Chapter Text
Izuku closes his umbrella as he walks into his favorite coffee shop, deciding to grab some before his ISS rotation shift tomorrow. The barista, Jess, is a pretty girl with blue dyed hair, some piercings and such, more alternative than anything. It’s still a bit of a culture shock to see how the people dress so freely in America—and so unbelievably refreshing.
“Hi Jess!” Izuku smiles, placing his umbrella by the door, the designated spot for the wet umbrellas on a rainy Tuesday morning like this one. Izuku walks up to the counter and glances over the Menu, before down at the pastries they have on display. “Hi, Izuku! Nice seeing you again,” Jess waves, not looking up from where she was writing on the coffee cup—already making Izuku’s drink. “Ugh, don’t know what to get, everything looks so good…” Izuku mumbles, staring down at the pastries as Jess laughs softly.
“Yeah… Same drink?” She asks as she moves over to grab the ingredients to make Izuku’s smoothie. “Yup! Extra strawberries—” “And whipped cream?” Jess cuts him off, and Izuku nods and laughs softly. “Yeah.” He says as his eyes flicker back down to the pastries, chewing on his lower lip.
“Any drama?” Jess asks, scooping fresh strawberries into the blender as she puts sugar and whole milk into the blender as well, putting the lid on and turning it on. She walked back over to Izuku, who shrugged. “Kind of? Heard they hired some new scientist to work with me for this mission I know nothing about. People don’t tell me shit, unfortunately.” Izuku says, looking up at Jess. Jess just nods and chuckles dryly. “Yup,” She says, popping the ‘P’. “Happens everywhere, people don’t really care about what you do and don’t know.” She continues, and Izuku nods with a heavy sigh.
“I feel like I’m inclined to know!” He groans, slamming his fist down gently. “I’m an astronaut, not a barista. No offense!” Izuku quickly defends himself, and her, wanting her to know he still respected her line of work—even if making smoothies, coffees, and pastries was a little less important than working on the ISS. “None taken, You’re good. Want anything?” Jess asks, tilting her head as she gestures to the pastries.
Izuku hesitates, before nodding. “I’ll get a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. As well as a vanilla cake pop.” He smiles, fumbling for his wallet and pulling out his card. “Yum. Good choice.” Jess taps her forehead, making Izuku laugh. He watches her walk over to the blender and stop it, putting his drink into a plastic cup with a massive dollop of whipped cream on top. She cups his drink and puts a straw in it, beginning to get his order together. Jess walks back over to the register and rings up all of Izuku’s items, and Izuku taps his card, before putting it back in his wallet. “So, any new flings or romantic interests?” She asks as she hands Izuku his drink and food items.
Izuku laughs and shakes his head, putting his wallet away and taking his drink, continuing to stand at the counter even after he was serviced. “No. Hopefully not, I do not need a fling, or a romantic interest.” He groans at the thought of having to care for someone else and dedicate himself to them, when he can barely remember to do his own laundry sometimes. Jess shakes her head, “I know a guy or two who would love a dork like you,” She teases, and Izuku’s cheeks flush slightly. “Oh, shut up! I don’t want any guy that is friends with you.” Izuku smirks, and Jess scoffs. “Get out of my coffee shop.” She says playfully, and Izuku pushes off of the counter.
“Yeah, yeah.” Izuku rolls his eyes and grabs his food and drinks, thanking her nonverbally with a small bow before walking towards the door and grabbing his umbrella. “Thanks!” He calls out as he opens the door, the bell above the door ringing to indicate someone going in and out—the sound of rain beginning to become more prominent as he opens the door. Jess nods. “See you next time!” He hears her say as he walks out into the sidewalk, closing the door with his foot.
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“Izuku, you are cleared for your spacewalk.”
The intercom crackles through Izuku’s helmet as he tilts his head slightly, checking all of the things he needs to check to make sure he doesn’t… well, die.
Izuku sighs and flicks his visor down, making sure it is secure and fastened so no oxygen escapes or anything horrendous like that. He then looked down at his utility belt, making sure he had all the tools necessary to fix the cooling unit, which just needed regular maintenance. It wasn’t unheard of that the ISS was unnecessarily fragile for billions of dollars worth of machinery and such. “Izuku? Come in?”
“Oh! I’m so sorry, control. I copy!” Izuku smiles, wriggling his fingers in the sleek gloves as he checks everything one last time, just because he needs to be safe. “As always, we will be right here to guide you through anything you need. Shoto will be helping you out as well. When you’re ready.” Yagi replies, an older voice that everyone just refers to as ‘Professor’ or ‘Mr. Yagi’. Very sweet man, and a very wise mentor.
Izuku steps out into the hatch and closes the doors behind him, making sure they are sealed shut before he grabs the tether lock and attaches it to his belt securely, and then grabs the second one and does the same. Izuku then opens the airlock, gripping onto the bar on the wall next to him, watching as the doors slowly open to reveal the empty vastness of space.
Most people believe that when you’re in space, you’ll see this amazing dazzling array of stars and our solar system, but that’s not… entirely true. While you would be lucky to spot Venus, Mars, or Jupiter, they would be super faint like little dots in your peripheral—and only if it’s a night-time spacewalk. Most spacewalks are done during the day, since the sun is so goddamn bright, you can’t see any of the stars or planets nearby. And even if the planets were closer or the stars far away were brighter, doesn’t mean it would look like the gorgeous Nebulas NASA releases ever so often.
“You alright, Izuku?” Yagi’s voice crackles through Izuku’s thoughts, making him nod enthusiastically. “Yup! Apologies, I got caught up in my thoughts.” Izuku says cheerfully, and he hears a soft chuckle on the other line. “We all heard.”
Izuku lets out a soft whine. “Oh my god, was I mumbling again? I’m so sorry, Professor.” Izuku whines, placing a gloved hand on the side of his helmet, slowly moving down the handrail as he ‘steps’ off of the fixed platform. He forgot how numb his legs feel when they’re finally taken the pressure off of them, and a soft groan of relief involuntarily slips Izuku’s mouth. “Do you need the Candarm, or are you alright for now?” Yagi asks again, and Izuku shakes his head—the best he can with a helmet on. “Nope! I’m dandy.”
Izuku shimmies over to the Cooling unit—which is detached from the station—and finally lets go of the handrails, planting his feet firmly on the footholds as he looks down at his utility belt. “Okay. What first?” Izuku smiles as he tries to avoid the pit in his stomach from being out in space—billions and billions of acres of empty space beyond him. “Grab the tape and firstly secure the parts of the unit that have detached. Ochako and Momo will be using the Candarm to repair this on their shift next week, so this is temporary.” Yagi says, making Izuku feel a bit better.
Izuku grabs the space-regulated metallic tape and peels it, measuring how long the unit was so he could make the tape a bit longer on both sides. Izuku then tears the tape and presses down on the soft, flappy, unit gently to not damage the internal wiring, securing it to the side of the ISS. He then sighs, peeling another long piece of tape and securing the other two sides. This takes him around 4 minutes, since he’s precise with every single movement like this is life or death.
“Congratulations! Your 10th spacewalk has been completed.” Yagi’s smile is prominent through his voice and Izuku pumps his arm the best he can. “Do I get a cookie?” Izuku asks as he detaches from the footholds, securing the tape to his utility belt with his hand that isn’t pushing on the side of the ISS. Once Izuku is out of the grips, he begins to move with the help of the bars he used to get there. He looked over to the earth and saw that they were passing over North America, seeing the prominent shape of the USA. He waved, his other hand gripping the side of the station.
“Can you see me?” Izuku asks, and he hears a small chuckle from Yagi on the other line, and then he switches the control to turn everyone’s mics on. “Hi, Izuku.” The control room says in unison, and Izuku chuckles as he puts his arm down. “I wish we could see the stars out here, it’s really a shame.” Izuku sighs as he gestures for Shoto to open the de-pressurized air lock, slowly moving inside. “I agree.” Yagi approved. Izuku steps back onto the fixed platform, hearing the doors shut tightly behind him as he waits for the airlock to re-pressurize.
Once he feels the micro-gravity slowly dissipate, Izuku takes off his helmet and shakes his hair which was sticking to his head. He opens the doors and begins to slowly take off his space suit as he turns off the comms in his helmet. “Duct tape really works everywhere, huh?” Shoto jokes, sitting in a small space for them to work and conduct research. Izuku laughs, peeling off his suit and placing all of its parts in their respective spots, before he walks over to Shoto and fixes his shirt, sitting down in the swivel chair next to them. “Guess so. Any progress on ZBLAN’s growth?” Izuku asks, peeking at the computer.
“Uh… Kind of? Still taking forever. But we’ll have some made when we leave here,” Shoto says, gesturing to the computer as Izuku furrows his eyebrows and stares at all the coding and science and chemical compounds. “Need any help with math?” Izuku asks as he sits back in the chair. “Nope.” Shoto shakes his head.
“I miss my bed.” Izuku sighs, and Shoto laughs. “I really miss tex-mex. Is that what it’s called?” Shoto asks, looking over at Izuku. He nods and stretches. “Ugh, so good. I can’t wait for winter again,” Izuku groans softly, tilting his head back. “Everyone here says ‘Y’all.’ That’s… a word, apparently.” Shoto seems stunted on that, and Izuku laughs and pats his back. “Yeaah.”
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Izuku is sitting at the desk still, hours after Shoto had left for his own quarters to get some rest. His cheek is propped against his closed fist, staring out the window at Earth. He can see the rolling clouds that look like they’re purposefully placed to make the earth look ethereal. The massive blue oceans followed by different shades of green.
It’s been 13 years since he was in Japan.
Since he saw Katsuki.
Izuku wonders what he looks like now. Maybe he has some new scars from doing reckless teenage shit, or maybe his skin has healed and was just as pristine and pale as he remembered it. Izuku wonders if his blond hair was now dark and brunette like his father's, or if it was still as blindingly blond. Or maybe if his crimson eyes had faded, or maybe even darkened. Maybe he was still the same as the day Izuku left at 15—5 '8, still arrogant, and an asshole.
He can barely remember basic things about him now. He used to know every single fact about Katsuki, but he can only remember the things that are truly engraved into his brain. Izuku wonders if Katsuki grew his hair out, or if he finally found a girlfriend after literally running away from girls his entire life.
Izuku chews on his lower lip, staring at Earth from an unreachable distance. It looked so small from here, really. It looked like he could pick it up and hold it with both of his hands, look at all the people on earth and twirl the clouds. Sometimes he feels like a god up here, so far away from Earth. Sometimes he wonders if there is any god at all.
Izuku sighs, putting his arms on the table, resting his face on his forearm as he grabs a pen and twirls it between his fingers, closing his eyes. He misses the one and only boy who ever truly understood him, he misses—
“Midoriya?” Shoto’s groggy voice comes from the sleeping quarters, and Izuku perks up and places the pen down. “Yeah?” He replies, seeing Shoto come out from the dark part of the ISS, rubbing his eyes as he holds onto one of the walls for support, sleep weakening him. “Are you coming to bed anytime soon? The light is bothering me.” He whines softly, and Izuku’s heart clenches at the pout on Shoto’s face. “Yes! Sorry. I’m coming.”
Izuku gets up and sighs, taking one last glance at Earth before walking over to Shoto and placing a hand on their lower back, gently guiding them back into the quarters as he shuts off the lights in the main cabin. “It’s okay.” Shoto mumbles as Izuku basically tucks him back into bed. “Sleep well!” He smiles, and Shoto nods. “You too.”
Izuku walks away and to his own bed, laying down and pulling the blankets up to his chin as he settles into the cold and cozy bed, sleep finally overtaking him.
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Izuku is sitting at a coffee shop with his friends in front of him, a warm cup of coffee cradled between his freezing fingers. He’s currently zoning out as he stared at the black coffee, sleep hard to come by nowadays. His friends are talking without him, about something that doesn’t involve him much anyway.
“Izuku?” Ochako whispers, gently placing a hand over his as she stares at him. Izuku jolts and blinks quickly, looking over at Ochako and tilting his head innocently. “...What?” He asked, and Ochako sighed. Shoto was glaring at Izuku, but not in the rude way—just in the way he always does. Poor oblivious Shoto. “You weren’t listening, were you, Midoriya?” Shoto sighs, looking down at his crepe that was half-eaten. “No, I’m sorry.” Izuku frowned, his eyes flicking between his friends.
“It’s okay! We were just talking about the new crew for this super secret mission Professor keeps talking about with that old short guy,” Ochako shrugs and pulls her hand away from Izuku’s, grabbing her own coffee cup and sipping it. She licks the foam off of her lips as she sets it back down. “I’ve heard about that. Space Mission XI. Some sort of inspiration from Space Mission X back in 2025.” Shoto sighs.
Izuku nods and then looks back down at his coffee, grabbing the rest of the creamer in the little cup and pouring it into his now lukewarm coffee, tutting softly once. “I heard we’re getting new crew. Most of them are from Japan, as well.” Izuku glances up at Ochako and Shoto. “It seems NASA is more interested in our people these days. Almost a third of all astronauts we work with are Japanese.” Shoto says matter-of-factly, grabbing his phone and beginning to use it like some sort of old man.
Ochako nods excitedly. “I wonder if there will be any cute scientists we will get to work with,” She swoons, placing her cheek on her hand as she giggles and kicks her feet under the table. Izuku snickers. “I’m 28, I don’t need any sort of man or woman in my life just yet. Not ready to settle down.” He shrugs, and Ochako pouts as she nudges Izuku. “Oh c’mon! You’re cute, you’re telling me nobody wants to date you?” She whines, and Shoto laces his phone face-down, intrigued in this topic of conversation.
“Well, nobody yet..? I just—it’s hard for me to have a significant other if I’m constantly in space with Shoto. If anything, It’d be hard for me to have a crush on anyone at all. I haven’t really moved on from… uhm,” Izuku pauses, recollecting his thoughts, but not before they’re interrupted bye Ochako’s endless torture about his very small and dry love life. “You dated someone?!” She gasps, and Izuku shakes his head quickly. “No! I’ve never dated anyone. I’m a complete… uhm, virgin.” Izuku coughs, looking away, embarrassed to still feel like a schoolgirl at 28 ripe years of age.
“Don’t be upset about it, Midoriya. Most of us are. Our line of work is very restrictive, I understand what you mean.” Shoto nods, making Izuku gently push Ochako away by her forehead with a small smile. He’s happy to have someone as respectful as Shoto. “Uraraka, Please give him space.” Shoto says, his voice as monotone as ever. Izuku sighs when Ochako finally gives him some sort of personal space. She’s very invasive.
“Anywaay,” Izuku chuckles, drumming his fingers against the porcelain cup of coffee. “I just hope that everyone is nice. Some new faces around the office wouldn’t be so horrible. And maybe Misses Ochako here, will stop berating me about my non-existent love life and get a life of her own.” Izuku teases, flicking Ochako’s forehead smack-dab in the middle and making her whine. “Ugh.” She crossed her arms over her chest, looking away as she leant against the table.
Izuku’s eyes flickered down to his watch, immediately wincing at the time. “Oh, shit, I gotta go! Uhm, send me a check or something for the coffee.” He says in a hurry, grabbing his satchel from the floor and packing up the very few items he had out. Ochako pouts. “Where are you going in such a hurry?” She sighs, upset that her friend can’t stay just a bit longer. Shoto nods slowly, leaning forward as he tilts his head like a confused puppy. “I promised Professor Yagi that I would meet with him over at the JSC!” Izuku exclaims, throwing his bag over his shoulder and rushing out the door.
“Bye!” He calls to Ochako and Shoto. “Bye Izuku!” Ochako yells out after him, before slumping back into her seat and cocking an eyebrow. “What was that about?” She asks, staring at Shoto. Shoto, however, is still staring at the door where Izuku had just left abruptly with a small frown on his face. “Shoto! Jesus, what is up with you two today?” Ochako snaps her fingers in front of him, and Shoto immediately jolts to attention. “Sorry. What? That was weird. Uhm, I also gotta go.” He nervously says, picking at his nails. Ochako sighs. “Yeah, whatever. I got the bill.”
Shoto nods as he stands up. “I’m gonna go… ah, feed my dog.” Shoto lies so horribly, and Ochako looks absolutely dumbfounded. “You…have three cats?” Ochako drags out, and Shoto seems incredibly nervous. “I have a cat na–named dog. Yes. I do. That is factual and completely true and I am not lying.” Shoto nods quickly.
“...Sure.” Ochako hesitates, before waving her hand. “Whatever. See you next time. Go feed your cat named ‘Dog.’” Shoto nods slowly and then grabs his phone and wallet, putting them in his pockets and walking out.
“Some sort of friends y’all are.” Ochako groans as she slides a hand into her deep brown hair.
— JSC NASA Center, 12:34PM. —
Izuku rushes into Yagi’s office, panting heavily as he stands in the doorway. Yagi looks unimpressed as he looks up from his computer, his reading glasses low on his nose. He takes them off and closes them, placing the glasses frame-up on the table. “Midoriya, You’re late. By 34 minutes precisely.” He sighs, staring at Izuku as he swivels out of his chair and stands. Yagi walks over to Izuku, who is only an inch or two taller than himself, despite being almost 60. “Any excuses?” He asks, examining Izuku who looks nothing but apologetic.
“No sir. I was having coffee with friends and simply forgot. I apologize.” Izuku has to fight back a whine when Yagi’s eyes glare deep into his, and he wants to cry. “Oh who am I kidding! You’re fine. I was young once, too.” He laughs and pats Izuku on the shoulder, and the boy immediately relaxes. “I was so scared.” Izuku whimpers, and Yagi chuckles. “Walk with me. We have things to discuss.” Izuku perks up and follows Yagi out of his office.
“Yes, Professor?” He asks as he catches up to the much older man, looking over at them as Yagi shoves his hands into his pockets. “You were not born yet, but in 2025 My father conducted Space Mission X, where we tried to send 4 people to Mars. There was no set time or data if they would ever return.” Yagi pauses, inhaling slowly. “When the ship took off, it exploded on impact. Ever since, nobody across the planet has tried to send anyone to Mars. You, my boy, are our best candidate for this next big project of ours.” Yagi places a hand on the center of Izuku’s back, and Izuku feels pride swell in his chest, but an underlying feeling of confusion.
“Wait, wait. You’re going to try to send me to Mars? Who am I going with?” Izuku asks as he furrows his eyebrows, chuckling dryly. Yagi sighs. “...Nobody. This is a solo mission. It reduces the chances of deaths, but it is highly costly.” Izuku pauses, baffled. “You want me to go to Mars, by myself, when it is virtually impossible for me to ever come back?!” He yells, and Yagi immediately steps forward and shushes him loudly. “Goodness! No. Well… yes. It’s complicated. You’re going to meet all the people who will do everything in their power to help you with this mission. Scientists, Biologists, Mathematicians, and Coders. The best of the best, I mean it.”
Izuku whines, shaking his head as fear and anxiety curls tightly in his gut. “No! I will not go to a whole other planet by myself!” He steps back from Yagi, clenching his fists at his sides. Yagi sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Your future generations are counting on this. You want space exploration, here it is.” Yagi lectures him softly, and Izuku lets his head hang as he pouts angrily. “Whatever.”
“That’s… kind of like it. C’mon.” Yagi gestures for Izuku to follow him, and he reluctantly does so. He notices that the path they’re taking is directly to the briefing room, and he wants to curl up into a ball, cry, bawl, and throw a fit. Why him out of all people?
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“Here are all of the people who will help you out. Kyoka Jirou, Ashido Mina, Iida Tenya, Kaminari Denki, Neito Monoma…” Yagi looks at all of them and counts them all, before he furrows his eyebrows. “6… No, there are supposed to be 7 of you. Where is the other one?” Yagi sighs, looking over at Izuku and shaking his head in disappointment—which is directed at the group of people in front of them.
A guy with deep black hair steps forward, fixing his square glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “He went to the restroom.” The male informs Yagi, and Yagi just nods. “Well then, I guess we’ll start the briefing.” He shrugs, walking over to the mahogany table and sitting down at the head of it, sliding the files of data from the middle and opening them with a sigh.
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“The point of this mission is to expand our exploration into the observable universe. As far as we know, there is or was microbial life on Mars. This means there can be some sort of animals on the 400 other planets that could possibly habitat life as is. Izuku here is our best candidate because he—”
The door bursts open and a nicely-dressed male with his head down walks to the table and takes a seat. Izuku doesn’t even look at him. Yagi raises an eyebrow, but continues. “He has a PhD in STEM, science, technology, engineering, and math. He graduated from one of the top high schools in the world at 15, and is our most qualified astronaut that has regular training and ISS rotations.” Yagi licks his finger and turns the page.
Izuku is twiddling with his thumbs, chewing on his lower lip. He wants out of there so badly, and he just wants to go home and huddle up with some nice cozy blankets and a movie. Izuku looks up from the table and sees one of the people in particular staring—no, glaring—at him intensely. Izuku raises an eyebrow and rubs his eyes sleepily. He takes in the male’s appearance.
Dirty blonde hair, deep red eyes, scar on his cheek under his left eye. Muscular, seeming to be aggravated.
Wait.
Scar on his…
Izuku furrows his eyebrows. Katsuki does too. They both come to the same realization at the same exact time.
“Fucking— Izuku?!”
“Kacchan..?”