"Okay," Keigo says as he looks around the room. "You're all set up."

"Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?" the blue haired teen asks from the bed. Nervousness shines clearly in his red eyes as he tries not to pick at the bandages around his wrist.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, the pro hero sighs. "I'm sorry, Eyas. The school's only letting me stay long enough to help you set up your dorm."

Looking around the room, a look of sadness joins nervousness. "So, I'm going to be alone again," he quietly inquires.

"It's just school, Tomura. And you're not alone," the winged hero assures. "Bakugo's next door. Izuku and Fumikage are two floors down. Shoto's one floor up. Toga's in the next building over. And Touya and I are a call away."

"It's not the same." Running gloved hands through his hair, he starts pacing in the middle of the room. "What if I mess up? Or if I forget my gloves and something happens?"

"You're afraid of hurting someone." Tomura nods. "That's why you're here; to learn how to control your power. Is that the only thing you're worried about?"

Sighing, the former villain finally looks his adoptive father in the eye. "I've done so much to hurt this class. I don't think they'll ever trust me."

"Don't be an idiot," Bakugo calls from the doorway. "Welcome to UA. We're trained to handle anything a villain can throw at us." Seeing the depressed expression on his classmates face, the blonde adds, "We also train for search and rescue missions, natural disaster response, security for political figures and celebrities, and public safety during large events. Most people don't realize that a hero's job isn't all fighting bad guys and looking cool. I'm sure Hawks could tell you all about that."

"Maybe later," Aizawa suggests. He had managed to sneak up on all of them while Bakugo was talking. "Nezu said your time's up. He wants to talk to you before you leave."

"Gotcha," Keigo responds. He stops in front of his nervous son and ruffles his hair. "You've got this, Eyas. It's just school." When Tomura refuses to meet his gaze, he insists, "Say it. It's just school."

"It's just school."

"Good boy. Look on the bright side. Your favorite hero's your homeroom teacher." A spark of joy and excitement lights up the teen's eyes. "There's my Eyas. Don't worry about what the other kids think. You're a good kid and the people who matter know that. Understand?" Tomura nods. "Good. If there's an emergency, dust the feather. I'll come flying, no questions asked. Love you, kid." He hesitates for a moment before finally following the underground hero out of the dorm.

Once the adults leave, Tomura moves to sit at his desk. He doesn't care that the perpetually angry teen is still lurking in his doorway, watching him. He expects to be watched constantly until he proves himself trustworthy. His focus is on blocking the intense urge to cut from his mind. There are few things that quiet that particular demon. Too few in comparison to the list of things that make him long for a blade.

After staring at a picture of him and Keigo for a few moments, he shakes his head and takes out a sketchbook and some pencils. Drawing has always been a good coping mechanism. It's also become a way for him to communicate the emotions All for One never taught him to convey. Touya and Keigo are usually good at interpreting his drawings. His therapist encourages him to draw or write how he's feeling regularly and share it at their weekly sessions.

The school's aware of his history, both as a victim of abuse and his history of self-harm. They've taken precautions. His dorm doesn't have a lock on it. He's not allowed to have any sharp items unsupervised. All of the knives in the kitchen are in a locked drawer equipped with biometric activated quirk inhibitors so that he can't just disintegrate the lock.

He's also been invited to group therapy with a few of his classmates and teacher. That starts on Thursday after class. He has four days to decide on if he'll actually go or not. Eraserhead thinks it would be a good idea, but it's not required.

"That's creepy," Bakugo comments. Tomura hadn't noticed him approach while he was drawing. He doesn't say anything when he looks over his shoulder at the blonde. "Is that the grim reaper or something?"

Looking back to the picture, Tomura examines the dark figure looming over a crying child. "It's me," is all he can force himself to say before closing the journal. "Do you know where Izuku is? Or Shoto? I didn't see him when I got here."

"Icy Hot visits his mother on his days off. He should be back soon, though." Bakugo turns towards the door, motioning the ex-villain to follow him. "Deku's downstairs. Sunday night's movie night and it's Jirou's turn to pick, so expect something scary."

"Last time it was her turn we watched 'The Ring'," Ashido excitedly informs as they join her waiting for the elevator.

Putting on a tough guy act so see through not even Tomura believed him, Kirishima proclaims, "I wasn't scared! What's so scary about a ghost girl? We live with Hagakure!"

"Uh-huh," Bakugo's expression shifts to a strange mix of amusement and predatory danger as he moves to hold the red-head's chin. "Says the guy who's been sleeping in my bed for the last two months because he was too scared to be alone."

"So cute," Tsu comments from the elevator. "Hello, Shigaraki."

The nervousness that had started to dissipate quickly returns as he and his classmates board the elevator. Staring at the floor in an attempt to avoid any chance of eye contact with the frog themed girl, he timidly corrects, "It's actually 'Takami' now."

The few seconds of silence caused by his statement seem to stretch on for hours before Tsu says, "Okay, Takami. I go by 'Tsu', just 'Tsu'. Or 'Froppy' if we're doing hero stuff."

"Isn't 'Takami' Hawks' family name?" Mina asks.

Leaning closer to Tomura, Bakugo whispers, "She's not the brightest. Give her a minute and she'll figure it out."

As they exit the elevator on the first floor, the pink teen gasps like she just solved a huge mystery, "It's because he adopted you! That's why you changed your name."

"Told you. Looks like Deku saved you a spot."

Sure enough, Tomura's cousin had saved him a spot. It's easier to relax with Izuku nearby. He feels as safe with him as he does with his dads. The last of his nerves calm when Jirou makes a show of flipping off the lights and shutting the blackout curtains, blocking the last rays of sunlight behind a sheet of black.

"Ladies, gaybies, and theybies, tonight we'll be watching the 'Insidious' series!" She turns to their teacher, who is curled up on the end of the other couch with his son and cat. "The age rating is PG-13." He just nods. "Prepare to be terrified."

The first movie wasn't very scary to the former villain. Being raised by All for One makes jump scares and ghost stories seem like child's play. The second movie got to him. The ghost's backstory hit too close to home. It was unnerving enough for the jump scares to actually startle him. At some point, he wound up in his cousin's arms, hiding from the scary scenes against Izuku's shoulder. He fell asleep halfway through the third movie.

The smoke tickles Tomura's lungs as he looks around the room, searching for a door or window he can escape through. All he finds are mirrors so tall he can't see the top of them. So many mirrors. When he stops to try and catch his breath, he looks at his reflection. It's hazy through the smoke slowly filling the room, but he can clearly see the bruise on his neck. The dark handprint stands out against his pale skin.

Fear spikes in the back of his mind when a cage rises on a platform behind him. It's just barely big enough for the calico kitten sleeping inside. The cat is so small she would fit in the palm of his hand. Familiar dread settles in the pit of Tomura's stomach as the door of the cage slowly swings open.

"Time for your lesson, Tomura," Master's voice echoes.

Shaking his head, Tomura presses his forehead against the cold glass of the mirror before him. "No. Please don't make me."

"Destroy it."

"I-" he coughs from the quickly thickening smoke. "I can't!"

"Of course you can. You've done it before."

Shaking his head, the scared teen drops to his knees. "I can't. Please, Master."

In a powerful gust of wind, the smoke clears. The mirrors disappear and Tomura can't find the walls. Two bright lights click on. One spotlight is focused on the caged kitten. The other on two people. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the new setting. When he can finally make out the two figures, he can't hold back his scream.

In the second spotlight is All for One holding a barely conscious Keigo by one of his bright red wings. The hero looks like he's been hit by several trains and a brick wall. There's so much blood.

"I'll give you a choice, Tomura," All for One offers. "Destroy it, or I'll rip off your precious bird's wings."

"N-no," he begs the villain. Tears stream down his cheeks as All for One starts counting down from five. He can't move, only beg. When the menace to society finishes counting, he shrugs. "NOOOOOOOOO!" the teen cries out as he can't do anything to stop his former abuser from pressing his boot to the center of the pro hero's back and pull. There's a sickening rip and pop of flesh being torn and bone being pulled from it's joint before the detached wing lands in something wet on the floor. Keigo's scream quickly dies down to a pitiful whimper and pained chirps.

"Oh look at this," All for One chuckles. "He has one wing left. This time, you get until the count of three."

"Don't do it," Keigo gasps out before coughing up a mouthful of blood. "M-my wings'll gr-grow back." He lifts his head enough to show his son the defiance in his gold eyes. "You can-can't reverse decay."

"Time's up, Tomura."

The petrified teen can't move. He couldn't follow the order if he wanted to. The horrifying process repeats. Flesh rips. Bones pop. Keigo screams. Tomura's breathing so heavily, but all he's inhaling is thick smoke.

Tomura wakes up gasping and gagging in his own bed. He barely makes it to the small trash can by his desk before emptying the contents of his stomach. Images of his adoptive father lying in a pool of blood, his severed wings limp on either side of him, lurk in the back of his mind. He contemplates dusting the feather braided into his hair before deciding that a nightmare isn't an emergency.

Instead, he cleans himself up, disposes of the bag lining his trash can and its contents, and makes his way down to the common area on the first floor. His hope for solitude is dashed when he sees one of his classmates sitting at the long table in the dining room. Being as quiet as possible, he sneaks into the kitchen. Not hearing anyone following him, he sets to searching for the kettle to make some tea.

"Second cabinet from the fridge, top shelf," Sero says from the door. Seeing the ex-villain's confusion and slight anxiety, he adds, "A lot of us find it easier to calm down with a hot cup of tea. We keep the kettle out of sight, though, because of Todoroki's history. Last time he saw it, he freaked out so bad we had to call Midnight to sedate him." The room is relatively silent while Tomura retrieves the kettle. When he sets some water to boil, Sero asks, "Did the movie scare you?"

Tomura shakes his head, "I've seen worse than ghosts."

"Bad dream, then?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm a curious person and you were out cold when Tokoyami took you back to your dorm." He's silent for another few seconds before asking, "What was your dream about?"

"Again, why do you want to know?"

"It's hard to believe anything scares the guy that was raised by evil incarnate. So, what made your dream so scary?"

"'Evil incarnate'?" Tomura laughs humorlessly. "That's a good description for that bastard. He used to make me use my power on small animals. Did you know that?"

A look of sadness falls over the dark-haired teen. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that."

"He always gave me a choice. The animal or Kurogiri."

"Is that what your dream was about?"

Tomura shakes his head. "It was Keigo in my dream. The man who saved me or a kitten I had no connection to." Tearful red raises to meet horrified black. "I couldn't move so All for One ripped off his wings."

"That's horrible," Sero breathes. Tomura flinches, closing his eyes in fear, when his classmate gently wipes his tears away. "It's never going to happen, though. All for One is locked up in Tartarus. Nobody escapes from there."

"He could." He didn't realize he was scratching at the bandages until he felt them turn to dust. "Shit! Is – uh – is there a first aid kit in here somewhere?"

The shocked student stares wide eyed at the cuts and scars littering Tomura's arm. While he tries to stutter out a response, a dark purple portal opens behind him. Through it steps his teacher and ex-villain Kurogiri. Even in cat pajamas and without the purple mist, he looks intimidating to the startled teen.

The blue-haired man only looks at Sero for a moment before his gold eyes lock onto Tomura's arm. He pulls Tomura's gloves from one small portal and a first aid kit from another. Staring at the floor, Tomura allows Oboro to put the gloves on his hands before examining the wounds.

"They're all old," he assures. "I just dusted the bandages. It was an accident."

Smirking the warper starts carefully wrapping fresh bandages around the boy's wounded arm. "I wouldn't say a week is old. I'm just glad I'm only wrapping bandages and not cleaning up blood this time. Did you make a new friend?"

"Uh, I-Im Sero Hanta, s-sir," Sero introduces, slight fear adding half an octave to his voice. The kettle whistling startles both teens. Moving the kettle off the burner and turning off the stove, Sero retrieves four cups. "What kind of tea do you guys want?" he asks as he retrieves the box Momo keeps the tea bags organized in.

Once everyone has their preferred tea, Tomura explains his dream to his former caretaker. Explaining the disturbing dream to the adults is much more difficult than when he had explained it to his classmate only moments prior. His racing pulse echoes in his ears when Oboro suggests he tell his therapist at their next meeting. The thought of talking about it again scares him more than the dream itself.

He again starts unconsciously scratching at his bandaged wrist before Sero grabs his hand. His attempt to pull away fails when his classmate tightens his grip. Tomura's fearful red eyes look between Sero and their hands before his classmate says, "Stay here. Don't scratch."

"Where are you going?" Aizawa inquires as his student races out of the room.

"Cuddle puddle," is his only response.

Both newcomers are confused. They look at each other before turning to the very tired teacher. "It's something the kids do when one of them needs more comfort than any one person can provide. It's how they've learned to cope with everything they've been through and the trauma some of them grew up with."

Before long, students start migrating from their dorms to the common area. Izuku and Kirishima move the couches out of the way. The girls set up pillows and blankets in the middle of the room. Momo makes stuffies that she hands out to everyone. While the more exhausted members of 1-A curl up with each other and go back to sleep, Sero returns to Tomura.

"Come on. Cuddle puddles are mandatory," he informs, half dragging the nervous teen towards the group.

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Tomura argues before Sero pulls him down to sit between him and Todoroki.

"I didn't think it was a good idea my first time either," Shoto states. "It's actually pretty nice, though. There's no judgment in the puddle. If you want to talk, we're all here to listen. If you want to cry, there's no shortage of shoulders to cry on."

A familiar pair of arms wrap around his waist as a feathered head rests on his shoulder. Tomura doesn't have to look to know that his adoptive brother is holding him. Dark Shadow curls up in his lap, nuzzling against his stomach in a silent request for pets. "Even Dark Shadow and Mineta behave during cuddle puddles."

Carefully petting the shadow creature in his lap, Tomura asks, "Do I have to talk?"

"No," his brother answers. "But it helps."

"Maybe later."

He doesn't fight the exhaustion of the late hour seeping into his mind. He doesn't fight his brother pulling him down to join his classmates in the pile of sleeping bodies. He doesn't mind being surrounded by people as the sound of Fumikage's steady heartbeat fills his ears and lulls him to sleep. He feels safe for the first time since arriving at UA.

Miles away, Keigo's phone dings. He sleepily reaches across his fiancé to check it. One new text from Kurogiri. "Cuddle puddle. So cute." It reads. A few seconds later, the phone dings again. A picture of his sons, his fiancé's younger brother, and a few of their classmates all sound asleep in a pile on the floor.

"Adorable," he responds before settling back down beside Touya and going back to sleep.