Chapter Text
Izuku quickly ran back and forth. He had forgotten where the plates were again! He had been now living in this house for seven weeks already and still had no idea where everything was. He had the hardest time right now because he wanted to surprise Toshinori with a nice breakfast, Aizawa and Shinsou too.
A small thank you of sorts. Izuku loved doing this. He became quite the early riser because Aoi always was up as soon as the first beam of light shone into their room. Izuku had been sleeping in his own room and sometimes stayed with Shinsou, but not every night.
After all … , after he had terminated the bond with Shigaraki with the pill he had indeed reacted to Shinsou. And sometimes it was just too hard to resist this primal urge to be with him. But Shinsou and Izuku both never did anything that Izuku didn't want or wasn't ready for. They actually haven't done anything apart from starting to sleep over from time to time.
His second pregnancy with Shigaraki … Izuku had aborted that. The abortion had been something he had been very scared of, but he was sure of it and why he had wanted to do it. There was no more second baby coming and there wouldn't be a second baby coming for a very long time. Maybe even never again.
He was so happy that his body didn't have to go through pregnancy a second time. Right now he needed and wanted to focus on himself and Aoi. Especially himself. And Toshinori helped him to achieve that. He often took care of Aoi whenever Izuku couldn't handle it anymore or needed space and it was a blessing for Izuku, really. He was deeply grateful for the support.
He finally found the plates and quietly picked them up, hoping their clatter wouldn't be too loud. He really didn't want to wake the others because then it wouldn't really be a surprise, would it? Izuku startled when he heard quick tapping and the sound of the cat door.
“Mint, Mouse”, he scolded them as they meowed loudly and came in from the garden. They really didn't care at all about who they might wake up, even in the middle of the night. They often played or chased each other up and down the stairs and it was so loud.
He smiled and rolled his eyes before he put the plates down. Mint and Mouse just came first, they were his little demons. He took their bowls as they rubbed against his legs with a demanding force. They were more childish than Aoi and he was an actual child.
Izuku giggled and got their food, then put it into their bowls and gave it to them. They immediately forgot about his existence and devoured the food. Izuku just petted them for a moment and then turned to Aoi in the high chair.
He halted and just stared at the image. When he saw this, how Aoi was innocently sitting there with his blue curly hair and the green eyes and how he curiously stared at Izuku or was occupied with something else … Izuku couldn't help but sometimes feel a tiny spark of … disappointment that he was there.
It was a deeply rooted issue, at least that was what his therapist had told him. Yep, he had one of those now, Toshinori too. And he tried to talk about everything and work through his trauma now and with every passing day, he learned to love Aoi a bit more.
Izuku loved him, he knew it deep inside, but sometimes he couldn't help but get scared when he saw Aoi and at first thought it was Shigaraki. But he learned to heal. And it was a process that just took time. Izuku was relieved that Aoi was too young to actually notice what was going on because then he wouldn't be hurt about Izuku's thoughts sometimes.
Izuku hated it, sometimes still hated that he had been forced to have Aoi, had thoughts about leaving him somewhere or giving him up to Toshinori entirely, but then there also were the most wonderful moments. And Izuku wanted to cherish the good ones and learn from the bad. So that he could be a true father to Aoi, one he deserved.
Apart from that, Toshinori regularly visited Shigaraki in jail. The court had been quick to throw both Shigaraki and Akihiro in jail. More for the Yakuza involvement than for kidnapping and raping two Omegas, society was still behind with that. But Izuku considered himself lucky that Shigaraki had also been a criminal in different aspects. Not every victim had that luxury.
Toshinori had been really nervous for the first visit, but when he had come back he had been shining like the sun itself, that was how happy he had been. Apparently, Shigaraki had apologized to him again and according to Toshinori he had been sincere.
Toshinori had forgiven him immediately, he was still his son of course. He had told them that Shigaraki had even cried. Toshinori had comforted him through the glass, it had been a very emotional moment for both of them.
Toshinori still had his own issues with Shigaraki. He didn't fully trust him to believe him anymore. He always continued to tell the truth, but he was more scared than ever before what Shigaraki would think and sometimes that fear held him back from speaking up.
But Toshinori had offered Shigaraki a small … deal so to say. A deal Izuku had allowed him to propose. Toshinori would give Shigaraki news and updates to Aoi, but only if Shigaraki would let Toshinori tell him the truth and believe him.
Shigaraki had agreed. And that was how it had been for the past weeks. Toshinori visited, he became less nervous every time and slowly told Shigaraki more and more about his past with Akihiro and Shigaraki was slowly willing to listen.
Toshinori had made him promise that none of what they discussed would reach Akihiro, but whether or not Shigaraki truly kept this promise was not something they could control. But Izuku was relieved that Toshinori and Shigaraki had found to each other again.
Izuku had discussed this in great detail with Toshinori because he had been worried about this. But Izuku felt like Shigaraki deserved to know about Aoi's progress in life, so Izuku had given his explicit permission to Toshinori to share pictures or funny stories.
Izuku sighed while he prepared the table. He put the plates down and added the cutlery. He turned to look out of the window. His therapist didn't know about this and Izuku didn't know when he would be able to do this, but one day he wanted to visit Shigaraki as well.
He didn't want to do that to belittle him or scream at him or comfort him. He wanted to go there to tell him the truth. In full detail. Someday … . Izuku wanted to do that someday. He didn't know when, certainly not now. But someday.
With another sigh, he turned to Aoi who leaned forward on his high chair. He longingly reached for the knife in Izuku's hand.
“You want this?”, he asked with a giggle. Aoi just continued staring at the knife. Izuku giggled and put it down. “That's not for you yet. You're not old enough to eat harder food”, he explained him and Aoi slumped forward.
Izuku giggled again. Aoi had even had his first tantrum last week. He had been crying nonstop and nothing had calmed him down, not food, not sleep, not his plushie that Aizawa had gotten him as a present. Absolutely nothing and Izuku had been very close to a breakdown. Oh well, that is the life of a parent, Izuku thought and kissed Aoi's cheek.
He prepared the rest of breakfast and started cooking the rice. Shinsou and Aizawa weren't great cookers. Absolutely awful even. Toshinori tried teaching them, but no matter what, they always managed to fail one of the steps.
They weren't really natural cookers, but they enjoyed helping Izuku and Toshinori and made sure that they had enough ingredients or helped with cutting vegetables.
It didn't take long for the others to wake up. Izuku fed Aoi and bobbed him up and down on his knee afterwards while he was on his laptop and worked on a project on the couch. He was editing a video. He quickly shut the laptop in embarrassment when he heard the first footsteps.
He placed it on the small table in the living room and took Aoi into his arms as he stood up. It was Shinsou who woke up first. His bed hair was absolutely messy, but cute.
“Good morning”, Izuku greeted him and Shinsou yawned.
“Morning …”, he slurred. He was definitely was not a morning person. He was actually quite irritable in the mornings. Izuku had already prepared some tea for him.
“Do you want some tea?”, he asked and put Aoi back in the high chair. Shinsou looked around as he ruffled his hair.
“You prepared all this?”, he asked and Izuku nodded with a smile.
“It's not like I can do much else”, he giggled awkwardly and handed Shinsou the cup of tea. Shinsou averted his face, but it wasn't fast enough and Izuku saw the blush.
“Th-Thank you”, Shinsou stuttered and looked at the neat table, then his gaze wandered to the still cooking rice. “I think Yagi and dad are really going to appreciate this. My dad won't admit it, but he loves being taken care of. He can't do it himself”, Shinsou chuckled.
“He can't take care of himself?”, Izuku asked with a giggle and Shinsou nodded with a smirk.
“He's hopelessly in love with his job”, he snickered and Izuku giggled with a soft blush. He had really started liking Shinsou … . As a person. And with time he had learned to trust him more. He still didn't really feel ready, but he liked Shinsou as a friend and even … more.
Shinsou was just so funny and calm. His dry humor was hilarious and the sarcastic comments always made Izuku snort in the worst moments when he shouldn't laugh. Either in public or with his therapist.
Izuku had brought Shinsou to his therapist two times already and she liked him as well. She encouraged Izuku to pursue his feelings with caution, always listen to his gut, but be brave enough to explore this new terrain.
Izuku's head perked up when he heard the beep of the rise cooker.
“Oh, it's done”, he said with a smile and went to the counter. “You think they will wake up before it gets cold?”, Izuku asked Shinsou while the Alpha sipped at his tea.
“Not sure. My dad's sleep schedule is kind of wrecked”, Shinsou said. Toshinori and Aizawa had been in separate rooms at first, but that had been ditched after just a week and they had been sharing a room ever since. Toshinori moved in with Aizawa. Again, Izuku thought with a giggle.
“Let's hope they get down before the rice gets cold”, Izuku said and got the rice out. Shinsou drank his tea and then excused himself to get dressed. After that, he helped preparing breakfast. Aizawa and Toshinori didn't let them wait for too long and joined them. They prepared the remaining breakfast together and then all sat down.
They talked a while and ate, but Izuku noticed that Toshinori was rather quiet. And he looked a bit pale. Shinsou was just making a joke when Toshinori suddenly jumped to his feet and bolted for the sink. This scene was strangely familiar to Izuku.
Toshinori bent over the sink and threw up. Aizawa, Shinsou and Izuku sat there in shock, Aoi playing with his little toy.
Aizawa's eyes went wide when Toshinori threw up wave number two. All of them were too shocked to even comprehend what had just happened. Toshinori breathed heavily and then slowly came back up when he felt a bit better.
“That was unexpected”, Aizawa said, expression still shocked. Izuku looked at Toshinori. Had he eaten something bad? No, that couldn't be, they hadn't eaten outside for the past week and none of the groceries had gone bad.
Izuku blushed. Toshinori seemed to know exactly what this meant just as much as they all did. The time was right.
“I don't get it, we just … once … I-”
“No need to be shy. We heard everything”, Shinsou said and Aizawa's eyes went wide before he curled in on himself on the chair, Izuku blushed and Toshinori's cheeks grew a deep red. They were both very embarrassed as it seemed. Shinsou was just uncomfortable.
Aizawa and Toshinori hadn't exactly … waited long to 'do' it. About a week after they had moved in Izuku had been having a bad nightmare and had gone to Shinsou because he hadn't been able to stand the fear of being alone. And then they had heard every little sound.
It had at least distracted Izuku from his nightmare. He and Shinsou had been extremely uncomfortable, though it had gotten some giggles out of them. The creaks of the bed and the thumps had been the most embarrassing part.
Izuku threw a glance at Toshinori and finally managed to move his frozen limbs to stand up and help him. Toshinori turned on the water and held his stomach. Izuku stroked his back.
“Are you okay?”, he asked.
“B-But, I can't get pregnant, wha-”, Toshinori asked quietly. Izuku knew what he meant with that. He meant Akihiro.
Izuku looked at him, he immediately could guess what that meant. Not Toshinori was the infertile one. The criminal leader from that attack, he had been right. It was Akihiro. Izuku guessed by the way Toshinori's eyes widened that he had now figured it out, too.
Aizawa also stood up and Toshinori slowly stood back up.
“Are you feeling a bit better?”, he asked worriedly and Toshinori shook his head.
“Not really. A little maybe”, he admitted. But this still bothered him. He leaned against the counter. “I don't get it.”
“What do you mean?”, Aizawa asked in confusion.
“All these years I was supposed to be infertile. But if I'm pregnant now it means that Akihiro was the one, not me”, Toshinori said.
“Did he lie to you about it?”, Shinsou asked and turned around in his seat, but Toshinori shook his head.
“No, he really wanted children. He was actually getting desperate”, Toshinori said.
“Did any doctors check on you?”, Aizawa asked. Izuku was getting a bit curious as well. He really wanted to know.
“Well, one. He showed us the results”, Toshinori thought for a moment. “Maybe the results were wrong. Akihiro didn't let another doctor check on me, we just started fertility treatments and kept trying”, he said.
“Maybe. The tests, especially the quick tests at home are prone to deliver wrong results. Maybe the sample was contaminated”, Shinsou reflected.
“You know what? I don't care. Akihiro is in the past. I will need to figure out what to do now that I'm pregnant. I'm not even sure if I want it”, Toshinori then said and waved his hand as if this topic was just an annoying fly he wanted to get rid of.
“I'll stand by whatever decision you see as best for you. For now, Hitoshi, could you go to the pharmacy and grab some medicine?”, Aizawa asked Shinsou.
“Of course”, Shinsou immediately said and stood up.
“I'll go with you”, Izuku said.
“You can leave Aoi here, we'll take care of him”, Toshinori promised and Izuku nodded as he and Shinsou got into their shoes.
“Thank you. Maybe that'll distract you from feeling sick”, Izuku told him with a smile and as if triggered by his words, Toshinori bent forward and vomited into the sink again. Izuku winced and Aizawa immediately caressed Toshinori's back.
“We'll hurry”, Shinsou said and they left. They got into the car and immediately backed out of the driveway. Shinsou gave Izuku his phone. “Can you search for the nearest pharmacy?”, he asked and Izuku nodded.
“Here”, he said once he found it on Shinsou's GPS app. Shinsou stopped when he was out of the driveway.
“Good”, he said and attached the phone to a phone holder on the car so he could see the map. Then he started driving again.
They drove in silence for the first minutes. Izuku was a bit tired and Shinsou as well, but the longer they drove the more awake they got.
“How's it going with your house?”, Shinsou then asked and Izuku perked up.
“Bad”, he said and sighed. “I had a call with the family yesterday. I explained the situation and … well, she of course understood, but she also needs the house. We couldn't come to an agreement, so I just gave her my number and she promised that she would call me if she would move out. But I'm not sure that's ever going to happen”, Izuku explained.
“I'm really sorry. That house meant a lot to you”, Shinsou said. Izuku nodded and leaned against the window.
“It did. My mom and I picked it out together”, he smiled. “We looked at it together, I gave her a whole tour once I settled in, she regularly came for dinner. I'm wondering if I should just give up. Another human is living there now and calls it their home. She probably was just as excited as I was back when I first bought it. I don't want to take that from her”, he said sadly.
“It sucks to feel this way, but don't give up”, Shinsou said and glanced at him. “She said she'd contact you when she moves out. That's good, isn't it?”
“She said 'if'. I don't know”, he sighed. “Maybe it's time to let go. I really want everything to be exactly like it was, but … . I try to deny it all the time, but I know it's not going to be the same even if I get to move back in.”
“At least we got the garden gnomes again”, Shinsou chuckled. Izuku giggled. The gnomes that were still intact after their attempted escape now stood in Shinsou's and Aizawa's garden. They had proposed it in the first place.
“They look so ugly”, Izuku laughed and pulled out his phone when he heard it buzz. His eyes went wide. “Oh God, Kaminari is bombarding the group chat with memes.”
Shinsou playfully rolled his eyes.
“He's been doing that ever since we got access to social media”, he chuckled.
Kaminari was the Omega Izuku had met one day when he had tried to get the morning-after pill. The Omega who had given him directions. Izuku's surprise had been huge when that exact Omega had just one day stood in front of the door.
Kaminari had been just as surprised and confused.
“Did I get the wrong door?”, he had frantically asked in embarrassment and had looked at the house number and Izuku had been trying to calm him down. That was when Kaminari's eyes had widened. “Ah! Wait, I know you. Didn't we meet on the street one time?”, he had asked.
That was how they had gotten to know each other again. Kaminari and Shinsou actually were childhood friends. They had grown up in the same neighborhood and had parted ways after elementary school, but they had stayed best friends.
They had gone to different Middle Schools and what had really made Izuku connect with Kaminari was the fact that Kaminari had been in a very abusive relationship. An Alpha from Middle School had forced him into a relationship and hit him quite often so that he had to cover up bruises and black eyes.
And that was when Izuku had gotten a second surprise. Monoma, Izuku's former colleague, was Kaminari's boyfriend. They had gone to the same Middle School and Monoma had started realizing that Kaminari showed up with bruises and pads on his face.
He had gotten video evidence and handed it to the police. Physical abuse so that you'd have bruises against an Omega was very much hated by Alphas in general. The police – for once – had been quick to act and had arrested the guy.
And wow, the media had dragged that Alpha through the dirt. His reputation was absolutely ruined and he could never harm Kaminari again.
Kaminari had told him all about that after Izuku had given Kaminari the rough gist of what had happened. He had opened up to Izuku and Izuku had really appreciated that. They had started texting very often and became good friends.
Kaminari had also added him to a group chat in which – surprisingly, but not really – Uraraka and Asui were also members. Izuku had been absolutely floored. The world was so much smaller than he imagined sometimes.
But he had gathered all the courage he possessed and had met Uraraka and Asui at a café to thank them in person and express his gratitude. They had told their side of the story. Asui had told him that she was also working with the police and therefore knew Shinsou.
She was specialized in trafficking rings and underground auctions, that was why she had recognized Izuku's odd behavior. She had already suspected something and when Uraraka had told her about the note, they had gone to the police.
After getting to know Asui on a level like that, Izuku actually found her nice. She was rather realistic and calm, but really nice and considerate. They had gone on more coffee dates after that, sometimes inviting Kaminari and Monoma or Shinsou as well as Aizawa and Toshinori.
All in all, Izuku was so glad to have found these nice people. He suddenly had friends again and it felt amazing and encouraging.
“His memes are mostly funny, I have to admit that. But it's hard to keep up”, Izuku giggled and then had to laugh even harder. “God! Shouto sent such a funny sticker!”, Izuku squeezed out and then burst out laughing.
“A sticker? Now you made me curious”, Shinsou pouted.
Shouto was another friend he had made. Shouto was friends with Kaminari. Shouto also was … that Shouto. When Kaminari had introduced him with the name 'Todoroki', Izuku had kind of blurted out: “Todoroki as in … Shouto Todoroki?”
Shouto had been quite surprised at that and Izuku had quickly apologized. Izuku had explained that he had met his brother Dabi once. Shouto had just rolled his eyes.
He had quite the rough backstory with his brother and father, but now he had cut contact with both of them for quite a while now and didn't plan on catching up. He lived with his boyfriend Sero, a Beta, in the city in a new apartment, so none of them knew where he lived.
“Aren't you worried they'll find you? Your brother said some really … weird things”, Izuku had warned him and Shouto had waved it off.
“He's acting all smug, but he's a big idiot”, he had smiled. “You can call me Shouto. Everyone does, I don't like the name Todoroki.”
And that was that. After a while, Izuku had confided in Shouto a bit more, told him his story. It had taken some time, but Izuku felt confident in the connection he felt with Kaminari and Shouto alike. He trusted them, mostly because they were Omegas and had experienced bad things just like Izuku did, just in a different way. They really connected over that.
And that was their group chat now. Aizawa, Shinsou, Izuku, Toshinori, Uraraka, Asui, Shouto, Sero, Kaminari and Monoma.
“Sorry, but you're driving”, Izuku chuckled and teased Shinsou who pouted even more. But then he relaxed with a sigh.
“How's the video going?”, he asked and Izuku flinched. He was really embarrassed.
“Pr-Pretty good, but I don't think I'm doing a good job. I'll just ask Kaminari”, he said and leaned back, putting his phone back into his pocket.
“I'm sure it looks great. It's going to get great views”, Shinsou encouraged him with a smile.
One thing that Izuku had forgot to mention … . Kaminari didn't have a job. He had always been more interested in electronics. And Shouto didn't have a job. He had never gone to university because his father hadn't allowed it. Sooo … . Kaminari and Shouto had started a YouTube-Gaming channel.
Kaminari was extremely funny by cracking jokes all the time and Shouto was more like the serious dude who played a game and then just stared into the camera in confusion or annoyance if things didn't go his way.
They had struggled keeping up with their upload schedule for a while now because they recorded and edited their videos. They made decent money with their channel and they had offered Izuku to be their cutter.
Izuku had been curious about their channel and had watched all their videos, they were so funny and Izuku often watched them as comfort videos. They had a very good following already and were consistently growing.
Izuku had agreed, but he wasn't sure if he was good enough. Kaminari had taught him how to use the program and what their style was and of course Izuku was getting paid. But it was fun. Kaminari and Shouto both had told him that if he ever wanted to make a video on his own, whether it showed his face or not, he could just come to them with any request.
Izuku wasn't sure about that, but it definitely sounded amazing. That he could kind of be this laid-back, funny YouTuber. That sounded … really cool. But oh well, that was something for the future. As of now, Izuku was just their editor.
“You think so?”, Izuku asked Shinsou in embarrassment and Shinsou nodded.
“Of course. You watched all their videos, you know exactly how they edited their videos on their own and now you perfectly copy their style. You're doing great”, Shinsou told him with a soft smile. Izuku nearly melted.
“Thank you, Shinsou”, he said and Shinsou blushed, Izuku as well. He glanced at the GPS. “We're almost there”, he noticed.
Izuku looked out the window while Shinsou tried to find a parking spot. Suddenly, Izuku got a bad feeling. This area seemed oddly familiar.
“Got one”, Shinsou announced and ripped Izuku out of his thoughts.
“Should I help you?”, Izuku asked and Shinsou nodded.
“That would be great, thanks”, he said and Izuku got out. The spot was a bit tight and it would be better to be careful not to bump into the other cars. Izuku signaled him whenever he was getting too close to the other cars and in the end, Shinsou stood perfectly.
He got out with a sigh.
“I hate parking”, he groaned and Izuku giggled.
They followed the GPS on Shinsou's app, walking along the sidewalk. But then he knew why he had a strange feeling about this place. He knew this pharmacy. The letters were the same, the store sign had the exact same design.
This was the pharmacy with the Alpha who had refused him the morning-after pill.
Shinsou stopped when he noticed that Izuku wasn't coming along anymore. He halted and turned around in confusion.
“Are you okay?”, he asked and Izuku gulped.
“I was here before. Last year”, he said weakly. He really didn't want to go back inside there. Shinsou fully turned to him.
“Do you want to wait in the car?”, he asked and got out his keys, offering them to Izuku. Izuku stared at them, he was tempted … .
But then he shook his head.
“No, I … want to face this fear”, he said.
“I'll be with you”, Shinsou promised. Izuku nodded and forced a weak smile. With Shinsou there he was less afraid. He took a deep breath and then they walked inside. Shinsou held the door open for him and Izuku went through.
He didn't even want to look at the counter, but it was unavoidable, if they wanted medication for morning sickness they had to talk to the clerk. He looked the same as always, had this grim and annoyed expression.
Worst of all, he seemed to recognize Izuku. Thankfully, Shinsou did the talking.
“Morning”, he said tiredly and the man scoffed.
“What can I do for you?”, he asked.
“Do you have any medication for morning sickness?”, he asked and the clerk suddenly chuckled. Shinsou lifted a brow while the clerk got the medication and rang it up. Then he turned to Izuku while Shinsou got the money.
“Finally got pregnant? Couldn't fool your Alpha for long, huh?”, he joked and Izuku made himself smaller. He felt absolutely humiliated, maybe he shouldn't have come in.
“What's that supposed to mean?”, Shinsou asked, he became irritated.
“Ohh, you didn't know?”, the clerk asked with a smirk. “Your little Omega here came last year a few times because he took the morning-after pill behind your back”, he exposed Izuku and looked like he had won the lottery.
Shinsou's eyes went wide in rage before he leaned over the counter and grabbed the clerk by the collar and yanked him closer.
“Do you bastard have any idea what he's been through?!”, he yelled furiously and Izuku just stared in shock. The clerk growled. “He's not my mate and that medication is for my father's partner who feels very awful right now, how dare you make assumptions and try to use that against them! You're absolutely despicable!”
Izuku's eyes went wide. Shinsou was fighting for … him like that?
“Nobody has a right to tell my friend when he can or cannot get pregnant! He's knows his body and his life best and if he says he's not ready then he. Is. NOT. READY!”
Izuku stared in awe as the sound of his dominant voice filled his ears. It felt … so different. It felt so … good. He felt so comfortable and safe with Shinsou, like nothing could ever harm him if he was with that. Was that … what the Alpha voice really was supposed to do? Protect and scare off possible dangers?
“It's people like you that cause so much harm to Omegas and Beta women, you sick fuck!”, Shinsou yelled. “You have no idea what he has been through, how dare you make fun of him like that!”, Shinsou screamed, again using his Alpha voice. A soothing shiver raked Izuku's body as he stared at Shinsou with shocked amazement.
“I love you.”
“What?”, Shinsou asked immediately and turned to him, still holding on to the clerk. Izuku barely realized what he had just said, the clerk and Shinsou were looking at him in disbelief, Shinsou got red up to his ears, his face a dark pink.
And then it settled. What Izuku had just said. Oh … my God, oh my God! Izuku blushed deeply in embarrassment and shock and quickly grabbed the medication and then fled outside. Shinsou let go of the clerk and just slammed the money down on the counter.
“Keep the change”, he said before going after Izuku.
Izuku got out of the pharmacy and speed-walked down the sidewalk. Shinsou was close behind him and Izuku blushed more, he was so embarrassed, he hadn't meant to blurt that out!
“Midoriya!”, Shinsou called out and then grabbed his arm. Izuku stopped, but was too ashamed to turn around.
“I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to say that”, Izuku stuttered and Shinsou let go of his arm. Izuku slowly turned around and came face to face with Shinsou's stoic expression adorned by his red cheeks.
“B-But … d-did you mean it?”, he asked and Izuku lowered his head.
“I-I did …”, Izuku said quietly and Shinsou gulped.
“That makes me really glad”, he said and became even redder. Izuku looked at him with flushed cheeks, but waiting for his next words with vibrating excitement. “B-Because”, Shinsou stuttered and then averted his eyes before he shook his head and looked Izuku in the eye. “I love you, too”, he said.
Izuku blushed a deep red. Even though he had already known this because Shinsou had told him about his reaction and that obviously meant that he was also in love with him. But hearing it? Wow, that was just … so much different. More real.
“R-Really?”, Izuku asked.
Shinsou nodded.
“Y-You don't find me disgusting because of what happened or because I already have a child?”, he asked and Shinsou aggressively shook his head.
“Never, Midoriya. I love you for you. Whatever happened or didn't happen doesn't make me love you any more or less. It's you who I fell in love with. And these past few weeks were … so amazing”, Shinsou said. “I can't describe how I felt, but it was so freeing to see you succeed and get better and crushing to see you break down or be afraid or having nightmares.” Shinsou took a deep breath. “What we will do now is up to you. I love being your friend and I will continue to be that. Whether or not more will happen is up to you.”
Izuku gulped and blushed more.
“I-I think … I'm ready”, he admitted. Shinsou became very tense and blushed as well. “I'm not ready for … too physical stuff, but I'm ready to make it official”, he said.
Shinsou smiled, he seemed really giddy.
“That makes me so happy, I could just jump around like a child”, he chuckled in embarrassment and Izuku giggled, his grip on the medication tightening. He blushed even more now because there was something he wanted to do.
“C-Can we … kiss?”, he asked and Shinsou's eyes went wide.
“If you're comfortable with that I-I would love to”, he stuttered and Izuku nodded. They awkwardly stood in front of each other and Izuku tightly shut his eyes before he got a little closer. Shinsou did the same.
It was awkward because they weren't touching each other at all. They weren't standing close together and yet still both leaned in for a kiss. Izuku slowly opened his eyes, he didn't want to miss the target.
But when their lips connected, it felt like time paused for Izuku and his eyes widened in shock. It was strange, weird, the same feeling like with Shigaraki, but different at the same time. It felt … sparkly. Not the arousing kind of sparkly, the romantic kind of sparkly.
Izuku had butterflies in his stomach, he was excited and nervous and it felt so … nice. Clumsy and the first real time that he willingly kissed someone, but it was real for him. Really nice and close and passionate.
His eyes fluttered and he melted into the kiss. Shinsou now slowly raised his hand to cup Izuku's cheek and Izuku closed his eyes. They deepened the kiss and the way their lips pressed against each other was so great.
When they parted both of them couldn't stop grinning, but they also couldn't bear to look at each other. They went back to the car and spoke not a single word. But there was no need for spoken words, everything had been said and every time Izuku glanced at Shinsou, they caught each other staring and immediately averted their eyes again in embarrassment.
Izuku smiled. He had gotten a new start and a new opportunity at life, the way he wanted and craved. His smile widened while they drove back home. No matter if ups or downs, his newly found family and friends would always be there for him. Izuku was happy.
He was really, really happy.