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Shouto wakes to three steady knocks on the door to the veranda, squinting at the closed curtains as if they have committed a grave offense while he decides whether he actually heard it or if it’s just the remnants of a dream he no longer recalls. For the longest time, all he hears is the deafening quiet of his darkened dorm, as it should be, and he returns his head to his soft pillow, nuzzling it with an unintelligible grumble and getting ready to slip right back into his slumber. And then, there it is again: knock, knock, knock, slow but firm.
Propping himself up on his elbows, Shouto mutters a confused curse under his breath before dragging himself out of the comfort of his futon, wondering if he imagined being on the fifth floor of Heights Alliance this whole time. Or maybe he locked something out there by accident and the wind was knocking it against the glass door? Surely, Shouto would have remembered actually going outside, but the days have been so hot lately he prefers to stay in the comfort of his air-conditioned room.
Just because he has an ice quirk doesn’t mean it doesn’t tire him to regulate his temperature on a blazing summer afternoon.
Careful not to make any quick movements, just in case, Shouto tugs at one of the curtains just as the knocks are starting again. He blinks stupidly at his best friend’s smiling face on the other side of the glass. He’s still on the fifth floor, right? Trying not to think too much about it, his sleep-filled brain not equipped to handle the strain of figuring out how, or rather why Izuku decided it would be a good idea to climb the building up to his veranda from his bedroom on the first floor, Shouto just sighs, opening the door.
“Hey.” Izuku whispers, his grin only growing wider once he finally pokes his head into Shouto’s dorm. “Get dressed, we’re sneaking out.”
Shouto gives him a moment’s pause, staring impassively for a few heartbeats before finally finding the part of his brain responsible for speech and critical thinking.
“We’re doing what.”
“Sneaking out, come on. Put some proper clothes on.”
“Izuku, I’m pretty sure it’s past one in the morning.”
“It’s—” Izuku looks down at his phone for a second. “Two thirteen actually.” He smiles up at him once more.
“Go to bed.”
“Wait, wait, wait!”
Izuku zaps into Shouto’s room before he even has the chance to think of closing the door, taking something down from his shoulders; a backpack it seems. Shouto crosses his arms over his chest and waits patiently for his friend to set it down and show him its contents. With so little light, he can hardly see anything at all, but Izuku pipes up excitedly anyway.
“Marshmallows, biscuits and chocolate. We can make some smores, have a nice time. Have you ever snuck out before?”
Shouto shrugs. “Can’t say I have…”
“See? You need to do it at least once before you’re an adult and you can just go out whenever you want.”
In spite of himself, a corner of Shouto’s mouth twitches in mild amusement. “That so?”
“Yep. Being a kid, rule number forty-three.”
“Right, of course. How could I forget.” Shouto mutters sarcastically, rolling his eyes, but Izuku takes the mockery in stride, only beaming up at him even brighter.
“Well, it’s okay. Your dad is a huge douche nozzle so I can forgive you for not knowing such an essential part of the rulebook. You’re lucky you have me though, otherwise you’d get your kid card revoked.”
“What would I do without you?”
“I know, right?”
Resigning to his fate, Shouto quickly changes into some jeans and a plain white shirt in the bathroom, moving toward the door when he’s done only for Izuku to pull him back before he can open it. Izuku drags him all the way back to the veranda, picking up his backpack along the way and snaking his arms into the straps so that it hangs at his front. Shouto purses his lips, taking a look down to the floor below before facing Izuku again.
“You’re not expecting me to—”
With a small chuckle, Izuku turns his back to Shouto and crouches slightly. “Hop on the Midoriya express and make sure you hold tight! It’s gonna be a bumpy ride!”
“Can’t we just take the stairs? You know, like normal people?”
“And risk getting caught? Besides, where’s the fun in that?” Izuku wiggles his eyebrows at him and Shouto lets out another exasperated sigh, walking towards him and hopping onto his back.
“If you drop me, I’m going to kill you.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Kacchan, lately.”
“Yeah, whatever. Let’s just get on with it.”
Izuku adjusts their position, making sure that Shouto is secured, and he feels a fuzzy warmth spreading around them as Izuku’s quirk activates. He jumps onto the railing, balancing precariously before jumping down, a black whip flying from one of his hands and latching on to a railing as they swing around the building’s corner. Instinctively, Shouto squeezes his eyes shut and buries his face in Izuku’s shirt, feeling the wind blow past his hair as they hurtle through the air. When they finally hit the floor, Shouto bounces slightly in Izuku’s hold, risking a glance at their surroundings and immediately regretting it when his friend hoists them into the skies once again.
He shakes with each of Izuku’s jumps off the walls, holding on for dear life for however long it takes to get them to wherever he is going, and his heart feels like it is fitting to beat right out of his chest. It’s a bit terrifying, but at the same time, extremely liberating, butterflies fluttering in his stomach and making him feel all sorts of giddy. By the time Izuku finally sets foot on solid ground and stops moving at breakneck speed, Shouto is sure his legs will give the moment his friend lets him down.
But Izuku doesn’t let go when Shouto climbs onto the floor, holding on to his side as his knees wobble until he is sure that he can keep himself upright. Taking a few deep breaths then stretching his legs a little, Shouto looks around them, trying to pinpoint exactly where Izuku brought them. They are definitely on a roof, and when Shouto walks over to the edge, he can immediately tell it belongs to the school’s main building. He hums, impressed.
“You managed to get us up here so fast.”
“I’ve been practicing.” Izuku breathes, taking a blanket from his bag and spreading it out on the floor. “There are still lights on outside the dorms, but here everything is turned off for the night. We can see the stars easier.”
“How cheesy.” Shouto comments, a small smile stretching across his lips regardless.
“Yeah, I know. I thought it would be nice though.”
Izuku pats the spot next to him and Shouto sits down too, helping him pull out the snacks before realising there is a crucial piece missing to his friend’s plan. Or, well… He glares at Izuku in feigned annoyance.
“Really? I’m the fire for the smores?”
“Got a better idea? I don’t think we can burn school property and I don’t have one of those artificial burners so…”
“You only use me for my quirk, do you know how hurtful that is?”
“Oh, please, how many times have I carried you back to the dorms so you could nap on the way?” Izuku shoots back, shoving his shoulder.
“Loophole, you do that with your strength alone, therefore, not using you for your quirk.”
“Just my muscles.”
“Those are fair game.”
“Jerk.”
A little amused huff of his own only seems to make Izuku giggle harder, and Shouto lifts up his left hand between them, willing a small flame into existence that he takes a few moments to admire before actually sticking the marshmallows on some chopsticks and holding them to it.
Shouto hadn’t actually ever tried the snack until not many months ago, when the class decided it would be a fun activity for a late Friday night after their weekly movie, but Izuku noticed how much he liked it and had been finding excuses to make smores fairly regularly ever since. He appreciates the gesture, as much as he keeps telling Izuku that he doesn’t have to go out of his way for him like that. But that’s just how Izuku is.
Shouto still doesn’t know how he managed to become his friend, especially with how rocky their relationship started. Izuku will never let him live that down either, much to his dismay. It’s worth it though, to be reminded how much of an embarrassing idiot he was back then if that means he got here in the end.
They eat the messy treats as they chat the night away, talking about anything and everything without a single care in the world. It’s peaceful like this, with no one’s expectations looming over them, just the moon shining its shy light down on them as they count the constellations they can name and then look them up on their phones to find out they got over half of them wrong. It’s true, what would Shouto do without Izuku?
He doesn’t think he would have made it this far, both literally and figuratively. But they got here together, and Izuku keeps trying to find new ways to make his life better. A few hours of lost sleep are a price Shouto is more than willing to pay. Perhaps one day he will be able to give back just as much happiness as he gets from being Izuku’s friend.
For now, Izuku has been teaching him that it’s okay to keep taking everything he has to offer.