Attempt 3: Son

Despite his disgruntlement at still being employed at Endeavor's Agency, Izuku couldn't help but hum along with the music as he filled out his current paperwork. The triplets from accounting (whom everyone called The Pillar Men for some reason Izuku didn't understand) were on vacation, meaning he could focus on one of the few actual analytical tasks he did. Honestly, these things were the only pleasant parts of working here. It was what he was supposedly hired for, after all.

One odd thing Izuku did notice, though, was how…off everyone was. Everyone was doing their work, but they were all noticeably tense, like they were waiting for something. A few were even glancing at the doors periodically. Were they expecting someone? Izuku hadn't heard anything, but then again he rarely learned much from his desk (which he also usually ate lunch at). Before he could get someone's attention to ask, the doors slid open, and Izuku's jaw dropped.

Todoroki Shouto. The man who won silver medals in both his first and second years at UA. The man with an incredible ice quirk, despite being the son of the flaming Endeavor. Due to him not choosing a hero name prior to graduating UA, he had earned the title "The Unnamed Hero." Izuku had heard he went off to an American University, but never knew what happened after that. Maybe he came to help out his dad?

The heterochromatic man looked around the office with a flat expression. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say it was as icy as his quirk. As he walked towards Endeavor's office, all the other sidekicks greeted him. He didn't respond to any of them. Izuku had to refrain from geeking out as he passed his desk. He wanted to analyze Shouto's quirk so bad, but had to hold back. He watched the hero knock on Endeavor's door before entering.

…Maybe Izuku could use him to get fired?

—

Izuku spent the next week studying and watching Todoroki Shouto. For the most part, the hero went on patrol with his father. He couldn't watch the guy during those times, so Izuku paid special attention to any time he was at the office. Izuku noted Shouto was quiet and standoffish, but not purposefully rude. He never used his status as Endeavor's son to exert any authority, either. If anything, he was just as socially awkward as Midoriya was.

And that was quite weird to realize.

As for his quirk, Izuku found himself floored at the displays of power. Izuku got to watch his practice in the underground training room, and saw him create literal glaciers in the room. It was intense. No wonder he made it through UA's hero course.

The next clue for Izuku's next attempt at getting fired sprung up almost a week after Shouto joined the agency. He was bringing a file on a villain they were hunting to Endeavor, and accidentally overheard a 'discussion' between Endeavor and his son.

"This has gone long enough, Shouto," Endeavor growled. Oh, that was not a good growl. "I let you go all the way through UA using half your power, but you can't keep going like this."

"I can and I will," Shouto tersely replied. "Like you said, I made it through UA without using your fire, I can keep being a hero without it."

"No you can't! Your ice is not enough!"

"Then I'll make it enough." With that, Shouto stormed out of the office, almost hitting Izuku with the door. The green man just stared in confusion.

"...Your fire?"

—

Izuku watched Shouto for a few more days, trying to see what Endeavor was talking about. Izuku had never seen Shouto do anything remotely fire-related. If anything, he seemed to hate fire with a burning passion.

…Okay, maybe not the best wording.

As this thought went through his mind, Izuku happened to bump into the man in question. It was like walking into a wall with how Izuku practically bounced off the taller man. Shouto himself didn't even budge. He just watched as Izuku staggered back a bit.

"...You alright?" he asked.

"Dang, man, what you been eating?" Izuku asked as he rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine."

"...Are you a hero?"

"Not even close," Izuku sighed. "I just work for them. Analysis, accounting when the triplets don't feel like doing it, paperwork like that." There was an awkward silence, neither man moving for a few seconds. "Umm, if you don't mind, I gotta ask. A few days back I heard you and Endeavor say something about a…fire side to your quirk?"

"...Did he put you up to this?" Shouto glared.

"Who? Endeavor?" Izuku gave a nervous chuckle. "Nah, nothing to do with him. I like analyzing quirks, and I've been wanting to ask about yours since UA but never got the chance."

"You went to UA?"

"Gen Ed. So, can I ask about it?" There was another silence before Shouto sighed and gestured for Izuku to follow him to a room. Clearly what he had to say was too important to speak about in a hallway. The hero pulled the analyst into one of the break rooms, locking the door behind him before they both sat at a nearby table.

"I can control ice," Shouto explained, "through my right side. I can also control fire through my left side, but I've sworn never to use it."

"Why not?" Izuku asked with genuine curiosity. "I mean, I can think of so many ways a combo quirk like that could do so much good. Not to mention using fire would have-"

"I will never use my father's fire." Shouto's expression turned hateful as he said this. Seeing Izuku's confusion only deepen, Shouto sighed. "What do you know about quirk marriages?"

"I know they break at least seven different laws, twelve if you're in America." Shouto let the silence stay a bit, and Izuku's eyes widened. "No."

"Yes."

With that affirmation, Shouto delved into the tale of his life. How his father practically purchased his mother. Made her bear three other children before Shouto was born. Forced him into training that amounted to abuse and torture. Then finishing with the incident involving his mother and the scar on his face. Izuku listened in silence, his face revealing his shock and horror.

"...and that is why I'm sworn to never use his fire," Shouto finished. "I refuse to let him win, or do what he wants."

"...Todoroki," Izuku finally spoke up, "I can sympathize. I can. What you went through was not okay. Not remotely fine at all. But at the same time, what you're doing to yourself isn't good either."

"What I'm doing to myself?"

"Limiting yourself. Using only half your quirk isn't healthy for you or the people you're saving. I noticed during the Sport's Festivals back at UA that you could only use your ice for so long before you suffered hypothermia. That means you'd need to use your fire side to maintain your temperature, just like you'd have to use your ice to counter the heat from your fire side."

"Doesn't matter," Shouto growled. "I am not going to use his fire quirk at all."

"But what if your foe can control ice?" Izuku was starting to get agitated. "What if they can use acoustics? Fire? Anything that can counter your ice, what will you do?"

"I'll think of something but I won't use his fire. Nothing will change that."

"Not even watching civilians die?" Izuku growled. That made Todoroki stop talking, giving Izuku the chance to continue. "Think about the villain Ice Lord. Controls ice. Back in his prime, he could freeze an entire city block in seconds. Encase hundreds of people in ice in seconds. Those people have under a minute before they die from the cold and from suffocation. You're the only person who can help before then. Are you willing to let hundreds of people die just because you refuse to use your fire?"

"I'll get someone else!" Shouto yelled, standing up and slamming his hands on the table. "Anyone else can do it, but I will never use what that man gave me."

"So you're saying you would let all those people die because of your daddy issues!" Izuku screamed back, also getting to his feet. "I bet that'll go over so well at their funerals! 'I'm sorry for your loss, I just decided my personal issues were more important than your husband's life!' Or their wife! Their children! You'd become a hero with a civilian body count because you can't be bothered to actually try!"

"Well why don't you try, then!?" Shouto hollered. "If you think you could do better-"

"I CAN'T BECAUSE I'M FUCKING QUIRKLESS!" Izuku's roar shut Todoroki right up. "For my entire childhood I wanted to be a hero! I wanted to help people however I could, but literally everyone in my entire life told me it was impossible! They would beat it into me, destroy my stuff, tell me to kill myself cuz I was a waste of space! I even had the fucking ALL MIGHT HIMSELF tell me it couldn't be done! So to see you sit there and practically brag about how you won't use your full power practically spits in the face of everything I've suffered just to be allowed to live!"

"I won't use his-"

"IT'S YOUR FUCKING QUIRK, YOU SCAR-FACED ASSHAT!" Izuu took a few breaths in silence before continuing. "Can Endeavor control your quirk? Wave his hand and make you fart flames? Can your mother snap her fingers and make your ice side activate? No! That means your quirk is your goddamn quirk you half-assing frog humper!" Now Izuku was almost heaving for breath as Shouto just stared in abject shock. After another minute, Izuku stood straight and glared at Todoroki Shouto.

"If you're willing to let civvies die for the sake of your daddy issues, find another job." He stormed out the door, barely avoiding the group of sidekicks who had been eavesdropping. He was too angry to stop, but he also saw Endeavor standing with the crowd. Was he listening in? Good, he could fire Izuku later for yelling at his little masterpiece. Right now, he was clocking out. It was his weekend and he needed to drown his rage in a big steaming bowl of katsudon.

—

Izuku came in the after the weekend, still feeling some traces of anger from the prior week. The sidekicks gave him sidelong glances as he walked to his desk. Maybe his last act before getting fired would be making Endeavor his mug of biohazard.

"Midoriya."

Izuku turned and saw Todoroki looking down at him. Gone was the cold indifference from his expression. Now he looked mildly nervous. Despite that nervousness, Izuku felt himself get a bit more annoyed just seeing him.

"What?"

"...I'm sorry."

"...Huh?" That was something Izuku never expected to hear out of Todoroki's mouth. Ever. So hearing it all of the sudden, and early on a Monday, almost shut down Izuku's brain. Shouto took his silence as consent to continue.

"I thought about everything you told me last week. It was a bitter thing to think about, but…you were right. I shouldn't have yelled at you for speaking the truth. I shouldn't insult what you went through by not giving it my all. I'm sorry." Izuku was still too tired to reply, so Todoroki nodded and hustled back to Endeavor's office. Everyone else in the agency watched him leave, then turned to look at Izuku. He, in turn, looked back at them with some minor annoyance.

"...If you're not gonna say anything, piss off," he grumbled before turning his computer on. It appeared that even yelling at the son of the Agency Lead wasn't enough to get fired. He'd have to think of something else to…dammit Endeavor probably wanted his morning biohazard.

With a sigh, Izuku got up and spent the few minutes needed to make the liquefied crime against humanity (he refused to even consider it coffee). In a half-hearted hope, he grabbed a second mug for Shouto and filled it up. Maybe if his son spat the beverage out Endeavor would get serious. He made it into Endeavor's office after getting around 75% awake, and was surprised to see the two heroes just sitting at a table. the 20-year-old analyst guessed they were talking and he stepped in during a lull. Without a word, he set the two mugs down and walked back to the door. He could hear the two men sipping the demonic drink.

"...This is good coffee," Shouto stated.

"Dammit," the green-haired man groaned as he exited the office.

Notes:

attempt 3: failure