Shouta hadn't stayed up much later, admitting he was exhausted. Izuku was honestly impressed by the fact he fell asleep in about five minutes while Izuku was still scribbling in his notebook and muttering to himself. He had decided to bite the bullet and at least start the process of building a new profile for Bakugou. Izuku had considered waiting until he could pull out his old notebooks, but he had decided that his best option was to treat it like an entirely new profile.
Obviously what had been true previously-namely that Bakugou was hot tempered and couldn't control it, and didn't have the foresight to plan ahead-was no longer true. It was a problem, because Bakugou was smart . He didn't necessarily have the analytical intelligence that Izuku did, but he had always invested himself in being the best. And, far more so than Izuku, he had always been good at convincing people to do what he wanted. It was why he had so many followers in Middle and High School. His Quirk had some to do with it, but he had a strange charisma that kept people around him even through his volatile temper.
So Bakugou was smart, and he'd learned to control his temper enough that he could, at least sometimes, plan his actions instead of acting impulsively all of the time. He was charismatic enough to keep people around him, and potentially charismatic enough to convince them to do things for him as well. Izuku stared down at his new profile, dread building in his stomach. It didn't look like the profile of a Hero. It looked like every profile he'd ever done of the big time, big name villains that had big, ugly casualty counts.
"I've spent my entire life not holding you accountable and protecting you from the consequences of your own actions," he murmured at the profile, like he was talking to the volatile blond instead of a notebook. "It's time I stopped and stepped aside." It was hard to admit that to himself, but he knew that it was time to end this strange, unhealthy relationship the two of them had always had. He had tried to after graduation, but he had to acknowledge, even if it was just to himself, that he just hadn't been quite ready to let go of the hope that Bakugou could change.
He shut his notebook gently, resting his hand on the cover for a moment. A silent, more permanent goodbye than he'd ever given anyone in his life before. He would give the profile to Nedzu, and he wouldn't sugarcoat it. Izuku considered his options then. He could go put the notebook safely in his bag, and he knew that while he might wake Shouta up the man would never say anything to him about it, despite what he'd promised in the living room. But Izuku honestly, truly trusted Shouta in a way he hadn't trusted anyone in a long time. So he hooked the pen on the notebook and dropped it on the nightstand on his side of the bed before sliding himself under the covers carefully.
Of course, the movement woke Shouta up as Izuku had suspected it would, and the man rolled over and lazily tossed an arm over Izuku's waist. "You done for the night?" Shouta asked drowsily.
"I am," Izuku said, smiling and leaning down to press a kiss on Shouta's forehead before laying down and curling up next to him. He was going to miss this, Izuku realized, when everything with
Bakugou and Nite-Lite was over and he was back in his own space. He had never just slept in the same bed as someone before, but he had never slept so well in his life. Well, that just meant that he should take the time to enjoy it now.
"You're thinking awfully hard for someone who's supposed to be going to sleep," Shouta pointed out, raising himself up slightly on one elbow to look at Izuku better.
Izuku grimaced, waving a hand half heartedly. "It's hard to turn it off sometimes, but I won't be able to get anything else constructive done tonight. If I lay here long enough I'll fall asleep," he promised. These were the sort of nights that, if he were at his own apartment, he'd go on a cleaning spree and go down a wikipedia rabbit hole for a while. But he can't bring himself to keep Shouta up anymore than he already has, so Izuku had resigned himself to staring at the ceiling for a while.
Shouta was having none of that.
Giving an irritated huff, he tugged Izuku closer until they were plastered against each other, and then he started running his fingers through Izuku's hair like he had during the migraine episode. Izuku's head dropped against his chest, and Shouta smiled a little bit smugly. "This a little better?"
Izuku let out a muffled noise of agreement, his eyes already starting to flutter shut. He was really, really going to miss this when this was all over.
The music he'd chosen as his alarm was the next thing he heard, and Izuku groaned as he blindly slapped back towards the nightstand until his hand smacked his phone and silenced the alarm. "Fuck," he muttered into the pillow, barely managing to pry his eyes open. "I don't need a shower," he grumbled, "I took one last night." Moving as little as humanly possible, he snoozed his alarm for fifteen minutes and then promptly buried his face back into the pillow.
"Izuku." Shouta nudged at him gently. "Your alarm has been going off for almost ten minutes." Shouta had slipped out of bed and dragged himself to the shower once he'd heard Izuku wasn't going to take one, and he'd heard the alarm start while he was still in the bathroom.
"What?" Izuku reached out and blindly unplugged his phone before turning the alarm off and staring at the time. "Shit!" He yelped, jerking up and trying to scramble off of the bed. Tangled in the sheet and blanket as he was, Izuku almost took a tumble off of the bed before Shouta lunged across and caught him, hauling him safely back onto the bed. "Sorry!" He offered hurriedly at Shouta's wide eyes. "I'm going to be so late!"
Shouta shook his head and smiled slightly. "I'll make you coffee in a to go mug, you untangle yourself and get dressed."
Izuku shoved himself halfway across the bed to smack a quick kiss on Shouta's lips, and then he turned to the mess he'd made of the sheets. "I love you, thank you so much."
Shouta was just screwing the lid on the mug of coffee when Izuku skidded into the room after the fastest change of clothes Shouta had ever borne witness to. "Shoes are by the front door, your bag is as well."
"You are a god among men and I adore the very air you breathe," Izuku called out as he snagged the mug of coffee, pressed a quick kiss to Shouta's cheek, and then sprinted for the front door. He grabbed his bag and tossed it over his shoulder while he was shoving his feet in his shoes, and then Izuku made sure to shut the door quietly behind him before sprinting to the Agency.
Izuku slowed to a walk when he reached the Agency doors, but still moved quickly to his desk. He managed to sit down exactly on time, and Izuku leaned back in his chair and caught his breath. "Overslept?" Nite-Lite asked as she leaned against the side of his desk. "Were you and Eraserhead... busy last night?" The innuendo in her voice was clear, but there was a hint of vicious amusement in her face that left Izuku suspicious.
"Very much so," Izuku agreed. It was unfortunate for Nite-Lite that Izuku had long since had any sense of embarrassment ripped out of him between Nedzu and Hitoshi. "Tragically, not in bed, but since you're so curious I'll make sure to let you know when it happens." He absolutely would not, but the shock on her face and flush that overtook her cheeks was well worth the lie.
"Oh, you've definitely been busy," Hideo laughed from his doorway, holding a picture frame in his hands. Izuku had a bad feeling about that. "I've always said," he began loudly as he started forward, "That you're not an official Underground Hero-or an analyst-without being arrested at least once! Give it up for Izuku, who finally managed it!" With a flourish, Hideo handed Izuku a framed copy of the police report with his name on it as everyone except Nite-Lite clapped and cheered playfully. A quick glance down at it showed that Hideo had done his due diligence and blacked out the address on the report, so he was comfortable putting it down on his desk.
Izuku groaned, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips. "I was detained ," he protested, "Not arrested. It hardly even counts!"
"Oh it counts," Hideo smirked at him. "It all counts."
"It sounds like Eraserhead is a bad influence," Nite-Lite cut in, her eyes cool as she watched them. "If he's getting you arrested."
Izuku sighed at her. "Please stop." He was completely done with her making all of her snide remarks.
"Oh, I'd say Eraser is a bad influence," X-Ray grinned wildly as he came up on Izuku's other side. "Look at that huge fucking hickey." The older man tossed an arm around Izuku's shoulders. "Someone's marking his territory," he sang out.
Izuku shoved his arm off of his shoulders with a grin. "Shut up," he laughed, cheeks flushing a little bit at that. He'd been in such a rush this morning that he'd completely forgotten about the large, dark mark on his neck.
"You're not denying it," X-Ray pointed out, his grin widening. "It wasn't a heat of the moment thing then? He was actually marking his territory?" He looked gleeful as he asked Izuku that.
" Some people ," Izuku pointedly didn't look at Nite-Lite, "Aren't getting the hint. We decided to see if a visual aid would help with that."
Nite-Lite let out a noise of offense that Izuku promptly ignored, as did everyone else. "I'll give him this much," Hideo snorted. "The man knows how to make a point."
"That he does," Izuku agreed, before shooing them away from his desk. "I need to get some actual work done today you heathens, go away."
"I'm literally your boss," Hideo protested. "You can't tell me what to do." He met Izuku's flat look and coughed slightly. "I am going to go, but not because you told me to. I just have a lot of work to do tonight." He walked away quickly, leaving them all laughing.
Everyone else slowly wandered off, except Nite-Lite. Izuku was entirely unsurprised by that.
"Don't you have patrol?" He asked pointedly.
She shrugged, eyes trained on the mark Shouta had left on his neck. "I never really believed people when they warned me how possessive Eraserhead could be, but I guess they weren't joking, huh? He's warned me off, isolated you from your friend, and moved you into his home. I hope you can see what's going on before it's too late," Nite-Lite warned.
Izuku took a deep breath. "Look, you don't have context for any of those situations," he tried again to make her see sense. "He and I have discussed every decision that has been made, and we've both agreed to everything. And he hasn't isolated me from anyone."
Nite-Lite sighed, shaking her head in a condescending way that made Izuku clench his jaw. "You'll figure it out soon enough I suppose," she said evenly before walking away.
Izuku watched her go, his eyes narrowed as he tapped his fingers slowly on the desk. This was the calmest he had seen her during one of their discussions since he'd shot her down that first time. It was suspicious, to say the least. Still, he really did have work to catch up on since he'd called out the previous evening, so he did his best to put her out of his mind and get to work. Of course, twenty minutes later his phone buzzed with a text. Izuku pulled it out, and he immediately felt all of the calm he'd managed to pull together evaporate.
Bakugou: Word is that you got arrested. Sounds like the hobo is a bad influence, Deku.
He frowned, something about that text message niggling at him.
Izuku: I wasn't arrested, just detained. A mistake on the police's part.
Bakugou: I hope so. It wouldn't be good for your career for it to become a habit.
Izuku's eyes burned. Bakugou was smart-it wasn't a threat, but the warning was clear. It could easily become a habit.
Izuku: True. Hopefully it's a one time thing.
Bakugou: It probably would be if you stopped dating the hobo. He seems to be the reason for all the bad things that are happening, after all.
Closing his eyes, Izuku put his phone down and tried to breathe through the fury that had spiked as soon as he saw that text message. Bakugou threatening his career-the career he'd spent years working to build even before leaving UA-was a step too far. Even beyond the stalking and terrorizing that he'd been doing, this was the final straw. He picked his phone back up and forwarded the text messages to Shouta.
Izuku: I'm going to kick his fucking teeth in.
Shouta: What?
Shouta: Hold on, the text messages just downloaded.
Shouta: You know what? I'll be right there cheering you on.
Izuku: I mean, at least we can pretty definitively say he's the one responsible for the arrest. Izuku: Also, look at this shit.
Izuku sent a picture of the framed police report, getting a laughing emoji back from Shouta.
Shouta: I hope you're planning on hanging that up.
Izuku: I don't exactly have an office.
Izuku: I'll probably keep it on my desk for now. Got to go, love you!
Looking up as Hideo paused by his desk, Izuku switched text conversations and silently held out his phone. Hideo groaned. "How pissed off am I going to be?"
"Well," Izuku raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty pissed, so I can only imagine you'll be angry as well."
Grimacing, Hideo took the phone and raised an eyebrow. "Eraserhead 'loves you too'," he said as he made a mocking kissy face, although there was something soft in his eyes as he looked at Izuku for a moment before returning his gaze to the phone. "Oh, what the fuck," he sighed, dropping the phone back down into Izuku's waiting hand after a quick read through the the messages.
"He's smart," Izuku said quietly. "He's made it obvious he's responsible, but he's not directly taking responsibility."
"Fucker," Hideo muttered bitterly. If he'd taken responsibility in writing, they could have submitted it to the HPSC and had him investigated and this could have been over a lot faster. There might be a hell of a lot of corruption within the HPSC, but not a single one of them wanted a Hero running around harassing people if they could stop it. "I know I don't have to tell you this, but make sure you keep the messages. They'll help when we have more solid evidence."
Izuku smiled at him softly, hearing the 'we' in that sentence loud and clear. "Thank you," he said. "Knowing you have my back makes this entire situation so much easier to bear."
Hideo sniffed slightly. " You're the crier, not me you little asshole, you better stop being so sappy," he grumbled, hand reaching out to ruffle Izuku's hair roughly. "Now get back to work."
Izuku laughed and nodded, putting his phone back in his bag and focusing back on his work. He managed to get through a good portion of the work that had piled up from his day off, and at the normal end of his shift he looked at the remaining work that needed completed and considered just staying over and knocking out the rest of it. His phone buzzed with Shouta letting him know he was there to walk him home, and Izuku smiled and put the remaining paperwork away. He would rather spend time with Shouta anyway.
He shot Shouta a quick text letting him know he was on his way out, and then he also texted Nedzu.
Izuku: Sensei, would you mind if I stopped by your office in the next few days? Nedzu: Not at all! Whenever you would like! Has something happened? Izuku: There have been some new developments, but nothing urgent.
Nedzu: Then I shall see you soon!
Izuku grinned a little, because he knew that even if he had showed up without warning Nedzu would have been waiting with a cup of tea-and Izuku's least favorite cookies as a punishment for the rudeness of not giving him a heads up. Izuku loved those cookies and was not going to risk not getting them. Making his way to the front of the Agency, his smile softened when he caught sight of Shouta leaning against the wall and talking with X-Ray. Shouta looked up and smiled back,
starting to push off of the wall. Izuku paused when Shouta's expression darkened, but Izuku quickly realized why. "Leaving us so soon?" Nite-Lite purred, draping herself over his shoulders in a move reminiscent of what Izuku had seen Midnight do a thousand times.
"Fuck," X-Ray breathed out, looked awed at the sheer stupidity playing out in front of him.
Shouta moved a single step forward, and then forced himself to stop. "Take your hands off of him," he ordered, his voice low and furious.
Feeling Nite-Lite's grip tighten, Izuku reached up and prized her arms off of him, quickly slipping away from her and towards Shouta before she could grasp at him again. "Don't touch me again," he told her, his voice colder than anyone had ever heard it. Izuku then turned to Shouta. "Are you ready to go?"
Shouta wanted to stay and tear a strip off of Nite-Lite, but he could read the stress in the line of Izuku's shoulders and the tightness of his mouth. "I'm ready," he agreed, although he shot Nite- Lite a look of cold promise. This particular conversation wasn't over by a long shot. But for now he wrapped an arm around Izuku's waist, settling his hand on Izuku's hip possessively and guiding him out of the building without another word. "Are you ok?" He asked after a few minutes of silence as they walked.
"I'm fine," Izuku sighed. "I'm just irritated."
Shouta's grip on his hip tightened slightly. "With me?" He asked slowly.
"What?" Izuku gave him a startled look. "No, of course not!" He slipped an arm around Shouta's waist for a sideways hug. "No, I'm irritated with Nite-Lite. She's been pushing it recently, but she's never actually touched me before." It was a boundary that he hadn't consciously known he'd had, but the second she had touched him without permission he'd realized it was a hard line for him.
Catching sight of his apartment, by silent mutual agreement Shouta and Izuku both sped up slightly. "People decided to be spectacularly stupid tonight," Shouta muttered as he unlocked the door. "I'm glad to be home."
"Same," Izuku agreed, taking a moment to slip off his shoes before making a beeline for the
couch. He and Shouta collapsed on the couch at the same time, letting out matching groans. "How do you feel about takeout?"
Shouta twisted until he was laying down with his head on Izuku's lap. "I feel like it's an excellent idea tonight. I definitely don't feel like making anything."
Playing with Shouta's hair, Izuku made a small noise of agreement. "Do you want anything in particular?"
His eyes already shut, Shouta muttered, "No. Whatever you want is fine with me."
Izuku smiled down at him affectionately, scratching gently at his scalp. His smile widened when he was pretty sure Shouta purred . Izuku had never been happier about the invention of delivery apps, because he wasn't actually feeling up to speaking with a stranger today. He put a sizable tip on as an apology for the late night delivery, and tapped in the request for the order to be left at the door. Izuku closed his eyes for just a moment, trying to reduce the strain he could feel in his eyes.
His eyes snapped open when his phone buzzed with the notification that their order had been dropped off. He must have dozed off without realizing. "Sho," he murmured, nudging Shouta's
shoulder gently. "The food is here." Shouta let out a noise of discontent, but dragged himself out of Izuku's lap.
"Thank you for ordering it," he yawned, stretching and slumping against the arm of the couch.
Izuku stood up. "You're very welcome," he said, making his way to the door to grab the order. Locking it again once he'd brought the food in, he dropped it on the coffee table. They were both tired enough that they just scarfed the food down quickly, tossing the containers before stumbling to bed. Exhausted as he was, wrapped up in Shouta's arms he had never been more content. What, he wondered, would he have to do to be able to stay here even after Bakugou and Nite-Lite were dealt with?