Shattered Dreams

Late Night Theory

UA Dorm, Musutafu, Japan, 2014

The night was silent, except for Izuku's steady breath against Shōto's chest.
The older teen's lips stretched in a shy smile and he buried his face into the messy green locks, inhaling the scent of his sleeping boyfriend.

He squeezed him tighter as he let out a yawn.

He had had a feeling that introducing Izuku to his father wouldn't go well.
(And of course it hadn't, because Endeavor had been Endeavor.)

- SHŌTO!! How come I wasn't aware you were seeing someone?!

Izuku had straightened up in a jump under the redhead's smoldering blue glare.
The hero-in-training had turned to Shōto as he had felt himself beginning to hyperventilate, both from pure admiration and gut-clenching stress — probably because he was facing All Might's eternal rival, the Flame Hero Endeavor, the new N°1 who, for everyone else than Shōto, was utterly terrifying.
(And still, back then he didn't even have that nasty scar barring half of his face!)

- ...Err, T-Todoroki-kun, I'll wait for you outside, okay!

The latter had nodded before diving his mismatched eyes into his father's burning ones.

- You're pathetic, he had calmly retorted. Don't act like you care about anything else than my control over my left side.

The flames dancing around Endeavor's face had burned hotter and brighter as he had muffled a sigh, which had sounded fake to his son's ears.
He had opened his mouth to speak again but Shōto hadn't let him.

- You know what, whatever. Yes, I am dating Midoriya Izuku. I like him because he's loyal, he's kind, he doesn't judge people by appearances and he'll never let me down. He's everything you hate, since he actually cares about people's feelings and not just their Quirks and brutal strength, he doesn't have a stupidly oversized ego and he believes in me. As a person. Ah, and he's so strong that whatever you do, Deku will surpass All Might and become a better N°1 than you on all counts. Bye.

Then, Shōto had moved to catch up to Izuku, but in a snap Endeavor's too-hot hand had grabbed his wrist.

The redhead's facial expression had shifted into something unreadable as his son had met his glare again.
Then he had opened his mouth, but several seconds had passed before he made a sound.

Shōto had raised an unimpressed brow, calmly staring back at Endeavor.

The older man had finally let go of the teen's wrist and crossed his arms, keeping both fists clenched.
His blazing facial hair had burned even brighter, his eyes disappearing in the dancing flames.

- Keep away from a N°1 Hero. Nothing hurts more than their betrayal.

And he had left.

Shōto snapped out of his flashback and his fingertips brushed the many freckles adorning Izuku's face.

He scoffed.

Endeavor was an absolute jerk who only knew how to hurt.
Tōya was gone because of him.
Shōto had been isolated from his other two siblings, as his father claimed they were no more than failed experiments whereas Shōto's fire and ice Quirks made him valuable.
And the young man could still hear his mother's screams and cries in his nightmares.

What kind of people would ever want to "get close" to such a loathsome N°1...?!
Endeavor's words made no sense.

As he sunk deeper into the pillow, Shōto's half-shut eyes distractedly scanned the wall of Izuku's bedroom.