The word of All Might and Inko's relationship got around fast and the boy only had himself to blame.

He was sitting in the common room with Tenya Iida, venting his frustrations about his mentor's possible affair with his mom. Iida, as tightly wound as he was, was a great listener and an even better friend. He could count that he was going to keep a level headed mind when approaching this.

Unfortunately for Izuku, he made the fatal mistake of letting Mineta of all people overhear their conversation. Next thing he knew, he was sat down and surrounded by the entirety of his class, all of them waiting eagerly for an explanation on the conversation that the tiny pervert walked in on.

Izuku was somewhat reluctant at first but eventually gave in and explained how he saw them both at the fair that weekend while he was out with Ochaco. He went on to tell them how out of character it was for his mom to want to go out on her own and proceeded to divulge on how Toshinori stayed completely silent when he mentioned that he was at the fair on the same day as him.

By the end of his story, Izuku couldn't help but feel a sense of relief, despite his initial hesitation. At least he didn't have to suffer alone now in his knowledge anymore.

"Dude, I can't believe All Might is Detroit Smashing your mom," Kirishima said in bewilderment. Loud chatter followed grotesque Kirishima's statement.

Izuku whined loudly at that and buried his face in his hands, unsure whether he was disturbed by the redhead's wording or the element of truth behind it.

Detroit Smashing his mom.

Christ, why did he have to phrase it like that?!

"Now everyone, give Midoriya some space. I'm sure that this is all very overwhelming information for him," Iida cut into the crowd. Izuku sighed in relief. He had never been so grateful to have Iida in his life.

"I don't understand what the big deal is," Todoroki commented, "Don't most kids want their parents to get back together?"

Izuku looked up from his lap and over at his aloof classmate. He could have sworn they've had this conversation before.

"Todoroki, my dad is dead," he clarified for what felt like the hundredth time, "My parents aren't getting back together."

The stoic boy scoffed, unconvinced, "Sure."

Izuku didn't have the energy to deal with whatever implication he was trying to make. He had more important matters at hand. Like how his mentor and idol was going out with his mom behind his back.

Well, possibly. He had to keep reminding himself that it was all still technically in the air in order to maintain his sanity.

"Todoroki does have a point," Yaoyorozu noted, "Not that you're All Might's secret love child or anything, but you have to admit that you and Toshinori-san do have a very close bond."

Izuku certainly couldn't say the girl was wrong. It wasn't a secret that the kid practically worshipped his mentor. He'd been teased about it constantly.

"Yeah, I mean, you're always accidentally calling him 'dad' in class," Kaminari added absentmindedly.

Izuku's cheeks glowed as his face immediately retreated back into his hands. He wondered if he had done something horrendous in a past life to deserve this torture.

Then, as though Satan decided that Izuku's torment wasn't enough, Bakugou of all people spoke up.

"That doesn't mean anything," he countered. He sounded far too confident and matter of fact, "Who hasn't slipped up in that department?"

Izuku's fingers were digging so deeply into his skin now that they threatened to leave a mark. He knew exactly how his classmates would respond and knowing only furthered his unending suffering. He may as well be waiting his turn on death row.

"The rest of us," Todoroki answered bluntly.

Chaos instantly ensued, with a flushed Bakugou practically launching himself at Todoroki for what he said. He could hear Kirashima begging the hothead to calm down in the background of all the noise. Izuku still refused to look up, though he didn't have to in order to know that Todoroki was probably standing there with his unrelenting, shit eating grin as three separate people struggled to restrain Bakugou from committing arson.

He felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and he briefly glanced up to see his rosy girlfriend staring up at him sympathetically.

"For what it's worth," Ochaco started, "I think it's really sweet that you think of All Might as your dad."

"Sure," Izuku said, beginning to gather his thoughts again now while his class was distracted by the commotion his rival unintentionally started, "But that doesn't mean I'm okay with him fucking my mom."

All Might's and Inko Midoriya's love affair was still a hot topic among the class of 3-A the next day. Izuku could overhear Kirishima and Karimari talking about it in the kitchen when he woke up that morning.

"All I'm saying is that I think Midoriya has a point!" Kirishima said, "I mean, who's to say that All Might isn't sleeping with the rest of our moms too?"

"You know, I didn't think about it that way," Karimari admitted, "What if it's not just All Might either? For all we know, all the teachers could be in on this! Like some sort of…sex cult!"

"Midnight has been awfully friendly with my dad at our last parent teacher meeting…" he heard Mineta speculate.

Izuku would have retreated back into his room if Jiro hadn't cut in.

"God, you're such idiots," the raven haired girl groaned, rolling her eyes back into her head dramatically in exasperation, "The teachers aren't sleeping around with any of our parents."

Once again, Izuku found himself eternally grateful that at least one of their classmates were rational enough to not entertain these rumours.

He exhaled in relief, "Thanks Jiro-"

He realised then that he probably should have bit his tongue for a moment longer.

"-Except Toshinori-san," Jiro added,

"…And Midoriya's mom."

Fuck sake.

Izuku was already convinced that All Might was sleeping around with his mom but this evening's events pretty much confirmed his suspicions.

It was Friday and Izuku had just gotten back home from UA. He was usually content with spending his weekends at the dorm but with all the commotion going on with graduation and the rumours surrounding his mom and All Might, he could do with a well deserved break from his classmates.

It also gave him an excuse to see his dear mother, which wasn't nearly enough. That much was clear in light of what transpired last weekend,

Christ, the image was still imprinted into his mind. Toshinori was wearing cologne the other day, for goodness sake! The worst part was that a small part of him still hoped that this was all just some giant misunderstanding. After all, out of all the women he could have chosen, did it really have to be his own mother?

It was six o'clock and Inko had left Izuku alone for the evening. It took the boy all of his willpower to not ask her where she was going for fear of the answer.

He still hadn't decided how he felt about the idea yet. Yaoyorozu had made a decent point earlier that week and Ochaco didn't hesitate to agree with her. The two had an undeniable familial bond and Izuku had admittedly began thinking of him as more of a father than a teacher in later years. With that role absent from his life for so long, he was more than glad to let his favourite pro hero occupy it for him - even if he didn't have the confidence to outright confess those feelings to him.

Toshinori was a good man too and Izuku knew that. If there was anyone he could trust with his mother, it was him. So why did the possibility fill him with so much discomfort?

His train of thought was abruptly interrupted by an assertive knock. The boy's head perked before getting up to answer the door. He was surprised that anyone would be looking for him at this hour.

"Todoroki?"

Indeed, it was his notoriously unflappable classmate, standing before him in the flesh. He was wearing a buttoned up vest paired with a set of dress pants. His overgrown hair was tied up in a low ponytail at the back of his head. Judging by how well composed he looked, Izuku figured that he probably wasn't in any immediate danger.

"Good evening, Midoriya," Todoroki greeted him politely.

"Did something happen?" Izuku asked, more confused now than anything.

"Nothing that's cause for concern," his classmate assured him, "I was in the area and I figured I'd stop to drop off that textbook I borrowed."

"Ah," Izuku nodded, relieved that it wasn't anything serious. With that he stepped aside, making way for his classmate, "Do you want to come in? I was just about to order dinner."

"I wouldn't mind," the dual haired boy replied, accepting his classmate's offer and stepping inside the apartment.

Izuku led them both down the hall into the living room.

"You can leave the book on the coffee table," he said as he watched Todoroki set his bag down.

"Alright," the boy nodded, setting up his things and pulling out the brick that they called a biology book, "Thank you for letting me borrow it. I managed to find my copy this morning tucked behind my bookshelf."

"Don't mention it," Izuku chuckled, taking a seat on the couch.

"How are you keeping up?" Todoroki asked, sitting down beside his classmate, "Are you still paranoid about your mother and Toshinori-san?"

Izuku rubbed his nape sheepishly, "I can't say it hasn't been on my mind."

"I don't blame you," Todoroki assured, "Our classmates can be really obnoxious."

"Yeah," the green haired boy chuckled, "I'm sure they mean well though."

"I don't doubt that," Todoroki replied, "Though I still don't understand what all the fuss is about."

"Is this about me being All Might's secret love child?" Izuku asked, "Because I already told you that it's not like that."

His classmate still didn't look convinced, much like every other time they had this conversation before.

"You'd think that All Might's son wouldn't be breaking his bones all the time," Izuku pointed out. His tone was only kind of dark. He gave a light chuckle with that statement, knowing very well about the reputation he'd built among the teachers and his peers.

"Hey, I didn't say you weren't a disappointment," Todoroki countered, his voice cold and flat.

That statement took Izuku completely by surprised. So much so that he didn't have the opportunity to process any sort of offence. He was fortunately relieved once he saw the thin smirk spread across his classmate's lips. Registering that he was joking, Izuku snorted loudly.

"God, you're cold!" he laughed out loud, throwing his head back dramatically.

"So I've been told," Todoroki chuckled alongside him. His humour was extremely dry. You really had to know the guy before you could understand it. In fact, Izuku was sure that if he had pulled that on him a few years ago he would have burst into tears.

"Jokes aside, I still don't understand why you're so worked up about this. You've always idolised Toshinori-san."

Izuku heaved a loud sigh, "I don't know."

He really didn't. In fact, he'd been beating himself up over this all week. In theory, he should be ecstatic that his mother was ready to give love another chance after so much heartbreak.

That's when it hit him.

It was his mom.

After all these years, Izuku never once saw his mother entrust herself with another man after his father passed. Whenever he asked she would simply smile and say that he was more than enough for her. As he got older, he grew to realise that a large part as to why she refused to date was likely out of fear.

To her credit, he couldn't exactly blame. Izuku was extremely young when his dad passed away, leaving her to raise him by herself. Even before his death, his father was never really around, despite how much she would beg for him to stay home more often. One man resulted in Inko experiencing centuries worth of heartbreak. Izuku couldn't bare the thought of her going through it again.

His mentor was different though, he reminded himself. He wasn't the type to play with someone's feelings the way so many other celebrities would. The way his father would.

And yet, he still wouldn't admit to anything. That bothered Izuku more than he realised. How could he trust his mentor with his mom's heart when he wasn't even able to admit that he was seeing her?

"Midoriya?" Todoroki had pulled him out of his train of thought again, "You're muttering."

Izuku blushed lightly in embarrassment, not even having realised that he was talking to himself, "Agh-sorry, I was just thinking," he laughed it off awkwardly.

Todoroki shrugged, "It's no big deal."

His classmate kicked his heels back ever so slightly, flinching as he felt something roll just under the seat, "Hm, I think there's something under your couch."

"Huh? Oh, let me check," Izuku said, getting down to look underneath the seat to see what Todoroki had accidentally knocked over.

He pulled out his phone, using it as a flashlight as he got a better look. The light reflected onto the surface of a strawberry, glazed in what looked like white chocolate. It took him a moment to process what he was seeing but when he did he could have sworn that his heart stopped.

"What is it?" Todoroki asked.

"It's a chocolate covered strawberry," Izuku choked.

Todoroki arched is eyebrow, as though to ask why the boy thought that was such a big deal.

Izuku swallowed hard as he sat back up to look at his friend.

"That's a sex food."

Kirishima and Ochaco had a friendship that would go down in the history books and everyone knew it.

Tonight, the two eighteen year olds were sitting across from each other on the brunette's bed, legs crossed comfortably on the pastel duvet, surrounded by an array of nail polish bottles and cheek tints.

"Crimson or magenta?" Ochaco asked, showing off two separate bottles in each hand.

"Have you even met me?" Kirishima countered, grinning wildly, "Crimson, duh!"

Ochako giggled, twisting the cap to the holographic, red nail polish bottle.

Not many people would expect a giant brawler like Kirishima to indulge in such traditionally 'girly' activities on a Saturday night. He was, after all, the self-proclaimed connoisseur of all things manly. That's why many people were surprised when they found that that Kirishima regularly offered himself as a candidate for Ochaco to play on.

The one thing most people also seemed to forget however, is that as traditionally masculine as Kirishima was, he was also extremely secure in it and unafraid to expose himself to things that other guys would consider too feminine. In Kirishima's own words – there is nothing more manly than being secure enough to explore your feminine side!

Ochaco began by painting his right index finger in gentle strokes. They went at it for a while before the petite's phone lit up, buzzing loudly beside her on the bed.

The girl arched an eyebrow, twisting the nail polish bottle closed and putting it aside before bringing up the phone to her ear to answer, - "Hello?"

"What's up, babe?" Izuku's voice wobbled on the other line. His shaky intonation indicated that there was something wrong. That plus the fact that he called her 'babe'.

Ochako sighed, "Kirishima, get dressed, Deku's in the infirmary again."

"No way, seriously?!" the red head exclaimed, sounding far too shocked for someone who knew Izuku for as long as he did.

"What? N-no! That's not it!" her boyfriend yelped over the phone, audibly flustered. Ochaco exchanged a glance with the boy sitting across from her as she put her phone on speaker and set it between them on the bed.

"Deku, dear, I put you on speaker. Kirishima is here," Ochaco said, speaking clearly into the microphone. Whatever had gotten Izuku so worked up, at least she could rest assured that he hadn't gone and gotten himself injured again.

"What's up, Midoriya?" Kirishima chimed into the phone.

"Oh, hey Kirishima!" Izuku greeted.

"Did something happen, Deku?" Ochaco asked, getting straight to the point, voice full of concern, "You sound shaken…"

"Y-yeah…about that…" his voice trailed off. Ochaco could practically see the thin line his lips were likely pressed into.

"What's wrong, Deku? You're scaring me."

"I found a chocolate covered strawberry under the couch," her boyfriend finally admitted.

Ochaco's shoulders instantly relaxed and she gave a loud sigh of relief. Thank God it's not anything actually serious. It was too unfortunate that her boyfriend caught her sigh from the other line.

"Ochaco! This is serious!" he exclaimed, "That's a sex food!"

"Are you sure you're not just reading into it too deeply?" she asked, reopening the nail polish bottle now and resuming her handiwork on Kirishima's nails.

"I swear I'm not!" Izuku insisted, "Todoroki was here earlier and he said the same thing!"

"Yeah?"

"W-well…I had to explain it to him first because he didn't quite get it but after I did he agreed with me!" he explained. Somehow, that extra piece of detail added so much.

"Try not to overthink it, man," Kirishima advised, throwing in his own two cents, "We can't be certain about anything yet."

"You think so?" Izuku asked hopefully, practically begging for his friend's reassurance.

"Of course!" the red head replied.

The green haired boy exhaled loudly on his end, "S-so…you guys don't think they're actually sleeping together, right? Toshinori and my mom, I mean."

Kirishima and Ochaco both exchanged another look. Despite what they had said previously, neither of them were particularly convinced either that the two weren't sleeping together.

"Guys?"

Silence.

Ochaco picked up her phone and opened the camera app, delicately holding up Kirishima's fingernails into view before snapping a shot of her work and forwarding it along to Izuku.

She heard his phone chime on his end and she grinned, "What do you think? I painted Kirishima's nails! Pretty neat, right?"

Ochaco hated having to veer away the conversation like this but God knows that Izuku would spend the rest of the night over thinking the situation if she continued to indulge him. Reassurance was one hell of a drug and the girl learned early on in their relationship that letting him indulge too much in it would only cause further havoc on his anxiety. Despite that, she could sense that her boyfriend was going to go on another tangent regardless of her attempt to steer away from this topic, judging solely by the small whine he emitted.

Then there was silence again.

"Is that a bunny on his ring finger?" he asked innocently.

"Yeah!" Ochaco confirmed cheerfully, "It took me a while because Kirishima here kept moving," she added with a giggle.

"I told you, my shoulder was itchy!" the red head exclaimed, only further feeding the brunette's giggles.

"It's so cute, Ochaco," Izuku commented, "How come you never paint my nails?"

"Because you're always ruining them in fights!"

"I promise I won't this time!"

"I'll give you a pedicure if you promise to be careful," she finally settled.

"Deal!"

Monday rolled around again and thankfully the hype around Toshinori's relationship with Izuku's mom had died down, if only marginally. The boy recognised that that was likely Iida's doing (which he was still eternally grateful for).

Izuku was sitting on the staircase leading to the dormitory's porch. His hands were clasped on his lap, gaze fixated on a single stop on the pavement. It was evident that he was deep in thought and everyone already knew not to bother him when he was like this.

He wondered when his mentor was going to tell him about his relationship, if he ever even planned to. He couldn't comprehend why they were keeping this away from him? He promised to never keep secrets from him all the way back in first year and yet here he was, doing just that. Was it shame?

Izuku's stomach lurched at the thought of his idol keeping his relationship with his mother a secret out of embarrassment. She didn't deserve that. He had to keep believing that that wasn't in his character, despite what the fact that the itty bitty committee in his head was trying to convince him otherwise.

"You doing good out here, nerd?"

Izuku's head perked up at the blonde's voice, "Oh, hey Kacchan."

Bakugou grunted, taking his place beside his rival on the steps. He slung the rucksack he was sporting over beside him. He didn't toss it particularly hard and yet the thud was pronounced. Izuku wondered if the boy carried bricks in that thing.

"The extras are worried about you," he noted duly, "Figured I'd check up and make sure you're not getting worked up over bullshit again."

Izuku tensed and furrowed his eyebrows defensively, "I'm not-"

"-Relax, will you?" Bakugou interrupted with a huff, "I'm only here to help."

He bent over and pulled open the zipper across the rucksack, revealing the stack of old china he was carrying around. Izuku cocked his eyebrow. That explained the weight, at the very least.

Bakugou dug out a small plate, turning to offer it to him expectedly. Izuku hesitated.

"Take it, will you?"

Izuku accepted it reluctantly, "What is this?"

"What does it look like?" Bakugou groaned, rolling his eyes dramatically. He went on to answer the question anyway, "In anger management they told us to punch a pillow to blow off steam. Of course, I'm not about that pussy shit, so I started collecting old china from charity shops to break outside when I'm angry."

Izuku stared at the boy in surprise. He knew that Bakugou had been attending those school mandated classes for a while but he never realised that he actually bothered to take any of those lessons to heart. Even if the way he went about it was…unique.

"Stop staring, nerd!" he snapped.

Izuku shook his head, "I don't get it, what am I supposed to do with this?"

"Break it!"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Just do it!"

That was exactly what he did. His initial throw was hesitant and he jumped at the sound of the plate shattering into tens of little pieces. Something about the way they scattered about upon impact urged a thrill of adrenaline inside him.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Bakugou asked, bearing a knowing grin.

"Yeah…it does," Izuku replied. Bakugou reached into the rucksack again and pulled out another handful of plates. His rival accepted the next one without further hesitation this time.

He stood up and watched as each piece of china shatter against the ground following his every toss. They went through the plates one by one, his frustrations coming out more and more with each throw.

"How do you feel!?" Bakugou urged as Izuku went through the dishes.

"Angry!"

"I can't hear you!"

"ANGRY!" Izuku repeated. The next throw even more forceful than the last, "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

"IT'S NOT!" the blonde asserted after him. Izuku ate up that validation like it was candy.

"I KNOW YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH MY MOM!" he went on, getting increasingly more frustrated as he went on.

"SO, STOP."

"LYING."

"ABOUT."

"IT!"

With each syllable, another plate flew and hit the ground, every impact greater than the last. Izuku was breathing heavily by the end of it, Bakugou looking at him with sheer approval. There was no denying that he loved the monster he created.

All the while, Ochaco was watching them out the window from afar. Her heart ached seeing her boyfriend so worked up. At least Bakugou was able to help him release some of that pent up anger.

"He seems really worked up," Todoroki commented aloud. Ochaco glanced around at her classmate briefly before resting her arms back on the windowsill again.

"Yeah…" she sighed, "I'm glad that him and Bakugou are getting along, at least."

That was true. It was a relief to not have to worry about him going at Izuku's throat all the time anymore. She was sure that that feeling was shared among the class.

"It seems like he's enabling him," the stoic boy noted.

"Who? Bakugou?"

"No, Izuku," Todoroki corrected, "I think Bakugou is a bad influence."

Ochaco snorted. She hardly doubted that her boyfriend was going to begin taking after Bakugou, even if they were getting along now.

"You won't be laughing when you wake up finding yourself dating Bakugou," Todoroki warned. There was enough inflection in his voice for Ochaco to be able to deduct that he was teasing her.

She rolled her eyes, "Don't tease me, Todoroki."

The boy chuckled as they continued to watch the two vent their frustrations on the undeserving china from afar.

Toshinori Yagi knew his son student enough to know when he was hurting.

He noticed that there was something off that morning when he showed up to class with his laptop instead of his usual notebooks. Normally it wasn't something that Toshinori would comment on, since it was expected for the boy to have some instability in his hands, with all the injuries he's sustained in them over the years. While it always made him feel guilty knowing that the reason he had a writing exemption to begin with was because he failed to protect him as a teacher, he knew better than to add further emotional burden on the boy by mentioning those things. He was somewhat comforted in knowing that he was at least able to take down handwritten notes and digital ones interchangeably. Izuku always loved to draw and jot down notes on the fly, so Toshinori was glad to know that he still had enough good days to still be able to do that.

He could tell that today wasn't one of those days. Not just by the slightly more pronounced tremor in his hands but also by his tightly knit eyebrows as he failed to pay any substantive amount of attention in class that day. His notable absentmindedness combined with his knowledge that stress played a major role on how he managed his injuries, Toshinori was able to deduce that there was something on the boy's mind.

"Young Izuku, could you stay behind after class?" he asked just before the bell rang.

The room soon drained out until they were the only two left behind.

"Yes, All Might?" Izuku asked. Hearing his boy address him by his old hero name formed a pit in what was left of his stomach.

"I thought we agreed to drop the formalities, my boy," he chuckled, his hand moving to ruffle through his hair by default.

Izuku smiled sheepishly. There was definitely something wrong. It wasn't like him to be this reserved around him.

"I noticed you're making use of your laptop today," Toshinori noted.

"I overworked my arms a little with Kacchan yesterday," his boy admitted, rubbing his nape. There wasn't any sign that he was lying there, so the veteran could accept that at the very least.

"You should be more careful," Toshinori said softly, "Your mother will kill me if you end up injuring yourself again."

He didn't have the heart to scold him in that moment, though he knew he should. Izuku didn't react, merely directing his gaze towards the floor.

"Is there something troubling you, Izuku?" he finally asked, not being able to withhold himself from prying anymore.

He opened his mouth as though he were to say something but then cut himself off.

"No, Toshinori-san. Everything is fine."

The blonde sighed, "Very well. I suppose I'll see you tonight at the dorm."

"What about training?" Izuku asked. Toshinori chuckled at the young workaholic.

"I think it's best if we give your body a break today. Your arms clearly need the rest," he assured. The young hero smiled weakly as he prepared himself to head off to his next class.

Just then-

"Toshinori-san?"

The man lifted his head and locked eyes with his pupil.

"A-about my mom…" he started.

Oh.

He should have known that he wouldn't be able to hide his relationship for much longer.

"Yes?" he asked, preparing himself for the long awaited conversation.

Izuku opened his mouth but hesitated. He finally spoken after a long minute, "Can you tell her I said hi? N-next time you see her I mean…"

Toshinori looked surprised by that. Perhaps this would be a conversation for another day.

"Of course, Izuku."

"It's just that…I don't really get to see her that often and I know that you catch her more often than me to talk about my grades so-" he went off on a tangent and Toshinori laughed.

"Don't worry, my boy. I understand," he reassured.

Izuku gave one more sheepish smile before waving him off to his next class.

Toshinori heaved a sigh once the boy left the room. He could tell that this wasn't the end of that conversation.