We Didn't Break Then (So Don't Falter Now)
Izuku and Aizawa survived the USJ timeloop. (They died so many times, killed and saved and failed over and over, and they'll forever be able to feel the blood on their hands-) They didn't break.
But one success doesn't stop reality from returning, and the rest of their story is piling up in front of them, demanding to be faced. And what are heroes to do but to keep fighting?
So they'll keep on moving, and they won't break now.
~
"Thank you, Shouta." It's a deliberate word choice, just like it was when they left the USJ and when they left the Midoriya apartment, as it is deliberate how Izuku reaches out, palm-up and fingers splayed, bloodstains and a single rose-gold shimmer laid bare.And Aizawa slips his own callouses and bloodstains against it, not-now rust flaking away between their warmth, and they squeeze thrice, just like in their death throes and promises and quiet grief. Like this, with this, things will be alright. Together, they'll make sure of it.
~
(The longfic following from my Climbing The Rigging And Counting Bloody Dreams (Never Quite There)!)