Izuku took a hasty bite of his toast, staring at the empty seat opposite him.

He'd been afraid of talking to Katsuki since the first time, which had ended with him crying nonstop for hours.

Just the thought of his naivety made him subconsciously begin to chew harder at the slightly charred toast.

He swallowed in an almost annoyed manner, managing to exhale a shaky breath to calm himself down.

"H-Hey, Kacchan. Been a while, I know..."

'Ugh, what do I even talk about? Work? Shoto? Ochako?'

"Um...Yeah...Things have been,"
He took a deep breath,
"Pretty rough."

'What the heck--why not something more lighthearted'

"Do you...Remember when we used to make out in the janitor's closet? Or in the locker room...Behind the stairs...Anywhere really."

Izuku chuckled to himself at the thought. Katsuki had little to no impulse control, constantly pulling him aside for his definition of a 'quick peck'.

Izuku had only asked him to stop the first time they were caught...By Tenya, of all people.

Then the second time was just embarrassing.

And from the third it was almost like clockwork.

Izuku would get berated by Tenya at least three times a week on "heroic etiquette" whilst Katsuki would just bicker about him only doing so because he was "salty about Half n' Half changing departments".

To this day, that news still shook Izuku a little out of his comfort zone.

With that sudden drop in activeness, Shoto's quirk must be as threatening as dry ice and an oven.

Wait--what was he thinking about again?

The dishes clattered against his dining table when he slammed his head into it out of pure exasperation.

He was rambling! When he was supposed to be talking to Katsuki!

"I bet you think I look pretty dumb right about now."
He peeped through clenched fists.

"That or you're angry I think you're that predictable."
The greenette smiled.

He sat up, slouching slightly as he would if Katsuki were there with him--because he'd always find it somewhat comical to get yelled at before leaving for work about his posture.

"Anyways, you'll never guess what I told Ochako the other day--and you said I'd never grow a pair!"

....

Shoto exhaled, expecting to feel his own breath against Tenya's neck, but was instead greeted by open air.

He outstretched slim-built arms in hopes of reaching his lover, but to no avail.

Besides him, the sofa was empty.

"Tenya,"
He mumbled groggily, sitting up at a slow enough pace so as to avoid becoming dizzy.

Tenya walked in from the hallway of the bedrooms and bathroom just in time to hear Shoto call for him again.

He had a towel wrapped around his neck, hair visibly dripping from a post-workout shower.

"What time is it?"
Shoto groaned, almost falling onto Tenya when the muscular man sank into the expanse of the sofa beside him.

"About half eight. I didn't wake you up because you looked peaceful. I called your secretary and asked her to cancel your morning appointments."

Shoto began rubbing circles at the back of his head.
He was feeling strangely disoriented.

"What about Kana? Did you drop her to school? Shoot, I was supposed to do her hair for her."
He grabbed a fistful of white hair, tugging on it gently.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's all good. She's a smart little princess."

Tenya handed Shoto a glass of water that sat atop the coffee table.

"She was actually glad that daddy was sleeping for more than however long it takes for her to finish a colouring page. Her words. She's ahead of the times already, that girl."

Shoto chuckled, taking a sip of water as he spoke,
"Hey, do you-"

The 'ping!' of a text notification startled Shoto ever so slightly, as Tenya picked up his phone to find out who was texting him.

Tenya visibly paled within mere seconds of reading the message. Shoto was understandably concerned with such a reaction.

"Honey? What's wrong?"

Tenya's jaw slackened and relaxed as he murmured,

"I-It's Uraraka...She's...In the hospital."

...

Izuku felt like a giddy rooky hero all over again--rushing home from patrol only to go liming with friends minutes later.

Usually he'd change at the agency, but today he felt...Comfortable in his hero suit.
It didn't feel like a reminder of how inferior he was--how useless he was--but instead, he could almost feel it empowering himself all over again.

He was still a the Symbol of Peace.

Suit or no suit.

He arrived home, ready to change into something comfy to swing by Hanta and Denki's place...When he heard his phone go off.

He fished around his backpack-yes, he still carried a backpack-until he found the still chiming cell.

His eyes flickered with curiosity when he saw over 30 messages from Tenya, and 12 missed calls from Shoto.

He opened the texts first, scrolling through until he could find some sort of explanation for Tenya's persistency.

'Midoriya pick up your damn phone!'

'WHERE ARE YOU?'

'We're at the hospital already'
'If you don't find yourself here within the hour, I'm gonna kick your ass!'

'MIDORIYA!'

Hospital? What in God's name were they doing at a hospital?

As Izuku started to search up the location of the nearest hospital, he'd gotten another text from someone else completely-

'Hey, Izu. It's Denki. Listen. Me and Hanta are going to go check on Uraraka the hospital. It's on 66th if you want to visit. Room 118.
Sorry our plans got cancelled. Maybe next time...'

Izuku had never changed and ran out of his house faster in his entire life.

How could he...

How dare he...

Even think about enjoying himself...

When his friends...

His legs were carrying him faster than he wanted.
He couldn't see his bright red shoes through the tears that clouded and distorted his vision.

He needed to stop by a lamppost to dry his eyes, when he'd only then realised that he wasn't wearing shoes.

He wanted to scream.

What gave him the right?
The right to feel this terrible when he was the one who was late.

What gave him the right to cry when he was the one who told his friend off, likely resulting in her doing something stupid without thinking?

Hell, what gave him the right to assume it was all because of him?

He felt sick.

Is this what narcissism felt like?

Was Ochako going to die?

Was she even...Still alive?