Endeavor doesn't call Izuku back and he is glad for it. A week and then another pass and the friendship between Shouto and him grow, as do Shouto's social skills. They now trust and tease each other so much that their friends compare them to a married couple which of course reduces Izuku to a pile of fumbling words as he tries to control the redness of his cheeks. Shouto seems unaffected by this behavior and continues as if nothing ever happened between them. Izuku can never forget that night they spend sleeping in the same bed after Shouto's nightmare. And soon enough, it isn't just one night as he takes the habit of sleeping alongside Shouto after every night terror.

One night Shouto gets home earlier than Izuku and picks up the mail. He splits it up between his and Izuku's mail but something catches his eye. One of the envelopes bears the recognizable seal of the Endeavor Company. Shouto fumes inside and goes to throw the letter in the trash until he sees who it is addressed to. Izuku Midoriya. Feeling the anger rise inside of him he rips open the envelope to find a check and a letter inside. The check is obviously addressed to Izuku and bears a large sum of money. Shouto then reads the letter.

Dear Izuku Midoriya,

I hope you can make the most of our deal; I would be devastated if my poor son Shouto were to follow the sad path he's taken instead of living up to his name and potential. I know you will find good use of this money, and I added a little incentive to pay for the rest of your studies as well.

It was a pleasure doing business with you,

Best regards,

Enji Todoroki

Shouto almost rips the letter in half but decides against this. If Izuku has really been playing on his father's side from the start he could use this to sue him. It is evidence after all and so he puts the letter and the check back inside the envelope. Then he waits in his room for Izuku to come home.

Izuku arrives an hour later, his shift ending later than Shouto's. When he gets home the sun is setting and the apartment is covered in darkness. He notices Shouto's shoes in the hall so he assumes the other might be asleep or something for all the lights to be off. Then he sees Shouto's door wide open and its habitant sitting at the edge of the bed staring right at him with a letter in his hand.

"Hey Shouto! Why are you in the dark?" Izuku feels a sense of dread spread between them but he doesn't make much of it.

"I like it. My turn. Why did you make a deal with my father?" Izuku feels his heart drop 6 feet under the Earth and his soul begin to weight him down. He forgets to breathe until air is forced back into his lungs. Shouto doesn't ask anything but continues to stare; now holding the letter at face level.

"I…. I…. I didn't make any deals with your father!"

"Then why is there a letter addressed to you along with a shit load of money from him?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Izuku takes a careful step forward.

"Oh, really? Denial is the card you're gonna play?" Shouto's voice is cold as ice and sends chills down Izuku's spine.

"I swear, I don't know what you're talking about." Shouto swings the envelope around before extracting its contents. Izuku joins him in the room and turns on the light. Lighting however does not make Shouto's expression less scary.

"This came into the mail today. I was going to throw it out but then I noticed who it was addressed to. It's for you, but I took the liberty of opening it for you since you apparently take the liberty to make deals behind my back." Izuku grabs the letter Shouto hands him and reads it, becoming more and more appalled by every word. Then Shouto gives him the check and Izuku almost jumps. The amount is huge! Not only could it pay back their debt, he could probably not work for a few years and go on trips around the world with it.

"So do you deny it now?"

"I swear I didn't make a deal with your father." Shouto opens his mouth but Izuku shuts him down. "I never made a deal but your father did make an offer. He said he would pay me to convince you to change your mind."

"Pay you? That's an awful lot of money here. You could live comfortably the rest of your life. So why did you take it?"

"I didn't take it. I refused. I couldn't take that money from him. I wanted to get that money on my own and not by betraying my friend and making a shady deal with a corporate douche canoe."

"What would you need that money for anyway? I know my father and he always strives to offer the best kind of deal there is. So that means that you don't want the money for the sake of money itself, you need it for something. Yet your mother isn't sick, so what could it possibly be for?"

"I can't tell you that." Izuku looks at his feet and hopes Shouto drops the subject.

"You can't? I'm your friend, or so you keep saying, and if I'm correct friends tell each other things like that. Or maybe we've never been friends and you've just been playing me this whole time." An imaginary fist hits Izuku right in the gut and he stops breathing for a couple of seconds. Shouto is staring at him with hate Izuku has only seen directed towards his father. Tears begin to well in his eyes but he pushes them out and stands up straight.

"My father owed money to the Mob. Now that he's dead, the debt has been passed on to my mom and me but we can't pay it back. Most of that money on that check would go towards paying that debt."

"And the rest?"

"To pay for my studies. I swear Shouto; I would have never taken the deal. I need that money but that is not the way I want to get it. I couldn't do that to you, you're my friend."

"It doesn't matter where the money comes from, if it can get you and your mother out of a tough spot you should take it."

"It's your father's money! He hurt you and I'm not going to let that man hurt you anymore. I can never betray you that way."

"Oh yeah? You could just take the money and tell my stupid father you did your best to convince me but I'm not going back. He wouldn't care, it's just a small amount of the fortune he owns."

"But it's still not earned money. I don't want it, it makes me feel dirty."

"How so? You could just take it and walk out of my life like nothing ever happened. My father would be proud of you and might even add a little extra."

"Are you listening to me Shouto? I will not take that money! I can't accept something from someone who hurts the people I love!" Izuku realizes a second too late the word that passes his lips and hopes Shouto doesn't pick up on it. But he does and a bizarre smile spreads to his lips.

"Love now? You love me, is that the card you wanna play?" Izuku covers his mouth with his hands and words fall out into a mess he will never be able to pick up.

"No that's not… I don't… wait let me…."

"I think I've heard enough." Shouto throws the envelope with the letter and the money to Izuku who barely catches it. "I'm going for drinks with Momo. You do what you want with that money, I don't care anymore."

Shouto puts his shoes on and leaves as Izuku is struck silent by his words and his attitude. His words hurt him deeply but what wounds him even more is the slight disappointment he hears in Shouto's tone. Not being able to hold the tears back any longer, Izuku falls against the door and cries. He cries for his mistakes, for not telling Shouto about this earlier, for not telling him about his debt and for scaring him with mentions of love. He knows that he likes Shouto but he can't just drop that bomb on him in the middle of an argument. But now he has to make things right, he can't just let their friendship die because of a stupid misunderstanding. He grabs his phone and calls Momo. She answers on the second ring.

"Hey Midoriya, what's up? You want to do another impromptu movie night to cheer up your boyfriend?" Izuku doesn't call her out on her joke and goes straight to the point.

"Where are you? Is Shouto with you?"

"No, he's not here. I thought he was staying in tonight to work on a huge project due next week. He's not home?"

"Well, we kind of got into a fight about his father and he left saying he was getting drinks with you."

"He hasn't said anything to me. Should I be worried about you two fighting about dear old Todoroki senior?"

"Well his father wanted me to convince Shouto to abandon art and he bribed me with money I needed. Shouto found out by finding the money and he just burst into a cold rage. It was terrifying, but what scared me most was that he kept talking like our friendship was over. I can't let that happen! Shouto is my best friend and I don't want to lose him over something so stupid." Izuku tries to restrain his tears but a shudder shakes them out of him. He bets he sounds ridiculous to Momo right now.

"Don't worry. If being his friend for the best of 15 years has taught me anything, it's that Shouto would never let his father win. If he stops being friends with you, it's like he's letting his father win by tearing you apart. Besides, I happen to know that he cares about you too and the reason he may have acted the way he did is because he cares so much. So don't you worry, he won't stay mad at you forever."

"Thanks…. But that's not the whole story."

"What else is there?"

"I sort of let it slip that…. That I …" Izuku is not comfortable enough to admit his feelings to himself, so confessing to Momo is even harder.

"Spit it out. What did you say?"

"I sort of let it slip that I love him. But it's not like that, it's just a crush! I like him, that's all. Not like super scary and 'we're gonna live together' kind of love. But I couldn't explain myself and he just left after saying something condescending." Momo is silent for a few seconds on the other end of the line and Izuku starts to worry he said too much.

"I see. Shouto has always been wary of commitment. He fears nice things will be taken away from him any second by his father so he always keeps his distance from the things he likes. His studying art is the closest he's ever gotten to fully pursuing something he loves. If you let the word 'love' out, no wonder he got scared and ran away. He probably thinks you'd be better off accepting that money and leaving him be, am I right?"

"That's what he kept saying to me. But I don't ever want to do that. I care too much about him to accept his father's money, even if I don't have to hold my end of the deal."

"That might kick you back in the ass anyway. Todoroki senior is a bitter old man and he can make anyone's life a living hell. Trust me, you're better destroying that money and forgetting all about this."

"That's it! Destroy the money! Momo, where do you think Shouto is if he's not with you?"

"I don't know. It's been a while since I've searched for him on one of his lone wolf nights. He used to go to the abandoned cabin in the park when we were younger, maybe he's there."

"Thanks, I'll try that. Thanks for everything Momo."

"Glad I could help. Go get him tiger." Izuku hangs up and rushes to his room to grab a lighter and then sprints out the door.