After everything which has happened, I think some obligatory fluff is overdue.

The morning light filtered through my curtains, striking my closed eyelids and slowly easing me out of my uneasy sleep. Whilst it hadn't been my worst nightmare, not by a long shot, it still resonated in my mind. It curled its evil tail around my heart and squeezed, promising that it wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. But I didn't want to think about that or anything which has occurred in the last few weeks. Not the build-up to the raid, not my week inside of the base and certainly not what had happened during the raid. What I desperately wanted, what I craved, was to be surrounded by the ones I loved in an environment in which I was comfortable. Thankfully, I didn't have to go seeking this comfort. 

A knock at the door was what prompted me to snap out of gazing blankly at the wall and get out of bed. It wouldn't do me any good to just sit there all day, I needed to interact with people. I shuffled over to the door and pulled it open to see Shoto stood there, worry and concern alight in every single one of his features.

"Izuku, are you ok? I was worried about you since it's 11 am and you're usually out of your room before that." Shoto said.

"I'm ok... I'm not the best." I automatically lied before I corrected myself and let the small smile which I had pushed onto my features to fall. 

"How about we sit down in your room. Maybe you could tell me about what's bothering you. Or... or we could just... cuddle... if you want." Shoto muttered bashfully. He wasn't the best when it came to reassuring others or romantic gestures, but I appreciated his effort all the same. At least he was trying to empathize with me, and that was, truthfully, all I could ask of him.

"Ok. Come in." a small, real, smile slipped onto my lips as I let my boyfriend into my room. He had been in my room hundreds of times before, yet I always got butterflies in my stomach when the two of us were alone together.

Shoto and I sat on my bed in silence, his arms wrapped around my shoulder as we both watched a film on my laptop. There was an awkward air which lingered between the two of us. It had been so long since we had been alone together with nothing to bother us. With nothing lingering in my mind. There was only me and Shoto, alone. 

"So... Izuku, would you like to... talk about what happened?" Shoto questioned in a halting tone. 

"No. Not right now. Maybe soon, but not now. I just want to spend some time with you and forget everything." I whispered. I turned away from the screen and buried my face into his chest, drawing his soothing scent into me. He smelled like home and comfort. It was the only thing I needed after everything which had happened to me. 

"That's alright. You don't need to rush anything. I love you, Izuku." Shoto hummed into my hair as he buried his face there. 

"Thank you. I love you too." I hummed in return. Silence continued to rule over us, but it was no longer filled with palpable nerves which were born from the extended time in which we hadn't been able to appreciate each other's company. Instead, the silence was filled to the brim with adoration and clearly communicated love. Love which was expressed in gentle caresses, chaste kisses and loving looks, all accompanied by warm embraces.

"Would you like to go and get something to eat? You haven't had anything to eat since you woke up, and that was five hours ago, Katsuki is probably about to serve dinner." Shoto asked as he picked his head up from my chest and looked directly into my eyes with his heterochromatic ones. 

"Sure, I am feeling a bit hungry." I smiled. What I didn't add on was that I knew if I didn't eat that day, I would fall into bad habits, and I had no desire to do that. I was determined to cope with everything in the correct way now. Through professional and family help, I would come to terms with what had happened  I would get better in a healthy way.

"OK, let's head down then. I'm sure the others want to see you. Even though we saw you in the hospital, everyone was desperate to see you home." Shoto returned my gentle smile and rolled off of my bed, gently taking my hand into his so that he could pull me off of the bed. 

Once I was on my feet again, Shoto bent down and pecked me on my lips, the feeling warming my heart and making my tummy swarm with butterflies, no matter how many times our lips touched I would always feel that way. 

Shoto and I walked through the common area hand in hand, greeting our friends as we went. Some of the pressure which has started to bear down on my chest alleviated itself upon seeing my friends laughing and having fun with each other. It was reassuring to know that I would always be surrounded by joyful people and I could always turn to them should they need my help, I was sure to make it known that they could also rely on me.

"Izu! Do you wanna play a video game with us?" Mina called out to me from her position in front of the TV. I opened my mouth to respond, but Shoto spoke up before I could.

"Sorry, Mina, but I intend to steal Izuku away for a bit longer. If that's ok with you?" Shoto asked as he looked down at me. I nodded my head with a serene smile, offering my apologies to Mina who simply waved me off and promised that we would play the next day. It was little gestures like that which assured me that I wasn't alone anymore. I had a lot of people to aid me in my recovery. 

Shoto and I quickly walked through, into the kitchen so that we could collect some food before retreating back to my room. Our plan to be quick, however, was disrupted by the appearance of Kacchan and Kiri.

"There you are, nerd! Where the fuck have you been all day." Kacchan shouted across the kitchen as he and Kiri walked in together. The two of them never really showed much public affection. They hardly touched, though it could only be expected from Kacchan. He was rather shy when it came to the matters of the heart. 

"Shoto and I have just been hanging around in my room. We were just fetching some food before we went back up." I explained, implicitly implying that we wanted to just get some food and leave. 

"Cool. Hey, when are you gonna hang out with the rest of us. You spent a week... away and then you were in the hospital. Come on, dude!" Kiri whined good-naturedly.

"Sorry, Kirishima, but we really want to spend some time with just the two of us." Shoto placated gently. 

"Leave them alone, Eijiro. I doubt I'd want to be around them currently, anyway. Look, they're practically climbing all over each other." Kacchan snorted. Shoto and I were, in fact, not climbing all over each other, we were simply holding hands. Which was apparently too much for sensitive Kacchan.

"We're hardly touching." Shoto pointed out, "Regardless, we'll just be getting our food and leaving. Have a good evening.". Before I knew it, Shoto was pulling me away, balancing a tray of soup in his other hand. 

"Bye guys!" Kiri's voice chimed from behind us. 

"This is delicious. Oh, Shoto, how is the... thing with your father going?" I asked, the comforting feeling of warm soup sliding down my throat warmed me to my toes and made my heart light.

"Fuyumi has custody of me now. In all honesty, he didn't put up much of a fight. He was... annoyed, but that's about it. Natsuo wanted to get a restraining order against him, and originally I wasn't opposed, but I think it would just complicate things in the long run. As much as I most likely wouldn't enjoy it, we will most likely have to work together in the future." Shoto explained quietly, his eyes had gained a far away and contemplative look. "My mother was happy to hear about it. The nurses say that she's getting a lot better. She might be allowed out next year as long as nothing really bad happens."

"That's great to hear, Shoto. I'm glad that you're away from him and I'm glad that your mum might be able to get out of the hospital. Everything seems to be working out, hey?" I laughed gently.

"For me, maybe. I won't force you to speak, Izuku, but I know something is on your mind which is related to what happened whilst you were away. When you're ready to talk, don't forget that I'm here. I'll always be here or you, Love." Shoto hummed, his forehead came down to rest upon mine. Yet again I was faced with his piercing gaze of blue and grey. His eyes were the portal into the foreign land which was his mind. The grey like the steel of a vault and the blue like the endless depths of the Mediterranean sea. 

"I know. And I'll always be here for you." I whispered back. The corners of my lips tilted up ever so slightly as our lips ghosted over each other, the brush tickling me and making millions of butterflies swarm my stomach and infect my heart.

We stared into each other's eyes for a minute more. Emerald green waring amicably with the opposing colours. The yearning and love we both felt for the other were ever-present in our eyes. We remained in that position before we both closed the distance between the two of us and our lips connected in a soft kiss. A kiss just like all of the others and yet no less special and awe-inspiring. A kiss which spoke more words than either of us could ever hope to convey. A kiss which would be insignificant in the grand scheme of things yet meant the world to us at that moment. 

Despite it being against the rules, Shoto and I fell asleep together, too comfortable to shift out of each other's embrace. Shoto's warm arms embraced me and his steady heartbeat sung me gently off to sleep. His constant breathing was a symphony which would ordinarily send me off to sleep. However, that night I was plagued by nightmares. Blood spurted into my eyes. A grotesque body hung from the rafters of a room I had happened to enter, wide eyes shining dully. Eri's tiny body cowering in the corner of the room every time somebody passed down the hallway. The ominous and dangerous look of disdain and disgust in Overhaul's eyes every time we passed each other. A bodiless hand perched in the centre of the hallway, nobody insight and a trail of blood streaking the floor. 

I must have tossed and turned and wailed and screeched in my sleep because I was shaken from my slumber by Shoto's hands on my shoulder. My eyes peeled open and I was faced with the view of a terrified and frankly rather sick looking Shoto's face hovering over my own. His eyes were far too wide and his skin far too pale in the silver moonlight which filtered through the curtain. 

"Izuku? Love? Are you awake now?" Shoto questioned frantically. I nodded my head slowly, everything around me was blurry and I wasn't aware of my surroundings, but I was awake enough to tell that Shoto was worried.

"Wh-what? I'm awake." I slurred. 

"Ok. Ok. Are you ok, you were having a nightmare. A pretty bad one it seemed." Shoto whispered his voice was still full of the same frantic and worried tone. 

"Yeah. I'm fine now. Can we just hug?" I muttered. Shoto was quick to nod and let his head rest on my chest, arms wrapped securely around my waist. With the weight of Shoto's head on my chest and arms around my waist, I drifted back to sleep, this time undisturbed by horrid nightmares. 

Sorry, this is short. I have discovered that I am incapable of writing a chapter of purely fluff. Also, I'm having trouble writing. Hopefully, it'll sort itself out soon enough. 

I'm two chapters away from finishing this story, yay. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are.