The next few days felt like the alphas were tiptoeing around Izuku. They were overly cautious, which would have been nice if Izuku's brain weren't telling him they would turn on him and hurt him. But he also wanted to believe they wouldn't.

They wouldn't.

It was just Shoto and Izuku home today, one of the rare days that Eijiro had to go to his office for work. They hadn't wanted to leave Izuku home alone, so Shoto had brought some work home so he could keep the omega company. "Are you feeling better?" He asked, sitting beside Izuku on the couch and putting two cups of tea on the coffee table.

It had been a few short days since his last panic attack. They were still trying to gauge how he was feeling. "Oh, umm, yeah," Izuku said, unsure if it was actually true. "I guess." His head insisted on telling Izuku he was wrong about the three alphas and that he should be punished for something even when he had done nothing wrong. But he was trying to get better. He was trying to trust them. He was trying to get those thoughts out of his head. He stared at his cup of tea but didn't move to drink it.

Shoto stared at him for a second. "You know, if you want to talk about it, you can. I'll listen."

Maybe he should tell him? Denki said he could talk with them, and it would be ok. "I umm..." How was he even supposed to start? What did he even want to say? Would Shoto get mad at him? "I don't know..." he muttered. "I just..." he paused for a long moment, and Shoto scooted closer. He was never too good with words, but Shoto always had a comforting ora around him, making it hard for Izuku to stay uptight. "Scared? I'm always scared, but I guess this is different?"

"Different how?" Shoto prompted when the omega didn't continue.

"Usually I know... I know alphas are bad," he said softly, curling in on himself. He shouldn't have said that. He shouldn't have said that in front of Shoto. He'll be mad he said that. He'll hurt him. "S-sorry."

Maybe the comment stung a little, but Shoto knew it was true, at least in Izuku's experiences. Why would he suddenly think an alpha was good after so many years of being surrounded by bad ones who hurt him? "You don't have to be sorry," he said softly. "You've said nothing wrong. You can keep going."

Izuku looked up at him, then back down. Does he continue? What if he's just trying to get Izuku to incriminate himself more? Wait. No. He wouldn't. Shoto wouldn't. If he said it's ok, then it's ok. "And- and you're confusing me," he admitted slowly. "Y-you're always nice and- and- I feel... safe? But I've never felt safe, so it scares me because I don't want to lose this feeling, but I'm sure I will soon." One of Izuku's hands was finding its way into his hair, tugging harshly as he got sucked back into his intrusive thoughts.

Shoto quickly but carefully took Izuku's hand and intertwined their fingers to stop him from pulling his hair. "Hey, I will do what I can to make sure you don't stop feeling safe, ok?" He said softly, using his other hand to guide Izuku's chin up so he would look at him. "I don't want you to feel unsafe. Neither do Eijiro or Katsuki."

Izuku's eyes were glassy as he looked up at Shoto. He felt the urge to lean into his touch but held back. It took everything in him not to argue with the alpha. Why would they want that? It didn't make sense. The logical side of Izuku's brain kept telling him this wasn't right. "W-why, though?" He asked quietly, eyes falling to the side so he wouldn't be looking at Shoto.

Shoto rubbed his thumb along Izuku's cheek, wiping away a tear Izuku hadn't known spiled. He was so soft with him. It made Izuku want to get lost in the feeling. "You're human too Izuku," he said softly. "And everyone deserves to feel safe."

He didn't feel like he deserved it. Someone else did. Another omega should be here, one who was able to feel safe and let themselves feel safe with the alpha. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve them.

"Izuku? Would a hug help?" Shoto asked softly, pulling his hand away from Izuku's cheek. He noticed the way the omega tried to follow his hand, though he wasn't sure if Izuku realised he was doing that.

Izuku was hesitant but nodded. He had felt overwhalmingly safe when Eijiro hugged him, maybe it'll feel the same when Shoto did?

Shoto pulled the omega closer and wrapped his arms around him. Shoto wasn't as big as Eijiro was, but he was warm and his hands felt nice running along his back and through his hair. "You wanna know something?" Shoto asked softly, running a hand through Izuku's hair, feeling him relax in his arms. Then, he pulled Izuku into his lap to make them both comfier.

Izuku hummed softly. "What?" He asked, his mind drifting in his comfort.

"I know you don't think all that highly of yourself, but you're extremely strong for getting through what you have." Izuku was quiet, then Shoto felt tears seeping into his shirt where the omega had buried his face. "I'm sorry. Did I upset you?" He asked softly.

"N-no-" Izuku choked out. He had never heard someone call him brave or strong, and somehow, just those two words caused a title wave of emotions to wash over him. "Just- no one's ever-"

His words cut off, but Shoto knew what he was going to say. Shoto ran his hand through Izuku's hair and hummed softly. He let Izuku cuddle up against him, happy they were at this point. Shoto hoped Izuku would continue to feel safe enough to cuddle up against him and talk.

Shoto was content to sit here with Izuku cuddled against him, the omega slowly relaxing against him.

Eventually, Izuku drifted into sleep, and Shoto would not complain, even when his leg was falling asleep or his phone was ringing with a call. He would stay here as long as needed for Izuku to get a decent nap in.

But then he recognized the ringtone was his mother's, and as much as he wanted to ignore his phone, he couldn't do that to his mom. He moved as little as possible to grab his phone. Izuku stirred a little before snuggling back against Shoto's chest, and the alpha couldn't help the huffed laugh that left his lips.

Shoto opened the texts on his phone and found his mother's contact before sending a quick text explaining he couldn't call because Izuku was asleep on him.

Mom: Who is Izuku?

Ok, so Shoto may have forgotten to tell his mother about the stunt that his father pulled over a month ago that resulted in Izuku being at their house. But you can't blame that on him. Everything had been busy recently, and Rei had been out of the country and unable to talk with him for at least half of it.

Shoto: Now that really is a conversation better suited for a phone call or in person.
Shoto: Long story short. Enji is a dick, and thought he could buy my trust back by dropping an omega (Izuku) off on my doorstep. He thought I would "enjoy an obedient fuck toy that's not an alpha." his words. Not mine.

His mom had taken a while to respond, as it usually does when Enji is brought up. He had put her (and the rest of the Todoroki family) through a lot of trauma. He had been an abusive asshole who had pushed his mother to a mental break, kicked his oldest son out at 10, forced Shoto's sister to basically be a nanny for Shoto and Natsuo while they were growing up and could hardly stomach Shoto being in a relationship with two other alphas. And that's barely scratching the surface. That doesn't even touch all the other immoral things he had done over the years.

Mom: I hope you are treating him properly.

Shoto: Of course. You don't need to worry, Mom.
Shoto: He's currently sleeping against me. Thus why I can't call. I don't want to wake him up.

Mom: I am glad to hear. If there is anything I can do to help, just call. And I'd love to meet him at some point.

Shoto: Thank you, we'll let you know if we need anything.

Mom: I understand.:) Just give me a date and time, and I'll be there.

Shoto smiled at the smiley face that his mother had used. Natsuo had been trying to get her to use emoji's for ages, and it seemed to be finally rubbing off on her.

Shoto: of course. I think it would be good for him to meet some more people, but as I said, I think we're going to wait to bring anyone around until he's more comfortable with us.

Mom: Of course. Fuyumi is calling me, so I will talk to you later.
Mom: Love you, <3Shoto.

Shoto: Love you too, Mom. Talk to you again later. I'll call when I can.

Shoto turned off his phone and put it on the couch beside him, unwilling to move to get it back in his pocket.

Izuku was shifting again, and his brows furrowed in his sleep. Honestly, it was adorable.

He let out a small, confused noise before his eyes fluttered open, and realization seemed to hit him like a truck. Izuku jumped off of Shoto, face flushed red. "Ah- I- sorry- I'm- I-" The omega could hardly get a word out as he tried to collect his thoughts.

Shoto sat there, amused. "It's ok, no need to apologize. You were tired."

Izuku blushed more and looked down at his lap. "I really want to apologize right now," he whispered.

Shoto let out a small huff, and his lip corked upwards. "If that's the case, then I accept your apology. Does that help?"

"Y-yeah," Izuku whispered.

"Good, I'm glad."

Izuku kept his eyes trained on the ground as he hummed softly, acknowledging the words but saying nothing about it.