Oh Wonder released a new album and it's all about love, let's go!! For real tho its a great album if you wanna check it out, Dust, Drunk on You, and In and Out of Love (where this chapter's title comes from) are my favorites and have major Tododeku vibes.

Anyway it's been a good while since I've updated but I almost cried over math earlier so it's been a good time ,) enjoy.

Shouto was familiar with the fact that time passed slowly.

He was used to long hours trapped in burning walls and smoky halls. He was used to the seconds passing like minutes, curled up on the floor as he struggled to keep his last meal in his stomach, keep the tears from his eyes and the pain from burning through him until all that was left was ash. He was used to days stretching into years.

With Izuku, the hours felt like seconds. Each word was dripping in laughter, warmth. Each touch was soft and gentle. Each second slipped through his pale fingers before Shouto knew it even happened.

The prince spent all the time he could with the florist. He ignored Fuyumi's disappointed eyes and breakfast and dinner, trading them for Izuku's smile. Shouto never felt cold with him, despite the dreary weather.

Sometimes the two of them ran errands, slipping down side streets and strangers, each other in hand. Shouto said it was so he didn't get lost, but he knew himself better than that.

Sometimes Izuku didn't have any errands to run, but instead just wandered the world with Shouto by his side. He introduced him to his friends, making it seem like he had known these people for a lifetime.

Sometimes they simply stayed in the flower covered shop, Izuku leaning on the counter and Shouto sitting on it. The florist always watched him with affectionate eyes and a small smile, hanging on each word the prince said. Those times were his favorites, when they sat and spoke about everything and nothing.

The prince wondered which instance would be today's. He weaved between bundled up people, nearing the apothecary with a smile already on his face. It was pathetic how just the sign brought one to his face. He stopped on the chipped brick steps, pausing in front of the door.

Rather than peeking through the glass and seeing Izuku busy at work, he saw nothing. The lights were dark and there was a closed sign hanging on the hook, staring back at Shouto. The prince tried the doorknob, but found it locked, of course.

He wasn't sure he had ever come across a time when the apothecary had been closed. Unsure what else to do, Shouto knocked on the glass. He stood there another second, before he felt something cold drop on his head. He jumped, glaring at the lump of ice that slid down his shoulder and fell to the ground.

A familiar laugh blessed him and the prince found himself looking up at Izuku from a window a story above. There were cream colored curtains that floated in the breeze and a planter that the dark-haired man leaned over. Izuku easily blended in with the greenery overflowing from the window box, his eyes as bright as the leaves framing his freckles.

"What are you doing?" Shouto called. He was acutely aware of the surrounding street, plenty of eavesdroppers. He forced himself to not steal a look around.

"Today's my day off."

"Do you want me to come back a different day then?"

"No!" Izuku said quickly. His face heated with his enthusiasm and he waved. "I'll be down in a second, just wait there." Shouto nodded and the window creaked shut.

A few more minutes in the cold passed before Izuku appeared in the door's window. He fumbled with the lock for a second and Shouto raised his eyebrows, giving him a small, endearing smile. Finally, the florist pulled open the door and welcomed him inside. Shouto shook off the last bits of snow and pulled down his hood. Izuku locked the door behind him.

"Hello."

"Uh, hi. I wasn't expecting you today."

"I can always come back a different time, if you're busy." Shouto reminded. Although, he wanted nothing more than to spend all the free time he had with Izuku, he didn't want to impose.

"No, no, really, it's okay. Come on, I was just about to eat lunch. Have you eaten yet?" Izuku hummed. He led him behind the counter and the back of the store. There were shelves of supplies, but Izuku continued toward the set of well-worn wooden stairs Shouto hadn't ever used.

"No." Shouto answered." "You know, I didn't know you even took days off."

He knew Izuku lived in the space above the flower shop, but he had never been invited up there before. Usually they spent most of their time in the store itself. The prince couldn't help but feel privileged as he followed Izuku up into his home, the stairs announcing each step.

"Sometimes. It's slow this time of the month anyway, I thought I'd just stay in today." Izuku shrugged. He pushed open the door at the top and led him inside.

It wasn't much. For someone who had grown up in a castle, Shouto was used to always far more than he needed. His bedroom was probably larger than this entire building combined.

The living room consisted of a mismatched couch and table. The table was covered with messy papers and books. There were a few shelves and planters, but the green upstairs seemed pale in comparison of the store below. There was the window Izuku had peeked his head out of on the other side of the room, cracked open so the breeze could play with the curtains.

There was a crackling fireplace that radiated warmth when Shouto passed it. He spotted another doorway that he assumed led to a bedroom and bathroom. Shouto unclasped his cloak, unwrapping it from around his shoulders as he observed his new surroundings.

"Do you like dashi?" Izuku asked, walking past him toward the steaming pot on the the iron stove. "It's almost done if you want a bowl."

Shouto had never had it, but he nodded anyway. "Sure." The florist hummed an indefinite answer.

There was something intimate about being here. It was unlike any place Shouto had ever been, full of warm and trust and happiness, instilling the same feelings he felt when he had first stepped inside the apothecary. He rubbed his hands, fingers pink despite the glowing fire. He sat far from it, unsettled by the flickering flames.

Izuku reappeared, offering him a steaming, wooden bowl. Shouto took it gratefully while he sat beside him. He peered inside at the thick soup quietly before the florist spoke.

"You look tired." Izuku said gently. There was no malice behind it, but Shouto still scolded himself anyway. People weren't allowed to see those types of weaknesses, a stern voice hissed in his ear. Shouto vaguely smelled smoke as he shrugged.

"I've been busy at home."

"Like what?" He hummed. Soft, curious but not pushy. Giving Shouto an opportunity to share if he wanted to. The prince sipped his soup, debating his answer and Izuku waited patiently.

"My father is hosting a party. It's stupid, but I have to go." He finally said, just vague enough.

"Hm. Dinner party?"

"Lunch. I've had to deal with a lot of the planning because he's always too busy." Shouto answered, tone tightening toward the end. His father was not always busy, but Shouto preferred it when he was. At least when he was busy he left him and his siblings alone.

"Are you rich?" Izuku asked randomly. Shouto looked up in surprise. The darker-haired man smiled shyly behind the steam of his soup.

He wasn't wrong, but there was more to it than just that. He guessed far too close to the truth for the prince's liking. Shouto tried to remember all the things that he said, wondering what had given him away. "How did you know?"

"You seem like you come from money, but you don't like it. You've got manners and a stiffness to your demeanor that kind of gives it away. You're confident at first, but you overthink yourself too much." He explained, pausing slowly. He glanced away, debating on continuing. "I think you're trying to be different, though, from whatever your family is like, you're an anomaly, really."

Izuku was blushing when he finished, pointedly looking away from Shouto's gaze. Finally, the prince answered. "Am I that obvious?"

He laughed aloud and Shouto smiled weakly. "I'm just observant, you're very sneaky actually."

"Ah, good. I don't want everyone to know."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Izuku pressed a finger to his lips. "It's our secret."

"Thank you."

A beat of silence passed before Izuku spontaneous set his bowl aside. "Can I show you something?"

"Sure." The florist grinned, stealing Shouto's bowl, pushing it beside his, then he stole his hands. The prince blinked in surprise, but Izuku didn't notice, tugging up to his feet and leading him into another room.

The floorboards creaked beneath his boots, a companion to the crackling fire they left behind. The doorknob was old and brass and the new room was Izuku's bedroom. There were a few messy shelves, clothes and a dresser across from the bed. Izuku let the prince go, kneeling on the rug and peeling up the edge. Shouto stood timidly by the door, watching his crooked fingers press against the floorboards until he grabbed the edge of one and pulled it up as well.

From the hole in the floor, he pulled out several old books. Shouto thought he saw something else in the dark cavity, but Izuku returned the board and rug to their homes before Shouto could look any closer. He picked one of the thick, dusty books and offered it to Shouto, then patted a spot on the floor beside where he sat.

"Are those yours?"

"Sort of. They were given to me and I've...filled in some of their holes."

Shouto sat next to him, setting the book in his lap and opening it. A puff of dust welcomed him and he sneezed. Izuku laughed, fanning the dust from the air. "Sorry. I haven't looked at them in a while."

The prince gave him a fake glare that earned a bigger smile before he started turning the pages. There were two types of writing, the original text, as old and faded as the book itself. The second looked newer, however. It was handwriting, scribbled in a rushed manner so that many of the lines trailed off sideways or off the end of the page.

"This is magic, isn't?"

"The definition and use of runes, specifically." Izuku clarified.

He leaned closer to the words, fascinated. These sort of things were never allowed in the castle. The best way to keep people submissive was by lack of education. Along with the laws, no one knew about magic unless his father allowed it.

"This is your writing?" He asked curiously, peeking up at the florist through his multicolored bangs. Izuku suddenly leaned forward, tucking an especially long scarlet piece behind his ear.

Shouto's eyes widened and the other man looked nervous, as if he was confused why he had done that. He tangled together his crooked fingers. "I've, uh, always been interested in runes. There's so many types and applications, I used to research them endlessly when I was younger! My mom used to get so fed up with all my questions." He laughed nervously.

Shouto wanted to keep reading, but he stopped himself, turning a chunk of pages and pressing a pale hand to the middle of the new one. "You know could be killed for having this, don't you?" He said, giving him a concerned look.

He shrugged. "I couldn't just leave them when I- left home. I spent too much time on them. Besides, you're the only other one that knows about them now."

Shouto didn't say anything else, so he kept talking clearly excited to share all the things he had learned. Shouto wanted to listen, he really did, but his eyes slowly looked back at the book, the words peeking out between his white fingers and he stiffened.

transmutations of runes carvings

rituals

scarring

His left hand was pressed to the page, shaking from the burns under his skin. The smell of burnt flesh was so strong, it was all he could sense.

"Izuku." He breathed, no louder than whisper. Weak, for letting it affect him. Shouldn't he be over it by now?

Screams echoed in his head. Not all of them belonged to him, but they stayed with him anyway. A companion in his twisted memories.

"Shouto?" Izuku asked in confusion. Then his tone got even softer. "Is something wrong?"

The prince swallowed, his throat burning. He forced himself to meet those concerned, gentle eyes.

"What if I told you another secret?"

"Okay." Izuku tilted his head, smiling reassuringly. "I won't tell anyone."

Shouto closed his hand, tugging it to his chest. He was still shaking for some stupid reason.

Weak. He was weak.

It took him a long time to get the courage to undo the buttons of his shirt, sliding one sleeve off his shoulder. The frost in the air bit at his skin, the chill finding it's home among the charred symbols.

"What-" He heard the sharp inhale from Izuku. The disbelief coloring his face forced the prince to look anywhere besides him. He chose the abandoned book, then quickly anything besides that as well.

"They are...they're elemental runes?" Izuku asked. He must have looked at Shouto, but the prince stared a hole in the rug instead

"Fire." He clarified.

Suddenly, there was a soft touch on his shoulder. Shouto flinched, pulling away more than he should. It was impossible to miss, so he avoided him further, hugging his arm closer to his chest.

"Shouto." His voice cut through him. It wasn't fair how easily Izuku could see through him, he might as well be a ghost. "Shouto?"

The prince forced himself to look at him. Soft, caring, as always. Izuku was never anything else.

"What happened?"

Shouto sat against the bed, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. His arm was covered again, no longer a victim of prying eyes and the cold, but he still felt on display. He sighed, shutting his eyes, forcing the poison from his mouth.

"My father was born with fire runes. They run in his family, a powerful type of magic. Runes only grow more powerful through the generations, and my father was obsessed with them. He wanted to have the most powerful family, so he forced my mother into an arraigned marriage for her magic. But then he had four children and none of them had inherited his runes." He paused, hesitating.

Weak.

"He started experimenting. He carved his runes on our skin himself, using his own power to make them. Only two of us managed to actually learn to use them, my oldest brother and I. The other two he cast aside." The prince rung his fingers, squeezing the memories out.

"That's..." Izuku trailed off with a curse. "I'm sorry, Shouto."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about." He answered, looking back at the florist.

"It still shouldn't have happened. I can't imagine..."

Shouto shrugged. "I have ice runes too. Those are from my mother, and I was born with them. I think that made him even more furious, we all got her magic instead of his."

"On this side?" Izuku asked, taking his right hand gently. Shouto nodded, a knot in his throat. He turned his hand over in his, summoning frost. It twisted in his palm, spreading over the tips of his fingers.

He felt Izuku shiver. "Sorry." He was about to pull away when Izuku's other hand covered his and he shook his head.

"No. Thank you for telling me. I'm sure it was hard to talk about."

"It was years ago." He should be over it. He shouldn't care.

"Still." Izuku gave him a soft smile, the corners of eyes crinkling. He squeezed his hand. "I won't tell anyone."

"I know, I trust you."