I did to make Kacchan...do the things he did, but I know he’d never be a villain. He’s too damn pig-headed to do anything but what he set his mind to.” He pulled a knee up, leaning his cheek against his arm as he looked to her.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t go blaming yourself for whatever screw loose he has in his head... so, your mom never knew? Why didn’t you go to her?” Yui-nee's voice cracked a bit before she tried to hide it with a cough.

“I...believe it or not, I was scared. I know, I just told you how nice she was, how loving... but I was scared that she’d feel the same way that the teacher’s did. That...if she knew how much trouble I was that she’d see that maybe she should have just given me up like Hisashi did. She should have gone with him and left me... I was too scared to tell her about it and risk losing her. So I put on a brave face. I learned how to patch myself up and get rid of the evidence so she wouldn’t know. I’d still go to Auntie’s and hang around Kacchan, though I tried to keep my distance. I didn’t want to burden her...you know?”

Yui-nee's eyes were dark as she gave a small nod, “I...I get that Izu...” her fingers dug into the fabric of her jeans before she smoothed them out.

“But, thinking back on it now. I was letting my fear blind me. My mom loved me, and even when I didn’t tell her, I think she knew... when I was having a bad day, she’d make katsudon. Or she’d make my favorite cookies or we’d be having ice cream parties before bed... or we’d be going up to the roof of the apartment and she’d be showing me constellations. Or building blanket forts. ...I think she was waiting for me to come to her. And then...” His breathing hitched, pressure building in his throat as his eyes burned as some tears slipped past his hold. “And then it was too late... I couldn’t tell her anything because some drunkard decided to drive home...and hit my mom in a crosswalk...” More tears slid free as he tried to breathe in normally, only for it to hitch and shake. When arms wrapped around him, he was quick to lean into the warmth, his own arms winding around her for his hands to latch into her hoodie, his face buried against her shoulder.

“I got you, Izu.” A soft yet firm voice in his ear, a warm hand at his back that circled between his shoulder blades, the other one gently carding through his curls... it was enough to forget about what this talk had started out as. The bittersweet memories of his mom made his throat tight and the spot in his heart that felt so hollow and aching with her absence constrict in his chest but it felt good to finally let it out. To finally share memories of her with someone.

He wasn’t sure when the tears eventually stopped, when he pulled back to hastily scrub at his face as he sniffled at an attempt to clear his nose. Izuku gave a shaky but sincere smile at the worry in those teal eyes, her hand leaving his head with a gentle ruffle of his curls. “I...” He bit back the apology that tried to leave, clearing his throat as his voice warbled. “Thank you, Yui-nee....for listening to me. I...I really appreciate it.”

She smiled softly, and Izuku could see how soft her gaze was, no walls, nothing standing between them. “Anytime, Izu. You can come to me with anything, you know?”

He bumped his head against her shoulder, fingers tugging gently at her sleeve. “I know, nee-chan...the same goes for you too. I want to be here for you...”

Izuku almost cursed when she stiffened, he was close enough to hear the intake of breath, as quiet as she could be. Was it too much? He'd tried to be subtle but maybe he wasn’t subtle enough, especially with how Nedzu was teaching her how to read people, oh Kami, how could he forget about that? He should have-

“Hey Izu...um, I know that you’ve been worried about me...that Aizawa and Yamada have been too...” Yui-nee's voice trailed off, uncertain and almost whispering but he could hear every syllable as clear as possible. He pulled back so that he could look up at her, turning so she knew he had her undivided attention. She was picking at the remnants of black nail polish that was chipped on her nails, her eyes down at the task as she gnawed at her bottom lip. “I...I think I might need some hel-”

“What are you two doing up here?”

Izuku jumped, his eyes widening at Aizawa’s voice that had his head snapping back to look at the hero, his outfit singed from some villain encounter but he looked otherwise unharmed. When he turned back to Yui-nee, he had to bite his tongue from actually swearing at their dad’s arrival. Her jaw was clenched and her fists were clenched, eyes that had been so unguarded were once again jaded...

“I’m sorry, dad. I was having some trouble sleeping and came up to get some fresh air. I woke Izu up and he sat out here with me. It’s my fault we’re up here.” His eyes widened at how easily the lie fell from her lips as she got to her feet, easily pulling him to his own before she was brushing off her clothes. “We’ll get back to bed.” And she was easily jumping to the tree and back into her room before Eraser could respond.

Izuku couldn’t help the frustrated growl that grumbled its way past his lips, a hand fisting in his hair before he turned to the hero. “Are you okay? You look like you had it rough.”

Eraser was still looking at the last spot the teen had been before he turned to Izuku. “I... I’m fine... I interrupted something, didn’t I?”

He shook his head, before he stopped and gave a hesitant nod. “N-nnngh. Yeah.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before he smile sadly at the insomniac. He couldn’t really bring himself to lie to him. “But, it’s okay. I’m sure she’ll come to me, or us, when she’s ready...we just gotta be, ugh. Patient.”