Archive of Our Own

Shouto Todoroki met Izuku Midoriya on the first day of August when he was seventeen years old.

He remembered it like it was yesterday; the way the bells jingled overhead whenever customers walked into his sister’s bakery, the various smiles small children would shoot him which he hesitantly returned, and the taste of the strawberries he kept stealing from the kitchen.

The sun was shining brightly outside, not a cloud in sight, and he could smell the salt air coming from the beach just a few blocks down.

People were laughing and bustling outside, mostly dumb teenagers around his age who were out for summer break.

Fuyumi’s Sweets, the bakery his sister owned, was no less busy than usual. It was one of the most popular destinations for a quick treat near the beach, and Shouto was recruited every summer by his sister to work there. He didn’t mind though. He liked working with his sister and stealing some cake to bring home to his mom who would always accept it with a warm smile and ‘thank you, Shouto’ along with giving his hand a quick squeeze.

Shouto thought that summer was going to be the same as every past summer.

Though, he really should have seen the signs that it was going to be the most eventful summer of his life.

“Shouto, stop stealing all the strawberries and go greet Ms. Kayama!”

Shouto evaded the soft slap of his hand and spun on his heel, popping another strawberry into his mouth.

“Okay.”

“You’re going to finish them all!” Fuyumi cried out in horror.

He left her with a silent chuckle inside him, and pushing past the back doors he entered the front store.

“Hello Ms. Kayama, welcome to Fuyumi’s Sweets again,” he greeted without looking up, already heading for the glass case in the front of the store. “I’ll get your order for you right now. You ordered the strawberry shortcake, correct?”

“I actually didn’t but I’d love to take you up on it,” a distinctly amused male voice that did not belong to Ms. Kayama said.

With a sharp gasp Shouto spun around, marble grey and turquoise blue eyes meeting with sparkling emerald greens that were full of amusement.

He had never seen this customer around. He was sure he would’ve remembered if he did. After all, how could he forget such a pretty face?

With a cute freckled face and a nose that scrunched up slightly when he grinned he was the most adorable person he had ever laid eyes on. And those curls...Shouto had never liked the color green, thinking it was too bland, but this beautiful stranger made it work and looked stunning while doing so.

Shouto was entirely smitten with this guy. Well, ‘smitten’ was an understatement. ‘Wonderstruck’ would have been more accurate.

“You’re not Ms. Kayama,” he replied hoarsely, his face on fire.

“No,” the stranger giggled, “I’m not. My name’s Izuku Midoriya!”

“Shouto. Shouto Todoroki.”

“Yeah, I know,” Izuku replied with a a crooked grin. “It’s on your name pin.”

“Oh, right.”

Izuku, that beautiful bastard, giggled once more, a sound that enveloped Shouto’s entire soul and body in warmth.

“Sorry, I’ll stop teasing you. Anyways, I heard some locals buzzing about this place and I wanted to check it out for myself. I take it your strawberry shortcake is popular?”

“It’s our most popular treat year round,” Shouto explained as he nervously tucked a strand of red hair over his ear. “Ms. Kayama usually comes in to pick up her daily order around this time, so...sorry for mixing you guys up.”

“That’s fine,” Izuku replied with a dismissive hand wave, that grin on his face never disappearing. “So can I try some?”

“If you have money to pay sure.”

Izuku huffed out a small laugh. “You’re funny. Say, can I also buy your company?”

Shouto glanced back at the kitchen where Fuyumi was uneasily. “I don’t know. I should be working.”

“Well there’s no one here except me, is there?”

Shouto’s lips curled upwards into a small smile. “I suppose not. But I’m not a stripper. A simple ‘please join me’ would have been better than paying for my company.”

“Will you please join me in eating some strawberry shortcake then, Shouto?” He asked with an innocent grin.

And Shouto, because he was a smitten fool, returned the smile and said, “sure.”

So he sat down in a corner of the bakery at a white table made for two with Izuku sitting across from him, watching him eat with a grin, anticipating his reaction to the strawberry shortcake.

“It’s so good!” Izuku said in disbelief, stuffing another forkful of cake into his mouth. “I love it!”

“Right? My sister makes amazing strawberry shortcake,” Shouto replied enthusiastically. “The strawberries are always fresh and they make the cake that much better.”

“I take it’s your favorite dessert then?”

Shouto wrinkled his nose. “Am I that obvious?”

“Just a little, yeah.”

Shouto stuck his tongue out playfully and Izuku only laughed, his laughter brighter than the August summer sun beaming down outside.

“Here then. You can have a strawberry,” Izuku said, picking a strawberry off and setting it on the edge of his plate.

“It’s your piece of cake though.”

“Yeah, but sharing is caring isn’t it?”

“I’m fine-“

“Come on,” Izuku teased, “take the strawberry. You know you want to.”

Shouto bit back a smile and plucked it off Izuku’s plate, dropping it into his mouth and sighing with content.

“I love strawberries.”

“I like your smile. ‘S cute,” Izuku replied with a cheeky grin.

Shouto flushed red and shot Izuku a non-threatening glare. “Flirting already? I’ve barely known you for twenty seconds.”

“Well it feels like I’ve know you for twenty years,” Izuku replied with a grin. “So tell me about yourself, Shouto.”

“You’re the foreigner,” Shouto quipped back easily. “Tell me, why are you here when you could be somewhere better?”

“Ah, my parents decided to come overseas for vacation,” Izuku replied with a rub of the back of his neck. “I just tagged along.”

“But why Musutafu? You could picked Tokyo or something like that.”

“My mom used to live here when she was younger so she wanted to reminisce I guess. Anyways, I wandered off by myself today to clear my head and heard the locals talking about a really good bakery around here so I asked around and ended up here. Now I’m with you.”

Shouto, despite the flush on his cheeks, rolled his eyes fondly. “Yes, I’m well aware you’re with me. I’m the only one in this shop.”

“Don’t be so cocky,” Izuku teased. “I might just leave you.”

“Weren’t you the one paying me for my company?”

“That’s in the past! Forget it!”

They laughed in unison, and right there and then Shouto decided this was the best moment of his life.

That is, until Fuyumi came out and slapped the back of Shouto’s head.

“I can’t believe you put up the closed sign in the middle of the day! Stop flirting with customers and get to work!”

“Sorry, but I have to get back to work. It was nice meeting you, Midoriya.”

“You can call me Izuku instead.”

“Right. Izuku,” he said with warm cheeks and a helpless smile. “It was nice meeting you.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise!”

A part of Shouto wanted to believe he would but the other half said ‘no, he won’t show up again’ so he just smiled and said, “I look forward to it.”

“Shouto, get back to work!”

The day continued and ended, and the next day Shouto showed up to work with his sister and this time Natsuo at his side.

“Fuyumi says you had a visitor yesterday,” Natsuo said once they restocked the glass case. “Care to share?”

“Absolutely not. You’ll tell Touya and then he’ll tell mom and I’ll never know peace.”

“Oh come on! I’m curious! Who’s the guy?”

“The one right outside!” Fuyumi answered cheerfully from the front register.

“The what?” Shouto never spun around more fast in his life than he did in that moment.

He was greeted with the sight of familiar freckles and emerald green eyes that shone even brighter than they did the day before.

“Shouto!”

He came back.

Izuku came back that day with an excuse about needing more strawberry shortcake.

He came back the day after that with the excuse that he forgot a pen.

He came back the day after that with no excuses and a ‘want to go out sometime?’

And because Shouto was a fool, he flushed red and nearly slammed the door of the glass case on his fingers before answering with a, ‘yes, of course.’

Their first date was at a fair nearby and Izuku picked Shouto up after work with a grin, sunglasses and hat on his head.

“Why the sunglasses?”

“To block out the sun obviously.”

“Izuku, it’s dark outside.”

“I have sensitive retinas.”

Shouto had only rolled his eyes and laughed at Izuku’s ridiculousness before gasping when Izuku slipped a crooked hand into his, squeezing it gently.

“Is this okay?”

“Yeah,” Shouto rasped out, “more than okay.”

“Wear protection, Shouto!” Touya, the bastard who had showed up at the bakery to see Shouto off on his date, called out.

“Touya, not in public!” Fuyumi scolded.

Shouto only groaned and pulled Izuku along, the beautiful bastard laughing the whole way to the fair.

“So what do you want to do?” Shouto asked once they had paid their entrance.

“Win some stuffed animals, eat some good food and kiss you at the very top of the Ferris wheel before we leave.”

“Izuku!”

“What? I thought you liked my honesty!”

And Shouto did, he really did; he adored how honest Izuku was. He adored everything Izuku did, actually, but that wasn’t important.

What was important was the fact that Izuku never let go of his hand that night unless it was to win him a stuffed animal or buy some food.

“Shouto, do you like that bear?”

“I do, but those games are rigged. I don’t think I’ll be able to win it if I tried to–“

He paused. “Izuku, no, that’s not a challenge for you to spend all your money winning me a bear-“

“I’m going to win you that bear.”

“Izuku!”

Surprisingly, Izuku actually ended up winning the bear.

“See? I won it just for you.”

“My hero,” Shouto deadpanned, though he accepted the bear with a warm smile.

The night continued and Izuku won Shouto more prizes, even a small Russian nesting doll that Shouto had no clue what to do with but accepted with a smile.

Izuku pulled him into dancing in between fair stalls, and Shouto didn’t usually dance but for Izuku he made an exception. Their night ended at the very top of the Ferris wheel, and with a blush Shouto made the first move, squeezing Izuku’s hand before shyly going in for a kiss, a kiss Izuku greedily accepted with a happy sigh.

It was short, chaste and sweet, and absolutely perfect.

That kiss was the start of Shouto’s doom.

They weren’t officially a couple, not when neither dared to ask the other out properly, but they were happy and Shouto didn’t care for labels as long as Izuku kept kissing him and only him.

Izuku kept stopping by the bakery and stole pieces of strawberry shortcake, the sweetness lingering on Shouto’s lips every time Izuku stole a kiss.

Summer continued and Shouto continued to fall deeper and deeper into Izuku’s orbit, worshipping the very ground he walked on.

Eventually Rei found out about Shouto’s relationship and after a lot of teasing gave him the keys to the summer home his father had given to her during his and Rei’s divorce settlement.

Izuku agreed all too happily to the vacation, wiggling his brows suggestively while Shouto blushed heavily and pushed his face away with a mumbled, “you pervert.”

The beach house was perfect despite the rusted hinges, the smell of salt air hitting Shouto’s nostrils and with Izuku at his side it felt like home. They spent three days on that beach, Izuku falling asleep on a blanket outside on his stomach, and every time he did so Shouto traced patterns into the freckles littering his back, spelling his name into it once or twice.

Okay, maybe twenty times.

They were under the legal age to drink but they broke into the wine cabinet in the back of the house during their second night there, drinking until both their cheeks were flushed and they couldn’t stand up anymore, collapsed in a bed together.

“My dad was a bastard but his wine taste was great,” Shouto giggled as he passed their shared wine glass to Izuku.

“So true. I don’t know him but I’m so glad I never got to meet him. I like you better.”

“Izuku, everyone loves me more than him.”

“Not true. I love you more than they do.”

“If you loved me you’d let me pour more wine into the glass.”

“No because I might start kissing you and then I don’t know what will happen!”

“Want to test it out?”

Izuku’s cheeks flushed and he grew flustered, but not as flustered as Shouto was at three in the morning twisted up in the bedsheets with Izuku, bare skin pressed against bare skin, the wine bottle discarded on the floor along with their clothes and any shred of his childhood innocence.

Summer was beautiful; it was the age of his and Izuku’s blossoming love and his adoration of the boy with tan and freckled skin and beautiful smile.

Summer was bliss, and he ignored that it was ending until he realized he loved Izuku one week before summer vacation ended.

“So,” Izuku said one day in the bakery, sitting down across from Shouto, “summer’s almost over.”

“It is,” Shouto said, stealing a strawberry off Izuku’s plate.

An uncomfortable look passed over Izuku’s features. “You know what that means, right?”

“If you say we’re breaking up I’m going to take back my piece of strawberry shortcake,” Shouto threatened, glaring suspiciously at Izuku.

Izuku blinked. “You don’t want to break up?”

“Obviously not you idiot. I’m okay with doing distance. Besides, it’s not like you’ll be gone forever, right?”

“Will you really wait for me to come back next summer?”

“I’d wait a lifetime to see you again if I had to.”

Izuku blushed and grinned widely. “So romantic.”

“If you don’t stop teasing me I might just take it back.”

“No, don’t break up with me!”

Shouto only flicked a piece of whipped cream at his face before laughing and kissing it off his face.

They said their final goodbyes at the airport, Izuku staying behind and letting his parents walk ahead.

He took one look at Shouto and Shouto took one look at him before they pulled each other in for a tight embrace, hearts mourning the loss of one another already.

“I’m going to miss you,” Shouto whispered, clutching onto Izuku like a lifeline.

“Me too,” Izuku whispered back with pain laced into the very depths of his soul. “But I’ll be back, I promise.”

“I’ll be waiting for you, so you better keep your promise okay?”

Izuku huffed out a small laugh. “When have I ever broken my promises to you?”

“Text me as soon as you land,” Shouto said, slipping a piece of paper into Izuku’s sweater.

“I promise.”

Izuku left Shouto with the promise of calling him as soon as he landed, and Shouto left the airport with a sad look in his eyes but a hopeful spark inside that Izuku would contact him soon.

He waited by that phone for fifteen hours, the amount of time a flight from Japan to New York took.

He waited by that phone for another day, chewing on the inside of his lip and telling him, it’s okay, maybe he’s resting from the long trip.

School started back up for him and it started back up for Izuku in New York; the last year of high school for the two of them.

Maybe he’s busy with school. It is his last year after all. He’ll text me soon.

“Anything?” Fuyumi asked with a small frown as he ate a piece of strawberry cake after school.

“No.”

“I’m sure he’ll text you soon.”

“Don’t give him false hopes,” Touya replied with a disgusted look, sticking a strawberry into his own mouth. “It’s been a month. Surely you know he’s not going to text Shouto any time soon, right?”

“Don’t be so mean!”

“I’m sure he’ll text soon,” Shouto replied with a mumble. “And stop stealing my strawberries.”

August sipped away like a bottle of wine as September continued, and pretty soon it was October and there was still not contact from Izuku.

He’ll call, he told himself every night before he went to sleep, but the deep ache inside his chest said, stop lying to yourself.

He waited for nearly two months, losing hope every time the phone rang and it wasn’t Izuku. His faith withered while the love for Izuku painfully grew despite being obviously forgotten by the boy.

They weren’t an official couple; they never put a label on it, and Shouto liked that until he couldn’t call Izuku’s his when Izuku didn’t even bother to call or text despite promising to do so before he left.

Shouto adored Izuku’s honesty, and now his betrayal left a bitter taste in his mouth that no amount of sweet strawberries could wash out.

Izuku hurt him; he left Shouto’s heart scarred and his soul broken.

He hurt Shouto, but despite that, Shouto couldn’t stop wearing that stupid cardigan Izuku left him with as a ‘reminder that I’ll come back for you’ before he left.

It was a stupid black cardigan, one that was missing a button and was too big on him, but the scent of pine that he had become intimately acquainted with lingered on it. Izuku haunted his memory; everywhere Shouto went he couldn’t stop seeing traces of him.

He saw traces of Izuku in the corner of the bakery with a piece of strawberry shortcake and if he really tried he could hear his laugh.

He saw traces of Izuku behind the mall where they shamelessly made out various times with their bags discarded on the ground and hands tangled in each other’s hair.

He even saw traces of Izuku in his damn bedroom, the satin sheets reminding him of that time at the beach house when he gave Izuku his all only to receive complete silence for months.

October faded into November and soon it was December, Christmas around the corner and Shouto was pathetically reminded of Izuku every time he saw a damn pine tree.

“For Christmas I might as well decorate your hair.”

“Har har, very funny Shouto.”

Shouto moped around the house until a week before winter break when Fuyumi announced that she was traveling to New York to meet up with her girlfriend who was working overseas.

“New York?” Natsuo asked curiously. “I’ve never been to New York!”

“None of us have you idiot,” Shouto mumbled, picking at his soba.

“We should all go!” Fuyumi said ecstatically. “You know, a family trip!”

“Even if you pay I won’t go,” Touya said with a yawn. “I’m not really interested in going to that shit hole.”

“Rumi said an old college friend of yours is working with her,” Fuyumi said innocently. “Some guy named Keigo? I’m not sure.”

Touya blinked. “So when are we going to New York?”

“Whore,” Shouto replied with a side glare.

“I’m not the one who used five different condoms at the beach house.”

“Oh shut your trap, Touya. Who cares about that stupid beach house anymore.”

Fuyumi and Natsuo exchanged glances, and even Touya looked taken aback by the bitterness in Shouto’s tone.

“Dear,” Rei spoke up, reaching a cross the table to squeeze Shouto’s hand, “it’s okay to be bitter, but please don’t take it out on your siblings.”

“Sorry.”

“If we see him in New York I’ll kill him.”

“Touya!”

Shouto didn’t want to see Izuku die, but nonetheless Touya’s comment and Fuyumi’s scolding made him smile just a little bit for the first time in months.

It was December twenty-third when Shouto arrived in New York swaddled in a large jacket and Izuku’s cardigan underneath.

“You better not go looking for that brat,” Touya warned when they landed.

“Shut up, Touya.”

Their plan was to stay there for a week, to do some sight seeing while Fuyumi spent time with her girlfriend.

That was the family’s plan to distract Shouto from looking for Izuku that is. He was thankful to have them but slightly irritated they didn’t let him out of their sight.

Nonetheless, they celebrated Christmas in their hotel room watching movies and eating some take out and with their familial laughter Shouto thought he was alright.

He thought everything was alright.

Then he took a walk through Central Park with Fuyumi and Rei on December twenty-eight, and that was when everything crashed and burned around him.

He should have seen it coming by the way the sky was darker than usual, the sun hidden behind heavy clouds that implied a heavy downpour was coming.

He should have seen it coming by the way the wind was just a little too strong and the bare trees swayed all around him as if predicting doom.

He didn’t see it coming though, and that was the problem. Had he seen it coming he might have never walked through the park that day, but he did, and when the scent of pine hit his nostrils it left him frozen in place as he remembered when he had last smelled pine.

August.

August was the last time he smelt pine so strongly as he did now. It was a scent that barely lingered in that black cardigan he had on underneath his winter coat. It was a scent that screamed home and betrayal and broken promises.

It was Izuku’s scent.

How could he not realize it when he had become so intimately acquainted with it? It was the scent he fell asleep to at that beach house with rusted hinges and candles everywhere, the scent that once calmed him but left him bitter now.

“Shouto?”

His feet moved without him telling them to, and dammit, he knew that scent. He knew that scent; it was Izuku, and he was so bitter he had left and broken his promise but...but it was Izuku, and he couldn’t stop his heart from aching at the thought of seeing Izuku again.

Maybe he’d ask Izuku why he didn’t call. Maybe he’d ask Izuku why he broke his promise and Izuku would sheepishly reply he accidentally washed his sweater or something. Maybe Izuku would kiss him like he found himself dreaming for the past four months.

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

He hoped and yearned to feel Izuku’s touch, so he let his feet guide him, following the scent of pine that was everything he dreamt about.

Maybe he’ll kiss me and apologize. Maybe I’ll hug him and accept it because I love him.

He followed the scent, his steps turning into a full on sprint, and his legs ached but not as much as his heart at the thought of seeing Izuku again.

Izuku, Izuku, Izuku.

He ran, and all of a sudden his feet came to a halt as did his heart that stopped monetarily beating in his chest. The world also came to a screeching halt, and everything he knew broke around him.

The scent of pine was tainted with the scent of cotton candy, something so extremely sweet it poisoned his very being. Long blonde hair filled his vision along with pink manicured fingertips that rested on Izuku’s arm, and a laugh that sounded like an angel to everyone else but sounded like nails scratching on a chalkboard filled his ears. She was beautiful and she was attached to Izuku’s arm, giggling like a beautiful fool.

And Izuku? He was laughing along, glancing at her with one of the fondest looks in his eyes that Shouto had ever seen.

It was fonder than any look Shouto had ever received, and all of a sudden he forgot how to breathe, his hands trembling at his sides but not from the cold but from the pain inside his soul that wanted to be let out.

Izuku was completely fine and without a single scratch on his body, so fine, in fact, that he was laughing with someone else and looking at her like she was his whole world when he had promised Shouto he was his sun, moon, galaxy and reason for existing.

Then, like a cruel twist of fate, emerald green eyes met marble grey and turquoise blue.

Shouto wanted to scream, to beg for an explanation, to cry, but he gathered everything inside of him and looked Izuku square in the eye with bitterness, anger, and hurt raging inside his soul and nodded stiffly before spinning on his heel and storming away. Izuku never called out for him, not even once, and that hurt more than any cheating ever could.

He was strong until he was back in the hotel room where he collapsed into Rei’s arms and sobbed like a baby because fuck, it hurt so bad.

He loved Izuku and had shown him the deepest parts of his soul only to be slapped in the face with Izuku with another person when he had promised Shouto he’d be back. And Rei, ever so tenderly, held him tightly in her arms and let him sob while Fuyumi talked Touya out of manslaughter and Natsuo furiously tried to leave the room to buy some ice cream for Shouto.

He should have seen it coming with the months of no contact, not even a letter when Izuku knew the bakery’s location.

He should have seen it coming when Izuku left him with only a hug and not a kiss.

He should have but he didn’t, and at that point his summer was officially over and no amount if strawberry shortcake could fix it now.

“Let’s have some breakfast at a restaurant today, shall we?” Rei suggested softly the next morning, letting Shouto’s hair.

“I don’t want to get up.”

“We’ll get some breakfast and you can come back right after, okay?”

“Fine.”

So Shouto sat at some fast food joint to eat crappy reheated pancakes while Touya and Natsuo argued over which plate to order while Fuyumi tried breaking them apart.

A blonde with spiky blonde hair took their order, his eyes flickering over to Shouto every time he looked up from his notepad.

“Do you have a problem with me?” Shouto snapped after the fifth time it happened.

The blonde scoffed. “Not you half and half. How long have you been here in the city?”

“About a week actually,” Fuyumi replied with a kick at Shouto’s leg under the table.

The blonde nodded. “So I guess you’ve probably seen Deku around, huh.”

“Who’s Deku?” Natsuo asked curiously.

“The son of the richest man in New York who happens to be the head of Yagi Industries,” the blonde replied gruffly. “His real name’s Izuku Yagi.”

Shouto dropped the sugar packet he was fiddling with, eyes widening as it hit the table.

Izuku Yagi. That can’t be a coincidence.

“He’s sort of a damn hotshot around here so he’s pretty popular. I hate his guts.”

“Ah, that’s nice!” Fuyumi laughed nervously, “can you take the rest of our order now?”

“Whatever,” the blonde replied, his narrowed ruby red eyes on Shouto the whole time almost as if he knew who he was.

“Izuku Yagi?” he hissed once the blonde was gone, “Izuku Yagi?”

“Now don’t jump to conclusions–"

“Izuku Yagi,” he repeated venomously, “did he lie to me about his name too?”

“Izuku Yagi,” Touya read aloud off his phone, “he’s the adopted son of Toshinori Yagi, the richest man in New York, and Inko Midoriya.”

“Midoriya,” he hissed. “He went with the name I wouldn’t recognize.”

“It says here he’s been dating that blonde girl since he was fifteen.”

Silence. You could hear a pin drop and Shouto’s shattered heart break even more, the pieces too small now to ever be pieced back together.

“What?” he rasped out, “you’re lying. He never...he never told me...”

“He’s been dating Melissa Shields, daughter of one of the most prominent inventors of the world since his fifteenth birthday.”

Touya narrowed his eyes. “It says here he left for Japan over the summer and was barely spotted by paparazzi. It says he left on a business trip with his dad and came back, and on his first day back he went on a date with Melissa.”

“Oh my,” Rei said faintly.

“So he never cheated on me,” Shouto whispered in disbelief, hands trembling. “He cheated on her with me. And I...I never...I never...”

“You never knew,” Fuyumi finished for him sorrowfully. “Shouto, I’m so...so sorry...”

“He used me,” Shouto continued, voice cracking, “he used me and just...he left! He just...fuck...”

“I think we should go back to the hotel,” Natsuo said gravely.

“Yeah,” Fuyumi agreed quietly. “We should.”

“I’ll get them to put our food in take out plates,” Touya said as he slipped out the booth, and mumbled, “and think fo a way to kill the little cheating bastard.”

Shouto replayed the August memories the whole day on that hotel bed, staring out the window as he his heart broke progressively more and more as he realized he should have seen the signs.

He should have seen it by the way Izuku always wore a stupid hat and sunglasses whenever they went out.

He should have seen it by the way Izuku was all too eager to join him on a secluded part of the beach just for them, away from the world’s prying eyes.

He should have seen it by the way Izuku didn’t kiss him goodbye and only hugged him.

Now it was too late, and with a bitter feeling inside his heart he realized he had been the fool all along, a pawn in Izuku Midoriya’s game that he played with and tossed aside when he got tired.

On their last day in New York, his mother and siblings went out to buy some dinner while he stayed to mope in their privacy of their hotel room. He thought it would be fine; he thought he would continue to mope in peace before having to return to Musutafu and act like he was fine when he everything but fine.

Then he heard a frantic pounding on the hotel door, and with a startled jump he fell out of bed.

His surprise soon melted into anger and he stormed over to the door, flinging it open with a scowl etched into his features.

“Touya you idiot, you have–“

“I’m not Touya.”

Shouto’s eyes shot upwards and he was met with emerald greens that held storms inside of them, and every damn memory of their August affair came rushing back to the front of his mind like the wine had rushed out of the bottle at the beach house.

“You,” he whispered in disbelief. Without a second to spare, he narrowed his eyes and hissed, “you.”

“Shouto, please–"

“Save whatever bullshit you’re going to spout for someone else,” Shouto spat. “I don’t want to hear it. And how the hell did you even find me?”

“I asked one of my friends to help me hack the hotel systems to find you,” Izuku rushed out. “That’s not important though! You have to let me explain–"

“Explain?” Shouto echoed, “explain? You want to explain yourself now?”

“Yes, so please let me–"

“You know when you should have explained?” Shouto hissed, “you should have explained the first moment we ever spoke in the damn bakery, not now that you’ve been caught! How much more an idiotic asshole can you be?!”

“Shouto, I swear it’s not what it seems like–!”

“Oh really? So you didn’t lie to me about being single and cheated on your ridiculously pretty girlfriend?”

Izuku let out a defeated sigh. “I did, but it’s not–"

“Save your breath,” Shouto hissed, squeezing the door handle tightly, “and save your damn apologies too. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”

“I swear, Shouto, it’s not–"

“You cheated!” Shouto screamed, grabbing Izuku by the front if they shirt tightly, “you cheated on your girlfriend and I played along! You made me look like a fool and had fun with it, too! You even pretended that you would call when you came back. For someone who’s obviously on the business track you should consider being an actor because you played the part of a bastard so well.”

“I wasn’t trying– fuck, Shouto, just please let me explain–"

“You had your chance when we met and you decided to lie so why the hell should I give you a chance to explain yourself now that you only came to see me because I caught you?”

“You’re an asshole,” Shouto hissed, “you’re the bastard of all bastards, Midoriya. Or how about Yagi since that’s your actual name?”

“Shouto–"

“I gave you /everything/,” Shouto said, voice cracking, “I gave you every single part of me and you took advantage of that and played me like a pawn in your stupid game.”

“Baby–"

“Don’t call me baby!” Shouto screamed, shoving Izuku back, “you don’t have that right anymore! You lost it the moment you pulled me into your stupid game. Was it fun, Midoriya? Was it fun to play me like that? Was it the thrill of the chase that you enjoyed? Was it the secrecy and sex we had? Tell me, Izuku, why the hell did you do this to me?!”

“I’m sorry,” Izuku whispered, “I’m sorry, but you don’t understand–"

“No, you’re right I don’t understand,” Shouto cried, and dammit, tears were streaming down his face. “I don’t understand how you could be so cruel to lie to me like that, or how you could hurt someone you’ve been with for three years like that.”

“Shouto–"

“You killed me, Izuku Midoriya,” he said with a shaky exhale, “you didn’t just hurt me, you killed me. Now leave.”

“Shouto–"

“I said leave!”

Izuku left, but not without a whispered, ‘I’m sorry’ over his shoulder, one that made Shouto slam the door in his face before he collapsed against it and cried his heart out, throwing Izuku’s damn cardigan as far away from him as possible.

Shouto left for Japan on January third, leaving Izuku behind and the shredded pieces of the cardigan in a dumpster behind the hotel he stayed in.

Izuku Midoriya was a fool.

He trudged through the school hallways the day classes started up after winter break with a broken heart and spirit, Shouto’s “you killed me” haunting him, playing on loop and every time he closed his eyes he saw those tear stained cheeks. It was like an angel was crying, and with a heavy pit in his gut and deep ache in his heart, he told himself bitterly, it’s your damn fault for lying to him in the first place.

“You look like shit,” Katsuki taunted after school that day in the courtyard. “What, did you get dumped?”

“Shut up,” Izuku hissed.

“Hey, I met someone interesting over the break. Red and white hair, blue and grey eyes? Sound familiar?”

Izuku’s blood ran cold. “Shouto.”

“That’s the bastard. He looked miserable,” Katsuki said gleefully. “You should have seen his face when I mentioned your name. Never seen someone turn more white.”

“What did you do,” Izuku hissed.

“Exposed you, told him your real name,” Katsuki grinned menacingly. “He left ten minutes later and his brother looked ready to kill someone. That some has to be you, right? After all, there’s only so many people with red and white hair in the world that you slept with during your vacation in Japan.”

“You asshole!”

A fight broke out in the school courtyard with Izuku furiously rolling around the concrete with Katsuki, yelling obscenities and punching wherever he could.

“Why the hell would you tell him that?! I had to tell him that! Not you!”

“He found out by himself you bitch! I just pushed it along!”

“It was my responsibility, not yours!” Izuku screamed as he punched Katsuki in the nose. “Now I’ve lost him forever!”

“Then you shouldn’t have lied to the bastard! But no, you’re rich so you can do that right?!” Katsuki spat as he hit Izuku square across the jaw. “Spoiled rich brat!”

“Shut the hell up!”

“That’s enough!” Tenya said, pulling Izuku off of Katsuki while Eijirou pulled Katsuki away from Izuku, restraining him while he wiped them blood off his face and Izuku struggled against Tenya.

“Let me go!”

“Pull yourself together, Izuku!”

“Let me kick his ass!”

“We’re going to get you cleaned up.”

“Let me go!”

Despite his best efforts, Izuku was unable to pull himself out of Tenya’s grip. He was only let out when they were in the boys bathroom, Izuku sitting on the bathroom sink while Tenya poured water on a piece of paper.

“Hold still. You have blood running down your nose.”

“I don’t care. I want to kick his ass.”

“Kicking Bakugou’s ass won’t fix anything,” Tenya replied crossly. “It will get you suspended, though, and you’ve already been suspended twice.”

“He deserved it.”

“Deku? What the hell happened?!” Ochako asked as she rushed into the bathroom, concern etched all over her features. “Your face is all busted up! What did you do this time?!”

“Stupid Kacchan,” he hissed.

“That explains it. I have some bandaids in my bag and some alcohol to clean the cuts out. Your lucky I didn’t run out after your last fight with Katsuki.”

“I’ll do it again if I have to.”

“Why did you come back so violent from winter break? I thought you were going to book tickets to Japan to surprise your boyfriend.”

“Kacchan surprised him first,” Izuku spat.

Ochako blinked. “What do you mean?”

“My boyfriend? He showed up unexpectedly in New York,” Izuku said with a bitter laugh. “No, my ex-boyfriend. He dumped me right before New Years.”

“He what?!”

“I’m missing a lot of information here,” Tenya said bewilderedly. “Explain, Izuku.”

“You want me to explain? Fine. My ex-boyfriend showed up in New York last week and saw me on a PR run with Melissa, then Kacchan met him and gave him my real name. Then he found out who I really was and that I lied to him over the summer, and when I went to explain it to him he screamed at me and called me a cheater which yeah, I guess I am, and said I killed him. Now he’s gone and back in Japan and those tickets I booked last week to surprise him for his birthday? I have to cancel the flight.”

“So yeah!” he laughed bitterly, “that’s my beautiful winter break story. But how was yours, Tenya? Did you and Ochako go out to eat mochi together?”

Tenya and Ochako exchanged glances before Ochako leaned forward to flick Izuku’s forehead.

“Ow!”

“You idiot! We told you you should have told him as soon as you landed!”

“I fell asleep as soon as I got home and my mom washed my stupid sweater with his number in it!”

“You should have told him the truth before you even asked him out on a date,” Tenya replied crossly. “I don’t blame him for being upset with you. I mean, Izuku, what you did is pretty despicable.”

“I just turned seventeen this summer, Tenya! I cant exactly be truthful with him without risking it hurting Melissa too. I mean, we’re in the same boat! She’s been dating someone else in secret too and she hasn’t told them either!”

“I get that you’re only seventeen but that’s a pretty weak excuse for lying to your boyfriend,” Ochako frowned. “You always have to be honest with the people you love.”

“Yeah well now it’s too late. Shouto’s gone and I’m here and he never wants to see me again. I didn’t even get to explain myself,” he whispered his his eyes on his shoes.

Ochako huffed out a heavy sigh. “You make it so hard to defend you sometimes, you know?”

“Don’t defend me. I’m despicable.”

“Yes, you really are.”

“Tenya honey, not helping.”

Tenya let out a small sigh. “I can’t defend your actions, Izuku.”

“You’re so right.”

“But,” he continued, pushing his glasses up his nose, “I can see that you’re genuinely remorseful and while I don’t condone what you did, I hope you realize that you have to make it right.”

“I want to! But I don’t know how,” Izuku said, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

“Might I suggest taking the flight out to Musutafu and apologizing to him once more?”

“Do you want to see me on national news after he kills me? Tenya, he doesn’t want to see me let alone hear another apology. To him I’m a cheater!”

“You are,” Tenya deadpanned. “In a technical sense anyways. However, you have to make it right. You have to show up and make sure he listens to you. However, if he doesn’t take you back then you have to understand you have no one else to blame but yourself.”

“Yeah, what he said!” Ochako nodded enthusiastically. “If you explain yourself he might accept your apology! But if he doesn’t then you have to accept you lost him forever.”

“I think I already did.”

“Stop being such a drag and get your ass up on that plane and apologize on his front porch you idiot!” Ochako huffed, slapping his face gently. “Stop being stupid.”

“Ochako, I’ve been stupid since I came out of my mother’s womb.”

“Self depreciation won’t fix the issue, Izuku. Now, as Ochako said, get your ‘ass’ up on that plane and apologize to him. And please do it before our final exams, okay?”

Izuku’s eyes welled up with tears. “Tenya, you care so much!”

“I don’t want to be associated with a cheater so please clear your name.”

“I can’t believe I’m friends with you.”

“It’s either us or Bakugou.”

“...yeah, I’ll get on that plane.”

Izuku left for Japan on January tenth, departing from JFK Airport with a single bag stuffed with random pairs of underwear and mismatched clothes and his passport as an afterthought. He arrived in Japan on January eleventh extremely jet lagged and with an extremely half assed plan that involved an apology sitting on the tip of his tongue.

His first stop was the bakery where he found it closed, no signs of any strawberry shortcake in the glass case and no lights on.

It struck him as odd until his jet lagged brain registered the fact that it was in fact Shouto’s birthday so he was most likely home.

He sprinted the whole way there, ignoring the burning in his legs and heavy pounding in his chest. When he arrived at his home he spotted two balloons tied to the front porch; one blue and one red.

Eighteen. He’s eighteen now.

I wonder how I’m going to explain without getting the door slammed in my face again.

Only one way to find out.

After collecting his breath, he pounded on the front door, heart racing the whole time.

And, just his luck, Shouto opened them door with a piece if strawberry shortcake in hand, a soft smile on his face that promptly fell when he realized Izuku was standing on his front porch dripping with sweat and a crappy bag on the bottom of the steps.

“Shouto–"

He received a piece of strawberry shortcake go the face along with a “fuck you” from Shouto’s pretty pink lips before he was backing back inside his home with a scowl.

“Wait!” Izuku cried out, reaching a hand out to pull Shouto outside.

The boy with red and white hair let out a sharp cry of surprise as he was pulled outside and Izuku moved between him and the door, blocking his way in.

“I need to explain myself!”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Shouto replied curtly, arms folded defensively across his chest. “What could a cheater and a liar ever have to say to me that I would believe?”

“Shouto, I’m not a cheater!”

“You have a girlfriend,” Shouto scowled, “you’ve been dating her since you were fifteen, and when you were dating her you slept with me and kissed me. That sounds like textbook cheating to me, so shut up and get out of my way. I don’t even want to look at you.”

“Oh for the love of– stop being so stubborn and listen to me, dammit!”

Shouto froze in place, staring up at Izuku with wide eyes full if disbelief. “What the hell did you just–"

“Shouto, I didn’t travel across the ocean for fifteen hours just for you to ignore me so you’re going to stand there and listen to me. I don’t know whether you’ll accept my apology or not but I just need you to know that I’m not a cheater.”

Shouto scowled and averted his gaze to to side, brows pinched tightly together. He said nothing but didn’t walk away, and Izuku let out a small sigh of relief.

“Okay. First,” he exhaled, “her name is Melissa. Melissa Shields, and she’s dating Hatsume Mei, the friend who helped me find which hotel you were staying in. They’ve been dating since they were fourteen.”

Shouto’s eyes slowly made their way to Izuku, narrowed suspiciously.

“Melissa and I were put under an agreement to pretend to date each other when we were fifteen after someone almost outed her and she was slandered by the media. She’s one of my best friends so I agreed, but we both agreed we only saw each other as friends so I’m free to date anyone I want to.”

Shouto said nothing and didn’t move at all, but he was looking directly at Izuku and that was enough to keep him going.

“As to why I didn’t tell you, well, I didn’t want to risk the agreement potentially getting out and ruining Melissa’s life too. I mean, we’re both seventeen and dumb when it comes to being honest.”

Shouto sent him a flat look, one that obviously said, ‘being seventeen isn’t an excuse, idiot.’

“And I know, I know! Being seventeen isn’t an excuse for lying, but I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t talk it over with her until the first day I got back over dinner and she agreed that I should tell you, but when I went to look for your number I found out my mom washed my sweater and the piece of paper with it. It was gone when I went to look and I was devastated.”

The angry look in Shouto’s eyes softened slightly, and his scowl began to look more like a pout.

“I would have looked for you online but you have absolutely zero social media presence and I couldn’t find anyway to contact you. I couldn’t send mail because the paparazzi is weird and stalk my mail and I just...my stupid fame is what caused this whole thing.”

“And your horrid communication skills.”

Izuku winced and nodded. “Yeah, that too. And I wanted to book plane tickets to visit you for birthday to surprise you and to finally explain things, but then, well...you know...”

Shouto let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I know.”

Fucking New York.

“So that’s my explanation,” Izuku finished lamely. “I lied and I was stupid and I hurt you, but I swear it was never my intention to hurt you. I swear, Shouto, all I ever did was love you. And I know I was technically ‘with’ Melissa during summer, but I swear I dreamt of you all summer long.”

“Shouto,” he said with a helpless little smile, “I love you, I love you a lot. I love you in that cheesy way where I want to press kisses to the top of your head and that crazy way where I travel across the world to find you. And now...”

“Now?” Shouto pressed on with a raised brow.

“Now I’m here on your front porch in front of all your friends and siblings in the window at your party to ask you...do you still want me? Or are you going to tell me to fuck off again?”

Shouto stared at him for a couple of seconds before sighing.

“Izuku–"

“I’m not asking you to take me back if that’s not what you want! I just want your forgiveness, and then I’ll move and leave you alone forever if that’s what you want.”

“Let me speak you idiot,” Shouto huffed with a small pout.

“Right. Sorry.”

“Izuku,” he sighed once more, running a hand through his hair, “you hurt me...a lot. I just...I understand that you have to keep up appearances, I do, and I wouldn’t have been so upset if you told me sooner but...Izuku, I found out watching you walk around New York with her.”

“Do you even know how much that hurt me?” Shouto asked, lips pulled down in a frown. “It hurt so much. I spent months sitting by my phone just waiting and you...there was never a call or a text. Nothing.”

“I should have put your number in my phone on the flight.”

“Yeah, you probably should have.”

Izuku huffed out a small sigh. “I’m an idiot.”

“Yeah, you are.”

“And fuck...you found out through Kacchan,” he groaned, “fuck. I don’t blame you if you do accept my apology. I messed up a lot.”

“You did,” Shouto said with a tiny smile, “but you also traveled across the ocean to apologize on my birthday.”

“Happy birthday...?”

Shouto let out an unprecedented snort. “Yes, thank you.”

“So...do you forgive me?”

Shouto’s gaze softened and he nodded. “I do. What you did was wrong but you came out here to clear it up and I’m thankful for that. But I’m not dating you any time soon.”

Izuku blinked. “Huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me,” Shouto replied with a roll of his eyes. “Look, Izuku, you love me and I think it’s painfully obvious I love you, but your life is complicated. You technically cheated on your girlfriend just to be with me in secret and...I don’t want to be a secret.”

“I want to be able to hold your hand in public without you having to wear stupid sunglasses and ridiculous hat. I want to be able to kiss you without it having to be in secret. I want you to be mine and only mine, not half of you belonging to Melissa.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Shouto let out a sigh. “I love you, Izuku, I do, but I’m selfish and what you all to myself. You’re with Melissa now and...it’s complicated. I’ve had enough complicated to last me a lifetime. I just want some stability right now.”

“I understand.”

Shouto nodded, a bittersweet smile on his lips. “Okay. Then this is goodbye.”

“Yeah.”

Shouto nodded again before slipped past Izuku and going back into his house, leaving Izuku standing on the front porch with a broken heart.

Shouto Todoroki loved summer.

He loved the smell of salt air and the sound of children begging for ice cream on their noises walk. He loved the taste of cookies and cream ice cream. He loved stealing strawberries from his sister’s bakery.

He loved working in the bakery, too. Especially when his entire family was in to help Fuyumi with the summer rush.

“Will you two stop stealing all the strawberries?” Fuyumi chastised as she slapped both Touya and Shouto’s heads.

“These are the best little shits I’ve ever eaten.”

“What, have you eaten a big shit?”

Touya threw a strawberry at Shouto that he caught in his mouth. “I guess you really are back to your normal ass self.”

“Hey, Keigo’s back in town for the summer. Maybe you should try going out with him again so you can stop being less of an asshole.”

“And to think you managed to land a boyfriend with that mouth!”

“Oh shut up,” Shouto said with a roll of his eyes, a small part of his heart twinging just a bit. “Izuku liked my cursing.”

“He liked cheating too.”

“He didn’t cheat,” both Fuyumi and Shouto replied exasperatedly.

“PR or not he was with another chick. That’s cheating.”

“Didn’t you and Keigo cheat on your girlfriends to be together?” Natsuo shot back with a grin.

“That was different.”

“Cheating is cheating,” Shouto retorted haughtily.

“Oh you little bastard.”

Shouto grinned in response and stuck a strawberry into his mouth, laughing silently when Fuyumi scolded him and told him to get a cake mold.

It had been six months since he last saw Izuku, six months since he threw a piece of cake at his face and received a decent apology.

It had been six months since he first allowed himself to smile at the sight of pictures they took together and allowed himself to hug those stuffed animals Izuku won for him at the fair.

It had been six months since he sent Izuku away and his heart still hurt, but not as much as it did when he caught him in Central Park with Melissa.

He missed Izuku terribly, but last he heard he was still in a PR relationship with Melissa and showed no signs of leaving her any time soon.

It was fine, though. He could live with just the memories, even if they hurt to think about.

July sixteen. Izuku turned eighteen yesterday.

He popped another strawberry into his mouth and walked back into the kitchen with a cake mold in his hands.

He immediately sensed something was off by the way Fuyumi and Natsuo were desperately peeking over Touya’s shoulder looking at his phone, Rei standing to the side with a tiny smile on her face.

“What’s going on?”

“Izuku Midoriya, formerly known as Izuku Yagi, renounced his claim to his father’s business and broke up publicly with his long time girlfriend Melissa Shields on the eve of his birthday and proudly declared he is very, very bisexual,” Touya read.

Shouto nearly dropped the cake mold he was holding, rushing over to peer over Touya’s shoulder.

“You’re lying.”

“The internet says he dumped his girlfriend you idiot.”

“But he wouldn’t–"

“Melissa Shields who turned eighteen last October took the break up well and was spotted later that evening kissing a woman.”

“Holy fuck,” Touya wheezed, “this dude’s a nutcase! These Americans are batshit crazy!”

“Why would he dump his girlfriend as soon as he turned eighteen?” Natsuo asked curiously.

“Maybe he wants to get Shouto back,” Fuyumi suggested.

“He has some balls I’ll give him that,” Touya grudgingly acknowledged. “They say he’s still in New York though so don’t get your hopes up little brat.”

“With you to knock them down? I wouldn’t dare dream of it,” Shouto deadpanned.

“Will you take him back now that he’s dumped his girlfriend?” Natsuo asked.

Shouto chewed on yhe inside of his cheek. “Maybe.”

“You useless gay.”

“You useless man whore.”

“Children, behave,” Rei scolded. “It makes no sense to be speculating about Midoriya’s intentions. Fuyumi, dear, your regular customer is coming in soon for strawberry shortcake.”

“Oh yeah! Ms. Kayama! Shouto, can you go get her order ready?”

Shouto shrugged. “Okay.”

“And don’t steal strawberries on your way out!”

Shouto, of course, stole strawberries on his way out if the kitchen with a silent laugh and smile on his lips.

He walked over to the glass case to get the piece if strawberry shortcake out, and just like it did every day, the bell over the door jingled when it opened.

“Welcome Ms. Kayama,” he said without looking up, “I’ll have your order ready in just a second.”

“We should really stop meeting like this,” a very familiar amused voice replied.

Shouto nearly dropped the piece of strawberry shortcake he was holding, his eyes flying upwards to meet emerald greens that shone with mischief and amusement.

“Izuku,” he breathed out. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Izuku replied with a crooked grin. “Have you checked the news lately?”

“About you dumping your girlfriend and coming out at your birthday party?” Shouto huffed out a small laugh. “Yeah, I saw.”

“So?” Izuku asked, twiddling with his thumbs nervously, “what are you going to do if I ask you to be my boyfriend now?”

Shouto’s heart soared in that moment, his lips curling up into a grin that matched Izuku’s, and with a chuckle, said, “would you like some strawberry shortcake, sir?”

“Only if you accompany me while I eat it and steal some strawberries. Oh, and if you accept to go on a date with me without any stupid sunglasses and ugly hats.”

Shouto smiled widely and leaned across the counter, pulling Izuku in by the the front of his shirt.

The kiss was sweet and deep, and the taste of strawberries on Shouto’s lips didn’t taste bitter anymore, tasting instead sweeter than ever.

“Welcome home,” he whispered when they pulled apart, forehead pressed against Izuku’s.

“Thanks. Can I have some strawberry shortcake now?”

Shouto only kissed him in response, smiling through the whole thing because he was finally home.