His father always made being a pro-hero look easy. Endeavor was loud, prideful, and always ready to push people out of the way if it helped him with his goals. Shouto Todoroki wasn't like his father at all. Always the opposite.

Shouto Todoroki resented his father. Loathed him and would probably continue to deny him everything until his last dying breath. Even after becoming a pro hero, Shouto refused to use his fire side. He vowed that he would only use his mother's quirk in battle and become the best – the No. 1 hero – with only her passed down gift.

It was the best kind of revenge, at least in his opinion. He had gone through UA with only his ice powers, managing to become a pro-hero straight out of school after interning with different pro heroes. (He remembered when his father suggested he worked in his office, Shouto also remembered laughing stoically and walking away.)

His classmates all had graduated and went their separate ways, most of them going into hero firms as interns or as sidekicks. Shouto didn't make any friends really, though he kept in contact with most of them knowing they'd all be successful heroes eventually. If he needed favors that required certain quirks, he'd consider meeting up with one of them.

The issue about being a student from U.A was that people had accessed to your personal information. The Sports Festival back in his school days helped get his name out there, but of course, led to people knowing his quirks and tactics. He remembered the disadvantage his class had during the hero license exams; however, true to being students of U.A, they had all pulled through. Everyone except for himself and Bakugou.

Shouto didn't remember why Bakugou failed to get his hero license, but he had come face to face with a student from Shiketsu High. Inasa Yoarashi had made his hatred to him and his father clear. Shouto understood the feelings of disgust towards his father, but him? It made him frustrated. Upset. He was nothing like his father. He didn't even use his fire side at all so why did that guy treat him like he was Endeavor's carbon copy?

"I will never recognize the two of you as heroes-! That's all I have to say!"

Those words haunted him throughout the rest of the exam, and even till this day. For some reason Inasa seem to have known him prior to the exam but Shouto never figured it out. He just knew that Inasa was the reason why he couldn't defeat Gang Orca and failed the exam. The boy was a nuisance to him that day and would probably continue to be.

He became a hero and that's what matters. So why wasn't he happy? Why weren't other people happy?

Something Shouto noticed as that his popularity with civilians weren't as high as he hoped. Even his own father still had admirers to some degree. He once saw a newcomer popularity poll online and was curious enough to click on it. He had landed in the bottom 50's. Even Bakugou – now known as Explodo – ranked higher than him. That didn't set well with Shouto.

Once while patrolling he saw Tenya Iida, also known as Ingenium. He recognized the hero costume as it closely resembled the costume he wore during U.A as well as the previous Ingenium's design. The man was helping a few of his sidekicks get to know the area and about which parts of the city were the busiest when it came to crime and civilian help. The two had started up a conversation out of politeness.

"Ah, Todoroki! It's good to see you in great health! I suppose I should call you Freeze while on duty!" Though the man didn't notice, Todoroki had winced at the name. He was never one to make up creative names and he had to choose one before graduating. It was a suggestion from a classmate that he didn't seem to care much at the time. He sure as hell cared now.

"Todoroki is fine. How are you?" Civility override the fact that he truly didn't care if he got an answer or not.

"I'm doing well! I'm taking some new recruited sidekicks around town right now!" Iida turned to salute his new interns with one arm. Todoroki noticed the stump of the other arm that lied next to his side, recalling the time that Iida had come back after their own internships in U.A. It was a shock to everyone in class that Iida had confronted the Hero Killer and survived. Though he lost an arm, it was still absolutely terrifying to everyone.

"I better not waste your time then. Goodbye." As Shouto scanned the interns, who stared at him with curious eyes, he heard a soft whisper amongst them.

"Wow… He is as cold as they make him out to be."

Something inside Todoroki began to hurt, like somebody had pierced him with a small needle and began to sting. He looked back, face darkened, as Iida waved him off. Ingenium seemed to be oblivious to the sour mood of the other pro hero.

"See you another time Todoroki! Please feel free to stop by my office any time!" He called out. Ingenium's sidekicks; however, didn't share the same enthusiasm and friendliness as their employer. Todoroki continued his patrol, a new, frustrated kick in his step.

What did they meant by cold? It wasn't in respects to his power, they meant his personality. Frost began to form onto his right side, casting a cold atmosphere that followed him as he walked. A few people began to move away from his side, stepping out of his path. He began to fume slightly to himself, wondering why people always seem to think he had a cold disposition. Why was he of all people, unapproachable? He wanted to be a hero, and heroes were meant to inspire people not intimidate. So why? Why did it seem that people were treating him like… his father?

Shouto stopped suddenly. His right side was close to being encased all in ice. He took a look around at all of the pedestrians who stared at him and quickly hurried off.

"Look mama it's Freeze! You think I can get an autograph?"

"No not now honey, he looks angry."

Was he angry? Shouto didn't know since he never could really identify how he was feeling just by staring at the mirror. He knew someone that always looked angry though, and it became more and more of a concern that maybe… just maybe, he was turning into him.

-
The office was located on the fifth floor of a building close to a few restaurants and cafes.

It was Creati, also known as Momo Yaoyorozu, who had recommended this specialist to him. She, herself, had gone into the office a couple of times to identify herself as a hero. Shouto recalled the times in UA that the girl began to seem less and less confident in herself.

"The specialist, he's quite amazing really. I felt like I was lost during that part of my life and he helped me work through it, showing me what I was missing." That's how Yaoyorozu described this hero-specialist. Not only had she recommended the service, but many other of his classmates had agreed that they had gone in at one point to discuss their identities as heroes.

Shouto had done researched on the office, finding that both Uravity and Ingenium paid visits there before. He had stopped by Iida's office to ask about his experience there.

"I see. Well, the reason I went was after I had picked up my brother's name officially, I was uncertain on whether or not I truly had deserved it. I actually met the specialist beforehand, during our schooldays as youths. He knew an awful lot about me after the incident in Hosu, and actually emailed me wanting to know if I was okay. Truly, I was shocked that a complete stranger reached out to me in that way but, he really changed my life."

The way Iida spoke about the man was filled with admiration and respect. If Tenya Iida had so much respect for this man, then it was at least worth a shot.

So here he was, heading up an elevator to the office. The lobby was filled with magazines and toys, specifically action figures of heroes. Shouto assumed that this specialist also dealt with children quirk counseling alongside pro-hero therapy. What was more interesting was the fact there were multiple framed papers on the wall of different pro-heroes's signatures. He could make out an old notebook that had "ALL MIGHT" spread across two lined-pages. Did All Might come here while he was in his prime before he had to retire?

There were other names that caught his interest. Of course he saw Ingenium's signature as well as Creati, Uravity and even Red Riot and Tsukuyomi. Those were all names he recognized from his fellow classmates. Just how many people he knew gone here? If he had known that so many of his other classmates had gone, he would've made it a point to message and get in contact with them all.

Next to Red Riot's name was a large, chicken-scratch signature that seemed the go all around the page. It almost looked like a toddler's crayon work. He had no idea what it said, and of course with a little bit of ciphering he could at least see a few letters. Maybe it was in English, or another language all together.

"Hello, did you have an appointment?" The woman at the desk gave him a friendly, nervous smile. She had watched him come in and admire the lobby without acknowledging her.

"I'm sorry, yes I do. I have an appointment with the specialist, Mr.-" Shouto froze, forgetting the name of who he was meeting. If there were multiple people in this office he would have to shamefully explain that he was there for guidance of someone whose name wasn't in his mind.

"Oh, yes, of course, Shouto Todoroki correct?" The woman who had dark green hair and a plump disposition began to go through a large appointment book, running a pen down a list of names. "Here you are, your appointment is at 10:30am, you're a bit early. Oh uh, but there's nothing wrong with that!" She hurriedly offer the pen to the hero. "If you could sign and wait in the lobby that would be lovely!"

Todoroki took the pen and signed in, muttering a small thank you before heading towards the lobby's sofa to sit and wait. The woman bowed politely back to him and moved the appointment book down. He noticed how soft she looked, obviously a mother.

Sitting in the lobby, Todoroki kept his glance low in order to not make eye contact with the secretary. He looked at the magazines, noticing they were either hero-related or quirk-related. Catching glimpse of his own father on one of the covers, he picked up a different magazine and placed it over it.

He could only imagine what his father would think of him going to a hero counselor. The stigma was still real in the world but his father would've had a fit. Maybe yelling at him and calling him weak. Endeavor would've definitely been angry at him. Perfect.

Maybe that was one of the reasons why he agreed to take a chance and go to the office. His father had too much pride to go (or even consider), and while Shouto had his own kind of prideful resolve, he was convinced by his fellow classmate's recommendation.

The office door opened, a child hopped out with a mother in tow and a young man. The man, who Shouto inferred was the counselor, was a lean man that looked to be the same age as him. He was shorter than the mother, with a mop of curly green hair that swept a bit to the side. Dressed in black slacks and a white polo. Todoroki noticed a green tie that looked slightly off. Decorating his face was many freckles, but what was most appealing to Shouto was the smile he gave.

"I'll see you next week then! Great session today, give me a high five!" The man moved down onto a knee, holding a hand out to the young boy. The boy gave him a high five with a wide smile.

"Now give me a high five with your quirk!" The man offered up two hands. The boy's face broke out in a bigger smile, if that was even possible. His small hand had begun warping into a cylindrical disc, high fiving the therapist's two hands. He got up after, ruffling the boy's head and turned towards the mother.

"Thank you, Ms. Fujioka. Please let me know if anything comes up with Aiko at home before our next appointment. And please consider the quirk exercises I recommend, I think that would help him out have better control over it." The mother nodded, bowing to him as she and her son went over to secretary to schedule their next week's appointment.

"You must be Freeze!" Shouto's head turned to face the man, noticing his kind smile once again. He could only nod, unsure on how he would go about saying he didn't really like being called by his hero name.

"If you could give me one second," The therapist headed over to the secretary desk after the family had left. "Mom if you want, you can have your lunch early since the next two appointments are scheduled for an hour or so." The secretary, now identified as the therapist's mother, smiled at him.

"Oh, alright Izuku, I think I will actually go down and grab something! Anything you'd like?" The woman got up and moved a sign that read "on lunch" onto her desk. The man shook his head and kissed her cheek.

"No thanks mom, see you in a bit!" The woman took her purse and placed a hand on her son's cheek before heading out the door. The therapist, now Izuku, turned back towards Todoroki.

"Alright, let's head into my office, sorry for the wait, I know this is also your first appointment so I hope the wait doesn't deter you from coming back." He laughed a bit, leading Shouto into his office.

The first thing Shouto noticed about the office was the All Might poster behind the desks. There wasn't just one All Might poster, there were multiple. Two were on the side of a cabinet and a larger one was placed behind the office chair. Not only that, there was a figure of All Might on the man's desk, next to his planner and pen holder. On the side of the sofa that was placed in front of the office desk was two beanbag chairs and a two boxes of toys.

Todoroki awkwardly made his way to the sofa to sit down. The man took his chair from behind the desk and pulled it over to sit closer to the sofa, placing it to the side of it. He had a pen and notebook in his hand, the other was offered to Todoroki.

"Hi, I'm Izuku Midoriya, it's a pleasure to meet you Freeze, I know of your hero work!" He offered a smile, one that Todoroki wasn't able to recreate.

"Please, Shouto Todoroki, I prefer it." He took the hand, shaking it gently. Therapist – Izuku – took a seat into his chair and crossed a leg over the other.

"Alright, Todoroki, well, you're free to call me whatever. Even Izuku. A lot of the kids will call me that too," He chuckled at that before turning a page in his notebook. "Do you mind if I take notes?"

Shouto shook his head. Izuku smiled and nodding, writing a few things down.

"Alright, well, let's get started shall we? We can start with introductions if you'd like, or if you'd rather just get to the point and tell me why you're here." Shouto rubbed his left arm, staring at the ground.

"Uh, you can introduce yourself first." It wasn't like he was trying to avoid introducing himself, but at this point he was a bit curious. The room screamed fanboy, but for some reason it was cozy. A lot cozier than the room he once lived at in his youth.

"Well, as I said I'm Izuku Midoriya, I was raised in this district and I love heroes." His face lit up at the word. "Ever since I was a kid I would always analyze heroes, I actually had all these journals called 'Hero Analysis for the Future' when I was in… maybe middle school?" He laughed at that. "Um, I'm only 23, so I'm actually the youngest Pro-Hero counselor in the country. I work as a children's quirk development therapist, which I love, but I do pro-hero counseling too! I work with firms as a strategist planner and do quirk compatibility assessments. I think my favorite thing to do is helping pro-heroes with their future plan, more on the aspects surrounding their quirks than finances or marketing." Izuku rubbed his chin before blinking rapidly.

"Oh my god, sorry! I've sort of been going on and on about myself huh?" Izuku reached up to rub the back of his head. For some reason, Todoroki didn't mind listening. He's always been more of a listener, a quiet observer, but what the therapist was saying was honestly pretty interesting.

"May I ask what your quirk is?" Todoroki felt like that was information missing. Surely the man had a quirk that was perfect for his line of work, perhaps something analytical.

"Oh." Izuku's face fell ever so slightly, but enough for Todoroki to notice. "I actually don't have a quirk."

Todoroki's eyebrow raised. Izuku quickly smiled at him after noticing.

"I know I know! Eighty percent of the world has a quirk, I just happened to be a part of the small group that doesn't. You know, when I was younger I really wanted to be a hero." Izuku's face went soft, almost sad. "But you know, it's a bit difficult to do without having a quirk. I even tried applying to U.A but of course…" Izuku shrugged.

"So you had to give up your dream." Shouto mused over his own situation. He was born into a life of heroes, into a family that prepared him to become a hero. He had forgotten about those who were never able to reach their dreams, but then again, that was life – cruel.

"Well, not necessarily." Izuku clicked at his pen, uncrossing a leg. Shouto looked up to see a stern, determined look on his face. "I wasn't able to become a hero, but I've still always wanted to help others. It was tough at first, giving up that path but I found that I still had a talent for analyzing quirks. So, I went on online forums and started giving people advice on their powers. I did pros and cons, situational scenarios stuff like that you know? I actually got a message from someone a long time ago, he told me that if it wasn't for me he would've have gotten into U.A." Izuku's head turned to look at his laptop that was sitting on top his desk. A small smile spread across his face, his cheeks reddening.

"I think that was the moment I knew I could be a hero in a different way."

Todoroki blinked. He couldn't help but stare at this man and the genuine, kind look he had on his face. This was someone that people could look up to. This man had the face of a hero that young children would love and adults with respect. Something in his heart stirred.

Izuku blinked out of his gaze and turned back to Shouto, hand going up behind his head as became more and more frazzled.

"Oh jeez I'm sorry Todoroki, I didn't mean to go on about myself again! Ugh people are always telling me I talk too much, okay I'm going to shut up now." Izuku covered his face with an arm, his face flushing in embarrassment.

Shouto Todoroki did something he hadn't done in many years. He laughed. It was small, almost a step up from a chuckle, but it was a laugh nonetheless. Izuku unraveled his arm and looked at him questioningly, almost insulted.

"Don't apologize, I was the one who asked, thank you." Shouto stifled his laughter with throat clearing, leading Izuku to pout.

"Alright alright, so let's get back to business then. Why are you here?" Midoriya clicked his pen once again, Shouto's face falling. He took a moment to assess himself, his past and his future.

"I want to be a great hero, but it seems like I'm not." It was a quick summary of how he felt, all in one line. The sound of pen on paper could be heard during the silence. Izuku only looked at him, prompting him to go on.

"I feel that both civilians and other heroes find me intimidating." Shouto wasn't adept on sharing his feelings. His home life had taught him to bottle everything up, so anything he said would come out one sentence at a time. "I don't want to be a hero like-" He stopped. It was apparent to anyone that knew him back in Class 1-A that he refused to use his fire powers, but not even they knew the reason to it. Of course there were theories, but never had he once outright said how he felt about Endeavor and what he meant to him. Or didn't mean to him.

"Your father?" Shouto's head whipped up, his heart racing as he felt exposed in that moment. Izuku took one look at his face and nodded, writing it down.

"Was it obvious?" Shouto asked, his heart rate pumping faster than normal.

"Ah, well I guess it's not obvious to everyone, but for us children quirk development counselors, we actually see similar cases of what we call, um, 'quirk denial.'" Izuku wrote a few things down before placing his pen to the side, looking up to Shouto.

"There are difference scenarios where children- er, for the sake of research I'll be using children as an example, where children will refuse their quirks. The number one reason why children will refuse to use their quirk is actually because they have or fear harming others. That's the first, the second is actually when children resent a parent and refuse to use their passed down quirks." The explanation was to the point and it pinpointed exactly what Shouto had. There were other people who had gone through what he was currently feeling. Shouto didn't know if he felt relief or upset about that.

"I think a lot of us assumed that from you, um, since your information is public everyone knows that you have a fire and ice quirk." Izuku continued, his voice calm. "And knowing about Endeavor it gave us therapists a clue on why you don't use your fire side. Again, this was something we assumed because of our profession. Not many people who haven't had training on recognizing signs wouldn't know, in case you were worried about that."

Shouto's heart continued to pump. He didn't know he would go straight into this topic during the session. His intentions on being here was to find a new plan to become a better hero, not to break down Shouto's life.

"Just so you know, Todoroki, everything in here is kept confidential, I assure you. Nothing will leave my mouth." Izuku reached up, holding an imaginary zipper and ran it across his lips. Shouto sighed softly, relaxing a tiny bit though his heart still pumped fast.

"I… I refuse to use his power." It came out in a whisper, but the office was quiet and so Izuku heard it perfectly.

"Todoroki, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but may I ask why?" Izuku didn't click his pen. He wasn't going to write anything down, he just wanted to hear him.

Shouto took a second to think. Why would he have to explain himself to a stranger he just met? Then again, it almost felt like they weren't strangers at all. Shouto had heard Izuku's entire life story already, even explaining his hopes and dreams and how being quirkless put a dent while striving to become a hero.

A few seconds had passed. Izuku patiently waited in his seat.

"Have you heard of… quirk marriages?"

-
Shouto finished his story, too wrapped up in his past to realize that Izuku's face had turned dangerously dark. Looking up, he almost jumped in his seat. Izuku tapped his pen against the notebook, a leg thumping up and down in his seat.

"Um-"

"You know, I've always thought he was a pretty harsh person but to think that happened to you and your family?" Izuku got out of his seat, putting his notebook and his pen onto the table. He turned around to look at the poster of All Might on the wall.

Shouto awkwardly sat in his seat, alarmed when he heard a sniff. Izuku put an arm up and wiped at what Shouto could only guess were tears. Wait, tears?

"How awful, you were so young. Todoroki," Izuku turned to face him, his eyes brimming with tears that cascaded down his face ever so quietly. Before Shouto could say anything, Izuku moved quickly over to him and wrapped his arms around him.

The embrace was tight, awkward since Shouto was sitting, but most importantly the hug was warm. It wasn't fiery warm, it was something else. Something comforting, like a warm blanket wrapped around him. He didn't know if it was his own arms that returned the embrace, wrapping around the other man who openly cried for him.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve any of that." Izuku let go of the other, Shouto almost leaning in to try and keep the embrace going for a little bit longer.

"Shoot, I'm sorry for that too. Shouldn't be hugging my clients without permission right? But," Izuku wiped his face one more, using the hand to run through his hair. "I felt like you needed that."

Todoroki blinked. He didn't realize it but he did needed that. When was the last time he was hugged? Maybe during the Sports Festival by All Might. No, but when was the last time that he was embraced like that? The last time was probably when he was very young, holding onto his mother.

"I did." Shouto softly replied, looking Izuku would reassuring eyes. Izuku returned the eyes with grateful ones of his own, accompanied by a smile.

"I'm glad." Before Shouto could say something after, a knock on the door took them both out of their trance.

Izuku apologized to Shouto and got up, opening the door to talk to his mother. His next client was waiting in the lobby and they had gone a bit past their appointment time. Izuku nodded, closing the door softly and went back to his seat.

"What I hate about this job is that time is my worst enemy. But if you'd like-"

"Can I see you again next week?" Shouto quickly asked, standing up from his seat. His heart raced once more, though for a different reason. Izuku's stunned face broke out into a smile.

"Of course! I'll walk you out, you can talk to the receptionist about appointments and time but listen, Todoroki let me say one last thing." Izuku stood up, his fists to his chest.

"It's your power."

Shouto's eyes widened. Where had he heard that before? Flashes of his mother came to his mind, an interview of All Might played on the screen. He wasn't tied down by blood, his quirk was his own. When did he forget that? He could only nod to Izuku, wondering if the movement was enough to share the waves of emotions that came crashing back into his heart.

Izuku walked him out and got him an appointment for the same time next week. Something in Shouto's heart ached that it would be a whole other week before he could come back to the office. He wanted to see the man sooner, but he was a man of patience.

Shouto headed out the office and back into the streets. The sky grew darker as the sun begun to set. The wind blew behind him, giving him shivers down his spine. He put his hands to his face to blow breath when he stared at his left hand. A few seconds past before he used his fire quirk to start a small flame in his palm. He felt it close to his face, and then his chest.

Fire had always felt painful, his entire childhood had been avoiding fire and then repressing it. The fire in his palm right then and there was nothing like the ones his father had made. This small flame was small, warm and light. It glowed near his chest, illuminating his body as the wind picked up.

It reminded him of the embrace.

The warm embrace that gave Shouto comfort. Where was that comfort when he needed it the most? The flame in his hand gave him a small idea. Throughout his life he had repressed and deterred and renounced, again and again, his birthright. The small flame in his hands wasn't the fire of his father's – it was his. Izuku Midoriya had sparked him.

He let the fire burn out. Shouto stared at his palm, furrowing his brow. He would have to think more about it, it would take a while for him to come to terms with his father and himself but there was something he knew at that moment.

Shouto couldn't wait to see Izuku Midoriya again.