Archive of Our Own ^beta

“‘Bout time you woke up.” A cheery voice said and Izuku flinched. He blinked lazily at the sunlight, seeping through the window beside his bed. At first, the green-haired teenager assumed a hospital, but taking a closer look around, it resembled more of a cabin, with lots of empty, white-sheeted beds.

The voice belonged to a boy, probably not far from his age, with spiky golden hair with a black dyed streak. He had yellow eyes and wore a bright orange t-shirt, which clashed awfully with his hair, plus shorts and sneakers. His shoes were kicked up on the edge of Izuku’s bed and he waved at him when he sat up weakly.

“Who are you?” Izuku croaked, his throat hurting as he spoke. How long had he been asleep? Or knocked out. There was a difference, he had learned.

The blond grinned. “Denki Kaminari! It’s a pleasure.” He answered happily. “How ya’ feelin’?”

“Okay? I guess.” In reality, Izuku’s head was still pounding and the sunlight was getting pretty irritating. He glared vaguely in the window and Denki laughed.

“Dad better chill out with the sun, you know?” Izuku did not know. “I’ll close that for you, sorry.”

He reached up and tugged down the blinds as Izuku heard the sound of a creaky door. He glanced over and vaguely heard the sounds of two voices, a girl and a very tired-sounding man.

“-and I told Mina that was a bad idea, but you know how the Dionysus’s are. Then she-“ The girl abruptly stopped, eyes widening at the sight of him. “Denki! You were supposed to tell us when he woke up!”

She was pretty, with short brown hair and tanned brown skin. Her eyes were chocolate colored and warm, and she wore the same orange t-shirt as Denki. There were an assortment of random rubber and beaded bracelets up and down her arms as well, as well as a necklace with four thick, painted beads.

The man was taller, with long black hair and a messy white scarf that reminded Izuku more of mummy wrappings. With the bags under his eyes, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was a mummy. He looked like he hadn’t slept in ages.

“Uh, hi.” Izuku said, blankly watching the newcomers.

The girl grinned. “Hey! I’m Ochako, daughter of Nike, nice to meet you!”

He blamed his sluggish thoughts on the headache. Izuku blinked at her, tilting his head. “The shoe company?” He asked, confused, and Ochako laughed.

“Nope. Sorry, that’s a force of habit here.”

Before she could continue, or Izuku could ask exactly where here was, the man spoke. “How much does he know, Denki?” He sounded just as tired as Izuku expected.

“Nothing. I didn’t get that far. What’d Mina do now?” He asked. Ochako waved him away in an ‘I’ll tell you later’ way and turned back to Izuku.

“Has he been claimed yet?”

“Nope, all his wounds are healed though.”

“Perfect! Mr. Aiwaza, can I give him the tour?”

“I thought Hermes’ kids were supposed to give tours.”

“Shut up, Denki. I want to do it.”

“Um...” The two teenagers and the man looked back at him and Izuku blushed. “Where am I?”

Ochako smiled and reached over him, pulling up the shade on his window and pointed. Izuku winced, but looked out anyway. He saw a glittery lake, with a full sky and lots of little buildings. There were tons of kids walking around as well, all wearing those orange shirts.

“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.” Mr. Aiwaza said in the most bland voice Izuku had ever heard.

“So, demigods?” Izuku echoed. Ochako and Denki nodded. “You’re demigods.”

“So are you.” Denki reminded and Izuku stooped to start tying his shoes. Ochako claimed she was going to give him a tour of the camp, despite whatever Mr. Aiwaza said about Hermes.

Izuku severally doubted the whole demigod thing about himself. He was plain in every single way, there was no way he was part god. “So you said you’re the daughter of Nike, what’s that mean?”

Ochako puffed her cheeks happily. “She’s the goddess of victory. Sadly, most people know more about the shoe brand than her. She’s a minor god, so she’s less known because of that. You probably know more about the twelve Olympians than her.”

“Like my dad!” Denki added. “Apollo, god of the sun and medicine and music and all that cool stuff!” He slung his arm over Izuku shoulder.

Izuku nodded. He recognized the name, although he definitely would have payed more attention when they covered Greek mythology if he knew he’d need the information later. “What about me then?”

He finished tying his shoes so Denki helped him up and led him out of the cabin. “Well, your godly parent is supposed to claim you by the time you turn thirteen, but that doesn’t always happen. Now that you’re here, they’ll claim you soon, don’t worry about it.” Denki answered. “How old are you anyway.”

“Sixteen. Seventeen in July.” They both choked. Izuku paled. “What?”

“Dude, seriously?” Denki asked with wide, sunny eyes. “Man, you’ve really flown under the radar for a while. If you’re not at Camp Half-Blood or Jupiter, you usually don’t make it until sixteen.”

“You’re probably the son of a minor god, like me. We get less attention.” Ochako waved Denki away. “Well, maybe Demeter, with that green hair.”

Izuku blushed, but the two of them laughed good naturedly. It didn’t feel at all like when the kids at school laughed at him. This all, of course, still seemed incredibly crazy and he felt like he’d wake up from a dream soon. Sure, Izuku had always been strange. He always found himself in the middle of trouble. The whole idea of gods and demigods and monsters sounded insane, but somehow right? He was still convinced there had been some mistake, however, and soon they’d realized he’s just a normal weirdo and send him home anyway.

Ochako and Denki took him around the camp, happily explaining and answering all his questions. They seemed to understand his unease, but he supposed they had to get used to all of this once too. They showed him each of the many cabins, each one decorated differently. They explained the meals and their friends and the activities they did.

“You just wait for Friday. That’s capture-the- flag day.” Ochako said with an evil grin.

Denki stuck his hands in his shorts pockets. “Yeah it’s fun, but Ochako‘s a little competition crazy. It comes with the whole Nike thing.” He said the last part quieter to Izuku, who was watching the brunette wearily.

“I’m here to win!” She exclaimed.

“Is that Ochako yelling about winning again?” Another voice called. They turned around to see two girls, both wearing the usual orange.

One of them was tanned and tall with a wild head of pink hair. The other one was shorter, probably from slouching. Her hair was long and tied at her waist in a bow. It was a dark, almost sea green, color.

“There are some of our friends.” Denki introduced as Ochako led them over. He pointed to the shorter girl. “Tsuyu, she’s half-merperson, and Mina, daughter of Dionysus.” Denki said.

“Ah! A newbie!!” Mina grinned. “You been claimed yet?”

When Izuku said no she inspected him with a finger on her chin. “I’m guessing Apollo. He’s one of yours, Denki.”

The blond scoffed. “Doubt it, Dad’s good at claiming his kids. Would’ve found him before now.”

“What do you think, Tsu?”

The shorter girl looked at him and frowned. “Demeter.” She said in a croaky voice that make Izuku think of a frog.

“That’s what I said too.” Ochako added with a smirk. Denki rolled his eyes. “Wanna bet, Mina?”

“I’m not betting you Ochako, I don’t have anything else to lose.” She whined, crossing her arms over her chest.

The four continued to chat and Izuku felt like he was intruding on their conversation. They had all been plenty friendly to him, but they weren’t his friends or anything.

He turned for something else to watch instead and noticed a group of fighters. Some were fighting together or sparring, but a few sliced up dummies on their own. One boy caught his attention more than the rest, easily.

He was fairly tall, with long hair tied in a ponytail. He was probably originally a redhead, but half of it, the right, had been bleached so it was a nearly solid white. It was strange, to say the least, but it didn’t change the fact that this was probably the most attractive boy Izuku had ever seen. He blushed at the thought, watching him attack a potato sack dummy with a glistening sword.

“You should probably stop staring before he catches you.” Izuku jolted, realizing the four half-bloods were now watching him.

“I-I didn’t mean, I, uh-“ He hugged his red face, embarrassed.

Mina snickered. “Don’t worry, lots of people stare at Shouto. He’s easily the prettiest guy I’ve ever seen. Besides the Aphrodite kids probably.”

“His name is Shouto?” They nodded, Izuku glanced back over at him. “He’s another one of your friends?”

They looked between each other before they erupted in laughter. “Yeah, right!” Denki snickered. “He’s got, maybe one friend, and that’s Momo from Athena. I didn’t even know the guy talked until like last year.”

“Shouto’s been here longer than most of us.” Ochako explained. “He’s always really quiet, from what I’ve seen. Denki’s right about Momo though. She’s probably the only person I’d call a friend of Shouto’s.”

Izuku frowned, watching him again. “But aren’t all your cabins close? Isn’t he friends with his half-siblings?”

“That’s the thing.” Mina said, propping her arm on his shoulder. Izuku blinked at her. “Shouto doesn’t have any cabinmates. It’s just him.”

“Who’s his godly parent?”

The girls gave each other a glance before Tsuyu answered. “Hades.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. Even with his limited Greek knowledge he recognized the name. The god of death. He looked back toward Shouto, now drinking from a bottle of water, facing away from them.

“He’s the only child of the Big Three too.” Ochako added. When he looked confused, she clarified.”Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Their children are even more powerful than usual half-bloods and usually more easily recognized. Some people say Shouto’s been here since he was really young, because it’s too dangerous for him to be outside of camp.”

“Huh.” Izuku hummed. He took one last glance at the duel-haired teenager, before Ochako tried distracting him again and led him away.

“The tables used to be much more strict, but now most gods don’t care where you sit, as long as you still give some of your food to your godly parent.” Tenya explained. He was a son of Hermes and therefore his helper in the Hermes cabin until he was claimed. “You can sit with us at the Hermes table of course, I’m sure Ochako would welcome you at her table as well, she only has one half-sister.” He pointed to where Ochako was chatting with another girl who didn’t look anything like her.

Izuku nodded, looked across the many tables and the teenagers and children who sat at each. Some tables were nearly overflowing, like Athena’s and Hermes’ others were nearly empty, like. Nike’s. He noticed Denki sitting beside a sunny redhead he assumed was his half-brother, and a spiky blond, who looked too angry to be a child of Apollo.

Looking further back, he saw three of the largest tables. Two were empty, and one only had one person sitting at it. Shouto.

Izuku took a deep breath and walked over to him. He stopped in front of the other teenager, now noticing a scar that ran down the left side of his face, further down his neck and underneath his orange t-shirt. His ponytail was wild, pieces of his bangs sticking up and out. He was very pale, but still incredible pretty.

“Uh, hi.” He jumped, looking up from his food at Izuku. His eyes were different colors too. The right was a stony grey and the left a sharp, almost glowing light blue. It was stunning, and a little unnerving with the glare Shouto was giving him.

“Who bribed you this time?”

“W-What?”

“Was it Katsuki?”

“No, I don’t know who Katsuki is yet.”

Shouto frowned at him, then slurped on his noodles. “What do you want then?”

“I-“ Izuku felt his face heat. “My name is Izuku Midoriya. I’m new, here, and I was wondering if I could sit here. With you.”

Shouto stared at him and Izuku was wondering if that was sign to run back to Ochako’s table yet. Finally, the teenager shrugged. “Fine, I guess.”

Izuku sighed, almost relieved and nodded, sliding onto the bench across from him. “Thanks.”

Plates and food appeared spontaneously, as Tenya had already explained to him, so he tried to not seem surprised. Shouto didn’t say anything to him, slurping his noodles. Every once in a while, Izuku would catch his multicolored eyes peek up at him, but as soon as he looked back, Shouto was staring at the table again.

When Izuku finally finished, he pushed aside his plate and folded his hands on the table. He was going to have a conversation with Shouto, a good, long, decent one, even if it killed him.

“They tell me you’ve been here for a while.” Izuku finally said. He raised his eyebrows, Izuku noticed that one had even been bleached white in addition to his hair.

“I have.” Shouto answered blandly.

He pointed to his neck, where a necklace hung with many colorful painted beads. Izuku had seen other people walking around with similar beads or necklaces, but no one had explained what they meant yet. Izuku counted nine beads on Shouto’s, far more than anyone else’s he had seen.

“The beads mean years?” Izuku asked, looked back at him.

Shouto nodded. “You get one for each summer you’re here.” He said, without further explanation. So Shouto had been here for nine summers, at least. That was a long time.

“That’s cool! Do each of them mean something different?” They were all painted differently.

“Yes.” It seemed, in addition to being a demigod of death, he was also the demigod of one word answers.

“Well, what about-“

“So you haven’t been claimed?” Shouto interrupted. Izuku blinked, but nodded.

“No, but Ochako said it should be soon!”

“Right. Well, you don’t have to keep talking to me anymore.” The green-haired teenager blinked.

“Why would I stop talking to you?”

“Because this is clearly some sort of prank. Go tell the Ares table I’ve figured it out and fuck off.” Shouto answered coldly.

Izuku paled, before he scowled, irritated. “Look, Shouto, I already said this isn’t a joke or anything.” He said seriously. “I came over here and sat next to you because I’m new and I’m nervous and I didn’t have a table to sit at and I need a few friends and you look like you need a few too. So can we actually talk and be friends, or are you going to keep doing this?” Izuku said the last part a little loud and a little frustrated and Shouto flinched, his eyes widening.

When he didn’t say anything for a minute, seemingly staring over his head, Izuku huffed. “What?!” To his surprise, there was a jolt of electricity that ran through his body. The green-haired teenager jumped.

Shouto pointed above his head and Izuku slowly tilted his head up, gasping at the lightning bolt pulsing above him. “W-What?” Izuku paled at the sight of it. This was kind of what Ochako had described when she talked about being claimed. The lightning bolt was the symbol of his father, but who did that mean. Izuku felt like he should know.

With a glance behind him, he noticed that the entire rest of the dining hall was looking at him as well. He turned frantically back towards Shouto. The paler teenager almost smirked at him. “Your table is over there.” He pointed toward one of the empty tables, where a single plate and goblet sat now.

Zeus’s table.

“Another child of the Big Three, this is crazy.” Mina mused. “And that means Ochako was wrong, too!”

“Sorry.”

She plopped a set of blankets in Izuku’s arms and Tenya chopped at her. He seemed to do that a lot. Izuku wasn’t sure if it was a Hermes thing or a Tenya thing. “You shouldn’t worry about it, Izuku!”

“It’s exciting!” Mina exclaimed. “Now it’s just you and Shouto!”

“Does that mean we’re cousins, or something?” Izuku asked.

Tenya and Mina laughed. “No, I mean, I guess we’re all kind of related in some way, most of the gods are siblings or married or cousins or something, but no one really cares about it outside of your cabin, because dating your half-sister or brother would be gross.” Mina answered, then winked. “You’ve got nothing to worry about with Shouto, though.”

He felt his face heat. “I wasn’t asking about dating! I was just curious!” He exclaimed. He would’ve waved his hands around, or hid his face if they weren’t full. The lightbulb above them hummed as Mina laughed again.

It whined higher and the teenagers looked up long enough for it to shatter. Izuku jumped as sparks and glass landed around him. “Chill out, dude.” Mina giggled, picking glass out of his curls.

Izuku frowned. “But, I didn’t do that.”

“You probably didn’t mean to, but lightbulbs don’t explode that often. It’s okay, we’ll just tell the Hephaestus cabin and they’ll fix it.” Tenya shrugged. “Besides, it’s too be expected given your father.”

“Lots of half-bloods have special abilities that relate to their parents.” Mina continued. They led him outside toward the cabins and to his own. “Like I can party straight for like twelve hours and feel nothing.”

“I’m not sure if that’s related to Dionysus.” Tenya said nervously and Mina winked. “The other cabins are much better examples than either of us. The Athena cabin is usually very smart and good at planning, the Aphrodites are naturally attractive, of course. The Hephaestus cabin is full of inventors as well.”

“You’re extra lucky.” Mina added, elbowing Izuku in the rib. He winced. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

“What does that mean?”

“Well, your dad is like one of the most powerful gods, you’re probably hella powerful too! I mean, the whole reason the Big Three aren’t really supposed to have kids is because their kids are too strong. You’ll probably be flinging around lightning bolts before you know it.” She grinned.

Izuku blushed, glancing at the stack of clothes and blankets in his arms. “I don’t know about that-“

“You know what? Shouto’s probably a great person to help you!” Izuku squawked at her. He was sure the paler teenager hated him by now, he had left pretty quickly after Izuku had been claimed.

“Mina, I-I don’t think-“

“No, he is!” She argued, ignoring him. “He’s another Big Three kid, so he’ll get all the powers stuff better than we will. Besides, have you seen all the cool stuff he can do?”

“No?”

“He like, disappears into the shadows and can raise the dead and stuff.” Izuku paled.

“I believe he can summon some type of fire as well.” Tenya added. “I rarely see him do that much though. Mina is right, he is a good person to ask.”

They stopped suddenly and Izuku looked up at the cabin. It was labeled number one and was made of marble and reminded Izuku a little of a graveyard tomb. Homey. The doors were bronze, with shiny lightning bolts engraved on them.

“Well, this is you.” Mina hummed.

Izuku looked it up and down. It seemed cold. “I have to sleep here?”

“Unless you wanna sleep outside I guess.” Mina snickered. “I’ve never really been inside.”

“Nor have I.” Tenya said. They both glanced at him.

Izuku sighed. “In we go, I guess then.” He pushed the door open with his shoulder, surprised about how easy it was. They seemed heavier looking at them. There was a statue in the center of the room, a tall, muscular man wearing a Greek style toga. That was his father, he guessed. How’d his mom ever fall for this guy?

The rest of the room was nearly empty. There were no beds or furniture of any kind, and Izuku was surprised it wasn’t more dusty. It didn’t look like anyone had stayed here for quite a while. The ceiling was dome shaped, with glittering mosaics that he could swear were moving. He stepped inside, setting his things against one of the walls. There were gold eagles in little cubbies in the walls too. Izuku looked around again, then noticed he didn’t hear Mina or Tenya.

He glanced back at the doorway, and both of them were still standing outside, looking at the cabin nervously. “You can come in, right?” Maybe the gods didn’t like other half-bloods in their cabins.

Tenya looked pale. “Yes, but it is getting rather late! I must be heading back and we should give you time to set up!” He said quickly with a chop.

Mina nodded with a nervous smile. “Yep! Goodnight, have fun!” She exclaimed a little too excited.

They both jogged off and Izuku blinked. “Okay then.” He closed the bronze doors.

Izuku threw out his sleeping bag and laid out a few blankets. The room kept rumbling with thunder, it was a little annoying, to say the least. He kicked off his red sneakers by the door and plopped down on his sleeping bag. He could still feel the cold floor beneath it. Maybe he could get them to bring a bed in here, or at least a mattress.

He rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. It was almost see through, the mosaics depicting stars and myths definitely moving around now. Izuku watched a yellow lightning shaped tile shake around for a moment.

His eyes fluttered shut and he didn’t open them again.

Knocking at his door echoed loudly around the room. Izuku groggily shuffled toward the door, still dressed in the same thing he fell asleep in. He pushed open the bronze door and blinked in surprise at the sight of Shouto.

His long hair had been French braided today, a red and white braid falling neatly over his shoulder. He was dressed in a orange t-shirt and black skinny jeans today, with apparently a sword hooked on his belt.

“Uh, good morning?” Izuku stared at him, almost shocked at the sight. He was sure he hated him yesterday.

“Morning.” Shouto said. “I’m guessing you haven’t had breakfast yet.” Izuku shook his head dumbly. The taller teenager crossed his arms. “Come on then, let’s go.”

“O-Okay!” Izuku said. He shut the door again, changing quickly and slipping on his shoes. He kicked his blankets into a pile in the corner and rushed outside again. Shouto was standing awkwardly off to the side. “Hi!”

“Hello.” Shouto answered, looking almost amused. His expressions were hard to read, but Izuku prided himself for being observant. He was more excited that the other half-blood didn’t actually hate him.

“Mina told me you needed some help learning about some activities at camp.” Shouto said as they hiked up to the dining hall. It wasn’t incredibly early, so lots of campers walked around. Izuku glanced at each of them, trying to guess which cabin they belonged to.

He remembered Shouto’s comment and nodded quickly. “Oh, yeah! Thank you!”

The duel-haired teenager shrugged. “It’s not a problem.”

Breakfast was quick, as not many people were there anymore. Denki waved at him as they passed by the Apollo table, but no one else payed much attention to them.

Shouto summarized some of the activities as Izuku ate, having already eaten earlier. “First, you need a weapon.” He concluded.

The green-haired teenager tilted his head. “A weapon?”

Shouto nodded. “Most of us have a specific weapon we use a lot.” He pointed at the sword at his waist. “Some half-bloods are better at fighting than others, naturally, but everyone needs to know how to defend themselves, in case of attack or monsters.”

“Right, that makes sense.” Izuku said.

“Ready?” Shouto asked and he nodded.

Next, he led Izuku over to the training grounds. True to tell, there were plenty of teenagers sparing, the clash of metal echoed in the air. Shouto led him to a small shed-like building. Inside there was an assortment of weapons hanging on the walls neatly. Bronze swords and knives, sets of arrows and bows, even some axes and spears hung on a far wall.

“Pick one.” Shouto said from the door, leaning in the doorway.

“Any one?”

He nodded. “Doesn’t matter, but I’d recommend something other than a bow. Only really the Apollo kids can use those efficiently.”

Izuku looked over the walls. There were some odd ones, but most of them looked similar in design. He noticed a barrel sitting in a corner and peeked inside.

There was a single bronze sword stuck in the bottom. He reached in and grabbed the handle, holding it up in the light. It was light, thick metal with engraved lines in the center of the blade, looping down around the handle. It almost reminded him of electricity. Izuku tilted the blade, inspecting it, when a buzz and a flash ran up the blade.

He yelped, dropping it immediately. The clatter echoed loudly and he glanced up at Shouto nervously.
He looked surprised for a moment before his face became guarded again.

“Is that normal?” Izuku pointed at the sword.

Shouto shrugged. “Normal isn’t defined very well for half-bloods.”

Izuku picked up the sword again, then nodded. “I guess this one then.”

“Good choice.” They left the weapon’s shed, but before either could say anything, a shout echoed across the training yard.

“Hey! Half-and-Half!” A spiky blond ran over to them. Izuku recognized him from the Apollo table last night, as well as the redhead walking up beside them. The blond held a jagged sword that looked as loud and dangerous as him. “Fucking- spar with me, I feel like kicking your ass!”

“No, I’m busy.” Shouto said monotonously.

The blond scoffed. “Yeah, you know what, fuck you anyway. I’ll just kill you during capture-the-flag anyway.”

“Okay.”

He growled and glanced at Izuku. “You!” He exclaimed angrily. “You’re that fucking lightning bastard. Zeus’s kid.”

“Uh, yes? My name is Izuku.”

“I don’t fucking care.” He yelled, a little too close for Izuku’s comfort. He reminded him of the bullies from school. “I’ll kick your ass, too! Don’t think you’re better than me or anything!”

“I-I don’t?”

“What was that-“

“Kat!” Before the blond could pounce on him, the redhead appeared at his size, putting a hand of his shoulder. “Chill out, it’s just a newbie.” He said sunnily.

“They can’t start thinking they’re better than me. I’ll kill them all.” He growled, looking between Shouto and Izuku.

“He’s really a softie.” The redhead said, smiling. Izuku doubted that. “I’m Eijirou and I think you already met my brother, Denki.”

They didn’t look anything alike, but Izuku nodded anyway. “You’re from the Apollo cabin, too?”

Eijirou grinned and nodded, leaning on the blond’s shoulder. “Kat here isn’t, though, he’s from Ares.”

“Fuck off.” He shoved Eijirou off of him. “And stop calling me that.”

“But you give everyone else nicknames.”

“Shut up, shitty hair!”

“Fine, Katsuki.” He emphasized the rest of his name and Katsuki growled.

They started talking back and forth again, Eijirou laughing and Katsuki cursing. Izuku watched them wearily. If this was just Katsuki, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to meet the rest of the Ares cabin.

“We can go now.” Shouto said beside him. Izuku glanced back at him.

“But I thought Katsuki wanted to fight you?”

“He always does. Come on.” The paler teenager grabbed his hand Izuku gasped. Shouto pulled him backwards into the shadow of the weapon’s shed and Izuku suddenly felt cold, his vision going black.

“Shou-“ Before he could finishing, he was thrown back into the harsh sunlight. But they were no longer standing in front of the training grounds. They appeared to be in the woods, trees surrounded them on all sides. “W-What happened?”

He looked back at Shouto and suddenly remembered they were holding hands still. His hand was really cold, and looked even more white compared to Izuku’s tanned skin.

“Sorry.” Shouto released him. “If we just walked away then Katsuki would have chased us, probably.”

“Where are we?”

“Just the forest. I like to train out here more. It’s quieter.” He blushed a little, the color pretty on his face.

Izuku turned around, looked up at the tree tops and the pale blue summer sky above them. “Did you...teleport us?” He asked, amazed.

Shouto shrugged. “It’s called shadowtravel. I can move around in the shadows in a certain area.”

“That’s-“

“Creepy?” Shouto suggested.

Izuku turned back at him with wide eyes. “What? No! It’s cool!” He exclaimed.

Shouto blinked at him. “What?”

“It’s cool!” Izuku repeated, waving at him frantically. “I mean, how far can you go? Does it have to be a certain darkness or just any type of shadow? Does it have to be a certain size or not? What happens to your body? I wonder if you actually teleport or if you can just dissolve into the shadows and move through them, like water maybe? Is it the same experience as it was with me, like you can’t see or-“

Izuku froze at Shouto’s shocked expression. Great, he had scared him off with his creepy mumbling. It was probably the most emotion he had seen out of him yet. “Sorry.” He blushed. “Sometimes my brain just, like, goes into overdrive and I’ll start mumbling like that. I didn’t mean to.”

Shouto shook out his shock, shaking his head. There was an almost fond smile on his face, but it was gone in a moment. “It’s okay. I’ve never had anyone interested in it before. Most people think they’re creepy or scary.”

The green-haired teenager shrugged. “Different, maybe, but not scary.”

Shouto looked puzzled again, but nodded finally. “Want me to show you some techniques?”

They spent the better part of the day training. Shouto was skilled, but patient with Izuku, helping him up each time he stumbled and fell. He claimed Izuku was a quick learner, so Izuku had a little hope in himself.

They took a break for lunch, sitting together at the Hades table, before Shouto pulled him off into the shadows again. He even entertained Izuku by answering some of his questions about his powers.

Panting and exhausted after the action-packed day, both of them were lying in the grass, staring up at the afternoon sky. Soon they’d have to go back for dinner, but Izuku liked the peacefulness of this little clearing. It was a good break from the business of camp.

“Thank you, for helping me today.” Izuku said suddenly, finally able to breathe again. He looked over at Shouto. The teenager was staring up at the sky, then he glanced back at him.

“It wasn’t a problem. You’re nice.”

Izuku snickered. “I’m nice?”

Shouto nodded without much of an explanation and Izuku laughed more. “Well, thanks. I still think your powers are cool.”

“I’m sure yours will be better.”

“I- what?” Izuku blinked at Shouto. He shrugged.

“You probably have plenty of things you can do. You’re a son of Zeus and he’s plenty powerful. You already seem to have some type of lightning manipulation.” He explained.

“I don’t know about that.” Izuku doubted he was anything special. He had always been quite ordinary.

Shouto didn’t answer him about that, but sighed. “It’s probably time for dinner. We should go back.”

“Right!” Izuku stood up, brushing the grass off of him. He held out his hands to help Shouto up. The paler teenager hesitated for a moment before giving him his hands.

Izuku tugged him up and Shouto gasped, suddenly pulled forward with surprising force. He crashed into Izuku and they both fell backwards, Shouto landing on top of him.

Izuku spent a solid minute staring at the other teenager’s wide different colored eyes. Then Shouto dazzled him with a short exhale that sounded vaguely like laughter and a small smile crossed his face for a fleeting moment. Izuku suddenly couldn’t breathe.

“Maybe you’ve got super strength too. Hercules was a son of Zeus.” Shouto mused and Izuku felt his face flush.

“S-Sorry.”

Shouto climbed off of him, offered his own hand. He helped Izuku up so that they didn’t go flying again. “It’s okay.”

Izuku’s heart did a quick summersault as Shouto offered him his sword and held out his hand. Izuku gave him it and they stepped into the shadow of a tall tree, disappearing into the darkness.

The week sped past him in a whirlwind. He spent most of his time with Shouto, learning the basics of sword fighting and slowly getting to know the other camper. Ochako and Tenya were both friendly faces, happily taking him along on trails and introducing him to other campers. They had a wide network of friends, nearly one from each cabin it seemed.

Tenya had even gotten a girl from the Hephaestus cabin, Mei, to help him with a bed for his cabin. She delivered it yesterday and it was immensely better than sleeping on the hard floor.

Today was apparently the highlight of everyone’s week though and Izuku treated to rough knocking on his cabin door far too early for anyone to like.

“You’re going to be on my team, right?” Ochako said as soon as he opened it. He blinked at her.

“Team for what?” He echoed tiredly.

“Capture-the-flag!” She exclaimed with an almost sinister grin. “I’m going to win!”

“Isn’t that after dinner?” It was barely breakfast time. Looking out at the cabin grounds behind her, he barely saw ten people up and walking around yet. Usually it was overrun by the time he usually woke up.

“Yeah.”

“Then why are you asking me about teams now?” He asked, leaning against the bronze door.

Ochako put her hands on her hips, looking determined. “Because to win, you have to think ahead of your enemies. Ares is probably going to be with Apollo and Hermes, so we must have the upper hand. Athena will be the brains of our operation, but we need the power to win too!”

“Then why are you asking me?” Izuku asked. It seemed no good team would want a new fighter like him.

Ochako blinked at him. “Uh, you’re a son of Zeus. Who wouldn’t want you? Besides,” Her face became smug. “a little birdie told me you have been training with Shouto. If you’re on our team, he’ll probably join it too.”

Izuku blushed but nodded. “Okay, fine, I’ll join your team tonight.”

“Great!” Ochako pumped her fist in the air as Denki and Eijirou walked up behind her.

“Crap! I told you we should’ve gotten up and asked him earlier!” Eijirou exclaimed. “Ochako’s already infected him.”

“Screw you guys, I’m winning this!” She turned and shouted at them. The brunette waved back at Izuku. “See you tonight!”

The three of them ran off, leaving Izuku standing in the doorway of his cabin. He got dressed eventually, starting to head to the dining hall for breakfast, but when he went to leave, Shouto was walking up.

Today, his hair was in a messy bun of red and white. He fell into step with Izuku as they walked. “I heard you were already attacked by the Nike cabin.” He greeted.

Izuku sighed and nodded. “Ochako’s very competitive.”

“Gets it from her mother. She is the goddess of victory, of course Ochako would want to win everything.” Shouto mused. “I’m sure game night in her cabin is a mess.”

Izuku laughed. “Do others cabins have game nights?”

“Momo says she plays Monopoly with her siblings every month.” Shouto said.

“We should have a game night.”

“There’s only one person in my cabin.”

“I meant us.” Izuku pointed at both of them. “The Big Three cabins’ game night.”

Shouto smiled a little. “Sounds fun.”

As dinner grew closer, several cabins approached them both for capture-the-flag games. Tooru and Camie from the Aphrodite cabin offered them free makeovers, Ibara from Demeter said she would help them grow gardens at each of their cabins. Each time Izuku felt bad about turning them down.

“You shouldn’t.” Shouto said, mouthful of noodles. He seemed to eat that a lot.

Izuku shrugged, watching Himiko and Neito of the Nemesis cabin walk away. Himiko was especially threatening with the multiple knifes strapped to her body and Neito was overwhelming in his own way. “It sure seems like a big deal to everyone.”

“It’s a good way for people to practice their skills and let out pent out anger, I guess.” He looked past him at the Ares table, full of loud, rowdy teenagers.

“They all seem to really want us on their teams though.” Izuku said.

Shouto shrugged. “Most people don’t ask me anymore. They know I’m always on Athena’s team. I think it’s because you’re new, and Zeus’s son. They want the best team full of the best fighters.”

“I think they’ll be disappointed with me.” Izuku answered, propping his head up with his hand. He had tried plenty to use the ‘powers’ everyone thought he had, but outside of a few crackles of electricity, he found nothing. His sword fighting was moderate at least, but that was only because of Shouto’s help.

“No.” Shouto said.

The green-haired teenager looked at him in confusion, but he didn’t explain, so Izuku just left it. Besides, dinner was almost over and the dining hall was beginning to grow restless.

“Alright.” Mr. Aiwaza said with a yawn. He was one of the camp’s councilors, but Izuku still wasn’t exactly sure what he was, or what he did. “You know the drill. Blue team over here, red team over here. Collect your armor and I’ll give you twenty minutes to go hide your flags before we start.”

Ochako called them over to the blue team, throwing him a plate of bronze armor with faded blue decorations. She was already fully dressed, a bronze sword in her hand.

“Hey, you’re Izuku, right?” He glanced up at the sound of a new voice. She was a tall, pretty girl, holding a dagger and dressed up in blue armor. Her hair was dark and pulled back in a ponytail. “Shouto’s told me about you.” She explained, glancing at the pale teen beside him.

“You saw him claimed just like everyone else, Momo.” Shouto said blandly, fixing his chest plate.

“Yeah, but that’s not all you’ve said.” She said with a smug expression. Shouto looked away with a pink face, cast on him from the setting sun. She held out her hand and offered it to Izuku. “Momo Yaoyorozou, head of the Athena cabin. Glad you’re on our team.”

“Thanks.” Izuku smiled up at her.

They collected in a circle around their now placed flag, hidden in the woods as their assignments were given out. Momo was a good leader, giving people jobs to do and places to go. “And Shouto!” Izuku looked over at the half-blood next to him. “You’ll be on offensive. Try to find that flag for us.”

“What about Izuku?” He asked, gesturing to him.

Momo hummed in thought. “Put him on offensive too. Ares will be hitting us hard.” A girl with an orange side ponytail said beside Momo.

Momo nodded in agreement and Shouto leaned closer to him. “We can stick together.” He said quietly to Izuku.

“This is great!” Ochako shouted. She pointed her sword toward the sky with a sinister smile. “Victory!”

The signal to start echoed through the woods and everyone unsheathed their weapons. Izuku clutched his sword tighter. Some of the others on his team had already rushed into the woods in search of the flag. Momo, alongside a majority of her cabin remained around their own flag, swords drawn to protect it.

A hand grabbed Izuku’s empty one. He immediately knew it was Shouto. The taller half-blood tugged him gently into the shadows.

Izuku allowed himself to be led through the dark, hand in hand with Shouto. They appeared in different spots in the forest, allowing Shouto to catch his breath before they dived into the shadows again. Izuku knew Shouto knew what he was doing, so he remained quiet and simply followed him. The clash of swords echoed toward them, but nothing indicated either flag had been found yet. Finally, they emerged on a cliff, over looking a small clearing, surrounded by thick foliage. The cliff was too steep to be climbed, but it allowed just enough space for Shouto and Izuku to balance on an edge and look over.

“It’s there.” Shouto said, barely above a whisper.

Sure enough Izuku looked down in the clearing and saw the waving red flag, and about half of the Apollo cabin surrounding it.

“Should we go after it?”

“No. Apollo cabin is long range, we’d never get close enough. We go back to Momo and bring reinforcements.” Shouto answered and they were tugged back onto the shadows.

When Izuku could see again, they were next to their flag again. Momo jumped at the sight of them, alongside the ginger from earlier.

“Gods, you really sneak up on people, huh?” The ginger sighed, clutching her heart.

“We found their flag.”

The Athena cabin erupted. “Really? Where?” Momo asked.

“Cliffs, near Zeus’s fist. It’s surrounded by the Apollo cabin from what I saw.”

“Most of Ares and Hermes is likely in the woods in between, and they have strength in numbers.” Momo hummed. “Alright everyone listen up, new plan.”

“This way.” Shouto said, tilting his head.

So far, they hadn’t run into any of the other team, but they were getting awfully close to the flag. It was unnerving to have such a quiet forest. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up. Izuku adjusted the hold on his sword.

They walked through the woods quietly, every tree branch snap making him jump. Izuku felt like they were really close. Maybe they would win this.

Izuku felt the hair on his arms raise. Something was close to them, something in the air, he could feel it. He pushed Shouto down just as an arrow whizzed past them and stabbed the tree beside him. Shouto looked at it with wide eyes.

“Half-and-Half, you fucker!” Katsuki’s voice echoed through the trees and suddenly the forest was full of flying arrows.

“Apollo! They’re in the trees!” He heard Momo shout. An ambush, he and Shouto had led them straight into.

A hand grabbed his arm and Shouto tugged him further into the trees. “Come on!” Izuku clutched his sword and ran beside him.

He expected an arrow to hit him any minute, but they never did, whizzing through the air and humming in his ears. They ran into some of the Ares cabin once they reached the edge of the clearing and he was separated from Shouto. Izuku ignored everything else, focusing on the pattern of their fighting.

He managed to best a few of them, as they were too angry, almost. It made them sloppy and Izuku simply kept repeating Shouto’s voice in his head, the way he had guided his blade before. He seemed to be able to overpower them strengthwise as well.

Izuku jabbed his elbow into an Ares’ girl’s face just before he was suddenly thrown forward into darkness. It felt like Shouto’s shadowtravel and he gasped as he stumbled into the clearing with the flag, Shouto beside him again. There was blood dripping from a cut on his right cheek and he was panting, but he mostly looked fine. The Ares campers had focused on him more anyway, throwing Izuku aside as the newbie.

The blood colored flag flickered in the wind, but before either of them could reach for it, an explosion sounded from the other side of the trees. Katsuki appeared, blood and grime sticking to his skin. His jagged sword was smoking and he smirked.

“Katsuki.” Shouto said with the least excitement Izuku had ever heard.

“Fucking death asshole.” He growled and Shouto sighed.

“I’ll handle this, get the flag.”

“Fuck you! Don’t underestimate me!” Katsuki shouted, running at Shouto.

Their swords clashed loudly and Izuku dove for the flag. An explosion hit the ground in front of him and he jumped backwards. Katsuki was fuming, diving underneath Shouto’s blade and tackling him into the ground. The ground was on fire because of the explosion so Izuku looked around frantically for another way to grab it. Before he could find another way, a pained grunt caught his attention.

Shouto’s sword had been kicked away, discarding in the thick grass and he was pressed against a tree. Izuku’s eyes widened. The sky rumbled above them. Katsuki’s blade was pointed at his face, sparks flying from it. The blond wore a sneer, blood dripping down his blade into the grass.

“This is for thinking you’re better than me, you death freak.” Katsuki said. His sword glowed and Izuku clinched his fists.

There was no way he’d get there in time, but Izuku screamed and ran at him anyway. Something was humming. Thunder echoed in his ears.

“Leave him alone!” He shouted. The air buzzed around him. Izuku was vaguely aware of a crackling along his skin, but all he saw was white.

He landed on the ground where Katsuki had been standing seconds ago, but the blond rolled out of the way to somewhere. Izuku was panting, his vision cleared as he stared at the charred grass where he now kneeled. Then at his hands, where little stands of green tinted electricity ran between his fingers, bouncing back and forth across his freckled skin. His eyes widened and he suddenly remembered Shouto and Katsuki.

He looked around for the blond, only to hear Momo shout behind him. “I’ve got it! Blue team, fall back!”

Izuku watched her run back into the forest, flag in hand and covered by her teammates. His skin was still buzzing and the sky rumbled again. He was vaguely aware of rain starting to fall, sizzling on his skin, when a cold hand grabbed his arm again. Izuku was thrown back into the shadows, surfacing with a start in an empty clearing. He could hear the distant sound of fighting, but the green-haired teenager just fell onto his back and looked at the sky, exhausted.

Rain fell onto his face, dampening his clothes and pinging off his armor. He knew Shouto was beside him, breathing just as hard and staring up at the stars. He felt like his brain was running a million miles.

Then it all stopped as he heard the sound of muffled laughter. It started small, then kept growing louder. Izuku forced himself to sit up, looking at Shouto.

The paler teenager had rolled onto his side, hugging himself as he laughed. He was laughing, and it was the most wonderful sound Izuku had ever heard.

“Shouto?” He asked, wonderfilled.

Shouto glanced up at him, a hand over his mouth. “Sorry.” He paused, sitting up as well and wiping the blood from his face, a smile still lingering. “It’s just...did you see Katsuki’s face when you yelled at him?”

Izuku shook his head. He felt the rain letting up. Shouto continued, looking at the grass. “It was really funny.” He finished, almost shyly.

Shouto had not only laughed, but Izuku had made him laugh. Izuku grinned at him and suddenly felt a jolt of electricity run up his body. He yelped, falling backwards on his hands. When he looked back at Shouto, he was staring at him with nearly glowing eyes.

“You can control lightning.” The taller teenager said. He leaned closer to him, water dripping from the ends of his hair.

Izuku blinked at him. “What?”

“And the weather, too.” Shouto added, glancing up at the clearing storm.

“I-I didn’t do that!” Izuku exclaimed, waving his hands at Shouto. “There’s no way, it was probably just an accident, or a coinciden-“

Shouto pointed at him. “But look at your hands.”

Izuku froze, holding them up to his face. Sure enough, the little strands of electricity bouncing back and forth between his fingers had returned. He could feel the static in the air rise and he blushed. “I...”

“It’s...cool.” Shouto finished with a half smile. Izuku’s heart fluttered some more.

“It’s pretty fun. My first summer here, the Hephaestus cabin built some fireworks and they accidentally set part of the forest on fire.” Ochako hummed, propping her strawberry basket on her hip. “They’ve fixed them since then, though, and each of the gods has a special one.”

“You’re forgetting the best part of Fourth of July!” Tooru exclaimed behind Izuku. He turned to face the girl, her appearance shimmery again.

Mina had explained that a lot of the Aphrodite cabin has the ability to change their appearance and apparently Tooru was the best at it. No one was quite sure what she actually looked like.

“What part?” Izuku asked, kneeling beside a new strawberry plant. He supposed the whole strawberry farm cover was a good idea. It funded parts of the camp and allowed for them to own this much land without much questioning from the government or realtors.

Tooru grinned, dropping her basket beside him. “My cabin always proposes a challenge to everyone at camp. You have to confess to your crush by the end of the fireworks show!”

Izuku choked. “W-What?!”

“That’s not a real thing.” Ochako rolled her eyes. “The Aphrodites just like to promote love all the time.” She added quietly to Izuku. “They’re even worse around Valentine’s Day.”

“No, shut up, ‘Chako, it a totally real tradition.” Tooru argued. “It’s how I got my boyfriend.”

“Your boyfriend?” Izuku echoed. He had gotten to be better friends with Tooru and all her love-excitement, but he still hadn’t met her boyfriend yet.

“Mashirao, Hermes cabin.” Tooru explained, waving her hand. “More importantly, this is a great opportunity for you!”

Izuku felt his face heat. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking abou-“

“Oh please!” Tooru scoffed. “You do know who my mother is, right?”

Izuku nodded dumbly. “Here we go.” Ochako said beside him.

“Come on, I can read people’s love lives like a book.” She continued. “You’ve been head over heels for our favorite loner boy since the minute you met him.”

“You weren’t there whe-“

“Shut up.” Tooru cut him off. “Mina told me plenty.” She sighed wistfully. “I can’t influence your relationship in any way, Mom would get mad, plus, it’s always more interesting to see it play out naturally. All I can say is to go for it.”

Ochako nodded in agreement and Izuku frowned, looking between the girls. He wasn’t even kidding anyone at this point.

“Shouto...he doesn’t like me like that. We’re just friends.” He finally sighed, staring at the strawberry plant. It’s red berries reminded him of Shouto’s hair and he scowled.

He had accepted his feelings not too long ago and he supposed they had been there for a while anyway. Shouto was his best friend here, or anywhere. He was powerful and beautiful and funny and smart and a thousand times too good for Izuku.

Sudden laughter caused him to jump and look back at Ochako and Tooru. They were leaning on each other and cackling. Izuku huffed, feeling a jolt of electricity down his spine. “It isn’t funny!”

“Oh no,” Ochako wiped a tear away, grinning. “We’re not laughing at you-“

“Yes we are! That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, and I’m friends with Mina and Denki!” Tooru exclaimed.

Izuku blushed. “It’s true.” He mumbled pathetically.

“Come on, Izuku.” Ochako poked his side with a smile. “You’re plenty good enough for Shouto. You’re smart and funny.”

“And you’re the second person who’s ever managed to maintain a friendship with him.” Tooru added. With a dreamy sigh, she continued. “It’s a shame, you’d be such a quiet couple.”

Before he could stutter out a protest, Mr. Aiwaza called for them to turn in their strawberry baskets and head back to camp for dinner. Izuku trailed behind the girls as they walked toward the dining hall.

Maybe they were right. Tooru was to be trusted in the love department, he supposed, given her mother. The idea of confession during a spectacular fireworks show was also exciting, but despite all that, Izuku’s anxiety still flared up.

Shouto was his best friend and the idea of losing him because of a silly crush sounded awful. They did nearly everything together, from sparring to eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner together at their designated ‘Big Three’ table. Besides, there was no doubt that Shouto was too good for him. He was amazing in every way possible and Izuku was still just...ordinary.

“Who’s ordinary?” Izuku jolted, lightning cracking at the voice suddenly beside him. Sure enough, Shouto had walked up without him noticing. He was unsurprisingly sneaky. Momo said she had thought of putting a bell on him before.

“N-No one!” He lied awfully, ignoring his friend’s puzzled expression. “What- What are you doing, here?”

Shouto glanced at him, then to the dining hall they were somehow standing in front of. “It is time for dinner, right?”

Izuku felt his face heat and nodded furiously. “O-Oh, yeah! You’re right, come on, we should go. And not, you know, just stand out here. That’s weird!” Izuku internally cringed as he let the taller boy inside.

“Are you okay?” Shouto asked innocently as they sat down. “You seem sort of...jumpy.”

They switched their tables between Hades and Zeus weekly, so neither of them got too upset. Izuku thought it was strange, but his friends claimed that the gods liked to get upset over dumb things like that.

“I’m fine.” Izuku answered quickly. “Just tired, I guess.”

Shouto nodded with a hum. “The summer is always busier at camp anyway. More people are here. It usually clears out after August when everyone goes home.”

“What do you mean?” The green-haired boy asked.

“Most people go home during the year. For school and to see their mortal parents I guess.” Shouto explained, looking confused. “Did you think everyone lived here year round?”

Izuku shrugged, watching his food appear. More god magic, he didn’t understand. “I guess? I never really thought about it. Who usually stays when summer ends?”

“Well, Momo usually goes home. Her father is pretty rich and she stays with him and goes to a private school in Japan. I think Ochako usually stays though. I do too.” Shouto added, a little quieter.

Izuku hadn’t honestly thought of what would happen when the summer ended. He never had a spectacular time out in the real world. His mother had died when he was younger and he had bounced around different schools in his area. Camp Half-Blood was the first home he had had in while, and the idea of abandoning it, and Shouto, to go be miserable at another boarding school somewhere was less than pleasant.

Even after knowing Shouto for nearly three months now, however, he knew nothing about his life before Camp Half-Blood. “Why do you stay year-round?” Izuku finally asked, with a short burst of curiosity.

Shouto didn’t look up from his plate. “My mother doesn’t want me out there.” He said without an explanation. Izuku frowned, but took the hint and didn’t ask about it again.

The pouring rain outside was honestly giving Izuku a headache. He rolled over for the umpteenth time and stared at the marble wall of his cabin. Even worse, it seemed that the noise was echoing in his cabin, real thunder rumbling alongside the smaller, fake thunders of his cabin. The mosaics had settled down about half an hour ago at least, sliding lazing around the ceiling.

The camp had been the victim of a rather bad rainstorm for about three days now, just in time for late June. It egged on Izuku’s insomnia and caused him to glare up at his ceiling for eight hours, brain on overdrive until the grey sky grew a little less dark.

Izuku huffed, finally sitting up and rubbing his face frustratedly. He wanted the stupid rain to stop and to be able to sleep and to stop thinking of Shouto every time he shut his eyes. It didn’t help that apparently all of his friends already knew about his crush and liked to bother him about it when he was alone.

A clatter on the other side of his cabin caused Izuku to jump, lightning flashing outside. That didn’t sound like thunder though.

He grabbed his sword from where it hung beside his bed and tossed his blanket aside. He summoned some static as he slowly approached the corner where the noise echoed from. The shadows on the wall flickered as his sword lit up with electricity. He finally reached out his sword, jumping at the sight.

It was Shouto.

A tired Shouto, it appeared. His hair was down and tangled, the red and white mixing together and the shadows under his eyes were darker than usual. Instead of the usual orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, everyone always wore, he was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of old, grey sweatpants. It made him seem even paler than normal.

“Shouto?” Izuku questioned. The flashing electricity on his skin died. “What are you doing here?” Not only was it the middle of the night, but also storming outside. Thunder clashed in reminder.

“I...” He hesitated, hugging himself awkwardly. “I didn’t want to be alone. I shadowtraveled here.”

Izuku can’t imagine what it was that scared Shouto this much, but he didn’t care. He offered his hands to the other half-blood. “Okay. Wanna come sit over here?”

Shouto nodded hesitantly, clearly thankful he wasn’t pressed for any more of an explanation. Izuku helped him up, again surprised by the chill of his skin. He led over to him his bed and they sat against the wall. When Izuku glanced over, Shouto was staring blankly at the rest of the room.

“Nightmares?” They weren’t foreign to half-bloods, he knew from experience. Something deep down told him that this more than that though.

Shouto nodded.

“Do you...wanna talk about it?” Izuku finally forced himself to ask.

Shouto opened his mouth, but paused and shut it. He glared weakly at the ground before he huffed out a chilly sigh. Finally, he spoke. “You know how most demigods never meet their godly parents, right?”

“Yeah.” Izuku answered, his eyebrows furrowed. Of his friends at camp, only Momo and Ochako had ever admitted to meeting their mothers.

“My father...” Shouto stopped and shook his head. “This is stupid. I’m sorry for waking you up.” He stood suddenly, walking back toward the shadowy part of his cabin.

“Wait-“ Izuku jumped up and grabbed his icy wrist. Shouto flinched, turning back toward him with shadowy eyes. “If it’s bothering you, then it’s not stupid.” Izuku said firmly.

“It’s not your problem.”

“It’s not, it’s yours.” Izuku smiled shyly. “But you’re my best friend. I want to help you any way I can.” Even if all he could do was listen.

Shouto frowned, staring at the ground, before he finally nodded slowly, more to himself than Izuku. The green-haired boy led him back to his bed. He was quiet for a while beside him, the rain filling the silence.

“My father had always been...shunned, by the rest of Olympus. He hated it, but he would never be able to face them all or fight his own battle. He was too far behind. So, about thirty years ago, he decided he needed his own champions, his own demigod children, to combat the other gods and theirs.” Izuku frowned, his brain already connecting the dots.

Shouto continued again. “My mother was on her way to being one of the top surgeons in the world, when she met my father. She was smart and talented and pretty and the perfect person to produce perfect demigod children.” He said the last part bitterly. “So he entranced her and brought her to the Underworld, kidnapping her from her life. He kept her a secret from his wife, of course, and he had four children with her. I was the youngest.”

Izuku glanced at him, confused. Shouto was the only one in the Hades cabin and had been the only member for years, according to everyone. If his older siblings weren’t here, and hadn’t ever been, what happened to them? Before he could ask, Shouto spoke again.

“So he trained us to use his powers. He forced us to fight him and monsters or anything he could find. He kept us all in the Underworld and only let us go when we went on missions to ‘prove ourselves’. My oldest brother and sister went on one when I was four and they never came back.” Izuku’s eyes widen, looking desperately at his friend. “Then my other brother was killed in one of his training exercises and I’m the only one left. I promised myself I wouldn’t use his powers in battle. With anyone or anything. When I was six, it was already was too late for my brothers and sister, but the other gods finally got word of what he had done. They called him up to Olympus and gave him some punishment, as if they don’t do the same thing.” Shouto sighed uselessly.

“Mr. Aiwaza came and collected me, brought me to camp and I’ve been here ever since. I went home once, my first September, to my mother. She lived in this apartment in Tokyo and I was there for a week before she couldn’t handle the sight of me.” He paused, his hand brushing against the scar over his left eye. “She said I was unsightly, a demon from hell like him. Then she poured boiling water on my face.”

“Shouto-“ Izuku gasped, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. He should say something, anything, but he couldn’t piece any words together.

He frowned. “I shouldn’t have told you. Sorry. I’ll go now.” He said quickly, standing up, but Izuku grabbed his wrist again. Shouto froze.

“You don’t need to leave.” Izuku answered. “And I’m glad you told me.”

“You think of me differently now.”

“I-“ He almost lied, but stopped. “Yeah, I do. Who wouldn’t? But all that doesn’t change who you are. You’re still the same Shouto I know, and now I think you’re even stronger, because you went think all that and you’re still a good person.”

Shouto stiffed and Izuku thought he said something wrong. Then he finally turned to face him. His multicolored bangs hid his face as he whispered. “You think I’m a good person?”

Izuku blinked, before he gave him a watery grin. “Of course I do. You’re smart and funny and beautiful and the strongest person I’ve ever met. You’re you. All that is you, not some extension of your father. They’re your powers, aren’t they?”

Shouto breathed out icily, before he finally crumpled. He stumbled onto the bed again, wiping at his face silently. Izuku hesitated before he touched his shoulder and held out his arms.

He didn’t even pause before he was hugging Izuku, burrowing his face into the green-haired boy’s neck. Izuku stroked his hair while he was in his arms, whispering quietly to him every once in a while. He could feel a damp spot on his shoulder, but he didn’t care.

They laid there for a long time, Izuku staring at the marble grey wall across from him. Once his sniffles turned into snores only then did he realize, the rain had stopped.

The first thing Izuku noticed when he blinked awake was the weight on top of him. His eyes widen at Shouto, completely asleep and curled up on top of him.

His chilly arms were wrapped around his chest and his face pressed into his neck. Izuku’s heart was definitely going to wake him up. It wouldn’t stop pounding. He could easily push him off, he supposed, but he looked so comfortable there, he couldn’t force himself to do it.

The memories of the previous night flashed in his head and he frowned at the ceiling. They were taught here that all the gods were perfect and not to be disrespected, but as he heard more stories, he had to wonder about them. Shouto’s situation was inexcusable. Izuku scowled up at the ceiling, but he supposed he should be glaring at the ground instead.

Shouto shifted with a soft groan and the green-haired teenager stiffened. He felt the moment his friend became aware of the situation, as his body became tense. In another second, Shouto had pushed himself up, sitting on the farthest corner of the bed from Izuku.

Izuku sat up, rubbing at face, if only to kept it’s blush hidden for another moment. When he glanced back at Shouto, he couldn’t help to smile a little.

While he looked increasingly embarrassed, he was adorable anyway. His hair was a mess, different colored pieces standing up in multiple directions. His eyes were wide and his face pink and they just stared at each other for a long minute.

Braver than him, Shouto spoke up first. “Sorry. I guess I fell asleep on you.”

“It- It’s fine.” He mumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I didn’t mind, really!”

The other teenager opened his mouth to answer, before he shut it and swallowed nervously. “I guess I should go...get ready. For breakfast.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Probably.”

“Thanks. For listening to me. Last night.”

Izuku blinked. “Of course. I meant everything I said. You know that, right?”

Shouto paused, halfway to the shadow of the Zeus statue. He nodded before he vanished. “I do.”

“Izuku!” He glanced back, surprised to see Momo jogging up. “Wait up!” Sure, they talked to each other sometimes, but usually only because she was a friend of Shouto’s. It was rare Izuku ever talked to her alone, much less than snuck out a conversation with her alone.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked once she caught up. They walked in the direction of the cabins, weekly inspection was soon.

“I just wanted to talk to you about Shouto.” She said. Izuku paled. “I don’t know what you did, but I’m glad.”

“I- What?” He blinked at her. She smiled and shrugged.

“I’ve been trying to get him to open up to people for about three years now, but nothing I ever did worked.” The taller girl continued. “I never really knew why he insisted on the whole loner thing. My siblings said it was the whole son of Hades thing. I mean, sure, he tolerated me, but I think you’re the first actual friend he’s had in a while.”

“Oh.” Izuku still wasn’t sure why she was telling him all this. “I’m glad he’s reaching out too, I guess.”

Momo hummed, an unnerving smile on her face. Something about it made Izuku nervous. “What are you doing for Fourth of July?”

“I-I don’t know, just hanging out, watch the firework show I guess? That’s, um, what everyone else does, right?” Izuku answered awkwardly. He could see his cabin, almost there.

“You should hang out with Shouto. I think he’d really like it.”

“That’s what I was planning?”

She smiled. “Good. Have fun then!” With that, the dark-haired girl turned and left, walking toward her own cabin. Izuku stared confusedly at her back for a minute before he continued walking again.

It had been a few weeks since that night, and the morning after. Izuku had been scared that it would have made things awkward between them, but somehow it seemed to only strengthen their friendship. They already did nearly everything together anyway, so he supposed this wasn’t much different. It didn’t help his heart though, which felt like it need to have a heart attack when he was within three feet of the other half-blood.

Izuku sighed and he pushed open the door to his cabin. He needed to do something about this whole crush thing.

“Come on, dude! One song!”

“Fuck off!”

Izuku watched Eijirou throw his arm over Katsuki. The spiky blond growled at him, but Eijirou barely looked bothered, laughing. Mina and Denki sat closer to them, laughing.

“I don’t know how Eijirou managed to tame him.” Momo shook her head as the collective camp watched the Apollo cabin try to convince Katsuki to sing along.

“Tame? That’s a tamed Katsuki?” Ochako asked incredulously. There were a few conformations from the older campers. “Wow, I didn’t think he could be worse.”

“He used to drag monster heads back from the woods to flex on everyone else.” Camie, one of Tooru’s half-sisters from the Aphrodite cabin, admitted. “Used to be even more loud too.”

“Huh.” Ochako hummed, watching with disinterest. Tsuyu made some sort of croaking noise that she claimed was Mermish. Before Izuku could wonder about it anymore, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He glanced beside him where Shouto sat. “What?”

“Can I show you something? He asked suddenly, almost shyly. Izuku nodded, glancing back at their friends and their new conversation he hadn’t caught.

Without a word, Shouto took his hand. He led him into the dark woods and his vision flickered black, like always. Shouto had been attempting to practice some of his other powers more recently, but he still claimed shadowtravel was the easiest.

When Izuku could see again, they were on the edge of an outcropping cliff. It over looked the ocean edge of camp. When he peeked over the edge, he could see the dark beaches below, alongside the subtle crash of the waves.

“You always find these interesting little places.” Izuku hummed, turning back to smile at Shouto.

The paler teenager shrugged, sitting beside him. “I used to shadowtravel around the woods a lot when I was younger. Before I met you.”

Izuku was glad the night hid his blush. He glanced up at the sky instead. He knew all the constellations now, but the stars just winked at him.

“If I tell you something, will you promise it won’t change things between us?” Shouto asked suddenly. His voice was soft and soothing along with the sound of the waves and the distant laughter of their friends.

“I don’t think you could tell me anything that would change things.” Izuku answered with a half smile. “What is it?”

Shouto glanced out at the ocean, hugging his knees. His hair was in a pretty braid Tooru had done earlier. The Aphrodite cabin loved Shouto’s hair.

A moment later, Shouto looked back at him. His eyes shined two different colors in the moonlight. “I...I like you.”

Izuku stared at him. His stomach did a summersault. “You- really?”

His pale face bloomed, obvious even in the dark. He nodded shyly. “It doesn’t have to change anything. I still want to be your friend, if that’s okay, but it felt unfair to keep it from yo-“

“I like you too!” Izuku almost shouted.

His eyes widened at his own voice and Shouto’s shocked expression and he slapped his hands over his mouth. He felt the familiar buzz of electricity. The hair on his arms stood.

“You do?”

Izuku nodded frantically, face hot. “For a while! Tooru and Ochako said I should tell you on the Fourth of July, but I wasn’t sure and I was scared you wouldn’t like me ba-“ He froze as a cold hand touched his. Izuku glanced down, where Shouto was now holding his hand.

He wasn’t looking at him, with his colored cheeks. Instead, he quietly said. “I like you a lot, too.”

The green-haired teenager blinked before he grinned. He intertwined their fingers and Shouto gave him a real smile, one that reached his technicolor eyes and made him glow.

It was the most wonderful thing Izuku had ever seen.

“Come on, it’s starting soon.” Izuku tugged on Shouto arm, helping him up the rocky cliffside.

“I could just shadowtravel, you know.” His boyfriend added, pretending to not be amused. Izuku could hear it in his voice and he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah and I could just fly up there but that wouldn’t help anything, would it?” He retorted playfully as they finally reached the top. Izuku felt more at ease higher up anyway, messy curls tossed in the wind.

He pulled Shouto over to the edge gently, where one of his blanket had been stolen from his cabin and already laid out on the rocky ground. He plopped down and looked up at Shouto expectantly. The taller teenager raised his eyebrows and sat down without a word.

As if on command, the first firework burst into the sky. Shouto jumped and Izuku grinned as it exploded in shimmery greens and reds.

“It gets more extreme every year.” Shouto mused as several more popped in the air.

“Ochako told me they set some trees on fire one year.”

“More like half the forest. Mr. Aiwaza was furious.” Shouto smiled and Izuku laughed. He leaned on him and more fireworks popped in the air.

Izuku paused, glancing up at Shouto for a moment. His skin was turning different colors and his eyes were glowing with fiery lights. He smiled gently at him, just as he turned his head.

“What?” He asked with an adorably puzzled expression.

Izuku shook his head with a grin. “You’re just cute.”

Shouto rolled his eyes. “You’re a sap.”

“Only with you.” Shouto hummed in disagreement. He reached over to grab his hand, then took advantage of Izuku’s distraction and pressed a cold kiss to his forehead. “Hey!”

“Only with you.” The paler teenager repeated teasingly.

Izuku pouted and wrapped his arms around him, tugging him down on top of him in one movement. Shouto stared down at him, unamused. The green-haired teenager smiled and reached up, pecking him on the mouth. Shouto raised his eyebrows, smiling softly and Izuku giggled. Another firework exploded behind him, illuminating the vivid different halves of his hair.

The stars glittered alongside the sparks, although in Izuku’s opinion, the sky didn’t hold a candle to the boy above him.

Shouto stopped holding himself up, resting his head on his shoulder. Izuku gave out a soft gasp at his sudden weight. Although all his friends did end up being right about his super strength thing.

“Will you laugh at me if I say something weird?” Shouto asked softly. The hair on his neck rose. Izuku tilted his head a little to face him.

“Maybe.” Shouto pouted and Izuku laughed breathily again. “Course not, Shou.” His nose brushed his. “What is it?”

The fireworks popped loudly, but they both ignored them. Shouto looked almost nervous.

“I think I’m in love with you.” Shouto whispered. His breath was frosty on his face.

Izuku beamed, moving forward and kissing him. Shouto was blushing when he pulled away. “I love you, too.” He answered without any hesitation.

The fireworks were ignored for a just little while longer.