Izuku woke up with a pounding in his head and a strong desire to claw his own face off to get it to stop. He buried his face in Shouta's chest with an unhappy noise, although he was pleased when Shouta started running his fingers through his hair soothingly. It didn't do anything for the pounding in his head, but the offer of comfort made him smile through the pain.

"Headache?" Shouta asked softly, making sure to keep his voice as low as possible.

Izuku shifted back enough to look at his face briefly, making Shouta's hand still, but the lights made his head throb harder and he swallowed as he tucked his head back against Shouta's chest, his stomach lurching. "Migraine," he corrected very quietly, before pressing his lips together tightly against the nausea creeping up his throat.

The hand on his head started carding through his hair again as Shouta murmured, "I'm going to call you off work Kitten. You can't go in like this."

Izuku made a vague noise of disagreement, although he stubbornly refused to let Shouta go when he felt the man try to shift away. "Stop moving," he managed.

"Ten seconds so I can grab my phone and call both of us off, and then we can cuddle all you want," Shouta bargained.

Izuku paused and tried to think about that, but gave it up as a bad job when his head gave a particularly nasty throb. "Kay." He barely managed to pry his fingers loose from Shouta, and he noted that he should probably apologize once he could speak without wanting to throw up. He was pretty sure that gripping onto Shouta that hard had to have left bruises, and he felt vaguely guilty about that. He would probably feel more guilt once he could actually think without an icepick being driven into his brain.

He heard the low murmur of Shouta's voice start and stop a few times, but he couldn't bring himself to pay attention to what he was saying. He either zoned out or actually managed to fall asleep, because the next thing he knew Shouta was kneeling by the side of the bed, a glass of water and some pills in his hands. "Do you think you can take some medication for your head?"

Izuku grimaced into the pillow he had, at some point, buried his face in once he'd lacked Shouta's chest to do so. He knew he should , but the thought of opening his eyes to the light made his breath hitch. "Yeah," he croaked into the pillow, already regretting this even as he forced himself to sit up slightly. He opened his eyes to an entirely dark room, and his whole body slumped in relief. His light sensitivity had always been the worst part of his migraines, and he was more grateful than he could say that Shouta had turned the lights off without having to even ask.

"Here," Shouta placed the tablets into Izuku's mouth, and helped him wash them down with the water. "Good, hopefully the pills and a quiet, dark room will help."

Shifting back a little from the edge of the bed, Izuku let out a slightly pathetic noise. "Cuddle?" He asked hopefully. Izuku hated being alone when he wasn't feeling well, but asking for help wasn't something he was used to.

"Absolutely," Shouta said immediately, slipping back into bed and tucking Izuku close and stroking his back gently, working to put him to sleep.

When Izuku woke up, the heavy, exhausted feeling was familiar, as was the way it took him far too long to figure out what was going on. His head felt like it was too heavy to lift off of the pillow and he could barely think, but he forced himself to sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed, grateful that the nausea seemed to have subsided. He frowned briefly, wondering why the ease of that bothered him before sighing when he realized that it meant Shouta was gone. "Well," he muttered to himself, grimacing at the rasp in his voice, "Can't expect him to hang around in bed all day." He very firmly ignored the quiet disappointment he was feeling.

The door opening caught his attention, and he couldn't help his reflexive smile when he saw Shouta. "I was hoping I'd get back in here before you woke up," Shouta said, wincing faintly. "I wasn't sure if you get sick to your stomach with migraines like Zashi does, but I got some broth for you." He gestured slightly with the bowl in his hands.

Izuku couldn't help but melt a little bit. "I do, actually," he smiled faintly at him. "But I'm actually going to try and get up, if you wouldn't mind putting it on the table for me." The nausea might seem to be gone, but it still wasn't a good idea to eat anything too heavy right after a migraine. The broth was ideal, and Izuku was again grateful that Shouta seemed to know how to handle migraines.

Shouta frowned at him a little doubtfully. "Are you sure that's a good idea? You still don't look like you're feeling very well."

"I'm not," Izuku admitted readily. "But I'm also sore from laying down for so long, and I'm pretty sure that my sleep schedule has been tragically thrown off for the next few days already, so I'm trying to..." He grimaced, fighting to find the words. "Fight that off, I guess, as much as possible."

Shouta's frown deepened, but he nodded. "Let me put the broth down."

He watched Shouta walk out, and sighed softly before placing his hands on the bed and pushing himself up. Izuku groaned, staggering slightly as his legs fought to hold him up. He leaned up against the wall, looking at the distance to the door with a scowl. "This was a bad idea," he muttered, closing his eyes for a moment.

"It was," Shouta agreed from the doorway, striding over to him as soon as Izuku opened his eyes. "Let me help you. Please," he added when he saw Izuku's stubborn look.

Izuku, as always, was helpless in the face of Shouta asking to help him. He nodded, and Shouta carefully helped him walk into the dining room. Izuku was careful to not make a sound when Shouta's fingers dug slightly into some very sore muscles, but he couldn't help his low groan when Shouta lost his grip slightly and Izuku swayed into the wall hard. "I'm ok," he managed after a moment. "Let's just get to the table."

"How often does this happen?" Shouta asked after he got Izuku settled at the table, his broth

placed in front of him with a pointed look.

Izuku took a careful spoonful of broth before answering, grimacing at the shake still in his hands. "The migraines or..." He waved the spoon around to encompass the struggle after he'd woken up. "All of this?"

"Both, actually."

"Well, the migraines happen...I don't want to say rarely, because that would be a lie, but not more than every couple of months. They're mostly triggered by stress, so I should have expected this and warned you about it." He offered an apologetic grimace. "I'm sorry I didn't. As for everything after, it's rare that I don't have some issues after a migraine. It doesn't last long, a day max, but typically only a few hours after the migraine goes away." Honestly, he'd had far worse aftereffects of a migraine, but looking at the stress obvious in the tight corners of Shouta's mouth he decided to mention that later. It wouldn't do any good to say it right now.

"A heads up would have been nice," Shouta agreed, "But you've had a lot on your mind." He paused and considered Izuku for a long moment. "If you weren't living with me, would you have even told me that you had a migraine?"

Ah. Izuku fought back a wince, because Shouta was not going to like his answer. He could lie, but he and Shouta had been honest with each other up to now, and lying at this point would feel like a betrayal. "No, I wouldn't have," he admitted. "Not because I wouldn't have wanted to tell you, but I probably wouldn't have even thought about it. I tend to go radio silent when I'm not feeling well."

It had been the cause of the one the few fights he and Hitoshi had ended up having. Hitoshi had not appreciated Izuku dropping off the grid for almost a week-it had been one of the reasons Izuku had finally given Hitoshi a key to his apartment. The fact Hitoshi had gotten caught multiple times closer to Izuku's apartment than his own with some sort of unfortunate substance covering him from various Quirks was another reason.

"I figured," was Shouta's response, wry and a little bit resigned, surprising Izuku. "In the future, I would like you to tell me if you're not feeling well. Even if you don't want me there, I'd like to be aware."

Izuku wanted to protest, but. But he'd already told Shouta he'd mitigate his concerns if they were reasonable, and this was reasonable. "It's been a long time since I've had someone concerned over my health," is what he said instead of a protest. "You'll have to bear with me while I get used to it again." Shouta and Hitoshi should probably start a club, Izuku thought wryly, because they would both probably need someone to vent to while Izuku got used to having them care if he wasn't feeling well.

Shouta gave him that smile that made his insides flutter, and nudged the bowl of broth closer to him. "I'll bear with you as long as you let me," he promised.

Spending time with Shouta when neither of them had to work was nice, but Izuku wished that it had happened when he was feeling better. Still, both of them curling up on the couch and Izuku dozing in and out on Shouta's lap was his new favorite thing to do when he wasn't feeling well. Of

course, duty called and Shouta was called out because several Underground Heroes had come

down with a stomach bug and they needed a hand on patrol.

Izuku waved him off with a small smile. "Go be a Hero," he ordered. "I'll be here when you get back." He paused. "Probably right here, actually, because I'm feeling spectacularly lazy right

now."

Shouta snorted, bending down to brush a kiss over his forehead. "Try to get some more rest. Hopefully this will be quick."

"I'll do my best to get some more rest, but you're taking the best pillow I've ever had," he joked. Izuku stretched out on the couch once Shouta had left, grimacing at the aches in his muscles. Normally he was completely taken off guard when he got a migraine, because the stress that typically triggered them built up so slowly he didn't realize. This time, he really should have expected it, because Bakugou and Nite-Lite were alternating between stressing him out at home and at work. Normally it was just at work, so if Izuku was honest he was surprised the migraine- and the after effects-hadn't been worse. He'd had multi-day migraines before, so he was just thankful this time the migraine had passed relatively quickly.

He jerked and nearly fell off of the couch when loud pounding started at the door. Glancing at the clock, he saw he must have fallen asleep because it was nearly four hours after Shouta had left. His heart in his throat, he carefully slid his way to the door and thanked everything that Shouta had a peephole. Izuku frowned but opened the door when he saw the uniformed officers standing there. "Can I help you Officers?"

"Are you Midoriya Izuku?" The female officer asked briskly, sharp blue eyes pinning him in place.

"I am, yes," he answered slowly, dread starting to rise when he saw the other officer pull out his cuffs. Izuku wanted to shift back and shut the door, but he knew better than to make this worse than it was already going to be.

Heaving a sigh, the woman intoned boredly, "Midoriya Izuku, you are under arrest for trespassing in a Hero residence. Please step out and put your hands behind your back."

Izuku clenched his jaw, but nodded shortly. "May I put my shoes on first?" He asked, careful to keep his tone polite. He wasn't sure what was going on, although he had his suspicions, so staying polite was his best bet currently.

"Yes," the woman answered, shooting a sharp look at her partner who looked like he'd been about to answer the opposite.

Stepping back, Izuku left the door open as he slipped his shoes on. Spotting his phone, Izuku also shot Shouta a quick text.

Izuku: Heads up. Being arrested for trespassing?

Stepping back outside, Izuku shut the door behind himself. Before he could turn or do even say anything, the man had shoved Izuku face first against the door, wrenching his wrists behind his back. Izuku bit back any noise of pain that might have come out, hearing the woman give an irritated huff. "If you injure him Inspector Haku will have your ass," she warned. "You're still in hot water from that arrest last month."

The man snorted, jerking Izuku away from the door roughly. "He's Quirkless , no one's gonna care if he's a little bruised."

Izuku stayed silent as he was shoved into the back of the car, wondering exactly how they knew he was Quirkless. Despite what some people thought, you couldn't tell at a glance if someone was Quirkless or not. He could see some sympathy in the woman's eyes, but he knew exactly how far

that would get him-not very.

His best bet was to hope that Shouta got his text message and managed to track him down quickly, because otherwise he was not going to have a good time. Izuku had never been more relieved in his life to see Shouta than he was when he saw him waiting in the lobby of the police station, and that included when Bakugou had slammed his way into Izuku's apartment. Shouta caught sight of them immediately, and his eyes slid red as he stalked over to them.

"Eraserhead!" The man sounded surprised and a little awed, something thrilled in his expression as he watched the man.

"Take the handcuffs off of him," Shouta ordered flatly, his eyes narrowed.

The female officer shifted. She seemed to realize that there was something wrong, but when she reached out to try and release Izuku the other officer jerked Izuku away. "What are you doing?" She hissed, eyes widening when she caught sight of Shouta's expression. "Let him go ." She bodily shoved the other officer out of the way and quickly uncuffed Izuku before shoving the man towards the back of the station with a glare.

Shouta reached out and pulled Izuku close to him with one arm, his other hand fishing out his ID and handing it to the Inspector that had come out to see what the commotion was about. "That was my apartment that they arrested Izuku at," Shouta said flatly, his fury obvious. "We're dating, and he absolutely had my permission to be there. Why was he arrested?"

The Inspector paused, his lips tightening as he stared hard at the ID he'd been provided. "We were told that a Quirkless individual was trespassing in a Hero residence-it was implied it was a stalking situation that needed to be handled...sternly." His gaze finally lifted from the ID only to be caught by the bruising starting to form on Izuku's wrists and arms. Well, that explained how they knew he was Quirkless, Izuku mused as he tried to hide his bruising arms as much as possible.

Shouta followed his gaze as Izuku utterly failed at his attempt at hiding his arms, and the snarl that tore itself out of his throat sounded animalistic. Izuku pressed closer to him, trying his best to soothe Shouta silently. Shouta clenched his teeth, and bit out, "Who called it in?"

"It was an anonymous tip," the female officer said quietly after a long moment of silence. "We don't know who it was."

"Male or female?"

"Male," she answered again, paling slightly at the vicious expression that crossed his face.

Izuku touched Shouta's arm gently. "Can we go now?" He asked lowly. He was pretty done with this situation, and it was obvious they didn't have any useful information for them. Whatever expression was on his face had Shouta nodding immediately.

"Of course." He turned to the Inspector with red, narrowed eyes. "I want to make this very clear. If this sort of...mistake happens again, I will not be kind about it." He wrapped an arm around Izuku's shoulders and guided him carefully out of the station. "I miss Naomasa," he muttered sourly. " He wouldn't have fucked things up like that."

Izuku breathed out slowly, trying to calm himself. He'd never been arrested before, and it had been an alarming experience he was not looking to repeat. His arms hurt . "Naomasa...he was hurt during that whole..." he waved a hand around. "That whole thing at Kamino Ward, right?"

"He was," Shouta agreed. "He ended up having to retire due to his injuries, and moved across the

country to be around his family."

"You were friends?" Izuku asked curiously.

Shouta hesitated for a moment. "We were," he said. "Of a sort, anyway. He was always very defensive of All Might, and I had enough issues with him during his first few years teaching at UA that Naomasa and I had quite a few disagreements over him." He paused and smiled faintly, a faded grief etched into his mouth. "But I miss him."

They spent the rest of the walk back to Shouta's apartment in companionable silence. Once the door shut behind them, Shouta took a deep breath before turning to Izuku. "Thank you for texting me. If I had come back and you hadn't been here, with the door still unlocked and no note or anything..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "It wouldn't have been a good situation for anyone."

Izuku didn't bother trying to control himself any longer. He stepped right into Shouta and buried his face in his chest, just breathing as Shouta's arms wrapped around him. "Thank you for being there," he murmured after a few minutes of just being held, shifting back just enough to be able to speak clearly.

Shouta slid his hands up Izuku's back until one hand was cupping the back of his head, the other pressed gently between his shoulder blades. "There was nowhere else I would have been," he promised, leaning down to brush a soft kiss over Izuku's lips.

Izuku smiled up at him, able to breathe easier wrapped in Shouta's arms. "How was the patrol you were called in for?"

Shouta grimaced. "I didn't need to be there. It was painfully slow-the only reason they even asked for me was because they had a few interns that needed to be watched."

Izuku arched an eyebrow. "But you don't think you needed to be there? High praise for those interns indeed," he teased.

"They actually listened when I spoke and gave instructions, and they didn't just run off if they thought they saw something. I was thrilled," Shouta deadpanned, enjoying the way Izuku tipped his head back and laughed.

"I bet you were," Izuku managed through his laughter, eyes dancing. "I'd better text Hitoshi and let him know what happened."

"I wish we could just blame Bakugou for this," Shouta scowled, his amusement dying.

"But Nite-Lite could absolutely have had someone call in for her, if she found out where I was staying," Izuku agreed with a sigh. "Neither of them should know I'm here, the only person I've told is Hitoshi."

And Hitoshi would rather stab himself with a rusty spoon than speak with Bakugou for any amount of time about anything, let alone about Izuku. But obviously someone knew something, and it made Izuku's skin crawl. The only thing that made it even slightly ok was the fact that Shouta was there, and if anyone broke into Shouta's apartment the man would break them in half.

Shouta let out an irritated noise in agreement before taking a step back and letting Izuku go. "Go text Hitoshi, I'm going to make some coffee." Izuku paused from where he'd been reaching for his phone, turned, and stared him down until he relented. "Fine, I'll make tea."

Izuku smiled at him. "I don't care if you make coffee normally," he offered, "But if you make coffee tonight, I'm going to want coffee, and I need to try and get some sleep. Even if my sleep pattern is shot to hell right now." He turned and grabbed his phone when Shouta waved a hand in agreement as he headed into the kitchen.

Izuku: So, someone called the police and gave them an anonymous tip that I was trespassing.

Izuku: I'd like to know how they knew where I was staying, because no one should know that right now.

Staring down at his phone, Izuku could almost imagine the ranting Hitoshi was doing. He'd certainly seen it often enough when Todoroki had texted Hitoshi something he found irritating or offensive while he was with Izuku. Shouta returned to the room with two cups of tea, and Izuku took his with a grateful smile and a brush of the lips. "Did Hitoshi text you back yet?" Shouta asked, a smile curving his lips as well. Izuku looked happy, and that was really all he could ask for.

Izuku's phone buzzed in answer, and he laughingly held it up as a response before tapping on the text notification.

Hitoshi: We have a problem.

Izuku: What's wrong?

Hitoshi: I know how Bakugou keeps getting information about you.