Notes: I know I said it would be several chapters yet before manga spoilers come into play, but I do reference something in here that teeters juuuuuust on the edge of being a spoiler. I think it should be fine for even the most spoiler-sensitive people, especially if you've seen all of season 5, but I wanted to make mention of it just in case anyone is really cautious...!

For those of you who are fine with it, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

This is Where I Belong
Chapter 3

"Aizawa-sensei, what are you supposed to do when someone confesses to you?"

The question tumbled from Izuku's mouth without thinking as he handed over their class logbook after lessons on Friday.

The teacher regarded him with an even, bored stare. "It's an occupational hazard," he said with a sigh as he pulled the file from Izuku's fingers.

"An... occupational hazard...?"

"Confessions from civilians you save? It happens. Be it the suspension bridge effect or simple misattribution of gratitude, there will always be people who identify their feelings towards a hero as love. It's rarely serious, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Izuku frowned, considering that information. Misattribution...

With a flick of his wrist, Aizawa tapped the logbook atop Izuku's head. "Is this why you've been so distracted all week?"

"Um... kind of..."

Aizawa sighed, tapping Izuku's head one last time for good measure before turning back to his desk. "Like I said, it isn't usually something you should take too seriously. Don't let it bother you, just focus on your training so you'll be able to save your next admirer, too."

"The next one?!" Izuku squawked, feeling his face heating up.

His homeroom teacher huffed out a laugh. "Occupational hazard, Midoriya. Go on now, enjoy your weekend. I expect you to be back to normal on Monday."

Stuttering out a farewell, Izuku made his exit from the faculty room and, as he shut the door behind him, nearly crashed into someone standing in the hallway.

"Ah— I'm so sorry...!"

"It's fine." Easily recognizing the voice, Izuku found his bearings and smiled apologetically at Todoroki, who gave a small smile in return. "Are you ready to go to our work study?"

"Oh! Yeah, I just had to hand the logbook to Aizawa-sensei." Izuku easily fell into step next to his friend. "Were you waiting for me? Sorry about that. How about Kacchan?"

"Bakugo's already gone ahead."

"That figures..."

The two boys walked in silence through the halls, Izuku pondering over what Aizawa had told him. An occupational hazard... the suspension bridge effect... nothing serious...

"Are you still having trouble with the Rody situation?"

Izuku nearly jumped at the mention of the Otheonian boy. "Huh?! Oh, did you hear all that just now...?"

Todoroki looked a bit repentant. "Yeah... sorry. I didn't mean to overhear."

"No no, it's fine!" Izuku reassured his friend with a nervous chuckle. "What do you think of what he said, though? Maybe Rody is mistaken and all that, right?"

Todoroki frowned, then opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated, looking conflicted for some reason. "I'm... not sure what you want me to say to that, Midoriya," he said finally, glancing aside. "You know Rody better than I do. What do you think?"

"What do I think?"

"You're the one who matters here, after all."

Izuku hummed thoughtfully, gazing idly at the sky as they made their way out the front entrance. Misattributing gratitude or excitement as attraction... If it were anyone else, then maybe he could accept that. He could simply brush it off without worrying that the other party would suffer genuine rejection and go back to focusing on his hero work. But Rody... his quirk made it hard to accept that possibility. If it were just a matter of being unable to lie to others, then there was still a possibility there, sure. He wouldn't be lying if he mistakenly thought a lie was true.

But Rody was also unable to lie to himself. If he'd determined that he was romantically interested in Izuku, then it had to be the truth.

Izuku let out a breath, watching it turn to white mist against the January sunset. "I think Rody's for real."

"I think so, too."

Izuku laughed nervously. "Man... and just when I almost had a way out of his whole thing, huh?"

It took a few steps for Izuku to notice that Todoroki had stopped, and he turned back to look at him, his gaze curious.

"Midoirya," Todoroki said, his expression unreadable. "If Rody were mistaken, how would you feel?"

Izuku gripped the straps of his backpack tightly, nearly as tightly as it felt his heart was being squeezed; he hadn't expected Todoroki to be the one to prompt him to think of that particular angle.

He knew, of course. The instant that Aizawa had mentioned the possibility, it had hurt to think that perhaps Rody's words, Rody's feelings weren't real.

He liked Rody, at least a little. He still wasn't sure how much. But it was at least enough that the thought of Rody not liking him back made his chest constrict painfully.

Still too cautious of putting those feelings into words—still lamentably unable to even put them onto paper—Izuku turned forward, resuming their walk to the train station. "Maybe I should ask someone with a less pessimistic view on things than Aizawa-sensei," he said instead, trying to veer the discussion elsewhere. "Or at least a hero with experience being in a relationship. Uhh, let's see... Maybe your dad?"

"No."

"Yeah, I guess not... Oh, how's your family doing, by the way?"

Todoroki, thankfully, didn't fight the obvious ploy to change the subject, and they continued their trip to the Endeavor Agency with idle chatter filling the space between them. Thoughts of Rody still lingered on the edge of Izuku's mind, though, no matter how hard he tried to return his focus back to work.

And it occurred to him that it was really quite selfish of him to desire Rody's affections if he truly didn't return them in kind.

So maybe, perhaps, he wanted to like Rody back, after all.

But even though the tangled threads of his emotions were beginning to slowly unravel, the paper remained blank for yet another week.

Late the next Saturday morning, Izuku was floating about three meters in the air when his phone buzzed in his tracksuit pocket.

"Is that your phone?" Uraraka asked from where she was floating in front of him, tipping slightly when her inquisitive tilt of the head threw off the balanced position she was demonstrating.

"Y-yeah, but it's fine," Izuku insisted, shooting off an experimental burst of Air Force to test his maneuverability. "I'll take a look later."

"What if it's something important, like from your work study? You better at least check."

"True..." As important as his Float training was, if he had to respond to some sort of emergency situation, that took priority. Careful to keep himself balanced, he fished his phone from his pocket and glanced at the notification on his lock screen.

It was a text message from a number he didn't recognize, but he did recognize the 422 country code as originating from Otheon.

'Boo.'

A misfired Air Force sent Izuku careening into the mats laid out on the floor.

"Ow!"

"Deku-kun?!"

Uraraka's quirk had him bouncing back upward immediately, but he was released before he returned to a height that would be painful to fall from. Uraraka herself landed right next to him, leaning over to take a look at his head where he had bumped it.

"Did you hurt yourself? What happened?"

"No, I'm fine, not a big deal..." Izuku scooted away with an uneasy grin. "I was just... surprised, that's all!"

"I'd say..." She sat down on the mat next to him. "What surprised you so much?"

"Huh? Oh, oh right!" Izuku looked back down to his phone, quickly unlocking it to open his texting app. "I got a text! I think it's from Rody..."

Uraraka's mouth formed a small 'o' shape. "The kid from Otheon who disarmed the bombs?"

"That's the one. I don't know anyone else from Otheon who'd be texting me, at least." Trying to keep his thumbs from trembling too badly, he typed out a message. 'Rody?'

"You're not sure it's from him?" Uraraka frowned. "Didn't you get his number before leaving?"

"He didn't have a phone..."

Uraraka hummed thoughtfully as Izuku watched the undulating dots indicating that his friend was typing.

'The one and only. I got a phone with my paycheck today, so I figured I should test this thing out and all. How've you been, Hero?'

Izuku gave a light chuckle. "Just testing it out, huh?"

"Hey," Uraraka spoke up, her brows furrowing. "Otheon's... seven? Eight hours behind, right? Isn't it the middle of the night right now?"

Izuku glanced at the time on his phone; she was right, it was barely 11 AM in Japan. 'Why are you testing your phone at 3 in the morning?'

'Aww, if I didn't know any better I'd think you weren't happy to hear from me.'

'No, I am! I'm just a little worried, shouldn't you be asleep?'

'It's fine, I'm working the late shift. This thing is an old, second-hand piece of junk so it took forever to get it set up and charged, which is why I'm up now.'

'Oh. You could have just let it charge while you slept, though...'

"Hey..."

"O-oh, sorry, Uraraka-san!" Izuku quickly shut off his phone screen in order to properly address the brunette girl, but instead of looking annoyed, she was smiling softly.

"Don't apologize!" she laughed. "You should catch up with your friend! So let's call it a day here, okay?"

"Ah, all right..." Izuku watched as she stood up, brushing off the seat of her tracksuit, then glanced down when his phone buzzed again.

'I just wanted to talk to you right away.'

Uraraka paused on her way off the training ground. "Deku-kun? Are you sure you're all right?"

"Huh?!" This time he nearly dropped his phone in his haste to put it away. "Yeah, I'm great! Why?"

She pointed to her own face. "You're a little red... Do you have a fever?"

Izuku placed a hand on his forehead; yup, a little warm. Talk about déjà vu. Why did talking to Rody do this to him now?

"I'm a little worried if you're turning red after your fall. Maybe you should get checked by Recovery Girl. Do you want me to walk you to the infirmary?"

"O-oh, no, it's fine!" Izuku waved his hands dismissively. "I'm totally fine, nothing big, just... didn't get enough sleep last night! So I'm going back to my dorm to nap a bit before my work study, okay?"

Uraraka didn't look entirely convinced. "Well, if you say so... I'll see you later, Deku-kun!"

"Right! See you later!" He waved her off as she left the training ground, then hurriedly gathered his own things and headed for the dorms.

'Oh right, I'm really sorry I haven't sent a letter yet!' Izuku tapped out as he walked back to his dorm.

'Hey, it's no big deal,' Rody answered. 'I bet you're pretty busy. Same goes for me too, though. Been working my ass off since you left.'

'More middleman gigs?'

'I'll have you know I'm working a RESPECTABLE job now, Hero. I'm helping the old man at the bar in town.'

Izuku grinned. 'Wow, food service? I'll have to stop by for a meal next time I'm in Otheon.'

'Don't bother.'

As he entered Heights Alliance, Izuku couldn't help but smile fondly. Even without Pino to tip him off this time, he knew full well what Rody's "don't bother" really meant. 'Okay, I'll make sure to come by.'

'You're such a pain.'

Izuku laughed. How strange it was that even through text, he couldn't sense any malice in those words.

'Oh, by the way,' Rody added after a brief pause, 'I think this phone can do some sort of video chat thing? Want to give that a try?'

For the second time in just fifteen minutes, Izuku almost dropped his phone. A video chat? With Rody? Suddenly his hands were trembling, and he struggled to open the door to his dorm room. He had no idea why the idea of video chatting with Rody put him so on edge. It wasn't much different than talking face-to-face, right? That shouldn't be a problem. He'd been together, alone, with Rody for three days in Otheon. They didn't have any problems talking back then. This wouldn't be any different.

But it was different. Because now Rody had confessed to him, and Izuku was... he still wasn't sure. He just... didn't know what sort of expression to face his friend with. Worse, even if he did know what sort of expression to make, he didn't trust that his face wouldn't unconsciously shift to... something embarrassing? And the problem wasn't the phone; he'd feel the same if Rody just suddenly showed up to address him in person, too.

He wasn't scared of Rody. That just wasn't possible. But right then, the thought of showing his face to Rody was more intimidating than any villain Izuku had ever faced.

Sighing, Izuku closed his door behind him and dropped his bag on the floor before carefully tapping out a reply. 'Not right now, sorry. You don't want to wake up Roro-kun or Lala-chan anyway!'

'Guess you've got a point. Some other time, then!'

'Yeah!' Izuku agreed, not knowing when that time would be but confident that he'd make himself ready someday. 'But you should really be going to sleep too!'

'Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Hero.'

'Rody...'

'Haha, seriously, I'm going. I'll talk to you later, Deku. Night!'

Just the promise of more conversation soon to come had Izuku's face heating up again. Turning down the video chat really had been the right decision. 'Yeah, Good night, Rody.'

Assuming that was where the conversation ended, Izuku went to place his phone on his desk when it buzzed one last time.

Apparently Rody had discovered emojis.

'❤️'

This time Izuku didn't even bother to keep his phone from clattering to the floor.

Suddenly racked with irrational concern over what his All Might figures would think of his beet-red face, he collapsed onto his bed and buried his head in his pillow with a groan. Well, at least that probably meant he didn't have to worry about that minute possibility that Rody's feelings hadn't been romantic after all...

Izuku curled up on his bed. It was a relief that Rody still liked him, sure. Embarrassing though it was to see such a blatant expression of it, he was happy to be on the receiving end of those feelings. He did want to reciprocate those feelings, though he couldn't confidently say that he was quite there yet.

But truthfully, in that moment, it felt like letting himself fall in love with Rody Soul would be the easiest thing in the world.