Hello! I bring you some angst! (My favorite flavor too). Sorry about being mildly behind in updating! I had finals the past 2 weeks, but I survived! I was lucky enough to get a day off to focus, sit down and write this chapter and keep us on the 2-week update schedule :)
Thank you all SO much for reading this story and I just wanna express how amazing you all are for sticking with this long-winded story and plot :) This is currently my favorite story I'm writing. This plot means a lot to mean that you all enjoy it this much. Thanks for the 1700+ kudos on A03 and all the reviews here on FF. I appreciate all the comments, and all the love! You are all amazing!
Big shoutout and thank you to my love and BETA buddy, nmatthews on AO3 like always who puts up with betaing my long ass chapters every two weeks :) Give her a medal! Honestly like wow. She polishes up the chapters so incredibly every time.
Alrighty, let's get started on this chapter!
Warnings: Domestic Abuse up close and in detail.
Chapter 15 - Thorns
.
.
.
Izuku often dreamed in vivid swirling colors. They intertwined like long, airy ribbons in an intricate contemporary dance and floated in and out of his thoughts whenever he woke.
He liked to believe they were a direct reflection of his life and a premonition for the future because the dreams would always be saturated, bright colors.
Each time he had a dream like this, it reminded him of the happiness his parents had cultivated for him because passionate red would often be the most dominating color.
Then when he met Touya these dreams shifted to intense rosy pink for an entire year and he dreamed of their future together in extreme colorful detail. He pictured everything with Touya to be tinted in love but after the first incident, the bright pinks faded into a stale, dull purple.
His dreams started to consist of blue and purple hues in the same abstract shapes as the bruises he would start to show up to class with. They would take weeks to fade, and he could feel people beginning to stare and whisper.
Especially Chisaki Kai, his chemical engineering teaching assistant.
Izuku remembered how those gold eyes narrowed like a hawk when he walked in after the first time with purpled wrists and a busted lip. The wound was freshly scabbed over but still sore and inflamed, matching perfectly with the hand marks on his skin.
The PhD candidate didn't ask him anything but when he passed back the exams that day after the first incident, Kai looked down at Izuku in a strange knowing manner without saying a word.
This happened every single time. The green haired teen would look away, feeling strangely ashamed each time. And it began to happen more than he liked to admit.
Touya's outbursts hadn't gotten better, despite the man he loved saying that it wouldn't happen again.
Two months had gone by and there were two more incidents, spaced far between each other enough to lull Izuku into security then rip it from him again.
The first was a plain argument.
Izuku couldn't recall the topic, even if he wanted to. It was clear the issue at hand wasn't really what was eating away at them, causing everything to escalate all too quickly and ending in another brutal slap.
The second time was triggered by another argument about Izuku's career: the real issue.
The topic had come up again when Touya found out that Izuku had in fact, not changed his major. The freckled sophomore hoped that he could change Touya's mind and make him understand how important it was to him, but it was fruitless.
Touya swore up and down that he would never let Izuku become a cop—not if he could help it.
The conversation followed up with another screaming match that segued into Izuku being shook violently for not listening until he started crying for Touya to stop. The redhead held onto him in a bruising grip as he overpowered him. Izuku's head began to hurt and he felt nauseous as he tried to push the larger male off him.
The cries seemed to snap Touya back to reality, out of his clouded angry headspace. Then like clockwork, the situation was diffused with more apologizes.
Izuku stood there shocked, gritting his teeth and trying to ignore the pain in his arms from the death grip.
But the more he listened to Touya's pleas, I love yous, and sorrys…
...He let it go again.
To avoid that happening again, Izuku walked over to campus later that day to change his major, face full of tears.
He didn't look at the woman in the eye, trying to reason with himself that he was doing this to stop triggering Touya. He wanted their relationship to go back to normal and move past this bump, so Izuku did what he felt was best. But it made his chest squeeze with turmoil because the ginger's trauma and anger were so closely tied with policemen due to his father.
Izuku couldn't help but feel a growing hate for Enji for tainting Touya's view of officers as the kind woman told him his major was officially engineering instead of criminology. He figured him and Touya would come back to the topic another time as he devised a plan to try to sit down with Touya and unravel and work through his issues.
And when they did start to talk about Touya's upbringing in detail it was far more horrific than Izuku could've imagined.
Listening to the stories of how Touya's father twisted his position made Izuku realize no wonder his boyfriend got so easily heated about police and the justice system.
He learned from Touya about Enji taking money from politicians for endorsements and even sometimes working with criminals to advance his own placement in the force to make himself look better.
Izuku remembered how he tried to reason with Touya that not everyone in the justice system was like that—most police were good. His own father, Hisashi, was good.
Touya never disagreed with this, but he also didn't budge on his beliefs that Izuku joining the force would corrupt him.
So, they never spoke about it again.
They were both stubborn on their own fronts like a rock and a hard place and the notion of Izuku's career floated between them.
Touya's ideal future involved himself making the majority of the money and taking care of Izuku while the greenette would stay at home most of the time.
The picture that Touya painted seemed comfortable, but it wasn't what Izuku wanted and Touya didn't seem to understand that.
When the tension was too thick, Izuku told Touya he was going home for the holidays. The end of the semester had finally come around and the greenette figured they could use some apart.
His boyfriend just nodded, not objecting to the idea that they needed space.
Which brought him to being back in his childhood home, helping chop vegetables for katsudon alongside his father in the kitchen. He sliced each one while in deep thought, having no clue what to do or say about his future. So instead he listened idly to the news that was on in the background.
"Two more police officers have been found dead on the outskirts of the city," the voice of the newswoman carried into the house. "Officers are beginning to suspect that this new string of targeted killings was inspired by the rise and fall of the Hero Killer that was in Shizuoka City four months ago. Some believe that it's connected deeply with the drug gang, All For One, who always seems to have a handle on the city..."
"Hey, Izuku?" The soft caring voice of his father spoke over the television.
"Hm?"
"I know this is gushy, but I just wanted to say I'm proud of you," Hisashi said with a smile, dimple showing on his face. "When you told me about making your major criminology, I couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride."
Izuku stopped chopping and felt a lump began to swell in his throat.
"Y-Yeah?" Izuku whispered. Sad green eyes looked down at his reflection in the knife he was holding.
"I told everyone at the station about it! I'm sorry I couldn't help myself. The fact that you got your mother's gift and want to be a police officer too—it's just—" Hisashi paused to push up his glasses before turning to look at Izuku with admiration. "You're everything we could've hoped for a in a son."
"...Thanks, dad." Izuku have a soft weak smile in return. His mind was racing, trying to find a way to tell it father that he in fact was no longer a criminology major.
His heart squeezed at the idea of disappointing his parents. He knew no matter what he said they'd be supportive, but the look of love in his father's cinnamon colored eyes was too warm to correct him.
"Also, hope you don't mind, but I lined up an internship for you at my station for next semester—if you want it."
Izuku's mind stopped thinking and his eyes widened at his father.
"Y-You got me an internship?" He said in disbelief. "B-But I didn't even show anyone my grades or classes or my skills—"
"Don't worry about that, son! Ha, what's the point of having a sergeant father if I can't pull a couple of strings?" His father grinned wider and Izuku felt himself beginning to sink. "Plus, it was my Captain's idea. He knows you're a good kid. After I told him about you settling on a career choice, he told me you could shadow me directly to see if it is a good fit for you."
Izuku opened his mouth, his throat constricting and tears on the verge of his eyes.
His thoughts kept circling back to Touya because he knew the red head wouldn't approve of this but...how could he reject this after his dad went out of his way?
When Izuku didn't respond, Hisashi worried that he's overstepped. A glimmer of disappointment flashed in the elder Midoriya's brown eyes.
"If you don't want it, I get it. You can tell me no, Izuku. Hanging out with your old man at his job isn't the coolest thing—"
"No!" The word fumbled out of his mouth before he could stop it. "I-I mean this is great. Thanks so much, dad."
Hisashi grinned wide and proud and patted Izuku on the shoulder. "Perfect! Ah, this is so exciting! We're going to make a great team!"
His father embraced him in a warm hug. It was tight and all the excitement radiating off the other green haired man was too much to tell him no.
Izuku hugged his father back, smiling weakly.
He realized he had no clue how he was going to tell this to Touya. The greenette winced at the thought of mentioning police to Touya as he recalled the sharp pain that always followed.
The rest of his break passed peacefully, settling Izuku into a new air.
He began the internship with his father, and he loved it more than he could have possibly thought.
Part of him was hoping he'd hate it, that he would never want to step foot in a police station again to make the decision easier regarding Touya—but it was the opposite. Now it was harder.
Seeing his father in action and working alongside him only fueled and made the idea of being an officer more concrete. And Izuku was good at every case his father gave him.
There was one puzzling case in particular his father was working on.
The elder Midoriya was on an elite squad investigating an elusive drug lord by the name Shigaraki. The man held no first name on file, and he seemed more like a concept, a symbol of evil, than he did a real person.
His father worked tirelessly on this case trying to figure out where their headquarters could be located to stunt the ruthless killing of police officers that started, and drugs being peddled into the city. He wanted to pull the gang out at the root but instead he kept getting the branches and thorns while the roots only seemed to grow deeper and deeper in Yaizu.
When they tried to trace these branches to where they could lead, it was always a dead end. But that didn't deter Hisashi from his bright spirit. Seeing the light brown eyes of his dad praise him and laugh on the job showed Izuku how much joy his father got from helping people despite sometimes losing a case.
Hisashi handled every case with care, and he was both personable and professional to the point it was astonishing.
The elder Midoriya was graceful in his own right, moving like a soldier that had all the poise of a dancer. Izuku felt his heart fill as he listened to his father talk about helping serve and protect those in need.
The internship was set to span into the new semester. Originally, Izuku had full intentions of telling Touya about it. However, when he got back to his apartment and saw the smiling look on Touya's face he didn't want to disrupt the peace again.
The redhead kissed him, greeted him with dinner, roses, and tickets to a play while talking about how much he missed Izuku.
So, Izuku lied.
Instead he told Touya he was volunteering at the animal shelter close to campus. The redhead just lovingly ruffled his hair and told him that it was good, and it was too much on Izuku's heart to shatter this refreshed air around their relationship.
As the semester went on, his dreams shifted to dark blues and it left him feeling strangely sullen.
Whenever he was alongside his father at the internship, he was granted peace of mind. He could zone out long enough to enjoy himself and ignore the conflicting dilemma. The days of working as an intern were some of Izuku's fondest memories whenever he'd look back on them. He could hear his dad's soft humming as they rode around on patrols and his hearty laughter about random things that happened at the station.
Whenever he came back from the internship Touya would be there happily waiting, and they fell back into their old sweet routine. It warmed Izuku's heart and he decided never to speak a word about police work around Touya until further notice. Preferably after he was finished working an internship.
Izuku thought he could keep the secret from Touya with ease, and it seemed like it.
But like all periods of calm, it came to an end.
"Touya, I'm back!" Izuku called out as he entered the apartment one day after classes.
Their shared space was dimly lit and the lack of light put Izuku off for a second when he got no response. He chalked it up as Touya sleeping, exhausted from work, and shrugged off his jacket to hang up.
The wooden floorboards underneath his boots creaked loudly as he walked fully inside the dark apartment and rubbed his sore shoulders. He jolted slightly when he walked into the bedroom to see Touya hunched over on the side of the bed looking angrily at his black lighter in his hand.
The window was drawn, allowing light and the color orange to wash over the room. What Izuku usually would've considered a peaceful setting suddenly didn't, the deeper the crease in Touya's brow became without acknowledging his presence.
"Touya?" Izuku asked carefully with a tender voice. A small chill climbed his spine and the energy in the room suddenly felt off. "What's wrong? Why are you just sitting there?"
"Where were you?" Touya asked, voice taut and low.
Izuku furrowed his brows confused. "What do you mean? I-I was at volunteering—"
"—No. You weren't. Let's try that again," Touya hissed, angry burning blue eyes finally looking up at him. Izuku startled at the look of absolute anger, hurt, and betrayal that blazed through.
Slowly, the tall man stood up and walked over to tower over him and Izuku took a step back.
"I asked, where the fuck were you, Izuku?" Touya gripped the lighter in his hands tight enough that Izuku swore the metal itself was going to break.
The greenette tried to open his mouth to explain as ocean blue eyes bore into him unforgivingly. They stood there locked in a standstill and when Izuku tried to tell the truth, a lump from anxiety clogged all the words in his throat.
That silence seemed to be the detonator on Touya's short fuse.
The fiery redhead let out an angry curse and punched the wall next to Izuku's head, causing the teenager to yell out. Izuku out of reflex flinched and put his hands up when Touya reached out and grabbed his jaw, forcing him to look at him.
"Where the fuck have you been going these last few months!?" The taller male demanded, fingers sinking into Izuku's skin. The greenette wrapped his hand around his boyfriend's wrist trying to ease the hold but it seemed useless against Touya's unmovable strength. "Huh!? I asked you a fucking question, Izuku! Are you fucking cheating on me!?"
"Cheating?" Izuku asked, baffled. He shook his head the best he could in the grip he was stuck in with wide pleading eyes. "N-No, I'm not—ah! Touya, please, that hurts!" Izuku shouted when the grip got tighter and he was slammed against the wall.
"How am I supposed to just believe that?" Touya sneered. "Do you know how goddamn stupid I looked today? I got out of work early and was going to surprise you with movie tickets so I walked over to that animal shelter you said you've been going to—imagine how fucking surprised I was to learn that they had no idea who you even were."
Izuku shook his head furiously and tried to shake himself out of Touya's grasp but the redhead just forced him back into the wall, fingernails digging into his forearm and icy cold eyes pinning him in place. Tears started to fall down Izuku's face as he realized everything was crumbling too quickly.
"I'm not cheating on you, T-Touya! I would never—"
"—How am I supposed to believe that now? You clearly are capable of fucking lying to me! After everything!"
"I'm working at an internship with my dad!" Izuku cried, sobs spilling out from his mouth.
The grip on his jaw and forearm loosened but didn't let go. Gradually Touya's livid expression faded into angry confusion.
"You're working an internship?" The redhead whispered, trying to grasp the concept. "Wait, with your dad? At a fucking police station?"
Izuku nodded hesitantly.
"What the fuck did I say about that?" Touya groaned and pushed himself away from Izuku. "Are you serious? You've been lying to me and going to work an internship at a goddamn police station?"
"My dad set it up for me," Izuku muttered while nursing his now throbbing jaw. The greenette could already picture the purple shapes that were going to bloom onto his skin. "I didn't want to tell him no…I-I haven't told my parents I changed my major."
Jade colored eyes watched as Touya huffed annoyedly and turned away from him in the dusk colored room. The tension in the elder male's shoulders didn't go away after learning that Izuku was, in fact, not cheating on him but rather lying about an internship for police work.
The rigidity in Touya's figure told Izuku that the two seemed to almost carry equal weight.
"How much longer do you have to be there?" The redhead sighed, anger slowly leaving him, and instead there was just disappointment. Izuku averted his eyes away from his boyfriend's backside, feeling guilty for being caught in a lie.
"It was supposed to go to the end of my sophomore year."
"Are you just doing this to please your father?" Touya asked curtly without looking at him.
"Yes," Izuku whispered. It was a half-truth, half lie.
"Okay," Touya spoke softly. When the ginger turned back around, his blue eyes were opposite of all the fiery anger that was just swirling around in them. "I'm sorry for snapping on you like that. I-I just...I just felt so goddamn stupid standing there with fucking tickets only to realize you've been lying."
"I'm sorry…" Izuku didn't know what else to say. Touya lifted his jaw up to assess the already showing marks and looked down at Izuku's forearm with dejected eyes.
"Be sure you wear long sleeves and concealer tomorrow, okay? I'll get better about that...I'm sorry," Touya murmured. "I just get so angry when you don't listen to me. Please, Izuku. Just follow what I say so we can go back to normal."
Green eyes turned away and gazed down to the floor, studying the fading sunset colors slowly vanishing from the room.
He nodded dully, wanting nothing more than to just go to bed.
Izuku started dreaming in black and white that night.
The color drained from his dreams and it felt like TV static covered his dreams. The picture of the future he had painted with Touya as his partner, doing what he loved happily began to fog up and no longer felt certain.
He felt like he was trying to fix the antennas on top of the vision of his future, struggling to figure out which directly was right and what would return him back to the happy rose-colored picture he had seen every night.
But there was no luck.
The green haired nineteen-year-old struggled to stay asleep, too deeply bothered by the fact he had hurt Touya by lying. The redhead barely spoke to him the rest of the day, and they didn't go to the movies like planned. His boyfriend fell asleep that night with his back towards him and Izuku softly cried into his pillow.
If Touya heard him crying, the redhead made it a point to ignore him.
When Izuku woke up, the morning sun poured into the room all over. The warm sun rays drew Izuku's attention to Touya's side of the bed and he noticed it was empty. He groggily sat up on his forearms, wondering why the redhead hadn't woken him up before he left to work like usual until his eyes landed on the clock.
Izuku's whole body jolted awake with shock to see he had slept in for his exam in Chemical Engineering II.
"Shit!" Izuku cursed.
He hurriedly threw on whatever clothes he could find, which happened to be just his short-sleeved sleep shirt, a set of joggers, his sneakers with no socks, and grabbed his yellow backpack.
He sprinted out the door quickly, stumbling on his feet as he ran full speed all the way to campus. By the time he got there, it was already halfway through the exam and he jolted through the door out of breath, drawing the attention of everyone in the giant hall.
Chisaki Kai didn't brother looking up at him from his desk.
Izuku ran a shaky hand through his hair as he tried to think of an excuse but settled on the truth, feeling like he had enough of lying.
"I am so sorry I'm late. I-I slept in, I'm so sorry—"
"—Take a seat." Kai cut him off. The teaching assistant handed him a blank exam and Izuku tentatively took it. "You have until the end of the period to finish your exam. No time extension, Midoriya. Next exam, be sure to show up on time."
"Will do, I'm so sorry sensei. Thank you." Izuku bowed rapidly and started muttering 'thank you's until another student hushed him from the back.
Izuku sat down in the empty seat next to Shindo Yo and with jittery hands he tried to pull out his pencil case but clumsily spilled the bag over onto the floor. He gave a soft apology as he picked up the pencils rolling all over.
Izuku noticed Shindo's eyes looking at him intensely and he was unsure why until he caught sight of the darkened purple bruise on his forearm in the shape of Touya's large hand.
The freckled teen quickly snapped his arm out of view, but it didn't stop from Shindo looking at him with some level of pity.
"Time's up. Pass forward your exams," Kai spoke to the class.
Izuku bounces his leg furiously trying to scribble a formula that was basically illegible. No, no, no I barely started—
"That means everyone. Put the pencil down, Midoriya," Kai called out to him and Izuku felt tears stinging on the sides of his eyes.
He slammed the pencil on the desk in frustration and passed his exam forward. The greenette's throat tightened with the urge to cry as he buried his face in his hands. Slowly, he heard his classmates whisper all around him.
Izuku felt himself sinking in his seat at the realization that he failed an exam that made up a large portion of his grade. When he heard the other student's voices fade away, the curly haired teen wiped away his tears and stood up.
He walked past Kai, unable to even say goodbye or meet his sharp golden gaze out of embarrassment. But as soon as he made it to the door the deep voice of his instructor gripped him in an iron hold.
"Midoriya, come here."
Izuku stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. Kai was standing up, leaning lazily against his desk as he flipped through Izuku's half-finished exam.
"Y-Yes?"
The brunette clicked his tongue and motioned for Izuku to come back inside and close the door. The greenette awkwardly backtracked and did what he was told. He shut the door and walked until he was standing back in front of the tall, crow like man.
Kai had always an air to him that Izuku could never pinpoint. It was calculating, cold, distant and unreadable.
The young man who was the same age as Touya was teaching part time to obtain his PhD in chemical engineering in the study of compounds. His thesis focused on what it meant to take them apart and put them back together and he always seemed so eager to teach about explosions.
Usually Kai was calm, barely said anything because he was always busy with his elusive 'family' business. He just did his teaching, but this time was different as he looked through the empty pages of Izuku's test.
"When you switched your major, I have to say I was surprised. Why engineering?" A dark brow quirked at him and Izuku rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"I'm good with my hands," Izuku answered honestly. "I really liked your class last semester and I'm good at creating things. I figured this would be something I might like."
"Makes sense," Kai hummed as he took out a red pen and began grading Izuku's exam then and there. Green eyes flickered between his test and Kai nervously. He watched as Kai gave him full perfect marks for the few questions he answered with ease.
"You did exceptionally well in chemistry last year and you did pretty good last semester as well." The pen stopped moving once it reached the last answered question. "Up until the end. Now you're showing up late to exams. This isn't like you."
"I'm just going through a rough patch," Izuku whispered, looking apologetically into Kai's eyes. "I promise it'll be resolved soon."
"You mean whoever is beating you will stop?"
Izuku made a choking sound, caught off guard. "What?" He hissed, looking at Kai like he said something incredibly off. "You got it wrong, no one is beating me—"
"Izuku, I'm not stupid," Kai deadpanned, crossing his arms with Izuku's exam in his hand. "I saw the bruises from last semester, and I can see the ones on you now. Look at your arm and jaw. It's clear as day someone is abusive towards you—"
"—I said no one is beating me," Izuku repeated solidly. He tried to think of Touya and abusive in the same concept, but the kind smiles and I love yous created a roadblock in his head. Touya wasn't abusive. Just misunderstood. "I'm not being abused."
"Let me guess, he doesn't mean it?" Kai said with an unimpressed facial expression. "He says sorry afterwards and then smooths it over with sweet words and tells you it won't happen again? Izuku, it clearly keeps happening—"
"—It's not like that," Izuku whispered, heartbeat racing. "He-He actually doesn't mean it—he can't control it. They're just small outbursts and we're working on it, he would never hurt me intentionally."
Kai's blank facial expression finally cracked with emotion, and the reaction was a mixture of disbelief and weariness.
"Izuku, that's worse," Kai harshly whispered, looking at him with concern. "It's one thing if he's doing it intentionally, but you're telling me that he's doing it because he loses his temper and can't control it? Do you know how that ends?"
Izuku's throat felt tight and the room felt too small as he refused to face the reality of what Kai was saying.
"It ends with him killing you, Izuku. That's how these narratives always end," Kai said harshly and immediately Izuku shook his head because Touya would never try to kill him. "Either he kills you from one of his so called 'outbursts' or he kills you because you try to leave when it's too much. Either way if you don't break up with him right now, it'll be your funeral."
Izuku gritted his teeth and shook his head feverishly. He looked up angrily into Kai's golden eyes, hurt.
"You have no right to say that to me," he pushed back. "He does not beat me and I'm not in an abusive relationship. You have no idea what our lives are like or what he's been through—"
"—No, I don't, and I don't need to," Kai said coldly. "All I need to know is that you have a bright future and that's worth protecting. I don't want to wake up one day to see my top student the headliner of the news that morning because he got his skull bashed in."
Izuku fell silent, giving challenging eyes back at his instructor. Kai sighed and looked down at the exam in his hands and began to write something at the top.
"You're going to retake this exam tomorrow in here with me at 7:00 am and you're going to call me the second the time comes when you need help leaving whoever is hitting you," Kai said with a hard edge in his voice.
He held out Izuku's exam for the shorter male to take but when the greenette tried to pull it out of his hands, the golden eyed man didn't let go. Izuku looked up at him confused only to find Kai's eyes sharp and serious.
"And trust me, Izuku—the day will come when you're going to try to leave him."
Kai let go of the exam and Izuku stumbled back a bit surprised. The green-eyed teenager looked at Kai unsure of what to say or do because Kai was wrong about Touya. He turned around and walked towards the door, curiously looking down at his exam to see what score he got but was surprised when there wasn't a score at all.
In place was a phone number written in red ink.
Izuku looked over his shoulder at the perplexing teaching assistant who just gave him a knowing stare.
Izuku couldn't get Kai's words out of his head as he walked back to his apartment.
He tried to shake them off but they stuck like a bad song on repeat in his thoughts. He didn't want to believe Touya would be capable of hurting him like that, plus Kai didn't know Touya. Touya loved him and they were working on his outbursts. All Kai knew is that he showed up late to class with a busted lip and a couple of bruises sometimes.
The tired greenette sighed as he made his way up the wooden staircase but the closer, he got to his apartment he frowned.
Why was the door open?
Izuku pushed open the door all the way and before he could process what was happening a strong arm put him in a choke hold and a large palm covered his scream.
Fear sparked all over his body like firecrackers as he tried to fight whoever it was until another body came up and restrained him, twisting his arm until it burned behind his back. Izuku let out a muffled loud cry as the numbing sensation shot all over his shoulder and he was overpowered helplessly.
"Bring him over here," a deep voice Izuku had never heard before commanded.
The door was slammed behind him as he continued to try to struggle with no glimmer of hope. The large men dragged him into his own living room, ignoring his cries and pleas. When they got into full view of the living room Izuku's heart sunk deeper than he'd ever felt it.
The apartment was turned inside out, clear indicators of a struggle were all over. Papers were scattered, a table knocked over and broken glass with blood splattered all around. In the center, kneeling on the ground restrained by two more goons was Touya bleeding from his mouth and nose looking wrathful.
The two lovers made eye contact and the most frightened expression Izuku had ever seen on Touya's face spilled out.
The redhead began to struggle against the men holding him in place to the point Izuku could see rug burn beginning to appear on Touya's shins.
"Let go of him!" The enraged redhead shouted, voice cracking desperately. "Jin, get your filthy fucking hands off of him!"
All the people in the room began laughing over Touya's yelling as Izuku whimpered when the man apparently named Jin tightened his hold. It was then that a young man with bluish silver hair sitting casually in a chair and all black stood up.
The difference between him and everyone else in the room was painfully apparent. His clothes were neat, hair polished, and he carried himself with a demeanor as if he was untouchable. His red eyes looked down at Izuku bored as the greenette tried to struggle against the two men holding either one of his arms.
Izuku watched fearfully as a hand reached out to touch his face. The man tilted his head to the side as if appraising him and looking at his bruised jaw line.
"Is this who you run away with to play house for the last year, Touya?" The silver haired man asked, licking his chapped lips. "I have to admit, you always did have good taste. He is quite good looking. I'm sure anyone would be taken with him on sight."
"I said get your fucking hands off of him, Shigaraki! He has nothing to do with this!" Touya yelled and Izuku stilled at the name.
Shigaraki? Green eyes widened at the cord of familiarity. He quickly realized that was the same name of the All For One leader his dad was investigating.
Everything suddenly became gravely serious and Izuku stopped fighting against the two men. The newly identified Shigaraki seemed to notice Izuku's sudden petrified behavior and a satisfied smirk stretched across his face.
"Oh, but on the contrary I think he does," the silver haired man retorted, turning back around to Touya's bleeding figure. "Jin, is this the brat you said tried to fight you and threatened to call the cops?"
"One-hundred percent sure of it. You don't come across green eyes that often," Jin answered.
"Thanks," Shigaraki hummed before turning to a young blonde woman who seemed to be Izuku's age. Green eyes looked confused when the silver haired leader snapped his fingers and pointed back towards him. "Himiko, take his wallet."
The woman now known as Himiko stepped forward with an abnormal amount of glee and reached down into his backpack to pull out his wallet and tossed it to her leader.
Izuku's heart began to break under the weight of terror when he saw Shigaraki take out his ID and study it carefully.
"Midoriya Izuku? Pretty name to match a pretty face," he said casually. Shigaraki sat back down on the couch, crossing his legs and smoothing out his black dress pants as he took his phone out to snap a photograph of Izuku's ID with his home address on it. "Well, little flower it seems like our Touya is quite smitten with you. I never thought I would see the day where we find our favorite sociopath sitting patiently, waiting for his 'angel' to come home."
The group collectively laughed again and Touya shook his head and started pleading for the gang to leave Izuku alone. Izuku felt his stomach turn with sickness as tears began to fall out of both his and Touya's eyes.
"I couldn't help but laugh as he called out 'angel?' when we first picked the lock," Shigaraki said with a smirk, looking directly at Izuku. "But this is business I hope you understand. You took something of prime property to us and I'm afraid we need a pay back—"
Jin shifted his grip on Izuku's forearm and out of reflex the greenette yelped loudly and flinched at the pain that radiated from the large bruise on his arm from earlier.
"Sit still! Why are you flinching? I barely touched you," Jin reprimanded, gripping him harder and Izuku suppressed another pain filled groan.
Burning green eyes looked up at Jin but he caught the line of vision of Shigaraki's red eyes looking at him curiously, not saying anything. Izuku stiffened under the gaze and Touya fell silent when the silver haired man walked over to where Jin was holding Izuku.
The greenette struggled when Shigaraki touched him, looking down at his forearm. When those invading red eyes studied his discolored skin, a loud bark of uncontrollable laughter sprung from the silver haired young man.
"Touya, you really have been playing house. Dear fucking Kami!" Shigaraki chuckled. He shooed the two other men to let go of Izuku so he could fully inspect the young teen with humor. "You went and got yourself a battered housewife just like mommy? Do you miss her that much?"
At the mentions of Izuku's bruises Touya's face fell into a crestfallen expression full of regret. Green eyes met turquoise and Touya hung his head away in shame, clenching his jaw tightly.
"Maybe we should just call him Enji Jr. at this point," Himiko taunted and Touya's nostrils flared at the mention of his father. "Apple never falls too far from the branch it's attached to."
"Shut up," Touya's deep voice hissed. "Shut up all of you before I fucking kill you," he spat the word laced in a venom Izuku had never heard. Pure spite and malice burned in Touya's eyes and the only thing inside of them was contempt.
"Ah, there he is! The sociopath we all love," Shagaraki gloated. He stood behind Izuku and loomed over the greenette. Without warning Izuku felt the man reach around and grip his jaw, forcing Izuku to look Touya directly in the eye.
"Does your little angel here know about your past? Is he aware of what you've done regarding that disorder with fire you're afflicted with? You know, the one that we helped you keep under control and gave an outlet for?"
Izuku made a confused face when Touya became eerily silent and looked warily at him.
"He doesn't! Hah! Wow, this keeps getting better and better." Shigaraki let go of Izuku's face and pushed him down to the ground in forced kneeling position in front of Touya. "Well, to cut to the chase, angel, we took Touya in, and helped him be the wonderful sociopath is his today. But, unfortunately, Touya here owes us a lot of money. That property you guys took—which we got you on camera stealing—belongs to us. All For One."
Izuku looked at his boyfriend, waiting for him to deny what was being said but the redhead couldn't look him in the eye. Izuku choked back a whimper at the ugly reality that was settling in as Shigaraki continued.
"Touya used to be one of us, but he had quite a rebellious streak. Now we need that money back or we collect blood. You see the problem, right?"
"H-How much?" Izuku whispered, looking up at the man above him. "I can pay you from my savings. Just leave us alone."
Shigaraki sighed and pulled out his phone again, lazily scrolling through until he pulled open a word document to flash Izuku a number on the screen.
Izuku's heart sank at the number of zeros tacked on the end.
"I-I don't have that—t-that's an unreasonable amount of money," Izuku tried to reason, shaking his head. How the hell were they expecting Touya to pay that back? "The stuff we took was nowhere near that much—"
"—Compound interest for this last year," Shigaraki interjected like it was plain knowledge. "I'm afraid we need to work out a payment plan otherwise things are going to get very ugly very quickly." The man didn't look at him as he continued to scroll on his phone then paused as if something hit him.
"Wait—Midoriya," The silver haired leader said as if he was in a eureka moment. "Your father is that nosy sergeant we heard is trying to work on snuffing us out." A sinister smile creeped into Shigaraki's face as Izuku's sunk in pure horror. "It would be such a shame if something happened to him, no?"
Izuku shook his head when everything suddenly felt too small, tight and the figures in the room began to cackle like demented, hungry wolves.
"Please, there has to be something else that you want," Izuku whispered, vision blinded by tears. "Leave my parents alone."
"I'm afraid we only deal with yen or blood, angel. Either we get that money or I'm afraid collateral will be taken. Can't exactly ruin our reputation by having two lovebirds running around scot free. Especially after Touya fucking crossed us."
"But we don't have that money!" Izuku yelled out, becoming desperate.
"Well, I think four lives evens out then. If you're saying you can't pay, then I guess I'll send Himiko to slit your parents' throats and dispose of their bodies somewhere."
"Stop!" Touya finally spoke up. All eyes drew in towards his face, covered with blood and tears. "Izuku and his family have nothing to do with this you bastard, just deal with me. Please, leave him out of this."
"No. I think this is much more fun," Shigaraki sighed. He walked up to the two kneeling lovers and affectionately ran a hand through Izuku's hair, causing the teen to flitch at the all too soft touch. "After what I saw on tape, I think there a criminal sitting somewhere deep inside this innocent looking face, waiting to bloom like a little flower. Plus, this way it'll guarantee he shuts up if he's an accessory."
The fingers in his hair twirled around and Izuku squeezed his eyes shut. His body felt violated just from a simple touch as goosebumps rose on his skin.
"Figure something out," Shigaraki said in a final tone, looking at the pair with an icy chill. "Touya, you know the drill. Present us a payment plan tomorrow by 9:00 pm or we come find you. You know where I'll be."
The redhead gazed his eyes downwards to stare at the blood and broken glass on the floor before nodding reluctantly.
The two men holding Touya down let him go, shoving him unkindly to the ground all the way. They stepped over him like he was trash beneath their feet, crushing a couple of his fingers under their boots on the way out.
Izuku watched as Touya hissed, biting the inside of his cheek to prevent from yelling out in pain.
It was then that the greenette looked up at the men leaving who came and took nothing but their peace of mind.
"I'll see you tomorrow, little flower." Shigaraki smiled at him amused when Izuku's face was taken over in anger and despair, his world being turned on its head.
The second the door slammed shut, Izuku hurried to reach over to help Touya stand up.
There was a clear gash in the large man's shoulder and his face was beaten up severely. Green eyes frantically looked at all the damage that was done and winced when Touya spat out blood onto the carpet.
Izuku's body began to shake thinking about the threat on their lives and what the hell just happened.
That was All For One: the dangerous drug gang that killed cops, robbed stores, and done so many more unspeakable things from what he learned at the station with his father.
"Touya, w-we have to call the cops now—"
"—Izuku, no," the redhead groaned as he stumbled upright, clutching his head. "That's not how that works with them. You call the cops and they come here and kill us both and then everyone you love."
Izuku shook his head, completely erratic. "B-But you know where their headquarters is, right? We can just tell my dad so he can stop them and there won't be an issue. Touya, please, my parents' lives are at stake—"
"—Which is exactly why we can't tell the cops!" Touya snapped, head whipping around to Izuku angrily. "All For One has hundreds of members, Izuku! Cops included! How do you think they get away with everything?! Hah?!"
Izuku stared in disbelief, words snatched dry from his body.
"That wasn't even the main guy," Touya exasperated. "Not a soul knows where Shigaraki senior is besides Shigaraki junior. You tell the cops and they raid their HQ then that goddamn drug lord is going to come collect his debt in blood—our blood."
The walls of the once secure apartment seemed to crumble along with Izuku's worldview and the light he pictured Touya in because he didn't fucking get it. He didn't understand why someone who was as sweet as Touya would be intermingled with cop killers.
"Touya, I just don't understand why you would hang around low lives like that?" He whispered through tears and it only made his boyfriend shake his head and look at him with envy.
"Because I was homeless, Izuku," Touya hissed through his clenched teeth. "I was out on the fucking streets and I had absolutely nothing. I was weak, vulnerable, cold and hungry. Emotions you have never felt in your goddamn pampered life!"
Izuku staggered back when Touya's voice cracked and the redhead continued to yell at him, all his frustrations spilling over like a dam.
"Those people that you just called lowlifes gave me everything I both wanted and needed then more. They gave me a home and power. I finally felt like I was in control for once in my miserable life and that's all I've ever wanted was to feel as though I had some fucking say!"
"But, Touya...they kill cops," Izuku whispered, looking at him unsure when the redhead just rolled his eyes. "They've been killing people like my dad ever since that Hero Killer as a statement—"
"—You'll never understand, Izuku," Touya sighed and ran a hand through his bloodied hair. "You'll never understand how it feels to be that low and to have not a goddamn thing to your name. Don't you judge me. If you ever felt as alone as I did, I trust you, the last thing you'd care about is a goddamn cop."
Izuku grew silent because it was true, he didn't understand. He knew Touya was too complex beyond his own scope of understanding.
Hurt, unsure, and terrified teal eyes turned towards him as Touya continued speaking.
"You may love me Izuku, but you will never understand me. So please, don't shame me for what I had to do to survive."
"Touya, I-I'm not shaming you. I just want to understand you better and I want to help—"
"I know you do, Izuku. You always want to help, but never listen," Touya sighed, shaking his head. He stepped forward and looked Izuku very seriously in the eye. "Please listen when I say this, you're an only child who sees everything as if you're in LaLa land. The world is not as happy and good as you make it out to be and you're going to wind up dead if you keep believing cops can help make this better."
The words hurt, and they cut Izuku down more than he realized.
"I love you, Izuku. You truly are the only thing I care about and I would wage a war if I ever lost you—but you need to listen to me and listen to me carefully. What I say goes from now on. If you want to help me, if you want to keep everyone alive, you're going to let me have control over what we do next. I know how these people operate and you don't. Okay?"
Izuku stared up at Touya, fear and shock still settling in his bones and a small sob escaped past his lips. He wanted to keep everyone safe and he would do anything to make sure that his parents and Touya were okay.
However, he was scared, and he had no clue what to do—but apparently Touya did.
There was another inkling of fear stemming from elsewhere that Izuku couldn't explain and he was afraid to tell Touya no.
So, Izuku said his next words as a vow that would promise to drown him. Whether he knew it or not.
"Okay, I'll listen to what you say."
Izuku didn't get the chance to study for his retake exam.
He spent the rest of the evening with Touya cleaning up the whirlwind that wrecked both their lives and their home.
They were able to remove all the broken items out of the home, however the blood stains on the carpet remained no matter how hard Izuku felt himself scrub the beige carpet. He scrubbed until his arms hurt with bleach, soap and any cleaning material he found.
Looking back on it, Izuku would describe AFO just as that: a bloody stain on his cloth of life that he struggled to bleach out.
Just like that stain, they stayed with him forever. It didn't matter if he moved a rug to place over the bloodstain because despite it being out of sight, the pain they inflicted would always linger on his mind.
He knew that stain was always there. Just like All For One.
Izuku took his exam at 7:00 am sharp and used what he knew as a basis. He was thankful for his sharp memory when it came to the creative work that made chemistry and engineering come easy to him. Kai graded his exam directly after he turned it in, and he got the highest mark in the class.
Gold eyes look at him approvingly but not before reminding him with a small push about their previous conversation.
"Remember what I said, Izuku," Kai whispered, handing back the exam. "When you need help leaving him. Call me."
Izuku didn't understand Kai's motives at the time, too blinded by all the other stressors in his life.
The freckled teen just nodded in understanding, wanting to scream out for help to try to escape the clutches AFO now had on him and Touya. But what was his engineering instructor going to do to help him against AFO?
There was no amount of begging Touya that could convince the redhead that going to the police was a good idea, and Izuku was too afraid to speak out of line when Touya struck him again. Scared of provoking another hit to the face, he kept quiet and went along with what the redhead said.
But what he wasn't expecting was how 'payment plan' was code for presenting Shigaraki blueprints for a string of robberies.
Izuku's face paled ghostly white while listening to Touya speak as if it was nothing when he explained to the gang leader his plans to discreetly rob several small stores in the dead of night with Izuku as the getaway driver.
The freckled teen learned that AFO did no crimes without them getting the stamp of approval from either Shigaraki junior or senior. It was how they got away with almost clean slates because everything they did was never half put together and carefully planned out from start to finish.
It was a frightening and well thought out hierarchy.
After Touya finished speaking, Shigaraki snapped his fingers and several men came out and supplied Touya with a large suitcase of guns, ammo, and gear.
"Do what you do best, Touya," Shigaraki smiled greedily, eyes looking directly at Izuku. The man watched the greenette like a hawk that was curious of its prey. "Don't disappoint me again. I don't want to regret keeping you alive a second time."
Touya just nodded and gestured for Izuku to stay close to him on the way out and it took all the freckled male had to hold back the tears when Touya handed him a black beanie and bandana.
Every fiber of his body was screaming as if it was on fire as he prepared for the first robbery of a family owned store.
It was wrong and there was nothing he could do but wait in the black car AFO supplied to them for Touya to finish.
When the time came and the alarms set off at nearly 3:40 am, the redhead hurried into the car. Izuku drove as quickly as possible to where they planned to hide the car and switched to Touya's motorcycle. His mind was foggy as he thought about what he was doing—what he was helping take a part of—
—But when he would go to his internship with his father, he felt his hands tied.
He didn't want to be the reason for his father's death.
Just the thought made him kept his mouth shut like Touya told him to. He prayed that everything would be over soon, and this would be a dark memory he would never revisit again.
During this time, Izuku's dreams started to shift from black and white to just shades of deep black.
The darkness enveloped him, and it felt strangely comforting like a punishment for the crimes he committed with Touya as time went on.
Each time he tied the black bandana around his mouth and nose he felt a little piece of himself chip away. Even more so when he would strap the black backpack full of stolen yen to his body and ride away with Touya quickly to their hideaway station.
His heart grew heavy until his dreams were nothing but a sea of pitch-black ink. Izuku remembered how he dreamed once that he was drowning in an ocean as dark as Shigaraki's heart. He tried to scream out for help, but his head was constantly underwater unable to call out without the thick liquid choking him and slamming into his lungs.
He'd tried to reach out above the tide, but waves of obsidian colored liquid forced him back under and soon it felt like he was swimming in a sea of thorns. They were sharp, drawing blood with every step he took, hurting him the more he struggled against them. They would wrap around arms and drag him deeper and deeper into the blackened sea until he couldn't escape.
Izuku stopped sleeping correctly after that dream.
"I-I'm not meant for this Touya," he broke down one day after the sixth robbery. His body was strung tightly as he cried into the palms of his hands while sitting on the edge of their bed. "I-I can't keep d-doing this—this is wrong. This is so fucking wrong."
Touya kneeled beside him and lovingly stroked his leg with a look of remorse.
"Hey, look at me," Touya called with the soothing voice Izuku had come to seek comfort in. Green eyes looked into blue, tired and full of tears. "Those people we're taking from will be fine, no one was hurt, were they?"
Izuku had paused, confused but shook his head 'no' otherwise.
"Exactly. But if we don't do this, Shigaraki is going to hurt people," The elder man whispered with a hard edge in his voice. "By people I mean you, me, and your parents. So we can't fuck around, Izuku. Leave your sympathy for strangers at the door until this is settled."
The words seemed to ground Izuku enough and he rebalanced himself. He nodded slowly and looked into the blue eyes he trusted.
"O-Okay," Izuku whispered.
"Let's get to bed," Touya smiled at him and kissed his forehead lovingly. "I'll call in sick tomorrow and we can just spend some time together. Let's finally go see that movie."
Izuku smiled sadly but happily agreed to the notion.
A month went by and Izuku could feel the lack of sleep start to take a toll on his body.
The bags under his eyes were heavy and they gained weight quickly between the internship, classes, and trying to balance out being Touya's getaway driver at ungodly hours.
The redhead didn't seem bothered by what they were doing, in fact it almost looked as if Touya enjoyed the adrenaline that he gained from it.
Teal eyes were sparked to life by the danger and it didn't go unnoticed by Izuku how sometimes Touya would pick up extra items from certain stores for himself.
He tried to ignore it, tell himself that Touya clearly had a sticky, complicated past but now things were different. He liked the life they had and Izuku didn't feel like he had to worry about Touya resorting to crime again.
Which brought them to the end of the month, presenting the yen to Shigaraki at the AFO headquarters.
Their headquarters wasn't what Izuku was expecting. Green eyes studied the factory warehouse that dealt with domestic shipping and all the gruff looking workers that shuffled about. Prying curious eyes studied him back as if they could smell the fear on the teenager as he stood behind Touya.
The silver haired young adult counted the money carefully in silence, leaning against his desk in the middle of the large space. Touya didn't say a word as he stood tall in front of Izuku like a soldier, shoulders heavy with the weight of both fear and regret.
"How did the heist go?" A voice off to the side spoke. Izuku's ear perked up at the conversation and he cut an eye to two figures off to the side packaging a box full of what he presumed to be drugs.
"We didn't go through with it," another man sighed. "We scoped out that government bank on Kōkai Street and there's literally no way into the safe where all the cash is without risking getting caught."
"Really? No entrance into it?"
"None. It's protected by a thick wall in the back and you'd need basically a wrecking ball to get through there or even the front volt area. Fuckers thought of everything."
"That's a bummer," the first man sighed, shrugging. "Would've been sick pay out."
Izuku made a face of disgust at the conversation. What kind of people were like this? Talking casually about a bank robbery as if it they just missed a play or something. Just as Izuku's thoughts dove deeper in judgment, Shigaraki hummed when he sorted the last of the yen.
"One third of the way there within a month. Impressive," the young gang leader spoke, looking up at Touya happily. "I always knew you were a good asset, so much potential. Shame you traded in this life to play husband. You know it's possible to combine the two? Hm? Your little flower would make great arm candy if you ever decided to come back to us. Just have to train him."
Touya didn't let any emotions slip at the jab and spoke coldly, ignoring the remark. "I'm just making sure we're on track to have full payment back by the summer like we agreed on."
"Yes, you are. Always the timely one." Shigaraki tilted his head to try to look around at Izuku who was standing behind Touya. "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you two speed it up. I got an order from my father to collect the cash in full in two weeks."
Izuku stopped breathing and Touya's emotionless composure finally gave in underneath his rage.
"What?" The redhead hissed venomously, scaring Izuku as he stepped forward threateningly into Shigaraki's face. "That's not what we agreed on. You know damn well that's not enough time to collect what's left."
"Sorry, not my decision, Touya," the silver haired young adult coolly replied. "You know how my father is."
"But you can fucking talk to him you worthless piece of shit—"
"—Watch how you talk to me or I'll kill you both now versus later."
The warehouse grew uncomfortably quiet and all the men standing around them shifted their bodies ready to strike down Touya as he got too close to Shigaraki. The two young adults' furious eyes clashed like lightning and neither of them moved.
Izuku's heart pounded loudly in his heaving chest when he realized what had just happened.
They never planned on letting Touya off that easily.
"You knew," Izuku whispered, looking at Shigaraki with watery eyes. "You knew this whole time we wouldn't be able to pay the money back in time. Why would you make us do all of that that when you knew all along we couldn't pay it back?"
"Because like Touya here, I like to play games," Shigaraki explained. He walked around the fuming fiery man to Izuku and stopped in front of the short-freckled male. "I like entertainment and I figured some percent would be better than zero. Unless you guys can really pull off something off before next Monday. Then I would be impressed."
"There's no way to get that money in enough time," Izuku whispered, looking at the man in front of him carefully.
Izuku chalked up the conclusion that he enjoyed hurting people and seeing them suffering under his hand. Shigaraki was evil. He should just slit their throats now, but instead he was toying with them like a twisted game of cat and mouse.
"Ah, think bigger, little flower," Shigaraki hummed. He reached a white gloved hand out to trace new bruises on Izuku's cheekbone carefully. "You're thinking too much inside of the box. I thought you were an artist? Use the creative brain of yours to think of something. They say the best ideas are produced under pressure—like a diamond."
Shigaraki retracted his hand and the touch made both Izuku and Touya glare at the man with a loathsome gaze. The silver haired man's red eyes flickered between the two lovers before shrugging his shoulders lazily.
"Alright, you can leave. I'll see you Monday night for collection—whether we leave with yen or blood. Have a good evening you two."
Touya mumbled 'let's go' to Izuku as he led the shaking greenette out of the warehouse. The angry redhead glared at all the men who stared too long. They all leered at them like hungry animals and suddenly walking towards the door made Izuku feel like he was walking down death row.
The couple walked out into the cool nighttime scene silently, the cold air waking them both up to the new misfortune.
Izuku started crying loudly before he could stop himself. The vision of his future was now nonexistent.
"Izuku…" Touya whispered. He reached out to touch Izuku's hand but the greenette flinched away from him, upset. A painfilled look gripped Touya's face when Izuku's sobbing got louder and harder. "Izuku, I'm so sorry."
"I-It's not fair," Izuku wept, hanging his head down as his shoulders started shaking. His pictured his parents faces and felt so angry, desperate, willing to do anything. "W-We did what they asked, and they still screwed us over. They said they would let us go—"
"—Hey, don't worry. I'll think of something, okay?" Touya hushed him, embracing him fully. This time Izuku welcomed the warmth, realizing it may be the last time. He buried his face into Touya's leather jacket and let the caring fingers of the other run through his hair affectionately. "You don't have to get involved anymore. I can figure out something and try my best to sway them. I-I'll think of something."
Izuku nodded into Touya's chest, unsure if he could really believe that. Everything felt as if it was spiraling and the usually cheerful teen felt overwhelmingly pessimistic.
"Want to go somewhere?" Touya whispered into his head of curls.
Izuku's thoughts stopped for a moment and he leaned away from the tight embrace he was in to see Touya looking down at him with a sad smile.
"Where?"
"Let's consider it a surprise," Touya half smirked. He reached down to hold Izuku's hand and the greenette squeezed it back lovingly.
The ride over to wherever Touya was taking him was peaceful.
He closed his eyes as he held on tightly to the other and let the cold breeze rake across his face and through his hair. Touya maneuvered his bike expertly like he always did and at every stop light would look over his shoulder to give Izuku a loving, handsome smile.
Izuku's heart was comforted at the sight, allowing him to avoid the reality they were in for just a moment.
When they finally arrived to where Touya had planned, they were slowly engulfed in a wooded area. Izuku sat up, surprised as they continued into the thick woods in the deep of night.
But when they came to a stop it was one of the most beautiful places Izuku had ever seen. He carefully let go of Touya's waist to step off the motorcycle in awe.
Sitting in front of him was a dense forest with trees that looked like they touched the clouds above. Peeking from the skylight were faded mountains and birds floating into the night. The smell of fresh river water mixed with a grassy scent filled the air and paired perfectly with the soothing sound of running water.
"This place is stunning," Izuku whispered in awe, staring up at the clear starry sky through the canopy of treetops. "I've never been here before, it's so big. Where are we exactly?"
Touya smiled at him admirably before looking down at the dirt beneath their feet, kicking the soft turf.
"Kuromata, north and directly between Shizuoka City and Yaizu. I used to come here when I was homeless," the redhead murmured quietly enough that Izuku almost missed it. "I would sleep under the trees because it made me feel safe enough and not so paranoid that someone might try to mug me while I was asleep."
Forest green eyes turned towards Touya surprised and softened. Izuku felt his heart clenched at the thought.
"I'm so sorry, Touya," he whispered, studying his boyfriend carefully. He realized what Touya had said a month ago was right. He didn't know what it was like to feel all those emotions. He didn't know what it was like to have nothing and he had no right to judge what Touya may or may not have done in the past.
"What are you sorry for? You've done nothing wrong," Touya sighed and walked further into the forest. Izuku followed behind him, being careful not to trip over the thick roots and vines that were overgrown on the ground.
As they walked, he noticed underneath were forgotten train tracks, barely noticeable buried under all the wear and tear of the years.
"I'm sorry for what I had said back when Shigaraki first came," Izuku clarified while studying how they followed the metallic railings embedded in the dirt. "You're right, I don't know what you've been through and I don't know what it's like to suffer the extent you have."
Touya's shoulder stiffened and he said nothing for a stretch of silence as he continued walking along the trial.
Izuku followed loyally trying his best to be careful of the thick bush of thorns that Touya climbed into with an issue. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut as he pushed through them as well, ignoring the stinging pain of their sharp edges dragging against his skin.
When they came out on the other side of the condensed foliage, he was surprised to see that they were at the edge of a very tall cliff.
The drop down to the river was incredibly steep and further than Izuku would've guessed. He looked to his right to see the train tracks spanning suspended across the river like a bridge to the other side. The vines from the forest followed the trail and covered the old metallic structure all over.
Izuku thought it was beautiful in its own forgotten way.
Touya took a seat on the ground, leaves crunching underneath his body weight. The young teenager sat down next to him and watched how sad the blue eyes grew as he began plucking small flowers up from the ground.
"How come you never mentioned this place before?" The greenette asked. He watched how Touya slowly ripped the pedals off the innocent flowers, lost in his thoughts.
"I didn't know how to tell the guy I'm in love with about the forest I used to call home," Touya answered truthfully, not looking at him. "It's embarrassing and shows how much of a nobody I used to be. Especially since some of my lowest moments were here, on that bridge," Touya mumbled.
The redhead gestured his head to where the suspended train tracks were hanging over the running water.
Izuku's throat tightened at the implication.
"Not the best feelings associated with this place," Touya sighed. He put down the flower once he had successfully stripped it of its colorful petals. The nighttime setting washed Touya's figure with a melancholy blue hue and made him seem older than he was.
The freckled male glanced around, trying to understand how a place so beautiful could be associated with despair. He allowed himself a bit of escapism when he spoke his next words, hoping they would be true one day.
"How about we make it associated with some good feelings?" Izuku smiled weakly.
Touya turned his head towards him curiously. "Good feelings? What do you mean?"
"Well, when all this All For One business is all said and done and when we figure this out—which we will—let's make good memories here."
"Like what?"
"If we ever get engaged, let's take our engagement photos here," Izuku said and he could see Touya's eyes widen. The sullen mood that had taken a grip on the redhead slowly shifted to something hopeful. "I-It would be nice to have a more forestry theme to them, right? Something fresh out of a fairytale."
The two lovers stared at each other and a bright smile worked its way onto Touya's face. He shifted closer to Izuku, wrapping his arm around the younger male's shoulders.
"That would be nice," Touya's deep voice said, as he intertwined his fingers with Izuku's. "We'll figure this out. Then when we do I'm going to propose to you and we're going to have our happy ending."
Izuku nodded eagerly through tears he didn't notice he was shedding. The colorful vision of happiness that he had in his mind slowly returning the longer he looked into the teal colored eyes that meant the world to him.
Touya leaned in for a soft kiss and Izuku returned it. The greenette knew they were just willfully forgetting their situation, but he allowed himself the inkling of happiness in the dark night.
When the older man leaned back, he sighed as he looked at the bridge. Izuku could tell it evoked a painful memory when the redhead reached in his pocket and pulled out his black lighter again. Izuku had grown to know the item as something Touya just held onto for anxiety reasons.
He sometimes would catch the redhead flickering it on and off when he was stressed. It calmed him down and Izuku just equated it as the equivalent of a stress ball for Touya.
He didn't say anything as Touya flicked it on, the bright orange flame dancing with the slow breeze that blew through. Touya did this again and again and Izuku watched distantly, finding it strangely calming as well.
But when Touya flicked the lighter again, a small bright spark shot up from the trigger and ignited an idea in Izuku brain.
Green eyes went wide.
Touya turned to Izuku who was staring at the flame as if he saw something inside of it.
"What's wrong?" Touya asked carefully, looking confused at the youngest.
Izuku's eyes didn't move, staying glued to the swaying fire that brightly shone in the dark. The orange colors from the flame clashed with the hues of blue on Izuku's face and softly haloed his features.
When the dark thought Izuku had settled in fully, the freckled teen tore his eyes away from the flame to look at Touya.
"Do you trust me?" He asked, voice full of trepidation. His brain tousled with the idea in his head, wondering if he would even speak it into existence.
"Of course, angel. I trust you with my life."
Izuku nodded, not thinking too much about the language Touya had used. But that phrase the redhead spoke would come to haunt every single one of his nightmares in the future, like another blood stain he would never be able to scrub out.
"Touya...I have an idea on how to get the money."
The elder male smirked at him and shut off his lighter, leaning in to hear what Izuku had to say.
The artist's brain started piecing together an intricate plan that would follow him for all of his days. The rest of the night was spent walking around the forest and Izuku sketching around the beautiful location, trying to engrave it into his memory.
The couple rode back to their apartment, with Izuku studying the stars in the sky as if it might be one of the last few times, he'd see them.
When they arrived back inside, Touya went to bed and Izuku stayed up.
The greenette sat at his wooden desk with his lamp on, the only beacon of light in the entire apartment. He scribbled down notes that he would never speak about again on the last two pages of his sketchbook and ripped them out with shaky hands.
His gut twisted and wrenched like he was seasick on a rocky ocean the longer he realized that what he had planned might work. He turned back to the last page in his sketchbook of the beautiful forest Touya had shown him and imagined them there together, happily holding hands when all of this was buried.
He hoped that this sliver of hope for the future would return the colors to his dreams and he could stop dreaming about sharp, painful thorns digging into his skin.
Izuku dated the forest drawing before he went to bed and jotted down his thoughts in hopes that they would stop keeping him awake.
I was told today to "think bigger, little flower" but the bigger I think the more I blur the lines between trying to do good and trying to be good.
I haven't felt like a good person in a while.
I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think below! Have a great rest of your days!
Preview for next chapter:
"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt, but we have a witness from the Uchi Street fire," Kirishima said quietly into the room. Izuku, Katsuki and Shouto all looked over their shoulders to the redhead standing at the door. "He says got a glimpse of someone we think might be The Cremator. He recognized his voice and face from a club he used to work at."