Rejected Stones

The Last Days of Childhood

This document beta'd by kylekatarn77

19: Last Days of Childhood

I've never been the kind of man who laughs in the face of danger, much preferring to snigger behind its back and make vulgar hand gestures while it isn't looking.

-Commissar Ciaphas Cain, Hero of the Imperium

To Izuku's surprise, for the first time in his life his exam results placed him at the top of his class. His scores in the traditional academic areas had been good, enough to place him near the top of the class, but his stellar practical exam results had so far outstripped everyone else's but Mei's. What did surprise him was to learn that his exam score actually averaged higher than Mei's. Her scores in Science and Math were near perfect, but her scores in language arts, history, and of course English were only decent. That resulted in Mei being ranked 3rd in the class, behind the ever smug Koja.

"I can't believe I was ranked first in the class!" Izuku repeated for about the dozenth time as they walked to the train station.

"Yep. I knew you could," Mei agreed. "So believe it."

"I just... I have a hard time believing I'm actually good at something," Izuku admitted. "I always thought, well, that everyone was better than me."

"Well, you won the sports festival," Mei pointed out.

"Yeah, but only because you helped me," Izuku said, blushing slightly.

Mei shrugged. "Well, of course I did. But you still did it. You help me too, but I don't think I can't do something. If I thought about all the reasons I couldn't do something I'd never make another super cute baby again!"

"That's what I love the most about you, Mei," Izuku sighed. "You're always so confident. In yourself, and in me."

"Thanks! I love how you listen and give me hugs," Mei said happily.

Izuku suddenly stopped, feeling himself go slightly numb. He'd actually said it. After a moment, Mei stopped too, turning around and frowning. "Izuku, we have to get home so we can finish working on the list of supplies we need for summer camp! Mr. Aizawa said we have to give it to him by Monday!"

"You...you said you love me," Izuku said, blushing and looking down. "And... I said I love you."

Mei came right up to Izuku, looking into his eyes with a concerned expression. "Do you?"

"Yes...I...I think I do love you, Mei. Because...because you believed in me, and because you're pretty and-"

"Good!" Mei turned around and started walking again. "Then let's get that list finished. I think we'll need extra tungsten so we can make some reinforced gear, and-"

Izuku walked on, for a moment, feeling dejected that Mei hadn't said she loved him back again. But then, he thought about it a little more. Mei rarely, if ever, talked much about her feelings or the feelings of others. That, Izuku had come to learn, was just sort of who she was. There were a lot of other ways that Mei told Izuku she loved him though. Her constant desire to be close to him, and share physical affection. Her willingness to share her dreams with him, and the fact that she always believed in his dreams. Maybe, he'd just have to live with-

"Oh, and Izuku, I love you too. Hari told me I should say that back to you when you say it to me because it's important to people. But you knew that already, right?"

A smile crept over Izuku's face. "Yeah, I guess I did. But it's good to hear it too. Oh, and don't forget, we're going to need more propellent for the rockets, and materials to make new ones. I want to try out different formulations for the capture foam as well. It really tastes bad and if we rescue someone we don't want them gagging."