The young heroine knew better than to intrude on her boyfriend right now. He needed his space and she had to respect that. That's why, despite her convictions, she stuck around anxiously with Todoroki and Ida in the common room for what seemed like an eternity. All Might and Aizawa had already left a while ago and the tension in the dormitory had died down as a result. There hadn't been much word of the incident since. She supposed that was to be expected though, especially after what had just went down. The only person that seemed unphased and even content with the events that had taken place that night was Bakugou, and he wasn't exactly a shining beacon to look up to.

After about an hour of idle chatter broken up between moments of awkward silence however, Ochaco decided to throw in the towel and follow Deku up to his room. Despite what she kept telling herself about giving him space, the girl couldn't bear the thought of leaving Izuku to handle the aftermath of the confrontation alone. If she knew anything about him, then she knew that he was probably wrecking himself over what happened between the two.

She headed down the long corridor, stopping when she came across the All Might door hanger labelled 'Izuku.' She knocked carefully on the door, waiting for a response before even daring to go in. A few seconds passed before a weak 'come in' resonated from the other end. Ochaco bit her lip nervously, hesitating before pushing open the bedroom door. Upon immediate inspection, she found her boyfriend sitting on the floor by his bed, knees pulled up tightly against his chest as he stared seemingly into space. She felt a sharp pang in her chest.

"Hey," she cooed softly, still standing in the doorway as she looked down at the green haired boy.

"Hey," Izuku replied, sounding utterly dejected.

Ochaco pursed her lips. She walked slowly over to him, kneeling carefully beside him. She truly hated seeing him like this. She also hated how she couldn't do much to help him either. Deku and Ochaco sat there silently for a while, neither of them having the courage or energy to say a word. Despite that, the presence she brought was comforting in itself.

However, the silence was eventually pierced by Deku's raspy, worn out voice, "Sorry for snapping at you earlier."

Ochaco stared at him. She mostly couldn't believe that that was what he was focusing on in that moment, "Oh, it's no big deal! I honestly wasn't even thinking about that. You were stressed, I get it."

She followed her statement with a reassuring smile. He still wasn't looking at her, but she hoped that he still managed to catch it through the corner of his eye. She noticed how he sucked in his cheek, his expression remaining mostly unchanged as his legs fell loose of his tight grip. Ochaco frowned.

"I'm such an idiot," Deku bemoaned in defeat.

"Hey, don't say that!" Ochaco was quick to argue, "It was an uncomfortable situation! You can't blame yourself for acting out! You've been bottling it up for a while, it was bound to come out eventually."

Deku stared at the brunette, seemingly unconvinced by her words, "I slapped our teacher, Ochaco."

The girl blushed, finding herself at a loss of words in that moment. She rubbed her nape sheepishly and finally admitted, "Alright, maybe that wasn't the best course of action."

Deku chuckled – like actually chuckled – for a moment. Ochaco smiled triumphantly. His voice was heavy, and his eyes looked tired, but he was laughing, which was more than she could ask for.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" she finally asked, sprawling her legs in front of her as she made herself more comfortable beside him. Normally she would have asked to just move onto the bed, but this didn't seem like the right time to comment on that.

"I guess so," Deku sighed, leaning his head back as he stared absently at the ceiling, "I don't know, Ochaco. I really messed up. I got so heated in the moment that I just completely lost myself."

"I imagine Bakugou egging you on didn't help much either, huh?" she noted.

Deku laughed, "Definitely not. Still, I can't pin what happened on anyone but myself. I should have talked it out with Toshinori-san privately."

Ochaco didn't have much to add to that. The public display the two put on was far from the best way to approach the situation. Still, there was a question she had on her mind for a while now. She figured that maybe now was the best time to ask it, – "If you don't mind me asking…why did All Might dating your mom bother you so much?"

She wondered if she messed up by asking that for a moment but instead Deku ran a hand through his hair. "I've been trying to figure that out myself, really," he admitted, "I guess I was more frustrated by the fact that they were keeping it away from me. I felt kind of betrayed. He promised that he wouldn't keep secrets from me anymore."

Ochaco nodded in understanding. That checked, she thought to herself. Although, she didn't think she'd ever see him get so angry over something like that.

"I was also just being overprotective of my mom," he continued, "She's been burned so much by everyone. My father was never good to her. I was worried that maybe All Might had some sort of ulterior motive or wasn't fully committed to her, and that's why he'd keep it away from me."

Suddenly, his sudden burst of anger made a lot more sense.

"That doesn't sound very in character of him."

"Yeah…in hindsight, it really doesn't," Deku admitted awkwardly "I guess it's just been me and my mom for so long that I never really entertained the idea of someone else coming into the picture. It's still kind of strange to think about, really."

"That makes sense," Ochaco said, "It's normal to want to protect someone you love. It's kind of sweet, really."

Izuku looked at the petite brunette and smiled weakly, "Thanks, Ochaco."

She smiled back happily. Deku then shifted anxiously and her face fell again, "I still don't know what to do about Toshinori-san though. How can I possibly face him again after tonight?"

Ochaco placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure he'd be delighted if you talked to him, Deku. He really didn't seem that mad when he came downstairs."

"He didn't?" Deku asked incredulously, his hopeful eyes meeting hers.

She gave an assertive nod, "Nope. He just looked kind of dejected."

Deku sighed in relief only to tense again as he seemed to remember something else, "What about Aizawa? God, do you think I'm going to get expelled!?"

"I wouldn't worry about that," Ochaco quickly reassured, "If that was Aizawa's intent, he would have done it by now. You'll probably just get a slap on the wrist."

"You think so?" he asked again, not looking to sure.

"I'm certain," Ochaco repeated, "You're one of the best students here. If they're willing to keep Mineta on, I'm sure they'll let you off after one little incident. Especially given the context."

"Right…" Deku relaxed again against the bed, "Thanks again, by the way. It means a lot that you came to check on me."

"You don't have to thank me, Deku," Ochaco laughed, "I'm your girlfriend. I'm always going to support you, no matter what."

The ends of Deku's lips curved slightly at that as the two fell back contently into silence again. Ochaco was glad that she went with her gut on this. Now she could rest knowing that Deku wasn't going to have a break down in the middle of the night over whether or not he'd be kicked out of UA.

"You know, I've been thinking," Deku suddenly began, "It's kind of weird how you're so unbothered by this."

Ochaco arched an eyebrow, somewhat confused as to where this was coming from, "Hm? How so?"

"Well, we're dating, aren't we?" he pointed out, "For a while too. If things keep going at the pace, we're at, you could be my wife in a few years."

Ochaco cheeks burned furiously, mouth agape as Deku continued, "What I'm saying is…that in a way…All Might is fucking your mom too."

The poor brunette's soul practically left her body as images of her walking down the aisle to her future fiancé raced through her head – a thought which hadn't even really occurred to her until now. Ochaco was dying to know where Deku suddenly got this suave confidence, but in that moment, she was far too flustered to string along even a line of words together. Deku laughed hysterically as Ochaco smacked his arm.

"Deku!" she scolded, "That's so gross!"

"But it's true, isn't it?" he countered with a wide grin.

Ochaco bit her the inside of her cheek as she folded her arms together tightly. She wanted to be mad but the mere fact that Deku thought of her in that way made her too giddy to stay annoyed. Ochaco brushed her hair behind her ear as she recomposed herself slightly.

"…Yes. It is."

After the explosive evening at the dorm, Toshinori realised that if he was going to keep his relationship with his successor, he needed to put an end to the one between him and his mother. While this was far from what he wanted, he also couldn't live with himself knowing now just how deeply uncomfortable his boy was with their 'arrangement'. From the looks of things, Inko seemed to know this too.

"I'm so sorry Toshinori," Inko apologised with a sigh, sliding over his cup of tea as she sat down at the large kitchen table, "I really didn't think that our relationship would upset Izuku so much…"

"You don't have to apologise, Inko," Toshinori assured, "If anything, it's my fault for not properly considering how my actions might affect the both of you."

The woman shook her head, "No, we're both responsible here. I'm his mother, you're his teacher. It was selfish for both of us to not think about him sooner."

Toshinori pursed his lips as he looked down at the swirling green liquid in his cup. Inko taking on as much blame as she did didn't sit right with him. He was the intruder after all. However, he knew that he couldn't fight her on this. Not unless he wanted her to feel even more guilty than necessary. "What now?" he asked absentmindedly.

"I think you know, Toshi…" Inko sighed. Toshinori followed suit. Of course, he knew. He knew from the moment he walked in through that door this morning. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel as though this put a giant damper on the mood.

"It was nice while it lasted though, huh?" he with a half-hearted chuckle in a pathetic attempt to lighten the mood.

Inko smiled weakly, "Yeah…it was."

There was another pause before she looked up again to continue, "I just want to let you know, Toshi…this has nothing to do with you. I really do like you. It's just that…Izuku has to come first."

"I know, Inko," Toshinori reassured, "For what it's worth, I really like you too. I also promised I'd dedicate the rest of my life to training young Izuku. I have to prioritise that before my love life."

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two adults. Toshinori really shouldn't have been so surprised by this outcome. A serious relationship was never something he had the privilege to entertain. Whether that was because he was a devoted hero to millions or because he had promised his life to raising his young protégé into becoming a worthy hero. This wasn't new information. The fact that he even bothered to risk all that he worked for, even if it was only for a few weeks, was irresponsible of him. Yet, despite the predictability of it all, he couldn't help but ache knowing that it was coming to an end.

"What are you guys talking about?"

The silence suddenly broke and both of their heads shot up to find young Izuku standing in the doorway, staring back at them in confusion.

"Izuku!" Inko exclaimed, quickly getting out of her seat to approach him, "How much of that did you hear?"

"I heard enough," he replied plainly, "Are you really breaking up because of me?"

His student bore a rather concerned expression on his face. This surprised, Toshinori. While he knew that it wasn't out of character for him to feel guilty, he expected that the boy would be primarily relieved.

"We're not breaking up because of you, young Izuku," Toshinori assured, following Inko to the doorway where his student was still standing stiffly, "We just decided that it would be best for all of us if we kept things strictly professional between us both."

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows, "Don't feed me that crap, All Might. We're far past the point of professionalism and you know it."

Toshinori choked on his own blood, feeling the metallic taste at the back of his throat. To say that Izuku's words caught the gaunt man off guard was an understatement. He noticed Inko jump in the corner of his eye as he used his handkerchief to wipe the sliver hanging off his lip.

"I'm fine," he reassured the woman with a soft smile before turning back to face his student, "I don't understand, young Izuku. You told me that our relationship makes you uncomfortable. Intruding on your private life is the last thing I want to do."

Izuku quickly shook his head, "But I don't want you guys to break up because of me either! I was mad because you kept me in the dark about it, but I don't mind you guys dating, really!"

"Oh, Izuku," Inko sniffled clasping her hands over her chest, "You don't have to say that just for me. We don't have to date if you don't want us to."

"Mom, I'm an adult now," Izuku said, "You don't need my permission you start dating again. I'm happy as long as your happy. I was just worried about you, that's all."

In that moment, Inko couldn't hold herself back anymore and threw herself at her son, her arms enveloping him tightly, "Oh Izuku! You're such a good son! I promise, I never meant to keep this away from you! Toshinori and I wanted to keep things on the downlow until we were sure about where we wanted to go with our relationship. It was my idea, really."

It was an endearing sight to see, regardless of how much this turnout confused the retired hero. Perhaps there was even still hope for him to maintain his relationship with his protégé.

Izuku was just about to start tearing up as well now as he hugged his mother back. Eventually the two broke apart and the boy turned to face Toshinori, "I'm sorry for hitting you, All Might. I was upset that you were keeping secrets from me again, but I realise now that you were only doing it to protect me."

Toshinori chuckled, reaching down to ruffle the boy's hair, relishing in the familiarity of it, "What did I say about the formalities, my boy?"

Izuku laughed sheepishly as the taller man withdrew his hand. "You don't have to apologise, Izuku," he continued, "I shouldn't have kept it from you for this long. You were right to be upset."

"I still shouldn't have hit you," Izuku retorted.

Toshinori laughed, "Don't worry about that, my boy. Mr Aizawa has a good week of cleaning duty lined up for you. You're definitely not getting off scot free."

"I guess I deserve that…" Izuku rubbed his nape sheepishly. He looked back up at the both of them hopefully, "Does that mean you're staying together?"

"Well, if I have your blessing and your mother will still have me…?" Toshinori glanced over at the green haired woman as he said that.

"I'd still love to," Inko replied, kissing him on the cheek. The skeletal man blushed lightly at the gesture, unsure if he was more surprised by her willingness or by the fact that she was kissing him in front of Izuku.

"Blech," the boy grimaced dramatically, dropping his bag on the couch as he walked past them. "You still don't have to do that in front of me," he added teasingly.

The two exchanged a glance as they laughed off the awkwardness of the playful sentiment. Izuku eventually joined in as well with a chuckle, seemingly just as relieved about the outcome of this conversation as they were. Maybe things would never be exactly as they were again but at least now they could hope that this change was one for the better.

"What do you mean you 'forgave them'?" Bakugou furrowed his eyebrows as his rival proceeded to shoot another basketball through the hoop. It was a Friday afternoon, and the gymnasium was completely void of any students, bar the 'Big Three' who decided to pass time in the basketball court as opposed to spending another afternoon in the common room watching Mina kick Kaminari's ass repeatedly in Mario Kart again.

"I mean, I don't care. I'm over it," Izuku repeated, passing the ball over to Todoroki. After his conversation with Toshinori and his mom, he was really able to come to terms with their relationship. In fact, the thought of the three of them becoming a little family was even something that he was looking forward to.

"You're kidding," Bakugou stated flatly, seconds away from blowing another fuse, "You spent an entire month complaining about how the old man is screwing your mom and now you're 'over it'?"

"Pretty much," he shrugged.

Todoroki shot the ball through the hoop and passed it back to Izuku, seeing as Bakugou was more likely to blow it up in that moment rather than actually playing the game.

"As happy as I am for you, Midoriya, I'm also a little confused by the sudden change of heart," Todoroki commented curiously.

"I guess I just realised that the reason I was so upset was because they were keeping it away from me," Izuku explained, "Now that everything is out in the open, I can't bring myself to be mad anymore. I'm just happy that my mom is happy."

The boy took a few seconds to analyse his target before dribbling up to the hoop and shooting his shot near perfectly if it wasn't for that split second where the ball chose to fall off the edge and bounce back onto the floor beside him. "Damn it," he muttered under his breathe as he used his foot to stop the ball from rolling away any further.

"I see..." Todoroki nodded understandingly, "So you're really okay with them dating?"

"Mhm," Izuku nodded, adding, "Besides, it's pretty cool to be able to say that All Might is kind of my step-dad."

"Right…'step'," Todoroki snorted. Izuku merely rolled his eyes in response as he picked the basketball up again and readjusted his aim.

"So, you seriously just spent the last month doing my head in for no reason?" Bakugou grunted, folding his arms with a huff. Despite his less than friendly body language, his anger seemed to have dissipated into merely mild annoyance.

"Sorry, Kacchan," Izuku chuckled, "But on the bright side – this probably means that All Might will be joining us at family dinners. How many people get to say that?"

As predicted, Bakugou gave in at that point. After all, when it came to being a fanboy, the only person that rivalled Izuku was Bakugou himself. His shoulders loosened as he gave a begrudged huff "Fair enough."

Izuku ran up to the hoop again, this time managing to get the ball in perfectly through the hole. A proud smile spread across his lips.

"Nice shot, Deku," Bakugou commented behind him.

"Thanks!" Izuku grinned back at him. He took this opportunity to check his phone, only realising now just how much time had passed. He figured that he should probably wrap things up now if he still hoped to get home on time.

"Are you doing anything this evening?" Todoroki asked the two as Izuku proceeded to pocket his phone again.

"I should be free," Bakugou replied.

"Oh, shoot," Izuku frowned, always feeling bad having to turn down an invitation, "I can't, I have to head home for the weekend."

Bakugou arched an eyebrow and scoffed, "What could you possibly be doing all weekend, nerd?"

Izuku turned and smiled at his rival, knowing very well the packing waiting for him when he got home. Toshinori and his mom had been planning this for weeks apparently and now that Izuku was finally in the know about their relationship, they could actually execute it.

"Family road trip," he replied with more than just a hint of pride in his voice.

End.

A/N If you made it this far, thank you for sticking for the ride! I truly hope you had as much fun reading this silly piece as I did writing it. I figured that for the ending, I'd focus on wrapping things up and keeping things short and sweet. I didn't want to drag this fic out too much either. Anyway, tysm for reading! Please feel free to leave your thoughts, I love hearing from you guys! :)