Count to Ten

Item Ten: [ B L A N K ] Part Two

Izuku felt the warm but slightly chilled arms wrap around him. He was unsure of how he wanted to react to this. Logically, the two had been close together before in a number of circumstances. Izuku still wasn't used to it. They'd never properly embraced in such a fashion. He wrapped his own arms around the doctor. He allowed himself to cling to him, to take in his scent, his face pressed up against the small area of skin that wasn't covered by the shirt. This shirt wasn't buttoned properly. He didn't mind it. Shouto wasn't dirty.

Shouto hadn't cleaned himself, disinfected, or anything before walking into this space. He just hugged Izuku, holding him close, for as long as Izuku would allow. Izuku didn't want this to end. The longer he stayed like this the more he realized just how traumatizing Touya talking to him was. He wanted Shouto to exist, to be present, to be an ever permanent part of his life. Shouto was real. Shouto was real, right? He had to be. He was hugging him right now. Izuku's body shook a bit, revealing his terror. He wasn't imagining this. He wasn't. 

Loving himself would be difficult, but loving Shouto would be easy. He wanted to love him. He wanted to be loved. He held Shouto as close as he could possibly hold him. "I love you," he confessed. A small confession. Nothing very grand. "I love you," he repeated. The lurking sensation in the back of his mind, the fear that Shouto was his imagination, shadowed him. Did he love him because he wasn't real? Did he really create an entire individual just so he could love himself in a roundabout way? 

"T-Thank you?" Shouto replied, confused, bewildered. Such a grand statement with no time for him to prepare a response. 

"You wouldn't lie to me, right?" Izuku asked. 

"I am not very fond of lying. No, I wouldn't lie to you," Shouto replied. 

"Are you real? Not my imagination?" Izuku said, forcing his nails into Shouto's back. He didn't break the skin but if he clung any more he might've. 

"Izuku," Shouto paused, unsure of how to answer. 

"You're real, right? You have to be!" Izuku sobbed. "I want to be with you forever," he confessed. "I don't want anyone else. You have to be real!" 

"I'm real," Shouto assured. "You wouldn't be able to touch me if I wasn't real. Similar to how you aren't able to touch Deku." 

"I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you," Izuku nuzzled his face into Shouto's chest. "You have to stay real. You aren't allowed to not be real. I love you." 

"T-Thank y-you?" Izuku looked up. Shouto's face was incredibly red. He was, quite literally, burning up with embarrassment. The longer he stood there the more the small flame under his eye increased over his scar.

"Shouto," Izuku bit his glove with his teeth and slid it off before placing his hand on Shouto's face. He smiled, a smile more like Deku, before giggling. "You're burning up." He rubbed the flame gently with his thumb. It didn't matter to him if he was burned or not. Surprisingly, the flame wasn't hot but instead grazed his thumb with a gentle warmth.

Izuku was thrilled to see so many of Shouto's emotions today. Shouto opened his mouth to say something but all that escaped was the cold fumes of him trying to calm down. The air rested on Izuku's cheeks, refreshing him even though the flames weren't hot. It felt nice. Seeing someone more flustered than himself felt nice. "I love you, Shouto," he said, for the umpteenth time. Izuku watched as the flame slowly covered more and more of his hand. How did he manage to live every day without causing a fire? Shouto didn't seem to have much control. Hm, maybe it was just Izuku's talent? To get the fire out of him?

Shouto took a step back, unable to cope with the closeness and continual confessions. Izuku didn't let go of him. He didn't want Shouto to fall so he pulled him forward so that Izuku would fall instead. The two crashed to the ground. The flame continuously extending to cover more areas.

"Shouto," Izuku pushed Shouto's head to his own chest, "are you going to give me a response besides 'thank you'? I would like to know how you feel too..." Shouto shifted and tried to get off of Izuku. Izuku only continued to force him down. "No cheating, I won't let you go until you say something."

"I..." he paused, "can't give you an answer at the moment."

"What?"

"I cannot accurately describe any sort of feelings I have for you and I wouldn't want to mislead you. Especially since I've just been assigned to the task of living with you as your personal counselor."

"You're going to live with me?" Izuku released every sort of grasp on Shouto that he had. Shouto promptly stood up and continued trying to calm down. Every presence of the flame dwindled. Back to normal? No, just trying his best.

"Yes, I've been assigned as your personal counselor. All of my other patients have been handed off to other doctors so I can stay in your cell full time," Shouto explained. "Considering the fact that I was taken hostage, my father has ordered me to continue staying with you as protection. It took me a long time to get him to agree to this, but he eventually gave his blessing."

"You'll be with me?"

"Yes, until the kidnappers' motive has been discovered," Shouto nodded.

"Or until I get you to confess and then you can't leave," Izuku muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing," Izuku smiled. In the end, he was getting his wish to stay with Shouto forever...or at least...most of forever.