"Thank you for your continued support!" The smiling face on the television beamed joy, even though he looked worn to the bone and ready to fall over. The screen froze, the pause button hit as eyes scanned the screen, finally sighing as he looked down, closing the tab.

He was proud of his old classmate. It had been years since he'd seen Midoriya Izuku, known professionally as Deku, and he knew that when they'd graduated it had been as friends, but if there was one thing Todoroki Shouto was, it was awkward. He was never sure if he was asking too much, if he wanted too much, if wanting to see his old friends was normal...

So he watched them on television, recording them as they grew in popularity, or unfortunately, if they fell in battle. He cherished them all, and did as he thought he should, though it left him standing back quite often, never sure if he should try to get closer.

Which was why it was a surprise that his very retired father called him in an emergency meeting to the hospital half hour after Midoriya's press meeting, telling him he would be in charge of watching over the man for the next while. "I have my own job. I can't just take time off like this." Todoroki stared up, a bit surprised as his father sighed, crossing his arms.

"Bakugo is gone in a mission halfway across the world, Iida has too much with his work obligations, and you know what's happening with Ochako..." The older Todoroki looked over, seeing Shouto stare at the unconscious form on the bed. "He needs a friend at the moment, and you're the next one on the list. His family is gone, Allmight is gone, and on his list of 'friends', you were the next one on the list." He watched as Shouto's eyes widened, a bit surprised.

"I didn't realize he thought that highly of me." Shouto admitted, sighing. "It would be rude to refuse." He rationalized, missing his father watching, his cold gaze turning sour as he realized what he was thinking.

"It would be worse to turn away a friend when you're needed. If you don't want to be on his emergency listing, just tell him clearly when he wakes up." Todoroki watched as Shouto nodded, looking over.

"I'll take him home with me. He isn't in the worst shape, physically. He's been much worse." Shouto stepped closer, looking him over with curiosity. "He looks beat up, but he mostly looks alright. Why does he need a watcher? He seemed fine during the clean up press release." Shouto watched, seeing a bruise on his head slipping out from beneath his hair, realizing he had a head injury a second too late.

"He has partial amnesia. He doesn't remember a lot. We don't know if he'll remember you at all." Todoroki watched as Shouto turned, his eyes wide.

"Wait, what?" Shouto felt his heart freeze in his chest. "How bad is it?"

"He doesn't remember his parents or Bakugo. He doesn't remember Allmight or most of your classmates. We were hopeful, but we weren't sure on who he remembered. All we knew is we weren't sure if there were other things he may not remember. He can't be left alone. We don't know what he doesn't know, if he sees a villain that he doesn't remember it could cause trouble, and he seems to think he's quirkless. He doesn't remember beating the villain that time, and we believe it was a wall that fell on him just after the final blow. He tried to catch it, but it shattered when he grabbed it." The older Todoroki watched as Shouto nodded, swallowing down his nerves.

"If he doesn't remember Bakugo, there's no chance he'll remember me." Shouto chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "All the same, he does need someone. You're right." Shouto sighed, nodding. "I'll help. I owe him that much, at least." Shouto reached up, brushing his hair from his face.

He'd changed quite a bit in the last five years. His jaw was more square. His chest was bigger and more defined, though his hair was exactly the same. "So I can move you back into the main house? It'll have more space, so he'll have-"

"I have a guest room in my house." Shouto sighed, looking back with a raised brow. "I think we'll be fine there."

His father simply sighed, crossing his arms. He wasn't happy, but he wouldn't complain. "As long as you're sure. And if you need anything, you're free to call me. It will probably be best to stay in a bit until he remembers more." He stood up, heading towards the door. "If you need groceries-"

"I'll order them, like I normally do." Shouto rolled his eyes. "It's been a while, Father. I take care of myself. I can add another person onto it. It won't make much of a difference." Shouto watched as his father chuckled, tilting his head. "What?"

"You've gotten so tall, but somehow you haven't grown nearly as much as I thought." He grinned before he turned, heading out to inform the nurses of what was happening.

It wasn't until that night that Midoriya woke, by then discharged and tucked into a bed he didn't know, in a room he was unfamiliar with. He sat up and looked around, seeing someone by the far wall reading from a thick book, a small light barely enough to illuminate the words. "Hello?" Midoriya sat up, stretching his back a little before he looked over, seeing the other staring at him in surprise.

Midoriya was struck still at the sight, swallowing down surprise. "Hello." Todoroki stood, walking over and holding out his hand. "You probably don't remember me. I'm Todoroki Shouto. We were classmates at UA together." Shouto watched, seeing Midoriya's eyes stuck on him. "I owe you quite a bit. When they told me you were suffering from some issues after your last fight, it was decided you should come with me. I hope you don't mind."

"I..." Midoriya stared, swallowing down panic. He looked around before Shouto reached for a picture he'd put in the room, just in case. He slid the picture into Midoriya's hands before pointing at the pictures of them each, Bakugo, Shouto and Midoriya all in the front and center, grinning from ear to ear. "This is us?"

"Yeah, five years ago. That was right before we finished high school. Bakugo, you and I ended out being the three biggest heroes, and of the three of us, you are definitely the biggest." Shouto laughed, and Midoriya swallowed down nerves, his eyes darting between the picture and the man before him.

"How... do I know this isn't some sort of quirk? That I'm not trapped?" Midoriya asked with tears in his eyes.

"Who do you know? Is there anyone who you remember? I heard your parents passed away, but are there any friends? Any neighbors you remember?" Shouto watched as Midoriya thought, his eyes darting around the room, looking for clues before he looked back to Shouto, panic dissolving into despair. "Don't look like that." Shouto sighed. "You don't remember anyone. Is there anything else you remember? A place, a show, anything?" He asked, at this point more hoping that Midoriya wasn't a completely blank slate.

"I... remember a video. I don't... remember it clearly. Some sort of accident, and someone climbed out. A hero." He swallowed down his nerves, his eyes still shifting as he fought for leverage in his own head.

"Probably the AllMight video. Bakugo used to tease you for watching it when you were a child. Was the hero a man with blond hair, two big strands in the front that stuck up like this?" He asked, and Midoriya shook his head, his head flinching back as he thought.

"I remember white. Snow? Ice? And then a bright flash, and then it was darkness. There was barely enough light to see someone stand up, but I don't... fire? Ice?" He thought, desperate to put the images in an order that made sense, though it ended out being Shouto that startled at the realization.

"That... was the sports festival in our first year of high school." Shouto stared. "We were in the ending. I almost lost, but you kind of talked me into beating you." Shouto looked up, honestly a bit embarrassed. "I could barely stand. You beat the hell out of me." Shouto grinned, and Midoriya frowned.

"Then... if that was you, then why am I seeing two different quirks? They're saying I have strength, so those aren't mine." He sat back, watching as Shouto raised his hands, creating ice with one hand and a soft flame with the other.

He watched closely as Midoriya stared, panic turning to curiosity, which shifted somehow to wonder. "It's beautiful! And it would be so useful! If it's as powerful as in my memory, then you could probably..." He stilled, looking up, seeing Shouto watched him with an amused smirk, his hands closing as the ice and fire melted into nothing. "What?"

"You do that sometimes. You'll start on tangents and you'll start looking into stuff in details I would never expect. You're very insightful, you know." Shouto stood, and Midoriya nodded.

"That's how you get to be when you don't have a quirk." He watched as Shouto sighed, nodding.

"I heard you don't remember having one. At first we thought maybe your memory was erased from before that, but it seems you have some toe joint that means you aren't supposed to have a quirk? I don't know what happened, and honestly I don't care. What I do care about is making sure you're alright, quirk or none." He watched as Midoriya nodded, staring in confusion.

"Why do you care? I'm just some classmate you probably haven't seen in forever, right?" Midoriya looked down, his gaze again nervous, leaving Shouto sighing as he walked back, sitting back down.

"Remember when I said you talked me into winning the sports festival?" He asked softly, getting a simple nod in reply. "I refused to use my fire. For years I'd refused, and because of that I didn't have half of my power. I was limiting myself, and refusing to look forward, at the bigger picture. You forced me to. You purposefully made yourself lose the competition when you knew that it was something I needed so badly. You made me the hero I am today." Shouto watched as Midoriya stared in surprise.

"You're a hero?" Midoriya's eyes widened as he looked up and Shouto stared for a moment before laughing.

"Come here." Shouto waved him to follow and after making sure he was steady on his feet, he walked him out to his living room. It was a large house, and though it had a very old style, traditional look to it, the posters plastered around the living room looked terribly out of place, until Midoriya realized what they were.

"Oh my god..." He gasped, looking around, seeing posters all over the walls. Though many of them were people he didn't know, he saw his own face, as well as Shouto's all over, mixed into the posters. He looked around more, seeing the figurines that lined the shelves around the walls, the merchandise that covered the thick wood cases. Midoriya walked over, seeing a lunchbox with his face on it with a metal mask covering his lower face, though his hair and eyes were unmistakable. He swallowed hard as he looked it over, seeing the nickname Deku on it before he turned, seeing it all over the posters as well. He turned back to the lunchbox, seeing the marker in the corner, his eyes growing wider.

It was autographed, and it was definitely his handwriting. "I... really am a hero? And you're one too? A big one?" He asked, and Shouto nodded.

"Do you happen to remember a hero named Endeavor?" He asked, and Midoriya stilled, wincing a bit before he nodded.

"Fire. I do. I remember him!" Midoriya grinned, though after a moment he sighed. "I only remember his name and what he looks like. I probably never met him?" Midoriya sighed, and Shouto laughed.

"Izuku, you've beaten him at his own game so many times! He struggled so hard to be number one, and the instant he had it he hated it. Oh, he hated having to smile. He felt if he wasn't being grumpy all of the time he wasn't really being himself." Shouto rolled his eyes. "It was satisfying, watching you prove to him that he didn't deserve that spot when you took it. It was more satisfying when you told him the whole reason you went out of the gate fighting that hard was to make him retire so he would be kinder to me." Shouto grinned. "He's my father, and he was the number one hero, until you took it."

Midoriya stared, swallowing down his nerves. "You call my name so easily..." He mumbled, and Shouto nodded.

"You insisted. You said that me calling you 'Midoriya' was too formal, so you made me call you Izuku, and you started calling me Shouto." Shouto chuckled, and Midoriya nodded, looking down.

"This doesn't sound like me at all." He trembled, his hands clasping tight over his stomach. "I insisted upon someone? I'm the number one hero? Can I even get in front of a camera without fainting?" He asked, his eyes wide at the thought before he looked up. "I don't mean to be ungrateful, and I'm not saying you're lying, but... I'm not sure if you're real. This all sounds made up." Midoriya stepped back, leaving Shouto staring in surprise.

"Izuku?"

"I don't ever remember having a friend close enough to call me that." Midoriya nearly whimpered, stepping back again, leaving Shouto staring in worry. "I'm not someone that stands up to others. I'm quirkless. I'm nothing." He looked down at his feet, slowly edging away, afraid of even being close to someone who he thought could be a hero.

"You don't remember, but you are. You stood up to many people, and you've saved so many lives. You are a good person, and a very kind one as well. Maybe your confidence came with your power, and maybe without remembering your power you don't remember your confidence, but trust me. You're the strongest person I know, inside and out." Shouto watched as Midoriya looked up, his eyes wide before he teared up, his breath stuttering.

Shouto was more familiar with this and chuckled, reaching over to pat him on the back, pulling him into the kitchen. "Come on. Let me show you around and make you some tea, alright? You like iced green tea, right?" Shouto asked and Midoriya nodded.

"You know my favorite drink." He mumbled, and Shouto laughed.

"No, the day after graduation, you declared your favorite drink was tequilla, but let's not get into that." Shouto grinned, seeing Midoriya gape in horror. "At least for the time being, welcome home." Shouto chuckled, honestly glad to have him there. It was odd, but as nervous as he'd been about watching over the infamously strong, terribly kind Deku, this version of him, just as nervous as Shouto had been, was calming on his nerves. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.