Shoto Todoroki was observant, keenly so, not just through natural gifts but as a means of survival. He knows quite well that the common idea of abuse victims walking on eggshells around abusers is true. It's one of the first things he noticed about Izuku, his now step brother.

Even now after weeks in his new home he still couldn't quite believe it. He was free, finally free. No more waking up at 3 am for two hour sessions of work out that was more his sperm donor beating him up than actually training him. No more constant tension and fear of saying/doing the wrong thing or using the wrong tone.

It feels alien in the best way possible. He wasn't entirely used to the feeling and something told him he'd be feeling that way for a while. Living with Izuku and his family was definitely a positive change for everyone. Izuku's mother was a godsend in every meaning of the word. He didn't… hate his mother but there was definitely some bad blood between the two of them.

Izuku's mom took care of them all, she treated them with respect, and best of all she loved every single one of them. Something they didn't receive from their sperm donor.

Shoto let out a slow breath as he tried in vain to fall asleep again, having woken up silently from a nightmare he still can't shake. His father, out of whatever hell hole they put him in and dragging Shoto back to their house, as his home, the only one he's really had, burns to the ground with both of his new and old family nothing but charred corpses.

No matter how badly he wanted to move into Izuku's top bunk for a hug he couldn't do it. It wouldn't feel right. He's already been enough of a burden to him as is. So he did what he's always done, use his ice to physically numb himself.

As he did this, he continued to think about Izuku and how he felt like a burden. While Shoto was eternally grateful, he couldn't help but feel bad for him. Shoto and his siblings did come in and essentially take away a good part of his mother's attention and care from him. Izuku kept telling him it didn't bother him but Shoto just couldn't shake the feeling. After all, when he was aware of what true parental and familial love felt like, he wouldn't want to just give it away. So of course he felt like he was doing that to Izuku.

In an effort to distract himself from his thoughts he looked to the far wall, which was all that was separating him from the person responsible for everyone's life changing. Ben Tennyson. He could hardly believe such a person existed. He was the embodiment of what a Hero should be even if outwardly he didn't appear to take anything seriously.

Shoto knew in his bones that if it came down to it Ben would kill himself if it meant saving even just one life more. This wasn't a job for him or even a lifestyle, but who he WAS at his core. You could never take away being a Hero from Ben because they were one and the same concept.

Shoto was sure that if he could, Ben would martyr himself and take upon all the evils the universe had to offer himself so no one else would have to feel their burden. Shoto was pretty sure that all that selflessness and responsibility wasn't too healthy for someone of Ben's age. Especially considering he has been doing this since he was only ten years old.

He still owes it all to Ben who had been able to do something he wasn't sure was entirely possible. Stand up against his sperm donor. Call him out on his bullshit. Make sure he knew just how wrong and evil he truly was. Shoto stopped using his ice to numb himself for a minute as he continued to think on the subject.

The memory of Ben manhandling his father effortlessly was one of Shoto's guilty pleasures. The look of shock and rage as the number 2 Hero was laid to waste was art in its truest form. It warmed him even now thinking about it, knowing Ben would never use that power with an ounce of evil intent.

It was sort of humorous to him how this teenager was a much better example of a hero than the fully grown man with more years of experience. But it just felt so good when Ben and Izuku had voiced their concern about what his sperm donor was doing. It might have given him a bit of … hope that things would change. The fact that what kind of person he is was known around the world was also pretty great.

Shoto blinked in surprise as the numbness in his face finally went away to reveal a smile he didn't know he had. It was quickly wiped away into his usual stoic expression as Shoto resisted the urge to grimace and slowly allowed the smile to form again hesitantly.

Showing emotion isn't a weakness anymore! I don't have to keep my guard up any longer, always wary of getting his attention. I'm allowed to be happy, I refuse for him to take away something so basic in human nature.

Shoto hated himself a little as he shivered in fright as his mind unwittingly brought forth the phantom image of his father's scowling face.

That cold, unchanging glare that was always placed upon him. He hated it. He hated that his stare was enough to get him to silence up, to feel true fear. He would never wish it upon anyone else, that's how horrible it was. He wasn't even sure if he had ever seen his sperm donor smile in a situation that didn't benefit him.

He didn't see him as his son, all he saw was the perfect mold that he could change into the perfect hero that he was too weak to become himself. Shoto gulped for a minute before his mind drifted to his step brother that was asleep above him.

I won't let him ruin this for me too. I won't. Ben, my siblings, Izuku's mom, and Izuku all care for me. I know they do.

Izuku always said that if he ever needed to talk, he'd be there. It didn't matter what Izuku was dealing with at the moment, he'd always be available. Shoto hesitated for a moment before getting off the bed and climbing to the top bunk.

Izuku's breath hitched as he heard movement before recognizing the footfalls as Shoto. Without a word he scooted over so he could get in under the covers and just barely avoided flinching off the bed entirely as he felt how cold he was.

"You doing ok?"

Shoto thought for a moment before speaking.

"I'm not sure."

Izuku nodded at his answer before replying.

"Do you need a solution or just someone to listen and be there?"

"The latter."

Izuku nods as without a further word he brings in Shoto for a hug under the covers.

"You aren't usually this cold, is your Quirk acting up or something?"

"... Or something. I usually do this to try and distract myself from my problems or help me go to sleep."

Izuku lets out a hum, thinking of another person he knew who had trouble sleeping.

"Nightmares again I take it?"

"Yeah."

Shoto was well aware that even placed in this new amazing, welcoming home that his trauma wasn't going to disappear like it never existed. He knew it but he just hated how his father continued to torment him even when he's in jail.

"Is this making you feel better?"

Shoto nods, not trusting himself to speak clearly from how effortlessly caring and measured Izuku was. He supposed that there really was merit in the saying broken people know how to heal others of their kind, being intimately familiar with the cracks and jagged edges trauma can leave behind.

He wasn't used to hugs but the amount that he had received from Izuku slightly overwhelmed him in the best way possible. He knew how to help him and he was ready to do so at any time.

"...Thanks Izuku."

"No problem. You know, I'm ok with you sleeping in my bed if you want. Apparently I'm very good at helping others go to sleep."

Shoto barely got a nod off before he found himself asleep too. He knew that his trauma would never fully go away but he'd get through it. With these people at his side? Of course he would.

His dream thankfully wasn't more of the same nightmare he's been constantly having. In fact it was more of a series of recollections starting from the results of the UA entrance exam where he saw someone managed to get a perfect score in all fields, a first in UA history. Ben Tennyson.

The news spurred on his father to be particularly vicious during the weeks leading up to the first day of school. They only got worse upon hearing how Ben effortlessly beat him in their urban combat simulation.

Though even Shoto was hesitant to call their fight one at all. It was more like Ben was toying with them and reveling in his part more than anything. Shoto would never admit it out loud but the image of that ghost-like form splitting his sides open plays a part in a number of his nightmares. His sperm donor would suddenly go intangible as impossible as that was before possessing Shoto and using the weapon he raised to burn and ice away anything that made him weak.

Soon all that was left was a world of ice and fire, the bodies of his friends and family unrecognizable. All except for one. Even with his rampage the watch Ben had on was perfectly fine. It was a horrifying thought to say the least. Shoto did have his fair share of fears but this one terrified him the most.

His sperm donor was already the ex Number 2 Hero in the world, 3 if you put Ben in the mix. But the thought of his sperm donor with all that power horrified him to no end. He was a witness first hand to what his father was capable of...him with that amount of power would only end in chaos.

Shoto's eyes widened for a moment before they fell back to a dull look. He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out as he began to calm down. Thankfully however, someone who was much more deserving than anyone else was in possession of that power.

Shoto let out a soft sigh as Izuku seemed to notice his fear and hugged him tighter even in the throes of sleep.

After a few calming breaths his mind went on the previous track, skittering around how Ben ended his fight for fear of a relapse and going into the other eventful event of that day. Bakugo's attempted murder via negligence and Ben's fury. He unconsciously shivered as he remembered the glare he sent to the explosive boy.

If Shoto was a criminal he'd be certain he would have gone straight just from seeing it second hand, let alone having it trained on him in specific. He didn't think much of Bakugo, after all he had other things on his mind at the time. But he was a bit shocked that someone of his...personality was so interested in becoming a hero.

Shoto was quite aware that Bakugo seemed like the type to do something rash but attempting to murder Izuku, not even thinking about the repercussions. Someone like that was not fit to be a hero at all. Shoto hugged Izuku a little tighter, as he thought about how he had to go through this for ten years. How Izuku never snapped was beyond him.

Izuku hugged him back tighter, unconsciously calling out Ben's name in his sleep as he snuggled up to Shoto. The boy in question barely withheld a laugh as he let Izuku get comfortable.

It seems Ben is really popular tonight huh? Wasn't much of a shock however. Ben was the person who was able to show them that the way things are now didn't have to be the status quo. That just because that's how things always were didn't make them right. It'd be an insult not to be thinking about him. Whether it be in admiration, love, or hate from a select few, Ben Tennyson was just a thought that kept on coming.

Unbeknownst to the two boys sleeping on the top bunk the AI, currently split three ways each in a copy of one of Ben's transformations, chuckled as it kept watch over him. It seems some things really are a constant, no matter how hard Ben tries to blend in to the crowd he'll quickly become in/famous despite his best efforts to lay low.

"It seems our vacation won't be much of one in a few months, weeks if certain parties connect certain dots."

The class wasn't much different in their thinking. In the middle of all the studying and fun they were having, their world was changing around them as they knew it. All thanks to one person as well. It was already a shock just how experienced Ben seemed to be as a hero for someone who is in training like they were but the fact that he was able to defeat Endeavor?! Not even that. Defeat is lowballing what he did to the supposed Number 2 Hero of the world. It was like he was nothing compared to him. In another world, they might have felt bad but after learning the truth, sympathy was not present.

The students of 1A were quickly cottoning on to the fact Ben wasn't who he claimed to be and the villains already knew, the demolishing of Endeavor more than enough precedent. Headlines exposing Ben's actions were impossible to stop despite UAs best efforts and soon enough he wasn't just the talk of two boys on a bunk bed, but the world.

In his sleep Ben shivered as he felt the familiar vulture's eye of the media closing in on his vacation all over again. Ben was always up to help anyone don't get him wrong there. It wasn't just his job, it's who he is. But he's been dealing with the media for four years and it hasn't gotten any easier. The fact that this getaway to this universe was supposed to be a vacation only made it worse.

Seeing his shiver the AI let out a soft chuckle as it smoothed over his hair to calm him down.

"You know what they say about good deeds Ben. They never go unpunished. Unfortunately for us the media here seems to be even worse than back home."

Though Ben had made it clear how much it worried and disappointed him, just how media and popularity obsessed this world was. Not to mention, how they treat people with different types of quirks...or lack thereof. Those combined were just a recipe for disaster. Endeavor had proven that greatly and he had a feeling if they didn't get to Shinsou, they might've had a similar problem.

It was why he was glad that Izuku and Shoto had a better understanding of what it means to be a hero. Their goals to change their society makes him rest a little easier. Not by much but something is better than nothing. He had to keep reminding himself of that every now and again. With any luck, the changes to society wouldn't cause too many problems but he'd be there to help move things along.

Finally back with a new chapter for this story! I hope you enjoy this! I'm doing something a little different in my notes as we are calling out someone who is racist and fakes being suicidal on Tumblr. She uses any opportunity to promote her own fics, is obsessed with talking and accusing ParadoxicOrder8 of being obsessed when if anyone is obsessed it's her. Just overall not a great person and has literally no shame. Though the actual link will actually show you the true underlying problems with her! Just wanted to let you guys know. Stay safe out there.

https / ben-10-setting-omnicrom . /post / 655752260945674240 /why-the-fuck-are-you-listing-your-race-as-if-it

Here's a further link showing a frankly absurd number of racists, racist apologists, and people who think it's impossible to be racist to white people/that Cracker is a slur

https / ben-10-setting-omnicrom . /post / 655727780403773441 / hi-there-there-is-so-much-wrong-with-nearly-every