It had taken a long time after Touya died for Shoto to go back to the Midoriya's apartment.

It had felt too real to go there without his big brother bringing him like he always had. It had been the only reason he'd beeen willing to go the first time when he hadn't known anyone else there. Because Touya would be there.

Now he wasn't, and it would just be Shoto. It had hurt too bad.

But after spending more time with Hitoshi and Izuku at school, he'd started missing his second family. He'd still see Tenko sometimes at the end of school, and occasionally Hisashi or Inko when they came to pick their kids up.

But with the tense, solemn, and more painful then ever atmosphere of his own home, he'd started missing the peace of that small, homely apartment. Of the family that laughed and played and joked like they didn't have a care in the world. He needed an escape.

The first time he'd finally built up the courage to go over there when Izuku invited him, he'd quickly realized it wasn't quite the same over there either.

He realized that, even though it hurt him to go there without Touya, it also hurt them to see him without his big brother. He barely saw Tenko the entire time, and he knew why.

But despite that, the cozy apartment, with the warm smiles of Inko, Hisashi's remarks, and Izuku's giggles, the place still felt like home. Even though it felt like something was missing, it felt better than his own house did. It felt like finally letting out a breath of air.

So even though it always ached, he'd kept coming. He came there at least once a week now, sometimes more, and they always welcomed him. They treated him like he was part of the family. Hitoshi was often there as well. Tenko even slowly got better about coming out when he was there. It felt like things were slowly going back to normal.

Even though he knew it would never be the same.

That same ache still hit his chest, if lighter than it used to be, as he walked alone down the sidewalk towards the complex. Two years, and he still felt like he could hear the second pair of feet beside him.

He shook his head, attempting to rid himself of the thoughts, as he turned and began to search the buildings for the right number. Once he found the right door, he stepped up and knocked.

"Sho!" Izuku was the one to open the door, his wide grin and excited eyes greeting him.

Per usual, he couldn't help but give a small smile back. "Hey, Izu."

Izuku grabbed his hand and tugged him inside, shutting the door behind him. "Shoto's here!"

"Finally." A familiar purple head of hair grumbled from the couch, and it took Shoto a second to identify the body lay out flat over the cushions.

"You look dead," he said, monotone.

The head popped up above the armrest and violet, tired eyes narrowed at him. "I am."

"He's been like this since he got here," Izuku shook his head but was smiling. "If I didn't know any better I'd worry about him falling asleep by eight tonight."

With a loud groan, Hitoshi flopped back flat on the couch. "I wish."

"Go put your stuff in the bedroom," Izuku told Shoto as he started pulling his shoes off at the door. "I got Tenko to agree to sleep on the couch tonight, so you two can use the beds and I'll sleep on the floor."

Shoto raised an eyebrow at him. "But one of the bed is yours."

Izuku opened his mouth, most definitely to argue back, but Hitoshi spoke up from where he was now sitting up on the couch first. "It's useless, Sho. I already had this argument with him. He's set on this."

Shoto sighed. "Yeah, ok. Thanks, Izuku."

Izuku grinned back.

As Shoto started down the hall to put his backpack in the bedroom, he heard Izuku start pushing Hitoshi to get off the couch, apparently so he could set it up for Tenko tonight. He smiled silently.

Izuku was really too nice.

When Shoto pushed the bedroom door open, he was a bit surprised to see the room not empty, though he probably shouldn't have been. Tenko was sitting on the edge of his very unmade bed, staring down hard at a notebook. He didn't seem to have noticed Shoto come in.

Shoto watched him curiously for a second as Tenko flipped a page in the notebook, then shook his head and flipped back, mumbling something unintelligible. Shoto stepped over to Izuku's bed and saw Hitoshi's bag already by it. Assuming that meant it was claimed, he stepped over to Tenko's bed.

As he approached, he got a better look at what Tenko was reading. He realized, quickly, that it was one of Izuku's notebooks that he was always doing his analysis in. He was reading a page on the hero Eraserhead. Wasn't that the one Hitoshi and Izuku really liked?

He stepped a bit closer, just enough to see the large words, 'Quirkless Fighting Style', before Tenko finally seemed to notice him and jumped up, startled. The notebook fell to the ground, and Shoto stepped away, a bit startled himself.

"Sorry," Shoto muttered, bending down to pick the notebook back up. He blinked as he noticed it had fallen open to a page with a detailed description of All Might and theories on his quirk. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Hero nerd, he thought.

"Ah- um, you're fine," Tenko muttered back, quickly grabbing the notebook back from his hand and shutting it closed. "Sorry, must not have heard you come in."

Shoto blinked and watched as Tenko turned to slip the notebook back into the bookshelf under the nightstand by Izuku's bed.

"What were you doing?" Izuku wasn't really protective over his analysis with his family and friends, but it still seemed weird that Tenko was reading a page on Eraserhead's quirkless fighting style.

"Just looking over something," Tenko brushed the question off. As he stood back up, he glanced over at Hitoshi's stuff by Izuku's bed, then at Shoto and his backpack. "Guess you're taking my bed tonight?"

Shoto nodded. "If that's alright."

Tenko waved him off as he walked towards the door. "I don't care, that's why I'm sleeping on the couch anyways." He glanced back at him with a smirk. "Between you and me, you've got the better bed. Izuku does some gross stuff in his sleep."

Shoto couldn't help hit give a snort at that, and Tenko grinned like he'd accomplished something huge. Shoto knew that to him, he had.

Though it was never said, he knew that Tenko had made it his goal to make Shoto laugh or smile every chance he'd get, since he was usually so stoic. Especially after Touya's death.

It was one of the hardest times of Shoto's life, especially with how much more his father doubled down on him after that, so Tenko, noticing this, made it his mission to cheer Shoto up.

Starting with a joke of a nickname that had never quite died down, even after Shoto started warming back up again.

"Thanks, Tenko," Shoto said, not making clear if it was for the bed or not.

Tenko gave a mock solute. "Sure thing, Peppermint."

Tenko missed Shoto's small smile as he closed the door behind him.

After a second, Shoto turned back to the bed, scanned the mess of sheets and blankets, then sighed.

He had to start somewhere.

—-

Izuku blinked as the flour floated all around the kitchen in the air, in a white puff, slowly settling around him. In his hands was the now empty bag with the top blown out. He wasn't even sure how that had happened.

"Ack! There's flour in my eyes! I can't see!" Hitoshi yelped, stumbling backwards as he wiped at his watering eyes.

He ran into the table, knocking a water bottle over onto an icing bag, which exploded white frosting all over the wall.

At the same time, Shoto opened the oven as smoke poured out of it. Completely unfazed by the black cloud, he pulled out a pan of a completely burnt, hard as a rock, clump of batter. With a completely blank face and monotone voice, he held it out to them. "Here's dinner."

Hitoshi and Izuku both stared at him for a minute, before bursting out into laughter. Though Shoto didn't laugh, Izuku did catch a small smile on his face.

In the middle of their fit of laughter,t he three of them paused as they heard someone clear their throat to the left. They all slowly turn to see Tenko, covered in flour, glaring at the three of them like they just blew up the kitchen.

Which they might as well have.

"I left you three alone for five minutes," he grumbled through clenched teeth.

Izuku shared wide eyed looks with his friends.

Tenko sucked in a long breath, but didn't finish it before he breathed in flour and went into a coughing fit. Once he finished coughing, he groaned before looking down at his phone in his hand. Then he sighed.

"Mom and dad are on their way home."

The three ten years olds glanced at each other with even wider eyes, then around them at the flour covered, frosting splattered, smoke filled kitchen, and back at each other again.

Uh oh.

—-

"Truth or dare," Izuku asked.

"Hmm," Hitoshi pretended to contemplate his choice as he lay on his stomach on Izuku's bed, or, for tonight, his. Shoto was on the other end of the room on Tenko's bed, and Izuku was sitting on an air mattress on the ground in between them. "Dare."

Izuku grinned excitedly and glanced around. "Uh- ooh!" His grin turned mischievous. "You willing to make Tenko mad at us for the second time tonight?"

Hitoshi snickered. This oughta be good.

A few minutes later, Hitoshi was peeking his head into the living room where Tenko was sitting on top of blankets on the couch playing on his console.

He smoothed the smirk on his face before he spoke. "Hey Tenko?"

"Yea-?" Before Tenko could even look up from his game, his eyes were glazed over and his previously moving thumbs were still.

Now Hitoshi let the grin take over as giggling Izuku and curious Shoto popped out as well. "Go knock on the neighbors door and say you found their lost cat."

That went about as badly as it possibly could've.

A moment of silence for the actually lost cat.

—-

Late that night, Tenko sat on the couch in the dark living room. The apartment was quiet as the movie that was playing ended.

He glanced to his left at the red and white hair on his shoulder, then to his right at the purple hair on his other shoulder, and then forward to the green head of curls curled on his lap. Each small boy was peacefully asleep on top of him, their slow breathing coming from every side.

He couldn't even move enough to reach the remote and turn the TV off.

So he let his head fall back and huffed. Guess this was how this night ended.

As he felt something wet drip on his chest (darn it Izuku), he thought back to the night's events with an annoyed but fond huff.

These three had calmed down over the years, but they were still little gremlins. And as Izuku got more and more outgoing with pranks and things, Tenko was starting to wonder if his friends were really the best influences. Especially Hitoshi.

But, despite all the trouble they got up too, he had to admit that they were definitely his favorite ten-year-olds in the world.

He knew he'd never replace Touya, or whatever Hitoshi used to consider family, but in a way, they kinda all felt like his little brothers.

And if that wasn't proven by the fact that he let them all snore on him for the rest of the night, he didn't know what would.

He'd accepted Izuku, Hisashi, and Inko as part of his family years ago. And they were still that for him.

But, you know, there was no harm in adding one or two more to the mix.