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“Midoriya!” Tenya calls across the dorm common room. “Your tie is done incorrectly again. I implore you to let me help with it!”
Izuku flinches at the yell and peeks his eyes out of his arms, smiling sheepishly. “I thought it looked good.”
As Tenya opens his mouth again, Mina groans from the coach. “Iida, you’re a great class prez and all but it’s too damn early for you to be yelling like that.”
“You should just let him teach you to do your tie,” Tsuyu comments.
Izuku’s face flames as Ochako is quick to push him into Tenya with a wink that has him squeaking. Tenya opens Izuku’s door to get at the mirror on the inside and wraps his arms around Izuku’s shoulders, quickly undoing the sloppy knot that’s there before. Izuku barely hears Tenya explaining how to tie a Windsor knot as he’s concentrating on not having his knees collapse from under him.
But it’s over in an instant and Tenya is pulling back with a big smile on his face. Izuku rubs at his cheek, awkwardly mumbling his thanks as Tenya ruffles his hair as well. He can hear a snort from the common room and Tsuyu is looking at Izuku, smiling.
He narrows his eyes at her suspiciously but doesn’t say anything as he pulls his blazer back on, closes his door, and wanders into the kitchen.
Kaminari is the next one to be forced into being helped with her tie. Tenya narrows his eyes and immediately is asking if she knows how to do it.
“Appearance is a very big part of becoming a hero, Kaminari,” he lectures her. “I will gladly assist you with your tie and show you how to do it correctly if none of the other girls knows how.”
“N-Nah, it’s fine, guys. Really my tie isn’t a big deal to-” Kaminari tries to say but Mina is already tackling her from behind and pulling her away.
“I can do your tie! I got this, guys; you’re gonna have such a good knot after this, Kaminnari.”
“She’s gonna die,” Jirou says.
Shouto is next, oddly enough. He has it undone as he walks out of his room and into the kitchen. There were snorts when Tenya yet again makes a beeline for the offending person and starts lecturing Shouto about ties.
“You have to know how these things work. You usually have a good knot, Todoroki.”
“It came undone and I can’t remember how to do it,” Shouto mumbles to the ground. “Sorry about that.”
“I can help and show you how to do it so it is quite alright! Midoriya, is it alright if we use your door’s mirror again?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind, man.” Izuku says, going to open it.
Shouto is quickly put in the same predicament as Izuku, trying his best to not fall to the ground in his embarrassment. He tries not to lean into Tenya’s touch but it's nice and comforting and warm. It's so short lived though as one thing filtered through Tenya’s instructions and mindless chatter.
“You have to have a proper look as Endeavor’s son now that he’s the #1 hero, Todoroki. I hope this helps you!”
Tenya didn’t know so Shouto tries not to look too upset but Izuku frowned from his spot on the couch. He bites a little harder than he should have into his toast but nobody else seems to notice as Tenya turns and starts urging people to eat and get ready faster.
It's soon forgotten, what Tenya said, in the rush of the school day. It was something that nagged only softly at the back of Shouto's head. But it comes back full force that night when Shouto has a nightmare about one of the worse times he was training with his dad. He had stepped wrong and Enji had caught him in the side. He doesn't remember what happened much afterwards but he laid down for a long time.
When he wakes up to his eyes burning and side pulsing, he knew it’s a bad idea to be alone any longer. He scratched at his side hard enough to draw blood and he’s still shaking with free flowing tears that just wouldn’t stop .
It’s in a moment of desperation when he texts Tenya and Izuku, asking if they were both awake. It takes a few minutes but both are answering him with varying degrees of indignation that he’s awake.
“ Had a nightmare. Sorry, it’s nothing. ” he says, trying not to worry them. But it has the opposite effect when Tenya is asking him what tea he likes and Izuku asking him to be ready to open his door so he could sit with him.
Both are there within ten minutes of their last text. Tenya has a steaming mug of tea and Izuku has his blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a pillow hugged to his chest. Shouto awkwardly shuffles to the side so they can walk in.
Izuku hands Shouto the pillow, saying with a smile. “If you don’t want us to stay, you can use that so it feels like somebody else is still here, you know? So you don’t feel so alone.”
“Thank you,” Shouto chokes out, his voice hoarse. Izuku peers up at him worriedly but just pulls him over to the little table where Tenya is waiting for them.
Tenya slides him the mug without hesitation. “It is Jasmine tea. You didn’t answer me so I picked a calming one for you. Nightmares are quite harrowing so please, if you need to talk about it, do not hesitate to tell us about it.”
Shouto nods but doesn’t say anything. Not yet. Izuku gives a knowing look to him that Shouto ignores as he stares into the cup. Should he tell Tenya about his home life before UA? Was that too personal still?
“I could start, if you want me to?” Izuku says gently. Shouto hesitates before nodding.
Tenya looks perplexed but stays silent as he looks towards Izuku, waiting.
“Endeavor is an asshole and the worst parent I’ve heard of.” Izuku blurts, his face growing hard and angry. “He only married Todoroki’s mom because of quirk marriages and he trained Todoroki when his quirk manifested at five years old so he could be the best weapon. It was abuse and terrible and-”
Izuku sucks in a breath, dragging his hand down his face. Tenya is appalled, his mouth hanging open slightly in pure shock. It’s soon replaced with anger and, not pity, but sympathy.
“Was that what your nightmare was about?” Tenya asks Shouto gently.
He nods, starting to explain about the memory of what happened when he was 12. Izuku looks angrier with everything Shouto says and Tenya grips his hands together firmly to stop them from shaking. When Shouto is done, he looks back into the mug, breathing in the steam and taking a sip.
“I am truly horrified you experienced such a traumatic thing, Todor-”
“Shouto”, he interupts. “Call me Shouto. Nobody does but I like it better than my family name. Everybody knows me as Endeavor's son not...not Shouto.”
Tenya smiles then, soft and hesitant, as he says, “Sh-Shouto then. I’m horrified you went through that but thank you for trusting me to tell me. Would you like me and Midoriya to stay with you for the remainder of the night in a chance that your nightmares will not come back?”
Shouto pauses again, looking at the floor. He nods slowly, not making eye contact out of embarrassment. Izuku is the first to move. He shuffles around the table and plops down in between Tenya and Shouto, opening his arms to both of them. They both look embarrassed and it takes Izuku forcibly pulling them towards Shouto’s bed before they’ll move into his arms.
They maneuver so Shouto is in the middle with Izuku behind him, happily snuggling into his shoulder, and Tenya in front, pulling both of them to his chest. Shouto relaxes almost instantly, liking the feeling of having the two people he trusts most surrounding him like this. He sinks into the touch and sighs as he feels himself getting tired again.
“Thanks,” he mumbles against Tenya’s chest. “This means….a lot to me.”
Izuku laughs, pulling his arms just a little bit tighter around Shouto’s chest. Tenya smiles too, running a hand through Shouto’s hair.
If this was what it felt like to be loved, Shouto never wanted it to end.