Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wine.

… Wine, wine, wine.

“Where is the wine?” Izuku grumbles under his breath.

He knows he has a bottle somewhere because he remembers buying it. He doesn’t make a habit of drinking, but on rough days where no matter what you do you are always going to be irritated sometimes the only thing that can relax you is a glass of wine… or a bottle. Izuku shivers and shakes his head. Oh no, never again. He’s not a college student anymore, he’s left the partying behind him. He’s now a responsible adult with bills to pay and wine to drink.

Izuku sighs as he sits on his kitchen floor. Where in the world did he hide it? The last time he remembered seeing it was when Uraraka came over. They used it to cook a recipe that required the meat to be sauteed in wine. The minute they poured the wine in the pan there was a giant fire and then Uraraka got flustered and almost spilled the bottle on the stove. She almost killed them and Izuku grabbed the bottle and placed it-

“On top of the fridge!”

He’s so glad he remembered! He was beginning to think he was old with his memory slipping like this, but that wasn’t the case! Izuku walks over to his fridge and leans up on his toes, moving around the cereal boxes and finding the bottle. He grabs it and shakes it, seeing quite a bit of wine still left inside. Izuku chuckles to himself and dances as he grabs a wine glass from the cabinet. He puts on a movie, grabs the work he took home with him, pours himself a nice tall glass, and settles down on his couch. Taking a sip of red wine from his glass, Izuku finally relaxes for the first time all day.

He feels relaxed… not happy. 

He hasn’t been happy for a couple of days now, but that’s to be expected. He did warn him after all. Izuku sighs to himself as he gets to work, grading test papers from his students.

“Right, right, wrong, right- oh you were so close on this one. Hmmm,” Izuku hums, taking another sip from his glass.

It’s a lonely Friday night, but he’s had so many years to get used to this.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?” Izuku asks, turning his head.

His eyes widen slightly as he sees what he can only describe as a male model standing right behind him. He was drop dead gorgeous, totally the tall, dark, and mysterious type. Izuku has never seen him around college before and he’s sure he would know him if he went here since he’s friends with one of the biggest gossipers around. 

“Hi.” The stranger smiles at him.

Oh dear lord, his smile is incredible.

“H-hello.” Izuku tries to return his smile back, but he knows that it’s nowhere nearly as dazzling.

“You don’t know this yet, but you’re my future husband.”

Izuku feels like he’s just been flipped upside down and slammed hard on the ground. His jaw drops and he feels his glasses slip down his nose a bit.

“Huh?”

“Pfft!” Uraraka giggles, being a quiet witness to all of this until that line was said.

She brings her hand up to her lips and tries to muffle her laughs, leaning against Izuku to support herself. Izuku blinks, but the man in front of him doesn’t look like he’s joking right now. He actually looks pretty serious. When Uraraka catches her breath she starts clapping her hands to applaud him.

“Wow, just-... wow. I can’t say we’ve heard that one before, I think I even got chills. Pretty confident, huh mister?”

The stranger looks at her and is confused all of a sudden, like he’s surprised to see her there, like he’s wondering how long she’s been there, which were all true. He had no idea she was there until she said something because the second he laid eyes on his future husband the world completely faded away in the background. It was like the beginning of humanity, where there was only Adam until Eve appeared and changed his life. That is what his life was like, only Adam, until he saw his Eve standing next to a vending machine underneath the shade of a tree.

“My apologies, I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t say interrupting, but you did catch my buddy here at a bad time. We’re just about to head to class.”

“Class? Please allow me to walk you two there then. I can carry your things if you like?”

“Hehehe, wow mister, you really aren’t holding anything back, huh? What do you think about that?” Uraraka asks, nudging into Izuku’s side.

He blacked out. He completely blacked out and only awoke back up when Uraraka jabbed him. Why is she staring at him with a very sly grin on her face? Why is he staring at him as well like he’s the most fascinating creature in the world? Izuku flinches and pushes his glasses back.

“What do you think?” She asks him again.

“Think about what?”

“Your future husband walking us to class?”

“My future… what?! Huh?!” Izuku gasps out loudly, his entire face turning red as he stumbles backwards.

Uraraka giggles as her best friend tries to hide his blush by wrapping his arms around his head, mumbling like crazy underneath his breath. She looks back at the poor lovesick fool and shakes her head.

“Sorry lover boy, I guess that’s that though. Take care.”

She winks at him and waves her fingers before looping her arms with Izuku’s and walking away with him.

“Wait- can I at least get your name? Please?”

“His name is-”

“Uraraka!” Izuku whines, covering her mouth with his hand.

Don’t go telling random strangers his real name! Even if they are incredibly handsome! Izuku glances back at the random stranger who all of a sudden started talking to him. He looked like he could have been a model with his looks and the confidence that emitted out of him. His hair reminded him of ice cream, half a soft vanilla, the other half a sweet strawberry color. His eyes were the same, two different colors, but both of them intense and unwavering as he met his gaze straight on. Icy blue and stone cold grey; those eyes kind of looked scary, but intriguing at the same time. He didn’t look all that older than him, they were both probably around the same age. Maybe he was a new student or something? 

Whatever, there must be something wrong with him. No sane person calls someone they’ve never met their future husband. His mother taught him to never fall for just a pretty face, and to not talk to strangers, and that any person could be a stalker, so always be careful. Izuku toughens up his face, bows down lightly at the man not wanting to be rude, and then starts walking off with Uraraka.

“Izuku, what are you doing? He was cute,” Uraraka whispers to him.

“He just announced he was going to marry me, there’s something wrong with him.” Izuku whispers harshly back.

“Who cares? He doesn’t look that crazy.”

“I’m Shouto! Shouto Todoroki! I hope to see you again real soon, future husband!”

Izuku looks behind his shoulder and sees him smiling and waving goodbye at him.

Izuku scrunches his face together and groans out a bit. His head feels a little bit dizzy right now while his body… well it feels as light as a feather. Izuku tries to move to get into a more comfortable position, but it feels like he’s being pinned kind of. Izuku tries to raise his hand up and rubs his eye. Is he- he’s being moved right now. His body is swaying side to side. Izuku tries to fight the sleep and opens one of his eyes up.

It’s so dark in their apartment. Didn’t he leave the light on? Did he fall asleep? Oh no, did he remember to lock the door? Izuku groans out again as he wakes up more.

“Shhh, go back to sleep.”

That voice- a chill runs straight down Izuku’s spine. He all of a sudden feels the sturdy arms wrapped around his body and the warmth that’s surrounding him right now. His eyes open up wide as he hears a door creak open. A small bit of light appears and reveals the face of his lover.

“Shouto.”

Shouto glances down at him and smiles, “sorry for waking you. You didn’t look comfy on the couch.”

Izuku feels like he’s swallowed cotton all of a sudden. How long? How long was he waiting for this? For his return? Izuku raises his arms and wraps them around his neck, holding onto him for his dear life. A dream. Is this a dream? It might be a dream, it feels like a dream. He’ll take it if it is a dream.

“Welcome home.”

Shouto blinks, looking stunned for a second, before he kisses his head, “I’m home.”

He walks into his bedroom and gently places his boyfriend down on the bed. Izuku pouts and hums in disagreement as Shouto tries to pull his arms off of him. He hangs on stubbornly, refusing to let go. If he does he’ll disappear and that’s the last thing he wants.

“Izuku, I’ll be right back. Let me clean up first, go back to bed.”

“No.” He says stubbornly.

“I’m dirty-”

“I don’t care, don’t leave.”

Shouto sighs out dramatically before he’s pulled into bed with him. Izuku crawls on top of him and snuggles into his chest. This right here is comfort, this right here is home. Izuku listens to his heart beating inside of his chest, the only lullaby he ever needs. Shouto buries his hand into his hair and starts stroking his head. He’ll stay here until he falls back to sleep and then sneak away to take a shower.

“I had a dream about you,” he mumbles, nuzzling his face against his chest.

“Really?”

“Yeah, or maybe it was a memory. It was about the first time we ever met. Do you remember?”

“Of course I do. I still plan on making you my future husband whenever you finally say yes- ow”

“Shouto that wasn’t funny then and it’s not funny now.”

“Hahahaha, was it a good dream at least?”

Izuku closes his eyes and smiles to himself, “I wonder.”

Chapter Text

It feels so nice to sleep in a bed again. No, maybe not a bed in general, but this specific bed. This bed he’s been sleeping on for the past three years with his partner. This bed that had their body shape indented in it and their smell mixed into the sheets that could never disappear no matter how many times they washed them. Shouto rolls around and stretches out his arm, wondering why he isn’t hugging anyone right now. He touches something soft and hugs it to his chest… 

Shouto opens his eyes and stares down at the pillow he’s hugging. Pillow? Where’s his boyfriend? Shouto leans up and looks on the other side of the bed. It’s empty- he quickly pulls the blankets back and feels around...the bed is cold. He hasn’t been here in a while. Ugh, Shouto groans to himself. What time is it? Did he sleep in? Why didn’t Izuku wake him up? Shouto rolls off of the bed and yawns out loudly as he drags his feet into the other room.

Something delicious hits his nose the closer he gets into the kitchen. A soft melody is playing and he spies his boyfriend singing lightly as he dances in the kitchen. He takes a step back to commit this scene to memory. He memorizes the song playing out loud, the sound of Izuku’s voice as he sings kind of terribly along with it, the grey sweats and faded blue t-shirt he’s wearing, and the smell of bacon shifting through the air. Once Shouto memorizes this view he spends the next couple of seconds enjoying this moment before he finally decides to join it.

“Smells good.”

“Huh? Oh, look who finally woke up. Good morning Shouto. You came home pretty late last night, didn’t you? You can keep resting if you like, I was going to wake you up when everything was ready.”

“No, I’m fine. I just need to recharge my batteries.”

“Recharge your batteries?”

Shouto walks up behind Izuku and wraps his arms around his waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. He closes his eyes and sighs out happily, recharging his batteries. Izuku giggles and tries to shake out of his grasp.

“Shouto! Be careful, I’m cooking around an open flame right now. Down boy.”

Shouto kisses his temple before pulling away, “batteries recharged. I’ll go set the table, what are we having?”

“Bacon, eggs, and french toast.”

“Yummy.”

Izuku stirs around the bacon, checking both sides to make sure it was cooked. He didn’t like his bacon burnt and crispy, but lightly cooked and still fatty. It was more juicy that way. Izuku turns off the fire and transfers the bacon onto a plate with napkins on it. With that done breakfast was all ready. Izuku picks up the plates and heads over to the table, placing them down one by one. Shouto finished setting up and wrapped his arms back around Izuku.

“I’m starving.”

“Sit down and eat then, breakfast is ready. Do you want some coffee? Tea?”

“Do we have any juice?”

“I think we might have orange juice.”

“Yes please.”

“Sit, sit, I’ll go get it.”

Shouto grumbles lightly hardheartedly as he pulls away and takes a seat at the table. He serves himself a hefty plate of everything, pouring syrup over it all, and picks up a fork. After the first bite Shouto is almost reduced to the point of tears. It’s been too long, way too long since he’s had good cooking like this. For the past two weeks everything he’s eaten was trash compared to this.

“How was your trip?” Izuku asks, placing a full glass next to his plate.

“Like it always is. I don’t know why I keep this job.”

“Hehehe, because if you didn’t we wouldn’t be able to afford this place. I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, although you did stay away longer than normal.” He laughs sitting down next to him.

“Yeah, sorry about that. My client this time around was more of an asshole than usual. My hotel was cold and lonely, the room service there was shit, and the people I had to meet were such dumbasses-” Shouto sighs out in frustration and runs a hand through his hair, “I’m just happy I’m home. I won’t be going on another trip for a good long while. What about you? Is today a holiday or something? How come you’re home?”

“I haven’t seen you in a while and wanted to spend the day with you, so I called off. We can do whatever you want today.”

Shouto chuckles, “I’ll be fine as long as I can spend it with you and continue to eat your cooking. Can we have cold soba for lunch?”

“I’m going to have to go to the store to buy the ingredients. I also needed some more laundry soap and new blinds for our room.”

“We can go shopping for everything together whenever you’re ready.”

“Hmm, that doesn’t exactly sound like a fun date.”

Shouto chokes on his food a bit making Izuku laugh to himself. He rubs his back up and down, trying to help soothe him.

“I was only kidding Shouto, please don’t die when I just got you back.”

“I’m sorry, I can take you on a fun date. Where do you want to go? The movies? The beach? An amusement park? Just name it and we’ll go.”

“Hahahaha, Shouto! I told you I was only kidding, any outing with you is a fun date.”

Shouto takes a small breath, “this weekend I’ll take you someplace special.”

“Sho-”

“Saturday we’ll go on a date. Be prepared, I have a lot of stuff to make up for with you. I’ll make it the best date you’ve ever been on… so far.”

Izuku snorts and rolls his eyes, “eat your damn bacon Shouto.”

“I’m happy that I was able to find you again so easily. Then again, I would be able to spot you out in a crowd.”

Izuku blinks as he looks up from his book, eyes widening slightly as he notices who is standing in front of him. The handsome model man he met a week ago, who Izuku had convinced himself was all a weird dream that happened, was back. He smiles at him and Izuku feels his heart go boom.

“Remember me?”

He gulps, “afraid so.”

“Really? That makes me glad. What’s my name?”

Huh? Izuku furrows his eyebrows together a bit as he fixes his glasses. His name, what was his name again? He told it to him as he was walking away and Uraraka kept singing his name as she teased him. It was- it was… ugh did he wipe it out of his memories because he was so annoyed? He’s sure it started with the letter t.

“T-tah- to-”

“Todoroki Shouto, you can call me by my first name though. What about your name? Do you mind telling me today?”

Shouto leans forward and tilts his head slightly. His face completely softens, eyes lowering a bit, bottom lip pouting out, looking very much like a small puppy right now. Izuku gulps thickly, feeling like he’s bullying him or something all of sudden. Why is he feeling like the guilty one though? This person is a stranger to him.

“No? That’s alright, I’ll just call you beautiful for now. Are you free right now? I’d love to take you out if you aren’t. I don’t see the girl you were with last time. She wasn’t your girlfriend or anything like that… was she? I’d feel bad trying to steal her boyfriend from behind her back. You can call and invite her to come as well. I’d like for this to be a fair fight.”

Izuku is determined that this man is indeed crazy on some level. Normal people don’t talk like this- hell he doesn’t think crazy people talk like this either. He doesn’t know what type of people talk like Shouto Todoroki, and he doesn’t want to find out either. This is his fault. Because he ran away instead of confronting him head on he got the delusion in his head that him not saying no meant come back and see me again. Izuku hates confrontation of any kind, but he can’t run away from this again. He doesn’t want to have to worry about running into Shouto again at school. He doesn’t want to start looking behind his shoulder, not when he finally has a peaceful life going on. He takes a small breath as he stands up and faces him.

“Please listen Todoroki-”

“Shouto.”

“Huh?”

“Call me Shouto, beautiful.”

Izuku’s face flusters, “d-don’t call me that-”

“Why? It’s the truth and since I don’t know your name I think it fits very well.”

He’s- he’s- such a smooth talker.

“Listen Todo- Shouto,” Izuku quickly changes seeing him about to object again, “I’m- I’m really flattered that you’re interested in me, but I’m afraid that I don’t feel the same way. My answer is no.”

Shouto stills for a second. All he does is stand still and stare at him and for a second Izuku is scared that he’s about to react poorly to his rejection. Shouto has probably never dealt with rejection before since he was so beautiful. Was this his first time? He quickly glances around, wondering if anyone was near them. If something happened would they be able to come to his rescue fast enough before he got seriously injured?

“Are you dating that girl you were with last time?”

“Huh?” Izuku hums, quickly returning his gaze.

Shouto stares right into his eyes and tilts his head, “are you dating her?”

“N-no-”

“What about anyone else? Are you single?”

“I don’t see the point-”

“Are you beautiful?”

Izuku flinches and squeezes his hands together, “y-yes.”

“Are you straight? Gay? Bisexual? Asexual?”

“S-Shouto?”

“What’s the matter then? What’s wrong with me? If you tell me I can work on it and change. If you aren’t dating anyone then what’s the harm of going on a date with me? Huh? Is there someone you’re already interested in? Do you have plans on dating that person? Tell me what’s the matter-”

“You’re too scary!” Izuku blurts out.

He pants out heavily and jerks back like he was just slapped. Why the hell did he blurt that out? He- he was feeling so pressured- Shouto didn’t- he didn’t stop talking, and he kept leaning closer and closer into his private space making Izuku feel smaller. Shouto mouths the words scary and finally notices how… afraid Izuku looks at him right now. No, he doesn’t want that. He takes a huge step back and runs a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I-... I’m scary?” He asks himself.

Izuku grabs his backpack and his book from the bench, planning on booking it if anything else happens. He can use the book as a weapon too and throw it at his head to make his get away since… since Shouto looked like he worked out. He wasn’t wearing a long sleeved shirt today, so Izuku could notice all the muscles on his arms. He was really fit- why is he checking this man out? No, stop looking at his biceps and stare at… the sad expression on his face. The puppy dog look had been multiplied by three, no, was multiplied by a whole litter of puppies sadly looking and whimpering over at him. Izuku feels a stab of pain inside of his chest.

“Is it my scar? I- I can’t change that, unless maybe I did plastic surgery or something.” Shouto mumbles, bringing his hand up to cover it.

His scar? 

“No. I don’t think your scar is scary, I’m used to scars. I have a couple dozen myself all over my body. It’s your- your confidence and attitude towards me. It’s the fact that you said you wanted to marry me at our first meeting and then came back to my school to stalk me. Do you- do you really not notice how strong you’re coming onto me? It’s making me uncomfortable. It made me uncomfortable last time and I’m definitely feeling the same exact way now.” Izuku explains to him.

Shouto looks to the side, “thank you for being honest with me. I-... as terrible as this is about to sound, I’m used to getting things that I want. Of course I wasn’t expecting you to just fall into my arms once I told you that I fell for you- I don’t want you to be with me unless it’s of your own free will. I promise you I’m not… I won’t be scary to you. I’ll stop acting so confident, I’ll change my attitude, I’ll tone down everything and won’t make you feel uncomfortable. I won’t even mention my feelings again, we can start off as friends. I’d love to be your friend beautiful.”

Izuku’s… both really confused and very flattered at the same time. He apologized though, a crazy person wouldn’t apologize, and he sounded very sincere about it as well. Slowly he drops his guard down just a bit and relaxes his hands. Maybe he wasn’t crazy, maybe he was just really stupid and intense. Izuku opens and closes his mouth several times before he sighs out in frustration. He sits back down on the bench and takes his glasses off, cleaning them on his shirt.

“Um- sit- could you sit down for a second Shouto?”

“Of course.”

Shouto sits right next to him on the bench. He notices how Izuku’s shoulder tightens up a bit and scoots over all the way to the other side. Izuku relaxes a bit and gives him a small smile. He puts his glasses back on and blinks a couple of times.

“I honestly don’t know what to think of you.”

“You can think of me however you like.”

“See? That’s exactly my point. Why are you so… like this? You don’t know me, you don’t even know my name, yet you’re trying so hard to win me over. It’s throwing me in for a loop.”

Shouto looks down at his hands as he thinks of his next words very carefully, “how can you tell which painting is a masterpiece? How can you tell which songs are a symphony? How can you tell that you’ve met your soulmate? Obviously there are long, ridiculous answers to these questions, but the simplest answer would be that you could tell in an instant. By one look, one note, one glance… you just know. You feel something in your heart that stirs you, makes you feel alive, makes you come alive and-... that’s how it was with you. I saw you and felt something indescribable. I see you now and still feel the exact same way. Can I-”

Izuku sees him reach out and flinches. Shouto’s hand pauses in midair as he gives him a look.

“Please?”

Slowly he continues to reach out… and slowly Izuku allows him to grab his wrist. A jolt of electricity runs through him as soon as he touches his skin and he quickly looks at Shouto, wondering if he felt the same thing too. If he did he doesn’t show it. He brings Izuku’s hand towards him and places it on his chest, right over his beating heart. Izuku feels it racing. He closes his eyes and feels Shouto’s heart beating really, really fast, like a ticking time bomb about to explode, or- or something else that doesn’t sound so deadly. He doesn’t know why he thought to compare it to a bomb, but it’s racing… which is strange since-... since Shouto looks really calm and collected sitting across from him. Judging from how fast his heart is racing though it’s the complete opposite. 

When Izuku’s heart races people can always tell. His hands get all clammy, his face lights up like a Christmas tree, he can’t say two words without stuttering, and no matter what he always does this kind of weird shifting dance since he can’t stand still. He wishes he could keep calm like Shouto; he would have saved himself a lot of embarrassment if he could control his emotions like that. If Shouto never would have let him feel his heartbeat he never would have known how nervous he actually is right now.

“This is what my heart felt like when I first saw you, except I think it was even worse. Faster, it was much faster. I thought I was having a heart attack for a second, but it was because I was staring at you.”

Izuku’s face flusters, the freckles on his cheeks standing out like small little sparkling diamonds under the sea. Shouto stares at them and wishes he could brush his fingers against his cheeks. He makes a plan on counting each and every freckle on his beautiful face one day.

“I-” his voice sounds so small, Izuku tries clearing it, “I understand.”

He snatches his hand away from his grasp, holding it close to his own chest now. He doesn’t need to feel his heart though to know it’s beating like wild right now.

“I’m not who you think I am. Whatever image you have of me in your head… I’m only going to disappoint you.” Izuku looks down at the ground.

He knows he’s handsome. He knows he’s a catch, he knows he’s going to make someone very lucky someday, he knows all the things that he’s been hearing all his life, but knowing and believing are two separate things. Shouto could actually believe all those things because he was incredibly good looking, and slowly Izuku’s starting to realize his personality isn’t all that bad either. Izuku- he isn’t like that. He doesn’t have good looks or a good personality. He’s just… him. An average bookworm, kind of smart, kind of funny, kind of good looking, kind of- kind of- kind of- average all across the board. Sure these things happen when two people who don’t look like they’d go good together do end up together, but that’s never happened to Izuku before, so why should he believe this is his lucky break?

Oh- what is he even thinking in the first place? Guys like Shouto weren’t his type. Flashy boys dripping with confidence and oozing out sex appeal didn’t attract him… alright, maybe they did a little bit. Shouto was- Shouto was- he was…

“I don’t know what image you think that I may have, but I can tell you right now it isn’t true. Listen beautiful, I may have talked a big game, but I believe anything can happen. You might end up being a terrible person. I might actually end up hating you and regretting calling you my future husband. We might mix together like water and oil and end up in flames at the end because of how badly we weren’t supposed to go together, but I’m willing to try even if it might end up a mess for that one small chance that it might actually work. That I realize you’re the man of my dreams, that we get along swimmingly and can’t keep our hands off each other, that I was right to call you my future husband because that’s exactly what I want for you to be. I know what I’m feeling right now and I can honestly tell you I’ve never felt this way before.”

“Well you know I don’t feel the same way.”

“That’s alright, I’m confident in myself that I can make you look my way and change your feelings.”

Izuku chews on his bottom lip, “you’re really relentless, aren’t you?”

“I- I’m sorry, am I coming on too strong again? We can call it a day for today if you like. I’ll take my chance on finding you again since I believe we’re meant to be.” Shouto says as he stands up.

“No, I-”

… He found it annoying at first, but now… now… he found it kind of cute. Wow, he really wasn’t kidding about changing his feelings.

“I am gay. I am not seeing anyone right now, nor do I have a crush on anyone. I’m kind of focusing on school and my studies so I can graduate on time.”

“I understand. School is very important, I won’t stand in your way.”

Oh wow, Izuku can’t believe he’s about to do this. Uraraka always tells him he doesn’t have enough fun though. Despite her dragging him to every party she went to, she didn’t believe it counted unless he got someone’s number or kissed someone in a closet. Izuku stands up and hugs his book to his chest.

“I probably won’t have anytime for you between school and work and my friends and family.”

“I’m a very busy person as well, I’ll happily take anything you’re willing to offer.”

“I... don’t really have the best track record in dating.”

“Neither do I. The last person I dated it lasted two months and it ended up with her trying to stab me.”

Izuku’s eyes widen as he flinches back, “what?!”

“Ah- too much? She thought I was cheating- which I don’t! I don’t cheat- I believe in monogamy and sometimes I’m a very jealous person, but she got it inside of her head because I was never around that I was spending my time with someone else and… yeah.”

“O-okay, you win in that department… she isn’t going to come stab me if I agree to one date with you, is she?”

Shouto perks up, his eyes widening as he straightens up his back, “no! Of course not, she doesn’t live around here anymore, and even if she did I’d be able to protect you.”

Izuku presses his lips together, “so you’re… bi? I normally try to date people who would leave me for another man, not another man or woman.”

“I’m attracted more to men. I honestly prefer men to women, she was just… something someone convinced me to do, which I ended up regretting listening to that person. I’ve only dated two women in my life. The one who tried to kill me and once when I was in high school. She ended up becoming my very best friend, very gay, and very much in love with her girlfriend. I won’t leave you for a woman, I don’t plan on leaving you for anyone.”

He’s- he’s out of excuses. He’s not trying to convince himself anymore that this is a terrible idea that he shouldn’t do because in all honestly… he’s curious now. He’s curious about what Shouto described to him, curious if he will actually fall for him, curious on how the two of them will turn out… curious if this is all just an act and he will end up being crazy so Izuku will never doubt his gut instinct again.

“Alright Shouto. I have one more class for today until I’m free. If you want to come back in an hour to meet up we can-... we can get dinner together. Just this one time though! If it goes well then that’s that, but if it doesn’t you can’t show up at my school and bother me anymore. You’ll have to leave me alone forever. Deal?”

Shouto smiles brightly at him, “deal. I won’t let you regret it. I’ll meet you here for our date in an hour.”

“It’s not a date.”

“But you-”

“I changed my mind. We’re just getting dinner together, okay?”

“Okay, that’s fine. I’m happy with whatever you offer. Can I please have your name now? Or do I have to wait until our not date?”

Izuku snorts a little and covers his mouth to hide his smile, “Midoriya.”

“Midoriya… first or last?”

“Last name.”

“And your first?... Please?”

Izuku feels weak underneath those eyes. Gods, maybe he really was affected the first time he saw Shouto. He didn’t let it consume and control him like it did for Shouto though, he tried his best to ignore it. He’s not able to ignore it anymore though.

“Izuku. Midoriya Izuku, but my friends call me Deku.”

“Deku? I much rather call you Izuku… if you’ll allow me to of course.”

He shrugs, “that’s fine I guess.”

It won’t matter if this date ends up in flames and besides he’s calling Shouto Shouto… not of his own free will. Shouto smiles happily at him again and opens his lips.

“Izuku.”

A shiver runs down his spine. Izuku clears his throat and fixes his glasses on his face, looking at his wrist to check the time only to realize he isn’t wearing a watch. He doesn’t let that stop him though and plays it off.

“Oh- look at the time, I have to go now. I’ll see you later Shouto, I really have to run right now. Bye.”

He resists his urge to take off running and forces himself to simply speed walk, trying to look as less awkward as he can.

“Have a great time in class Izuku! I’ll see you in a bit!”

Izuku flinches and looks behind his shoulder, seeing Shouto waving at him. He throws a small wave back before he takes off. Wow oh wow, who is this person he’s suddenly decided to become today? Izuku doesn’t know who he is anymore… he’s someone with a not date later tonight. Izuku feels the corner of his lip turn up a bit. A not date, he can’t remember the last time he went on one of those. He suddenly regrets not asking him to meet him someplace; he’s not wearing anything flattering right now, and he’s sure his hair is a mess, and he’s wearing his thickest pair of glasses too… and Shouto still wanted to go out with him looking not his best.

“Shouto Todoroki,” Izuku whispers to himself. 

He hopes he’s not crazy.

Chapter Text

Izuku yawns out a little bit and adjusts himself to get more comfortable. Shouto lets him go for a second as he rolls around on top of him and lays on his back. Once he settles down Shouto wraps his arms around him again and rubs his full belly. Izuku feels like at any second he’s going to pass out. He can’t help that though, he’s comfortable now lying on the couch with his boyfriend as they watch whatever is on TV with his belly full of noodles. These are all the perfect conditions for a really good nap. Izuku hums to himself as he places his hands on top of Shouto’s, wishing to lace their fingers together.

“Shouto, babe, what happened to your hands?” Izuku pouts, running his fingers across his knuckles.

Shouto quickly tries to pull them away, his boyfriend’s grip on his hand is too strong though and it’s already too late. He noticed them. Izuku frowns as he brushes against the rough and beaten skin across his knuckles. It doesn’t look bad, but his skin is flaking there like it was near the end stages of healing.

“It’s- it’s nothing. I forgot to wrap my hands up when I went to the gym, that’s all.”

“Again? Shouto, I bought you that tape specifically for you to use it. It’s just wasting away if you don’t.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just forgot is all until it was too late.”

Izuku hums, “you need to stop working out so much. I know it wasn’t a vacation, but you got to go on an all expenses paid trip. You should have been relaxing outside of work baby.”

“Working out does relax me and it was very convenient since there was a gym in my hotel. If I don’t work out I’m going to end up fat with all the cooking you do. I thought you liked my muscles?” Shouto asks, tickling Izuku’s ear as he whispers into it.

Izuku shivers and rubs his ear against his shoulder, “stop that. I’d love you no matter what shape you’re in Shouto.”

“Don’t think I don’t notice how much you squeeze my arms on a daily basis.”

“S-Sh-Shouto!” Izuku sits up, face turning red as he stutters out from being caught.

Shouto laughs and leans up from the couch with him, trying to drag him back down into his chest. He wraps one arm around Izuku’s shoulder and pulls him back towards him, pressing his lips against his cheek.

“Why are you embarrassed? Are you forgetting how obsessed I am over your freckles?” He asks.

Izuku blushes as he looks up at him, his face a very beautiful soft pink right now. Shouto raises his hand to cuff his cheek and tilts his head up a bit, glancing down at his lips. Without saying a word, he leans in to claim them. Izuku closes his eyes as he kisses his boyfriend. Their kiss tastes so much like soba it’s kind of nasty, so he pulls away and bites down on his bottom lip. Shouto is the one who actually appreciates the taste and pulls him back, wishing to bite and nipple on that bottom lip for him.

“Hmm- Shouto.”

“Hmm?” Shouto hums.

He changes the direction of his lips and kisses his chin instead, leaving a trail of burning hot kisses down his neck.

“O-our movie.”

“We can watch it later… unless you don’t want to make-out?” Shouto pulls away slightly.

That’s the biggest lie ever if Izuku says no. He’s been missing his boyfriend so much because of his trip. He hadn’t seen him in so long, hasn’t kissed him in two weeks, or hugged him, only surviving on calls and text messages every so often. The two of them hadn’t really been all that lovey dovey either since they had so many errands to do this morning. Izuku shakes his head and wraps his arms around Shouto’s shoulders, resting their foreheads together.

“Can we at least brush our teeth first?”

Shouto chuckles, “don’t like the taste of soba?”

“Not like this.”

“Come on, I want to kiss you like crazy right now beautiful.”

Izuku giggles and squeals when Shouto picks him up. He quickly wraps his legs around his waist and continues to laugh as Shouto carries him into the bathroom and sits him down on the counter. He missed this man. He really, really missed him and he’s happy that he’s finally home.

“Did you want to go on a double date with me and Tsuyu this weekend?” 

Izuku stops trying to lift his chop sticks to his mouth and brings them back to his bowl, furrowing his eyebrows together as he stares at his best friend, “double date?”

“Yeah, aren’t you dating that super hot guy?” Uraraka asks.

“Whaaat? You’re finally dating him Deku? Good for you!” Mina giggles, shooting him a thumb’s up.

Izuku feels his cheeks heat up and he slams his hands on their lunch table, “no, no, no! That’s not true! We’re not dating!”

“Aw, really? Boo.” Mina pouts.

“Are you keeping things casual then? You’ve been on a couple dates with him, or are you two just friends? I’m curious now, you haven’t dated anyone in a while.” Iida asks.

“Yeah, if you’re not dating him then why aren’t you? Everybody needs to love Deku.” Uraraka lectures.

“Oh my god, how did the conversation become this?” Izuku whines.

“Because Ochako wanted to know if you would like to join our date this weekend,” Tsuyu explains.

Ah, that’s right, and because of her one small little question everyone had their eyes on Izuku now and his non-existent love life. Izuku didn’t like being the center of attention, especially when it was about this type of topic where his friends try to match make and hook him up with people. Why can’t they understand that he doesn’t mind being single? That school is more important to him than a partner? 

“So wait, I’m confused now. If you aren’t dating him… then what exactly are you doing with Mr. Super Model?”

“His name is Shouto.”

“Excuse me, Shouto then- wait is that his first name? You two are already on a first name basis? How long have you known each other Deku? Two months? Are you sure that isn’t love?”

Izuku groans out loudly and his friends start laughing as they tease him. Only Iida is on his side, patting his back and giving a soft glare at their friends.

“Alright everyone, that’s enough.”

“What? We’re only kidding, you have to admit it seems kind of serious since they’re on a first name basis. We don’t even call Deku his first name and we’ve known him for years.”

“He insisted on me calling him Shouto.”

“And does he call you Deku or Izuku?”

Izuku pouts slightly, “... Izuku.”

“And that’s not love?”

“It’s not.”

“Wait a second, I’m confused. Is this Shouto person the one who wanted to marry him? Or are we talking about someone new?” Hagakure asks.

“Yeah, that’s him. He fell head over heels in love with our Deku at first glance.” Uraraka smirks at her.

“Aw, that’s so romantic. And you Deku? How are you feeling?” She asks.

“Guys! Can we please stop talking about this?” Izuku whines, “I just want to finish my lunch before going back to class.”

“I’ll drop it if you give us something that’ll satisfy our hunger for gossip.” 

“It’s nothing serious. We’ve only been on three dates, both of us are very busy with our life. That’s all there is to it.”

“Really? Three dates? That’s… kind of boring.” Mina sighs out.

“No Mina, you’re thinking about this wrong. When was the last time Deku ever went on a date? Let alone three with the same guy? Come on Deku, we’re your friends. You can tell us… unless we’re taking this a bit too far. Sorry Deku, I’m just… I’m really happy for you.” Uraraka smiles sweetly at him.

Izuku’s face softens a little bit and he looks across the table at all of his friends. All of them have the same look on their faces, full of concern and caring. He really does have good friends. He didn’t know he worried them so much. It’s the reason why they always invite him out, and make sure he’s eating, making him take breaks, and taking him to parties to have fun since sometimes he tends to be a workaholic and study all the time. 

“I like him, okay? I like him and he’s not as crazy as I thought he was, so I’m continuing to see him. That’s all.”

“Wait a second, you think he’s crazy?” Iida asks, fixing his glasses.

“I thought, I don’t think it anymore. I just… didn’t think a sane rational person would propose to someone like that after simply looking at them, so I thought he was a bit crazy.”

“I didn’t know that,” Uraraka mumbles.

“You didn’t think that either because you were blinded by Shouto’s good looks.” Izuku shakes his head at him.

“Maybe Shouto was crazy.... Crazy in love!” Mina sings.

Izuku sighs and rolls his eyes, “I’m done talking about this now. Is anyone ready for the final next week? I got stuck on the study packet.”

“Oh yeah, I finished it. Which part are you stuck on? I can give you my notes.” Iida tells him.

“No, let’s keep talking about love!” Hagakure shakes her hands up and down.

“So was that a no on the double date Deku? Too bad, I really wanted to meet him again. Hopefully one day when you’re more serious, okay?”

“What does everyone want to drink?”

“A peche-y keen please!”

“I’ll take a grasshopper, thanks Shouto.”

 Shouto nods his head, “and you Izuku?”

“Whatever is on tap, I’m just going to have one drink tonight.”

“Booooo!” Uraraka whines, patting her hand on the table.

“I’m sorry Uraraka, but some of us are teachers and don’t want to go teach a classroom full of young children with a hangover.”

“I’ll be right back.” Shouto nods his head and heads off towards the bar to order their drinks.

Izuku watches him leave with a small smile on his face before he looks back at his friends. Tsuyu is messing around with her phone real quick while Uraraka is giving him a very stubborn pout as she leans against her hands.

“Deku, when was the last time we hung out like this?”

“About two or three days ago before Shouto came back?”

“I meant all of us? Huh? You’re supposed to cut it loose when we have a reunion.”

“I am cutting it loose Uraraka, I already agreed to have drinks with you instead of dinner.”

“Drinks are plural! More than two!”

“Please excuse her Deku, she’s really excited to see you again. She was looking forward to tonight.” Tsuyu says.

“Tsu! What the heck?” Uraraka pouts at her.

“I’m sorry Uraraka, you know I’ve never been good at handling my alcohol though.”

“Hehehe, I remember. You were such a lightweight, I tried to invite you yesterday. How come you were busy?” Uraraka tilts her head to the side.

“Well Shouto came home on Wednesday night. Thursday I called off work and we did some shopping for things we needed around the house. He told me we were going on a date on Saturday, so that’s what I was doing.”

“Oh, that’s sweet. Where did you guys go?” Tsuyu asks.

“Um… he took me to this really nice breakfast place near the beach and then we went for a walk along the beach. After that we had seafood by the pier and for dinner he took me to this really nice restaurant. It was really romantic, but between you and me definitely not worth the price. I could totally make better salmon.” Izuku huffs.

“Wow, Shouto really knows how to spoil you. Am I hearing wedding bells in the future?”

Izuku chokes on his own spit as his face turns red, “huh? What? No-no- what are you talking about?!”

“Well you’ve been dating him for three years now and didn’t he want to marry you the first time you met?”

“No Ochako, they’ve been dating for six years. Izuku’s been living with him for three years.”

“Oh, well that’s even longer! Has he popped the question again? Are you going to say yes if he does?” Uraraka’s eyes sparkly as she asks.

“I- I- why are we talking about me all of a sudden? You’re always like this, even when Shouto and I first started dating.” Izuku blushes.

“That just goes to show you how invested that I am in your relationship. I only want the best for you Deku, and I want you to be happy, and I also shipped you guys, so tell me? Tell me?”

“Well- well- you and Tsu have been dating since you were 16! Do you plan on asking her to marry you?!” 

Uraraka’s eyes widen as her jaw drops, looking at her girlfriend before looking back over at him, “shut up, that’s different!”

“It’s the exact same! You feel what I’m feeling now?!”

“Sorry that took so long, there was a bit of a line.” Shouto says walking back over to their table.

Uraraka snatches her drink as soon as he places it down and drinks it all in one gulp. She slams her cup back on the table and Shouto blinks as he stares at her.

“Did- did you want another?”

“Don't worry Shouto, we’ll get it ourselves.” Tsuyu tells him.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Come on,” Izuku says, tugging at his arm.

“So, what did I miss?” He asks.

Shouto feels like he missed out on something because everyone’s face at the table turns into a bright red color as they blush. Izuku hugs on his arm and shakes his head.

“Nothing important, thanks for the drink babe. So how has everyone been? Huh? We all have a lot of catching up to do. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten together like this.”

Shouto gives him a look, but lets it go as he takes a sip from his drink, “yeah, it’s been a long time. Tell me what I’ve been missing.”

“Hahahahahaha,” Izuku giggles to himself, hanging all over his boyfriend.

“Whoa there, here we go. Just a couple of more steps Izuku, we’re almost home.” Shouto says.

He has his arm wrapped around him as he helps him towards their front door. He reaches for his keys and unlocks the door, dragging his boyfriend inside. He starts turning on all the lights as he makes his way over to their bedroom.

“Shouto… I don’t understand, why is the room spinning?” Izuku mumbles, turning his eyes around and around.

“Because you had a little bit too much to drink babe, that’s all. Don’t worry, you’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“What? You’re kidding me, but I only had one beer?”

“No you didn’t, you had more than just one. Come on, down you go.”

Izuku huffs as he falls down on the bed. He hiccups and rubs his eyes while Shouto kneels down and starts to undo his shoes. He pulls them off one by one and reaches for Izuku’s pants next, tugging them off of him.

“Oooh Shouto, are you about to have your way with me? Hehehehe,” Izuku laughs.

“I don’t miss your drunk self, that’s for sure. Hands up.”

“Whooo! Party!” 

Shouto lifts up Izuku’s shirt and pulls it right off of him. He moves him around and tucks him under the covers, ruffling up his hair a bit before he starts to undress and get more comfortable as well. Izuku rolls around in the bed and watches Shouto strip, licking his lips when he sees him take his pants off.

“You have a cute butt Shouto.”

“Thank you babe, you have a cute butt too.”

“Come here, I want to squeeze it.”

Shouto rolls his eyes and walks back over to the bed. He pulls back the covers and crawls inside, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. Izuku grins as he snuggles up closely to him and lowers his hand, pinching his left butt cheek. Shouto chuckles and runs his fingers through his hair.

“It’s time for bed Izuku, you have work tomorrow.”

“Hmmm, but work is boring. I rather stay here and have my way with you. What do you say?”

“You’re loopy, but you always get more confident when you’re drunk, or maybe it’s a lot more honest? Hey Izuku, what were you and the others talking about when I was getting drinks earlier tonight, huh?”

“What? Talking? Why are we talking? We should be kissing. Mwah, mwah,” Izuku puckers his lips at him.

“Hahaha, Izuku, I’ll kiss you if you tell me.”

“Really? You promise? Deal! Hehehe, sucker, I would have told you anyway for free. So we- we were talking about getting married! Uraraka was teasing me about when I was going to marry you, and then I teased her back, but no one thought it was funny or laughed. I think it’s funny now though, hehehehe.”

Shouto’s eyes widen slightly before he leans down and kisses him gently on his forehead, “and when are you going to marry me?”

“Hmmm, I don’t know, do you want to marry me?”

“Of course I do, I love you very much Izuku. I’d love to be your husband.”

Izuku smiles brightly, “I’d love to be your husband too. Mrs. Izuku Todoroki, hahahahaha! Mrs!”

Shouto chuckles and snuggles up with him real close, “don’t forget you said that. I’ll ask you tomorrow.”

“Hehehe, won’t forget silly Shouto, I won’t forget.”

Chapter Text

“One two three, one two three drink!”

Izuku takes a shot and downs it.

“One two three, one two three drink!”

His face scrunches together as he takes another shot.

“One two three, one two three drink! Throw’ em back till I lose count!”

These drinks go straight to his head as he takes another shot. It burns as it runs down his throat, but it’s a deliciously good burn that he welcomes. Finals were finally over and according to his friends that meant it was time to party! It was also time for Izuku to kick back a little bit and not stress so much about school and work. He passed all his classes, so it was time to celebrate! Go big and go hard!

“I love this song!” Uraraka cheers waving around a bottle of vodka, splashing people standing around her a bit.

Izuku giggles as he nods his head, “I love it too!”

“Iida! Iida! Do you love this song?!” 

Iida stumbles a bit and opens his eyes up wide, “I think I drank too much.”

“Nonsense! We’ve barely even started! Let’s drink! Drink! Drink!”

“Iida! Let’s dance!”

Izuku giggles and laughs as he grabs Iida’s arm and starts dragging him to the living room where everyone is dancing. Iida yelps as he follows after him and struggles to keep himself upright. He has a hard time standing, let alone dancing. Izuku has no problem though as he starts shaking his head side to side, singing out loudly to the music. Iida doesn’t appear to hear the rhythm, because he starts doing the robot where he stands. Uraraka, standing across the floor near the kitchen, spits out her drink and laughs at the top of her lungs as he watches the two of them.

Izuku is not a party person. He has a clear hierarchy he strictly follows. Number one is his family, his mother and father. Number two is school, he’s going to graduate and make his parents proud, and number three is his friends. Passing all his classes was his goal every semester, so he only ever went to two, maybe three parties whenever his friends really wanted him to come and drag him out (or whenever they would trick him into appearing). It’s not like he hated parties, Izuku actually loved them. He was normally a quiet person unless he was around his friends, but at parties all that went out of the window! He wasn’t afraid to talk to new people! To sing and dance! To drink until he felt sick- actually no, he didn’t like drinking until he was sick, but he would drink more than usual.

The party was in full swing, Izuku had no idea whose house they were at though. Not that it mattered, frat party, rich boy’s party, a complete stranger or an acquaintance, it didn’t matter. Everyone here was having fun and that’s all anyone cared about. Once their song ends another one comes on. Uraraka runs over to join their dancing, and then Mina, soon a giant group of drunk college students dancing around like crazy. Dancing led to more drinking, then drinking went to standing around and playing games, and then before he knew it Izuku was hiccuping lightly as he laid down in Hagakure’s lap on the couch.

“Hey, hey, hey, Deku? Where’s that cute boyfriend of yours?” Hagakure asks.

“Yaaaaaaaaas! Where is Shouto?! Shoutoooooooo! Where are yooooooooou?!” Uraraka sings out loudly.

“Hehehehe, I don’t know, I don’t know, who are we talking about again?” Izuku hums, tilting his head side to side.

“Shouto!” His group of friends yell out.

“Oh yeah… That guy… What about him?”

“Bring him over, I want to see him.” Mina says.

“Oh no, I couldn’t do that.”

“Do it, do it.” Uraraka starts chanting.

“Do it, do it, do it!” Everyone else quickly starts joining in and soon everyone in the room, whether they know the reason or not, chants at him. Everyone starts cheering him on and Izuku scrunches his face together before slowly getting up from off the couch.

“Okay, okay, fine! I’ll call him! If he doesn’t come though you can’t blame me,” Izuku slurs slightly.

His group of friends starts cheering him on as he stumbles out of the room. It’s way too loud in here to make a decent phone call. He bumps and holds onto people as he makes his way out of the front door, walking down the front steps. He ends up tripping and falls down on the lawn since there wasn’t anyone left for him to hold onto. Oh well, this sounds quiet enough. Izuku digs into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He scrunches his face up really hard, wishing he had his glasses on right now as he tries to find Shouto’s name.

He calls his number and holds it to his ear. It rings, and rings, and rings, but no one picks up. In the end he hears someone telling him to leave a message.

“Hello? Shouto? Shooooouto? Are you there? No? Okay then, I’ll see you.”

Izuku hangs up his phone and stares up at the night sky. Wow, the moon was so beautiful and round tonight. It looks amazing, he wishes his other friends could see it. Where are those people of his? Izuku looks around, but he doesn’t spot anyone near him. Strange, maybe he should call them. Izuku raises his phone and sees Shouto’s number. Shouto! Wasn’t he supposed to call him? Izuku calls his number again.

“Hehehehehe, Shouto! Shouto I’m supposed to call you, did I do that? Hahahahaha, there’s a really pretty moon out. I wonder if you’re looking at it as well? Hmmmmmm…. Okay, bye now.”

Izuku hangs up and stares down at his phone. Shouto’s name is on his screen. Shouto! He knows that guy! Is he here at the party right now? Izuku scrunches his eyes, wondering why this all sounds familiar? Is he supposed to call him? Did he call him already? Uh oh, did he drink a bit too much? Izuku can’t hold a straight thought. They keep moving left and right, up and down, side to side- Shouto! He was supposed to call him again for some reason he can’t remember! Izuku laughs as he dials the number and holds the phone to his ear. Something different happens this time though, something really, really different. He hears his voice in his ear instead of a strange person telling him to leave a message.

“Hello? Izuku? What’s wrong? You keep calling me, are you in trouble?”

“Shouto!” Izuku cheers at the top of his lungs before he breaks out in uncontrollable laughter.

“Izuku are you… drunk right now?”

“Whaaaaat? Me? Drunk? No, that doesn’t sound like myself. I don’t like to drink, until I do drink, and then I love to drink! I’m sooooo drunk right now!”

“Izuku, can you hold on one second? Don’t hang up, just give me a moment.”

“Sure thing Daddy-o, hehehe. Shouto, Shouto, Shouto, everyone was yelling at me to do it earlier. They were all like do it, do it, do it, and I was all like, alright, fine, I’ll do it- I’ll do it, and now I’m doing it. I’m totally doing it, hehehehehe.”

“Hold on a second Izuku, I can’t hear you. Just a few more seconds…. I don’t care, just handle this….”

“Handle this, handle this,” Izuku mimics, making his voice lower and lower to match Shouto’s.

“Izuku, where are you right now?”

“Hmm… on a lawn.”

“A lawn?”

“Yeah, a front lawn. It’s kind of wet and I see red cups everywhere. This person absolutely doesn’t know how to take care of their lawn. Tsk, tsk.”

“No, beautiful, where are you at? What place?”

“Shouto, I already told you, I’m lying down on a front lawn right now. Geeze, you need to listen. You never listen to me, you’re a meany Shouto, but you’re also really sweet, and I really like you too, so maybe you’re not a meany Shouto, hmmm now I’m all confused.”

“... wow, this is really something. Hahaha, I apologize. Can you tell me where the lawn is?”

“At this guy’s house.”

“And where is the guy’s house?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know him, he’s throwing a party though and it’s reaaaaaallly fun. Oh! I remember! My friends wanted you to come, that’s why I called you! I remember now! They want you to come, they want you to come.”

“Well I’m on my way right now Izuku, you have to tell me where you are though.”

“Hmmm, okay. Hold on a second. DOES ANYWHERE KNOW WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW?!” Izuku shouts out loudly.

“You’re in heaven baby!” Someone answers back.

“THANK YOU! Hello, Shouto? Apparently I’m in heaven. I wonder how I got here? Do you know how to get to heaven? I think you’re supposed to take a left somewhere, I do know it’s the opposite way of where hell is.”

“Can you be a little bit more specific for me? An address? Or a street name? Can you send me the location on your phone?”

“Hm… that sounds difficult… but I guess I can since everyone told me to do it. I don’t want them being mad at me if you don’t show up, they’re going to keep the alcohol away from me.”

“I don’t think you should drink anymore Izuku. Just wait until I get there.”

“No more drinking? But this is a party Shouto! I can’t do that! Bye bye now, I’m going to try and do whatever you just told me to do and then go back inside. I’ll see you soon. Byeeee!”

“Izuku don’t hang-”

Izuku giggles as he fiddles with his phone. Location, location, maybe maps? His phone starts to vibrate in his hand, Izuku doesn’t answer though. Okay he’s at maps… is that little dot him? Izuku messes with his phone, getting his address and sending it to Shouto before he rolls around on the lawn. He picks himself up and stumbles back into the house, ignoring the vibrating sensation in his pocket.

“Guys! Guys! Guess what? Shouto’s coming!” Izuku cheers to his friends.

“Whoooo! Who's that guy?! Do we know a Shouto? Who cares?! We’re playing beer pong! Come on, you’re on my team!” Uraraka tackles her best friend.

“Beer pong?! I love beer bong! Let’s go!”

Izuku giggles when he feels someone kiss his neck. He squirms a bit and smashes his hand against the guy’s face, pushing him away.

“Stop that! It tickles!” He giggles out loudly.

“Come on gorgeous.”

A warm hand appears on his waist and Izuku starts laughing again when he feels lips tickling his neck once more.

“I’m serious, I have a boyfriend… I think… are you him?” Izuku pouts, narrowing his eyes.

Did he still not find his glasses yet? He can’t remember where he left them, did he even wear them here in the first place?

“For you sweet thing I could be.”

“Aw, you’re a smooth talker just like Shouto- Shouto! Oh yeah, I remember now! His name is Shouto! Is your name Shouto?!”

“No, it’s Kage.”

“Oh, then you’re not my boyfriend. Then again Shouto isn’t my boyfriend either, I think I’d like him to be though. I can’t be kissing other guys if I want him to, so I’m sorry Kage. Our love wasn’t never met to last. There’s no need to shed tears, I’m sure you’ll find another love.” Izuku strokes his cheek once before walking past him.

“Hey! Just wait one second, you shouldn’t- AH!”

Izuku’s body reacts on instinct. One second he was trying to walk away, the next he felt a rough hand yanking him back, and then his super cool fighting skills kicked in and he’s flipping the guy and slamming him on the ground, holding his arm behind his back as he presses his knee hard to pin him down.

“Kage, I just said you would find another love man. I know I’m amazing, but I’m not worth fighting over you silly goose.”

“I think I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Huh?” Izuku hums and looks up. He blinks a couple of times before a giant small appears on his face, “Shouto?! Is that you?! You made it!”

Shouto stares down at him, a small smile appearing on his face before it falls. He holds a hand out for him and Izuku tilts his head to the side.

“Hey, wait a minute. I thought this guy was Shouto too, but it turns out he wasn’t. How do I know you’re the real Shouto?”

“I swear, you’re unbelievably adorable like this, but you’re worrying me way too much.” Shouto sighs out.

“Ow! Ow! Get off me!”

“Hey there, I’m talking to my maybe fake boyfriend! Shut up!” Izuku frowns, holding Kage’s arm higher.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!”

“Izuku, come on. I’m your Shouto, I promise you I am.”

“You promise? Okay then, I believe you! Shouto!” Izuku cheers.

He gets off the floor and jumps onto his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around his neck. Shouto holds him right back and sends a death glare to the bastard staring at them from the floor. Kage immediately gets the picture and runs away from the scene. Izuku starts nuzzling his nose into Shouto’s neck.

“Hmmm, you smell good Shouto.”

“And you smell like booze. Come on, let’s go.”

“Huh? We’re leaving? But it’s a party and you just got here.”

“And now we’re both leaving here.”

“But my friends-”

“They’ll be fine, you're my only priority now. I have my car waiting outside Izuku, don’t you want to go for a drive? We can stop and get some food if you like.”

“Food?! I want food! I’m starving! Let’s go! Let’s go!” Izuku jumps up and down.

Shouto chuckles and nods his head, “alright, let’s go. Come on.”

He doesn’t let go of his boyfriend as he walks him over to the front door and leaves the party. True enough, his car is illegally parked on the street with his warning lights on. Izuku can barely walk at all and Shouto curses lightly in his head. He had no idea he could get like this- he didn’t even know Izuku drank! He never ordered any alcohol whenever they went out. Shouto opens the car door up and gently helps him inside. He puts his seat belt on and checks on him.

“Shouto, did I hurt you? I don’t remember fighting you. Why are you bleeding?” Izuku tilts his head, blinking as he spots blood on his cheek.

Shouto flinches back and looks at himself in the side view mirror. He quickly wipes off the blood on the back of his hand.

“No, you didn’t hurt me, and that wasn’t blood either.”

“Oh… okay! You’re so beautiful Shouto. Did you really mean it when you said you were mine?”

“Of course I did.”

“Oh… cool. I like you being mine. Can you be mine forever?”

“I really hope you remember all of this tomorrow Izuku.” Shouto chuckles before closing his door.

“Remember? Of course I’ll remember! I have the brain of an elephant! An elephant I tell you! Or… is the memory of an elephant? Or maybe the trunk? Brewuuuuu! Brewuuuu!” 

Shouto walks around the car and climbs into the driver’s seat. He puts his seat belt on and locks the doors before driving away. Izuku giggles as he stares at all the buildings passing him. He sways his head side to side before he looks over at Shouto.

“Shouto! You’re here, good, I was supposed to go to a party tonight. Want to come?”

Shouto glances at him and shakes his head, “sure Izuku, let’s go get some food first. What do you want to eat?”

“Hmmm… hmm… hm…. Pizza! I want a really big pizza! With lots and lots of cheese! And a cherry coke! Can I get that Shouto? Pleaaaaaase?”

“Yes, you can get whatever you want.”

“Hooray! I love you Shouto! You’re the best fake boyfriend ever! You should be my real boyfriend, I think I would love that a lot. Will you be my boyfriend Shouto? Will you? Please?!” Izuku pouts out his bottom lip as he touches his shoulder.

“I… ask me that again tomorrow. For right now we should get your pizza. Extra cheesy, right?”

Izuku grins from ear to ear, “yeah, and a cherry coke! You’re so amazing Shouto, I have the smartest boyfriend ever! Let’s go!”

Shouto really, really, really, really, really hopes that Izuku remembers their conversation. If not that would just be cruel. So cruel, not to say he wouldn’t deserve it with his karma, but still. Confessing his feelings and saying his deepest desires, his future husband is just the best. He acted like a beheaded chicken when he first called him drunk, scared that something might have happened to him; he sounded so drunk he could have been taken advantage over and he was right when he finally got to the house and saw someone trying to touch his Izuku. Izuku hadn’t needed his help one bit though because even drunk he could still kick ass, and he was talking about him so fondly.

“Hey Izuku, I love you.”

Izuku giggles and reaches for his hand, “I love you too Shouto. I love you as much as I love cheesy pizza, hehehehe.”

He knew it didn’t count, but he didn’t care. He really loved hearing him say those words to him.

Izuku hums to himself as he climbs up the stairs to his apartment building. He’s carrying two bags filled with groceries and other junk they probably didn’t need, but he wanted when he went to the grocery store. It’s crazy how places like those just suck you in. Not like anything he bought was going to go to waste. Maybe he and Shouto can have another movie night and gorge on all the snacks and sweets that he bought. Izuku smiles to himself, liking that idea as he reaches his front door. He digs inside of his pocket for his keys, but finds the door already unlocked as he turns the handle.

“Weird,” Izuku mumbles as he opens up the door.

He was sure he locked it when he left. Did Shouto unlock it? For what reason though? If he was leaving he would have locked the door, maybe to go down and get the mail? Perhaps he forgot to lock it back up when he came back indoors. It’s not like there’s been any robberies in their apartment building, but it was still better to be safe than sorry. Izuku watched a news report that someone was breaking houses in their area.

“What the hell were you thinking?! This is my home! You can’t bring this shit here! I thought I made myself clear!”

“Shouto?” Izuku wonders out loud.

He’s… yelling. Why is he yelling? He sounds so angry right now. Izuku doesn’t think he’s ever seen Shouto lose his temper before. He normally does that thing where he smiles and sounds all fake, but his face looks like he’s about to kill you, but he never raises his voice. Izuku frowns as he walks into the other room. He sees Shouto with his back turned to him, another guy standing alongside him in the living room.

“Oh! Natsuo, hi! I didn’t know you were coming over. Is everything alright? I heard yelling.”

Natsuo flinches slightly and meets Izuku’s eyes. He looks a bit paler than normal and his smile is all weird. Izuku frowns a little bit to himself.

“H-hey Izuku, it’s been a while. Sorry for dropping in, my brother wasn’t returning his phone calls though.”

“Don’t worry about it Natsuo, you’re always welcomed here. Did you want to stay for dinner? We’re having-”

“Natsuo was just leaving Izuku.” Shouto interrupts him.

Izuku stares at Shouto’s backside before he looks over at Natsuo. The man chuckles lightly as he walks over and places his hand on his shoulder.

“Sorry Izuku, Shouto’s just mad because some business came up at work and he doesn’t want to leave.”

“Natsuo!” Shouto shouts, turning around to glare at him.

“Oh, well work is work. Is it important?”

“Yes, very, so if maybe you could help me a little bit-”

“Natsuo that’s enough! Get out!”

Natsuo takes a step back and raises his hands in the air, “I’ll be waiting in the car Shouto, it was nice seeing you Izuku. Invite me to dinner again sometime and I’ll accept next time. Bye.”

“Oh- b-bye Natsuo, it’s good to see that you’re… well.” Izuku sighs out as he watches him quickly escape.

He turns his head back over to his boyfriend and sees him glaring at the floor. Izuku walks over to the kitchen and drops his bags on the table before walking back into the living room. He reaches his hand out and brushes Shouto’s hair away from his face.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Shouto, don’t lie to me. I can always tell when you’re lying, what’s wrong?”

Shouto pouts stubbornly, “I promised you that we’d be together and my brother came unannounced to try and take me away from you.”

“Hey, you know your family is always welcomed in our home. I don’t mind that at all, and don’t you think because he came here in person that he really needs your help? How come you didn’t answer his calls?”

Shouto huffs, “because I knew he needed something.”

Izuku chuckles and shakes his head, “oh Shouto.”

He wraps his arms around his neck and leans forward, pressing their lips together.

“I know it sucks, but work is work. You're lucky, you get to travel for your business and make whatever weird hours you want while I have to work from seven to three every day.”

“Well you don’t have to do that.”

“Shut up, I love my job and I’m never going to quit it. You love your job as well, so go and help your brother. I’ll be honest, I’m sad to see you leave again so soon. I’ve barely gotten you back, but I understand.”

He groans and leans down to kiss him again, “he can handle it.”

“He clearly can’t if he risked making you mad like this. It’ll be fine babe, now go before he comes back up here and makes you angry again. I’ve never heard you yell before, it shocked me.”

Shouto flinches lightly and pulls back, “wh-what? You heard me?”

“Just a bit. You shouldn’t yell at Natsuo for visiting, he won’t ever want to come back if you do.”

Shouto relaxes a bit, “that would be a blessing.”

“Shouto.”

“I’m kidding… kind of. I don’t want to leave you Izuku… I’m really sorry about this. I’ll be back later tonight though, I promise you and then we won’t be interrupted again anytime soon. Save me a plate of whatever you cook for dinner, I’ll eat it as soon as I get back.”

“Shouto, don’t stress yourself about hurrying-”

“I’ll be back tonight. Believe me.”

Izuku looks into his eyes and doesn’t see a single lie, “alright then, tonight.”

“Good, tonight. I’m going to go get ready real quick. If Natsuo comes back upstairs don’t let him in.”

“Hahahaha, Shouto, don’t be so mean to your older brother.”

“If he’s my older brother he should act like it and fix his own damn mistakes.”

Izuku rolls his eyes and smiles, spanking Shouto’s butt when he turns around. He giggles his way back into the kitchen and starts unpacking all the groceries he bought. A few minutes pass before Shouto walks into the kitchen. He opens up his arms and pulls Izuku into a hug, kissing the top of his head as he crushes him to his chest.

“I’m sorry about this. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

Izuku hums lightly as he enjoys his warm embrace, “don’t worry about it Shouto, I understand. Your job is very taxing. I’ll make you something really scrumptious so you’ll be full of energy when you get home after eating it. Send me a text when you’re heading back and I’ll try to stay up for you.”

Shouto tilts Izuku’s head up and kisses him, “you don’t have to do that babe, you have work tomorrow, but I will. I love you.”

“I love you too Shouto.”

He kisses him again before he tears himself away from him. Izuku follows him to the front door and grabs his coat, handing it to him.

“I’m off.”

“Take care.”

Shouto smiles sadly before he closes the door behind him. Izuku drops the smile he’s wearing and sighs to himself.

“There goes movie night,” he mumbles to himself.

This is nothing new. It’s happened before, and Izuku’s sure it’ll happen again. He’s gotten used to the odd hours of Shouto’s job. It’s hard running your own company and when you’re the boss of that company of course you’re needed more than ever. Shouto didn’t work all that much throughout the year, but when he did work he worked himself to the bone. At least the overnight trips have lessened. Izuku remembers a time when he’d be going on a trip every other week when they first moved in together. He was gone so often Izuku thought he was cheating and having an affair, but quickly dismissed the idea after confronting Shouto about it and having him laugh his head off.

He was then later embarrassed as Shouto sent him constant updates and pictures of himself with the date and time whenever he went out on a trip after that until Izuku got fed up and embarrassed for even mentioning anything. Of course Shouto would never cheat on him, he worshipped the ground he walked on for some strange reason. Shouto loved him more than anyone’s ever loved him before, more than all of them combined… Izuku was really lucky to have him and to have found him, or well, for him to have found him. Izuku hears his phone ring and digs into his pocket. He opens up the new message sent by Shouto and breaks out in laughter as he looks at it.

He sent him a picture of himself pouting with Natsuo smiling in the background with the captions, he’s singing the latest pop song, why did you convince me to go?

Izuku laughs so hard he’s nearly to the point of tears and sends him a quick reply back before he gets started on dinner.

Good luck, I love you.

Chapter Text

“Thank you, please keep the change.”

A door softly shuts close. According to Izuku’s ears though he hears it slam close with his head right in the middle of it. It’s the only way to describe the pounding sensation he feels in his head right now. He moans out loudly against his pillow hoping that would make him feel better… it didn’t. He doesn’t think anything will. He hears someone stomping their feet loudly, but they’re really not, and feels a small dip in the bed he’s lying in. Uraraka? Or Iida? Maybe someone else, he doesn’t remember leaving the party last night. He doesn’t remember anything at all from last night. It was ridiculous that he just lost a huge chunk of his memories. He’s thankful that his friends looked out for him though and took him to his house, or their house, whoever’s house, or maybe they’re still at the party in one of the guest rooms. As long as he’s not in a barn somewhere; Izuku will never forgive Denki for that and will never go to another party he invites him to ever again. He hopes that he’ll fall back asleep and the next time he’ll wake up he’ll feel better.

…

…

Something smells delicious.

…

He hears someone chewing right now. Is one of his friends eating breakfast? Without him? Izuku groans as he cracks open an eye. His vision is completely split, but he can still smell something in the air. He keeps blinking, over and over again until he can see straight. That… wall doesn’t look familiar at all… and neither does that nightstand. Why is there an old fashion telephone on it? And that lamp looks god awful, this definitely isn’t his house. Izuku shifts a little in the bed and turns his head the other way. He looks up and freezes when he spies grey and blue eyes gazing down at him.

“Are you finally awake?” Shouto’s rough voice asks gently.

Izuku blinks, “... I think I’m going to throw up.”

It appears that he’s already thrown up before since there’s no other explanation why Shouto grabs a bucket right by his bedside already ready for him. He moves his food away and holds it out for him, his warm hands brushing his hair away from his forehead. Izuku feels his stomach protest and gags, but nothing comes up. He heaves a bit, hacks out a couple of spits and such, but nothing truly disgusting and fowl comes out. He still keeps his head in the bucket though until he’s sure the feeling passes. Izuku slowly lays back in the bed on his back and stares up at the ceiling.

“Do you want some water?” Shouto asks, his voice full of concern.

Izuku is too embarrassed to look in his eyes, “... did I throw up in front of you?”

“... no-”

“Please don’t lie.”

He hears Shouto make a small noise, “yes… and kind of on me, but it was only on my shoes. I never liked that pair anyway, so you kind of did me a favorite doing that.”

Izuku picks up the pillow and slams it against his face. He screams out loudly into it before he just lays there, waiting for the embarrassment to pass. He threw up in front of someone he likes. He showed his ugliest side to someone he’s romantically attracted to and wants to date. Shouto’s never going to want to kiss him again. Izuku has a really big frown on his face when Shouto removes the pillow from his head.

“What’s wrong?”

“I understand that you don’t want to see me anymore.”

“What?” Shouto scrunches his eyebrows together, “why wouldn’t I want to see you again? Just because you threw up?”

“Ugh,” Izuku groans covering his face with his hands.

Shouto chuckles softly and runs his fingers through his hair, “Izuku I don’t care about that. I still feel the same way about you, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We’ve all had those days. If there’s one reason I’m mad it’s because you scared the hell out of me last night.”

“I… scared you?” Izuku asks softly.

“Yup. You called me a whole bunch of times out of the blue sounding very intoxicated, and then you told me you were lying on some lawn? I was scared out of my mind. You couldn’t remember the address to your party and when you finally sent it to me you hung up. I was so scared that something was happening to you the entire drive over. I must have broken a handful of laws and when I got there some guy was all over you… but then I learned I had nothing to worry about since you kicked his ass even in your intoxicated state. I was scared that anyone could have harmed you, or taken advantage over you. Please tell me you don’t always end up drinking so much at parties.”

Izuku’s embarrassment is replaced with guilt, “I don’t Shouto, I really don’t. I was only like that because finals just ended, and I passed all my classes, and we were all celebrating- I never drink that much, I’m always careful. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I worried you. I’m sorry that I’m such a bad boyfrie-”

…

Shouto raises his eyebrow, “such a bad what?”

“Such a bad… person. I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m sorry for scaring you. Thanks for taking care of me Shouto.”

Shouto looks hurt for a second before it disappears from his eyes. He nods his head and strokes Izuku’s cheek lightly.

“I’ll always be here when you need me Izuku. I’ll always come if you call.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe all of that happened. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Were you busy? Were you at work? And you came- you really came, I’m sorry.” Izuku groans even more.

“It’s alright, I wasn’t doing anything important. I’m just happy nothing happened to you. How are you feeling right now? Do you want something to drink? To eat? We can order room service, you should at least get some fluids in your body.”

“Room service? Where exactly are we?”

“I rented a room for us at a hotel. I didn’t know where you lived and I don’t exactly live alone at my place.”

“Oh… I’ll help you pay for the room.”

“Don’t worry about it Izuku, just worry about getting better.”

Izuku wiggles his nose a bit, “what are you eating?”

Shouto looks over at his plate, “french toast. I- you were asleep for a long time and I was starting to get hungry. I didn’t wake you up answering the door, did I?”

“No, no, the smell of it did… can I order that as well?”

“Here, you can have some of mine. Do you need help sitting up?”

Izuku shakes his head and as slowly as he possibly can scoots up until he’s resting against the bedpost. Shouto scoots over and puts the plate of food on his lap. He cuts off a small piece and holds it to his lips. Izuku’s cheeks fluster as he meets his eyes.

“I can feed myself.”

“I’m sure you can, now say ah.”

He opens his mouth and Shouto feeds him. He closes his lips around the fork and the sweet flavor of syrup and cinnamon explodes on his tongue. He hums lightly as he chews, Shouto cutting a piece for himself and taking a bite.

“That’s really good.”

“It is. This hotel chain always serves really good food no matter where I go.”

Izuku nods his head and licks his lips, “you stay in hotels often?”

“I travel a lot for my job. Here, you need to drink something.”

Izuku stares at the glass he offers him and stares at the orange colored drink. He takes a small sip, smiles when he tastes orange juice, and then drinks more of it.

“Not so quickly, you’re going to throw up again. You really shouldn’t even be eating something so heavy, we can order you something lighter.”

“But I want french toast, it’s super good. Please? I’m feeling better now, I promise.” Izuku pouts a little.

Shouto gives him a look and Izuku opens his mouth, waiting for his next bite. Shouto can’t resist and offers him some more, enjoying the happy expression on Izuku’s face as he licks his lips.

“How much do you remember about last night?”

“Practically nothing at all. It’s all like a giant blur to me. I don’t remember calling you at all.”

“Oh... “

Izuku chews slows down, “how come?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. I was simply wondering. You acted… very loopy last night. It was adorable.”

He blushes and makes a small noise, “I didn’t say anything… weird last night, did I?”

“Define what you mean by weird?”

“My friends say I have no filter when I’m drunk. I saw whatever is on my mind.”

“Ah- everything makes a little bit more sense now. I believe that.”

“Shouto! What did I say to you?”

“Oh you know, this and that. You don’t have to worry, I know you didn’t mean any of it.”

“Ugh, Shouto didn’t you hear me? When I’m drunk I legit say what’s on my mind. I’m super duper honest, my friends ask me all sorts of questions and I can’t lie or think of something else. What embarrassing things did I reveal about myself? Huh? Tell me, I want to know.”

Izuku leans over closer to his face. Shouto’s face is completely still, and then all of a sudden it turns red, even the tip of his ears. Izuku’s eyes widen, what in the world does that mean? What does that facial expression mean?! What did he confess?!

“I said something stupid, didn’t I?! Tell me!”

“You… you… you asked if I could be yours forever… and then you ask if I could be your boyfriend… and then you said you loved me… all in that order.”

Izuku’s jaw drops.

“It’s alright. I don’t- you were drunk. We can forget that it ever happened. I know you weren’t in your right mind when you said those things. Don’t worry about it,” Shouto smiles at him gently.

Izuku lowers his chin. Love? He said that? He actually said that? Shouto didn’t appear to be lying, but for him to actually… does he feel that way? If he was being honest Shouto wasn’t anything like he expected him to be. He was really nice and very considerate. He cared about Izuku’s opinions, always listened to whatever he said, respected him, understood him… he felt like he really got him. He was the most considerate guy he’s ever dated before. He kept waiting for something to happen, for something to go wrong, but nothing ever did. And Shouto didn’t push either! Understood Izuku’s schedule, was happy with whatever days they could hang out, didn’t pressure him into being his boyfriend, or kisses, or other things… he really was the perfect boyfriend- well perfect boyfriend material.

But love?! He was considering becoming serious with Shouto, but love? Did he love him? That’s impossible, it was way too soon. They’ve only known each other for three months. Izuku wasn’t like Shouto, he didn’t fall in love at first sight. It took time, months of getting to know someone, really knowing that person well and…

…

Oh shit.

“Izuku? Are you full? Do you feel sick again? Want the bucket?” Shouto asks, worried when he doesn’t accept the bite he’s offering.

“... I don’t think I’m in love with you.”

“Izuku, we can forget about-”

“But I do want you to be my boyfriend. I do- I do want you to be mine… if that’s something you want as well. I’m sorry I’m asking in such an uncool way, this probably isn’t ideal after seeing this messy side of me, but I-”

“Yes.”

Izuku stops talking, “... really?”

“Of course, it’s all that I’ve ever wanted. I love you Izuku and I’d love to be your boyfriend. I’d love to be yours.”

Izuku eeps, turning his head away. Oh god it feels like he was just slapped in the face with a flamethrower, you could probably cook an egg on his cheeks with how hot they feel right now. Did he really just confess that?

“Can I kiss you right now Izuku?”

“No!” He shouts out loudly.

Shouto flinches slightly and raises his eyebrows.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t- what I meant to say was no. I- I haven’t brushed my teeth, and I don’t- I don’t want you kissing me… maybe next time we go out… I’m on break now since school ended and my next semester isn’t for another few weeks, so we can meet up more often… if that’s something you want.”

Shouto leans over and presses his lips against Izuku’s temple, “that is definitely something that I want.”

Oh shit he’s really screwed, isn’t he? Izuku gulps and nods his head. He headbutts Shouto’s shoulder lightly and rests his head there.

“I’m so mad at my drunk self.”

“Hahaha, don’t be, I thought he was really cute. Next time you should invite me. I’m told I become very hilarious when I’m drunk.”

Izuku’s eyes sparkle, “really?”

Shouto turns and smirks at him, “you’ll have to invite me to see.”

Izuku woke up when Shouto crawled into bed. He tried his best to stay up as late as he could without being completely exhausted for work tomorrow, but he hadn’t come home in time. He felt his consciousness wake up though when he felt a dip in the bed. Izuku rolls around and presses his face against his chest, snuggling into him and humming at the small kisses Shouto nuzzles into his hair before he falls back asleep.

The next morning Shouto completely slept through his alarm. Normally it wakes him up and he moans and groans at Izuku for having it so loud before trying to fall back to sleep only to get up five minutes later and make coffee for his boyfriend. It didn’t stir him one bit and Izuku giggled, ruffling up his hair a bit as he got ready for work. A quick shower later he was all dressed leaning against the kitchen counter, nursing a cup of coffee as he checked the weather on his phone.

Cloudy before becoming sunny. That’s nice, maybe he can try tricking Shouto to go for a walk around the neighborhood? Or drive down to a park and enjoy the sunny weather. He probably isn’t going to wake up until he gets off anyway, noon if he’s lucky. Shouto slept in so much it was hard to make him do anything in the morning. His phone goes off again, the alarm telling him he should start driving to work. Izuku walks over to the trash can and takes the lid off. Today was trash day and Shouto wasn’t going to wake up on time to bring it down. He grabs both edges, ready to tie it into a knot… but stops for a second.

The shirt that Shouto was wearing last night, the white buttoned up one… it was in the trash. How come? It was nearly brand new, he remembers buying that for him. Izuku furrows his eyebrows as he picks it up. Well it was completely ruined now, covered in trash and old food and-...

“What is this?” Izuku asks, turning it around.

There was a large red strain on it. Did he spill something on it? Is that why he threw it away? A drink? Wine maybe? There was so much of it too, it almost looked like… blood. Oh shit, did Shouto get into an accident last night? He didn’t say anything when he came to bed and he didn’t look like he was in pain. Izuku frowns to himself as he looks back towards the bedroom. Does he go wake him up to ask him? He has to go to work, but if he’s injured-... he would have called him if it was an emergency. It must have been something small or something; he’ll ask it about it later when he gets home. Izuku drops it back into the trash and ties up the bag. He picks it up and heads downstairs, throwing it in the pile before heading for his car.

“I’m home!” Izuku calls out as he closes the door.

“Welcome home! How was work?!”

“Very interesting. We did arts and crafts today and guess how many kids ate paste today?”

“Was it more than the kids who licked the glitter?”

Izuku giggles as he sets his things down on the table. He walks into the living room and finds Shouto bundled up underneath a blanket on the couch messing with his phone. Izuku heads straight over and Shouto opens up the blankets, welcoming him before cocooning them.

“Hmm, you’re warm.” Izuku hums to himself.

“And you’re comfortable. In case you were wondering, yes I haven’t moved from this spot all day.”

“Hehehehe, how did the job go with Natsuo yesterday?”

“We got it done, but it was annoying as hell. Thanks for leaving dinner out.”

“Of course, what time did you end up coming back?”

“A little after midnight. Natsuo couldn’t stop talking about having your cooking again; he wants to have a family dinner soon so thanks for that.”

“Shouto, they’re your family. Family is important.”

“Don’t I know it,” Shouto rolls his eyes.

“I know you love them very much, don’t try to act all cold with me tough guy.”

“I love you.”

Izuku smiles, “I love you too.”

He rests his head back down on Shouto’s chest and takes a moment to relax. Work was fun today, but it was taxing, like it is sometimes taking care of children. All of them have so much energy and Izuku was only one man with a teacher’s assistant. Arts and crafts days are fun, but at the same time so dangerous.

“You didn’t tell me who ate more, the glue kids or the glitter ones.”

“It was the glue-...”

Izuku gets up all of a sudden. He can’t believe he forgot, it was on his mind all this morning. He moves the blankets around a bit and grabs the bottom of Shouto’s shirt, lifting it up in the air. He places his cold hands on his chest and feels around all over his stomach. He doesn’t see any sort of cut or bruise, just the scars that he’s always had.

“Izuku? If you were in the mood you could have asked, although I like this assertive side of you.”

“What? Huh? No Shouto- that’s not what I’m doing, although we can do that later after I take a shower. I was just checking.”

“Checking for what?”

“If you had a cut or an injury or something.”

Shouto stares at him, his eyebrows slowly furrowing together, “why would you be checking for something like that?”

“This morning when I was taking out the trash I found the shirt you were wearing, but it had this huge red stain on it. I thought it might have been wine or blood, but I knew you would have called me if you got injured. I was just double checking.” Izuku tells him.

Shouto gulps thickly, “y-yeah. I’m sorry, I know you got me that shirt as a gift. I felt terrible for ruining it; I didn’t think I could get that stain out so I simply threw it away. I didn’t want you to find out, I planned on buying the same exact shirt so I wouldn’t hurt your feelings.”

Izuku snorts and tosses his head back, “hahahahaha! Are you serious Shouto? I wouldn’t have been mad, hahahaha, has this happened before? It sounds so believable, I know you must have done it before. I wouldn’t have been mad babe, it’s just a shirt. I was more worried that something happened to do.”

“What could happen? I’m a simple architect. The worst I could get would be a paper cut.”

“So it wasn’t blood?”

“God no, it was wine. The clients we were dealing with wanted to celebrate and drink at eleven o’clock at night because we fixed the problem. I told them I had a gorgeous, beautiful, sexy boyfriend waiting for me at home, but they insisted, and a glass fell over.”

“Hmm, your clients always sound so crazy.”

“Rich people often are. They’re used to having things a certain away.”

“Hehehe, I remember you telling me once upon a time that you were used to getting what you want.”

“I did tell you it was terrible, but it was the truth. I got you, didn’t I?”

“That you did Shouto, that you did. Lucky you.”

“Lucky me.”

Shouto leans forward and starts kissing his boyfriend. He starts off slowly, running his tongue across his bottom lip, lightly biting down and nibbling on it so he would open it up. Izuku gasps out lightly, cheeks turning red, and Shouto runs his hands down his waist and slips one underneath his shirt.

“Ah- shower first.” Izuku pulls away, panting slightly.

“I don’t care, kiss me.”

“No, I’m covered in paste and glitter, I need to wash it out. Ten minutes.”

“Make it five.”

“You know… you could always just join me… just a suggestion.” Izuku winks before he walks away.

Shouto lays on the couch completely still for five seconds as his brain tries to make sense of what just happened before he’s falling off onto the floor, scrambling back up to his feet to run after his boyfriend.

Chapter Text

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Really?” Shouto asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yup! It requires me to drive though, so move your butt over to the passenger’s side.” 

“... Seriously?”

Izuku pouts, “come on Shouto, I have a license. I’m not going to damage your precious car.”

“It’s not that. I have no problem letting you drive, you’ve just never asked me to do it before. I’m really curious now to see what this surprise is.”

“Then get out so we can get there faster.”

Shouto rolls his eyes as he undoes his seat belt and opens his car door. Izuku takes a step back to give him enough room. Instead of walking over to the other side, Shouto wraps his arms around Izuku’s waist and pulls him in.

“Can I get a kiss before we go?” 

“Always,” Izuku grins before leaning up to kiss him.

Shouto smirks into the kiss before he pulls back, helping him into his car and closing the door behind him. He walks around to the passenger’s side and gets in, putting his seat belt on. He watches as Izuku fixes all the mirrors and scans over where everything is.

“My car kind of has a bit of a boost, so you might want to start off slow first until you get the hang of it.”

“Got it. Seat belt on?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let’s get going then!”

Izuku puts the car in drive and slowly pulls out of the parking spot, driving down the street. Shouto leans back in his seat and relaxes, reaching out to hold his boyfriend’s hand. It’s been two weeks since he’s last seen him. Ever since Izuku has graduated from college and started working for one of the local schools he’s barely had enough time to spent time with his boyfriend, and whenever he did he was always exhausted because of all of the work. It was to be expected, this was his first teaching job ever. It was going to take time for him to get used to it and gain experience underneath his belt. Shouto had been pretty busy himself and their schedules never really seemed to fit together. He doesn’t know how they were able to survive simply on phone calls and texts. That wasn’t enough for a relationship; Shouto craved his touches, and his kisses, to see his smile, hear his laughter first hand, and watch his eyes light up.

“I love you Izuku.”

Izuku looks at him out the corner of his eyes and smiles to himself, “I love you too babe.”

They’ve been together for two years now. Two beautiful, blissful, stress free years. Shouto had met all of Izuku’s friends and Izuku had met his best friend, because Shouto didn’t really have a lot of close friends, and a few of his family members. Just his sister and his mother once. Izuku had plans on introducing his parents soon, but they were busy on a trip in Osaka. His love had only grown since their first meeting and it didn’t show any sign of stopping anytime soon. Shouto was happy. He wasn’t about to take this happiness for granted or allow anyone to destroy it.

“So am I going to get a hint?”

“Nope! That would ruin the surprise silly.”

“What if I guess and get it right? Are you taking me on a romantic date? A cruise? Horseback riding?”

“Pfft- horseback riding? Seriously?”

“What? It was in that movie you made me watch when you invited me over for netflix and chill. You really seemed to enjoy it.”

“It wasn’t the horses I enjoyed Shouto, it was the actor.”

Shouto frowns, “who? Yuki Kaji? I’m more handsome than him.”

“Hehehe, of course you are babe.”

“What? I am! Between that pompous over actor and me, who would you rather marry?”

“Shouto? Seriously? I was only teasing, he’s just a celebrity crush. I’m sure you have someone  you think is attractive and would rather be with.”

“No I don’t. There’s no one I would leave you for, not a single actor or actress- not anyone in the whole entire world.”

Izuku gulps, his cheeks staining red. He squeezes onto his hand tightly and apologizes.

“I’m sorry Shouto, thank you.”

“I simply said the truth… would you really leave me for Yuki?”

“No I wouldn’t… I would accept a kiss if he offered it though.”

“Izuku!”

“What?! I can’t help it, I’ve had a crush on him forever!”

Shouto pouts while Izuku laughs for the rest of the car ride. He’s glad that his surprise isn’t that far or else Shouto would have brooded for a long time. Hopefully he will feel better with this surprise; Izuku was really hoping that he would like it. He was taking a big leap right now, but Shouto was always the one taking the big first steps. Asking him out, confessing his love, sure Izuku asked him to be his boyfriend, but that was only after he knew that Shouto loved him immensely. Izuku comes across the apartment building and pulls in, parking in the visitors parking.

“I’m sure there’s street parking somewhere Izuku. If we park here we might get towed.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t since this is where the surprise is. Come on.”

Izuku turns off the car and gets out. Shouto shrugs, not questioning him as he follows suit. What kind of surprise could be at an apartment building though- oh! Maybe his parents had come home early. Maybe this is where they lived and Shouto was going to meet them today. He’s glad he dressed nicely, but he should have brought a gift! Flowers or something to help him earn a bit of points. Izuku reaches for his hand and laces their fingers together. Shouto walks by his side as he leads him inside. The two take an elevator to the third floor and exit out.

“This is us.” Izuku smiles at him.

Shouto closes his eyes and mentally prepares himself for this. Izuku digs out some keys and unlocks the door, pushing it open. Shouto takes a step in… and is certainly surprised. There’s absolutely no one here along with nothing around. It’s just an empty apartment building. They walk into an empty living room with a kitchen right next to it. Izuku lets go of his hand and stands in the middle of the empty room, holding his arms out wide as he smiles at him.

“Well? What do you think?”

“About what?” Shouto asks.

“About your surprise!”

Shouto takes a look around, “I… I’m sorry, I’m not getting what I’m supposed to be seeing here.”

“What? Really? Mina told me this would be a good idea- oh, maybe that was my mistake. I never should listen to Mina’s advice, it’s never all that good. It’s always a hit or miss, my bad. Um- alright then, so like… what do you think of this place?”

Shouto blinks and shrugs, “it’s an apartment. What am I supposed to think of it?”

“Shouto! Be serious, could you… could you imagine yourself living here?”

Living here? It would seriously be a downgrade from the place he’s living at now, but it would be nice to have some peace and quiet to himself. He had several places all over the town, not that Izuku knew about that. It wasn’t only his place though, he allowed others to hide out at them as well, which is why he’s never brought Izuku over to his home. He never knew how long they would stay empty or be occupied and he could never bring him to his actual house.

“Well? Could you? Imagine it?... With me?”

Shouto hears that and snaps his head over to Izuku, staring him down. Izuku has his eyes on the floor, scratching the back of his head as he fidgets side to side.

“Could you repeat that please?”

“I-um… I’ve been apartment searching recently. The place I have was always temporary,and now that I have my dream job I have a steady income every month. If we like this place we can start renting it. I already talked with the landlord and she really likes me. It’s close to my job and it’s only a thirty minute drive from the airport since I know you travel around a lot. It also has a Mochi Soba in walking distance, for days where you’re starving since you can’t cook, but that probably won’t be a problem anymore since I’ll be cooking for you every day.”

Shouto continues to stare at him. The silence is deafening and Izuku’s scared that he made a huge mistake. Was this going too fast? They’ve been dating for two years now; couples moved in together at the two year mark. Hell, sometimes they move in together at the six month mark. Shouto and him have always been different. They’ve been taking their time in this relationship and honestly it’s been a pain not seeing him so often because of their jobs. Izuku hates coming home from a hard day of work and passing out, missing all of his calls. He hates coming home to an empty room and always being tired whenever they do meet up. Moving in would be the perfect solution for that. He’d get to see his boyfriend everyday, which is what he wants. He felt like he was ready for this step, went over all the pros and cons, talked to his friends a bunch since he’s never done this before. He never thought once that Shouto wouldn’t be happy since he figured he felt the same way as well… but Izuku knew nothing about his home life.

He’s never visited it before. Shouto only tells him that he lives with a lot of people, his entire family, and that it’s too crowded for the two of them to enjoy themselves. He understood that and didn’t push. When Shouto was ready he’d introduce everyone, he'd already met two of them before. He didn’t think to consider Shouto’s feelings and ask how he felt living at home. What if he really liked it? What if he lived at home because he had to take care of his family? Shouto started working in the family business as soon as he graduated from high school; he’s been working for a long time now. What if he was the main provider for his family? And Izuku was trying to steal the breadwinner away!

“I- I’m sorry. This was a terrible idea- a terrible surprise. Let’s just go, let’s-”

“Okay.”

Izuku stills, “okay?”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll move in with you. I love this place, I’ll love any place as long as I get to live with you. Are you being serious? This isn’t a joke, right?”

Shouto’s voice begins to get lighter and more thrilled. Izuku looks up at his face and sees how excited he looks. He seems like he can barely contain it anymore as he starts shifting from side to side, grin growing larger by the second. Izuku is momentarily stunned by his reaction.

“Y-yeah, I’m serious.”

“Izuku! This is the best surprise ever! We’re going to live together! I’m going to be able to see you every single day, I’m so happy!”

He runs over and wraps his arms around him, picking him up and spinning him around in the air as he laughs. Izuku snorts before a smile breaks across his lips. He was worrying for no reason at all, he’s so silly. Izuku starts laughing as well.

“Shouto! Put me down!”

“When can we move in? Today? Tomorrow? We’ll have to furnish this place, we can go furniture shopping right now. How many rooms does this place have? Will we be sharing one? Every night?” Shouto can’t stop showing his excitement.

“Shouto, baby, too fast. I’ll have to let the landlord know first before we start living here. The soonest we can move it will probably be two weeks.”

Shouto frowns slightly, “two weeks? We have to wait that long?”

“Yeah, but that’ll give us plenty of time to pack.”

“I guess… no, your right. I’m going to have to pack and…” Shouto’s eyes go empty as he thinks about all the challenges that are about to happen.

He couldn’t say anything before because he was stunned. He hadn’t been expecting this surprise and for Izuku to suggest that the two of them move in together… it was a dream come true. It was one step closer to what he wanted them to be and he was so happy he couldn’t express it- didn’t know how to express it. Shouto doesn’t think he’s ever felt this much happiness before. He didn’t think he even knew what happiness truly felt like until the day he saw Izuku.

… Moving out of the family home was something unheard of though since it was his house. There was going to be problems, no one was going to like this. Shouto didn’t care one fucking bit though. This was a dream come true for him being able to live with Izuku. He wasn’t about to let anyone stand in the way of this.

“And?” Izuku asks, tilting his head.

“And that’s going to take a while since I have a lot of stuff. I’m already tired from just the thought of it. I might leave it all behind and buy new things.”

“Shouto! That’s so wasteful. I know you have a bit of money, but you should really spend it better.”

“Hmm, maybe you can show me how to by spending it for me?”

Izuku snorts and rolls his eyes, “come on you, put me down so we can take the grand tour. If it isn’t enough for you we can find a different place. It’s a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment. We can use the second room as your office, but if it isn’t spacious enough we can go apartment searching.”

“No, this is the place you picked out for us to live at together. It’s perfect, I want this to be our home.”

“You aren’t pretending, right Shouto? You really liked your surprise… didn’t you?”

Shouto smiles warmly at Izuku and nods his head, “I did, I loved it. It’s going to be hard for me to beat this.”

“Hahahaha, Shouto you’re so silly.”

“We should go on a vacation when you get back.”

“Hmm?” Shouto hums, looking up from his suitcase.

“Just the two of us. We should go travel somewhere. It doesn’t have to be far, we should go on a mini vacation though. I have some vacation days saved up.”

“We could go to Disneyland?” He suggests.

Izuku snorts and rolls his eyes, “I’m being serious.”

“I am too, isn’t it the happiest place on Earth?”

“Just forget it Shouto.”

“Hahahaha, no Izuku, I’m sorry, you know I was only teasing. Let’s go somewhere. As soon as I get back we can go anywhere you like.”

“Maybe not that soon, you’re going to need to relax after travelling-... oh, I have an idea. We could go to an onsen! Stay for the weekend, go to the hot springs, somewhere up in the mountains or countryside and get away from the city for a while.”

“Pick a place and make the reservations needed. I’ll leave you my credit card, it sounds like fun. I’ve never been to a hot spring before.”

“Really? Never? Not even on a school trip?”

“Nope, I’m excited now. I kind of want to go right now. What do you say we both quit our jobs and run away from our responsibilities?”

“As enticing as that sounds, I’m afraid I’m going to have to refuse that. I like my job, thank you, plus you’ve been on a pretty long vacation already. I got you all to myself for two full months, all play and no work is not good for you. You’ll get lazy.”

“But not pudgy, I won’t ever lose these muscles you love so much.” Shouto winks and shows him his guns.

Izuku rolls his eyes and throws a pillow at his face, “shut up or else you’ll be going to the onsen alone.”

Shouto chuckles as the pillow hits him. He closes his suitcase and zips it before walking over to Izuku. He sits down on the edge of the bed and leans over, pressing their foreheads together.

“I wouldn’t have any fun at all without you.”

“I don’t know about that, you might make some new friends. I hear sometimes monkeys come down to certain hot springs.”

“In what world would I rather have a monkey as a friend than you?”

“Hehehe, you’re right, a monkey would be a cool kind of friend though. Can you imagine?”

“Ugh, I rather imagine us… naked in a hot spring. Hmmm, yeah, that’s a nice sight. That’s the image that’s going to last me all week.”

Izuku rolls his eyes, “I don’t want to kiss you anymore because you’re ridiculous.”

“How about we do other things than kiss then?”

“Shouto! You’re ridiculous, go finish packing.”

“I’m all done, so what do you say? Come here you.”

“Shouto! No! Shouto stop! Stop! Hahahahaha!” Izuku laughs as he falls onto the bed.

Shouto lays on top of him and blows raspberries on the crook of his neck. Izuku wiggles underneath him as he laughs out loudly.

“Shouto! Shouto sto- I can’t breathe! Hahahaha!”

He chuckles as he pulls away and smiles down at his face, “I’m crazy about you.”

Izuku’s chest heaves as he tries to catch his breath and meets Shouto’s eyes, “I’m crazy about you as well.”

Shouto blinks and stares down at him, “what are your thoughts on finally getting hitched?”

“E-excuse me?”

“If I bought a ring and proposed to you, on one knee and everything, and made a romantic gesture at the onsen... would you say yes?”

Izuku feels his heart race inside of his chest, “I- I… aren’t proposes supposed to be a surprise?”

“It was already surprised the first time we met. I want to have a serious conversation about this. Is that something that you want? Because I’m fine with spending the rest of my life with you just like this. We don’t have to get married Izuku if that’s not something you want. If it is though… when would you be ready?”

“I…”

When Izuku was a little boy he thought he’d marry a woman as pretty as his mommy. When he was a little bit older he thought he’d have a wife and a child and be the best husband/father he could be. When he was even older than that he thought he’d find a nice guy to be with and that would be the end of that. A couple years after that he could dream again and imagine marrying the perfect man and having a family. He always thought, imagined, dreamed that he would get married one day. He never had the face of the groom in his imagination, but he knew what his wedding was going to be like.

Six years. Six wonderful, beautiful years with rough starts, rocky parts, heartfelt reunions, and all sorts of things both good and bad that make a good relationship. The longest Izuku has ever had. The strongest love that Izuku has ever had. He could see it. He could see himself spending the rest of his life with Shouto. He can see himself happy doing that. With marrying him? He… he could see that too. He doesn’t know when he sees it, but he could see it. He was already twenty-six years old. His mother was around his age when she first got married… actually she might have been in her early twenties, but still this was the age most people got married at.

“Izuku? Did I overload you? You can forget I said anything-”

“Can I think about it for a little bit longer?”

Shouto blinks before he smiles softly, “you can think about it for as long as you like.”

“Thanks Shouto.”

Izuku leans up and kisses his cheek before falling back down. Shouto smiles and leans down, trying to kiss his lips. His boyfriend quickly turns his head to the side though.

“Ah- I’m still mad at you for acting ridiculous. No kisses for you.”

“Izuku! Come on, I’m not going to see you again for a while. You have to at least kiss me goodbye.”

“I don’t see you leaving now Shouto.”

“Izuku!”

Chapter Text

“Izuku… Izuku…. Izukuuuuuu, pay attention to me.”

Shouto pouts as he lays draped over his boyfriend’s body. No matter what he said though he never looked up from his book. He felt a hand pat the top of his head twice, in a there there motion, before Izuku lifted his hand back up to turn the page. Shouto sighs out dramatically to himself.

“I bet I could say whatever I want right now… I ate the pudding you were saving in the back of the fridge the other night.”

Shouto stares at his face, waiting for him to exclaim like he normally did whenever Shouto did something. Living together had been a small challenge since neither one of them was used to sharing so much of their own space. Shouto was used to privacy while Izuku had grown accustomed to a certain routine. Both of them were thrown into new environments, but it was the happiest they’ve been having the love of their lives waiting for them at home.

Slowly, but surely, they were learning how to live with each other. They were beginning to create their own routine that involved both of them. They were also learning more things about each other that they hadn’t known before. Like Shouto’s bad habit of leaving soaking wet towels on the floor, because he was used to a servant cleaning up after him. Izuku’s bad habit was not sharing any of his snacks, even when he had enough to share. He had a plan on which day to eat them all and would get mad when Shouto would steal it. Izuku didn’t like how Shouto never cleaned his hair out of the drain, Shouto didn’t like how Izuku crushed the toothpaste every time leaving it a complete crumbled mess. 

Another thing Shouto didn’t like was happening right now. He didn’t like it when Izuku read books, especially good books, because he would get completely immersed into them. One could think that Izuku didn’t like how Shouto wanted to be showered in attention at random moments when he was busy since he wasn’t able to enjoy said good book. Shouto had been patient and allowed him to read for hours now, entertaining himself by watching TV, messing on his phone, and making a snack. Izuku hadn’t moved out of their bed once and still hasn’t acknowledged him other than the small thanks he gets whenever Shouto brings him food. What was so good about that book anyway?

“Izuku, I’m bored.” Shouto cries out loudly.

He wasn’t used to being this needy, but Izuku brought out a ton of things inside of him that he wasn’t used to being. He loved the attention that Izuku showered him with, loved and craved his love more and more each passing day. He needed more love than he received the previous day, he was like a vampire that drank love instead of blood, or a… Shouto’s sure there was a monster that did that, an incubus? A succubus? That prayed on people? He doesn’t know for sure, one of them might eat love but he does know that the other craves sex rather than love.

Shouto sighs out and rolls around. He scoots down so he’s lying on Izuku’s stomach and slowly lifts his shirt up. His boyfriend squirms a little bit, but doesn’t stop him. Shouto doesn’t say anything as he leans down and starts kissing his bare skin. A shiver courses throughout Izuku’s entire body and he raises his book in the air, staring down at Shouto.

“Babe, what are you doing?”

“Demanding your attention.”

“Well stop that, I’m almost finish-ah!” Izuku moans softly when Shouto’s lips brush against his nipples.

Shouto grins, finally having the upper hand, and stares up innocently at his boyfriend, “what was that?”

“Stop doing what you know you’re doing. I’m really almost done.”

“But you’ve been reading that book all day. Let’s do something fun, something with only the two of us, something that doesn’t require any clothes on,” Shouto gives him a toothy grin.

Izuku’s face blushes, but he won’t give in, “I-I’ve been reading all day so I could finish today. One more hour.”

“How about ten more seconds before I start kissing your body again?”

“Shouto! That’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair is that I’m practically throwing myself at you right now, but you rather read a book than make love to your boyfriend. What kind of logic is that?”

Izuku sighs out loudly and bends the page he’s on before closing his book, “if we do this can I finish reading my book?”

“Well don’t make it sound like such a chore and take out all the fun in it.”

“No, no Shouto, I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right, I meant to say I’m gonna rock your world and tire you out… and then finish my book while you recover.”

Shouto snorts and rolls his eyes, “I still don’t like that.”

“Well it’s about to happen.”

“Izuku, don- ah!”

Shouto’s eyes widen as he’s flipped around like he’s nothing and slammed hard against their bed. He keeps forgetting that Izuku is stronger than he looks since he takes self-defense classes on his days off. His boyfriend could easily lift him up and carry him around, and also flip him around and pin him on the ground in under ten seconds. Izuku smiles down adorably at his boyfriend and reaches for the top of his shirt. With no warning he tugs hard, ripping it open, buttons flying all over. Shouto gulps, having to admit that it was pretty hot. Izuku’s hands lower as he leans down and kisses his lips.

Shouto doesn’t have any complaints anymore as he’s shown love. He chases after Izuku’s lips, kissing his fast and hard, straining his neck up only to be denied as Izuku pulls away and stares down at him.

“Ah- ah, I’m in charge right now Shouto, and you’ve been doing a good drop distracting me from my book. I think I’m going to return-... Shouto?! What happened to you?!”

“Huh? What?” Shouto asks, eyes furrowing together at the sheer fear in Izuku’s voice.

“Why is your skin like this? What is this? Did you get hurt?!”

Shouto looks down and curses to himself as he sees the huge purple bruise on the left side of his ribs. He can’t believe he fucking forgot about that. He’s been so doped up on meds that he doesn’t feel it at all and it hadn’t looked this bad when he first got it. Looks like it finally decided to go and bruise itself though. Izuku sits off of him, afraid that he actually injured him, and Shouto leans up and tries closing his shirt to no success since it’s ripped and ruined now.

“It’s nothing Izuku-”

“That isn’t nothing! That looks like you got hit by a car! Did you get hit by a car?!”

“What? No! This is just a bruise!”

“A bruise? What on Earth could have made a bruise that big and ugly? Are you alright?! I was holding you down, I didn’t hurt you did I? Do you need to go to the hospital? I’ll get dressed real quick- we can-”

“Izuku, baby, my love, please calm down. This is nothing to worry about, it isn’t anything serious. I’m alright.”

Izuku pouts out, eyes watering as he meets his eyes, “what happened?”

“I… I was in a small fight.”

“A small fight?”

“Yes, a small fight and I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to worry you and have you overreact, like you’re doing now.”

“I think I’m reacting perfectly seeing a giant ass bruise on my boyfriend’s chest. When did you get into a fight?”

“A few days ago.”

“On your trip? I thought it was a business trip? Why were you fighting on a business trip? Shouto, why didn’t you tell me?

“Because I didn’t want you to worry like you’re doing right now. It was a small scuffle, Natsuo and I went to drinks with our clients and a small bar fight broke out. It was nothing serious, I got hurt a bit, but that’s all.”

“Shouto, you’re supposed to tell me these things. You don’t wait to see if I find out about it or not, I’m your boyfriend. We live together, we have a relationship, a commitment, and I care for you deeply. I love you Shouto. If you’re hurt I want to know about it, just like I’m sure you’d want to know if I ever got injured. I don’t care if it worries me or stresses me out, I need to know these things.”

Shouto’s face falls a little and he sighs out, “I know, I’m sorry Izuku. I really didn’t want to worry you is all.”

“Well now I’m worried and mad. A bar fight, who started it? You’re too old to be getting into fights Shouto.”

“Too old? I’m only twenty five.”

“I’m surprised you even got hurt with how much you brag about your muscles-”

“Hey! I don’t brag about them. Every time I notice you staring at them I just bring them up.”

Izuku’s cheeks fluster, “sh-shut up, this is about you. Are you injured anywhere else?”

“No-... why? Are you going to kiss it and make me feel better? Because if that’s the case I am, but I won’t tell you where. You’ll have to search all over my body and find them.” Shouto smirks.

“I can’t believe you’re still thinking about that when you’re injured.”

“It’s a small bruise, I didn’t become impotent.”

“Well I’m not letting you do any strenuous activities until that is healed mister.”

“Izukuuuuuu!”

“No butts… I can’t believe you Shouto. You’re not allowed to get hurt. You’re supposed to come back to me in the same condition you left me in.”

Shouto sighs out and reaches to cuff his face, “I’m sorry Izuku.”

“I’m going to give Natsuo a piece of my mind. He’s your older brother, I can’t believe he didn’t protect you-”

“I don’t need protecting-”

“Clearly you do. Is he alright?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. Just because you’re ending this cuddle fest doesn’t mean you can start reading your book again. I still desire your attention.”

Izuku rolls his eyes, “come on, let’s go for a walk. Oh, but we probably shouldn’t. Maybe we should just stay in bed so you can rest. We can just lay down and take a nap… and then when you fall asleep I can start reading again-”

“Izuku!”

“What?! It’s a really good book Shouto!”

Shouto rolls his eyes, “I’m getting dressed and we’re going somewhere.”

“To the hospital?”

“No! Izuku!”

“Hehehehe!”

Izuku sings along softly to the song playing on the radio as he cuts up some vegetables. He wanted to have tempura tonight and Shouto loves deep fried carrots the most. It wasn’t exactly the healthiest option, but the two of them deserve to splurge a bit. The two of them were young and it wasn’t so bad every once in a while. He chops and chops, placing everything in a colander before washing it off.

Shouto said he’d be back in time for dinner, so he still had a few more hours before he had to cook. He was just prepping everything so he would be ready. Next thing he should do is make the tempura batter. That needs to chill in order for everything to come out all nice and fluffy. Izuku goes through his cabinets, looking for the tempura box mix he knows they had somewhere around the house. Geez, he should really get more organized.

“Ah-ha!” He cheers when he finds it.

Izuku opens it up and pulls out the bag… barely enough mix to fry up two pieces of shrimp inside. He groans out loudly as he stares at the bag. Seriously? Why would he just leave this much? Why wouldn’t he use the rest of this or throw it away? He didn’t want to have to go to the store, it was raining outside. Maybe he could find a recipe online and make it from scratch? He’s sure he had all the ingredients, what was it? Just flour and some other junk?

Izuku presses his lips together as he walks out of the kitchen and towards his bedroom. He grabs his phone off of the charger and sits down on his bed, pressing his internet icon. The screen goes white as it starts to load, google’s search engineering appearing after a couple of seconds. Izuku goes to type on the search bar… but his finger pauses. Google was doing this new thing where they would show the most popular posts on their homepage. It has caught Izuku’s attention once or twice, especially since the internet was able to look at his search history and show him ads of things he might be interested in. Izuku has more than once fallen for that, but this one… he didn’t know exactly what he was looking at.

Well he knew who he was looking at, but he didn’t know what it meant exactly. Izuku’s eyes widen as he clicks the news article. There on the cover was a picture of police officers escorting a man in cuffs. The man that they were arresting right there was Touya, Shouto’s older brother. Izuku has only met him a handful of times, their first meeting when they visited Shouto’s Mom in the hospital, and then the rest were at dinners Shouto’s sister Fuyumi held. Touya didn’t talk that much and when he did some words were offensive that always made Shouto mad even though Izuku didn’t mind. He could tell that was just his personality, the black sheep of the family. He was always changing how he looked as well. The first time Izuku met him he had white hair, the next time was red, and in this picture he had black. Honestly he hadn’t seen him with black hair before, but Izuku knew his face well enough to recognize him. 

Touya got arrested? How? When? Why?! Did Shouto know about this? Probably not since he was flying back home to Tokyo now from Osaka. Izuku checks the date of the article, it happened around two hour ago. Why hadn’t anyone told him? Fuyumi or Natsuo? Or Rei, although Izuku doubts she would know. Shouto he try calling Shouto now? He wouldn’t answer on the plane, maybe call someone else? Did it give him a reason? Izuku was so focused on the picture he had yet to read the article yet.

A stern frown appears on his face as he scrolls down. Izuku’s blinks after he reads over the title and just… stares at it for a minute.

Local Yakuza Member arrested! Has Endeavor finally come out of hiding?!

“What the fuuuuuuck?!” Izuku curses out loudly.

Y-yakuza!? Yakuza?! No- that had to be wrong. He couldn’t- he wasn’t reading this right. Yakuza? What did it mean exactly by yakuza? Shouto’s brother wasn’t in the yakuza. He wasn’t a gangster, or a mafia person, this wasn’t the movies! Weird words keep popping up as Izuku continues to read.

Dabi.

Endeavor.

Most notorious yakuza in Japan.

Drugs.

Guns.

Deaths.

Izuku’s hands shake and he drops his phone. No- no that- that can’t be Touya. It might have looked like him, but it wasn’t him. The person that was arrested- they said his name was Dabi Endeavor, but that wasn’t Touya’s name. His name was Touya Todoroki, it couldn’t have been- it couldn’t-

Izuku quickly dives into his school bag and pulls out his laptop. He turns it on and waits for it to load, typing in the search engine Dabi Endeavor. He’s led to the same article he saw before, along with a bunch of others all talking about the same thing. The pictures all have the same man on it. He also finds other articles about the Endeavor gang. Izuku pours over them, dinner being completely forgotten.

Izuku didn’t know anything about the dark side of Japan. He didn’t know about gangsters, and yakuzas, about serial killers, and robbers. He watched the news a little to see if his area was safe and what to look out for, but he would always change it whenever it became about murder and death. He didn’t like seeing the world ending; he would rather rather turn a blind eye and ignore the bad things happening. He had no idea what exactly Endeavor was, but the internet knew a lot.

Endeavor was an old yakuza gang that had been around for over a century it seemed. There were a lot of rumors and links to attacks and deaths attached to it. Scuffles with police officers, fires, speculations of crimes. More people were arrested claiming to be a part of the Endeavor gang over the years, but Izuku didn’t recognize any of them. Why should he? He didn’t know any yakuza members, he didn’t have a dangerous life. He was a school teacher and Shouto was a businessman. He was freaking out for no reason, that person must have just looked like Touya and not actually be him. He should call Natsuo or Fuyumi and ask how Touya is and then they’d laugh after he told them the story and he’d feel like a-

… Izuku gulps as he scrolls down to a new picture. He doesn’t know the person getting arrested in this one, but standing off in the background… he recognizes Natsuo. He had a different hair style and looked younger, this article was dated back a couple of years, but that was him… as clear as day.

Izuku all of a sudden feels very sick. He stands up from his bed, laptop crashing on the floor as he stumbles around. The room starts to spin and he crashes against the wall, leaning up against it hard as he covers his mouth. What was going on right now? What did any of this mean? If Natsuo was in a picture associated with Endeavor then was that actually Touya who got arrested? Was his real name Dabi? Or was that a fake name he gave? Did Shouto know about this? Did he know about any of this? 

When he explained his job he said it was the family business. Natsuo, Touya, Fuyumi, all of them worked with Shouto in the architect business together. They all went on trips traveling around to meet with clients to help plan and develop designs for buildings, and other stuff Izuku’s sure of. He’s never really taken the chance to sit down and talk to Shouto about it. He’s never really taken a huge interest in his job learning the ins and outs about it. Shouto designed buildings, Izuku taught kids, what more was there to know? Izuku picks himself up and runs out the room. He heads to the calendar on the fridge and rips it off, taking it back to his bedroom.

“Alright, alright, alright,” Izuku chants to himself.

He picks up his laptop and types in Endeavor Yakuza… and then he looks through the calendar for the last time Shouto had a business trip. It was a month ago and he types in that month and year. It’s a lot of junk at first, but he finds something-  a fire in a building that supposedly belonged to a different gang. Speculations of who it could have been, a list of other gangs with Endeavor being one of them. Izuku checks the date of the article and looks at the calendar. It falls underneath the two weeks Shouto was missing.

He does this for the next twenty minutes, typing in dates and seeing what pops up. Sometimes it’s nothing, but others he gets more. A brawl. More buildings burning. Cars being stolen. Places being robbed. Izuku reads until he’s had enough. He kicks everything away and curls up into a ball, breathing out heavily.

What did this all mean? Nothing- it meant nothing. I had to mean nothing. It could only be a coincidence. Shouto- Shouto wasn’t a gang banger, he wasn’t a part of the yakuza. He had a nice, normal job. Izuku would have realized if he was in the yakuza. Yakuza people have tattoos! Yeah, and they hide money everywhere- they’re rich! And they have people following them all the time, and they’re murderers. Izuku wouldn’t fall in love with a murderer, this has to mean something else. He wouldn’t fall for someone who beats up people up and kills others-

…

…

Stop it. Stop thinking. Stop thinking about this and worrying. He just needs to call, all he needs to do is call. Izuku reaches for his phone and dials Fuyumi’s number. He hears it ring and ring until he gets a voicemail. Okay, maybe she was busy. He tries calling Natsuo next. No answer. Okay, maybe if he tries again? No one picks up. Shouto- he can leave a quick message for Shouto to call him when his flight lands. Izuku shouldn't be alone right now- he doesn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. He’s scared. He’s smarter than this, he’s scared of figuring out- he’s scared of realizing. Shouto never lied to him. Shouto promised he’d never lie to him and Izuku can tell when people do, so he’ll tell him the truth, and then Izuku will believe him, and life will continue back to normal. Right? Right?

“Right?”

Chapter Text

When Shouto walks back inside of his home after a long and stressful day what awaits him is not something he expects. He turns on the lights in the living room and freezes, seeing it a complete mess. The couch is turned upside down, there are things lying everywhere on the floor, the place looks like it has been ransacked and immediately his heart starts racing thinking that something terrible happened.

“IZUKU! IZUKU WHERE ARE YOU!?” 

Shouto yells at the top of his lungs as he drops his things and runs around the apartment. He doesn’t have to search for long; he finds his boyfriend sitting in the middle of their room surrounded by their clothes. It was like burglars had come and turned the whole place upside down. Shouto was scared that it had happened because of the way Izuku looked. He immediately ran to his side and knelt down in front of him, cuffing his face and checking over his body to make sure he wasn’t injured.

“Izuku?! Izuku what happened?! Are you hurt?! What’s wrong?!”

Nothing. Izuku didn’t find anything. He didn’t find a single thing… but that didn’t make him happy. That didn’t satisfy him. He searched and searched and searched, carefully at first because he became more and more desperate to find what he didn’t know himself. There was nothing hidden anywhere though, so he should be happy. He should be relieved. Why wasn’t he happy? Why wasn’t he?

“Izuku!” Shouto shouts, shaking him back and forth.

Oh look, Shouto’s finally home. He doesn’t look so good. There are bags under his eyes and he looks really scared right now. Is it because of him? Izuku blinks as he tries to gain control over himself. He sits up straight and lifts his hands, pulling Shouto’s grip off of him.

“Shouto, welcome home. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Izuku what’s wrong? What the hell happened here? Did someone break in?!”

“Huh? Oh no, I did this. I was trying to find something, I’ll clean it up.”

Shouto wants to sigh out in relief that his boyfriend was safe… but he didn’t. Why was Izuku up at three a.m. searching for something so desperately when he had work tomorrow? He sounded a little funny on the voicemail he left him, but Shouto hadn’t heard it until hours later since he had some business to handle. He didn’t know, didn’t notice at time until he was coming home. What was going on? Did something happen? Not what he imagined, but something else? Izuku didn’t do things like this- he didn’t make facial expressions that didn’t reveal anything about himself. Izuku was always an open book, but Shouto can’t tell at all what’s on his mind right now.

“Izuku, what’s wrong? Tell me, I’m here. Did something happen?”

“I… I’m probably going to feel stupid later for asking this. I can’t help it though, so please forgive me. I’ll accept any punishment you seem fit for doubting you Shouto. I’ve been going crazy thinking about it- I don’t know Shouto- I don’t know what it means- I don’t know what any of it means-”

“What what means Izuku? What are you talking about?!”

“Endeavor.”

Shouto feels his blood run cold.

“Do you know what Endeavor is?”

“Izuku… what are you talking about?”

“I was trying to make dinner,” Izuku ignores him as he looks up at the ceiling, “but we were out of tempura mix. I figured I could make some from scratch since it was raining outside, I thought it would be easy, and I saw a man that looked exactly like Touya in an article. He was being arrested, except his name wasn’t Touya, it was Dabi Endeavor. He was part of a gang called Endeavor, and I called Natsuo, and I called Fuyumi, and I called you because I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t Touya because he looked so much like him it could have been scary! But no one answered, so I tried to look for more information Shouto and… tell me what you know. Was that Touya? Where is he right now?”

“He’s home. He’s at my family home, he’s safe. He isn’t in prison Izuku.”

“Oh.”

He should be relieved. He should be feeling a lot of feelings right now. This is what he wanted to hear, that it wasn’t Touya… but he can’t… because Shouto never said that it wasn’t Touya. Izuku looks back down at Shouto’s face and stares at him directly in the eyes.

“Are you lying to me?”

“No Izuku, I’m not. I swear to God to you I’m not. Come on, you look exhausted. It’s really late right now, we should go to bed and discuss this tomorrow-”

“Do you love me Shouto?”

“Izuku-”

“Answer me, please. Do you love me? It’s a simple question. You shouldn’t need to think about it.”

“Of course I love you Izuku,” Shouto’s face softens as he strokes his cheek.

“Have you ever lied to me before?”

Shouto’s face tightens a bit, “I have, but never a big one-”

“Have you ever told a lie that you know would hurt me?”

“No.”

Izuku can tell that he isn’t lying.

“Was that Touya who got arrested?”

Shouto’s facial expression doesn’t change.

“Is Touya and Natsuo a part of Endeavor?”

He shakes his head at him and tries to tell him no.

“Are you in the yakuza Shouto?”

“Izuku what are you talking about?!”

Izuku can’t tell that he’s lying. He can’t tell, he could probably never tell to begin with. Stupid. So stupid, so fucking stupid! Izuku screams out loudly as he stands up to his feet, completely disgusted with himself. All this time- all this fucking time- from the very beginning too and he didn’t notice at all! 

“I can’t believe you, I can’t believe you,” tears sting in his eyes.

“Izuku- Izuku please- Izuku-”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Izuku screeches and shoves past Shouto as he leaves their bedroom.

A lie. It was all a lie. It’s not that he didn’t notice, it’s just that he never cared to notice. He never cared to realize, he ignored it. There were signs, so many signs now that Izuku thinks about it. The injuries he would sometimes get, the blood stained clothes, how much money Shouto never seemed to care to spend, all the business trips suddenly out of nowhere without warning. Shouto never really talked about his job unless he asked first. He saw it all, he never suspected anything though because he was happy. Because he was in love. Because he was enjoying his life with Shouto he didn’t want to see anything bad ruin it.

“YOU FUCKING LIAR!” Izuku screams, turning around all of a sudden and throwing the closest object behind him, which turned out to be a potted plant on the counter.

Shouto curses and ducks down, barely dodging it as it flies past his head and crashes into the wall, “dammit, Izuku please listen-”

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear your lies anymore! Six years! For six fucking years you just stood there and you lied to me! You lied to the love of your life! You lied to your partner!”

“Izuku please-”

“I said SHUT UP!” He screams, throwing the TV remote at him next.

Shouto is able to smack that one away and walks up to Izuku. He grabs him hard and tries to console him, but his boyfriend struggles to get out of his grasp.

“You bastard- you asshole- you liar! Let me go! Was anything you ever told me real?!”

“Everything I told you was real Izuku!”

“Then who the hell are you?! Because I don’t recognize the person standing in front of me right now!”

“I’m Shouto Todoroki! I’m your boyfriend Shouto Todoroki! I’m the man who fell head over heels for you the first time I laid eyes on you! I’m the man who tried everything I could to make you fall in love with me back! I’m the love of your life!”

“You’re a liar!” Izuku screams at his face.

“I couldn’t tell you!” Shouto shouts back.

An admission. Izuku stills for a second before he steels himself. He clenches his jaw and knocks Shouto’s grip off of him. When he reaches out again Izuku gets ready to pin him down, but his plan backfires when Shouto counters his attack and knocks him on the ground, pinning him down. Izuku’s eyes are as wide as saucers since this has never happened before. Shouto can’t do this- he can’t fight back- he’s never done it before! But he was able to do it so easily- Izuku grunts as he struggles.

“Let go! Let go of me!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, you need to listen to me though Izuku! I love you! I love you, I want to marry you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you-”

“I could never be with a murderer!” 

Shouto’s eyes grow cold as he stares down at him. Spit flies into the air as Izuku yells at the top of his lungs. He’s panting heavily, his heart and his head hurting, along with his body as he keeps trying to break out of Shouto’s hold. It doesn’t weaken though and he can’t break loose.

“I couldn’t tell you Izuku, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t tell you. I knew you would have run, I knew you wouldn’t have given me a chance.”

Tears pool in the corner of his eyes and fall down his cheeks, “so you were going to keep it from me forever?”

“Yes. You were never supposed to find out. We would have been happy.”

“It would have been a lie!”

“Nothing important was a lie! I am Shouto Todoroki! That is the name I was born with! I did fall in love with you Izuku Midoriya! I did want to spend my entire life with you! I only lied to you about my profession!”

“It was more than that. You lied to me every single day, going out on trips, coming home injured, about your family- about your life! You had a whole different life Shouto!”

“Seperate from you to protect you!”

“Don’t give me that shit! You did it so I wouldn’t leave you!”

“Why does the reason matter?! Tell me what I need to do to fix this and I will! I’ll do whatever you want me to do Izuku to make this go away.”

Izuku lurches back like he was just slapped in the face, “go-go away?! This can’t go away- I can’t forget this! You’re still lying to me! You still haven’t told me who you are! I can’t be with-”

“I’m Endeavor!”

He stops talking.

“We’re all technically Endeavor, but I’m the real one. I’m the leader of the Endeavor Yakuza Gang… I’m in charge… it’s my gang.”

… No. He thought-... no. Leader? Boss? He didn’t think- couldn’t imagine… if Shouto was in charge he could have stopped. He could have disbanded, he could have ended the violence- he could have walked away to be with him. He was crazy. Izuku’s instincts were right in the very beginning, he was crazy. He was fucking crazy and he ignored himself. He ignored it all.

“Get off me.”

“Izuku, please-”

“Get off me and get out. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore Shouto, get out of my apartment and out of my life.”

Shouto’s eyes widen, pure fear showing on his face. He doesn’t realize that he’s crying right now, all he can focus on is that he’s about to lose him. His heart is being torn out of his chest and he has to stop it from happening.

“No Izuku, please- please baby-”

“Don’t call me that. Get out. I don’t want to be with you anymore. I don’t love you anymore. I want to break up! I never want to see your lying fucking face again! Get out Shouto! Get off me and get out of my life! LEAVE!” 

Shouto’s so broken he doesn’t have any strength left. Izuku is able to knock him off and gets back to his feet. He glares hard at him, tears shining in his eyes. He has to stay angry, if he lets go of this anger for even a second he’ll be reduced to nothing. He’ll become a puddle of nothing and then he’ll cry and wish for him to stay. He’ll wish for Shouto to comfort him, and tell him that none of this was true, and he’ll delude himself into believing in him and live in that stupid fucking bubble away from reality.

“I’m not leaving you. I refuse to.” Shouto tells him.

“I can’t believe I thought about marrying a monster.” Izuku says right back.

Out of all the things he’s said today, that hurts him the most. Shouto’s eyes widen before he goes completely still. Dead. He feels dead inside. His heart was finally ripped out of his chest and he has nothing else to lose now. That does it. Shouto slowly gets back to his feet and stands up. He reaches his hand out to Izuku, but his boyfriend flinches away and glares at him. He drops his hand and stares at the floor before his feet start walking. Step, by step, he gets closer to the door. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He wants to stay and fight for him, but it’s all faded out of him. There’s nothing he can do. He doesn’t know what else to do. He doesn’t know anything. His world is crumbling apart right in front of him and he has no choice but to crumble along with it.

Shouto leaves, closing the door behind him. Izuku stands there all alone in their apartment, in the home the two of them built for themselves. He waits for him to come back, waits for that door to open again, but as time ticks by and it slowly doesn’t he feels the strength leave him. Izuku collapses on the floor and cries his heart out.

Chapter Text

His job was going to fire him soon.

…

…

His friends were also going to come butting in as well sooner or later.

Izuku didn’t care. Why should he care? His life was over right now. He didn’t know how to recover, didn’t think anything past confronting Shouto and getting all of his feelings off of his chest. He didn’t even get to say everything he wanted to say. There were still so many things unanswered, but none of them mattered anymore. Shouto was out of his life forever.

He wasn’t happy.

He wasn’t happy one bit. He’s been crying for days, lying in the same spot, not feeling the urge to get up or move around or even eat. He lost his appetite and the will to do anything. He can survive for three days without food or wonder, he wonders how long it’s been? 

Break-ups aren’t supposed to be this bad. Maybe it was. Some people kill themselves. Others lose their minds. Some even do more crazier things like sleep around and destroy their lives. Izuku wasn’t doing any of that. He was just lying by himself trying to think of absolutely nothing. It was working, he could do it, but for how much longer?

Izuku wanted to hate him. He wanted to forget about him. He wanted to erase everything that had to do with him out of his mind. How could he get rid of six years of feelings so easily? Shouto wasn’t the only liar, Izuku was hurt but he still loved him. He still wanted him. He wanted him now. He wanted Shouto to come and save him. He wanted to see that liar’s smile and be wrapped around his strong arms. Izuku wanted him. Wants, wants, wants, like he knew he would as soon as he left, like he knew he would succumb to if he wasn’t able to get rid of him on time.

Maybe he should try pretending. Shouto had a whole different life without Izuku for six years, if he can do it maybe Izuku could too. Should he give it a try? Pretend that he didn’t know Shouto? Pretend that he was Izuku, a single bachelor teacher who lived on his own? He could pretend to be that person on the outside, dealing with people and work and friends and family, but when he got home he could be his real self. He could cry and moan and hate, but only here.

Could he do it? Could he remember what his life used to be like before Shouto? He wouldn’t know unless he tried, so he tried. Getting up off the ground was the hardest part and then… then everything fell together like dominoes. 

Izuku took a shower.

Izuku tried to eat some food.

Izuku threw it all up and simply drank water. 

Izuku cleaned up his apartment.

Izuku locked everything to do with his ex in a closet just like he locked away his heart.

Izuku tried to eat again and this time kept it down.

Izuku tried to live again.

Izuku checked his phone and finally called his job explaining how an emergency happened.

Izuku messaged his friends and lied about losing his phone so that they wouldn’t worry.

Izuku didn’t feel anything when he didn’t see any missing calls or texts from Shouto, but he did cry every night.

Izuku went back to work.

Izuku went back to his everyday life.

Izuku still wasn’t in control enough to see his friends and be able to convince them that nothing was wrong, but he would be.

Izuku knew that he would be better one day.

Izuku knew that all he had to do was be patient.

Izuku’s life wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t back to normal. He had a set schedule though, a routine he followed every single day. Monday thru Friday, wake up, get ready, go to work, come home, finish up any leftover work, reply to any messages from friends, cry. Saturday thru Sunday, try not to wake up, try not to feel, remember to eat something, make up excuses for friends, cry more, and then sleep. A constant loop. A constant repeat. He wasn’t satisfied with it. He didn’t like it, he didn’t care for it, but he was living. No- not living, he was surviving. He was a survivor… that’s all there was to it. Not the first to be screwed over by a thing called love and certainly not the last.

It was on a Friday night that Izuku heard his phone ringing while he lay in bed. For some reason he wasn’t crying yet, but he’s sure that it was going to happen sooner or later. It happened every other night. He rolled around and reached for his phone, taking the charger out so he could bring it closer to his face. It wasn’t a number he recognized, but the name was a hospital. For a second he was afraid something happened to his mother, because that’s the only person he can imagine that he would be called for an emergency contact. Izuku leaned up in his bed and answered it, not recognizing the hollow and scared voice escaping out of his lips.

“Hello?”

“... Hello, is this Izuku that I’m talking to?”

Izuku feels his blood run cold as he recognizes this voice, but can’t really put his finger on it. It’s associated with something he doesn’t want to remember and for a second he debates hanging up really quick and blocking the number.

“Yes, this is he.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize your voice! It sounds so much deeper over the phone, it’s Rei. How are you Izuku? It’s been so long since I’ve talked with you.”

Rei. Rei Todoroki. Shouto’s mother. Shouto. Izuku bends down, curling up into a ball as he wraps his arm around his head. His heart is beginning to bleed again. The shitty bandages he had put on it weren't good enough and he was bleeding through.

“It has Rei.” Izuku responds back to her.

“Is everything alright? I apologize for calling you so late, I really wanted to ask a favor from you though. Do you think you can come visit me tomorrow morning? I don’t know if you already have plans for Saturday, but if you don’t… could you?”

Izuku gulps heavily. Shouto didn’t tell her. Now he begins to wonder if Shouto told anyone. Did he not want to worry anyone? Or was he simply pretending that their relationship never existed? Exactly like how Izuku is trying (and failing) to do? That’s so unfair. Why does he have to be the one to give her the news? She isn’t his mom… she did make him feel like he was her son though.

“Rei… I don’t know the easiest way to tell you, but… I’m not dating your son anymore. Shouto and I broke up a while ago.”

“Oh dear, I know, and I’m sorry to hear that. I would still like for you to come and visit me though if it isn’t too much trouble. I really want to see you Izuku. Could you do that? Please? Just once, and if you like I won’t bother you again afterwards. It’s probably hard for you hearing this request, but… Shouto hasn’t come to visit me in a very long time. I’m here all by myself and I just thought-... I want to meet with you Izuku.”

She’s playing dirty. She’s playing so unfair, but she’s never been mean to him or treated him badly. She’s always been very accepting and loving towards him. Izuku felt the same, he felt like Rei was his second mother and the fact that he was losing her, and Touya, and Natsuo, and Fuyumi because of Shouto sucked. He grew close to that family and it wasn’t fair. None of this is fair. Izuku feels the waterworks are about to come. He feels the tears stinging his eyes, but he doesn’t want to cry to her. He refuses to.

“Rei I don’t-”

“Izuku… please. Please, I’m begging you.”

Izuku clutches his chest and sighs out a shaky breath, “alright, I’ll visit you tomorrow.”

“Really?! Thank you Izuku! Come early if you can, maybe around ten? Is that alright with you?”

Izuku quickly worked out the details between Rei. He got the time and the address, along with her room number, before he quickly hung up. Rei was so happy and Izuku could hear the smile on her face before she said she couldn’t wait to see him tomorrow. Izuku dropped his phone on the bed and buried himself in his blankets. What did he do? What did he just do? He’s twisting the knife in his heart right now, that’s what is happening. He’s about to walk into the fire to burn all over again.

He knew he was going to do it though.

Izuku didn’t know what to bring his ex’s mother visiting her at the hospital. He didn’t think there was something that he should have brought. Flowers? Candies? There was nothing that people gave in these situations; normally it was a lecture on how much their kids were assholes. He ended up deciding on a small bouquet last minute when he saw a flower shop in the entrance of the hospital. It was quiet, so quiet on his way over. He didn’t know what he was going to say, what they were going to talk about, the real reason Rei wanted to see him. To talk to him about Shouto? To convince him to take her son back? Was Rei involved in Endeavor? Of course she was if all her children were. Was she going to convince him that being married to a yakuza boss wasn’t a terrible life? Did Shouto put her up to this? 

No, she said she hadn’t talked to Shouto in a long time… Shouto was a very good liar though, so maybe he got that from her. Izuku didn’t know, he didn’t know anything. He wasn’t sure what to expect, so he figured he would be respectful and courteous and hope that this visit wouldn’t last that long. Izuku knocked on the door and waited for a confirmation to come inside before he opened it up. Rei looked exactly the same as the last time he saw her, and that was over a month ago at the last family dinner they all had. She was lying down in her hospital bed, a fluffy white blanket covering her up.

“Izuku, welcome. I’m glad to see you.”

Izuku finds a smile appearing on his face, a real smile. He feels the same way, he’s really glad to see her. He’s missed her. Izuku nods his head as he walks over to her bedside. He offers her the pitiful bouquet of flowers and suddenly feels bad for not bringing more. What was wrong with him? Rei didn’t seem to care at all how small her gift was and smiles brightly as she reaches out.

“Oh, wow Izuku you didn’t have to get me this. Thank you, it’s very beautiful.” Rei brings the flowers to her nose and takes a small sniff.

“You’re welcome. How are you feeling today? You look as lovely as ever.”

Rei’s cheeks fluster at his compliment and she giggles, bringing her hand to her cheek, “oh Izuku, I’m doing well. How about yourself?”

Izuku blinks and simply shrugs, “I’m okay.”

“Oops, I’m sorry for asking. Um, please take a seat. There’s a chair right behind you against the wall.”

Izuku turns around and walks over to grab the chair while Rei gently places her flower on the counter next to her. She’ll have to ask a nurse to bring her a vase later when she gets the chance. When she turns her head back Izuku is opening up the chair and sitting down right next to her. She turns her hand around and opens it up… Izuku hesitates for a second before reaching out and grabbing it.

“I know you can probably guess what I would like to talk to you about.”

Izuku feels his heart race and nods his head.

“You don’t have to listen. We can talk about something else, I really did miss you Izuku. I know your relationship with Shouto is none of my business, but there was something I wanted to tell you, something that I need for you to know. I’m the one who told Shouto to not tell you the truth. I’m the reason why he lied to you. I’m sorry Izuku, it’s my fault that this happened.”

Izuku completely stills. He snatches his hand back on instinct, staring wide-eyed at her. Rei simply smiles sadly, her eyebrows scrunching together as she bows her head down.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Izuku. This is all my fault.”

“No Rei- don’t- this isn’t yours, Shouto never told me the truth-”

“Because I’m the one who told him not to. You’re not understanding Izuku, let me explain it to you. Do you know why Shouto was visiting your college that day? When he first fell in love with you? Do you know why he was there?”

… no, he didn’t. He figured it was because Shouto attended there… but he didn’t and he never thought back on it again. He didn’t think it mattered since it happened so long ago. Rei looks up at him and laughs at him lightly, shaking her head.

“I um- I was trying to convince him to go to college. I asked him to take a tour, begged him actually, it was the same school I was going to before I… before my parents married me off and I had to drop out. I didn’t want the same to happen to Shouto even if he was destined to follow in that man’s footsteps. I wanted him to have another option, in case anything happened I wanted him to have an education. He came back to me that day and told me all about you. Mom, I found my future husband, hehehe, those were his exact words. I think the next question I asked was your name, but Shouto didn’t know it.”

“I didn’t give it to him. I thought he was crazy. The first thing he said to me was you don’t know this yet, but I’m going to marry you one day. I didn’t think any sane person would say that.”

Rei brings her hand to cover her mouth as she laughs, “Shouto was always like that as a kid growing up. He didn’t want much, but whenever he did find something he loved he would always hold it dear and cherish it. Shouto’s never talked to me ever about his love life, but here he was all of a sudden asking me what his next move should be to try and woo you. Izuku… I told him if he wanted any chance of being with you that he would keep our family’s dirty little secret to ourselves. He planned on being honest with you from the very beginning, it was me who told him that if he ever wanted you to fall for him he would do everything in his power to make sure you never found out.”

Izuku gulps heavily, letting the information process. Shouto never told him he asked Rei for advice. Then again he probably was embarrassed about it; Shouto always is when it comes to his mother. He thought he was so smooth and cool the entire time, Izuku smiles lightly to himself imagining him panicking and asking his family for advice on how to woo him. Izuku catches himself; none of that matters anymore. They aren’t together and he can’t see anything bringing them back. He was only here to hear Rei out, and he’s heard her, so he can leave now. He can leave and try to repair his broken heart… would he really be able to close this chapter in his life though with this loose end? Shouto said he lied to him because he was afraid Izuku wouldn’t be with him if he had told him the truth. Izuku doesn’t know if things would have turned out the same way if Shouto had been truthful, he doesn’t know at all if he would have still given him a chance. Probably not, but it was the fact that he lied about it to his face continuously for six years that really stung. Rei is here saying that she was the one who put that thought into Shouto’s head… and he wants to know-

“Why? Why did you tell him that?”

Rei lets out a small breath and turns her head away to stare out the window, “can I tell you? My story, our story… you’re going to learn things about me, and my family, about Shouto and… you might not like it. You might not want to hear anything about my son, but I’m being selfish. This is my fault Izuku and I want to fix this. I want you to know Shouto, my Shouto, and I’m hoping that once you know our past you can forgive him. What that poor boy had to live through his entire life, how I wasn’t able to protect him- to save him. If only I had been stronger none of this would have happened. I would have been able to save us, save all our kids from that man. We could have had a normal life and Shouto could have met you at college as a normal student. You two could have still been together, if only I was stronger.”

Sobs escape out of her throat as Rei hunches over, crying tears. Izuku immediately stands up and pats around his body, pulling a napkin from his pockets. He offers it to her and Rei sniffs as she turns her head.

“I’ll listen. I’ll stay and listen, I want to hear your story. Please don’t cry, please don’t tell me if it’s going to bring you pain. I know you believe it’s your fault, but Rei it was really between me and Shouto why our relationship didn’t work. You had nothing to do with it.”

“You’re-” she sniffs, “you’re really sweet, I always liked that about your Izuku, but you don’t know. You don’t know our past. I- I was a terrible mother.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“It is, it is, if you give me a second I can tell you,” Rei rubs her eyes.

She takes the napkin from Izuku and blows her nose, rubbing it around as she tries to regain herself. She takes a deep breath and sighs out, lying back in her pillow before she begins her tale.

“I was born into a very powerful family that were accustomed to a certain lifestyle. It was nothing illegal, my father made an honest living in a very dishonest way though. He would… I didn’t learn until I married into the family, but he would hire the yakuza to take care of his competition. All his dirty work and secret lives caught up to him though and we were on the verge of losing everything. I had no idea, I was in college planning on graduating and getting a teacher’s degree. That is all I wanted to be when I grew up, a teacher. One day my father called me out of the blue and told me to come home, that it was an emergency. I was only twenty when I first met… him, Shouto’s father. In exchange for giving my father enough money to get him out of debt and prevent him from going bankrupt he sold his only daughter and made a partnership with Endeavor.”

Izuku gasps slightly.

“I- I didn’t see it that way then. I was young, I didn’t have anyone, never been in love before, and my parents begged me. Said it was expected of me to take care of them, that if I didn’t they would be homeless and… what can I say? They were my parents, I listened to them because I always listened to them my entire life. I married Enji and became the wife of a head boss. I’ll spare you all the details, because that would just make this story so much longer, but I quickly come to regret my decision. My family abandoned me after that and I was shipped to live in the Endeavor estate. That man… he was a monster. There was no love in our relationship, only convenience. He used me, married me simply so he could stay connected to my father and use his business, and I was the tool he used to do it. Izuku… it was a very hard life. I tried to run away from it several times, but once I started having kids I couldn’t- I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t abandon them, and I knew Enji would never allow me to take his children- his successors away from him. I don’t exaggerate when I say that my life was a living hell… my children were the only reason I was able to survive through it, Shouto helped me so much… and then I lost everything.” 

Rei’s eyes grow cold as she gets lost in her old memories. Being married to a monster, the constant insults, the abuse, the punches and kicks, never knowing when to keep her mouth shut, never knowing her place. Izuku reaches out and grabs her hand, holding it tightly in both of his. Rei blinks and looks up at him.

“Sorry, I got lost in thought. Izuku, I would never wish even my worst enemy the life I had to live being the boss’ wife. I told Shouto not to tell you because I didn’t wish that life on you. If you had known the truth you would have had to join the family once you got married. Shouto is nothing like his father, he is NOTHING like that monster, but that fear of my life haunted me. I convinced Shouto, I told him to keep these lives separate because of the pain that I went through. Izuku, Shouto was lying to you, but he wasn’t lying about himself. The Shouto that you were dating, the one you were falling in love with, that was the Shouto he was before he became the boss. You were dating my darling little Shouto and you fell in love with who he was supposed to be- who he would have been had it not been for my husband. That’s the real Shouto. Who he is pretending to be Endeavor, that’s just a role he plays, an act he has to keep up in order to keep all of us safe. That isn’t the real him, the one you fell in love with is.”

Izuku lowers his head, letting her words sink in, “I couldn’t believe I had fallen for a monster… I knew I would have known though. If Shouto really was one he would have acted like it, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up the act for so many years… I know he wasn’t pretending, but he was still lying to me Rei. He was murdering people behind my back and telling me that he was on business trips!”

“Shouto is not a murderer! He has only killed one man his entire life and that was to save our lives! He’s never taken another life since!”

Izuku flinches, feeling guilty as she lectures him. Rei pants heavily and quickly regains herself. She sits up straight and squeezes Izuku’s hand, apologizing.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault Izuku that he’s like this. I couldn’t protect Shouto. I did the best I could to protect all my children, but Enji saw greatness in Shouto. He saw his heir, he trained Shouto the most- he would hurt our baby boy the most. I did my best Izuku, I really did, but it had been so long, so many years I took that man’s abuse and I- I became sick. I couldn’t- I drove myself crazy, I hurt- I hurt my baby. I hurt him and then he took me away. He took me away from my children and locked me inside of this place.”

“Rei? What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

Rei rubs her eyes again, “Endeavor is a very old gang. It could be dated back for years, passed down from father to son. Enji was the only child of his previous father, and when he died he became the head and was titled with the name Endeavor. It’s a cover, a nickname. The reason why they’ve survived so long and go unnoticed, why we’re untouchable is because we play it safe. We have two lives, we live by two names: our everyday life we go out and live and the name we use for our family business. I gave birth to four children, but only one could succeed that monster. He would train them Izuku, test them, put them against each other, and make them hate each other. Natsuo, Touya, Fuyumi, Shouto, they were raised hating each other. For some reason Enji saw Shouto as the one though. He believed Shouto took after him the most, just a tiny little kid, and he convinced me that as well. Izuku I- it’s my fault. I did that to my son, I’m the one who gave him that scar. I was so scared, I couldn’t do it anymore Izuku, I snapped. My parents were ignoring my calls, my mother told me to stay- to work it out with that mad man and Shouto came and I just- I just-”

“Rei, Rei breathe! Please, breathe.”

Rei starts shaking, her breaths coming out short as she struggles to gain control. Izuku reaches out and rubs her back, telling her soothing words. He wants to freak out as well though. Shouto never told him anything about the scar. Izuku only asked once, after they dated for a year or two. He finally had enough courage to ask him about it and the expression Shouto made damn near broke his heart, so he never brought it up again. He had told him it was an accident though. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just- it’s been so long since I’ve had to think about this. I never forgot, I never- I ignored all the pain and misery I caused my family by being weak.”

“Rei please, we don’t have to talk about this anymore. We don’t have to-”

“No! You need to know Izuku, I want you to know why Shouto is the way he is. You know without a doubt that if he could he would leave this life behind. If it wasn’t for me, if his family wasn’t holding him back, he would have ran away with you Izuku and had an honest life.”

“I’m listening to you Rei, I’m hearing you, this is hurting you though. Please-”

Rei takes a shaky breath and shakes her head, “no, I’m fine. I’m fine, I’m under control. I can’t keep running away from this forever. It’s crazy how much that man still has a hold on me despite the fact that he can never hurt me again.”

“Rei?”

“Sit down Izuku,” She says tugging him onto her bed, “my story is almost finished.”

“But-”

“Please, I can do this. I’m almost done, you need to know.”

Izuku makes a tight face. What does he do? He should leave. Everything just became way more complicated and it’s physically hurting Rei remembering all the trauma she’s had in her life. Izuku had no idea. She always seemed so happy and warm whenever he visited, whenever they saw each other, he never knew what she was really hiding underneath her smiles. She was hiding so much pain… was Shouto the same exact way?

“Enji put me in the hospital. He was tired of me getting in his way, of protecting my children, and hurting Shouto had been the last straw. I was here for ten years. Only Fuyumi was allowed to visit me, but sometimes Touya and Natsuo would sneak over to see me. Never Shouto… I never held it against him. I got better being outside of that household, but the guilt ate up at me. I was medicated for the entire first year, and… it was rough. It was really rough. It took a very long time for me to recover, and even now I’m not the same as I used to be before getting involved with the Endeavors. I’ll never be the same person again.”

“Rei,” Izuku whispers, squeezing her hand.

“This is ending, I promise. It happened when Shouto was fifteen. I saw him again when he turned fifteen, for the first time in ten years. I was so afraid to see him. He completely surprised me, I thought he would scream and yell, hate me, blame me, but he didn’t do any of that. He just held out a hand to me and told me it was safe to go home now.”

Izuku furrows his eyebrows as he turns his head to the side, not understanding. Rei gives him a sad look as her face drops.

“He’s only killed one man… and it was an accident. It was supposed to be Touya, that was the plan my children had thought up of. Shouto ended up doing it though, Shouto ended up killing Enji.”

He flinches, eyes going wide as he stares at her.

“I didn’t know, but they told me later. Once I was gone everything got worse. Shouto, instead of falling into despair like I had, he hardened up and got stronger. He started talking to his siblings, he convinced them that they shouldn’t be hating each other and be competing for a man who cares nothing for them. What would Enji do to them if he was easily able to get rid of me? They made plans behind the scenes, and schemed, my children… my poor innocent children left in a hostile environment where they grew up thinking violence and killing was as normal as playing ball or catch… Touya was going to end everyone’s suffering. He was going to do it and become the new boss and set us all free. Something happened though, an accident, they refuse to tell me all the details, but Shouto was there where Touya was supposed to be and he took the matter into his own hands. Izuku, my son is not a monster. He’s not a murderer. He’s nothing of the sort, it’s because of me, because of his father, because of the environment he grew up in that forced him to be someone he’s not. He did it to save me, to save his siblings, to end all our torture and end this bad nightmare.”

Izuku gulps thickly as he looks down at the floor.

“Can you imagine it? Seeing your own mother get beaten in front of you? Wouldn’t you want to harm the man? Wouldn’t you want to protect her? It was self-defensive, in a way it was kind of self-defense. No one would have missed a monster like him, and no one has.”

He would. If someone was trying to kill his mother Izuku knows he would have tried to stop that person. No matter what, even if it resulted in that. He would fight tooth and nail to protect his family. To be fifteen… to live through that life, that abuse… to take a life so young? There’s never an excuse to take a life, never. Taking a life is the worst thing you could do.

“Did Shouto ever regret it?”

“Oh yes. He does, but most of the days he doesn’t. He thinks about what else he could have done. If he simply got rid of Enji another way, locked him up somewhere, planted enough evidence to get him framed and arrested for the rest of his life. He was only fifteen at the time it happened, but he tells me now he thinks about everything he could have done some days… but most of the time he thinks about us. About me not being able to stand up, about Fuyumi being scared to leave her room, of Touya always coming back bleeding, of Natsuo crying to himself, and about you.”

“Me?” 

“Yes, he thinks about you and what would have happened to you if Enji was still alive. He wouldn’t have accepted your feelings, he wouldn’t have blessed this relationship. If Shouto tried dating you he would have hurt you Izuku and made you disappear. All Shouto has to do is think of that and he doesn’t regret it anymore. He’s able to live with himself because he thinks of how terrible everything in his life would be if he didn’t do it.”

“Rei… thank you for sharing this story with me... if I’m being honest it’s changed some things, but… I can’t. I still can’t- it might not have been Shouto’s choice to grow up this way, but that doesn’t erase everything he’s done. I don’t know much, but I’ve read about things Endeavor has been linked to. Arson, drugs, fights-”

“Izuku- wait, Endeavor isn’t like that.”

“Rei, I know I didn’t know anything, but I’m not completely blind. I’ve seen movies and read books, I’ve read plenty of articles. I may not know exactly what your family does or has done, but I have ideas.”

“No Izuku, listen, Shouto’s Endeavor isn’t like that. We’re different- we’re not the same- we keep our territory safe. When my late husband was boss I could understand. every terrible thing you’re thinking of right now, but Shouto’s a different leader. He’s trying to atone for his mistakes, for what our family has done.”

“Atone?” Izuku asks her.

“We protect everyone. From neighboring gangs and yakuza from other territories, we keep them away from our territory. We stop drug rings from happening, clean up streets, we try to stop all types of shady and illegal things from happening to make our area peaceful. We protect Tokyo, we don’t hurt it… we still do it illegally and play by our own rules, but Shouto has a very clear rule of never hurting more than necessary, of never killing unless it’s a last resort. Yes we’re a gang Izuku, but we’re not a terrible one.”

Izuku looks away from her and covers his face with his hands. There’s so much information, too much for him to process. She’s been talking to him for so long, telling him about her history, Shouto’s history, and it was… so confusing. How could he understand it all? Shouto in pain, Shouto suffering, Shouto having no choice. To protect his Mom, to protect his brothers and his sister, to protect everyone he cares about.

He killed to protect his family.

He became boss to protect his territory.

He lied to Izuku because of Rei. Rei told him to because she was afraid and didn’t want Izuku to live the life she lived. 

Everything had a reason, an excuse, even if it didn’t excuse it or wasn’t fair, he understood. He could understand now, it made sense now. He didn’t know how much it changed things now, if it even changed anything at all, but Izuku felt like… he felt a small bit of peace inside of him now for whatever reason. He didn’t know how to explain it, he didn’t know if this new information was a good thing or a bad one, but right now there was one thing he was sure of.

“Izuku.”

“Yes? I’m sorry, I got lost in my thoughts. Thanks for telling me Rei. I know it was hard and I know you didn’t have to, so thank you.”

Rei’s eyes soften as she frowns, “don’t thank me. I told you for selfish reasons, I wanted to fix my mistake, I wanted to meddle because you’re it Izuku. You’re Shouto’s happiness. You’re what he loves most in this world, what gives him the most joy, you’re what he deserves after the hellish life he’s had to live through… he hasn’t been the same without you. He’s been such a wreck Izuku, going overboard, he hasn't taken the break-up well at all. He misses you.”

“Breakups are never easy, for both sides of the party.” Izuku sighs rubbing his arm.

Rei looks away for a second before meeting his eyes, “I’m sorry. I understand if this changes how you feel about me, I understand if you want this to be our last meeting, just know how sorry I am though Izuku. For everything I’ve done, for everything I’m doing. I sincerely hope you two can work through this though. I hope that once you talk and really express your feelings, and be completely honest, you’ll be able to come out together again.”

“Rei I don’t think that’s-”

“Sorry I’m late Mom, Touya has really been getting on my last fucking nerves lately. I don’t know how to han-...”

Izuku’s eyes widen. He doesn’t need to turn around to know who it is, he could tell by his voice, and the sound of his footsteps. He could tell by the air, how it shifted and changed, becoming him. Rei gives Izuku a very sad expression and whispers her apologies to him again.

“I’m sorry Izuku.”

Trapped. He’s trapped. No one is doing anything. He doesn’t want to turn around and see him. He’s afraid of what will happen if he does. Can he run? With his eyes closed? And just run into the wall? Hopefully he’ll hit it hard enough to knock himself out and then he won’t have to deal with this.

“Shouto, that’s quite alright. I’ve just been speaking with Izuku here, but we’ve been talking for a while now and I’m kind of tired. Do you think you could take him home? Huh? Izuku, thank you for coming to visit me. Come by another time Shouto, when I’m less exhausted.”

Rei waves them off. Izuku doesn’t know what to do. He stands up and stares down at the floor. The floor is safe, he doesn’t have to see his face. He sees his shoes instead, beaten up and dirty- he recognizes those sneakers. Those were his running shoes he bought to jog with Izuku, which he never used for jogging since he didn’t like waking up early in the morning to do it sometimes. Izuku takes a step forward, and another, walking towards the shoes, then walking right past them. He’s safe, he’s safe, he looks up and reaches for the handle, quickly escaping out of the room. Izuku quickened his pace, heading straight for the elevator. He’s still afraid to look straight ahead, he keeps pushing the button and soon the doors open with a chime. Izuku runs in and pushes the ground floor, finally looking up when he sees the doors start to close. 

A hand reaches out at the last second. The doors reopen and Izuku meets blue and grey eyes. Shouto pushes the doors back open and stares right at him. Izuku blinks as he stares right back. He’s still, paralyzed under his gaze. Shouto takes a small breath, leaning up straight as he walks onboard.

“I’m taking you home.”

Izuku continues to stare.

“Did you drive?”

He nods his head. Shouto sighs, running his hands through his hair as he looks away for a second.

“I’ll drive your car back then and leave mine, it doesn’t matter.”

Nothing seems to matter at this moment. Izuku can’t tear his eyes away from his ex the entire elevator ride. The spell appears to break once the doors open back up, but Izuku can’t escape. He can’t, he follows after Shouto. Not beside him, but behind him. He’s finally able to break the gaze and he’s quiet, docile, obeying. Izuku’s heart is racing a mile a minute, his head is all light headed, his chest hurts so badly he’s finding it hard to breathe, everything is just a mess.

“Keys, Izuku.”

Izuku digs into his pocket and holds it out for him. The second their fingers touch he feels electricity and pulls his hands back, a blush appearing on his face as he looks away. He quickly goes inside of his car and Shouto follows after. The car ride home is completely silent. Shouto keeps glancing at him, opening his mouth to say something, but never knowing what exactly to say. Izuku keeps his head down as his heart and his head battle each other. It’s been so long since he’s last seen him, his body is reacting like he’s just been away on one of his trips. It wants to touch him, to hold him, and kiss him; his body is betraying him, his body misses him…

And maybe Izuku missed him too.

He doesn’t know how long the drive is, but it feels all too short as Shouto pulls into his parking space. He turns off the engine and the two of them just sit in the car. Izuku reaches for the door handle and gets out. Shouto immediately gets out with him and walks around the car.

“Izuku!”

Izuku looks up at him and sighs.

“Can we- I need to… please, I need-” Shouto growls out in frustration as he gets tongue tied.

He reaches out and grabs his hand. Shouto flinches and looks up, Izuku turns his head away though and starts walking off. He follows after him like a lost puppy, climbing up the stairs to their apartment, stopping right in front of the door. Shouto messes with the keys and unlocks the door. He walks back into his home and closes the door behind him. He’s back… he’s back home… and he’s about to do whatever it takes to stay here by his side.

“Izuku, can we talk? Please? I want to-” 

Shouto grunts, his back slamming against the front door as Izuku throws himself on him and smashes their lips together. His eyes widen while Izuku closes his, pressing up against his body as he roughly kisses him. 

“I-Izuku?” Shouto stutters, not knowing what to say.

“Hold me,” Izuku’s eyes burn as he stares into his.

“B-but-”

Izuku silences him with another kiss and Shouto groans out loudly. He wraps his arms around Shouto and picks him up, his lover wrapping his legs around his waist as he carries him away.

“What can I say?”

Izuku slowly opens his eyes. His head rises and lowers along with Shouto’s chest as he breathes in and out. He feels his touch everywhere on him, in him, especially his fingers brushing up and down his arm. He doesn’t know what just happened, but it had felt so good. He wanted this, been craving this all this time, didn’t know how much he needed this until it happened. Izuku spreads the palm of his hand flat right over Shouto’s heart and feels it beating.

“I don’t know if there’s anything to say.” 

“Of course there is. I have hundreds of things to tell, thousands of things to say to you, millions of promises and reasons I can say. I’m scared none of that will be enough though.”

“Your Mom told me a lot. About her past and about yours as well.”

Shouto’s hold on him tightens just a bit, “do you have any more questions? I won’t keep anything from you, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“You aren’t mad?”

“I only wish I could have been the one to tell you.”

Izuku closes his eyes and turns his head away, “I honestly don’t know if it would have made a difference. If you told me when we first met I would have been scared of you. If you told me when we began our relationship I would have probably left you. You told me when we were in love… and I still didn’t stay with you.”

“Please… please Izuku. I’m sorry, I’ll do anything, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, please don’t leave me. Please, please don’t send me away.” Shouto whimpers, tears falling down his eyes.

He rolls around and crushes Izuku to his chest, holding onto him for his dear life. Izuku feels his heart breaking over again. He squeezes his eyes shut as he curls up against him.

“You have no idea how hard this is for me Shouto. You have absolutely no idea. I love you so much. I gave you my life, and my love, I gave you my flesh and my bones. I was going to give you my future. I believed in our life and the entire time it was a lie. Can you imagine? Living with me, sleeping by my side, knowing me for years… and then all of a sudden you find out something about me that you’ve never known? That I’ve been lying to you all this time? If it was cheating, or having a secret family or something that’s one thing, but this?”

“And why is this worse?! You’re honestly saying if I was seeing someone else behind your back? Or if I was married and had kids you would forgive me for it? But me being in the yakuza and being loyal to you all this time you can’t?”

“Shouto, those are two separate categories.”

“My family aren’t the kind you see in movies. We’re not evil, we don’t hurt people unnecessarily. We don’t just go around killing everybody, we have order. I made sure of it, we protect our city and our territory. We try to make it safe for people to live in, Izuku if you could only see. If I could only show you… I’m not a monster. I’m nothing like my father, I’m not.”

Izuku tilts his head up and stares up at Shouto’s face. He wiggles a bit, freeing his hands, and raises them to cup his face. He wipes the tears falling down his cheeks and Shouto opens his eyes to look at him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I called you that, you’re not a monster Shouto. I never would have fallen in love with you if you were.”

Shouto’s eyes widen slightly before his breath hitches, “I’ve done things. Terrible things. I’ve hurt people, I’ve fought others, I’ve committed crimes, all to protect my family, to protect the people I care about, to protect myself. I’ve killed Izuku, only one person, but I have killed.”

“I know, I know.”

“I was just so tired. Tired of the pain, tired of living in fear. I would have done anything to get out of it. I should have left, I couldn’t abandon them though. I couldn’t- I couldn’t leave them-”

Izuku strains his neck and kisses his lips, silencing him.

“Shouto… I love you. I love you so much. My love could never disappear after feeling this way for so many years. I’ve been having a really hard time living without you. No, not even living, I’ve just been going through life in a haze since the day you walked out that door. You were the person I loved most in the world.”

Shouto’s voice cracks, “were?”

“I- I don’t know anymore. I don’t know if it’s enough. Shouto… I honestly don’t know.”

“Do you wish you could forget? Do you wish you never found out?”

“... no. Even with the pain it’s brought me, I would never choose to live in blissful ignorance. If we can make it through this Shouto then we’ll know that our love is strong enough.”

“Izuku?”

… Izuku closes his eyes and feels like resting now.

“I can’t. I can’t go back to how we used to be. I can’t have you out of my life either… I don’t know what to do. I really don’t.”

“Tell me to go and I’ll go. Call me and I’ll come running. I want your happiness Izuku above all else, even if that isn’t with me.”

“Can we just sleep? I’m tired, I want to rest.”

Shouto nods his head and kisses Izuku’s forehead, “of course.”

Chapter Text

Izuku hugs his knees up to his chest as he sits on his couch. He curls his toes over and over again into the cushion, staring down at his phone. He’s been debating for the last twenty minutes whether he should call him or not. It’s been about two weeks since they last saw each other, since they got lost in each other’s embrace, since-... since he found out the entire truth. Their lives were different now… separate… lonely…

Izuku groans to himself and dials the number. He rests his chin on his knees as he brings the phone to his ear, listening to it ring. Shouto answers him on the fourth ring and hearing his voice actually makes him feel a little bit better.

“Hello Izuku.”

“Hi Shouto.”

…

…

Izuku curls his toes again as he tries to think of something to say. He doesn’t know what happened, he called him because he wanted to hear his voice, and now he can’t think of a single thing to talk about.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yup! Nothing is wrong, I’m doing fine. Just sitting at home on the couch… how about you?”

“I’m a little busy-”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t know- I can call you back.”

“No, please don’t. What I meant to say is I was a little busy, but I’m not anymore. It’s not important, I want to talk to you. Thank you for calling me, I’ve missed you.”

Izuku smiles lightly to himself, “I’ve missed you too Shouto. What were you doing?”

“Working.”

“Work- oh… um… doing what exactly?”

It’s none of his business, but he wants to know. He wants to know about Shouto’s other life, the one he kept hidden, the one that’s a part of him just as much as the life he made with Izuku is.

“It’s… not exactly something I can say over the phone, otherwise I would tell you Izuku.”

… Right. He gets it, he’s seen movies. No one may know in the world that Shouto is Endeavor, but he has to stay cautious to keep it that way. Whatever he’s doing… it must not be a very good thing.

“I’m sorry. I’ll let you continue, I- I have to go now.”

“No Izuku, please don’t hang up. I’m not trying to keep this from you, I swear I’m done lying to you. I would tell you in a heartbeat if we were in person. It’s just difficult right now.”

Izuku hums, “I know, I believe you Shouto.”

He doesn’t know what they are right now. They used to be boyfriends, lovers, and now since they broke up are they just ex’s? But they kind of hooked-up back together, and they still love each other, friends with benefits? But no- he doesn’t want that label. He doesn’t know, everything is just so confusing right now. He thought this call would make him feel better, but now that terrible feeling is back.

“Izuku? Izuku? Can I come over and see you?”

“I don’t know Shouto, I don’t think… I can’t right now. I can’t, I’m sorry, I have to go.”

“Izuku wait-”

Izuku hangs up his phone and drops it on the floor. He lowers his head and sighs out heavily, wishing that the world was different.

His doorbell rings.

…

…

It rings again.

…

…

There are several knocks before it rings again and again. When it finally stops Izuku sighs out a little bit in relief, but seconds later his phone starts to ring instead. He groans out to himself as he rolls over to answer it, worried that it might be work or something important. It’s a good thing he checked because ‘Dad’ pops up on his phone. Izuku’s eyes widen and he straightens up, answering it.

“Hello?”

“Hey Izuku, are you home right now? I’m standing outside of your apartment and no one is answering.”

“Ye-yeah, yes I am, hold on a second- sorry.”

Izuku hangs up and jumps out of bed, racing towards his front door. He undoes the locks and opens the door wide, seeing his father standing on the other side. It’s amazing, he’s actually standing there. Izuku hasn’t seen his father in a couple of months. His job always keeps him moving, so Izuku couldn’t really grow up having a father around, but he was still very close with him and loved him dearly.

“Sorry Dad, I was- I wasn’t paying attention, I was kind of asleep. Come in, come in.” Izuku says ushering him in.

“I figured as much, sorry for dropping by all of a sudden. I tried to text you, but you never responded.” Hisashi says walking inside.

He takes his coat off while Izuku closes the door behind him and hangs it up. Izuku slowly follows after him, trying his best to remember how to smile.

“Did you want anything Dad?”

“Some coffee would be nice.”

“Okay, coming right up.”

Izuku walks into the kitchen and turns on the coffee maker, taking out the old filter and adding a new one filled with grinds. Hisashi walks around the living room a little bit before he settles down on the couch. He watches his son in the kitchen and clears his voice a little bit.

“Is Shouto at work?”

Izuku’s hands twitch slightly, “I don’t know Dad.”

“Oh… I figured something must have gone wrong. Your mother said you’ve been sounding different lately and you haven’t been responding to our messages all that much. How come you didn’t tell me son?”

“It’s not that- it’s not what you’re thinking, Shouto and I are just taking a little break! Yeah, that’s right, so there’s no need for you and Mom to worry, hahaha.” Izuku says cheerfully as he walks back into the room.

He doesn’t want to worry his parents, which is exactly what he would be doing if he told them the truth. They had their own things to worry about and Izuku was an adult now. He can take care of himself… even when he can’t, he still has to try and take care of himself. Hisashi looks into his son’s eyes and knows instantly that he’s lying. He sighs out loudly and pats the spot next to him on the couch. Izuku gulps as he sits beside him. Now his father has never been a very scary man, but his stare sometimes is kind of… intense. It actually reminds him of Shouto’s stare… he doesn’t know why he never noticed that until now.

“Izuku… tell me what happened.”

“N-nothing Dad, Shouto and I are-”

“You know, I would believe you if you were a better liar. I’m not mad about you lying, I blame myself for not being a good enough father for you to feel that you can’t rely on me in your time of need- especially your mother, we have both failed you in-”

“Ugh! Dad, please stop! I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you, just please not the guilt trip about how you two were never around enough! Please!”

Hisashi chuckles to himself. It works every time. Izuku was really a good boy and he couldn’t handle it when his parents tried to guilt him because he would actually fall for it every time.

“I honestly don’t know what to tell you Dad other than we broke up.”

“How long have you been broken up?”

“I don’t know, a month or two? The days all kind of blend in together.” Izuku huffs crossing his arms over his chest.

“And how have you been taking it?”

Izuku’s shoulders drop a little, “as ridiculous as this may sound, day by day honestly. I-... I didn’t want to do anything after it happened, but I recovered. I started to live my life again… it’s not the same as it used to be though. I miss him. I know he misses me too, it’s hard to forgive thou-”

“Can you tell me about it? Izuku I came here to see you today because I knew something was wrong. Now I wasn’t lying before, if you’ve been keeping this to yourself and haven’t told anyone, which I know you have because your friends love your mother and one way or another it would have ended up coming back to us, there must be no one you feel like you can rely on right now. No one you feel close enough to help you, which isn’t true. I’m here, and your mother, and your friends surely, but I know you. You don’t want to burden others with your feelings, but I’m here to tell you Izuku that as your father it’s my job to help you with your burdens. It’s my job to take care of you and it doesn’t end when you reach a certain age, that will be my job forever. I wasn’t able to do it when you were younger, but I’m not going to miss out on it now. Talk to me Izuku. I’m old, I have knowledge and experience, I can help you. You just have to allow me to first.”

Izuku looks down at the floor and shakes his head, “I know Dad. I know you’re here for me. I didn’t want to… I didn’t-”

“I understand Izuku, I’m here now so let’s talk. Tell me all about what happened, I promise to listen and be on your side no matter what.”

Izuku snorts and shakes his head, “I met Shouto when I was twenty. I’ve known him for six years, I’ve been dating him for six years, we’ve lived together for three, and all this time… he’s been lying to me about his job.”

Hisashi blinks a couple of times, “about his job?”

“Yes. It’s not what he told me it was. He does work with his family, and it is his business, but he’s not an architect. He’s been lying, going on business trips that were fake, never telling me the truth not once this entire time Dad and I believed him. I believed him.”

“... What was his actual job?”

Izuku flinches and shakes his head, “it doesn’t matter, it’s just the fact Dad that all these years I thought I knew him… and yet I barely know him at all.”

“That’s going a little extreme there Izuku, isn’t it? You know Shouto. You can’t spend six years with a person and not learn anything about them.”

“He had this whole other life Dad that I knew nothing about! I thought I could tell when he was lying, but I couldn’t! I was fooling myself, I didn’t know a single thing!”

“A whole other life? Was he cheating on you during these business trips? Does he have another family?”

“No Dad, it wasn’t like that.”

“Well how do you know? Did Shouto tell you that?! Where is he right now? I’d like to have a word with him, he was two timing my son-”

“Dad, stop it. Shouto wasn’t cheating, he was just lying about his other job-”

“Well how do you know that Izuku? Are you going to believe his words? When you just said you thought you could tell when he was lying, but couldn’t? How do you know he wasn’t lying about anything else in your relationship? He could have been lying the whole entire time?!”

“But he wasn’t- I know he wasn’t, it was just this-”

“Why are you defending him son? Shouto hurt you, he lied to you, he probably had a wife and kids at home while he was living with you-”

“Dad shut up! It isn’t like that! Shouto isn’t like that! That’s not the truth! That didn’t- that isn’t- ugh just be quiet!” Izuku shouts.

Hisashi stares at his son and settles down. He closes his mouth and they let that awkward mood fester in the air before he speaks again.

“You still love him.”

“I do.”

“Then why don’t you forgive him? If the only thing he lied to you about was his job, then why can’t you forgive that Izuku? It sounds way better than having a secret family.”

Izuku snorts and leans back into the couch cushions. He sighs out loudly and shakes his head.

“It isn’t that simply Dad. I wish I could… but I can’t. I’m too hurt. I’m hearing how ridiculous I’m sounding right now; he could have been lying about everything else. If I’m so confident that he didn’t then I must have known that the job was a lie. There were hints, signs there, I just never paid attention to notice.”

“Why would you doubt him to begin with if he never gave you a reason to? Izuku, we don’t fall in love and get into relationships hoping for the worst, we hope for the best. You had no reason to doubt Shouto because he never gave you a reason to doubt in the first place. This isn’t your fault, you couldn’t have known unless you were expecting the worst out of Shouto.”

Izuku gets quiet as he lets his father’s words settle in, “so I didn’t see it because I didn’t want to see it?”

“You didn’t see it because you were happy. Because Shouto loved you, worshiped you, treated you like you deserved to be treated. I saw how he looked at you every time we met, that boy is head over heels in love with you. I can only think that the reason he lied about his job is because he wasn’t proud of it.”

Izuku doesn’t know if Shouto’s proud of it or not.

“Did you ask him to quit?”

“... no, I didn’t “

“Would it make a difference if he did? I’m sure he would.”

… Izuku never imagined asking him to stop living his life. If he quit the yakuza he would be walking away from his family, and the only reason he became a boss was to protect them. Izuku would never force Shouto into a situation like that. He would never ask him to pick between him and his brothers or sister, or mom. Never. Even if his feelings on that subject were different, would it make him feel better if Shouto left behind that life?

“... I don’t think so. I don’t… I would still care.”

“Care about what Izuku? What exactly is keeping you from that man? He lied to you, but then he told you the truth. If he’d leave his current job to make you happy, wouldn’t that fix all of your problems?”

No, it wouldn’t. Because Izuku would know, he would still know that Shouto was a yakuza member all this time. Just because he wasn’t one anymore didn’t mean he stopped being that type of person. That was a part of him forever. That’s who he was his entire life growing up until he met Izuku and then he had to hide that life from him. Why was Izuku so mad? Because he lied? Because he didn’t trust him enough? He understands. He understands why he did it all, but it’s still all just so frustrating. He doesn’t know what to think, he’s so confused. Shouto’s out there hurting people, which he believes is a right cause, but how can he judge that? How can anyone judge what’s right or wrong when it comes to violence? Izuku could think the same way about the police. They were deemed right, but to shoot an unarmed civilian is wrong. What type of people was Shouto hurting? The innocent? The wicked? Did it bother him this much because he still knew so little about his other life? No- he needs to stop thinking of it as two separate things. This is Shouto’s life. Both of them have always been Shouto’s life. Shouto was a yakuza member the day he was born. He did what he had to do to survive and protect his family. He fell in love and did what he had to do to keep that happiness. How could Izuku blame him for being born into a life he never asked to be born into? Everything’s getting all confusing now- it’s hurting his head too much.

“I don’t know Dad! I don’t know, I really don’t know. I don’t wish he’d quit. I don’t wish he never told me. I don’t wish anything- I have no idea what to wish for! I wish that we were just okay! That none of this mattered to me, but it does, and it’s driving me crazy because he couldn’t help it and I’m blaming him for something that I probably would have done if I was forced in the same situation, and I’m hating him for being himself when I love who Shouto is as a person, and it just hurts so much Dad! It hurts and I don’t want it to hurt anymore. I don’t want to feel this pain about whether or not I should love him. It hurts when he’s gone, it hurts when he’s here, I don’t know what to do.”

Tears pour out of Izuku’s eyes as he tosses himself on his father and cries onto his shoulder. Hisashi takes a big breath as he strokes the top of his hair and comforts him.

“Izuku… did I ever tell you that your Mom cheated on me once before?”

Izuku sniffs and shakes his head, “what? Mom what? What?”

“Of course I didn’t, I don’t see why I would ever tell you that story until now. It was about a year after our marriage. I was working really hard trying to get a promotion to provide us with a better life and she was alone all the time. We both had our own excuses, but she became paranoid thinking that I was spending my time with someone else rather than at work and she met someone who- who treated her the way that I used to treat her. It was a small fling, only happened once she told me, and afterwards when I found out… I was like you. Confused. Sad. Hurting. I blamed her, I hated her in fact… I had to take a step back though and realize that I was also to blame. You get comfortable around the people you're with. You stop trying after a while because you know that whatever you do that person is going to love you for the rest of your life and that’s what happened to me and your Mom. I knew she knew how hard I worked, so I didn’t think it mattered so much that I was spending all my time in the office. I stopped being that person who was head over heels willing to do whatever it takes to get her to be mine.”

“So- so you just forgave her? Just like that?”

“What? No, I did no such thing. We had a huge fight. I couldn’t believe it, I kept throwing the word divorce in the air, and I ended up leaving to go on a business trip for two months. Let me tell you though, I was completely miserable, and so was your mother. That time alone I thought about everything. Why she would do this, why it happened, what I did wrong, what could have changed, I was so busy blaming her that I never stopped to think about my part in this. If I had only come home early on certain days for dinner. If I had only not come into work on my days off to take her on a date once in a while. The things your mother asked of me weren’t much, I didn’t care though. As terrible as that sounds, I didn’t care. In my eyes I was doing all this work for us, so why? Why couldn’t she be satisfied with that?”

“But you did forgive her. You two are still together and I never got the hint that you guys hated each other. How did you do it? How did you forgive her Dad?”

Hisashi looks up and stares at the ceiling, “I… I honestly can’t tell you. The further away from you mother I got the more I realized… how much she means to me. I kept wondering if she was waiting for me or if she was back together with that guy. It kind of drove me nuts and when I finally returned home after two months… there she was… waiting at the house with dinner ready, like always, and I never took notice that she did that all the time for me. That she stayed up late just to see me for a few moments before we had to sleep and she lost me again. We talked, we really talked Izuku, I cannot stress that out enough, I’ve only ever cried a handful of times in my lifetime and one was when you were born and the other was at that conversation. I think… I think it ultimately came down to this though. That her mistake… wasn’t that big of a mistake. That it didn’t negate every single thing she’s done for me, all the time we’ve been together, everything that we had. I decided to focus on all the good we had rather than that one small blemish we had in our relationship. I decided she was still worth fighting for Izuku… and if I had never forgiven her we never would have had you, so it worked out in the end.”

“Forgiveness is so hard Dad.”

“It is.  If it was easy though then we wouldn’t really learn our lessons. I’m not telling you Shouto is worth it. I’m not telling you that everything will be better if you forgive him or not. I’m not telling you anything like that at all Izuku, I’m just letting you know my story, my experience, so it might help you with your decision because this is your life. Succeed or fail, that’s all up to you. You have to think long and hard is there room in my heart to forgive this man for what he’s done to me? Is it worth forgiving Shouto? Do I still want him in my life? Or am I strong enough to walk away? No matter what you decide we will always be here for you.”

Izuku sniffs and nods his head, hugging his father closer, “thanks Dad.”

“You’re welcome Izuku. I’m here for you son. No matter what, I’ll always be here for you. That will never change.”

Hisashi wraps his arms back around his son and holds him close. The two of them hear the coffee maker go off, but neither of them move a muscle.

Chapter Text

Izuku takes a deep breath and breathes it all out. He takes another deep breath and breathes it out, repeating the process over and over until he feels like it’s enough. Quickly, before he can lose his courage, he gets out of his car and closes the door behind him. Izuku gulps as he walks over on the sidewalk. He locks his car before he starts heading down the street. With every step he takes he feels like his spirit is rising out of his body, that isn’t actually happening though. He doesn’t know why he’s reacting this way, he’s the one who asked for this. He shouldn't be scared, he had nothing to fear… it was scary though.

So scary.

When Izuku turns around the corner he pauses for a second when he spots someone standing near the end of the sidewalk. This person was wearing a traditional kimono, the robes black and white, simply standing outside staring up at the sky. Izuku feels his back straightening up a little bit as he heads towards him. The man finally looks down and notices him. The way he smiles makes Izuku’s heart beat like crazy. He walks over to meet him halfway and Izuku doesn’t stop Shouto as he wraps his arms around him and holds him close.

“Izuku,” he whispers, breathless, like he wasn’t real, like he could actually disappear at any moment.

Izuku closes his eyes and sighs out, “hi Shouto.”

His arms slowly hug him back and the two of them just stand there for a while before they finally part. Shouto pulls away and smiles warmly down at him while Izuku takes him in.

“I’ve never seen you in a kimono before. It suits you.”

Shouto chuckles, “thanks. You should have called me when you got here, I would have picked you up.”

“I literally parked right around the corner, I was fine walking. You didn’t have to wait for me.”

“I wanted to.”

Their eyes meet and Izuku can’t seem to look away. He wants to reach out. He wants to kiss him and hold him again. He wants to stroke his hair away from his face and kiss his scar, then his cheeks, all over until he makes his way to his lips. Shouto seems to be reading his mind, because his smile turns more into a smirk and he reaches out to cup Izuku’s face.

“I love you.”

Izuku blushes and jerks back, “I.. we should go now.”

He sees how his face falls and quickly looks away. Shouto closes his eyes and nods his head before turning around.

“Follow me then.”

He starts walking off without him and Izuku knows that it’s his fault… Shouto all of a sudden pauses though and waits for him. He doesn’t start walking again until Izuku is by his side and it’s- it’s just- it’s him. It’s so him. Shouto wasn’t not Shouto anymore, he was still everything and more. Izuku stretches out his fingers before he laces them with Shouto’s.

“I love you too.”

Because he does. That will never change, so what’s the point in hiding it? It’s just difficult and weird to confess now that they’re not together, to make him happy when it could not mean anything. Because it did make him happy, incredibly happy as Shouto smiles to himself and leads him to the front gates. Now Izuku has never seen a traditional Japanese house before this close up. He’s read about them in books, seen them in old movies, and toured a few in high school and college. That’s what Shouto’s home looked like, a huge piece of history as soon as they walked in.

“Wow… you left this place to move in with me and our dingy apartment?” Izuku gasps.

Shouto snorts and starts laughing out loudly, “I would have moved into a cardboard box if it meant living with you Izuku. It’s beautiful, but it isn’t home. It doesn’t have you.”

Izuku blushes and bumps into his shoulder. He allows Shouto to show him his world. They take a tour all throughout the estate. Shouto shows him everything, telling stories here and there, how he fed the koi fish when he was younger, how he broke his arm falling out of that tree, where he used to train when he was a teenager. His home was large and it had different sections and wings to it. Shouto explained it as each of his family having their own small little home to themselves, but they were all connected with his place being in the center. It was a lot. Izuku tried to imagine little Shouto running through these halls. Little Shouto training, little Shouto trying to survive.

The people they walked by never said anything, but they did show their respect by bowing a little bit. Izuku didn’t know if Shouto had warned them beforehand or not... he probably did. None of them really looked like your typical yakuza members. None of them were bald, or had tattoos, or scars all that noticeable, at least none of the ones he’s seen so far. Izuku kind of felt out of place here. It was so easy for Shouto to fit inside of his world, but Izuku felt like he didn’t belong here right now…

…

Was it easy for Shouto though? Did he struggle? Probably. Shouto once told him he was used to getting things that he wanted, so he didn’t know how to work for things. Shouto certainly had to work a lot for Izuku to agree on a date with him. Shouto was awkward a lot of times, acting like he didn’t know- maybe that wasn’t acting though. He was a mess when they first moved in together, not knowing how to cook, or clean, or even do laundry. Maybe he did struggle and Izuku never noticed…

“Are you getting tired? This place is pretty big and we’ve only seen half of it. We can rest for a while if you want? My room isn’t far from here.”

Half? Did he really just say half? But they’ve been walking for a good hour now! And they’ve only seen half?! Izuku gulps and nods his head as he squeezes onto his hand.

“That sounds nice.”

Shouto looks over at him and then leads the way. They go through a lot of shoji doors before they stop at a room. It was pretty simple, a futon on a floor, a bookcase against the wall, a small desk against one wall with a laptop on it, and a table with cushions. No decorations, nothing personal, nothing to show whose room this was or what type of person they were. Shouto grabs a cushion stacked against the wall and places one down for Izuku to sit on. He’s never had to do this before; none of his friends had this type of house, not even his grandparents. They all had couches, not cushions. He plops down on the cushion and takes a look around, noticing that one of the doors on the other side of the room was open showing the view of a blooming white flower tree outside.

“I’ll get us some refreshments. Be right back.” Shouto says before disappearing out of the room.

Izuku tries to take everything in, but there isn’t really anything to take in. Instead he tries to focus on everything he’s seen. He was making the attempt to learn more about Shouto’s life. He wanted to see where he was born, where he grew up, how he lived his life before him, after him, currently. He didn’t want to make any decisions without truly knowing Shouto. Izuku stands up and walks over to his bookcase. There are a lot of ones he recognizes, some of them by his favorite authors. Were these always here? Or did Shouto buy them after they met? How much had Izuku changed his life? Was it more or less than how much Shouto changed his? Or was it equal? Izuku never thought he was anything much. He was just a regular person, a teacher, lucky enough to find the love of his life early. Shouto probably saw him as so much more though… same as how Izuku saw him as more than a high school graduate.

“Sorry if that took too long, the kitchen is a bit of a walk away.”

Izuku turns around and shakes his head, “no- it’s fine. I was admiring your bookcase to pass the time.”

Shouto chuckles, “you know I bought a lot of those books when we started dating.”

Ah, so it was after. Izuku walks back over to his cushion and sits down in front of the table, watching as Shouto sets down two glasses and a plate full of rice balls.

“Really?”

“Yeah, you were a lot smarter than me. I actually studied a bit and wrote down whatever you talked passionately about so I could learn more about it at home. Lucky for me it was books and not math. I wanted to impress you… give you more reasons to fall in love with me.”

“Hehehe, I tried drinking less to impress you after that embarrassing night.”

Shouto snorts and rolls his eyes as he sits down on a cushion, “that night was scary, but I still look at it fondly. It was technically the first time you ever told me that you loved me.”

“I’m so mad that I’m an honest drunk. I would rather be a happy one like Uraraka.”

The two of them share a laugh before sighing out. Shouto runs his hands through his hair while Izuku reaches out for his glass and takes a sip.

“... so this is where you would go on your business trips, huh? Back home?” He asks.

Shouto gulps and nods his head, “yup, right back here.”

“And the hotels? You used to give me their numbers and addresses, did you believe I would never call or try and surprise you?”

“I always sent someone there under my name. In case you did call and they could warn me. I also always picked far away places so you wouldn’t try to come visit, plus I would have noticed from our bank account if you ever bought a ticket. I told you my job bought mine, so you never would have known.”

“What if I one day decided that I wanted to go with you on a trip?”

Shouto stares at him, “then we would have gone together and made it a real trip. I would have made an excuse saying the deal fell out the first day and we would have enjoyed a mini vacation.”

Izuku hums as he takes another sip of his tea.

“Rei says she told you to lie to me because of her own experiences of being married to a yakuza boss. What was your reason for keeping it a secret all these years?”

“Several, the most important one being to protect you. If anything happened to me I didn’t want you knowing anything that could get you in trouble. I’m very confident in my work Izuku; no one knows who I truly am except for a handful of people. There was always that fear though of someone finding out and trying to hurt you to get to me, so I tried to keep those lives as separated as possible… Another top reason was that I was ashamed. You made me want to be a better person Izuku, you made me want to have a better life. I understand that it’s been hard on you, but for me… being able to act like myself and enjoy life around you… and then coming back here having to be this hardass tough guy boss and handle shit… it fucked with my head a lot. It was hard being one thing when I wanted to be another. And of course, I was scared you would run, that you would be scared of me, fear me, hate me, all that good stuff. I guess I was just using my mother as an excuse to hide my own real fear of losing you. I didn’t want you. I didn’t expect to find you Izuku. Not you in particular, but you know, a lover, a friend, a husband. I was perfectly happy with dying alone and taking care of my family… the second I saw you though… I desired you so much I didn’t care of the consequences, I wanted to call you mine.”

“If you could change things… would you?”

Shouto sighs and rests his hand on the table, “I don’t know. I still don’t know how things are going to turn out now. Whatever way I had to do it to make sure we ended up together I would change it for that future.”

Izuku nods his head. Shouto waits for another question, but it doesn’t come, so he figures that it’s his turn now.

“If I told you I would leave this all behind could we be together?”

Izuku flinches and looks up at him.

“If I swore to cut contact with all these people and live my life honestly with you, could I come home? Could we get married? Could I be yours again Izuku?”

“No Shouto, no- that’s… that wouldn’t be fair.”

“Fair? What are you talking about fair? All that would matter is that you’d be with me again!”

“I wouldn’t want that! That would just be me picking the side of you I like best Shouto when I’m supposed to love all of you. I want to love all of you, I do… I still do love you even after finding out. I don’t want you giving up your family for me.”

“Then what do you want Izuku?! Tell me! I can’t- I can’t live like this anymore! I want to come home! I want to be with you! I have no idea how to do that though! I don’t have any ideas! I have no clue! What do you want me to do Izuku? Who do you need from me? Please tell me! Please! Please!”

Shouto breaks down into tears, crying out loudly as he reaches out and clings to him. Izuku flinches and feels tears coming to his eyes as well. He holds onto Shouto tightly and comforts him as he cries on his chest. He doesn't like it when he’s sad. He hurts inside when Shouto hurts. It hurts so badly right now, he wants to take away his tears, and he knows how to! He knows how to end it all! Why is it so hard for him to accept? If he can’t then why is he still there? Stringing them both on?”

“I want to come home Izuku! I want to come home! Please, please Izuku, please love me again. Please want me again.”

“Shouto!”

What is he waiting for?

Izuku jerks awake and stares at the door. He sees a shadow behind the paper screen and someone knocking on it again. Doe-does he answer that? This isn’t his home, nor his room, Shouto is completely knocked out clinging to him like crazy though. He cried so much- if he’s the boss no one should see him like this with his eyes puffy and red. Izuku clears his voice and tries to answer as quietly as possible with the person still being able to hear them.

“Who is it?”

…

…

“Izuku? You’re still here?”

He recognizes that voice, “Fuyumi? Is that you?”

“Yes, can I come in?”

Izuku flinches and looks down at Shouto’s resting face, “ah- hold on a second.”

How is he going to do this? Shouto was always a light sleeper, although he slept in like crazy. Izuku tries getting his legs free first, moving them away. Once those are free he grabs Shouto’s hands and pulls them away. Shouto’s face scrunches up slightly, but when Izuku runs his hands through his hair he calms down. Izuku leans over and presses a kiss on his temple before heading for the door.

Fuyumi blinks and smiles at him, taking a step backwards so he could leave. Izuku closes the door behind him and smiles back at her.

“Hi Fuyumi, it’s nice to see you.”

“You too Izuku, I’m happy to see you. Um… is Shouto?”

“Sleeping. He- we… it’s still complicated.” Izuku sighs, scratching the back of his head.

Fuyumi gives him a sad look and nods his head, “come on, did you want to join me for tea?”

“I shouldn’t leave him-”

“It’ll be real quick, I promise. I want to talk with you Izuku, please? Who knows the next time we’ll be able to have a conversation like this.” 

Izuku takes a second to think before he nods his head. Fuyumi leads the way and he follows after her. He doesn’t recognize anywhere they're going despite knowing for a fact that Shouto showed him around this place. A few minutes later she’s opening a door and they end up in a kitchen. Izuku walks behind Fuyumi and accepts the seat she offers him. This time it’s a high stool by a counter and not another cushion on the floor.

“Did you want anything? We have… pretty much everything here.” Fuyumi asks.

“Um, I’m a little bit hungry. Do you have anything to eat?”

She hums and presses her lips together before walking over to the fridge. She pulls out a whole bunch of ingredients and closes the door with her hip.

“Do you like sandwiches?”

“Thank you, I can help-”

“No, don’t worry about it. You’re my guest and all I do is add the ingredients together. It should be ready in a minute. Tell me how you’ve been Izuku.” Fuyumi smiles at him.

She walks around the kitchen, grabbing a plate, a loaf of bread, a cutting board, and a knife. She sets it all down on the counter and starts making the sandwiches.

“Is… is that really what you want to talk to me about?” 

“Hmm?” She asks, looking up at him.

Izuku scratches the back of his head, “I’m.. kind of tired of that question. You don’t need to do pleasantries, so let’s skip them. What’s up Fuyumi? I’m happy to see you, sure, but I broke your brother’s heart. I’m sure you’re mad at me.”

“You’re forgetting that Shouto also broke your heart and I care about you too Izuku, so I’m a little bit mad at both of you if that’s possible. I do want to know how you’ve been, but I can only imagine it’s been as bad as Shouto- or, well maybe a little bit better.”

“What do you mean by that?” Izuku asks.

“Nothing-... wait, you know everything now. You know Shouto’s our boss and well… he’s kind of been in a terrible mood since your break up, so he’s been taking it out on everyone. Well not everyone, but… let’s just say it hasn’t been pretty.”

Izuku grimaces and pales a little bit, “wh-what?”

“He’s still the youngest even if he is the boss. Break-ups are bad and this is his first big one, so let’s just say he’s not handling it well. Touya was even planning on kidnapping you and locking you up here, hahaha! Oh- not that we were going to do that! Shouto beat him black and blue when he suggested that! He wanted to leave you alone and respect your wishes- oh no, why am I still talking? Please don’t worry Izuku, you know how Touya gets.”

“I- I’m not worrying.”

“Really? Your face says otherwise.”

Izuku tries to fix his face, but this news is… shocking to him. Shouto being mean to people; Izuku’s only seen him get mad to defend him. Touya… he always seemed kind of weird, but he wasn’t dangerous… except he was, they all were. He’s forgetting that it isn’t just Shouto. It’s Touya, and Natsuo, and Rei, and Fuyumi. All of them are in on this.

“I’m alright. It’s just… a very strange conversation.”

“Of course, I agree. I was always afraid I was going to slip up in front of you. Touya and Natsuo always had better poker faces than me, I’m happy that you know now though Izuku. Shouto… he was feeling really bad for lying to you. We would see it every time he came back home. Izuku, you’re my little brother’s happiness. I know that you didn’t expect any of this to happen, but now that it has… what do you plan on doing?”

Fuyumi cuts the sandwich in half and pushes the plate over in front of him. Izuku thanks her and picks it up, taking a bite out of it. He chews slowly and swallows.

“This is good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome Izuku… do you mind if I tell you something?”

Are they both ignoring her previous question? Izuku is totally fine with that, he nods his head at her and welcomes the distraction as he eats his sandwich.

“I was always jealous of my brothers because of- of our father. He made it seem like we had to hate each other, and compete for his affection, and I was already at a disadvantage because I was born a female. I had to work twice as hard to get him to even notice me and once Shouto was born… I hated him. I hated my little brother so much because he was the one Dad was going to name his successor… I didn’t know. I didn’t know what Shouto went through, or any of my brothers until he came up and talked to me. I didn’t want to listen, I ignored him, but Shouto was determined. He made me realize my mistake, he saved me, he saved all of us, and Endeavor became a much better group. I know you’re scared of us, but you don’t really know anything. We aren’t terrible, we aren’t how we used to be.”

“Rei told me a little bit,” Izuku tells her.

“Mom did? So you know we’re the protectors of our home. We keep the real villains out and try our best to clean up our streets, and corruption, and stop the unnecessary violence. We do bad things yes, we steal, we use force, but we try our best not to kill. Shouto- he had to change our group since he didn’t want to follow after our father’s footsteps. It took a lot of time because no one respected a child, but we all backed him up and we were able to accomplish it. Shouto was a great boss, still is a great boss. I remember the day he first met you. He came home and he was… different. I can’t put it into words, but there was a completely different aura around him. He was… happier. I saw him smiling more, humming to himself, even singing once, hehehe, and every couple of days he would ask me to take care of everything and then disappear all day long. None of us knew about you for a long time until you asked Shouto to move in with you.”

Izuku’s eyes widened, “really? But- that was years after we started dating.”

“We know, so imagine our surprise when our boss said he was moving out. Everyone went ballistic, it was crazy Izuku. Shouto wouldn’t take no for an answer though. He spoke loudly and clearly, I’m in love with this man and I want to marry him. He wants to live with me, so I’m going to grant his wish. With no hesitation he declared his love for you in front of our entire group and… I realized what’s been happening all this time. The reason for his happy mood was because of you, because he was in love with you, and we worked out a way for him to live with you because if there is anyone who deserves happiness in this world it’s Shouto. The things he’s had to do for us, the things he went through as a child… I want my brother to be happy. I pray for his happiness every day Izuku, so I need to know. What do you plan on doing now? Because if this is for you to get back to Shouto then I’m happy. Come over as much as you want, move in here if you want, we won’t keep secrets from you anymore, but if you don’t plan on it. If you don’t plan on loving Shouto again… then what the hell are you doing here? Why are you still talking to my brother? Stringing him along? Giving him hope Izuku? I know you, you’re not that cruel of a person. It’s been months since your break up and he can’t heal until he lets you go, so why are you holding onto him?”

“Fuyumi I-.... I-....”

He knows this. He knows this, but no one understands. No one understands how difficult this is for him.

“I don’t know. I’m so confused, I love your brother. I love Shouto to death, I was seriously going to marry him before all of this happened, but now? You have to understand. It’s impossible to, but try to look at it from my point of view. I was just a regular student when we met. I thought Shouto was just a regular guy. We fell in love and created a life that was based on lies. It’s one thing if he was lying about his job as a banker or chef, but he’s in the fucking yakuza, and not only that, but is the boss. And you’re telling me it’s not a bad one, and I’m believing you, but it’s still hard for me after years of hearing how dangerous they are. And you all just expect me to what? Forgot about it? See past the lies? The fears? Everything? I can’t. I can’t do that, I don’t want to ignore this part of Shouto. This is his life and I don’t want to take that from him and I don’t want to hide it from him, I have no idea what I’m holding onto though. I’m stuck. I’m really stuck right now, I don’t know what’s the right path.”

Fuyumi stares at him before crying lightly. She sniffs and wipes her tears away, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, of course you feel that way. I’m sorry, that wasn’t fair for you. I’m sorry Izuku.”

Izuku sniffs and shakes his head, “it’s alright. I understand where you’re coming from, Shouto kind of broke down in front of me earlier begging me to take him back. It’s really hard Fuyumi.”

“Is it really? Can’t you think of it in simpler terms?”

“I wish it was that easy Fuyumi.”

“Why can’t it be? Izuku, do you love my brother?”

“You know I do.”

“Do you still love him like you used too? Are you still in love with him?”

“Yes.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that love shouldn’t excuse everything. Would you love a murderer? A man who abused children? Who killed innocent animals? Would you still be in love with a man like that?”

“That’s not your problem though. Shouto is just a boy with a very severe and troubled past, he’s still just a boy though. A sweet, maybe not so innocent anymore, but kind person who uses his strength to protect others. He doesn’t cheat, he barely swears, doesn’t drink like a sailor, doesn’t use drugs, has never been married, no kids, and so completely in love with you that he’s willing to give all of us up for you.”

Izuku’s eyes widen, “you know?”

“He asked me about it. He didn’t know what to do, so he asked me for advice and I asked him what was more important and told him if it was you that he might have to leave us. It’s what Mom always wanted, so I didn’t feel too bad. Touya was supposed to be the leader after all, Shouto… he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. If it was different then this probably wouldn’t have happened, but we can’t change the past, so you need to decide. Izuku, if you want Shouto then go back to him. If you don’t… then please, please leave. I can’t begin to understand what you’re going through, but please understand what you’re putting us through. Shouto can’t heal until he lets you go and neither can you. Are you guys just going to string each other along forever? Meeting for quick flings every now and then? That isn’t going to be enough you know. It’s going to destroy you both. I already lost my brother once, I don’t want to lose him again.”

Izuku looks down, squeezing his hands into fists. He closes his eyes and takes a sharp breath before opening his mouth. Words don’t come out though as the two of them hear someone racing down the halls. His head snaps up and Izuku stares at the door, furrowing his eyebrows the same as Fuyumi. Someone slams it open and pants heavily as he stares at the two of them.

“Fuyumi! We’ve been looking everywhere for you- the Boss- he’s going wild! He’s looking for- for- him!” The man points a finger at Izuku.

Izuku blinks and curses underneath his breath. Shouto never likes it when he leaves without waking him up first and now it was probably worse because he thought he disappeared from him for good. Izuku stands up, planning on heading straight towards him.

“Escort this man out of our estate.” Fuyumi says.

Izuku and the man both look at her and exclaim, “WHAT?!”

“I’ll deal with my brother, just do as I tell you. Izuku… you didn’t answer my question and I have to protect my family the best way that I can. Please… if you really love him, let him go since it seems like you can’t forgive.”

“But Fuyumi that’s crazy-”

“Do as I say!” Fuyumi orders.

Izuku feels a shiver run down his spine. Was she always that scary? Or could she always be that intense? The man gulps and nods his head, grabbing Izuku’s arm. He stumbles on his own feet, but quickly catches himself and sees Fuyumi’s disappointed smile as tears fill up her eyes. 

“Wait- sto-stop- I can walk on my own!” Izuku shouts.

“We have to hurry, the boss was heading this way earlier and if you’re going to leave it needs to be before he finds you.” 

“But- but-?”

Escape? Leave? This will be the last time he sees Shouto. This will be the very last time, the two of them crying as they held each other their last memory. No, no he doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want that image to haunt him. That isn’t what he wants to remember out of their relationship. He wants to remember the love, and the smiles, all the quick kisses and warm embraces. He wants to remember everything Shouto has ever done to him and remember his gratefulness. He wants to remember the good times, not the bad that have only come from this breakup. Izuku understood bad lives. He had a rough one as a child as well, not as bad as Shouto, but still something no child should go through. It’s hard to be alone, it hurts when there’s no one there for you, and while Shouto had to save himself, Izuku wasn’t truly saved until- until- 

“LET GO OF ME!” Izuku yells out at the top of his lungs.

Until Shouto found him.

“IZUKU!”

Izuku turns around and sees him making his way straight towards him. He yanks his arm out of the man’s grip and runs over to him, wrapping his arms around him as he crashes into his chest. Shouto gasps before hugging him closely.

“What the hell do you think you were doing with him!?” Shouto growls out loudly.

“I’m sorry boss! I’m so sorry!”

“You aren’t sorry, you will be in a couple of seconds though!”

“Shouto no, please- don’t. He was just helping me. I got hungry so I went to the kitchen, but I didn’t know how to get my way back. He was helping me.”

Shouto breathes heavily out of his nostrils before he looks down at him, “why did you yell at him to let you go then?”

Shit. He didn’t want this guy to get in trouble for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. He also didn’t want Fuyumi to get in trouble either for wanting him gone. He can’t think of a good enough excuse right now on the spot though that Shouto will believe. He’s sinking right now, sinking unless-

“I want to go home Shouto.”

Shouto’s eyes widen, anger forgotten as he stares down at Izuku with his heart bleeding. He no longer looks like a big menacing boss, but a sad little child about to lose their favorite toy. Izuku waves his hand behind him, hoping the man will see it. He does and quickly runs away from the both of them.

“Wh-what? Izuku no- please. I didn’t- we didn’t- don’t go. I’m sorry for falling asleep, why didn’t you wake me up? I would have taken you, we could have spent more time together, I don’t want you going yet. Please, please-”

“Shouto, let’s go home.”

Shouto looks at him heart broken before he completely stills. His eyes widen all of a sudden and tears appear in them as he cups his face.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. I don’t… I don’t know how we’re going to fix us yet, but it’s been hell living in that apartment alone. I get really lonely, and your hair doesn’t clog up the drain anymore, and I’ve been having to take the trash out myself everyday and I hate taking the trash out.”

Shouto lets out a sobbing chuckle, “you’ll never have to take out the trash again.”

“You better promise me that.”

“I promise you Izuku.”

“Let’s go then. All your stuff is there, I could never get rid of it, let’s go home.”

Home. Shouto nods his head and grabs his hand. He quickly leads the way out, wanting to be gone and out of this place. Home. He was finally going home again. He was finally going to be able to return back home with Izuku, the love of his life. Shouto smiles brightly to himself as he suddenly turns around and smashes their lips together. Izuku’s eyes go wide and he blinks several times.

“Shit- I’m sorry, I’m sorry I didn’t-”

Izuku leans over and kisses him, “it’s fine Shouto, it’s fine. Come on.”

Shouto gulps and nods his head before leaving with him.

Chapter Text

“Everything looks exactly the same,” Shouto mumbles as he takes a look around.

“Yup, I even bought us a new plant. I’m sorry for throwing the last one at you… and the remote as well. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, you didn’t. I ducked, remember? Hahahaha, and you had every right to be angry at me.”

“But that didn’t give me the right to try and hurt you Shouto. I’m sorry about that.”

Shouto turns around and walks back over to Izuku. He wraps his arms around him and leans down, pressing a kiss against his forehead.

“It’s alright, I forgive you.”

Izuku smiles at him as he lays his head against his chest. This feels right, having him back home. It feels so right, this is where he belongs. Shouto rests his cheek on top of Izuku’s hair and closes his eyes, grateful for this moment. He’s scared that it’s going to disappear without him noticing and soon he’ll wake up all alone again. 

“Welcome home Shouto.”

Shouto’s eyes widen before he shuts them close and squeezes him, “I’m home Izuku.”

Home, he is home. This place has never felt right since he left, but now it finally does since Shouto’s standing here with him right now.

“What’s going to happen now? What do you need Izuku? If you want to go back and pretend not to know we can or if you want me to tell you everything I will. Do you want to pick up our lives where we left off or?”

Izuku blinks a couple of times before he pulls away, “that is a very good question, one I don’t have the answer to yet. I know I don’t want to pretend though. I don’t want to ignore this part of your life… I need to know that you aren’t bad. I can’t… it’s hard. I understand why you did it, but I don’t want to be with a murderer, with someone who takes pleasure in hurting others, and I know that’s not you Shouto. I know, everyone has told me, but I knew from the moment I met you that you weren’t that person. I’m scared that you might turn into that guy one day.”

“I won’t. I promise you I won’t- this is just something I have to do Izuku. We do it the right way though- maybe not the right way of the law- but everything I do is necessary to our safety and everyone I care about. I… can I tell you what I want? Or suggest something to you?”

“Of course Shouto.”

“You don’t want me hiding anything, so I won’t anymore. I won’t lie anymore, but I don’t want you to be a part of this life. I don’t want you getting involved, knowing too much- knowing absolutely everything that we do. When something comes up I will tell you about it Izuku, I will tell you the truth, but I don’t want to tell you everything.”

“Shouto… what’s the worst thing that will happen if you get caught?”

Shouto chuckles, “I’m not going to.”

“I hope you never do, but I’m still asking you what if? What if you do? What will happen to you? Your family? To me?”

He gulps thickly, “... it never should. No one knows who I am, no one except for my family. What if though… that entirely depends on who catches me. If it’s the police then I’m probably looking at probation for the rest of my life because they wouldn’t have any evidence to convict me, only hearsay, but they’ll probably come up with something so they can watch me. In that case I’d abandon my family, I’d have to keep them safe, and… I’m not sure what I’d do with you. They’d start watching you, try to convince you to turn on me, and I’d probably have to ask you to flee the country with me. If not you’d live your life without me Izuku. If it was any of my rivals or enemies, and they knew it was me, I’d just die. Nothing would happen to you, no one would know who you were, Touya or someone would be the next boss, and that’s that.”

Izuku lowers his head down and nods it.

“Izuku, you have to know nothing is ever going to happen to you. I can guarantee that, I’ve worked my whole life to protect my identity and so many years to make sure nothing will ever happen to you. You don’t have to be scared-”

“I’m not scared of something happening to me Shouto, I’m scared of something happening to you. I already lost you once, if I lose you again I don’t… I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“I can guarantee you won’t ever lose me again.”

Izuku rolls his eyes, “you can’t guarantee that to me Shouto.”

“Yes I can, and I am. Izuku Midoriya, I guarantee you that the two of us are going to grow old and gray together. There’s no other way it’s going to go in our future; that is our future.”

He pulls him back in and hugs him close, “Shouto.”

Shouto closes his eyes as he hugs him back, “Izuku.”

Izuku doesn’t know what’s going to happen, but for right now he’s happy. He’s finally happy.

Things turn back to normal. The two of them settle back into their old routine. Izuku gets used to sleeping next to him every night and waking up in his arms every morning. He goes back to cooking for two and having someone around the house. He forgets for a while that something happened to change all this as he goes on dates with Shouto again, enjoys meals together with him, watches television together, everything that they used to do. Things turn back to normal… until a few weeks past. Izuku is grading papers on the couch when Shouto suddenly sits down next to him and clears his throat.

“Izuku.”

“Yes?” Izuku answers, looking away from his work.

“I… I need to go back home for four days, maybe five.” Shouto confesses.

Izuku slowly blink, “back home? With- for-... for your work ?”

“Yes, for work.”

“Wha… can I ask what’s going on?”

Shouto smiles at him softly and nods his head, “you can. I’m not keeping anything from you anymore. You can ask.”

“Then tell me why you’re going back home.”

“My family has been looking into reports of dealers selling drugs in our territory. They’ve been targeting high school and college students and we’ve just found out where their supplies are stored… so I’m going home to pay them a visit and make sure that they stop doing that.”

“Oh,” Izuku whispers, furrowing his eyebrows together, “that…”

“Doesn’t sound like typical yakuza business, right?” Shouto raises an eyebrow.

Izuku blushes as he’s caught, “y-yeah, that.”

“I told you we were different.”

“And I believed that Shouto, what you’re doing sounds something like police people would do.”

“Except the police aren’t doing anything, and when they try to most people don’t learn their lessons. They focus more on the arrests and the praise while we focus more on making sure it never happens again.”

Izuku gulps, “will it… be a fight?”

“Izuku, can’t we just leave it at that?”

“Will there be one Shouto?”

Shouto takes a sharp breath, “perhaps, if they don’t listen to reason.”

“Will people get hurt?”

“If that happens, yes.”

“... Will people die?”

“I want to tell you no, but I can’t guarantee that to you Izuku.”

“Will you tell me if someone does when you come back?”

“If that’s something you really want to know.”

Izuku looks down and stares at his hands. He doesn’t know if he wants to know, he feels like he should though. He wants to know everything about Shouto, he wants to love all of him, he doesn’t want to shy away and be ignorant. He scoots over and rests his head on Shouto’s shoulder, closing his eyes as he breathes in.

“Make sure you come back.”

“Don’t you worry, I will.” Shouto answers.

“I am going to worry, that’s my job as your boyfriend. I worry if you’re going to get stabbed or shot and you worry if I’m going to get bit by a child or have glue throwin in my hair.”

Shouto chuckles, “I love you so much Izuku.”

“I love you too Shouto, I love you too.”

His boyfriend moves away slightly and lifts up his chin, pressing their lips together for a quick kiss. Izuku closes his eyes as he wraps his arms around his neck, holding onto him.

“When are you leaving?”

“Tonight. I’m sorry for telling you so late.”

Izuku hums and shakes his head, “can you just… hold me until then?”

Shouto closes his eyes as he holds him tight, “of course.”

It was worse.

Before whenever Shouto would go on his business trips he never really worried because he thought that they were just… business trips. The worst he could think about was Shouto getting stranded somewhere and not being able to come home when he was supposed to.

Now though… Izuku worried about him being hurt, or captured, or killed. They were ridiculous thoughts- but they weren’t really since this was the life that Shouto lived. He stayed up the entire time Shouto was gone, wondering what was happening, if Shouto was calling his name asking for help and he wasn’t there to hear it. It was awful.

By the fourth day Izuku felt like he was a small wreck, maybe a mini train crash. He can’t know for sure. He was sad though. That sadness of him being gone was still there, but it was also mixed with fear and worry. When he heard the door opening Izuku felt such relief inside of his heart. He ran over to greet him, Shouto not being able to take off his shoes or even take the keys out of the lock before Izuku had tackled him.

“Whoa, where’s the fire?” Shouto chuckles holding onto him.

“I missed you.” Izuku mumbles against his chest.

“I missed you too babe, I’m back now though, hopefully for a few weeks. Do you mind if I close the door?”

Izuku squeezes onto him tighter.

“Or not, that’s alright. I have no problem holding you right here.”

He doesn’t let go for five straight minutes, and even after that he’s walking on Shouto’s toes, holding onto him in some shape, way, or form. Shouto thought it was cute at first, but he began to worry. After he closes and locks their door afterwards, and gets a little bit undressed from his coat and such, he leads Izuku over to their couch and pulls him into his lap. Izuku buries his face into Shouto’s neck and his boyfriend, in return, rubs one hand up and down his back as the other one is wrapped around his waist.

“Izuku, what’s wrong? You’re worrying me.”

“I’m the one who was worried,” Izuku mumbles.

“How come? I do this all the time, there was nothing to worry about.”

“I was scared Shouto.”

Shouto feels his heart hurt and sighs out, “I’m sorry Izuku. I really am.”

Izuku sniffs as he pulls away to look at his face, “are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Shouto, please-”

“I promise you I’m not hurt. Not a single scratch on me. Everything ended fairly quickly, it’s all over now.”

Izuku stares into his eyes. He bites on his bottom lip, wondering if he should ask more. Did a fight break out? Did someone die? Did someone from Shouto’s family die? What exactly had happened these last four days? The fact of him simply knowing that Shouto was going to start some trouble- or end some trouble- made him a complete wreck. If he knows all the details, will this bother him the next time? And the time after that? He wanted to know everything, but… the more he knows the more dangerous he realizes this is and the more he wants to tell Shouto to not do it. But if he tells him that he’ll be giving up his family, because Izuku knows that Shouto will without hesitation. 

“What are you thinking about? Tell me Izuku, please. I’m not going to keep anything from you if that’s what you want.”

Izuku lowers his head, “I’m feeling guilty.”

“Guilty? Whatever for?”

“Because I was so worried about you. It was different this time, I knew you were going into a dangerous situation and… a part of me doesn’t want you to do it again. I don’t want to ask you though because I know you’ll do it for me, but I also want you to be there for your family and… I don’t think I want to know anything else.”

“Izuku, Izuku look at me. Please, there is never anything you have to feel guilty for. You can ask me anything, no one will hold it against you. I want you to be my family- I know my family can take care of themselves now. I’ve made sure of that, the only thing that concerns me nowadays- for the past couple of years in fact, has been you.”

Izuku shakes his head, “I don’t want to, not now. I’m just worrying too much.”

Shouto feels bad and kisses his forehead, “I can stop. I don’t have to deal with the family business directly, I don’t have to do these types of things anymore. I can still be part of the family, but just as a head piece.”

“But what if they need you?”

“Then I’ll go, but I can stop these small time squabbles. Would that make you feel better Izuku? I can figure something out. I might have to go back home more recently, but there wouldn’t be any overnight trips. You wouldn’t have to worry so much.”

Yes, yes Izuku likes the sound of that… but he still feels guilty. He closes his eyes and leans against his shoulder.

“Can we talk about it more later?”

Shouto nods his head, “of course. What did you do while I was gone? How was work? Any kids bite you? Or throw glue in your hair?”

“Hehehe, no. It felt weird. I missed you more than I normally would have, I couldn’t really do much with myself. I don’t think I’ve washed the laundry or the dishes once.”

“Hahaha, I can do that for us. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

“Hmm, I’ll get started on dinner then. Have you eaten?”

“Nope. No reason for me to when I know I have you waiting for me at home. We can do all that a little bit later though, I haven’t recharged on my Izuku batteries yet. I still need to hold you for a little while longer.”

“Me too, don’t let me go Shouto.”

“Never again my love. Never again.”

Chapter Text

Izuku believed he would get used to it… or at least, he was hoping that he would. He got used to the routine that he had with Shouto living with him. He got used to the routine of busying himself whenever his boyfriend had gone on his business trips. Now he was hoping he would get used to knowing what Shouto was truly doing on those business trips. That he would get used to worrying, to fearing, to wondering if he was going to come back home or not in a body bag. Would anyone even tell him if something went wrong? Or if Shouto lost his life? Or would they keep silent and hope that Izuku went on with his life never knowing the truth?

He really tried hard to be the person he wanted to be. To allow Shouto to do his work and love him for who he is. He was still the same Shouto. His occupation was a bit more dangerous, but he wasn’t a bad person. He protected his family, and protected his home, he just did it all vigilante style like Batman. It was easy to forget when he stayed with him. The days and weeks blended together and they were just Shouto and Izuku, two men happily in love.

The calls would come though and then Shouto would leave giving him a tight lipped smile. After the first time Shouto told Izuku he could call him whenever he wanted while he was gone, whenever he was worried, whenever he wanted to check in on him. Izuku was too scared to call though. What if he was trying to be sneaky? Or undercover? Or hiding when he called and blew his cover? Izuku might have seen too many movies about this, but he was worried that he would endanger his boyfriend if he did such a thing.

The second time wasn’t better than the first. Neither was the third time he left, or fourth. Finally Izuku had to accept that this wasn’t something he was ever going to get used to and came to realize that it wasn’t something that he even wanted to get used too. What type of person gets used to their significant other going into dangerous situations and risking their life? Izuku doesn’t know how the partners of police officers and such can live through this. He certainly couldn’t. He could feel it eating at him away, even when Shouto was safely back at home. He kept thinking when would it happen, when he’d have to leave and put himself back in that dangerous situation. When? When? When?

Shouto knew something was wrong, but no matter how much he asked Izuku never told him the whole truth. He didn’t know what else to do other than to be there for him. He held hope that one day Izuku would feel like he trusted him enough to finally tell him, that he would stop being scared to be selfish, Shouto was waiting for him to tell him the truth. His patience worked out in the end, because Izuku was finally honest to him one random night as they laid down in bed about to fall asleep.

“Shouto, are you asleep?”

“No, I’m still up,” Shouto yawns out softly, “probably not for long though. What’s up?”

Izuku giggles as he rolls around and lays towards Shouto, seeing his sleepy face, “how come you’re tired when you get to stay home all day? I’m the one actually working.”

Shouto chuckles, “I work hard too. Notice how fresh these pillowcases smell? You’re welcome.”

Izuku snorts and starts laughing, “hahahaha.”

Shouto smiles warmly at him. He scoots over closer, resting their heads on the same pillow as he pulls Izuku’s body against his own. His boyfriend always sleeps crazily and ends up tossing and turning out of his arms, but he always falls asleep in them peacefully. Once Izuku stops his laughter he takes a small breath and stares into Shouto’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Izuku gulps and his bottom lip begins to quiver, “I… I’m sorry.”

Shouto’s eyebrows furrow together, “sorry? For what?”

“I tried. I really tried to get used to this- to us- but- but I can’t. I don’t like it when you leave. I don’t like it when I allow you to leave knowing that you’re putting yourself in danger- it makes  me feel like I don’t care about your well-being, and I know you tell me Shouto there’s nothing to worry about, but I can’t help. I get so scared, that this might be the last time I see you, that you’re crying out for me I can’t hear you, that if anything happened to you would someone tell me-mmph!”

Izuku is cut off and interrupted by a pair of warm lips kissing him. Shouto closes his eyes and grabs his shoulder, kissing him quickly to stop him. He pulls back and sees fresh tears in Izuku’s eyes. He leans in to kiss him again, smashing their lips together in a heated mess.

“I’ll stop. I’ll stop Izuku, there’s no trouble in me stopping. Thank you for finally being honest with me, I’ve been waiting for you to ask me all this time.”

Izuku sniffs, “why aren’t you mad?”

“Because I’ve lived so long without you in my life Izuku. A long time ago the only thing I knew was this family business, but the minute I laid my eyes on you… everything changed. You opened a whole new world to me and none of that means anything without you in it. As I told you before, my family can take care of themselves now. I’ve made sure of that, so you don’t have to worry, or feel guilty. You are my happiness, so of course I would choose you every time. You are the one person in this world I can’t live without.”

“I don’t- I don’t want you choosing between us though. I don’t want them to feel like I’m abandoning you- I don’t- I don’t want you leaving them. I just don’t want you doing those sort of dangerous things anymore if you can help it.”

“I can. I can help it. I’ve already been discussing it with Touya, and Natsuo, with everyone back home. They can survive without me, they’re going to work hard and do my part. I’ll just have to come back every now and then to make sure everything is running smoothly… and help when help is needed. It’ll be much less now though Izuku.”

Izuku buries his head into his chest and fists at his shirt, “does your family hate me?”

“Pfft- what? What are you talking about?”

“I’m taking you away from them because I can’t stop worrying. Do they hate me for making you stay at home with me?”

“Quite the opposite Izuku, everyone pretty much loves you.”

“You’re lying.”

“No I’m not. They’ve never seen me happier after I first met you. All the years we’ve been together have been the happiest I’ve ever been throughout my entire life. When we broke up… I was in a really bad place, so they’re basically happy to do absolutely anything to make sure that doesn’t happen again. If you said you wanted to move to Alaska they’d happily be helping us pack and ship us themselves to keep me happy.”

“Hehehe,” Izuku giggles lightly, “Fuyumi was telling me how much meaner you were treating everyone when I went over your home.”

“That’s an understatement. I never want to go through that again Izuku and they understand that. They understand that you’re a part of our family now. No one is going to hate you for being selfish, me especially. I actually wish you were more selfish. It’s been killing me seeing you waste yourself away, keeping your true feelings bottled up inside.”

Izuku frowns and lowers his head, “I’m sorry. I was just trying to be a good boyfriend.”

“I know, so was I. You never have to be scared though Izuku. If it’s something truly important we’ll have a conversation about it, but this is something that’s necessary to ease you. You’re sacrificing a lot staying with me and I feel like I’m not sacrificing anything at all.”

“I don’t want you to sacrifice anything Shouto.”

“And don’t you think that goes both ways? Neither do I Izuku. This isn’t a sacrifice, this is nothing at all. I much rather be at home with you, taking care of you, so thank you for giving me an excuse to.”

Izuku’s hands stop trembling. He closes his eyes, body relaxing as he was finally able to say his peace. He still feels bad and guilty about it, but that’s just a small tiny feeling now. What’s more overbearing is how much relief he feels that he no longer has to worry about this.

“You can’t let me have everything I want.”

“Why not? If it’s within my power I’ll give you anything you so desire and if it’s not I’ll do my best to make it so.”

“You’re going to spoil me.”

“And what’s so wrong with that?”

“Shouto, I’m serious. If there’s something you can’t sacrifice, if there is ever a request that is ridiculous or not right… don’t always tell me yes. Please?”

Shouto kisses the top of Izuku’s head, “I promise. So far you haven’t requested anything ridiculous from me though, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Thanks Shouto.”

He feels much better now, like he can finally fall asleep peacefully. Izuku moves around a bit to get more comfortable and relaxes in Shouto’s arms. He feels his boyfriend run his fingers through his hair, his lips kissing his forehead.

“Izuku?”

“Hmm?”

“... never mind.”

Izuku opens his eyes, “no, what is it? I’m still up, what’s wrong Shouto?”

“I don’t know if we should talk about this.”

“You can. You can tell me anything- I want you to be honest with me. Is there something bothering you? Shouto-”

“Okay- okay, stop worrying. It’s nothing to do with what we just talked about, it’s just-... do you remember before we broke up?”

… What is he talking about?

“Can you be more specific?”

“Um… do you remember the conversation we had? Before I went on that trip?”

“I don’t- I’m sorry Shouto, I can’t really remember. What was it about?”

“N-nothing, I just wanted to know if you remembered or not. Good night.”

“Shouto, don’t do this. Shouto, please? It took me a long time to work up my courage to tell you my feelings, please don’t follow after my example. What’s wrong?”

Shouto gulps, cheeks turning red, “we… we talked about marriage.”

Izuku stills in his arms.

“I want to know if- if that’s still something you’re interested in… with me. My feelings never changed and- well I know you said you were considering it before you discovered the truth, and I was only wondering if- if you’re still considering it… or want to...with me.”

“Oh,” Izuku’s voice sounds like a soft squeak.

“I’m not trying to pressure you or anything! I’m fine if that’s not something you want anymore! I’m happy that we’re dating- we can stay this way for the rest of our lives, as long as we’re together! I just want to know what-... what your thoughts are. If you say no that’s fine, we never have to talk about this again.”

Izuku gulps thickly, “and if it’s the other answer?”

“Then… then… I’d ask you.”

“I… I don’t really know anymore Shouto.”

“Tha-that’s fine, you can- we can talk about this another time. Sorry for bringing it up-”

“No Shouto, don’t apologize. It’s alright, it’s-... I’m glad you told me. I’m sorry I can’t think of something right now, but as soon as I do I’ll tell you.”

“Okay… I’m okay with that. I love you Izuku.”

“I love you too Shouto.”

“Good night.”

“Night, night.”

Izuku closes his eyes, taking several deep breaths as he tries to calm down his racing heart.

“So this is the answer you’ve come to?”

Izuku takes a small breath and breathes out of his nose as he stares at the object on the table, “yes… I think so.”

“This isn’t something you think you’re sure about, it’s something you should know.”

“I know Dad, I think I know, I just-... still kind of tinkering back and forth.”

Hisashi nods his head, “are the two of you all better now?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve forgiven him for his lies?”

“... Yes. I feel like I have.”

“You don’t know for sure?”

“I know for sure that I love him Dad. I know for sure that I’ve never loved anyone as much as I loved Shouto. I know that he would never do anything to purposely hurt me. I know… I know for sure that he’s the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I know that I’m scared though. Scared of that not being able to happen because of one reason or another. Because I’m not strong enough to forgive, because he messes up again and I don’t give him the chance to explain, because of so many different things that may or may not come true… to run away though from true happiness… isn’t that just cowardly? To run away from what I want simply because I don’t want to get hurt again?”

Hisashi takes a deep breath, “that’s called being human Izuku.”

“Well being human is hard.”

“Yes it is, but you seem to be doing a good job at being one. Don’t think I’m being hard on you, I’m just watching out and making sure that you know what you’re getting yourself into. Marriage is a big step.”

“I know… he has wanted to marry me since the first day he saw me,” Izuku smiles fondly, picking up the ring box off the table.

He turns it around in his hands, opening the lid and staring at the silver band he bought for his boyfriend.

“And what about you Izuku?”

“I… I was seriously considering it- no, I had planned on telling him yes before our break up. I wanted to marry him before we broke apart.”

“And now? Do you still feel the same way?”

“I’m not sure if I feel it even stronger now or not. I mean, I want to say that we’re a stronger couple now. We were able to get through this, so I feel like we can get through anything. I’m just scared of falling back into old habits. How did you do it Dad? How did you forgive and live with Mom after she cheated? You weren’t scared she wasn’t going to do it again?”

“No, you’d have to be an idiot to not be scared. I-... I trusted her. I really spread myself thin and revealed my heart, giving it back to her and hoped she wouldn’t break it again. What a lot of young couples don’t realize is that being in a relationship isn’t all about fun, it takes hard work and dedication. You have to constantly work on it and as long as neither party gives up then it should turn out for the better. I never gave up on your mother, and she never gave up on me, and slowly that fear and doubt faded away. It didn’t happen instantly or overnight, not even when you were born Izuku. When I was working or had trips I was scared out of my mind, but I had to remember trust went two ways. I’m sure Inko was scared just as well, wondering if I’d abandon all the promises I made her and would return back to my old habits. It’s really a leap of faith Izuku. You have to trust that your partner will be there to catch you and that’s all you can really do.”

Izuku presses his lips together as he nods his head at this information. He closes the ring box back and holds it tightly in his hands.

“I trust Shouto. I want to make this work. I do want to marry him. I don’t want him to be afraid that I’m going to abandon him when the going gets tough. I’ve learned my lesson from last time, and I can only hope that he has too.”

“So you know for sure that this is what you want to do Izuku?”

“Yeah,” Izuku smiles cutely, “it is. Shouto and I are going to be together for the rest of our lives, so why not make it official?”

Hisashi chuckles as he smiles as well, “I can’t believe my only son is going to get married soon.”

“I know, hopefully it’s not too soon. I mean I still have to think about how I’m going to ask him and everything, but I’m happy with this decision. I don’t… I want to make Shouto happy Dad. I truly want to make him happy.”

“I’m sure you will son. Shouto is going to be a very lucky man. Be sure to bring him around after you propose, your mother is going to be so delighted.”

“Hehehe, don’t tell her. I mean you can, but I don’t plan on proposing soon. I still need to come up with an idea.”

“In these types of situations I think that the best advice I can give is what does Shouto like? Don’t compare him to other people and other proposals you’ve see on TV. How do you think Shouto would like to be proposed to?”

Izuku hums, “that’s… really good advice Dad. Thank you.”

“I occasionally have them sometimes.”

“Hahaha, I think you mean most of the time.”

Hisashi chuckles hard and places his hand on Izuku’s shoulder, “Izuku… I wish you the best of luck.”

Izuku smiles warmly and nods his head, “thanks Dad.”

Chapter Text

Izuku knew that Shouto wasn’t going to suspect anything at all. It had been a good month since the two of them had that conversation in bed about marriage and he’s never brought it up again. Shouto was going to be surprised, heck Izuku was going to be surprised if Shouto wasn’t surprised! He took his Dad’s advice to heart and planned something simple for the two of them. 

Something so simple and special it was perfect.

Izuku waited for a Saturday morning, when neither had any work or anything to do but sleep in all morning. He had woken up before his boyfriend, which always happened, and sneakingly got out of bed and tip toed his way to the kitchen. Izuku put on an apron and rolled up his sleeves to get started on breakfast. He made their favorite meal- or favorite breakfast meal. Eggs sunny side up, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, and french toast. French toast was the most important.

Shouto didn’t rise until he was almost finished with everything. All the cooking was done, all Izuku had to do was set the table. Shouto came dragging his feet into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Izuku’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder.

“Smells good,” he mumbles tiredly, kissing his neck.

“Hehe, morning Shouto.”

“Morning Izuku.”

“It’s almost ready. Go wash the sleepies out of your eyes and then we can eat.”

“M’kay.”

Shouto kisses his cheek this time before dragging his feet to the bathroom, scratching his stomach as he yawns out loudly. Izuku watches him leave and quickly gets to work. He serves Shouto’s plate, adding a little bit of everything. He sprinkles some powder sugar and honey on Shouto’s french toast and goes into the cabinets. Shouto knows better to stay out of the kitchen, since the only thing he can do is boil water. Izuku moves around the spices at the top shelf to grab his little black box. He opens it up and takes the ring out, moving the silver band in his fingers before he carefully places it on his french toast. It stays there perfectly and Izuku smiles to himself as he takes the plate to the table.

Shouto comes back and the two of them sit down at the table. Izuku’s heart is racing inside of his chest as he stares over, looking down at the ring he sees resting with the powdered sugar. He can’t eat a bite as he waits for Shouto to mention something, his boyfriend isn’t looking down at his plate though. He reaches for his glass and drinks the orange juice first. Izuku thinks for a second if he should have put it in there instead, but the thought of Shouto choking appeared in his mind since the ring would be hidden in the orange colored drink.

“This looks really good Izuku, thank you.”

“Hehehe, you’re welcome Shouto. You can surprise me with breakfast in bed tomorrow.”

Shouto snorts as he pours syrup all over his plate, “if that’s what you want, what type of cereal would you like tomorrow morning?”

Izuku laughs out loudly, smiling at him. Shouto smiles back and picks up his fork. He stabs it into his eggs and taking a bite. Izuku blinks, watching him. He- he doesn’t see it? No, no, it’s obvious. Izuku can see it right now. It’s obvious. It’s not super obvious, but it’s still definitely obvious.

“What’s wrong?” Shouto asks.

“Huh?”

“You aren’t eating.”

“Oh! Ah- yes, sorry, I got- I’m eating now!” Izuku says and stuffs some fruit in his mouth.

He starts chewing it and hums out in delight, making a big show of eating them. Shouto watches him, wondering why his boyfriend is acting so weird right now. He uses his fork to cut off a piece of french toast and digs in.

“Delicious.”

He eats another piece and Izuku gasps lightly, eyes widening. What the- hell is happening right now? He’s just- he’s just- he doesn’t see it! Oh God, was this a terrible idea?! Does he reach over and stop him?! If he does, Shouto's going to see the ring and then his surprise proposal will be ruined! Ugh, he doesn’t want to propose like this! But if he doesn't, what if Shouto eats the ring?! Then he’ll have to throw it back up or let it pass through him naturally and then that would be even worse! No- no Izuku can save this. He should just smack Shouto’s plate off of the table and let it break. That way he won’t realize it and Izuku can quickly hide the ring and plan a better, more obvious, proposal. Shouto will only think his boyfriend is a little bit crazy. Yes! Crazy is better than dead!

Shouto bites down on something hard and flinches. He moves the food around in his mouth, tongue tasting something that’s definitely not food. Izuku slowly rises up in his seat, but pauses when Shouto brings his hand to his lips. Something pushes out between his lips and Shouto takes it out of his mouth.

“What is this?” He asks, narrowing his eyes.

Izuku completely freezes. He found it. He ate it to find it, but he did find it. He quickly goes down on one knee, because he’s already up and he doesn’t think it matters anymore if he’s sitting across from him or in the typical position to propose marriage to someone. Shouto stares at the object and it takes a moment for him to realize what it is. He thought it was some strange egg shell or something left in the food, but it turned out it was something completely different. He feels a chill run through his spine and when he looks over at Izuku. Shouto’s face is completely blank as he sees him red in the face kneeling down on one knee in front of him.

“...”

Shouto doesn’t know what to say.

“...”

Izuku doesn’t know what to say either. His lips are pressing so tightly together, a thousand words wanting to speak out, but he can’t seem to decide on a single one of them. Shouto takes a small breath and stares at the ring again in his hand, covered in his saliva and tiny pieces of food. He opens his mouth and he immediately regrets what he says.

“I could have died.”

Izuku blinks before staring down at the floor guilty, “s-sorry. I thought- you were supposed to see it- I- I thought it was-... sorry.”

Shouto feels like punching himself in the face. He immediately shakes his head and goes down on the floor with him to tilt his head up.

“No- I didn’t mean- I’m sorry! That was stupid of me to say! I’m happy! I’m really happy… if this means what I think it means… can I assume it does?”

Izuku stares into his eyes, “ring, me down on one knee, I’m pretty sure it does. I can make it more clearer for you though. Shouto Todoroki, will you marry me?”

Shouto really doesn’t mean to ruin the mood, but he can’t help it. He’s so confused right now, he’s so unbelievably happy- he’s scared that he’s misunderstanding something though. He can’t believe it- it’s all too good to be true.

“But I thought- you said you didn’t know…”

“I didn’t, not at first. I mean- I did know the first time you mentioned it. I did want to marry you Shouto before… everything happened. Afterwards though everything kind of got jumbled up and I was truly wondering if I was- was strong enough to marry you., if I would be able to handle… all of this. In truth I was just running away. You’ve given me such happiness Shouto I’ve never known before and when we broke up I’m still scared of feeling such sadness that I felt that time. I was scared to love you freely as I should, I was running away from this- from something I wanted so much. I meant what I said when I told you I forgive you though, for everything Shouto. You’ve done nothing but everything you promised me and I feel like in our entire relationship we’ve never been tested as much as our break-up. We found our way back to each other because we’re meant to be with each other. I love you. I know I love you so much Shouto and I know you’ll make me happy for the rest of my life. I want to give you back as much happiness that you’ve given me by giving you the first thing you ever wished from me. I don’t think this is going to be easy, but I’m willing to work hard for us Shouto. I didn’t know then, but I know now, actually for the past few weeks. I love you and I want to marry you… if that’s something you’d like.”

“Izuku, it’s the only thing I’ve wanted from you since the minute I laid eyes on you.”

“And yet you’re still kind of leaving me in the dark without an answer.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry, I thought that would be obvious. Yes. Yes I’ll marry you.”

Izuku sighs in relief, “oh thank goodness, I was worried for a- ooph!”

Shouto tackles him, wrapping his arms around him and crushing him to his chest. Izuku grunts as they fall back onto the floor. After his groans of pain he starts laughing, a happy smile appearing on his lips as he hugs Shouto back. His boyfriend- no, fiance starts to tremble in his arms and Izuku looks down at him.

“Shouto?”

“Thank you. Thank you Izuku. Thank you so much, I promise you won’t regret this. I promise I’ll make you the happiest you’ve ever been.”

Izuku smiles softly as he kisses his head, “you already do Shouto. If anything I should be the one thanking you for never giving up on me. I’ve hurt you so much.”

“But I’ve hurt you more.” Shouto leans up and meets his eyes.

“We’ve moved past that now though. We’re back together, and we’re stronger than ever, and we’re going to get married. Married… there isn’t some crazy yakuza marriage ceremony we have to do, is there?”

Shouto laughs, tears appearing in his eyes a little bit. He shakes his head and snorts, “no there isn’t- I mean, there probably is, but I don’t care. I just want it to be the two of us- I wish I could marry you right now.”

“Hmmm, let’s do it then.”

Shouto’s eyes widen, “w-what?”

“If that’s what you want, let’s do it. Let’s head down to city hall and get married. I do want a wedding with our families and friends, but right now this moment is ours Shouto. We can have two weddings, people do that all the time. I made you wait a very long time, nearly seven years, I know you probably can’t wait another second… and neither can I. Let’s go.”

Shouto leans forward and smashes their lips together, kissing the daylights out of him, “I love you so much.”

“Hehehe, I love you too.”

“Let’s go. I- let’s do it. We can dress up- or go in our pajamas, I don’t care at all as long as it means we get to be together.”

“Let’s finish breakfast first, huh? I’m still kind of hungry.”

“Right! Of course, ye-yeah, we can’t get married on an empty stomach. Is there anything else you have hidden that might potentially kill me hidden in my meal?”

“Hahaha! Shouto! You were supposed to look down and see it! It’s not my fault you inhale your food!”

“And it’s not my fault you make it so good I can’t help but inhale it!”

Izuku and Shouto both break out in laughter on the floor. Once the two of them finally catch their breaths they get up from the floor, Izuku taking the ring out of Shouto’s hand and quickly wiping it off before placing it on his finger where it will hopefully stay forever.

“Aaaaaaaahhhhh,” Izuku moans out in pure bliss.

He can’t remember the last time he’s been to a hot spring. He doesn’t even think he’s ever been to one. Shouto and him planned on going to one once, and here they finally are… on their honeymoon. Izuku can’t stop the huge grin from appearing on his face as he sinks deeper into the water. He stares up and watches the autumn leaves flutter down and land on the water. It’s such a beautiful night tonight. The stars are shining and there's a full moon right above him. Izuku looks up and enjoys this moment, taking it all in. He faintly hears the door being slid open behind him and the light pitter patter of feet heading towards him. 

“Beautiful,” a warm voice says behind him.

“Yeah, it really is.” 

Izuku looks up and sees Shouto walking in to join him. He moves over and scoots closer to him, leaning against his chest as Shouto wraps his arm around his shoulders. The two of them relax as they watch the stars up above them.

“I’m really happy right now Shouto.”

“So am I Izuku, so am I.”

It took them so long to get here; they’ve come so far from where they started out. Izuku remembers it fondly like it was just yesterday. He had been talking with Uraraka, a small break before their next class, and then out of nowhere Shouto appeared telling him he was going to be his future husband. Izuku thought of him as crazy, that handsome face fooling him and making him tongue-tied. He can’t help the small chuckles that escape out of his lips.

“What are you laughing at?”

“You. What type of man declares that they’re going to marry someone they’ve never met before?”

“A man clearly in love, obviously.”

“But you couldn’t have honestly thought I would have accepted… did you?” Izuku looks up and stares at him.

“I was confident that you would, I’m happy that you didn’t though because then I got the chance to woo you and have you fall in love with me. Us getting married that day would have been too quickly-”

“That day?! You imagined me saying yes and marrying you that day as well?”

“Like I told you before, I was pretty used to getting what I wanted.”

Izuku groans and shakes his head, playful laughter comes out right after though. He moves over more and sits down on Shouto’s lap, wrapping his arms around his neck.

“I thought this when I first heard you speak and I still think it now, you’re insane.”

Shouto chuckles, “well it’s too late to leave me now. You have to love this insane person, forever.”

Izuku giggles as he leans over and kisses him softly, “that sounds alright to me.”

“Good, I’m glad. Kiss me again.”

Shouto places his hands on his waist as Izuku brings his lips back down again, kissing him once more. Such love and affection swells up inside of their chests and neither one thinks that they’ve ever been happier than at this moment in time right now being with each other under the starry sky.