Note: Partially inspired by the song "The Last of The Real Ones" by Fall Out Boy

In a world where almost everyone was born with a power, filled to the brim with aspiring heroes and villains trying to bring them down, it was hard for anyone to stand out. Or at least one would certainly think so. But Midoriya Izuku, or Deku as he was most well known these days, wasn't like just anyone. He had picked up where his mentor left off, through hard work and sheer force of will picking himself up from the very bottom to stand over all the others. A symbol of peace. A symbol of hope. The number one hero. He was someone who would strive to save everyone who needed saving, who would go above and beyond his limits if that meant that no one would have to die, even if it cost him greatly.

People looked up to him, aspired to be like him, admired him from afar, loved him for who he was and what he did. He had a fan base that spanned from young children to older ladies and everyone in between, hoards of fangirls that screamed whenever they saw him and would chase him down streets. He was flustered by all the attention, never knowing what to do with it, blushing fiercely whenever anyone had any compliments to offer or awestruck admiration to express.

Hero Deku was an inspiration. He was loved by many and hated by more, those who wanted to take his place or take him down. The world needed him. Whether to be the beacon of light that shined through the darkest of times, guiding it to safety, to peace, or simply to be someone striving to make it a better place, he was essential. Indispensable. Irreplaceable.

Midoriya Izuku knew he was loved and he loved in return, so much so that he was willing to sacrifice everything for their sake. The world needed him and Shouto was part of that world. The world loved him and Shouto was part of that world.

He loved quietly and from afar, albeit never far behind. He was there by his side every step of the way, supporting him and holding him up. Shouto had his back, always there to keep him from doing something too reckless, something that Deku wouldn't regret but he would. He's the voice of reason behind an already extremely smart and driven person who just doesn't know when to stop. It's one of his greatest qualities but also one that gives Shouto a lot of grief.

Nights spent outside hospitals, gruelling moments of anguished anxiety that tore through him like the claws of a particularly animalistic villain, waiting for news of his partner. His partner who more often than not would dismiss his worries with a tired but always bright smile and a half-hearted comment of "It's just a few broken bones, it's not like you haven't seen it before". He'd smile back, if only a little because his partner wanted him to and how could he not when those deep green eyes looked at him like that. His partner…

Deku was his partner, wherever he went Shouto was always with him, whatever agency wanted him had to want Izuku as well, because he wouldn't leave him. He couldn't, he didn't want to even if he could. Someone had to take care of him when he wouldn't take care of himself. That's the excuse Shouto repeated to himself for the good part of their first years working together. That's the reason he offered when he suggested they live together as well. Izuku laughed at that, but agreed nonetheless. Shouto's heart only grew heavier with each day that passed, filling with a kind of love he wasn't familiar with but didn't exactly hate feeling.

It would push him forward, propel him towards Izuku's side, to aid him, to be his right arm and do everything he could to never fail him. Shouto loved quietly but intensely, and even though the words had never been voiced, he thought that his actions spoke for themselves. Whether Izuku heard them or not, it didn't really matter, what did was that he would do it. It was in the days when he'd get to their shared home before his partner and he'd cook him a nice meal so that he wouldn't live off of instant noodles or worse, go to bed on an empty stomach. It was in their days off, when he'd put on Izuku's favourite shows and movies on the TV as background noise while he would take care of little things around the house and let him rest. It was in the late nights spent at the office, buried under stacks upon stacks of paperwork, when he'd bring Izuku a cup of hot chocolate because he needed warmth, or coffee because he could barely stay awake.

It was in the times where saving everyone just wasn't an option, when Izuku would smile for the cameras but break down crying back home and he'd wrap his arms around him, saying nothing because there was nothing he could say to make that pain lessen. They both knew it wasn't his fault and there was nothing he could've done to prevent it, but it didn't hurt any less no matter how many times they heard it. So, he'd just offer his shoulder for him to weep into, a hand rubbing at his back in soft circles, feeling the tight grip of his partner's crooked fingers around his shirt as he sniffled into it.

It was in the way he'd look at him every day, with this calm adoration that shined in his eyes despite the fact that his face never showed much emotion to begin with. It was in the way he'd actually smile around him, because he was the only one who would make the corners of his lips turn upwards more often than he ever thought possible.

Shouto loved quietly. But he loved, and Izuku was the reason. Whether it had been his intention or not, Izuku showed him what it was like to love. Slowly but surely, he learned from watching him, from following behind him, from walking by his side. His friendship filled his heart until it overflowed and brewed into something more. He made him feel happy, comfortable. He made his heart stutter and beat faster, his breaths catch in his throat and he filled his thoughts constantly. If that wasn't love, Shouto didn't really know what was.

They were heroes, and they were role models. They were friends and they were partners. The world needed Deku and Shouto needed Izuku. And so, in his own quiet way of loving, Shouto would protect him. Because when push comes to shove, Deku always sacrificed himself for others and it was up to Shouto to make sure he wouldn't go too far, wouldn't break himself too much, wouldn't take his last breath for those he wanted to protect. Because Deku saved those who needed saving, and Shouto saved Izuku. He had to, he owed it to him for saving him from himself all those years ago. And even if that wasn't true, though he'd never said it out loud, Shouto needed him more.

Villains would never stop coming, they would never cease to exist. Where there was potential for great good, there was potential for great evil as well. Just like Shouto himself, albeit less outwardly obvious, humans were dualities, a never-ending battle between what's right and what's wrong. It was their jobs to inspire these people to choose right over wrong and to stop those who had already made their choice from hurting anyone else.

It wasn't uncommon for them to find themselves surrounded by villains, disastrous situations in which lives were at cost, theirs included. Their dances with death were regular, like any other meeting, a greeting to an old friend. But Shouto feared for Izuku's life in a way he didn't for his own. The words I would die for you had never rung truer than in moments like these. Shouto loved quietly but deeply.

People's lives were at stake, his life was at stake and yet all he could see was the gun pointed at Izuku. All he could think was I can't lose you and all his body could do was react. They were heroes but they were human, and a bullet to the heart wasn't something you could just walk away from. He felt himself smile when he saw Izuku recover from his shove and take out the attacker. He felt himself smile at the fact that his partner was exhausted but otherwise unharmed when he looked back at him. That was all he needed, for him to be okay.

His knees buckled under him and it was only then that he felt the liquid in his lungs, the way he was drowning out of water and a cough into his hand painted it a beautiful crimson. His name rung in his ears, harsh and alarmed and then he felt arms around him when his body hit the floor, gloved hands on his face making him look up into emerald eyes. The burning in his lungs spread sharply into his throat and he sputtered as his head was placed gently onto the floor, hands coming to press at his chest and stomach. There was blood spilling out of holes he hadn't even noticed were there, too quick for Izuku to stop it. His green clothes stained a dark red that looked black under the moonlight that streaked from between the clouds that covered the night sky.

Shouto loved quietly but always and until the very last moment. He looked into those eyes that were wide and overflowing with tears and thought He looks beautiful, a bloodied hand reaching for his cheek and painting it in shades of scarlet with his trembling fingers until they looked back.

"I-I ca-can't stop the bleeding." Izuku sobs. "If you-" a gasp cuts him off. "If you cauterize or f-freeze the wound we can wait until-" Another hiccup breaks through him and Shouto can feel the tears falling on his cheeks from Izuku's chin, mixed with his blood and turning a reddish pink tint on his skin.

Shouto shivers and a weak laugh shakes his shoulders before he wheezes, looking into his partner's eyes. "Izuku…" A cough wracks through him and he wants to tell him it's okay, that he doesn't have to cry because he is alive and that was all that mattered. "I don't think I've ever felt this cold" is what leaves his lips instead, trembling when he feels the ice crawl up the veins of the arm that is still reaching for Izuku's face.

"No." Izuku's voice cracks miserably as he desperately tries to stop the overflowing blood that's seeping into his clothes and pooling around him on the ground. It's hard for Shouto to breathe, his lungs filling with fluid, his chest heavy, his throat raw, his body weak and tired. "You can't. Stop, please, Shouto." Izuku sobs, eyes darting from the wounds to his mismatched eyes that are slowly closing. "Please, don't leave me, I haven't- I didn't- you can't- stay with me, please. Shouto, please don't…"

The hand falls from his face and lays limply on the floor and Izuku cries out his name, begging him to stay, to listen and focus on his voice, to stay awake, to not leave him. He's still trying to stop the bleeding but the heart has stopped pumping already. Izuku grits his teeth, gripping the bloody shirt that's clinging to Shouto's unmoving body as the tears stream down his face, leaving behind their tracks on his cheeks as he shakes.

Throwing his head back Izuku screams, a shrill sound that would chill anyone's blood, broken and strangled, choked with the unbearable grief that takes over his heart, the guilt that crushes him for another life he couldn't save. It was a life he shared, a life he lost, and he screams until his throat is raw, until no sounds are left but the breathless heaves that make his body tremble violently as he clings to Shouto.

The world needed him and he would sacrifice himself for anyone who needed saving. But Shouto loved quietly and with all his being and he would give anything for him too. Deku would always smile for the cameras but that night Izuku could only wail, that night all he could do was howl out his suffering until his voice would no longer sound. That night words were left unsaid, feelings were left untold and hearts were left broken and empty. Hope died like ash in his mouth, happiness wilted like a dying flower without its roots. His entire world came crashing down around him because he lost all of its support when Shouto took his last dying breath.

That night marked the death of a hero. It marked the death of a friend, of a partner, of someone he loved. Shouto loved quietly but until the very end and Izuku was left to pick up the broken pieces of his heart, never knowing what could've been. That night the world wept with him, the skies spilling out their sadness and washing away the blood that surrounded him. That night Izuku lost a piece of himself and the others had to pry that piece out of his cold and cramping hands as he screamed and kicked, they had to drag him away as he cried out for Shouto who could no longer hear him.

Shouto loved quietly and that night the whole world heard Izuku's screams.

Note: This is what happens when my brain hates me and all I can hear is Izuku's screams inside my head for an entire night... Sorry for that... Either way, I hope you enjoyed reading it and feel free to leave any feedback you may have