Mind blank, eyes wide and glassy, Midoriya stumbled back into the correct hospital room. The stark white walls seemed to close in around him, he was having trouble breathing, his brain wasn't working normally. Iida, propped up in his bed, was carefully cleaning his glasses despite the pain evident in his face, he stirred as he heard the door to his room open.
"...Midoriya?" Iida called out as he watched his friend enter the room with all the energy of a zombie. Unable to hear the world around him, Midoriya sat down slowly on his bed, the mattress creaking under his weight. Without a word, he began pressing the call button for the nurse repeatedly. "Midoriya?" Iida tried again, his voice rising with worry, placing is glasses on his nose hurriedly to get a good look at his freckle faced friend.
As if suddenly becoming aware of his surroundings, Midoriya turned to Iida with wide eyes. "Oh, hi Iida," he said, his voice unnaturally calm. "I'm just calling the nurse."
"Why?"
"Because I think I must've hit my head really, really, really, really, REALLY, REALLY hard." Before Iida could respond, Shoto walked into the room, glancing between the two of them quickly. The fluorescent lights cast harsh shadows across his handsome face, emphasising some unknown emotion Iida could not name.
"Midoriya, I- are you okay?" Shoto asked, a hint of concern in his usually stoic voice.
Turning his wide-eyed stare to Shoto, Midoriya smiled a little as though that bizarre mismatch in facial expression and his robotic behaviour was normal. "Yeah, I just need to get a second opinion on my injuries. I think I hit my head."
Suddenly, a pretty girl practically jumped out from behind Shoto, causing both Midoriya and Iida to start and then wince in pain. Ren Ishikawa stood in a winter coat, a small, mischievous smile played on her lips, clearly enjoying the chaos her sudden appearance had caused. "Is brain damage really the preferred explanation for what you saw, Midoriya?" She asked lightheartedly, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing. But her teasing demeanour was only to mask the fact that her heart was racing.
She glanced up at Shoto, he was gritting his teeth, there was a crease in his brow as he tried to figure out the best action to take. The weight of their secret relationship, the gravity of recent events, the desire to be honest with his friends, the potential difficulties it could bring…how was Shoto, who was barely able to open up emotionally to Ren, going to navigate this? Would he deny it? Pretend he did not know her? Or did he have the strength to be vulnerable in front of his fellow heroes-in-training? Either way, she thought as she lowered her gaze from his face, this was his territory, it was not her place to say anything.
"M-miss Ishikawa," Iida managed, surprise evident in his voice.
"Please, call me Ren," she insisted, her smile widening even as she felt a flutter of nervousness in her stomach.
Iida blinked at her, trying to process the situation. "What... what are you doing here?"
Nobody said anything, Shoto, Ren and Midoriya seemed to be caught in a staring contest, each looking at each other as though waiting for someone to speak, but nobody did. Ren's heart sank a little, perhaps Shoto was not ready, perhaps it was too much to ask someone so reserved, so emotionally detached, to declare his feelings for her in front of people. She bowed her head, her dark hair falling on front of her face, she was trying to convince herself that it was okay, that he was not ready and that was fine.
Taking a deep breath, Shoto's gaze swept over his confused classmates. His eyes landed on Ren, stood beside him, not looking at him, the hurt of his inability to act evident in the small sweet frown on her face. But to him, this was more than just revealing a relationship; it was letting people in, something he'd struggled with his entire life. He turned back to his friends.
Without looking, he reached back and took Ren's hand in his own, bringing it up to his chest, pulling her towards him a little. Her grey eyes widened in surprise, a faint blush colouring her cheeks as she tried to prevent herself from smiling. The gesture was small but hugely significant, and it didn't go unnoticed by Midoriya and Iida.
"Ren and I are together," Shoto said, his voice steady but with a hint of vulnerability that was rare for him. "We've been seeing each other for a while now." Instead of the understanding Shoto had hoped for, Midoriya and Iida just blinked in response, their faces blank with shock. The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the steady beep of the heart monitor.
"...Romantically?" Iida finally managed to ask, his shock barely concealed.
Shoto's jaw tightened slightly. "Yes."
Midoriya, his analytical mind kicking into overdrive despite his shock, leaned forward. "As in... 'Ren Ishikawa is Shoto Todoroki's girlfriend' is a true statement? Where is that nurse!?" He asked urgently, hardly concerned with the answer, looking around Ren to see if someone was coming.
"Yes," Shoto repeated. Iida's jaw dropped as though Shoto had finally started speaking the same language as him, his glasses slipped down his nose
"But... but... fraternization between heroes and journalists is-"
"Completely normal and not at all against any rules," Ren cut in smoothly, perching on the edge of Midoriya's bed, making him seize up as though the monster under his bed had come out for a chat.
"But what about professional boundaries? Ethical considerations? The potential for conflict of interest?"
Ren couldn't help but laugh. "You really are going to make an excellent hero, Iida. Always thinking about the rules."
"The rules exist for a reason," he insisted, though his tone had softened slightly.
"Good luck with that approach," Shoto muttered, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Ren and rules don't exactly get along. Trust me, I've tried." Midoriya jumped, blushing furiously as Ren caught his eye and winked at him.
"Sometimes, the world isn't as black and white as the rulebook makes it seem," Ren said softly to the young heroes. "Sometimes, you have to trust your own judgment."
Shoto nodded, "Like using our quirks to save Iida, even though we weren't supposed to."
Iida's eyes widened at that, then he slumped back against his pillows with a sigh. "I suppose you have a point."
Midoriya, who had been unusually quiet, finally spoke up. "How... how long has this been going on?" He was searching his brain for any clues he may have missed, any sign that the one person he never suspected to be in any kind of romantic relationship, may have given him.
Shoto and Ren exchanged a glance, a silent conversation passing between them. "A few months," Shoto admitted. "But we've known each other since childhood."
"Childhood?" Iida echoed, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
Ren nodded, a fond smile playing on her lips. "We were neighbours. I used to throw stones at his window to get his attention."
"She was very annoying," Shoto added. "She is still very annoying." Ren grinned proudly in response.
With his green eyes darting between Shoto and Ren, his analytical mind working overtime, Midoriya stuttered: "But... but your public personas are so different. Shoto, you're training to be a hero, and Ren, your articles..." He watched with a small feeling of guilt nestling in his stomach as Ren's smile faltered slightly.
"I know my work can be controversial," she admitted. "But I'm not anti-hero," she reassured them. "I just believe in holding the system accountable, in pushing for reform where it's needed. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise Shoto's work."
"And I support her," Shoto added, his voice firm. "Ren's perspective... it's valuable. It makes me think about things differently."
"I can see how that could be beneficial," Iida conceded. "A hero should always be willing to consider different viewpoints."
"Is this why you've been more outspoken lately, Todoroki?" Midoriya asked, his face lighting up with realisation." Like when you argued with the police commissioner about using our quirks to save Iida?"
"I... I suppose so," Shoto admitted begrudgingly.
Ren beamed at him, a mixture of pride and affection in her eyes. "See? I'm a good influence," she teased.
The atmosphere in the room had shifted, the initial shock giving way to a tentative acceptance. the two young heroes saw the way Ren and Shoto looked at one another; there was a fear in their eyes that they would not be accepted, perhaps be reprimanded but ultimately it shocked both Midoriya and Iida to see genuine affection pass between the two. They exchanged a glance, seeming to come to a silent agreement.
"Well," Midoriya said, a small smile forming on his face, "if Todoroki trusts you, then so do we." Iida nodded in agreement, though his brow was still slightly furrowed.
At those words, Shoto's eyes widened slightly, a look of genuine surprise crossing his face. He looked at Ren, then back at his friends, a warmth blooming in his chest that he wasn't quite sure how to handle.
Ren, sensing Shoto's emotional struggle, spoke for them. "Thank you," she said, "that means a lot to us."
Shoto cleared his throat, his voice slightly rougher than usual when he spoke. "There is one more thing," he said, his gaze intense as he looked at his friends. "We need you to keep this to yourselves. No one else can know about us."
Iida's brow furrowed once more, clearly about to launch into another lecture about honesty and transparency. But then his eyes caught Ren's, and he saw something there that made him pause. Fear, vulnerability, a silent plea for understanding. It was a side of the confident, outspoken journalist he hadn't expected to see. "I... I understand," Iida said finally, his voice softening. "You have my word."
"Mine too," Midoriya added quickly, his green eyes wide and earnest. "We won't tell anyone."
The tension in Shoto's shoulders eased slightly at their words. He nodded, a rare, small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Thank you," he said simply, but the gratitude in his voice was evident.
Ren smiled a warm, small smile of relief as she watched Shoto interact with his friends. The significance of this moment wasn't lost on her. For Shoto, who had spent so much of his life closed off and guarded, to open up like this was monumental. He was letting people in, not just into his life, but into their relationship. Despite the potential complications, the obstacles they faced, he was proud to be with her. Proud enough to share it with the people he trusted most. The weight of this trust, this vulnerability he was showing, hit Ren like a tidal wave. In that moment, watching Shoto's subtle smiles and the way his shoulders relaxed as Midoriya and Iida accepted them, Ren made a silent decision. She was all in. She could make peace with her decision to keep her secret, if it meant she could be with the hero next door.
Just over a week had passed since the incident in Hosu and Ren and Shoto's relationship had undergone a significant shift.
The memory of Shoto in that hospital room, bruised but alive, felt vivid in Ren's mind as though it had just happened. The fear she had felt over potentially losing him, the overwhelming relief when she saw him, and the unexpected surge of emotions when he took her hand in front of his friends – it had changed something fundamental between them.
Before Hosu, their relationship had been a delicate dance of stolen moments and careful boundaries. Both had accepted the necessity of their busy lives, the demands of their respective careers. Ren barely felt able to text Shoto and ask him if he was free, now she expected to find him working in her living room whenever she came home. They were slowly bending the rules for one another; staying over more than two nights a week, speaking to each other in the middle of the day, seeking each other out in the middle of the night when the wanting was too much.
Shoto, in his own way, had been making efforts to prioritise their relationship. He called her on nights they weren't together, just to hear her voice. He'd reshuffled his training schedule to free up more evenings for her. Had even taken an interest in her interests, suggesting she try a new bakery that opened up near UA, knowing that she enjoyed baking. Of course, they never met out in public, it was too risky, not with both of their profiles steadily becoming more prominent in the public eye. It irritated them both, to not be able to go out for dinner or go for a walk together. Occasionally they managed to sneak out late at night for ice cream but if one of them was ever recognised they would immediately put space between them. It was extremely frustrating but if it was the price of being together then so be it.
It wasn't the only frustrating aspect of their relationship for Ren. Even though Shoto was able to re-prioritise his life for her and be a little more emotionally aware, he was still incredibly inflexible in many ways. He found it hard to break his routine of waking up early, no matter how Ren tried to persuade him to stay in bed. His training regiment and healthy diet took precedent over an impromptu ice cream date. Sometimes he would even comment on what Ren was eating, of course only wanting someone he cares about to be in the best possible health and then he would sit there in bewilderment as Ren rolled her eyes at him and walked into another room in a huff. It was clear to Ren that he found it challenging to be with someone who had such different emotional needs to his own.
Sometimes Ren needed to hear him say he cared about her, he needed her, he wanted her just as much as she wanted him…but she was met with that beautiful blank face of incomprehension. She knew she needed to be a little patient and to take his small gestures of kindness as all the proof she needed that he cared. Like when she opened her fridge one morning to find her favourite strawberry milk, placed quietly there by Shoto the night before, a little surprise for her, something to make her smile when he wasn't around.
Feelings didn't seem to exist inside of Shoto all the time; they were outside of him. Spending more time with him over the week, Ren learnt that music featured heavily in Shoto's life. A few days ago, she had first noticed Shoto's earbuds peeking out from beneath his hair. It had been such a small detail, easily overlooked, but it opened up a whole new dimension to the boy she thought she knew so well. At first, she'd been curious, then increasingly fascinated as she began to decode the connection between his moods and his playlists. It was like discovering a secret language, one that spoke volumes about the emotions Shoto struggled to express verbally, not that he had ever made that connection himself. In fact, if she could sneak a look at his phone and see what he was listening to, she could determine what he might be feeling even when he didn't know.
There was one way in which Ren and Shoto never failed to show each other what they meant to each other, how much they needed one another, what they thought of each other.
Sex was where the dizzying, intoxicating push and pull of something like lust and love or control and submission existed between them. Ren knew it was partially fuelled by the interaction of their quirks and now, steadfast in her decision to keep her promise and not reveal her secret, she chose to softly, delicately, push the boundaries between them.
Shoto never hurt her, never used his quirk to cause her pain, but the delicious interplay between what one could do and the other could take was slowly becoming something they were unconsciously exploring. Or so Ren had thought.
Last night they somehow found themselves on the living room floor, between the couch and the coffee table, clothes discarded, panting each other's names as they fucked gently, a little restricted by their surroundings. Not that either of them had intended to end up here. At some point they had started a movie, curled up on the couch under a blanket together, perhaps they had just been delaying the inevitable.
Ren adjusted herself beneath him, lifting one foot up to rest on the couch, opening herself up to take him a little deeper. Her hands were in his hair, one grasping strands of white, the other strands of red as he watched her pretty face screw up in that look of pain and pleasure that he had come to appreciate. Shoto rocked lazily in and out of her, tired from a day of training but desperately in need of her. He listened to her sultry moans, to the filthy words Ren sometimes saved for when he came to bite her neck.
"Ren?" He said her name in a way that made her smile, that tired, defeated, entirely at her mercy way where he was pleading for her.
"Yes?" She asked as he moved away to look her in the eye.
"Do the thing," he begged her but Ren was unsure what he meant.
"Which thing?" She asked on a moan which stopped suddenly as his hips did too. He reached up and took her hand, placing it against his neck, Ren shook her head in confusion; "what-ah!" Her back arched off the floor, her thighs tightened a little around him as her quirk amplified the affect of his ice down her arm, up to her neck and down her spine. For a second she couldn't breathe, each nerve ending that emanated from her spine was frozen. Shoto looked down at her, watching the strange, all encompassing sensation run through her whole body. It took a second for the sensory feedback loop they often created to find its way back to him.
"Ugh," he grunted in pleasure as he felt her manipulating his quirk, it was a welcome loss of control, freeing, utterly intimate, and almost sinful to him. "Can you take it?" He watched her nod, still unable to speak, barely able to breathe.
And then the ice began to melt, freeing up her body, leaving it on fire, having ignited something that did not exist inside of her a few moments ago. Ren's stormy grey eyes flew wide in surprise and delight, she threw her arms around his neck and brought him in closer, her tongue travelling up his neck, her lips locking onto his.
'More…more, more," she begged him, helping him push the couch so it scraped across the floor, giving them a little more room to move, to play with whatever this was they had discovered.
Ren had to stop herself thinking about it as she took the elevator up to her apartment, she felt like people around her could somehow sense that she was completely objectifying her boyfriend in her head. She was unsure whether she should laugh or frown as she wondered: what version of feminism is that? Maybe he did the same to her when they were apart; thought about the noises he made her make, the things he'd make her say…?
The media heiress, holding onto several trays of food from her favourite takeaway, a bag of Christmas presents dangling on her wrist, shook her head to remove her hair from falling into the bag of food as she stepped out onto her floor. She somehow managed to unlock her front door and walk inside. kicking off her shoes, she frowned as she sensed the hot and cold of the boy she was daydreaming about.
"Hey!" She called as she walked through her hallway, a small note of playful annoyance in her voice, "I thought you were coming at 9! Well don't look in my direction because I have Christmas presents that you're not allowed to see!" Ren entered her living room and turned left to drop the food trays on the kitchen counter.
"Okay, I won't look." A cold shockwave rippled through Ren's body as the food trays hit the countertop. She turned to her living room and the bag of Christmas presents fell from her wrist as her arms went limp, the small glass trinkets she had chosen shattering, the wrapping paper rolling out across the floor .
Ren's heart hammered in her chest as she took in the sight before her. There, in the middle of her living room, stood a stranger - tall, lean, and menacing, stood in a long dark coat. His most striking feature was the patches of purple-black scarred skin that covered much of his visible body, a stark contrast to his pale, unscarred skin. Thick, staple-like piercings lined the edges of these patches but that was not the most unnerving element to this scene.
Despite the grave situation, the stranger was true to his word; the man had his hands comically placed over his eyes, as if he were a child playing hide-and-seek rather than an intruder in her home. His spiky, dark hair peeked out between his fingers, and a smirk played on his lips, visible beneath his palms.
"See? Not looking!" his sing-song voice sent a chill down Ren's spine.