Shinsou groaned and pressed his face into a pillow. It still smelled like Denki and somehow that was helping him with the headache he'd had since first period. He threw his arms around it and breathed in. Spending a whole night cuddling with his boa-constrictor of a boyfriend had been amazing. He wasn't sure if it was still safe for Kaminari to go back to his room. Inviting him to stay over again was just the polite thing to do, right?

No ulterior motives here.

The pain relievers Recovery Girl had given him hadn't been enough to do more than just the edge off. Which was only exacerbated by having Monoma, of all people, sitting in a nearby cot and loudly whining about a stomach ache. Hitoshi appreciated that the boy had generally been kind to him, but his personality was pretty grating. He'd made sure to retire to his room to sleep it off as soon as Recovery Girl gave him the okay. She said it was stress, but Shinsou thought he'd actually been having a pretty good time of it lately. Apparently not.

His bedside clock read that classes had ended an hour ago. He hadn't heard from Kaminari, or anyone else for that matter since he'd seen them. He'd never gone this long without getting at least one dumb cat meme from someone in the squad ever since he'd started dating Denki. He double-checked his phone but saw no texts or calls had come. It must have been a tiring day of classes. He'd give his boyfriend a call when his head wasn't pounding as badly. Hitoshi nuzzled the pillow a bit closer and felt himself being pulled back into a deep sleep.

When Shinsou woke up it was almost dinner time and his phone was buzzing. His dad was calling.

"Hello?"

"Hitoshi. Did I wake you up?"

Aizawa sounded rushed in a way that made him feel unsettled. His father rarely had the energy to sound awake much less nervous.

Shinsou sat up in bed. Gladly noticing his head was feeling a lot better. "Yeah, but it's good that you did. What's up?"

"Where have you been today?"

"I got a migraine during first period. I went to see Recovery Girl, got some pills for it, and went back to the dorm to sleep. Did I miss training?"

Aizawa let out a deep breath, "No. There was an attack in class today. One of your friends."

Shinsou felt his stomach lurch and his heart started to pound as badly as his headache had.

"Who was it?"

"Kirishima. The lights went out and next thing we knew Uraraka had given the boy a head wound that left him bleeding on the floor."

Uraraka? What did she have against Kirishima? I have to go see how he's doing.

Aizawa must have heard him start to get up because he cut him off, "he's fine. He went to Recovery Girl and he's all patched up. The rest of your friends are attached to him like a barnacle but he's okay. That's not the problem." His father took a deep breath. "We think she was under a mind control quirk."

No. No no no.

"Who else has a similar quirk, dad? Tell me someone does. A villain. Anything."

Aizawa's pause was heavy, and Shinsou felt himself start to spiral. "You know I wouldn't do that!"

"I'm not saying you did."

"You know I'd never use it that way! It's got to be someone else. Does everyone think it's me? Fuck!"

"Calm down, son. Deep breaths. We'll get the proof that you weren't there and It'll be fine. Breathe with me."

Shinsou followed his father's command and took stuttering gasps of air.

"Everything will be fine. Hizashi and I will look into it. Don't panic. Get some dinner and wait for my call, ok?"

Hitoshi's lungs felt like they had holes in them. He couldn't get enough oxygen to see straight. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Okay…okay. I'm okay."

His father continued to calm him. His voice was gentle, reminding him he was safe and guided his thoughts to better focus.

"Look, I love you, alright? Your dad and I will keep you protected and this will all be cleared up by the morning."

Shinsou made a noise in affirmation but felt like he was watching himself from outside of his body. His father's voice seemed muffled in the face of his racing thoughts.

The two said their goodbyes and Hitoshi stared at his phone. Who has a quirk like his? Was there a villain he'd forgotten? UA was constantly under attack, why should this time be any different?

He started to text his boyfriend.

You: Kaminari? Dadzawa said something happened today. Are you all ok?

You: Denki, please tell me what's going on.

Denki: we r fine where r u? Recovery girl said u left?

Shinsou felt his muscles relax at hearing Denki was ok. He knew Kirishima was the one who was hurt but whenever he tried to imagine the attack all he saw was the blonde getting injured instead.

You: I've been in my room. The infirmary was loud and I wanted to rest.

He knew it sounded like a suspicious story. No one else could corroborate that he was alone.

Denki: the squads sleepin

Denki: baku just wants us 2nite

Of course. The night when he needed the most reassurance is the one where Bakugou won't let him get it. He understood how protective the man was being, Shinsou would probably feel the same way if it had been Denki, but it didn't make his bed feel any less empty. He wasn't about to guilt trip his boyfriend, but he still felt hurt.

You: Yeah, that's fine. Sleep well.

Shinsou didn't bother looking to see if he got a reply, and tossed his phone onto the bedside table. He definitely wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. Even if the pillow still smelled like Kaminari it only seemed to make it worse. Normally he loved his solitude but the bright loud boy who had stolen his heart had given him the chance to finally see what it was like to have friends. To have a lover.

He picked up his phone and started a group message.

You: Can I come home tonight?

Other Dad: OF COURSE

You: Are you already there? I don't want to be alone.

Dad: I'm meeting with the principal.

Dad: Hizashi, go get our son.

Other Dad: OMW!

You: Thanks, dads. I love you.

Other Dad: (∩*o*∩)

Shinsou smiled. He doesn't regret having shown Mic what kaomoji were. He'd never use them but it was pretty embarrassing- ok, a bit cute- when his dad did.

Things were going to be ok. Dadzawa is going to explain everything. Denki is still talking to me. I'm not going to be left behind.

Mic must have taken his motorcycle to get to him because he was there in a flash. The second Shinsou had opened the door the blonde man had thrown his arms around him and crushed the boy to his chest. He'd had a lot of blondes doing that lately.

It was weird to have his dad be so silent, but he was thankful. He didn't want to talk about the attack right now. He just wanted to have his family.

"I missed you, dad."

Mic kissed the top of his head fondly and gave him another squeeze.

"I missed you too. You weren't in class today." Shinsou didn't respond, and Mic felt the tension. "Skipping courses already? That little boyfriend of yours is a horrible influence. I'll be adding eight more laps as punishment during our next practice."

Shinsou stepped back but held onto his father's arm. "Hey, he's going to classes a lot more, thanks to me. What happened to him being your precious pupil?"

Mic used his other hand to pat the boy's shoulder. "Fair enough. Now grab your things and let's jet. It's a good thing you have natural helmet hair like your father. He won't know I took you for a ride."

Shinsou scoffed. "Dad always knows. We never get away with anything."

They silently agreed on that.

It didn't take long to grab his bag- any schoolwork he needed to do was still in it. He'd been in too much pain to unpack earlier- and he already had his cell phone in his pocket. He walked back to the door and found Mic squinting at him.

"Have you gotten taller? I think you're about 3 inches shorter than Shota now. He's gonna be pissed. He already refuses to forgive me for being an inch more than him."

"If we count your hair you'd beat him by a foot."

Mic chuckled and swung an arm around the boy. "Pfft, like you're one to talk about hair. Yours is so tall and poofy that I'm starting to think one of us actually gave birth to you."

"Gross."

Hitoshi smiled and left his room with Mic, closing and locking it behind him. It felt like by locking his room he was trapping all the anxiety and fear in it too. He could pick this mess up later. When Denki and the squad were able to be there with him. He felt embarrassed to need help. Shinsou never wanted to depend on anyone for anything, and here he was depending on five bizarre people. He sighed.

"I have to be stronger."

Mic grabbed his schoolbag and lifted it out of reach when Shinsou tried to take it back. The two walked side by side down the hallway.

"You're plenty strong! Already so promising and still just a kid. Did you know it took your dad six years to learn how to use his binding cloth? I spent most of my second year untangling myself during practice. I'd be the number 1 hero if I had all that time to train my quirk."

"You'd hate that."

Mic smiled, "Yeah, I would. Know what I don't hate? Bringing you home on the bike without telling your father. You're using my helmet, though."

Shinsou remembered how badly they both were chewed out after his first ride when he'd fallen off the motorcycle on a sharp turn. He'd been fine, a scraped knee and a startled bump, but Dadzawa lectured them for an hour. He wouldn't trade either of his dads for the world.

He was right about being caught the second his father came home.

Aizawa was looking even more exhausted than usual, an impressive feat, but it only took three steps towards his lover and son before he read the guilt on their faces.

"What did you do?"

The two stayed silent and stuffed their mouths with the take-out Mic had picked up on their way home. Shinsou averted his eyes to watch their calico cat trying to nest in the empty take-out bag.

"We spoke about how much we love you and respect your opinions," Mic elbowed the boy, "isn't that right, son?"

Aizawa only arched one eyebrow and Shinsou knew they were caught. "We took the bike back, but no one got hurt! It was my fault, I wanted to come home early."

The dark haired man set his keys down in a bowl by the front door and sat at the table with the other two. He knew that silence was the best way to get to Mic and, as usual, it was working.

"We got you Lo Mein! We know how much you love that, and extra rice! Also, Shinsou didn't ask for the bike I took it because I wanted to see him faster. Would you like a spring roll?" He had his 100-watt smile on and that loving look he was always able to conjure.

The tired dad put his head in both hands and grunted, "I'm married to a living headache." He sighed, "I'll let it go since Hitoshi was upset-" Mic perked up, "-but, do it again and I'm revoking bike privileges."

Hizashi grabbed his husband's hands and gleefully cried, "Love you!" the same time that Aizawa mumbled a possibly regretful groan.

Shinsou loved seeing his fathers interact, especially when they were happy. He didn't want to interrupt, but he couldn't stand to wait any longer.

"Dad?"

They both turned to look at him.

"What did the principal say?"

Aizawa sighed. "It's been confirmed that it was a mind control quirk, and it does appear similar to yours-"

Hitoshi felt all the air leave his lungs. He could see his hands shaking and found himself nearly dropping his chopsticks.

"-but they don't have any proof that it is you. There's no motive anyone could think of. If you'd never become part of the hero course then perhaps they could argue it was revenge, but since you've been here for weeks it makes no sense for you to have done that. There isn't another student at UA with a mind control quirk, either. It isn't looking good, but it's not bad. They can't put you in the room with the class at the time either. Uraraka was fine during practice so you'd have to have been nearby the moment it happened. Yes, the lights were out but the few minutes it took would hardly be enough to cover someone coming into the field, speaking with Uraraka, getting a reply, and then leaving at the last moment. Principal Nezu agrees, currently, that you are a very unlikely suspect."

Shinsou could feel the tears on his face but couldn't recall when he started crying. He supposed it was good that he was "unlikely" but that meant there were still people who believed that he could do it. Who believed that he would do it. It was like everything he had worked hard to get away from had been with him all along.

Hizashi brought a hand to Shinsou's cheek and wiped a tear away with his thumb. He leaned forward and let Hitoshi bury his face in Mic's neck for comfort. Soon, the purple haired boy felt his other dad rub his back as he kept crying. Even one of the cats jumped onto his lap in a show of affection. He tried to match his breaths with the purring and the hand petting him.

"What if...what if the whole class thinks I did it?" He tightened his grip on Mic's shirt, "I'm going to lose all my friends. I just got them. I don't want to be alone again!"

Hizashi rocked the boy gently from side to side, "You will never be alone again, Hitoshi. We won't ever leave you."

Shinsou knew Dadzawa felt the same, even if he had trouble voicing it sometimes. The quiet hand on his back told him as much. He felt infinitely better in the arms of this fathers, but the seed of fear had already been planted. Maybe it had never even left.