Taking a shower later that day, Izuku nearly had a heart attack when he realized that the random man he'd had sex with hadn't used a condom. It nearly sent him into a breakdown all over again, but he steeled himself against it and mechanically cleaned himself out, forcing himself to think about other things as he did. Unfortunately, the only "other thing" that came to mnd was his amazing, loving boyfriend.

He ended up crying his eyes out anyway.

(x)

Katsuki stared down at his phone, frowning at the texts he had open. He hadn't heard from Deku in three days, and it was starting to worry him. He had already texted him twice asking if he was alright, but since Deku didn't have the read recipients on, Katsuki couldn't tell if he'd even seen the messages. They had never gone this long without talking before, not even in their

childhood when they hadn't really been friends. At least then they were in the same class, so they always saw each other no matter what. Now in college, and majoring in different subjects no less, it took a bit more effort to try and see each other.

Effort that Deku wasn't making, anymore.

Katsuki stood up from his bed and stormed out of his room, marching into the living room. Kirishima was sitting there playing a video game on their flatscreen, but when he saw the stormy expression on Katsuki's face, he immediately hit the pause button and took his headphones off. "Hey man, what's going on? You look like you're about to murder me. I used headphones this time, there's no way you could've heard my game!"

Katsuki plopped down in the seat next to Kirishima, crossing his arms and sliding down until his back was nearly parallel with the couch cushions. "Deku hasn't texted me in three days."

Kirishima winced a bit, clearing his throat. "Oh. Well, did you ask him what was wrong?"

"I tried, but he won't answer me! I don't want to text him again and seem clingy or some shit!" Katsuki closed his eyes, stewing in his anger and worry. He heard Kirishima shift a bit, and then the sound of the xbox powering off. He was in this conversation for the long haul, it seemed.

"Well... maybe try going over to his house," Kirishima suggested. "Or ask his friends if they've heard anything from him. He might be sick or something. Did... did you do anything to piss him off?"

Katsuki couldn't even muster enough energy to be mad at the accusation. "No, not that I can think of. He's been really fucking weird since that party he went to, and I can't figure out why."

"He could just be stressed." Kirishima slumped back in his own seat until he was just as far down as Katsuki was. "I really think you should try and see him and see what he has to say. You're probably worrying about nothing."

"Maybe," Katsuki said doubtfully. He sat up again, pulling his phone back out of his pocket. "I'm texting Round Face."

Kirishima sat up as well, leaning over Bakugou's shoulder to watch him type.

Katsuki: Oi, Round Face. Deku's been MIA, have you heard from him?

A few moments later, three little round dots began bouncing on the screen. Uraraka was typing.

Round Face: no, i actually haven't! i've been busy with this girl i met and classes, so i haven't seen him... he hasn't texted me at all

Katsuki resisted the urge to comment on her lack of proper grammar, instead sending her a response.

Katsuki: Alright, I'm gonna ask Half n Half.

He did as promised, switching out of his text conversation with Uraraka and to his hardly-used one with Todoroki.

Katsuki: Hey dumbass. Have you heard from Deku at all?

Peppermint Patty: No, I have not. I was thinking about asking you the same question. Hanta says he has not heard from him, either.

Whereas Uraraka's texting wasn't grammatical enough, IcyHot's was too grammatical. Would it kill the guy to use some conjunctions?

Peppermint Patty: I have now spoken with Uraraka. We know you have a class soon, so she and I will head over to his apartment and speak with him. We will let you know what he says.

Katsuki was aggravated, but he knew IcyHot was right. He did have a class in the next twenty minutes, one in which he had a pretty serious exam. He couldn't skip it, no matter how much he may have wanted to. He growled a bit, but still texted Todoroki back.

Katsuki: Fine. Let me know. I'm fucking worried about him or whatever. Peppermint Patty: I will be sure to let him know. I will talk to you later.

Katsuki locked and pocketed his phone, gritting his teeth. He supposed that all he could do now was sit and wait for one of Deku's friends to text him back; or if he was lucky, Deku himself. Until then, he would just have to stew in his anxieties.

(x)

Izuku opened his eyes to a knock on his dorm room door, squinting a bit through the soreness. He'd spent the past few days crying, wondering what he was going to tell Kacchan about what he had done the night of the party. Not only that, but he had been feeling weird and empty since it happened, like some vital part of himself was now missing. It wasn't a nice feeling.

He lifted his head when another knock came to the door, groaning a bit. He forced himself to get up, holding his blanket around him like a cocoon. He didn't bother to check the peephole before he opened the door, and he immediately regretted it. Uraraka and Todoroki were standing there, looking happy and stone-faced, respectively. Uraraka took one look at him and her smile melted, turning into a fretful look. "Oh, Deku-kun, are you sick? We've been worried about you!"

"Oh, I-" Izuku stuttered, but was cut off when Uraraka floated into the room past him. Todoroki followed after her, shrugging a bit when he and Izuku made eye contact. Uraraka surveyed the room with a frown on her face, taking in the pile of used tissues in the garbage bin next to his bed, his rumpled bed sheets, and the closed curtains that made the room dark. She turned around again and frowned at him.

"Deku, what's going on?"

And just like that, Izuku couldn't take it anymore. His knees gave out from under him and he landed on the ground, hard . The sudden jarring movement made the tears he'd already been holding back jolt out of his eyes, and he began to sob. He pulled his blanket around him tighter, turning his face downward to try and hide his sadness from his friends. It didn't work of course, and soon Uraraka and Todoroki joined him on the floor, one on either side.

"Midoriya!" Todoroki said, touching his hand to Izuku's left shoulder. "What's going on? I- I haven't seen you like this since your favourite character in that superhero show died!"

Izuku began to cry harder at the memory of Sir Nighteye's death in the All Might show. He heard Uraraka smack Todoroki, hissing something about making it worse under her breath. A moment later, she too touched his right shoulder, leaning in until Izuku could smell her strawberry shampoo. "Deku... seriously, you need to tell us what's wrong. Whatever happened, it isn't healthy to hold it all inside like this."

Izuku peeled his eyes open and looked at his friends, sniffling the moisture out of his nose. "I- I did something really terrible, you guys. Really, really terrible."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think," Uraraka soothed, rubbing his back.

Izuku took a deep breath, holding it as he looked her square in the eyes. "I... I cheated on Kacchan."

Izuku had never heard a phrase as accurate as "being able to hear a pin drop," but it really seemed to be true at that moment. The room got so quiet that he was sure for a moment that his friends had just been a figment of his imagination. But no, they were still there on either side of him, both of them looking at him like he'd grown a second head. He supposed he understood where they were coming from. Everybody and their mother knew how in love with Kacchan he was, and the thought of cheating on him had never even occurred to him before. He was sure it had never occurred to them, either.

"You what?" Todoroki asked, his voice cold. Izuku winced, biting his lower lip. Todoroki had a bit of history with cheating- not that he'd ever been cheated on, but rather that his father had been a scumbag who cheated on his mom multiple times throughout their marriage, as well as hit her and abused her in other ways. One day when he was six years old, the woman had a mental breakdown and poured boiling hot water on his face. She'd lived in a mental hospital ever since then, and as far as Izuku knew, she wasn't getting out anytime soon.

"I..." Izuku whispered, but his throat clogged up. He couldn't even finish the sentence, he was so ashamed. In the next moment Todoroki was standing up, his fists clenched at his sides so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"How could you do that to him?" The boy asked, his voice raising with every word. "Do you know how worried about you he's been? He actually voluntarily texted me to ask if I'd heard from you! And you- you cheated on him? Are you serious?"

"Todoroki-" Uraraka tried, but was quickly cut off when Todoroki glared at her.

"I don't want to hear it," he snapped. "I'm leaving. I don't want to be around him right now." With that, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Izuku flinched with the loud noise, squeezing his eyes shut again so that he wouldn't have to look at Uraraka's face. He was so sure that she was going to follow Todoroki and leave him all alone to wallow in his misery, and honestly, he wasn't sure if he wanted her to stay or not. Some part of him knew that he deserved to feel like shit, deserved to be yelled at, but another part of him desperately wanted some comfort right now.

Uraraka began rubbing his back again, causing his shoulders to sag with relief. "Why don't we sit on the bed and you can tell me what happened?" she asked quietly.

The two of them sat on Izuku's bed, perpendicular to each other with Izuku against the wall at the head of the bed, and Uraraka against the wall on the side. She reached down and began rubbing gentle circles over his bare ankle, and Izuku felt like he might cry from her support alone.

"What happened, Izuku?" She asked, using his given name for perhaps the first time in years. Izuku kept his gaze down at the bed, embarrassed about his situation and afraid of what look might be in Uraraka's eyes.

"I don't want to go into detail," he croaked. "But... at that party a few days ago, I... I hooked up with some guy."

Ochako was silent for a moment while she thought this over. "Why did you do that?"

"I don't know!" Izuku cried, finally meeting his friend's gaze. She seemed surprised at his vehemence, but once the shock wore off, she just looked sympathetic. Almost pitying. "I don't know why I did it, Ochako! I love Kacchan, I love him so much!" He buried his face in his hands, tears beginning to fall once more. How he still had any tears left was beyond him. "How could I do this to him? I'm such an awful person!"

"Deku, no," Uraraka said, scooting forward until she could pull Izuku into a hug. "You're not an awful person, you- you just made a mistake. I'm not going to lie and say that everything will be alright, because I really do think you have to tell Bakugou-kun what you did. If he did something like this, you would want to know too, wouldn't you?"

He nodded his head miserably. "Yeah... I know I have to tell him, I just..." he squeezed her a bit harder. "I just don't want to break his heart, 'Chako."

"I know honey," Ochako murmured, petting his greasy hair. He hadn't taken a shower since right after the party three days ago, and his hair was beginning to show it. "I know, but you have to. You're my friend, but Bakugou-kun is my friend, too. This is going to hurt him, and it will no doubt continue to hurt you, but it isn't doing either of you any good for you to shut yourself in here and ignore him until he worries himself sick over you."

Izuku sighed, nodding his head. He pulled away from Uraraka and wiped his eyes. "I'll... I'll tell him. I'll tell him tomorrow, I just- I have to think about what I'm going to say."

Ochako smiled at him, although it seemed a little forced and brittle. "I'll stay with you tonight and help you, okay? I love you Deku, no matter what you've done."

Izuku smiled back at her, just as forced and a little sad. "Thank you, 'Chako. I love you, too." He fell asleep that night wrapped in Ochako's arms, dreading what was to come tomorrow.