"I wonder what they're building over there," Kaminari commented, looking off to a further corner of the campus. "They started up construction so early this morning."

"Oh, yeah," Kirishima piped. "Looks like they have all the bones up already. It's too small to be a training room or anything, though. Maybe they needed more office space?"

Some of the boys from Class 3-A were lounging outside of Heights Alliance, enjoying the mild weather. It was Sunday so there were no classes. Shoto was leaning up against a tree, shaded from the sun. Kirishima sat in the grass, his arms wrapped around his legs loosely. Kaminari stood beside him, arms crossed and basking. Midoriya was sprawled out on his back while Bakugo was a ways away, under another tree, probably trying to ignore all of the others despite having come out with them.

Shoto wanted to keep his mouth shut. He should have. But in those few moments that lapsed in the conversation his mind was reeling. If he didn't say anything, he'd basically be lying to them. What would happen when he moved out of the dorms and everyone noticed him gone?

"It's for me," Shoto eventually said. He kept his eyes closed, his chin dipped in a show of nonchalance. "My old man requested the new housing."

There was a moment of heavy silence as his classmates processed the information. Simultaneously, an exaggerated scoff came from Bakugo while Kaminari choked on a laugh.

"You fucking kidding me?" Bakugo seethed.

"I guess being the kid of Number One has its perks," Kirishima added with a well-meaning grin.

"What, you're too "golden" to room with the rest of us now?" Kaminari snickered.

Midoriya had sat up in interest, only observing the exchange as it progressed.

"It's not that," Shoto answered, lowering his head further. "I got married yesterday."

Cue the screech of the proverbial record.

"…It's newlywed housing," Shoto finished.

The shock seemed to last for hours. Shoto did his best to stay neutral but on the inside he was sweating just the slightest. He knew it was a weird thing to admit. Even to him the confession seemed surreal.

He was a married man now.

He had a wife.

Shoto really couldn't remember what exactly the other guys said once they came back around. It honestly just sounded like a lot of screaming. The one thing he was acutely aware of was Midoriya, who'd jolted up and come to face him.

"Todoroki," Midoriya said, placing a hand on Shoto's shoulder. Shoto was vaguely aware of Kaminari and Kirishima flailing in the background but he managed to center his attention on Deku. "This is so sudden. Was there even… I mean…" Midoriya gulped before meeting Shoto's eyes.

Shoto knew what Midoriya was trying to ask. He maintained eye contact, keeping his expression cool. "It's what you think it is," he answered simply. Midoriya's breath caught in the back of his throat but he regained himself quickly, tightening his grip on Shoto's shoulder in support.

That first day went slightly better than expected overall, but once classes resumed on Monday Shoto was in for a whole new slew of interrogation.

"You didn't even tell us you had a girlfriend! Now you have a wife?! WHAT THE HELL?"

"Is this even legal? We're still in high school!"

"He's seventeen, kero. You only need a parent's permission."

"Trust a guy like Todoroki to announce that he got married like it was nothing."

"She must be super cute, right? A totally catch~ That's why you had to snatch her up so fast!"

"Why weren't any of us invited to the wedding?"

"How was it? Where was the reception, what was your theme?"

"Never mind any of that – how was your wedding night, huh?"

Shoto kept his eyes closed, his brow twitching minutely. He knew his classmates would be overly curious but the onslaught was still a little irritating. He was more sensitive about the subject than he'd expected.

"We didn't have a reception," Shoto responded, singling out the easiest question. "Or a wedding, really. We just signed some papers at the courthouse."

It was the girls, primarily, who whined at the news.

"That's so unromantic!" Hagakure's uniform wiggled.

"Yeah, really," Ashido scoffed. "Did she even have a say in that? No girl wants to just sign papers at a government office! A wedding is supposed to be an experience."

Shoto felt somewhat baffled. He and Bashira were in a common state of mind that their marriage was purely political, but he had never given much thought to the fact that she might have wanted a real ceremony. Girls usually did, didn't they? Weren't wedding days something they dreamed about their entire lives?

Then again, their circumstances were far from normal. Why would Bashira want to celebrate it?

While Shoto wallowed, Yaoyorozu prodded his arm with her pencil.

"This wife of yours," Yaoyorozu began, her tone careful, "she must not be from around here, is she? Not from this school, at least."

Shoto nodded. He didn't know where Bashira was from, honestly. Just that she'd be moving into their suite by the end of the week.

Yaoyorozu was clearly uncomfortable (did she guess what had really happened so quickly?) but gave Shoto her best smile. "That all sounds so stressful, for you both. Maybe when she feels up to it you could send her to the girls' dorms? We could take care of her for a while. Make her feel welcomed."

Despite himself, Shoto was relieved. If nothing else, maybe Bashira could make some friends. He doubted he would be all that great of a husband (considering he had no desire to be a husband in the first place) so maybe his classmates could fill in for some of what he was lacking. For now, it seemed like the most logical he could do for her.

"Sure," Shoto said. "She might like that. Thanks."

The newlywed housing was completed by Tuesday. Bashira could have moved in right away but she'd waited until Saturday morning. Shoto didn't really care or blame her either way. It gave him some extra time to adjust, too.

Neither one of them had too many belongings to place. Shoto was completely settled in by the time Bashira made her appearance. Even then, he was impressed by how little time it took her to unpack. He'd made himself busy studying in one of the spare rooms while she moved in, and by mid-afternoon Bashira had declared she was done.

"I still have to stock us up on more of the basics," she had said, "but otherwise my stuff is all put away, and we just have to work out decorating."

Shoto didn't care much about decorating (he immediately thought of picking out wall decals and color-coding needless pillows) so he'd nodded but didn't take her words to heart.

"My classmates want to meet you," he said instead. He wasn't sure if it was too soon, but he figured he'd get it out of the way. "When you're ready, the girls want to have a sleepover or something."

Bashira's expression went numb. She'd handled everything pretty well up until then, but Shoto still got the feeling she may not have been so poised with handling situations she hadn't prepare herself for. He was vaguely reminded of Yaoyorozu, which was pretty fitting considering the class rep had been the one to extend the offer to begin with.

"Okay," Bashira responded, somewhat belatedly. "We can do that some time."

Bashira didn't leave their condo for at least a week. She'd done things here and there, setting up what décor she could with the materials at hand, but she didn't attend any public meals. Shoto knew there were some snacks and simple food stashed in their kitchen but the girl definitely hadn't had anything substantial since she'd moved in. He didn't worry much. She was still getting used to everything.

It was an unspoken arrangement that Bashira got their bedroom to herself. Shoto had no choice but to keep his clothes in there but he'd opted to sleep in the spare room instead. The floor was tatami, of course, and a small futon worked just fine for him. The bed in their bedroom was a Western style frame and mattress, which wasn't what he would have preferred anyway.

In the mornings, Shoto fell into a routine. He would roll up his futon, head into the kitchen to fuel up, and then knock on Bashira's door to get his uniform. She was always awake. Sometimes still in bed, reading, and other times sitting by the window reading in the sunlight. One of the first things Shoto could confidently say about Bashira was that she seemed well read.

The Monday after her first full week in Musutafu, Bashira was predictably up-and-running when Shoto knocked. She called her permission to enter, but it came as a twist that she was fully dressed when Shoto opened the door.

She was fully dressed in a female U.A. uniform.

Shoto only took one step into the room before he paused, tilting his head at her. Bashira was leaning close to a body-length mirror hung on one of the walls, applying make-up.

'She wears make-up?' Shoto thought to himself. That part wasn't all that strange, he reasoned. 'She's attending classes now?'

Bashira finished whatever she was doing to her face and turned around. A little late, Shoto noticed that there was pop music playing from a device somewhere in the room.

Bashira clasped her hands and gave Shoto a tight smile. It seemed like she was reading his mind. "Principal Nezu gave me the first week off but I still have to graduate, you know? I'm enrolled in General Department Studies."

It seemed so basic, but Shoto somehow hadn't thought of it. Bashira would still need to go to school. Why didn't he know about her enrolling until then, though?

Come to think of it, how old was Bashira? She had to have been at least seventeen to get roped into this – but not old enough to have finished high school, apparently. Maybe eighteen? They must have been in the same grade.

Shoto brushed those questions away.

"I've never actually shown you around the campus," he realized aloud. "Do you need help getting to your classes?"

Bashira took a half-step so that she was facing away from him, her weight on one leg. "I have a map, I'm sure I'll be fine."

Shoto didn't know if she was being honest or trying not to bother him, but he accepted her response and moved into the room to get everything he would need for school. Bashira went back to the mirror. At that point, she was just dabbing at her skin to keep her hands busy.

Being the new kid transferring mid-term, during her senior year, to one of the top schools in the world because of some sick breeding program…

Was just the cherry on top of Bashira's screwed-up life.

(A/N):

For the record, I'm going to resist the urge to make Author's Notes after this one. :]

Also for the record, I don't read the manga, like, religiously. And I've only been watching MHA casually, as it's released on TV. So as much as I try to research I'm bound to hit some snags with the canon. I'm still figuring out my original plot as I go, but the general outline of this story is that it's a semi-AU future fic. I have some ideas about how different things will be by the time the cast are seniors but for simplicity's sake, think of this as me just plopping everyone from the current era two years ahead, with only minimal/vague changes.

This story may feel choppy and stiff for a while while Shoto and Bashira are learning to bond. As their relationship develops, the flow should improve. (I hope!) ^-^*

Please feel free to point out any info or major plot points that I miss; I don't want to venture TOO far off the beaten path.

Please feel even more free to review or give private feedback, of course~