A/N: Phoebe Zhang, don't you dare read this.

Shouto is running late to the weekly meeting with some other pro heroes, which is why he opts to take the train instead of walk. He isn't used to it, the rumble of noise as people press upon him from all sides, the chatter and the warmth of the station a sharp contrast to the cold of the outside world.

He will be the first to admit that the train is effective. Public transport, no need to buy a car and desperately hope (in vain) that the infamous Japanese traffic won't act up (ha, as if).

His shoes clack against the floor smoothly, dress shoes because he still has that odd impulse to dress nicely despite the fact that it's impractical for a hero. Despite that, it's hard to hear much anything over the roar of noise as he weaves his way through the thick crowd. It isn't a problem he has to face often, being someone who prefers to walk most places and considering his career as a pro hero tends to make it so that crowds aren't too close to him.

The voice on the speaker calls out five minutes until Train 23 departs. Ten minutes until Train 14 departs. All passengers, please stand behind the yellow line.

A voice yelps, that's my train! and there's a flurry of movement as the crowd parts to allow someone to run through.

It makes Shouto laugh a little, the controlled chaos, and when he goes to buy his ticket, the seller squints at him. "Do I know you?"

Shouto desperately hopes that the toque he put on earlier is still covering all of his hair and replies with an awkward smile, "I just have one of those faces."

Please don't notice who I am, please don't notice who I am... the seller frowns a bit more, twisting their lips to the side, and sighs, "It must be the scar. You almost look like the pro hero Shoto, with a burn scar over your eye."

Shouto has to fight not to give a sigh of relief, opting for what he hopes is a friendly smile and he attempts to laugh (it comes out flat, but he tried), "I get that a lot."

The ticket seller smiles and hands over the ticket, and Shouto beats it before the ticket seller starts questioning whether or not it's really just a coincidence.

Thankfully, the train arrives quickly, the speed of it as it flies past pulling stray hairs from around his ears. He stuffs them in and hurries into the train, sitting down quickly as people begin to file in and out.

"Ah, sorry," the person next to him makes vague gestures, and when Shouto turns around, he meets the eyes of a green haired boy.

"Oh," Shouto stands up awkwardly, "Sorry, were you saving the seat or..."

"No, no!" The boy says quickly, pulling a bag off the seat, "It's just that you were sitting on my yarn," he laughs awkwardly, and Shouto sees that, indeed, it is bright baby blue yarn, "You can sit down now."

"Thank you," Shouto sits down, feeling as awkward as the boy looks, and clears his throat, "You're, um, knitting?"

"Yeah, a scarf," The boy smiles, "A friend of mine... well, not a friend, I guess..." he rubs the back of his neck, "A coworker of mine, I guess, he doesn't have a scarf!" He sighs, "He insists that it's okay because he has a fire quirk, but he almost never uses it, you know. Not even to warm himself up. So he just keeps getting frostbite! It's very frustrating."

Shouto smiles a bit, recalling his conversation with Deku about the same thing. Deku had been endlessly frustrated, Shouto could tell even despite the fact that most of his expressions were hidden by his mask that covered the top half of his head.

"I have a... coworker like you," Shouto laughed a bit, "He's always getting frustrated with me because I won't wear a scarf."

"You really should!" The boy huffed, throwing his hands up in the air. The action was a bit less dramatic, considering the knitting needles in his hands, but he got his point across. The thing that he's knitting, Shouto catches sight of intricate red detailing in the scarf. "Ridiculous. At least your coat goes down to your knees."

"It's new," Shouto admitted. "I got it as a gift from a..." a fan. Drat. What was he supposed to... "...a friend." Okay. Sure. That worked. "Apparently the design is very popular or something. I've seen a lot of people wearing coats like these."

"Hm," the boy examined Shouto's coat, and his expression cleared, "Ah, you're right! There are two others on this train that have the same coat!"

Shouto blinked, "Really?"

"Yeah!" The boy pointed at a couple, one wearing the same coat, and then at an old lady, "See?"

"Hm," Shouto smiled a bit, and picked at his collar, "That's nice. I'm not usually one for fashion."

"Me neither," The boy laughed, "But I know knitting patterns, and that's impressive enough that most people can ignore the fact that I don't always look spectacular."

"Oh, but," Shouto took in the boy's bright yellow All Might hat, curls peeking out beneath the brim, his knit red, blue and white scarf, and his All Might themed coat completed with two little spikes on the hood, and laughed a bit, "I can tell that you're a bit of an All Might fan."

"That obvious?" The boy drew up his scarf to his nose in an attempt to hide his blush, "What can I say? He was number one for a reason, and he'll always be number one in my heart."

Shouto hummed thoughtfully, "The current heroes aren't so bad either, though. Deku is a pretty good number one, wouldn't you say?"

"Sure, but," The boy wrinkled his nose, hands falling from his scarf and back to his knitting needles, beginning to move in a practiced motion even as he kept eye contact with Shouto, "Deku just doesn't have All Might's sense of hope, you know? He still hides his face because he doesn't want it to be well known, but All Might was bold and courageous and willing to accept his popularity as a hero no matter where he went."

Shouto frowned, "There's nothing wrong with wanting a bit of privacy."

"Sure, but it's not very good for a symbol of peace," the boy shrugged, "Now heroes like Uravity, the rescue hero, or the sturdy hero, Red Riot... those are great symbols of hope! You're always comforted by their smile when they save you!"

"But Deku shows his smile, too!" Shouto argued, "His name means you can do it! Everything about him inspires hope!"

"He only shows his smile!" The boy huffed, "All that his fans can see is his mouth! I mean, you could pass Deku in the streets and you wouldn't even know that it was him!"

"It doesn't matter!" Shouto shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, "Deku isn't about the individual person, Deku is a symbol of hope!"

"But you don't even know who your symbol of hope is!" The boy argued, knitting needles clacking like a storm, "How can you put your faith in someone who continues to hide his face?"

"Because he's Deku!" Shouto exclaimed, "Because he is..."

And at that moment, the train stopped.

"Ah, sorry," The boy stood up, "This is my stop. I'll, uh, be here next week if you want to continue."

"Oh, well," Shouto turned red, "Yeah. I'll come on the train once a week, same time, as well. I have weekly meetings."

Too much information, Shouto!

"Great!" The boy beamed, "I'll see you them?"

"Yeah," Shouto smiled back, "I'll see you then."

The boy left, knitting needles clutched at his side, and then Shouto realized that this was his stop as well.

What a coincidence.

"Deku's running late again," Uraraka sighed as she flopped over the table, pouting into the desk, "There was some attack at the convenience store that he was buying our pudding in so he's fighting the villain right now."

"Of course he is," Iida laughed as he hung up his coat on the rack outside and stepped into the room. "That's Deku for you. Always being a hero."

"We're heroes, too!" Uraraka pouted at Iida, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Shouto bit back a smile as he watched the two of them talk, "It just means that Deku doesn't know when to stop," he laughed, "Remember last week when he was running late because he was helping an old lady to find her new apartment because she was moving?"

"Don't remind me!" Uraraka giggled, "Remember when he had to save a boy from drowning and fought a squid monster?"

"That's not even the worst of his offenses," Yaoyorozu groaned, "Remember when he literally leaped out the window halfway through a meeting because he got a text about a villain wrecking the train station?"

"Despite the fact that we were here, too," Iida sighed, burying his face in his arms, "We need to seek to improve and always work to save people as diligently as Deku!"

"No..." Uraraka sighed, "Deku's just a bit of an extreme hero. Ah," she checked her phone, "He just texted me. He's done, now, but he's in costume."

"Again?" Yaoyorozu giggled, "I don't think that I've ever seen his face."

"That's Deku for you," Uraraka and Iida sighed in unison.

"I don't think that I've ever seen his face, either," Shouto tilted his head to the side, "I don't know what he looks like under the mask at all."

"Seriously?" Uraraka's eyes widened, "What about when you hang out? Surely he's not that bad!"

"We don't really hang out," Shouto squirmed uncomfortably under his coworkers' stares, "I am not exactly the sort of person to engage with in social activities."

Uraraka gaped, and then pointed a finger at Shouto, "I am going to pretend you did not just say that. You have to hang out with us, sometime!"

Shouto reddened, "It's fine."

"It's really not," Iida pushed his glasses up, "Scientifically speaking, engaging in social activities is prudent to maintaining emotional and mental health, as 'hanging out' with friends releases..."

"Okay, Iida," Uraraka pressed a hand over Iida's mouth, "Shouto doesn't need you to go all sciencey on him. But," She turned to Shouto, "You should hang out with us sometime. Have some fun. In fact," she pulled out her phone, a bright green Froppy case wrapped around it and a Creati charm dangling from the top. "When are you next free?"

"When... am I free...?" Shouto blanked, "I, uh, have no plans in the near future..." Or the far future. He didn't really have plans, really.

"Great," Uraraka beamed at him, "You, me, and Momo can have cake after this meeting."

"Wait, I didn't," Shouto protested.

"You don't want cake with us?" Uraraka pouted at him. Actually pouted.

This was a pro hero that villains feared?

"I mean, um," Shouto rubbed his nose, "Cake sounds delicious."

"Perfect," Uraraka beamed, and coincidentally, Deku chose that moment to come in.

"Sorry for the wait, guys," He apologized, wiping away a bead of sweat from beneath his nose, "I got held up."

"We know," Uraraka grinned at him, "Momo and I are getting cake with Shouto. Too bad you and Iida have to work on that villain case, or else you could come, too."

"So mean," Deku pouted at Uraraka, "Are you still mad because I gave your ice cream to the little girl?"

"No, I forgave you for that," Uraraka's lips said, but her eyes told a different story.

Shouto raised his eyebrows, "You gave away someone else's ice cream?" He frowned, "Isn't that, ah, considered rude?"

"It really is," Uraraka pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Uraraka-chan was the only one with any snacks!" Deku threw his hands in the air, "And I offered to pay her back!"

"Deku has an ice cream date with me in two weeks on Saturday," Uraraka winked at Shouto, "You want to come?"

"I'll, um, see," He blinked, a bit surprised that she had invited him.

"You should definitely come!" Deku beamed at Shouto, "I don't think we've seen each other as civilians before, actually, so this will be a good bonding experience!"

"You make it sound like one of sensei's exercises," Yaoyorozu laughed, "What, not inviting me and Iida?"

"You guys can come, too!" Deku said quickly, "The more, the merrier!"

They dissolved into chatter before a few more heroes came in, followed by the rest of the group that they were meeting, and the meeting began.

At the end of the day, Shouto exchanged numbers with Uraraka, who grinned at him and winked, "Text me by Thursday, okay?"

"Okay," Shouto blinked, a bit dumbfounded.

Then the meeting was done and they went to get cake.

"Shouto!" Deku beamed when he caught sight of Shouto, waving him over, "Thanks for the help! I'm not the most helpful with keeping the damage to a minimum," That was an understatement, considering the force of Deku's power and the amount that had been required to defeat this villain, "So I'm really grateful for the ice walls! It really let me go all out without worrying about having to control myself."

"No problem," Shouto let his left side light up, fire flickering a bit to melt away the ice, "I'm glad that we got the villain contained."

"Definitely," Deku grinned, "Were you heading somewhere?"

"Ah," Shouto rubbed the back of his neck, "Not particularly, I just wanted to get some lunch at the new cafe downtown."

"Oh, me too!" Deku's grin, if possible, widened on his lips. Shouto's eyes zeroed in on a dimple on his left cheek, and the odd thought that Deku had a really cute smile popped up in his head for a brief moment before he chased it away. Thinking that the number one hero had a cute smile was a weird thing to do, right? "Want to go together? My treat for your help today."

"Oh, you don't need to!" Shouto said quickly, waving his hands in front of his face.

Deku stretched his arms and shook his head, "No worries! It's not like I can't afford it. Being a hero pays well, yeah?" He laughed a bit.

"But I'm also a hero," Shouto pointed out, amused, "I can pay for myself just fine."

"I insist," Deku linked arms with Shouto.

Shouto stilled.

"Ah, sorry," Deku unlinked their arms, "Was that, um, okay? I'm used to being really touchy feely with my friends, you know? So I, uh, sort of just did that on instinct and..."

"It's fine," Shouto cut in, hoping that his face wasn't as red as it felt, "I just didn't expect it is all. You can continue to do that, if you want."

Deku lit up, "Oh, okay!" He linked their arms together and led Shouto merrily down the street, "I'm so glad that we didn't damage anything this time. I was super worried about accidentally breaking the road again, you know? But I've been practicing with my short distance damage and it worked! Sometimes I accidentally hit too hard, or the aftermath causes too much damage, like with All Might's Detroit Smash but I feel really bad for the city, having to always pay for the damage recovery and I kind of wanted to pay but the city council insisted that it was their duty, they called it their pride to take care of it, you know, and they sounded so cool, like, people in charge of politics aren't actually as mean as we make them out to be, I couldn't help but accept their offer and... ah, sorry, I'm rambling again."

"It's okay," Shouto smiled a bit, amused, "I like listening to you talk."

Deku turned bright red.

"Oh, you're all red," Shouto cursed himself for his thoughtlessness and lack of ability to speak, "Sorry, you must be hot from the fight. Do you want to change out of your costume into something cooler or..."

"No, no," Deku squeaked. He must have been really tired, "It's fine. My costume is actually really cool, and I don't have sunscreen, so I don't want to sunburn, you know, I, uh, sunburn super easily so I shouldn't, um, you know..."

"Ah," Shouto bit his lower lip, "Then maybe just your mask and cowl? We can pretend that you're just wearing a cosplay costume or something and..."

"No, no, don't want to, ah," Deku turned even more red, "Don't want to risk revealing my identity, you know? I mean, not that I shouldn't. That's okay. I mean, it will be. Once I get the courage to get rid of this stupid mask... not that the design is stupid! The people who made it did a great job! I mean, just the mask shouldn't be there because as a symbol of hope... I'm rambling sorry. It's fine. I, um, I'm fine. It's okay. I can just stay in costume and. Yeah."

"Okay..." Shouto agreed uncertainly. "If that's what you want."

"I'm sure of it," Deku agreed quickly.

"At least let me give you some ice to help cool down?" Shouto offered.

Deku shook his head, "It's fine. It's pretty cold outside, anyway. That reminds me, have you gotten a scarf yet?"

Shouto sighed, "I already told you, I don't need a scarf."

Deku planted his free hand, the one that he hadn't linked with Shouto's arm, on his hip and scowled, "Then why don't you need a coat, hm? You still feel the cold, don't you?"

"A scarf is unnecessary!" Shouto protested, "My neck is fine."

"Your neck is sensitive to the cold!"

Shouto pouted, "Maybe yours is," he mumbled childishly, "But my neck is perfectly fine."

Deku scowled at him, "Don't blame me when you get a cold," he huffed.

"I won't, because I won't get a cold," Shouto answered haughtily.

Deku laughed, "You're so childish."

Shouto's face turned red and he couldn't find it in himself to respond, so he changed the subject, "So, the, um, cafe. Have you been there before?"

Deku looked amused by his change of subject, but complied, "Nah. Have you?"

"No," Shouto shook his head, "I heard their hot chocolate variations were really amazing from Uravity. What are you planning on getting?"

"Hm," Deku tapped his chin with a finger, "I kind of want something I've never tasted before. Like... like bubblegum flavoured hot chocolate!"

Shouto tried not to cringe at the thought, "That sounds very, ah, sugary."

Deku snickered, "Ah, that's right, you would prefer something like green tea flavoured hot chocolate, wouldn't you?"

Shouto felt queasy as he tried to imagine that, "I feel that we shouldn't mix these sorts of flavours together."

"Oh, come on!" Deku switched from linking arms to holding hands with Shouto, and he swung their arms back and forth, fingers intertwined carefully with Shouto's, "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"When it comes to drinks?" Shouto was unimpressed, "I don't need a sense of adventure. It's more likely to wind me up somewhere troublesome, like throwing up in the bathroom, than somewhere good."

"You could discover a flavour that you really love!" Deku wheedled.

Shouto sighed.

(In the end, though, Deku manages to convince him to get the matcha flavoured hot chocolate.

"How is it?" Deku asks Shouto eagerly, leaning forward on his elbows, eyes sparkling.

Shouto takes a sip and thinks about it, "It's not bad," he admits, and Deku lets out a cheer.)

"I just realized that I forgot to tell you my name last time!" The green haired boy exclaims as he takes his seat next to Shouto on the train. He sticks out his hand and offers a lopsided grin as he says, "I'm Midoriya Izuku! You can just call me Izuku."

"You can just call me Shouto," Shouto doesn't offer his last name. Todoroki is too well known, Todoroki Shouto is not a name that can be easily passed off, not when it belongs to a pro hero. "It's nice to meet you, Izuku-san."

Izuku wrinkles his nose, freckles scrunching up together, "None of that Izuku-san, stuff. You can just call me Izuku, really."

"Izuku-kun, then," Shouto amends, "You can just call me Shouto without the honorifics. It's what I'm used to." Is that too obvious? Being his hero name, he isn't used to it having honorifics attached, but maybe that coupled with the scar will make Izuku think twice about him...

"Shouto-kun, then," Izuku echoes his words from earlier, looking quite satisfied with himself. "Do you have a favourite colour, Shouto-kun?"

"Ah..." Shouto rubs the back of his neck, "Not particularly? All colours are quite nice, really. And yourself?"

"Hm..." Izuku rubs his chin, "Maybe pink? That's nice. Ooh, but yellow is All Might's colour! But red and blue are cool, too! Ah, but orange, like Kacchan's costume is cool, too! Oh..." He turns red and laughs a bit, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he admits, "I guess that I can't decide, either."

"You like Kacchan but you don't like Deku?" Shouto blinks, bewildered. Sure, Bakugou has definitely mellowed out much more than he had been as a teenager, but he was still pretty... erm... intense. "He's not exactly a hope inspiring hero either, is he?"

"No, no, but he has charm," Izuku says intently, "He's cool! And the stands that he's taken on bullying are really inspiring, you know? The fact that he's so passionate about stopping Quirk discrimination, I'm really inspired by him!"

Well, it's true, but... Shouto tries to digest. "But you don't like Deku?" He's hopelessly stuck on that point.

"I don't dislike Deku," Izuku shakes his head, his words coming out quickly, "I just think he's got a lot of room to improve."

"But other heroes don't?" Shouto's brow furrows, "That doesn't seem very fair to Deku."

"He's number one," Izuku's eyes harden, "He has the greatest burden on his shoulders, the most expectation. If he doesn't live up to that, then he's not a true number one, just a placeholder for someone like Shoto to take over."

"But..." He carefully makes sure he doesn't mess up by saying I, "Shoto can't be number one. He doesn't inspire hope, not like Deku does. He's too..." What was that word that Kirishima had used to describe him? "...He's more aloof."

"That's true, I suppose," Izuku sighed, "Sorry. I don't mean to be down on Deku, he's doing fine, I think. I just want him to do the best he can, you know? Like his name, you can do it!"

"He is doing his best," Shouto frowned.

"I don't doubt it," Izuku said quickly, "Sorry. I know a lot of people don't like it when Deku is criticized in any way."

Shouto bites back a do you have room to criticize him? "Well, do you have any concrete critics for him?" He asks, trying to remain polite.

Izuku lights up, "You're willing to hear me out?" He breathes, amazed.

Shouto shrugs.

"Well," Izuku pulls a notebook out of his bag, "First of all, two years ago, the attack with the villain Wihtiko? He used something similar to All Might's Detroit Smash. While it was effective, upon further re-evaluation, he could have used this move, here..."

Izuku laid out each fight with care, examination after examination, pointing out flaws in Deku's fighting style, Quirk usage, marketing, and just about everything.

Shouto gaped.

He had misjudged.

Izuku wasn't just a critic. He was a fan, a dedicated one who earnestly wanted his hero to succeed and had analyzed Deku in a professional manner that he rarely had seen anyone do.

Izuku was still going by the time that the train stopped, having engaged Shouto in conversation about detailed plans on how to improve Deku's fighting style while still keeping damage to a minimum and keeping his insane strength.

"Ah, sorry," Shouto stood up, "This was really amazing! I think you should talk to Deku about it. He'd really love to hear it."

Izuku smiled softly at Shouto, "I know. Thanks for talking to me about it! I'm not used to people willing to hear me out on this sort of stuff."

"I loved hearing about it," Shouto reassured Izuku, "Thank you. We'll talk more next week?"

"Definitely!" Izuku beamed. His freckles seemed more prominent, eyes lighting up, a dimple on his cheek...

Drat. Shouto was blushing.

"Shoto!" Deku skids into the room, blood caked over his torso, holding up a... plastic bag? "Shoto, Shoto, Shoto!"

"Deku," Shouto inclines his head, raising his eyebrows, "What happened? Do you need me for an urgent villain case?" No, that wouldn't make sense. Why wouldn't he have just texted someone already in the room to tell him? What could the matter possibly be?

"No, no," Deku breathed, bouncing over to Shouto and putting down the plastic bag, a wide, self-satisfied grin playing on his lips. "I finished it."

And yes, fine, Shouto opens the bag with a bit of fear and apprehension, but could you blame him? Deku looks like a madman, mask half ripped, covered in blood, that wide smile. (Okay, a cute madman. But still, a madman.) "Finished..."

The bag crinkles when he opens it, the only sound in the room but for Deku's heavy breathing, then Shouto opens the bag and it's a fair isle knit scarf, bright baby blue with intricate little red detailing and.

"...Izuku?" he breathes, shocked as he raises his head to look at Deku, wide eyed with amazement.

Deku blinks at him, equally wide eyed, and then, brightly, "I knew I wasn't going crazy! I thought, haha, he looks kind of like the hero Shoto but it couldn't be and you had hidden all your hair and there was the different coat... ah, you got a new coat, good, your old one was too thin... and all the little coincidences but I thought there's no way because I was like 99% sure that you had told us that you walked to work but I thought maybe you changed your mind about that or you were running late or something and then you talked with me but I was like no way you'd defend Deku like that, um, I mean, not that you're not a nice guy, just that you're super cool and Deku, me, I mean, I'm not all that cool but I mean you thought I was so I guess I can be a little cool not to like insult your opinion I just don't have good self-esteem, I'm working on it and Uraraka's... ah, sorry!"

Shouto smiles a bit fondly, and when he looks again he can see pale freckles peeking out from where Deku's mask is ripped. "It's okay," he shrugs, "I like it when you ramble."

Deku beams at him, wide and sweet, and he says quietly, "Thank you," as though his voice is still learning how to work properly, an odd twist from his previous ramblings.

(It's fine. He's fine, either way. Shouto likes him, either way. Not, er, like-like. Just like. As a friend. Yes. That. Totally.)

"Wait," Shouto's starts when the realization strikes him, "So when you were criticizing Deku, the hero, you were actually just analyzing yourself for future improvement!"

"Ah, well," Deku rubs the back of his neck, "I mean, I do it for every hero. I've done it since I was little, so really, it was just a matter of looking at myself objectively and... yeah."

Shouto leans forward, intrigued despite himself, "You do it for every hero?" He asks, mouth open in disbelief.

Deku starts, "Well, maybe not every hero, there's a lot, just ones I really like, you know, and if someone asks me for advice I like to compile everything before trying to talk to them about it. Like, the obvious ones, the previous Class 1-A, and others, especially up-and-coming heroes, of course, all the Golden Age and Silver Age heroes and such..."

"You've done me?" Shouto is flattered. His fingers tingle in something akin to anticipation, "Can you talk to me about that?"

Deku blinks at him and his expression softens into an excited smile, "Of course! I would love to!"

Shouto can't help the surge of excitement. "Your analysis of yourself was so incredibly in depth," he knows he's grinning like a loon, but he can't help it, "I won't expect you to do something nearly so in depth for me, of course, that would be insane, but anything that you could come up with, I would be incredibly thankful."

"Oh, mine wasn't that in depth," Deku rubs the back of his neck again, "To be honest, I have a bit of trouble with analyzing myself, since I have a bad tendency to immediately want to correct the mistake as soon as I find it instead of finishing analyzing everything first. I get a bit excited and work on improving instead of building the full picture, so it's easier to go in depth for others, actually."

Shouto must look like a fish right now.

He's just.

So amazed.

"You're brilliant," he breathes.

Deku looks a little bit pleased, but mostly embarrassed. "Ah, thank, thank you? That's, very nice, very kind of you to say."

He stutters when he's embarrassed.

Shouto should not find the number one pro hero, who could probably cream him in a fight and tear him apart analytically, this cute.

"Thank you very much!" Shouto bows, because it's only polite when Deku is doing such a big favour for him, "I am indebted to you for helping me improve as a hero."

"No, no!" Deku waves his hands in front of his face, "I'm not, it's not a big deal! It's my duty as a hero to make sure that other heroes are doing their best as well, yeah?"

Shouto now understands what Uraraka means when she whispers 'too pure for this world' in that reverent voice.

He thanks Deku again, for good measure, then Kaminari chooses that moment to hoot, "You two done flirting yet?"

They pull apart, blushing furiously, and Shouto somehow manages to clear his throat and say, "Let's commence the meeting," while the rest of the pro heroes giggle like schoolchildren.

Tsuyu even winks at him.

Shouto will never live this down.

"Man, he was a menace," Deku sighs as he looks at the scene below them, dangling his legs on the rooftop as the people walk about.

"Pitch?" Shouto tilts his head to the side as he readjusts his position so he feels less likely to fall off the rooftop (not that he can't save himself, and if he fails that, Deku would catch him). "Yeah. Fighting blind was a bit of a pain. It's a good thing we had Creati with us."

"It's a good thing you froze everyone in spot," Deku nudges Shouto, "It was really helpful."

Shouto smiles at that a bit, like a little kid being praised, and aims for modesty when he shrugs, "It was you who had the idea for everyone to use their cell phones to light up the darkness when the city was engulfed."

"True," Deku hums, "Although, Pitch was right in some ways."

Shouto casts a nervous glance at Deku, though he isn't sure what he's expecting. A pro hero saying that a villain was partially right? He's concerned.

"It is hard to see stars in the city," and Shouto relaxes. Of course, what was he thinking? That Deku was going to say something like 'everyone should just go blind'? Ridiculous. Deku is too... well... at the risk of sounding like Uraraka, he's too pure for that sort of thinking. "What do you think?"

Shouto shrugs, "I was born and raised in the city, so I wouldn't know."

"Ah, right," Deku nods, "Your father was a pro hero, of course, you would have been raised in an urban area. Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. I sort of forgot about your father for a second, there," he laughs, and Shouto freezes because, forgot his father? Sure, most people don't consciously think about it anymore, but the year of his debut, the media made a huge deal about him being a legacy hero.

"And you?" Shouto asks, not wanting Deku to linger on the thought of his family, "Have you been in rural areas to see the stars?"

"Yeah," Deku smiles, light and sweet, "You know how I was trained by All Might, right?"

"Of course," How could Shouto forget? He had hoped, desperately, stupidly, that there was someone like him. (But All Might was kind and sweet and good and so much that Endeavor could never hope to be.) "You didn't transfer to class A until second year, right? In first year, you were in General Ed and All Might mentored you if I recall correctly."

"That's right," Deku softens at the thought, "He took me on a few trips outside. My power was... especially destructive, so much that it was damaging to myself. We needed a way for me to have good output without worrying about damage, so All Might took me to a place in the country where I could just sort of go crazy with my Quirk."

"I see," Shouto says thoughtfully, "And you two stayed overnight?"

"Yeah," Deku chuckles, "We'd camp in the back of a truck in sleeping bags, and when we woke up, he would always be covered in bug bites."

It's a good memory, Shouto knows, and he wants to keep Deku smiling like that. "It sounds wonderful," he says.

Deku shoots Shouto a curious look, thoughtful and cautious, "We could go, too, sometimes," he blurts out, and reddens like he wasn't sure if it was okay to say that out loud, "If you want to, I mean. We'll take a truck and go to the country and sleep under the stars together."

Deku would do that for Shouto? He hasn't had a friend like that, close enough to go on a road trip and sleep under the stars with. "Yes," he hopes he doesn't sound to eager at first, but decides he doesn't care. He is eager, and he's fine with it if Deku knows that, "I would love that."

"Great," Deku holds out his pinky, "Pinky promise!"

It's incredibly childish. Really, one of the silliest things that Shouto has ever done or will do.

He links his pinky with Deku, heart swelled with hope, and says, "Pinky promise."

"You ever think about what it means to be a hero?" Shouto asks quietly, hands folded over his lap as the train rumbles on. He had put his scarf on crookedly today, and one of it's edges slides down to his lap, the tassels brushing against his thumb and the insides of his wrists.

Izuku is silent and thoughtful beside him, knitting needles clacking away and he is thinking, Shouto knows, before he responds, "Never too much in depth."

"But you have?" Shouto brushes a thumb over the palm of his hand, against little scars from fights mostly forgotten, against smooth skin unmarred by blood.

"I'm not one to question our morality or mortality," Izuku answers, tilting his head to the side, "There was a time when Uraraka questioned those kinds of things. What it meant to sacrifice yourself, when you were a hero, if it meant that you were sacrificing the hundreds of people that you could have saved, how you could choose. What it meant to put others before yourself, if it meant that if you didn't eat healthy, you weren't doing your duty, or stuff like that."

"But you've never questioned it?" Shouto tilts his head to the side, peering curiously at Izuku. "You don't seem the type to walk into something with blind faith that it will turn out alright."

"I sure hope not," Izuku chuckles, the edges of his eyes crinkling, "I just don't see the point in thinking too hard on it. My job is to do what I think is right, to save people and to make people think it's okay. To inspire others to stand up for themselves, to teach others that they can be their own hero, and when they need help, I am here. All the other bits, the gray areas and the dark spots, it's okay if they're there, but I just have to keep doing what I think is right. All else, that's just philosophy."

"And you're not a philosopher," The edges of Shouto's lips quirk up into a small smile, "You're a hero."

"Yeah," Izuku nods, sounding deeply satisfied by his answer.

"You make being a hero sound so simple and easy," Shouto comments.

Izuku tilts his head to the side, blinking at Shouto, eyes bright and green, almost glowing in the sunlight, "Isn't it?" He asks simply.

Shouto thinks of Deku, always improving, always jumping somewhere to save people, always saying things like you cannot wait for others, if everyone waited for a hero, then nobody would be a hero and his head bobs into a nod. "I guess it is pretty simple," he admits.

Izuku smiles, sharp and wide and full of teeth, and Shouto smiles back.

"What are you wearing," Izuku laughs at Shouto as he takes in the baseball cap, dark leather jacket and the skinny jeans. Shouto's pulled his hair back into a small ponytail and Kirishima had painted his nails black by ambushing him a while back.

"I'm incognito," Shouto pouts, "It's a disguise."

Izuku giggles at him, but doesn't say anything else, instead twirling around to show off, "Okay, fine. How do I look?"

"You sound like a teenage girl," Shouto raises an eyebrow.

"Nothing wrong with being a teenage girl," Izuku answers lightly, "Don't reinforce negative stereotypes, Shouto-kun."

Shouto draws a half arc in the ground with his toe (knee length studded black booths with flowers embroidered on, he borrowed them from Invisigirl) and glances at Izuku. A soft yellow turtleneck and eggplant purple yoga pants, bright red sneakers and mismatched All Might themed socks (of course, Shouto thinks, biting back a smile).

"You're right, I apologize to teenage girls. You look fantastic," he admits.

Izuku beams, "Fantastic," he repeats, sounding a little giddy, "That's high praise."

Shouto flushes, "Is it?" He asks uncertainly.

"Sure!" Izuku pulls Shouto into a walk along the streets. The crowd isn't so thick that they're squished, but not so thin that they stand out in their contrasting clothing. "Fantastic is an exciting word. It's like using amazing or bodacious, it's a bit more extreme than just 'good' or 'nice'. It makes people feel happy when you use words like that to describe them."

"Oh, um," Shouto blinks, "I'm glad that I made you feel happy."

Izuku's expression is as soft as buttermilk as they continue down the street, "That's very sweet of you to say," he smiles.

"I meant it," Shouto answers earnestly.

"I know," Izuku hops over a crack in the sidewalk and Shouto has a brief moment where he wonders if he ought to do the same before he decides it's probably fine and he steps over the crack. "You're kind like that."

"It's not," Shouto feels like he's stumbling over his words a bit, "It isn't kindness. It's just. Honesty."

When he looks up, Izuku is bright red. "Oh," Izuku laughs awkwardly, "Now you're just making me blush."

"Sorry," Shouto says unrepentantly.

"It's okay," Izuku bumps a shoulder against Shouto's, "You sure know how to make someone feel special."

You are special, Shouto thinks, but that's a bit over-the-top and he's pretty sure they aren't at that stage of friendship yet. "You said that you found a cool new ice cream parlour?"

"Oh, yes!" Izuku lights up and begins to chatter about the fascinating flavours that the store sold and its "really amazingly done!" hero theme.

"I think..." Shouto gulps as he watches Momo pick through possible new outfits, "I think that I might be in love with Deku."

Momo hums thoughtfully as she hold up a t-shirt with a cartoon sketch of Deku in costume on it, "Just to clarify, Deku, as in, this Deku?"

"Yes," Shouto sinks into the collar of his sweater vest, "It's ridiculous, isn't it."

Momo's gaze pins him, sharp and knowing and kind, "Do you think that it's ridiculous?"

Shouto starts, "Of course it is," he fiddles with the cuff of his neat button down, "He's... he's Deku. And I'm just... I'm just Shoto."

"But you aren't in love with Deku," Momo puts the shirt back on the rack and smiles at Shouto, "You're in love with Midoriya Izuku."

Shouto thinks about so long as I do the right thing, nothing else matters, thinks about I'll take you to see the stars, thinks about kindness and flaws and acceptance and a boy on a train knitting for a stranger that he barely knows because he doesn't want him to be cold.

"It doesn't change anything," Shouto wishes that he had a turtleneck so that he could do that thing that Izuku does when he gets really embarrassed and hide his face in the collar, "He's still way out of my league."

He sees reassurances on Momo's tongue, but something hesitant crosses her expression and instead she asks, "And why do you think that?"

"You've met him," Shouto rubs a hand against his right shoulder, "He's... selfless. And I'm..." He shrugs.

"If you don't think that you're selfless, Todoroki Shouto, then forget my clothes, we need to get you some self-awareness." Momo plants her hands on her waist, "You don't honestly think that you're selfish, do you?"

Shouto frowns, "I mean, I'm just, I'm not as selfless as he is."

Momo laughs a bit, "Is there anyone who is?"

Shouto opens his mouth and then closes it, "Point," he concedes. "So what do I do?"

"What do you want to do?" Momo turns the question on him, stare sharp and eyebrows raised.

"I... I don't know," Shouto chews on his lower lip, "That's why I'm asking you."

"How does he make you feel?" Momo asks, turning back to the clothing racks to rifle through them.

"...happy. Hopeful," Shouto shares at his feet, their outlines on the sandy wooden floor, "Like I want to be with him all the time."

Momo stays silent, prompting him to continue.

"I think... I think that I want to be with him more. To spend more time with him. I don't want to kiss him or anything like that, just, be able to hold his hand or go on a road trip with him." Shouto tugs at the bottom of his ear, "That's weird, right? If you like someone, you're supposed to want to kiss them or make out or something like that, right?"

"No," Momo shakes her head, "You could be asexual and still want a relationship."

"Oh," Shouto relaxes ever so slightly, "So do you, um, think that I should ask him out even if I don't want to. Um."

Momo holds up a crimson red muscle tank and holds it in front of herself, frowning into the mirror, "Do you think that you should?"

Shouto stares at Momo's reflection in the mirror, "I want to," he says, stupidly, feeling a bit desperate. Momo is silent, "Should I?"

"What's holding you back?"

"I..." Shouto stares at his hands, "Nothing. You're right. I should do it. But what if he hates me?" A beat of silence, Momo staring at him intently, "You're right. He's not the type. He's probably dealt with tons of confessions anyway. It's going to be weird, isn't it? You're right, I guess that's okay. I'm afraid of losing his friendship, but I can't just ignore this, I suppose. I... thank you, Momo-san."

"Momo-chan," Momo says gently, smiling at him, "I wish the best to you, Shouto-kun."

"Thank you," he repeats, bowing a bit.

Momo laughs at him, "So formal! Straighten up, Shouto-kun. Do you think I should get a muscle tank? I've been bench pressing a lot lately, and I kind of want to show off, though it's a bit embarrassing."

He smiles at her, "You should show off, you've been working hard."

"You're flattering me," Momo decides to get a pink muscle tank with a bunny lifting weights on it and a complex pulley system so that when the bunny pushes the weight up, a carrot lowers closer to it's mouth.

Shouto tells her it's adorable, and promptly buys a matching one with a puppy and a bone on it.

She laughs at him, they head to the food court, and Shouto has made up his mind. He is going to ask Izuku out.

He is not going to ask Izuku out.

What was he thinking?

This was a mistake.

A 100%, totally, complete mistake.

Shouto's hands are sweaty and his breath smells funny and he's a loser and a weirdo and Deku is the number one hero and.

"Would you, ah," He plays with his hair.

Izuku smiles encouragingly at him.

Spit it out, Shouto.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" Shouto blurts out, words fast and eyes wide and no wait he screwed up he was supposed to be charming and cute not gross and sweaty and...

"I would love to!" Izuku gushed, leaping forward to wrap his arms around Shouto's neck.

K.O., Todoroki Shouto has become road kill, he is dead, call the undertaker.

"Go out or at my place?" Izuku asks, linking arms with Shouto.

"Anything's fine," his lips say. As long as it's with you, his brain thinks. Which. Wow, that is super cheesy.

Izuku offers him a nervous little smile, "Want to watch Lilo and Stitch at Uraraka and my apartment on Friday night?"

"That would be lovely," Shouto's mouth agrees with a funny little smile.

"Great," Izuku hands him a phone with a Shoto themed case (Shoto themed! Him themed!) and a little Kacchan charm hanging from it, "Give me your number?"

Shouto puts in his number and then hands Izuku his own phone, "In case I put in the wrong one or something," he says to cover up the fact that he totally did not need to give Izuku his phone.

Izuku laughs a little and says, "Okay," and puts in his number.

Shouto's in love.

"I know that I said yes to a date and all, but," Izuku is curled up beside Shouto on his black couch, his living room an elegant black and gold theme (though Izuku tells Shouto it was because Uraraka got sick of cleaning up messes and made it black and gold to hide any stains), "I'm not, um, one for kissing or for..." his face is tomato red, "...sex, so if you don't mind..."

"Oh, good," Shouto sounds as relieved as he feels, "I don't, either. I'm, um, I think Momo said, ace?"

"Perfect!" Izuku taps one of his toes against Shouto's, "So no worries about that!"

"Yeah," Shouto smiles at Izuku, feeling bright and a little bit giddy, "Is this what you do in your off time? Watch Disney movies in your socks and pajamas?"

Izuku pretends to think about it, "Basically, yeah," he agrees, "Sometimes I spend my time looking at really pretty boys, too."

"Pretty boys?" Shouto turns bright red.

"Okay, fine," Izuku curls his fingers between Shouto's smiling despite the fact that his face is flaming red, "Just the one."

"Oh, um," Shouto doesn't know how to respond to this. "I, um, I didn't practice for you telling me that I was pretty. But I am, I am flattered. Thank you. That is very flattering to hear."

Izuku laughs a little, "You practiced me telling you things?"

"Just," Shouto feels he has messed up somewhere, "Conversations. Like we'd have a lull and I'd as you what your favourite animal was or something."

"I think that puppies are really cute," Izuku presses a fist against his lips to try and contain his blooming smile.

"I'm more of a cat person myself," Shouto admits, "They like to rub up against my left side because it's always warm."

"Noted," Izuku's eyes are bright with curiosity, "Do they avoid your right side, then, because it's cold?"

Shouto thinks about it, "Not if it's the summer," he answers thoughtfully.

"Of course," Izuku laughs again. Shouto likes the sound of his laugh. "Have you been to Aizawa-sensei's apartment? He has so many cats, it's insane."

"I've been a few times," Shouto smiles at the memory, "He just keeps adopting more and more of them each year, it's insane."

"It really is," Izuku agrees. He rests his head on the back of the couch and stares at Shouto with a soft smile on his lips, "Have you ever thought about adopting a pet?"

"Once or twice," Shouto admits, tilting his head to the side, "But my apartment doesn't allow pets."

"Oh, that's a dilemma," Izuku nods, "Would you get a cat?"

"Definitely," Shouto nods, "You?"

Izuku takes a moment to mule it over. (There's another thing Shouto likes about Izuku. He always takes the time to think about what he wants to say, so when he says it, you know he's being genuine.) "I'd be okay with a cat," Izuku says, and snuggles into Shouto's side.

Shouto's face is red and he wonders if Izuku meant what he thought that he had meant.

"Shouto, Shouto, wake up!" Izuku nudges Shouto awake from his spot on the couch. He had fallen asleep there last night and Izuku had gone to his own bed to sleep. "It's the perfect weather outside right now!"

Shouto blinks awake, feeling groggy. (Odd, he doesn't usually feel this way when it's sunny outside.) "Ah, strange. I could have sworn it was..." he pauses, halfway to sitting up and sort of just rests on his forearm as he gapes out the window.

No.

He was right.

"It's raining!" Izuku's face is bright with excitement, smile wide and eyes shining, "Isn't it wonderful?"

Ooh, it's raining alright. Heavy, thick drops of rain the size of Shouto's nose, gallons of water pouring from the sky like someone dumped a bucket over and the water just sloshed right out. Pouring from the edges of the clouds like a waterfall, the sound a roar in Shouto's ears, thunder rumbling and lightning crackling, splitting the sky open in white cracks before vanishing completely.

"The rain is very heavy," Shouto hears himself say, still trying to blink the sleep from his eyes.

"I know, it's perfect," Izuku beams, wrapping a hand around Shouto's as he pulls him up, "Come on, come on!"

"What?" Shouto asks groggily, which is all he manages to say before Izuku pulls him up and he barely gets time to put on his sneakers before the door flies open and Izuku yanks him out, shouting we're going out! to Uraraka and they go skidding through the halls of Izuku's apartment. "I'm not, I'm not dressed!" Shouto is bright red, and Izuku laughs.

"You're in your pajamas!" He calls back, "It's perfect!"

How, Shouto wonders, bewildered, and then they are out, in the rain, and Izuku is hold his hands and swaying and laughing and singing and. Ah. "We're dancing in the rain," Shouto realizes, smiling a bit, hands in Izuku's and Izuku's laughter infectious.

"Is it okay?" Izuku twirls and giggles and sings to that old song, Singing in the Rain and he dances with Shouto, bright and cheerful and bouncing despite the darkened skies.

"Perfect," Shouto laughs, mimicking Izuku's movement, twirling and singing and laughter bubbling from his lips.

"It was an unexpected attack," Izuku explains to Shouto, eyes closed even though his fingers are tangled with Shouto's. Shouto tries his hardest not to look at the bandage on his shoulder, at the spot where his arm was halfway torn off and neatly stitched together, "I was caught by surprise."

"Of course you were," Shouto says quietly, because Izuku is strong and if he hadn't been caught by surprise, he would have defeated the villain as easily as Shouto had.

(Had it been easy? It must have been. It was over in the blink of an eye. But he can't remember much, beyond rage and fear and horror as Izuku bled out and someone shouted help, ringing desperately in his ears like a mantra.)

"It won't happen again," Izuku opens his eyes and lifts his uninjured arm to poke a finger against Shouto's nose. "Boop."

Shouto rolls his eyes a bit, "You're ridiculous."

"You're worried," Izuku's gaze is soft, understanding, "But I'll be okay."

"I know," Shouto's grip on Izuku's hand is a vice, "I've seen you injured before. You're a pro hero. It's just... this... I was scared, for some reason. It's silly, I know."

Izuku hadn't expected it. He had been saving someone from the rubble, after a villain group attacked, and it just so happened the the one he was piggybacking to safety had been part of said villain group.

This probably wouldn't happen again.

It was fine.

Still.

Shouto couldn't help the tightness in his chest, worry and concern and anxiety making him want to vomit.

"It's to be expected," Izuku smiled a bit, "If you weren't worried about me, I'd be a bit worried, you know."

"Right," Shouto closed his eyes and loosened his grip on Izuku's hand, "Sorry. I just... sometimes I want to bubble wrap you."

Izuku laughs, startled and loud, "I think that would be more of a hindrance than anything else," he noted, amused.

"Probably," Shouto agrees.

"Did the villain hurt anyone else?" Izuku asks, brow furrowed in concern.

"No," Shouto answers quietly, voice soft.

"Good," Izuku breathes, smile wide and satisfied.

"I love you."

The words startle Shouto a bit, and Izuku, too, but Izuku's gaze softens and he says, "I love you, too."

"A truck?" Izuku blinks as Shouto leads him from the hospital and points at it, fire engine red and almost the same age as, if not older than, Shouto.

"You promised me that you'd take me to see the stars," Shouto stares at Izuku, "I'm holding you to that promise."

Izuku laughs, "I love it," he says, moving to sit in the driver's seat, "Give me the keys."

"What... no! Your arm is injured! I'm driving!" Shouto picks Izuku up and, when he realizes that Izuku is pure muscle and he'll never lift him up by pure force, tickles Izuku until he gives and moves to the passenger seat, both careful not to aggravate Izuku's stitches. "You're ridiculous," Shouto huffs.

"Mother hen," Izuku sticks out his tongue.

Shouto rolls his eyes, "You tried to drive when half your arm was nearly yanked off your shoulder. I have a right to be worried, thank you very much."

"I'm sure you do," Izuku presses two fingers against the fuzzy dice in the rear view mirror, amused as he says, "These are cute."

"A gift from the alien queen herself," Shouto smiles a bit at the memory of Ashido passionately exclaiming, you need fuzzy dice in the rear view mirror if you're going on a road trip! It's tradition!

"Ah, of course," Izuku nodded, "Do you have a place to go?"

"Yagi-san gave me coordinates," Shouto points at the GPS in the cup holders, "I'll make do, so you don't need to backseat drive or anything like that."

"Wouldn't it be passenger seat driving?" Izuku wiggled his eyebrows.

"That's called mutiny," Shouto answered, fighting to keep his expression straight.

Izuku laughed at him, "Is this a pirate ship?"

Shouto raised his eyebrows, "Should it be?"

"Freedom, liberty and gold awaits!" Izuku pumped his non-injured arm into the air.

Shouto laughs, and they drive off to see the stars.