The next day, Izuku woke up and promptly began texting Hitoshi as soon as he could see straight.

Izuku: Toshi.

Izuku: Toshi, wake the fuck up.

Izuku: Toshi, I will literally march over there and drag you out of bed, don't test me on this.

Hitoshi: I'm up Izu, what?

Izuku: Shouta and I are dating.

Hitoshi: No shit. I was there, remember? If this is what you woke me up for I will literally murder you.

Izuku: No Toshi, we're actually dating.

Izuku: He said he wanted to date for real.

Izuku: I'm meeting his friends? What the fuck do I do?

Hitoshi: Oh. Oh, shit. Seriously? Way to go!

Izuku: Trust me, I didn't actually do anything on that.

Hitoshi: Yeah, I figured. Just be yourself when you meet his friends.

Izuku: That is terrible advice.

Hitoshi: Izuku. Be yourself. You're hilarious, and you obviously make Sensei happy. He wouldn't have wanted to date you for real if you didn't.

Hitoshi: That's what'll matter to them. It's what matters to me.

Izuku: I love you so much. Thank you for talking me down.

Hitoshi: Love you too Izu. I'm always here if you need me.

Hitoshi: Unless you want to talk about you and Sensei having sex. Then you can fuck right off with that.

Izuku sprawled back on his bed and just breathed for a moment, smiling at his ceiling. Hitoshi was right, of course. It would be obvious if he was trying to impress, and Shouta thought he was good enough the way he was. He didn't need to try and impress anyone. So he breathed through the

fear and jitters that always came when he was doing something new, and took himself through the calming exercises Abe-San had taught him when he had first started his sessions.

Finally relaxed enough, Izuku rolled off of his bed and stood up, preparing for work. He ran a few errands beforehand, but once he arrived at the agency he dove right into the files waiting for him, grateful for the distraction it provided. It allowed him to ignore the whispers and sideways glances, and it allowed him to avoid even looking at Nite-Lite, who was very dramatically stomping around and looking furious. Privately, Izuku thought she looked like a petulant child throwing a tantrum.

He hated to be relieved about a villain attack, but the fact that it almost emptied out the agency until the end of his shift left him incredibly grateful for the respite it provided. The low comments people were offering to their friends were not nearly as subtle as he was certain they thought they were, and Nite-Lite's dramatics had been headache inducing.

He shot a text to Shouta with one hand while he grabbed his things with the other, calling out a quick goodbye to Hideo before heading out the door. He slipped out just after several Heroes came in, tension easing once he was out the door. Izuku wasn't sure if the comments and looks were due to dating Shouta or the scene Nite-Lite had caused the previous evening, but either way he was hoping that it would ease off after another day or two. Otherwise he was going to lose his mind and throw something at someone. Possibly Nite-Lite.

Although if it was due to him dating Shouta, he might just throw the man at the lot of them. It would certainly teach them all a lesson in gossiping where the object of said gossip could hear them clearly.

Izuku was entirely unsurprised when, barely ten steps away from the door, Shouta dropped from the roof right in front of him. The other man had obviously already been home, as he was in dark jeans and a t-shirt again instead of his usual Hero costume. Izuku offered a quiet greeting, flushing with a pleased little smile when Shouta draped an arm around his shoulders and tugged him close enough that their hips bumped as they walked.

"Are you ready for how ridiculous this is going to be?" Shouta asked drily, an amused little smile playing at his lips.

Izuku arched an eyebrow. "Exactly how ridiculous are we talking here?" He asked. Present Mic and Midnight had been dramatic during school, of course, but he had always assumed that they were more toned down when they were out of costume.

Shouta sighed, managing to slump while walking and look like he was walking to the gallows. "Very."

Ducking his head, Izuku bit his lip but couldn't help the soft laughter spilling from his lips. "Somehow, I think you fit right in," he managed after a moment, looking at his playfully offended face and laughing again, his eyes bright and amused.

"Rude," Shouta huffed, but the small smile he was fighting down said that Izuku was dead on. "The last time Hitoshi met up with them he said he was never going to meet up with all of us at the same time again," he warned, "So that should tell you how ridiculous they can get."

Izuku bowed his head and laughed again. "Just them, huh?" "You'll see," Shouta said with a sigh.

Just over an hour later, Izuku was forced to admit he had been right, if only to himself. Present Mic had taken one look at him and promptly choked, and Midnight had stared for a long moment before a wide grin had spread across her face. The only one who had acted even slightly normal was Ingenium, who had arched an eyebrow and said, "Isn't he a little young for you Shouta?" His voice was carefully neutral.

Midnight had quickly instructed Izuku to use their given names, before turning to Shouta. Before she could say anything, Hizashi grabbed the dark haired man by the shoulder and hauled him into the next room. Nemuri followed with a sharp, amused smirk on her face and Izuku was left alone with Tensei, a nonplussed look on his face.

"Any idea what that was about?" Tensei asked quietly, concern starting to wash over the carefully neutral lines of his face.

Izuku tipped his head, barely able to make out a few words from the next room. "Pretty sure it's about the fact that I graduated from UA recently."

Sure enough, just after Izuku said that Hizashi's voice raised as he said, "He was our student! " Leaving both Izuku and Tensei wincing and rubbing at their ears.

"Huh." Tensei considered that for a while. "I can't say that I expected that out of Shouta, but as long as he's happy I don't really care." He jerked his head towards the chair by him, and Izuku took the hint to sit down. "Shouta said you're an analyst, what's that like?" He asked.

Izuku paused for a moment. "Are you asking because you're actually interested in the work, or because it's polite?" He asked back. "Because if it's the first one I'll happily geek out over my work because I love it, but if it's the second one I'll give you the quick overview so you're not bored to death." He'd learned the hard way that sometimes people were not actually interested in the details of his work.

Tensei laughed, surprised and genuinely amused. "I'm actually interested," he promised. "Ever since this," he gestured down to his wheelchair, "I've been looking into analysis, but the analysts at my Agency don't seem to do the same thing you do, based on what Sho' says."

Izuku couldn't help his how his smile brightened when Tensei said Shouta talked about him. He didn't lie to himself, and knowing that Shouta talked about him to his friends thrilled him. "Right," he said cheerfully, "Analysts for Limelight Agencies like yours tend to focus more on coordinating with PR to make sure that the patrol routes you're on typically have reporters, and also on making sure that the villains their Heroes take down are publicized." He checked Tensei's expression quickly, tension melting from his shoulders at the fascinated look on his face. "On the other

hand," he continued, "Since I work with Underground Heroes I focus more on coordinating takedowns with multiple Underground Heroes, and analyzing the information they bring back from stakeouts to figure out how to take down the villain quickly to avoid potential injury."

"Huh," Tensei looked contemplative. "I never realized how different a job could be just from working with Limelight Heroes versus Underground."

"Oh, absolutely!" This was something Izuku was incredibly enthusiastic about. "Just interrupt me if I bore you," he said, perfectly cheerful. Tensei's expression did something complicated before fascination took over as Izuku started to go into more detail about how the analyst role was different between Agencies, as well as some of the other roles and how they differed too.

His happy explanation-and Tensei's fascinated encouragement-was ended abruptly when Nemuri tossed herself into Izuku's lap. Tensei promptly burst into laughter at Izuku's startled expression.

"I love how enthusiastic you are," she purred, stretching herself out on his lap.

Izuku blinked down at her slowly. "You're very attractive," he began, "But I am very, very gay."

They stared at each other for a long moment before Nemuri's seductive expression cracked and she laughed brightly, sliding off of his lap and onto the floor. "OK," she said breathlessly, "That's fair, but your expression was priceless."

A small noise from the doorway caught Izuku's attention, and he smiled automatically when he saw Shouta standing there, an exasperatedly fond look on his face as he took in Tensei still doubled over holding his stomach, Nemuri cackling on the floor, and Izuku sitting there looking a bit confused. "I think that might be the fastest I've ever seen someone shut Nemuri down," he said drily, leaning against the wall and cutting his eyes towards Hizashi in irritation when the other man came in.

Izuku tipped his head in concern when he'd caught Shouta's gaze again, his temper obvious under the sudden amusement Nemuri and Izuku had caused, and the other man grimaced faintly and flicked his eyes towards Hizashi with a small half shrug. Izuku turned his own gaze towards Hizashi then, catching the man watching him with a frown. Izuku arched an eyebrow at him. He wanted to ask the blonde man if there was a problem, but there was being himself and then there was being unnecessarily snarky, and that would definitely lean more towards the latter end of the scale.

Fortunately for Izuku's self control, whatever opinions Hizashi had he decided to keep between himself and Shouta for right now. And as Izuku spoke with the three of them, his tight mouthed expression eased a little, especially once Shouta had made his way over to them. Izuku couldn't help the laughter that spilled out when Shouta calmly, with a perfectly bland expression, prodded at Izuku until he stood up, and then promptly sat and pulled Izuku back down onto his lap.

Unable to help himself, Izuku shifted enough to brush a quick kiss over Shouta's jaw. When he faced forward again, he was met with a startled look from Hizashi and matching soft looks from Nemuri and Tensei. Before anyone could say anything, Shouta mentioned Hitoshi and they started talking about his progress. With a slightly mischievous smirk, Shouta added, "Izuku has been sparring with him."

"That's great Listener!" Hizashi said cheerily. "It's always good to get some pointers on defending yourself!"

"I regularly toss him around the sparring mat and make him tap out," Izuku informed him blandly. He was used to people underestimating him, but he had learned that he didn't have to allow it.

Hizashi gaped, which was incredibly satisfying for Izuku, but Nemuri laughed suddenly. "Oh, that's what had you so intense the other week, isn't it?" She grinned at Shouta. "You found someone attractive who could fight and is pretty damn smart." She laughed again. "Nice job on locking that down," she said, holding a hand out for a high five.

He surprised everyone by actually obliging and slapping her palm with his own. Shotua shrugged when everyone looked at him. "I deserve a high five, I locked it down quick ," he smirked.

Izuku elbowed him gently with a laugh, shrugging when Tensei looked at him with a raised brow. "It actually was all him, I wouldn't have asked him out. I'm terribly shy," he said mildly at the confused looks he got at that, enjoying the laughter that broke out. Of course, it was the truth-he was shy when it came to putting himself out there. But between Hitoshi and Abe-San's help he had managed to mask it well enough.

They stayed for a while longer, but eventually Izuku and Shouta excused themselves. The other three offered their numbers and took Izuku's in turn, Tensei extracting a promise from Izuku to text him to talk more about analysis and different ways to handle it in a Limelight Agency before he and Shouta headed out the door. They both enjoyed the silence for a little while, hands clasped together lightly, before Izuku glanced at Shouta out of the corner of his eye and asked, "So what did Hizashi say to tick you off so badly?" Shouta had been in an obvious temper when he'd re entered the room, despite his amusement with Nemuri's antics and Izuku's response.

The grip on Izuku's hand tightened. "He was talking about how young you are," he began after a moment, voice tight. "He decided it would be a good idea to mention how you and Hitoshi are the same age, that you were both our students and how inappropriate he finds it that I would date someone his age." Shouta rolled his shoulder and breathed out. "I know he's just concerned." He said after a moment, his voice still irritated.

"Yeah," Izuku murmured, "But there's a way to make the concern known without being insulting." He paused. "Like when X-Ray and some of the other Heroes asked me when our relationship started, to make sure you hadn't been grooming me while I was still in school."

Shouta jerked to an abrupt stop, their entwined fingers stopping Izuku as well, a strangled noise tearing its way out of his throat. "They what ?" He finally hissed after a moment, looking offended. "They felt like they had to ask that?"

Izuku offered a sympathetic look. "I think they really felt like they had to , just to be sure. I don't think they really thought you had , or ever would."

Shouta huffed, anger and offense draining out of him quickly. "Yeah, you never know," he confirmed. "It's good that they care enough to make sure," he added quietly. Knowing that the people Izuku worked with cared enough to make sure his relationship was a good one soothed some worries he'd had after hearing about Nite-Lite.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure they were plotting your murder if we'd started anything before I graduated," Izuku said, perfectly cheerful as he started walking again and pulled Shouta along. "But I reassured them that nothing started until long after I'd started working at the Agency-and that we hadn't interacted much at UA at all. That soothed them more than anything-I think they still would have been a little concerned if you'd taught me on a regular basis."

"They were planning on murdering me?" Shouta repeated blankly, a hint of disbelief making its way onto his face.

Izuku shot him an amused look. "Well, not out loud. That makes it premeditated," he joked. "It was pretty clear that there would be consequences if anything had started while I was at UA though," he added seriously.

Shouta sighed. "That's good, but please make sure your co-workers refrain from plotting murder."

"Eh." Izuku shrugged. "Everyone needs a hobby." He shot another amused look at him. "Yours is very clearly going to be making Nite-Lite miserable for the foreseeable future."

"True," Shouta agreed. "That and breaking Bakugou like a glow stick if he keeps bothering you." A small smile curved his lips as Izuku squeezed Shouta's hand. "Hopefully he takes the hint, but

if he doesn't please feel free to break his entire face."

Shouta looked pleased. "Excellent, thank you," he said. He paused to allow Izuku to open his

door, following him in with a small smile when Izuku tipped his head in invitation.

Izuku moved away from the door for a moment, dropping his bag and phone on the kitchen table. "I appreciate you checking with me," Izuku said quietly as he walked back to where Shouta was leaning against the door. "But with Nite-Lite and Bakugou? I'm OK with you dealing with them however you want. They've both bothered me enough that I'm just...done bothering with them for now." Nite-Lite...he had hopes that she'd see how unreasonable she was being-maybe Shouta confronting her could help speed that up. But Bakugou? He was far beyond his second and even third chance with Izuku, and Izuku was just tired .

"Good," Shouta hummed, tugging Izuku closer so he could press him gently against the wall by the door. "I'd like to kiss you some more before I leave. Is that ok?"

"Absolutely," was Izuku's immediate reply. He would be embarrassed by the eagerness revealed by his response, but the way Shouta smiled at him, slow and wanting, completely dissolved any potential embarrassment.

Shouta dipped his head down, one hand gripping Izuku's hip and the other diving into his hair to tip his head up. Izuku reached up to tangle his hands in Shouta's long hair, shifting closer as their lips met. This kiss started soft, just a gentle brush of the lips, but Shouta dropped his hand from Izuku's hair to cup his jaw. He tipped his head and deepened the kiss, smiling triumphantly when they broke the kiss and Izuku was flushed and breathless.

Izuku's hands clenched briefly in his hair before he relaxed his hands. "I know you have to leave soon," he said, voice rough. "Just...another minute."

"Another minute," Shouta agreed, leaning back down to capture his lips again. Another minute ended up being another half hour of Shouta pressing Izuku against the wall, his hands slowly starting to migrate from the jaw and hip up into Izuku's shirt and fingers tracing over bare skin.

After they broke apart for air again, Izuku pressed gently against Shouta's chest. The older man immediately pulled back, looking down at him curiously. "You need to go," Izuku said firmly. "You have to teach tomorrow, and then you have to patrol after. You need sleep."

Shouta hummed, leaning back into him. "Sure," he agreed lazily. "But I'm enjoying where I am right now."

Izuku laughed, accepting another, more brief kiss. "I'm pretty pleased with it myself," he agreed. "But you really should go."

"I'm not going to be able to see you tomorrow," Shouta admitted after a moment, explaining his reluctance to leave. "I have a later patrol than usual, and Nedzu informed me earlier today that I have to be up early for a press conference the next day."

"Well, I guess you'd better get your quota of kisses for tonight and tomorrow then," Izuku teased.

"Is there a quota?" Shouta asked with a faint smirk. "Because if so, I think that I didn't fulfill the quota last night."

Izuku laughed again, popping up on his toes for another brief kiss. "I'll make it up to you," he promised.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Shouta said, stealing one final kiss before pulling away from the smaller man reluctantly. "But you're right, I do need to get a couple of hours of sleep at least."

"You do," Izuku agreed. "Text me when you have a chance. I haven't had a chance to have tea with Nedzu for a while, so I'm missing the chaos," he admitted with a laugh.

"I'm sure you are," Shouta said drily, remembering Nedzu cackling about some of the trouble his student had gotten up to. "I'll text you if anything interesting happens."

Shouta made his way out the door, and Izuku smiled at the door for a few moments before shaking himself and starting to pick up around his apartment. He needed to get things cleaned up before he headed to bed-he'd been letting things slide a bit for the past few days. Since Shouta was going to be busy tomorrow, it would give him a chance to do some deep cleaning after work, but he wanted to get a head start on everything.

Before he had a chance to do more than begin to pick up the items scattered around his living room, his front door flew open with a loud bang, and Izuku yelped, dropping everything he'd gathered. Spinning to face the door, his stomach dropped all the way to the floor.

He hadn't locked his door like he normally did.

And standing in his doorway was Bakugou, red eyes glaring menacingly and small explosions popping on his palms.

Izuku's eyes flicked from the blonde in his doorway to his phone, dropped carelessly on his kitchen table across the apartment.

"Now that the fucking hobo is finally gone, it's time for us to have a fucking talk Deku," Bakugou said, his teeth bared in a fierce, furious famiscile of a smile.

Izuku recognized that vicious smile, and he went cold all over. Nothing good ever came from Bakugou smiling like that.