"Ah, I see how that can be quite a predicament." Through his helmet, Tenya Iida lowered himself onto a knee and began entertaining a child with a signature.

Shouto Todoroki - currently in his hero costume as Duality - stood next to him, staring down at the children who came up to him during their joint patrol. Since teaming up with both Red Riot and Explodo, Duality felt it was time to open up and offer his assistance to others. Considering Tenya Iida was one of the current heroes who was still friendly and kept in contact, he felt it was appropriate to offer his assistance to Ingenium first.

Lately the two have been doing small patrols together that always ended up with them talking about the past. Well, Tenya did most of the talking than anyone else, but Shouto was a good listener to say the least.

After a few patrols together and with Tenya's clever deduction over Shouto's relationship with Izuku, the quiet man had opened up to the other about their relationship as well as his current dilemma. He trusted Tenya, after all Izuku had helped him become the Ingenium he is today. On top of that, Shouto had asked Izuku about telling Tenya who had opened up himself during one of their earlier patrols.

"It was a dark time for me, that enough was certain. It wasn't that I didn't have my wits with me but I really thought it was possible for me to defeat him." Tenya Iida took off his helmet with one hand, placing it beside him as the moon began to illuminate the dark streets they were walking on.

Shouto nodded his head, looking down as they walked, sometimes turning to the side to see if there was any night activity happening about. Their joint route had taken them to a neighborhood, a few houses' windows still lit brightly. Other than that, the street was quiet.

"It wasn't that I didn't have any friends, I found good companionship with Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, but during that time I've never felt more alone." Tenya stared ahead as they walked around the corner, still patrolling in the quiet neighborhood.

During U.A, Shouto did not make any friends. His reasoning was that there was no point in being chummy to people who were seen as competition. Looking back now, Shouto wished he had made more of an effort to get to know his classmates. Even if he wasn't going to openly try to make friends, it might've been nice to have a friendly face look at him than people purposefully ignored. Maybe that was another reason why he wasn't willing to make any friends – no one would've wanted to anyways.

It was an absolute shock to everyone when Tenya Iida didn't come back from his internship in Hosu City. Aizawa-sensei had done his best to keep the situation on the low but it didn't take a detective to piece together the facts. Tensei Iida known as Ingenium was left to die in an alleyway in Hosu by the Hero Killer Stain. Out of any other place Tenya could've gone for his internship there was no doubt that his brother's attack had something to do with his choice.

Back then Shouto had looked at Tenya at the train station. After the blue-haired boy finished talking to Uraraka he turned, a fierce red shining in his eyes. The look was familiar but Shouto wasn't able to properly place them at the time. Looking back, Shouto could now understand what Tenya was feeling. Resentment. Hatred. Disgust. Determination. Vengeance. The same kind of feelings Shouto had towards his father. Well, he still has those feelings but to a different degree.

If only he had recognized Tenya's eyes before then, could he have prevented what transpired after? A better question was, if he did recognize them, would he have done anything? Shouto would've liked to say yes, that he would've tried to talk to Tenya, but that would've been a lie.

"I'm sorry that I didn't do anything." Shouto said suddenly, his eyes on the floor as they continued their patrol. Tenya only gave the other a chuckle and a small pat on the shoulder.

"I appreciate you saying that, but what's done is done. I'm very fortunate to be where I am now." Tenya adjusted his glasses before Shouto felt the need to say something else. A thought came to his mind, something the other man had said to him before he ever set foot in Izuku's office building.

"You said that you've met Izuku Midoriya beforehand right? You said it was after the incident in Hosu." Shouto's head turned to Tenya, sincerely curious as how the two had met so early on. To think Tenya was friends with Izuku as a high schooler, Shouto wondered if he could get any more information on what the green-haired counselor was like as a youth. Maybe he could use them as a teasing point.

Tenya beamed, stopping his pace to raise an eyebrow at the other. "Ah, that's right, you're currently seeing him right?" Shouto nodded as Tenya looked back to the street, his arm moving to adjust the helmet against his torso. "He emailed me about a week after I came back to school and the headlines finished chastising me. I must admit to you Todoroki, and please feel free to stop me if I seem like I'm oversharing."

The blue-haired hero leaned against a wall and place his helmet on a bench, taking off his glasses with one hand and wiped it against his neck fabric.

"Even after my recovery I was in the worst state I could ever have been in. Not only did I feel like a failure for not completing my vengeance, I was left without an arm." Tenya's good arm moved to rub at his other, incomplete limb. "I tried to run again but the missing limb left me unbalance. I couldn't steady myself and I was constantly falling over as if it was my legs that were the problem. I tried desperately to correct myself but I got more and more frustrated with each unsuccessful attempt."

Shouto stared back at Tenya, moving to the bench and offered the other a seat. Tenya nodded and sat down, placing his helmet onto his lap.

"In my darkest hour I had felt more than a failure – I felt like an absolute disgrace. Even if they didn't say it, I thought my own family had turned their back on me. They didn't of course, but I took it upon myself to think that. I thought, my brother is out of commission and he relied on me to take up his name. Then I went and put myself in danger and became useless. I couldn't be a hero anymore, I was nothing more than a waste to my family." Tenya's eye didn't glisten, but there was a somber expression fixated in his eyes. Shouto could understand the feeling of being a disgrace, considering how much effort was put into his own training, though his motivations were ran by fear of pain early in his childhood.

"I did consider suicide as a way to preserve my family's honor. As dumb as it sounded, I felt it would've been better if Stain had killed me than left me like this." A silence fell over the two, the darkness of the implication left a lump in Shouto's throat that made it impossible to swallow.

Tenya continued on, preventing the silence from taking over. "That was when I got Izuku's email. I didn't understand who this person was or how he came upon to find me, but he gave me a kind of companionship I never thought I needed until then." Clearing his throat, Tenya's face curved into a small smile.

"I did have friends at school, but they were all busy with their own training to really notice how I was feeling. I don't blame them of course, I was secretive about my emotions." Shouto nodded his head. He too, didn't really remember seeing anything different about Tenya during those times. How stupid of him to think that he was fine, obviously after something like that, certain emotions would've trailed.

"But Izuku is quirkless, he wasn't training to be a hero and so he had a lot of time during and after school to talk to me. He told me his hobbies as well as his passion to become something akin to a hero. I've never met someone so driven and passionate, not even Bakugou's intensity matched his." That statement made Shouto chuckle, something that was obvious to him now. It was refreshing to hear that Izuku was just as determined as a child, it was so like him.

"I never mentioned how I was feeling or the trouble I had with my new severed arm, but he was curious how I was overcoming it and I couldn't lie to him. Not after the kindness he shared. After that, he offered to try and help me and with nothing to lose we met in person for the first time towards the end of the first year."

Shouto took a second to let the information sink in. His heart began beating, Izuku Midoriya seemed to never have lost his kindness and compassion, taking all adversaries and pushing forward, using it to help others. Of course it was no surprise to hear this about Izuku, it only reconfirmed his love for the green-haired man.

"And he helped you overcome it?" Shouto asked, looking at the stump. Tenya smiled and nodded his head.

"Yes. We tried various things like finding a prosthetic or a counterweight, but ultimately he helped me worked on endurance. It turned out that it wasn't the missing weight, but I was emotionally holding myself back. Izuku helped me overcome that. I will admit, those days were some of the greatest in my youth and when we graduated I gave him my second uniform buttons." Tenya's good hand ran through his hair, a nervous chuckle escaped his lips. Shouto only stared intensely, his heart racing again. Ah the familiar feeling of… jealousy it was.

"Did you have a-"

"HEAVEN'S NO." Tenya turned back towards Shouto and grabbed his shoulder, firmly grasping. "I gave it to him in a matter of brotherhood. He had played an immense role in my school life and my ability to move past my weaknesses. It only felt fair for me to give him it, though I assure you I do not harbor any romantic feelings for him." He patted Shouto's shoulder, the man blushing softly. Shouto turned his face away.

The feeling of jealousy simmered. Of course he'd feel that way, Shouto was new to this concept of relationships and time and time again he's been prone to feeling a bit protective of his boyfriend. Though, it doesn't come to a surprise that people would have such strong admiration towards Izuku. He's fantastic, after all.

"In all honesty," Tenya's voice spoke again. "If it wasn't for Izuku, I probably wouldn't be here. I owe him my life and my career as a hero. Even after graduation we continued being friends and he helped me come to term with finally settling with Ingenium's title. I'm forever grateful." Tenya placed a hand on his heart, a small tear forming in his eyes. Though it wasn't tears of sadness, Shouto couldn't help but lean over slowly and wrap his arms around Tenya, catching him by surprise.

Never had Shouto initiated an embrace before, but it felt right to do so. Tenya had willingly shared his life and hardship despite Shouto not being some sort of professional like Izuku. He was also grateful for the blue-haired hero to trust in him to share such an emotional break in his life. A time of his life Shouto was there for, but only as a bystander. He would move on to right the wrongs of his pass and do his best to help others. That's what the difference between him and Izuku was, the latter being a far superior model of a hero.

A true hero doesn't just help those who are seemingly weaker or younger, but they are able to help their peers and identify when they need help.

Shouto will follow in Izuku's path, to become a better hero and more importantly – a better friend.

The blue-haired hero wrapped his arms around Shouto in return, though one couldn't fully embrace the other. A small sniffle came from Tenya before he pulled away, offering a small smile in return. "Thank you Todoroki."

"You can call me Shouto." He replied, pulling away. Tenya blinked before turning his face, his head going straight to his face to push up his glasses. Perhaps a blush was spreading across his face, but the man's face turned back before Shouto could check to see.

Tenya cleared his throat and sat back on the bench, his hand placed onto his helmet.

"Why don't you tell me about how your sessions are going?" He asked, making Shouto turn back.

The hero smiled gently, looking at Tenya with a sparkle in his eye.

"About that. Would you like to get something to eat with me after patrol?"

It's been a few days after Shouto had explained his relationship with Izuku, which Tenya was overly surprised and supportive about, but it wasn't until now after Tenya's pestering that he revealed his current dilemma.

Tenya leaned down to pat the top of a small child's head who held onto his crutches. Shouto couldn't help but notice the child's legs and how weak they looked, being unable to properly stand. Despite that, the boy smiled brightly, his eyes glistening with a form of admiration to Tenya.

"If you continue to train and work hard, you too can become a great hero. Ingenium believes in you!" Tenya beamed, the child's face lighting up with excitement and esteem.

After the two waved goodbye to the children the heroes continued on their walk, Tenya placing his helmet back on and rubbed at its solid chin area.

"I knew your father was quite an overbearing and powerful man, but I never suspected he'd be so against something like this. Though I guess it's common for our types of families." Shouto raised an eyebrow at Tenya before taking a look around at their surroundings.

"Does your family policy who you interact with romantically?" Shouto asked, keeping an eye on a few establishments as they walked by.

Tenya shook his head. "Not for me, I've never been interested in relationships but for my brother they did for a while. Before his accident he had many suitors and dates with various people. My parents always voiced their support but there was that… internal struggle of wanting to make sure Tensei was with someone with a strong quirk or another hero." Tenya waved at a few of the shop owners who greeted him.

Shouto only nodded his head. It truly was something that the older generation internalized, or at least those who come from powerful hero families.

"I'm sure to them it's both a way to preserve their family line but also to maintain their own reputation in some way." Tenya added with a heavy sigh. "I guess it's something we don't think about until we get into a relationship. It seems in your case your father was thinking of his reputation considering your counseling sessions and relationship." Shouto continued to nod his head, listening to the other and processing the information.

"With your father being the Number 1 hero it's more than likely his internalized discrimination has given him a tremendous amount of stress to uphold his reputation. I'm not defending him, mind you, but I believe he is acting without taking your feelings and general life into consideration." Tenya's good hand began making wild gestures, mapping out his train of thought.

A huff escaped from Shouto's lips. "You're right about that. My old man doesn't really care about us." He wondered if Tensei would go through a similar process as to Fuyumi when it came a time to find a possible spouse, but knowing Tenya's family it was highly unlikely they'd do something so conservative.

"Considering he's been trying to set me up with other people, it's not likely he'll let this drop so easily." He added with a somber expression. Tenya nodded his head, frowning deeply though it wasn't apparent from the helmet he wore.

"Have you been going to Izuku for counseling?" Tenya asked.

Shouto shook his head. "Not for counseling, we're taking a break from actual meetings in his office. We spend the weekends together though, usually at night for dates." The night market had been a very pleasant experience, and both Tsuyu and Ochako had asked for more official double dates in the future. "It's been tough since he works Mondays through Saturday and of course we have to work constantly too. Since Izuku was a quirk counselor it was recognized as hero work, but if I were to call any other time off without giving a reason it would look bad." He explained, Tenya nodding.

Of course dates with Izuku were wonderful, but the fact they had to hide themselves like this was just insulting to their love. Shouto wanted nothing more than to share to everyone how amazing Izuku was, to show the world that this is the man who truly belonged to be the world's number 1 hero.

"Understandable." Tenya replied. He continued walking on their patrol, though seemingly deep in thought. "Might I make a suggestion?"

Shouto nodded his head.

"Why don't I make an appointment under myself, and you come along with me as a patrol partner? You wouldn't have to send in the fact you're going to counseling, you'd just be assisting me." Tenya stopped to turn towards Shouto.

He took a second to think about the linguistics of it all. As heroes they had to report back of what they've done during the day and if there are any incidents. It would be true that Shouto would just be on a patrol with Tenya, and no one would look too closely at both their work schedules to find inconsistencies like that. It could work.

"Would you… really do that for me?" He whispered softly, thinking what could possibly happen if his father found out. Would he try and ruin Ingenium's reputation?

"Of course, we're friends after all. This would be a temporary solution of course. But nonetheless, you should be able to have more time with Izuku." He explained. Shouto could feel the feeling of comradery overwhelm him with happiness.

"What would you do during the time?" Shouto asked.

"I won't be wasting time, I assure you! I will catch up on any paperwork I have or assist Mrs. Midoriya!" Tenya raised a hand in determination. Considering how Shouto knows Tenya, it's more than likely the latter. There's no way he'd have any lingering paperwork that isn't done the second it's assigned.

"Thank you Tenya, I would appreciate that." Shouto smiled gently.

The helmet was pulled off and the smile was returned.

"Of course, I'll go ahead and schedule the appointment."

Shouto's original appointment was during the middle of the week, but with Tenya's schedule they had to change it to Saturday. Regardless, it was maybe an improvement. Tenya was able to schedule it so it would be the last appointment of the day which meant that after the session, the two could have the rest of the night together. Whether this was something Tenya consciously organized, Shouto had been extremely grateful.

The two headed into the office building in their hero uniforms as they had to make it seem like this was a patrol. Though the two did patrol awhile beforehand, neither of them bothered to change out of their costumes. Mostly because Shouto was comfortable in his and Tenya would mostly go back outside to help Mrs. Midoriya.

As they reached the floor, Shouto couldn't help but briskly walk inside, heading over to the counter where Mrs. Midoriya was.

"Shouto! Sweetie hi!" She stood up and walked around the receptionist desk to give the man a hug. Shouto responded to the embrace by wrapping his arms around her and gave a quick squeeze.

"Hello Mrs. Midoriya." He greeted before pulling away.

"HELLO MRS. MIDORIYA!" Tenya's voice boomed, though muffled by his helmet. He pulled it off and walked over, the mother giving him a hug as well.

"Tenya hello! This is such a surprise, well not you Tenya I knew you were coming. I didn't know you two knew each other!" Inko smiled and began patting at Tenya's cheek.

Tenya couldn't help but smile with the motherly affection before straightening himself.

"Though I was the one who scheduled the appointment, I did it so I can give the session to Shouto in order to have more time with Izuku." The hero explained, moving to place the helmet down on the desk. Inko's eyes began welling up, her hands moving to cover her mouth.

"What?! Tenya that's so sweet of you! Izuku's going to love that, oh you're so kind to do that, come here!" She pulled the man into another warm hug, her sniffling making Shouto chuckle. Inko's excitement began bouncing off the walls, filling Shouto with a child-like anticipation to see Izuku.

Inko's eyes lit up before she motioned Shouto over. "Come here! Come here! Let's surprise him!" The green-haired woman took Shouto's arm and brought him over to behind the receptionist counter, pulling him into the closet behind her. Tenya was ready to disagree or make some sort of argument before Izuku's door opened.

"I'll see you next week okay, can you promise me you'll work on your homework and show me?" Izuku's voice found Shouto's ears, giving him a jolt of joy though it wasn't obvious to see except for a small curve of his lips. He kept the closet door opened slightly, peeking through the crack to watch.

A small girl walked out of the door, nodding her head silently before catching Tenya's form. Her face jumped from bored to wild enthusiasm, pointing at him.

"DAD IT'S INGENIUM!" She screamed, her voice filled with delight. Tenya blinked before grinning, getting down on one knee and waved with his good hand.

"Hello young miss! Are you perhaps a fan of me?" The hero asked, offering his hand before noticing the girl's shoes being custom-made to fit her extra wheel-like appendages.

"I'm your biggest fan! Look! LOOK!" She screeched, running wildly. Her wheels began rotating, her speed increasing as the young girl ran around Tenya in circles. She stopped in front of him, nearly falling over as her wheels slipped. Tenya pulled his arm over to catch her before she fell, though her face never faltered with excitement.

"I want to be just like you! I'm going to be the fastest hero ever like you!" She brimmed with glee and pride, her father next to Izuku stepped forward.

"Shuna it's time to go! Let's not make mom wait okay?" The father asked but it seemed that Shuna didn't hear or chose to ignore it.

The girl gave Tenya a hug, grinning widely. "Just you wait! I'll be the next Ingenium!" She announced, leading her father to panic slightly at the rather rude statement.

Tenya only laughed. "Alright Miss Shuna, I'll take your challenge. But to be a great hero you must do your homework. Will you show me next week?" He asked, Izuku's face twitching into a smile.

"Yes! Are you going to be here next week?! I'll make sure to do all my homework!" Tenya nodded at the girl's answer before patting her head gently.

"Excellent, I look forward to it. I'll see you next week then, Miss Shuna." Tenya gave the girl a wink and a thumbs up, receiving a squeal of excitement from her. Shuna's father sighed softly before bowing to Tenya, apologizing for his daughter before taking her home.

Shouto couldn't help but notice how nature it seemed for both Tenya and Izuku to interact with children. He's yet been able to console a child like that before, something he actively thought about as his cold demeanor seemed to ward off civilians. He stayed in the closet, peeking out of the crack to watch the men's interaction.

"You know, I've been struggling for weeks to get her to do her homework and just like that you got her to do it!" Izuku laughed before walking over to Tenya, giving him a hug. The taller man laughed before patting Izuku's back with his good hand.

"I'm happy to be of assistance! If you need any other help convincing children the importance of schoolwork, you're free to call me in any time." Tenya pulled away with a smile.

"Don't run me out of my job! Anyways, you didn't tell me why you wanted a session. I haven't seen you in a while, did something happen?" As Izuku asked the question, Inko turned to Shouto and motioned him over.

Tenya shook his head. "On the contrary, I only schedule an appointment so I may give you a token of my gratitude." He took his hand and placed it on Izuku's shoulders, positioning him so his back faced Shouto.

Slowly but surely, Shouto tip-toed over, unsure of what to do. He's never done a… surprise before. Should he cover his eyes? Back in UA he's seen Mina Ashido do that to several of her friends. Shouto chose against it, knowing that if someone were to do that to him he'd react in self-defense. He doesn't want to scare Izuku anyways, so instead Shouto stood behind the green-haired man without doing anything.

Tenya, who glimpsed gently and waited for Shouto to do something, couldn't help but try to stall for something that was not going to happen.

"Uh," He cleared his throat. "First I want to say that I am extremely grateful for you being in my life, you've been nothing but a dear friend and inspiration for me." Tenya started. Shouto only stood there behind Izuku.

"Whoa, what's this about Tenya? That's really nice of you to say but it's sort of coming from nowhere…" Izuku nervously asked, smiling gently. He moved a hand to rub the back of his head, Shouto leaning back to avoid it. Snickering came from Inko who stifled himself.

"It's not from nothing, recently I was reminded of your kindness and wanted to do something for you in return." Tenya explained, his arm moving up and down though in a way to signal Shouto to do something. He only furrowed his brows in response.

Izuku frowned, worry spreading across his face. "You didn't get me something did you? You really didn't have to."

Tenya shook his head and sighed deeply, realizing Shouto wasn't going to do anything. "Here." He reached over with a hand and carefully spun Izuku around.

Shouto waved gently before Izuku's face broke out into a grin.

"Shouto!" He threw his arms around the other, moving to kiss his cheek gently. "What are you doing here? Don't you have patrol work to do?"

Nodding his head, Shouto smiled and wrapped his arms around the man's middle, placing a kiss on his neck.

"Technically, I'm on patrol with Ingenium." He smirked gently.

Tenya jumped into the conversation, pushing his glasses up with pride. "Yes! Shouto has told me of your joint predicament and we came to the idea where I will schedule appointments for myself but have Shouto attend instead!" The heterochromatic hero turned to face Tenya.

"It was all Tenya's idea, he thought of it." Shouto corrected, looking back to Izuku whose freckle shone against his pulled cheeks. It was almost like rays of sunshine were ready to burst on the man's face, filling Shouto with incredulous joy.

Izuku turned towards Tenya with tears forming in his eyes. "Are you serious?! You did this for us?" The blue-haired hero turned scarlet, matching his eyes. He placed a hand on his hip and turned his face, pushing his glasses up.

"Yes, after Shouto explained to me your situation I had to do something. I thought it was unfortunate that you two had so little time together, so even if it's for an hour or so, I assumed this would be a good way for you two to have a bit time with one another." Tenya cleared his throat and shyly looked away. It seemed as if Tenya became more and more timid once realizing he was oversharing to more than just one person.

"If you don't mind, I will be assisting Mrs. Midoriya with her work! Please have a good session!" Inko seemed to have gotten the message and nodded, placing the "Out for Lunch" sign on her desk. She trotted over to Tenya, taking his arm and walked out of the office together.

The door closed and Izuku sighed softly, turning back to Shouto with a smile.

"Won't you come into my office?"

The two hadn't have a session since the day Endeavor came into the office. It was almost as if the two of them weren't sure how to have a session considering how their relationship has enhanced over the month. This wasn't like a date, though it didn't feel like a professional session anymore.

Shouto stepped into the office and waited for Izuku to close the door, unsure whether or not to sit.

"It really was nice of Tenya to do that." Izuku smiled, taking a hold of Shouto's hand. The man nodded and squeezed back.

"He told me about how you two met and what he was going through at the time." Shouto led Izuku over to the couch and sat down. The counselor took a seat close to Shouto, leaning his head against the hero's shoulder.

"Did he? I hope he didn't say anything embarrassing…" Izuku groaned gently, fiddling with Shouto's fingers.

The man shook his head. "No not yet, but I'll be sure to ask next time we're on patrol together."

Izuku's head shot up, eyes filled with playful fear. Shouto couldn't help but smirk, leaning over to give a kiss to the man's temples.

"No, but he did tell me what you did for him. Even back then you were a hero to him. I'm not surprised you were also kind and willing to help a complete stranger." Shouto mumbled against Izuku's head, leaning down to capture his lips gently.

Izuku wrapped his arms around Shouto's shoulders, kissing him back softly before pulling away.

"I saw on the news about what happened, I think anyone would've been concerned. I just reached out because I had a feeling he might've been feeling helpless you know?" Izuku explained gently, reaching up to caress Shouto's face.

"You saved his life." Shouto added, looking into Izuku's green eyes. The brows above furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?" It occurred to Shouto that maybe Tenya never revealed what he felt before Izuku had contacted him all those years ago. Whether Izuku should know or not wasn't up to Shouto, despite his desire to let the man know how much of an impact he's made on others.

Shaking his head, Shouto pulled him close. "I don't think you know how much you've made an impact on others. To me, to Tenya, to Asui and Uraraka, to the children you help." He leaned back over to place a kiss on the man's cheek. "You're a hero, Izuku."

"You're always complimenting me like that… It's embarrassing…" Izuku's face turned pink, his shoulders rising with shyness. "As much as I like hearing it, don't get me wrong it makes me feel good, it's a two-way street you know? I'm not able to help people unless they're willing to want to be helped. That's all up to you guys. So thanks for opening up and letting me into your life."

Shouto thought of what might've happened if Tenya refused to answer Izuku's email. The implications of it was a bit too much for him to imagine so Shouto pushed it out of his mind. Instead he went back to think about how extremely humble Izuku was, despite the effort being all of Izuku's.

It was a lesson everyone can use, to always push kindness in the darkest of hours. To be brave enough to reach out to others and offer support. Izuku had saved Tenya's life whether he knew it or not, and to save someone is to be someone's hero.

Shouto leaned over to Izuku, taking his face gently. "Thank you for entering my life." He said gently, moving to kiss Izuku passionately.

Whether he knew it or not, Izuku was a man that didn't deserve hardship. Shouto wanted nothing more than to give Izuku a life of happiness for all the care he's given to others. With his own father hounding on him, it almost seemed impossible to do that – but he had to channel Izuku's determination.

On top of that, neither of them were alone. Shouto had friends now, and one that's willing to risk his own hero reputation to help him spend time with Izuku.

In a way, Shouto can relate to Tenya even more now. While Tenya could've possibly not been around if it wasn't for Izuku, Shouto felt like he too would've been dead in some way. Izuku had saved his life as well and he sought to repay the man any way he could.