Work Text:
euphoria
Shouto never thought he’d have something like this.
Something like Izuku laughing against his lips, only pulling away to press his face into his neck. He grinned, trapping the shorter boy against his chest. Shouto felt like he was floating, soft laughs escaping him alongside the other teenager’s contagious giggles.
They fell backwards onto Izuku’s bed, the green-haired boy lying on top of him. Their laughter subsided and they simply laid there for a moment in each other’s arms. This was euphoric.
Never in a million years had he imagined Midoriya Izuku would return his feelings, much less confess to him. Shouto wondered how he could be this lucky. This wonderful boy was his boyfriend, as of a whole ten minutes. The idea had seemed so surreal hours ago.
“Ochako is going to kill me.” Izuku murmured with a giggle. He rolled off of him, lying beside him on the bed. His eyes were electric, full of that green lightning he loved.
Shouto smiled, glancing at him. “Why?”
“She and Ashido-kun bet that we wouldn’t start dating until the summer.” He said. Shouto felt a flash of courage and grabbed Izuku’s hand and intertwined their fingers. He grinned. “And Kaminari said he bet two thousand yen that we wouldn’t kiss until the third date.”
“Well, I guess a lot of our friends are going to be out of a lot of money. What else did they bet on?” The white-and-red-haired teenager asked.
Izuku shrugged. “They wouldn’t tell me anything else, I just overheard them saying that.”
Shouto’s smile became softer as his fingers brushed over the scars on his knuckles, noticing how each of his fingers bent unnaturally.
They were silent for a moment before Shouto was reminded of something entirely different than their friends and all their lost money. “My old man is going kill me.” He whispered. His smile faded with the words.
Izuku frowned and squeezed his hand. “I won’t let him hurt you.”
He turned over onto his back, gazing at the ceiling. Their joined hands rested on his chest. He wondered if the other teenager could feel his heart beating. It felt unnaturally fast.
“He doesn’t even know I’m gay. He still thinks I’m going to agree to some quirk marriage he sets up in a few years. I know he’s already scoping out potential woman for me. If he finds out we’re together...” Shouto paused and frowned. “I can handle him, I’m more worried about what he’d try to do to you.”
He couldn’t see his face, but he could imagine the expression he was making. A moment later, his boyfriend said, “He doesn’t have to know.”
Shouto glanced at him, then back at the ceiling. “The others don’t know about him, and I...I don’t think I want to tell them all the details, yet. If we’re together, it’s only a matter of time before Kaminari or Uraraka post something somewhere about us and it gets back to him or one of his agents.” Shouto sat up with a scowl.
“Then let’s not tell them.” Izuku said firmly. Shouto blinked, then turned and looked back at him again. Izuku sat up beside him.
“What?”
“We can keep it a secret, until you’re ready to tell them or until you disown your shitty dad.” He explained with that lovely, determined smile.
Shouto smiled bitterly in return. “I don’t think I can disown my father. Usually it’s the other way around, isn’t it?”
Izuku shrugged. “Whatever, but we can, you know, not tell people if you’re worried about him finding out.”
“You’re okay with that?”
His boyfriend nodded, bumping against his side. “I’m okay with whatever you want to do. I care about you and as long as you’re comfortable, I don’t have to have anyone else know.”
Shouto thought it over for a moment. “If you’re okay with it, then I guess we’ve got a secret relationship now.”
Izuku smiled, grabbing his hand again. They sat in a happy silence, enjoying each other’s company, then he suddenly spoke again. “Actually, do you think we could tell my mom?”
i : say my name
Keeping a whole relationship secret was much harder than Izuku had previously assumed.
He had, foolishly, assumed it would be easy. It was always easier on TV. Of course, even if it wasn’t, he’d make do. If Shouto wanted a secret relationship, then he would have one.
It wasn’t like Izuku had ever been in an actual romantic relationship, ever, so acting like he was still single wasn’t really that hard. The thing he didn’t account for, however, was that his friends would not just spontaneously stop pestering him about his feelings for his actual boyfriend.
“Do you want me to throw that away, too?” Shouto asked, pointing at his empty plate. He lingered by the edge of the table, his own plate in hand.
“Oh sure, thanks!”
“No problem.” He answered, grabbing it and walking away. Izuku stared after him for a moment. It really was unfair how attractive his boyfriend was. He still wasn’t sure what he had done to get Todoroki Shouto to actually like him back.
“Deku, your pining is showing.” Izuku jolted and reminded himself of the rest of the table. Ochako was giving him a cocky smirk.
“Shut up.” He hissed. She just grinned.
“You know, you could avoid all this if you just told him how you felt.” Been there, done that.
Izuku shrugged nonchalantly, glancing back to Shouto. He had stopped on his way back to the table to talk with Yaoyorozu. “It’s not like that.” He said, vaguely.
“I usually don’t like to meddle in people’s love lives, but I must admit, your feelings for Todoroki are rather obvious and it appears he feels rather similarly.” Iida added. Izuku really hoped he felt similarly, since they were dating after all. “I agree with Uraraka about this.”
“I think you should tell him too, ribbit.” Tsuyu added, not at all helpfully.
Ochako looked at him again, smirk revived with their friends’ approvals. “Just do it, Deku.”
“No.”
“Tell him.”
”Absolutely not.”
“Deku, I swear, anyone with eyes can see how gay you guys are for each other.” Ochako huffed.
“Bold of you to say, always whining about your crus-” Izuku accused, knowing she’d interrupt him.
“Hey!” Ochako waved him away, blushing. “Stop distracting us from the problem at hand. You like Todoroki-kun, so do something about it!”
Izuku huffed. “I am not going to tell Shouto that I like him.” He said firmly, not even realizing his mistake until the other three gasped.
“Shouto?” Ochako gasped, grinning. Izuku felt his face heat.
“W-Wait-“
“Since when did that happen?” Tsuyu pondered.
“I didn’t mean- I meant- Wait!” The green-haired boy waved his hands.
“Referring to each other by your given names implies that you’re quite close.” Iida noted, also unhelpfully.
“We don’t! I didn’t m-mean to-“
“What’s going on?” Izuku froze at the sound of Shouto’s voice.
This was it, he had given them away already. They had barely been together for a month. Shouto was going to hate him now.
“Oh, nothing.” Ochako hummed with a devilish expression. “Deku just called you by your given name, that’s weird, huh, Todoroki-kun?”
Traitor.
Izuku buried his face in his hands. Scratch what he told Shouto before, he was going to kill Ochako before she even could collect her bets.
His boyfriend just blinked, multicolored eyes flickering over to Izuku, currently dying. “Not really. He and I agreed to call each other by our given names a few days ago.” He slid into the seat beside him. “Izuku, are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah.” He didn’t understand how Shouto could be so calm and collected all the time. It wasn’t fair. Nothing about him was fair.
“Ah, that makes plenty of sense, you two are great friends!” He was pretty sure friends didn’t cover it, but Izuku didn’t dare say anything else. “I’m glad you are comfortable enough with each other to do that!”
“Wow, why didn’t you just say that, Deku?” Ochako snickered. He finally removed his hands from his face, wiping them on his pants nervously. He could tell she was disappointed that it hadn’t been more than that.
“I panicked.” He muttered weakly.
His friends laughed good naturedly at him and Shouto just smiled softly. He grabbed his hand underneath the table and squeezed it. Izuku smiled back, his blush lingering.
“I’m sorry I almost outed us at lunch.” Izuku said. Shouto leaned against him, his laptop playing an old movie the other hadn’t seen.
“It’s fine, it would’ve been hard to keep that part secret.” He answered. “Besides, I already called you Izuku in front of Momo and Jirou.”
“You did?!”
“They harassed me for days about it.”
ii : is that mine
“Oh, look at that!” Izuku tugged him over to an All Might clothing display. Nearly every type of clothing was there, all in bright reds, blues and yellows. “I kind of wanted another hoodie, I tore a hole in the last one when I went running in the woods.” He hummed, unfolding one and inspecting it.
“I’m shocked you don’t have plenty.” Shouto mused, standing beside him.
He never really got into collecting hero merchandise like most children, as if his father would ever allow anything like that, although Izuku was slowly but surely pulling him down that rabbit hole, too. He had given him his first All Might figurine for his birthday last year and it still had a reserved shelf in his dorm room.
His boyfriend stuck out his tongue at him, then looked back at the sweatshirts. Shouto glanced around, making sure no one else was in their area of the store, then he pressed a kiss to Izuku’s neck. The green-haired teenager squeaked, then turned and glared at him. “Shou, we’re in public!”
“No one’s around here.” He argued. Izuku rolled his eyes in defiance, then held up a hoodie that resembled a simplified version of one of All Might’s old hero costumes.
“What about this one?”
“It looks too small for you.” Shouto answered. While his boyfriend was shorter, he was surprisingly solid and muscular, something that usually wasn’t very obvious when he was wearing clothes.
“Well, yeah, I still have to look for my size, I’m just asking if the design looks good.”
“You look good in anything.”
“Liar. My hair is green, it clashes with everything I wear, according to Ochako.” Izuku argued, folding it and putting it back before he started looking at another hoodie.
“You telling me that? My hair is white and red.” Shouto deadpanned, inspecting the rows of clothes. “If it manages to match one half of me, it won’t match the other half, I guarantee it.”
His boyfriend snickered. “Yeah, I guess you win.”
Shouto picked up one and held it up. “What about this one? It’s soft.”
Izuku glanced over at him and his eyes lit up. “Hey, that looks like his Young Age costume!” He took it from Shouto and inspected it. “There’s not as much Young Age merch because that was part of the time All Might lived in America. But it’s an interesting design because it doesn’t have as bright of colors as the rest of his costumes. You know, there’s theories that All Might originally wanted more discreet costumes but then the agencies he worked with wanted him to be noticeable when he became the number one hero, so they made him design a different costume. I should ask him about that! It’s a shame, I really liked his Young Age costume.“
“You should get that then.” Shouto interrupted. No one could spout All Might information like Izuku. He loved listening to all the random facts his boyfriend knew.
Izuku looked up at him with wide eyes. “Oh, no way! I’ve only got three thousand yen, and I really wanted to get that book for my mom’s birthday next week.” He frowned, gently folding it and returning it to its spot carefully.
“What size are you?”
“What?”
“What size are you?”
“Uh, a medium, but it doesn’t matter, I can’t get it.”
Shouto pulled out one. “There’s no mediums, so I guess a large will have to work.”
“Shou-“
“What?”
Izuku frowned. “I don’t have enough money to buy it.”
“I know. I’m getting it for you.”
He blushed. “You don’t have to! I don’t want you to spend your money on me and my dumb All Might obsession! I know it’s annoyi-“
“First of all, your obsession isn’t annoying, I love it, like I love you.” Izuku squeaked and turned red. “Second, I want to buy things for my boyfriend, even if no one gets to know about it, and third, I will use any excuse I can to use my father’s credit card on All Might merch. So do you want it?”
His boyfriend fiddled with his fingers, blushing and looking away. Shouto smiled softly, he was so cute. “Y-Yeah.”
“Good, let’s go check out.” He pulled out a blue credit card with Todoroki Enji engraved in shiny letters on it’s front. Shouto tried to not grin like a maniac as the cashier printed their receipt.
“Oh, hey Brodoroki!” Kirishima chirped.
Shouto could easily recognize him without even turning away from his microwave. Not many people were as hyper as Kirishima this early in the morning, nor did many dare to give him nicknames like ‘Brodoroki’.
“Hm.” He grunted, watching the mug of water in the microwave rotate around and around. He was vaguely aware of Kirishima watching beside him.
“Uh, are you heating up water in a microwave?”
“Yes.”
“For tea?”
“Yes.”
“You know we’ve got a tea kettle around here somewhere. I’ve seen Yaoyorzou using it.” It had been years, but Shouto still couldn’t hear a kettle whistle without thinking of his mother. Kirishima didn’t know that though, so he couldn’t blame him for the comment.
“I couldn’t find it.” He lied.
“Ah.” Kirishima left him alone for a minute to dig through the cabinets for some sort of breakfast. He settled on a nutritious bag of Doritos.
Shouto poured his tea and sat at the table, staring out the window quietly. Although Izuku was much more of a morning person than him, he was at least pretty quiet and didn’t hold too much conversation when it was obvious Shouto was still waking up.
Kirishima was not like Izuku.
“I like your sweatshirt.”
“Thanks.”
“It looks familiar.”
“Okay.”
Kirishima was silent for a moment longer, the smell of Nacho Cheese Doritos lingering in the air. He suddenly gasped. “I know why it’s familiar, Todoroki.”
He took a long sip. “Congratulations.” The white-and-red-haired teenager finally said.
“It’s Midoriya’s.” That actually managed to get a reaction from him.
Shouto raised an eyebrow and actually looked down at the sweatshirt he was wearing. It was, in fact, the Young Age All Might sweatshirt he had bought for him a few months ago. He must have left it in his room and Shouto had just grabbed the closest thing to him when he woke up. It was soft and fit him loosely, since it was already big on Izuku. It smelled like Izuku, too. No wonder he felt so sleepy, the sweatshirt was incredibly comfortable and also smelled like his boyfriend whom he loved.
Shouto forgot to respond to Kirishima, so the redhead spoke again. “Dude, I’ve only been here like ten minutes and you’ve already like snuggled into that like five times.”
“It smells good.”
He snorted. “You really like him, don’t you?”
“I love him.” Shouto corrected and Kirishima choked on a Dorito. Of course he loved Izuku, they had already said it to each other plenty of times.
“Dude, are you sure? I mean, love’s a really strong wor-“
“I have really strong feelings.”
Kirishima looked like he wanted to talk about it more, but thankfully his boyfriend swooped in and saved him again. “Good morning, Kirishima-kun!”
“Oh, hey Midorbro...”
“Morning.”
Izuku grabbed a granola bar from the pantry and sat beside Shouto. “What were you guys talking about?”
Shouto summoned one of his infamous icy glares and sent it Kirishima’s way. The redhead looked like he’d rather be anywhere else now. “Oh...nothing. I’m going to go now.” He quickly grabbed his Doritos bag and left.
Izuku munched on granola before he finally turned to Shouto. “What’d you say to him?”
“Absolutely nothing.” He sipped on his tea.
The green-haired boy snorted. “Yeah okay, he looked like you threatened his family.”
“I would never. I just told him I loved you.”
Izuku blushed a little, looking at him. “You know, sometimes I think I’m better at keeping this a secret then you are.” He huffed, popping another chunk of granola bar in his mouth.
Shouto shrugged lazily. “He asked if I liked you, so I had to correct him.”
Izuku laughed softly. The kitchen was peaceful with just them, Izuku leaning against his left side to try and regain a little warmth, the smell of tea lingering in the air.
For a moment, Shouto wondered what it would be like to do this for the rest of his life, wake up with Izuku by his side, make breakfast for him or maybe coffee, or maybe they’d lie together in bed for a few hours. His heart skipped happily with the thoughts.
“Shou?” Izuku murmured.
“Hm?”
“Are you wearing my sweatshirt?”
“Maybe.”
iii : i see you’re taken
Shouto was an incredibly attractive person and he was probably the only one still unaware of that fact. He would deny any complements about his appearance for hours, still convinced that his ‘pretty boy’ nickname was a joke, no matter what Izuku told him.
Not only was he was attractive and beautiful, he was smart and powerful and by the time their third year rolled around, most of their school knew his face and most of these things, too.
This resulted in confessions.
Lots of confessions.
There were girls and boys from every year, every class. There were some he had never seen or talked to before.
Izuku would’ve lied if he said it didn’t bother him, of course having the entire school making eyes at his boyfriend bothered him. He was happy that other people could see how amazing Shouto was, and he never thought Shouto would cheat on him in a million years, although he did wonder how he managed to get Todoroki Shouto to date him, of all people.
All he wished was that they wouldn’t do it right in front of him.
Izuku couldn’t blame them, of course he couldn’t, no one knew he and Shouto were dating after all. But he didn’t exactly like being present for everyone’s confessions to his boyfriend, or having to watch Shouto’s uncomfortable rejections.
This time, it was a first year girl. Izuku recognized her vaguely from this year’s Sports Festival and he was pretty sure she was from General Studies. She walked up to their lunch table, blushing and nervous with a sunny smile for his boyfriend.
“You’re Todoroki Shouto, right?”
Shouto’s expert soba slurping paused momentarily. “Yeah.”
“Can I, maybe, talk to you?”
“Here we go again.” Ochako murmured to Tsuyu. Her girlfriend smiled, shushing her. Izuku frowned.
“I guess.” Shouto said blandly. He stood up and followed her to a corner of the lunchroom, already looking tired of the girl.
His friends’ conversation continued but Izuku couldn’t care to listen. He watched Shouto and the girl. It was just like all the others, clockwork. Her eyelashes fluttered and she tossed her hair over her shoulder, giving him a pretty smile. She said several things, and he watched his boyfriend’s expression change with each one. He said something back, blunt and simple, his rejection.
The girl just blinked at him. She clearly didn’t think she’d get that answer. They never did.
Her pretty face scowled and she stepped forward, Shouto tried to back away, but she pressed a gentle hand to his arm. He looked bewildered. She said something else, and Shouto scowled. He said something back sharply, but she didn’t let up. Her hand slipped down and brushed his fingers. The girl laughed, tucking another lock of hair behind her ear.
Shouto looked wildly uncomfortable, but for some reason he wasn’t moving. Usually he would have stormed off by now. He stood still in his spot, glaring at the first year. Izuku frowned more, wondering why. He glanced back and noticed the girl was still touching his hand, their fingers barely brushing. She got closer to him, saying something else.
The green-haired teenager stood suddenly, surprising the others at his table. Tenya frowned. “Midoriya, what are yo-“
“I’ll be back.” He answered before storming off to where Shouto stood.
“Plus we’d be so cute together!” The girl chirped, a not so shy smile on her lips.
“No. Let me go, I’m not interested.”
She laughed. “Oh, Shouto-kun, you’re so funny! Come on-“
“He said no.” Izuku said, surprising the girl. She glanced at him and frowned.
“Stay out of it.” She huffed. Shouto gave him a desperate look, but he still hadn’t moved and she was still touching him.
Izuku grabbed his hand, pulling it away from the girl. She gasped and as soon they broke away, Shouto nearly fell into him. A quirk, like had assumed.
“He said he’s not interested, so leave him alone.” Izuku said firmly, glaring down at the girl.
In between his second and third year he had finally gotten that long deserved growth spurt, leaving him just a little taller than Shouto. His height allowed him to tower over the girl and she suddenly seemed to remembered she was dealing with third year Hero course students. Without a word, she stalked off.
Shouto relaxed against him and Izuku was vaguely aware that they were holding hands in front of the entire cafeteria. “Thanks.”
“She was using her quirk on you?”
“Yeah, she froze me.”
“I noticed.” Izuku sighed. “Are you okay?”
“Besides irritated with people in general, yes, I’m fine.” Shouto bumped against his shoulder gently, a small smile on his face. “I’m okay, Izuku. We should get back to our table. I can see Uraraka videoing us.”
Izuku set aside his homework at the sound of gentle knocking at his door. He stood up and walked over, the door opening to reveal Shouto. His boyfriend held a cartoonish heart-shaped box in his hands, a soft smile on his face that made Izuku smile, too.
“May I come in?” Izuku nodded and moved aside, Shouto sitting on his bed like he belonged there. The poster of All Might behind him looked comical.
“What’s with the heart?” He asked, plopping down beside his abandoned homework and on the other side of Shouto.
He opened the lid, inside were a variety of chocolates. “Remember that first year girl from last week?” Izuku scowled and nodded. “Well, she stopped me today and gave me these, said she was sorry and stuff and hoped I’d rethink her offer, although I think she was just kind of scared you’d come after her or something.”
“Ah.”
Shouto‘s smile turned smug, grabbing one of the chocolates from the plastic package. “So I took them, told her I was gay and walked away.”
Izuku laughed, leaning against his side. “That’s mean, Shou!”
“Well, she somewhat deserved it.” He shrugged and popped the chocolate in his mouth. “Even if I was straight I wouldn’t date her.”
Izuku raised his eyebrows. “Why not?”
“She’s not my type, plus she seems a little obsessive. Chocolate?” He offered the box to him. Izuku inspected one and stole it.
“Thanks. I didn’t know you have a type, you’ve dated one whole person, right?” Izuku asked, glancing at him.
“I can still have a type.”
“What’s your type then?”
Shouto looked thoughtful for a moment, chewing on a chocolate in his mouth. “Well, obviously I like boys. I like it when they’re bigger and taller than me so I can wear their clothes. I like smart, thoughtful boys, and freckles. The kind of people that help everyone, you know.” He looked back at the plastic heart, fully dedicated to deciding which one to eat next.
Izuku blushed. He couldn’t figure out if Shouto was being serious or not. It sure sounded like he was describing him, but he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination. His boyfriend claimed one and looked away from the chocolates to him again, a smile on his face.
“I also like green hair, green eyes, and when they’re named Midoriya Izuku.” Shouto said, his smile shifting into a small smirk.
Izuku’s face turned red and he huffed, rolling his eyes. “One person can’t be a ‘type’.”
“Oh. I guess I only like one person then.” Shouto set aside the heart, getting closer to him. His left side felt warm against his skin.
“You’re such a sap.” He argued.
“Only for you.” Shouto tasted like chocolate.
iv : don’t do that again
“That’s right, assholes! Fuck with me one more time and see what happens!” Bakugou screamed at the tied up villains, gloating about his victory.
Shouto raised an eyebrow at the blond, then glanced back at his boyfriend, busy tying up the last one. He vaguely heard sirens in the distance. It had been a simple bust, a couple of villains who thought they could revive the League of Villains, and failed at the hands of three rookie heroes.
Watching the four villains now restrained, Shouto vaguely thought there had five when they had first burst in. They must have ran, or he miscounted, so he pushed the idea out of his head.
“I don’t know why you’re making that face, Shou. At least he’s not yelling at us.” Izuku snickered, tightening the restraints on the villain. He picked him up and dropped him beside the others.
Bakugou was clutching his broken wrist, but it didn’t stop the cocky look on his face. “These fucking losers, half-cooked villain ass, thought they could handle me...”
He glanced over at Shouto as if to say watch this. “Yeah, you did really good today, Kacchan!” Izuku smiled sunnily.
Predictably, the spiky blond turned and glared him. “Shut up, Deku!”
Although Shouto never thought he was really going to like Bakugou, especially not after all the things Izuku had told him about their shared childhood, he could tell how much the blond had mellowed out since their first year at Yuuei. The anger in his voice was forced, he was obviously too happy about their win to even care about Izuku.
The police were on their way, the media likely right on their tails. There wasn’t much of a reason to stay in his opinion, but Izuku liked talking to the interviewers and the citizens, it part of what made him so popular, even as a new hero. So they would no doubly stay for just a little longer. Bakugou probably needed to see the paramedics for his wrist, having shattered it during their fight.
Shouto stretched, about to walk over and join the other two heroes, when something caught his eye. He turned his head to get a better look, when a flash of green stole his vision away and he suddenly was stumbling backwards, electricity crackling in his ears. Spikes erupted from the floor and he heard Bakugou curse as he exploded out of the way.
There had been five after all.
Izuku had pushed him out of the way, a giant spike in the middle of the floor where he had just been standing. But the green-haired hero still hadn’t leapt into the action with Bakugou and the last villain. Explosions and curses echoed beside them. He just stood there, staring a little blankly at the ground and the spike of concrete.
“Izuku?” There was a gaping hole in his leg and a growing, dark stain. He stumbled and Shouto rushed forward, catching him before he fell. “Izuku!”
He was gasped deeply, sweat and blood dripping down his forehead. “Are you okay?” The green-haired man asked, worry and pain clouding his eyes. Shouto fumbled in his belt for bandages.
“What?!” The white-and-red haired man asked incredulously. He tore some out and moved his hands away, ripping open the uniform to stare at the wound. The wound went straight through his thigh, bleeding rapidly. “You’re the one that just got stabbed!” His stain was getting bigger too quickly.
Izuku’s hand found his, holding the white bandages. He whimpered a little when he touched him. “I-I... I know. It hurts a-a lot.” He tried to laugh weakly, but only ended up wincing in pain.
Bakagou shouted something at them, but Shouto didn’t care. He was too concerned with the blood pouring out of his boyfriend.
His eyes fluttered and Shouto shook him. “Don’t close your eyes!” He commanded. “There’s paramedics on the way, you’re going to be okay. Just stay awake.” Another explosion echoed across the room. Bakagou’s fight sounded so far away.
“I think it hit...” Izuku paused, gasping in pain. Shouto pressed down on his leg harder and he winced. “I think it hit an artery.” He murmured, looking dazed. “I love you.”
“W-What?” Shouto wasn’t a medical expert, but he knew that wasn’t good. He looked down at the blood pooling underneath them.
“You have to burn me.” Izuku suddenly said, tears shining in his eyes as Shouto stared at him. He slowly starting shaking his head, but became more insistent when his words finally processed in his scrambled head.
“No. I can’t-“
“Shou- Shouto, you’ve got to cauterize it.”
He shook his head frantically, his vision blurry with tears. “Izuku, I can’t do that to you. The ambulances are almost he-“
“I’m not going to last that long!” He exclaimed. With a pained expression, Izuku grabbed his left hand and put it on top of his wound. “S-Shouto!”
“I’m not-“ He choked on the words, falling from his lips. Tears fell freely down his face. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried. The idea of hurting him, it was unbearable. He’d become exactly what he hated. “I can’t- Izuku-“
His boyfriend smiled weakly, looking far too pale. “I love you, Shou.” He said, as if Bakugou wasn’t right there. As if the entire world wasn’t listening.
His hand was still firmly holding his left hand in place above his wound, despite his despairing condition. The other one reached up slowly, finally brushing against the left side of his face, scars meeting with the touch.
Izuku smiled warmly, in that comforting way only he could manage.
“I’m sorry.” Shouto gasped painfully, swallowing the lump in his throat and forcing his palm to heat. If he didn’t do it now, he never would, and if he didn’t, then Izuku would die.
He’d die.
He had to. He had to do this. He’d die.
Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, shaking with tears or blood loss or fear. He cried out when the flames touched him for the first time, then he fell silent. Shouto almost stopped, but he shook his head, so the white-and-red-haired hero forced it to burn brighter.
The sounds of the fight, the impending cars and sirens disappeared. He only focused on Izuku, the way his eyes were forced shut, the blood turning his green uniform black, the way he flinched and gasped, and eventually screamed.
His hand held onto Shouto’s until he passed out beside him, his skin turned to a bright red burn. But even after Izuku fell silent, his screams continued to echo in his head.
“Why the fuck are you still here, Half and Half?” Shouto didn’t look up at the accusation. Bakugou plopped unceremoniously down in the chair beside him. It’s cheap plastic creaked underneath the pro hero’s weight.
When Shouto didn’t answer, he took it as another opportunity to curse at him. “Are you fucking hurt or something?”
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
Shouto huffed and finally turned to glare at him. “Why do you think I’m here, Bakugou?” He growled.
The blond looked surprised for a whole second before he turned aggressive again. They held each other gazes for a moment before Bakugou muttered something and looked away.
“What?”
“I said, Deku’s going to be fucking fine. Stop being a dumbass!” He yelled. Shouto stared at him, then brushed a piece of red hair away from his eyes and looked away.
Izuku’s pained screams still echoed in the empty waiting room, in his ears, his mind. It was past midnight, Shouto had stopped counting the minutes a little while ago, settling for that feeling of just drifting through time.
“You don’t know that.”
Bakugou seemed surprised by that. His right wrist was in a cast, several bandages littered his face, but he was mostly unharmed. He was probably just waiting here for Eijirou to pick him up, biding his time by making stupid conversation.
Everyone had already offered him these promises.
He would be okay.
He would be fine.
He would live, until he didn’t.
“Shit, Icyhot, stop being so depressing.” Shouto didn’t even turn his head in acknowledgment.
He stared at his hands, the one that had burned him, ripped those screams from his throat. He had a gash on the other one, it had long since stopped bleeding, scabbing over with irritated, red skin.
“Deku’s going to be fine. He’s like- He’s like a fucking cockroach.” Shouto raised an eyebrow at the analogy, but Bakugou continued. “Everybody’s tried to kill him like twenty times now, but he never manages to die.”
“Maybe this time was they won.”
“No, Deku’s not dead yet. If you’re still around, waiting for him, you know he’ll fucking stumble out of those doors eventually.” He pointed to the big, grey swinging doors. “And he’ll come give you some shitty excuse to make you less mad that he almost died, and you’re not gonna care because you’re going to just be happy he’s alive, ‘cause that’s what you losers do.”
“You sound sure about that.” Shouto looked away from the doors and back into Bakugou’s angry red eyes. He didn’t seem as angry now.
“Of course I am.” The hospital’s sliding doors opened and Eijirou walked in, his hair messy and limp. His eyes lit up at the sight of the blond. Bakagou smirked and stood up. “Do me a fucking favor, Icyhot, and tell Deku you’re in love with him when he wakes up, because I’m tired of seeing you two nerds dance around each other all the time.”
He left him alone, meeting Eijirou half was across the waiting room. They hugged each other tightly, the redhead burrowing his face in Bakugou’s shirt. They stayed in each other’s arms for a moment, saying soft words, before they left, hand in hand, as they walked through the door.
“Todoroki-san?” A nurse approached him apprehensively. She clutched a clipboard to her chest, looking nervous.
“Is he awake?”
She shook her head and his heart skipped a beat before she continued. “He’s not awake, but he’s out of surgery. You can come sit in his room now.” He was out of the uncomfortable plastic chair before she even finished.
The nurse led him down the halls and up an elevator. “You know, if you hadn’t have stopped the bleeding, Deku-san probably wouldn’t have made it. I’m guessing that burn was you. Anyway, you did a good job stopping the bleeding until he could get professional help.”
He didn’t like hearing the words wouldn’t have made it, but he remained silent until they reached a door. Shouto didn’t have it in him to read the numbers. They just floated over his head.
“Thank you.” He said, then he pushed the door open, stepping inside the stark white room and shutting it silently behind him.
Izuku was lying on the white, white sheets. He was unconscious, like they had said, a few bandages littered his arms and face and everything else was hidden underneath the white hospital sheets. He was pale, but not as pale as he had seemed in those last moments he saw him. He was alive and that’s what actually mattered. Shouto nearly collapsed right there, but he forced himself to grab the chair in the corner and pull it over to his bedside.
He took his right hand gently, old scars stretching across his knuckles. They were familiar under his fingertips and Shouto let out a breath.
Izuku was alive.
It was three days before Shouto found him awake. He had barely left the hospital, only once to finally change out of his hero uniform, when one of the nurse told him that they’d remove him from the visitor’s list if he didn’t go home and take a shower.
He walked in, a chip bag from the nearby vending machine in his hand, to see his boyfriend sitting up, staring out the window. The bag fell to the floor as the door clicked behind him. It caught Izuku’s attention and suddenly green eyes were staring at him in surprise.
“Izuku.” He murmured. Shouto knew he was going to be okay, that he would walk out of this hospital by his side eventually, but seeing him awake was still surreal.
The screaming echoed in his head again.
The green-haired man lifted a hand weakly toward him, a soft expression clouding his face and the surprise was shattered. Shouto bolted forward into his arms, grabbing onto him tightly. Izuku let out a surprised grunt. Shouto burrowed his face in his neck, some choked noise escaping him. Izuku held him, holding on as tightly as he could manage.
“Izuku, I swear, if you ever pull something like that again...” He hissed. The white-and-red-haired man felt him shake with soft chuckles.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t let you get hurt.”
“You could’ve died.”
“I know.”
Shouto pulled away and cupped his freckled face. There was a bandage under his hand. “I’m serious. I thought...when you passed out, I thought-“
Izuku’s crooked hand went up to grab his. He smiled in that bittersweet way. “I’m sorry, Shou. But you know if I had to do it again-“
“You would. I know.”
“I’d rather be the one in the hospital bed. If I had to see you in here...”
“I know.” Shouto murmured. His eyes flickered away from his face, to the white wall behind him. “It’s just part of who you are. I’d make you promise to stop, but you’d just break it.”
“I’m sorry.” He pulled his hand from his face, setting it on the bed and intertwining their fingers together. “Sorry I’m like this.”
Shouto was silent, staring at the sheets and what hid underneath. Izuku noticed his gaze. “I told you to do it.” He argued gently.
“They said it would scar.”
“Good.” Shouto looked at him in confusion. Izuku had that determined look in his eyes. “It’s proof of how you saved my life. I know I wouldn’t have made it without you.”
He glanced away, a blush on his face. The white-and-red-haired man shook his head softly. “I burned you.”
“And it saved my life. And I still love you.” Izuku reminded.
Shouto hesitated, eyes meeting his. “I love you, too. Always.”
Izuku gave him one of those sunny smiles that somehow made everything better and Shouto relaxed. The screaming in his head finally grew faint.
v : call me yours
“Where are we going now?” Shouto hummed, following beside his boyfriend.
Izuku glanced at him, then back toward the nearly empty streets. It was late, a rare night where they both happened to be off. The city had grown quiet since they had first sat down for dinner and the little lights had steadily been blinking out.
“Somewhere.” The green-haired hero finally answered. He was proud of himself for making it this far without saying anything about his real plans. His hands were in his jacket pockets, one of them clutching the little box. It felt heavier than it was supposed to be.
“You’re being weird tonight.” Shouto mused, looking up and down the street. When he was satisfied, he tugged Izuku’s hand from his pocket, curling together their fingers.
Izuku didn’t say anything about it, too focused on both his plans and also not accidentally mumbling out his plans to his unsuspecting boyfriend. Finally the towers came into view, along with the iron gates of a park.
He led him inside, the park long deserted at this hour. Shouto didn’t say anything as they walked, finally stopping in front of a row of benches. Yuuei’s tall buildings oversaw them, only a few lights glowing in the glass windows.
“Why are we here?” Shouto questioned. He released his hand, leaving his side to sit on one of the iron benches, second to the last one.
Izuku joined him, fidgeting with the box in his pocket again. “You remember this place, right?”
“Obviously.” Shouto huffed with a small smile. The midnight breeze tossed the grass in front of them and he continued. “We used to go here when we were still in high school. You were so proud you found somewhere so close to Yuuei that wasn’t busy.”
Izuku nodded and hummed, reminiscing the weekend afternoons they had spent wandering through the park.
“And here’s the first place where I said I loved you.” Shouto finished, pale face colored almost shyly. He glanced back at Izuku, amused again. “So what are we doing here, at about three in the morning?”
“I was going to do this earlier, but you had that shift that ran late.” The green-haired man huffed. Shouto raised his different colored eyebrows, clearly unimpressed. His hair had grown out past his shoulders, currently tied up in a messy bun. Izuku thought he still looked stunning.
“What are you-“ Izuku took his hands and the white-and-red-haired hero stopped, glancing at him curiously.
“Shouto, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” Shouto immediately blushed. “You’re funny and smart and strong and I love you so much.” Izuku grinned, brushing his fingers over his knuckles. He could feel his temperature shifting. He almost felt teary eyed as he continued. “You make me so happy. I love getting to wake up next to you, fighting beside you, sitting with our cats and watching dumb All Might documentaries-“
“Izuku-“ Shouto began, but the green-haired man shook his head and continued.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, by your side.” Izuku took a deep breath and he dug the box out of his pocket. He opened it, hesitating for a moment before he finally spoke again. “Will you marry me?”
Shouto looked stunned. He kept looking between Izuku and the ring. Izuku felt the seconds tick by, growing nervous as his boyfriend remained silent.
“Uh, Shou?”
“Oh, no.” Shouto ultimately said.
Oh, no? What did oh, nomean?!
He shouldn’t have proposed. He should have just been happy with what he had. He probably scared him off and now he hated him!
“Shou-“ Izuku sniffled.
Shouto tugged away from him frantically. He dug through his pockets for something, maybe his phone, to call for a ride far, far away from here. Instead, Shouto pulled out another little box. Izuku’s panic paused and he blinked.
His boyfriend held it out to him. “You beat me.”
“I- What?!”
He blushed. “I was going to propose first, but you beat me to it.” He explained, then shyly added. “Remember those reservations, for that katsudon place you love?”
“Oh my... Oh my gosh! Shouto, I ruined it!” He exclaimed. Izuku tugged him into a hug and he heard Shouto laughing into his shirt.
“It’s okay. This is good, too.” He mumbled, hugging Izuku’s chest. “We’re kind of dumb, huh?”
“Really dumb.” Izuku agreed, teary-eyed, burrowing his cheek into his hair.
“‘Zuku?”
“Yeah?” He hummed weakly.
“Yes.” Shouto answered. Izuku pulled away with wide eyes and Shouto smiled at him.
“Oh my- wait- you said yes?!”
Shouto looked amused. “Only if you say yes to me.” He offered, holding up his own box.
Izuku gave him a watery smile. “Of course, yes!” Shouto tugged him down and captured him in a kiss.
They broke apart eventually, taking turns giving each other the rings. Izuku’s was a simple, bronze band with electric lines carved in it.
When he smiled and glanced up at Shouto, he blushed and looked away. “It reminded me of your quirk.” He mumbled shyly.
Izuku laughed and kissed him again. Shouto wrapped his arms around him, pulling him further. He tilted his head.
“Whoa, is that Deku?!” Someone exclaimed. Izuku pulled away, tugged Shouto with him into the nearby bushes with a flash of green lightning. The two heroes hugged each other as a few teenagers walked past. “Where’d he go?”
“You’re blind, Nakajima-kun! There’s no way Deku was here.” Another argued, stomping past to catch up with the group.
“Celebrity.” Shouto teased, giving him an amused smile.
“Shush.” Izuku huffed with a blush. “I forgot we were in public. Ugh, if the tabloids caught that, they’d have a field day!”
Shouto shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Don’t we have a ‘secret’ relationship?”
“I...I don’t want to keep it a secret anymore.”
Izuku blinked in surprise. “Whoa, wait- Really?”
Shouto nodded slowly. “I was thinking, about the wedding and stuff, when I was thinking of proposing. What are we going to do when the wedding happens? Just invite our mothers? Keep it from all of our friends? That’d be a pretty boring wedding, right?”
“You’re sure?” He nodded again. “What about, you know-“
“Screw him. I’m an adult. You’re an adult. If he has a problem with us getting married, he can get over it himself. I don’t want the rest of my life to be controlled by him, too.” His fiancé argued, looking determined.
Izuku paused, but smiled. “Okay. If you want to, let’s do it.”
+i : since when
“What about your sister?” Izuku asked.
Shouto poked at his noodles. When he looked up at his fiancé, he found him squinted at his paperwork. Soba sat on a stack of papers on the coffee table, watching them both curiously. “Fuyumi? What about her?”
“Is she going shopping with you next week?”
“Oh. Maybe. I told Mom, I think she’s probably told nee-chan by now.” He answered. “On the phone she sounded like she wanted to go. I don’t know why.”
Izuku shrugged. “It’s not like you’re getting married or anything.”
He saw his fiancé smile and Shouto exhaled. “Right, why would I ever do that?”
Izuku looked back at him, amused. As he opened his mouth, there was repeated, annoying knocking at the door. “Better get that.” Shouto teased, poking his leg.
“Ugh-“ The green-haired hero shoved aside his papers. Soba gave him a glare. “You’re lucky I love you.” He said back, tossing aside the multiple covers on top of Shouto.
Shouto just smiled and blew him a kiss. Izuku rolled his eyes, shuffling toward their front door. Alone, Shouto slurped on his noodles.
It was a rare day off for both of them. Between the stacks of paperwork and the wedding preparations, they had been beyond busy. It was nice to have a day to just lounge on the couch together, although Izuku still tried his best to be productive, while Shouto avoided it all determinedly.
Soba hopped from the table to him, curling up between the couch and his left leg. He vaguely heard the door unlock over the chatter of the morning news. Izuku’s greeting was drowned out quickly by a rather loud, too familiar, shout.
“Are you and Icyhot fucking?”
“What?! Kacchan, what are you doing here?!”
“Answer the fucking question, Deku! Where is that bastard? Is he here?!”
“Kacchan! You can’t just barge in my apartment!” There was some stomping in Shouto’s direction and he smirked at his noodles. Now that he thought about it, those wedding invitations they sent out recently had to be delivered by now.
As expected, Katsuki appeared in the doorway, glaring at him. He stomped over to the couch. A popping hand pointed directly at his nose and Shouto just stared over the side of the couch.
“You!”
“Me.” He answered blandly.
“Are you and Deku fucking?!”
“Kacchan!” Izuku whined, appearing behind him.
It appeared Katsuki wasn’t alone, as Ochako, Tenya, and Eijioru all peered around the spiky blond. Ochako looked like she was about to die laughing while Tenya looked mortified along with Izuku. They followed him anyway.
“That’s a little brash, Katsuki.” He shrugged, stirring his noodles without looking up. Oh, he knew this was killing Katsuki. These were the times he was thankful for his poker face.
“Dude, what are these then?” Eijirou asked, holding up two torn envelopes.
“Wedding invitations. Didn’t you read them?” Izuku sighed, clearly deciding to let him break the news. His fiancé disappeared in the direction of their bedroom.
“Yeah, we fucking read them!” Katsuki interrupted. He stole one of them from Eijirou and walked around the couch so Shouto faced him. His followers joined him, Tenya sitting neatly in an armchair. “Look!”
“I know what it says, Katsuki, I wrote them.” Shouto answered as the blond shoved it in his face.
Katsuki ignored him, reading aloud. “You are invited to the wedding of Todoroki Shouto and- Deku! What the fuck does that mean?”
“I’m pretty sure it says Izuku’s name, not Deku.”
“Doesn’t matter! What does it mean?!” He gritted. Eijirou placed a hand on his shoulder, ushering him to sit down on their coffee table.
“Babe, chill.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” He grumbled angrily.
“So? Is it true?” Ochako appeared on the couch beside him. She was holding her own envelope, less torn than Eijirou and Katsuki’s, but clearly opened. Her face morphed into something sinister as she continued. “Because if it is, a lot of people owe me money.”
“It’s true. Izuku and I are getting married.” Shouto said. His friends, and Katsuki, erupted. It wasn’t much news to him, he had known for months already.
“So they are fucking!”
“Kacchan!” Izuku scolded, returning with both of their phones they had left in the bedroom. He dropped Shouto’s phone in his lap and he saw multiple missed calls, including several from Momo. That would be a fun conversation.
“But, dude!” Izuku paused behind the couch. “You can’t just get married out of the blue like this, like, people don’t do that!” Eijirou argued.
“We’re not getting married out of the blue.” The green-haired man commented. He leaned on the back and Shouto reached up and poked him for the fun of it.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Shouto slurped the last of his noodles.
“We’ve been dating for five years.” They all blinked at him. He felt Izuku sorting the colors in his hair.
“Wait-“
“What the-“
“That long? Really?” Tenya finally spoke. “I didn’t know it had been that long, second year, really?”
Izuku’s fingers paused. “It was late first year, actually. But wait, you knew?”
“Yeah, uh, what the fuck, Four-eyes?”
Tenya sighed and it clicked. “Oh, it was nee-chan, wasn’t it?” Shouto asked.
“Not exactly.” He explained further to the rest of them. “My older brother, Tensai, is married to Shouto’s older sister, Fuyumi. He told me about you two, once, the party your family had for your graduation, he thought I already knew, and clearly neither of you were making it obvious to us, so I figured either Tensai misunderstood you, or you were keeping it a secret for a reason.”
“I can’t believe this! Deku, you told Tenya over me.” Ochako huffed. She turned around on the couch to glare at him, although she only looked excited, not angry.
“I didn’t tell him! Shouto wanted to keep it a secret!” Izuku defended.
“He’s right.” Shouto shrugged.
Eijirou jumped to his feet. “So wait, those tabloid pictures from like, last week, where you guys were holding hands-“ They both nodded and the redhead grinned. “Oh, this is crazy.”
Katsuki shook his head angrily, like he was mad at himself for not knowing. Shouto tilted his head back to watch his fiancé. Izuku glanced down at him and Shouto just smiled. He liked him.
“So, is this your RSVP or something?” Izuku asked, gesturing at the crowd in their living room.
“No, I was on the way to my patrol when I got the mail and stopped by. Honestly, I thought it was a prank, but this is better.” Ochako grinned. “Deku, you haven’t gone suit shopping yet, right?”
“No, that’s a few weeks from now.”
“I’m going, I don’t care who else is going.” She said seriously.
“I was already going to ask you and Tenya.”
“I would be honored to assist you!” Tenya jumped to his feet while Ochako nodded in agreement. “Now that this has been straightened out, I must get to work. I’ve got a patrol in an hour.”
“Me, too.” Ocahko hopped off the couch. “I just can’t believe this-“ She suddenly whirled around, halfway to the door. “You haven’t told anyone else yet, right? Specific Mina and Tooru?”
“No.”
The brunette grinned. “Excellent. Call me after my shift, Deku, I want all the details! Congrats, you guys!” They left and Shouto glanced back at Katsuki and Eijirou.
The blond was staring an angry hole in their sofa cushion. Eijirou smiled at them weakly. “We’ve been at it since midnight. Kat checked the mail and insisted we come over before we went home. I think we’re going home now, though.” The redhead covered his mouth as he yawned. He tugged on Katsuki’s arm. “Come on, babe, let’s leave the newlyweds alone.”
“We’re, um, not actually married yet, you know.”
“Fuck...” Katsuki hissed, pulled to his feet.
“I think he’s tired himself out. He’d probably be doing more screaming otherwise. We’ll see you guys later! Congrats!”
Izuku pushed off of the couch. “I’ll walk you out.”
Shouto watched them leave, scrolling through his missed messages and calls when they did. He imagined it probably was weird, getting an invitation to a wedding where you didn’t even know the couple was together, but Shouto still thought this was the best way to break the news. Plus, it was funny to watch everyone’s reactions.
He heard Izuku and Eijirou talking for a minute, then another goodbye and the sound of the door closing and locking again. His fiancé walked back in, plopping on top of him with a sigh. Shouto brushed his fingers through his curls, still scrolling through his phone.
“We’re going to have to do that with like, our entire class.” Izuku whined. “And the whole world! We should’ve kept it a secret.”
“We should just kiss in front of the paparazzi with no explanation and let them have their fun.” Shouto suggested. Izuku rolled over and groaned into the blankets.
“Our agencies would kill us!”
“I’d like to see them try.”
“Let’s not fight with the people who employ us, please, Shou.”
“Loser.”
Izuku’s laugh was muffled. He rolled over again, smiling up at him. It suddenly hit Shouto. He was going to marry the sun.
“I love you.” He said suddenly. Izuku looked surprised for a second. Then he sat up and stole a kiss from him. Shouto felt him smiling, tugging him closer.
“I love you, too.”