Disclaimers: I do no own Hero Academia

Crossposted on ao3

Izuku met his best friend when his family had to move address due to his dad's job.

Many children were playing in the kindergarten's playground, smiling with wonder as they showed their quirks to one another-Izuku couldn't wait for the day when he will get his- yet in the midst of a all, a bi-coloured hair boy sat alone in a corner.

The bicoloured haired boy seemed to be practicing his ice ability but Izuku noticed him sneaking glances at Izuku – or rather sneaking glances at the awesome All Might's figurine in his hands.

With a smile, Izuku approached the boy.

"Hi, I'm Izuku." He said, causing the boy to look at him in surprise.

"Shouto." The boy whispered.

"So Shouto. Do you like All Might?"

Shouto replied with a wide smile as he nodded.

As he was walking back home with his mum, he realized that Shouto was also walking the same way.

It turned out that Izuku's new house was next to Shouto. Resulting in them inviting Shouto's family to come over, though only Shouto, his mum and his sister came.

Izuku learnt that Shouto was an All Might fanboy, which was amazing since Izuku was one as well. Shouto's quirk was also awesomely amazing, the power to use fire and ice was super cool and his father being Endeavor was super awesome... Until Izuku saw bruises on his friend.

"Shou-chan. Where did you get those from?" He asked, concerned remembering how Shouto's made pained noises as he fell on those bruises when they played tag.

"Father made me train." Shouto said as tears started brimming from his eyes. Seeing Shouto sad made Izuku sad so when Shouto started crying, he hugged his friend and started crying as well.

"I-I don't want to do it and I don't want to b-be a hero like him." Shouto said between sobs.

"Don't worry Shou-chan. When I get my quirk, I'll be a hero and I'll protect Shou-chan."

It turned out that Izuku wasn't going to protect anyone. His hopeful world shattered the moment the doctor said he would never have a quirk.

When he reached home, Shouto was waiting for him. Somehow Shouto seemed to know what was wrong, ran to him and gave him a tight hug.

"Shou-chan… The doctor said I don't have a quirk." It went unsaid that he probably couldn't be a hero without one.

"It's okay Izuku, you can still be a hero, I'll punch the shit out of anyone who says you can't." Shouto reassured and somehow it made Izuku felt way better.

"Shou-chan. You said a bad word."

"Ehhh – my father says it all the time."

Somehow his tears turned to giggles as he hugged Shouto back.

His mum, who was also depressed for his sake when she drove him home, hugged him and Shouto as they were still laughing.

It was a soft whisper but he could hear her say, "Thank you Shouto-kun."

When Shouto got hospitalized after Shouto's mum splashed boiling water over his face, Izuku did not know what to do so he cried next to his friend's bedside.

Shouto woke up to his noise, patted his head and Izuku couldn't help but latch onto Shouto with a powerful hug, causing them both to cry.

It took a while before they both calmed down.

Shouto told Izuku how he heard his mum said she didn't want to raise him anymore, that his face was hideous before throwing boiling water at him when she saw him eavesdropping. Then in a second of thoughtlessness, Shouto moved his hand to his bandaged left side and tore it away to revealed the now blackened skin.

"I-Izuku. Am I h-hideous?" Shouto asked, his voice trembling.

True, the skin was burned, and to others it might look scary, but to Izuku, Shouto was still Shouto. The Shouto who he called Shou-chan, the Shouto was kind, brave and the Shouto who was his irreplaceable friend.

"No way. Shou-chan can never be hideous to me. Besides, I think Shou-chan looks super cool now. You know how some heroes have scars that look super cool?"

His answer caused Shouto to cry and pulled him into a strong embrace which he returned with fervour.

"F-father said that mum's not going to be home anymore, that she has to be in a hospital for the insane. Izuku – I don't want to live with father – I don't want to be like him. I hate him."

"Shou-chan. That's easy. You can just live with us."

Immediately after he told his mum what happened in the Todoroki household, she bursted into tears, hugged Shouto, then took him home with them.

Izuku realized it wasn't as easy as he'd imagined when the door burst opened as they were having dinner.

Endeavour stormed in with an enraged look, demanding that they returned Shouto to him.

His mum walked without fear and glared at the no.2 hero. Izuku and Shouto were doing the same, though they were using his mum's legs as shield.

"Mr. Endeavour, you may not know, but I come from a family of lawyers and judges. I even used to be one myself before I became pregnant with Izuku."

Endeavour puffed, as if telling her to reach a point. What did Endeavour knows anyway – he's just a rude puffball with a strange beard.

"My brother is the head of the Supreme Court of Japan. You may be a famous hero, but this case calls up charges of domestic violence from spousal abuse to child abuse. And you can be sure that if I take this to court, you can kiss your hero career goodbye. The only reason I haven't done that was out of respect for your past philanthropic works. So you will leave Shouto-kun in my care and leave my house." His mum said with a definite tone and Izuku thought she was nearly as cool as All Might.

Endeavour looked ready to explode but he was powerless before the judicial might of Midoriya Inko, and all he could do was stomp out of their house.

As the door closed, Izuku gave Shouto the loudest high five and cheered.

They slept in the same room for two years before Izuku's mum decided that the bed was too small and that Shouto should have his own room as well.

Shouto was amazing to live with. He was everything Izuku wanted in a friend. They played together, watched heroes clips together then analysed heroes together – though it often ended up being Shouto giving Izuku's endless praises for his hindsight whilst Izuku could do nothing but blush furiously.

But Izuku's quirklessness gave him a lack of self esteem and many times gave him doubts. The most severe one during a trip to Tokyo national museum.

There was another school there as well. And Izuku could see that Kaito, a boy in his class was being ganged upon by three boys and was on the verge of tears.

Unable to stop himself, Izuku immediately moved in between them.

The blonde boy in the centre of the group moving towards them smirked as his hand sizzled like as dynamite fuse.

"I-I won't let you hurt him anymore!" Izuku shouted, but that sizzling fist was scary and he couldn't stop his body from shaking in fear.

He was pushed to the wall by the blonde boy, who then pulled out his name card, which were given to everyone in case they got lost and read.

"So…. Deku, after all that talk. Are you gonna do anything?" The blonde boy said and Izuku wanted to tell him what an idiot he was – being unable to read and all, but he was still too scared so all he could do war glare.

"No, huh? Well here's something that I'll do to useless upstarts like you-" The blonde boy said, raising his fist, striking it down. Izuku shouldn't have left Shouto to wander alone into the Science section. He closed his eyes to ready himself for the impact but it never name.

Opening his eyes, Izuku saw the blonde boy's wrist being tightly gripped by Shouto.

He had never seen Shouto so angry. The glare Shouto directed at Endeavour when he demanded Shouto to return with him was nothing compared to the glare directed at the blonde boy.

"What do you think you're doing." Shouto spoke in a freezing tone.

"Punch him of course, you shitface dumbass." The blonde boy returned and his fist started sizzling, but before it could sizzled anymore, Shouto used him quirk a froze his hand earning surprised look from the blonde boy and his minions.

Luckily by then, the commotion they created caused the teachers to come over and stopped them before they caused any property damage.

"Are you alright?" Shouto asked after the teachers allowed them to leave and Izuku could only nod.

"What's the matter?" His friend asked again, his voice was gentle and Izuku felt it was okay to tell him all his worries.

"Shou-chan. When the blonde boy was going to punch me, I just froze. I couldn't do anything. Can someone quirkless like me really be a hero?" Izuku said, his voice shaking.

"You can." Shouto replied, moving his hands to grasp Izuku's, squeezing them tight. "Without Izuku I wouldn't be here. If Izuku weren't here, I'd still be with my dad who would have said that these trips were useless and wouldn't let me come. To me, Izuku's already a hero." Shouto's reply sent warm reassurances through him, and even though he wanted to tell Shouto that it was his mum who helped and not him, all he could say was "Thank you."

Shouto smiled, shook his head and said, "No, it's Thank you."

Of course he was chided by Shouto afterwards for putting himself in danger like that. One thing led to another and before he knew it, Izuku was forced into improving his physical condition.

Whilst Endeavour was a horrible father, he was still determined to make Shouto stronger than All Might, as shown by the large amount of fitness, martial arts and quirk control course brochures that he had been sending them. Those brochures were a menace that gave Shouto various options to choose from.

"But Shou-chan!" Izuku wailed and received a unimpressed look from his friend.

"Izuku, villains aren't going to fall over after you shout statistics and their weaknesses at them."

Shouto then went on to point out that if Izuku wanted to be a hero, he should at least learn how to actually fight.

"And I want to train as well. Are you going to let me go to these courses alone?" Shouto asked, giving Izuku a determined look – one which Izuku always agreed to.

"F-fine. I'll go with Shou-chan."

Looking back, Izuku didn't know how he could've survived without all the martial arts and fitness training that Shouto forced him to join.

Izuku saw Shouto used him flames when they were little, but he'd never seen Shouto used them again after Shouto moved in with them nine years ago. The cause clearly was Endeavour's fire power, but Shouto's flames had nothing to do with Endeavour's, but if Shouto didn't want to use them, Izuku wasn't going to force him.

Still, Izuku was grateful for Shouto's flame, especially during their school trip to Okinawa.

They were playing in the sea, when an unexpected giant wave appeared.

Tenko-kun was the only one in their class who couldn't swim, so he was wearing a large blow up ring as he played with everyone else – a blowup ring that was somehow floating away after the giant wave.

Izuku probably would be told off by Shouto afterwards but he couldn't help himself. He swam to the deep waters, grabbed the floating ring, put in back on Tenko-kun and pushed him towards the shore.

He did not expect another giant wave to come to drown away all his sights.

At least Tenko-kun seemed to have reached the shore and at least he heard Shouto shouting his name before everything went dark.

He woke to find Shouto's tearful face, but before any thought could come to mind, he was coughing up seawater.

Izuku looked at Shouto, whose eyes were filled with desperation and joy. Izuku wanted to say something, but before he could, his lips connected with Shouto's, sending jolts of fireworks through his body from the sweet sensation. And within moments, he was in Shouto's embrace.

"What were you thinking? You could've died!" Shouto said, his voice trembling.

"I'm sorry Shou-chan." He hugged back. "Tenko-kun needed help and I couldn't help myself."

"You're such an idiot Izuku." And Izuku could only laugh.

Apparently, they were stuck on this small island until the tides recede or until some hero appear to help them. It was raining, and the trees couldn't shield them from the could winds.

They were hugging for warmth but Izuku shivering couldn't stop, perhaps it was the tiredness from fainting earlier.

He was suddenly engulfed by warmth before he knew it. Shouto's left side was on fire, but it wasn't hot, it was warm and soft like Shouto.

"Shou-chan. You're using it." He said the obvious, but the obvious was surprising then.

"Yeah." Shouto said as he looked at his burning left hand. "I didn't want to use it. It didn't want to use his powers. You were always telling me what my mum used to say - that it's my power, but you never pushed me to use it. I don't want to use this power for him, but if it's for you…."

Izuku smiled as he looked at Shouto.

"It's not his and you're not him. Your mum's right. This power is yours and Shou-chan will always be Shou-chan."

"Thank you. Izuku. For everything." Shouto said, looking at him with those warm eyes.

Help came soon after that. Though Izuku didn't understand what Shouto meant when he said "The things I did earlier, I absolutely meant it."

They did not have the chance to talk much after the trip to Okinawa.

The day after they returned to Tokyo, the muddy villain attacked Izuku.

All might saved him then made him sad by telling him to have realistic dreams. Then Izuku's tendency to help people before he thinks through things occurred and he ended up failing in trying to save an eerily familiar blonde hair boy before All Might saved them both from the muddy villain.

It ended with All Might telling Izuku that he wanted Izuku to inherit his One For All quirk, causing Izuku to spill more tears than he remembered spilling. But being told that he could become a hero by the hero he looked up to all his life would so such things.

When he returned home, his mum told him that Shouto was out. He wanted to tell Shoutouts what happened, so that Shouto, worrywart that he was, won't be too worried, but he was incredibly tired and the softness of his bed immediately drew him to slumber.

All Might assessed his physique when they met the next day and decided his was physically fit enough for One For All. The strange thing happened when All Might made Izuku eat a string of his hair – but it was All Might so Izuku believed him.

He felt the rush of strength appearing later on that day, though All Might told him not to use it until he became more physically fit – lest he hurt himself in the process.

His school was on holiday, so he spent the week after waking up at 5am and trained with All Might until the end of the day. His packed schedule somehow resulted in a week of not seeing Shouto.

When he was about to leave, Shouto appeared, looking more depressed than Izuku had ever seen.

"Izuku, are you still angry about what I did in Okinawa?" Shouto asked and Izuku had no idea what he was talking about.

"I-If you don't feel the same then it's fine but please don't ignore me. Please don't hate me." Shouto said.

"Shou-chan. What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying that I like you, but it's fine if you don't feel the same." Somehow, it seemed as if dark clouds appeared over Shouto's head as he said the last part.

"What are you talking about Shou-chan. I like Shou-chan too. Shou-chan's my best friend."

"I don't mean that kind of like."

"What do you m-"

Before Izuku could finish his sentence, Shouto's lips were on his. It was a sensation that Izuku never felt before, their first kiss was desperate and wanting, but this kiss was so soft and so sweet, it was somehow so perfect.

Their lips parted, but his eyes were still on Shouto's, just like Shouto's gaze determinedly remained on his. Izuku's hand slowly moved to Shouto's face, caressing it gently as if he'd never seen it before. Shouto's face looked filled with apprehension and worry, though the hint of hope in his eyes made Izuku smile.

Izuku realized then that he wanted Shouto. That he wanted to touch him, wanted to possess him and wanted to be closer and closer to him.

"Shou-chan. I think I like Shou-chan like that too."

"Then will you be my boyfriend?"

"If Shou-chan would have me."

Then they were gravitating towards one another once more as if pulled by an unexplainable phenomenon.

Shouto's bicoloured orbs mesmerized and hypnotized Izuku to move his hand to Shouto's face, yet Shouto quickly grabbed them. Shouto gently squeezed Izuku's hand as his face slowly descend towards them. Soon his soft lips were softly caressing Izuku's fingers.

Their faces soon gravitated towards one another, as if forced by a unexplained phenomenon. Izuku's nose touched Shouto's and he could feel the warmth of Shouto's breath on his lips.

Shouto's face slowly moved closer to Izuku before he planted a gentle kiss on Izuku's lips. Shouto's hands were still gently squeezing his as if he would never let go.

Izuku looked at Shouto as they moved apart. The smile of Shouto's face told him them everything was going to be fine.

Shouto depression turned of to be a misunderstanding on his part. And whilst Shouto said he made it quite clear during the Okinawa trip that he liked Izuku by kissing him, and telling him he meant it afterwards, it wasn't clear to Izuku, he thought Shouto was giving him CPR, plus he was very dizzy then.

So when Izuku was disappearing early in the morning and coming back later in the night, Shouto had apparently thought that Izuku didn't want to see him as a friend or anything anymore – as if Izuku would do something like that to him. Seriously.

All Might did imply that the One For All should be kept a secret but this was Shouto. They lived together, do nearly everything together and their now dating, besides it's not as if Izuku could keep anything from Shouto so he ended up spilling everything.

Shouto ended up following him to see All Might.

Izuku thought All Might would be angry, but he listened to the explanation from the two of them - how they always helped one another, stood by one another and how they were going to be heroes together – then laughed.

"Hahaha! What intense scorching young love! But I can't say I dislike it!" All Might bellowed soon pulled Shouto into their training regimen as if nothing of importance had happened.

Izuku lied on the ground beside Shouto after training was over. The sun was setting, but to Izuku, this simply meant that a new dawn was approaching.

His hand intertwined with Shouto's and the soft squeeze he received told him that Shouto felt the same.

"Shou-chan. We'll be real heroes soon."

"We Will."

And when they were, nothing was going to stop them. They were better when they're together. After all, when they're together, Izuku was certain that they were invincible.

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