Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The smell of coffee from the kitchen hit Shouto—he liked to say ‘assaulted’, but it was hyperbole and Izuku always laughed at his exaggeration—effectively waking him up. Although he thought the smell was delicious, he wrinkled his nose if he was ever offered a mug; he preferred to drink tea because it had a better effect on him than coffee for some odd reason. Izuku didn’t really understand why that was the case, but he never pestered Shouto about it. Instead, he filled a mug with hot water and tea leaves before adding some honey for flavor. Shouto could do this himself, and he did when he beat Izuku to the kitchen, but his husband would often spoil Shouto.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t take the day off; their schedules were busy and the hero agencies they worked with had them saturated with cases to last them a year. They couldn’t spare a day of relaxation, but they could enjoy their mornings together. This morning, in particular, held a special meaning for them than the rest and the breakfast Izuku was preparing didn’t fail to remind Shouto of it.

A startled Izuku jumped when he saw Shouto enter the kitchen as if he’d been caught stealing a cookie from a forbidden cookie jar.

“I thought you wouldn’t be up for another half hour,” Izuku said after he managed to recollect himself. He sounded a bit nervous, but that wasn’t anything new to Shouto.

“It’s hard to ignore hearing pots and pans from the room.” Shouto’s teasing tone caused Izuku to flush momentarily. He looked guilty about something. “Do you need help?”

“Just setting up plates. I’m about done with all this,” Izuku assured with a smile. As if on cue, he flipped what was frying in a pan, removing it from the heat, setting it aside, and turning off the stove.

Shouto made his way to one of the cabinets and retrieved a couple of plates, noting Izuku had already prepared their mugs and were waiting on the table, soft clouds of steam escaping from the hot water. Once set up along with the food Izuku had prepared, he went to take his seat when he felt a warm hand take his, pulling him closer to an even warmer body that brought him into an embrace. Had he not been trying to stifle a yawn, he would have seen it coming. Not that he minded the hug. One was always welcomed, especially when it was followed by a kiss.

“Happy anniversary,” Izuku breathed against Shouto’s lips. For a moment, hunger for this man clouded his mind, replacing any need for breakfast.

“The same goes…to you,” Shouto managed to say, relaxing in his arms and wrapping his free arm around Izuku’s neck.

It felt like the kiss lasted forever and yet it ended far too quickly. Shouto whined when they broke away, a sign of his disappointment , but they didn’t move away from each other. As they rested their foreheads against one another, Shouto was able to look into Izuku’s beautiful green eyes. He wasn’t sure how he could show so much love and affection with a single gaze. Shouto had wondered if this was his true quirk instead of the one he used for hero work.

“I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed.” Izuku’s voice brought Shouto back to reality. That same look from a few moments’ prior returned to his face. He looked sheepish, pink coloring his cheeks He was always so thoughtful with Shouto, never missing a chance to make him feel special.

“Well…if you’re up for it, we could just take this to the bedroom and eat there,” Shouto proposed. “I can even act surprised.”

Izuku thought about it for a minute. “Pretend to be asleep, too.”

Shouto chuckled, picturing the scenario. He’d gotten so used to cutting loose. Whether it was because of Izuku or because he wanted to spend time with him. He didn’t really know the answer, but if it made Izuku happy, then he knew it would make him happy as well. “I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll take this in a tray,” Izuku began to say but cut off his sentence when he saw Shouto take the mugs from the table. He put his hands on his hips, but he couldn’t stay serious with Shouto looking at him ever so innocently. “Including the mugs.”

“I’m taking these and I’m not sorry,” Shouto countered, a playful smile gracing his face.

“Shou…”

“You could use the help.” He took a sip from what he presumed was his mug, but was met with the bitter taste of Izuku’s coffee. He made no effort to hide the disgust in his face, causing Izuku to laugh, the other man unable to hide his amusement.

“I guess you needed that to wake up then.”

“That’s not going to work. I’m supposed to pretend to be asleep,” Shouto scoffed, walking away from the kitchen. Moments later, when he’d set down the mugs on the night table beside him and laid down, Izuku came into the room, tray in hand, and turned on the lights. He was trying to keep a serious face, but even through the darkness, Shouto could see he was biting back a laugh.

Nonetheless, he sat up and gave him a smile. “Ah! You surprised me!”

Izuku’s laughter escaped his mouth, filling the room with mirth, all while doing his best to keep the tray of food steady.

“Izuku!” Shouto pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. Was his acting really that bad?

“I’m sorry!” Izuku was close to kneeling, but Shouto wasn’t sure what was so funny. “It’s not you,” he chuckled. “This is just really silly!”

Shouto got up to help him with the tray, suspecting if he let him handle it any further, he may drop it and God help them if their breakfast went to waste. “Come on and eat with me, silly husband.” He managed to take the tray from Izuku and set it down on the bed before feeling strong arms wrap around his torso. His breath hitched when he felt Izuku kiss his cheek and he felt weightless when he rested his chin on Shouto’s left shoulder. Shouto cupped Izuku’s chin with his left hand and turned his head slightly to attempt to look at him. If only they didn’t have to work, he could spend the day trying to figure out Izuku and his playful soul.

“How much trouble would we get into if we skipped work today?” Izuku asked, nuzzling Shouto’s neck. The gesture sent goosebumps down Shouto’s spine and he forgot how to breathe for a solid ten seconds.

“I would say an abysmal amount,” he answered, noting how shaky his voice was. He didn’t know how Izuku did it, but he somehow still had such a strong effect on him. He cleared his throat. “I doubt either of our agencies would want for us to be absent for the joint training.”

Izuku groaned. Shouto knew that his husband loved his job. It was his passion and he wouldn’t want to give it up for anything. The only person he was willing to even consider skipping out on ‘justicing’ was Shouto and even then. He would convince him to keep his eyes focused. Of course, Shouto wasn’t one to talk. He, too, would jump out of a window of a ten-story building if it meant getting to be with Izuku. It was a good thing they were able to balance each other out and act as the other’s impulse control. At the moment, it was Shouto’s duty as the number three hero to keep the number one hero in line.

“I thought you were looking forward to it,” Shouto mused.

“I was! Don’t get me wrong.” His curls brushed against Shouto’s skin, making him sigh in anticipation. In contrast, Izuku sighed in frustration. “I love joint training…but it had to be today of all days?”

“Well, it is a weekday,” Shouto pointed out. “There wasn’t much we could do about it.”

“You’re right, but…it still doesn’t make me feel any less miffed.” Izuku was in his blindspot, so Shouto couldn’t see him. However, he could visualize the pout forming on his lips.

“Hey, think about it like this: you’ll get to see heroes and sidekicks with different quirks and take notes on them. Plus, you and I may end up fighting. Each other or together, I don’t know, but it’ll get on my old man’s nerves and we’ll get to laugh about it when we come back home.” In Shouto’s defence, Shouto wasn’t what people would call an optimist. He’d never been the most positive person in the world, not with his past home life with Endeavor. He was getting better now that he had moved out, made a name for himself, and was in a relationship with someone who respected and admired him for who he was. He was doing his best to pump Izuku up and it did take effort from his part. The right words never really came easy to him the way that they did for Izuku. However, he thought he got through to him when he heard him sighing in resignation. It was better than the alternative.

“You have a good point,” Izuku mumbled, his words almost getting muffled by Shouto’s shirt. “We’ll also be seeing some of our friends, too.”

“See? It will work out.”

Izuku was quiet for a moment. “I just wanted to have you all to myself today. Is that too much to ask?”

Sometimes, Shouto forgot this absolute fool was in love with him and it always gave him emotional whiplash of the good kind. If there even was a good kind, to begin with. “Well, no, not at all. We are taking the weekend off, though.” There wasn’t much they could do for the current date, but he figured the world wouldn’t come crashing down the two days they’d be absent, right?

“Ah, true…” Izuku came into his line of sight, facing him completely now.

“So you can have me for two full days.” Shouto’s lips curled up into a mischievous smile. “And tonight, if that makes you feel better.”

“Hmm…” Pretending to be thoughtful, Izuku took Shouto in his arms and held him impossibly close. He wasted no time in kissing him. They broke away after a moment, Izuku’s lips lingering ever so slowly against Shouto’s. “Why not right now?”

Shouto was so close to giving in, so close to ignoring his duties, so close to just telling the world to go fuck itself so he could stay in his husband’s arms. It really wasn’t fair what Izuku did to him. Getting his bearings, he managed to conclude their kiss with a teasing jab on Izuku’s chest. “Because we have to eat breakfast and go to work, you sneaky bastard.”

He was able to see Izuku’s pout in all its glory, annoyance and frustration evident on the crease of his eyebrows. Finally, he resigned from his previous idea despite the exasperation fueling his irritated sigh. “Alright, but once we get home, you’re not leaving this room.”

“Woo me here and we’ll see how it goes,” Shouto winked.

The drive to the Endeavor Hero Agency was mostly uneventful as per usual for Shouto. There were the rare mornings when a villain decided to strike and he was close by to take them down. It made for a slightly less annoying workday where his father wasn’t always on his case. Shouto could tell the big brute wasn’t satisfied with his work. He took care of villains and saved countless lives. His quirks were far more powerful now that he had the experience to wisely apply them during battle. He still trained when his father was in that type of mood, though now Shouto had a say in the form of ‘feedback’ Endeavor would give him, or rather he could defend himself against Endeavor’s attempts to beat him. Shouto was slowly taking over the legacy Endeavor built. He didn’t have the same amount of cases resolved or victories won; it would take years for him to be able to beat his record, but he was sure he could do it. Still, the flame hero was far from happy and even though Shouto tried to convince himself that it wasn’t his problem but his father’s to deal with, he came to the conclusion that he was so angry and displeased with his results because he wasn’t the number one hero yet. At some point, Shouto had stopped caring about the ranking system and popularity polls and opted to just do his job because he enjoyed hero work and wanted to save people’s lives. He didn’t do it for a rank, but rather for defending those that couldn’t defend themselves. The rank was just a bonus and he so happened to be one of the top three heroes.

It wasn’t enough for Endeavor and Shouto doubted he would ever feel content with him because Shouto wasn’t there to beat the number one hero anymore, especially when he was married to him. Endeavour just really disliked Izuku and didn’t do a great job at hiding his distaste. He wasn’t just All Might’s protégé, but he was also his stepson and successor, much like how Shouto was Endeavor’s successor to the hero legacy he’d built for so long. Shouto knew this pissed off his father, but he couldn’t help feel like…Endeavour deserved it. Sometimes one couldn’t get what they wanted, and with a ridiculous standard set by him for Shouto to reach, he doubted he’d ever give Endeavor what he sought out for his whole hero career. Not that Shouto wasn’t capable of surpassing Izuku. They were both powerful in their own right, but their quirks were different and therefore had different uses. Shouto didn’t have Izuku’s ridiculous super strength and speed. He didn’t have his charisma. He didn’t have his glow. Shouto had other attributes that worked for him and used them to his advantage. He had the ability to create ice and fire, which according to Izuku, was one of the coolest combinations and Shouto should feel proud of his quirks. He really could pack a punch with them and they were versatile. He could put out fires, stabilize buildings, and apprehend villains with his ice and overwhelm them with his fire. Although Shouto was not fond of the media, he was not rude to the public. He didn’t have a natural smile like Izuku, but that was okay. He wouldn’t force himself to put on a façade just to please people. The genuine smiles he did give were to children who were excited to see him and asked for his autograph or anxious mothers who held up their phones to take pictures of him with their kids, or fanboys and fangirls that squealed whenever he walked by and waved at them. The public was different from the media and Shouto would do his best to give them the attention they sought out. Sometimes he couldn’t hear anything because of all the screaming and it gave him anxiety from the sheer amount of people that could gather around an area. However, he worked for their safety so it was the reward that Shouto hadn’t known he needed to feel fulfilled. Watching all those people smile because of him was euphoric.

He understood Izuku a little more because of them. He’d figure his aloofness and distance would be a turn off for others, but apparently it was an attractive feature. Or at least that’s what all the online forums that Izuku showed him seemed to think. It truly surprised him how popular he had become and felt the shock from people’s comments that Izuku read to him at times.

Comments such as ‘he’s pretty’ or ‘that guy is hot god bless his parents’, or in a more serious comment, ‘celsius has done so much for this world and we should all appreciate him #favehero’ had a strange impact on his self-confidence that Shouto didn’t want to admit at first. It was something he couldn’t understand, but he figured it was the same sentiment with his and Izuku’s admiration towards All Might.

He was brought out of his line of thought when an alert sounded on the radio, usually to warn the public about a villain. The radio host sounded serious and concerned and Shouto could picture him sweating as he spoke.

“Last night, a villain was spotted engaging in battle with two heroes on the outskirts of town. His whereabouts are unknown and we are unsure of whether he moved into the city or jumped to the neighbouring town, but we will keep you updated. Everyone, please be careful. His quirk is unknown, but the heroes fighting him have not been found. The information we have so far is he wears a cloak and he has a large scar on the right side of his face. He could be anywhere…”

Shouto dialled his phone and called Izuku, pressing the speaker button in case there was more to the report.

“Babe, what’s up?” Izuku’s soft voice answered.

“Did you get to hear what was on the radio just now?” Shouto asked, cutting to the chase.

“No, I got to the office around ten minutes ago.”

Shouto sighed, informing Izuku of the villain that was loose around the area. There was a shuffle of papers, figuring his husband was either looking for something to write on or he was passing it along to someone else.

“Thanks, Shoucchan. I’ll tell the others right away. Stay safe.”

“You, too. Don’t do anything stupid. Love you.” The threat was empty with the way his voice delivered it, sounding more endearing than annoyed; he knew full well Izuku would be brash and reckless and he couldn’t stop him, but it didn’t hurt to remind him to stay out of trouble.

“Not without you,” Izuku chuckled. “Love you, too.”

He’d have to pass the information along to his coworkers, but that’s what the memo board was for and he could write it instead of making an announcement. It was better that way, anyway. Besides the written note he’d make, the rest of his morning was routine. Greeting employees that said hello to him first; checking that memo board that repeatedly saved him from having to ask around if something had come up (and wrote what he had to himself); and getting to his office—er, desk. In reality, Endeavor was the only one who had an official, private office in the agency. Everyone else, including Shouto, had a desk to work on and that was it. Shouto didn’t particularly care. It was a place to get his paperwork done, the computer functioned, and he had a surface to eat. He wasn’t the type to decorate his space so openly, so the only belongings he left on it were a pad of sticky notes, working pens, and a clean green mug that said ‘I <3 OFA’ in black letters. Just in case he needed a cup of tea.

It wasn’t out of the ordinary for the employees to have hero merchandise, but everyone knew their boss didn’t approve of One For All. All the more reason for Shouto to show his defiance and have the mug there, sometimes drinking out of it while his father talked to him and they made eye contact. More defiance. It’s not like Endeavor could tell him to get rid of the mug, at least not anymore because he tried at the beginning, but Shouto was relentless to have his mug on his desk or so help him he would freeze his father’s mouth shut so he’d never speak again. It was a mug , for crying out loud. To his credit, Shouto’s excuse for having it was that he was a big fan, plus they had attended UA together and were very close friends. It was only right for him to show his support, wasn’t it? Besides, they worked together often when fighting villains, despite not working for the same agencies. They received the same alerts and they happen to get there at the same time, so team-ups were never really a coincidence. As far as the employees knew, Shouto and One For All were close friends, even best friends , which was all the better for keeping their marriage on the down-low.

Only a select few knew about that, such as family and friends, but not coworkers or other pro heroes. It was for their safety; the last thing they needed was to put a huge target on each other’s backs for villains to attack them. It was better for Shouto’s sake since he didn’t have the media harassing him about his relationship with Izuku, which would surely get exploited until he exploded. It was better this way, being silent. He could show his love for his husband subtly, such as having that fucking mug on his desk. And by wearing his wedding ring as a necklace rather than having it on his left ring finger. It saved him the trouble of getting it burned or covered in ash or blood. Subtlety was key.

Except…when he got to his desk, a not so subtle arrangement of flowers were placed on it and he wondered if he’d mistaken someone else’s working space for his own. It certainly looked like his desk; that damned mug was there in all its glory for people to see. He rubbed the back of his neck as heat settled on his cheeks before looking around to see if there was a note.

“Hey, chief. Got a secret admirer?” One of the sidekicks asked.

“Not sure why they sent me this, though,” Shouto answered flatly. He finally found the card after a moment of searching, but he wasn’t as surprised as he should have been since he had an idea of who’d sent it to him.

‘That fool,’ Shouto thought with contentment.

“Hm, it probably is an admirer. They made Celsius smile!” Another one of the sidekicks said as she walked towards his desk. “Who’s it from?”

He tucked the card into his pocket for safe-keeping. “An anonymous sender,” he lied.

“They have good taste,” one of the pro heroes, Flash Shot, piped up.

Shouto smiled at her comment, but he wasn’t so sure about that. Most days it felt like he was the lucky one in the relationship.

Endeavour came out of his office with the same scowl on his face, which was also routine for Shouto. “What’s all this commotion? I’m not paying you to waste your time chit-chatting.”

Flash Shot puffed out her cheeks in an attempt to bite back her retort. “We were just discussing Celsius’ lovely flower arrangement, boss. A fan sent it to him.”

“Did they? They should know not to waste money on such frivolous gifts. My Shouto doesn’t need them,” Endeavor said as he rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Shouto was trying to clear a spot on his desk so he could get some work done and ended up piling up some of the loose flowers on each other. How did anyone even handle flowers, to begin with? What was Izuku thinking? They were pretty and Shouto felt flattered , but he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with them. “They may seem frivolous, but it always feels nice to receive something,” Shouto pointed out.

“Don’t go soft on me,” Endeavor countered. “Your bad influences are rubbing off on you.”

“It’s not affecting my hero work, so I wouldn’t complain,” Shouto shrugged. “Unless you’re jealous that I get gifts and you don’t.”

There was something exhilarating about pushing his father’s buttons. It was like harassing a beast that was ready to snap only to have him restrained by a thick chain to the wall. And then Shouto would wave his big stick of sass in front of his face while sticking his tongue out to him. One day, his father would throttle his neck, but he’d never do it in front of the other employees. He had a rule: never make a scene and Shouto loved to push the boundaries. 

Shouto could feel his father’s eyes on him. “You won’t get any work done with them in your space. It’s better if you dispose of them at once.” It was an order, something that wasn’t up for debate, but Shouto would be damned if he listened. Those flowers were from his husband and they were staying .

“I like them,” Shouto said. “I’m keeping them.”

“They’ll just wilt and die,” Endeavor frowned.

“And when that happens, I’ll throw them. But for now, I will keep them.”

With annoyance, Endeavor walked away while muttering to himself.

“Do you think it’s wise to irritate him like that,” Flash Shot asked him, concern on her face.

“Don’t worry about it. I know how to handle him,” Shouto assured as he took a seat and booted up his computer.

“Listen up!” Endeavour’s voice boomed through the room, effectively catching everyone’s attention. “Our guests will arrive in around an hour, so be prepared to start the joint training by then. Make this count. Show them our agency is better.”

“Yes, sir!”

He caught Shouto’s eye towards the end of his sentence, signaling to him that that last line was meant for him. This helped emphasize to Shouto his father’s displeasure with his rank. Number three wasn’t good enough when another agency had the number one hero working for them. He wouldn’t think about it too much; with the work he had to do, he couldn’t allow himself to get distracted. Besides, he wanted to enjoy this training. He’d get to see how he had improved in the past months as well as getting to watch his colleagues show what they’ve learned out on the battlefield. He got up sometime later to prepare, heading to the workout room to get through stretching exercises and warm-ups with his quirks for the time being. 

It was easy to tell the arrival of the other heroes since the office didn’t usually have so much chatter bouncing off the walls, but he was somewhat glad for it. He could easily identify a few voices. Tenya’s polite authority, a stark contrast to Ochako's more bubbly tone and Bakugou's explosive voice. There were other voices lingering, but none he really cared about at the moment. He was rounding the corner to enter the office again when he heard the whispers of awe coming from the employees. He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face because he knew what that meant. It happened every time he entered a room. As if on cue, Shouto stepped into the lobby filled with guests, but all he could see was the dashing face that left everyone awestruck.

“Holy shit, it’s the number one hero, One For All!” He heard someone say. The giddiness and excitement were infectious and Shouto was revelling in it. He was excited, too, but he wasn’t the best with expressing his emotions in front of others. Too much effort and if he exposed himself, it would be a lot more difficult to keep their relationship private. The thought of walking right up to Izuku and kissing him on the spot was tempting, but it was something he’d have to wait for when they’d get to be alone.

“I can’t believe he’s here.”

“I’m actually shaking.”

“I didn’t expect him to be this huge.”

The change in atmosphere was obvious. Izuku’s presence was prominent and it felt intimidating to be in the same breathing area as him, but Shouto was used to it. He was close to him every day so he was never affected. If he’d thought of the perfect entrance, then One For All would have his own theme music playing as he walked through the room while greeting people. His bright smile put every light source in the room to shame and his energy was enough to supply the city of Tokyo alone. Izuku wasn’t just the number one hero. He was safety and protection. He was charisma and humility. He was the Symbol of Peace. He couldn’t blame the rest for losing their mind while he was there. Shouto swore he saw one of his coworkers swoon after Izuku gave her an autograph. Lucky for him that Shouto wasn’t a jealous husband, but then again, they both trusted each other well enough to not feel insecure at that point.

Subtlety was key and it came with professionalism.

“Celsius!” Meadow eyes landed on him and within seconds, the resilient hero had crossed the room to greet him, extending his hand for Shouto to clasp. “Long time no see.”

“I’m glad you could make it, One For All,” Shouto answered, taking his hand in a solid grip.

“I couldn’t miss this,” Izuku shook his head, their short moment of contact dissolving as he took his hand back. “There are so many heroes here. I might end up filling a whole notebook with information.”

“Hopefully, you can catch them all in one day,” Shouto nodded.

“Woah, Celsius. That’s the second time you’ve smiled today!” Flash Shot walked towards them, looking at him with a teasing gaze. She wrapped an arm around Shouto and he went rigid under her touch. He wasn’t used to people randomly touching him, not even if they were acquainted with one another. “He’s a huge fan of yours,” she told Izuku.

“He flatters me. I’m a huge fan of his, too,” Izuku answered sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. His cheeks flushed an adorable shade of red, making him look like a strawberry.

Flash Shot introduced herself, finally letting Shouto go when Izuku beamed at her and asked her about her quirk.

“Celsius!” He turned when he heard Ochako’s enthusiastic voice chirp his name out and walked towards her and Tenya to greet them.

“Ready, Uravity?” he asked. Despite his discomfort for public displays of affection, there were a few people he didn’t mind greeting in public and Ochako was one of them. She gave him a hug before answering.

“You know it! I’ve been preparing for months. Don’t cry if I kick your ass today,” she said as she punched the air.

Tenya shook his hand in a friendly manner. “‘Preparation’ is an understatement when it comes to you, Uravity,” he added before turning to Shouto. “As soon as she found out about the training, she locked herself in the gym several hours a day and hasn’t rested since.”

“Sell out,” Ochako muttered with a pout.

“No, it’s good to know,” Shouto reassured. “It means you’ve been working hard. Very smart of you.”

“You’re always so nice to me, Celsius,” she waved him off and flipped her hair.

“How did your preparations go?” Tenya asked.

Shouto shrugged. “I came up with a couple of new moves. If I get the chance, I’ll use them today.”

“Your diligence is evident with your every action,” Tenya smiled at him.

“What about you? Did you get to work on new moves?” Shouto asked.

“Yes! And I received excellent feedback from my workout partner,” Tenya answered, nodding towards Ochako.

“When he said I locked myself in the gym, he left out the detail of him also getting locked in with me,” she said with a smug smile.

“She had me working out until my legs were shaking,” Tenya added. “I can never pass up the opportunity to improve.”

To anyone listening in on the conversation, it was logical that someone like Ingenium would work out with Uravity. They worked for the same hero agency, after all, and they’d attended UA together. But the same could be said about Uravity and One For All, or Ingenium and One For All. These workouts were far more private than just coworkers and friends exercising together. Izuku and Shouto weren’t the only ones keeping their marriage out of the media. Tenya and Ochako understood the dangers, too, and acted on them accordingly.

“I wish I could feel sorry for you, but my workout partner is just as diligent…if not more than her,” Shouto said, his gaze following Izuku, who was still talking to Flash Shot.

“I kind of feel sorry for you, Celsius,” Ochako chuckled. “But at the same time, I don’t.”

“Never pity me, Uravity.”

“It’s a nerd reunion.”

Shouto turned to find the source of the voice, but even with his eyes closed, he would be able to identify him. “Funny you mention that. You fit right in.”

“Shut up, Icy Hot. I’m not like the rest of you. I’m only here to tell you I’ll kick your ass in this training.” Bakugou’s rough voice was filled with that threatening passion he brought to every fight.

“Get in line. You’re not the only one who wants to beat me, Ground Zero,” Shouto shot back.

“Yeah, but not everyone can keep their word like I can.” Bakugou got in his face, as if not wanting him to mistake his intentions. “No half-assing anything got it.”

“Don’t underestimate me,” Shouto answered. “Especially when I’m being observed.”

Shouto couldn’t call their relationship a friendship. It was strained at best and volatile at worst, what with the explosive hero’s behavior and past history with Izuku. After Izuku told him about the bullying and abuse Bakugou put him through, Shouto became defensive of Izuku whenever the angry boy was rude to him. He was glad for Izuku that they had made amends and Bakugou seemed to be treating him better, but Shouto still kept him at arms' length. Because of that, the most they could be was perhaps platonic rivals. 

As much as he wanted to discredit him, Shouto couldn’t say Bakugou hadn’t tried. Whether it was for Shouto’s sake or Izuku’s, he wouldn’t know for sure. He had his own way of showing support. He’d known about his situation with his father and family, and he’d finally come clean during their second year when Shouto was having a difficult time with Endeavour intervening in their sports festival once again. Bakugou wasn’t the type to openly help anyone with actual concern. His emotions involved him yelling at the person to get over their bullshit and keep going. It was brash, harsh, and insensitive, but sometimes, it was a wake-up call that Shouto needed.

In a way, Bakugou challenging him that day was his way of telling him to do his best. He had his own language and people like Shouto had deciphered it. Izuku was a lot better at translating Bakugou, having known him since childhood, but hanging around him gave Shouto enough knowledge to interpret his words. Still, Shouto couldn’t help talking back to him with a cold disposition. It was just the way they communicated as platonic rivals.

“You two are always trying to beat each other,” Ochako rolled her eyes.

“I’m coming for your ass, too, Pink Cheeks,” Bakugou glared at her.

“Come at me, bitch,” she shot back confidently.

“Language, you two,” Tenya reminded. “We are guests here.”

“What’s the flame bastard gonna do? Kick me out? He invited my agency and if I go, so do the rest of my sidekicks,” Bakugou said. “I’m surprised he invited your loser agency, four eyes.”

“Well, we have a lot of high-profile heroes working with us, and Endeavor does want the best of everything,” Tenya answered.

“That and his son-in-law runs it,” Ochako dead-panned.

“Any sort of nepotism is stupid. Get to the top on your own fucking merits,” Bakugou spat.

It seemed they didn’t want to address the elephant in the room, and to Shouto’s surprise, Bakugou hadn’t been the one to point it out. Tensei was an excellent manager for the Iida Hero Agency and ran it well, maintaining his heroes and sidekicks and providing them with some of the best resources. A handful of the pro heroes that were in the top twenty ranks worked for him, two of them being Uravity and Ingenium. However, Tensei also had the number one hero working for him. It wasn’t like they could exclude Dekiru from the joint training just because Endeavor didn’t like him. It would be blatantly obvious that he’d disinvite him because of that. Endeavour had to choose his cards carefully. He had to invite everyone or nobody at all. Besides, if he were to ever exclude Izuku from any future training, Shouto would be the first one to skip out on said training. He wasn’t willing to skip it for their anniversary, but he was more than willing to do so out of spite. Nothing motivated Shouto to do something to piss off his father more than a petty reason.

“Endeavor isn’t the type to categorize family as a priority. Rest assured, he didn’t do it because he cares about my sister’s relationship,” Shouto explained with annoyance. It was a sort of reassurance that Tensei had quality work cut out for him rather than family connections. He already had a reputation before he became part of the Todoroki family. He didn’t need Endeavor or his influence.

Izuku was able to join them a moment later. “About time! We were starting to get jealous,” Ochako teased.

“Sorry. I just started talking to Flash Shot about her quirk. It’s really cool,” Izuku gushed, stars shining in his eyes the way they always did when he learned about a new power.

“I assume there is a reason Endeavor has her working for him,” Tenya nodded. “She must be quite strong.”

“She’s actually pretty good. To work as a hero for him, you have to show a lot of promise. She’s one of the few who’s proven to him she can do it.” Shouto had worked with this pro hero for a couple of years now and her record wasn’t that bad. She was still a rookie, but she was very capable of solving cases and capturing villains on her own.

“So she’s someone we should watch out for then,” Ochako said as she considered this new challenge.

“I wouldn’t take her lightly,” Shouto advised.

“If she’s as strong as you say, then it should be fun taking her down,” Bakugou grinned, the calculated curves of his lips making him look wicked. “That way, I can show Endeavor I can beat every one of his heroes.”

“It would be interesting to see how her quirk works,” Izuku muttered.

“Don’t start with your spiel, nerd. We don’t have all day,” Bakugou cut in.

“If you don’t like it, then maybe you should just leave. We wouldn’t miss you,” Shouto suggested.

“Stop, you two,” Izuku tried to moderate.

Bakugou gestured to his ear. “I couldn’t hear you over all the bullshit you’ve been spewing since I got here!”

“Read lips and kiss my ass then,” Shouto spat. There was a low growl in the back of his throat. As much as he could be aloof, he could also get provoked and no amount of platonic rivalry or whatever it was that they had would change that. Not that Bakugou would care.

Endeavour walked over to their group and called for Bakugou to join him and Tensei. As the owners of their respective agencies, they had to discuss any last-minute adjustments to the training. Surely, Bakugou’s insight would be very valuable, but Shouto suspected it was just a formality. He knew his father didn’t like Ground Zero in the slightest, but for different reasons from One For All. He deemed him to be a barbarian that was unrefined, which wasn’t entirely wrong, but he’d never admit his father was right. Besides, when Shouto said it, it was meant to be a teasing jab at Bakugou or an insult because he could handle it. When Endeavor said it, it was to demean his talent. Basically, Shouto could say it and Endeavor couldn’t. With Bakugou gone, Shouto was able to calm down and focus. 

“Pay attention,” came Endeavor’s voice from the front of the room. “We will head outside to the training area. There you can pick partners from a different agency to team up. We will decide who each pair will challenge once everyone has a group.”

That sounded reasonable enough. The decision didn’t sound like something his father would come up with, so Shouto figured Tensei had chosen this rule. No way Bakugou would think of something so lenient like that. He was too similar to his father in terms of pride and it rubbed Shouto the wrong way at times. He appreciated Tensei’s judgement.

As another formality, each agency had to walk together, which was stupid to Shouto, but there were things he couldn’t care to argue. Once outside, he found various heroes and sidekicks flock to him, catching him off guard. He actually hadn’t expected for people to want to pair up with him, but then again he was a top-ranking hero with a powerful quirk combination. Watching people talk at once in front of him and calling out his hero name brought out the annoying anxiety and it took a lot of energy just to concentrate on the group. He couldn’t make a decision when they were being so noisy—.

“Celsius!” A wave of relief washed over Shouto as he heard him call out his hero name and he had to fight the inevitable smile that wanted to spread on his face. “Let’s team up!”

When he had to decide between multiple heroes and sidekicks and One For All, his choice was obvious.

“Sure. Though, I figured someone had asked you already,” Shouto faced him.

“Ahh, lots of people did,” Izuku gestured to the crowd of disappointed heroes and sidekicks with tears in their eyes for being rejected by him. “But I wanted to catch you before you were taken.”

Izuku wasn’t the type to pass up the opportunity to work with someone new. As a fan of quirks and heroes, he wanted to see how each person ticked and used their powers. Joint training wasn’t any different. What was different was the occasion and Shouto wanted to slap himself for how dense he’d been. Hadn’t they discussed this in the morning? They’d fight together and that would surely piss off his old man, which was always a win in his book. Plus, getting to team up with his husband always made Shouto feel giddy. Not everyone could fight alongside their spouse.

“I’m available,” he finally answered with a smile. He turned and waved to the people that were equally as disappointed as the ones that Izuku had turned down, apologizing to them for the turnout. Though if he was being honest, he wasn’t sorry for rejecting them. He’d pick Izuku any day.

“Of course you two would team up,” Ochako said as she caught up to them. She had partnered up with a sidekick from Bakugou’s agency.

“I mean, the rule was to pick someone from a different agency,” Izuku pointed out.

“Yeah, but you two are cheating,” Ochako said.

“Technically, it is a fair pair up,” Tenya joined in, flanked by a sidekick from Endeavor’s agency.

“But they already know how the other fights. Plus, you know their teamwork is impossible to beat.” Ochako crossed her arms, though she didn’t seem any less amused by them. She just liked to give them a hard time.

“We’ll see how they do. Focus on your strategy, Uravity,” Tenya advised.

“Right!”

Shouto turned to look at Izuku. “They have a point…but they can’t split us up,” he smirked.

“We wouldn’t let them, anyway,” Izuku shrugged.

The instructions were simple. Two pairs would fight one another until both people from the same team got apprehended with quirk-cancelling cuffs and brought towards the entrance of the arena. This was basically how heroes fought against villains, except here it was more of a game than a life or death situation. Instead of drawing lots, teams would volunteer to challenge others, which didn’t sound like an effective way of having training in theory; but everyone was already in random order and heroes never seemed to shy away from stepping up to the plate.

As soon as Endeavor asked for two teams that would like to fight first, Izuku and Shouto stepped forward and on the opposite end, Bakugou and Flash Shot walked towards them.

“I’m not even surprised by you two.” The idea for how to pair up must have come from Bakugou since he was the one saying such a thing.

“Glad we could live up to your expectations.” Shouto spared him a glance.

They each picked up a pair of cuffs and attached them to their hero costumes before walking onto the training area. It wasn’t like the battlegrounds UA had set up for their training, but it was still a decent size and Endeavor could afford to have a lot for these kinds of events. The time limits were the same, though, and that was somewhat a relief. Fifteen minutes should be enough for teams to fight, but he could never really predict what Ground Zero would do, except charge at them, of course. There were enough obstacles to set up a maze of sorts, but that wouldn’t be the issue Shouto and Izuku would face.

“Have you fought against Flash Shot?” Izuku asked once they’d gotten some distance from their opponents. He slid his earpiece into his ear and tapped it to turn on.

“No, but we’ve worked together on occasion,” Shouto answered, putting on his own earpiece. “Her quirk is simple but effective. She must have told you how it worked when you talked to her.”

“Yeah. Flashing lights aren’t exactly easy on the eyes, but it’s not like we aren’t prepared for that.” As if to prove his point, Izuku put on his visor sunglasses and switched them on. They worked more as screens to alert him of high energy approaching and acted as eyes on the back of his head. It wasn’t that different from Shouto’s support item, except Izuku was able to remove his at will.

“I’d still watch out if I were you. She blinds villains…I’ve been unlucky enough to get caught up in one of her attacks and I almost lost a fight because of it.” It wasn’t Shouto’s best moment, but he learned from the mistakes he made. “It’s one of the reasons why I don’t pair up with her for missions.”

“I can deal with her,” Izuku offered.

The timer went off and they heard Endeavor’s voice through a microphone, signalling them to begin.

“No, I can do it,” Shouto waved him off. “Besides, we both know Ground Zero’s going to attack you first. It’s better if you deal with him while I take on Flash Shot.”

“You figured out a way to counterattack,” Izuku said as he looked at Shouto.

“She won’t even see it coming,” Shouto winked. He summoned his flames and let them build up to a reasonable size. “We both know what we have to do.”

“Draw them over here,” Izuku ordered. “Let them come to us, Celsius.”

Releasing a ball of flame into the open air was obvious bait and if this were any other hero, they wouldn’t take it. But it was Bakugou. This was an invitation and he’d always accept.

The attack came in an instant, but Shouto and Izuku were able to jump out of the way.

“You’re acting like a bunch of amateurs with that weak bait!” Smoke covered the area, but Bakugou was close by, having launched himself as the aerial attack. A thermal image flashed in Shouto’s right eye and prompted him to move. In doing so, he managed to dodge Bakugou’s attempt at tackling him from behind, but he wasn’t safe just yet. Another signal flashed as an alert, but he had to time it just right so he’d not get caught in Flash Shot’s attack. He turned on his heel and dared to look around, but she wasn’t in immediate sight. His support item didn’t lie to him, though. He could see her outline behind one of the walls

At that point, Izuku and Bakugou had taken to the sky. At least Shouto was a low priority for now, but his own opponent was hidden and that just wouldn’t do. Using his ice, he created a platform for him to run over the maze’s wall, but he took the precaution to cover his right eye. Flash Shot seemed to have expected him to do this and wasted no time in unleashing her attack.

“Ground Zero was right about you coming after me,” she said as she got up from her previous position and ran towards him, hands extended to accommodate her quirk.

“Looks like he’s psychic,” Shouto shot back.

It was a risky move, for both of them, but Shouto summoned a medium-sized ice wall to keep her from approaching in an attempt to buy a few seconds that she, unfortunately, did not give him. She managed to jump it and in doing so, she took advantage of the opportunity. “Oh no, you don’t!”

He couldn’t afford to close his eyes. His ice and fire attacks required precision and he needed his vision to give the detail his full attention. His father had trained him to defend himself and cause the most damage he could with his powers, but UA taught him to minimize the damage if the situation called for it. It’s not that he didn’t want to go all out with his coworker. She deserved to have her opponent treat her as an equal in both strength and skill. However, it was unnecessary for Shouto to release, say, blue flames on her, or giant ice walls. He did have moves that were reasonable enough to use on opponents and still cost him energy, though.

Lifting his right arm, he sent multiple ice attacks as a distraction and as a form to push her back. If he could restrain her hands, perhaps by freezing her wrists together, that would be perfect. However, he doubted Flash Shot would cooperate in the slightest. He noticed she was trying to stay on his left side and when she extended her hands again, he summoned a wall of flames instead. The smoke alone wouldn’t allow her to jump over it unless she risked getting burned, but Shouto could withstand his own flames and charged at her. The moment he cleared the wall of fire, he froze the ground she stood on, but she was able to move to the side and run towards him again. Within seconds, he was blinded by the light that escaped from her hands and he felt the misstep in his coordination. His head felt like it was spinning.

‘Shit!’

He’d known better than to leave her an opening, yet there he was seeing white light that sent a wave of nausea through him. He had the good sense to close his eyes and allowed himself to depend solely on his support items, stepping back just enough to miss her kick aimed at his face.

“And here I thought I wouldn’t be able to get you,” he heard her say. He didn’t need to see her to know she wore a satisfied smile.

Flash Shot – Quirk: Flashing Lights. She can produce striking energy from her hands similar to that of a camera flash. The light is so powerful that she can momentarily blind her opponents and leave them disoriented. However, it only works if she opens her hands and if she overuses her quirk, she ends up being disoriented herself.

If she thought she had an advantage over him, she was sorely mistaken. He didn’t want to rely on the support items entirely, but now he saw that had been a poor strategy from his part. With a blinding hero, it only made sense to go into the fight literally blind. A select amount of people knew of his condition and Shouto never spoke about it outside of his family, but if he wanted to win this round, he’d have to embrace every unique quality he possessed.

His right eye was out of commission for the time being. If he remembered correctly, the effects of Flash Shot’s quirk lasted around a minute. That would be enough time for her to bring him down…if he wasn’t entirely used to running into fights half-blind at least. He opened his left eye and let the technology guide him. He himself couldn’t see the signal coming from his right side, but somehow the prosthetic relayed the information to his brain. He heard Flash Shot gasp, and he felt a presence approach him, but it was a limb rather than her whole body. A signal on his left side and he jumped to avoid the attack. He could dodge as much as he could, but he needed to end this quickly.

‘Let her come to you,’ he thought as he braced himself for a hit that barely missed his face. With a pivot of his heel, he turned his back to her, but once he sensed her presence on him, he shot back his right elbow and hit her, or at least he felt it collide with her. Another gasp, this time filled with what he assumed was pain. He felt fabric with his right hand as he grasped her arm and flipped her over his shoulder à la One For All style. He could make out her silhouette on the ground and froze her, risking opening his eyes to test out his returning vision. He stopped just in time to avoid freezing over her head, but her hands were under a thin sheet of ice. The exercise would only count if he properly apprehended her so he had to melt her hands and cuff her in that instant. She let out a whine when the cool metal wrapped around her wrists.

“But I had you… You weren’t supposed to be able to see,” she muttered. She was probably having an existential crisis, but Shouto wasn’t too concerned with her for the time being.

“I’ve had that kind of training,” he shrugged before pressing on his earpiece. “One For All, I caught Flash Shot.” His right eye burned from the flash, but he was regaining his sight nonetheless. He melted the ice just enough to allow him to drag her from the cuffs. He’d have to make an ice wave over the maze to get to the entrance, but it wasn’t something he wasn’t used to. It was quick transportation if anything.

“Good job. I’m still engaged in combat with Ground Zero,” came Izuku’s voice over static.

“I’ll be over there soon.”

Delivering his opponent in ice got mixed reactions from the onlookers, but this was a showcase of their powers and Shouto just so happen to flex when he encased someone in ice.

“Uhh, aren’t you gonna melt me?” Flash Shot asked.

Shouto snorted. “Not after blinding me!”

“Celsius! I could die!”

“You’ll be fine, for now.” With less than ten minutes left for the fight to finish, she wouldn’t be experiencing signs of hypothermia. “I promise to come back later to let you go.”

“Celsius, I’m already apprehended!”

His only answer was to chuckle before running back into the maze.

Flash Shot was an easy opponent compared to Ground Zero and by the time Shouto got to Izuku, he could see the damage they’d both done. Burn marks, soot, cuts, and scratches littered them both. Compared to them, Shouto was fresh.

Bakugou sent an explosion aimed at him before turning back to Izuku. “How the fuck did you not go down? She can blind people,” he scoffed.

Shouto sent a wave of ice at the same time Izuku released Black Whip in an attempt to capture him. Obviously, it had no effect as Bakugou was an expert in the air, but they were both relentless in their pursuit.

“Didn’t work on me,” Shouto answered, switching from ice to fire.

With Bakugou between them, it should have been easy for them to capture him, but it wasn’t a fight unless Ground Zero gave it his all. It’s always been this way between them, ever since they started UA and up to this point. Shouto wouldn’t have it any other way because for better or worse, he brought out the best in both him and Izuku. Even if Izuku had expressed sometimes that he didn’t like to take on his rival’s attitude when it came to winning. Shouto’s motivations stemmed from his own pride where he wanted to win because losing meant he hadn’t tried his best.

“I have to do everything myself, don’t I?” Bakugou asked rhetorically, looking from Izuku to Shouto as he considered his next move.

Though, Shouto doubted he’d ever heard of pauses because the next thing he knew, he faked to move to the right to get Izuku, but instead of attacking him, he sent another explosion in Shouto’s direction. It was well aimed and if Shouto hadn’t anticipated an attack, he would have been hit. Bakugou’s strategy didn’t just involve throwing them both off balance; if Shouto was to send a long-range attack, he could end up striking Izuku instead of Bakugou. The other was swift enough to dodge, and to his credit, Izuku was one of the fastest heroes, but an attack from his partner wouldn’t register in his mind fast enough to allow him the time to move. Bakugou had them figured out well, but it would be such a shame to lose to one person while he and Izuku claimed to be a wonder duo. They had to turn this strategy around and make it their own.

Bakugou’s explosion let him get closer to Izuku, who was blocking and dodging left and right. With one calculated jump, Izuku took to the sky once again and attacked with his Air Force, knocking Bakugou back. He’s close enough to where Shouto was. They couldn’t afford to hesitate and Shouto was sure persistently attacking would tire him out. Shouto saw Bakugou trying to get up, but Shouto sent a flame attack in his direction. Bakugou’s reaction time was insane and he managed to move out of the way in time with one of his blasts. Bakugou noticed Izuku flying towards him and fired off four attacks, but Izuku sent them back to his opponent with his super move, distracting him enough to let Shouto jump onto Bakugou and pin him down. Even restraining him wasn’t an easy task! As soon as Shouto went to hold down Bakugou’s hands to cuff him, Bakugou spat in his face and headbutted him. A burst of pain shot through him like a vase that was breaking and Shouto was sure his nose was bleeding because his face felt wet. That could have also been Bakugou’s spit, which he hoped wasn’t like his nitroglycerin sweat that he could activate with his quirk.

“I’m wiping those smug smiles off your faces,” Bakugou snarled.

Shouto hoped in doing so, he’d wipe off his spit as well, but he couldn’t always get what he wanted now could he?

There was heat in Shouto’s face, his opponent’s glove aiming at him, but the smell of ozone wafted in the air as he was pushed aside and he had the instinct to roll to his feet instead of landing like a rag doll. Izuku took the explosion to his arm, but it only motivated him to push forward to punch Bakugou in the face. With the force, Shouto knew this would grant them useful moments as he fired off his ice, aiming it to freeze Bakugou’s arms. However, there was a stubbornness he couldn’t comprehend that came from Bakugou as he aimed at his ice and destroyed it.

What was the best thing they could do right now? Bakugou would shoot at Shouto and Izuku would take the blow. He’d shoot at Izuku and he could avoid it. Shouto had to bring the fight to him, but getting close to Bakugou was damn near impossible. Unless…

The opening became evident to Shouto when Izuku stood in between him and Bakugou, coming closer to him and punching at him despite the other dodging a couple of hits. With Izuku’s stance, his feet planted on the ground… If he went around him, Bakugou would see him coming. If he went over him, Bakugou would blast him.

“Brace yourself, One For All,” Shouto said as he pressed his earpiece. 

A side glance from Izuku was enough of an answer. Timing it just right, Shouto froze the ground between Izuku’s legs, taking extra precaution to keep it from spreading so he wouldn’t slip. He made sure not to freeze up to where Bakugou was or else he’d risk making it obvious. Shouto slid onto the ice, his back feeling the rush of the cool ground underneath him, and sliding past Izuku, who had just punched Bakugo’s stomach. Perfect. He braced himself to jump off the ice and landed in front of Bakugou. Shouto collected Bakugou’s hands with his, activating both his ice and fire to counteract his explosions he was starting to activate.

“One For All, now!” he yelled.

He was so sure they had him. Shouto didn’t see any other way to beat him.

Cuffs in hand, Izuku launched himself towards them, opening up the metal clasps. But Shouto’s wishful thinking made him forget Bakugou had legs.  Legs that he could use to knee them in the stomach. Damn him for that, but Shouto could take a hit and bounce right back. His father’s training wouldn’t go to waste. With that hit, Shouto let go of his hands, but he managed to freeze his foot when he kneeled.

Izuku was able to come close enough to Bakugou to land a punch on him, but the unruly hero didn’t seem fazed by it as he gave him a manic smile. It took Shouto a moment too late for him to notice in time to realize that Bakugou’s plan involved taking everything Izuku threw at him to one-up him. Izuku was fast, but Bakugou was clever and with another punch and his arm extended, Bakugou latched on a cuff onto Izuku’s wrist. Both he and Shouto were surprised by this as neither of them had even seen him reach for them. However, Bakugou didn’t take into account how spontaneous Izuku could be and how unyielding Shouto was. Shouto got up as quickly as he could and picked up one of the orange barrels that was lined up against the maze’s walls, throwing it near Bakugou and Izuku before releasing his flames onto it. It didn’t cause an explosion, but it produced enough smoke for them to play with. Izuku’s visors allowed him to pick up high energy from others and luckily, he still had them on. When the smoke cleared, Shouto saw his efforts hadn’t gone in vain; by taking advantage of the smokescreen he made, Izuku had taken the cuff from Bakugou to wrap it around his wrist, effectively neutralizing both of their quirks.

“Come on, Ground Zero,” Izuku barked. “Fight me quirkless!”

Shouto wished he’d had his phone with him to take a picture of Bakugou’s shocked expression. The cuffs didn’t work if only one wrist was caught. Two wrists had to be trapped in order to cancel out someone’s quirk. However, it didn’t mean that it only had to work on one person. By cuffing both Izuku and Bakugou with the same cuff, both of their quirks were cancelled. The cuffs didn’t discriminate. Shouto assumed this wasn’t against the rules since he didn’t hear Endeavor talk over the microphone.

Izuku pulled Bakugou towards him and sucker-punched him, but Bakugou managed to elbow him in the jaw as he was brought close, knocking Izuku’s head back. Despite these two not using quirks, they could still cause damage to one another. It didn’t take Shouto much effort to freeze Bakugou in place, though, trapping him except for his forearms and head.

With Bakugou’s eyes wide in shock, Shouto suspected they’d pop out of their sockets. Izuku apprehended him with the pair of cuffs he had and let out a sigh of relief.

“Fuck the both of you,” Bakugou growled out.

They heard a buzzard go off, indicating the exercise had ended and they heard Endeavor’s voice ordering them to come toward the entrance of the training area. Because Izuku and Bakugou shared cuffs, Shouto delivered the three of them the same way as he did for Flash Shot. It had just occurred to him that in his haste to capture Bakugou, he’d neglected to wipe the blood and spit off his face. With how feral Bakugou was, he wouldn’t be surprised if he had rabies.

When they returned, Endeavor took one look at them and sighed. “We have a medic stationed just outside the grounds,” he said as he pointed in its direction. “Go get cleaned up. You look like you just came out of a deathmatch instead of a training session.” Funny how Shouto’s, Izuku’s, and Bakugou’s conditions annoyed Endeavor when he himself would ‘train’ Shouto with a harsh regimen, which included, but was not limited to, rubbing his face in the dirt.

“If we’re not trying to destroy each other, then there’s no point to this,” Bakugou scoffed as if it were obvious.

“We’re trying to get you all to improve your skills. We need you in one piece for it,” Tensei reminded them, giving Izuku a knowing look.

“Right. We’ll make sure not to go overboard next time,” Izuku nodded, looking a bit embarrassed at the turnout. He didn’t regret his actions, but rather he respected his employer enough to recognize what they did was too much for a simple training session.

“Half-n-half, release me,” Bakugou muttered.

“Me, too! I’m numb!” Shouto had completely forgotten about Flash Shot and made his way towards her first.

It took him a couple of minutes to melt his ice traps and the medic took her time in dressing their cuts and burns. She was no Recovery Girl, but she got the job done and sent them back (almost) good as new. They’d missed a few fights, much to Izuku’s chagrin, but Ochako and Tenya promised to fill them in on what happened later on. The thing about going first was that they had to sit through everyone’s sessions and even if they were entertaining at best—Tenya’s and Ochako’s fights were exciting—it was still a drag for Shouto and he’d need to stand up at some point. He wasn’t sure how Izuku found interest in everyone, but at least someone was enjoying the show and Shouto was happy for him as he took down notes on the quirks he observed. How Izuku was able to have his hero notebook at all times was beyond Shouto, but if he could defeat ten villains at once, then he could carry around his notebook.

Endeavour turned out to be a decent host, providing his guests with lunch before they left his agency. Shouto wasn’t glad his father’s motivation was to take advantage of the opportunity to make himself look good in front of others, but at least everyone was taken care of. While he ate with his friends and husband, Shouto felt like he was being watched; the pressure of gazes on him made him uncomfortable enough to look around and confirm his suspicions. His coworkers weren’t just looking at him, but at the group that was amicably talking and having a fun time. Or maybe they were just looking at Izuku, which was a lot more likely than them taking interest in Shouto.

“Why did Red Riot skip out on the training?” Ochako asked Bakugou after finishing a bite.

“Didn’t want to hang out with you idiots,” Bakugou answered flatly.

“So he had something far more important than this. Got it,” Shouto chimed in.

“That sucks. I’m sure he would have liked it here,” Izuku pouted, feeling miffed a friend of his missed out on the experience.

Bakugou shrugged. “It’s his shit to handle and you shouldn’t worry about it.”

“Hmm, we’ll just have to catch up with him over some karaoke,” Ochako smiled at her friends with mischief.

“Oh, no. We are not pulling this shit again. I don’t want to be in the same room as the rest of you singing off-key to American music,” Bakugou scoffed before taking a sip of his drink.

“But if we compete, then you’ll get to sing those rock songs that have a lot of screaming in them,” Izuku encouraged.

“Eww, on second thought, let’s not do karaoke,” Ochako grimaced. “Ground Zero sounds like a cat that’s getting run over by a sixteen-wheeler.”

“Like you can do any better!” Bakugou barked. “Pray you don’t fall off the stage with your lack of coordination.”

“Just because she can float doesn’t mean she isn’t coordinated, Ground Zero,” Tenya said, glaring at Bakugou. Although Ochako could defend herself just fine, Tenya couldn’t sit by and let someone insult his wife.

“Tch. Don’t tell me she’s falling with style, then,” Bakugou rolled his eyes.

“Not even gonna lie. I don’t think any of us stand a chance against Celsius,” Izuku said nonchalantly, doing his best not to sound like he was flirting with his husband.

“Stop,” Shouto said through a chuckle. They tried, they really did, but sometimes it was impossible to have a poker face when Izuku sat next to him and gave him compliments..

“One For All does have a point, though,” Ochako nodded in agreement. “Not sure where you got your voice from.”

“Probably my mother,” Shout answered.

“Definitely your mother,” Izuku agreed.

“I can’t see your old man ever having a decent singing voice.” That was as close to a compliment as Bakugou would get to give Shouto and he wouldn’t complain.

“Maybe next weekend,” Ochako offered. “I know this weekend will be busy.”

Shouto heard an alert ring from the communicator watch on his wrist, the same alert coming from his friends’ devices. They had stayed close to Mei Hatsume, who had become a successful support items specialist that made all sorts of gadgets for them to use while doing hero work. The watch not only warned them of villain attacks, but it also gave distress signals for them to be located in case of emergencies. It also synced with their earpieces so they could communicate while working together. 

Downtown Musutafu
Large scale attack, pro hero backup requested
Seven suspects
Suspects’ quirks include fire and smoke screening
Five quirks unknown, will update as information comes in

It had been too quiet, the villains staying under the radar. Because of the alert from the morning, Shouto had become uneasy; with the joint training from the morning, he had forgotten all about it. The earlier report had said that maybe a villain was already in another town, but the fire and ice hero couldn’t let the case rest over a ‘maybe’ and he couldn’t help connecting the two incidents. 

The five heroes looked at one another briefly, Bakugou standing before they followed suit. 

“You heard the dispatch. My sidekicks, let’s go!” he ordered.

Endeavour and Tensei called for their employees to head out as well, picking sidekicks so they could accompany the heroes, but by the time they finished talking, Shouto and his friends had walked out of the building. 

“Watch out for villains with disappearing quirks,” Izuku warned, crouching to activate his quirk before jumping into the air. “I’m going on ahead!” 

The rest of the pros could only hope to catch up. If they didn’t have some kind of mobility quirk, it would be difficult. Shouto travelled over ice he made to surf on the sky while Bakugou blasted his way over with his explosive hands, both heroes arriving at the scene of the crime a couple of minutes after Izuku. As soon as Shouto caught sight of the attack, he was reminded of the League of Villains attacking Class 1A and 1B during their training camp. Multiple buildings were ablaze, glass shattered, cars a crashed wreckage, and people running away from the danger. 

Shouto wasn’t a stranger to these types of occurrences, but they didn’t happen often. A few years back, Kanagawa Prefecture had been a victim of an attack led by a prominent group villains, and both Shouto and Izuku had participated in the rescue. It had solidified them as reliable heroes and the public hasn’t forgotten them since. He hadn’t spotted any familiar villains he had encountered in the past, but just because this was a new group, it didn't mean they were any less dangerous. For the time being, Shouto would focus on civilians that needed rescuing until more heroes showed up. In one round, he could carry up to five small children: one kid on each side, one on his back, and two in his arms; as well as three adults: if unconscious, he could carry one person on each shoulder and one person could ride on his back if he froze their hands and legs to himself to keep them from falling. UA had made sure to train its students to handle victims carefully as well as to be able to carry the maximum amount they could handle. However, he could make use of his ice by producing snow cushions as well as put out fires where it was necessary. He noticed Bakugou go on ahead, his quirk unsuited for rescuing when his explosions could make things worse. 

Ambulances had begun to come in, their loud sirens indicating their location, as well as police cars and fire fighting trucks. A couple of heroes fit for triage were setting up a safe space for rescuees. Shouto would need to work quickly if he wanted to save as many lives as possible. Approaching scared civilians, Shouto tried to be as reassuring as possible, speaking in a firm yet soothing voice. As he took children into his arms and instructed them to hold onto him, he heard his earpiece give way to voices. 

“Status report,” Izuku ordered. 

“Rescues in place on the south side,” Shouto answered. 

“Back up is arriving,” Ochako added. 

“Villain spotted in the east side,” Tenya warned. 

“Kicking ass,” Bakugou yelled.  Of course, he was in his element. “Ingenium, hold them off until I get there.” 

“Celsius, head to the north side when you finish up. Almost clear with the west side,” Izuku said. 

“Roger.”

“Uravity, there’s been demolished buildings around the southwest.” With Izuku’s speed, he had been able to scout as much of the area as possible before heading into the fray. It was always useful to have him as a heads-up. 

“On it!” 

During villain fights, Shouto was used to the adrenaline rushing through his body. When it came to times of crisis such as now, his body became numb to the high levels of stress until backup arrived. At the moment, when he noticed more heroes and sidekicks arriving at the scene, his body struggled to relax, but he was glad to see his colleagues in action, everyone heading to where they were suited best. Three sidekicks rushed towards him to take the children off his hands. 

“I’ll freeze the outside of buildings to contain the fires. That should make it easier to help people out,” he said. 

There was no way for him to know where those people were, so it would take a precision move to only freeze the building itself as well as the floor without freezing people in place. It was something he’d worked on in UA and then later on after graduation. Izuku always motivated him to keep improving, so that’s what he’d done. 

When it came to large scale attacks, everyone was important to Shouto. People in burning buildings could die from suffocation and fires. People running away could get hurt by the assaulting villains and oncoming cars. His colleagues could get hurt and he wouldn’t be around to help them. He sometimes wished that one of his quirks could have been to make copies of himself like Ectoplasm, but he worked with what he’d gotten. 

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He knew that time seemed to slow down on purpose to make these events feel eternal. He’d already frozen multiple buildings in the area, putting out the fires within them with his ice. It wouldn’t capture villains, but at least the other heroes could go in safely, and retrieve the citizens trapped inside. He was finishing up with freezing an apartment complex when he heard a scream from above. Despite time feeling like it stood still, in an instant Shouto produced enough ice to break the woman’s fall so she could slide down to the sidewalk. He ran to her and helped her up, evaluating her at a glance. She had a few burns and was covered in soot; her left arm was bleeding and she could hardly keep her eyes open but she was alive and seemed well enough. Once she looked at him, her eyes widened for a moment before closing them again. She began to whimper, out of fear or relief. Shouto wasn’t sure. 

“You’re going to be okay,” Shouto said. “Let me take you to the paramedics. Can I carry you?” She nodded meekly, breathing through her sobs. “I’m going to have to run, but I promise to be gentle,” he warned as he took her in his arms, making sure he supported her head and legs well. 

“Th-thank you,” she hiccupped, bracing herself as Shouto sprinted towards an ambulance. 

She wasn’t the only one he’d seen that gotten hurt. There were people with minor injuries, and others with third-degree burns. There were other wounds that sent shivers down Shouto’s spine. He could only hope that all the victims would make it out of this alive, but he had to be realistic and keep in mind that there would be people that would unfortunately lose their lives. And that was not okay. 

What was the purpose of this attack? Villains always had an agenda and it annoyed Shouto that he had little to no information to work with. With seven villains raging havoc, it had to be a terrorist attack. He couldn’t count out All For One being involved somehow, but for the time being, this amateur group had caused major destruction. So far, the reports that have come in had been about apprehending a couple of villains and a victim count as well as leading people to safety. 

Shouto reached an ambulance and approached a couple of paramedics with a stretcher, setting the woman he was carrying onto it slowly. 

He’d begun to walk away when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist, holding him back. “Please…stay safe…” the victim said. 

Whether it was foolishness or thoughtfulness, it all translated to Shouto as a special kind of care people held for others when they were about to run into danger. He couldn’t make any promises. Every fight could be his last and he couldn’t guarantee he’d make it out of them, but he couldn’t say that. This woman was injured and he didn’t want to make her panic. 

“I’ll do my best,” he smiled at her as he took her hand in his to give it a firm squeeze. 

Getting from the south to the north was a task and finding Izuku in the middle of the chaos would take all of his patience and skill. 

“I’m fighting a couple of villains in a red building. The sign—” Izuku paused in his talking and Shouto heard him grunt before yelling SMASH into the earpiece. Shouto swallowed, coaxing his nerves to remain as calm as they possibly could. “—the sign outside—” another grunt. “—was already burning when I got here!” Shouto could hear cries of pain from Izuku’s end, but the voices most likely belonged to the villains he was fighting. “I’m in the middle of the fifth floor.”

It took him a few moments to scan the area, but surfing over his ice made it easier to survey buildings. “Found it. Get ready.”

Something was bothering Shouto, not just the attack as a whole, but the number of villains behind it. There was no way there were only seven villains like the report said. Bakugou and Tenya had captured two, Ochako had apprehended one, and a few other heroes had caught four while Shouto took care of rescuing. Yet Izuku was fighting two more. It made sense that an attack this big would take a group of villains to pull off, but that meant that there were villains that could stay hidden or disguise themselves. 

Shouto reached the building Izuku had described, but he didn’t send his ice to cover it all. As he ran up the stairs, he froze behind him until he reached the fifth story. He could hear the fight going on, Izuku’s voice echoing off the walls as he battled with his fists, legs, and wits against the villains who were definitely struggling against him. Most villains did. Keeping his footsteps quiet, he approached the room they were in, leaning against the wall on the door’s left side. He whispered “Now” into his ear piece and released a wave of ice into the room as Izuku jumped out of the way, bouncing off the roof and landing on the left side of the room. 

“Glad you could join me,” Izuku said as he kept his eyes on the villains who had been apprehended by the ice.

“I’m a bit late, though,” Shouto answered as he stepped into the large room and walked towards his ice trap. “This makes nine villains, not seven.”

“Alright, so I wasn’t the only one with suspicions, then,” Izuku nodded.

“You two are so clever!” The voice was too high-pitched and child-like for the two villains that were covered in ice.

It felt too easy to catch the villains and call it a day. But it wasn’t a real battle without a challenge and Shouto and Izuku never backed down from a fight. So it was a good thing they were always on their guard; if they hadn’t, they would have been hit by the incoming attack. Shouto and Izuku jumped back, avoiding flames and smoke.

“You ruined our surprise attack, Pandemonium,” a deep, gruff voice said as he launched more flames into the room. “I feel a sort of kinship towards fire quirk users. Too bad we’re not on the same team, though.”

“Not that I want to be on your team,” Shouto countered, taking a step and releasing thick ice from his right foot, aiming it towards the villain that had entered the room. The collision of ice and fire sent water splashing around them.

“This is taking too long. Just roast them so we can get out of here, Sinister.” An annoyed voice said, his tone not as low as the fire quirk user. He sounded like a hot-headed teenager and his quirk matched his attitude.

“Not yet, Skulk,” Sinister said as he entered the room, locking eyes with the two heroes. “We’re just getting started.”

Izuku pressed his earpiece. “Requesting back up,” was all he was able to say before a wave of shadows engulfed the room, glowing an ominous red.

“It seems our comrades have failed to restrain them. We shouldn’t have sent them first,” a woman with furious, floating crimson hair said, her eyes glowing the same color of red as the shadows that were creeping around Shouto’s and Izuku’s legs. They felt like hollow snakes and gave Shouto goosebumps. As if with the flip of a switch, the shadows around the room became fire in an instant and Shouto’s eyes darted to look at the girl controlling this change. Her eyes were glowing orange now. “I am Illusionist. I hope my creations give you nightmares.”

Even though smoke began to form and travel into the room, Shouto saw silhouettes thanks to the support item on his left eye sending him signals to get out of the way. Without warning, fire shot through the smoke at Shouto and Izuku, forcing them to jump out of the way to avoid getting burnt. The attacks were quick, but Shouto couldn’t tell where they were coming from. He countered with his ice, blocking the fire and holding it back, but it melted. As for Izuku, he dodged attacks and released lightning from his quirk, green flashes of light acting as a halo for his body.

“I’m always surprised by heroes with fast reflexes!” The first voice, Pandemonium, said as

she stopped in front of Shouto, but he managed to evade her attack. He heard a loud CLANK hit the floor.

The smoke seemed to clear around him, but its concentration moved away from Shouto and huddled towards Izuku.

“And I’ve always wanted to knock that stupid grin off your face!” Skulk said as he jumped

towards Izuku, his hands prepared to attack him. The kid wasn’t ready for Black Whip, though, and Shouto saw how he was restrained mid-jump.

“My smile is permanent, but you tried,” Izuku said, flashing white teeth at the kid’s direction.

Illusionist flanked Pandemonium as she and Shouto had a staredown, analyzing each other and sizing up their quirks. She had metal arms and her hands were in strange, circular shapes. ‘Pandemonium?’ Now that Shouto took a better look at her, the kid’s quirk made sense. When she angled her hands in a certain way, they looked like a pot and pan. Not exactly a dull power, but it sure wasn’t conventional. If he paced himself, he would be able to avoid getting hit by a frying pan as well as countering whatever Illusionist would throw at him. She smiled at him. 

“You’re just what they said you were,” she said.

He activated his quirks, preparing a fire and ice attack as he sensed her coming. “And what’s that?”

“Hot!” she answered as she jumped towards him again, swinging her hands in the direction of his head. “Too bad I’m going to disfigure your face!”

Shouto jumped out of the way just in time and raised his right hand to freeze her, his ice colliding with her metal swinging at it.

Sinister launched an attack against Izuku. “Quit hitting on heroes. It’s gross.”

“Don’t ruin my fun!”

Shadows appeared around Shouto, but he figured out these creepy snakes of darkness weren’t real and eliminated them with his fire. If Shouto hadn’t dealt with Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow during their days at UA, he may have been overwhelmed by this villain. His support item flashed an alert that someone was behind him and ducked while he made an ice wall to protect himself from getting hit. Even if Shouto thought the quirk was silly, Pandemonium had an excellent handle on her weapons. In that case…

She jumped a third time. “I’m going to cook up a pretty boy!” 

“Unless you’re a cannibal, I probably don’t taste that good!” Shouto said as his right hand began to cover itself with ice and frost. 

There was no way of knowing the type of metal her pans were made of. Cast iron, stainless steel, and aluminium had similar melting points, while copper had a lower melting point. As soon as she came close to him, he summoned his ice to freeze her arms, an attempt he knew was futile as she could easily destroy it. That wasn’t the move he wanted, though. He’d learned how to distract others from Bakugou, something he’d never admit yet wordlessly adopted into his own fighting style. 

He took a step forward and jumped, propelling himself into the air with his ice and releasing a wave of fire with his left hand above his opponent. As he expected, that surprised her and heard her scream, but they weren’t done yet. As he landed, he saw her come at him again, predicting the moment she’d swing at him in time for him to catch one of her arms with his left hand while his right made a shield of ice to soften her blow. As ice scattered around his face and saw her manic expression, his left hand burst into flames, the orange and red quickly changing into blue. It only took one moment to change the tide, at least for now. She cried out in pain and tried to take back her arm by pulling on it. Shouto let go of her, pivoted with his left foot, and released a wall of blue flames against Illusionist, who was trying to get an advantage over him while being distracted. It wasn’t enough to restrain her, but it bought him a moment to wrap the quirk cancelling cuffs on Pandemonium, who was nursing her burnt hand. He wasn’t proud of that move. He reserved his blue flames for emergencies, and he deemed this one of them, but he couldn’t help feeling like it was a cruel move against a teenager, even from his part. 

“Don’t play with fire. You’ll just get burned,” he said. 

He turned towards Illusionist, but he couldn’t see her even though his support item practically screamed at him that she was close by. He extended his hand in the direction where her outline was and released a large wave of ice, enough for trapping someone.

“What if I play with ice?”

Shouto didn’t have time to register how he came in contact with the floor, but it didn’t matter. What was important was the woman that was pinning him down, straddling his hips as she tried to keep him in place. 

“Freezer burns exist,” he answered. With his left hand and his flame active, he kept her from completely restraining him; with his right hand, he touched her leg and froze her in place. “Are you the real thing or just another illusion?” he asked, producing enough heat to release himself from the ice trap before getting up.

“Guess,” she answered before vanishing. How the hell did she feel so solid then?

“Struggling, Celsius?”

It took Shouto a second to turn and locate the voice, but he had to push himself back with his ice to evade an attack. A red portal pierced the air and rippled before fading away. A cloaked man had entered the room, but with the ensuing chaos and the aftereffect of Izuku’s quirk, the hood that covered his face was pushed back. His mouth went dry as he took in the sight of the large scar running down the right side of his face, the one Shouto could only assume was the one he’d heard from the public service announcement that morning on the radio. He wore a devious smirk just for Shouto.

Izuku had apprehended the smoke villain but was still battling against Sinister, deviating his attacks and redirecting them at the fire quirk user. That was alright, they could handle themselves.

“I’ve fought worse,” Shouto answered, scanning around with his support item for any signs of Illusionist.

“Really? You are just incredible! No matter.” The villain kept eye contact with him and attacked again by producing multiple portals, successfully keeping Shouto on his toes. He jumped and hit them with his fire, but it did nothing against them. They faded once again when they missed their target.

“And here I thought we were done with games,” Shouto sighed. 

“No games! This is real!” As real as it could get with an illusionist that disappeared on Shouto’s radar while a magician manifested in front of him. “I am the villain Houdini and I pride myself with catching heroes the way heroes pride themselves with catching villains. You don’t know how happy I was when I was tasked to target you.” 

“At least we don’t have to beat the reason for your attack out of you,” Shouto heard Izuku say. Even though he was on high alert, Shouto glanced back at his husband. He had one of Sinister’s arms wrapped with Black Whip for the time being.

“As the number one hero, shouldn’t you promote peace instead of violence, One For All?” Houdini asked. 

“I keep the peace by bringing down villains like you,” Izuku countered. His body began to glow and his face was filled with determination.

Two portals almost hit Shouto, but he was able to jump back to avoid them. Houdini said he used it to catch heroes, but he didn’t want to know how that worked. He couldn’t let this man hit him with his quirk. Mercilessly, Shouto sent an ice attack to surround his opponent, aiming to restrain him. However, Houdini managed to dodge and it annoyed Shouto that he could be quick for a man his age. To make matters worse, he seemed to be able to produce his portals out of thin air, so keeping his hands and arms frozen would probably have little effect on his quirk.

“No use in trying to keep me away. You have a front-row seat to witness my famous trick: How to make a Pro Hero disappear!”

“Are you going to pull a rabbit out of your hood as well?” Shouto deadpanned, preparing for another attack. He couldn’t help talking back to villains even if he’d take fights seriously.

“You’ll wish that was the case,” Houdini answered. “Illusionist!”

She came into his line of sight and although Shouto created an ice pillar to block her attack, she split into two and pushed him back. He felt a strong energy wrap around his torso and for a moment, Shouto panicked, thinking this was the work of Illusionist’s shadows, but when the black energy let out green lightning, he was able to relax, if only for a few seconds. With a quick scan, Shouto saw Sinister apprehended, glaring at them as if he was trying to summon his fire. Black Whip put Shouto down and returned to Izuku before his halo-like light surrounded his body. 

Shouto sensed two figures behind him, twin silhouettes ready to attack him. He was getting really tired of playing defense. He brought his hands together to charge up his quirks and turned around to release the massive energy of fire and ice he combined, aiming first at the center before separating his hands and shooting out fire and ice that caused an explosion in the area of the room he was in. It was reckless and not the type of move he’d use indoors, but if that didn’t knock out Illusionist, he didn’t know what would. As if on cue, once the cloud of ice and fire cleared, he saw Illusionist on the floor, trying to keep herself up by kneeling. Shouto’s attack was supposed to both freeze and burn, so he wasn’t surprised to see her shaking and struggling. He assumed her doubles would vanish when he’d apprehend her, and Izuku and he wouldn’t have a problem anymore. The issue was that he wasn’t fast enough, despite his support item being able to warn him of incoming attacks. 

Without a warning, the smell of ozone filled the air and Shouto had no time to process that he’d been pushed aside until he landed on the floor. He got up and saw Izuku frozen in place, a portal attached to his arm as it surrounded him with colors and sharp light. Shouto’s world stopped spinning in those few seconds. In his desperation, he released a large ice wall directed at Houdini to apprehend him as well as Izuku to keep him in place. He bolted towards his husband in hopes of being able to stop what was happening, but even if he could run on pure adrenaline, it was useless. The portal consumed Izuku, making him translucent before Shouto’s eyes like water vapour. Izuku’s expression was filled with desperation and shock, his body halted in mid-run with his hand extended towards Shouto, as if trying to reach for him. It was unbearable and Shouto was there to witness it all. He was so close, yet so far away and so out of reach. 

“One For All!”

Shouto landed gracelessly on the floor, this time every single one of his nerve endings crackling against his skin. He heard footsteps, but he couldn’t identify them just yet. They didn’t matter.

He didn’t know how or when he got up. When he felt his brain catch up to his body, he was already holding Houdini’s shoulders with an iron grip. “Where is he? What did you do ?” he said through gritted teeth.

“I made him disappear. I told you that was my trick.” Houdini answered. Despite being frozen and most likely numb, Shouto saw the smile of satisfaction on the villain’s face and felt bile rise in his throat.

Shouto couldn’t feel his face or anything for that matter. This wasn’t happening. This was just a fake scene that Illusionist had made, right? It had to be. It couldn’t be real. His hands began to squeeze Houdini, fire and ice beginning to seep out of his fingers. “Bring him back.”

“No can do.”

“Bring him back! ”

“Once I make someone disappear, they can’t come back.”

Shouto felt like his body was shutting down yet starting back up with the fury of a thousand demons. That wasn’t acceptable. If he had to burn this man alive to get him to bring Izuku back, he would. He’d lose his license for it, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered at the moment. Only Izuku mattered. He thought it was his support item’s doing, but he later realized he was just seeing red and he couldn’t hear anything except the pounding of his heart in his ears. Time didn’t exist for him because when he came to his senses—he couldn’t tell what had happened in between—he was being restrained by Ochako and Tenya while Bakugou cuffed Houdini and Illusionist. It was difficult to concentrate when his heart wanted to pop out of his chest while hyperventilating; as if it couldn’t get any worse, he felt like someone had kicked his stomach and tears blurred his vision. He figured at some point he’d screamed because his throat felt scratchy and raw, but his ears must have blocked out the sound of the world. He saw his friends’ lips moving, speaking to him, but his body didn’t seem to be working. All of a sudden, every reaction going on in his body was augmented and it was the shittiest feeling in the world.

“Celsius, it’s going to be okay,” he heard Ochako say, her voice even and soothing as if she were talking to a rescue victim. “Breathe with me so I can help you calm down.”

“No! ” This wasn’t happening! “Izuku! ”

“What do we do?” Ochako asked. She held Shouto firmly to keep him from fighting against her.

“He’s hysterical. We need to take him to a paramedic if he doesn’t calm down,” Tenya answered as he held Shouto’s wrists to cuff him. Why did Tenya want to arrest him? He had to let him go so he could get that bastard to use his fucking quirk and bring back his husband!

Shouto’s breathing came in short huffs while hot tears rolled down his cheeks. Didn’t they get it? Couldn’t they see Izuku was missing ?

Bakugou tossed something to Tenya. “Put him to sleep before he starts yelling again,” he said. 

There was no edge of mockery to his voice. This was the calmest Bakugou has ever been in front of Shouto and it honestly scared him. It made him uncomfortable. Nothing felt right. Things didn’t make sense. The impending doom of the world crumbling before him made him feel like he would die if Izuku didn’t come back. Shouto was at the edge of his sanity and it begged him to let it break. He felt a painful pinch on his arm, a physical representation of the betrayal from the universe that was working against him, before the heaviness of his body succumbed to whatever it was Tenya had used on him. Maybe this was just a nightmare and when he’d wake up, he’d look up to see Izuku’s loving green eyes and bright smile, waiting for him so they could start their day.