Shouto could always see it. He could see it on the trips to the supermarket with his mother when he was young. He could see it at school during lunch when he was in middle school. He could see it during class in high school. He could see it on the streets in his adult life. It always was there. It connected people's pinkies together with something so fragile and small. Sometimes it would stretch on endlessly to what seemed like the other side of the world. Other times it would connect two people right next to each other. He knew exactly what it was. Obsessive searching for an answer would lie on his mind along with a mother who he asked questions to a little bit too much.

"Mom, do you see it?"

He pointed to it. It was criss crossing and zig zagging in all directions. However, across the street from the supermarket his mother and him had just exited, were two women together. Their hands intertwined and so was it. Everything felt so surreal in that moment with his small finger pointing at it. Shouto was only six when he started to notice it more.

He had asked his siblings about it too. They always gave him furrowed eyebrows and confused looks. They didn't see it. It always fuzzled little Shouto's brain. His mother's and father's were ripped and tangled, unconnected. His sister's was thick, as if it had remained untouched throughout her life. His own was as the thinnest thing he had ever seen. It led on and on into the abyss without any explanation.

"Shouto, don't point! It's rude." his mother grabbed his hand and squatted down next to him, letting go of the bag of groceries onto the ground.

"But mom, they have it."

"What do they have?" his mother tilted her head at him.

"The red string." he lifted up his other hand as if to show her. "Everyone has it. Even you, mom." the little boy grabbed onto her pinky finger.

She sighed. "So, you're able to see it too?"

"What do you mean?" his little hand let go of her pinky.

"You won't understand this very much now, Shouto, but what you're seeing is called the red string of fate." she smiled at him. "I'm is able to see it too." his mother hooked her pinky onto his.

"What's the red string of fate?"

"It connects everyone to their soulmate." she smiled at him.

"What's a soulmate?"

"Well, it's…" she smiled at him again. "It's someone who, no matter the time and place, will always be the one you're meant to be with."

"Really?" he grasped onto his mother's pinky. "Then I want to be with you!"

"With me?" she grabbed onto his whole hand and began guiding him into a walk.

"Yes!"

"Oh Shouto." she laughed.

Shouto was seven. It was the night of a huge banquet for what his older sister would call, "All the rich folk who don't know what to do with their money." He sat with a bandage over his left eye on a cushioned seat near a corner of the large banquet room. He didn't know where his sister or brothers went at all. They left him alone to go explore or maybe sneak past the adults to the snacks set out on the tables. He let his feet swing back and forth. That's when he noticed it. The slightest tug of his own string. Shouto looked up to find the string moving nearby, but just like that, it stopped tugging. He surveyed the area, spotting other people's strings. He couldn't find the end of his own though.

The first day in classroom 1-A. Shouto could see all the strings intertwining between the people as he made his way to his seat, but noticed four in particular. Two people, a boy and girl, were standing in the doorway and mumbling things to each other. The girl with the kindest brown eyes and softest pink cheeks smiled at the boy. The boy was frantically waving his arms around. He was nervous with the twitch of his hands. They were so close to each other. Only if they knew of their connected strings that resided on pinkies that almost brushed as they interacted with each other.

Shouto turned to a thud sound from the side of the classroom. A boy with the strangest facial expressions and loudest voice he had ever heard was arguing with another who constantly readjusted his glasses with hands that couldn't stay still. Shouto's eyes trailed over their red strings. The loud boy's string tugged slightly. His sharply head turned to look beyond Shouto. Shouto couldn't help himself as he followed his gaze. The loud boy was looking at another across the classroom. This one was smiling with sharp canine teeth that stood out like a sore thumb. Shouto looked back and forth between the smiling and loud boy. Their strings were also connected.

"Your's and dad's aren't connected."

His mother's back was to him in the hospital room. She was looking out of the window, not turning back to him. Sunlight draped over her body as he stood there. Her string was falling apart almost, being held together by its own sheer force of will. Shouto looked down at his own string. He hadn't found his own soulmate yet, but the conversation with his mother all those years ago remained in his mind. He never could find a definitive answer for what a soulmate was.

"Not all people who come together are soulmates, Shouto." his mother turned to him. There were bags under her eyes and wrinkles beginning to form on her face. She gave him a sad smile.

"You can see the strings too, so why didn't you…" he took a step forward, clenching the hand with the string attached to it.

"I had nothing I could do. Your father charmed my relatives and won over my hand."

"But-"

"It's okay. People can be happy, even if they're not soulmates. You can fall in love with whoever you want."

"Doesn't that-"

"Shouto…"

"I'm gay."

All of class 1-A was in the common room of the dorms. Bakugou had gotten Ashido to organize everyone into the common room because he had an announcement. Now, no one really knew what the announcement was and Shouto was practically dragged out of his room by Midoriya, who wouldn't stand for his antisocialness. When Bakugou said those two words, the whole room fell silent. He was sitting on one of the coaches all by himself. Everyone else had crowded around him and left space for the person who was known to randomly begin throwing curses. Those two words had an impact though. Bakugou's bottom lip was quivering and his hands kept clenching and unclenching. He was looking down at his lap, unable to make eye contact with his classmates.

Shouto turned to Kirishima, who was sitting with his mouth wide open. His string, connected to Bakugou's, seemed to tug a bit. Bakugou's head shot straight up and his eyes looked at Kirishima. Both of their eyes met and then looked away. Shouto didn't really understand why, but Bakugou and Kirishima were blushing. Kirishima wasn't as bad as Bakugou though, with a clear shade of pink beginning to spread from the tip of his forehead all the way to his shoulder.

"We accept you, Bakugou!" Ashido yelled as she stood from her seat.

"That kind of makes sense." Sero sighed and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, I didn't take him to be straight anyway." Kaminari agreed with a sharp nod of his head.

"Kaminari, that's so rude! He legit just came out to us." Jirou poked the electric boy with an ear jack to the face.

Kaminari and Jirou, two true good friends. Their strings split into opposite directions into the abyss. Shouto could still see their friendly dynamic turning into something more though. Their care for each other proved something different to Shouto. It was that people could be happy, even if they weren't soulmates.

"We accept you, Bakugou." Midoriya smiled, repeating Ashido's words.

"We accept you, Bakugou!" Uraraka, next to Midoriya, repeated a bit more enthusiastically.

"We accept you, Bakugou." Shouto politely reassured.

Midoriya and Uraraka were sitting next to each other with their hands almost brushing. Their strings seemed to glow next to each other.

"We are open to your love of men, Bakugou, and accept you for who you are!" Iida nodded with a sure expression.

"Love of men? Wow, that's something I would never expect you to say. Nice going, prez." Kirishima let out an awkward laugh.

"CAN YOU GUYS TAKE THIS A BIT MORE SERIOUSLY?! THIS WAS SUPER FUCKING HARD TO DO!" his whole body was shaking.

"We can't really take it seriously because most of us already knew. We accept you though." Asui croaked then sighed.

"How could you already know?!" he was pulling his own hair in frustration.

"You didn't exactly try to hide it." Hagakure shrugged.

The whole room erupted into noise. Bakugou started yelling with pink on his face. Sero laughed boisterously as Kaminari and Jirou poked at each other. Shoji was sitting next to Mineta, who looked completely confused from Bakugou's coming out. Ojiro sighed next to Hagakure, who was bouncing in her seat. Aoyama sparkled with a grin. Koda was nervously clapping his hands together. Tokoyami was the only one who looked bored to death. However, the room became quiet as Kirishima stood up. Shouto's eyes widened as the string between the two boys tightened.

"I have an announcement too." Kirishima inhaled deeply then looked to Bakugou.

Shouto saw their eyes meet and stay meeting longer than before. There was a slight linger that touched not only their hearts, but the people around them as well. The half and half could feel the tension settle in the room. Everyone was waiting with questions running through their minds. Shouto turned his head to Midoriya, who put a hand over his own mouth like if he didn't, somehow secrets would spill.

"I'm gay also."

Noise erupted once again with yells of acceptance and smiles of knowing. Kirishima smiled at Bakugou, but he had his head down once again. His hands were steaming as he stood up from his seat and walked the few steps to Kirishima's face. Bakugou grabbed onto the other boy's collar.

"THANKS FOR STEALING MY THUNDER, SHITTY HAIR!"

"Woah a thanks from you! I'd steal your thunder anyday, Bakugou." he laughed.

Shouto held onto the textbook as he walked down the hallway. Kirishima had loaned him a textbook to use for studying, since he couldn't find his own at the moment. He opened the door to find a scene he wished he could erase from his memory completely. Shouto wanted to die right then and there for the mistake he had just made. He knew both Bakugou and Kirishima were soulmates and he was glad they found each other. However, he just didn't want to exactly get confirmation on such.

"GET OUT HALF AND HALF!" Bakugou shoved him out the door. It shut straight in his face.

The half ice and half fire user dropped the book onto the ground and quickly turned to walk away from the door. He really didn't want to know what just happened and refused to even think about it. His expressionless face remained, but underneath was absolute panic.

He let his fingers trail on the spines of the books on the dusty bookshelf. His red string hadn't tugged or even moved very much since the age of seven. Shouto didn't know where or when he was going to meet his soulmate, but he wanted to so badly. It would just be nice to know someone who was meant to be with you from the beginning. Maybe if his mother found her soulmate before his father could take her away, she would be happy. Surely, Shouto wouldn't have been born, but she would've lived without regrets.

The library was busy on that Friday evening. His boss at the hero agency had let him go home early and even told him to have the whole day of Saturday off. It was strange to do such a thing. Shouto didn't have much to fill his free time other than possibly calling Midoriya or staying at the library till it closed at 9 PM. He felt a buzz come from his phone. Shouto sighed and took it out of his jacket pocket. The name "Ochako Uraraka" blared oh the phone's screen. Shouto reluctantly answered, abandoning the books.

"Hey Todoroki!" she quickly said.

"Hey Uraraka." he responded in the same monotone as always.

"I wanted to ask you if you would be attending Ashido's party this Saturday. I know hero work keeps most of us busy, but it'll be going on all day so we could make the attempt to just drop by. Ashido, herself, will be going back and forth." her voice was as jittery as ever.

"I actually have the whole day tomorrow off. I think the boss thinks I'm overworking myself." he frowned to himself.

"Well then, you should definitely be there!" she chimed.

"I'll think about it."

"Todoroki, come on! I know if I was Midoriya, you would agree right away." he could hear her huff through the phone.

"Maybe. How is Midoriya by the way? He usually spends all his time with you, so I'd assume you know the best."

"H-He does nOT spend all his time with me!" Uraraka managed to stammer out.

"We're all, what? In our early twenties now? You need to get a move on, Uraraka. We're all not in high school anymore." Todoroki sighed.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she practically yelled into the phone's microphone.

"Still in denial, Uraraka? I thought you were going to confess, but time seems to be running out. Midoriya's been going on dates recently, hasn't he? Tick tock, tick tock." he taunted.

"I just wanted to tell you about the party, Todoroki. Why do you always have to bring this up?" she groaned.

"Because you've known Midoriya for years already with a crush that's turned to even more than that and you haven't acted upon it. Admittedly, even I'm starting to get annoyed."

"Just come to the party, Todoroki! I'll confess when I feel like it!"

The line went dead. Shouto sighed again and shoved his phone back into a pocket. The man, standing with his back to the rest of the world, returned to the bookshelf. I'll think about the party later. Another buzz of the phone had Shouto pinching the bridge of his nose as he answered.

Shouto, sharply, said. "What?"

"Woah, you okay there Sho?" a concerned voice from the other line asked.

"Oh, Midoriya." he took in a deep breath.

"Hello to you as well." Shouto could practically hear his smile.

"Did Uraraka send you?"

"Maybe~"

"Did you say anything to her yet?"

"What do you mean?"

"About your feelings." he put it bluntly.

"Y-You're not supposed to talk about that! I told you once, okay?!"

"Talk. To. Her." Shouto rolled his eyes.

"I came here to talk about you, Todoroki, not me!"

"I don't want to talk about me. I don't like me." Shouto scowled at the other's exclamation.

"I'm gonna pick you up tomorrow and take you to that party at 7PM! Be ready and I already know you have an off day, so don't even try to make an excuse!"

"What if my leg is broken?"

"Todoroki!"

"Okay, okay. Fine, I'll go."

"Good, seen you then!"

Shouto shoved the phone back into the jacket pocket forcefully this time. I can't believe I agreed. God, I hope my leg does break. That's when he felt it. The tug of his string once again. His head shot up to look around him. He heard a woman laugh and saw the string moving behind a bookcase. Shouto felt all other thoughts leave him as he ran to look behind the bookcase. No one was there. All he saw was his string once again going into oblivion. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. The librarian was there with a frown.

"No running in the library."

"Oh, I-uh. I'm sorry." he shook his head at her.

"Young people nowadays. Always ruining everything. You better skedaddle out of my sight before I kick you out.

"Yes ma'am! My apologies."

He walked further from her to behind the letter "X" bookcase. Shouto took in a deep breath and let himself relax. I was so close… He couldn't keep himself still. His foot tapped onto the ground as he looked at his pinky finger. The red string stopped tugging, lying limp once again. Good for nothing string.

A/N: Welcome to Strawberry Milk Tea! This fanfic will be replacing Pose For Me as a modern AU. Pose For Me, a story that've had fun writing for, has grown boring to write now. I've hence abandoned it and will be posting this short fic for a bit. Pose For Me will be deleted soon and I'm glad if you enjoyed it while it lasted. Thank you for reading this author note and please enjoy this fic!