Chapter Text
They're going to get ice cream when it happens. Shouto guesses that they should start to expect villain attacks when they're out; they're famous, after all. Though, he thinks with a bit of derision, he does sometimes miss being able to go out and NOT have some small time thug try to get the jump on the UA students that held their own against the League of Villains for some stupid attempt at momentary glory.
One second Izuku is beside him, laughing and chattering about a hero analysis video that someone made on their class, and the next second he's being dragged into a narrow alley by a petty criminal, his ice cream cone plopping uselessly to the sidewalk. Shouto is immediately pissed off. He'd gotten the chance to spend a day off with Midoriya, and now he was going to have to kick someone's ass for attacking his best friend; That is, if Midoriya doesn't kick their ass first.
He ducks into the alleyway that is FAR too dark for this time of the afternoon, and instead of finding him in a scuffle with a villain, he finds Izuku on the ground, and whoever grabbed him nowhere to be seen. His heart leaps to his throat. He scans the area cautiously for a moment before rushing to his friend's side. He gently turns him over, and cradles him in his arms. Izuku's head lolls to the side. He's out cold.
"Shit," Shouto murmurs, and out of the corner of his eye, he spots a glint of movement. Without even thinking, he shoots ice in that direction. There's a strangled yelp as the ice encases the villain. Shouto looks up then, and finds a grungy looking man attempting feebly to somehow squirm out of the pillar of ice that surrounds him. There are curled horns atop his head, and his matted blonde hair falls into his eyes. Aside from the horns, he looks relatively normal.
Shouto sets Izuku down gently, and then stands. He lets flames light up along his face and left arm, and ice begins to crystalize the ground around his right foot. The villain whimpers.
"What did you do to him?" Shouto has no doubts that he paints an intimidating picture.
"N-n-n-n-no! Nothing! He's just knocked out!" the man cries, teeth chattering from the cold.
"I hope so," Shouto says irritatedly, "for your sake."
He puts out his fire, steps out of the circle of ice, and turns away to call in to the police and report the incident.
He turns back to the thug one last time, "Maybe they'll get here before the frostbite sets in."
The villain swears.
Shouto sighs and sets about picking Izuku up, securing him in his arms before heading out of the alleyway and in the direction of the nearest hospital. He'd declined to wait for the police to arrive, noting that it'd be faster if he just took Izuku himself. They happened to be oddly close. He counts himself lucky.
A few blocks into his walk, by some bizarre twist of the universe, Shouto hears a familiar voice frantically shouting his name.
"Todoroki!" he looks to his left to find Kirishima running across the street with absolutely no regard for the cars that he's cutting off, dragging an extremely irritated Bakugou by the wrist behind him. Of all the people to encounter... He's grateful for Kirishima. He's kind, he cares about his classmates. He probably just wants to help. But Bakugou... He's probably the last classmate that Shouto would want to see right now. He wonders, if Kirishima hadn't dragged him over here, if Bakugou would have even broken stride.
"Todoroki! Dude!" he yells again, and Shouto really wishes he wouldn't. He's drawing the attention of the passerby on the street. A car blares its horn at them, and Bakugou lets out a stream of colorful swears, igniting the hand that Kirishima isn't attached to. Kirishima is completely unfazed. The duo finally, blessedly, reaches them.
Kirishima holds his hands out as though he's going to try to take Izuku out of his arms, and Shouto flinches back on reflex, cradling Midoriya closer. "Woah, dude, relax," Kirishima says kindly, waving his hands, "What happened? Is he okay?"
"He's hopefully just be knocked out. Some idiot tried to drag him into an alley." Shouto answers, adjusting his hold on Izuku. He's heavier than he looks. He's rather... dense, in more ways that one. Shouto nearly snorts at the thought. "I'm taking him to the hospital. I don't know if the guy used his quirk, or hit him over the head, or what. He needs to be checked out."
"We'll come with you!" Kirishima exclaims brightly, and Bakugou explodes.
"I'm not going anywhere with that damn loser! He went and got himself knocked out, that's HIS problem! I'm not going to that fucking hospital!" Shouto really wishes he'd stop screaming. He's drawing attention to them again.
"Bakugou!" Kirishima turns to face him, grabbing him by the shoulders, shaking him slightly, "We gotta go! One of our friends is hurt and we gotta be there for him! It wouldn't be manly to just leave him!" For one tense second, Shouto thinks that Bakugou might literally blow Kirishima up. He really, REALLY just wants to get Izuku to the hospital.
Then, by some miracle of God, Bakugou shrugs out of Kirishima's grasp and grumbles irritatedly, "Fucking FINE jesus CHRIST but we're not fucking staying there." Kirishima grins widely, and throws an arm around Bakugou's shoulder.
Shouto takes that as his cue to start walking again. Kirishima and Bakugou trail behind him. They reach the hospital in another handful of minutes, and they're checked in with relative expediency. The police calling ahead for them undoubtedly helps their case. After a wait that is most likely far shorter than it feels, because it feels like an eternity of picking at the dead skin around his fingernails and restlessly jiggling his leg so hard that he can feel Bakugou's annoyed glare, a nurse arrives to show them to Izuku's room. Shouto is surprised at the willingness of the hospital staff to allow non-family to see Izuku but he chalks that up to their class's close relationship and penchant for landing themselves in hospitals with increasingly high frequency. He's grateful either way.
Shouto has seen enough of Izuku in a hospital bed for the rest of his lifetime. Even for something so minor, the sight of his best friend in a hospital gown hooked up to these godforsaken machines makes something hot and fearful blossom in his chest. One of these times, he might not wake up. And Shouto... He had a lot to regret.
"He ends up in here a lot, huh," Kirishima's soft voice interrupts his train of thought. He glances behind himself to find Kirishima looking despondent. The expression doesn't suit him.
"Of course he does, the fuckin' loser," comes Bakugou's rough voice. Shouto is ready to light up his left side, tell him that he's free to leave at any time, when Bakugou continues, "Don't make that face," he knocks Kirishima's shoulder, "He's too stubborn to die or anything stupid like that." Shouto unclenches his fists. He has to suppress the smirk that threatens to crack his face. He's trying to reassure Kirishima. Someone has tamed Bakugou. And from what Midoriya had told him, that was no easy task. He catches Kirishima's grateful smile out of the corner of his eye, and decides not to poke at Bakugou now, if only for Kirishima's sake.
Shouto crosses the room and drops into the seat next to Izuku's bed, sighing heavily. He leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees, and watches Izuku's still form for a moment. "I know it's not even his fault this time," he grumbles, "but I really wish he would stop landing himself in here."
Bakugou tsks loudly, muttering something about how if Todoroki "wasn't so up the dork's ass then he'd care less", and Kirishima slaps him on the arm. Bakugou shoves him in response, and Kirishima snorts.
"You care about him a lot, huh?" There's a hand on his shoulder then, and it's comforting in the way that only Kirishima can be.
Shouto doesn't look up. Instead, he lets his hand find Izuku's where it rests on the hospital bed. He presses his fingertips to the inside of Izuku's wrist, feeling his pulse thrumming there. Of course he cares. Izuku has changed his life. He means more to him than anybody else he's met. More recently, with some prodding from Yaoyorozu, he's been confronted with the idea that his feelings might be something that could be considered a little less than platonic, but he'd panicked at that immediately. He knew she was right, but he doesn't need to spend any more time than strictly necessary wondering what it might feel like for it to be more. "He's my best friend," he decides on quietly.
Bakugou makes a disgusted noise from his place in the doorway. "You're gonna make me fuckin barf," he spits.
"Cut it out, man," Kirishima says wearily, and Shouto misses the look that passes between the two of them, something of an understanding about Todoroki's situation that makes Kirishima's smile bittersweet and Bakugou's mouth twist downward in impatience. He can't meet Kirishima's eye.
"That's not all, is it?" Kirishima asks patiently.
Shouto looks up at him warily, mouth tilting downward. He's ready to deny it, but he realizes abruptly that he's not making a very good case for himself. After all, he's sat next to Izuku's hospital bed, feeling his pulse to reassure himself that he's alive after a minor encounter with a thug that barely posdd a threat. He sighs again. He's not ready to have this conversation at all, let alone in a hospital with Bakugou making snide comments in the background.
There's a soft groan to his right, and then a squeeze to his hand, and Shouto snaps his head around to watch Izuku's eyes flutter open. He's immediately on his feet, still not letting go of Izuku's hand. He perches himself on the edge of the bed, and squeezes Midoriya's fingers.
"Hey!" Kirishima exclaims, and Midoriya's eyes flit to him. His eyebrows knit together in confusion. "There you are! We were worried."
"Izuku," Shouto says more softly, and Izuku's eyes settle on him, then. "How do you feel? Are you alright?"
"Wha- where am I?" Izuku asks hoarsely, looking between Shouto and Kirishima in confusion. So he didn't remember being knocked out.
"In a hospital, obviously," Bakugou scoffs from the doorway, "Idiot."
Izuku is immediately more alert, scooting backwards and looking more panicked that Shouto has seen him in a long time, "K-Kacchan! What are you doing here?"
Shouto frowns. He's seen Izuku afraid of Bakugou before, but he hadn't been this bad since the beginning of their freshman year.
"Cool it, loser," Bakugou says sharply, "Kirishima dragged me here. Like I'd ever choose to come here."
Izuku looks like he doesn't quite believe him. He turns his head back to Shouto and Kirishima, looking between the two of them again.
"Is... Is one of you Kirishima?" he asks in a small voice.
Shouto turns and catches Kirishima's eye. He's caught in an expression of open surprise. Then he catches Bakugou's eye, and for once, even he has nothing to say. He turns back to his best friend.
"Izuku," Shouto asks carefully, "What do you remember from today?"
"I..." Izuku's eyes dart around the three of them, "I don't remember anything," he admits quietly. "Should I?" he asks then.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Bakugou crosses the room then, coming to stand next to Kirishima. Izuku eyes him nervously, fingers twitching against Shouto's own. He doesn't like how nervous Bakugou's presence is making him. It makes Shouto uneasy. He knows things are different between them now, there's no reason for Izuku to be so intensely frightened.
"Being... in school?" Izuku's response comes as more of a question than anything else.
"WHICH school?" Bakugou asks impatiently, tapping his foot against the tiled floor.
Izuku shrinks back a bit, "Our... Middle... School? What other school would we be going to?"
Bakugou swears loudly, and Izuku flinches. "I'm sorry!" he exclaims nervously, "Do I know you two? SHOULD I know you?" he asks frantically, looking at Shouto and Kirishima again. He doesn't remember them. What the absolute FUCK did that villain do to him? Why does he think he's still in MIDDLE SCHOOL?
"I'm... Eijiro Kirishima," their classmate offers up.
"Shouto Todoroki," Izuku looks down at where he and Shouto's hands are still joined. Then he looks back up, squinting at Shouto, mouth quirking downward.
"Why- What is- Are we... together or something?"
Shouto thinks that his heart might have actually stopped, and he chokes on the breath he was taking. He stares at Izuku helplessly. Of course he would think that. He woke up in a hospital bed to a boy that he DOESN'T remember holding his hand, invading his personal space, and calling him by his given name. What else was he supposed to think? He doesn't know that they're best friends who have gotten closer than they have any excuse for, and this is what they do.
Bakugou starts to snort into his hand. "Yeah, that's your boyfriend alright," he says with mirth, "You're fucking obsessed with each other."
Shouto actually feels his soul leave his body. He's going to freeze Bakugou to the ceiling.
"OKAY, that's enough out of you, let's go!" Shouto watches Kirishima shove Bakugou toward the door, the latter still cackling into his palm.
There's a squeeze to his fingers. Shouto whips his head back around, fully intending to correct Bakugou's statement and tell Izuku that they are NOT, in fact, dating, but he's rendered absolutely dumbstruck by the dopey grin that's spread across Izuku's face.
WHY, in the name of everything that is good and holy, is Izuku looking at him like THAT? Even if he does think that they're together, he doesn't remember Shouto either way. He can't possibly be that happy about it.
Then it hits him. Izuku thinks he's still in middle school. He's painfully aware of how incredibly lonely Izuku had been before coming to UA. He hadn't even had anything close to a friend. So the idea of being with someone, of someone caring for him enough to choose to be in a relationship with him, must be overwhelming.
Would Izuku look at him like that if he remembered him? If Shouto confessed his feelings to him?
Absolutely not. He's not going there.
That didn't matter. Because Izuku DOESN'T remember him, and he CAN'T just let him think that they're together. That's just not fair. But how is he supposed to just... Say no to that face?
"IZUKU!" comes a familiar voice from the doorway, "Izuku, honey are you okay?!" Inko Midoriya crosses the room quickly and takes her son's face in her hands, seemingly taking stock and making sure he's still in one piece.
"Mom!" Izuku smiles widely, "I'm okay," he laughs, waving his free hand at her and scooting back out of her grasp.
"What happened?" Inko asks.
"We were attacked by a villain," Shouto explains, "He knocked Izuku out." Inko gasps, but Izuku seems to take it in stride, barely flinching at the new information.
"Do you know Shouto?" he asks, still grinning.
"Of course I do, honey," Inko says warmly, albeit a bit confusedly, patting Shouto on the head. "It's nice to see you again, dear."
"You too," Shouto says dumbly.
"Kacchan told me that Shouto and I are together."
Shouto freezes, staring up at Inko helplessly. He watches her eyes flit to their joined hands. She looks at Shouto quizzically. Her hand settles on his shoulder. The smile never leaves her face, despite the confusion in her eyes.
"Can I talk to you outside, dear?"
Shouto nods, his throat stuck, and he finally extricates his hand from Izuku's. He frowns slightly at the loss of contact, and it tugs at a place behind Shouto's ribs. He follows Inko outside the room, and she gently closes the door behind them.
Inko watches him expectantly for a moment, and he shrinks under her gaze.
"Would you like to tell me what's going on?" she asks, not unkindly.
Shouto presses the heels of his hands into his eyes, and shakes his head. He's met Inko before, of course, but he's never spoken to her at length. She's a sweet woman, but to be honest, he's still intimidated by her. She holds the same fire and determination inside of her that her son does.
"We were just getting ice cream," Shouto groans, "Neither of us even saw him but he dragged Izuku into the alley and knocked him out. I don't know what he did, but Izuku can't remember anything. He thinks he's still in middle school."
"And why does he think that you're his boyfriend?" Inko asks. If Shouto had been paying more attention to it, he might have detected the barest hint of amusement in her voice.
Shouto flinches at the word boyfriend, and groans again, taking his hands away from his eyes. "I... Might have been holding his hand," he suddenly finds his shoes incredibly interesting, "And I might have been calling him Izuku."
Inko cocks her head to the side curiously at that.
"He asked me to!" Shouto supplies quickly. "He told me I was his best friend and that if we were going to be best friends we might as well be on a first name basis so I just..." he trails off, still not meeting Inko's gaze. "And then he asked, and Bakugou said yes before I could stop him, and then you showed up before I could say anything else."
A moment passes in agonizing silence.
"He talks about you a lot, you know," Inko says, and he looks up to find her smiling warmly at him. "Shouto," she asks then, her jaw set in determination, "Do you care for my son?"
"Of course I do," he answers without hesitation, and he feels his cheeks heat up immediately. Flames flit across his fingertips, and he brings his hands together in an effort to stop himself from fully lighting on fire.
Inko sighs then, "Katsuki has a mean streak. That started early, and it hasn't changed since. But he's always been perceptive."
Shouto eyes her curiously.
"Izuku may not remember who you are, but he must remember how he feels about you."
Shouto's cheeks burn again, but before he gets the chance to ask what Inko means, they're interrupted.
"Hello," a woman in a white coat who Shouto can only presume is Izuku's doctor greets them cheerfully. Her head is topped by a shock of short blue hair and her skin is tinged green. When she continues to speak, Shouto sees sharp fangs. "You're Izuku's mother, I presume?"
"I am," Inko nods.
"I'm Dr. Tao. I've been overseeing your son. Is he awake yet?" the doctor asks.
"He is," Shouto confirms.
"Excellent. Let's head in, okay?"
She opens the door to Izuku's room, and Inko and Shouto follow her inside.
"Izuku?" the doctor asks, "Hello, I'm Dr. Tao. We have information on the quirk of the villain who attacked you."
"Okay?" Izuku responds. Shouto takes his seat next to Izuku's bed and Izuku immediately reaches for his hands again. His blush reaches the tips of his ears, but he doesn't pull away.
Dr. Tao begins, "The villain has an amnesia inducing quirk. It affects individuals differently, but typically the memory loss affects short term memory, ranging from a few weeks to a year, and it should resolve anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. He used his quirk to knock you out. I assume you don't remember encountering him?"
Izuku shakes his head.
"His victims typically don't. He's been rendering people unconscious and robbing them."
"Oh goodness..." Inko murmurs.
Dr. Tao turns her attention to Shouto. "You brought him in, correct?"
Shouto nods.
"You were there when the villain attacked?"
Shouto nods again.
Dr. Tao smiles, "You were very lucky this young man was there, Izuku."
Izuku smiles then too, "I am very lucky."
Shouto tears his gaze away from the softness in Izuku's eyes, because if he doesn't now, he might never look away again.
"Mrs. Midoriya, you're free to take your son home. Just keep an eye on that memory, and if it doesn't come back after 48 hours, give us a call, alright?" Dr. Tao looks at Izuku sternly for a moment, "Get some rest. No more villain encounters for a while, you hear me?"
"Yes ma'am!" Izuku nods enthusiastically. His smile is contagious.
They leave him to get dressed, and when he's finished and situated, they check out of the hospital. Izuku sticks close to his side, shoulder bumping against Shouto's. It's going to be a long two days