"This is just for the sake of understanding but, are you sure you're comfortable with Todoroki being present for our session and/or sessions?" A womanly voice asked. The woman sitting in front of Izuku was hired by the hospital as his therapist. Her hair was a soft peach color and barely reached her shoulders which made her green eyes pop out. He was well aware of the hospital hiring her and even had a say in who would be chosen. Izuku made it very clear he did not want a male therapist for sake of comfort. Izuku nodded, too anxious about giving verbal responses. "Alright. Then I shall retrieve him. I'll only be a moment so please, feel free to get comfortable." The woman stood up from her chair and quietly left the room. With her gone, he decided to look around the room.
There was an abundance of bright colors but not enough to make it seem chaotic. The couch he sat on was a light grey that was sporting a couple colorful pillows. Behind him was a small purple blanket that seemed to only lay on the couch for decoration purposes. In front of him was the recently abandoned therapist chair. Much like the couch, it was also a light grey. There were a few flower designs sown into the fabric and a tiny yellow pillow sitting on the chair.
The walls seemed to be more pastel colored than the rest of the room, but it had its fair share of colorful objects hanging from the one wall of decorative brick. There were framed positive quotes and pieces of art making the room livelier. Strands of pink tinsel hung lazily on the room's walls. There was one window, but it was covered by blinds. Instead, most of the light came from the fixtures on the ceiling. A small chandelier lit up the middle of the room, while fairy lights gave the room a colorful lighting.
Next to the couch was a small table that held one large glass bowl of squishy stress balls, puzzles, and fidget cubes. The back of the door was likely the most colorful piece in the room. It was painted a bright lilac and had a magnetic chalk board attached to it. Bright magnets held equally bright pieces of paper that looked to be reminders and positive reinforcements. The small smiley faces on the chalk board seemed to mock him. A wave of anxiety settled in his stomach causing him to reach for a yellow pillow and squeezing it like a teddy bear. He took in a deep breath. The door opened, revealing the therapist and Shoto following close behind.
Whatever conversation they were having paused the moment they stepped inside. As soon as Shoto saw Izuku, he made a B line straight to him and sat down. "I'm happy you wanted me in the room." Shoto whispered to Izuku, making the leftover anxiety wash away temporarily. Despite the decent sized couch, the two sat close. The therapist sat on her chair and got comfortable, officially starting the first session. "With Todoroki here now, I'm going to reintroduce myself." Izuku muttered an 'okay' that likely wasn't even loud enough for her to hear.
"My name is Dr. Kazue and I'll be your therapist until further notice. I am licensed to use my quirk if you begin having an anxiety attack, feel extremely nervous, or anything of the sort. So if you feel you need to take a breather, just tell me. My quirk is called Harmony's Benefit. The basics of my quirk is that I can willingly release a type of aroma that calms the people in the room with me. It can also double over as a temporary anti-depressant. You'll likely notice that my quirk is very similar to the Pro Hero: Midnight. Just not as potent. Before we start, do either of you have any questions?" Both shook their heads no. "That's alright. Let's begin."
"So, Midoriya, what's your favorite activity? I'm sure you must be bored out of your mind in the hospital." Her voice felt velvety as she uncapped her pen.
"Well, um. There really isn't too much I can do." Izuku mumbled, reaching for Shoto's hand like he did when Mr. Aizawa and Bakugou visited. Shoto welcomed the developing habit with open arms; or hands rather.
"That's understandable. The hospital has already put a date to your discharge. Are you excited?"
'Excited? Should I be excited?' Izuku thought. "I-I'm not sure. I don't know what's going to happen after I'm discharged." He squeezed Shoto's hand tighter. 'Am I just going to be dropped off somewhere?'
"Ah yes! About that. UA has decided to take you in since-," Dr. Kazue cut herself off with what was clearly a forced cough, "Well they decided to have you stay at UA with Todoroki here. Of course you'll be staying in different establishments but they've acknowledged your attachment to each other and found that this was the best course of action." She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her pierced ear.
"I'll be able to-" There was a pause. He looked over to Shoto who was smiling shamelessly before finishing Izuku's sentence. "You'll be able to stay with me."
There was new feeling in Izuku's abdomen. He couldn't ever remember feeling this way. How could he describe it? It felt like there was a small flame within him, warming him from the inside. It felt comfortable, like basking in the sun after a long winter.
Shoto seems to be the cause of these new feelings. There was a not so foreign thought wandering his mind. Izuku tightened his grip on Shoto's hand. He was happy. "So this arrangement is satisfactory I take it?" The therapist's voice pulled him out of his fantasies. "Ah-, yes!"
The session ended soon after that and the pair retired back to the room. Shoto volunteered to bathe first so Izuku turned on the wall TV in the meantime.
Shoto couldn't help but smile as he undressed himself. Today had been eventful and surprisingly comforting. Now he wouldn't have to worry about finding some way to be around him. It was understandable really- as far as he knew, he didn't have any family and no one else had come to take care of him.
The water on his skin gave him a small version of what he feels with Izuku; warm and safe. It wasn't the warm he feels when he uses his fire side, it was more like a sweet embrace from a lover. "Lo-ver?" Shoto mouthed each syllable like it was a foreign language.
Could Izuku be counted as his lover? The thought was more than welcome but not as familiar as he'd like it to be. His face felt like it was so warm. Was he blushing? His stuck his head out of the shower to look at the mirror, sure enough, he was all red. Not only that, but there was a small flame on his shoulder (which he put out immediately).
As he stepped back in the shower, he stumbled on some leftover ice by the drain. He sighed at himself and his lack of control. "In order to control it, I need to understand it." His mumbling was a completely separate sound from the water.
Shoto sucked him a deep breath and muttered the word again, "lover…loooo-ver… lov-er…" He repeated the word until it felt like something completely foreign. He liked the way it sounded. It slid off his tongue. He'd have to ask Izuku about it.
Shoto finished washing up and turned off the water. A white fluffy towel that wasn't there before, sat neatly on the toilet seat. The leftover droplets quietly fell as he picked up the towel. It smelled briefly of Izuku. He hadn't even heard Izuku come in. He looked up at the foggy mirror as he dried off. There was a silly smiley face and note drawn on the mirror. 'You forgot your towel (w)'. It made him smile. There was also a set of clean clothes on the counter.
He quickly changed into the clothes laid out for him and put the towel around his neck before opening the door. Izuku jumped in surprise before turning around at the open door. "Shoto!" Izuku's smile was contagious, and spread to him like wildfire. "I have some good news." He held up an opened letter with both hands at different sides of the envelope.
There was bold lettering on the paper that read 'Izuku Midoriya'. Shoto sat on the bed next to the greenette. "I'm being discharged tomorrow!" Shoto couldn't help his excitement as he hugged Izuku, tackling him to the bed. "I can't wait to show you around campus. The whole property is huge and covered in trees so most of the time you'll forget that you're within school walls. There's tons of buildings with different purposes too so you'll never need to leave the property. Everything will be taken care of and I'll be close by if you ever need me."
"Thanks, Sho. That makes me really happy." He smiled. The two got comfortable as they continued sharing stories about UA, Shoto more so than Izuku. The TV served as meaningless background noise for the two. UA always seemed so far away even for the students, but it was a comfortable topic for Izuku.
Despite this though, there was a disturbing envelope hidden somewhere in the rest of the mail, which kept Izuku on edge.