Breakfast went by quickly, both teens practically swallowing the food whole as they rushed to start getting ready. Katsuki left soon after to get dressed for class, red eared and blushing as both Shouta and Hizashi teased both teens mercilessly about the awkward goodbye hug they'd watched.

To escape, Izuku rushed to get ready himself and have an excuse to hide himself in his room for a minute.

It was going to be a busy day, he could already feel it.

For the moment, though, he let himself sit on his bed and look around the room and finally fully let the events of the last day or so sink in. It was amazing how twenty four short hours could turn his entire life on its head.

Finally getting at least a little justice for the worst day of his life so far was…something he never expected to get, honestly. It felt nice that everyone had seemed to believe him and actually be angry for him. Surprising, absolutely, but nice nonetheless.

He hadn't expected anyone to believe him. Or even believe that All Might was anything other than a shining beacon of peace.

Being related to the symbol of peace's greatest nemesis was not such a great feeling, though. Everything having to do with the idea that All For One could be his father still felt fuzzy and unreal. There wasn't likely to be any kind of change in that feeling any time soon, though, he wagered.

Not until he had the full picture and that probably could only come from his mother.

The teen huffed out a sigh and shook his head to rid himself of that train of thought. It wouldn't do much good to dwell on it till they had an actionable plan for dealing with…all of that.

He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the bag sitting on the bed next to him. The disintegrated and burned edges of the fabric taunted him. Another example of something from his past crumbling away from him.

It wasn't salvageable in the least and part of him mourned for the one comfort item he'd been allowed for the past few years. The rest of him, though, was resigned to being uncomfortable for a period of time.

He'd get used to not having the coverage it gave him, eventually. He had better coping mechanisms, now. A better support system around him.

And wasn't that an interesting turn of events.

He had people now. His Dads, Katsuki, and seemingly the whole of class 1A. It was almost overwhelming to think of how many people just in this building alone seemed ready to go to bat for him. Hell, he had Nezu in his corner.

He'd never had this much backup in his life. It was such an odd feeling.

He tore his gaze away from his ruined hoodie and picked up his phone off of the bed instead, thumbing through his contacts quickly. He hovered over a contact, worrying at his lip as he stared down at the name.

Dabi.

That was a whole other conundrum to deal with. Once again, at great personal risk to himself, the man had stepped out of his way to very literally save Izuku's life.

There were no messages or calls from him, so he assumed that the old healer had agreed to use his favors for the man. That or he was lying somewhere in a safe house dying slowly from infection. With Dabi it was a toss up.

Hopefully Toga'd had enough fun with looking at all the blood that she'd actually gotten him to the healer.

Blowing out a breath, Izuku pushed himself off of the bed and stood up. He tucked his phone into his pocket and grabbed his bag from where he'd dropped it at the end of his bed.

He had classes to get to, after all.

Shouta and Hizashi had long since left the apartment, both had planning to do before class and things to take care of, so it was just Izuku bustling around the living room gathering his things for the day.

He'd be lying if he'd said he wasn't stalling, letting most of the class make their way to the school before he even ventured outside of the apartment. He knew he was going to be bombarded by the class at some point but he was hopeful he could postpone it a little bit.

Deciding that enough time had passed for the common areas to clear out, Izuku headed towards the door.

To say he was surprised to find Todoroki Shouto standing on the other side, leaning against the wall waiting for him, was an understatement.

He paused in the doorway, startled, and took in the way that the youngest Todoroki was standing. His arms were crossed over his chest and the line of his shoulders was tense. So this wasn't just a social call, then.

"Uh. Hi?" He kept his tone bright, hoping this wouldn't end up being a massive problem.

The tension in the dual quirked teenager's shoulders relaxed a little and he nodded his head a little as he pushed off from the wall.

"I hoped I could talk to you, privately." Todoroki stated, eyes flickering between Izuku's face and the apartment behind him.

Izuku nodded and stepped back into the apartment, motioning for Todoroki to come in. The other teen stepped inside and waited for Izuku to close the door. Still a little baffled, Izuku motioned towards the living room and followed the youngest Todoroki.

He could see the other teen's eyes taking in the room but couldn't get a read on what he thought as he sat down carefully on the sofa. The other teen's face was stoic as ever as he surveyed the room.

Izuku perched himself on the chair across from him and set his bag down on the ground. Whatever this was about was going to add to his stress levels, he could tell. He was careful to keep his face clear of the dread he could feel building in his gut, though. The last thing he needed right now was to spook the ever closed off Todoroki. This was a good sign of him finally opening up a little bit. Hopefully.

"What did you want to talk about, Todoroki?" He asked brightly, patting his knees nervously.

Todoroki tore his eyes away from the inspection of the room to settle on Izuku himself. He seemed to be deliberating his words. The silence stretched on for a moment longer than comfortable before he finally seemed to find the way he wanted to phrase his words.

"I wanted to let you know that I understand your feelings. With All Might." For the first time, as he spoke, Izuku could see some emotion in the other's face. He averted his eyes and his posture loosened enough for Izuku to see the weight of the story he wanted to tell sitting on his shoulders. "If you need to talk about it, I…would be willing to lend an ear."

Izuku was quiet, watching the way Shouto's posture unfroze little by little as he worked himself up to what he wanted to say. A story he wanted to tell that Izuku already knew by heart. Had known for years before Todoroki Shouto even knew who Izuku was.

Gosh this was awkward.

"I have a…similar situation to yours. A story that most people won't believe because Heroes are meant to be good people."

Izuku nodded along to his words, relaxing a little. This…was something he could handle. This would be fine.

He hoped.

"Your father." He said after a moment, watching the way Shouto's head jerked back in surprise.

He seemed to gather himself quickly though, nodding and plucking at an imaginary string of his uniform pants.

"Bakugo told you, then." He said, voice quiet and reserved once more. "I…slipped up during the sports festival and used my fire. He took offense to me not using it in my fight with him and I felt…obligated to explain considering how the award ceremony went."

Izuku could practically see the regret pouring off of the other teen. Which was understandable considering the mishandling of the blonde teenager during the awards ceremony. Izuku would have to remind himself to ask his dads whose bright idea that had been later.

For the moment, though, Shouto had given him the perfect out in this conversation. He could claim that Katsuki had told him the information and keep it moving.

But for once, he wanted to be honest. Shouto deserved that much.

Dabi might not agree with him but at this point if the man wanted to keep Izuku quiet he could come shut him up himself.

"Kacchan didn't tell me, Todoroki." He pushed forward before he could convince himself to back down from this. "Touya did."

Surprise flashed across his face briefly before his expression closed off all together. Izuku wondered for a moment if he'd made a grave miscalculation.

"That's…not possible. It's not possible for you to even know that name." Despite his closed off expression, the teen's voice shook a little. Just enough to show just how shaken the other teen was by the entire conversation.

"It is. Because he survived. And he saved me."

Izuku could feel the familiar lump in his throat that arose whenever he thought about that day, and the days afterwards. He cleared his throat and shifted so he was leaning his elbows on his knees, not meeting the piercing gaze of the teen in front of him.

"He pulled me out of that river and spent so much time and energy making sure I stayed alive. And I know you're not going to like this but you've seen him recently."

He could visibly see the confusion in the dual quirked teen when he glanced up to meet his gaze again. This needed to be done, he told himself. If he wanted any chance of getting close to and helping the youngest Todoroki he needed to rip this bandaid off sooner rather than later.

Secrets were not advisable when trying to gain someone's trust. Especially not ones this big.

"Blue flames, Shouto."

And just like that, he could see the realization click into place on the other's face. He could also see the range of emotions that seemed to flicker over the teen's face quickly.

Disbelief.

Anger.

Confusion.

"Dabi. Dabi is Touya? You're sure?" He demanded, hands clenched into fists in his lap. It was the most emotional Izuku had ever seen the other teen.

"Positive. He told me the whole story himself almost three years ago." Izuku nodded, blowing out a breath. "I was trying to convince him to let go of his vendetta against your father before he got the stupid idea in his head that The League was the way to go."

Izuku let that information settle into the other's system, sitting back in his chair and letting the silence settle over the two of them like a blanket. He could practically hear the gears turning in Shouto's brain and felt a little bad for dumping all of this information on him like this.

Classes hadn't even started for the day yet and already it was a long day. Just like he thought it was going to be.

"So, you and he are close? Were close?" Shouto asked finally, expression settling once more into his usual stoicness.

"Yeah. He…actually saved me again last night. The league grabbed me when I was on my way back to the school and he defected." He hoped that information would at least be a little soothing to the other. Dabi wasn't a direct enemy anymore. Hopefully.

He could see Shouto digesting that information, the other looking a little lost as he tried to make sense of it all. Izuku felt bad for dumping all of it on him but this was important. Last thing he needed was for Shouto to find out his brother was alive on live TV or something.

Taking pity on him, he decided now was a good time to give him some space to figure out his feelings on the matter. Or at the very least digest it in peace.

"Class is going to be starting soon, we should probably go or we'll be late." He said with a bright smile, reaching down to snag his bag against as he stood up. "Walk with me?"

"Of course."

By the time lunch rolled around, Izuku was tired and quite frankly a little cranky. Nezu had cranked up the difficulty of their lessons to the point where it was an actual challenge. Which would be nice on a regular day but today it was almost torture. On top of that, the rat refused to answer any of his questions about the process of getting a DNA sample from All For One.

Nezu must have noticed his mood and dismissed their lessons a few minutes early with the instructions to go straight to 1A. For once, Izuku wasn't inclined to argue. It would be easier to drop his bag there and not have to cart it around with him at lunch anyway.

He arrived to the classroom a few minutes before the lunch bell, sliding the door open and pausing in the doorway. It looked like Hizashi had wrapped up class early as well and was standing at the podium sorting papers. He looked up when the door slid open and flashed Izuku a bright smile.

He didn't get a chance to say anything, though, because the class noticed him in the same moment and the uproar of noise was something that even Present Mic's voice would be drown out by.

Izuku couldn't help but laugh a little, shoulders loosening as he waved and the tension bleeding out of him. It was so nice to see all of them. It felt like it'd been a million years since he walked through these doors even though it had only been a day.

"He returns! The slayer of All Might!" Sero's voice was distinguishable out of all of the nose and Izuku turned towards him and tilted his head questioningly.

"Dude! You got All Might fired from the Hero Course!" Kaminari crowed, slapping the desk as he leaned back to cackle.

The noise of the class' welcome died down as he made his way across the room and perched himself on top of Katsuki's desk. The blonde huffed at him and pulled his notebook out from under him with a grumpy look on his face. The green haired teen flashed a smile at him before turning back to the rest of the class.

"I didn't get him fired from the hero course! He's just…not teaching this class anymore." He said with a shrug, unable to hide the small smile tugging at his lips.

"Good riddance. He was a shit teacher anyway." Jirou snorted, twirling her jack around the finger and flashing Izuku a smug grin.

He loved these kids, he really did, he decided.

"Now, now, little listeners! Don't start any fights with All Might, okay?" Hizashi drew the attention of the class back to him, a small indulgent smile on his face. "That being said, if you happen to spot him causing trouble for our favorite teaching assistant here come get a staff member and we will handle it, okay?"

The class nodded in unison, every face so serious that it made Izuku's chest tight. As if he knew how overwhelming the feeling of being this supported was to the other teen Katsuki's hand came up to gently rub against the small of Izuku's back. The green haired teen shot a smile at him before jumping a little when the bell for lunch sounded.

The moment was broken and Izuku blinked as the class began to move, everyone getting up and moving towards the classroom door in their various groups. Izuku laughed when Katsuki pushed him off of his desk with a grunt as he got up from his seat.

Izuku caught himself and held out his hand to Katsuki, grinning when the other teen interlocked their fingers together. They both turned to leave and were startled to find Shouto standing near the door waiting for them. Katsuki was already tensing for a fight but Izuku gave his hand a squeeze to divert his attention, giving him a small smile.

"Shouto, did you need something?" He asked pleasantly, mildly impressed that the other student seemed to be reaching out all ready.

"Ha? 'Shouto'?! What the hell, nerd?!"

Ah. That was going to be a problem. He had not counted on Katsuki's…jealousy?

"I told Izuku the same story I told you after the sports festival this morning." Shouto said simply, giving a small shrug of his shoulders. "Only…he already knew it."

Red eyes bored into the side of Izuku's head and he sighed a little, resigning himself to losing a few minutes of lunch to this conversation.

"Yeah. Uh…remember Dabi?" He glanced up at Katsuki and saw his jaw clench at the mention of the villains name. So. Still a sore subject then. Good to know. Katsuki didn't interrupt him, though, instead raising a brow to get him to continue. "So. Not really his name. It's actually…uh…Touya Todoroki?"

He could see the realization sinking in and laughed when Katsuki covered his face with his hand, a growl under his breath.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Izuku chuckled, glancing back at Shouto who seemed a bit bemused at their responses. "Sorry. Did you need something?"

The dual haired teen seemed to shake himself out whatever thoughts were tumbling around in his brain.

"I was curious if I could eat lunch with you. I…am trying to be more social with my classmates." He said slowly, blinking like it was still a foriegn concept.

"Absolutely!" Izuku chirped, grinning widely as he heard Katsuki huff out a breath. "C'mon, then, before we lose out on good seats."

The silence between the three of them wasn't uncomfortable as they made their way to the hallway. The other teenagers walked on either side of him and he swung his and Katsuki's intertwined hands happily, unable to keep the smile off of his face.

That smile, though, faded as they got into the cafeteria and approached the tables that the class had collectively claimed for themselves.

There was some sort of ruckus going on, agitated voices raised in an argument.

"-kind of hoodlums must your class be that the greatest hero ever would abandon your education? Is the mighty class 1 A finally brought down to the level they should be?"

Next to Izuku, Katsuki growled and tugged them closer to the tables. As they got closer it was obvious that the situation was escalating with every second. Kirishima, Sero, and Uraraka were standing up and facing the blonde student who was spewing nonsense at them. It was obvious that they were ready to fight and Izuku didn't think that the student even knew what he was getting himself into.

"Excuse me, is there a problem here?" Izuku cut into the blonde's rant. Katsuki and Shouto flanked either side of the green haired teen, both of them stone faced and ready to back him up if needed.

"Oh! It's 1A's pet villain!" The blonde laughed like he'd made an amazing joke, turning to the other students that Izuku didn't recognize. None of them looked like they shared their friend's glee. "Wonderful to finally catch sight of you. All Might had some good tips on how to deal with you. I mean, you're quirkless after all so not like it would be hard."

Izuku threw out a hand and caught Katsuki in the chest, holding him back from the lunge he had started in the other blonde's direction. Kirishima had to be held back by Sero and Uraraka at the same time and the antagonistic student took a step back, seeming to realize he was in a dangerous position.

"Go back to being second rate, Monoma." Uraraka growled, helping Sero pull Kirishima back down into his seat.

"Monama, was it? If I were you, I wouldn't take too much stock in what All Might has to say. He's rather old fashioned and biased in his views." Izuku said mildly, redirecting Katsuki into a nearby seat and nodding to Shouto to do the same. "He's also an awful teacher."

The green haired teen flashed the 1B student a smile before purposely turning his back to him and sitting down between Katsuki and Shouto. He could hear the blonde sputtering behind him and suppressed the urge to grin. It was always so much fun playing with this kind of person.

He glanced back at him and flashed him a serene smile, giving him a little wave.

"It was nice meeting you, though. Do let me know when you and your classmates start to fall behind, yeah? I'll be sure to add some joint study sessions between our classes to help catch you back up."

With that he turned back around and grinned widely at the rest of the class that was gaping at him. In front of him, Mina recovered first and didn't even bother trying to hide her giggles as she leaned forward to pound on the table.

The tension in the rest of the group broke, everyone breaking down into giggles and laughs as they returned to their food. Beside him, Katsuki rolled his eyes and knocked his shoulder against Izuku's carefully.

"I'll be back with our food. Stay here and out of trouble, yeah?"

Izuku just tilted his head and gave him a noncommittal shrug.

"I mean, I'll try but no promises."

I really enjoyed writing this chapter! I've been looking for a way for Shouto and Izuku to bond and this way seemed perfect!

Next up, a chat between Dabi and Aizawa and they come up with a plan for talking to Inko Midoriya!

Izuku: I understand what you're going through.
Shouto: I'm now going to follow you around like a puppy. That's friendship, right?

As always, bribe me with your thoughts and I'll write faster C: