~ Third Person P.O.V ~

The chaotic city of Tampa Florida whizzed past Izuku in a blur, horns honked at him, lights from signs flashed as people yelled a plethora of curses at him. He wasn't certain of where he was going, nor how he'd even get there only allowing his feet to take him where they please— the pulsing beat of his heart only driving him to go faster. The young boy could hardly think properly as his mind ran a million miles a minute, sifting through endless possibilities and outcomes, drawing him one way then another.

This was a dream. It all had to be a dream, one he would wake up from . . . He'd be back with his family at the camp when he woke up, he wouldn't be here dealing with these inexplicable emotions coursing through him. Izuku didn't want to deal with them, he just wanted things to go back to the way they were for the past couple of days— to be able to hang out with Shoto and Katsuki without any tension between them. To wake up in the middle of the night and have Shoto talk to him until he fell asleep. To go on walks with Katsuki at any hour of the day or night just for the hell of it. That's when it hit him.

Izuku just wanted Shoto and Katsuki. They told him they loved him, and he damn well knows it isn't the platonic kind of love, and damn he wanted to say it back but . . . He couldn't. It was all too much. All his life he grew up knowing what his family wanted out of him, what they expected out of him.

Don't get him wrong, he loves them dearly but he never truly got to think for himself on certain matters. Uraraka would one day be his wife if he never left camp, they would be expected to have children and carry on the Midoriya name. One when the war was over they'd own a farm, and a small house to raise a family.

That's what was expected out of him.

But he didn't want what was expected he wanted what makes him happy. Shoto and Katsuki make him happy, but all the risks that come with them making him happy were too precarious to simply ignore. If they were caught they could be killed, not to mention it was three of them instead of two . . . that goes way beyond the social structures of being conventional.

Then again . . . being gay in the 1940s wasn't normal either.

Izuku came to a stop on the outskirts of town, hundreds of trees circling around him and the faint whisper of rippling water sounded off in the air. With careful, tenacious steps, twigs and moist leaves snapped and sloshed beneath him— the sticky, humid air clung to his skin as he went on.

He just needed someplace to think.

To weigh out his options.

Slowly lowering himself down onto the blades of grass below, he looks out over the lake in front of him which was illuminated by nearby fireflies and the moonlit sky. Every now and then he'd skip a rock, watching as it skidded across the water. It was here that he truly felt at ease.

Unlike Katsuki and Shoto.

The two, along with everyone else was scouring the city with a fine-tooth comb in hopes that they'd find the boy. No. Knowing that they'd find him because not finding him wasn't an option in their case. Of course, the others didn't know the real reason Izuku ran off, only the lie their Master Sergeants told them: that they had all gotten into an argument.

Hell, even Monoma was looking for the boy.

"What the hell did I do?" Shoto muttered under his breath as he drove, he had been the one to tell Izuku. "Fuck! What the hell did I do?"

"You told him the truth," Katsuki cooed, soothingly rubbing the elder's shoulder with his good arm. "We couldn't have possibly known he'd run off,"

"Damn it . . . What if we don't find him Katsuki?"

That had never crossed the blond's mind up until then, what if they didn't find him. He didn't want to think that way but . . . sometimes that's the only way you can think in these kinds of situations.

"No," The younger said firmly, shaking his head as if shaking away the thoughts. "No, we'll find him . . . we have to fucking find him— even if he hates after all of this,"

It was silent after that, only the blazing roar of the Jeep well exceeding the speed limit and the occasional backfire of the muffler. Yet that didn't stop Shoto from driving like a madman as they whizzed past the streets, eventually going to the outer edges of town to look.

"Wait! I think I saw him over there, by all those trees!" Katsuki shouted, motioning towards the trees with vehemency. "Pull over,"

Doing as he was told, Shoto quickly parked on the side of the dirt— the duo wasted no time in hopping out of the Jeep and sprinting down the barely visible path. Katsuki winced as he ran, careful not to move his arm around too much as he did so; nevertheless, he still ran. They both spotted Izuku at the same time, observing as he rested his head in his hands while mumbling quietly to himself. Slowly they made their way over, sitting down on either side of him in the bed of grass.

". . . You guys found me quicker than I expected," Izuku commented, never moving his face from his hands as he spoke. "Bakugou you got shot, you should be resting," he added, slightly shifting his face to side-eye the second eldest teen.

"How the hell do you expect me to do that when I worried, hm?" The blond countered, his voice just as low and soft as Izuku's was.

It was quiet again, nobody dare said a word, nor did any of them breathe too hard as they waited for one or the other to break the silence.

"There was this girl back home," Izuku started, fiddling with his hands while inhaling ragged breaths. "She was always so kind to me and my family, she kind of had a bit of a crush on me too. I'd always catch her staring at me from the corner of my eye . . . but—" Tears began to trickle down the male's cheeks, staining the soft flesh with its salty moisture.

Izuku had come to a decision on all of this.

"But I always ignored her because I was staring at her brother," he choked, raking his fingers through his hair. "I thought something was wrong with me . . . So when I was brought to the Base with you guys I thought those feelings for men would go away but . . . here you two are."

Shoto sighed deeply as he cupped the side of Izuku's face, his thumb swiping over his cheek to catch the rolling liquid. "If you need time to think or anything like that we'll give it to you . . . We'll give you all the time in the world,"

"And if you need space—" Katsuki added, rubbing Izuku's shoulder, "— we'll back off, okay?"

This only prompted another string of sobs and tears to cascade from Izuku's mouth and eyes, a watery smile slipping onto his lips as he did so. The two were definitely making his decision a whole lot easier.

"Just so I got everything in order . . . You two love me?" Izuku asked weakly, his eyes darting back and forth between the two.

"Somewhere along those lines, yes," The duel-haired male replied, his eyes hard as they scrutinized Izuku's reactions.

Rolling his eyes, Katsuki whacked Shoto with his good arm. "Ignore him, yes we love you," he affirmed, his voice wavering as he too inspected the younger male.

"And I'm going to assume that you two must love each other too, right?" Izuku pressed, his heart hammering in his chest as he spoke; all he received were nods in response. "Okay . . ." he whispered quietly to himself.

"If we're going to do this . . . we're gonna do it together," The younger concluded, giving them both genuine smiles.

"Together,"

"Together,"