Chapter Text
Shouta sighed tiredly. He couldn't believe Nedzu had assigned him to patrol two class dorms tonight. He already had enough on his plate looking after his own class of problem children, why did he have to be the one to watch over 1B as well?
Vlad got sick just to spite him. He just knew it.
He had decided to work his way down from the top of the building, so after he checked that the lock on the roof access door was indeed locked , he made his way down to patrol the halls.
The fifth and fourth floor were both quiet and dark, the occupants all asleep, as they should be at two in the morning on a school night.
It wasn't until Shouta reached the third floor that the peace was shattered.
He was walking along the boys side when he noticed light spilling into the hall from under one of the doors. He glanced up at the nameplate on the door and realized he was at Neito Monoma's dorm room.
As far as Shouta was aware, Monoma didn't struggle with any sleep related problems, so he stepped up close to the door, prepared to check in with the boy to see if anything was wrong, and if he could help in anyway if so.
He was stopped in his tracks by the voice of Izuku Midoriya, who most certainly did not belong in the 1B dorms, much less at this late hour.
"Neito, I am begging you not to tell anyone! Please!"
Shouta frowned in concern, Midoriya sounded panicked... Sounded desperate .
... What could the boy possibly be hiding that would freak him out so much at the thought of others being told about it? Shouta leaned against the door silently, hoping to hear more.
"I can't keep covering for you like this, you have to come clean!" That was Monoma, sounding frustrated and as equally desperate as Midoriya.
Shouta narrowed his eyes, 'come clean'? What the hell did that mean? Monoma's been covering for Midoriya? Why? What has he been doing that needs to be covered up?
Was... Was Midoriya the traitor? Was Monoma covering for Midoriya's betrayal?
Shouta shook his head roughly. He knew Midoriya, the kid would never do that. There had to be another explanation. Some other context that didn't make Shouta's heart skip a beat with the pain of it.
"You know I can't! If I tell anyone — it doesn't matter who — I'll be in danger! Nobody can know, because if the wrong person finds out, my life will be over! I'll have no control over anything!"
Shouta could feel his heart beginning to pound, could feel the sweat beginning to gather at the back of his neck and the palms of his hands... Midoriya's words were anything but reassuring, and were actually pretty incriminating from Shouta's point of view. But he didn't want to just assume the worst based on a few sentences taken out of context, so he forced himself to breathe slowly and evenly.
If it came down to it, he had his capture weapon. He could restrain Midoriya — along with Monoma, if needed — should either of them prove to be a threat.
"Oh you're such a fucking hypocrite Izuku! You put yourself in danger all the damn time! And you are really fooling yourself if you genuinely think you're in control right now... How many times are you gonna do this Izuku? How many more times am I going to have to take care of you on nights like these? How many more times is this going to happen before you can't handle it anymore?!"
"I'm fine, Neito! I'm not going to break! I've been doing this since long before UA! It's not a big deal!"
"It is a big deal! Izuku I know you don't think your life has meaning, but I do! I don't want to have to watch you be put into an early grave just because I didn't say anything and help came too late!"
Shouta's breath hitched. Problem child...
He had known that Midoriya was hiding something. He'd have to be blind to not notice that much, but this...
Neither of them had to say what exactly they were talking about. Shouta could make a fairly educated guess at this point. Considering everything he knew about Midoriya's non-existent sense of self-preservation, and about the boy's history with self-injury...
Well, it wasn't hard to connect the dots.
Shouta was brought out of his spiraling thoughts by Midoriya's soft voice, barely audible through the door now, "Neito... That's not going to happen..."
"You don't know that! Besides, you were the one who told me just last week that you wished you could bleed out and never wake up! This has gone way too far, Izuku! You... You need help... You really, really need help..." Monoma sounded choked up, like he was seconds away from crying.
"... It doesn't matter. I can't accept help anymore than I can ask for it. I can't."
"Why not!?" Monoma cried out, "You don't even have to say the whole truth, just admit that you are struggling — please Izuku, I will do anything, just let people help you!"
"You don't understand... You can't understand..."
"The hell I can't! How dare you tell me I can't understand when you know I almost killed myself in middle school! I understand better than you think! It doesn't matter that our reasons are different, I know what it's like to want to die!"
There was silence in the dorm room. Shouta held his breath, debating if he should interrupt the argument or not. He really shouldn't keep listening, he had heard enough to justify ordering mandatory therapy sessions for Midoriya, after all, but something held him still.
"... Neito, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"I know you didn't. Just... Fuck, I just want you to be happy Izuku... Is that really so much to ask for?"
There was another long beat of silence, before Shouta heard an exhausted sigh.
"Fine… I promise I won't tell anyone... But you have to promise me something in return."
"What is it…?" Midoriya sounded wary.
"Promise me… promise me you won't let it get that far. That you won't —" Shouta heard Monoma's voice hitch, "that I won't lose you. I care about you, you know? You're my best friend."
… And fuck if those words didn't tug on Shouta's heartstrings. He remembered Oboro telling him something similar, all those years ago — "Of course I care about you Shouta! You and Hizashi are my best friends! You both mean the world to me!" — but like hell was Shouta going to let this friendship end the way his and Oboro's had.
"I know…" Midoriya's voice was raw and vulnerable. Shouta could practically see the tears that were sure to be flowing down the boy's face, "I…I promise, Neito… and I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry…"
The boy sobbed, and Shouta heard Monoma gently coax Midoriya into a hug. Shouta took a deep breath and walked away to continue his patrol. Midoriya was in safe hands for the night. He'd bring both boys to Hound Dog tomorrow.