Hi friends! This is a scene that I've been meaning to write for ages and finally sat down and did these past couple of weeks. If you haven't read my Liar Liar story it will likely be confusing so I recommend you read that one first, but I tried not to have any major spoilers at least. If my usual readers notice any, I'm gonna ask them to please call me out on it so I can fix it!

Also, to those who are still waiting on the Liar Liar prequel, I haven't given up on it! I'm just in my last semester of college and it's kicking my butt.

Shouto would be the first to admit that he had gone along with Uraraka and Bakugou's plan on a whim. He'd been anxious to meet Wraith again ever since the incident at Hosu, to ask him about Phoenix. About Touya.

He hadn't been at all prepared to see Touya that night.

The moment Shouto's eyes met those shockingly familiar blue ones, it was like the entire world had faded away and all he could see was him.

The vigilante that had saved Ingenium's life.

The brother that he could barely remember.

And then Touya had suddenly ripped his eyes away from him, and all at once reality snapped back into focus, leaving him feeling dazed and lost, a sensation that only increased as he realized that Touya's focus had turned fully on Wraith.

'I'll see you again, Shou-chan.'

Those had been Touya's last words to him in that video. He wasn't entirely sure what he had expected for their first meeting in ten years, but being ignored while his brother fussed over Wraith wasn't it. He'd been expecting Touya-Phoenix-to be close to Wraith, but still. It… hurt, in a way that he couldn't quite explain. Like his brain had short-circuited but his heart had an excess of energy.

Was this how Kaminari felt when he overused his quirk?

In some ways, Aizawa-sensei's interruption had been a welcome distraction from the thoughts and emotions swirling in Shouto's gut. Of course, then Wraith had begun outlining his plan, which raised a number of other concerns.

"Wait. You want T-… Phoenix to face that monster alone?" Shouto protested.

Wraith's eyes widened slightly as he looked at him, as though he were only just fully registering that Shouto was there. Still, his voice was steady, if very tired, when he replied. "He won't be alone. Eraserhead and I will be helping."

"But-!"

"Shouto."

The heterochromatic boy looked up in surprise, meeting calm, resolute blue eyes past the simple black mask. For a long moment, he couldn't help but stare. Then he ripped his gaze away, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

Does Touya really care about Wraith so much that he'd risk his life for him?

Shouto knew that the others kept shooting him questioning looks while Aizawa-sensei and Wraith continued to hash out the details of the plan and Yaoyorozu used her quirk to create bandages and antiseptic for the injured vigilante. He could guess that Uraraka in particular wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he very much did not want to talk about it, so he kept his eyes firmly on the ground, ignoring the general proceedings to the best of his ability.

So it kind of caught him off guard when a pair of black boots entered his peripheral vision.

"Shouto?"

Shouto's breath hitched, his eyes snapping up to Touya's uncertain expression as he reached up to lightly scratch the scar on his cheek. For a long minute, neither of them said a word, avoiding each others' eyes.

"You pierced your ears," the teen said finally. His brother had a lot of new scars on his face and hands too, but Shouto didn't think that he should comment on that.

"Yeah. A few years ago," Touya agreed, before they both lapsed into another awkward silence. "Um. How…? How are you?" the older boy asked eventually.

"I'm fine."

"Are you really fine?"

Shouto looked up and was a little surprised to actually meet his brother's hard gaze, a little bit of warning in the expression. "Yes?" he frowned, his head tilting to one side in confusion.

Touya continued to search his gaze for a long moment before he nodded, glancing towards Wraith. "Sorry. Force of habit."

The teen looked towards the other vigilante as well, watching Bakugou help him stumble to his feet. "You care about him," he observed, his stomach churning and his chest hurting again.

"I do," his brother agreed, a faint smile curling the corner of his mouth. "Honestly without him, I don't know that I ever would have worked up the courage to talk to you again."

Shouto blinked at his brother, then looked back at Wraith, just catching a glint of green and a small, approving smile before the vigilante looked away.

Huh.

"Phoenix. It's time," Aizawa-sensei called, his dark eyes calculating as they flicked between Shouto and his brother.

"Understood," the older boy nodded, his expression hardening into determination as he began to walk away.

Shouto's heart clenched, and his brother's name slipped from his tongue before he could stop it. "Tou-n-" He cut himself off immediately, but judging by the way his sensei's eyes subtly widened, it wasn't soon enough. He cursed inwardly, two warm spots of color touching his cheeks as he dropped his gaze as well as his hand, wondering when he'd reached for his brother to begin with.

Touya released a long sigh and Shouto fought back a wince, instinctively expecting a hit, or at least a reprimand.

Then gentle arms wrapped around the young man's shoulders and he was pulled into a loose hug. "What'm I gonna do with you?" his brother murmured alongside his ear. "Don't worry, Shou-chan. It won't be long this time. I promise. Stay safe until then, okay?" Touya ordered, lightly gripping his shoulders as he stepped back.

"O-Okay," Shouto nodded, the emotions in his chest beginning to settle even as he felt something wet on his cheeks.

His brother nodded one last time, then turned away, a different kind of mask shrouding his eyes. "Eraserhead. Wraith. Let's go."

"Right. Yaoyorozu, you're in charge."

"Yes, sensei."

"Shouto-kun?"

Shouto glanced towards Uraraka, easily recognizing the concern in her open expression.

"Are you okay? Who was that?" she asked, her eyes flicking away from his.

Shouto followed her gaze to Touya's receding back, to the way Wraith smirked up at him and his brother looked away, grumbling.

'It won't be long this time.'

"Honestly? I'm not quite sure."