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Ever since the upheaval of hero society, much had changed in the mindsets of many young heroes. Gone were the days of the hero ranking system, the flair of hero life, and the spotlight that shone upon heroes in the pre-war era. The expectations that civilians had of their society’s heroes were now vastly different.
Izuku had been at the forefront of the change. He was the one who dropped out of UA to pursue All For One and Shigaraki. He was the one who apprehended the escaped villains and the assassins sent by AFO. He was the one who nearly destroyed himself for the sake of society, until he was saved by his friends who reminded him that he doesn’t need to take on the burden alone.
It has been years since then and Izuku’s self-destructive tendencies had lessened. Of course, he would fall back on his bad habits from time to time, but he liked to think that he had matured and grown from his tumultuous teenage years.
It has been years and now he was considered one of the greatest heroes of all time, though he didn’t like to say or think about it. It was embarrassing, to say the least, because all he did was try to be the best hero he could be, taking into account the morally grey areas of life, never letting himself resort to simplistic black-and-white thinking.
Izuku lived much of his life, ever since he was sixteen, dedicated to being a hero, to stabilizing society, and to being a friend to all those who need it. It was expected of him for a long time considering his power and how it could be used to benefit society.
That was why romance was the least of his concerns for a long time.
At some far distant point in time, he had a crush on Ochako, who had been his first friend at UA. However, when romance became something unrealistic for him to pursue, those feelings had settled into friendship and it always might have been that way as he hadn’t had much experience with feelings of that nature. Izuku figured that he must have been confused in his feelings at the time to recognize that he had only seen her as someone he admired and trusted as a friend. Ochako would later tell him the same, in that she had also been confused about the true nature of her feelings for him. So, the two had settled for the title of being each other’s closest, best friend.
(Of course there was also a time when he had held some form of romantic feelings for Katsuki, but it became too complicated for Izuku to define given their rocky relationship. Now, they were closer than best friends, but without the romantic feelings.)
Despite his inability and unwillingness to pursue romance, Izuku would find people attractive and occasionally he would think of some of them as potential partners. Yet, no matter how he felt in that brief period of time, he would never act on it.
None of them felt… right. He would always find some reason to change his mind about his feelings.
It was never clear until he finally figured out why.
The realization came in the form of a rushed confession from his other best friend, someone for whom Izuku had felt deeply.
It was after a rough villain encounter. There were too many near calls and frantic shouts into earpieces from all over the area that night. Izuku could hardly remember what was going on around him as he was too focused on fighting villain after villain and moving civilians out of the way for the rescue heroes to move out of the area.
No matter the mission, it was silently acknowledged by everyone that there would be no casualties or as few casualties as they could help it. That was what was expected of all of them, after all. It wasn’t any different for this mission and, by the end of it, everyone returned to their agencies a little worse for wear but satisfied by the outcome.
Izuku had been one of the few in direct contact with the villain leader, however. He was on the receiving end of those frantic shouts from his friends and other allies, but he came out of the fight relatively unscathed by his standards. That didn’t alleviate his friends’ concerns no matter his platitudes.
Shouto had been one of the louder voices that evening.
Izuku could distinctly remember the look on Shouto’s face as he scolded him for his carelessness. It was an expression that Izuku hadn’t seen on him ever since their high school years.
As Shouto sharply rebuked him, Izuku noticed the desperation in his eyes and voice, as well as the tight grip of Shouto’s hands on his shoulders as he hissed out, ‘what were you thinking?!’ It was far too reminiscent of how sixteen-year-old Shouto had looked at Izuku when he flew off towards danger during Izuku’s more destructive era.
He remembered the guilt coiling in his gut at that thought and thinking that he had never wanted Shouto to look at him like that. Like Izuku was going to fly off without a word once again. As though if Shouto were to let go of Izuku, he’d lose him.
It had happened, after all, when Izuku left with only a letter detailing everything that he had been hiding from Shouto at the time. The trust between them had been fractured and it took time and effort to rebuild the friendship that they had prior to those events.
Having been reminded of that time, Izuku whispered a remorseful ‘I’m sorry’ and a sincere ‘I promise to be more careful’ all while keeping his eyes on Shouto’s blue and grey to show that he meant every word. Seconds seemed to stretch into minutes as his words hung in the air and Shouto kept looking into his eyes with an unreadable expression on his face. It looked as though Shouto wanted to say something, his mouth moving haltingly and small breaths catching in his throat.
After a few more moments of waiting, Izuku figured the conversation was over and made to turn back to his locker to change out of his dirty hero suit. However, the hands on his shoulders that had seemed to relax mere seconds ago had suddenly tightened their grip.
Izuku looked down at those hands questioningly before tilting his head up a bit, only for his breath to catch as he saw Shouto’s face closer than it had been before.
It was then that Shouto suddenly confessed.
His voice was hoarse as he whispered, ‘Please, Midoriya, I can’t lose you, I- I love you ,’ with an unnameable emotion and desperation lacing every word.
Everything made sense all of a sudden. It was as though those three words had pierced through some wall that Izuku hadn’t known existed within him.
Because of course Shouto loved Izuku. Of course. Because Izuku had been in love with Shouto this whole time.
The realization was heady and all he could see and feel was Shouto in front of him, eyes bright and so obviously in love. It was all Izuku could do as he choked out, ‘I’ve been in love with you, too, this entire time,’ trying to hold back his tears and failing.
He felt a gentle caress on his cheeks as Shouto’s thumbs wiped away his tears and all the while Izuku stood transfixed by Shouto’s softened expression. Then, those hands cradled Izuku’s face and, as Shouto leaned in, he asked reverently, ‘Can I kiss you?’ To which, Izuku had responded enthusiastically by closing the distance between them.
The kiss was ten years too late, but also right on time. It felt like everything that Izuku had never realized that he wanted. It was soft, it was firm, it was balanced, and it was everything right. They moved in tandem as they do on the battlefield, the movements coming to them naturally, as if they’ve done this their entire lives. Izuku would tilt his head one way and Shouto would follow by moving the other way, never straying too far from each other’s lips, while Shouto’s hands travelled up to grasp Izuku’s curls as Izuku’s arms wrapped around Shouto’s waist. Izuku melted into Shouto as the kiss continued to deepen, both exploring the other’s mouth, learning how to draw out a sharp gasp or a quiet moan from the other. Yet, all too soon, they were pulling apart in want of air. Shouto rested his forehead on Izuku’s and nothing had remotely come close to feeling this perfect in Izuku’s life.
In the afterglow of the kiss, Izuku and Shouto remained where they were, reaffirming their feelings for each other, whispering their words into the space between them.
‘I love you, Shouto.’
‘I love you, too, Izuku.’
They spent a few minutes, or quite possibly hours, in that empty locker room, settling down from the high of their mission and the sudden confession. Here, in this small bubble of theirs, there were no expectations. Here, they were simply Izuku and Shouto, men in their mid-twenties who found love in each other.
However, outside of this bubble, they were expected to be heroes who led society and who took their roles seriously. The two of them were high profilers in this rebuilt world and it was expected that they would actively set an example for future heroes wanting to walk down this path. This all meant that Izuku and Shouto needed to sit down and talk to properly figure out what they were going to do about their relationship.
Out of their hero uniforms and in the safety of Izuku’s apartment, they ultimately decided to keep their relationship a secret from the media and the public until it was acceptable for them, as heroes, to pursue romantic relations without being scrutinized. Their close friends would be in the know as there would be no reason to hide their relationship from them. However, that still meant Izuku and Shouto had to be discreet when they interacted outside.
It was all easier said than done, especially in the early stages of their relationship when they could hardly keep their hands off of each other. It was also easy to forget when they were with their friends out in public who would send them teasing remarks and glances.
Every touch didn’t feel like enough between them. For Izuku, especially, who thrived off of touch. Although he soon found out that Shouto was the same. Whenever they finished a mission, one would seek out the other whether it was a hand on the small of the other’s back or a pinky grazing the other’s pinky.
After they had finished a particularly rigorous mission together, the two sat on the rubble after the villain was cuffed away for interrogations and processing. They were in the middle of the city, in the middle of a large crowd of civilians, emergency responders, and other heroes, yet the need to touch, to feel, was so strong just to know the other was present, safe.
Izuku edged closer to Shouto who sat with his elbows resting on his knees.
“Hey, how are you doing?” Izuku asked, still slightly winded from the fight earlier, as he finally pressed up against Shouto’s left side.
“Never better,” Shouto replied sarcastically, his eyes hidden from Izuku by his hair.
Izuku held out his right hand and nudged Shouto’s arm, trying to get his attention. At the responding hum, Izuku discreetly pulled down Shouto’s arm from where they were resting on his knee and slotted their hands together.
“Wait, Izuku--” Shouto started to say warningly as he looked at the other hero with wide eyes, but Izuku stubbornly held on to the warm hand.
“Everyone’s too busy to be looking at us right now,” he murmured, his eyes trailing the crowd of people busy with everything else around them.
“If you’re sure,” Shouto complied quickly without much hesitation. Izuku felt Shouto’s fingers begin to lightly trace the scars littering his right hand. The touch was almost feather-light and so affectionate that Izuku felt the last of his tension melt away.
They sat side by side, the lines of their bodies pressed together and joined together by their enclampsed hands. However, Izuku didn’t dare rest his head on Shouto’s shoulder, knowing that would be pushing it too far where they are right now. So, they relished in the few moments of quiet that they had together before the police would arrive to get their statements, before they both had to return to the mountains of paperwork back at their agency, before they had to let go of each other’s hands to do everything society wanted them to do.
It was alright, however, because when they would return home later that evening, Izuku would be able to fall into bed with Shouto next to him and they would be themselves. There would be no one seeking out Hero Deku or Hero Shouto and no one interrupting their loving touches and looks. There would be no rules expecting them to behave a certain way in the confines of their home and, to Izuku, that was enough.
It was enough even when Izuku had to remind himself to pull his hand back and not intertwine his hand with Shouto’s when they were out on patrol. It was enough when Izuku had to remember to stand a couple of feet away from Shouto when they were discussing plans and strategies to rescue civilians from a villain. It had to be enough even when it made Izuku’s chest tighten whenever he saw how Shouto struggled to do the same and looked crestfallen every time.
Yet, for all the difficulties that came with a secret relationship, Izuku and Shouto enjoyed the privacy that came with it. Having an escape, a place to seek solace, without the eyes of the world upon them made their time together peaceful and they were able to navigate a new relationship easily without the world putting a strain on it.
It was wonderful to figure out Shouto’s idiosyncrasies that Izuku hadn’t known previously and to figure out what worked for them in fitting the other in their respective lives. It was the small things from figuring out a cooking schedule to the bigger things, like date nights from the comfort of their apartments. Above all, there were no expectations to meet. There was only each other and that was more than enough.
They spent a blissful year keeping their relationship away from the public and judging the climate to see whether or not they can slowly begin to leave behind the secrecy.
During that time, Izuku found a number of hero forums theorizing on the nature of his relationship with Shouto. Evidently, some of Izuku’s affections towards his boyfriend were caught by bystanders and though it was only a few who had witnessed those moments, it still meant that Izuku hadn’t been attentive enough to their surroundings when he and Shouto would sneak away from prying eyes.
However, Izuku would find that his fears were unwarranted as he browsed the forums and threads.
“Shou,” Izuku called from his place on the couch, eyes still focused on the screen before him.
“Yeah?” Shouto responded from the kitchen over the sound of the microwave whirring to life.
“We’ve been dating for about a year now, right?” Izuku asked casually, turning over the comments that he had been reading in his head.
“Just about,” came Shouto’s reply as he moved about their kitchen. “Why do you ask? I doubt you forgot, knowing you.”
“Mm, yeah, I didn’t. I was just thinking,” Izuku trailed off, biting on his lip as he thought about what he wanted to ask.
As he laid there thinking, Shouto came out of the kitchen holding up two steaming mugs. “Thinking what?” he asked, tilting his head in that way of his that never failed to make Izuku smile.
“About what it would be like if we didn’t need to keep us a secret,” Izuku said candidly as he sat up to make room for Shouto on the couch, taking a mug of tea from Shouto’s outstretched hand.
The other man hummed curiously while taking a careful sip of his jasmine green tea. “It wouldn’t be any different. Just more people aware, though they would be much more curious and invasive than our friends.”
“I suppose,” Izuku responded, taking a sip out of his own cup of black tea. “I was just reading the forums and it looks like there are people catching on to us.”
“We weren’t being the best at being secretive. Someone was bound to find out eventually,” Shouto said frankly while shrugging. “Anything noteworthy from those posts?”
Izuku exhaled softly before curling up into Shouto’s side and wrapping his hand around Shouto’s arm. “Well, it was all really positive. Only the occasional homophobic asshole, but the mods have been great at banning those people, anyway.”
“Anything about our hero work?” Shouto carefully asked, knowing that this was something the two of them had been mainly concerned about when they first began their relationship.
“Surprisingly, no,” Izuku replied lightheartedly, smiling into the crook of Shouto’s neck. “Most of what I’ve read were saying that they’re glad we’re not running ourselves ragged from our work and having a life outside of heroism.”
“Think we should ease into making ourselves public?” Shouto asked as he gently moved out of Izuku’s grasp to instead hold his hand. “I don’t really care what other people say about us, but I only want to go ahead if you’re happy with it.”
Izuku chuckled a little, feeling a bubble of elation in his chest as he thought about showing off to the world who he loved. “We’d lose our privacy. I know you love having me all to yourself.”
“Yes. I do, certainly, enjoy that. But I do also like the idea of everyone knowing I’m with you,” Shouto said lowly, his breath tickling Izuku’s ear and making him shudder involuntarily.
“W-well, then,” Izuku sputtered as he tried to keep his composure, “I-I also like that, too, but with you. I like the thought of people, um, seeing you… with me. I want that. So, there, I guess we have our answer!”
He felt his cheeks heat up and he ended up covering his face with both hands as he expressed his desire. All the while, Shouto laughed amusedly at Izuku’s embarrassment. As Izuku peeked out of his fingers, he saw how his boyfriend’s eyes were crinkled and shined like gemstones, and how his smile was wide as he laughed breathily. For the millionth time, or possibly more, Izuku couldn’t help but think that anything was worth it if he could see Shouto laugh like that.
Even though the two had resolved to go public, they hadn’t known the best way to go about it. It seemed impersonal to release a statement through their agency, although that would eventually happen, but it also seemed too ostentatious to make a whole show of their announcement. Their friends suggested a number of ideas that were of the flashy category and, though their intentions were good, Izuku and Shouto hadn’t wanted to go about it that way.
However, what eventually happened was something neither of them had accounted for.
It began with a routine patrol around their district on a relatively quiet day. Izuku was luckily assigned Shouto as his partner for his shift and had been looking forward to spending time with his boyfriend.
Their unremarkable shift was marked by only a couple of petty thieves and was otherwise peaceful. Izuku was glad for it as he hadn’t had such a smooth patrol in a long time. He could tell Shouto was content, as well, knowing he had been stressed by the lack of downtime these past couple of months.
They were walking near a busy park when Izuku’s danger sense began acting up. Immediately tensed, Izuku glanced to the side to see that Shouto had noticed was alertly taking in their surroundings.
Yet, their fears were assuaged when the danger wasn’t in relation to a villain, but rather an insistently meowing cat from high up on a tree branch.
It was far too high for either of them to easily pick up the cat. Izuku floated up to the tree branch and slowly approached the cat, but was greeted by a hiss and a scratch that nearly got his face. With a yelp, Izuku floated back down to stand beside Shouto who was smirking up at him the entire time.
“Who knew the great hero Deku could be so easily beaten by a mere tabby cat,” Shouto joked good-naturedly.
“Cats never seem to like me,” Izuku grumbled as he scuffed his shoes on the ground.
“You could try using Blackwhip,” Shouto reassured, “since you’ve been fine-tuning your control of it, you could probably get the cat down safely without hurting him.”
“Blackwhip might spook him, though,” he responded, “and that might endanger him since he could drop.”
“Alright, I’ll get him down, then,” Shouto said as he got into position to boost himself up with his ice, “just to be safe.”
To Izuku’s chagrin, the cat wasn’t hostile when Shouto approached him, cozying up to his left arm and nuzzling against the warm hand.
“Cats sure do love your fire side, Shou,” Izuku snickered, entertained by his boyfriend’s ability to attract cats just by the heat radiating from his left side.
Shouto snorted and rolled his eyes playfully. “Mm, I’m sure that was Endeavour’s intention. To make me the ultimate cat whisperer.”
With the cat safely snuggled up in Shouto’s arms (at which Izuku couldn’t help but snap a pic), Shouto created an ice slide for him to get back down on the ground.
Just before Shouto could slide down, the cat leapt out of his arms towards Izuku and landed atop Izuku’s face who was now struggling with a face full of cat. In the midst of his struggle, being unable to see in front of him, Izuku inadvertently walked into the patch of ice Shouto had created and a slight mishap in his steps led to him slipping and falling backwards onto the ice. He landed with a loud thunk on his head as his hands had been occupied with trying to get the cat off of him.
It was loud enough for Shouto to shout his name in concern and jump down from his block of ice. The shout garnered the attention of bystanders around them who watched and heard Deku fall hard on the ice.
Izuku could only groan as he opened his eyes to a world spinning. The cat had scampered off after Izuku fell, so there was nothing shielding him from the blinding light of the sun and a disorienting world.
He vaguely registered a shadow over him as Shouto came into view. His boyfriend was framed by the sun behind him, giving him an ethereal look even as his face was scrunched up in worry. Izuku belatedly realized that Shouto (his boyfriend! His future husband!) was saying something. Yet, just as Izuku noticed, Shouto’s mouth stopped moving and was slack, a red glow building up on his cheeks.
“Hey, Shou, you okay?” Izuku asked groggily as he tried to sit up, but the pain in his hips and head stopped him from moving too far.
“Uhh, um, Izuku?” Shouto squeaked out quite uncharacteristically.
Izuku tilted his head in confusion and in concern as his boyfriend was now appearing a little distressed and embarrassed. “Wait, what’s wrong?”
“You, uh, want to,” Shouto cleared his throat, “marry me?”
Upon realizing that Izuku had actually called Shouto his future husband out loud, instead of in his head as he initially thought, he felt mortified for suddenly putting that on Shouto when they haven’t discussed the topic of marriage, yet. His cheeks felt burning hot and he immediately brought up his hands to cool them down.
“Yes! I mean, we haven’t talked about this and I know this is something serious, so I didn’t want to dump this on you when I don’t know how you feel about marriage. It’s cool if you don’t want to, of course, I respect your decision and choices, so you can say no, not that I’m asking right now, and shit I am so, so sorry for making you uncomfortable,” Izuku rambled, speaking a mile a minute, horrified that Shouto would hate him for putting him on the spot like that.
As Izuku kept his eyes averted, too afraid to see the expression on Shouto’s face, he felt two slender hands cup his face, gently turning his head to face Shouto, whose eyes were bright and soft, and with a beautiful smile gracing his lips.
“There you are,” Shouto said once Izuku’s eyes were on the other’s blue and grey. They were both in an uncomfortable position, with Izuku still lying on the ground and Shouto kneeling on his left. Yet, Izuku couldn’t feel anything besides the hands framing his face, callused at some parts and soft in others.
“What you said didn’t make me uncomfortable, Izuku. I’m grateful that you’re considering my feelings and respecting me, but…” Shouto trailed off, his lips curled up on one side and a blush blooming on his cheeks, “I do also want to marry you someday.”
At Shouto’s confession, happiness unlike any other filled Izuku. Just as Izuku was about to say something sappy, he heard a rustle from the side.
“Holy shit,” a bystander standing off to the side exclaimed.
However, they weren’t the only bystander present. There was, in fact, a veritable crowd of people who had watched their display and had their phones out filming the entire fiasco. A few of them were squealing excitedly, while others were openly wiping away their tears.
Both Izuku and Shouto froze.
Neither of them had accounted for a reveal like this and of this nature. It turned every one of their plans upside down and practically shot out the window. Their friends would all probably laugh and tease them for ages to come for not only ending up doing as they suggested, but also for making their announcement an entire spectacle.
Shouto turned to Izuku and mouthed, ‘What now?’
At that point, there was only really one thing to do. Expectations of heroes and what-not, a large crowd of people and possibly more on the Internet were now aware that he and Shouto were dating. The video of them talking about getting married was probably already circulating through every social media site, no matter how much of an invasion of their privacy that is. That meant there were bound to be people already voicing whatever opinion they had of their relationship, their job as heroes, and anything else they could critique.
Deciding that he had enough of living up to the image of a hero that society has defined and knowing that his hero work has only improved with Shouto at his side, Izuku simply brought up his hand to the back of Shouto’s neck to pull him in for a kiss.
People around them cheered and clapped, but that didn’t really matter, though he was glad for their support. What mattered was Shouto, Shouto, Shouto, and Izuku knew that would never change.