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Even with the amount of grooming his father had put him through, Shouto didn’t think he’d ever be used to the huge crowds that wanted to talk to him. His days at Yuuei were bad enough, especially after the sports festivals, but as a pro it was even worse. At least he had Izuku to direct a good bit of the attention away from him.
They’d both been invited to speak at a convention of some kind and while the question and answer session had seemed to drag on much longer than an hour and a half, the autographs were even worse. While it was endearing to see so many people mimicking him, his wrist was beginning to hurt and the line still stretched on for awhile.
Izuku signaled to one of the women running the event and they cordoned off the line so the two heroes could take a short break. Izuku downed nearly half a water bottle and gave Shouto a sheepish look.
“These events always seem to go on forever, huh?”
“Glad it’s not just me who thinks so.”
Then it started again and a set of twins approached them, both clutching posters of the heroes. They were dressed like Frostfire and he couldn’t help but smile at their awestruck looks as he signed them.
“What are your quirks?” he asked offhandedly.
“Fire,” the one said.
“And ice!” said the other.
“You’re such a cool hero!” they chorused.
He did a poor job of hiding his surprise and Izuku intervened, signing their stuff and directing them down the line. He forced a smile for the rest of the people but the pair of them were always in the back of his mind.
The event finally ended and they made their way back to the hotel, Shouto immediately flopping down on his respective bed. “I can’t believe we have to do that again tomorrow.”
“The price we pay as heroes. Although, really, we’re the ones getting paid.”
“At least there’s that.”
Izuku sat across from him and kicked off his boots. “Those twins were cute with the way they were looking at you. The fire and ice.”
He didn’t answer and the other boy cocked his head. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah, just tired.”
He finished changing out of his costume and sighed. “I used to beg my mom for a sibling. With my dad always gone and her working, I felt so alone sometimes. And Katsuki just bullied me so I didn’t always want to hang out with him.”
He made an unconvinced noise and wished he’d just stop.
Izuku seemed to pick up on it. “Sorry, I know you had it rough with your siblings.”
“S’not your fault.”
“No, but I still shouldn’t go on about it like that. C’mon, let’s go get dinner and then we can just relax here.”
“Soba?” he asked hopefully.
He laughed. “Yes, I saw a soba shop not far from here.”
Shouto smiled as they walked, the twins forgotten.
He’d changed into sweats an hour ago and he was half watching as one of the All Might movies played on TV. Izuku was mouthing most of the lines, even as he swiped through his phone. Shouto didn’t know whether to be impressed or disturbed.
Eventually neither of them were even paying the slightest bit of attention and he shut off the TV, plunging the room into darkness. He tried to force himself to sleep, trying all the breathing techniques he knew, but his mind was still racing. Those twins--
“Hey, Shouto?”
He looked over and could just make out Izuku in the dark.
“Are you sure everything’s okay? If you’re sick or something you don’t have to go tomorrow, or at least not for the full session. The fans would understand--”
“It’s not that,” he assured him.
“But it’s something else?”
Of course he’d pick up on that. “Just some… unpleasant memories.”
“I’m here if you want to talk.”
“Of course.”
Then the room was silent save for their breathing and the quiet footsteps of people in the hall. He stared up at the ceiling but simply couldn’t fall asleep.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when he finally spoke up, or if Izuku was even awake.
“I was supposed to have a twin.”
There was no response and his heart raced, but he forced himself to keep going.
“My mother was set to have twins. She had only just found out and my father was… excited, I suppose. It meant a higher chance of the spliced quirk he wanted. But she went in for an ultrasound not long after and… there was only one fetus. The other had vanished.”
His throat felt as though it was closing up. He didn’t know why he was saying anything in the first place. He’d never told anyone before.
“I… absorbed it, and that’s why I’m like this. The doctor took one look at me after I was born and said I’d probably have both quirks. I think my father knew from the beginning. I just… I wonder which half I was supposed to be. Fire or ice? Was I going to be like her? What would’ve happened to us, had we been born like normal? There’s so many questions and I don’t have the answers to any of them. I try to forget about this but I can’t--!”
A choked sob escaped him and he pressed a hand over his mouth. He was still so weak--
“Thank you for telling me,” came the quiet response.
He didn’t trust himself to speak and just nodded, knowing the other boy couldn’t see him.
“Vanishing Twin Syndrome, right? I think I read about it once. It’s surprisingly common.”
“I killed my brother or sister--”
“Don’t even start that, Shouto.”
He was silent as Izuku raised his voice. “...But I did--” he ventured.
“No you didn’t. It’s nobody’s fault.”
“I appreciate your words, but I’ve known for awhile. You can’t change my mind.”
Izuku could just see him in the dark, and could see how he was wiping away tears. “...Just try to sleep, Shouto. We can talk about this in the morning if you want.”
He rolled away from the boy and blinked away the rest of the tears. He knew he wouldn’t be sleeping that night.