~ Third Person P.O.V ~

"He is fire. And I am the bovine moth drawn to his everlasting flame, smoldering with intensity, setting my heart to ashes . . ."
—BisexualCricket, Poetry Journal

"Mido, wake up,"

Izuku shifted in the comforts of his blanket, mumbling a string of incoherent words as he pulled the sheets over his face.   

"Midoriya!"

The cool sensation of Shoto's finger curling around Izuku's arms is what finally woke the younger male. Large pools of emerald flickering open, swirling with the unfretted luminous glow of the morning light evading the thin drapes of their dorm room. A small pout contorting the plump tissue of the boys' lips, eyebrows pulling down in mock-anger. Shoto nearly chuckled at the sight, finding it akin to that of an angered toddler who hadn't gotten his way. 

"I was sleeping Todo . . ." he grumbled tiredly, lifting his hand to rub the sleep from his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Nearly ten in the morning," came the humor-stocked reply. "I wanted to talk to you though."

Izuku liberated a sigh, running a hand through his — now overgrown — locks of green curls while sitting up. "Couldn't it have waited until at least lunchtime?" he chuckled breathily, giving a slight camber of his head.

"Yes. Albeit I was growing rather impatient, and I have to make tracks if I want to be on time for class," Shoto said with a huff.

"'Yes. Albeit I was growing rather impatient,'" Izuku mocked with a haughty voice, "And what the hell does 'make tracks' mean?"

The elder narrowed his eyes in vexation, playfully shoving the freckled male on the arm. "You know, don't you think it's a bit too early to be mocking my speech patterns?" he questioned, a light-lipped smile gracing his mouth.

"Todo, it's never too early to mock you." Izuku shot back with a wink. "Now what did you want to talk about? I wouldn't want to keep you from 'making tracks',"

Shoto precluded his two-toned eyes from rolling, facial features twisting to his usual slack and monotonous look. "I wanted to ask you about your Design and Programming the Web class," he informed.

The inside of Izuku's stomach shifted and churned at the mention of his class, the one that he would be required to attend every night for the next eight weeks. In the long run, he knew it would be quite beneficial towards achieving his degree quicker than the rest of his classmates. However, that did not put a halt to the animosity and trepidation he held for it.

"What about it?"

"I was just curious, but what are the exact requirements to take the course? After I receive my degree in psychology I was thinking of getting into computer sciences," Shoto admitted casually, "An old man like me can never be too informed on what you kids are up to these days." he jested.

This pulled a small smile to form on the rosy mounds of Izuku's lips, nearly knocking the breath from Shoto's lungs. Though if such a thing were to happen, the elder male had an odd feeling he would not mind so much. The simple gesture being provided to him was just that: simple. Yet it was enough to momentarily stun him into silence.

"Look who's finally coming to his senses," Izuku giggled, "I wondered how long it would take you to finally admit you're old."

Leaning back with a soft shrug, the younger continued. "But as for the course I'm taking, it's open to all if I'm not mistaken. You just have to be a student here, obviously, and live in the dorms . . ." his unfiltered pleonasm continued on for quite some time by then, getting lost in his own words.

Shoto nodded instinctively, making a mental note for later on the male's jumble of words. His heterochromatic eyes darted back over towards the digital clock resting soundlessly on the desk, 9:47 a.m., it read. Shit.

"You have to go?" Izuku guessed, dreading the inevitable moment when they had to part ways. Sure, it was only for a few hours, he'd see the boy around mid-noon once his classes were complete.

However, another separation between them was bound to happen again that same day. His nightly class was only hours away, as a relentless countdown to his undeniable doom. 

"I'll be back in a few hours," Shoto whispered, his voice that of a tranquil susurration of a river. "And I'll bring back some food and coffee."

Another smile went to the younger's mouth, however, it did not reach the pools of emerald known as his eyes. "M'kay . . . Hey, if you see Kacchan, can you tell him I need to talk to him?"

"Yeah,"

 And with that final word he was gone. Izuku inhaled deeply, the calming scent Shoto left behind still lingering in the placid atmosphere surrounding him . . . hopefully, it'd be enough to last him a few hours. He and Shoto had been working hard on getting Izuku back into a more positive mindset, though the task proved to be a rather difficult challenge they knew it was something they could overcome. And while the younger was more than appreciative of Shoto's help, he despised that it only lasted him so long before he slipped back down the rabbit hole.

You're okay.

Unfortunately for him, Izuku's darkened mind seemed to be the least of his worries as of late. Not only would he be attending a class for the next eight weeks, filled to the brim with students, strangers . . . potential threats to his safety. But he had recently accumulated some unsettling and relatively shocking information — he had already met his soulmate.

There was a plethora of worries, unsettling thoughts, heart-penetrating excitement, that had been coursing through him for the past week ever since finding out. Izuku was so unsure of everything now. After looking back on his schedule from the previous month he had concluded that he met his soulmate the first day of college, which didn't help much — for he had met a great deal of people that day. It would be rather hard to tell which was his soulmate . . . His other half . . . The missing piece of the confusing, twisted, and cheap puzzle that was him.

And while he longed and craved to know who they were, he could not help but also yearn for remaining in the dark. Shrouded with the knowledge of not knowing who his soulmate was because maybe that would be okay for him in the long run. Trusting people was still an endeavor Izuku had yet to conquer — something he still found to be the most onerous; of course, Shoto was always an exception to the difficulty he had been cursed with.

But someone else?

Someone who was supposedly destined for him?

No.

No matter how hard he tried to envision it, he could not see himself trusting another person so soon. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he could hear the faint shouts of protest from his inner self — still barricaded and locked away with the coldest and harshest of metals. 

"That's selfish to your soulmate Izuku!" 

"How would you feel if the roles were reversed?"

The strength of his stubborn mind proved to be overpowering his weaker internal thoughts. Grinding the weak notions into nothing but ash and dust, destined to be swirled away in the wind and carried far from where Izuku sat.

It didn't matter what was right or what was wrong at this point, Izuku had no time nor energy to worry about someone who did not matter to him at the moment. Focusing on himself was something he knew he needed to accomplish. Notions and desires to pursue a childish tradition in their society such as soulmates had remained dreary and commonplace in his mind for the past two years . . . It could remain that way for as long as he would like.

"You're mumbling again, nerd,"

Izuku's eyes brightened at the raspy voice which touched his ears. "Kacchan!" he exclaimed, "Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to see you."

"As to be fucking expected," Bakugou playfully scoffed, tossing his backpack on Shoto's bed before hopping on Izuku's. "Halfie said you wanted to talk to me? Is it about that soulmate shit, or you starting your new class shit?" he asked.

"Both . . . shit?" Izuku giggled breathily, instantly curling up at his brother's side. "Aside from Todo, you're like my guidance counselor,"

"Duh," the blond snorted, "I'm pretty fucking wise if I do say so myself."

"Yoda has nothing on you," Izuku teased, a bright smile adorning his face.  "Anyhow . . . I guess I'm just worried, ya know? Like — me and Todo have been making progress with trying to get me comfortable being around a lot of people. For instance, just last week we went to that fancy restaurant downtown by the waterfront when it was packed . . . of course I only last like forty minutes —"

The elder gave Izuku a gentle squeeze. "But progress is progress, no matter how big or small, all that matters is that you're trying."

"I know," the younger hummed, "But my class is a lot longer than forty minutes . . . And I'll be all alone! What if someone accidentally touches me or bumps into me and I can't control how I react? What if I get a panic attack right in the middle of class? What if — ?"

"Izuku," Bakugou interrupted sternly, using his 'big-brother voice' for extra emphasis. "All these 'what if's' are never going to get you anywhere in life. You have to try, not for grades, or graduating early, but for yourself."

"Look, as your best friend, I hate that the fucking Half 'n Half bastard basically stole you from me. But as your brother? I have never been more proud of your than I am right now, you proved that you're stronger than your past. And you're making one hell of an effort to move forward, that takes guts; I know you can do this," the elder whispered softly. 

Large eyes flickered upwards in reluctance and gratefulness. "And if I can't?"

"Then we'll take it one step at a time, yeah?"

Izuku had to admit, his brother's words really stuck with him the rest of the day. Shoto had come back in a few hours, while Bakugou left shortly before he arrived, food and coffee in hand as promised. The elder had been a little later than expected, however, arriving sometime around three rather than noon. Nevertheless, the two talked and talked for hours on end, secretly stealing the others' food when he wasn't looking. It was just like any typical day for the past few weeks.

Until the unavoidable came.

The green-haired male walked along the earthly-smelling quad of his college, the sun setting just below the horizon prompting the streetlamps to begin the process of scintillating on. He swatted at the nightly bugs making their natural routine of buzzing and swirling around by him, creeping out of the shadows. Izuku's fear-clouded lakes of emerald green were plastered to the cracked yet smooth pavement below — tracing patterns that did not exist in hopes of distracting himself.

His hopes went unachieved, surging down the drain of his mind into a pile of other failures that lurked there.

Before he realized it, his feet had stopped in front of the double doors leading into the lecture hall.

His stiffened, every muscle in his body coiling and springing, intuitively his feet pivoted, however, the rest of his body did not meet the action. Inhaling, the faint smell of floor cleaner and air freshener seeped from the cracks of the doors before him — dancing in the unfamiliar room of his nose.

I can do this.

Shakily, Izuku's fingers gripped the cold, faux gold, handles of the door pulling them open whilst releasing a faltering breath. Rows upon rows of velvety cushioned seats were displayed before him, a few of them appearing to be broken or scuffed from past students doing God knows what in them. Students were already swarming in from the back door, the sounds of pens scathing away on paper and unfamiliar voices chatting streaming through his ears. The soundtrack of his downfall.

As silly as it sounds, he had the odd sense that everyone was staring at him. Calculating him. Albeit, he caught the attention of a few students seated right by the door, other than that nobody paid him any mind. He was just another student in their mind . . . But to him? He was dead meat.

Quickly, Izuku finally allows himself to pivot, only to walk right into someone. Hard.

"Where on earth do you think you're going?"

All of Izuku's worries flooded away, flowing downstream and into the back of his mind at the sound of Shoto's voice. Flickering his gaze upward Izuku offers a relieved kind of smile, only for it to falter into a frown of confusion when he noticed Kaminari, Sero, Kirishima, Ashido, and Bakugou standing behind him.

"What are you guys doing here?" Izuku questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"What does it look like?" Sero chuckled warmly, making his way down the rows of seats. "Hey, do Y'all wanna sit over here?" he asked the rest of them.

"C'mon Midoriya!" Ashido chirped, dragging Kaminari and Kirishima by the wrists as she caught up with Sero. 

Bakugou made his way over towards his rather confused younger brother, giving him a soft peck on the temple. "It was all Half 'n Half's idea," he whispered, quickly making his way towards the others.

That left Shoto. The elder male gave an indifferent shrug of his shoulders, smiling brightly at the green-eyed male before him. "I figured you would want some backup, did you really think I was going to let you do this alone?" he hummed.

Everything moved so slowly at that moment. Izuku's heart and emotions had gotten the best of him, any negative, or fear-stocked thoughts he may have had towards the actions going out the window. Next thing he knew, his arms were wrapping around the duel-haired man . . .

The first hug he ever initiated in over two years.

Their chests pressed together tightly, an uncomfortable and odd sensation rippling throughout Izuku's body at the feeling. Nevertheless, he enjoyed it — breathing in the scent only Shoto could ever produce.

The only scent that calmed him.

"Thank you," Izuku whispered, his words muffled by the fabric of Shoto's clothing.

And for the first time, Shoto didn't reply with 'I hadn't even done anything yet'. 

"You're welcome,"           

Hello Cricket Cultists!!

Because I had absolutely no patience whatsoever. I love this book so much guys. Like you don't understand, I've never loved a book as much as I do this one. I know you may have a few books you would have loved to see me finish, and it saddens me that I never did finish a few (the BkDk might just have slower updates now btw) but this book? I've never been so . . . passionate about writing before this.

I've honestly grown as a writer through this particular story. And I can't wait to see where it goes, that's why I decided to start writing Arc Two earlier than I said. I've fallen in love with the characters, the words, the thoughts, the complictions, the story. 

And I hope you guys have too!

This Arc will be angsty, as to be expected, but unlike arc one - this goes into character growth (something I've struggled with). We get to see Izuku and Shoto's journey, which I can't wait to write!

Theories?

Comments?

Until we meet again!!!