Chapter Text

As Shouta woke up, he was in burning pain. Being a hero he did have pretty good pain tolerance, but now he just wanted to- no, not curl into a ball because he was fairly certain that would hurt even more, but to find the least painful position on this moldy mattress and cry – wait, moldy mattress? Shouta looked around, nothing seemed familiar. He wasn’t in his minimalist bedroom in his apartment, far from it. He was in a run-down building with every wall having see-through holes in them, indeed laying on a moldy mattress, suffering from severe burns, at least third and in some places fourth degree. Shouta carefully sat up and even more carefully stood. Walking around hurt, but he did finally find a broken mirror. 

First of all, the only similarity he saw from the mirror staring back at him was the black hair, but even that was too short and already had white roots showing. As his gaze moved slowly downwards as he took all the information in, the next thing he noticed was bright turquoise eyes. His first thought was “beautiful” and other flattering adjectives, but he quickly shook the thoughts out of his (was it actually even his?) head. The second thing was the purple eyebags, the only difference from his norm was the fact they were burn scars, rotting flesh held together with medical staples. The scarring continued on his chin, and he followed it with his gaze until it disappeared under his – or the stranger’s whose body he was inhabiting – shirt. The shirt was torn and clearly had been through much, though many stains that Shouta could feel didn’t show on the black fabric. Shouta hesitated for a second, then thought “fuck it” and shrugged the shirt off, wincing when the burns stretched with the movement. The scarring and rotting flesh were uneven, being once again held to the healthy skin with staples right above the chest. Chest that was bound tightly with ducktape. Shouta felt his heart breaking and took his time to peel it carefully off, happily bearing the pain since it meant that this person didn’t need to. He spared a second’s thought to the fact that if his suspicions were right, at least the person didn’t have to bear breasts when in his body. While peeling off the tape, he let his eyes wander.

He found multiple burn scars, varying severity, but most stapled to the healthy skin. What shocked Shouta the most though was a greyscale blazing moon mark on the left side of the stranger’s torso – matching the exact same picture Shouta had had on his left arm since he was six. This stranger he apparently had switched bodies with was his soulmate, the person fate would ensure he’d meet and who was bound to become an important figure in his life. The bond could be platonic, romantic, familial, or even just sexual, but the person would always have a positive impact on the other’s life – only time could tell what kind of bond two soulmates had. Not everyone had a soulmark, but it had become increasingly common with time – now, roughly half of the population had soulmarks. Marks always represented every person in the relationship, and those with multiple marks always had a different kind of bond with every soulmate. Every soulmate pair also got an ability from the bond. Some felt their soulmates’ pain, some could communicate telepathically and some could switch bodies, Shouta had heard – that was his running theory for what had happened.

Shouta reached a hesitant hand to touch the mark. It was a miracle it had survived untouched by the flames that had scarred Shouta's soulmate’s body this badly. The mark was a crescent moon surrounded by flames – two soulmates had to touch for the mark to gain colour and it clearly didn’t count if Shouta wasn’t in his own body to do that. Shouta had always thought his – their – mark was beautiful. The moon was filled with these mandala-like lines and the flames formed stunning shapes around it. Shouta couldn’t wait for it to fill up with colour - he kind of hoped that the flames, which he knew represented his soulmate, would be the bright turquoise of their eyes.

Then he snapped out of his thoughts and back to reality. His soulmate was in his body right now, which meant Shouta knew where they were! Pulling the shirt back and ignoring the pain, Shouta grabbed the only backpack in the apartment – he knew the bag most likely contained his soulmate's whole life – pulled on the only shoes in front of the door and burst out of it.

Taking a moment to orient himself, he took in the surroundings and mapped out his location in his mind. He wasn’t near his current patrol area, but he’d been around as a backup when needed. It was a shady part of the town, nearly abandoned. The law didn’t apply here, it was everyone for themselves. Shouta shook the thoughts out of his head. Now that he knew where he was, he could focus on getting home. 

⇄

The walk took almost an hour as there wasn’t public transport – and when Shouta got to an area where there was, of course, his soulmate (soulmate!!) didn’t have any money lying around in his pockets. But that was okay since Shouta had woken up pretty early because of the unbearable pain all over his body. The sun was only starting to climb up to the sky, the clock couldn’t have been much past nine in the morning, so Shouta almost even enjoyed the walk – or would have, if the agonising pain had stopped even for a moment. Before an hour was up, he stood in front of his apartment building. Sneaking in was… well, not easy but he’d really have to increase his personal security – he was sure Nedzu would help with that.

As he entered his own living room, he was assaulted by Bastard, Meow (short for Presentation Meowchel as Zashi had named him), and Pillow who ran from the bedroom, feet hitting air as he drifted on the wooden floor. At the same time, there was a low groan from the bedroom. Great. His soulmate was awake. Shouta himself couldn't tell how much of the thoughts were covered in sarcasm but decided not to dwell on that.

“What…?” was mumbled in the bedroom, so after a moment of consideration Shouta took careful steps in that direction. He really didn’t know what would be the best plan, but decided that his soulmate would have to eventually see him so he decided on getting the shock out of the way. 

Shouta walked to his bedroom door, opened it ajar, and peeked in. There, on the bed, lay… him. Shouta’s body. But also Shouta’s soulmate.

“Good morning”, Shouta called out, softly but his voice still had the gruffness that was dependent on the attitude, not vocal cords. The person on the bed startled and shot out of the bed facing Shouta, who would be leaning against the door frame if it didn’t hurt like a bitch with his soulmate’s burns. Instead, he had his thumbs hanging from the pockets of his soulmate’s college pants to accomplish a relaxed stance.

“What the fuck!?”

⇄

It took patience and a lot of reassurance to get his soulmate to calm down and sit at the kitchen table. Shouta’s attempts to act casual included making coffee for them and trying out small talk about how they took their coffee and about the cats that made their way into the kitchen, being the curious little shits that they were. 

“And that calico? That’s Pillow. Has had a habit of sleeping on my face since she was a kitten. My bet is that she’s trying to suffocate me and use the insurance money on cat treats.”

That finally got a reaction from his soulmate. They snorted into their coffee, making Shouta smirk. 

“I’m serious. Those eyes are dangerous when she begs. I never cave in but my best friend, Zashi, they’re the weak link. He gives in without a damn fight.”

Shouta paused to take a sip from his coffee, observing his soulmate’s body language. They were more relaxed now, so he put his cup down and opened his mouth again.

“So… My name is Aizawa Shouta, pronouns he/him. I’m your soulmate.” Bringing his pronouns into the conversation was a calculated risk – his soulmate was supposed to be a positive influence in his life, but in the small chance they’d have a problem with his identity he wanted it out of the way as soon as possible. On the other hand, it might make them feel safer in his company.

His soulmate raised their gaze from their coffee, an unreadable look on their face. “Touya. He/him.”

Shouta smiled an honest, relieved, and happy smile. It wasn’t one people often saw on his face. “Nice to meet you, Touya. Feel free to stay here as long as you need. I saw the place you were occupying and brought your backpack here to keep it safe. It’s in the living room.” As soon as Shouta finished the sentence, Touya shot out of his seat and rushed to the living room. It spooked the cats, who scurried out of the way quickly but calmed down when they noticed nothing was happening. 

Shouta wandered after him – his soulmate, he still couldn’t really believe that he’d found the the other half of his soul. It was kind of surreal. He walked slowly, sudden movements hurt – was this really how much pain his soulmate was in at all times? He’d have to do something, anything, to help. No human being deserved this much constant pain. Arriving in the living room, he found his soulmate – Clouds was it weird to see his own body going about – kneeling on the carpet in front of the backpack he’d brought from the apartment he’d woken up in.

He stayed once again at the doorway, giving Touya space. All of this was so new and overwhelming and Shouta as a hero was used to strange things happening to him, but Touya… Well, he’d clearly not lived an easy life, and this adding to all the stress Shouta was sure his soulmate was constantly under, them swapping bodies, even meeting, couldn’t be easy. So, he gave his soulmate space, and once he was ready, they would talk. 

“Touya?” Shouta called softly, not wanting to scare him. He failed, though, and as soon as Touya heard him, he flinched and quickly turned to look at Shouta. Touya didn’t say anything, just watched him warily. Shouta sighed inwardly but kept going.

“I have to call my dad to explain the situation and to let him know that I won’t be coming to work today. Please don’t leave?” Shouta didn’t intend for the last sentence to come out as pleading as it did. He waited for Touya to nod before turning around and walking to the bedroom where his phone lay exactly where he’d placed it last night. Clouds, it felt like last night was a long time ago, and it was only 7:14 in the morning. So much had happened in the short amount of time.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head and then wincing because shaking his head hurt, Shouta opened his phone and called the contact labeled ‘Rat God (Dad)’ as Shouta had named it as a teenager (he’d smiled like a fool when he’d added the ‘Dad’ as the adoption had been made official). 

“Shouta?” came an inquiry before the phone rang for the second time. 

“Hi, Dad. I won’t be coming to work today. Situation B-5W4P”, Shouta explained succinctly. No need for complex explanations when Nedzu himself had made sure Shouta knew all the codes by heart.

“Ah. I’m sure Hizashi-kun won’t mind taking over some of your classes – It’s not like you have but five students in your homeroom either. I’ll take care of it. Now, do explain the situation in detail, pup.” The nickname softened Nedzu’s professional wording, though no one else but them would ever know about its use. It was something only for the two of them. Neither of them were good at emotions, Nedzu because he wasn’t a human, and Shouta… Well, Shouta had always been like that, but the two of them understood each other. They cared, loved each other, and even though they were crap at saying it, they showed it in other ways and Nedzu knew Shouta could read the emotions in the nickname; concern, care, worry, love. That’s why Shouta had a small, soft smile as he answered, explaining the situation from the start.

“And there was ducktape around his chest! I can’t- no one should have to do that, Dad!”

“I know, pup. But now he’s got you, right? And by extension, me. I know you’ll do your best to help him and I’ll do my best to help you both. You’re my son, my pup, after all.” 

”Yeah. Thanks, Dad.”

“Now, I think you should get settled and talk with your soulmate, and Chiyo will see you tomorrow to get you started with his treatment – for both burns and gender-affirming care. Do also talk about when you want to switch back, I’ll send you the information about the quirk you were hit with.” By now Shouta should have been used to how fast Nedzu worked, but it still managed to astonish him. Even though Shouta had had his theory about their body swap being the ability from their bond, Nedzu had gone through his last night’s villain and civilian encounters and weirdly enough, one of the villains did have a quirk that would make their situation possible. 

Shouta quirked his lips up in a smirk. “Thank you. I’ll get back to you.”

“Of course, Shouta.”

⇄

After Shouta read and comprehended the summarized information, he walked back to the living room. Touya had relocated to the furthest corner, clutching his backpack against his chest and wide eyes taking in everything in the room. Shouta’s heart gave a painful squeeze.

“Touya?” That made Touya flinch. Shouta made his way to sit on the couch, located against the nearest wall and facing Touya. “I have the day off. Tomorrow we’ll be visiting Recovery Girl for her to take a look at these burns.” Shouta gestured to his face, torso, and hands collectively, watching Touya’s reaction. It was panicked, his eyes scanning the room wildly. “We’re the only ones in the house, Touya. It’s just you, me, and the cats. Today we’ll talk, hopefully get to know each other, and make plans. I will see to it that you will be taken care of, and Recovery Girl is one of the best there is. I also assume you’ve seen the scars on my chest, and I think you know what they mean. Recovery Girl made them possible, I trust her with my life. It will also be a possibility for you, should you wish for it.” Touya’s reaction morphed from panicked to something akin to hopeful and he nodded carefully, as if showing any reaction would make it all disappear. 

“I removed the ducktape this morning”, Shouta blurted out – he didn’t mean to, but the words tumbled from his lips, and his voice started to tremble with emotion. “Please don’t do that again, Touya. Just… please. I have a few old binders in my closet, we’re similar size, you can use them and we can order you your own but please don’t… please bind safely, Touya.” Shouta’s eyes burned in a manner that should have meant tears falling down his face, but there was nothing. It took a moment for Shouta to connect the dots between the eyebags of burnt skin and tearlessness, but when he did, it only made him want to cry even more. He looked up at Touya – when did he even lower his gaze? – and noticed that he didn’t have a problem with his tear ducts. Big, fat tears were rolling down Touya’s – Shouta’s – face and the eyes conveyed an emotion so strong it made Shouta want to jump off the couch and rush to hug his soulmate – he refrained since that would most likely startle Touya, but only barely. 

“R-really?” Touya whispered, the hope in his voice palpable. 

“Really.” Shouta confirmed. “Though first, we do have to visit Recovery Girl about these burns – I am not making you suffer any more than necessary.”

⇄

Once again they ended up at the kitchen table – the only way they could be face to face, sitting at the same level without being on the floor. Shouta gently coaxed Touya to talk, and slowly but surely Shouta was starting to get the whole picture. He found out about Touya’s family situation, how he was bred to surpass the greatest heroes, trained from a young age to make his flames burn hotter and hotter. How Touya and his father fought, and Touya let it slip that he wasn’t a girl. How the bastard who doesn’t deserve to be called a father beat Touya unconscious, and how after he woke up, Touya ran. How his emotions took control of his quirk and he burnt down a lot of forest, greatly injuring himself in the process. And then how he was presumed dead, how he had been in a coma for three years and had woken up only a few months ago. 

Throughout his story Touya cried, taking full advantage of working tear ducts, and gripped the hand Shouta had extended to him over the table. Shouta’s eyes too were burning as he listened horrified, softly prompting Touya to go on and asked clarifying questions. He needed to know, after all, so that he could help in every way possible. 

Then Shouta brought up the topic of their bodies and how the quirk acted. It was rather simple, as he told Touya: It made soulmates switch bodies and their situation could be reversed by touching with the intention of switching back. Shouta also made clear that he didn’t want Touya to have to be in pain and he would be happy to bear the constant ache of the burns and the strain of having a feminine chest so that Touya could be as comfortable as possible.

Touya agreed reluctantly to keep their situation as it was, though he wanted to switch back the next day for the check-up because “It’s my body, I want to be in it when something is happening to it.” Touya also expressed his gratitude for not having to bear the pain himself and for getting to stay in a body that fit better to him than his own, weirdly enough.

⇄

The rest of the day they spent hanging out, catching up on Touya’s favourite show he’d not been able to watch in years – first because of his dad and then because he’d been in a coma. Touya was careful to keep his backpack close to him at all times and didn’t speak much after the initial breakdown. Shouta relaxed on the other end of the sofa, as much as he could with the burns. Thankfully he did have some pretty strong pain medication at hand, as being a hero was a health hazard, so he was in a comfortably drowsy state all day. They ordered pizza when they got hungry, and all in all, it was perhaps the most relaxing day either of them had had in years.

When it came time to go to sleep for the night, they separated in front of two bedroom doors. Shouta had insisted Touya take his bed since it was much more comfortable and had been custom-ordered just to fit his body right. Shouta took the quest bedroom, where Hizashi slept if Shouta wasn’t in the mood for cuddling – that didn’t happen too often, Shouta had to admit to himself. He loved physical contact with the people he trusted and who he knew would respect his limits, though that only included Hizashi and Nedzu, his brother and dad. Once upon a time, there had been a third person… Shouta shook his head to clear it, but once again winced as the burnt skin on his neck stretched painfully with the sudden movement.

“Good night, Touya,” Shouta wished to his soulmate, before turning to open the door to the guest bedroom. 

“...Night,” came the shy answer, and Shouta let his mouth form a soft smile, his back to Touya. Just as he stepped inside and made to close the door, a quiet “Thank you” reached his ears. His smile widened, but before he could answer the sound of a closing door followed. 

Shouta took another dose of painkillers and fell asleep with a smile on his lips.