Chapter Text
“I brought you something to drink.” Said Shoto, and placed the cup on the floor before he sat down
Izuku looked down at it.
“Come one Izuku, let’s not start this ‘I don’t want it. I don’t trust you’ problem again. It’s water. It’s clean, non-poisoned, drinkable fresh water.” The pirate said
“But I don’t trust you, and I don’t want it.” Replied Izuku with a slightly amused expression
It wasn’t all lies. Izuku didn’t really trust Shoto, but with all the time that they were spending together, Izuku was starting to get used to him. He didn’t trust him, but he couldn’t pretend he didn’t like looking at and talking to Shoto.
But he did want the water. Badly. But Izuku was determined to stretch out the stubborn refusal streak as long as he could.
Shoto rolled his eyes and leaned close to Izuku’s face like he always did.
“So what’s it going to take to get you to trust me?” He murmured
Izuku forced himself to breath evenly through his nose. He was starting to get used to Shoto coming in close like this too. And he was used to the overwhelming idea that the pirate was going to lean in a little more and kiss him.
But he didn’t want that after all.
Of course he didn’t. Why would he?
Shoto reached up and whipped away old tears from the night before.
Izuku winced at the touch. His head was pounding.
“See? Always crying and no water, leaves you dehydrated and with a headache. I don’t want you hurting.” He continued, then pulled away and turned for the cup
Izuku took the cup with his chained hands.
“Thanks..” He said as flatly as he could, then lifted the cup slowly
He carefully took a sip, then paused for a moment. When he didn’t die, he began to drink more.
It was cool against his throat, and it made his tongue feel better after being dry for so long.
And it tasted so good.
Izuku knew the human body needed water to survive, and if it didn’t get any it’d die. But he'd never been without water for so long, that he didn’t realize how badly he needed it.
“Mmmm~” Izuku hummed in contemptment, but had to backtrack in his head to see if it sounded more like a moan or not
When he finished, Izuku set the cup down, and took a deep breath before letting his green eyes meet Shoto mismatched ones again.
“Better?” Asked Shoto
Izuku nodded.
They stared at each other for a moment more before Shoto moved closer to Izuku again. He brushed his thumb over Izuku’s chin.
“Just a bit of water.” He said
Izuku hummed shakily, but turned his head away.
“I could’ve gotten it.” He answered
“You could’ve...But then again; aren’t we supposed to be getting along?” The pirate said
“And aren’t you a little old for me?” Retorted Izuku, turning back to glared at Shoto
The other male chuckled, which made Izuku blush. Then he pressed their foreheads together and forced the Izuku's head back to the wall.
“Do you want me to be too old for you?” He smirked
Izuku knew that there were two possibilities of looking at the age gap between him and Shoto.
The pirate was either two-hundred, in which case Izuku could answer ‘yes’ and Shoto would presumably back off. Or he was twenty-five. In which Izuku could say ‘no’ and Shoto would continue this little game of ‘getting too close to be a capture/prisoner relationship’.
But of course he’d say ‘Yes’.
‘But what laws apply on a ghost ship that traps you forever?’ He thought, ‘And-- Are the laws that say I couldn’t marry a man-- still enforced on a ghost ship that traps you forever?’
‘Maybe not Izuku! Maybe this is your chance at a life you dreamed of!’ His voice of reason said
Izuku’s eyes-widened at that.
‘A life I dreamed of…’
The green-haired boy broke eye contact and looked down.
“I want you to get off me..” He said quietly
“As you wish.” Answered Shoto, and he sat back away from Izuku’s space bubble
This was stupid.
Izuku didn’t even like Shoto; why would he be thinking about liking Shoto?
He shook his head again.
They needed a new topic.
“Do you know any more about the ship I was on? Or maybe how this one works?” He asked
Shoto sat there silently for a moment.
“When we raided the ship, we found normal things like food, fresh water, and other such supplies that you’d find on a ship. But we did find weapons, and an outlined map of a few islands. If you were told that it was a trading ship: you were lied to.” He answered
Izuku gulped.
“My uncle got me that job…Do you think he knew…” He swallowed the lump in his throat, wishing- hoping - that it wasn’t the truth
The pirate shrugged.
“You can’t be certain.” He answered
Izuku felt his eye well up.
“But I’m sure that’s not the case.” Shoto added quickly
Izuku only nodded.
They sat in silence for a long while as Izuku cried again...But eventually the teen had to break it.
“My friends..”
Shoto looked up.
“Are my friends still alive?” He asked
“If you’re talking about the other three deckhands; then yes.” Shoto replied
Izuku's head snapped towards him.
“Th-They are?!” A small light started in the pit of Izuku’s stomach, raising his hopes a little
Shoto nodded.
“The capitan thought they were well behaved enough that he took them on as crew members.” He explained
“.....Already..?” Izuku felt almost-left out
Was he the only one still a prisoner?
How had his friends so easily given in?
“I’m sure they’d love to see you.” Remarked Shoto
Izuku lowered his eyes to his ankles.
The chains around them had been taken off a few days ago, when he’d mentioned roughly that he was having trouble feeling his feet. So Shoto went and got the keys to have them removed.
He nodded slowly.
“Sure…..If you wouldn’t mind asking…” He spoke quietly
Shoto nodded and got up to leave.
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They’d all cried when they heard the news that Izuku’s ship had sunk; and felt even worse when they were informed that no bodies were recovered in what remained of the floating wreck.
But it was even worse when Shota read the rest of the letter.
“It….was A WARSHIP?!” He roared, and threw the letter on the table
Eri and Hitoshi sat in one seat in their Aunt’s house while Inko sat in the other.
Eri clung to Hitoshi while she cried, and Inko wepted into her hands.
“I PUT MY NEPHEW ON A WARSHIP!” Shota roared again, and Inko cried harder
“My poor baby.” She cried, “Why did I let him go? Even when I knew!” She continued
Shota looked down at his older sister, and bent down to her eye level.
“Hey, Hey come on Inko. Izuku is a good persuader, don't pin this on you.” He said gently
“So I should pin it on my son?!” She whaled
“No, no! That’s not what I meant. You know that’s not what I meant. It’s my fault anyways; I offered him the job. I’m the one who put him on that ship. None of this is your fault. And it’s not Izuku’s either.” He said stroking her hair
“B-But-but I h-had the-the vi-vision, a-an-d I-I sti-still let hi-him go..!” She stuttered
“No. He wanted to go. We thought It’d be a good idea if he went. And you, the kind wonderful mother you are; wanted to let your son live. To let him have an experience on his own. You wanted him to grow. That’s not a fault, Inko.” Shota said soothingly
“I would have hugged him longer if I--If I only knew.” Inko was balling into her brother’s arms now, completely devastated by the recent events
“A-And the w-worst p-part is, is th-that we c-can’t b-be s-sure i-if he’d d-dead!”
Shota rubbed her back.
“I know, I know…” He said softly
“So what’ll we do?” Asked Hitoshi silently, “Do we give him a grave?”
Both the Aizawa siblings cried silently, but Eri was starting to fall asleep in her brother’s arms.
Shota looked from his kids to his sister and back again.
He sighed.
“Izuku’s your baby, Inko. What do you want to do for him?” He asked solemnly
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“Izuku!” Said Ochaco and she dropped to her knees in front of him, “Oh my gods you’re still alive I was so worried!” She continued and threw her arms around him
“Oh my gosh bro. This is great!” Said Denki, and joined the hug
“It relieves me greatly to see that you’re alright.” Said Fumikage, and added to the pile
Izuku smiled and laughed.
“I’m just so happy so see you guys again! I’m so glad you’re alive too.” He said, feeling his eyes tear up
Eventually though, they all started crying, but it didn’t last long because Ochaco noticed something.
“Hey wait a second.” She said, drying her eyes with her skirt, “Why are you still in chains?”
She turned to Shoto, who’d been standing in the entranceway of the door the whole time.
“Todoroki why is he still in chains? Why is he a prisoner?” Izuku could see she was frowning
Shoto cleared his throat.
“The capitan hasn’t seen him yet, and he’s having trouble trusting me..But I haven’t said anything negative about him to the captain so there’s nothing wrong, really. But I can’t unlock him. You know that.” He answered
“Are you kidding me? Izuku was the best one of us on our old ship.!” She snapped a little
“Ochaco, that’s not true! You can cook better than I can, even when you gave me directions on what to do, and I still messed things up! Denki can knot better than I can, and Fumi can get up to the crow’s nest better than I can. We all had our strengths and weaknesses.” Izuku interjected, set on proving to his friends at they were just as good as he was
“She wasn’t talking about skill.” Said Denki, then he turned to Shoto, “We’re serious dude. Izuku was a great friend and he’d be a wonderful part of the crew. If you’d only just-”
“I told you I can’t do anything until the captain says I can. And that’s final.” Shoto said harshly cutting them off
Ochaco glared at Shoto for a few seconds, before turning an apologetic look to Izuku.
She sighed.
“We should probably get back to our duties now…..We’ll see you later, alright Izuku.?” She said
The green eyed boy nodded.
“Yeah, you guys get back to work.” He agreed
They bid him their goodbyes, and left with Shoto closing the door behind them.
“Am I the only one who calls you Shoto?” Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow after a few minutes
The pirate at the door jumped, and turned towards Izuku. They looked at each other, and Izuku saw a small spread of blush across Shoto’s cheeks.
“No.” He answered, clearing his throat uncomfortably
Izuku laughed.
“You’re such a bad liar.” He snickered
“You-- have a really pretty laugh.” Replied Shoto, switching subjects
Izuku cut himself off, and looked at Shoto with wide eyes. He watched as Shoto lowered himself to the ground and moved in closer to him.
He got close enough to press their foreheads together, and Izuku held eye contact.
Shoto’s thumb lightly passed over Izuku’s lip, and Izuku gasped.
“I shouldn’t-” Shoto said after a moment of tense silence
“That’s very true.” Agreed Izuku
“I’m not sure how the age gap really works. Because I’m either hundred-eighty-three years older than you; or I’m eight years older than you.” He continued
Izuku let out a breath.
“That might be a problem.” He agreed
Silence passed between them.
“Did you mean it when you said my eyes were beautiful.?” The pirate asked in nothing but a whisper
Izuku’s breath hitched.
“What’s it to you?” He asked in turn
Shoto shrugged.
“Just...Wanted to know.” He answered
Izuku sighed.
“Yeah. I meant it. They seem to glow too, you know. In a hauntingly calm kinda way.” He admitted
Shoto hummed.
“There are many reasons why you should push me away, Izuku. But, you know I'm not a bad person; right?” He said
Izuku sighed again.
“Yeah, that’s pretty clear.” He agreed, going with the flow of this jumbled conversation, “And coming from a logical point, and by adding the way I’ve felt towards you up until now…”
“Mhm..?”
“I shouldn’t-” Izuku stopped himself
“Do you think we could get along now?” Shoto asked instead
“I think I can agree to that. Finally.” Answered Izuku
Shoto smiled.
“Do you trust me?”
“What?” Izuku questioned slowly
“Do you trust me?” Shoto repeated
“...Yes..” He said gently
“You sound unsure.” Remarked Shoto
Izuku let out another breath.
“How about you kiss me before I change my mind, then.” He whispered
“Ok.” Shoto replied, and leaned forward
Izuku blushed when he felt Shoto’s lips press against his own.
He pulled away softly (but too quickly in Izuku’s opinion), and Izuku opened his eyes.
When had he closed them?
They stared at each other.
“Would this classify as a chase of Stockholm syndrome..?” Izuku asked
Shoto shrugged.
“I don’t know...Do you still trust me?” He countered playfully
Izuku smiled softly.
“No…” He replied back
Shoto looked shocked, then laughed; and Izuku giggled.
“But you just said-” Shoto stopped himself as he took a good look at Izuku’s smiling face, and then laughed again