Chapter Text
Hizashi sat at the kitchen table, watching the young alpha whirlwind through his kitchen with a small smile. He'd been teaching Izuku to cook, but this was the first time he'd done it on his own, unprompted.
And he was doing it aggressively.
Hizashi watched Izuku chop an onion like it had done him a great wrong, contemplative. Izuku was at his place a lot these days. At some point the weekly post-Shouta visit became the frequent just-because visit. Izuku seemed to turn up at all hours now; odds were good he spent more time in Hizashi's apartment than his own.
Which Hizashi had some very complicated feelings about. He loved having Izuku around all the time, and that was the problem. He was getting used to it, all the domestic little omega instincts pleased to have his mate around. Except Izuku wasn't his mate, no matter how Hizashi might feel about him. Izuku was his friend and nothing more—something Hizashi worried he was starting to forget.
The time for contemplating the Izuku Problem was not while he was there, and Hizashi forced the thoughts aside. "You gonna tell me why you're at war with my kitchen?" he asked instead, chin in hand.
All motion ceased, and Izuku blinked at him, then looked around the kitchen like he hadn’t realized. "Uh."
"Something's got you in a mood," Hizashi prompted.
Izuku sighed, scraping his vegetables into a pot and putting the lid on. Then he turned to face Hizashi, leaning back against the counter with his arms folded over his chest. "Shouta was a no-show."
Ah. No wonder. "You did kinda piss him off last time."
Izuku grimaced. "I know, but it's not like that's new! I kinda piss him off all the time , it's like, our whole thing." Izuku shifted from foot to foot, agitated. "I'm worried about him."
That explained a few things. He was anxious over an omega, which meant all those fun alpha instincts had grabbed him by the scruff and given him a good shake. The cooking was an impulse to provide for a mate with no real outlet.
Hizashi swallowed against the thought. It wasn't news. He already suspected something was happening there. Intellectual curiosity and empathy could only explain Izuku's actions so far, and his fascination with Shouta had long passed either.
"Shouta's fine," Hizashi assured him, ignoring the lead weight in his heart. "He's kept himself alive all this time because he's smart and good at what he does. The odds that changed the same week the two of you had a fight are low. He's being pissy, but he'll get over it." Shouta always was more sensitive than he cared to admit. They'd had a few fights of their own that ended with Shouta disappearing for a few days to stew. Now it was even easier.
Izuku frowned, giving the pot a stir and turning down the heat before he slumped into a chair with a sigh. "I thought about it."
"About what?"
"About what you said. How I had to decide if what Shouta does is something I can accept." His mouth twisted unhappily.
Hizashi didn't think any outcome to that question would make Izuku happy. Either acknowledging that he couldn't condone what Shouta was doing, or facing the possibility that his morals were more flexible than he liked. It hadn't been much easier for Hizashi, but in the end he loved Shouta more than he cared about anything else. "And?"
"I can," Izuku said, tired, like the simple admission exhausted him. "I think I care more about him than I do about what he does. Is that fucked up?"
And there it was.
Evidence that this young alpha was falling for Hizashi's wayward mate. It was easy to compromise yourself when your heart got in the way.
The irony might kill him. After so many years alone Hizashi finally fell in love, only for Izuku to fall for the same man Hizashi lost. He summoned a weak smile. "You're asking the wrong guy. I'm not exactly a good person myself." If he was, he might have been able to let Shouta go. If he was, maybe he wouldn't be so helplessly in love with a man fifteen years his junior. A former student. His ethics were shot.
Izuku straightened with a deep frown. "That's not true!" he insisted. "You still love him, but that doesn't make you a bad person. Of course you do; he's your mate." Izuku said it so easily. Hizashi suspected he might not have sorted out his own feelings yet.
"Not anymore," Hizashi said, feeling very sorry for himself. "Hasn't been for a long time. Just because I can't let go doesn't mean he's not gone." Shouta was never coming home. Even this tenuous connection through Izuku was Hizashi grabbing at nothing. He'd been alone for years, and Hizashi had made his peace with that. Then this perfect idiot came into his life from nowhere, and now he was stuck in a quagmire of feelings for someone who didn't see him the same way.
What a fucking mess.
Izuku made a soft sound of distress, coming around the table to pull Hizashi into a hug. Hizashi melted into the embrace because he was pathetic and he'd drink up every touch.
...His next heat was going to be a nightmare.
Hizashi let himself indulge for a moment before he patted Izuku away. "I'm okay," he said, and he even sort of meant it. "Just wallowing a little."
Izuku drew back, reluctant. "I'm sorry," he said, the words so genuine they cracked Hizashi's heart. He really did feel everyone's pain like it was his own. Even if he didn't quite understand the shape of this particular hurt.
"That's life," Hizashi said with a small shrug. "Sometimes shitty things happen and you gotta deal. And besides, me being a sad sack wasn't the point of all this." He needed to change the subject, because if Izuku kept looking at him all soft like that Hizashi might kiss him. And then he'd be in serious trouble. "The point is Shouta's fine."
Izuku went to check on his food. "How can you be so sure?"
He couldn't, Hizashi supposed. Shouta was good, but his luck wouldn't hold out forever. "Call it a hunch. He's always like this when he's mad."
"I should try looking for him," Izuku said, lifting the lid on the pot to give the contents a stir. Whatever it was, it smelled good. "Just to be sure."
"Even if you could find him, you'd only piss him off more." It was a big if. Hizashi had done everything in his power to track down Shouta in the early days and found only ghosts for his trouble. Shouta was hard to find when he didn't want to be. And if Izuku did somehow manage it? He'd be furious. "He'll turn up again once he's cooled down."
"But what if he doesn't?" Izuku asked, and there was something a little sadly funny at how worried he was that the hobbyist killer might not want to see him again. "I made him really mad."
"Here's the thing about Shouta. People only make him angry when he cares about them." Hizashi wasn't sure why he was telling Izuku this. It was true, and even if he'd never seen them together, there was no doubt in his mind that Shouta was fond of Izuku. He wouldn't keep coming to see him if he wasn't. But what was the point in saying so? It wasn't like it was going to grease the wheels of a non-existent relationship. Whatever Izuku's feelings, whatever Shouta's feelings, he wouldn't allow that to happen for the same reason he left Hizashi all those years ago.
He didn't want to hurt the people he cared about, even if their definitions of 'hurt' differed.
"Oh," Izuku said, voice small.
"He'll be back once he cools off," Hizashi assured him. Just like Shouta always came home after their fights. "But you need to wait for him to come to you."
"I suppose," Izuku said unhappily, peering into the pot. He seemed satisfied, because he heaped a big spoonful on a plate and set it on the table in front of Hizashi. "Anyway, you should eat."
His insistence made Hizashi smile. Izuku was cooking to soothe his anxiety over Shouta, but without the intended target, it looked like Hizashi was going to get the brunt.
It wasn't really for him, Hizashi thought with a tiny pang. He knew that. But for one moment it was nice to pretend.
* * *
Izuku was losing his mind.
He knew Hizashi told him to wait, that Shouta would come to him when he was through being angry. But what if he was wrong? What if Shouta never came back at all? Either because he couldn't forgive Izuku, or because something happened?
Hizashi seemed sure that Shouta was okay, but Izuku couldn't dispel the formless fear that he was wrong. Shouta was a killer, danger was inherent in everything he did. And maybe that was a little hypocritical coming from a hero, but Izuku had support. If something happened, he had people to help him.
Shouta had nobody but himself, and Izuku knew he'd bleed to death in an alley out of sheer, stubborn spite.
It'd already been over a week, and Izuku kept checking the police reports with dread sitting heavy in his gut. He was aware that he was being more than a little crazy, but he just—he needed some assurance that Shouta was okay. It was fine if he didn't want to see Izuku! Well, not fine exactly, that would hurt his feelings a lot, but it was better than the alternative.
He should listen to Hizashi. He should leave Shouta alone.
Instead he wound up putting out word to a few people that he was looking for Shouta. If nothing else, he got Shouta's attention last time, and this time Izuku had a better idea what he was looking for.
Izuku had collected a weird little network of grateful people over the years that came in handy more than once. There were a lot of things people on the fringes of society saw, a lot of things they could learn that a hero couldn't. And now that Izuku was asking the right questions, they might have better luck.
Some of them were a little, uh, dubiously ethical. Like the back-alley doctor. And sure, he might be treating villains and thugs, but he was also treating people who needed it, who couldn't get help anywhere else. Izuku saved him once when someone attacked his clinic looking for drugs, and they'd kept in touch ever since. The doctor heard a lot in his line of work, and sometimes the things he heard let Izuku help more people.
It occurred to him that he'd been fudging the lines long before he met Shouta.
But! Now wasn't the time to worry about that. Now was the time to worry about Shouta, and to see if his friend could help him find a little information.
So Izuku put on some street clothes, a hood over his hair, and made his way down to the ramshackle clinic wedged into an alley in a rough part of town. The door was locked, because Doc wasn't an idiot—especially not after last time. Izuku knocked.
Doc didn't seem to keep hours. He always answered, maybe because he didn't want a death on his conscience because he was too tired to open the door.
If he had a name, Izuku didn't know what it was, everyone just called him Doc.
And true to form, Izuku heard movement behind the door, a brief pause while Doc looked through the peephole, and then the sound of the door unlocking.
"You don't look like you're in need of my services," Doc said, standing aside to let Izuku pass. He was a well-kept alpha in his late forties, with a neat mustache and a harsh bedside manner. But he was good at what he did, and not for the first time Izuku wondered what landed him there.
"I'm not," Izuku said, lingering in the small, empty waiting area. Most of his clientele tended to turn up at night. The clinic was shabby but spotlessly clean. "At least not those services. I'm looking for someone."
Doc squinted at him, then swept past, leaving Izuku to follow in his wake. "Is this the kind of someone that's going to get me killed?"
"No!" Izuku said, trotting after him. Doc snapped up a clipboard from the counter and went back to what looked like inventory. "At least I don't think so."
Was Doc the sort of person Shouta might target? He did help bad people, after all. But he helped good ones too. He had a free clinic twice a week for anyone that needed it, and Izuku knew that could only be possible with the money he earned sewing villains back together.
No, he didn't think Doc was the sort of person Shouta would kill. They were even a little similar, now that Izuku thought about it. Doing bad to do good. Except Doc was fighting the only way he knew how.
"Not reassuring," Doc said, glancing at him before going back to counting what looked like individually wrapped syringes.
"No, he wouldn't," Izuku said, this time with confidence. "He'd probably appreciate what you do here." It occurred to Izuku that Shouta might have even come to Doc for help a time or two—there weren't a lot of other options for off the books medical aid.
At least, as far as Izuku knew.
"His name is Eraserhead," Izuku said, hoping for a flicker of recognition.
There was none. "Never heard of him," Doc said, scribbling some on his clipboard.
Izuku supposed that made sense. Shouta must go by something, but it wouldn't be his old hero name. Or his real name. "He's an omega. He's uh, got black hair past his shoulders, and always looks kinda scruffy. Usually cranky."
Doc sighed, setting aside his clipboard. "Aside from the omega part, you just described most of my clientele."
Ah. Right. "He's a... vigilante, sort of. Except he mostly kills people."
Doc raised his eyebrows, folding his arms over his chest. "We usually call those villains. What have you gotten yourself mixed up in?"
Izuku thought sometimes Doc forgot he was a hero who was perfectly capable of handling himself, thank you. "I need to find him," Izuku said with a sigh. He didn't want to see the look of judgment that would come from any attempt to explain. "Have you seen him or not?"
"Can't say he rings a bell—" Doc cut himself off, cocking his head. "Wait, you called him a vigilante that mostly kills people. What kind of people?"
"Bad guys," Izuku said with a shrug, not prepared to explain all the weird nuances of Shouta's philosophy that not even Izuku fully understood.
Doc frowned. "Izuku, I think I know who you’re looking for and I’m gonna need you to tell me I’m wrong."
He sounded almost worried. "Who?"
"Local boogeyman. Keeps dropping villains, yakuza, fucking up all sorts of operations. Takes paid work sometimes, but he's real particular about it. Nobody knows who the guy is." Doc shrugged. "He's sort of become the cost of doing business. Tends to leave the little guys alone, sticks to the nastier element."
That sounded like Shouta, all right. "That's him!"
Doc grimaced. “Of course it is.”
Excitement bubbled up. Finally, a lead! “Where can I find him?”
"How should I know? He uses some kid as a go-between, never heard of anyone that's met him in person." Doc gave him a considering look. "Except you, apparently."
Shouta used a kid? Oh. Oh, that must be Miki! Shouta told him about her, although he neglected to mention she did dangerous work for him. "How do I find the kid?"
Doc pinched the bridge of his nose. " You don't. They'll see some big name hero coming and scatter." He gave Izuku a judgemental once-over. "You're not very good at being stealthy."
Izuku looked down at himself, offended. He wasn't that bad!
Doc took him by the shoulders and steered him to the door. "I'll make some calls, but no promises. You're after someone who is very good at being invisible. If anything, you keep poking and he might find you. "
That was fine. Izuku just wanted to know he was okay.
Doc opened the door, and then gave Izuku a grave look. "This man has been known to kill heroes before. Are you sure you want to go digging?"
It was sweet that Doc was worried about him, but Izuku knew Shouta would never hurt him. He thought back to their first meeting. Not permanently, anyway. "I'm sure."
"Your funeral," Doc said with a sigh, nudging Izuku out the door. "I'll call you if I hear anything."
"I appreciate it!" Izuku said, and he did. Doc went out on a limb for him from time to time, and Izuku wasn't under the illusion that his clientele were entirely unaware. The clinic was something of a cautious neutral zone.
"Appreciate it by not getting killed," Doc said, and then shut the door in Izuku's face.
He didn't take it personally, Doc was just like that.
Izuku turned and all but skipped down the steps, giddy. This was good! This was progress! All Izuku wanted to know was that Shouta was okay, and maybe Doc would help him find the proof he was after.
* * *
"Heya, Boss," Miki said, dropping into the seat across from him.
They were meeting in a different coffee shop, and the cup of plain black coffee clutched in his hand was the only reason Shouta wasn't strangling her right now. "What the fuck do you want?" he snapped with more force than she deserved. "I'm busy dealing with the mess you brought me." Two days until the meetup Shouta meant to crash.
He was a little on edge.
"Whoa," she said, holding up her hands. "Somebody's cranky. I just thought you might wanna know that someone's looking for you." As she spoke, her lips stretched into a massive, shit-eating grin that did not bode well.
There were always people looking for him. It was one of the reasons Miki's quirk was so useful. "And what's so special about this one?"
"Word is it's Deku, mister Number One himself." She propped her chin in her hand, staring at Shouta with obvious glee. "How the hell did you wind up on his radar twice?"
Oh, Shouta was going to strangle him. "That idiot," he groaned, dragging a hand down his face. Shouta had missed exactly one meetup and now that fool was poking his nose where it didn't fucking belong. "I can't believe he's stupid enough to come looking."
"Wait," Miki said, straightening and giving Shouta a startled look. "Do you know him? Like, from back in your hero days?"
"Say that a little louder," Shouta grumbled, glancing around the empty cafe. "And no, he'd have still been a teenager then." There was a possibility that Shouta could have been Izuku's teacher, if things were different. It was a strange thought.
"Okay, so how do you know this guy well enough to call him an idiot like that?"
Shouta frowned. "Like what?"
"Like I talk about my crew." She crumpled a napkin and threw it at him. "C'mon, dish."
"There's nothing to talk about," Shouta said, annoyed. "We're..." What? What word described their very peculiar relationship? "Friends, I suppose."
Miki slapped the table and hooted with unrestrained delight, and Shouta shushed her with a sharp look. She knew better than to draw attention like that.
She didn't seem to care. "You're friends with, not just a hero, but the hero. Deku's so squeaky clean it's kinda gross. So how in the actual fuck did the two of you get to be buddies? Isn't he supposed to throw you in prison?"
Shouta grimaced. He didn't want to talk about this. "That's generally how it works."
"But he doesn't."
"No."
"Why?" she asked, eyes sparkling like this was the juiciest mystery she'd ever had the pleasure of prodding. Shouta wanted to die. "Do you have dirt on him?"
"No," Shouta said. Blackmail wasn't his thing. If someone was worth blackmailing, they were usually worth killing. "He just seems to like me. For some reason."
"Wait, Deku's an alpha, isn't he?"
Shouta didn't see what that had to do with anything, but since he was trapped in this awful conversation, he might as well answer. "Yes."
Miki sat back in her chair, waving a hand. "Then that explains it."
Shouta didn't think it explained anything. Except maybe Izuku's annoying tendency to mother him. "Enlighten me."
Miki rolled her eyes because she was a teenager and he was a stupid adult. "He wants to fuck you."
Shouta did not blush easily. His face felt warm now. "I'm leaving," he said roughly, standing. This was not a conversation he wanted to have.
Unfortunately the conversation had the gall to follow him. "Think about it!" Miki said, scrambling out of her seat to trot after Shouta like the world's most annoying dog.
"I'd rather not," Shouta said, heading outside.
"No?" Miki said, falling in at his side, and Shouta didn't think he was going to escape this short of knocking her out. "He's cute. Like, real cute." Her voice went contemplative. "I don't usually go for other alphas but I think he could tempt me."
Shouta was in hell. He started walking faster.
Miki was undeterred. "I'm just saying it makes sense! Why else would a hero—who from what I hear is actually pretty good—let you run around and, y'know," she made an unsubtle stabbing motion. Then she gasped. "Unless he doesn't know? "
"How would you have found out he was looking for me if he didn't know?"
"Oh." Miki digested that. "Yeah, okay. Shit, that's actually kinda romantic."
Maybe Shouta could fudge his policy about killing children. Just this once. "It's not romantic, he's just weird. Stop making it something it's not."
"Something it's not," she repeated doubtfully. "Okay lemme make sure I have this right: you're friends with someone who should be your enemy. And then you go missing for a week and he immediately begins trying to track you down."
Shouta frowned at her. "Miki," he warned.
"Do you ever think he'd turn on you? Like WHAM our friendship was a clever ruse, go straight to prison, do not pass go?"
"No," Shouta said. Despite their last conversation, despite the fact that Shouta was uncomfortable with the idea that Izuku was giving him a pass, he knew it was true. "Not unless I start killing innocent people." And even then, it would hurt Izuku to do it. He had a heart too big for his own good.
Miki whistled. "Oh yeah, he wants you."
"Or he appreciates the complexity of what I do," Shouta muttered.
"Right," Miki said. "Or maybe he wants to kiss your face real bad and he's making shitty life choices about it."
Shouta didn't have time to stand around having a juvenile conversation about whether Izuku might be attracted to him. It was so preposterous it didn't bear consideration. Shouta was ragged—both on purpose and through a combination of his circumstances and lack of care. He wasn't looking to appeal to anyone, let alone a hero young enough to have been one of his students.
Unfortunately he knew Miki wasn't going to let it go. "What makes you think he's interested in me?" Shouta asked blandly, wishing he were anywhere else. "He's the number one hero, he could do better without even trying." Better like Hizashi, even though Shouta had no evidence for that besides a gut hunch.
Miki shrugged. "I dunno, you're the one who called him weird. Maybe he's into older omegas who might kill him in his sleep."
Shouta gave her a sour look. She seemed unbothered. "Look, all I'm saying is there's obviously something going on there. He's a hero, you're... you, and you're friends somehow? He worries about you when you go missing?"
"How do you know he's worried? He could have other reasons." It was a weak argument, because Shouta knew that was exactly why Izuku was looking for him.
"Yeah it's not like you live a dangerous life and radio silence might freak out the people who care," Miki muttered, surprisingly bitter.
Shouta winced, because he'd done the same to her a time or two. Not deliberately, but all Shouta had was a burner phone that was only for emergencies. There were times when he was too busy to check in, or had gone to ground nursing injuries. "You're free to stop worrying about me at any time," Shouta reminded her. Miki and her quirk made for a useful go-between, but the only reason Shouta allowed it was because she was so damned insistent.
"Why don't you go eat glass, you absolute asshole?" She punched him in the arm.
They walked a moment in silence, and then she sighed loudly. "Whatever. Just think about it, all right? I'm not saying getting laid would fix whatever's wrong with you, but it sure couldn't hurt."
"I'm not having this conversation with a fifteen year-old." If he was lucky he'd never have it at all. Shouta wasn't under the illusion that Miki wasn't.... active. She was a teenager with a lot of omegas under her care. It did not mean Shouta wanted to discuss it or think about it.
"Sixteen."
Shouta looked at her, frowning. "What?"
"I'm sixteen. Because time passes, or whatever."
He felt vaguely guilty for not knowing that. "Either way I don't want to talk about this with you."
Miki snorted. "You're such a fucking prude for a guy that kills people. One with a jailbait boyfriend to boot."
Shouta was about to protest that Izuku wasn't jailbait . He was young, but he wasn't that young. Then he realized that was exactly what she wanted and narrowed his eyes at her. "You're real mouthy to a guy that kills people."
"Oooh scary!" She rolled her eyes. "You love me, shut up."
"Do I?" Shouta grumbled.
" Anyway , my point is you two have a whole Romeo and Juliet vibe. A hero and a villain?" She sighed happily. "Talk about forbidden romance."
A romance that was all in her head. He tried to ignore the statement, but the teacher in him couldn't resist pointing out, "You do know that Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, right? They die in the end."
"Yeah, you guys should skip that part." Miki bumped him with her shoulder, then added, "Besides, the happily-ever-after's make better stories, anyway."
* * *
Shouta was lurking in the mouth of an alley near Izuku's agency, trying and failing to quell his nerves. He stayed away from this side of town for a reason; the area was full of heroes and unwanted eyes. It made his skin crawl.
He could have called Izuku to tell him to knock it off—he still had his number. But then Shouta would have to get a new burner, and he was strapped for cash as it was. He didn't have time to find out where Izuku lived, and Hizashi's apartment was off limits. So the agency it was.
Fortunately, thanks to all the time they spent together, Shouta had a fair idea what his schedule looked like. Izuku stuck to a routine when he wasn't saving the city or handling media bullshit. Which was a stupid and dangerous thing to do, because it made it easy for people like Shouta to find him. They should talk about that.
And so, right on time, Izuku went walking by Shouta's alley on his way to the little cluster of restaurants down the street. Shouta snagged his wrist as he passed, dragging him into the alley with a sharp tug.
The crackle of Izuku's quirk lit the space as he slammed Shouta into a wall with a low growl, fist cocked. And then he stopped when he realized who he was about to pummel, blinking in confusion. "Shouta?" he asked, his quirk dropping and leaving Shouta blinking against sunspots in the dark alley.
He still had Shouta shoved against the wall, strong even without his quirk, and that was doing something to Shouta he was desperately trying to ignore. It wasn't—Miki just got in his head about it, that's all. He tapped Izuku's arm. "You gonna let me down, or what?"
"Oh!" Izuku released him and stepped back, and Shouta gathered the tatters of his composure.
He froze halfway through straightening his shirt, because he realized he never used his quirk. Shutting down others was as good as reflex, and he hadn't bothered, because... why?
Because he trusted Izuku not to hurt him, and oh , that was dangerous.
Izuku didn't give him time to linger over that uncomfortable revelation, because he immediately started babbling. "Oh thank god you're here, I was so worried! You didn't show up, and I didn't have any way of finding out if you were okay, and I was starting to worry you might be dead in a ditch somewhere but there wasn't anything in the police reports, and—"
"I'm fine," Shouta interrupted, struggling to hold on to the anger that brought him there in the face of so much genuine concern. It was hard to stay angry at someone jumping on you like an excitable puppy. "I've been busy."
"You're fine," Izuku repeated, like a self-reassurance. Then he made like he meant to touch Shouta before he twitched and drew back, clutching his own arm to his chest. "You're okay."
Shouta almost felt bad—Izuku really was worried about him. But there was something about his reaction, the weird aborted gesture. It took Shouta a moment to recognize it for what it was.
Scent-marking. He'd just watched Izuku pull back on the impulse to scent-mark him.
Shouta wasn't sure what to make of that. Scent-marking was a territorial thing. It didn't necessarily imply anything romantic; omegas generally only scent-marked partners and children, but alphas were different. They got territorial over people for a variety of reasons.
It still suggested that Izuku thought of Shouta as his in some fashion, and that made him feel... strange. Except he didn't have time to feel anything about this moron, strange or otherwise. So he crammed the feeling down and resolved to pretend he'd never notice the slip.
Shouta tried to summon back his anger. "You can't go looking for me any time you haven't seen me for a few days, understand? You aren't going to find me, but what you are going to do is suggest there's some sort of connection between us if word gets out."
Izuku frowned. "But—"
"That could get me killed," Shouta said, and Izuku's mouth snapped shut, eyes going wide. It wasn't even much of an exaggeration. Shouta's position in the peculiar underbelly economy was precarious as it was. He was a danger to them, but also a useful tool they could point at the competition. If they started to suspect he was working for a hero, they might lose interest in leaving him alone.
That could endanger him, and Miki.
"I'm sorry," Izuku said, and it sounded like he meant it. "I just—you didn't come back after our fight and I wasn't sure if you were mad at me, or if something happened. Hizashi told me I should leave you alone."
Hizashi always did know how to handle Shouta when his temper got the better of him. "You should have listened."
Izuku cringed like a guilty dog. "Sorry. But I am glad you're here. I thought... I thought you might not come back."
Shouta sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I wasn't avoiding you," he said, which was a partial truth. "I was busy."
The absolute relief on Izuku's face did uncomfortable things to Shouta's insides. "Okay! Okay, good. Because I thought about what you said. About whether I can accept what you do or not. And I can. Accept it, I mean. Accept you."
Shouta sighed, head knocking back against the brick. "That wasn't supposed to be your takeaway," he said, suddenly tired. "You were supposed to realize that you're compromising yourself for me and stop."
"Is that what you want?" Izuku asked softly.
Did he? Yes. No. It didn't matter. "It's not about what I want," Shouta said roughly. "It's about what's right."
"You think what you're doing is right," Izuku argued, something in his gaze making Shouta feel almost pinned. Like he was stuck in a trap snapping shut.
"What's right for me doesn't mean it's right for you," Shouta said. Izuku was an example of everything a hero should be. He cared about leaving the world better than he found it. He put others above himself. He was empathetic and kind, and maybe Shouta should have expected that this was how it would always go. It was in Izuku's nature to seek the best in others. Even people like Shouta. "You're a good hero. I want you to stay that way."
Izuku smiled, soft and happy. "You're worried about me. That's what this was all about."
Shouta supposed he was. Truly good people were a rare, rare thing. Shouta didn't want to tarnish that goodness in Izuku. And yet here he was, happy that someone like Shouta was worried over him.
"I'm not gonna stop being me just because we're friends," Izuku said. "I don't know if accepting there's nuance in the world is gonna make me a better hero, but I don't think it'll make me a worse one."
Something about his words struck home. "You'd be surprised how easy it is to lose yourself," Shouta said. He would know. The man he used to be and the man he became would scarcely recognize each other.
Izuku stared at him, brows pinched. "Shouta—"
"Anyway," Shouta interrupted, because he didn't come there to have a heart to heart about stupid personal bullshit. "I only came here to tell you not to pull this stunt again."
"I won't," Izuku swore, disgustingly earnest. Shouta believed him. "But you should give me some way to keep in touch with you so I don't worry."
Shouta shouldn't care about one over-invested hero wringing his hands over him. But he did. "There's no easy way to do that, but I can at least promise that Miki will get word to you if something does happen." He could do that much at least. So that Izuku wouldn't be left wondering the day his bill finally came due.
He didn't look forward to asking her. She was going to be insufferable about it.
Izuku didn't look happy with the compromise, but he seemed to realize it was the best he was going to get. "Okay," he said. "I appreciate that."
"Right then," Shouta said, turning to go. He'd come there with the intention of tearing Izuku a new asshole, and they'd made up instead. Shouta wasn't sure what that said, and he didn't care. He had more important things to worry about.
"Wait!" Izuku stopped him with a hand on his wrist. "Will you be there this week?"
Shouta sighed, considering. Not this week, because that was the only chance he'd have to hunt the traffickers down. He doubted they'd use the place a second time if their goons were a no show. "Not this week. Maybe next, if I resolve this before then."
"Okay," Izuku said, dropping his wrist and doing a poor job hiding his disappointment. "I'll see you then."
Shouta nodded, awkward, and turned to go. Izuku couldn't be his priority right now. There were omegas waiting for rescue, and Shouta had a job to do.