It only took a few days for people to start realizing that they were hearing two different stories from Bakugou and Ms. Joke, and most of the people who heard the stories were Heroes. Once they realized there was some sort of discrepancy, they did what Heroes do best. They got nosy. The number of 'subtle' questions Izuku was asked at work at least doubled, and people started braving Shouta's irritation to ask him questions as well.

Shouta didn't let it show, but he was entirely pleased by the interruptions for once. He knew that if he let it show, people would be less likely to believe him when he honestly told them that no, Izuku had not been dating Bakugou, and no, Shouta had not been dating Emi. And to fully underscore that fact, he stopped indulging Emi in her dramatics and marriage proposals when they were in the same area. The relief on Izuku's face when he'd mentioned that kind of made him feel like an asshole, because he hadn't realized that it had bothered Izuku. It also made him feel stupid, because of course it did-all Shouta had to do was think about how he'd feel if Izuku was getting marriage proposals from someone he used to date on the regular.

Izuku just shrugged when he said something about it. "I mean, it bothered me, but you obviously aren't interested in her. And I understand choosing your battles."

"Right." Shouta frowned deeply. "If something bothers you, even if you think it's not worth mentioning, I'd like for you to tell me, please. I can't fix it if I don't even know it's a problem."

"It's not a problem ," Izuku protested. "I mean, it bothered me. I won't lie and say it didn't, but I really do understand not wanting to rock the boat over something that's easy to ignore."

Shouta pressed a kiss to Izuku's lips to stop his protests. "Tell me next time," he repeated firmly. Izuku couldn't do anything but agree.

It had also been a relief to Shouta's friends, and he'd been surprised to realize how much they'd been holding back when it came to how much they actually actively disliked Emi. Apparently, after he and Emi had broken up they'd decided to hold their peace when it came to how she was acting as long as he continued to have no interest in her.

"If you'd been considering getting back together with her, one of us would have said something," Tensei told him with a shrug. "But since you were mostly ignoring her, it wasn't really worth the scene she'd cause if any of us said anything."

It honestly made Shouta wonder what else he'd been missing from the people around him.

Izuku, on the other hand, was entirely unsurprised by the entire situation they found themselves in.

Part and parcel of being Quirkless was understanding the motivations of the people around you, and seeing beyond the facade that they put up in day-to-day life. So Izuku had seen the carefully hidden irritation in Shouta's friends when Emi had interjected herself in their night out dancing. It had been part of the reason Izuku had decided to not say anything-if Shouta's friends, people who'd known him for years, weren't saying anything, why should Izuku?

Still, he would be lying if he didn't admit to finding some amusement in his co-worker's attempts at subtle interrogation. Of course, it also concerned Izuku a little bit, and he desperately hoped that they were more subtle when they were doing investigations, but he allowed himself to enjoy the amusement he got from this.

Of course, X-Ray had never heard of even an attempt at subtlety in his life.

"So, the word is that you stole Eraser from Joke?" The man dropped himself into the chair by Izuku with a raised eyebrow.

"Apparently the word is also that Eraser stole me from Dynamite," Izuku pointed out, continuing his work without so much as a twitch.

X-Ray grunted. "Both of 'em bullshit?"

"Yup." Izuku glanced up with a curious look at his irritated huff. "Problem?"

"You've got a lot of drama hanging around you. You got a plan to deal with it?" X-Ray asked, frowning at him deeply.

Izuku felt himself soften despite himself. For all that X-Ray was rough around the edges, to say the least, he'd been the one person besides Hideo who always had his back in this Agency. "Yeah, Eraserhead and I have a plan." He smiled at X-Ray. "Thank you for checking on me."

"Shut the fuck up," he muttered, flushing slightly. "You're the best analyst we've had in years, I can't let the rest of these assholes run you off."

"It really is appreciated," Izuku said quietly. "I-honestly, when people started staring at me again I was pretty confused. It was an unpleasant surprise to realize that people were believing another rumor without bothering to ask me about it."

X-Ray patted Izuku's shoulder roughly. "They're not willing to put in the work to figure out if what they're hearing is true or not. I'll straighten them out." The man levered himself out of the chair and ambled off to go harangue some of their colleagues about believing rumors.

Again.

Izuku was pretty good at reading between the lines, and he could tell what X-Ray was trying to tell him. He needed to realize that most of his co-workers, while they were kind enough people, were also incredibly lazy outside of their job. They didn't want to do the leg work to figure out if what they were hearing was correct, so they just accepted it as fact-especially if they were hearing it from someone they knew-like Ms. Joke.

Accepting that actually made it feel like a weight lifted off of Izuku's shoulders. It wasn't his responsibility to make sure they knew what was actually going on-there wasn't something he could have done to make it so they would actually come to him to ask him about the rumors. They were just...lazy. It was a relief, to finally understand that. It hadn't been that they'd thought he deserved Nite-Lite's harassment, they'd just accepted what she'd said at face value. Izuku could handle that.

Over the next few days, Izuku and Shouta found themselves the objects of more scrutiny than either of them were used to. It was for a good reason, so they both bore it with a smile-so to speak- but neither of them were all too pleased with the increased attention. Shouta, especially, found it irritating. He could handle people coming up to him and asking him questions, but people were starting to follow him around and watch him, and for an Underground Hero that was dangerous.

Izuku, after one particular incident led to Shouta getting punched square in the face by a villain he was attempting to capture due to a distraction by one of the Limelight Heroes following him, went to Nedzu. The scrutiny on Shouta disappeared very quickly after that, much to his relief.

Unfortunately for Izuku, that meant that everyone who had been watching Shouta now started watching him instead. He had never been more grateful for Hideo's no-nonsense refusal to allow visitors during work hours than he was at that point.

And of course, in the middle of that mess, Nite-Lite made her appearance back in the Agency.

"Izuku." Nite-Lite's face was paler than it had been when she'd left, and there were bags under her eyes that made Izuku feel...sad. He didn't feel guilty, because she'd had more than enough chances to correct her behavior, but she looked like she'd had a rough time of it and she had at one point been something like a friend. He regretted that it had come to the point it had.

"Nite-Lite," he said quietly. "How are you?"

The smile that twisted her lips was bitter. "Really? Are we going to play that game?"

Izuku sighed softly. "I'm being polite. If you'd prefer, we could just ignore each other." That would be his preference, personally, but he was willing to exchange polite conversation if it would make the situation easier on everyone until the point that she left again.

"Ok, sure," Nite-Lite's voice was hard. "I'm doing great-except for how I had to pack up my entire goddamn life and move because you decided to be a fucking child and file complaints against me instead of coming to talk to me like a fucking adult."

Izuku could point out that he'd told her to stop multiple times. He could point out that there had been multiple complaints before she'd had to leave, and that she could have changed her behavior at any time. He could even point out that the final straw had been her making him bleed . Instead, he just arched a cool eyebrow and turned away, dismissing her entirely.

"Really?" Hideo nearly snarled from behind Nite-Lite. "You've been here what, twenty minutes? And you're already bothering Izuku?"

Nite-Lite clenched her jaw. "Just having some friendly conversation," she said, just this side of snide.

"Yeah, friendly conversation doesn't leave Izuku looking like he's about to throw you out the window," Hideo said flatly. "I told you once, and I do not like repeating myself . Stay away from Izuku while you're here." He pointed towards his office sternly, and Nite-Like glared briefly before stalking away.

"Well, this promises to be pleasant," Izuku murmured after a moment.

"Yeah, no kidding," Hideo sighed. "I'm doing my best to keep her away from you, and I've conscripted X-Ray to help, but..." He trailed off, a little helplessly and entirely furious about it.

Izuku understood. "You're both working on the raid. I get it Hideo, I'm not going to be angry if

you can't ride herd on her all the time. She should be grown enough to agree to avoid me, but I think we both know she won't. We'll just all have to...suck it up, I guess, until it's over and she heads back again."

"I hate this entire fucking situation," Hideo muttered bitterly. "If the Commission would have approved-," he cut himself off abruptly. "Well, it doesn't matter now, I guess."

Izuku offered a commiserating smile. "We've just got to handle it the best we can." And Izuku was going to have to spend more energy than he wanted to mitigate Nite-Lite's antics at work and handle Shouta's irritation at home.

Pursing his lips in consideration as Hideo stomped to his office, still muttering bitterly about the Commission, he thought about the fact that Shouta had told him to tell him when something was bothering him.

When Shouta started commenting bitterly about Nite-Lite being around again, Izuku took the plunge. "You told me to tell you when something was bothering me," he began slowly, feeling out the words.

"Yes," Shouta agreed, watching him closely.

"I-you have every right to be frustrated that Nite-Lite is back when it feels like we just got rid of her," Izuku said quickly. "I know that, and I don't want you to think that I feel like you don't have the right to be upset. That's not what this is."

"Izuku." Shouta was careful to keep his voice calm and even when he saw how frantic his boyfriend was getting. "I'm not going to be upset that you're doing what I asked you to. You can always tell me when something is bothering you, especially if it's something I'm doing, ok? Just take a breath."

Izuku took his advice and took a moment to just breathe and calm himself down. "Ok," he murmured. "I-I can't handle your frustration, my frustration, and Nite-Lite at work while I'm still finishing the planning for the raid. I just-I just can't ."

Shouta immediately gathered Izuku in his arms, because Izuku looked like he was about to cry and Shouta could not handle being part of the reason Izuku cried. "I get it," he soothed, rubbing Izuku's back gently. "You have a lot on your plate right now. And it's not your responsibility to manage my emotions, ok? I appreciate the fact that you told me you couldn't handle me venting about it to you right now. I wasn't thinking about how much you have going on, and it makes total sense that you can't deal with me talking about something you're already dealing with at work."

Izuku buried his face in Shouta's chest. "Thank you," he said, voice muffled. He pulled his face back a little bit as he added, "I was-I knew you wouldn't be upset with me, but I was worried I would hurt your feelings."

"I have it on good authority that I don't have feelings," Shouta deadpanned. "But seriously, I will always prefer for you to tell me if something is upsetting you, and that will always include if I'm doing anything that's upsetting you as well. I've seen first hand how ugly things can get when couples hide that sort of thing. The resentment it breeds can ruin a relationship, and I'd never want that to happen to us."

Izuku smiled briefly. "Neither would I."

Focusing at work was a lot easier once he had that conversation with Shouta, and Izuku felt a little

silly for putting it off as long as he had. But being able to go home to a completely Nite-Lite-free zone was such a relief after having to deal with her all day at work. Despite Hideo's warning, Nite-Lite was continuously in Izuku's space. She was smart enough to not directly speak to him now, but having her always in his face and talking shit about him to other people was draining.

Izuku did his best to focus on what was important-namely, the raid he'd been planning with the analyst at Best Jeanist's Agency for weeks at this point. He'd been relieved when Sakura had told him that Best Jeanist had kept Bakugou out of the lineup for this raid. There had been a creeping dread in the back of his throat every time he thought about Bakugou being on that raid with the Underground Heroes Izuku was responsible for.

All Izuku could think about was when Bakugou had nearly gotten X-Ray blown up by completely ignoring the plan a while ago-and that had been a relatively minor takedown, all things considered. The villains they'd be going after during this raid were far more dangerous, and the thought that Bakugou would ignore the plans they made again and get people hurt-or even killed-was terrifying to Izuku.

The knowledge that Bakugou wasn't going to be on the raid was another stress lifted off of Izuku, and in the days leading up to the raid he was almost cheerful, which relieved Shouta. He was not used to the stressed-out mess Izuku had been as the raid had gotten closer and closer. Izuku hadn't taken the stress out of Shouta, but the stress and frustration had been obvious.

"Alright people," Izuku called out, handing out the headsets the night of the raid. "You know who you're partnered with, and you know your targets. Keep your focus, keep to the plan as long as you're able, but I have faith that if you need to deviate you'll make the best decisions possible. Keep in contact with each other. I'll be keeping an ear out, but you guys have got this," he told them with a smile.

And they did. Despite the personal differences they may have with each other-and with Izuku-they were all professionals and Izuku had the utmost faith that they'd kick ass and take names.

Hideo stared them down. "Get this done. Do not embarrass me. Make Best Jeanist embarrassed over how his Heroes measure up compared to you." He nodded at them, and they took that as their dismissal.

Izuku snickered a little. "Very inspiring boss, I'm sure they were all holding back tears."

Hideo scoffed. "You were inspiring enough for both of us, thank you." He waved a hand dismissively. "I don't expect any issues, you prepared them all very thoroughly."

Hideo still looked a bit concerned, and Izuku understood. Everything was going very smoothly for a raid that Hideo'd had such a back feeling about. "We have the other Underground Heroes if anything goes wrong," Izuku murmured after a moment. "We've done all we can to prepare in case there are any issues."

"That your way of telling me to calm down?" Hideo asked drily.

"Was it too subtle for you?" Izuku shot back playfully, making Hideo grin.

"Go listen to those assholes and make sure nothing unexpected comes up," Hideo ordered with a laugh.

Izuku offered a lazy salute before heading back to his desk to do exactly that. He put the headset on and listened with half of his attention to the chatter on the mics while he got a head start on the

paperwork that the Commission required to be completed after large raids like this. It was a pain, and the quicker he got started on it the quicker he could pass it onto Hideo once he got to the portion only the Agency owner could fill out.

"Goddamnit," X-Ray spat out, his fury obvious even through the slight crackling of the headset. "Nite-Lite is down," he snapped. "Get her out of here and to a medic. Now!"

Izuku put his pen down and straightened up. Hideo caught sight of Izuku tensing up and started to make his way over.

"X-Ray, sitrep," Izuku snapped after he unmuted himself. "I heard Nite-Lite is down."

"The Commission gave us bad fuckin' intel," the man snarled. "There are at least fifteen more villains here than they projected, and a fuckton of explosive chemicals we weren't expecting!"

Izuku breathed out and nodded to himself. "Heard. Hold the line X-Ray, we have plans for this. Expect backup shortly." Glancing up, he caught Hideo's hard gaze and dipped his chin slightly.

Hideo nodded back, eyes steely and furious, and made his way into his office to call in the other Heroes he had waiting on his word.

It took Hideo barely five minutes before he was back out of his office. "They've been notified, no one's notified me of any delays."

"X-Ray, you have backup en route," Izuku said evenly. "Hold the line, do not let them escape. Is there anyone injured except Nite-Lite?"

"No one else injured," X-Ray said tersely. "Back up en route heard."

Izuku muted himself again and leaned back, rubbing a face over his face. "Well, this is a shitshow," he muttered before focusing on Hideo. "So, per X-Ray there are at least fifteen more villains than the Commission projected and explosive chemicals."

"Shit," Hideo grimaced. "Ok, I'm going to update the Heroes we have en route as backup. They've gotta know they need to be careful going in there."

Izuku nodded, and Hideo disappeared back into his office. Just as his office door shut, Izuku caught sight of Nite-Lite walking in. "Nite-Lite?" He frowned. "What's going on? I thought you were with a medic?"

Her smile was a little manic. "You know the problem with being shoved to the side during a busy, busy time like this?" She asked.

"No one realizes when you're not where you're supposed to be." That answer didn't come from Izuku.

It came from behind Nite-Lite.

Dread clawing its way up his throat, Izuku kept his eyes training on the doorway, and Nite-Lite laughed as she stepped to the side to reveal what Izuku had known he would see, but had prayed he wouldn't.

Bakugou. Of course.