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Rody leaned back in the driver’s seat of the rusty old truck he’d ‘borrowed’, gazing out the window at the sky outside. He’d guess it was around midnight by now. The sky was blanketed in darkness, and the moon was at its highest. The stars shone brightly, twinkling and flashing like they were trying to tell him something in a language he didn’t understand.
He had been staring for what felt like centuries. Maybe it’d only been minutes, maybe it had been hours. He didn’t know. He was too lost in his head to count the minutes that went by. The seat behind him was rough and uncomfortable, forcing his back straight. Sleeping in the truck was an awful experience, but they had been unable to find any sort of shelter. There were no caves or abandoned buildings around, so Izuku and Rody had mutually decided that one night in the truck wouldn’t be too bad.
The only thing that changed when they slept somewhere more comfortable was the physical pain the next morning. It never changed the emotional turmoil that Rody felt every night. The bags beneath his eyes were getting worse, but Izuku seemed kind enough not to comment on it. That, or he just hadn’t noticed.
Rody wanted so much to be back in his trailer, asleep in his bed again with his siblings snoring beside him. It’d been almost a week since he had left his two younger siblings completely unaccompanied. In his words: “I doubt today’s gig is gonna take that long anyway.” Oh, how wrong he had been. The gig turned from a simple pick-up and drop-off, into a high-stakes mission to flee the country with a wanted serial killer.
Though he’d learned pretty quickly that Izuku Midoriya was, without a doubt, not a serial killer. He was far too sweet and far too earnest for his own good. After all, he’d taken an arrow to the chest for Rody, even after he’d betrayed him, stolen the case, and tried to run off. He still felt guilty about that. They weren’t even able to get Izuku the proper care he’d needed, seeing as he was wanted and on the run. The younger boy had to put up with Rody’s shotty first-aid skills that he had picked up from caring for his siblings. Izuku was lucky the wound wasn’t deep, and that none of the shards from his shattered phone had gotten stuck in it.
The two had been having fun over the past five days on their little trip. Rody had pointed out all of the beautiful views, and pulled over every time just so that the other could admire them. They watched beautiful sunsets over flower fields, sunrises over rivers that flowed through forests, and cliffs that expanded for what seemed like eternity. They’d made jokes and poked fun at one another, and when Izuku fell over while crossing a river and soaked his clothes, Rody couldn’t stop laughing for almost ten minutes. Izuku looked so stupid, the little fishing hat melted onto his face, sticking to his forehead and covering his eyes. Rody had been fond of these moments, but he couldn’t help but think back to his siblings. Especially now, in the silence of the night with nothing to distract him from his racing thoughts.
Roro and Lala were young. Roro was only 10, and sweet Lala had only turned 7 a couple of months ago. Both were left without a caregiver for over 108 hours. Rody had been counting every hour that he spent away from his siblings. He couldn’t bear it. What if something happened to them? What if they had run out of food? Had Rody brought enough food to last them the week? What if the police had gotten them? What if one of them got injured, and the other didn’t know what to do? What if there was an earthquake and the trailer collapsed? What if a sinkhole had swallowed them up?
What if..?
What if..?
What if..?
It was as though a neverending stream of worries had filled his mind, and he was drowning in it, sinking to the bottom, unable to swim to the surface.
He’d called StanleyK when he and Izuku had first gone on the run, but the grump of a man had refused to check up on Roro and Lala, which had left Rody with nobody else to ask for help.
Rody didn’t dare tell Izuku about how worried he was. The hero had enough on his plate. It’s not like he could do anything about it, anyways. His phone, their only means of communication with anyone, was destroyed because of Rody's recklessness. It made his gut ache with guilt. He was the reason that Izuku was injured. He was the reason that the phone had been destroyed. His bad decisions were the reason that his siblings were now all alone, and he and this hero were now on the run.
“Roro. Lala. It’s about time for me to head off to work. You know what to do.” He had said whilst fixing his shirt collar in the mirror
“We’ll study bunches!” The two exclaimed, wide smiles had adorned their faces.
“And if it turns out I’m not gonna be home ‘till late?” Rody questioned.
“We’ll make dinner for ourselves!” They announced proudly.
“Mm… ‘kay, but what if a weirdo shows up and tries to stalk ya, huh?” He teased, raising his arms up and looming over his little siblings. They giggled, rushing through the trailer and jumping up onto the green sofa.
“We’ll pretend nobody’s home!”
Rody thought back to the last conversation he’d had with the two of them. He knew that they were capable. They’d proven themselves time and time again, when Rody had been occupied later than he’d meant to be. But he’d never left them alone for so long before. The longest he’d left them unaccompanied had been overnight, and he’d returned the very next morning, drowning them with apologies and praise for taking care of themselves.
But it’d been so long this time. What if they were starting to think he’d abandoned them, too? Just like their father. He had made a promise to never leave them, to never abandon them, and he could only hope that his siblings wouldn’t think he’d taken back his promise.
He felt as though he might vomit at the thought. His stomach churning and rolling with every new ‘what if’ that popped into his head. Perhaps he shouldn’t have talked Izuku into buying native Otheonian food; the spice was starting to creep back up his throat like a thousand tiny spiders.
Beside him, in the passenger seat, Izuku shifted. Rody spared a glance in his direction, noticing that the hero was waking. He looked uncomfortable, a noticeable grimace on his face. Rody understood the back pain that the hero must be experiencing. Sleeping in the truck was like sleeping upright on stiff yoga mats.
The older boy knew that if he’d seen him awake, he would want to talk. Izuku was very good at telling when someone was upset. With or without Pino. Rody really didn’t want to talk right now. So, he shifted more onto his side and closed his eyes, feigning sleep.
“Rody.” Izuku called quietly. He wasn’t given a response, and at that, he sighed. “I know you’re awake.”
Unbeknownst to Rody, Pino, who was sitting atop his head, wide-eyes brimming with tears, was staring directly at the hero. Pino always gave everything away. With a reluctant grumble, Rody peeked an eye open, side-eyeing the now very awake boy. When Izuku didn’t even glance away, Rody shifted and turned to face Izuku. “Something up?” He asked, non-chalance riddling his voice.
“Not with me.” Izuku stated, gaze flicking from Rody to the pink bird nestled in brown hair. Rody eventually got the hint and sighed, lifting hands to his head and scooping Pino into them.
“Damnit, Pino. For once, it would be nice if you would just… not.” He scowled, tucking Pino onto his leg, hiding her with his jacket. Izuku let himself giggle momentarily, but his expression quickly shifted back to worry.
“She had tears in her eyes.” He noted. “Are you alright?”
There was a momentary pause as Rody considered his next words.
“Yeah, I’m fine. She probably had dust in her eyes or something.” He shrugged, glancing down at his jacket, where small, sad chirps and trills could be heard.
“Rody.” The hero sighed, voice low. He clearly didn’t believe Rody, who was now regretting telling the other the truth about his quirk and Pino. He should have kept his mouth shut.
“Go back to sleep, hero. Busy day of travel tomorrow.” Rody stated simply, reaching out his hands to run them over the steering wheel. “Almost to the border!”
Almost to the border. He was about to be in a completely different country to Roro and Lala. Who knows when he would be able to come back? Who knows when he would see his siblings again? Maybe he would die over there. Maybe he would die before they even got to the border.
The nervous trills from Pino got louder, and suddenly Izuku was so close that Rody could feel his breath on his cheek. He jumped, squishing himself closer to the door. He hadn’t expected that. Had this been how Izuku felt when Rody leaned over him to look at the locket? It was certainly jarring.
“Come on, Rody, just tell me what's wrong.” Izuku practically whined, the heels of his palms pressing against the edge of his seat, forcing him to lean even more into Rody’s space.
The brown-haired boy considered it for a moment. His gaze flicked to his feet, inspecting his shoes as though they had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world. Sure, he and Izuku had been relatively vulnerable on their first night, expressing their dreams and a few worries and insecurities. He’d even told him about the incident with his father. They had grown closer over the past five days, and Rody might even consider Izuku a friend. But he was supposed to be nonchalant and apathetic. He wasn’t worried. He wasn’t scared. He wasn’t upset. Pino may beg to differ, but that was how he felt. That was how he should feel.
But when he raised his head to brush off the other boy's concerns, his eyes met sparkling ones. It was like staring into a neverending pit of green that was sucking him in. It was both disturbing and alluring. He suddenly felt as though he couldn’t just brush it off anymore. Izuku was too persistent for that, and he’d already seen Pino.
“Fine, fine, whatever.” Rody grumbled, expecting Izuku to back off and sit back down in his own seat. But it seemed the hero only leaned closer. “What are you doing? Sit back down, hero.” He scoffed, pushing his palm against Izuku’s forehead to push him backwards.
Izuku chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry, sorry.” He lifted his legs onto the seat, crossing them beneath him and resting his hands on the lower leg. “Go on.” He urged.
Rody hesitated, the weight of the locket around his neck was suddenly overwhelming. He brought his hands up to grip it, lifting some of the weight from his neck. “I miss Roro and Lala.” He admitted reluctantly, as though it was a deep dark scandal that an older brother may miss his younger siblings. “I’m worried about them.” He finished.
There was a beat of silence between the two, and Rody felt that he wanted to curl up into a hole and die. Well, not die. Then he would never see his siblings again. Maybe just wallow in mortification. He’d already said once that he didn’t want to be pitied, and yet he could practically feel pity radiating from the boy beside him.
“Oh, Rody. That’s understandable.” Izuku stated, a smile so sweet appearing on his face. Rody thought that he might be sick because of the sight of it. It was sickening how sincere he was. “It’s been a while. Do you think anyone will check up on them?” He asked, wanting to dig deeper into Rody’s feelings and get the older boy to open up to him. After all, this was all part of being a hero.
“No.” Rody said definitely. StanleyK had denied, and Rody didn’t have any friends or family, or even acquaintances. His siblings were entirely alone. “I asked my boss before.” He admitted. “That was the call I made the first day. He said no.” He’d managed to tear his gaze away from Izuku’s, and was now staring out the front windshield at the trees around them. They’d parked on the side of a country road, using the trees to hide them away.
Izuku’s smile faded into a frown at that. Who on earth would say no to checking in on unaccompanied children?! Before he could open his mouth and voice another question, Rody spoke.
“They know how to take care of themselves. Relatively. They can cook the basics, like canned food. We’ve gone over safety about a million times, and that if they ever feel unsafe, they should act as if nobody is home. Roro has probably taken over for me, looking after his little sister.” He explained, words tumbling out of his mouth. “I know it's unfair on him. He shouldn’t have been left to take care of his little sister. I should be there right now, taking care of them. But I’m not.” He huffed. There was irony in what Rody had said; stating that it had been unfair for Rody to leave the young boy to care for Lala all by himself, when it was exactly what his own father had done to him.
Izuku waited, wanting to see if Rody would continue any more. But when the silence carried on for too long and Rody seemed to get antsy, he spoke up. “It’s not your fault, you know.” He tried, but that just seemed to irritate the other.
“But it is!” He yelled, suddenly incredibly tense. He took a breath, twiddling his thumbs in his lap. “If I hadn’t made such stupid choices, I wouldn’t be here. I could have tried to find a different job, or just handed the case over to you, or just stayed home that day. “ Rody thought back to all of the things he could have done differently. How he could have been a better brother, a better caregiver, and a better person. “I could be at home right now, taking care of them, making sure that they’re okay, kissing away their tears when they cry over a papercut. I could be at home with them, and I’m not. I’m here. Fleeing the country. I won’t even be in the same country as them soon.” He prattled, hands shaking as he gripped at them, tugging at his knuckles as though it would relieve some of the pressure and guilt building inside of him.
“What if they’re injured? What if I didn’t buy enough food for the week, and they’re slowly starving? What if the police got them? What if they–” His rambling was cut short as Izuku interrupted him.
“Rody!” Izuku exclaimed, reaching out a hand to gently place it on the other's shoulder. “I’m sure Roro and Lala are perfectly safe and well.” He said. “I would bet my provisional license on it.“ There was a pause. Izuku was hoping that would get Rody to smile, but the other boy only shrunk in on himself even more. His legs were brought up to his chest, and he wrapped his arms around them. Pino let out a little squeak, having been jostled in her spot by Rody’s movement. She fluttered upwards, tucking herself into Rody’s neck. Her eyes were full of tears, and the saddest little chirps filled the silence.
“What if they think I abandoned them, Deku?” As much as Rody didn’t want to admit it, his voice was shaking. He didn’t want his siblings to believe that he had abandoned them in the same way that their father did. “What if they think I left, just like our dad?” He remembered the pure hatred and rage he’d felt when his father abandoned him. It was like red-hot fire had been running through his veins. But that had settled into a cold, unsettling helplessness along with the scary realisation that he now had to take care of Roro and Lala. He couldn’t let his rage be the reason that they were left alone and uncared for. He didn’t want his siblings to feel abandoned again, and he didn’t want Roro to feel responsible for his little sister.
Izuku recalls the story that Rody had told them on their first night together, after he’d been shot by that arrow. Rody’s father had just up and left them, disappearing out of nowhere to join the Humarise group. It was an awful story. Izuku couldn’t imagine how terrible it must have felt. To have your father disappear, to have society shun you, and then have the weight of your two siblings’ lives on your shoulders.
“Oh, Rody.” Izuku hummed, opening his arms as an offer for a hug. Rody stared for a moment, unsure. Pino had already flown over, nestling into Izuku’s hair with a sad little peep. Eventually, the temptation grew to be overbearing, and he shuffled over the gap between the seats and into Izuku’s arms. He hid his face against Izuku’s shoulder, the position a little odd and cramped. Izuku’s back was pressed against the door, and Rody’s legs were on either side of his own.
“I doubt your siblings think that. They know you’ll be home soon. You’re doing your best to take care of them.” The green-haired boy whispered, hands settling around Rody easily. One of them carefully ran up and down his back, trailing along his spine. Rody shuddered, arms wrapping around Izuku and squeezing so tight that the Izuku thought that he might shatter. He didn’t mind, though.
“I can’t contact them. I can’t tell them I’m alright, I can’t tell them when I’ll be back. I don’t know if they’re okay. I miss them, Izu.” He sobbed. He hadn’t even known when he’d started crying, but tears were slowly making their way down his face, dropping off his chin and wetting Izuku’s shirt. He didn’t notice the nickname he’d given Izuku, but the other didn’t comment on it.
“I know, I know.” Izuku mumbled. He wasn’t the best at comforting others. Especially in this situation. He didn’t have siblings. The closest he felt to this was missing his mother, but she was a grown woman. “I’m sure they’re okay. They can take care of themselves. You’ll be home to them any day now, and everything will be alright. We’ll figure out what’s in the case, why they’re after it, we’ll get everything sorted out and then we will get you home. I promise.”
Rody huffed at the promise, breath ghosting Izuku’s shoulder. “I promised them I wouldn’t abandon them.” He muttered. Pino chirped, nuzzling further into Izuku’s hair as though it were a nest. Her wings were tucked over her face, as though she was trying to hide the way tears were falling from her wide eyes.
“And you didn’t.” Izuku affirmed, squeezing Rody tightly. One of his hands lifted from the older boy's back, moving into his hair. The boy still had it tied up, Izuku rarely saw him with it down. His hand gently carved through the strands, twisting and brushing. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes as Rody’s cries died down. The tears on his cheeks dried, and he swallowed down the lump in his throat. He realized how tightly he was gripping the other, and loosened his death-grip.
“I still don’t want your pity.” Rody croaked out. That earned him a laugh from the other boy. He lifted his head from the others’ shoulder and found himself laughing too. Izuku’s laugh was infectious.
Before, he’d been wide awake with worry. Now, though, he felt as tired as could be. His eyelids were weighed down by sleep, and he could barely keep them open. The only warning that Izuku got before Rody was asleep was the dying laughter and the slow breaths. When he looked down, Rody was sound asleep. Rody’s head was resting against his shoulder, and his hands were loosely gripping his shirt.
The green-haired boy hummed, brushing his hand through Rody’s hair before carefully adjusting their position. Rody seemed too comfortable just to put him back on the other side of the truck, so instead, he shifted them to fit better on the single seat. Rody was tucked against the back of the seat, head still resting on Izuku, one leg tucked up and one stretched out over the gap between the seats.
Meanwhile Izuku was laying just beside him near the edge of the seat, an arm tucked behind Rody. Pino had fluttered down from Izuku's head, and was now snuggled into his shirt on the opposite side of Rody. It wasn’t the most comfortable way to sleep, and it was quite cramped, but Izuku wouldn’t change it for anything. Rody had given up his indifferent attitude for a moment, and allowed Izuku a chance to see him being vulnerable.
That was worth any discomfort he would feel in the morning.