The following morning comes much too bright for his liking. Sunlight streams through the slats of his blinds and he rolls away from right into Katsuki's chest. The blonde grunts and cracks an eye open to look at him. "Breakfast before work?" The blonde's voice is rough with sleep but warm all the same. Izuku nods slowly, gazing up at his boyfriend with affection, a small smile playing on his lips. "Wake Ei up all sugary like you do," Katsuki says with a big yawn and stretch before he gets up, finding his discarded boxers and t-shirt to put on as he walks into the kitchenette.

"Ei, baby, wake up," Izuku whispers, rubbing his nose with the redhead's then planting a small kiss on it.

Eijirou rolls over and groans. "I don't want to get up. It's like sleeping on a cloud."

Izuku smirks at Katsuki who is watching their exchange as he heats a pan for eggs. "But your favorite boyfriend wants some attention." Kacchan scoffs at him in false offense before grinning at his silliness.

"Favorite boyfriend, you said?" Kiri asks playfully before pouncing onto Izuku and covering his face in kisses. "Is this enough attention for you?"

"You missed my lips. I hope you aim better when you pee," Izuku says with a giggle.

"You're a brat, Izu," Ei replies, capturing the greenette's lips in a sweet, lingering kiss.

When they separate, Izuku responds with, "but I'm your brat, and Kacchan's too."

"Yes, you very much are," Kiri confirms with a sleepy smile. "Ah yeah, let's not forget about Kacchan."

"Die," Katsuki says from the stove as he flips the eggs.

The other two men collect their clothes from the floor and dress in them long enough to eat Bakugou's delicious breakfast before they take turns showering with Izuku. They indulge themselves with quick shower sex before Izuku runs out the door for work at One for All.

"Good morning dad," Deku says brightly, giving Toshi a quick hug after he deposits his DJ equipment in his workspace. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well this morning. You seem extra chipper. Was that bed a promising investment then?"

"La la la, I can't hear you!" Deku says loudly, covering his ears as he walks away.

Being back to work at the tattoo shop raises Izuku's spirit quite a bit. He didn't notice just how much he missed putting artwork on people. Sometimes, if the customer is okay with it, Deku skips over the stencil and just does the work free hand. There is a certain level of pride he feels as he finishes a great piece that he simply did with a reference picture.

At lunch time, Toshi calls for him and tells him that his boyfriends want to see him. Kacchan puts a bento box into hands before kissing his forehead and departing. Kirishima does the same thing, but he gives Deku a hug after the kiss before leaving.

"What kind of music are you playing tonight?" Toshinori asks as he eats lunch with Izuku at the front counter, slurping his ramen noisily.

"The good kind," he replies with a goofy smile. Toshi just shakes his head and huffs an amused sigh.

The time for Izuku to go over to Fire and Ice creeps up on him faster than he thought it would. He was so wrapped up in drawing and inking and laughing with customers or coworkers that he didn't realize it had grown dark outside. "I'll see you tomorrow dad. Let me know if you need anything," Deku says as he waves to Toshinori.

"Have a good night. Work hard, play hard," Toshi replies warmly.

"Plus ultra," Izuku answers back, going out into the chilly night. Even though he hadn't been gone long, it felt like forever and walking around the back to the staff entrance of Fire and Ice feels like coming home after an arduous journey.

"Hey Deku," Camie says with a tired wave.

"Are they working you to death?" He asks, eyeing the beginnings of sleep deprived circles under her eyes.

"No, just a full schedule this semester is all. How have you been?"

"Back to being busy and it feels so good." Everything is exactly as it has always been. "Hello Fuyumi, you're looking happier than usual. What's up?"

His boss looks even more ecstatic when she sees him. "Deku! You're back! We've all missed you. Don't get me wrong, Jirou is great, but you always bring so much flair to the dance floor. I'm going to be so sad when you decide to leave the club for good. Work here until you're forty, okay?"

Izuku can't help but laugh and Fuyumi joins in. "I'll think about it. I am happy to be back, that's for sure."

"I'm also glad to hear you and Shouto could come to terms and stitch up what's left of your friendship. No one ever said he was smart. And to think that I'll be leaving my legacy to him one day." She shakes her head in disbelief. "Hopefully, he wizens up in that time."

"You have plenty of time. You're not that old."

"Flattery will only work on me every time. Now get to work."

Setting up is done with muscle memory as Deku looks around, calling up to Jirou's platform to make small talk with her. She chats excitedly with him about her classes and then she says something that shouldn't surprise him but still does. "Momo asked me to be her girlfriend and I said yes!"

Deku smiles and says, "congratulations EJ, you deserve all the happiness." Her cheeks turn pink and she disappears back over the railing of her platform. It makes Izuku chuckle.

Slowly the club goers begin to trickle in, picking up their drinks at the bar and filling up the tables or mulling around the edges of the dancefloor. Tonight, Deku intends to start things a little slower than he usually would. Over the past two weeks of his time without work and learning how to adjust to his new living situation and making time for his friends he had plenty of time to reflect on just how far he has come since starting high school, picking up DJing, growing as an artist, making friends, learning to love and how to survive heartbreak, and extending his family. At one point in time, if life hadn't been going his way, Izuku would've fallen apart time and time again. Not now though, he has become an entirely different person and the new mashup is a way to describe that fact using music. Its purpose isn't to get people up and dancing with their drinks raised above clashing bodies. No, it is to welcome back a new and improved Deku.

"Izuku, m'boy, I have a new proposition for you," Toshinori says over their Saturday morning coffee. His tone is full of melancholy and it worries him. What kind of proposition would make someone so sad?

"I'm all ears dad."

"Gran Torino is retiring and he's leaving his shop to me of all people. The thing is, music is not my forte. Even though I plan to one day give all of my businesses to you I think you should take over Windswept Records now." Deku opens his mouth to put a hold on that idea but Toshi holds a hand up to stop him. "I'll handle the financials and inventories and things like for now and just give you a report each month, but all of the other decisions will be made by you. You will choose the staff, the merchandise, the hours, the décor, and everything else in between those things. I know it seems like a lot, but you have time to do those things and I want you to work hard on your graduate student studies so if it becomes too much then I'll take over fully. Call this a trial run to see if you'll even like it."

"Can I rename it?"

"Sure, it's your shop."

"Jirou, what exactly are you in school for? What's your major?" Deku asks as they sit at the bar waiting for Fire and Ice to open.

Swallowing her drink of cola, EJ narrows her eyes suspiciously at him as she answers, "music education. Why do you ask?"

"Have you ever heard of Windswept Records? It's a shop across from the club?"

"Yeah, I've been there. It's sad that Gran Torino is retiring. I can't help but wonder what will happen to Windswept. I love getting my vinyl from there, its priced perfectly."

Those words rapidly grab Izuku's attention and he can't help but to blurt out, "it's mine now."

EJ cocks her head to the side curiously. "What's your's now?"

"Windswept Records. I own it now."

"What?! No way! What are you going to do with it now?" She is sitting on the edge of her bar stool as she yells out the questions. Even Shouto stops to stare at them, measuring up if it's a dire situation or not.

"I'm going to rename it and organize it better and clean it up and stuff. I was about to ask if you maybe wanted to help? I'd even like to offer you a job, a management position. I need someone I can trust and who is knowledgeable, and you fit the bill perfectly." He has his hands up in case Kyouka decides to pounce on him.

The way Jirou's eyes light up at his declarations makes warmth bloom in his chest and onto his cheeks. "YES! I ACCEPT!"

Two weeks later, Izuku and Kyouka find themselves standing in the middle of Windswept Records on a bright Sunday morning. They take in everything slowly as they try to figure out where to start. "Gran Torino didn't keep any inventory of his stocks at all. The stuff isn't even organized. How did you find the vinyl records you were looking for when you came in?"

"Simple, I didn't know what I was going to get until I found something I liked in one of the crates." Deku looks at her with wide eyes. "What?"

"That isn't what I was expecting. I think we're going to need some help if we don't want to be doing inventory into the next semester." Deku sends out an SOS text to all of his friends explaining the situation and that if they help then they'll be compensated in the form of hot ramen and good company. Not long after they begin working, Kaminari appears in their open doorway shortly followed by Ochako. Looking over at them, Izuku calls out, "there are donuts and coffee on the counter if you want breakfast. Hot ramen is for lunch break and then pizza will be for game night!"

When Iida, Kirishima, and Momo arrive they walk in to see Jirou and Kaminari swatting at each other with records that they are supposed to be dusting off and typing into the inventory sheets on Smoogle Documents while Deku pulls crates off of the shelves. He neatly puts them in a corner next to the two friends who are playfully arguing before checking on Ochako who is dusting everything she can reach.

"This looks like a party," Kirishima says loudly.

"A cleaning party," Jirou corrects him. "Morning food is over there. Keep it over there if you don't want to have it sprinkled with dust."

Toshinori stops in just before lunch break to offer his help, but sees it isn't really that necessary when he walks in. Or at least, he hopes it isn't because the system they have going on looks rather complicated. There are sticky notes on every surface, there are four laptops on a large table in the middle of the room and they are all separated by crates labeled with more colorful little notes. Each laptop has two people sitting in front of it as they go through vinyl records, occasionally calling out to each other about a variety of things. He finds Izuku and Kyouka at the front counter with their heads together over a large pad of paper. "What do we have going on here?"

Both of them look up at the sound of his voice and grin widely. "It's a layout of the store," Izuku explains as he gestures at the paper. "We are going to move things around and make room for some modern technology as well."

"What else?"

Excitedly, each of the DJs take turns explaining the inventory system they have, how Smoogle Documents works, the proposed store hours and sales as well as a loyalty program, social media pages that Momo will be setting up for them, and finally, renaming the shop itself.

"We are going to call it 'Sound Bytes'," Jirou explains, high fiving Izuku in the process.

Toshi looks thoughtful for a minute. "I must say that I'm impressed by the both of you. I think this will work out wonderfully. Now, I haven't been much of a help, but could I get in on that hot ramen offer for lunch? I'm starving."

Waking up refreshed and rejuvenated on Monday, Izuku sets off for his two classes of the day. Once they're over and he reaches the safety of his home, Deku puts on his favorite pair of cotton shorts and a tank top before plopping down at his dining table to continue working on the next hero sketch in his series. This time it features two heroes, Kacchan and Eijirou. The former is at the top of the page, wearing a suit that is just as explosive as his powers. Grenade gauntlets cover his arms as explosions detonate from his hands to make him soar into a blue sky, and they cover half of the paper in vivid oranges and reds that swirl and spike in a way that constantly keeps Izuku's eye moving across the page every time he stops to look at it.

Eijirou is at the bottom of the page, the texture of his skin is rock-like to show his superpower off. The background is a brick wall that Ei has busted a hole into and is climbing through. Izuku shades it so it appears as if he is climbing off of the page. It isn't perfect by any means but with time he is sure he will improve. With time, everything else in his life has improved, so why not his art too?