Sero was the one to text to meet up this time around. Izuku's stomach was tying itself into a million knots as he kept rereading the short and clipped message. It was so unlike the other messages they had exchanged, all full of banter and sappy comments. He had half the mind to delete it after it was read, it didn't belong among the treasured messages.

As slowly as Izuku could move without making it too obvious he was stalling, he headed off for their rooftop. He wasn't sure what to expect once he made it, but he was bracing himself for the worst. He was bracing himself for yelling, insults, declarations of misplaced trust and disappointment. He was bracing for a break up.

Imagine his surprise when he was engulfed into a firm hug as soon as his feet hit the roof. "Hanta?" he asked softly, holding onto the other boy just as tightly.

"You scared the shit out of me today," Sero said, squeezing once more before releasing his hold. He didn't back off though, staying right in front of Izuku. "What the hell was that?"

And there was the question Izuku didn't know how to answer.

His eyes were wide and misty as he looked up at his concerned boyfriend. "Are you... Do you hate me?" his voice was choked, but he had to ask. He needed to know the answer, no matter how much it might hurt.

Sero's face softened as he gently cradled Izuku's. "Lightning bug, I could never."

"But- but your classmate, I- I hurt her and-" His confessions were going to go tumbling right out of his mouth. He wasn't thinking properly, the only thought on his mind being to come clean to the boy in front of him.

Sero quickly shushed him, wiping a few tears that had managed to fall from his green eyes. "Tsu's fine, okay? Barely even had a bruise, we talked about it on the bus. She said that for a villain, you were remarkably careful with her."

Izuku gulped, staring up at Sero with dulled awe.

"I saw you, Iz. I know what you did wasn't voluntary. I don't hate you and I'm not even mad. At least not at you. The jackass calling you a dog on the other hand..." he suggestively trailed off, causing Izuku to snort.

"You've gotten better, tape boy, but don't get ahead of yourself," Izuku teased, before sniffling quietly.

"Oh, ouch, love." Sero faked a grimace at Izuku's words.

Izuku's heart stuttered at the pet name. It was new and he thought it meant so much more than just a casual nickname.

Sero picked up on it, the way he seemed to freeze. The black haired boy went to open his mouth, but Izuku cut him off. Whatever it was he was going to say... Izuku wasn't sure he was ready to hear it. Not yet.

"Hanta, I'm going to tell you something, and I'm only doing it because I'm sure UA staff have already figured it out and you'll find out sooner or later anyway, okay?" he rushed out, redirecting the conversation.

Sero shut his mouth and nodded for him to continue.

Izuku took a deep breath and recited the lie he'd spent the past few hours coming up with (not that it was entirely a lie to begin with). "There's a traitor at UA. That's how my father and Shigaraki found out about your field trip."

Sero blinked down at him, ever so slowly taking in the new information.

"I can't tell you who, but you have to promise me to be careful. Trust absolutely no one. I don't care if they're the nicest, friendliest, most innocent person on the planet, you don't trust them, okay? Promise me, Hanta." Izuku was pleading, pleading for him to realize the double meanings behind his words. To take his words to heart so much he stopped trusting Izuku, stopped telling him bits and pieces of his school life.

The boy nodded, placing a kiss on Izuku's forehead. "I promise."

Izuku sighed and leaned into his embrace. The temptation to cry was strong, but he had to keep himself together. Fuck, he'd gone fourteen years without crying more than a handful of times and ever since he'd met Sero he'd cried at least that much. It was a little pathetic, really.

Sero had complicated his life. He'd flipped it upside down and caused, to anyone else, more problems than he was worth.

To Izuku though, well he still wasn't sure what to make of the situation, or even the full weight of his feelings for the other teen. It was all a scrambled mess and Izuku didn't have the time to sift through it all. He'd just have to try and figure it out as he went, no matter how unappealing that seemed. He didn't have many other options.

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

The attack on the USJ resulted with the hero course students being moved into dorms. The school probably wouldn't have taken such a drastic measure if it wasn't for Izuku's little stunt with the frog girl. Having a knife to a student's throat seemed to make parents and teachers very ansty, who would have thought?

With the new dorms came new rules, a strict curfew and a zero tolerance for villain boyfriends on campus. Sero and Izuku were limited to texts, phone calls, and the few hours Sero could spend away from the school.

Izuku had considered sneaking onto the campus, going directly into Sero's room, but the risk was too high. If he got caught, they were both screwed. Izuku would probably be arrested and Sero would definitely be expelled.

Better to just meet up off campus.

Although he was getting more and more annoyed every time Sero would have to leave before the sun even went down. It was his own fault though, seeing as he was the one that held the knife to that girl's throat. Didn't mean he wasn't bitter at the administration, though.

Recently, they haven't even been able to meet up much. Sero had been busy with sports festival prep and Izuku was dealing with Shigaraki's constant tantrums (nothing ever seemed to go the man's way).

On the day of said sports festival, Izuku found himself at the event. It was a bit of a shock when Toga came skipping into his room and ordered him to get ready, they were supposed to go on a mission in a few hours. She proceeded to tell him that the mission was originally meant for someone else, but Shigaraki had gotten pissed at them for some reason or another, and dusted the poor dude.

Without enough time to find a replacement, make sure they could actually be trusted and handle the mission, it fell into Izuku's lap and since Toga had become his pet poodle the past month, she was coming along.

The girl didn't even seem upset at the role she'd apparently been assigned around the compound, almost preening because of it. When Izuku asked why it didn't bother her that everyone thought of her as his lap dog, she simply said she'd gladly play the role of poodle for the most powerful man in Japan.

Izuku rolled his eyes, but ruffled her hair affectionately, muttering about a "power hungry she-devil". She licked her fangs in response.

They walked with the crowd as everyone flooded into the stadium. Izuku was in roughly the same outfit as the USJ attack, but he swapped in a mustard yellow hoodie, which he was fairly sure belonged to Sero. He genuinely had no idea how he got a hold of it.

Neither had to hide their identities (as long as Izuku stayed out of All Might's sight), it would be more suspicious if they did. They just had to blend into the crowd and, at some point, sneak off to locate the main office. All the buildings on UA's campus connected to the same filing system, so the schedules they'd showed up to steal would be easily accessible to them there.

"Hey Izuchan," Toga said as they walked in, clinging to his arm as they went. "Since we're here, can I meet lover boy? Pretty please?"

She was using her puppy dog eyes. God damn it, she knew his weakness.

"Pretty, pretty please?" she begged, jutting out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout.

He groaned, looking away from the display. "If we have the opportunity."

Her high pitched squeal of excitement caused more than one head to turn in their direction. Izuku quickly shushed her, scolding her for drawing unwanted attention.

"Sorry, Izuchan." Toga was looking away sheepishly.

"Lets just try to find this office, okay? Find it while it's still crowded, then go back when the halls are empty and everyone's focused on the events." She nodded in agreement to his plan.

Izuku let out a sigh and tried to relax his shoulders. It was going to be a long day.