Work Text:
The night sky came far too soon. Izuku doesn’t know how he lost track of time like he did. He was planning on getting home on time today since he’s been neglecting his chores at home. He spent too much time dilly dallying though, way too much time at the market, he did run into that one kid as well, and all of that just piled up. Time always passes by faster when not paying attention to it.
The grocery bag bumps against his leg as he makes the final stretch home. Izuku can see his apartment from here. He probably won’t have time to wash clothes tonight, but he can definitely tidy around the house, and maybe sort through all the clothes as well. That would make it easier for him for tomorrow. Perhaps he can wake up a bit earlier and wash in the morning before work and then hang them up so they have the entire day to dry outside in the sun.
“Huh?”
Izuku stops walking as he stares at his apartment. He can see his balcony from here, since it faces the west side, and when he glances over towards it he notices how the lights are on. Izuku knows he turned them off before he left. He pauses for a few more seconds before he takes off running. Izuku runs up the stairs and down the hallway, panting out when he makes it to his door. He struggles to take his keys out from his bag and quickly shoves it in the lock, twisting it open.
Izuku stares down at the shoe rack and sees white boots neatly standing there. His heart skips a beat and he looks up to stare down the hallway.
“Shouto?”
A moment of silence goes by. Izuku picks up the sound of faint footsteps that grow louder. His boyfriend suddenly appears in his vision. Shouto turns the corner and walks straight over. Before Izuku can even finish smiling and say that he’s home his boyfriend reaches out and pulls him into the tightest hug ever. Izuku feels the wind get knocked out of him and he stumbles backwards. Shouto closes his eyes tightly and buries his face into his neck. Their bodies press up together and he even leans into him, Izuku having to support his weight.
Izuku blinks once, twice, before he lets out a tiny sigh. He drops his bags on the floor and reaches out his arms, wrapping them around Shouto. He hugs him right back and rests his head against his shoulder.
“I’m home.”
Shouto takes a deep breath of Izuku’s scent, missing it so much. His voice is all rough and scratchy as he mumbles out.
“Welcome home, Izuku.”
“Welcome home to you too, Shouto.”
They stand in the entranceway of the door hugging. Izuku had no idea that he was in for such a surprise today. If he had, he would have tried even harder to get home on time, or even earlier in order to greet his boyfriend. It’s been a while since he’s come back, so there is so much to catch up on. Izuku pats Shouto’s back, expecting the hug to end now so they can talk with one another. His boyfriend doesn’t move. Izuku pats his back again a little more firmly this time and attempts to pull away, but Shouto just squeezes him even tighter.
“Shouto?”
“Not yet.”
“But–”
“I’m not done yet. Just a bit longer.”
Izuku blinks before nodding his head. He closes his eyes and holds his boyfriend for as long as he desires. It makes him happy to know that he missed him so much. Of course Izuku already knew that, Shouto texts him nearly every day how much he misses him. Still, it’s been so long that Izuku wants to be spoiled a bit (and do a bit of spoiling as well). He turns his head and presses a gentle kiss against Shouto’s temple before running his fingers through his hair.
A few minutes pass by. Shouto finally stirs and pulls away slowly. Izuku looks at his face and sees how watery his eyes are. It breaks his heart and he immediately moves his hands to cuff his cheeks.
“Hey, baby, what’s wrong?”
Shouto sniffles as a tear falls out the corner of his eye, “sorry. I really missed you.”
“No, no, it’s alright. You’re alright. I really missed you too, baby. Has it been a long day for you? When did you get home?”
“About an hour ago. I rushed back as soon as I could.”
Izuku lets out a tiny sigh. He must be exhausted then if he rushed back home. He probably hasn’t even taken a shower yet or unwinded. Shouto always gets a bit emotional whenever he’s feeling overwhelmed. The stress he must have constantly been through with his mission and the relief of finally coming back home and seeing Izuku again must have put him through a lot.
Back when this first happened, Izuku would always panic and freak out whenever he saw Shouto cry because he wasn’t used to such a thing. His boyfriend was always so calm and collected, stoic even. He rarely showed his emotions when they first met during their first year of high school, but that slowly changed. Shouto started feeling more comfortable and started being more trusting and now can express himself freely, which Izuku is happy about. He knows exactly what to do whenever his boyfriend acts like this after being with him for so long.
“Come on, I’m going to run a bath for you. I bet you haven’t taken one yet, have you? What about food? Have you eaten? I went to the market on my way home, so I’ll make something for us. It’s been a while since I’ve cooked for you.”
“I haven’t. I’ve been unpacking all my things.”
“It’s so late, Shouto. You know you shouldn’t skip meals. I’ll get started right now.”
Izuku reaches for Shouto’s hand and drags him along. He heads straight for the bathroom and runs the bathwater, telling his boyfriend to take his time and leave his dirty clothes in the hamper. Shouto nods his head and thanks him. Izuku exits the bathroom and heads back for the front door, which they left open since Shouto barely gave him a chance to do anything. He locks up and grabs his things, dropping the groceries in the kitchen, and heading for their bedroom to put his bag away.
Several suitcases are on the floor, some open, some still zipped up tightly and standing up. Izuku sighs a tiny bit and maneuvers his way over towards his dresser. He takes out some comfortable clothes and changes out of his suit before going back to the kitchen. It’s been a few years since they’ve moved in together, but Shouto is still as messy as ever. He doesn’t mean to be, but he gets absentminded sometimes, and he probably started to unpack before his attention was brought to something else and got distracted. It’s not something Izuku hates though. He thinks it’s rather cute, if he’s being honest. He really wishes Shouto would have warned him he was coming home though so he could have prepared better for his arrival.
Izuku has so much to do in such a limited time. He starts first in the kitchen, getting their dinner going. He washes the rice, starts the miso soup, and prepares the pork that he bought, letting it marinate in his mother’s special recipe. Once dinner is in a good enough place Izuku heads back to the bathroom and grabs the dirty hamper. He checks on his boyfriend, seeing him washing his hair, before heading into their bedroom. All of Shouto’s dirty clothes, the ones scattered on the floor, and any of them that stink, Izuku adds them to the hamper. He takes the pillowcases and bed sheets as well, not being able to remember the last time he washed those, before heading to the washing machine.
He planned on washing tomorrow, but there is so much now that he can’t wait. Their electric bill is going to be a little bit higher this month since he’s going to use their dryer. Izuku puts clean sheets and pillowcases on their bed and grabs some clean clothes from Shouto’s dresser. He leaves the clothes inside of the bathroom for his boyfriend before heading for the cleaning supplies in the hallway closet. He’ll do a quick sweep, maybe some light dusting as well, in between cooking. Izuku really wishes he didn’t let too many things pile up, but there is nothing that he can do about it now.
“Izuku.”
“Yes, Shouto–ah.”
Shouto glomps onto his boyfriend, hugging him from behind and resting his chin on his shoulder. He nuzzles into his neck, closing his eyes as he pulls him in close. Izuku frowns as he looks behind him.
“Shouto, don’t play around an open flame. And why didn’t you dry your hair? You’re going to catch a cold.”
“Hmm, I love you.”
Izuku’s eyes widen slightly, his cheeks flustering a tiny bit. He mumbles under his breath and turns off all the flames on the stove, putting a pause on his cooking.
“Come on, I’ll dry it for you.”
“I love you, Izuku.”
“I heard you.”
Shouto has a pout on his face as he stares directly at his boyfriend. It’s so cute. Izuku giggles a tiny bit to himself. He grabs Shouto’s shoulders and pushes him towards the bathroom. They have a hair dryer specifically for this reason. Shouto sits down on top of the toilet cover, still pouting, while Izuku plugs in the dryer. He stands right in front of Shouto and turns it on. He runs his fingers gently through his hair as he waves the hair dryer at it. Shouto closes his eyes and enjoys the tiny shivers that he feels run down his spine. His boyfriend’s gentle touches feel good and a bit ticklish. Shouto enjoys being spoiled and hopes it doesn’t end anytime soon.
Izuku hums to himself and runs his fingers all through Shouto’s hair. Once it feels dry enough, he turns off the dryer and breaks up any tangles that he finds. He kneels down on one knee and looks up at Shouto, pushing his hair out of his face.
“I love you.”
Shouto blinks before a bright smile appears on his lips. Izuku flinches and looks away, his cheeks heating up. His boyfriend is too handsome for his own good. Even after all these years, he can still make Izuku’s face turn red and his heart act up with his beauty. Shouto reaches out for him and places his hands on his shoulders, leaning down towards him.
“W–wait a minute. I have to finish cooking and you need to eat first.”
“Izuku,” Shouto begins to whine.
“Later, no butts. Come on, finish unpacking and I should be done with dinner by the time you’re done. You’re going to be home for a while, right?”
“Yes,” Shouto says happily, “I’m not sure for how long, but definitely a few weeks. I asked my agency to let me stay close to home for a while, so unless there is an emergency, I’ll be here. I do have the next three days completely off though.”
“That’s great, Shouto. I wish you would have given me some kind of warning so I could have coordinated with you better. I still have work until the weekend.”
“I’m sorry. I kept thinking about it and forgetting. I honestly didn’t know I was going to be back today. I was told this morning that the forest fire had been mostly subdued and that they didn’t need as many heroes anymore. As soon as I got the okay to leave I grabbed all my things and rushed home as fast as I could.”
“Hehehe, it’s alright. You have to tell me about the mission. I’ve been watching it on the news whenever they cover it. I want to hear all about it, Shouto.”
“I want to hear everything about what you’ve been doing, Izuku. How was your day? What has been going on in your life? How much have you missed me?”
“Hahaha, is that last one important?”
“Yes, very important. Probably the most important answer I want to know.”
“Well, I’ll answer it over dinner. It’s almost ready, so you better unpack fast.”
“Fine.”
Izuku smiles as he leans up. He gently presses his lips against Shouto’s and kisses him for a few seconds before standing up.
“I’m making pork katsudon tonight! I hope you’re ready to eat a feast because that’s what I’m preparing for us.”
Shouto stays sitting on the toilet seat, a bit shocked as Izuku walks away and leaves. He feels his cheeks grow warmer and brings his hands up to cover his face. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Don’t chase after him and kiss him senselessly, Izuku wouldn’t like that right now. He told him later, so he has to wait until later.
As soon as later comes though he better be prepared.
“Can you believe it? Aizawa told me to be more strict with my students! I mean, he was making a good point, saying how it mattered since we have to keep the students humbled so they don’t get big heads, but he was so nice to us. Aizawa was a bit tough on us, but I don’t remember him being super strict.”
Shouto swallows his bite before saying with a straight face, “I think he only said that because he’s jealous of how much all the students love you and not him.”
Izuku snorts out and nearly chokes, “Sh–Shouto, I don’t think that’s the reason why, hahaha. Thank you for saying that though.”
“You’re an amazing teacher, Izuku. I can see Aizawa’s point, but he can’t expect you to copy his teaching methods exactly. He’s had years of experience while you’re still new to your job and learning. What works for him may not work for you. I know you’re strict in your own way. You don’t like to be, but I know you don’t let your students walk all over you. I’m sure you humble them, so don’t worry about it too much.”
Izuku feels touched and smiles to himself. He nods his head and hums.
“Thank you, Shouto. You’re right, I shouldn’t try to copy his methods exactly. Maybe I should listen to his advice, but try in my own way.”
“I can’t believe you said that Aizawa wasn’t strict though. I don’t know if we’re recalling the same memories since he was a scary teacher.”
“Hahaha, Shouto!”
“What? I’m being honest. I enjoyed having him as my teacher and I learned a lot, but he was tough. I feel bad for his current students.”
Izuku’s cheeks hurt from laughing so much. He shakes his head and covers his mouth, trying to muffle and hide them. He reaches for his glass and takes a sip of water to calm down.
“Alright, Shouto, enough about me. I’ve talked too much. Tell me about your trip.”
“You’ve barely talked at all, Izuku. You’ve only told me about your day, I want to hear more.”
“Well I want to hear more about you, so it’s your turn now.”
“I was very sad. I spent every day missing you. That’s it. Back to you.”
“Shouto, be serious. You got to travel all the way to Kyoto to take down a crime syndicate, that’s exciting. You also got called in to help with a forest fire, tell me everything about that.”
“It was a hassle. I thought I was going to be able to go home, but I had to take a week-long detour because some villain thought it would be fun to play with fire.”
“Shouto,” Izuku calls his name out very softly, but also kind of sternly as well.
Shouto meets his stare head on before sighing to himself. He has no choice but to relent, since he doesn’t want to make his boyfriend upset. For the rest of their dinner he tells him about all his missions, going into as much detail as possible since he knows he likes that. Izuku listens intently, nodding his head up and down and interrupting to ask a couple of questions. He’s excited and impressed and thinks Shouto is so cool with everything that he’s done. Soon all the food disappears and Shouto runs out of details to tell. He helps Izuku gather up all of the dishes and brings them over to the sink.
“You can leave them here, Shouto. I’ll wash them.”
“No, I can handle the dishes, Izuku. You cooked for us.”
“But you just came home and you’re tired.”
“I could say the same about you.”
“I’m a different type of tired from my job. I didn’t save lives today.”
“And neither did I. I would think that your tired is more exhausting having to watch over so many kids at once. One person cooks, the other person washes. Those were our rules.”
Izuku pouts, “I know those are the rules, Shouto, but…okay, fine. How about we both do it? It’ll certainly be faster than arguing about it.”
Shouto chuckles, “I have no problem with that. Whatever keeps you close to me.”
Izuku doesn’t say anything, but he does feel embarrassed hearing him say that. The two of them stand side by side, arms brushing up against one another as one washes and the other dries.
“You know, I really enjoy hearing your stories about work.”
“I know you do. You always make me tell them to you.”
Izuku tilts his head slightly to the side as he scrubs one dish, “that’s because you never want to tell me. How come?”
Shouto pauses. Izuku holds a new dish out for him and Shouto slowly puts the dish he was drying on the rack before grabbing the new one.
“...That’s not true.”
“It is. If you didn’t know then you probably haven’t noticed, I’m sure you have though. You’re just thinking about me, but I’m fine, Shouto. I’m very happy with my life right now.”
Shouto gulps, “you don’t miss it?”
“I didn’t say that. I do. Some days more than others, but…it’s strange, I just had a conversation like this with Aizawa earlier today. I might be quirkless, Shouto, but as long as I make use of my experiences and encourage others…well isn’t there something kind of awesome about that?”
Izuku looks up at him with his eyes closed and a smile on his face. Shouto takes a breath before he nods his head and responds back.
“There is. You’re right. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…I just–...”
“I know,” Izuku bumps against his shoulder, “you’re being mindful and caring about me. I love how you’re like that. It’s alright though, Shouto. I’m sorry if I’ve worried you. I promise you that I’m happy with my life now, with our lives together. It makes me happy to hear how much you’ve done, how much you’ve helped people, Shouto. It makes me really proud of you and lucky to be your boyfriend, hehehe.”
“I–if anyone should be proud, it’s me. I am definitely the lucky one as well. I never thought…I never thought I could gain happiness like this ever in my life, Izuku.”
Both of them confess some embarrassing things and have matching red faces. Izuku clears his throat and tries to change the subject a bit so he can calm down.
“You know, today…I met this kid, this middle schooler. He didn’t think that he had an impressive quirk and was wondering if he could be a hero like us, hahaha. He reminded me of my younger self because I asked All Might the same exact question when I first met him. He told me that I could and inspired my dream, so I told him the same exact thing because it was true. Anyone can be a hero. Everyone has the power to be a hero. They just need encouragement and someone that inspires them to be the best they can. Like All Might is to me, like I am to others, and like you are too. I’m still a hero, Shouto. It’s in a different way than we thought it would be, but I still feel like a hero.”
“You’re my hero, Izuku.”
“Hahaha, how did I know you were going to say that, Shouto?”
“Pfft, because it’s true.”
“Uh huh, yeah, yeah. Hurry up and dry these dishes. I have to take our clothes out of the washer and place them in the dryer.”
“Yes, Izuku–sensei.”
“Shouto!”
“Shouto?”
Izuku hears soft snores in his ear. He carefully moves so he can look over, spying his boyfriend completely knocked out against his shoulder. Izuku smiles a little bit and carefully pushes against Shouto. He pushes him until he’s back to an upright position before standing up himself. Izuku lets out a yawn as he walks to the dryer machine. He takes the clothes out of the dryer and starts to fold them up, stacking them into a neat pile. He’ll have to put them away tomorrow after work or maybe Shouto can do it for him. It’s so late now, Izuku should have been asleep hours ago.
He couldn’t help himself though. He wanted to spend time with Shouto. Even if he’s going to be staying around for a while now, he still wanted to be with him as much as he could tonight. The yearning that he’s held in his heart was finally calming down as they ate dinner together and cuddled as they watched TV. Izuku wouldn’t have to dream about being in Shouto’s arms tonight since he actually would be. He’ll fall asleep in those arms and wake up in them as well.
Izuku walks back to the living room as soon as he’s finished and starts turning off everything. Once he double checks that the doors are locked he reaches for Shouto’s shoulder. He shakes him a tiny bit, wondering if it might be better to just carry his boyfriend into the bedroom.
“Shouto, wake up. I’m sorry, baby, but you can’t sleep on the couch. Let’s go to bed.”
Shouto hums as he snaps his head up and mumbles, “bed?”
He smacks his lips a little bit and opens up his eyes, blinking them rapidly. Izuku shakes him again and tries to help him stand up. Shouto moves and follows after him, stumbling a bit on his feet. Izuku has to support him as they head towards their bedroom. He moves the covers back and gently lays his boyfriend down on their bed.
“Izuku,” Shouto mumbles, reaching out for him.
“One second, Shouto.”
Izuku has to make sure his phone is plugged up or else he won’t wake up tomorrow for work. As soon as it is though he joins his boyfriend under the covers. Shouto rolls over on his side and stares right at Izuku. He reaches out his hand to cuff his cheek and gently swipes his thumb up and down.
“Good night, Shouto.”
“Good night? I thought…we’re not going to?”
Not going to? Izuku gasps softly, his eyebrows raising up. He coughs a tiny bit and clears his throat.
“It’s late, Shouto, and you’re tired. You were sleeping a few minutes ago.”
“I’m not sleeping now. I’m wide awake and…you promised later.”
“I don’t remember promising.”
Shouto pouts out, looking like an adorable child that sulks when he doesn’t get his way. He looks so much like the pictures of his younger self that Rei showed him. Izuku can’t help but giggle. It’s hard to say no to a face like that. It’s completely possible, Izuku has done it before, but it has been a while and he’s been spoiling his boyfriend all night. Once more wouldn’t make a difference. Izuku scoots over and presses his lips against Shouto’s. He places his hands against his chest as they part and warns him.
“I have work tomorrow, so just once, okay?”
“Okay,” Shouto mutters out before kissing him again.
Izuku resists the urge to roll his eyes as he wraps his arms around Shouto’s shoulders.. He answered that way too quickly.
His alarm goes off.
Izuku slowly turns his head to the side and sees the screen shining brightly as his phone vibrates and rings. He lifts up his hand and reaches out for it, taking it off the charger. Izuku turns off the alarm and stares at the time. He lets out a loud sigh and unlocks his phone. Izuku scrolls through his contacts to find the person he’s looking for. As soon as he does he pushes the call button and brings his phone to his ear. It rings a couple of times before they pick up.
“What?”
“Aizawa? I’m sorry, but is it possible to find someone to cover my class today?”
“Cover your class? You’re not coming in?”
“No. I’m afraid I don’t feel so good, so I’m going to stay home and rest. I wouldn’t want to spread it to anyone else. I should be better by tomorrow, but I’ll text you and let you know if that changes. I’m really sorry about this.”
“...ahhh. Alright. Only for today. Tell Shouto I said hi.”
Izuku’s eyes widen and he groans out, “I’m sorry.”
Aizawa hangs up immediately after that and Izuku places his phone back down. He puts his hands on his cheeks and rubs them in circles.
“What did he say?”
Izuku looks up, “he said hi.”
Shouto chuckles, “I’ll walk you to work tomorrow and see him, along with everyone else. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, I’m sure they’d enjoy that. I think All Might might be coming back to Japan tomorrow as well, although I’m not sure what time. You might get to run into him too.”
“That’ll be fun. I can’t remember the last time I saw him.”
Izuku hums and takes a deep breath. He runs his fingers through his hair and stares at Shouto again, seeing that look in his eyes. He already knows what’s going to happen and as soon as he begins to lean back down Izuku moves his hand to cover his mouth.
“No.”
“Izuku–”
“I need to sleep, Shouto. You promised one time and now the sun is out. It’s time to go to bed.”
Shouto lowers his eyes and flutters his eyelashes, “one more time?”
“I’m falling asleep. Good night.”
Izuku turns over on his side and pulls at the covers, closing his eyes. He has to be stern and tough, which isn’t hard since he’s exhausted and cranky right now. Shouto whines for a little bit longer, but when he sees that his boyfriend doesn’t budge, he gives in to his wishes and settles down for bed. He spoons Izuku from behind, wrapping his arms around him and resting his chin on his head.
“I love you, Izuku. So much. It’s good to be back home.”
Izuku smiles to himself and reaches down to hold his hand.
“Welcome home again, Shouto."