burns, burn treatment, exile flashback, trauma, breakdown? implied past suicidal intentions, scars, early l'manburg memories o7, izuku's trauma, and i think that's it

please do NOT see the treatment for burns shown in this chapter as like. . i'm not a medic or anything, this is just based off of shit i've , nothing more, nothing less.

ALSO: ooc midoriya alert!!! i write him more realistically, so,,,

and an ooc tommy alert as well aha

please let me know if there's any more cws i need to add!!

===

Green Hair gapes at Tommy as he says that, showing the same disbelief in his eyes. Tommy rubs his eyes twice, having just woken up at six like usual and slightly delirious from sleep. He'd heard something about limbs popping off as well as a body exploding and he sprung up. Tommy shakes his head and looks up, yet they were still there — he must've been real fucking exhausted.

In front of Tommy, the other teen's hauling a large double-sided fridge behind him with rope, All Might literally right on top of it and hugging his knees. They haven't been at it for long with how little of the shore is disturbed. Both look sheepish, though they did seem to try and make an explanation with the way their mouths keep opening and closing like a fish.

Prime, this feels like a fever dream. But this isn't a dream. And that's what makes everything all the more absurd.

"What the fuck," Tommy repeats, as if it'll give him an explanation. "Why are you two here. Especially you, All Might."

"W-well, I. Sorry, I, um," Green Hair quickly stutters. "We — more so me than anything — were t-training for U.A. This place s-seemed pretty private, which was great because of A-All Might, and it looked untouched, so w-we decided to start here. I-I mean, we can just move to a different place!" At this point, he's waving his hands around frantically. Tommy nodded before quizzically looking at the hero mentioned.

"...All Might's training you?"

The smiling man turned to him, still atop of the fridge. "That I am, young man!" He affirmed, though he did look a bit awkward, even with that smile.

Tommy stared at the hero.

All Might has power that he can use to destroy cities — to turn this world upside down. He's undefeated for the spot of number one. Tommy doesn't know what he's like besides how the media portrays him as: a hero.

Tommy looked back to Green Hair (Prime, he should get his name), who was fidgeting where he stood. He was sort of like Tommy from what he knew, now that the blond thought about it. Definitely not the same in terms of looks or personality, but. There were a few parallels, like how Green Hair had this unwavering flicker of determination in his eyes, as cliche and stupid as that was.

He glanced back. All Might is still smiling.

(Hands running through his hair, a voice humming a tune as gloved hands stitch wounds together; a white, smiling mask staring down at him, covered in soot; honey-sweet words that stick to his skin and the lies mixed within; green, green, green; an empty beach party with only two, the puppet and its puppeteer; imagining molten lava surround him in the Nether, burning his skin yet never as much as the mental wounds and the phantom pain in his scars did; the aching exhaustion and the need for it to all end weighing in his bones as he builds a tower and hangs over the edge —)

Tommy inhales. One, two, three, four.

Exhales. One, two, three, four.

"What will you do." The words are laced with venom and an underlying threat.

It's All Might's turn to be confused. "...Aren't you supposed to ask why I'm —"

"What will you do."

"Well," the hero hesitates. Tommy opens his inventory that holds Clara and prepares to fight, number one hero be damned. "I was planning to have Young Midoriya here follow a training regimen — my Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan. As he follows it, he'll also clean up all the trash on this shore. It should be enough for him to be prepared for U.A.'s exams in ten months."

Tommy relaxes just a bit, closes his inventory, and considers it for a moment.

These worlds were different. Dream is in the prison, so All Might can't be a reincarnated version or some shit. Plus, there's nothing about L'Manburg on the internet or anything that it led to. All Might is different.

With a sigh, the blond grumbles, "You can stay here. Do training an' shit, I don't really care. I'm Tommy."

At that, Green Hair brightens. "R-Really? Thank you so much!" He reels back a bit. "Oh, right! Even though A-All Might already said it, my n-name is Midoriya — Midoriya I-Izuku!"

Right. Surnames first, first names last. Manners and shit.

Nodding, Tommy points ahead of him, the right side of the shore. "Go over there on that side," he orders, almost turning around. "This side's mine."

"Thank you, Young Tommy,"* All Might exclaims, smile everlasting even as he hops off the fridge he was sitting on. "Come on, Young Midoriya."

The aforementioned protege looks at the shorter blond with a weird look, before turning around. "...R-Right!"

When they're gone, the rustling of metals and materials close behind as they move through the wreckage, Tommy falls on the ground. He covers his face with his hands and wonders why he agreed. Changes like this — change was never good.

Tommy just has to wait for how long this lasts until it's gone.

===

Ten months. Ten months of waking up and coming back from the cafe to two strangers in his home, moving shit around. Ten months of changing his schedule so that they don't find out he's a vigilante. Tommy (almost) regrets letting them stay.

The blond keeps watch of the two. He doesn't hide it, just sits on a desk and keeps track. Of All Might, specifically.

At the slightest twitch, Tommy has his inventory open. At a reaching hand, he almost snarls. At an encouraging shout, he flinches. Yet he sits there, never moving until they both leave.

On the first time he gave a tip, Midoriya asked why he stayed there. "I'm making sure he doesn't do shit to you," he responded, and that was that.

===

Nine months left.

The first time All Might is forced to deflate, Tommy can't say he was surprised. The two of them — All Might and Midoriya — are, though.

"Y-You," Midoriya stutters, holding a metal box that makes him crouch. "You aren't gonna question it?"

"I thought something was a bit wriggly with that," Tommy said, stepping off his little perch for the first time in their vicinity, "Just didn't wanna ask. Privacy, sore spots, insecurities — that shit."

He steadily walks closer, a hand under his chin as he observes the thin figure that is All Might. "Makes sense, really. A big man like you can't stay in that form for too long — takes too much energy, innit? Perfect drawback for your quirk, like a timed boost in a game or some shit."

Tommy looks at the true man in the eyes and states, "I won't tell." Who knows what would happen if the media knew about this. This world would probably crumble.

"Anyways," Tommy motions towards an area with his shoulder. "There's a few heavier tires over there. Use those instead." With the way they relax and continue on, and how All Might becomes Toshinori Yagi, Tommy knows they're grateful.

===

Eight months left.

"Hey, Big T?"

The man turns to Tommy as he coaches Midoriya, who's running with three tires to the truck at the entrance. The pounding of the other teen's feet is practically white noise by now, though the ex-soldier still startles a bit every once in a while. "Yes, Young Tommy?" The hero asks.

Tommy brings Clara out of his inventory and fiddles with her retracted form, not missing the way the man's eyes widen in surprise. "I know how to fight," he explains, "without a quirk. Midoriya shouldn't — can't become someone like you, or others who relies on their quirks to fight too much, not to be offensive and shit. What if he were to come across someone who could erase quirks? All of this training would be useless — it gives him muscle, but not experience. If he were with me, his progress would become pretty poggers."

Toshinori's brightened considerably when Tommy looks up, not fazed by the call-out. That dampens a little when he frowns, something sharp in his eyes for a second before it switches back. "It's fine, it's fine," the hero hums, taking out his American Dream Plan and scribbling something down with a random pencil. "That's a perfect idea! Thank you, Young Tommy!"

"Not young," he grumbles, "I'm a Big Man."

Midoriya comes back soon after, Toshinori pulling him over. Tommy watches the boy gradually gleam with awe, determination and happiness, staring at the blond teen. He can't help but think of himself as Techno and laugh, a bittersweet pain.

===

The next day, they begin in one of the larger areas Midoriya has cleaned, the sand covered with slightly grimy blue mats. The protege has a staff of his own: a thin metal pole All Might bent back into shape, said man standing a few feet away. The green-haired teen had only whispered "pogchamp" as it was bent, which made Tommy spit out the coffee he'd brung.

"Alright," Tommy begins, clapping his hands together. Since he's holding Clara it's a bit awkward, but he manages. "First things first: familiarity. Before you can even begin to fight with it, you gotta know your weapon. Know its capabilities, what it can't do, what it can; as well as its strengths, weaknesses, weight capacity, et cetera. You also gotta have a good understanding of yourself, too; what you're able to do without a quirk, what you can now do with your weapon, and extend it bit by bit from there."

"So what you're going to do," Tommy pauses, sharing a feral, animalistic grin with the student, "is race against me."

Tommy spins and digs Clara's edge into a nook on a heap of junk, pulling himself up even as his mind screams at him to come back down to safety. He swings, using his hands to grab smoother edges and outlying planks as jump boosts. The dull edges of his nails easily dig into small grooves, allowing him to scale easier. He avoids the hanging ledges and weaker points with ease.

Breathless, the blond latches onto the top, crawling over it before looking down. Tommy's always been good at climbing cobblestone even before SMP Earth, so climbing Takoda's mountains are a breeze. The height terrifies him, but he pushes it aside. "Fuck you, trauma!" He crows, triumphantly looking to the skies.

He cackles at the shocked looks on Midoriya and Toshinori's faces as he looks down. "What the fuck are you waiting for, Big M? C'mon, try it out!"

"Or," Tommy smirks, his head on his hand propped up by his elbow, "are you not ready for it, bitchboy?"

That brings a determined look to Midoriya's face. He pushes his pole into a gap before slowly climbing up, Tommy hyping him up little by little all the while. The green-haired teen flinches when something shifts, or when another object groans, but Tommy doesn't let him focus on that. He shouts over the sounds, tells him to keep climbing, and rejoices when he does. Hell, it even works a bit too well — the freckled teen forgets about it to the point where he has a smile and is enjoying himself.

At the top, when Midoriya gets there with shaking legs, Tommy cheers, "Pog! You did it! Honestly I didn't think you would since you've never done this before, but good for you, Big M!"

Midoriya doesn't respond, still looking down. "Hey," Tommy consoles, hands shaking, "If you don't want to do this, that's okay. Sorry. We can find another way or something, like actual close-combat, alright?"

No response except for quicker breaths. Shit, shit, shit, look what he's done. "None of this quick shit. Sorry, sorry; I just thought that because you looked more agile and more accustomed to running than fighting like me, that climbing like this would be at least a good strength — I probably shouldn't have fucking suggested that in the first place, sorry — and I'm sorry for assuming that, I really am, please don't leave me — "

"Tommy," Midoriya breathes, "Tommy, that was great!"

"I know, I'm sor — what?"

"I-I mean," the other stutters, "I'm sorry for, uh, worrying you like that! I really am! It's just, c-climbing like that felt really good! Like, I got this adrenaline rush, but a good one! And it was all so new and fast and I was j-just processing it for a bit!"

Tommy stills. "...Really? You aren't mad at me?"

Midoriya sputters, hands flailing wildly, "N-No, of course not! Why would I be? I-I'd probably have to do this in U.A. like you said, and I'm thankful y-you can help me out now instead of me being forced to do it way later on! So thank you!"

Time seems to pause. The blond looks at Midoriya, searching for something. Deception? Betrayal? Manipulation? Lies?

...There were none. Nothing he could tell on Midoriya's body language or face or in his eyes. He was. Being honest. More honest than any other member in the current (can he even call it current when it would've been altered by now? Tommy shivers when thinking about what could've changed) state of the Dream SMP besides Puffy at her therapy office.

And Prime, does that make Tommy's eyes water.

He forces them to dry and allows himself to sniffle once. An honest smile grows on his face. "You're welcome, Big M."

===

Six months left.

Midoriya gets better at climbing and using his terrain to his advantage as time passes. In between those, Tommy helps him haul some junk away, claiming that he needed to get more muscle too. Technically, it isn't wrong. Even with the vigilante work and his expanding patrol area, it really only helps his legs since potential villains are now too frightened of him appearing, enough to lower crime rates in his area.

"H-How do you," Midoriya inhales between his words, pausing every few moments to wheeze. He has a fridge on his back, strapped to his currently-hunched body. "How do you... h-handle this?"

Tommy, with another fridge on his back, grins. He stands and feels bigger than ever. "I'm just the biggest man in the world, that's how! You'll never be on my level, bitchboy," he teases.

Midoriya scrunches his eyes, a mischief in there that makes Tommy prepare for something. What he doesn't expect is when the freckled teen "accidentally" bumps into Tommy, sending him tumbling to the sandy ground. The blond squeaks when the fridge forces him to turn, now unable to get up because he's strapped on top of the fridge face up. "WHAT THE FUCK — "

Midoriya chortles, a breathy, high-pitched thing. He bends over even more — how is that even possible — when Tommy flails, arms and legs flinging around wildly. "MIDORIYA! TOSHINORI! HELP ME!" The blond teen shrieks, twisting and turning, rocking the fridge around like a shaky boat. Cackling, Midoriya kneels on the ground, "You — oh my god you — you're like a t-toddler!"

"I'M NOT A TODDLER — "

"Aw, what's the baby trying t— " A giggle, "to say? I-Is this baby's first words?"

Tommy sputters. "LISTEN HERE, DICKHEAD, IM NOT A BABY — "

Toshinori watches with a soft smile and lets them have a break.

===

Four months left.

Midoriya comes to Takoda with new burns, sometimes.

He covers them up with long-sleeved shirts and even longer pants. With white bandaging under the fabrics and large smiles. With sweat and the drive to keep working until he dropped.

Tommy doesn't let him train on those days when he scratches his arms too much and has a dull look in his eyes. He tells Toshinori that Midoriya needs a break every once in a while, and he believes it. Tommy was sure he would after they found out the freckled teen was overworking himself.

After the hero leaves because he trusts Tommy to train his protege, the ex-soldier ushers Midoriya over to a specific part of the dump. There, he brings out gauze, clean bandages, water bottles, a fresh cloth and some burn salve while sifting through other things. Midoriya looks surprised at the arsenal of medical supplies, but doesn't hesitate to sit down on a leaning chair and hold out his arms when Tommy tells him to do so.

It's silent as the blond unwraps the wounds as carefully as he can, tossing them aside. Then, with delicacy so unlike him, the blond picks up a cool water bottle and the cloth, submerging the latter in the water. After that, he starts softly pushing it over the wounds. Midoriya doesn't react, tracing the starburst scars with his eyes and an emotion Tommy can't read.

It's like that for thirteen minutes or so, a quiet atmosphere that Tommy despises yet accepts. The only things that disturb it are the small breaths and the treatment. He decides to break it.

"Will you tell me who did it?" The blue-eyed blond asks, almost a whisper. He elevates the burns as he starts bringing some burn cream with aloe vera in it out, lightly smearing the paste on the burned area. Second degree burns were a bitch.

Midoriya looks up. "No," he murmurs, just as soft. Tommy hums. "That's fine." He already has a suspect.

"How do you know how to treat burns?"

"...I have my own."

And that's that.

He starts wrapping his arms up, leaving space so that the burns aren't agitated further by the pressure. "Those should be waterproof," the blond states, grabbing another bottle as well as some petroleum jelly to give to the other. He stands and starts resorting the burn salves, bandages and everything else he'd brought out. "If they come loose, come to me — I'll always be here. Easier than going to your mom 'n' shit. 'Cause of the bandages, you'll be doing light exercises. Don't look at me like that, dickhead."

Midoriya stands up around the time Tommy does, waiting at the entrance of his mini-clinic. Raising an eyebrow as he finishes, the blond looks back. "What're you waiting for?" He inquires.

"Can I hug you?"

And wow, okay, Tommy wasn't expecting that. Midoriya didn't mean to blurt that from the way he quickly turns red, stammering out, "W-W-Wait, I didn't mean to say that! Uh, p-please pretend I didn't say that at all!" Ending with nervous chuckles, the freckled teen starts to run out. **

"A hug is fine!" Tommy quickly looks down when the other teen whips his head towards him. He tugs the collar of his t-shirt, "A hug is fine. You don't have to because I'm a Big Man who rarely needs hugs, but it's okay."

Suddenly, Tommy finds himself on the ground with his arms filled with one Midoriya Izuku, who's squeezing his torso like no tomorrow. He flinches hard, the other no doubt feeling it because he relaxes his grip. Regardless, the blond teen hears a sniffle that isn't from him.

"Thank you," Midoriya mumbles, "for caring."

Oh, Prime.

Reluctantly, Tommy encompasses him with his arms in return, the touch like a pleasant, tingling fire under his skin. He melts. "No problem, Midoriya."

"...You can use Izuku."

"Alright then, Izuku."

After a moment, Tommy lets go, Midori — Izuku moving away from his embrace. There's still a few tears streaming down his face and he can hear a tiny sniffle, but Izuku's smiling, so it's fine. "Sorry," he says, "and thank you. I-... I needed that."

Tommy grins; it's genuine.

Prime, he's really attached now, huh? He ponders this as they both leave, planning to just walk on the shore for now.

Well, might as well go all in since he's already too deep.

===