Chapter Text
Chp 12: Todoroki and Izuku get back home and fall asleep. Todoroki contemplates the feelings making space in his chest, but he’s not entirely sure what he feels. He resolves to take his problem to his more emotionally functional coworkers when he goes to work. As he comes to this conclusion, Izuku starts sleep talking:
“A-Are you sleep-talking?” Shouto raised an eyebrow. So far, that had only happened once. It… was an experience, to say the least.
“I don’ want spinach!” Izuku whined, “I wan’ my soap!”
Shouto chuckled softly and brought his hand back to Izuku’s hair. The other immediately sighed, rolling over - directly over Shouto, in fact. Having an elbow in your ribs was never comfortable. Izuku settled for clinging to Shouto’s right side, mirroring his earlier position.
“I’m not gonna make you take spinach, Izuku,” Shouto promised once Izuku had settled.
“Go fuck ‘erself, All Might.”
Shouto made a note to tease Izuku about that later. When they were both more awake, of course. And after Shouto had six cups of coffee. “What did All Might ever do to you?”
Izuku grumbled under his breath, something about cardigans. Then he started giggling, burying his face in Shouto’s shoulder.
They wake up, Shouto teases Izuku about it good naturedly and Izuku steals Shouto’s hoodie as recompense. They go shopping for clothes and Christmas things for Kaede. While at the mall, Izuku runs into someone from his past.
Chp 13 (TW FOR ATTEMPTED RAPE AND PROSTITUTION): A flashback chapter. One of Izuku's clients had a family, and school let out early, so the Gorous’ son, Hansuke, came home as Izuku was coming downstairs.
Gorou panicked and said that one of his old high school friends was in a bad place and wanted to drop her son off for a while. Izuku rolled with it. Cue the wife, Yua, comes in (bc she drove Hansuke home) and fawns over Izuku.
Gorou pays Okuta handsomely to have Izuku stay for two weeks to keep the lie up. Izuku rooms with Hansuke, and the two stay up late talking and fall in love, but Izuku refuses to pursue anything, especially since whenever Hansuke and Yua leave, he and Gorou have sex.
One night when both are gone, Izuku snaps at Gorou. He has a loving family, and he's ripping it apart. Izuku says he'll leave before Gorou can cause anymore damage. Gorou is not okay with this - he paid so much money, he better get something good for it.
Izuku struggles to get out of the room. He's shoved onto the bed and Gorou starts taking off Izuku's clothes (while Izu's screaming for help and begging for Gorou to stop) right as Yua walks in.
She kicks her husband out and helps Izuku redress, telling Hansuke to stay in his room. She gives Izuku a blanket and a cup of tea (she reminds Izuku so much of Inko) and he gives her broken pieces of the truth - but not his whole backstory.
Yua takes pity on Izuku and rents a motel room for her, Hansuke, and Izuku to stay in for a couple nights. They pack their bags and Izuku's still in shock but he's dealt with this enough that he 'gets over' it pretty quickly.
On the second night, Hansuke gives Izuku a small medallion on a leather cord. Hansuke has the matching piece. Izuku says he can't take it, because he'll have to 'go back' eventually, and Okuta won't let him keep it. Hansuke begs Izuku to take it, and to find him when things are better for Izuku so that they can be together.
Izuku puts the necklace on, and leaves while Hansuke and Yua are sleeping.
Chp 14, back to the present: Izuku asks if it's Hansuke, and Hansuke's face brightens.
They stare at each other in shock before they're hugging. Shouto sits with Hansuke's friend while Izuku and Hansuke catch up in relative privacy (they're just a few tables over).
Izuku tries to give the medallion back. He did love Hansuke at one time, and the stolen time he got with Hansuke was some of the best times of his life. Hansuke shakes his head and tells Izuku to keep the medallion as a reminder of the good times in the darkness.
Izuku spares a glance to see Hansuke's lady friend watching Hansuke wistfully and tells him how lucky he is.
'Oh no, we're just friends'
Izuku laughs, because yeah, so were he and Shouto. Izuku reassures Hansuke that there's nothing wrong with falling in love again.
”You're in love with that detective, aren't you?"
Izuku smiled softly, unable to keep from glancing over where Shouto sat, now in deep conversation with the girl. "Yeah. Yeah, I really, really am."
Hansuke checks to make sure that Izuku isn't just feeling like he owes it to Shouto to love him. Izuku assures Hansuke that no, he really does love Shouto. He knows the difference between a favor owed and falling in love. He doesn't feel obligated to love Shouto. He just... does. Shouto's someone Izuku would die for, but Shouto is also someone Izuku wants to live for.
Izuku talks to the girl alone later, too. He gives her the medallion and tells her that if she ever gets married, that can be her something borrowed. She thanks Izuku and looks back to Hansuke.
"You might have to make the first move. He's a romantic, sure, but he's completely dense."
"I will, then." The girl clutched the medallion to her chest. "I'll treasure this, and I expect you to be at the wedding so I can give this back to you. I can tell you've cherished it."
Izuku nodded. "Looking at that medallion helped me through some really rough times."
Izuku and Shouto leave after talking as a group to continue their shopping. Izuku is content to stay quietly in love with the heterochromatic man, only falling more in love as time passes.
Izuku reflects on how scary it is for him to have fallen in love with someone so quickly - how only other night, he'd been telling himself it was just a crush - and with someone as good as Shouto is. He thinks that it's okay though, to fall in love again.
Chp 15: It’s Sunday now, and Izuku is talking with Uraraka while they work out. She’s been on an undercover case for about a week now and she’s made some contacts. It’s not a dangerous case, nor is it a deep cover, thankfully. Their talk takes a turn when she asks how Izuku is doing. He’s living with Shouto now, and aren’t they moving a little fast? Izuku assures her otherwise, that everything is totally platonic and Shouto is a good roommate.
Meanwhile, Shouto is at the station drinking coffee with Shinsou and asking how he knew he liked Kaminari. Shinsou explains as best he can, but he struggles to get the words out before settling on,
”Kaminari is… a pain in the ass, sometimes. But I tried to imagine my life without him and… I didn’t like what I came up with. I know I want him in my life all the time, even when he’s trying to annoy me, and sometimes… he makes me want to smile.”
Shouto huffed at that, looking into his coffee mug. “The great Hitoshi, no longer with a stone heart.”
“You know no one ever really thought we were like that, right? We’re just the two most emotionally stunted in the precinct, and that’s saying something considering Bakugou works here.”
Shouto goes to his office to work on a new cold case while he waits for things from the Snatcher Case to finish processing.
Chp 16: It’s Christmas Eve now, so Shouto and Izuku go to Kaede’s place. It’s a run down apartment, in a little better condition than Izuku’s old one. They put gifts under a tree, ice cream in the freezer, and cake on the counter. When they finish, Kazuki is barreling down the hallway yelling “Uncle Izu!”
Shouto thinks it’s really sweet and watches off to the side as Izuku interacts with this kid. He says a prayer for Kazuki, asking that he be protected and always have a reason to smile. That his childhood not become a horror show like his and Izuku’s had.
Kaede mentions that someone else is going to come by to Shouto, after dropping a few hints that he should try to pursue a relationship with Izuku. After about the fifth remark, there’s a knock on the door and in steps Uraraka.
Only Kaede introduces her as Rosemary.
The three stare at each other in shock and Uraraka’s even a little upset. When they all leave Kaede’s, she goes home with the boys and demands to know what’s going on.
Izuku tells her about her childhood, how Kaede helped her, how he hadn’t told Uraraka because he was trying to change and all this other stuff but before he can get much out, she’s pulling him into a hug and sobbing because she wasn’t able to help her friend.
Chp 17: Shitton of domestic fluff as Shouto and Izuku celebrate Christmas together. At some point they go for a walk and get stuck under mistletoe. Both are red in the face, but Izuku leans in to press a kiss to Shouto’s cheek. More fluff, and then they exchange gifts. Shouto got Izuku a comic book he mentioned sometime, and Izuku got Shouto moisturizer for his scar (he mentioned it was itchy), a bag of mochi, and a sketchbook.
Shouto gets really excited about the sketchbook, then decides to prove to Izuku that he knows how to draw. He sits Izuku down on the couch by the tree, then sits across from him and starts drawing. A little over an hour later, Shouto shows a realistic drawing of Izuku, shaded and all, and Izuku can only think that in the drawing, he looks beautiful and is this how Shouto sees him?
Chp 18: A few months have passed with no leads coming up. Both are frustrated by that, but Izuku’s also happy about his new job. He’s been working there for a couple weeks, and all is going well.
And then he gets a panicked call from Kaede. Her clients have stopped going to her and she’s losing money and she won’t be able to afford the upcoming rent. Upon hearing this, Izuku calms her down and promises her everything will be okay.
He hangs up and makes sure Shouto is asleep before getting dressed and slipping out.
He goes back to his old spot to wait for someone to come by and pick him up, resolved to do something quick so he can head back. It feels kind of wrong to be out here, especially now that he’s used to Shouto’s warmth.
He gets in the first car that stops for him and starts the flirting, the flattering. And then the guy says something that doesn’t sit right with Izuku. He discreetly dials Shouto’s number, not sure if his friend picked up or not but praying that he did.
The man says some more things, about getting rid of the stains on earth, dirty things like Izuku.
He tries to get out of the car, but it’s locked. Panic floods his body as the car comes to a stop at an older looking house and the man pulls out a syringe, jabbing it in Izuku’s neck. He manages to shout the address out, and he can only hope Shouto was on to hear it.
Chp 19: When Izuku wakes up, he’s strapped down to a table, fully dressed. The man from before is there, but so are a few other people. They reveal themselves to have all been the Snatcher, and that’s why no one could find anything. Izuku falls quiet as he realized that all nine people in front of him were responsible for his mom’s death. He can’t move, can’t talk, can’t yell. He’s paralyzed, and all he can do is take flashback after flashback.
Chp 20: The door bursts open before anything can happen and in rushes Shouto, gun drawn. Behind him is Uraraka and a few other people Izuku met at the diner. Izuku is saved and taken to a hospital to get the paralytic drug out of his system. Nine people are arrested as the Snatcher, and Shouto heads out to the hospital once he finishes his paperwork.
Chp 21: Shouto watches over Izuku while he sleeps, and when he wakes up, they both talk things through. Izuku explains why he left and then they end up confessing their love for one another. Uraraka walks in right after to check on her friend, oblivious to the moment. No one is upset because yeah, that shit was scary.
Timeskip, and Izuku is leaving the hospital, traumatized and bruised. He decides to start going to therapy and Shouto recommends his old therapist, Yagi. Izuku nods, saying he’ll check it out. He kisses Shouto on the cheek as the reach Shouto’s front door, and that’s the end.