[ OPEN? CLOSED? ] as you die, you will understand.

[passio]

WHO: dextera + others! i’m open to anyone but please tell me by PM or at pavaal if they haven’t had at least like, one conversation.

WHAT: dextera forces himself to face all the people he bailed on after dying.

WHERE: the town!

WHEN: forward dated to late june, and probably the 1st and 2nd of july.

WARNINGS: death death death

[ for the first time, dextera wakes up from death to a sky that isn’t red. it’s all as grey as the world around him, and slowly, the memories return to him—the bogeyman, his brother, the feeling of his very soul being taken from his body. then, there’s a long expanse of nothing. now, his consciousness has returned.

he keeps out of the way at first in this sketchy body, staying private, staying safe with a friend he’s sure won’t tell—there are things he’s not ready to talk about, and faces he’s not ready to see. after a few days have passed, though, and his features reform, color returns, and his voice continues to stay just out of reach, he can finally be seen around town again.

he saw the post. he knows guren announced his death. he’s just hoping that no one will ask about it, if they see him. ]

...

[ as ever, he's silent. ]


( i'll be posting closed prompts in the comments for people who want them, otherwise... go HOG WILD. )

Comments

[inheritance]

[The confirmation is all he needs. The hesitation evaporates immediately, and a bright, warm smile appears on his face.]

Dextera-san! [That's the only warning he gets before Izuku gives a choked, little sound and rushes forward, throwing his arms around him.] Welcome back.

[passio]

Iz—

[ dextera is caught off guard enough by the hug that izuku’s name starts to slip out, but he doesn’t have enough power in his voice to say the whole thing. instead, it ends on a breath, and he puts his arms awkwardly around izuku in return.

he’s… happy? he’s not mad at dextera, for dying? ]

[inheritance]

[It takes a second for Izuku to realize what just happened. There's a tiny gasp, and then Izuku pulls away just enough to look at Dextera in surprise.]

Did you just... say my name? [Or almost say it?]

[passio]

[ dextera looks back at him in surprise, and his lips are parted like he really did just get caught saying something. unfortunately, now that he’s thinking about it, nothing else is going to come out, but… ]

…

[ he doesn’t know what to say. there’s a long pause, and he decides to simply nod. ]

[inheritance]

[It's okay, Dex! When he doesn't say anything else, Izuku simply smiles at him and goes back in for the hug again. Izuku might not know why Dextera stays silent most of the time, but he'd almost said Izuku's name, and that makes him happy enough.]

It's really good to see you again. After Ichinose-sensei told us what happened... I didn't think I'd have another chance to.

[passio]

[ dextera isn’t silent by choice—a lot of what he does isn’t by choice. his personality is a construct of traumas upon traumas, made all the more complicated by the fact he can’t remember most of his life.

still, when izuku smiles at him like that, it feels… all right. he feels peaceful, at least for a moment. ]

…

[ he exhales, dipping his head so that he’s resting against izuku’s wild mess of hair. he’s glad. ]

[inheritance]

[Staying close like this, hugging, is what finally makes it all sink in. Dextera's here again. He's real and solid in his arms, and that means this definitely isn't an illusion or some trick from the town. (Please don't let it be.)

And, well, Izuku's always been quick to cry. The heavy feelings they'd all carried around since the announcement catching up to him, and the sudden spike of emotions at seeing his friend again--it all adds up, bringing the tears to his eyes until they spill down his cheeks.]

[passio]

Ah—?

[ dextera doesn’t realize it immediately, but it’s not long before he can feel izuku crying against him. the way his breathing shifts, the sudden feeling like humidity against his chest… it’s familiar to him, and in true dextera fashion, he assumes it’s his fault.

so he tries to pull back from the hug, so he can see izuku’s face?! ]

[inheritance]

[There's no resistance on Izuku's end when Dextera pulls away, though Izuku takes the opportunity to scrub hastily at his eyes. He gives a watery laugh.]

S-sorry, you just got back and now I'm crying all over you. If sensei were here in the room with us, he'd probably call me a crybaby again.

[passio]

[ dextera shakes his head. they’ve cried together before, and he doesn’t want izuku to think that he’s being judged for it.

after all, he died. anyone would be upset about that, wouldn’t they? it just feels strange that izuku is upset about him—he hasn’t earned it. ]

Not a crybaby. Normal.

[inheritance]

[Izuku smiles at that, before concern begins to creep back in.]

How... are you feeling? Everything normal so far?

[Since Dextera had apparently shown up in the middle of the night, Izuku figures he must have just come back a few hours ago. For him, only his text color had gone missing after he was eaten by his shadow, but Dextera had been gone for much longer.]

[passio]

[ izuku would be wrong, because dextera had a lot of feelings and went to ryo before ever even thinking of informing guren about his return… but izuku doesn’t need to know about dextera’s interpersonal drama. ]

Color.

[ but then, looking at his own hands… he seems normal. ]

It’s back.

[inheritance]

It's...back? [For a second, Izuku looks confused. Did he perhaps misunderstand the signs? Unless...]

Did the bogeyman steal color from you, too? Like the shadows from beforedid?

[passio]

[ dextera shakes his head. it wasn’t the bogeyman that stole his color, he thinks—someone would have told him, but of course there was no way that he could have seen himself at his moment of death. only his crystal remained, anyway. ]

…not him. Death.

[ death itself took his color away, and much more than that as well. ]

[inheritance]

Death... you lost your color when you died?

[The answer doesn't clear up his confusion at all, but Izuku just lightly touches Dextera's hands with his, encouraging. He'd hold Dextera's hands if he didn't need them to speak in the first place.]

[passio]

[ the hug felt like he was offering izuku comfort, but having izuku touch his hands like that… it gets at him, and he swallows, blinking back tears of his own. death shouldn’t bother him. it doesn’t. so why does it hurt to think about? ]

…

[ he shakes his head, but it’s too much to try to say with his hands. ]

Explain later.

[inheritance]

Okay. [Expression gentling, Izuku drops it without a protest. The circumstances might not be the exact same, but he knows how hard it is to talk about something like this--he'd refused to do the same after the shadows attacked the town.] Dextera-san, any time you want to talk... you can always stop by my place or just... message me.

[Whichever just happens to be more comfortable for him. Izuku takes in a deep breath and then puts on his brightest smile. If Dextera doesn't want to talk about it now, though, if he needs a distraction, then Izuku's happy to give it to him.]

Are you hungry? I was going to make myself for myself anyway--and we can leave some for sensei to eat later.

[passio]

[ dextera doesn’t know how to talk. he wants to. he doesn’t want to carry this burden in his heart forever, when he was so close to dying for good, leaving this place, without finishing anything that he’d started. ]

…

[ he takes a deep breath, rubbing his fingers across his eyes even if no tears have completely formed. he nods. ]

Catch me up.

[inheritance]

[Izuku beams at him in response, puttering around the kitchen as he checks what supplies they have and then cleaning and chopping up some vegetables and potatoes.

As he works he rambles on about some things.]

Nothing really happened while you were um... gone? But seeing you here again is a good thing! That means that Egbert-kun and Strider-kun will be back, too!

Oh... [Izuku pauses in the middle of stripping the corn kernels from the cob.] What kind of food do you like, Dextera-san? I never actually asked...