Count to Ten

Item Four: Allow Someone Into the Cell

Izuku stared at the body. He didn't know how it had gotten into the safety of his cell. He also didn't know how it got bandaged either. All he knew was that he'd woken up right on top of it. How embarrassing! He didn't feel the slightest bit dirty. Well, Shouto was good at cleaning himself before they met. Maybe that was why? Izuku found this strange.

No, it wasn't strange. When he shook hands with Shouto he didn't feel that dirty either. He just felt his heart skip a beat and then...how embarrassing! Everything related to Shouto was embarrassing! "Does this mean I've successfully done the fourth thing on my list? I just don't remember?" Izuku crossed his arms. Hm. It was only after he'd crossed his arms that he'd realized he wasn't wearing a suit jacket. Deku? Deku. Who else would've taken care of Shouto like that?

"Why did Deku take care of Shouto?" Izuku looked down at his arms. "I thought he didn't like Shouto. This is bad. This is really bad. Now that Deku's met Shouto again...Shouto could be in danger! I can't have that! I can't be around Shouto!" The thought terrified Izuku. He really liked being around Shouto and now he couldn't trust himself even more.

Izuku looked at the body carefully. Nothing was harmed. Everything was fixed. The only thing strange about Shouto was the way his clothes were. Some buttons were buttoned terribly. His pants were barely on him at all.

"I wonder, is Shouto's hair like that everywhere?" Izuku found himself asking. His eyes wandered to Shouto's crotch. He didn't want to look but at the same time, how could he not look? This was the question of the century!

Izuku lifted Shouto's shirt. He stared down at his chest. There were hairs, thin and scarce, nothing too hairy. Izuku didn't like hairy chests anyway. He squinted, unable to tell the color of them. So, he got closer.

A hand, two hands, to be exact, grabbed Izuku's wrists and pushed him to the ground. Now Shouto wasn't underneath him, but on top of him, staring down at him with a little flame in his eye. This wasn't the cold, cool, calm collected Shouto that Izuku was used to. This was someone a bit scary. He was scary, indeed, very scary. His hand was hot. It hurt a bit. Izuku wanted cold Shouto back.

"Izuku?" Shouto asked. He looked unsure, confused, his head must hurt. Ah, he was probably just nervous waking up in some strange place. There was nothing to fear! This was still Shouto! Cold Shouto! Hot Shouto had never existed! It must've been some trick of his eyes.

"Why are you in my home? Shouldn't you be..." Shouto moved his face in close, too close, squinting at Izuku. This made him fidget. He was nervous. Shouto's grip was strong and he was underneath him. He continued to fidget. He looked left and he looked right but he couldn't look at Shouto's face.

"I'm so sorry," Shouto stood up. He placed his hand on the back of his head and winced. He'd never made it home last night. He must've realized that now. "You must be pretty grossed out by me touching you," Shouto sighed. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"N-no! That's not i-it," Izuku looked around. He looked everywhere and anywhere. He eventually managed to stand up, only to have his knees start shaking; he almost fell again. Shouto was on top of him. Shouto touched his wrists. Shouto had been really really close. He felt weird. His heart wasn't working right. It was beating too fast and he could feel sweat. What was wrong with him?

Shouto stared at Izuku. His arms were still crossed. "I should leave," he decided. "This is too much for you right now."

"N-No! Wait! Please don't leave. I-" Izuku didn't understand what he was saying. Shouto should leave. Yes. That made sense. But he didn't want Shouto to leave, why? "Item f-four is..." he remembered. That must be it. The list! That's why he didn't want Shouto to leave.

"Yes, and you've managed me in your cell for the entire night. I think that's more than enough," Shouto sighed. "Don't force yourself, Izuku. You look clearly distressed."

"B-but, the list..." Izuku frowned. He looked at the ground, at his gloved hands, and then at the ground again. Shouto wasn't wearing shoes. He'd taken his shoes off when he got changed into the special prison-like uniform. How thoughtful. Shoes were really gross.

"We can continue the list another day. The next one will be far more difficult than this. Perhaps you should take some time to mentally prepare for it. Try holding the book I got you. Speaking of that," Shouto looked around, "is it still out there?"

Shouto walked over to the door. He reached out to open it but stopped. He used his sleeve to touch the door. Izuku smiled. He really is thoughtful. Even if he didn't have socks on and was contaminating the carpet. But, hey, at least he was trying his best. That's more than anyone else did.

He walked out, door closing behind him, but Izuku grabbed it before it could close completely. He didn't want to waste any time with Shouto. He wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.

Shouto picked up the book on the ground and handed it to Izuku. If he grabbed this book, would Shouto disappear? He didn't want him to leave. But, he also knew that he had no choice. He sighed. He sighed again and reached out his hands to grab it. Fear. Fear of what? He'd touched this book before. He was wearing gloves. Why was he scared?

"When you can read this book without wearing gloves, I'll come back," Shouto said. Izuku grabbed the book. He wanted Shouto to come back as soon as possible.

"Until then," Shouto turned to leave. He waved before exiting. Once the door closed, Izuku fell to the ground. He held the book close, panting heavily, trying his best to get over everything that had just happened. Shouto had entered his cell. Shouto had been there all night.

"Why can't I remember?" Izuku stood up and threw the book down on the ground. "Why can't I remember what happened?!" he yelled, stomping on the book with all of his might. No. Wait. This book didn't do anything wrong. This book was from Shouto! He couldn't let out his rage on this book! No! Bad Izuku!

Izuku gently picked up the book and cradled it in his arms. He must be nice to this book. He whispered apologetic phrases to it. He was truly sorry. And then, he entered his cell once more. He sat in the space where Shouto had been. He inhaled. He exhaled. He could do this. He could do this, right?