Shouto couldn't help but glance around in wonder as he entered the home of Izuku Midoriya. The front hall was painted in a bright, uplifting tone of pastel yellow and the smiling faces of Izuku and various other people were visible in several pictures that hung from the walls in eye catching frames.

Izuku stopped to take his shoes off and Shouto followed suit, frowning at the small pile of sand that spilled onto the floor. "It's ok," Iuzuku assured him. "I already have to clean the floor anyway thanks to Mirio," he said, gesturing towards the wet marks on the floor left by the dog that sat contently at his side.

"I told the others that I was bringing someone with me," Izuku explained quietly. "So you don't have to worry about them. They're fine with it. Ok?"

Shouto nodded, although he had no idea who these others were or how Izuku had contacted them when they had been together the whole time. He spared a glance at the small device held tightly in his right hand, thinking perhaps it had happened when he had been tapping on the surface of that. The only other explanation would be if Izuku possessed some kind of ability like the sea witches who could speak directly into the minds of other merfolk. Shouto suspected it was the first, but added the alternative to his mental list of potential evidence in support of the 'Izuku Midoriya was once a merman' theory.

In any case, despite Izuku's reassurances, Shouto still couldn't help but feel like he was intruding. He also couldn't help the way his nerves and his heart rate picked up as Izuku grabbed the door handle and turned it, pushing the door open softly.

"I'm home!" Izuku called, out as his dog rushed in front of him to enter the house, darting off into another room.

"We're in the kitchen!" a female voice answered cheerfully.

Shouto was immediately hit with the pleasant smell of home cooking as he stepped into the room behind Izuku.

Looking around curiously, Shouto analysed his new surroundings. It was a simple home, far less modern and shiny than the place where he'd shared a brief residence with his ex-boyfriend. He recalled all of the vocabulary he had learned when his ex gave him a house tour for the first time and deduced that he and Izuku were standing in what must have been the living room.

Much like the front hall, the room was painted in light colours and the shelves and walls contained pictures and small objects. There were two sofas that looked soft and comfy, with what appeared to be oddly shaped blankets with patches of blue, green, pink and orange resting over the tops of them. The room was busy and seemed to be alive with personality, but it was still somehow neat and tidy. A meticulously well organised bookshelf sat against one wall and the TV in front of the front window had a similarly neatly arranged row of books and cases in the stand underneath it.

There was a sense of warmth about the place that had nothing to do with the actual temperature.

The wall opposite the front window, at the far end of the room, had a large rectangular opening. It allowed the occupants of the living room to see into what looked like a kitchen, where Shouto could see a short woman with brown hair and a much taller man with dark blue-ish hair and glasses chatting amicably. Their attention was mostly focused on the stove, where a number of pots were bubbling and steaming.

Glancing at the man's unnatural hair colour suspiciously, Shouto pondered for a second over the idea that he might have somehow accidentally stumbled upon a secret merfolk turned human community. Or if he thought about how he met Izuku maybe the more appropriate way of phrasing it was that they had stumbled upon him.

He added the fact that Izuku knew other people with mer-like hair colours to his slowly growing list of evidence.

The blue haired man in the kitchen was gesturing wildly as he spoke, his hands chopping through the air as if to strike against invisible assailants. Whatever he was saying appeared to be hilarious as the brunette woman was laughing loudly and clutching at her sides. Once again, seeing how relaxed both of them were in spite of the use of body language that would be interpreted as a blatant act of aggression in mer society left Shouto with some doubts about his theory. Although he supposed it would be possible for a merperson to become comfortable with quick, sharp gestures and less alert if they had been out of the sea for a long time.

Shouto turned his attention away from the two of them, not quite ready to meet more new humans just yet, no matter how friendly they seemed. Instead, he found his gaze drifting towards a framed photo that sat on a nearby shelf. He walked towards it to get a closer look and felt Izuku follow behind him.

He immediately recognised one of the subjects of the photo as a much younger Izuku, smiling widely even though one of his teeth appeared to be missing from the top row. Next to him was a woman who had the same striking forest green hair and eye colour as Izuku, she also wore the same warm, lively smile. Shouto couldn't find any other words to describe the way she looked than genuine and kind. There was no question that this woman was Izuku's mother.

Behind them stood a tall, thin man with messy blond hair and bright blue eyes. Where Izuku and his mother were looking into the camera, this man was looking down at them instead, a soft smile on his face and an unmistakable fondness in his eyes. Shouto knew that this was probably Izuku's dad, but his brain found it difficult to process such an affectionate look on the face of a father figure. He'd never seen a father look at his family like that before.

It was like he didn't want or expect anything from them and was happy simply for the fact that they existed. Shouto wondered what it was like to have a father like that and was hit with a feeling similar to jealousy, but not quite the same. It was more like the feeling he used to get when he peered out at the land from behind a rock, watching humans go about their lives peacefully, or the feeling he'd had earlier when he stood looking out at the vast expanse of water he could never return to.

Although, Shouto figured that if anyone deserved a father who looked at their family like that, it was the man who got upset over a complete stranger's troubles and was willing to take them in and give them a place to stay not even an hour after meeting them.

"That's me and my family," Izuku clarified, picking up the photo to allow both of them a closer look.

"You look a lot like your mother," Shouto observed.

"I get that a lot," Izuku smiled, still looking at the picture as if it was something extremely precious to him.

A sudden clattering noise caught Shouto's attention and he whipped around to find that the source of the noise was a midnight black creature that had leaped up onto the bookcase and settled down on top of it, looking down at him with curious eyes. With its graceful movements, pointy ears and yellow eyes with diamond shaped pupils, it wasn't like any other dog Shouto had ever seen before. He supposed this one must be some kind of indoor dog as Izuku hadn't brought it along for a walk with the other one.

"Izuku," Shouto said, receiving a soft hum in return that he assumed meant he had the other man's attention. "Your other dog is climbing the furniture," he informed, pointing at the strange looking dog. "Is it supposed to do that?"

Izuku frowned, confused. "My other dog?" he repeated, looking up from the picture in his hands to see where Shouto was pointing. "But I don't have another- oh!" His eyes locked on the creature and he turned to raise an eyebrow at Shouto before letting out a small chuckle.

"That's just Tamaki! He does that a lot, I think he feels safer up there," Izuku explained. "He's a rescue too, his past owners treated him really badly because they thought he brought them bad luck. I couldn't get him to come out of the carrier for hours when I first brought him home, but he eventually warmed up to everyone. He was only supposed to be here until my friend could officially adopt him, but then I brought Mirio home and every time we attempted to separate them they got distressed so we decided that he would officially belong to my friend, but live here."

Izuku put the photo back. "He's super quiet and well behaved, but he's still a bit of a nuisance. You wouldn't think it looking at him, but he wants food pretty much all the time," he said, walking towards the bookcase.

He reached up and gently rubbed his fingers under the strange dog's chin. It seemed to like this as it stuck its chin out further and closed its eyes in contentment, making some kind of rumbling sound like the engine of a motorbike, but quieter. Shouto wasn't aware that dogs could make noises like that. Maybe it was just a trait of this one particular breed.

When Izuku tried to retract his hand, the dog swiped at it with its front leg, but instead of being threatened by this action, Izuku only seemed amused. Shouto wondered if it was normal for humans to try and make wild, potentially dangerous creatures their friends and felt mildly horrified at the idea.

"You were right when you asked if I have a habit of rescuing things. Rescuing animals is basically my job," Izuku revealed, "but it breaks my heart when nobody wants to take them to a new home so I usually find a friend, acquaintance or family member to take them in. Sometimes I just beg my housemates to let me keep them here."

A weird, tight sensation took hold of Shouto's chest as he processed that information. Did Izuku figure out that he hadn't always been human? Was he trying to keep Shouto here forever and add him to his collection of strange dogs that had been let down by their previous owners?

Shouto gulped. "Is that why you brought me here?" He asked.

Izuku's eyes widened dramatically, worry evident on his face. "No no no! It's not like that at all! I don't just see you as another vulnerable animal that needs rescuing or anything like that I promise!" He insisted, waving his hands in front of him frantically in an action that Shouto guessed was meant to placate him. "I just think that people should help in situations where they can, that's all!"

Shouto relaxed a little with the knowledge that his secret was still safe and that Izuku didn't plan to keep him here as another creature companion. "Ok, I believe you," he responded, hoping it would calm the man down, even if he still didn't actually completely believe him.

It seemed to work a little, but Izuku still seemed frustrated that his actions had been misunderstood. He let out a loud sigh, glancing down at the scars on his hand with a sad, distant look in his eyes.

"I don't remember it, but I've been told that when I was really young there was a situation where I needed help. There were a lot of other people around who could have done something, but they didn't. They just watched. I probably would have died if my mum hadn't got there in time. Then one person, who wasn't even there to see what happened, helped my mum get me to safety when they saw that I was hurt," he elaborated. "So I decided that I never want to be the kind of person who just stands there and watches when someone might need help. I want to be like that one person who did something even though it was none of their business."

It seemed like he wanted to say more, so Shouto waited patiently for him to continue.

"Animals don't speak our language, so they can't ask for help. They need someone to notice they're hurting more than anyone. That's why I decided to do this for a living. I've rescued probably hundreds of them at this point," he smiled a little at the thought, "and almost every time I was only able to do it successfully because of one person who saw that something was wrong and took action. So, I would never just pass by when I think something's not right."

"Hundreds," Shouto repeated in awe, "that's a lot of dogs."

Izuku looked at him strangely for a few seconds, then he burst out laughing. The somber mood lifting instantly as his loud, musical laughter echoed off the walls. "You're funny, Shouto!" He exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you to have such a good sense of humor."

Shouto didn't know what he'd said that was so funny, but he felt kind of glad to see Izuku smiling again.

"So, do we get an introduction or are you two just going to stay out there in a world of your own?" a voice interrupted, and both men looked up to see the brown haired woman peering out of the kitchen at them with a grin.

Shouto sensed Izuku's analytical gaze on him, gauging his reaction to the other human and he felt ever so slightly self-conscious at being studied in such a way. He tried his best not to show any signs of discomfort, not wanting to seem affected by the presence of more humans for fear that they would see it as a vulnerability to exploit. Keeping his eyes fixed ahead, Shouto took a calming breath, trying his best to appear neutral even though he could feel his heart rate pick up a little and his hands get a little clammy.

Izuku seemed to find whatever it was that he'd been searching for in Shouto's body language as he opened his mouth to answer the woman. He didn't get the chance to say what he was about to say though as another voice piped up from within the kitchen.

"Ochako! It's rude to interrupt other people's conversations!" The tall man with glasses scolded her from further back in the kitchen, still standing by the stove. "They'll talk to us when they're ready. Besides, if this man is supposed to be our guest then you," he suddenly pointed the cooking utensil that he was holding at Izuku, "should show him where he's going to stay!" he instructed. "Also, you both need to shower and put clean clothes on, you just came back from being at the beach in the rain after all."

Now that the man had mentioned it, Shouto's clothes were still not one hundred percent dry.

"Oh my god," Izuku gasped, pressing his hands against his face, looking as if he'd just been caught committing a crime. "I'm sorry Shouto!" he apologised. "I got caught up in talking and forgot you needed dry clothes!"

"It's fine," Shouto replied, not sure why Izuku felt the need to keep apologising for even the smallest inconveniences.

"No, it's not," Izuku argued, "you've been standing there in cold, damp clothes this whole time!"

"Well, hurry up and get that sorted out because we're making dinner!" The blue haired man ordered.

The woman nodded. "If you go now it'll be ready when you're done and we can all eat together," she smiled before ducking back into the kitchen.

Izuku walked past Shouto to a staircase further down from the door that he hadn't noticed when they first walked into the room. "Let's go!" He encouraged.

Shouto hesitated, the last time he had followed someone to a set of stairs… it hadn't led him anywhere good to say the least.

Granted that staircase had led down into a dark room that he had previously always been denied access to, whereas this one was well lit and seemingly not attempting to conceal anything sinister, but Shouto's feelings of apprehension still remained. He felt his hands shake a little and hated that he felt so intimidated by something that wasn't supposed to be scary or threatening. His right hand tightened around the device in his hand, reminding him that he still had something important of Izuku's in his grasp that guaranteed him safety at least for now.

Izuku picked up on Shouto's reluctance. "It's ok," he said, his voice taking on the same soft tone he'd adopted the last time Shouto had felt unsure about something he suggested. "I'll show you the room that you can sleep in if you choose to stay, we can pick out some clothes for you to borrow, I'll show you how to use the shower and then I'll come back downstairs so you can have some time to yourself to think about it," Izuku added, clearly describing everything that was going to happen.

Shouto took a breath and nodded, slowly moving to follow Izuku as he turned and headed up the stairs. He kept a safe distance between them until they came to the first room that Izuku wanted to show him and he saw that there was nothing suspicious in there.

"This used to be my friend, Kacchan's room, but he moved out to live with…" He paused, looking hesitantly at Shouto, "... a friend…recently. So now it's just a guest room," Izuku explained.

"It's not much and we're not allowed to paint the walls or anything because we don't own the house, we just rent it," he went on, "but you're welcome to have this room for as long as you want if you decide that you want to stay here. I have posters in my room, but technically I'm not supposed to and I have to be extremely careful if I ever decide to take them down because it could take the paint off the wall. My posters are collector's items so it's not like I would ever be careless with them. I sometimes buy those small tester paint pots in the same shade as the wall to cover up random marks though and that works surprisingly well so I'm sure it would be fine if the paint did come off. To be honest I would rather damage the walls than my posters anyway, but I don't think Tenya would be happy with me if he knew that," Izuku babbled, his voice becoming more of a mumble as he talked. Shouto took a moment to survey the room.

It was just a normal room with cream coloured walls, a bed, a set of drawers, a mirror and a wardrobe. There was a big window on the far wall, framed by orange curtains, letting a lot of natural light into the room and if Shouto looked hard enough he could see the sea in the distance. It was relatively small and plain compared to the room Shouto had previously stayed in, but he didn't mind. It had a good view and it was actually kind of nice.

Shouto glanced down at the bed, noting that, similarly to the sofas downstairs, the sheets had been adorned with another misshapen blanket, this time in orange and black. Feeling curious, he stepped further into the room to try and get a closer look at it.

Izuku noticed where he was looking and his face took on a red hue. "Ah! that's Kacchan's! He's picking up some more stuff tomorrow so he'll probably want this," he said, reaching forwards to snatch the blanket into his arms. "My mother has a habit of knitting things for my friends. It's a little embarrassing and she's not amazing at it, but it makes her happy."

"It's cute," Shouto responded, sending a small smile Izuku's way in an attempt to reassure him.

Izuku smiled back at him for a few seconds, but it wasn't like the others, it was softer and became more restrained as the seconds went by. Shouto got the feeling that something was going unsaid.

"I should get you some dry clothes," Izuku said before the subject could even be broached. "I think my clothes would be a bit too small for you and Tenya's would definitely be too big…" he mused, tapping his finger on his chin. "It's not ideal because he definitely won't be happy about it, but I think Kacchan might have left a few things here and they'd probably be the closest to a perfect fit. You're taller than him, but he's got broad shoulders and he likes his casual clothes to be a little bigger than his actual size so his clothes would probably be our best bet."

As Izuku hurried over to the wardrobe to pick some items out, Shouto wondered to himself if he was always this meticulously detailed about everything.

Izuku appeared at his side with a pile of clothes in hand. "Here. You can put these on and I'll wash the clothes you're wearing now," he said, handing the clothes over to Shouto. "Let's go to the bathroom." He shuffled past Shouto.

Shouto was about to follow, but Izuku stopped as he reached the doorway.

"Oh! Also," he added, "there's a lock on the door, so if you ever feel like you need to be alone you can just come up here and if anyone needs to speak to you they'll knock and you can decide if you want to talk or not," Izuku pointed out, sliding the metal device back and forth in the open air instead of the other half of the lock to demonstrate how in worked. "Kacchan sometimes needs a break from other people so he found this really helpful when he lived here."

A chill shot down Shouto's spine. He couldn't stop his carefully maintained mask from slipping as he watched the metal bolt slide out. He gasped and took a step backwards, flinching slightly as unwanted memories flooded his brain like water flooding the lungs of a drowning man. He knew too well how locks worked without Izuku having to show him.

'It's just a lock, it can't hurt you,' he told himself, willing his tensed muscles to relax. 'I have control over this one. It's not on the outside of the door. I won't be locked in here unless I choose to be.'

Shouto felt himself calm a little as he purposely slowed his breathing. He noticed the look of deep concern on Izuku's face and he knew it was too late to pretend he was fine, but he tried to school his features anyway.

"Good to know," he replied, hating the way his voice came out sounding slightly shaken.

Izuku dropped his hand from the lock as if it had suddenly become hot enough to scold him. He didn't say anything about the moment of panic that he'd obviously seen, but his expression was serious. "Come on, I'll show you where the bathroom is," he said quietly.

Shouto followed dejectedly.

Izuku stayed quiet as he opened the door to the bathroom, only breaking his silence to explain how the shower worked in a subdued voice. It was unsettling after hearing him talk so expressively the rest of the time he'd been there. Shouto couldn't tell what the man was thinking, but he almost looked like he'd been personally hurt.

Once the shower was running, he showed Shouto where to put his clothes and the cupboard where the fresh towels were kept. Thinking he'd done something wrong, Shouto offered Izuku's phone back to him as a gesture of apology, thinking it would cheer him up if he thought Shouto felt safe enough to do so even if that wasn't true. Instead of the smile he was hoping would return, he only received a deeper frown from Izuku, who took the phone out of Shoutp's hand only to quietly shake his head and place it on a nearby counter that Shouto could easily reach.

He turned to leave, but lingered in the doorway. His free hand, the one that wasn't still holding the orange blanket, clenched and unclenched. Suddenly, he turned to face Shouto again, his expression a resolved one.

A part of Shouto was convinced that Izuku was about to take back his offer to stay now that he had shown a sign of weakness. Any minute now, he would be back outside in the rain, lost and freezing.

"I don't know what you've been through or what your ex did to you and I won't make you talk about it if you don't want to," Izuku said slowly, his voice strained like he was holding something back, "but I promise you that as long as you are in this house, nobody is going to hurt you. You will be safe here."

Izuku, turned, rubbed his free hand over his eyes and exited the room, gently closing the door behind him. Shouto was left to stare at the spot he'd previously occupied, his eyes wide. Had Izuku been holding back tears for him? He eventually shook his head and proceeded to remove his damp clothes, putting them in the basket Izuku had pointed out to him before moving towards the shower.

As Shouto stepped under the stream of warm water and felt it hit his skin, he realised that he finally had a moment to relax and think things through.

Izuku was not a threat, just very strange, Shouto decided.

He was so open about his feelings and his past that it completely flummoxed Shouto, who had come from a culture where divulging such information would only give others the knowledge they needed to strike where it would hurt the hardest. Openly expressing sympathy and pain for others in mer culture was like a big flashing sign reading 'vulnerable: attack here!'. The instincts from Shouto's upbringing were telling him that Izuku was a liability and not someone that he should try to make friends with or get close to.

However, Shouto had always tried to fight against the way he was told merpeople should behave and what the ideals that his father had tried to instill in him. Partly because he didn't want to do anything his father wanted, partly because it didn't feel right to him to hurt others for no reason. However, his main reason for doing so was that he still remembered his mother running her fingers through his hair soothingly on a bad day, when his father had yelled at him for being too soft and told him that he would get killed if he didn't toughen up. She had told him that he wasn't wrong for being kind and good and that he should never let anything change that about him.

Shouto had kept his true nature hidden in order to protect himself and his family. When he needed to fight back he did, but he had never instigated any fights for his own personal gain much to his father's chagrin. So Izuku was unusual, but then so was Shouto. He would never have been so fascinated with humans in the first place if he wasn't. Plus, he really didn't like seeing the other man get upset. Especially, not after he had seen the way his smile could make the room feel lighter.

He decided then and there that he would continue to go against his lingering mer instincts and his father's teachings like he always had. It may have been his downfall the last time he'd been confronted with a human who wanted to get close to him, but this time he felt like there was a chance that things could turn out differently as long as he was extremely careful about it and left at the first warning signs.

He was human now, humans were allowed to have friends, and he wanted to try to be Izuku's.

After finishing his shower, drying himself and putting on the borrowed black shirt and sweatpants that thankfully fit him well enough, Shouto felt like he had a new resolve. One that lasted until he reached the top of the stairs and then threatened to waver as he overheard the voices of the residents in the living room below.

"It is ok with you that if he wants to stay though, right?" Izuku's voice inquired. "I'm really sorry I couldn't give you more notice."

"We're fine with it," the woman replied calmly. "Everyone kind of knew that you'd end up trying to rescue a person eventually. Your heart's too big for your body and we all love that about you. We just hope you're being careful about it, that's all. We don't want you to get hurt because you're too kind for your own good."

"Do you know anything about him?" the tall man questioned.

"I know that he seems like a nice person who's had some really bad luck and that he needs a place to stay," Izuku answered. "That's more than enough."

"How did he end up homeless? Did he mention what happened at all?" The woman inquired, her tone cautious.

"I'm not going to tell you anything that he probably doesn't want people to know," Izuku stated. A few seconds of silence followed and he let out a loud sigh. "Ok fine. I don't think he's involved in anything bad if that's what you're worried about. I'm pretty sure he ran away from home because his dad didn't like that he was gay. Then the person he was staying with kicked him out and now he has nowhere to go. That's all I'm telling you."

It wasn't quite the full story as Shouto hadn't given Izuku all of the details about his relationship with his father. He had no idea what that word 'gay' meant or if it was an accurate description of him. However, he did appreciate that Izuku had omitted any details about his ex. He didn't want them to look at him with the same sadness Izuku had. One person knowing about his vulnerabilities was more than enough.

"Also," Izuku added, giving Shouto pause, "I don't think he likes people touching him or getting in his personal space. So maybe try to hold back on that unless he says it's ok with him."

Shouto held his breath. He was impressed by Izuku's observation skills and he felt comforted by the fact that the man was considerate enough to keep his distance and tell others to keep theirs too. However, he knew that most humans were social and tactile creatures. Would Izuku's friends really be ok with him knowing that he didn't fit into that norm? What if they thought he was weird and didn't want him in their house anymore?

"Of course!" The man responded, his loud voice cutting through Shouto's negative thoughts.

"We wouldn't want to do anything to make him feel uncomfortable!" The woman added.

Shouto exhaled, relieved. The easy acceptance from Izuku's friends spurred him to move forwards, slowly and cautiously making his way downstairs. At the sound of his footsteps, the conversation fell silent and Shouto fought back the flashbacks of making his way down a silent staircase towards an ominous locked and code protected door, telling himself that there was nothing harmful waiting at the bottom this time.

Three curious stares met him as he reached the living room, the trio of friends watching him from their places on the sofas. He tried not to feel so exposed under their gaze.

"Everything ok, Shouto?" Izuku asked.

Shouto nodded, his nails digging into the material of the sweatpants he was wearing as he pinched the material at his sides between his fingers to feel more grounded. "I've decided that I want to stay," he announced, "if you're sure it's ok with you."

Izuku's face lit up with a blinding smile. "Of course I'm sure," he replied, his two friends nodding in agreement.

"So can we finally get a proper introduction now?" The woman requested.

"Oh yeah! Shouto, this is Ochako Uraraka," Izuku declared, gesturing to the woman next to him, "and that's Tenya Iida," he added, gesturing towards the blue haired man across from him. "Guys, this is Shouto."

"Just Shouto?" Tenya asked inquisitively. "No last name?"

Shouto hesitated and it looked like Izuku was about to intervene, but he decided that if these people were gonna let him stay in their home and respect his boundaries, he could at least extend a little trust to them too. "It's Todoroki," he revealed. "My full name is Shouto Todoroki."

Just like the first time he'd given a human his full name, he had to remind himself that his family name wasn't notorious in the human world when no negative reactions followed. Izuku seemed intrigued at the prospect of learning something new about him, but other than that, nobody was acting any different. His father's actions and status held no power here.

"Nice to meet you, Shouto Todoroki!" Ochacko smiled, jumping up out of her seat. "Now let's go have dinner, I'm starving!"

"You didn't have to wait for me," Shouto remarked.

"Nonsense!" Tenya replied, getting up to follow the brunette woman into the kitchen. "Eating without our guest would have been extremely rude!"

Izuku was the last to stand, rounding the sofas and approaching Shouto at a leisurely pace. "We're having fish," he reported, "I hope that's ok."

"That's fine," Shouto responded. He added 'eats fish' to his list of potential merman evidence.

"Ok good, I was worried that maybe you might have allergies. Or you could be vegetarian or vegan or something," Izuku responded. "Not that there would be any problems with that," he stressed.

"I'm not any of those things," Shouto replied. "I don't even know what they are," he added without thinking.

Shouto froze, wondering if it had been a mistake, but Izuku just laughed, not seeming to take his admission seriously. He reminded himself to be more careful nonetheless as he followed the man into the kitchen to rejoin the others as they dished out food.

Later, as he sat watching the three friends chat and laugh energetically around the table, dry clothes on his skin and warm food in his stomach, he found himself hoping that he might be able to have a place like this to call a permanent home one day.