Sup nerds. Happy Easter. Hope you have a chocolate filled day. I'm positing this while heaving breakfast instead of studying again lmao, but I did actually write out some notes yesterday which is more than I'd expected. So yeah. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

CW: Discussions of self harm (burning, cutting), eating disorder (bulimia), dysphoria, Endeavour, shitty therapist

Izuku eventually ended up texting Todoroki to ask if he wanted to hang out because he was too scared to ask him in person. Twice.

The second time was the day after Valentine's day. "Is it a date?" Izuku asked. "I don't know!"

Bakugou stole Izuku's phone and texted Todoroki on snapchat. Hey, something came up on Friday. You want to do the thing Thursday instead?

"Kacchan! You can't just do that!" Izuku took his phone back and stared at the text. Todoroki's bitmoji had already appeared. "Shit. Shit, fuck, shit-"

"I can and I did." Bakugou picked up his take-out container of Khao Pad Gai and began eating again. "It saved half an hour - at least - of pointless rambling." He peered over Izuku's shoulder as a text came in from Todoroki.

Sounds good.

Bakugou grinned at Izuku. "It's a date."

"But it might not be!"

"What might not be?" Uraraka asked as she walked into the sitting room with a bowl of popcorn in her arms.

"Deku's hanging out with Icy-Hot on Valentine's day."

"Oh yeah. That's a date."

"But it mightn't be!"

"It is," Kirishima said without looking up from his phone. "It's-" His face scrunched up. "Shit. I forgot the Japanese word. Katsuki, what's ngấm ngầm in Japanese?"

"How the fuck would I know?" Bakugou huffed. Kirishima let out a distressed groan and put his head against Bakugou's shoulder. "Think of another fucking word, dumbass."

"I can't!"

"Either way, it's a date." Uraraka climbed onto the couch. She had started oestrogen in their last year of high school, and her 'period' had started. She described it as all of the symptoms of a period, without the bleeding. She never really talked about it outside of their friend group. Even online, though she ran an activist account. Whenever she did, trolls just started to scream at her, so she stopped. "Now, should we start this film or wait 'til Iida gets back from collecting the pizza?"

They ended up going to a café down one of the back streets with fairy lights strung up on the roof. Izuku's eyes were itching, so he wore his glasses that night, and Todoroki smiled at him as he approached the table. "Hey."

"Hi." Izuku returned the smile and sat down. "Sorry I'm late."

"You're fine." Todoroki shook his head. "I ordered you a hot chocolate."

"Thanks." Izuku's smile grew.

They sat in the café drinking hot chocolate and just chatting for two and a half hours, until Todoroki's phone vibrated. He looked at it and scowled. "My dad's here to pick me up." Ever since he'd started to use fire, his father had insisted on him spending three nights a week with him to train.

"That's okay." Izuku shook his head, through his expression was one of concern. "I'll walk you out to the car."

"Thanks." Todoroki pocketed his phone. "He's just at the fire station." A five minute walk away.

Izuku nodded and they left the café. It was dark out, but not really. The street lamps were at full brightness, so the sky was a sick orange colour. The street was mostly full of pubs, but the occasional café or shop was full of Valentine's day decorations. It had gotten bigger since the westernisation of mass media exploded.

They walked in silence for a moment.

"I had a really good time," Todoroki said, keeping his gaze forward.

"Me too. Would you like to do this again?"

"Sure."

Izuku took a shaky breath. "So, um... would you... would you maybe like to make it a date next time?"

"Yeah." Todoroki replied on instinct, then did a double take and stumbled. "Wait... does this mean you like me?"

"I- y-yeah, if that's- I mean if you- yeah." Izuku nodded. His hands shook. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah!" Todoroki's voice had a lot more expression in it than most times. "I... I like you too."

Izuku stared at him, slowing to a halt. "Really?"

Todoroki nodded, a smile on his face.

Izuku's face lit up and he covered his face with his hands.

A shaky laugh escaped Todoroki's mouth as they began walking again. "I can't believe you like me."

"I can't believe you like me."

"I'm really glad you asked," Todoroki admitted, "because I wouldn't have been able to."

"I nearly didn't." Izuku lowered his hands enough to peer at Todoroki over his fingers. "I was shaking since we left the café."

"Oh, I thought you were cold. That's why it got warmer – I was using my quirk."

"Oh!" Izuku laughed. "No, sorry."

Todoroki shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. It was long, down to his shoulders. He had an undercut and a shave on the left side of his head shaped like a heartbeat on a monitor. His father apparently hated it. "I wasn't sure if this was a date or not."

"I wanted it to be." Izuku's shoulders hunched. "My roommates said it was, but I wasn't sure. I really nearly didn't ask – I thought you were really intimidating at the start of the year, and I got really anxious about it."

"I thought you were intimidating too." Todoroki laughed. "I really wanted to talk to you because I saw all the badges on your beanie and bags, but you looked really scary at the time."

Izuku snapped his fingers. "Is that why you didn't talk to me when we were in the group together?" Todoroki nodded. "I thought it was because you didn't like me! You always seemed to be glaring at me."

"Oh shit." Todoroki shook his head. Some of his hair fell into his face. "No. I just have social anxiety, and I can't see out of this eye-" He pointed to his left eye. "-so I'm always squinting."

"Well I know that now." Izuku grinned at him. They turned a corner and slowed to a halt. The fire station was dark, except for the car parked alongside it with its headlights on. They slowed to a halt. "So, um..." Izuku tapped his foot on the pavement. "Does this mean we're dating?"

"If you want to."

"I do if you do."

Todoroki snorted and shook his head. "Then I guess we're dating." He looked over at the car. "I should probably go..."

Izuku nodded. "Can I kiss your cheek?" Todoroki had mentioned he hadn't had a first kiss, and Izuku didn't want to push it.

He saw Todoroki's eyes widen as he looked back to Izuku, but then Todoroki smiled. "Yeah." His voice was soft. Izuku leaned in and up, and Todoroki tilted his head. Izuku pressed his lips to Todoroki's cheek, paused, and then pulled back.

A goofy smile rested on Todoroki's face. "Um... I'd better go. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Yeah." A similar grin was on Izuku's face. "See you then."

Izuku watched until Todoroki was in the car and driving away. He was dating Todoroki Shouto. His face burned and he covered it with his hands, jumping on the spot.

Holy shit. He was dating Todoroki Shouto.

"Are you doing okay?" Izuku asked once everyone was gone. Shouto had been quiet that day. Not noticeably, at least to the others who just seemed to think he was an antisocial person, but enough that it worried Izuku.

Shouto nodded and sipped his tea. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

He hesitated.

Izuku reached over and carefully placed his hand on Shouto's. He was cautious about touching him without asking – he didn't want to put anyone in a situation like he had been in again – but Shouto never seemed to mind. "We can talk about it if you want."

Shouto sighed and looked away. "You know they put me on sertraline?"

Izuku nodded. Shouto had been on it since his last year of high school.

"I was hoping to come off it this week because it's been making my quirk go a little haywire, but-" He shrugged.

Izuku squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry, Shouto."

"Don't be. It's my fault." He took a slow breath.

Izuku stayed silent. He needed this.

"I used to hurt myself. Not for long, but-" Shouto pursed his lips and covered his left bicep with his right hand. "I'd use my ice and burn my arm with it. Cold burns... are underestimated in terms of pain scale."

Izuku's chest tightened.

"So I'd do that and then go downstairs to put salt on it. Just to make it sting so I wouldn't do anything worse. It was only for a week maybe." Shouto shook his head. "But... You know I can't see with my left eye anymore. So I didn't see my father in the living room, and he saw the burns. He just... he started yelling at me and asking why I was doing this to him." Shouto snorted. "So I told him I was depressed and gay in the same evening. After the depressed part, the gay bit didn't sound so bad I guess."

Shouto fell silent, and Izuku rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb. "I know what you mean," he mumbled. "I... I was maybe fifteen and I started to cut. I just- I couldn't deal with it and-" He swallowed. "It stopped pretty quickly. I told my friends, including Mineta. He just got really mad at me and started to cut as though it was a punishment for me. So I told my mom and she went to his house to talk to him and his parents." He shrugged. "I never really did it deeply, so I was okay, but that's when I started going to therapy."

Shouto sighed and nodded. "My school recommended two. I liked the first one, but my father took me to the second just in case she was better. Once we got passed the introductions, she told me that I was just looking for attention because I hadn't gotten enough since my brother left."

Izuku hissed and tensed. "Are you serious?" Shouto nodded again. "What the fuck? That's awful."

"Yeah. I didn't go back to her." Shouto gave a bitter smile.

Izuku nodded. "No wonder. I got really lucky with mine. She was a sweetheart. I prefer my new one, but..." He shook his head.

Shouto nodded. "Yeah. I liked my one too. I stopped needing to go before Christmas." He took a slow breath, and it fogged. "So I guess I just thought I'd be okay to come off the sertraline, but they want me to stay on them until the midterms are over so I don't drop just before exams. It makes sense, but..." He shrugged. "I don't know."

"No, that makes sense. You're feeling better and you were hoping they'd recognise that."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Yeah." Izuku took a slow breath. "I... Yeah. Just after the UA entrance exams, I... I started starving myself. It was a good way to hurt without cutting again. My mom thought I had a really bad flu, so she tried to help but she didn't know how. And then when I got back to school, everyone was complimenting me on how much thinner I looked even though I'd worked for a few days to try and put on weight again. So I know what you mean." He shook his head. "I guess my dysphoria was bad now that I think about it. I didn't know what it was, but... But I hated my hips and cheeks and thighs and I wanted them smaller, but... but when you starve yourself, then binge eat, and then throw up, your cheeks bloat and I didn't think I was getting any thinner so I kept going."

Shouto moved his hand so that he was holding Izuku's as well. "I hurt my eye on purpose when my mom burned me." He shook his head. "I wasn't meant to get it wet, but I didn't understand why and I thought I deserved it, so I'd put my head underwater in the bath." He shrugged. "Turns out it didn't have any bearing on my eye going blind, but it couldn't have helped."

Izuku sighed and brought Shouto's hand up to his mouth to kiss it. "Gods, we're fucked up," he breathed. "I feel bad because everything that happened to you was-"

"It was different." Shouto shook his head. "Pain isn't a contest. You taught me that."

Izuku chuckled. "I thought I told you not to use my life lessons against me."

"I won't have to when you start taking your own advice." Shouto grinned at him. He shifted his chair closer and rested his head on Izuku's shoulder.

Izuku sighed and wrapped his arms around Shouto. "I don't know how I'm lucky enough to be your boyfriend."

Shouto peered up at him through his fringe. "You have it the wrong way around, babe. I'm the lucky one."

Izuku snorted and leaned down to brush his nose against Shouto's. "Or maybe we're both lucky."

Hope you enjoyed. Please review and see you tomorrow.