The following Friday, Izuku was back at the house in Kaminari's room. Surprisingly, he wasn't destroying the blond and Sero in video games. Instead, all three of them were having a movie marathon. Izuku wasn't sure when he'd become such good friends with the two of them, but he wasn't complaining as Sero started up the next hero movie in the saga they were bingeing. 

"Can I ask you guys something?" Izuku asked as the opening credits started. He grabbed the pillow he was lying on and shoved it under his chest, using it to prop himself up. 

"Never," Kaminari joked, flopping around so he was lying next to him, jostling the entire bed as he went. Sero was leaning back against the wall behind them, Izuku's feet close enough to reach out and kick him if he felt like it. 

"I was just wondering what Shinsou's... deal is?" 

Sero snorted a laugh at the question. "What, you two don't do a lot of talking?" 

"We talk," Izuku shot back, a frown tugging the corners of his lips down. "Just... about surface-level stuff. I know he was in foster care, he's got a little sister and two adoptive dads... but that's about it." 

Kaminari folded his arms in front of him and rested his chin there. "I mean, that's about all we know, too. Shinsou doesn't talk much, and when he does, he's usually just insulting us." 

"Deeply insecure reaction to people wanting to get to know him," Sero said in a sober manner that Izuku knew was fake. He was fucking with him, and it earned the raven-haired man a soft kick. 

"What're you, a philosophy major?" he grumbled, looking over his shoulder. 

Sero raised a brow, an amused smile slipping onto his features. "And if I said yes?" 

Izuku chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought about the answer. "What can you even do with a philosophy degree?" 

Sero threw his head back, a laugh pulled from him. "I'm honestly not even sure." 

"You're going into debt for a degree you don't even know what to do with?" Izuku asked, confusion drawing his brows together as he looked at his friend. 

"Scholarship, baby," Sero said while knocking his knee into Izuku's side. "I'm offended you didn't consider that possibility." 

Just like how he couldn't pinpoint the moment he became friends with the two of them, he couldn't remember exactly when the nickname had shown up. It was thrown around with such ease it almost felt like it was what Sero had always called him. 

Izuku shrugged, settling back into his spot and turning to the TV as the movie officially started. "I'm using Touya's college fund. I forget that scholarships exist sometimes." 

"Okay, you've mentioned Touya a bunch, and I still have no idea who he is," Kaminari pointed out with a small frown. The blond really hated being out of the loop. 

Izuku laughed quietly into his pillow. "He's Sho's and I's oldest brother. All the kids got a college fund started when they were born, but Touya thinks college is a waste of time and never went. He said I could use it after I graduated if I wanted to." 

Kaminari's eyes narrowed slightly as if he were looking at a puzzle he couldn't solve. "And that's just enough to cover your entire degree?" 

"Enji, their bio dad, is filthy rich. I'm talking like a billionaire type rich," Izuku explained. "He's a piece of literal shit, though, so Rei and him got divorced right before my mom died. I haven't seen the guy in years and Sho doesn't talk to him much. He gave all his kids credit cards that he pays off, but that's where the involvement ends." 

"Do you have one of these magic credit cards?" Kaminari asked, already sounding way too excited about the idea. 

"Nope, the guy isn't my dad. Rei was already divorced when she adopted me, so I have zero ties to him." 

"Damn," Kaminari mumbled, sinking back into his spot with disappointment written all over his face. 

Izuku patted his back in a comforting manner. "Sorry, but if you want a sugar daddy, you gotta go talk to Shoto." 

Kaminari perked up a little too quickly at the idea. "Is he into blondes?" 

Izuku fell forward, laughter bubbling out of him at the question. He could hear Sero laughing just as hard behind him, but Kaminari seemed dead serious. 

"The only blond I've ever seen him around is Kacchan, so..." Izuku trailed off, wiping a tear that had fallen from the weight of his giggles. 

"That does not bode well for me." 

"When did you learn the word bode?" 

"Shut up, Sero!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were nearly halfway through the movie when Shinsou appeared in Kaminari's open doorway. A half smile was on his lips as he spotted Izuku on the bed, sandwiched between the two other men. "Figured I'd find you in here." 

Izuku sat up, startled by the sudden intrusion. "Oh, uh, hi?" 

"Go away," Kaminari whined, putting an arm over Izuku's back and using his body weight to hold the other man in place. "He's busy." 

"Calm down, I'm not stealing your bestie," Shinsou said with an eye roll before looking back to a sheepishly smiling Izuku. "Just wanted to see if you were up for a party tomorrow. Monoma wanted me to invite you." 

Okay, stings a little that Monoma's the one that wants me there, Izuku thought silently, doing his best not to show the hurt on his face. He forced his smile to stay in place as he shook his head. "Uh, gonna have to pass. Me and parties don't mix super well," he said honestly. Besides that, he didn't actually enjoy parties anymore. 

"Awe, c'mon, Iz-" 

Whatever else Shinsou was going to say to try and convince him was lost as Kaminari sat straight up with narrowed eyes. "He calls you by your first name? That's so unfair! Sero, tell 'em it's unfair!" 

The stoner just shrugged one shoulder. "I gave him a nickname; I don't really care." 

"Baby is not a nickname, but whatever," Kaminari huffed, looking down at Izuku in betrayal. "If he calls you Izuku, I want to call you Izuku. At least you actually know shit about me." 

Izuku's brows furrowed at how big of a deal this seemed to be for him. "You can call me whatever you want." 

"Don't tell him that," Sero groaned as the back of his head hit the wall. "He'll start calling you something weird, like boyfriend or some shit." 

"As opposed to baby?" Kaminari cried in indignation, appalled by the hypocrisy from his best friend. 

A faint smirk took over Sero's face as he looked over to Izuku. "He doesn't mind, do you, baby?" 

Izuku hummed, "Not at all." 

"See?" 

"Oh, fuck you." 

"Okay," Shinsou spoke up, seeing that those three had probably forgotten he was even there. "I'm gonna send you Monoma's number and you can tell him yourself that you're not going." 

"Wait!" Izuku called as he retreated from the room. He groaned when he realized Shinsou would, in fact, not be waiting. "I gotta go talk to him about this stupid party. I'll be back in a little bit, okay?" 

"You're leaving?" Kaminari asked with a small gasp, grabbing Izuku's wrist before he could stand from the bed. 

Izuku rolled his eyes at the dramatics, even if he was used to it by that point. "For like twenty minutes to make sure I'm not on Monoma's shit list. That guy can be a real pain in the ass when you piss him off." 

Kaminari frowned at the excuse but let him go regardless. "You better come back, Izuku. Do not abandon us for a booty call," he said in a stern voice like an upset mother. 

"Of course, Denki," Izuku said, not missing the pleased smile that took over the blond's face when he used his first name. "Be right back, promise." 

Shinsou's room was only a few feet down and across the hall from Kaminari's. Izuku had learned that all the bedrooms were on the second floor: Bakugou and Kirishima's was all the way at the end of the wall on the right, then it was Kaminari's room and Sero's at the far end. On the other side of the hall was Shinsou's room, the stairs, and Ashido. 

Shinsou hadn't even made it to his bed before Izuku hesitantly opened his door. He looked over his shoulder with one tired eyebrow raised. "Yes, shortie?" 

"Are you... mad at me?" he asked, taking a quick step into the room and shutting the door quietly behind him. He stayed where he was, leaning back against the heavy wood door and watching as Shinsou pulled out a joint. 

He went over to his open window before lighting it. "Not at all. Why do you ask?" 

With careful steps, Izuku trudged over to the desk chair and took a seat. "You seem annoyed, is all." 

"Not with you, Iz. Don't worry about that," he clarified in between hits. After his third, he handed it to Izuku in a silent offer. 

It was early afternoon and Izuku knew that he probably shouldn't accept. He started to run through all his reasons in his head: If he kept giving in, he'd fully lose control and devolve back into a barely functioning stoner, he promised Shoto he'd keep his shit together, he'd promised Rei, he'd promised himself, damn it. 

But it was Friday and he'd already gone to his class for the day. One hit couldn't hurt, right?

"You're a terrible influence," Izuku muttered as he accepted and brought the joint to his lips. 

Shinsou chuckled. "I didn't even say anything." 

"You didn't need to, that's what makes you so terrible," he grumbled while handing the lit joint back to Shinsou. "What's got you so worked up anyway?" 

A heavy sigh left the other man's lips as he leaned back against his window sill. "Monoma mostly. He's been on my ass about you hanging out with us again, and he's gonna be livid when he finds out you're not going to his party." 

Izuku frowned at the answer, suddenly feeling an enormous amount of guilt for being the cause of his problems, even if it was indirectly. "I'm sorry, I just... I don't even like parties. The only reason I went to Kacchan's was because Shoto dragged me." 

"It wasn't all bad, though," Shinsou pressed, taking another hit. "You against the idea of finding a quiet room and disappearing with me?" 

"Obviously not." He rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the question. "But we could do that here and not at a party." 

Shinsou stuck the burning end of the joint out his window and flicked it, causing the burnt ash to fall. "And I thought I was a shut-in." It was a lighthearted tease, but it still struck Izuku like a slap. 

"Fine," he said suddenly, causing Shinsou to pause with the joint halfway to his mouth. "You get one party." 

"Monoma gets one party," Shinsou corrected quickly. "He's the one that invited you." 

If the tease had been a slap, the correction had been a kick straight to his gut. It was a low blow, petty even for Shinsou. Izuku thought there was no way he hadn't done something to piss him off. 

Izuku took a step back, dread filling his stomach to the brim. "And I'm still just supposed to believe you aren't upset with me? That was rude even if we weren't sleeping together," he mumbled, arms wrapping around his torso without a thought. 

"No, that's not-" Shinsou cut himself off with a sigh, taking another hit while trying to formulate his thoughts. "I like you, Izuku." 

Izuku's breath hitched, hope and excitement gripping his lungs so tight it was impossible to inhale. 

"You're a good person," he continued, looking anywhere but Izuku. "You're insanely smart, witty, hilarious, you're virtually fearless, I just... I like you, I like what we have going on, but I'm worried you're gonna start reading too far into it." 

Izuku could have sworn he heard the exact moment his heart cracked. 

"I'm not interested in a formal relationship," Shinsou said with a shrug. "Friends with benefits is as far as I want to go, you know? And we haven't talked about any of that yet, so I just... I wanted to make sure you knew that." 

Izuku forced his lungs to start working, breathing in and out as he quickly nodded. "Yeah, of course." A casual laugh left his mouth easier than he had expected. "Trust me, I'm not interested in dating one of my brothers' friends. That gets... insanely complicated." 

Shinsou smiled at him then, a sweet, warm smile that was slowly killing Izuku without him even knowing it. "Glad we're on the same page then. You wanna stay here? Or are thing one and two expecting you back?" 

"I promised I wouldn't be longer than thirty minutes," he explained with a strained laugh. He'd never been so thankful for Kaminari's clinging; it had just saved him from needing to lie. There was no way he could stick around. He couldn't face Shinsou right now. 

Shinsou playfully rolled his eyes, probably expecting the answer. "That gives you enough time to help me finish this," he said while eyeing the joint in his hand. 

"I probably shouldn't," Izuku said a little too quickly, causing Shinsou's brows to rise. "I have control issues with substances, so I should probably just head back. I'll see you tomorrow, though, right?" he asked while taking a few steps back toward the door. 

Shinsou nodded, turning his head while he exhaled. "Yeah, I'll be there." 

"Cool." Izuku nodded once before he turned tail and ran. 

In the blink of an eye, he had thrown Kaminari's door open and slammed it behind him, leaning back against it as his breath sped up. 

"Uh, Izuku?" the blond asked, tearing his eyes away from the movie they were trying to finish. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine." Even to his own ears, his voice sounded dull. 

Sero heaved a sigh, pushing himself to sit up and wave Izuku over. "Come here, baby." 

Izuku didn't waste another second, speeding to the other man's arms and collapsing into him. He wasn't crying yet, so he thought of it as a win. 

"What happened?" Kaminari asked in a quiet voice. The movie was paused, leaving the room in silence. 

"Nothing I didn't already know," Izuku mumbled into Sero's shirt, relaxing into his hold as he ran a hand up and down his back. 

Kaminari readjusted so he was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Sero. "Shinsou's a dick." 

"It's not like he led me on," Izuku said, leaning his cheek against Sero's shoulder. "I knew he didn't want a relationship before we even kissed. I'm just an idiot." 

The room dissolved into silence for a moment. Kaminari opened his mouth, shut it, and then finally asked what was on his mind. "Do you want to try to make him jealous?" 

Izuku appreciated the gesture, he really did. Kaminari was a big ol' sweetheart, but it wouldn't work. "He'd have to care to be jealous." 

"I can't believe you're not jumping at the chance to sweep him off his feet," Sero said with a quiet laugh at the blond. He was trying to distract Izuku with their endless flirting and he was beyond grateful for it. The escape was welcome, even if it would only last for a few minutes. 

"I thought about it," Kaminari admitted, "but Izuku's a bro now. The hottest bro I've ever had, but a bro. It'd be like sleeping with you." His face scrunched at the idea as he looked over Izuku's head at Sero. 

Izuku's giggles were quiet, but both men seemed to visibly relax at the sound. 

"Let the record show that you are definitely not my bro," Sero said to Izuku, punctuating the statement with a wink. It earned him a shove from the shorter man, but he laughed it off effortlessly.

"You sweep him off his feet then," Kaminari teased, his eyebrows wiggling at the two of them. 

"You're both ridiculous," Izuku said with a playful roll of his eyes, shifting off Sero to sit between them. "Can we finish this movie now? I wanna get to the next one before I have to head home to work on my essay." 

"Why're you always leaving us?" Kaminari asked, faking a few sniffles for extra guilt points. 

Izuku raised a brow, reaching over the blond to snatch the remote and hit play. "Because I don't live here?" 

"But you could. I have a perfectly good futon." 

"I'm not living on your futon, Denks." 

"I got a nickname! We're officially best bros." 

"Okay, fuck you." 

"Sorry, Sero. I think I just stole your best friend." 

"Hanta. If you're calling him Denks, you're calling me Hanta." 

"Fine, fine. Sorry, Hanta." 

"It's fine, baby. You already stole my heart, why not my best friend, too?" 

"Shut up and watch the movie!" 

I love all of them your honor.