Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Great. Just great. Exactly what he wanted today, to be left alone in a loud mall full of people. Izuku hadn’t even wanted to go to the mall today. Uraraka had begged him to come, and as annoyed as he had been, he relented. And now he was alone after she had fled, likely out of nerves. Izuku had known for a while now that she had a crush on him, although he was sure she was unaware that he knew, or else she’d be a lot more awkward. He had thought ignoring it would make things between them better, but apparently not. Not like he’d be into her either way, seeing as Izuku was very gay. He sighed, and started walking. Maybe he’d see something interesting.

Nope, nothing interesting. Uraraka had texted an apology for leaving, citing a family emergency. He knew that was an excuse. Well, at least he could go home now. But before he could take the next step, he froze, feeling a hand wrap around his throat, albeit awkwardly positioned, the pinky finger raised as if his captor had a five-finger activation quirk. He would’ve yelped, had the other hand not covered his mouth, preventing him from screaming for help.

“Calm down little hero, I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to talk.”

Tomura Shigaraki, leader of the fucking league of villains, was stood behind him with his hands right on his face. Nope, not terrifying at all. But on the other hand, if Shigaraki wanted to hurt him, he would’ve already. His breaths evened out as the hand was removed from his mouth. Alright Deku, just gotta act friendly with Tomura Shigaraki. Nothing could go wrong.

He squeaked in surprise when Shigraki next spoke, “Do I need to keep my hand around your neck to keep you from running, or can we be civil?”

“No, I’ll be good.” He was proud that he managed to keep the shakiness out of his voice. “If you want to talk, let’s find a cafe to sit and talk.” He clasped Shigaraki’s hand, careful to only grab four of his fingers, and tugged him in the direction of the cafe.

Later, when Izuku was alone, he would find his mind running over the encounter, playing it on repeat nonstop. His hand would wrap around his throat, similar to how Shigaraki’s had been only a few hours before. His words had elicited a new feeling, he didn’t quite know what to call it. “You’re great at analysis, anyone who tells you otherwise is insanely stupid.” or “I’ll be seeing you again soon, little hero.” The words felt good, although it was strange how profoundly it impacted him. He wasn’t looking forward to seeing Shigaraki at all, or at least he kept telling himself that anyway.

How had he never noticed how pretty Shigaraki was before? His hair looked so soft, he just wanted to touch it. And his lips too. He wondered what Shigaraki would taste like. He really looked better when he wasn’t surrounded by a bunch of disembodied hands. Speaking of hands, why didn’t Shigaraki wear artist gloves? He had held his drink with his pinky raised, and with how comfortable and familiar the gesture appeared to be, it looked like he was used to holding things like that. Artist gloves would make it so much easier for him, and help with the hand cramps Izuku was sure he must have had. Izuku resolved to buy him a pair, and carry them on him until he next saw him, since he had no way to contact him. Hopefully he’d see Shigaraki again soon. He would order a pair of artist gloves, green, like his hair, like his eyes, and his favorite color, although then again, blue was really growing on him. Why green, he didn’t know, or so he told himself. So maybe he wanted them to remind Shigaraki of him, sue him. Shigaraki was hot. Maybe he should redraw Shigaraki in his notebook.

He’d fall asleep updating his analysis of Shigaraki, and would wake up from his dream the next morning in a panic, happy and rather flustered, before worrying Shigaraki had infiltrated UA, until realising it was just a dream. He’d wonder why he had dreamed of Shigaraki. He’d lie, pretend nothing had been amiss at the trip to the mall. And his thoughts would be stuck on Shigaraki for a long while. But for now, the two boys sat down at a booth in the back corner of some random cafe, and began to talk.

Chapter Text

The next time the two of them met up, Izuku had been keeping an eye out. Well, he was actually moreso actively searching, but who cares about little details like that. He hadn’t meant to go looking for the villain, but it had been nagging at the back of his mind for days now, and maybe if he talked to Shigaraki, it would stop. Just give him the gloves, and that’s it.

His newfound habit of visiting different bars had not gone unnoticed. Today, he sat down at a table for two, out of the way in case any pros wandered in so as not to get caught for underage drinking, not that any of the shady bartenders really cared, with a cold glass in his hand. He took steady sips, scribbling down notes in his Endeavor notebook.

Todoroki had shared more about his training and living under Endeavor’s rule, and it was horrifying. Even if it was counterproductive, he could understand why Todoroki had begun to avoid using his fire. He briefly wondered if he could kill Endeavor, before deciding that mayhaps it would be a detriment to his heroic career. He would be villainized by the media, and his career would be over before he had even begun. So killing him was out, but he still wanted him out of the way. Possibly he could get the league to kill Endeavor. He knew Dabi would want to in an instant, with his past as Touya Todoroki, Endeavor’s oldest child, but he figured that Dabi wouldn’t take very well to his whole identity being leaked to the league. He was startled out of his thoughts when he felt someone staring at him, and quickly raised his head.

“What are you doing visiting so many different bars, little hero? One might almost think you were looking for me” He hid his grin, and slipped on his facade of calm and collectedness, but inside, he was a bundle of nerves. He quickly dug into his pocket, snatching the pair of viridian gloves out of his pocket and laid them neatly on the table.

“I bought you a pair of artist gloves, to make it so you can hold things normally. You looked used to holding things in such an awkward position, I figured you didn’t have any, and you might appreciate being given a pair.” He stopped, intent on not rambling so as not to reveal his nerves, and raised his head. Shigaraki was staring at him like he’d grown a second head. “I mean, you might already have a pair, and maybe you don’t want to accept it so I’m sorry if I’m bothering you with them-” Shigaraki rapped his fist against Izuku’s head, startling him out of the spiral.
“Thank you.” Shigaraki had sounded really earnest in his gratitude, which had surprised Izuku, but he was distracted as Shigaraki pulled on the gloves and flexed his hands. “So, any particular reason you got green?” Izuku blushed, and quickly looked away.

“Nope, no, there’s no reason at all.”

Shigaraki paused, seeming to debate whether or not to ask, before opening his mouth to speak. “So, have you actually been looking for me since you had a gift for me? Imagine that, a hero student seeking out a villain to give a gift to.” He chuckled as Izuku’s cheeks reddened further. “So, what were you writing about anyway?”

Huh, maybe he could give the notebook to the league. He hoped they wouldn’t tell anyone where they got it from, but for some reason, he trusted Shigaraki, and he knew Dabi would be thrilled. He unclasped his hands and opened the notebook to the page he had just finished writing, and slid it across the table to Shigaraki.

“It has a bunch of information on Endeavor, I’m sure you’ll find a good use for it, maybe show it to Dabi, I’m sure he’ll have a few suggestions. Just don’t tell anyone where you got it from.” “That’s a lot of trust you’re putting in me, brat.” “Yeah, but the authorities wouldn’t take you seriously, and you wouldn’t risk it. If you wanted me out of the way, that’s twice now you could’ve killed me.” He grinned. “Maybe I just like talking to you.” That caused Izuku to blush. Again. He wondered why he kept doing that.

He pulled out a phone and opened contacts, before handing it to Shigaraki. “I don’t suppose you want me to know where your base is, and I’m not too keen on letting you into UA, but meeting in public is just going to get us both caught,” he explained. He took back the burner phone and finished adding in the contact, sending the first text to give Shigaraki his number as well. Wow, how had this become his life? Shigaraki was quickly becoming his favorite person to talk to, and he had his phone number. He had the phone number of a villain, and wasn’t going to tell anyone. This wouldn’t end well if he was caught.

That night, he returned to the dorms, pocket heavy with the burner phone, and immediately set about looking for a place to hide it. If he got caught, he’d be in a lot of trouble, so he had to be careful. He grinned as he tucked it carefully into his hiding spot, before getting ready for bed. He and Shigaraki would meet up in a few days, at a hidden cove he had found when clearing Dagobah beach, that nobody else knew about. Now to not let anyone notice anything different.

Chapter Text

Izuku was tired. More tired than usual, that is, seeing as being tired is a daily occurrence for him. He had stayed up late last night, worrying about meeting Shigaraki and it being a trap, or being ghosted, or- Maybe he’d better cut off that train of thought.

His friends had wanted to hang out today, so he figured that he should get ready. He pulled on his favorite hoodie, green, with some black pants that were covered in pockets. He grabbed both his original phone and his burner, worried about missing something important from Shigaraki, as well as his wallet, in case he had to buy anything. By the time he had his shoes on, he heard a knock on the door and rushed to open it, nearly tripping over his own feet. He had to act normal, he reminded himself.

Uraraka grasped his hand and dragged him out the door, startling him. He flinched, not enough for either of the others to notice, but he wished she’d ask. He wasn’t a huge fan of touch, although he kind of craved Shigaraki’s touch- nope, better not think of him now. He doesn’t want to let it slip to either of his friends, he trusts them, but not with this. The only one he’d consider telling was Todoroki, but he had some assurance Todoroki would accept it either way, considering Dabi was his brother.

Oops, he had zoned out. He blinked, shifting slightly from where he was now seated on the couch. Uraraka was rambling, something about a new restaurant she wanted to go to. He sighed, not wanting to deal with Uraraka trying to wiggle her way out of paying, but Iida had already agreed, and he didn’t want them to notice anything off, so he agreed and they set out.

As they were walking, Uraraka kept a firm grip on his hand, preventing him from subtly letting go, unless he wanted to draw attention to himself. He liked Uraraka and Iida, he really did, but sometimes they could be a bit much. Iida was a stickler for the rules, and Uraraka never asked before touching him. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as Uraraka attempted to start up a conversation.

“So,” she began. “Do you think any of the villains are dating anyone?” His mind whirled, trying to think of an acceptable response. He couldn’t think of anything before she continued. “If I had to bet, I’d think Shigaraki and Dabi might be dating, since they’re both like the leaders, and so they have to spend a lot of time together.”

No, that definitely wasn’t true, right? At the mall, Shigaraki had complained about Dabi being so stubborn. But what if Shigaraki liked stubborn? What if Shigaraki and Dabi were dating, it’s not like they were close enough that he had to be told. Why did the idea of Shigaraki and Dabi make him so uncomfortable? He didn’t even know Dabi, and it’s not like he owned Shigaraki or anything. If anything- he’d want to be Shigaraki’s and not the other way around. He-

“Earth to Deku-kun, you’re like a zombie right now.” He grimaced, he hadn’t meant to spiral. Why had he spiraled like that anyway? Whatever, that was a problem for later Izuku.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” He secretly hoped she’d drop the topic, but it seemed luck wasn’t on his side.

“What do you think about Shigaraki and Dabi dating?”

Thankfully, Iida cut her off with a stiff “It is extremely impolite to speculate on the dating lives of other people, villain or not.” (He didn’t know why he felt relief at the sentiment) Uraraka was pouting, upset at being shut down. Luckily for him and Iida, they both arrived at the restaurant, which immediately distracted Uraraka.

They approached the waiter, requesting a table for three, and were led to a booth at the back of the restaurant. Uraraka didn’t really give him a choice and pulled him into the booth next to her. He had given up long ago on trying to get Uraraka to stop, she never really listened.

To distract himself from his slight discomfort, he picked up the menu and began examining it. As he did, he felt a buzz in his pocket- his right pocket. He usually kept his phone in his left, so- Oh, it was his burner phone. Wait, shit, that meant Shigaraki had texted him. He softly excused himself to the bathroom, promising to return shortly. He grabbed his phone and opened it, having to type in the code twice because his hands were shaking.

Dust: hey brat

He wondered why Shigaraki was texting him for no apparent reason. They were friends, right? He probably just wanted to check in.

Little hero: I’m with my friends at a restaurant.
Little hero: Currently hiding in the washroom texting you.

Dust: Damn, I didn’t know you had it in you

Izuku could practically hear Shigaraki snickering through the phone. He sighed as the next text came in, it reminded him of Bakugou a little bit, with the nicknames.

Dust: thats the floaty girl toga likes right
Dust: and engine boy

Little hero: Yeah, that’s them. It’s nice to hang out with them, but I wish that Uraraka could read hints. I’m getting tired of her flirting. I’m too gay for that. Oh, speaking of Uraraka, she told me that she thought you and Dabi were dating today. I mean, you might be, but it seems unlikely.

He didn’t know why he was bringing it up, but he needed to check. To confirm his suspicions.

Dust: she thinks im dating dabi??? that burnt sack of daddy issues??

He wasn’t sure why, but when he read that, his chest loosened a little and he sighed in relief.

Dust: does that idea bother you little hero?

Izuku had no clue how to respond.

Shit, Uraraka and Iida were still waiting for him back at the table. He quickly thumbed out another text, letting Shigaraki know his friends were waiting on him and he had to head back, before stuffing the phone in his pocket and washing his hands, hurrying back to the table. Mentally, he patted himself on the back for skillfully avoiding the question.

“What took you so long?” The first thing he hears from Uraraka as he gets back to the table. So much for not being noticed.

“Sorry, I guess I zoned out.” He had no energy to try and play along today, but he couldn’t really excuse himself early without drawing suspicion. He groaned, before doing his best to pull on a smile. “What were you thinking of getting, Iida?”

Uraraka pouted a little at not being asked, she really wasn’t being subtle, huh? He just hoped she didn’t try confessing.

Chapter Text

Izuku knew that logically, Shigaraki was not dating Dabi. Shigaraki had flat-out laughed when the idea was brought up. But still, he couldn’t help but keep thinking about it. Something about it made him really upset, and he couldn’t quite pinpoint what. He stared at his ceiling, hoping that it’d magically tell him the answer. Hey, there were stranger quirks out there.

But no, he hadn’t been hit with any kind of quirk, and even if he had been, most were actually rather annoying. He had heard of one that could lock users in an indestructible box, where they would remain until they managed to reconcile. God, one like that would suck. Although, to be fair, it’d probably get a lot done if he ended up in there with Shigaraki, not that that would ever happen. So, back to figuring out why the idea of Dabi and Shigaraki dating anyone irked him so much. He wasn’t jealous, right? Nope, definitely not.

Except just imagining Shigaraki and Dabi kissing, or even holding hands, filled him with so much rage, and an urge to punch Dabi with 100% of his quirk. Okay, so maybe he was a little jealous. But what did that mean for him? He couldn’t possibly have a crush on a villain… could he?

But no, Shigaraki was his enemy. He absolutely did not want to kiss Shigaraki. He did not wonder what Shigaraki would taste like. He did not think about Shigaraki looming over him, pinning him to the wall and making out with him until he was gasping for air, knees having buckled long ago, only being supported by Shigaraki’s hand around his waist, before he’d carry him over to the bed and- Shit, definitely a crush.

Izuku flushed bright red. He had a crush on his enemy. Who he was actively fantasizing over. He was so screwed. There was probably fanfiction of the two of them, somewhere on the internet that he could find. But no, he was going to try and avoid looking for fanfiction of him and the villain. The villain he had a massive crush on. Well, at least it couldn’t get any worse.

It got worse. Not even a little worse, so much worse. He had stayed up late. Again. Trying to get thoughts of Shigaraki out of his brain. When he finally fell asleep, he even dreamed of Shigaraki. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about Shigaraki? He was exhausted. So, he had ventured into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. And then, on the way to the kitchen, Uraraka had cornered him, with Mina and a few others watching.

Shit.

Mina specifically watching him so closely, he knew it had to be Uraraka confessing. Mina had a habit of interfering with their class’s love lives and relationships. Knowing her, Mina had probably told Uraraka her crush was mutual, and egged her on. He couldn’t entirely fault her, but he wished she’d just stop sticking her nose into everyone else’s business.

He tried to slip around her but Mina and Hagakure blocked him. Fuck. He didn’t want to reject her and have her be upset at him, especially not in front of so many of their classmates. But as he tried to think of an excuse, Uraraka began to speak.

“Deku, I like you. I’ve liked you since you saved me at the entrance exam.” Uraraka continued talking, but Izuku zoned out. Suddenly, he felt someone, Uraraka he assumed, grab his hand. He blinked, and shook his head.

“Sorry, I zoned out, what were you saying?”

He hoped she’d cut her losses and decide not to confess, but unfortunately, she just restated her earlier confession, before leaning in. He backed up awkwardly, trying to pull his hand from her grasp. Uraraka pouted, and leaned in a second time. This time, he pushed her away, and powered up a small fraction of his quirk to jerk his hand out of her grip.

“I’m sorry, Uraraka, but I don’t like you.” She frowned.

“Stop joking around, Deku-kun.” She wasn’t listening. Of course she wasn’t listening. She had never respected his boundaries, what had made him think he’d respect his rejection either? He sighed before continuing.

“Uraraka, seriously, please stop.” The girl began sobbing, asking why he didn’t want to date her. Mina’s face had fallen so fast, in any other situation it would’ve been funny.

Todoroki came up from the back of the group and offered Izuku his hand. Izuku took it, and Todoroki led him back to his room.

“I couldn’t get my coffee,” he whined mourningly. Todoroki offered to get him some, which he very gratefully accepted. Once he was able to function like a normal person and not a braindead zombie, the guilt washed over him like a tidal wave.

Oh god, what had he done, rejecting her in front of all of their classmates. Todoroki somehow managed to pick up on exactly what Izuku was thinking, and began softly reassuring him it wasn’t his fault. Inside, Todoroki was pissed that Uraraka had so clearly ignored Izuku’s boundaries, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, making sure his friend was okay.

Izuku really wanted to talk to someone about his crush. Most of the class would push for more information, especially after what had just gone down with Uraraka’s confession. He knew Todoroki would be able to listen and keep it a secret, and wouldn’t push for more information. It would be nice to get it off of his chest, Izuku thought. Obviously, he wouldn’t tell Todoroki exactly who he had a crush on, not unless he could get Dabi to test the waters. He wouldn’t tattle on Touya, and he likely would accept him with open arms. But, he wanted to be sure. So for now, telling him it was Shigaraki was off the table.

“Have you ever had a crush?” Izuku began, speaking softly to ensure nobody trying to eavesdrop could hear.

“What’s a crush?” He facepalmed. I guess that’s a no, he thought to himself. While he was lost in thought, Todoroki pulled out his phone to look it up, and as he read the answer, he made a face that almost looked like a grimace.

“Is that why Uraraka acted like that earlier today?”

“Yeah, I think so. Ashido encouraged her to try confessing and it created that whole mess earlier today.”

“Oh. That sounds rather unpleasant. I do not understand why anyone would wish to date anyone.”

“What if I told you that I had a crush. It’s not someone who goes to UA though.”

Todoroki paused to think before responding with, “Well, you should probably confess. If you want to be in a relationship with them, a confession is important.” Izuku sighed. He couldn’t confess, not to Shigaraki.

He quickly changed the topic, suggesting they watch a movie, and Todoroki readily agreed. He pushed away all thoughts of Shigaraki and his crush to the back of his mind, and settled in to watch.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up to his favorite sound. His phone alarm. Because everyone loves having a heart attack the moment they wake up. He jumped out of bed to turn it off, before digging through his drawers to find his uniform. He had school.

Wonderful, the class was guaranteed to be awkward after the scene Uraraka had caused yesterday, and he was sure most of the class would not be on his side. Kacchan would just watch and laugh, not taking either side, and Todoroki would defend him, but the rest were all likely on Uraraka’s side. At least he had meeting Shigaraki tonight to look forward to.

As he struggled with his tie, he couldn’t help but imagine Shigaraki’s hands around his neck, having him pressed against his back, and- he had school. He adamantly avoided that train of thought. It was a little strange how normal it had become in such a short period of time, having a crush on Shigaraki. Shigaraki, not his enemy, not a villain, a person. The frequent texts the two exchanged definitely helped out on that front. He thumbed out a quick good morning to him, and hurried to class.

Oh god, he felt it. All the eyes on him. Everyone was staring. Okay, maybe not everyone, but it wasn’t just anxiety this time, his classmates were actually staring. He hadn’t left his dorm after the confrontation the day prior, and Todoroki had been kindly offering to get him anything he needed. But with class, it was unavoidable. He huffed, and made his way to his seat, doing his best to look unaffected by the looks he was receiving.

While waiting for the class to start, he pulled out a nearly empty notebook. He had given the Endeavor one away to the league, and he wanted to make a new one. He penciled out a rough drawing of Endeavor, before beginning to work on his weaknesses. He wrote until he was startled out of his thoughts by Aizawa’s tired voice.

“Today, we are going to be doing quirkless sparring,” he announced, as he took a sip of his coffee. Quirkless sparring was something he was already good at, and he could definitely get Todoroki to agree to spar with him, to avoid the awkwardness of interacting with his classmates.

As they were pairing up, he spotted Uraraka hurriedly making her way towards him. He winced, wanting to avoid a second confrontation. Todoroki seemed to have spotted her, and offered to spar with him in the corner of the gym. Izuku readily agreed, and they made their way. He needed something to distract him, keep his mind off of Shigaraki, and- he had lost focus. Todoroki had managed to pin him. He blinked, and for a moment, it wasn’t Todoroki, it was Shigaraki pinning him down. That pleasant train of thought was broken when Todoroki moved to stand up, and offered him a hand. He grinned, taking it as an opportunity to get a head start on the next round, and delivered a kick to his head. Todoroki managed to dodge just in time, before turning around and nearly socking him.

As the two continued their back and fourth sparring match, he struck up a conversation. Carefully skirting around the topic of his crush, he brought up that he was worried about talking to the class, and wanted to avoid them, and Todoroki offered to take him to the store with himself and Bakugou the next afternoon, seeing as it was their turn. Izuku jumped at the opportunity to get away from the prying eyes of his classmates. He hoped Bakugou would be able to be civil. The two of them continued to walk until the class was over, before making their way to the cafeteria.

He felt bad, he was pulling Todoroki away from his other friends. He was going to crash Todoroki and Bakugou’s hangout. He was taking up too much of Todoroki’s time. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to decline, to pull away. Todoroki was the one person who was remaining by his side, and he couldn’t give that up, no matter the guilt. He was brought out of his guilty spiral by a vibration in his pocket.

A text from Shigaraki. He grinned. Shigaraki had texted to let him know that he was right, the league, especially Dabi, were delighted by the notebook. They had agreed to keep a secret where they had gotten it from, and Dabi and Toga especially had been very curious about why Izuku would offer the information to them. He couldn’t bring up Todoroki’s involvement, not wanting to out Dabi, so he’d have to tell him in person.

Hang on, since when had he been planning on meeting the rest of the league? He was friends with Shigaraki, that was it. He did not sympathize with them. He did not want to help them. He did not want to- oh who was he kidding. He knew how it felt to be treated worse than dirt. He had experience with quirk discrimination. Of course he wanted to help them. If they would accept, that is. He let Shigaraki know as much, and offered to trauma dump on him at a later date.

The exchange continued, and the two sent some texts. They weren’t flirting, Izuku thought, but really, he wasn’t so sure. He wouldn’t want to confess to Shigaraki and ruin their friendship. How would that even work, a relationship between a hero and a villain? He knew he’d have to be the one to be more flexible, the heroes would not accept him having a relationship with villains. The villains would be a lot more likely to accept that, as long as they were sure he wouldn’t betray them. Which, he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t give them information on UA, but he wouldn’t tell the heroes anything about the league, anything they trusted him with would remain private.

He shook himself back to awareness, sitting with Todoroki in the cafeteria. His friend was sitting across from him with a bowl of cold soba he was slurping, and Izuku noticed the katsudon in front of him. He briefly thanked Todoroki, and the two ate in silence. It wasn’t awkward silence, unlike with the rest of his friends. In a way, the silence was comforting. He didn’t have an urge to fill it. Todoroki was a good friend, and so kind to him. It hurt, to not tell him what he had discovered about Dabi. He knew the amount of joy it would bring him, but he couldn’t betray the league’s trust like that. Not when he hadn’t even earned it yet. Todoroki breaks the silence, and what he says makes Izuku want to grin.

“You know, you may call me Shouto if you want. The trust Todoroki-, Shouto, has in him makes him grin. It was a nice feeling, he thought, to know someone who was so willing to be close with him. With a lilt in his voice, he spoke.

“Then to make it even, you can call me Izuku.” Shouto smiled, and his grin widened.

“Alright, Izuku it is.”

Chapter Text

Izuku is about to see Shigaraki. In just a few moments, he’d come through the entrance. What should he say? No matter what Shouto had suggested, he wouldn’t confess. He had to make sure the villain had no clue that he liked him. But what to talk about? Maybe he could talk about the plans to murder Endeavor? He could ask about the league? But that would count as work talk. He could ask about Shigaraki’s quirk? He was sure there must be a way to turn it off. Or he could-

“Whatcha thinking so hard about, brat?” He could hear the grin in Shigaraki’s voice as he spoke, the upwards infliction not super noticeable unless one was paying close attention. His hand rested on Izuku’s shoulder, covered by the viridian artist gloves Izuku had given him.

A strong feeling of adoration rushed to the forefront of his mind, seeing Shigaraki wearing his gift. He wanted to kiss him so badly in that moment, he was so fucking pretty, how the hell was he not supposed to want to kiss him? And then he looked back at Shigaraki, confused at the strange way Shigaraki was looking at him… Oh shit, did he say that out loud?

“Yeah, you did, little hero.” Shigaraki had an evil grin across his face, and he just knew this was going to end horribly. He was so screwed.

“I’m so sorry,” he began. “ I didn’t mean to tell you or make you uncomfortable in any way, and I’m sorry if this makes it awkward, and I understand if you don’t want to be friends-”

He’s cut off from his apology spiral with a kiss pressed against his lips. He melts into it, tasting a faint hint of alcohol, but surprisingly, is overwhelmed with a sugary sweet taste. He tasted better than Izuku had ever imagined he might, and he never wanted the kiss to stop. He leans into it, opening his mouth when Shigaraki’s teeth tug at his lower lip. He never wanted to stop, but Shigaraki had eventually pulled away, wiping away the string of spit between them.

“If you couldn’t tell, I like you too, brat.” Izuku’s lips quirked upwards into a smile, as he stared at Shigaraki desperately.

“I guess Shouto was right.”

“What?” Shigaraki was so confused.

“Nothing. Does that mean we’re dating now?”

“A villain dating a hero,” Shigaraki chuckles teasingly, “Never thought I’d see the day.” “Stop teasing,” this time, it’s Izuku who pouts. And oh, the answer he gets induces the best feeling Izuku had ever felt. “Sure little hero, I’ll be your boyfriend.” Shigaraki presses another quick kiss to his lips, and Izuku blushes.

“Really?” he winces slightly, not meaning to come off as needy. He immediately worries that he’s asking for too much, and maybe it was just a cruel prank, and- Shigaraki removes any trace of doubt by leaning in for another kiss. If this continued, Izuku was sure this’d be the death of him. Shigaraki was so intoxicating, if he had thought he had wanted Shigaraki before, now he was desperate. Like he was dying from thirst, and Shigaraki was the only one who could fix it.

“You know, it’s kind of funny that this happened.” Izuku blinked.

“How so?”

Shigaraki paused before responding “We’re supposed to be at each other’s throats trying to kill each other. Well actually… we will be at each other’s throats, just not in the way they intended.” Izuku immediately flushed at the implications. He didn’t think he could get any redder. “So, a choking kink, little hero? I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Izuku was wrong, and he wanted to die. He turned even redder at this comment, and went to deny it, but Shigaraki wrapped his hands around his throat, and Izuku couldn’t help but let out a little whine.

“See, don’t try to deny it brat. I’ll need to know this stuff anyway for the future.” God, Shigaraki couldn’t just do that to him, it was absolutely unfair.

“Shigaraki…” Izuku starts. “You know brat, if you’ve already kissed me, and we’re going to be dating, we can call each other by our first names. Right, little hero?” Shigaraki-, Tomura whispered, right in his ear.

Izuku was sure that if he had had Kaminari’s quirk, he would have short circuited right then, hearing Tomura like that. It was more than a little hot, hearing the raspy voice sound so intimate, hot breath against his skin, and being called little hero, that nickname, it made him feel so small. Like he was Tomura’s. And it had a sense of danger, which, he supposed, was absolutely correct, considering it was a villain calling him that. But right now, he was unable to see Tomura as a villain.

He felt a slight tap on his nose, and let out a small yelp, before realising it was Tomura. Oh, right, Tomura was waiting for a response.

“Tomura,” he began, with a shaky voice. Tomura groaned at the name, and leaned in for another kiss, pinning him against the wall of the cove, before shifting to support Izuku’s weight. Tomura began to move lower, leaving hickeys scattered across his collarbone and neck. Izuku was sure those’d be a bitch to cover later, but in the moment, he was desperate for Tomura.

“Do you want this?” Tomura’s raspy voice asked, as if there was ever any doubt. He shivered and gave a nod, tugging at Tomura’s shirt. Tomura had not let him off without a verbal confirmation, making sure he understood what he was getting into.

“Please,” he pleaded, whining slightly. No more words were exchanged as the two quickly pulled off their clothes, Tomura switching to a spare pair of gloves so as not to ruin the gift. Izuku was suddenly glad the cove was so private, and grateful Tomura was unable to decay his clothes. Maybe another time, he reasoned, figuring it’d be hot, but not too keen on walking back to UA naked. He was distracted when Tomura’s mouth met his, hands roaming freely over his body. The two were quickly lost in their own world.

By the time the two stumbled back to their respective homes, parting with a soft kiss, the sun was beginning to rise. Izuku was so lucky he hadn’t been caught, he mused, as he stepped into the shower, although he was going to be so tired once the ecstasy faded, not having slept, busy enjoying his date with Tomura.

He was glad that he had some leftover makeup from his Halloween costume among his drawers, seeing as he had dozens of hickeys littering his skin, and very clear bruises from being choked around his neck. At least he was better off than Tomura, whose back had been covered in scratches. Those would be much harder to cover with makeup.

It was amusing to think how much like a horny teenager Tomura had been acting. Not that he had been any different. He felt bad that one of Tomura’s pairs of gloves had been ruined, although at least it hadn’t been his gifted ones. He briefly wondered if he could get a pair of sex-proof gloves, before abruptly moving on, knowing he was going to see his friend later.

His boyfriend- and wasn’t that amazing, Izuku could call him his boyfriend, had wanted to take him on a date at some point, hopefully soon. They had bemoaned the fact that they couldn’t be out in public, and Tomura had figured shoving him in a room with a bunch of villains may not be the best idea. Letting him into UA was absolutely out of the question for now, even though he trusted Tomura, he knew they would be at a high risk of getting caught and promptly arrested. So for now, the two had agreed to meet again at the cove, this time for a proper picnic.

He was so glad Shouto had invited him out on his trip, he needed something to distract him. He was eagerly looking forward to the date, and didn’t want to wake Tomura up from his slumber. He decided as he texted Shouto, that he wouldn’t tell him, considering Mina’s snooping tendencies and Jirou and Shouji’s hearing capabilities. He knew once it came out that Shouto would understand that he had wanted to keep it from Uraraka. The two of them came to an agreement, deciding to meet early. He checked over his makeup in the mirror, before pulling on a nice outfit and boots, and walking to Shouto’s room.

Chapter Text

It’s late afternoon when Todoroki, Bakugou, and Izuku arrive at the store to pick up groceries for their class. “I think it’d make sense if we split up,” Shouto comments mildly.

“It’ll be done faster if we do.”

Bakugou is quick to agree, having not wanted to hang out with either of them in the first place. “Give me the fucking list IcyHot,” Bakugou snaps.

Of course, Bakugou never really calms down, Izuku thinks, sighing. At least he won’t have to spend the trip with them. He gets stuck with finding the snacks for the class’s upcoming movie night, one he probably won’t be invited to, he thinks bitterly. Maybe he can go see a movie with Tomura if they both find disguises? Speaking of Tomura, he thinks that he sees someone who looks a lot like him. Probably wishful thinking.

He looks again, and realises that fuck, it is Tomura. And he remembers that Bakugou is in the store with him. Shouto won’t attack Tomura, or at least he assumes, not wanting to risk civilians when there isn’t a problem, and creating a scene. Bakugou, on the other hand, has no such qualms, and it would turn into a disaster. He can’t go up to Tomura directly without risking being noticed, so he quickly makes his way to the bathroom, and pulls out his burner phone, selecting the only contact and hitting call.

Tomura answers on the first ring. “Hey, I’m shopping right now, what’s up brat?” He sighs.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. I’m at the store with Kacchan and Shouto. Shouto won’t make a scene, but if Bakugou sees you, he’ll freak out.”

“Alright, I’ll find somewhere to hide, I need to get the stuff for the league.” He hears the door to the washroom click open, and hears Tomura’s voice twice, through the phone and out loud.

“I’m waiting in the washroom.” Izuku opens the stall door, and tugs Tomura inside, after ending the call abruptly.

“Yeah, I know.” He sighs again, and texts Shouto saying he got caught up talking to an old friend. Shouto thankfully agrees to grab the last few items he’d not yet grabbed and leave with Bakugou.

“So, little hero,” Tomura grins, locking the door and pulling Izuku close. “Skipping time with your friends to see little old me? I’m flattered.” Izuku feels a blush rising, and Tomura chuckles. It’s a low, throaty chuckle. It shouldn’t be as hot as it is, but Izuku is overwhelmed with a strong urge to kiss him. And then he remembers that they are partners, he can kiss him. And so, grabbing the back of Tomura’s neck and pulling him down, he leans in. Their lips meet, moving in rhythm with each other, as Tomura picks him up, standing back at full height. Oh god, this isn’t fair, Izuku bemoans. How can one person be this hot?

“On your knees, little hero.” Tomura begins gently running his fingers through Izuku’s hair, petting him softly. Fucking hell, Izuku is so screwed.

Izuku grimaces as Tomura exits the bathroom. His face is flushed bright red, collarbone littered with even more hickeys than from the night prior. His hair is a mess, and his tie is even more messy than when he had originally tied it. The two of them really were like a pair of horny teenagers who couldn’t keep their hands off each other, weren’t they.

He fixes himself up as best he can, grateful that Tomura had offered him his hoodie to cover the mess of hickeys, before getting Kurogiri to warp him away, forgetting about the groceries. Tomura ended up significantly less of a mess, so hopefully the league wouldn’t notice anything off. He quickly pulls on the hoodie over his shirt and begins the trek back to the dorms.

Izuku huffs, plopping himself down on the end of Shouto’s bed. “I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to ditch you, but I got caught up in a discussion with an old friend, one Bakugou doesn’t really like.” Shouto accepts his excuse, nodding absent-mindedly, and Izuku sighs in relief, happy that the excuse has been accepted.

He’s sure it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Shouto found out he was sucking someone’s face off instead of getting groceries, but he didn’t want to risk getting linked back to Tomura. Unfortunately, he forgets the mass of hickeys covering his skin, and tugs off the sweater, noticing the heat in Shouto’s room.

A faint smile graces Shouto’s lips. “I knew it.”

“Knew what? Oh shit. Please don’t tell anyone-” Shouto rests his hand on top of Izuku’s.

“Don’t worry, I’m good at keeping secrets.”

Well, Izuku supposes that out of everyone who could have found out, Shouto was the best possible option. He thanks Shouto for not digging for more information. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, with the strength of the hearing powers of some of our classmates, I didn’t want to risk it getting to Uraraka. I’m trying to avoid the confrontation for as long as possible, and her knowing would only make it worse.”

Shouto nods in agreement, offering to yell at Uraraka for him, which Izuku respectfully declines. He’ll have to confront her eventually, but he’d rather put it off for as long as possible. That would be a problem for later Izuku.

“If you need me to cover for you when you sneak out of the dorms, let me know.” Izuku smiles gratefully at Shouto’s offer, agreeing to let him know.

“I think we’re going to go on a date in a few days. I’m really excited, he’s so sweet. He’s planning a picnic at the beach.” Okay, so maybe Izuku is being a little careless telling Shouto so much, but he trusts Shouto. Shouto won’t go digging for more than Izuku wants him to know.

Shouto blinks thoughtfully. “That does sound sweet. Make sure to use protection.”

“Shouto…” Izuku is bright red at the teasing comment, before grinning. “We did, don’t worry about it.”

Shouto grimaces slightly. “I did not want to know that.” Izuku smiles bashfully.

“You were the one teasing.”

“I will not make that mistake again.” Izuku giggles, finding Shouto’s awkwardness amusing.

“It’s fine. Do you want to watch a movie?” Shouto is definitely thankful for the change in topic, if how fast he agrees is any indication.

The two of them settle on an old All Might movie, and tug some blankets up, stretching comfortably across the bed. The two of them watch, giggling and enjoying the afternoon. Izuku is glad he has someone who knows now. He smiles. He’s so lucky Shouto is such a good friend.

Chapter Text

The date is in half an hour, and Izuku has no idea what to wear. He needs to not be immediately recognizable, but he wants Tomura to be able to recognize him, so too much of a disguise won’t work. A hoodie would work, but it might not be the best thing to wear a hoodie on a date. On the other hand, it’s a picnic. It’s outside. It’s nearly nine now, so it’ll be cold. Then, while digging through the drawers, Izuku finds something that could work. Tomura’s hoodie. The one that he’d been given a few days prior at the store. He flushes, heat creeping up his neck as he thinks about the incident.

He was so lucky Bakugou hadn’t walked into the washroom, and that Shouto had managed to convince him to leave. Speaking of Shouto, he figured it’d be a good idea to let him know he was heading out, so he shoots him a quick text, before pulling on the hoodie. It smells nice, like Tomura. He tugs on his shoes, before running out the door. He doesn’t want to be late, to leave Tomura waiting.

Izuku arrives at the beach at precisely eight fifty-five. Five minutes early. He’s anxious, so to distract himself, he pulls out his league notebook, updating Tomura’s quirk again, having been able to convince him to answer a few questions when they had called the previous night. He looks up, hearing a sharp noise. Two minutes later, Tomura stumbles in. He braces himself against the wall, pausing. Izuku stares.

“Dabi decided to interrogate me as I was leaving.” Tomura’s quick to explain, offering up the reason behind his lateness. Izuku knows that that’s the closest he’ll get to an apology, and Tomura was only ten minutes late, so he doesn’t mind. He instead flashes a wry grin, pushing for details.

“What did you tell him?” Izuku’s curious. He knows Tomura wouldn’t flat-out say he was with a hero, but would he tell them about the relationship or not, Izuku’s not sure.

“I told them I was going to see my boyfriend. Dabi was so startled he let go, and I ran.” Izuku feels a pang of jealousy at not being able to tell his friends. Even if it wasn’t Tomura, his friends would probably be cruel about it, seeing as they had wanted him to end up with Uraraka. He pushes it to the back of his mind, opting to worry about other things.

“Shouto knows I’m in a relationship, and not with a UA student, but he doesn’t know who. I let him know I was going on a date after he found out, and he offered to help cover me.”

Tomura nods, accepting it. “How’d he find out anyway?” This causes Izuku to pout.

“It’s your fault for leaving so many hickeys.” Tomura smirks possessively, causing a shiver to run up his spine.

“You’re mine, little hero, and I just want to show you that. Plus, I gave you a sweater to cover them. One which you’re wearing right now.” Izuku blushes in embarrassment at the attention drawn to his choice of clothing.

“Shouto’s room got hot, and I pulled it off.” Tomura raps his head with the back of his hand.

“Your fault then, not mine.”

“Oh no, you’re not getting out of taking responsibility for this, it’s both of our faults.”

The bickering makes him grin, it feels so domestic, even though they’ve only had five dates, if the washroom makeout even counted, which, it probably didn’t. And did their first meeting count? Probably not, Izuku decides. So three dates, then. Either way, he doesn’t mind. Tomura makes him feel warm, makes him smile in a way he hasn’t been lately. He had been so focused on hero training, on appeasing his friends.

Even with Shouto, he still holds the mask in place, only lowering it slightly. If he lowered it with Shouto, he’s sure it’d come crashing down. He doesn’t want his friends to find out. He ignores the small voice in the back of his mind that tells him they aren’t friends, that they haven’t even noticed that he wears a mask, with the sole exception of Shouto. They’ve been avoiding him, he knows that. But for now, he ignores it. He has Shouto and Tomura, which is enough for now.

He snaps back to reality and blinks. Tomura was looking at him expectantly. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked what you were writing, little hero, more plots to kill the number two hero? Or maybe a different hero this time?” Izuku blanches.

“No, Endeavor is a special case. I was thinking how best to help the league improve their quirks. Yours should definitely be able to turn off with practice, and Toga is probably going to be able to copy people’s quirks when she transforms. Dabi should be making cold fire not hot fire, it’d hurt a lot less. I mean… you’ve had your quirks your whole lives, I probably don’t know better, I didn’t mean to butt in.” Tomura’s hand on his shoulder gives him pause, and Tomura is quick to cut in.

“Izuku. Little hero. It’d be so much better if we were able to do that. When you meet the rest of the league, can you help them with their quirks? And mine of course, so I could touch you without gloves.” Izuku’s cheeks become crimson at what Tomura’s implying, and at the praise offered. Then, he catches another thing. When. When you meet the league, not if.

“I mean, are you sure you want me to meet the league? You trust me that much.”

Tomura sighs tiredly. “Izuku, babe,” Izuku reddens at the new nickname, “You could’ve had heroes waiting for me here tonight. You could’ve let me get caught back in the store. You could’ve called the heroes as soon as you saw me in the bar. You could’ve told them about the shopping mall. If you were going to turn me in, you would’ve done so by now.” Izuku pauses, having never even considered doing any of those things.

“I guess you’re right…” he trails off, unsure how to continue.

“Of course I am. Although I will warn you, Dabi can be rather stubborn, and Toga will be eager to get some of your blood.” He winces in the reminder of Toga’s… obsession with his blood.

“I can give her some blood, if you promise not to let her use it to sneak into UA.” Tomura smiles gratefully.

“Toga would like that.”

“If you want to meet them, you can see them tomorrow morning?” “Not tonight?” Tomura smirks at him.

“Not tonight, tonight you’ll be busy doing other things.” Izuku squeaks in surprise, before looking up determinedly.

“I’d like that, I think. I have to text Shouto, he’ll cover for me and won’t push for details,” Izuku states confidently.

“How can you be so sure he won’t?” Izuku grins in delight, giggling at the memory.

“He told me to use protection, and got so flustered when I confirmed I had. He doesn’t want to know.”

Tomura laughs at the mental image, nodding as Izuku sends a brief message, letting Shouto know he’d be back soon, but not before the next day, or possibly the day after that.

“I should probably let the league know we’ll be back late, and that they can meet you tomorrow. Do you think I should tell them that you’re a hero?”

“I’m not a hero yet, just a student,” Izuku comments. “And no, I think it’ll be funny to let them wonder. But tell them not to attack me as soon as they see me.” He sees Tomura nod.

“I’ll tell them you have green hair, they won’t default to you, but when they see you it won’t really be mistakeable.”

Izuku begins pulling out the food they had forgotten about, setting it out on the blanket. “I kind of forgot, but I brought the stuff for the picnic.”

“Awww, does this mean you aren’t the meal?” Izuku’s flustered, but clearly ignoring Tomura’s innuendos won’t work, so he plays along.

“Maybe if you’re good.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re not the top in this relationship, little hero.” He has no good retort to the comment, unable to deny it. Instead, he settles on the blanket, resting his head in Tomura’s lap. “It’s kind of nice, you know? To have this little cove. It feels like it’s our place. It makes a good spot for dates that are more hidden.” Tomura begins gently carding his hand through his hair, causing him to melt even more into his lap. The two sit there for a while, just talking.

Eventually, the two of them get up, and call Kurogiri to bring the two back to their base. He sighs seeing Izuku, but trusts Tomura enough not to comment as the two enter the portal. He’s not very surprised when the two make their way up to Tomura’s room, choosing not to comment. He’ll let them be, for now. He’s sure Dabi and Toga will say enough for him in the morning anyway.

Chapter Text

Izuku stumbles down into the kitchen in the late morning, leaving Tomura to sleep. He looks half asleep, and he feels it, but he’s also defensive, worried Dabi will blow up. He knows Toga will attempt to stab him either way, so he has to be prepared to dodge. Unfortunately for Izuku, he forgets to put on a shirt. Or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, since Dabi hadn’t attacked him yet. Kurogiri had simply looked at him and sighed, turning away in defeat.

Dabi takes one look at Izuku, and upon realising who he was, and why he was there, promptly spits out his coffee. Thankfully, he does not attack him. He is, however, quite shocked at seeing Izuku, the golden boy of UA, wandering in a villain base covered in hickeys and bruises. But with his green hair, it’s impossible not to make the connection. Dabi stares, wide-eyed, waiting for Izuku to speak.

“What’re you staring at?” He asks roughly, a combination of morning voice and the previous night’s activities.

“Put on a shirt at least, I don’t want to know what you and Crusty have been up to.” Izuku yelps, upon realising that Dabi is correct, and he isn’t wearing a shirt.

Izuku quickly apologizes, planning on stealing another one of Tomura’s hoodies to cover the marks, before Tomura himself meanders in, also half-asleep. Tomura’s also littered with hickeys all across his skin, and his back is rather scratched up, more evidence of their late-night activities. He sighs contentedly, giving Izuku a soft kiss.

“Get a room fuckers!!!” And the peaceful silence is broken. On second thought, Izuku is amused at how easily Dabi has accepted him, not even mentioning it. He shoots Tomura a questioning glance and he snorts before responding.

“He’s waiting on Himiko. She’ll ask the questions for him, and he trusts me enough for this.” He can’t help but think how sweet that was, it reminds him of his relationship with Shouto. Izuku sees Dabi begin to protest, and promptly ignores him, not paying attention. Sometime during the exchange, Tomura had moved to sit on the couch, and Izuku followed, sitting on his lap. He pulled Tomura down, and quickly pressed his lips against that of his boyfriend.

The two continued on as such, not paying attention to the surroundings, until they hear a sharp squeal, and a knife comes flying at Izuku. He snatches it easily, and chucks it into the wall, landing right beside Toga.

“IZUKU,” Toga shouts in excitement. “Why are you here? Are you and Shiggy dating? Can I have some blood? How did you get here?” Izuku chuckles slightly.

“Relax Toga, I’m not going to bolt just yet, I have until tomorrow morning at last to be back at UA. Shouto can only cover for me for so long.” Izuku sees Dabi flinch at the mention of his brother, and promises to himself to talk to Dabi about the issue later. “Well, I’m here because Tomura brought up the idea of me helping you with your quirks later, seeing as I had some ideas. Although, seeing as you have a lot of other questions, today may not be the best day for that. To answer the rest of your questions Toga, we’re dating, you can have some blood, but you can’t use it to sneak into UA,” he hears Toga screech excitedly at his agreement, and smiles, “We got here through one of Kurogiri’s portals, so I don’t know where the base is, even if I had wanted to turn you in, which, I don’t.”

“Speaking of questions, I’ve got some personal ones for you Dabi. You aren’t getting out of them, but, I think you’d like to do it privately. So, where should we talk?” Dabi speaks up in protest, but Tomura interjects swiftly.

“It’s impossible to avoid his questions. He’ll have a lot about both of your quirks later. It’s best to just get them over with.” Izuku huffs amusedly. Dabi grimaces, but offers his room. Izuku slowly climbs off of Tomura’s lap, and with a quick peck on the cheek, he follows Dabi.

“What did you want to talk about, squirt?” Izuku takes a breath, preparing for a huge reaction.

“I know you’re Touya Todoroki.” Izuku is right, Dabi’s reaction is abrupt and loud.

“What the fuck? What makes you think that?” Dabi is screaming, and Izuku waits for him to finish before continuing.

“I haven’t told Shouto.” He sees Dabi breathe a sigh of relief. “But at some point, he will find out. I’ll give you time to process this, but eventually the two of you will meet.” Dabi exhales,

“How did you know?” Dabi questions immediately.

“Your eyes. Your burns. Your skin isn’t meant to make hot fire, you’re meant to make cold fire. You’ve been using it all wrong.” Dabi looks genuinely hopeful, and Izuku smiles.

“Do you think you could help me with making cold fire, then?” Izuku giggles, not used to his quirk analysis skills being taken into consideration.

“Of course. I’d be happy to help when I next see you.”

Later in the afternoon, they’ve all been dressed and have settled down, when Toga brings up another question. “Hey, why’d you give us the information on Endeavor, anyway?” The question catches Izuku off-guard, perhaps the reason why he answers with so much honesty.

“I knew Dabi and Shouto would both appreciate him being dead, and to be honest, I would too. I know how it feels, and for everyone to look the other way, just because they have potential as a hero. Sure, explosions and fire aren’t the exact same, but close enough. I know how taxing it can be, how consuming it feels. I’m just glad I decided not to take Bakugou’s advice and take a swan dive off the roof.” The room falls silent, heavy with what Izuku had just revealed, and he quickly becomes horrified after processing what he’d just revealed.

“Izuku,” Himiko begins, “Why were you bullied?” She sounds so small when she speaks, he wishes he could help more. Well, fuck it, he’d revealed too much anyway, what was another drop in the bucket?

“I used to be quirkless. I got my quirk the day of the UA entrance exam. I say my quirk out of habit, it’s not. It was given to me by All Might. He offered it to me after I ran headfirst into a villain fight to save Bakugou.” The room is quick to accept him, making it very clear that even if Izuku had still been quirkless, they’d accept him. And wasn’t that something, that they didn’t mind. Even his friends would’ve kicked him to the curb. They’re bad friends, the voice in the back of his head whispers. He continues to ignore it.

“So… moving on from my traumatic backstory..” Himiko lets out a giggle at the bluntness of it all, and Dabi’s lips twitch into the ghost of a smile. Izuku knows that in a few hours, he’ll have to rejoin the real world. He’ll have to go back to UA. But for now, he simply enjoys his time with the league. Cooking lunch with Kurogiri. Offering Toga blood and having her smile so happily. Debating with Dabi the most painful possible way to kill Endeavor. Kissing Tomura, cuddling into his chest. He’ll smile, eyes filled with melancholy, as he turns away and steps into the portal, returning to UA alone. But in this moment, Izuku is happy.

Chapter Text

Returning to UA is a little tough, after hanging out with the league. It’d been nice to meet them, Izuku thinks, off of the battlefield. Really, they were quite well adjusted, considering Kurogiri being a nomu, Dabi being a Todoroki, Tomura having been brainwashed by his sensei, Toga’s, or Himiko as she’d asked to be called, upbringing in the streets, and constant hunger. Really, it’s a miracle that they were all still alive.

He exhales and rapidly discards his train of thought. He’s back at UA now, and he has to focus. He grabs his hero suit, quickly pulling it on, hoping nobody notices the evidence of his encounters. Unluckily for him, Kirishima happens to glance his way and spots his bruised skin.

“Who did that to you?” Izuku winces. Maybe if he plays dumb, Kirishima will forget it.

“Did what?”

“You have bruises on your neck, like someone was choking you.” Izuku shifts his weight nervously from foot to foot, and scratches the back of his neck.

“I’m fine.” By then, Kirishima’s loud questions have brought all eyes his way. In Shouto’s, he sees a hint of apology, and something that looks like… disgust? He chuckles. He’s sure Shouto didn’t exactly want to know more details about his sex life, but it’s a little too late for that.

“Midobro,” Kaminari begins, “Those are definitely handprints.” He takes a step back, defensive. He barely keeps from letting a ‘Why do you care now?’ slip out, instead opting to brush it off.

“It’s fine, Kaminari.”

“If you are hurt, I will have to report it to Aizawa-sensei.” Shit, why Iida? At least Mina wasn’t here, she would’ve likely connected the dots by now. And Uraraka, she’d be pissed. Except, the girls might be listening in. But it’s too late to stop it now.

“Iida, leave it be. I’m not injured, and I don’t need it healed.” Iida blinks in confusion.

“But those bruises are clearly from someone attempting to strangle you, and it was clearly not reported to UA.”

“DEKU,” Bakugou cuts in, “ARE THOSE FUCKING HICKEYS?” Fuck, he’d paused getting dressed as Kirishima had begun to argue, and his hero suit was still hanging off his shoulder on one side, revealing part of his collarbone, littered with hickeys. His vision blurred as his breaths sped up, but he managed to keep on his calm facade.

“It’s none of your business what I do in my spare time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to training.”

Pulling on the rest of his hero suit, he briskly exits the changing room, making his way over to the rest of the group, when he’s pulled to the side by a firm grip that’s sure to bruise later. It’s Uraraka.

“Deku, what the fuck were you doing making out with some random girl after you just rejected me? Were you leading me on this whole time, making me fall in love with you while you laughed with some random slut?” Izuku attempts to apologize, explain himself to her, but can’t manage to speak. He knows she doesn’t deserve an apology, he hadn’t done anything wrong, and yet here he was, having to take the blame again. Just like middle school.

He hadn’t noticed how he’d begun hyperventilating. How he’d been shrinking back, making himself smaller. He hadn’t noticed Uraraka continue to yell, before Shouto had stormed over, pulling her away and picking him up and carrying him bridal style. He hadn’t been listening to Uraraka whine about the unfairness, about her anger. He hadn’t heard how Shouto had demanded to be allowed to take him back to the dorms. He hadn’t realised they’d been walking across campus. He wasn’t aware of much of anything, until he came out of it later at the dorms.

“We’ve been excused from all classes today, so we have another two hours alone in the dorms. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop her earlier, I didn’t realise she would confront you during training, especially with Aizawa-sensei so near. I also had assumed he’d stop her.” Izuku leans into Shouto, cuddling into his side. He needs physical confirmation that Shouto won’t leave.

“It’s fine Shouto. It had to happen eventually.”

“But it didn’t,” Shouto sighs, clearly frustrated. “Aizawa-sensei or another student should have stepped in, and prevented it from escalating. It’s like they don’t care about us now. If this continues, we might have to leave UA.” Izuku’s breath catches in his throat. He hadn’t really thought of it prior to Shouto bringing it up, but it’s nice to know that if he leaves, Shouto will follow.

“If we did run away UA,” he continues, “I’ve been learning some hacking. I should be able to get some security camera footage that we can leak, if we want to make them look bad.” Izuku grins at this.

“Thanks for the offer Shouto, I’d say we should leave it alone for now, but if it doesn’t get better, we should consider it. If we do decide to flee later though, I think my boyfriend and his friends would let us move in with them.”

“Alright, but we’ve still got the rest of the day off, do you want to watch another movie?”

“No,” they both grimace a little at the idea. “We’ve watched a bunch recently already. Maybe we could play some MarioKart if you’re up for it?”

“You’re on!” The two rush to set up the console, and quickly lose themselves in the game, not hearing when, two hours later, the rest of the class enters the dorms, exhausted from training. The class doesn’t attempt to find them. The two of them play various games until it’s ten, and then eleven, then twelve.

“Maybe we should go to bed soon,” Shouto comments mildly. Izuku scratches the back of his neck, nodding.

“You’re probably right.” The two fall asleep in Shouto’s dorm room, curled up in the middle of the bed, surrounded by blankets.

-

Uraraka knocks lightly, entering when she hears an ‘enter,’ from Nezu. “So, you said you had information on who you thought might be the UA traitor?” Uraraka grins.

Chapter Text

Most of the class is even more upset at Izuku now, and he’s sure that if he wasn’t already being isolated and ostracized, they would have started now. He didn’t know why they were upset, it was none of their business, and if they had known who his boyfriend was, they would’ve said something. He cringes at the thought of the awkward conversation that would lead to, and the inevitable arrest and expulsion from UA. He won’t let that happen.

The class had been allowed to go off campus for the day, but had been assigned groups. He wasn’t sure whether he was really lucky, or really unlucky, since he had both Shouto and Bakugou in his group, as well as Kirishima. At least he didn’t have Uraraka in his group. Bakugou ends up making the decision for the group, Kirishima following his lead, and Izuku and Shouto not wanting to incur his ire. So, they end up going to the mall.

They split up inside the mall considering neither of the other two would talk to him, agreeing to meet up and return to UA in three hours. As the other two head to the right towards Bakugou’s favorite restaurant, he and Shouto go in the opposite direction. They wander aimlessly around the mall, before noticing a hero store, and he quickly tugs Shouto inside.

“Do you want to burn some Endeavor merch?”

“What?” Izuku snickers at Shouto’s confusion.

“You have his credit card right? So we can buy a bunch of his merch, with his own money, and then burn it all. C’mon.”

Shouto is left standing there in shock, as Izuku flits around the store. “Hmmm, I don't think these water bottles will burn, so maybe we should leave them… These plushies will though! And these shirts! And…” Shouto finally begins to process what Izuku has said, and he lets out a small smirk. He begins wandering around the store as well, looking for merch to burn.

By the time the pair are done, it’s been an hour and a half already, so they figured they’d have to be quick if they wanted to burn it. The look on the cashier’s face when they’d come up to the desk with all the flammable Endeavor merch in the store was priceless. (What kind of fire hero has flammable merch, Izuku wonders.) She’d given them an even bigger ‘what the fuck’ look when they’d paid with Endeavor’s card. He snorts, knowing he’ll have to tell Dabi later, or show if he manages to snap a video.

Half an hour later, they find an area filled with trash and decide to burn the merch on it, knowing it won’t spread to any buildings nearby. It smells like mouldy food, but it’s worth it. It takes them another half hour to stack all the merch in a pile, as it keeps collapsing.

“I guess Endeavor plushies weren’t really meant to be stacked 15ft high on top of each other.” They grin at the completed pile, and Shouto begins to fire up his left side, and rapidly produces a fireball, throwing it at the pile. The Endeavor merch is quickly caught up in a blaze, and it burns quickly. Izuku stares at the fire, mesmerised. He jolts in surprise when he hears an alarm go off, irritated, but quickly realises it’s his own.

“Shit, Shouto we’ve got to go, we have to be in the meeting spot in five minutes.” A look of horror washes over Shouto as he realises how far they are. He immediately freezes what little remains of the merch, before letting it melt away. It doesn’t even look recognizable anymore. At least, Izuku thought, he’d thought to get a video for Dabi. The two of them race to the meeting spot, arriving drenched in sweat just as they see Bakugou and Kirishima walk into view.

“You smell like shit,” are the first words out of Bakugou’s mouth.

“To be fair, we did end up in a landfill.” Izuku buries his face into his hands, not having planned on telling the others.

“What were you-”

“We’ve got to go, we’re cutting it close, Aizawa-sensei wants us back in half an hour.” He cuts Bakugou off quickly, and pulls Shouto along, leaving the other two to speedwalk to catch up.

They’re about five minutes away from UA, when suddenly Bakugou freezes, eyes landing on a trio of… teenagers? Young adults? A trio of people with large hoodies swallowing their forms, and heads lowered. But is that… Dabi? His scars aren’t too noticeable, but when he’d stared, he’d spotted the staples with the sunlight glinting off of them. Shit, that means the other two are Himiko and Tomura, and Bakugou had definitely spotted them.

“Kacchan, let’s go,” Izuku pleads loudly, hoping to diffuse the situation. He sees Tomura turn towards the voices, spotting the quartet of students. Their eyes meet, and Izuku flashes him a pleading glare that tells him to run. He sees Tomura whisper something to the other two, and they begin quickly moving through the crowd, away from the heroes in training.

Bakugou, of course, ignores Izuku and launches himself at Tomura, screaming ‘DIE,’ at the top of his lungs. Tomura barely has enough time to turn and dodge out of his way.

Civilians around them are panicking, but he needs to prevent Bakugou from killing the league. He knows Bakugou won’t hold back, and civilian casualties aren’t something Bakugou will take into account. He turns, shouting at Shouto and Kirishima to help the civilians evacuate.

“We can’t take on the LOV by ourselves, but Kacchan won’t listen. I’ll try my best to get them to deescalate and capture them, but you two need to focus on getting the civilians out of here so none are injured in the fight. GO!” He looks just long enough to see the two begin to carry out his orders, dutifully herding civilians away from the fight.

Bakugou continues attempting to attack the league. Dabi manages to burn Bakugou slightly, catching him as he dodges decay, and Izuku has to hide his snicker at the revenge he can tell is intentional, based on the location of the burn. Bakugou’s shoulder is burnt enough that it’ll definitely scar. Izuku quickly thumbs out a text on his burner phone to Kurogiri’s number, a new addition after spending the night at the LOV’s bar, letting him know the location. He doesn’t wait to see if the text gets read, knowing Kurogiri would see it, and instead jumps into the fray.

“Kacchan, you’re injured. Don’t irritate the wound, I can hold them off.” Izuku doesn’t like acting so cocky, but he can’t let Bakugou hurt them. Bakugou, however, grits his teeth and attempts to move, although he can’t.

Playing the part of hero, he draws the league’s attention to himself, by tackling Tomura, pinning his hands. “I texted him,” he whispers, low enough that only Tomura can hear. “Run, the other two will join the fight as soon as the civilians are all out of the way.” He grunts in pretend pain, shifting it to look like Tomura had managed to pin him, quickly pushing him off.

He shoots a quick glance at Bakugou, seeing him cornered by the two other LOV members. He watches as Himiko sinks a knife into Bakugou’s wounded shoulder, collecting his blood, before moving to face Tomura once again. He knows it would be too risky to kiss Tomura now, but god does he want to. Seeing the look in Tomura’s eyes, he knows that Tomura knows exactly what he’s thinking, and agrees wholeheartedly. The look he’s giving Izuku promises to smother him in affection as soon as he next visits the base, and it makes Izuku weak in the knees. He couldn’t help it, having Tomura on top of him was hot, okay?

He shakes his head, discarding the fantasies for a later date, and moves to attack Tomura again, before he sees Kurogiri’s portal appear. A small smirk crosses Tomura’s face, and he winks, before calling out for Dabi and Himiko, who quickly abandon the injured Bakugou and move to flee into the portal. The last of them he sees before they disappear into the portal is a quick middle finger Dabi gives to the returning Kirishima, who he sees running towards Bakugou, before they’re gone entirely. Playing the part of a weary hero exhausted after a life or death battle, he collapses to the ground.

He’s unharmed, he tells the teachers, but upset that he was unable to capture them. He sees All Might flinch at the fact that he’d been caught up in another battle with the league. Izuku supposes that it might be guilt, for not warning him that the league would be after him for his quirk. Izuku suppresses a laugh at the thought, his brain will be far more useful to the league than his quirk.

“It’s alright Midoriya,” Eraserhead’s voice is soothing, trying for reassurance. “You two are students, and if fully-fledged heroes couldn’t capture the LOV, you wouldn’t have been able to either.” Izuku, of course, does not need to be comforted about not capturing the league, but he plays along.

Those fuckers are going to get caught soon if they don't improve, he worries. Dabi needs support gear to help with his quirk, Himiko needs a proper outfit that can change with her, and Tomura needs gloves that are more easily removable. They all need some way to contact Kurogiri without their phones, perhaps an item of jewellery of some kind, with a hidden button. And they all could do with more training. Especially quirk training, since all three of them, (not counting Kurogiri) were misusing their quirk in some way. Dabi’s flames were too hot, Himiko wasn’t getting enough blood, and wasn’t using the quirks of the people she transforms into, and Tomura had no clue how to turn his quirk off. Next time he visits them, he decides, he’ll be sure to get them to do some training.

Chapter Text

Izuku was really hoping that the rest of his class would’ve stopped ignoring him now. Shouto was great, but it was hard just having one person to lean on and his visits with Tomura were limited. He couldn’t even take the edge off of their harsh stares since apparently it was unheroic to drink. Not that Izuku disagreed, he just missed Tomura.

Fuck, it hurt. It hurt to be away from his boyfriend, worried about whether or not he was going to be okay. The league didn’t even know how to use their quirks properly, nor were their fighting skills enough to prevent them from getting captured, should Eraserhead be able to nullify their quirks. He needed to train them soon, hopefully he’d be able to sneak away tonight. It was Friday, so he’d have the weekend off to help.

Izuku clutched the straps of his bag tightly, clenching his fists. He really didn’t want to go to class today. He was worried about the league, and the stress of hiding such a large secret was catching up to him. His classmates’ empty stares did nothing to help. For a moment, he began to wonder if he would have been better off if this whole mess had never happened. If he had never met Tomura. But Izuku knew that he would have rejected Uraraka either way, and while his classmates might have been over it by now, their dynamic still would’ve been rather fractured. He didn’t really fit into the class family anymore, and it hurt. God, it hurt.

But being away from Tomura hurt more. Izuku needed Tomura. He wasn’t sure when that had become true, but now, it was just a fact of his life. Izuku needed Tomura. He wasn’t sure what would’ve happened if they hadn’t met, but Izuku knows he doesn’t regret it. Even if he had to abandon being a pro-hero for Tomura, he would. He wanted to be Tomura’s hero more than anything. Besides, he could still save people without a hero license, vigilantism was only illegal if you used your quirk.

If he did decide to leave, he wouldn’t really be able to use his quirk. It stood out, and people would connect the dots. If Shouto left, he’d be better off, still being able to use his fire without suspicion, although his hair and scar was too recognizable. Izuku’s freckles and hair were also pretty unique. If they left, he decided, he would make sure to find makeup and something to cover their hair. When they became vigilantes, what would his name be? Maybe Viridian? Like his eyes? Or Foxglove, after the flower? Nightshade? That would make him sound dangerous though, and it needed to sound hopeful. Enigma, maybe? Hmm, he’d put a pause to his ideas for now, he’d need to think.

How about for Shouto? Izuku had to muffle a snort at his first idea. As funny as it was, he didn’t think Shouto or Dabi would appreciate him suggesting the name Daddy Issues. Not that he’d ever suggest it of course, just that it would be amusing for Endeavor to have to call him that, if they ended up encountering each other. Shouto’s name wouldn’t really be able to elude to his ice side, since that was what they’d expect him to use, although since they weren’t going to use quirks, maybe it would be better if it didn’t relate to his quirk at all. Atlas maybe, since Shouto had had to hold the weight of Endeavor’s expectations for so long. Crimson, to match with Viridian? Phoenix, rising from the ashes of his father’s expectations? He’d be free from Endeavor soon, so it fit.

Huh, when had this turned into a ‘when we run away,’ instead of ‘what if?’ Izuku wasn’t sure if he liked the implications he had created, but he couldn’t find it in himself to disagree, to say it’d never happen. If anything, it was looking more and more likely. Izuku wasn’t entirely sure that Shouto would run with him, if he did run, but maybe if he talked to Dabi… Izuku didn’t want to push Dabi, so he’d leave it for now, he’d wait for Dabi to come to him. Besides, Shouto would likely come anyway, even if it would be significantly more messy when the truth did come out.

He recoils in surprise, feeling a hand coming gently to rest on his shoulder. He turns and sees Shouto behind him. “You missed class, Izuku.” His voice is soft, sweetly sorrowful. Izuku knows it’s killing Shouto that he can’t do anything, but being there is enough for now.

“Sorry.” He releases his tight grasp on the straps of the bag, running his fingers along the indent in his palm.

“My father has demanded I come see him this weekend, to discuss my quirk. Will you be okay on your own, or will you be able to see your partner?” Izuku tugs at his hair, avoiding eye contact. He wishes he could do something to Endeavor, but patience is key for this. Taking out such a popular hero will have an impact that sends ripples throughout society. They need to plan accordingly, to make sure it all goes well and isn’t traced back to him. Izuku agrees cautiously, demanding to be texted if anything goes wrong, and watches as his best friend fades into the crowd.

An hour later, Izuku is standing just inside the door of the league’s base, exiting Kurogiri’s portal and watching it fade from existence, the universe patching the tear that had been made in its fabric. The league is much softer this time, not so caught off guard, and Izuku not revealing any personal secrets. Still, it isn’t completely gentle, as Himiko quickly pounces on him, enveloping him into a hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” the girl squeals loudly. She releases her grip and offers him a hand as he stands back up. That’s not entirely surprising, Himiko is very high energy, and he’s aware of that. What’s more surprising is the gruff thank you from Dabi, for texting Kurogiri. He presses a gentle kiss to Tomura’s lips, letting the stress of the day melt away.

“Sorry I’m a little tired today, it’s been stressful these past few weeks.” Izuku carefully avoids eye contact. “I have the weekend free, so I can stay here until Sunday, meaning that hopefully later I’ll be able to help with your quirks. I missed you.” He melts into Tomura’s lap, curling his legs to avoid kicking Dabi off the couch.

“I thought you only really got weekends off? Why were you out the other day when we saw you? Plus, isn’t your class giving you the cold shoulder?” Dabi’s question makes him pause for a brief moment.

“We were assigned groups and allowed to go off campus for a few hours, probably Aizawa-sensei tired of the restlessness. Oh, that reminds me!” Izuku digs around in his pocket for a short moment, pulling out the correct phone and pulling up the video, handing the phone to Dabi. “I thought you might like to see this, so I took a video.” Dabi hits play, and watches it run through for the length of the video, before handing the phone back while cackling like a mad man.

“That’s hilarious.” Dabi’s eyes are watering slightly, as he clutches his stomach, still chuckling.

“What was the video?” Tomura asks curiously.

“It was a video of Shouto and I burning some Endeavor merch.” Izuku awkwardly avoids their gazes, focusing on the floor.

“Some?? Some Endeavor merch??” Dabi’s laughter has died down by now, but he’s still grinning wildly. “I’d say it was a lot more than some. The whole store, more like.” Izuku buries his face in his hands to hide his blush.

“It was only the flammable stuff.” This sets Dabi off again, the rest of the league joining in.

Izuku sighs, getting up, ignoring the small whine Tomura lets out. “I’ll be back, Mura, just give me a sec. I want a drink, since I’m not doing anything important tonight.”

“I’m not important?” Izuku squeals at the comment, face flushing wildly as Dabi bursts into another laughing fit and Himiko pouts slightly.

“I’m a minor,” Himiko reminds them, dodging Tomura’s gloved hand swatting at her. Tomura was still wearing his gloves, Izuku noticed, smiling.

“Mura?” Tomura questions, “That’s new.” Izuku blanks, and Tomura comes up behind him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “For the record,” Tomura whispers, “I think it’s cute.”

Chapter Text

Izuku’s eyes blink open, catching the morning sunlight shining through a crack in the window. It’s warm. His eyes blink shut again, intent on staying in bed. Tomura shifts slightly, snaking his arm around Izuku, holding him close.

“Mura…” There isn’t much to be said, they’re both tired and neither of them wants to get up. Izuku squirms gently, managing to turn around to face his boyfriend. Wrapping his arms around his neck, he tilts his head upwards and gives Tomura a soft kiss. Tomura responds in turn, deepening the kiss.

“Next time, it’ll be someone else’s job to wake you up,” Dabi grumbles, startling them apart. Izuku flushes bright red at being caught making out, and even more so when he realises that what had occurred the previous night is on display all over both of their skins. Apologies begin tumbling out of his mouth, but Tomura only chuckles as Dabi rushes to close the door.

“I suppose he makes a good point, we’d better get up, little hero.” Izuku whines pleadingly, but Tomura climbs out of bed, pulling on a hoodie and sweatpants. Izuku sighs in defeat, giving in and climbing out of bed.

“Make sure to wear something that’ll be good for training, I want to help you all with your quirks today.” Silencing Tomura’s protest with a soft kiss, he digs through his bag to find some of his old training clothes, changing into them, before pulling Tomura outside of the room to the kitchen.

Kurogiri has already made breakfast, and Izuku offers a quiet thanks before pulling out the seat next to his partner. The breakfast smells delicious, and the league scarfs it down rapidly. Izuku clears his throat.

“So, you three are all missing something important in your quirk. Tomura, you can’t turn it off. Himiko, you should be able to use the quirks of the people you transform into. Dabi, your fire is too hot. Lucky for you, I should be able to fix that. Afterwards, we’ll practise your hand to hand since your combat skills are lacking.” He silences their protests with a quick gesture. “Dabi, you’re up first.”

“You’ve got the skin of an ice quirk user, correct?” At Dabi’s nod, he continues, “It is very rare that your body would have such a harsh reaction to your quirk, seeing as your quirk is typically made to work for your body. You can control the temperature of your flames, yes?” Dabi nods again, confusion evident across his face. “So the problem is, you’re making hot fire. Your quirk is meant to be used to make cold fire. So, today, try practicing with cold flame.”

“Himiko, have you tried to use other’s quirks?” He gets a soft yes in response. “Have you considered that there might be a second trigger to use their quirks, or maybe you didn’t have enough blood.” Himiko’s face lights up at the suggestion, nodding violently. He hands her some blood he had managed to sneak from recovery girl’s office, of a student with a quirk that allowed them to manipulate fluids.

“Tomura, you should be able to, when calm, control it. The quirk is likely affected by your emotions. Honestly,” Izuku sighs, “It isn’t even that hard, I think All for One just kept it from you because you were easier to control angry like that. Just having been around you for as long as I have, you’re almost always stressed. The only times I really see you calm are with me, and you always have your gloves on. Try to regulate your emotions, and see if you can figure out from there how to turn it off.”

“Himiko, you’re great at dodging, but you rely on your knives a lot. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s good to be prepared. You need to work on your kicks. Dabi, you need to work more on stealth and avoidance as opposed to pure brute force. You also currently have no way to attack someone that’s not right next to you, so you should try to find something to substitute that. Knives are great for that, Himiko or I could probably teach you.” Both Himiko and Dabi are lying on the floor, exhausted from the rough training. Izuku is a little tired, but considering how hard Eraserhead has them train, he thinks, he’s fine to do one more round.

“Tomura,” Izuku’s grin is wild, eyes locked on his partner. He looks a little… animalistic, one might say. He leaps, tackling Tomura to the ground, managing to scratch at his chest, before he’s knocked off of his boyfriend, hitting the ground with a thud. Immediately, he’s back on his feet, on guard. He sees the kick coming for him, and dodges, wincing as he feels the air move. Too close. He darts forward, pinning Tomura to the wall, attempting to force him to yield. He’s swiftly flipped, hands around his throat, pressed against him. He looks so pretty like this, Izuku can’t help but think, with the same crazed look in his eye that I get. He leans forward to kiss his partner, and Tomura flushes red at that, hold loosening, allowing him to slip out. He pushes Tomura to the ground, trapping him.

“Keep it in your pants you two, none of us want to see that.” They both flush at the sound of Dabi’s voice, remembering they have an audience. Himiko is shrieking, covering her eyes, and Dabi is awkwardly avoiding looking at the pair.

“So,” Izuku’s voice is a little raspy, “You were easy to distract. You can’t let go of someone in a real fight like that. They probably wouldn’t distract you in the same way, but there are a lot of other ways to distract you. You’re pretty decent at fighting, but you need to figure out how to throw a proper punch.”

The trio of villains lies half-dead at his feet. After the fights, he had supervised them training their quirks, and all three had improved drastically. Tomura would still wear gloves, which was what Tomura had decided, to prevent any incidents, but he had much more control over it, and was even able to turn it off for five seconds. Dabi had managed to get his flame into the realm of cold, but would need a few more sessions before he was cold enough to hurt. Luckily, he wouldn’t need to be there for the other sessions since they had all begun to understand what they needed to do. Himiko was perhaps best off, having managed to figure out the trigger she needed for the student’s quirk, and would be looking for more blood to practise with. He felt bad that they couldn’t offer their blood to train with, but all of their quirks would be too destructive while she was still figuring hers out.

“Do we even have to be villains anymore?” Himiko groans tiredly. “Fighting is so hard and we could just be normal again. Like, I know we can’t just disappear back into society with how well known we are, but we could just find disguises for when we go out and we wouldn’t have to worry so much about being hunted.”

“I still want to kill Endeavor,” Dabi announces, cutting Himiko off. “I’m not opposed to stopping after him, but he needs to be killed. Maybe we can use it as an end to our plans, make it look like we died or announce our retirement or some shit.”

“Shigaraki, what do you think of this idea? I wouldn’t mind getting to retire,” Kurogiri admits. Izuku blinks in surprise. He’d been willing to accept them as villains, had even considered joining them. He knew that it would be good for him though, less risk of getting caught, and less worrying about Tomura and the rest of the league.

“I don’t know. Izuku can probably help us with hiding and a lot of stuff, but we wouldn’t be able to get jobs, so we’d have no income.”

Izuku grins at this. “Of course I could help, besides, I can definitely help with the money bit. Shouto steals a lot of Endeavor’s cards, and Endeavor never cancels them. He’s given me a few. Just be careful with what you buy.” He hands Kurogiri the plastic card, smiling softly. “And yeah, dealing with Endeavor would be a good idea. I’m worried about Shouto. If you really want, it’d make more sense to fake your deaths than to retire, seeing as I’m not sure people would believe you. Honestly, I’m willing to bet that Shouto would help, and I know I would. Just a little flame from you and Shouto, make it look like Endeavor’s, and boom, you’re dead.” Izuku grins at the startled faces of the league.

“Dabi, just let me know when you’re ready to talk to Shouto.” With that final sentence, he tugs Tomura away from the group, pulling him back to his room to finish what he’d begun in their fight.

Chapter Text

Izuku sighs, grabbing the glasses off of the bridge of his nose and wiping the fake lenses on his hoodie. Their compromise for going out on a date, disguises. He brushes the white hair of his wig out of his face, and turns to look at Tomura. Even with a short black wig and plain brown contacts, he looks so pretty. Izuku gives him a quick peck on the cheek, dragging him into the bookstore.

“Awww, you sure we’re at the right place? The tattoo place next door looked pretty appealing.” Tomura adopts a teasing tone, successfully flustering his partner, if the bright red flush spreading across his neck and face are any indicator.

“W-well… maybe, if you wanted to?” Izuku raises his hands to his face, covering them anxiously. “I mean, I doubt anyone other than Shouto will notice, and he won’t tell. He already knows I have a partner anyway.” The awkward silence causes Izuku to bury his face deeper into his hands, worrying about his partner’s reaction. He’s quick to blurt out the rest of his thoughts, scared of what his response might be. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to of course, I promise if it was just a joke then I won’t be mad.” He locks his gaze onto Tomura’s, seeing a flash of what…? Lust? Possessiveness? Power? A look of something in his eyes, and the flicker of a wild grin flashing across his face.

“I was just teasing you, little hero. But if you’re up for it…? I wouldn’t be opposed. I, for one, think you’d be hotter with my name tattooed on you, maybe on your hip or thigh.” The look in Tomura’s eyes is definitely lust now, if it wasn’t already. Honestly, Izuku wouldn’t be opposed, but… “Unfortunately, you are still a hero. It’s not worth the risk. When you get one-” When did it become when he got a tattoo and not if? “-you’ll need to conceal it. If you decide to leave, I doubt they’ll take too kindly to the idea, and having something to identify you like that isn’t smart. Besides-” Tomura flashes the boy a wry smirk “-no one else needs to know you got a tattoo. Just for me. We can even make sure ours match.”

Izuku is a flushing mess, and has no idea how to respond. Luckily, his boyfriend takes notice and pulls him into the bookstore.

“Let’s go look at some books, love.” Izuku manages to snap himself out of his haze, falling into step alongside Tomura.

“Mura-” Izuku’s looking at him like he’s the moon, and Tomura is sure that if he had Dabi’s fire quirk, he’d be bursting into flames. “-what would we even get tattoos of? I’m not getting something crude-” Tomura lets out a chuckle at this, having seen how the greenette behaves when he’s not putting on a show. “-and I’m not going to get any kinky shit either.”

“Well, as much as I love you-” Izuku lets out a small gasp at the words, clutching Tomura’s hand tighter. “-I’m not getting something super sappy like flowers or hearts. It has to be something small though. Maybe we circle back to the name idea, just first names, that way it can be explained away if yours is noticed. I think that’d be hot too, property of Tomura.”

Izuku grips his sleeves tighter at this, face dusted with pink. “I said nothing kinky.” The villain snorts at this.

“Okay, okay, fair. We can cut out the property of part. For now at least.” That last bit is barely a whisper, but still, Izuku hears it. He blinks in surprise.

“If that’s what you want to get, I would do that. But if I get your name, you’d better get mine too.”

“Of course, little hero. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Oh god, Izuku thought, panicky. We’re really going to do this. Why did I agree to do this? The deep kiss Tomura pulls him into when he next looks his way reminds him. He sighs audibly.

“For the record, this was your idea, Mura, so if this goes wrong, I’m blaming you.”

It did not go wrong. A few hours later, and he’s looking at the ‘Tomura’s’ tattooed across his hip, entranced. Coming out of his stupor when he hears footsteps, he looks up and takes in the sight of his boyfriend. ‘Izuku’s’ is tattooed across his hip, a mirror of his, and he feels a flash of possessiveness.

“Mine.”

Yeah, tattoos were definitely a good idea. Now they just have to make sure nobody from the league finds out, or they’ll be teased relentlessly. Worse, having his class find out. But nobody will find out, it’ll be fine.

Chapter Text

If he gets caught with this, he’s screwed, and Izuku knows that. But they need help. Mura, Dabi, Toga, they’re not going to be able to avoid trouble forever. They need support gear. Toga needs clothes that work with her quirk and Dabi needs some clothes that’ll protect him from any burns, allowing him to keep his blue flames. They all need clothes that are better for stealth and won’t get damaged easily, especially since Mura now has to hide the tattoo he’d gotten. But they have no way to get support gear. Even if Izuku scrounges up the resources, none of them know how to make it. Which is why he’s taken in on himself to make it.

Sneaking into the UA support department was certainly easier than he’d thought it’d be. If he had a reasonable explanation, he’d bring it up to Nezu, but he doesn’t have a plausible reason as to why he was breaking in, and he isn’t willing to risk telling Nezu the real reason. With practiced ease, he slips against the wall, snatching some of the tech pieces and shoving them in his bag.

“Ah, shit,” he murmurs quietly, spotting Mei Hatsume’s long pink hair. She’s hunched over a desk, probably working on one of her babies. He’s got everything, so he makes a quick escape before she could notice him, but that was close. Too close.

What if he’d been caught? Shouto would come to his defence for sure, and end up getting dragged down with him. If they found his burner, they could trick Tomura, trick the league. They could break the trust the two of them had, make them think he’d turned traitor. His former friends were already shunning and ignoring him, but he was sure they’d get worse. He doesn’t want to be hurt again.

Bakugou would burn more explosions into his shoulder, telling him to take a swan dive again, would worsen his hearing even more. Ashido would melt him with her acid. Kirishima would punch him, and Iida would kick him into walls. Uraraka could drop him from heights enough to break bones, or even kill him if she wanted to. Kaminari could shock him, badly. Could use millions of volts. Sero could tie him up with tape, or Mineta could keep him in place. Yaoyorozu could make any kind of weapon, and make it painful. They had recovery girl too, there’d be no evidence of their crimes. Not that people would even care if he was hurt.

You’re okay, deep breaths Deku, you’re fine. He ducks into his room in a hurry, carefully stuffing the bag with all the parts in the back of his closet and burying it in blankets. It’s fine, nobody will find them. He’ll be fine, nobody knows. Not even Shouto. He doesn’t think he can handle it if Shouto renounces him if it comes out. He doesn’t know if he’d survive the ice and flames. He doesn’t think he could, seeing Shouto’s angry glares directed at him, or worse, watching him go back to being cold and stoic and empty. He’s-

“Izuku. Deep breaths.” That sounds a lot like Shouto, probably because it is Shouto. He can feel Shouto’s warm skin, his heartbeat against his palm. He draws in a deep breath. Tears streaming down his face slowing to soft sobs. “There we go. You’re fine, see. I’m here.”

“Thanks.” Izuku’s voice comes out small and quiet, muffled slightly in between sobs, but it doesn’t seem to phase Shouto, just causes him to move closer.

“Can I?” Receiving a nod from Izuku, Shouto moves closer, hugging him softly. “You’re okay now, we’re okay, I promise.”

At that moment, Izuku wants nothing more than to tell Shouto. To be able to confide in Shotuo. But if he spilled one thing, he thinks it’d all come out. He’s talked to Mura and the rest of the league about telling Shouto, and while hesitant, they’d trusted his judgement. Dabi had asked him to wait a little longer before telling him about his identity, and Izuku had agreed. He doesn’t want to put any pressure on Dabi, but Shouto will find out eventually and it’d be better for both of them if it was on Dabi’s own terms.

He can’t do that to Dabi though, and if he starts spilling a little, it’ll all come pouring out in a rush. Even if he managed to avoid spilling it, he wants Shouto to meet them eventually and if Shouto’s there long enough, especially with his conspiracy theorist tendencies, he’ll find out.

“Izuku,” a soft hand grabbing his own shakes him out of his stupor. Shouto’s hand. Right, he’s in his room, hugging Shouto.

“Sorry…” Shouto brushes it off easily, but Izuku can’t help but feel guilty for keeping it from him. He would want to know if Shouto was dating someone, and he’s also keeping the fact that his brother, his idol, is still alive. He knows he’s doing the right thing, but it still hurts. He’ll tell Shouto soon, Izuku promises himself that. He will, and if Dabi pushes it off too much longer, well, he’ll tell Shouto anyway. Dabi can’t keep it a secret forever, and he wants to keep Shouto’s trust. So he’ll tell him, soon. Very soon.

Chapter Text

Sneaking out on weeknights is always a risk, but the support items will make the league members a lot safer, and Izuku hates being so worried about them, so it’s an easy choice to make. He texts Shouto a quick goodbye before he sneaks out of the dorm.

Sneaking out of UA should be much harder, but Izuku’s had a lot of practice in stealth from hiding from his bullies for ten years, and the security is significantly aimed more at preventing unauthorized exits than entrances. Getting back in is always a little harder, but with Shouto helping him, it’s never too much of a challenge. If he ever stops sneaking out, he should probably let Nezu know, but for now, he’ll take all the help he can get. Obviously, it’s a little more difficult considering the large quantities of support gear he’s carrying, but most of it isn’t too bulky anyway.

The benefit of the support gear, as well as improving their quirk usages, is that it can act as a disguise. They look like normal clothes, and have color changing technology built into them, so it can help the wearer disappear into the crowd.

He wants to surprise the league, so only Kurogiri knows he’s coming. As he approaches the meeting spot, he can feel his heartbeat speed up. What if they’re upset because he didn’t ask them? What if they don’t like them? What if they don’t want to see him? Stepping into Kurogiri’s portal is usually a breath of fresh air, but tonight it’s heavy with worry. Izuku knows that, logically, the league will be delighted to see him, especially his boyfriend, but still, anxiety pools in his gut.

Stepping out of the portal into the main section of the bar, he can see the rest of the league relaxing. Kurogiri’s got some glasses laying out that he’s clearly been polishing, and they look beautiful. He can see Dabi napping on the couch and winces. The couch is too short for Dabi, he’s sure to be sore later. He can see Himiko hunched over on the counter, doodling away in her crimson sketchbook. He wonders if she’d show him the drawings if he asked. He sees his boyfriend, and nearly rushes over to hug him. He’s completely invested in a game, Cult of the Lamb, Izuku thinks it was called. He doesn’t want to interrupt the quiet domesticity that’s befallen the league’s base, so instead of greeting anyone, he sits in the corner and pulls out his sketchbook.

He’s been here for over two hours, and he’s surprised nobody has noticed yet. He had seen Himiko flip her page at one point, and wonders what she’s drawing. He’s nearly done with the scene, just adding the details of Dabi’s burns and staples, when he’s startled by a loud squeal, jolting Dabi awake and Shigaraki out of his game.

“IZUKU!!!” He looks up and barely has time to move his sketchbook out of the way before he’s being tackled, head smacking against the wall.

“When did the kid get here?” Dabi’s confusion causes Izuku to giggle lightly, watching him rub the sleep from his eyes before snapping to full awareness had been a little funny. Himiko climbs off of him, and he pulls his sketchbook back into his lap.

“You guys all looked so comfy, I didn’t want to interrupt. I think I’ve been here for about two hours now? Maybe three? I finished a whole sketch, but I didn’t get to shading, so that seems about right.”

“Ooooh, can I see? What did you draw? Did you draw us?” He stands up, handing his sketchbook to Himiko, preening slightly as compliments spill from her lips. He blinks, realising that his boyfriend was hugging him from behind, face digging into his curls.

“I missed you.” The admittance is soft, not what someone would usually expect from looking at Tomura, but he’s come to realise that the boy is much softer than he pretends to be. He smiles, basking in the warmth of his partner.

“Not to be a buzzkill, but usually you wouldn’t come on weeknights without a reason.” Dabi doesn’t look nearly as apologetic as he sounds.

Izuku sighs, detangling himself from Tomura and taking his sketchbook back, burying it in his bag. “You’re right, but it’s actually nothing bad, I promise.” He digs through his bag, pulling out multiple different articles of clothing. “I was able to make you guys support gear. It could be better, of course, but since I can’t ask for it to be commissioned, I had to make it myself with what materials I had managed to take. They look like normal clothes, but Dabi’s will help protect his body from the effects of his quirk, and Himiko’s should transform with her. Tomura, yours have gloves that are significantly easier to remove than your current ones, and you can make them skin tone, they’re thin enough that they won’t be noticeable if you do. It should help the four of you blend in when you have to go out, or in fights. Sadly, I can’t do much for Kurogiri, but it’ll still help him blend in. I hope you don’t mind that I didn’t ask, but-”

He’s cut off when Tomura shushes him, making grabby hands for the clothes. When he’s given his set, he unfolds it and holds it up. “Izuku, I don’t know why you think we wouldn’t like these, this is amazing.” He flushes, both from the praise, and embarrassment at not being able to hide his anxiety from the others. “Brat, you went out of your way to make us support gear, raising the risk of you getting caught, and putting in your time and effort, and you think we’d be upset???”

“So maybe in hindsight, worrying was kinda stupid, but tell that to my anxiety. You should probably make sure it works though, before you test it out in a real situation.”

With that, the mood of the room shifts to become much colder. “I think our next big attack would be against Endeavor, which we’ve been using your analysis and plans for. We’ll probably try to set the plan up for a week or two, but we’ve been preparing for this for the last few weeks, so I don’t want to push it off too much more.” Dabi’s voice is controlled, giving no hints at the excitement he knows Dabi’s hiding.

“Dabi,-” his stilted tone cuts through the silence of the room “-if the league plans on killing Endeavor soon, you have to let me tell Shouto, and you have to talk to him. I need to know whether he wants in on the plan, it would be helpful and he has as much right to kill him as you do.” He’s glad the league is finally making a move on Endeavor, he’s been hurting people for long enough, but he doesn’t want to leave Shouto in the dark. Plus, it’d be a great way for them to disappear, helping the civilians before perishing in the flames. Well, technically Shouto can’t be hurt by the flames, but they could make it seem like they’d been decayed. Then they wouldn’t have to worry about not leaving behind any bodies.

“Wait, why does Dabi need to talk to Endeavor’s son?” Tomura’s confusion is palpable in his voice. Right, he’s with the league. Okay, well at least this is something that isn’t his responsibility to explain.

Dabi sighs audibly, clearly not wanting to explain, but Izuku’s harsh stare doesn’t really give him a choice. “I’m Touya Todoroki, Endeavor’s dead son. Well, not so dead, but he might as well be, since I’m Dabi now. He’s an abusive asshole who deserves to die. That’s all you really need to know.”

Tomura chokes on air, and Himiko’s eyes go wide, mouth hanging open. Even Kurogiri’s surprised, if his face is any indication. Izuku’s not surprised, but he still suppresses a grimace at the barely concealed rage in Dabi’s tone.

“If you’re absolutely sure Shouto won’t tell anyone, you can tell him about the plan.” Betrayal flashes across Dabi’s face, before he nods, grim acceptance showing on his face.

“Fine, text him. But if he betrays us, I’m blaming you.” Izuku isn’t fazed by the harsh tone, growing up with Bakugou meant that anger didn’t really have an affect on him, so he pulled out his phone and began to type out a new text.

Izuku: I have a plan to kill endeavor and it involves your dead brother who isn’t actually dead just emo and has decided to change his name to dabi

Shouto: And you say I’m blunt. How soon are we killing him?

Chapter Text

As Shouto exits the portal into the bar, most of the league had expected to see some kind of major reaction on his face. Izuku, on the other hand, is not surprised to see Shouto’s face blank, with the exception of a small smile on the corner of his lips.

“I was right.”

Izuku snorts. Of course that would be Shouto’s reaction. “Yeah, yeah you were. Sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier, I was trying to wait for Dabi to be comfortable telling you but as I mentioned, I figured you would want to be involved in a plan to take down your father. I don’t particularly want to turn him into a martyr, but I also know the commission won’t allow his abuse to be revealed, and if so, they will call us a liar and we’ll just end up getting into more trouble. It would make sense if Dabi revealed himself before Endeavor was taken down in the flames. It’ll also allow the league to disappear, to allow them to be presumed dead and leave the spotlight. If you’re in on this, we can also help evaluate civilians since we’ll be aware of the plan ahead of time. I know you know that I’m not a traitor, but they need help.”

Izuku’s rambling is cut off as Tomura’s hands wrap around his neck and drape across his chest.

“Calm down, brat. I think he gets the point.”

Amusement is evident on Tomura’s face, and excitement graces Himiko’s. Dabi’s face shows a bundle of nerves and anxiety, clearly wanting to leave, afraid to face his brother for the first time in years. Shouto doesn’t give his brother a choice, and marches over to Dabi, pulling him into a hug. Dabi lets out a strangled gasp in surprise, but quickly wraps his arms around the younger boy.

Pulling back, he turns his cold gaze to his brother. “You left. Why? Touya, why did you leave?”

Dabi struggles to pull together a suitable answer, still shocked. Finally, he has a semblance of a response for the boy. “I… well the quirk accident was real. I really didn’t mean for it to get so out of control. It was a long time before I was back to being a real person again. When I came back, you were all fine. You’d moved on. It was a mix of ‘I didn’t want to open old wounds,’ and ‘I was too cowardly.’”

“Well, you’re here now.”

“I am.”

Shouto curls into Dabi, sitting next to him and leaning into him.

“So,-” Shouto’s directly speaking to Izuku now, “-how did you end up in contact with the league? Obviously, you’ve been in contact for a while now. Was your boyfriend an excuse to meet up with them? But you came back with hickeys and bruises, there’s no way that was made up, unless you’re hooking up with someone. You’re not hooking up with my brother, right?”

Everyone else in the bar chokes on air, as Himiko delves into chuckles. Izuku can see flashes of possessiveness on Tomura’s face, and places his hand over Tomura’s, grounding the boy. Dabi, however, is a scarlet red, almost as flustered as Izuku is.

“No, I’m not fucking your brother. What gave you that impression?” Both Dabi and Tomura redden considerably at the blunt response.

“Good. I would’ve been very upset if you didn’t tell me. I love you, but I don’t want you to be my brother in law. You never answered though, are you hooking up with someone, or are you dating?”

He sees Tomura glance at him with uncertainty, and he can almost hear the question in his eyes.

Without too much preamble, he turns around and gives Tomura a quick peck on the lips. He hears Shouto’s satisfied hum.

“I guess that explains the tattoo.”

“You knew about that?”

“What tattoo?”

“You got a tattoo and didn’t tell us, what the fuck?”

“I thought we were keeping it a secret.”

The bar erupts into chaos at Shouto’s revelation.

“I was practicing my hacking skills to annoy my father, and ended up happening into the school’s cameras. When you were sneaking in after your date, your clothes shifted so that I could see it. I can’t say I wouldn’t have pegged you for a possessive type, but it’s not entirely surprising.”

“Back the fuck up,” Dabi interupts. “What tattoos?” He sees Kurogiri shoot them a disappointed look, and Himiko’s excitement only grows.

“So…”

“You fuckers aren’t getting out of explaining this one.”

Tomura’s still in shock, so Izuku sighs and begins explaining.

“It was a spur of the moment decision, we were at the mall, in disguise of course, and he was teasing me about the tattoo store next to the bookstore we were in. I said that I wouldn’t mind, and well one thing led to another and we ended up getting tattoos.”

“What tattoos did you get?” Himiko’s genuine curiosity shines through, eager to hear about their choice.

“Izuku got his name tattooed on his hip,” Shouto deadpans. “I’d bet that his boyfriend got the same, or something similar.” At Tomura’s embarrassed blush, he knows he’s right.

Kurogiri lets out a tired sigh, clearly giving up on fighting the pair, since it would be hard to undo the decision and clearly the two wouldn’t listen to reason either way, and Dabi whistles teasingly.

“Welp, let’s just ignore this mess and move on. Shouto’s just got here, so maybe we should wait a little bit before continuing to plan for Endeavor, give him time to adjust to the fact that his dead brother is actually a villain and his best friend is dating another villain.”

His attempt to change the subject is painfully obvious, but Shouto takes pity on the pair of them, and quickly changes the subject.

“So, what now? If you don’t want to get any more planning done, we should find something to do in the meantime. We still have a few hours before we have to get back, and I would like to spend some time with Dabi considering I haven’t seen him in years. I am also sure you want to stay with your boyfriend for as long as possible, because it is unlikely the two of you are able to see each other very often.”

“All Might movie?”

“All Might movie.”

The villains groan, but are too tired to protest as the pair pull up an All Might movie on the bar’s television.

Izuku cuddles into his boyfriend’s hold, resting his head on his lap, sighing peacefully as the hand begins carding through his fluffy curls. It was a weight off his shoulders to have his best friend in on all his secrets, and to have confirmation of his lack of anger. For now, he could rest and relax with his boyfriend and friends.

Chapter Text

Kurogiri’s portal opens up in Izuku’s room, and the pair exit, followed by his boyfriend. Izuku startles as the hand touches his shoulder, not having realised that the villain had followed them.

‘What’re you doing here?”

“You said none of those brats ever come into your room. So it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“No, I guess not, although a warning would’ve been nice.”

Suddenly he’s grateful that he had the foresight to soundproof his room. This wasn’t something they could discuss where their classmates might hear them, especially with Jirou and Shouji each having advanced hearing. Collapsing onto the acid green bedsheets with a sigh, Izuku tucks himself into his boyfriend’s chest, staring through half-lidded eyes as Shouto seats himself at the end of the bed.

“It’s kind of weird that our classmates have been ignoring us for so long. Even if I was rude to Uraraka-”

“You weren’t being rude.”

“-they still should’ve stopped ignoring us by now. Unless they know something, but they don’t really have any way of knowing. I know it makes things easier, but I wish they would stop. Did I do something wrong, is that it?” Izuku blinks back tears as Tomura’s ungloved hand grasps his own, wrapping his fingers around Izuku’s own. Several deep breaths later, and he’s got his breathing back under control.

“Sorry. It’s just hard… it brings back bad memories.”

“Middle school?”

Izuku nods, and Shouto blinks slowly.

“I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Shouto. Why’re you apologizing?”

“I mean I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“I’m… fine now. It’s just kind of weird. I always thought UA would be so much better, and it’s somewhat better, but a lot of it hasn’t. I… I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.” Izuku’s grateful for his boyfriend’s calming presence, and smiles slightly as the fingers of his free hand trace the scars on his arm. “All Might wants me to be a limelight hero, the next symbol of peace. Not that he’s even talked to me recently, he’s been too focused on Bakugou. We could turn full-on traitor… but I think the league is tired of villany too. I want Endeavor gone, but the HPSC will never arrest him, so I want to do something about that, but I don’t want to get stuck in an eternal war between villains and heroes. I don’t want to leave one side just to join the other. I just want to save people, but I can’t do it as a hero, I’ll get sucked into the popularity contest, and civilians are afraid of villains. At this rate, I may as well become a vigilante. If I don’t use a quirk, I can’t get arrested, and at least that way, I’ll be able to save people without having to worry about a massive target on my back, if I can keep my presence mostly a secret.” He’s panting as he finishes his passionate rant, embarrassed by how loud he’d gotten, but the others don’t seem to mind.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea, brat.”

“I agree with Shigaraki.”

“Sorry, what’s not a bad idea? I was kind of ranting, and I forgot what I said.” Izuku buries his face in his boyfriend’s chest in embarrassment, ignoring the chuckling coming from the blue-haired man.

“You mentioned the idea of you becoming vigilantes. Your friend seems interested in joining you, and I think the league would follow you, if you wanted us to.”

Izuku wraps his arms around Tomura’s waist, squeezing tightly. “Of course I would want them to come with me. They’re my friends. Besides, I don’t think I’d want to do it if you couldn’t follow.”

Tomura’s hands wrap around Izuku’s back, startling him into letting go, and Tomura takes the opportunity to heft his boyfriend up so that they’re about eye level. He drags the greenette into a deep, heated kiss. It’s desperate and needy and heavy and dizzying. Izuku can feel his partner’s hands roaming over his skin, inching into his waistband, and he moans into the kiss. Until, that is, they’re startled by the sound of a bang, and the hands pause.

“Sorry.”

Shouto was in the room.

Oh shit! Shouto was in the room!!

The pair quickly separate, both blushing messes, as they stare at Shouto, who is reading on the floor. Izuku’s Endeavor notebook.

“Shouto, I’m so sorry. I forgot you were here, and I didn’t mean to get so carried away, and-” Izuku is abruptly cut off as Tomura’s hand covers his mouth.

“Why didn’t you warn us you were here?” Tomura hisses, trying to hide the bright pink blush that’s spread across his face.

“I didn’t want to bother you.” Shouto says calmly, ignorant to the embarrassment of the pair. “I was just going to read this and not interrupt you.”

“Next time, warn us.”

Tomura’s hand pulls away from Izuku’s mouth as he feels a tongue drag across it, and it’s quickly wiped across his sweater as he mumbles a short ‘gross’ under his breath.

“There won’t be a next time. Sorry Shouto, we’ll be more careful.”

“Speak for yourself brat.”

“I’m not an exhibitionist, and I’m not fucking you while other people are around.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be the one doing the fucking, now would you?”

“Mura.”

“You want me to stop, but you’re hot when you’re angry.”

“Tomura, seriously.” Izuku pulls at his hair tightly, yanking the boy’s head upwards.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop, sorry Izuku.”

“That’s better.” He releases his grip on Tomura’s hair, and he sees the boy collapse like a puppet whose strings were cut, rubbing his head in pain. He chooses to tactfully ignore his partner’s state of flusteredness to turn to Shouto, apologies tumbling from his lips.

“It’s fine, you’ve got your dog under control.”

“OH, YOU-”

“Tomura Shigaraki.” Almost as if Izuku can predict his partner’s movements, he grabs him by the hood of his sweater, preventing him from attacking the other boy.

“You’ve got him on a pretty tight leash.”

Shigaraki growls at this, attempting to tug off his sweater, before he feels a hand grip his hair.

“Tomura, stop trying to attack Shouto. Shouto, stop provoking him.”

“He even barks like a dog.”

“Shouto.”

“Fine.”

“Tomura?”

“Fine.” Izuku can hear him gritting his teeth, but he’s not outright trying to attack Shouto, so he’ll take it.

“With how loud you two got, Mura should probably go soon, so if anyone in the class decides to investigate, you won’t get caught.”

Tomura sighs, clearly displeased by the fact that he won’t be able to stay the night, but offers no protest as Kurogiri’s portal reappears. With a soft kiss pressed to Izuku’s lips, he’s gone, swallowed up by the swirling purple portal as it disappears from existence.

Just in time, Izuku thinks, as he hears a knock on the door. The door swings open, revealing a very tired Aizawa staring at the pair of them.

“The class reported loud noise coming from your room, and sent me to investigate. They said one of the voices didn’t sound familiar. It’s protocol for me to search your room.”

Izuku knew it wasn’t protocol, but was too tired to protest, exchanging looks of relief with Shouto. He had been careful to make sure that he had nothing incriminating, and it appeared it was going to pay off.

“You should probably go to your room now, you’ll want to be well rested for training tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Izuku.”

“‘Night, Shouto.”

Shouto turns to his dorm, and Izuku watches the door swing shut, before re-entering his room and collapsing on the bed, watching Aizawa search, and allowing his eyes to blink shut.