Aizawa and Midoriya are astronauts sent to explore space and the solar system.
They were moving along the trajectory already studied by the Voyagers, crossing planets, taking photos of them and sending it all back to Earth. They probably didn't know each other that well before the mission: how could they, when they were going on different, unrelated missions? But during the same type of crossings of the cosmic void, they did not get close. At first, Izuku awkwardly started topics, told something, giggled nervously and fell silent due to the lack of response from Aizawa. He brought something to eat, gently tried to push him to talk, but it was all in vain. It is understandable - Aizawa is a strict worker who wants to complete the mission and nothing more. That is, that's how it was. When during a gravitational slingshot around one of the planets they were suddenly thrown off their original trajectory, losing contact with the earth, they had no choice. Desperate attempts to figure out what happened, why it happened. Attempts to reestablish contact with the ground, to figure out why they were thrown off, feverish checks of the ship's suitability, all in vain. Everything was normal. But at the same time, nothing was normal.
They were steadily moving away from the solar system. They experienced thunderclouds, ice clouds, crossed the hypothetical Oort cloud. Out of despair, emptiness and horror, they began to talk. They talked about the past, about their already unrealizable dreams and careers. By this time, according to their mission, they were supposed to return home, so their supplies were mercilessly depleted. To distract themselves, they chatted, laughed until they hurt, and in a fit of hunger and stupidity, they whirled each other in a dance and kisses, just to not feel the chilling horror, the stomach-twisting hunger, not to feel the emptiness of the universe, and to forget about all the things that could destroy them.
At one point, Izuku wakes up alone. Aizawa is not nearby. Something pulls, there, where his heart is. Midoriya gets out of bed, calling for his partner, his comrade. His scream is swallowed by the soulless iron of the ship. Goosebumps run through Midoriya's body. He searches, calls. He thinks that maybe Aizawa is in the control room, maybe something happened?
The control room is gone. It has disappeared, evaporated like Aizawa. In place of the door leading there is only a new metal wall.
It was not horror that pulled Izuku in the morning, it was gravity. Gravity so terrible that it tears apart ships. Gravity so terrifying that it can be felt differently in different directions. It is the gravity of a wandering black hole.
How close was it? Did it suck Aizawa in there? What part of the ship are they on?! Is... Is Aizawa dead? Izuku does not know. Does not want to know. Afraid to know.
He cries. A lot, for a long time, until he loses consciousness. Every moment that he breathes he wants to cry. He does not know how much time has passed.
A notification from the backup ship breaks the silence. Midoriya freezes. How? From where? He approaches hesitantly, but does not look up for a long time, afraid, wondering, deciding. But when he does...
A message. With Aizawa's signature at the bottom. More importantly, the context makes it clear that the message was sent at the moment the ship was destroyed. Midoriya wants to eat himself alive, how could he not have thought to send the message himself?! Wait. At the moment the ship was destroyed. But it... it was so long ago. So, so long ago. This... Tears well up in Midoriya's eyes. All this time, he lived with the thought that Aizawa was dead, that he himself, Izuku, was a scumbag who ended up in a safer part of the ship and survived. But all this time, he was the one who would die first.
Finally, he writes a reply. Without mentioning anything about it: Aizawa doesn't need to know. Everything will be fine, at least for a little while longer.
The reply doesn't come right away. It seems like he waits even longer than last time. But for Aizawa, his answer came instantly, to Aizawa's surprise. Something inside Izuku contracts from this: gravity or a bleeding heart, he doesn't know. In correspondence, they become even closer, telling each other more deeply. Their words become more tender, their addresses sweeter. When Izuku notices the first gray hairs on his head, Aizawa is only just beginning to receive delayed answers. Asks if everything is okay. He still doesn't understand...
The black hole does not stand still. As they move towards it, it continues to tear through space further. This allows them to meet, one last time before they are torn apart into atoms. Izuku's face is streaked with wrinkles, his hair falls from his shoulders like a whitish river. His wrists are thin, the sharp angles of his bones protrude in all possible places. Aizawa's barely changed face stretches in shock. His skin turns pale. His shoulders tense. Understanding, realization, and Izuku's sad smile weighs on him.
They merge in an embrace for the very last time.
And the black hole will continue its silent, grief-soaked, blood-soaked, tragic moment-soaked wandering through the vast universe and beyond.
