3rd POV:

The bell above the café door jingled softly as it closed behind the last of the heroes.

Silence followed.

Not the peaceful kind.

No—this was the kind of silence that came after chaos, like the world itself needed a second to process what had just happened.

Izuku stood frozen behind the counter, a plate still in his hands, watching the door as if half-expecting it to burst open again.

It didn't.

A full five seconds passed.

Then—

Izuku deflated.

A long, dramatic sigh left him as his shoulders slumped forward, his head dropping until his curls hid his face.

"...Oh my god."

From one of the tables, a chair scraped loudly against the floor.

Stain leaned back, one leg thrown over the other, arms crossed as he scowled toward the door like it had personally offended him.

"They talk too much."

Izuku let out a tired huff, dragging a hand down his face.

"They're heroes, Stain. Talking is like... half their personality."

"Repeating the same questions is not talking. It is malfunction."

Izuku snorted despite himself, setting the plate down on the counter.

"Okay, yeah, that's fair."

Stain tilted his head slightly, his expression sharpening.

"'Are you safe?' 'Is this allowed?' 'Why are villains here?' 'Do you need protection?'"

His voice turned flat, mocking—eerily accurate.

"'Midoriya, blink twice if you're being threatened.'"

Izuku choked on air, grabbing the counter to steady himself as laughter bubbled out.

"I didn't even blink once, what were they expecting?!"

Stain clicked his tongue.

"They lack observational skill."

"That's rich coming from you," Izuku shot back, grinning. "You literally decided all heroes were fake because a few were bad."

"They are fake."

Izuku pointed at him.

"See? Exhibit A: dramatic overgeneralization."

Stain's eye twitched.

"They are driven by fame and greed."

"And yet," Izuku leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his hand, "they still showed up worried about me."

Stain went quiet for a moment.

Izuku watched him, a small, knowing smile tugging at his lips.

"...They were still annoying," Stain muttered eventually.

Izuku burst out laughing again.

"God, you sound like a grumpy old man."

"I am not old."

"You act old."

"I act correct."

"That's debatable."

Stain's gaze slid toward him, unimpressed.

Izuku just grinned wider, completely unbothered.

"Seriously though," he said, straightening up and stretching his arms above his head, "I thought Hawks was going to start circling the café like a paranoid bird."

"He already was."

Izuku paused.

"...Wait, really?"

"Yes."

Izuku blinked.

"...Okay, that explains the feathers."

He reached down, picking one off the counter and holding it up.

Bright red.

Very obvious.

Very... Hawks.

"...You'd think a top hero would be better at stealth," Izuku muttered.

"He is not subtle."

"No, he's not."

Izuku flicked the feather lightly, watching it drift down.

A beat passed.

Then another.

And slowly... the tension melted.

The café felt normal again.

Comfortable.

Safe.

Izuku exhaled softly, leaning back against the counter.

"...That was exhausting."

Stain hummed in agreement, though his posture hadn't changed in the slightest.

"You handled it poorly."

Izuku turned to him, offended.

"Poorly?! I handled it great!"

"You gave them cake."

"They looked like they needed it!"

"They did not."

"They absolutely did," Izuku argued. "Did you see Aizawa? He looked two seconds away from falling asleep standing up."

"He always looks like that."

"Okay, fair."

Stain's gaze sharpened slightly.

"You deflected instead of answering."

Izuku shrugged.

"That's kind of the point."

"They will return."

"I know."

"They will ask again."

Izuku smiled, pushing himself off the counter and walking over to start cleaning one of the tables.

"I know."

"And you will not answer."

Izuku glanced over his shoulder, eyes glinting with something mischievous.

"Probably not."

Stain watched him for a long moment.

"...You are strange."

Izuku beamed.

"I've been told."

A pause.

Then—

"You allow villains to sit freely."

"Uh-huh."

"You serve them food."

"Yep."

"You laugh with them."

Izuku hummed, wiping down the table.

"Sounds about right."

Stain's eyes narrowed slightly.

"And you expect heroes to accept this."

Izuku stopped for a moment, the cloth in his hand stilling.

Then he looked up.

Not tense.

Not worried.

Just... calm.

"I don't expect anything from them."

That made Stain pause.

Izuku resumed wiping the table, tone light again.

"If they accept it, cool. If they don't, also cool."

"They could shut this place down."

Izuku snorted.

"They could try."

Something in his voice made Stain's gaze sharpen again.

But before he could press—

Izuku straightened, clapping his hands together once.

"Anyway! Enough about them."

He pointed at Stain.

"You."

Stain blinked.

"...Me."

"Yes, you," Izuku said, walking back behind the counter. "You've been sitting there judging everyone like a disappointed parent."

"I am not judging."

"You literally just called them malfunctioning."

"They were."

Izuku laughed, grabbing a clean plate.

"Okay, but you didn't have to sound so personally offended about it."

"They wasted time."

"Oh no," Izuku said dramatically, placing a hand over his heart, "not time. Whatever will we do?"

Stain's eye twitched again.

"You are insufferable."

"And yet you keep coming back."

A pause.

Stain didn't respond.

Izuku smirked.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Silence settled between them again—but this time, it was easy.

Familiar.

Then—

"They asked if you were being forced."

Izuku blinked, caught slightly off guard by the sudden shift.

"...Yeah."

"They believed it was possible."

Izuku hummed softly, looking down at the plate in his hands.

"I mean... from the outside, it probably looks weird."

"You are not afraid."

It wasn't a question.

Izuku glanced up, meeting Stain's gaze.

"No."

A beat.

Then he smiled—soft, but certain.

"This is my café."

Something in his tone made the words feel heavier than they should have.

Stain studied him for a moment longer.

Then—

"...They are blind."

Izuku blinked.

"...That's your takeaway?"

"They cannot see what is in front of them."

Izuku tilted his head slightly.

"And what's that?"

Stain leaned back again, closing his eyes.

"Peace."

Izuku froze.

Just for a second.

Then he huffed out a quiet laugh, shaking his head as he turned away.

"Wow. Didn't know you had that in you."

"I do not."

"Sure, sure."

But Izuku's smile lingered.

Soft.

Genuine.

He moved back to the counter, setting the plate down and glancing around the café.

Everything was as it should be.

Chairs slightly out of place.

A few crumbs here and there.

A feather still drifting lazily near the window.

Normal.

"...They were kind of annoying though," Izuku admitted after a moment.

Stain scoffed.

"I told you."

"Like, Hawks especially," Izuku continued, leaning on the counter again. "He kept asking the same question in different ways like I wouldn't notice."

"He lacks intelligence."

"I wouldn't go that far—"

"He circled the building."

"...Okay, yeah, that was dumb."

"And the tired one—"

"Aizawa."

"—he stared too much."

"He's a teacher, that's kind of his thing."

"He looked like he would fall over."

"He probably would have if I didn't give him cake."

Stain went quiet for a second.

Then—

"...The cake was acceptable."

Izuku lit up.

"Acceptable?! That's high praise coming from you!"

"It was not overly sweet."

"I'll take it."

A small grin tugged at Izuku's lips.

Then he stretched again, letting out a content sigh.

"Man... what a day."

Stain didn't respond this time.

But he didn't leave either.