"Help! That bastard stole my bag! My whole life is in there!"

Izuku jumps into action before he can even fully process the panicked and somewhat angry plea, his body moving on its own as he turns on his heel and runs towards the lady's voice. He quickly spots someone running away, rounding a corner and disappearing from view as the electrifying energy of One for All starts coursing through his veins and propels him forward, flashing past the woman like a green blur with a quick "Stay here!", the adrenaline of the chase already taking over.

Weaving through the crowd with practiced ease, already having spent the good part of four years adapting to hero work on the field, Izuku follows, nary a second passing before he locks onto his target and bolts past them. He twists around, skidding to a stop a little ways ahead and catching the very moment the guy realises he tried to steal someone's bag just when Hero Deku happened to be on patrol in the area by the way the blood drains from his face. He looks young, no older than maybe sixteen, though the terror mixed with a healthy dose of shame adds some years to his expression, the gravity of the situation weighing on his conscience from just one look into Izuku's eyes and the frown that pulls down the corners of his lips. The kid falls to his knees, dropping the stolen backpack by his side.

Izuku heaves a sigh, stepping closer to pick up the bag and hanging it on his shoulder before crouching in front of the defeated teen.

"So, I assume there is a reason you're out here stealing instead of at school at ten in the morning on a Tuesday."

Rather than a reply, all Izuku gets is a choked sob. It would be unprofessional and wildly unhelpful if Izuku were to start crying too. So, he clears his throat, swallows down the lump that has lodged itself in it, he breathes in, breathes out, and places a hand on the kid's head, ruffling his hair slightly.

"Now, then. Take a deep breath and talk to me. Is this the first time you've done something like this?"

The boy nods and Izuku mirrors the movement, waiting for him to calm down before trying again. It takes a few minutes, but eventually, he stops sobbing, rubbing his face on the back of his shirt's sleeve and finally facing Izuku with shame-filled eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

"I know kid. I can see it. Got a name?"

"Kaito."

"Alright, Kaito-kun. You don't look like you want to be doing this, so why are you?"

"I…" Izuku waits for him to get his emotions in check, for his lip to stop trembling and his breath to stop stuttering every other second. "My mom… She got laid off last week and I… I saw her cryin' on the phone wi-ith my dad 'cause she wouldn't be able to get my sis and I food but that piece of—"

Kaito trails off into an angry growl, tears of frustration springing to the corners of his eyes all over again, and Izuku holds him by the shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. For all intents and purposes, this kid could very well be lying to him, playing him like a fiddle, a really great actor… but that look of defeat in his eyes, the angry curl of his fists by his sides as he stares at anything that isn't Izuku's eyes… That's something hard to fake.

"It's gonna be okay, don't worry." Izuku takes Kaito's hand and turns it over, pulls his wallet out of his belt pouch and gets all the money in it onto the kid's open hand. "That should be enough to last you till the end of the week," pulling out a pen, he writes his number onto the boy's arm "shoot me a text. I'll try to find your mom something to get you guys back on your feet, but you gotta promise me I will not find you like this again. Can I trust you, Kaito-kun?"

Sniffling once more, Kaito nods weakly, trying to hold back more tears as he chokes out a low "thank you" and Izuku helps him back to his feet. Izuku ruffles his hair another time when the boy bows with a string of heartfelt apologies and words of gratitude, telling him to go on back to his family. Suddenly, Kaito throws his arms around Izuku's waist, holding him so tightly he might think his life could depend on it. Izuku smiles softly, returning the embrace for a few heartbeats until the teen lets go and runs straight to the nearest convenience store.

Izuku adjusts the bag's strap on his shoulder and jogs back to where he had last seen the owner. His expression softens further when he sees the young woman hunched in on herself, her face hidden behind her hands and her shoulders shaking slightly as she paces back and forth. Eager to put her mind at ease, Izuku picks up his speed, running the rest of the way to her and calling out to her.

The woman jumps at the sound of his voice, likely so lost in her panicked thoughts that she didn't notice him approaching, and twists around with a gasp, smacking him on the chest out of instinct. As soon as she does it, she recognises his costume, eyes wide and face pale as she backs away and starts apologising profusely. Izuku chuckles, rubbing at the spot she hit more out of habit than anything else, and shrugs the backpack off his shoulder.

"It's alright miss, barely even felt it. I got your bag back and I'm pretty sure everything is in there. You'll have to forgive me though, I didn't catch the person who took it. But I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

"No! You don't understand! Oh my gosh I am so sorry, I was just so wound up, my laptop is in that bag and I've got all my research in there and I'm also an idiot who forgets to back everything up and—ah god, that's not the point right now! What I mean to say is… Um… I can't believe I just did this to Hero Deku…"

The woman's voice dies out as she stares off into space, and Izuku blinks at her before laughing nervously with a hand rubbing at the back of his neck. A cold feeling pools in the pit of his stomach, spreading through his veins as a strange sense of impending doom settles over his head like a dark storm cloud akin to the ones threatening rain at that very moment. Izuku wets his dry lips and swallows.

"Did… did what exactly?"

Her head snaps up to look him in the eyes, a deep flush dusting over her cheeks before she covers her face with her hands and shakes her head violently. Strangely enough, Izuku is somewhat reminded of himself.

"I may have… Accidentally used my quirk on you."

"Oh." Izuku provides intelligently. "So, what should I be expecting?"

She pinks further and Izuku feels his blood run just a little cold, holding his breath and bracing himself for whatever is to come. The woman opens her mouth, a little squeak crawls from her lips and then promptly closes it again, covering her face and turning around with one more embarrassed noise before facing him once more.

"Um well… My quirk is a little strange to say the least… It kind of just activates on its own when I'm agitated and well… You know… Anyway… If I hit someone with it, they start to get thrown into situations you might find… In a comedy romance Shoujo manga?" Izuku blinks at her, at a complete loss for words, wracking his brain for all the possible ways her quirk could be working in such an odd manner, when she continues on. "You don't happen to be in love with someone, do you?"

Startling at the question, Izuku feels his cheeks suddenly burning, a high-pitched noise getting caught in his throat as he chokes on his own spit and a very familiar face pops right into the forefront of his mind, hoards of paparazzi and crazed fans chasing him down if the news of his private life got out. He tries to keep his voice from cracking.

"T-that's private information that I feel like should be kept that way." He fails.

"R-right! Of course! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to intrude it's just—Ah…" The woman scratches her head, laughing awkwardly. "My quirk's effects happen to get more out of control the more in love someone is."

Eyebrows climbing up to his hairline, Izuku sputters, a cold shiver crawling down his spine as he pinches himself to make sure this isn't some weird dream. Much to his chagrin, the little sting lingers and he is still standing there, looking at this flustered girl while he is still holding on to her stolen backpack and wondering what on earth is going to happen now. It had been an uncharacteristically long time since he had last gotten himself into an embarrassing situation, clearly this was bound to happen sooner or later. Especially since he was doing such a good job of keeping his relationship with Shouto under wraps to avoid unnecessary attention and problems both while they were still figuring out their rhythm. They are very happy and Izuku is indeed very much in love.

"Oh boy."

The woman's eyes widen at his words and she bows so low Izuku is somewhat concerned she might hurt herself. She keeps apologising no matter how much he tries to tell her it's okay despite the fact that he is actually internally freaking out, the desperate screaming in his mind only becoming louder when she adds with a rush of remorse that the only way to get rid of the quirk is to wait it out. It's only a few hours, she says, twelve tops but usually no more than five. All Izuku has to do is avoid people for that time and everything will be peachy.

"Thank you so much for your work! And, again, I am so incredibly sorry for this!" She cries one last time, taking the bag from his hands before pacing the opposite way as Izuku starts to call the agency to get the rest of the day off.

As the phone rings, Izuku begins to round the corner, desperate to get back to Idaten before he manages to actually get roped into any embarrassing situations. Of course, it wouldn't be a regular Tuesday if things didn't go horribly wrong in one way or another. Sometimes it can just mean that a villain starts wreaking havoc downtown and Izuku once again gets home far too late and with perhaps one too many injuries. This time, it seems like it means walking straight into someone, his phone dropping down a drain with a miserable splash when he backs away and trips on thin air, falling flat on his ass with a yelp.

Izuku squeezes his eyes shut, hissing slightly as he rubs his sore behind before facing the stranger, an apology at his lips that dies as soon as he meets mismatched summer storm eyes. Any other circumstance and Izuku would have most likely been happy to see Shouto while out on patrol, blinking at him owlishly before his lips twitch into a half smile that is there one moment and gone the next. But this isn't any other circumstance.

Even if the quirk isn't really a physical affliction, Izuku can almost feel it in effect, the butterflies taking flight in his stomach and his cheeks flaring with a bright flush as he looks up at Shouto and stares dumbly at his outstretched hand. He knows it's a subconscious reaction, his mind already painting ridiculous scenarios in vivid detail, all the manga he read in his teens coming back to haunt him as he starts feeling like a socially awkward high-school nerd with a stupidly obvious crush on the popular jock. Granted Izuku is a socially awkward nerd even today, but so is Shouto, unfairly gorgeous or not.

Shaking his head to clear his derailing thoughts, Izuku reaches for Shouto's hand, only then wondering what in heavens is he actually doing here.

"Weren't you on patrol on the other side of the city?" Izuku asks, mild curiosity mixing with the cold nervousness in his gut.

Shouto helps him up and Izuku trips all over again, right into his boyfriend's steady arms. It can't be this bad, please tell me it's not this bad. With another small smile, Shouto steadies him and returns him to a standing position while he scrambles to find a way to get rid of the bright red blush on his cheeks.

"I chased a villain down to a few blocks from here and before I got back, I received an alert that there was an incident nearby. Turned out to be a false alarm."

"Of course it did." Izuku mutters under his breath, more than a little miffed that it seems like the forces of the universe are already somehow working at some woman's quirk's whim to make his life a living hell of clichés and tropes for the next few hours.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! So, um, I lost my phone. Can I use yours to call HQ? I need the rest of the day off."

Izuku sounds just a little too desperate, his words jumbling together as his mind races to come up with any possible ways to remove himself from the public eye before everything starts spiralling out of control. Shouto must notice his building panic, because one of his eyebrows climbs up his forehead slightly, his head tilts to one side and a question starts twisting his features just enough for Izuku to catch it. He doesn't ask it though, just blinks at him and shrugs before taking his phone and handing it over.

As luck would have it – or ridiculously unexplainable quirk anyway –, someone bumps into Shouto just as Izuku is reaching for the phone and he loses his grip on it. Izuku's stomach drops when it falls and skids to the road, a small breath of relief escaping his lips when it seems like it's still intact. But before either of them has the chance to get it back, a car speeds past, running right over it and smashing it along with any hopes Izuku has of calling this in.

Eye twitching, Izuku stares dumbly at the broken phone, his jaw slacking as a small whine crawls out of his throat. Shouto crosses his arms over his chest, humming curiously beside him and Izuku looks back at him, silently begging for some sort of mercy he knows, deep down, he isn't really going to get.

"So…" Shouto starts.

"I got hit by a quirk."

Izuku might just want to hit him for the hint of a smirk at the corner of his lips. "Sounds about right. What are we dealing with then?"

"We?"

"Well, my phone just suffered an untimely death at this quirk's expense so I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's not exactly just you who's affected. And I'm not about to leave you alone. You're a hazard, it's my job as a hero to take you in and contain the effects."

"Now isn't that noble of you." Izuku mutters sarcastically. "You just wanna watch me squirm."

"Maybe a little bit," Shouto steps a little closer "but I do want to make sure you're safe."

Warmth spreads in Izuku's chest, a gentle fondness joining it as a small smile stretches across his lips. Overcome with an overwhelming urge to hug him, Izuku brushes the back of his hand over Shouto's forearm, cursing his uniform's gloves keeping him from actually feeling his skin. Shouto reaches for him and, for a second, Izuku thinks that maybe he's going to hold his hand, his breath catching as his heart splits between being thrilled and freaking out about the consequences.

Then, a bike's bell rings loudly from behind him, someone yelling at them to move as they lose control and start swerving towards them. Shouto pulls Izuku closer, spinning them out of the way with such unnecessary flourish that he ends up dipping him. After a moment of recovery, Shouto seems to realise their position a little too late, Izuku spotting a camera's flash out of the corner of his eye and feeling his heart jumping up to his throat.

Shouto clears his throat and pulls Izuku back up to a standing position and they take a quick look around in a futile attempt to spot whoever had taken a picture of them, finding only a small crowd of curious onlookers staring after the biker that is already halfway down the road. Shouto purses his lips.

"That can't have been a coincidence."

A heavy sigh crawling out of him, Izuku rubs his face in exasperation, whining lowly and cursing his luck for getting him in these sorts of situations. "Quirk. I'm being thrown into Shoujo manga clichés. It appears to be bad."

"Shoujo… manga? Those books Fuyumi was always reading?" Shouto huffs in amusement. "Interesting."

"I think you mean awful."

"Am I the love interest?" Izuku can only throw his hands up in frustration in response and Shouto actually has the gall to smirk for another fraction of a second. "I think it's interesting. How do you think it works?"

"You know, for once, I have no idea."

"Then I suppose we should get you back to the agency to minimise potential fallout."

Izuku simply nods in silent agreement, biting at his bottom lip as he hugs himself to try and somehow hide himself. It's not like it actually works, or that, even if it did, it will actually stop the embarrassing situations from continuing to torment him, but still, he just wants to be able to disappear. What he wouldn't give to have Hagakure's quirk right about now…

Making sure the way is safe, Shouto picks up his broken phone, shoving it back into its pouch before scoping out the area. Izuku follows his gaze. For all intents and purposes, there really is nothing threatening lurking in the shadows from what they can gather, only the regular rush of people on a busy afternoon going about their day, some walking back home already, others just now getting out to enjoy the coming evening. Still, Izuku can't get rid of the nasty feeling pooled in his stomach, can't stop the cold shivers running up and down his spine, and he certainly can't stop his brain from coming up with incredibly unlikely scenarios with Shouto as the centre piece for his downfall.

Fleetingly, he wonders if maybe his imagination might actually fuel the quirk's effects, though the lady had only mentioned that they are all the more intense the more he loves someone. Which begs the question of whether he would be affected at all were he not in love? Not like it would matter, because Izuku can't really wish he wasn't as in love with Shouto as he is. If anything, he sort of wants to keep falling more in love with him, if that's even possible, but that's not exactly the issue at hand.

Carefully keeping an eye on his surroundings, Izuku follows closely behind Shouto. He considers pulling his mask over his eyes, for once, searching for some sense of privacy behind the gesture, but the fact that his hero uniform is almost more recognisable than his face kind of puts that thought to rest. If he's lucky, they can somehow keep attention off of themselves. Maybe the quirk isn't even that aggressive, those few incidents at the beginning could have just been a very unfortunate coincidence…

A scream echoes down the street and both he and Shouto straighten up and run towards it, One for All coursing through Izuku's body as his partner freezes an ice path in front of him to reach the scene faster as well. Izuku gets there first, drifting to a halt around the street corner when he spots a hoard of teenagers huddled around some sort of idol cardboard cut-out. It seems that Shouto doesn't notice that he stopped running, sliding on his ice and only noticing him standing there a second too late and crashing right into him.

They both go tumbling down to the floor, limbs tangling together as they roll a little down the street and closer to the commotion until they finally lose their momentum. How they ended up in this position, Izuku couldn't say if his life depended on it, but the fact of the matter is that he has somehow ended up sprawled over Shouto, their faces smashed together awkwardly and in such a way that they are almost kissing.

It takes far too long for Izuku's brain to kick back into gear, his entire face from the base of his neck up to the tips of his ears painted in a deep shade of red as he jerks back to sit on his ankles. A high-pitched noise dies in his throat when he's met with dozens of curious eyes, excited grins and shocked expressions behind phone screens pointed straight at him.

Shouto chooses that precise moment to sit back up, inadvertently getting closer to Izuku's face all over again. It doesn't help that he is still kind of sitting on his lap, and Shouto's instinct to reach for Izuku's neck and caress it gently to make sure he is alright certainly isn't doing them any favours either. Izuku can only imagine how this must look from the outside, how unbearably suggestive, and he immediately jumps to his feet, overshooting the energy he directs to his legs and getting at least three metres of distance between them. Giggles and chortles sound all around him and Izuku can't resist the urge to cover his face with his arms.

"Isn't that Hero Deku?"

"Are those two…?"

"They totally kissed…"

"I think I got it on camera."

Before Shouto is fully standing, Izuku is already tugging him by the arm, towing him away with hardly a word of warning. His face feels like it's on fire, his heart drumming frantically against his ribcage as he feels all the eyes boring holes into the back of his head.

"I can't believe this actually happened. We kissed. Well, kind of. Close enough anyway. I was on top of you and we kissed, for goodness' sake."

"Izuku, you do realise we've kissed before, right? Many times."

Somehow that reminder only makes him burn even hotter. Izuku stops storming away, ducking into an alley and pulling Shouto along with him before pinning him against a wall with one hand on each side of his face. Puffing out his flushed cheeks, Izuku inhales, exhales, then shrieks.

"Not like that! Not in public, in front of teenagers with cameras. How much do you wanna bet there's already pictures online?! Or worse, videos!"

"I'll bet you an actual kiss that we're already viral."

With an irritated huff, Izuku shoves Shouto's inching face back with his hand over his lips, rolling his eyes and groaning. "This isn't the time for jokes!"

"It was going to come out eventually." Shouto mumbles against his palm, leaving a searing peck on his glove that makes Izuku's heart skip several beats. He tries to pull away but Shouto wraps his arms around his waist, keeping him flush against his chest as he nuzzles his neck and breathes him in. Izuku shivers. "I know why you wanted to keep it secret but I honestly think we can make it work. We've handled internships and U.A. at the same time before, this is nothing."

"That's not the point…" Izuku whines, albeit melting a little into his boyfriend's embrace.

"I know. It's going to be fine."

Izuku only offers him a disgruntled hum, then sighs and weaves his fingers through Shouto's hair for just a moment, allowing himself to feel the warmth seep into his ever-sore muscles, the comfort settling in his chest, enjoying the quietude for the few heartbeats it lasts. Before he can fully savour their closeness, something crashes at the end of the alley and their heads snap towards the noise.

A short man sits among burst trash bags, seemingly having dropped from one of the windows above, all sorts of expensive jewellery hanging from his neck and wrapped around his arms. They blink at each other for a fraction of a second, then Izuku and Shouto both charge towards the obvious thief as he gets to his feet and stretches his hands in front of him.

They halt their approach, not knowing what quirk they could be dealing with and whether they should keep their distance or not. A beat passes and Izuku hears the crackle of ice forming as Shouto shoots it towards the man from his right hand. The man ducks the projectiles and bolts towards them.

Just as Izuku is about to pounce him, something tickles his leg but he ignores it, preparing to jump towards the thief only to feel his feet catch, and he topples to the hard concrete. He notices Shouto struggling against his bound hands and feet before he actually looks down at himself and pales, finding the bottom of his suit completely shredded down to thin threads wrapped tightly around his ankles and thighs.

Without a moment to waste, the thief already halfway to the alley's exit, Izuku tears the binds off, getting to his feet to run after him and crashing down to his knees as soon as he puts any weight on his right leg. A sharp pain shoots up from his right ankle so intensely it knocks the breath right out of him and no matter how much he tries to ignore it, he just can't seem to regain his balance enough to actually walk, let alone run.

Shouto finally manages to break free of the significantly smaller threads and makes to chase the man as Izuku stays behind, cursing as he holds his leg to his chest and groans at the soreness of his rapidly swelling ankle.

"Sure. Just sure. I can break a hundred bones and they'll neatly heal themselves even stronger, but I set my foot a little weird on the floor and suddenly I can't walk. Makes so much sense. Humans are so well designed." He mutters, annoyance evident in his tone even if there really isn't anyone to hear him.

It's not long before Shouto returns, woefully empty-handed and a frown settled on his lips that only deepens as soon as he lays eyes on Izuku's huddled form. He jogs all the way back to him, helping him to a sitting position and feeling his ankle after taking off his red boot. Izuku hisses as soon as he puts a little more pressure on the side.

"It's definitely sprained." With his right hand carefully chilled, Shouto moves to ice Izuku's foot, pausing when his eyes travel up his leg. "Your um… your suit…"

Izuku blinks at his naked legs then glances at the threads he'd been so keen to rip apart. Perfect.

"Why did you only get like a sliver of your suit torn?"

"Your quirk is definitely stronger and you're fast so he focused on immobilising your legs entirely. Smart, honestly."

"You're siding with the villain? Really?"

"Credit where credit's due." Shouto shrugs, the corners of his lips quirking upwards. "Nice underwear by the way. Is it new?"

Shoving Shouto's hand away from his ankle and biting back the pained grunt, Izuku crosses his legs to hide his newly bought Valentine's Day edition All Might boxers covered in mini All Might cupids, a deep crimson dusting over his cheeks. With a low chuckle, Shouto caresses Izuku's injured foot anyway, a thin layer of frost covering it before he takes his hand back and offers to help him up once again after he puts on his shoe. Izuku crosses his arms over his chest, pouting for all of two seconds then letting out a sharp exhale and taking his arm for support.

"If the quirk puts you in these Shoujo situations, should I carry you bridal style?"

"You're really having fun with this, aren't you?" Despite the irritation, Izuku can't keep the hint of affection from his tone.

Instead of giving him an actual answer, Shouto starts to unzip the top of his suit, forming an ice blade to cut it off and offer it to Izuku to cover himself with seeing as he has a white t-shirt underneath anyway. It's not ideal but it's certainly better than walking around in his underwear.

As he takes a look at himself, however, Izuku doesn't miss the fact that it looks like he's wearing a deep blue skirt that is much too short on him to begin with. He clicks his tongue, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his temples as he lets out an exasperated huff.

If the universe is kind, they might just make it to Idaten fast enough that no one even notices his state of undress. But given the way things have been going, that is obviously wishful thinking, especially since he refuses to let Shouto carry him despite his injured foot. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell Izuku will actually risk that photo making it onto the web. What kind of a narrative are they putting out with this?

Leaning against Shouto's side for support as he limps his way out of the alley will have to do.

People start giving him sideways glances the moment they reach the busier streets, some whispering to their friends, others not-so-discreetly taking out their phones to take pictures, and Izuku just wants to crawl into a hole and die. Shouto, however, seems to be having the time of his life casually tapping his index on Izuku's thigh as they walk, as if no one would notice that his hand is much lower than it would need to be to hold him up, the fabric brushing against his leg whenever his nuisance of a boyfriend curls his fingers. If the gesture itself didn't draw even more attention to Shouto's movements, Izuku might have just swatted his hand away in retaliation.

Though, in all honesty, Izuku isn't sure if he's doing it on purpose; out of the two of them, Shouto was surprisingly the one who had the hardest time keeping their relationship to themselves. More often than not, Shouto will catch himself leaning in for a hug after villain attacks, letting Izuku's given name slip instead of his hero one or letting his touches linger for longer than two close friends might. Izuku himself also struggles with stopping himself from pulling Shouto into a kiss on many occasions, but he more than makes up for it in the privacy of their home while his boyfriend seems to prefer to keep getting small doses of affection at regular intervals.

The fact of the matter is that while the jacket – skirt, let's call it what it is – isn't really wrapped tightly enough to ride up with every one of Izuku's steps, Shouto's absentminded caresses certainly aren't doing him any favours. Nudging his side and clearing his throat melodramatically, Izuku points his head towards the display Shouto is inadvertently making of him when he finally gets his attention. At least he has the decency to blush and look away as he brings his hand up to Izuku's waist. Izuku sighs but squeezes Shouto's side all the same, feeling him return the gesture shortly after. Despite the situation, it warms his heart to feel this gentle and caring touch.

Izuku gets so lost in that moment, for a few heartbeats forgetting the rest of the world and what it might be getting ready to throw at him, that he almost whines when Shouto pulls away from him, leaving him to hiss in pain when he forgets that he can't actually chase after his boyfriend's embrace. Shooting him an apologetic look, Shouto tells him to wait there while he tries to get them a taxi to the agency, seeing as they are both without a phone to go about it in any way but the old-fashioned one. So, Izuku stays put, awkwardly balancing on one foot and crossing his arms over his chest to wait.

The city, sadly, doesn't stop on his account, everyone moving around him in their haste to get to where they need to be. Most of them hardly give him anything further than a glance, but it's tough to ignore the few snickers that sound every once in a while, when he is so hyperaware of his appearance and going through a loop of anything else that might happen to make it even worse. That kid that is walking towards him grinning like a devil could very well reach for the knot and untie it, or that dog on the other side of the street could start gunning for him and throw him down to the floor once again, what with his good leg already growing tired of supporting all of his weight.

Everywhere he looks, Izuku sees another potential scenario, another potential hazard, and he gnaws on his bottom lip, unconsciously hugging himself tighter and bracing himself for whatever might happen without even knowing what it is. For as alert as he is, taking in his surroundings in an effort to anticipate the next disaster before it has the chance to hit him, one thing he couldn't have predicted was Yoarashi flying past in a literal gust of wind without warning.

In retrospect, given his state of undress, Izuku should have expected something like this to happen. But he was too caught up calculating the probability of a completely harmless dog going wild on him to even think of the fact that wind and skirts don't usually mix well, something that comedy manga sometimes likes to make way too obvious. He should have been holding the poor excuse for a cover down, but of course he wasn't. Because when had life ever been so kind?

With a little aid from his quirk, his hands reach down to his front faster than the wind has a chance to force Izuku to flash the whole street, but he neglects to realise that the back of his 'garment' can also very much lift up. By the time he reaches around with his left hand, the damage has pretty much been done, if Shouto walking straight into a pole because he was paying too much attention to Izuku's ass and too little to what's in front of him is any indication. And his nose is bleeding. The cause might not be the usual, but that counts as a trope, right? Izuku is going to say yes.

Once the unnatural breeze settles, Izuku hops over to Shouto's side while some older women speed past him with a distinctly reddish tint to their cheeks that certainly matches his own. He pushes down the embarrassment and focuses on the mild concern instead, throwing all caution to the wind that had just advertised his peculiar choice in underwear to the entire world, and reaching for Shouto's face to ascertain the damage.

Apart from the blood trickling down to his chin, it doesn't seem like anything's bent or broken, and Izuku sighs in relief, reaching for one of Shouto's pouches for gauze to wipe the mess away. His features twist in pain when Izuku dabs a little too high. With a small grunt, Shouto moves to take the dirtied bandage from Izuku's hand, leaning his head backwards and taking his icy right hand over to the bridge of his sore nose.

"You okay?" Izuku can't keep a tiny hint of amusement off of his voice no matter how hard he tries to show sympathy.

"Yeah. It was entirely my fault."

"No arguments there."

Shouto gives him a pointed look from above, narrowing his eyes slightly despite the small upwards tilt of his lips.

Something falls on Izuku's head and he jerks, looking up to have another fat drop of water hit him square on the forehead before rolling down his face. He blinks as more soon follow, and suddenly, rain starts pouring down on them, their clothes quickly sticking to their bodies like a second skin. A scowl pulls down the corners of his lips.

"You have got to be kidding me." Izuku hangs his head in exhausted defeat.

Masking an obvious laugh as a cough, Shouto tips his chin upwards, a lopsided smirk plastered on his smug face as he quirks an eyebrow at him. "Kissing in the rain? I like this one."

With a twitch of his eye, Izuku shoves his partner's face away, feeling only a little guilty at the pained whine that tips from his lips when he once again squashes his nose. He would have stomped away as well if it wasn't for his stupid ankle, but he has to cling to Shouto for dear life instead, pouting slightly at the unfairness of it all.

"Have you considered that maybe if you go with the flow the effects might be easier on you?"

Izuku opens his mouth to protest before realising that no, he had not, and promptly closes it back up with an audible click. He looks up at Shouto, staring into his mismatched eyes, long matted locks glued to his head and raindrops glistening as they stick to his eyelashes until he blinks them away, only to have more gather where they once stood. His bottom lip suffers when he starts worrying it with his teeth, eyes darting across the streets and catching the people there hiding beneath hoods and umbrellas.

When he finally looks back at Shouto, his gaze locks on Shouto's mouth and he figures that if the theories had already started running wild right off of U.A., then everything that had happened in that short time certainly didn't make matters any better. Izuku supposes that they might as well just get it over and done with. Kissing Shouto in the rain was on his bucket list anyway.

Throwing his arms around Shouto's neck and standing on the tips of his toes – the good foot's at least –, Izuku dives for his boyfriend's lips, leaving one, two, three searing pecks there before settling for a slightly deeper kiss, their lips moving in unison for the short eternity that it lasts. His face feels warmer with the cold rain dripping down it and he instinctively wipes his cheeks with the back of his gloved hand, looking down at the ground as he lets go and clears his throat.

"Definitely like this one…" Shouto breathes, a small, dreamy smile dancing on his lips when Izuku dares to take a peek, heart skipping several beats at how soft he looks in his gentle adoration.

Suddenly, Izuku's feet lift off the pavement, a small startled noise crawling out of his throat when Shouto picks him up and starts casually walking down the sidewalk towards Idaten. Shouto makes a point of keeping Izuku's backside covered as he holds him close to his chest, but he can't help but feel a little self-conscious, shifting slightly in an attempt to make himself smaller as he hides his burning face in the crook of his free arm while the other wraps around his boyfriends neck.

"I thought I made it perfectly clear that I'm not a damsel in distress."

"Oh, I know. But you can't walk, I can't get us a cab, and we're not that far from the agency anyway. Plus, I like to be your hero once in a while."

Izuku whines, feeling the blood crawl further up to the tips of his ears. "You're always my hero, Shouto…"

When they finally make it to Idaten, Tensei hardly bats an eye at their appearance, dripping wet from the rain and Izuku still in his unusual getup.

"Your phones aren't working but you didn't send a distress signal." He comments as he wheels beside them, tapping at his tablet to send what Izuku assumes is a notice for the costume department and the on-call physician. "Quirk accident?" Just a regular Tuesday…

"Unfortunately."

"I'm guessing that explains the fact that you're both going viral as we speak?"

"Oh, I win." Shouto smiles to himself as he settles Izuku back on the floor.

"Shouto, please."

Shouto clears his throat. "Yes, that is correct. I may have to bear at least half the blame though."

"Congratulations then. Although I do wish I'd have had a word of warning beforehand. I would have prepared for the onslaught of reporters asking for a comment."

They both apologise, albeit Izuku considerably more sheepish than his boyfriend, and Tensei waves his hand dismissively, sighing instead at an intern running towards them with a stack of papers before sending them on their way and telling them to take the rest of the day. Izuku still has to suffer through a short examination that feels much too long when he is still donning a skirt and wondering if the doctor is silently judging him or not.

The time he gets released with a warning to keep weight off that foot for at least a couple more days can't come fast enough. He practically runs to the locker rooms to put on his street clothes, having never thought he would be so happy to wear his old faded black jeans. Even so, here he is, almost breaking down in tears with the overwhelming relief of having his legs fully covered. Izuku doesn't think he will wear shorts for as long as the mere memory makes him want to cringe his way into the fifth dimension.

Slumping into a seat to wait for Shouto to finish his report before escorting him home, he instinctively reaches for where his phone should be, his mind set on scrolling his way through his regular hero news feed, only to remember that it's lost somewhere in a sewer. It's likely ruined beyond repair.

And then, suddenly, like a ton of bricks falling off the sky, the reason this whole mess even started hits him and he jumps to his feet with a start, promptly losing his balance when pain shoots up his leg and crashing down face-first onto the tiled floors with a groan. A grunt at his lips and holding on to the bench he was sitting on for support, Izuku pulls himself up and limps his way to Tensei's office.

Before he has the chance to even knock, Shouto pulls the door open and Izuku stops dead in his tracks blinking stupidly and nearly dropping the cheap replacement phone he places on his hand.

"I figured you might need these. Your numbers have been redirected." Tensei tells him from inside the office, going back to his paperwork as Izuku lets out a relieved little noise that mixes with his breathed out "thank you".

He flinches at the rush of texts that is already clogging up his screen, most of them from his mother shouting at him for not telling her they were announcing their relationship in such a flashy display. Somehow, he doesn't think that telling her it wasn't actually in his plans will make things any better. Ignoring everything else for now, Izuku scrolls through the notifications, finding the unregistered number he was looking for and smiling softly at the gratitude so clear in the short text.

Shouto peeks over his shoulder and hums. "Who's that?"

"Just a kid down on his luck. Do you happen to know of anywhere that is currently hiring," he reads over the text again, "nurses?"

"Actually, I think I might just know a place." Shouto squeezes his arm. "I'll look into it later today. For now, let's get you somewhere you can't be a danger to yourself and to others."

"Thanks."

By some sort of miracle, they manage to get a taxi to Izuku's apartment without much incident other than dealing with an overly excited driver who apparently is a "huge TodoDeku fan", something neither of them had ever imagined they would hear outside of the darkest confines of the internet. That or the occasional convention Izuku sneaked his way into. But those were already a cesspool of hero shipping even before he'd gotten into U.A. so it wasn't really a surprise there.

Izuku quite literally throws himself onto his chaise lounge and Shouto chuckles as he closes the door with a soft click and moves to sit by his feet after taking off his shoes as well. He rests his right hand over Izuku's foot again, acting as his personal ice pack. Izuku actually has a few in his freezer, but he must admit that he quite enjoys his boyfriend's skin against his own, the touch tender and loving and somehow making him feel warm and fuzzy.

Rolling over, Izuku stretches his arms towards Shouto, opening and closing his hands, begging him to come closer. A grin stretches across Shouto's lips and he crawls further onto the couch, hovering over Izuku and leaning down so that their noses are nearly brushing together. Izuku couldn't stop the soft smile of his own from settling on his face if he tried so it's a good thing he doesn't actually want to.

"You should be safe here." Shouto whispers, his breath tickling Izuku's cheeks, cool as a gentle winter's breeze.

As Izuku opens his mouth to reply, he bites back his words when Shouto's face scrunches up and he looks away just in time to sneeze into the back of his arm. Sighing, Izuku tucks his damp locks behind his ear.

"Don't tell me I'll have to nurse you back to health now. I was hoping to be free from all tropes in the safety of my home."

"I'm fine." Shouto reassures, the little sniffle that follows taking away some of his credibility.

Like the good boyfriend he is, Izuku pulls Shouto into a hug, nuzzling his neck and wrapping his legs around his waist. He is just sharing his warmth, honest. Shouto doesn't seem to mind, simply melting into the embrace and letting his weight rest on Izuku's chest. It's a pleasant feeling, more so when the temperature rises steadily and Izuku has to fight off a content little noise, always the sucker for Shouto's talents as a human heating blanket that will hug him back.

Just when Izuku's brain is shutting off, thinking that maybe sleeping his way through the rest of the afternoon cuddling his boyfriend is the perfect way to bypass this quirk's effects, Shouto decides to break the comfortable silence, whispering right into his ear.

"So…" He starts, voice low and honey sweet, "what's this manga's rating?"

Izuku doesn't waste a single second to completely shove Shouto off of him.