Tsuyu loves her friends.
They are wonderful and kind.
They never giggle at her like she’s missing something terribly funny when she asks “weird” questions and they know she isn’t trying to be mean when she says something blunt or abrupt.
She loves eating lunch with them and spending time together.
She knows that they haven’t exactly had nice lives. Neither of them have said so directly but Tsuyu is an observant girl.
She knows that she’s never gotten terribly excited because one of her parents bought her ice cream last week “and no one’s ever done that before Tsu-chan!”
She also knows that most kids don’t nod along to stories like that and mildly comment about their own surprise when their parents gave them dessert when they were ten.
It doesn’t really matter to her, at least when it comes to being friends. She won’t push for curiosity's sake. That might hurt them and Tsuyu never wants to do that.
It does matter to her in that little corner of her heart that’s always wanted to be a hero. The part of her that has always been angry at the cruelty of the world, that there are kids who make fun of her for how she talks and that there are people who would hurt her best friends for the unimportant little things that make them different.
Her friends are kind and gentle and they try so very hard.
She doesn't know much about either of their pasts but she does know they deserve every kindness the world has denied them.
She’s always wanted to help people, to keep them safe and protected when bad things happen.
She can’t protect her friends from their memories.
Luckily, Tsuyu has never been a person to stay trapped by what could have been.
She can’t protect them from what’s already happened but she can make their future a little brighter.
So, when her mom asks if she wants to bring any of her friends with them when they take Samidare ice skating, she says of course.
Tsuyu is excited!
Neither of her friends have ever been ice skating before!
She’s never enjoyed winter very much, it’s too cold and dry for her tastes but she’s happy to share some of the activities with them. Even winter can’t be all that bad when she has friends to share it with.
Tsuyu decides to take it upon herself to pick them up.
They both live within walking distance and she wants to get out of the house while everyone else gets ready.
She visits Toshi-chan first.
His house sits not too far from her building, they probably have a very nice garden in the summer. She can see the fence they use to keep animals out standing lonely and strong in the snow.
She rings the doorbell and ducks her face back in her scarf, it’s cold.
There’s a scrambling from inside, and a miserable yowling sound.
“No! You can’t go out there. We talked about this, it’s cold and you hate being cold, you’re just going to run out there and start crying.”
Another pitiful yowl and the door opens a crack, Toshi-chan smiles crookedly at her through the gap.
“Just give me a second, I have to find my boots.”
“I thought they were in the closet?” A voice comes from deeper in the little house. “Goodness, ‘Toshi, is she here? Let her in a minute.”
“But-”
“I’ll handle the cat, you focus.”
Tsuyu bows very politely when the door opens again, revealing a very tall woman with green marks under her eyes. She’s holding a very disgruntled cat under her arm.
“Hi! You must be ‘Toshi’s friend! Asui, right? It’s nice to meet you!”
“It’s nice to meet you too.”
They’re interrupted by Toshi-chan plopping down on the step and tugging on his boots. He throws on a jacket, hat and scarf without checking to see if they match, they don’t. Tsuyu just smiles at him.
“Ready?”
“Yeah, bye Mom, I’ll see you later!”
“Have fun!”
The snow crunches under their boots on the way to Izu-chan’s apartment, Tsuyu likes the way it sounds.
It isn’t a terribly long way, especially since they don’t have to side track to the school but Tsuyu is very glad it isn’t any colder.
Toshi-chan knocks on the door when they get to the right number.
A very blond man opens it, he has a lot of hair. That must be Yamada-san.
Tsuyu bows very politely again and Toshi-chan gives his own, much smaller bow. It’s fine, Tsuyu thinks he worked through most of his defensiveness with Aizawa-san.
Yamada-san makes a very high pitched noise and mumbles something Tsuyu can’t quite make out, she thinks the word ‘cute’ might have been involved.
Izu-chan pokes his head around the corner and beams at them.
He has a wonderful smile.
“Tsu-chan! Toshi-chan!”
“Hello Izu-chan.”
Yamada-san is saying something again, Tsuyu is certain the word ‘adorable’ was involved that time. She huffs a little, ‘adorable’ is for kids like Samidare and Satsuki.
They wait in the hall for him, Yamada-san trying his best to make conversation with Toshi-chan. Tsuyu doesn’t snicker, because she is a polite child and Yamada-san seems very nice. She wants to, because adults should really know better than to try talking to him before they’ve gone through Toshi-chan’s vigorous testing.
Luckily for Yamada-san, Izu-chan doesn’t take long and they’re off again in no time, stomping on ice and crunching through patches of snow together.
Izuku loves his friends.
They are amazing and they care about him!
They’ve never pitied him or complained about him being lesser. When he told Tsu-chan he was quirkless, she just blinked and said "thanks for telling me, Izu-chan." He never had to tell Hitoshi but Hitoshi’s clever comments have never, ever been about how surprising it is that he’s capable or how interesting it is to know someone quirkless.
Izuku knows they care about him and he’s never been someone to discount something so precious.
He trusts them more than almost anyone. Which is why he agreed to go skating.
He’s never gone before, no one's ever taught him how. Which means he’s definitely going to fall and maybe going to fall a lot.
Izuku isn’t afraid.
It’s a very cool thing not to be afraid!
He knows they won’t make fun of him for falling. They might laugh a little if it’s a particularly funny fall but he knows they’ll help him up and watch him try again.
Izuku is excited!
He’s learning something new and spending time with his friends!
He listens to Tsu-chan’s tips and tricks while he ties on his skates and then reties them because they’re not tight enough.
She’s so very helpful even though he’s pretty sure she doesn’t remember learning very well.
Hitoshi looks dubious and pokes at the blade of his skate a few times.
Tsu-chan goes first, stepping out onto the ice and slowly gliding towards the center. Her brother and mom are already on the ice, off to the side and giving them plenty of space to hang out without them.
Hitoshi tries poking a foot out carefully and immediately starts clinging to the short wall surrounding the rink.
“Nope, do not like that.”
Tsu-chan tilts her head a little.
“It usually works better if you keep both feet on the ground to start ‘Toshi-chan.”
“How am I supposed to do that!? They keep moving!”
She shrugs a little.
“I don’t know, you just do. Don’t move so much.”
Hitoshi looks mullish but stops some of his panicked scrambling and stabilizes himself on the wall enough to stand.
Izuku gives them both a nervous smile as they turn to him.
He uses the wall for stability and doesn’t have much trouble getting on the ice.
Being on the ice is a little more difficult.
“Tsu-chan? Why-why am I m-moving?” Izuku does not want to be moving, moving is an endeavor for the Izuku of at least several minutes in the future.
“Because the momentum of stepping on the ice is pushing you forward.”
That’s not very helpful Tsu-chan! It doesn’t help him stop!
“How d-do I st-stop!?”
She hums, “I don’t know if stopping is a good idea.”
“Why not!?”
“You have to trust to stop.”
What does that mean!?
Izuku flails and Tsu-chan comes over to try to help steady him, it doesn’t really work but it’s very good anti-falling motivation. Izuku won’t fall, not with his friend holding his hand and risking falling herself.
She guides him very slowly back to Hitoshi who has mastered the art of pulling himself along the outside wall while Izuku was gone.
“I guess I should have explained stopping.”
Izuku nods, it is, in his opinion, one of the most important things he needs to learn.
“You stop like this.”
She shifts her feet so her toes are facing each other at an angle and her heels are facing out.
Izuku can do that… probably.
He takes a very deep breath and straightens up, Tsu-chan and Hitoshi both perk up a little to watch. Izuku pushes off from the wall and tries very hard not to flail, flailing would make it worse he's sure. He’s uncertain and very shaky but he doesn’t fall! He tries his best to make his skates work like Tsu-chan told him but finds that it only makes him more unsteady.
As it turns out remembering not to panic is a lot harder when you’re actively losing your balance. His skates slide right out from under him and he falls back on his butt with an oof before he can finish trying to catch himself.
Tsu-chan skates over and helps pull him up with a concerned look on her face.
“Are you alright Izu-chan?”
He gives her a shaky, uncertain smile.
“I think so, um, th-think you could sh-show me how to stop again?”
She smiles, happy to see he’s fine. “Sure! Let’s go back over to ‘Toshi-chan.”
She helps him over and Izuku watches very carefully.
He tries again, his knees are wrong and he falls again but he's making progress.
Hitoshi tries joining in on the third attempt and neither of them manages to stop but Izuku knows that his weight distribution is probably part of the problem now.
He slowly glides across the ice, muttering to himself about how it works and why it works. When he comes back to himself and glances over at his friends Tsu-chan is instructing Hitoshi on how to move forward, apparently he's decided going forward without falling is an important step. Izuku turns unsteadily and starts towards them.
Tsu-chan doesn't move away and neither does Hitoshi, although he kind of looks like he'd like too.
"Try stopping again Izu-chan!"
Izuku tries his best to remember all the tips she tried explaining and all his observations. He closes his eyes and braces for an impact that doesn't come.
He blinks his eyes open and gasps.
"I stopped!"
"Great job Izu-chan." Tsu-chan congratulates him warmly.
Hitoshi goes for a high five.
It jerks him forward unexpectedly and his careful balance comes undone all at once. He tries to grab something to steady himself but the only things around are Izuku and Tsu-chan.
Izuku sits up and groans a little, it doesn't really hurt all that much right now but he's sure it will in the morning. Hitoshi makes an annoyed sound from his side that Izuku knows will end in him mastering the art of ice skating by the end of the day if it's the last thing he does.
Izuku giggles a little bit, blowing out a big breath of air.
They lie there on the ice for a minute until Samidare stumbles over and asks if they're okay.
They're fine.
Izuku smiles helplessly up at the sky. He doesn't regret coming for a moment.
Hitoshi loves his friends.
They are honest and encouraging.
They laugh at his sarcastic comments and giggle at his wordplay. He’d long since started giving up on the dream of having people who would laugh with him instead of at him. He has them now, he never wants to give them up.
They’re his people and he’s going to do his best to protect them.
He’d be having much better luck with shoes.
Hitoshi tries to stand again, clutching at his newest friend, the wall.
He makes it and Tsuyu smiles proudly. He ducks his head back into his scarf, he’ll never admit it but it’s nice.
Izuku shouts with triumph and they both turn to see him successfully stop for the third time in a row.
“Nice!” He shouts and Izuku beams.
Now, Hitoshi can’t let himself be left behind.
He takes a deep breath.
It’s uncomfortable and unsteady but he wants to be a hero. Heroes don’t back down, even when their legs feel shaky and they’re half certain they’ve forgotten how balance works.
He pushes off the wall.
It’s slow and he carefully moves like Tsuyu’s been demonstrating.
He doesn’t realize how far he’s made it until he hears Izuku’s shout of encouragement.
He doesn’t let it shake him and keeps going.
He’s almost to Tsuyu when he finally looks around. She skates over the final few feet and bows playfully.
“Welcome, Hitoshi, to the middle.”
Hitoshi doesn’t dare bow back, there’s no way that’ll end well.
“Thank you, Lady Tsuyu.” He plays along as best he can.
Izuku giggles, arms out and only slightly unsteady, as he makes his way over.
“You made it!” He exclaims.
“Yeah.” It’s hard to feel embarrassed at how long it’s taken him to figure out when they’re just so… happy for him.
Stopping is, well, Hitoshi is certain it’s going to be a journey all of it’s own but… that’s alright.
His friends are here and they want to help and honestly Hitoshi wants to learn.
He glances over at Tsuyu’s mom and brother only to find them carefully making their way back from the warming house.
“Hey, want to take a break?” He points to the small building.
“Are you sure?” Izuku asks but now that Hitoshi’s closer to her he can see that Tsuyu’s getting tired. He doesn’t know if it’s the cold but it’s not a bad guess.
“I’m sure.”
“Alright.”
He doesn’t miss the way Tsuyu sighs with soft relief when they close the door behind them and start to relax in the heated space.
Izuku almost trips on the way over to the benches but soon enough they’re slumped together in a corner. A pile of puffy jackets and limbs.
Hitoshi smiles slightly, content to be surrounded by friends.
They just stay like that for a bit, quiet and happy.
It’s Tsuyu who breaks the silence by extracting herself from their pile and stiffly making her way over to where her mom left her bag. She rummages for a moment and Hitoshi straightens up.
“We brought some hot drinks, if you want.” She holds up a thermos in each hand.
Hitoshi would love something hot right about now.
They separate just a little, sitting in a row with their cups. Hitoshi’s fingers are starting to thaw out from the warmth seeping through and he closes his eyes for a moment.
Izuku chatters on about his theories for better balance and Hitoshi makes sure to pay attention, even though he’s only half sure about his points. Tsuyu smiles from his side and sips at her tea slowly.
By the time they’ve all finished their drinks Hitoshi is ready. He’s going to learn how to stop without falling and Izuku is going to figure out how to go faster and Tsuyu is going to try gliding on one leg.
He opens the door and tugs his scarf higher and wobbles a little getting back on the ice but he doesn’t fall and neither do his friends.
He’s probably going to wake up sore and stiff tomorrow but Tsuyu’s eyes are bright with joy and Izuku’s hands are gesturing the way they only do when he feels truly safe and Hitoshi can't bring himself to care at all if his muscles hurt in the morning.
He might fall a dozen more times today but he knows, in his heart, that the only thing he’ll really remember is the sight of his friends happy and content.