Shouta manages to escort the vigilantes to his house. They come to an understanding about what is expected. Shouta starts to learn a few interesting details about the vigilantes. And they get ready for dinner.

The specialists arrived and went about their business within the next hour, during which Shouta had absconded to get a quick shower and update Hizashi on the plan. His husband had already gone to ask for help from a few other teachers to help clear out the spare bedroom the two had turned into a storage room, because Shouta had a sneaking suspicion the duo would both refuse to sleep apart and also refuse to stay in the nurse's office for a second longer than they had to.

He was, unfortunately, correct, as once the help that Chiyo had dragooned in had left, she'd sent Himiko to tell him that the duo were being…frustrating, and if Chiyo was saying that she meant it. Himiko had an annoyed furrow to her brow as well, the blonde student more snippy than Shouta had seen in quite some time, so he could already tell Specter and Zero were really pushing people's buttons. It had taken some significant effort to convince the duo to agree to return daily so Chiyo could check on them, but with that agreement she reluctantly agreed to letting them leave with Shouta.

Luckily for him, Ectoplasm had been around and he made clearing rooms a breeze, and Shouta mentally added a note to get something nice for Ectoplasm as thanks. Of course…now he had to somehow get those two to his home before Chiyo killed them herself. That or Himiko stabbed one of them. He'd brought back a couple more tracksuits for them to change into, since the gowns Chiyo had put them in wouldn't be good enough. Now came the hard part…them actually getting changed.

He knew better than to offer help, and so did Chiyo. Himiko still tried but was rebuffed, albeit this time they were at least tactful (for once) about it. He just waited outside the office, wincing internally as he heard their muffled grunts of pain as they tried to help the other into the tracksuits. Still, he kept his face perfectly blank when they exited the office, not wanting to let them see his concern.

But they sure were testing his self control on that. Specter was pale, incredibly so, with bloodshot eyes and was barely shuffling along. Zero wasn't much better, her face flushed as she bit her lip. He could also see some minor disagreement between them…she had crutches, and was using one, trying to hold Specter's hand in her other, but the boy kept trying to make her lean on him (like an idiot considering his abdominal wound), but she kept refusing, supporting herself purely with her crutch (also pretty stupid to only use the one, but she clearly wanted to keep ahold of Specter).

He tried to make it less obvious he was walking slowly as he escorted them to the employee parking lot, but they noticed. He imagined if it wasn't too painful, they'd try to speed up to force him to keep pace, but as it was, the moment either of them tried it was obvious how poorly it would go…not to mention they were too busy checking in on one another to push that much. Shouta made sure to take note of this; the biggest weakness they had to the prickly layers of barbs and silent pushback was clearly one another.

Once they were in his car, both teenagers in the backseat, he began the drive home. He didn't live far away, but there was still enough time to try talking to them about a couple of things. "Specter, mind if I ask a question?"

"...sure. And…you can just call me Izuku," the teenager murmured, the dark bags under his eyes starkly visible in the rearview mirror as he leaned heavily against Zero.

Shouta nodded. "Alright. You two can call me Shouta then. Zero, do you have a preference?"

"Ochako," she replied, any further reply cut off by a yawn. He could sympathize with them; forced unconsciousness from injury and/or Nemuri's Quirk was very different from actual rest, and when you added Chiyo's power atop of it, he imagined both of them were wrung out, mentally and emotionally as well as physically. Still…

"Would you be alright if Bakugo visited you tomorrow?" Shouta watched as Spec, no, Izuku's eyes went wide with confusion at first, as if he didn't recognize the name, before his expression shifted slightly, the dazed confusion sharpening into a more contemplative look.

"Why?"

Shouta shrugged, turning left. "He was very worried about you. Had to spend a good amount of time convincing him to return to the dorms, and he's going to want to see you once he knows you're on your feet."

He didn't react to what little he could see in the rearview mirror, but watching Izuku's expression was fascinating. It was like his exhaustion couldn't quite let him keep his emotional walls up, because he looked both terrified and happy in equal measures. Shouta imagined he actually felt some modicum of joy that his best friend cared so much, while also hating the idea simultaneously.

There were a few moments of that silent communication between the duo…Shouta's sharp eyes finally caught onto the trick this time, the way they would tap on the back of the other's hand to fill in the gaps. A silent code system, made sense. Lots of underground heroes had similar tricks they'd use during missions, especially ones where they were teaming with other heroes. There was a standard system of hand signs that heroes got taught, but only really got used by those in the underground work, since limelight could more easily directly communicate. Still, it was nice seeing how they did it. He didn't pay too much attention to it; while he'd like to know what they were saying, trust was more important, so he wasn't going to try and decipher it just yet. Let them have their privacy.

After a few moments, Izuku cleared his throat. "Um…yeah, sure, I can talk to him tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll have him come home with me tomorrow after classes then. Anyways, here's the deal; we cleared out a room for you two. We didn't have time to get a full bed, but we have a futon we put down for you. It's a nice one, I've napped on it plenty of times."

"We'll be fine, Eras-uh…Shouta," Ochako reassured, cutting herself off midway as she tried to adjust to the name change. She shook her head. "It's fine."

Shouta nodded absently. "That's fine. Other than that, feel free to use whatever you need to. Fridge is stocked up, and I can trust you two not to burn the place down, since Chiyo would like the two of you to just stay put for a couple days to recover before she tries her Quirk again. Now, I have another question: would you two be alright watching Eri tomorrow as well?"

Izuku narrowed his eyes in the mirror, but not in an aggressive way, more like he was thinking. "Why us?"

"Truth be told, we've been running ourselves ragged to keep her safe. She doesn't feel secure with strangers, so the staff has been taking turns watching her while the rest of us teach our classes. But we'd like to let her also have some time to just relax at home rather than dragging her back and forth. If you two can keep an eye on her while you rest a bit, we take care of both issues," Shouta spoke candidly, preferring to be as blunt and upfront as possible, something he figured they'd be on board with.

Another moment of the two of them doing their silent communication, before Ochako nodded. "Yeah, we can do that. What if her Quirk turns on though?"

"Just back away from her and call me, I'll leave one of my phones behind. She has a Quirk suppressing bracelet which she can put on to temporarily cut it off, at her request, but she'd yet to need it since the first night. Besides that, I trust you two can handle yourselves," Shouta didn't let it change his expression when he saw the duo preen slightly at his confidence in them, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. He imagined it had been years since someone other than the other had encouraged them, and he could see them absorbing the attention like a flower in spring reaching for the sunlight.

The car ride was silent for a few moments, before it was broken by Izuku. "How'd you get to us anyways? Mochi doesn't remember."

"Shush!" she replied hotly, whacking him on the arm as he giggled at her reaction, the sound making Shouta have to fight back a tiny grin.

He cleared his throat, interrupting their little play fight. "We were pretty lucky that Yagi had done a guest lecture today, so his car was available." As he saw the confused look in both of their eyes, he clarified. "All Might, his car is a specialized one that-"

"Wait, we got picked up in Hercules?!" Izuku interrupted, eyes wide as he suddenly leaned forward in the seat. Shouta watched as Ochako rolled her eyes with an indulgent smile on her face at the sudden excitement that came over Izuku.

Shouta pursed his lips, deciding to follow along to see where this went (even if he had a good idea from Izuku's reaction). "Yeah. It's flight capable so he let us borrow it. Midnight and Cementoss came along to help me move you to UA."

"We got picked up in All Might's car!" Izuku hissed, practically vibrating in his seat and looking far, far younger than he normally did. Unbidden, Shouta remembered some of the crime scene photos of the teenagers house, and the numerous All Might decorations around the living room in said photo (even if most of them were destroyed). Hmm. This was an angle he could pursue…if he was a fan of All Might he probably did want to be a hero, especially considering he ended up going down the vigilante path.

He knew Bakugo was also a super fan of the hero. The blonde teen had a small shrine to All Might in his bedroom, centered which were two signed premium All Might cards that Shouta had seen ever so carefully protected. He wondered…

"Sounds like he's got a bit of a fan," Shouta teased, a smirk flickering across his lips.

Izuku seemed to realize how much he was revealing and Shouta internally cursed as the teen shut down immediately, face going blank as he sat back in his chair. It couldn't hide the pink in his cheeks though, especially with how pale he was, as Izuku shrugged dismissively. "I guess."

Well…may as well try for two for two. "What about you, Ochako? Any heroes you like?"

The brunette was silent for a moment, sharing a glance with her boyfriend before squaring her shoulders. "I used ta like Thirteen a lot. Rescue heroes are good ones," she muttered, looking embarrassed yet willing to speak up (he could read between the lines and see she was trying to mitigate some of her boyfriend's embarrassment by revealing something personal to her.)

"You know, she works at UA. If you want to ever talk to her, just let me know. She'd find time I'm sure," he offered.

Ochako's eyes went wide, a mirror of Izuku's previous expression. She quickly schooled hers back to blank, but he didn't miss it even if he chose not to call it out. "Um…you don' have ta," she muttered.

"I don't have to, no. I'm offering," he replied, turning onto his street.

She was quiet for a moment, before replying softly. "I'll think about it."

As he pulled into his driveway, he nodded at them both, climbing out of the car. "Well…we're home."

Shouta probably should have warned everyone involved of a) the fact he had a cat who had been hiding when the duo were last around, b) that Eri was waiting for them to return because she wanted her heroes back, and c) that Eri normally was cuddling said cat who graciously permitted Eri's affection, because upon his entrance to the home three things happened rapidly.

First, Eri came rushing towards them, the fluffy fur of his cat Bastard wrapped in her arms and very confused by her sudden movement. Second, that his husband, bless his heart, called out a very loud greeting and accidentally activated his Quirk for a brief second which made everyone duck instinctively, and third, that meant Ochako had accidentally touched Eri and Bastard with all five fingers.

Eri started floating up, wide-eyed, still holding onto the cat who was now very confused (and reminded Shouta that he was very glad nothing really made Bastard panic), Ochako stumbled backwards into Izuku's arms, the other teenager letting out a hiss of pain as she hit him in the abdomen, making him pitch backwards and right on top of Shouta, the trio falling to the floor in a painful tangle as Eri slowly cartwheeled through the air with wide, guileless eyes.

Hizashi came rushing into the room, taking stock of the situation, and all Shouta could do was sigh. For all the fact both teenagers were more than a head shorter than him, they were still solidly built teenagers, and with them struggling to get off him, he kept getting elbowed and kicked.

His husband, both a blessing and a curse, took charge. With one hand he pulled Eri down to the ground, reaching the other down to help Izuku up first, making sure he was stable before he pulled Ochako up since she had the broken leg. Immediately, red flooding her face, she tapped her fingers together, allowing Hizashi to let go of Eri as she stared up at Ochako with her wide, curious gaze, Bastard just calmly sitting in her arms and surveying these intruders.

Izuku had his arm wrapped around Ochako's waist, his own embarrassment at the panicked moment evident as he ducked his face away from the other two. The duo shuffled out of the way as Hizashi, with gentle smiles and a soft voice, pushed past them to grab Shouta and pull him up from the ground.

After patting himself off and kicking his boots off, he looked up at the very embarrassed teenagers and one child trying not to jump on them. He took a deep, bracing breath. "Sorry I didn't get to introduce you last time. That giant ball of fluff in Eri's arms is our cat, Bastard. He's the only one Hizashi let me keep-"

"If he had his way, we'd have forty seven cats," Hizashi drawled, wrapping his arm around his husband's shoulder. "Anyways listeners, sorry about the volume, sometimes I get a bit over-excited. Are you two alright?"

"We're fine," Izuku muttered, but Shouta's perceptive eye couldn't help but notice the fact he had one hand pressed to where his abdominal wound was, or how Ochako looked incredibly guilt-ridden. Damage control he whispered in his mind, knowing better than to confront either teenager.

"How about we get out of the doorway and sit down? Today's been a rather tiring one," Shouta offered. The teenagers nodded, but as both of them tried to bend to take off their shoes it was very noticeable how much trouble they were having with it. Ochako couldn't really bend thanks to the cast, and Izuku couldn't bend at all without pain. Hizashi stepped forward to try and help but a quick shake of Shouta's head made him stop. Instead, he turned to Eri and grinned.

"Hey Eri, wanna help me make dinner while these two get situated? We're gonna celebrate with our guests tonight!"

"...c-celebrate?" she asked softly, her eyes flickering between the vigilantes and Hizashi.

"Yep, we're gonna have dinner and a lovely dessert!"

"You don't have to go to any trouble," Izuku began, but Hizashi cut him off with a wide smile and waved his hand.

"I love to cook, don't you worry about it, Specter! I was thinking I'd bake some cookies and throw together some mochi! You two like those, right?"

Shouta had to struggle not to smile at the look on Ochako's face, her finally brightening up with what looked like genuine joy at the mention of mochi, which, considering the nickname Izuku gave her, made it pretty clear what her favorite dessert was. Izuku didn't react much to either idea, but he didn't seem opposed, and the soft gaze he put upon Ochako's unfiltered joy was heartwarming. Even if what they had was unhealthy, it was also clear there were genuine feelings between the two of them. They just had to learn how to separate those from the darker obsession buried beneath.

Eri was gently ushered away by Hizashi, still looking back at the duo as she went. Shouta knew they wouldn't accept help, so he chose to leave as well, heading out of the vestibule so they were out of his sight and could do their thing without him hanging over them. He still was internally wincing at the sound of the two hissing in pain and trying to hold back their pained comments, but…baby steps. Getting them to accept what little help he was offering was like pulling teeth, he knew now wasn't the time to push.

It took them a few minutes, but they managed to divest their shoes and hobble into the living room. Shouta had wandered into the kitchen to help set the table, but he kept an eye as Izuku and Ochako managed to make it to the couch and very gingerly take a seat…after arguing over who would sit down first. Shouta had to hold in a snort, watching the two of them very quietly gesture back and forth before Ochako seemed to finally win the fight, making Izuku sit down first. Honestly he agreed with her…her leg was in a cast but that was manageable, the boy had a stab wound in his abdomen. Sitting would be harder for him.

"Dinner will be ready in about a half hour, if you guys want to chill till then!" Hizashi called from the kitchen.

Ochako glanced up from where she was speaking quietly to Izuku, clearing her throat. "Um…okay. We'll…sit 'ere?"

"Want anything to drink?" Shouta asked as he stepped into the living room.

"We're fine," Izuku muttered.

Shouta sighed. He was a very patient person and was willing to go slow with these two, but this was fucking ridiculous. "It's just a drink, Izuku. Not even water?"

To his credit, Izuku did look at least slightly abashed by Shouta'd admonishment. He let out a breath. "...water would be fine, yeah," he murmured.

Shouta nodded, going and fetching two glasses and filling them quickly, bringing them to the living room. He placed them both on the table, coasters in place to avoid any condensation from getting onto the table itself (Hizashi was a stickler about these things). "You two need anything till dinner?" he asked quietly.

For once, they didn't give a knee jerk dismissal, both of them taking the moment to think about it. Good thing he spoke up a few seconds ago, it seemed. It was enough to make them actually think about it. After a few seconds, they both shook their heads no.

"I think we're good. Thanks," Izuku replied quietly. He was for once not being snarky, but Shouta was putting that more towards the clear exhaustion both teenagers were currently feeling.

Shouta noted perceptively that one or the other were shivering periodically (hard to tell which one with them wrapped up in each other's arms) and reached over to the armchair to grab a throw blanket and offer it silently. There was a brief pause, but Ochako reached out and took it, pulling it around the duo quickly, not unlike the first night they had stayed. Shouta nodded. He headed back into the kitchen. It was clear they hated showing weakness like this, so he would just…not look at them for now, to give them the privacy they needed. He just had to navigate the next few days carefully, and maybe, just maybe, he could convince them to stick around.