Confessions

Midoriya woke up at the sound of water spilling in the shower. Todoroki and him had had breakfast after calling the pros, and then they had gone back to sleep, each one in a different bed for fear of Inko discovering them cuddled together. He looked at the bed above his and it was empty, so he arrived to the conclusion that it was probably Todoroki that was showering. He closed his eyes and stayed in bed, waiting for him to come back.

A few minutes later, Todoroki entered the room, with only a towel covering him from the waist to the knees. Midoriya admired his muscles, and felt a sudden urge to jump into him and kiss him. But he controlled himself, because Todoroki's expression was very serious. The binary-colored haired teen sat on his bed.

"Izuku. Now that what happened will be all over the news, my dad will now know where I am. And I won't let him harm you or your mom. I have to leave… and face him."

"No, Shoto", Midoriya said, kneeling beside him and taking his hand. "Nothing will happen to us. You can stay here." He tried to say this calmly, but the fear of his lover getting hurt by his father the way he had been when he had come to ask for help, contorted his face with distress. "Please stay. Please don't leave…"

He buried his head in Todoroki's leg, unable to suppress his tears.

"Izuku…" Todoroki murmured. He took Midoriya's face between his palms gently. "I'm going to be okay. The police will be harassing the three of us to protect us, so there's nothing that old bastard can do to me." He smiled sweetly to his lover, plunging his gaze into his emeralds.

"But what you're saying doesn't make any sense; if the police is going to protect us, then there's no need that you protect my mom and I from him!" Midoriya said, anguished.

"Izuku." He kissed him softly. "There is stuff I need to sort out with my old man. I'm positive something must be going on, because it's not normal that his exploits have disappeared from the news like that. And I want to make sure my sister Fuyumi and my brother Akai are alright." He started to dress up. "I need to go home."

Tears pearled Midoriya's beautiful eyes. Todoroki felt heartbroken at this view.

"But I swear I'm coming back to you", he said. "If your mom doesn't feel uncomfortable about it, I can stay here for a while longer. Nothing's gonna happen to me, I promise." He pressed his forehead on Midoriya's, holding his head between his palms, both closing their eyes.

Then Todoroki stood up, determined. "Say goodbye to your mom and thank her for everything in my name; I don't want to wake her up." He was about to leave the room, but he turned around, repeating: "I'll come back to you, Izuku."

Midoriya heard the entry's door close, and he burst into tears, accommodating himself in a fetal position while he hugged his knees tightly. About ten minutes later, he heard his mom's door open, and quick steps coming to his room.

"Izuku! My little boy, what happened!" Inko knelt next to Izuku, putting his head on her lap, and started caressing his hair. "Where's Shoto?"

"Oka-saan, there are more things that you should know", Izuku sobbed. And hiccuping, he told his mother who Endeavour was, that he was Todoroki's father and that he had been conceived for the one goal of elaborating a hero stronger than All Might. So he had suffered, since childhood, the hardest and most complex trainings, and had been many times injured badly. And the last time he had had training, he had been so wounded that he escaped his house to come to theirs.

"Those are the 'family problems' I told you he was having when we spoke on the phone", Midoriya sniffled.

"And he went back to his house?" Inko said, horrified.

"Yes." Midoriya's tears resumed their cascading.

"My little boy", Inko said, kissing her son's forehead. "You really have a special friendship with that boy. I can see how worried you are about him."

Midoriya stood silent for a minute. "Oka-saan… there's something else you should know…"

He started sobbing so heartbreakingly that he couldn't even speak. Inko waited patiently.

"Shoto is not my friend… I'm… I'm in love with him… I'm gay, Oka-saan…"

Then his wailing became uncontrollable. Inko took him in her arms, hugging him tightly, and waited for him to calm down.

"I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry, Oka-saan…"

"My dear little boy", Inko said reassuringly. "I already knew that. There's nothing to be sorry for-"

"What?" Midoriya said, astonished. "How come you already knew that!"

"Izuku, I'm your mother", Inko said with a smile, caressing her son's face. "I've known you since you were born. And I pay attention to the details, I'm very perceptive. How couldn't I know if each time you talked to me about that boy, I could feel the fondness in your voice?" She kissed Midoriya's head. "Never, ever apologize again for being gay. There's absolutely nothing wrong in being gay."

"But… dad used to say…"

"That man left us years ago", Inko said heatedly. "He shouldn't even be a reference to you. He shouldn't exist in your life. That man hurt us in the deepest way possible. How could a person like that know anything about feelings and love?" She calmed down, and pet her son's hair. "And have you told Shoto what's on your heart, Izuku?"

Midoriya hugged his mom tightly. "I already told him I loved him… I he told me he loves me too…" The teen sniffled, smiling.

"I'm glad to hear that", Inko said with a wide smile.

"Oka-saan, thank you so much for not being mad at me or anything… I feel so relieved that you've accepted this part of me…"

"Why wouldn't I, sweetheart! It was your dad that used to say those awful things about sexuality, but I've never thought the same way. Ever." She stroked Midoriya's hair. "Do you remember when you were 4, and I had an argument with your dad, just before he left us? And you were scared because of the screams…"

"I think I remember that… I hid under my bed…"

"And it was hard to find you, because you were crying so silently. But when I found you, I told you: 'whatever you want and will be, I will always love you'. I meant it in all the senses possible."

"Oka-saan", Midoriya throwing his arms around his mother's neck. "I love you."

"I love you too, Izuku."

Then Midoriya pulled away his mom, looking at her emerald eyes with anguish. "Oka-saan, what am I going to do? What if something happens to Shoto? What if his dad hurts him or…?" The possibility died in this throat, being too unbearable to say it out loud.

"I wouldn't worry about it, sweetheart. The police is going to be watching you very closely for a while. That means they'll be at Shoto's house too. I don't think this Endeavour man will do anything that puts him in evidence before the police."

"You're right, Oka-saan", Midoriya said, sighing in relief. Then he stood silent, looking blankly into space; there was something else that worried him. "What do you think All Might will say? Do you think he'll be disappointed and tell me I can't turn into a hero?", he said in despair.

"Of course not, Izuku. Of course not. There must be millions of homosexual heroes in the world. Such as Big Jeanist."

"You're right! I had forgotten about that!" Midoriya said, his emeralds illuminating. Then, after a few seconds, he said: "Do you think I should go to Shoto's house? Just to watch out for him? Shoto promised he would come back to me, but I don't know..."

"Then I think it is a task he must endure on his own. Trust him. He will come back."

Midoriya sniffled, offering a frail smile to his mother, and put his face on her lap, while she stroked his hair.

Todoroki's fierce determination while he was heading to his house was starting to weaken as he got closer to it. If it wasn't for his sister Fuyumi and his brother Akai, he would have returned to Midoriya's apartment, but he had convinced himself that he had to figure out what was going on with his dad.

When he was at the front door, he hesitated for a split second. Why come back if he could know what had happened on the news? Why get far from his green eyed lover, when he felt so safe around him? Why come back to this inferno?...

But he took his keys, and opened the door. He entered his house, and soon heard rapid steps from the second floor.

"Shoto!", his sister Fuyumi cried. She ran down the stairs, and when she was in front of him, she flung her arms around his neck. Todoroki folded her with his arms. "Shoto, where have you been…" Todoroki could feel her cascading tears on his neck. "Dad has been so mad… He almost burned half the house…"

"What?" Todoroki said, fury rising in his voice. "He did what?"

"I begged him not to do it", Fuyumi sobbed. "But with each day without you in the house, he has gotten completely insane… He almost burned our little brother Akai's arm, I have been trying to heal him since and he's getting better, but I'm so scared of Dad…"

Todoroki was trembling of fury. "Where is that son of a bitch?"

"After what happened to Akai, I called the police", Fuyumi explained. "They took away Dad's license. He thought he could win it back by killing a few villains or saving people; but he was severely repressed by the Center of Hero Licenses Providers. First they had taken his license for 3 months, now it's going to be 9; so he's actually acting like a villain. So he made a deal with the Center; that this wouldn't appear on the news and so his prestige wouldn't be affected, but that he couldn't use his quirk for that period of time, or he would go to jail.

"But he hasn't stopped using his quirk… He's so mad, Shoto… I want to call the police but I'm so scared that he does something to Akai… He's so irritable he has burned so many things; he burned the painting Mom made, with the nenuphars and the white flower, the only memory we had from her…" Fuyumi buried her face in Shoto's shoulder, and he tightened his hug on her, trying to control the shaking of her body.

"Where is he, Fuyumi?" He said softly, but unable to repress a hiss of fury.

"I don't know… He got out of the house…" She suddenly gripped Shoto's arms, looking desperately into his eyes. "He'll kill you if he sees you here! You have to leave, Shoto!"

"No, I won't", Shoto said aggressively. "I'm going to talk to that son of a bitch and send him straight to hell."

Fuyumi looked at him, horrified. "No! Remember you don't have a license either! And he can hurt you! Like the last time… like when you left the house!"

"No. Because this time, I have a reason to live for. And he will have to accept it."

"What is it, Shoto? What are you talking about?" She said desperately. "Leave! You shouldn't be here!"

"And leave you and Akai on your own? No way", Shoto barked.

Suddenly, heavy steps were heard behind the front door. Fuyumi looked at Shoto, terrified.

"Shoto", she murmured, "please leave! He'll kill you! LEAVE!"

"No", Shoto said, turning around to face the tall, iracund man that was entering the house. Fuyumi ran to the second floor, panicking.

The man stopped dead in the doorway. "You! YOU!" he growled, directing an accusing finger towards his son. "Where the fuck were you! How dare you leave this house for so long without my permission!"

"I don't need your fucking permission for anything! And I came to check on my brother and my sister! Seems like you lost your license, huh? You know I could send you straight to jail in a few seconds, just by showing my torso, right?"

"Don't you DARE speak to me like that, you faggot!" Angry flames were issued from his scowl and his fists.

"Faggot?" Todoroki said, smirking. "Fuck yeah, I'm a faggot. I'm a fucking faggot. I'm completely, hopelessly in love with my best friend, and he's a guy. I came to tell you that too, by the way."

Endeavour was so shocked that he instinctively threw a flame at his son. Todoroki dodged it.

"What did you just say?" Endeavour said in an alarming tone.

"What you just heard. I'm gay, Endeavour. I'm fucking gay."

This was more than Endeavour could handle. He threw a flare at his son. Its reach was so broad that it burned Todoroki's right arm, and he immediately tried to freeze it. He knew that he had to prepare for combat.

"I taught you to be a man!" Endeavour screamed, throwing flames at his son. He was so mad that he was acting on pure instinct, with rapid shots that were starting to lit up the house.

"Stop, you idiot! You're burning the house!" Todoroki said furiously, but he was starting to get scared. His father was completely out of control, and with the lack of sleep he was suffering himself, it would be hard for him to dodge every one of his movements. He tried to shoot ice at the fire that was quickly spreading, but he was reached by new flames on his arms and legs. He tried to use both his fire side to attack his dad and his ice side to avoid them to burn his body. But it was useless, the situation was escalating too quickly, and when he tried running up the stairs, his dad was still aiming at him.

Todoroki was desperate. What could he do? Were they all going to die carbonized in the flaming house?

The fire was devouring the stairs, threatening to lit up the second floor where Fuyumi and Akai were. Todoroki looked at it in panic.

And then, two things happened simultaneously.

The door of the house was destroyed, and a green-haired entered the house, his fist clenched. Todoroki's heart wrung in distress.

"No, Izuku, run! He'll kill you! Please, RUN!"

But Midoriya didn't seem to listen. His face contorted by rage, he dodged the attacks that were now aimed at him, and he reached Endeavour's face with his gleaming fist. The shock was accurate: the hero -or villain- fell heavily on the floor.

In the exact second this was happening, firemen entered the house, and with wide and thick hoses they started to turn off the fire. Using quick and strategic maneuvers, they managed to stabilize the situation, making the flames disappear. On the other hand, the police was entering the house as well, leaded by Kenji Tsuragamae.

It was almost painful for Todoroki to feel all the air he was lacking of entering his lungs.

"Now we're free of him", Fuyumi said seriously, but with a smile. Todoroki hadn't heard her coming; she had arrived silently with their little brother Akai in her arms.