#reference from chapter 21

The redhead let the video play without audio for a minute as Izuku bit his lip, subtly trying to adjust without letting the skateboard slip out from underneath him. Again. At least his elbows weren't scraped up too badly.

He could balance on the edges of high-rise buildings and pull graceful maneuvers on his rocket skates, but he can't stand still on a skateboard? Unfair. Perhaps he was too used to moving his body forward and not sideways?

"Try moving your left foot closer to the end," Touya advised after careful consideration.

"Alriiiiight," Izuku slowly said as he shifted. The tiny wobbles lessened.

"Okay, good!" Touya encouraged. He'd done much better on standing and moving slowly on the skateboard than Izuku, having gone first in the attempt. They were both outside the apartment complex on the smooth concrete before the sidewalk, where they wouldn't risk bumping into anyone.

"Now, brace with your front foot and push off the ground with your back. And bring it up to the position you're in now so you coast."

Izuku poked his tongue out in concentration as he followed the other's instructions. Touya made this part effortless, for how slowly he had rolled away in the end. The green-haired boy decided not to overthink it and pushed off. The skateboard moved across the concrete, Izuku keeping his knees low for his center of balance.

"Hell yeah!" Touya cheered, just as Izuku had whooped in glee when the younger boy got it first try.

Izuku tried recalling how to stop. He put his back foot down once more, trusting his leg muscles to keep him from moving.

Except the board didn't fully stop, throwing off his balance and he ended up stumbling away from the skateboard.

"Okay, not bad. We have the movement down!" Izuku said happily. He'd need to probably focus more on starting and stopping, but it wasn't scary actually moving on the board. Touya grinned in response.

"We can do turning next?"

Izuku glanced behind him at the growing crowds of people just walking through the area, stopping at the cafe, or heading to the beach. Maybe they shouldn't have done this on a weekend.

"Maybe we can do that when we have more space to actually move."

Touya walked up to Izuku, snickering, and reached down to pick up the skateboard. "True. Knowing our luck, we'll knock over someone and cause a concussion."

"You mean get a concussion or give one?"

"Probably both."

Izuku snorted. "You have a point. Okay, do you want to keep practicing getting on and off?"

"We can," Touya said, pulling out his phone again. "But there's also something I wanna try. Do you know that really popular American skateboarder decades ago?"

Izuku shook his head.

"Tenko has one of his video games, I think, I don't think we've played it much. But this Tony Hawk dude also made a whole bunch of tutorials on how to do tricks."

Izuku leaned over to peer at Touya's phone and whistled in surprise at the sheer amount of videos. Though there were plenty of thumbnails of a guy on a skateboard in midair and just...no. Baby steps. He told Touya this with a mock-frown, earning another bout of laughter in response.

"I'm not suggesting we start using ramps or something, but look, here, there are some stationary tricks. I wanna try a kickflip. Watch, see what he does?"

And yes, okay, with the instructions and the older blonde man in the video patiently explaining everything, a kickflip seemed like something Touya could do, even as a first-timer.

"Sure, go for it!" Izuku encouraged.

Touya grinned in response and dropped the skateboard down, eager.

-.-.-.-.-

Needless to say, Touya's twisted ankle didn't take long to heal but the stung pride from his friends' and soulmate's laughter hurt worse. Izuku couldn't escape the teasing either since besides the scrapes he got catching himself when falling off the board, he'd gotten knicked by the pieces of glass from the broken window they shattered near the apartment when the skateboard went flying.

They immediately called in for repairs and avoided the ensuing commotion of witnesses.

They decided to work more on the basics, perhaps on a less busy day. But they'd be skateboard pros in no time.