The Emerald Prince

Chapter 53: Spilling Secrets

Todoroki stared at the heap of curry he had no doubt he would not be able to get through... but would anyway since Izuku had made it. To be honest, Izuku's meals were so good, he was almost grateful to Endeavour at this point.

But that didn't stop the fact that for some reason, Izuku was over feeding him. He knew he wasn't underweight, anymore at least. And Izuku gave Aizawa and himself perfectly normal portions.

He remembered being overfed like this only once in his life. When his mother had still lived in the Todoroki Mansion. She started doing it once Enji began to beat and harass him. She'd produced huge breakfast spreads for him every morning after treating his injuries from the evening before.

With that in mind, he'd asked her why, on his last visit to the hospital, and she'd smiled.

"Guilt. I couldn't stop him, and I still hate that helplessness, that I could do nothing. I was determined to bring you happiness and spoil you where I could. It was the best I could do, to bring you some happiness instead of taking away the pain."

Raising his gaze from a meal fit for three, he caught a glint of green eyes as Izuku hastily turned away from him to get back to tending to the grill. Scanning the kitchen, bar two cats, they were alone.

"Hey."
Izuku turned his head, to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Hey."
"Listen, you've been acting on edge around me recently, and giving me a lot of food... could tell me why?" He asked, he'd been told when asking something important, he should do some small talk, but the one time he'd asked someone what it was like being short... they'd got pretty angry for some reason.

The greenette gave him an appraising look. Something about Todoroki's bluntness, inspired it in others, and Izuku was as no exception, so he turned off the gas, leant back, rested his elbows on the counter top and stated his dilemma.
"I can tell you partially. But it will cause a whole pile of questions. Which I can't yet tell you the answers to." He said carefully.
Todoroki didn't hesitate. "Okay."
Tucking a stray lock behind his ear, Izuku held him with his sharp green eyes. "The day you arrived, you know I went out, like I usually do?"
Todoroki nodded.
"I...I met Touya." The greenette murmured.

Immediately Todoroki was overwhelmed with shock, anger, confusion...and as Izuku had warned, so many damn questions.
It took him a moment to regain control and he lowered his gaze back to the mountain of guilt turned curry, picking the one question he'd try asking carefully.
"Did he...did he seem happy?"
Izuku took one look at Todoroki's sad and yet hopeful expression and his composure broke, "god damn this shit!" he yelled, tossing the dish cloth onto the counter and storming out the kitchen.
Todoroki followed, completely confused, only to have the door shut in his face.

———

"Dad..."

Aizawa had been too tired to make it to his room to sleep so was currently in his sleeping bag with a cat, halfway up the stairs. Grimacing, he looked up at a rather determined looking Izuku, clutching a spatula, and wearing a look that promised a plot development he probably wouldn't like.

Here we go.

"Shinsou, Todoroki, or both?" He asked calmly, looking up at his slightly deranged son.
If Izuku was surprised, he didn't show it. "Can I tell both, you know them really well by now right? I'm sure I can trust them?"
Aizawa sighed, though when he'd asked, he hadn't been sure if this was gonna be about telling or dating them - so in honesty he was pretty happy. "They are problem kids...but..." he realised he had an opportunity, "you can only tell them if you explain where you were Saturday."

Izuku flushed a little, "at a night club, as usual!"
Sitting up, Aizawa pointed out, "until 5 am?"
His son had sent him message saying he was going to be late, and regular-ish ones since to reassure him. He knew Izuku had probably slept with someone, and though he didn't like it, in that part of his life the greenette was way ahead of his classmates, and he knew what he was doing.