Chapter Text
As it was, the past half hour was a calm moment in an otherwise incredibly chaotic day, the eye of the storm Hitoshi had spent nearly 12 hours traveling through. And for that, he was grateful.
He breathed in. He breathed out. And he almost melted into his seat, glad to stop and rest after a whole day of going.
His day had been something, that's for sure, and he did not mean that positively. Even in the slightest.
First, there was the fact that he had woken up and was immediately told that Bakugou decided to go on a cooking strike... because people kept dissing the dinner he cooked last night to try to piss him off. The oyakodon was fucking fantastic, but trying to piss Bakugou off made the meal taste even better.
Unfortunately, this meant that the kitchen had been in absolute chaos as 19 students that had a collective cooking skill of 0 – maybe 1 on a good day – scrambled to make themselves some sort of food.
Needless to say, Hitoshi had not eaten breakfast.
Then their homeroom teacher had the audacity to assign a sudden group project on the pros and cons of the quirk-driven hero justice system, and the topic he had been handed was going to force him to choose violence: the mistreatment of quirkless people and those with mutation-type quirks compared to those with more "acceptable" quirks under the law. Hitoshi was going to punch so many politicians, and he had only had time to read through three of the laws that had been suggested to him for research purposes.
And then, throughout the entire day, he had to manage not slipping and falling on the ice that covered the paths on campus… and he had failed multiple times. One knee of his uniform pants had ended up streaked with dirt after he slipped and partially fell into a flower bed. A goddamn flower bed was where he had to land, of all places that were near that corner of the path.
He was never going to forget that shame.
But now he was sitting at the dining room table with his favorite boy, and it made all of the bullshit from today feel almost worth it. Shouto was smiling at him from across the table – his lovely, small, gentle smile that was reserved for only Hitoshi (or at least that's what he wants to think) – and the drink he was cradling in his hands was warm, but still not nearly as warm as Shouto Todoroki and his lovely smile.
Hitoshi had recently discovered that Shouto could make hot drinks on a whim with one elemental hand – obviously his left, though Hitoshi had a hypothesis he could do the opposite with his right – and a small amount of effort, which was a lot cooler than it probably sounds. And, because of that, it should not have come to anyone's surprise that Hitoshi immediately made sure to take advantage of that fact.
In his defense, it was cold outside and he wanted peppermint hot chocolate. He tended to run a bit cold - accurately referring to himself as an ice pop on multiple occasions - and winter was a little bitch of a season, so he was not thriving. Plus, he had yet again slipped and fallen on the ice while they were walking to the dorms, cracking a, “Look, I’ve fallen for you,” to cover the fact that it fucking hurt.
Shouto had laughed and offered some help to lift him to his feet, and Hitoshi was nothing but a simple pining gay as he relished in the warmth of the other boy’s gloved hands.
It didn't help that after he almost slipped again, Shouto silently reached over and held his hand.
"For your safety," he said simply after Hitoshi eyed him curiously.
For safety, of course. Hitoshi had no feelings involved at all, he would never.
Why would he even have feelings about intertwining his fingers with Shouto's and leeching off a little of his warmth?
…He had many feelings on the matter. But if he subconsciously tried to catalog the feeling of Shouto's hand in his, that wasn't anyone's business but his.
Now, the two were sitting side-by-side at the dorm’s dining room table, taking advantage of the fact that it and the kitchen were the worst-heated part of the building. No one else wanted to leave the warmth of their dorm rooms or the commons, so the boys found unusual solitude in the often-busy space.
Hitoshi lifted his mug to sip carefully at his hot chocolate, smiling at the taste he associated only with comfort and warmth. Peppermint and chocolate was an elite flavor combo, and one he had never had in a bad way.
It was always good when he had peppermint hot cocoa.
As he turned to face Shouto, he watched the other boy mirror the action, taking a sip of his drink and letting the typical tension in his shoulders melt a small amount. The smile was still on his face, soft and sweet and so undeniably comfortable.
Hitoshi loved it. Hitoshi loved him. He couldn’t help but appreciate the sight.
It was the sort of candid moment that Hitoshi treasured, a moment of calm to contrast the snowstorm outside. Winter was coming to a close, but Mother Nature seemingly wanted to give one last chilly hurrah before giving in to spring.
And yet Shouto was a little piece of that snowstorm, all the good parts of a winter’s day. He reminded Hitoshi of powdery snow and the sun reflecting off the ice, fresh and new and real, and yet so comfortably familiar.
…
But that was stupid and sappy, wasn't it? Again, it's really nobody else's business what his feelings are for the other boy… if only because he might simply perish of embarrassment if anyone else were aware.
Hitoshi took another small sip of his drink, meeting Shouto’s eyes as he glanced over. He seemed to wordlessly encourage Hitoshi to say something, to break the small bit of silence the boys had comfortably settled into.
And Hitoshi was not about to talk about how smitten he was with the other boy, so he wracked his head for something stupid and funny to say instead.
Yes, he did tend to use humor as a crutch. Thank you for asking.
After a moment, he grinned, and Shouto raised an eyebrow.
“Go on,” his eyes said, almost challenging him. And Hitoshi didn't mind humoring that slight taunt. If anything, he was eager to… he was only a little worried he might end up being gayer about how hot that taunting was.
“Candy cane-” he shook his cup, letting the candy cane hanging off of the edge clack against the side of the mug, “-I have your number?”
Shouto leveled him with a stare, a silent “Really?” echoing between them. It was a little teasing, but in an almost affectionate way.
Or maybe that was Hitoshi seeing things where they weren't. He did have an inherent bias, he'd admit to that.
“Come on,” Hitoshi laughed, “That was one of my better ones! You gotta give me that one, c'mon.”
And Shouto laughed, soft and light and sweet in a way that matched his smile, and Hitoshi was enraptured. He found himself staring without any semblance of shame, watching the other boy roll his eyes fondly and sip his hot cocoa.
It was a moment that would be so small and insignificant to an outsider, and yet it was a moment that meant everything to Hitoshi.
It was a moment that was so unimaginably them.
It would be a perfect moment to tell him, he thought.
At that moment he had so many embarrassing thoughts, thoughts about reaching out and cupping Shouto's face in his palms, thoughts about leaning forward and finally closing the little bit of distance between them, thoughts about how Shouto smiling would feel against his lips, and thoughts about the taste of second-hand marshmallow and hot chocolate.
These were mortifyingly embarrassing thoughts, thoughts that he would rather die than share with anyone else.
Yet Hitoshi still let himself think about it, let himself think about possibly asking to kiss Shouto right now. And if he got a yes in response, the idea of letting this eye-of-the-storm moment serve as their confession.
It would be something straight out of one of Ojiro’s fuckin' romance mangas, but Hitoshi just couldn’t help but want to take that step.
He cleared his throat, and Shouto glanced up at him curiously. And Hitoshi swallowed nervously, opening his mouth to finally say something after so long spent pining…
“Fuckin' Mindfreak! Half-n-Half!"
And Hitoshi whirled around to see the one and only Katsuki Bakugou, his shouts a sudden break in the almost cliché moment. The other boy had walked into the dining room and was scowling at him, one of his classic “if looks could kill” sort of glares.
In his haste to turn his focus, Hitoshi had almost fallen off of his chair and/or knocked over his drink. Now, he rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish reaction to getting caught being so obviously fruity and an attempt to soothe the crick he had given himself moments before.
This was either going to be hilarious or absolutely mortifying, and Hitoshi thinks for a moment that he didn’t want to know which.
He was tempted to melt completely and become one with the small puddles of water that pooled around the shoes at the door… he would have if only such an escape was possible.
Bakugou took a step forward, hands raised and sparking slightly.
“Stop playing your shitty game of gay chicken in public,” he shouted harshly, slamming a palm against the kitchen island, “And get a damn room! I don’t wanna see you two bastards making goo-goo eyes at each other while I’m trying to make this class of idiots something more edible than burnt toast.”
Hitoshi coughed, mind racing as he, yet again, tried to use humor as a crutch and find some quip to shoot back at Bakugou.
"I thought you called a strike, Baku-bitch?"
It was rude, yes, but it was also aimed at Bakugou. Calling him Baku-bitch was only fair after he got called Mindfreak.
Bakugou grumbled, sending one more glare at Hitoshi specifically before turning around and beginning to bang around the kitchen.
…Hitoshi must have lost track of time, since he was sure he had at least another half-hour before the tornado that was Katsuki Bakugou came and cooked dinner. He’d be getting smaller servings out of spite, it seems.
He sighed, completely oblivious to the two observers standing in the dining room’s doorway as he slammed his forehead against the dining room table. Shouto patted his shoulder comfortingly and took another sip of his drink, also clueless to the other two people in the room.
Mina snickered, happy to see someone other than herself get chewed out by Bakugou. Ochako did the same, finding Hitoshi’s embarrassment and Shouto’s oblivity very amusing. And she also thought anyone getting chewed out by Bakugou was funny, though she was not a fan of when it was her.
Mina turned to face Ochako, smirking a little and patting her on the shoulder.
“I think I need to get the Dekusquad in on an operation of mine, could you be my messenger?”
Ochako nodded, already beginning to put the pieces together in her head.
“I think you guys, especially you and Izuku, could be the last piece in the puzzle that is getting these lovebirds to open their eyes,” Mina said, smile almost devious as she clued the other girl into her plans, “And I think you all would be glad to be free of Mr. Oblivious himself.”
Ochako nodded, laughing a little. While it was endearing most of the time, Shouto’s obliviousness to his feelings for Shinsou was beginning to get on the entire Dekusquad’s nerves.
They just couldn’t get him to figure it out, but it seemed like this would be their perfect chance. Class 1-A would finally be free from their pining.
Mina smiled, reaching out to shake her hand happily.
"Spread the word, Ochako,” she declared, as close to a shout as she could with a pair of unwanted listeners sitting so close, “We're getting these fuckers together, whether they know it or not.”
"I messed up, Anthony."
The cat tilted his head curiously.
"I could've done it!"
He tossed his hands in the air, flopping onto his bed. Pressing his palms to his face, he mumbled, "I could've done it. I could've asked to kiss him, I got so close."
Anthony just jumped onto the bed, trotting over to stand on Hitoshi's chest.
Hitoshi reached out and began to run his fingers through the cat's fur.
"Fuckin' Bakugou ruining my fuckin' chance, damn bastard."
He paused, Anthony mewing in annoyance as his pets were stopped.
"I'm gonna put fish sauce in his protein shake-" Hitoshi grinned, resuming Anthony's pets and laughing a little as the cat meowed happily, "-That'll fuckin' teach him."
Chocolate protein and fish sauce was a disgustingly interesting combination on paper, and absolutely horrible in practice.
Katsuki Bakugou could now attest to that, whether he wanted to or not.
Hitoshi could also now attest to the fact that having some of his arm hair singed off was only a small price to pay for such a win.
As winter turned to spring and the ice began to thaw, Shouto decided that it would be a good time to visit his mother. He hadn't been able to visit her throughout the winter, whether that be due to a busy school schedule or entirely too much snow, and it had been too long since he'd seen her.
It made him nervous suddenly visiting her after nearly three months, worried over what she might say or if she might be frustrated or disappointed with him. He didn't want her to disapprove of him, and he feared that saying he had been busy with school and that the snow was too bad for him to leave campus the couple of times he would have been able to wouldn't be enough.
The thought of going alone stressed him out too much, but he also didn't want to bother anyone with his worries and make them take the time out of their schedule to come with him.
Why was he even so worried about this? It wouldn't go bad, she wouldn't hate him for being busy.
But he still found himself stressing about it, unfocused from what was going on in the rest of the common room as he let himself stew over nonsense worries and miniature thought spirals.
Why would she hate him for being busy? She shouldn't, but she also spent so long alone that maybe it would be reasonable. Maybe all his worries were reasonable and she was going to hate him-
"Hey, Shouto."
He startled, flinching a little as a hand came to hover near his shoulder.
"You alright?” Hitoshi said quietly, careful to let Shouto see his every move as he steadily moved his hand to rest on the other boy’s shoulder, “You seem a little bit out of it."
Shouto cringed.
"Sorry."
"Hey, no,” the other boy said, trying his best to reassure Shouto before the spiral started.
“You're alright,” he reminded the half-and-half boy quietly. Shouto nodded, beginning to turn to face Hitoshi more. He carefully reached out to grab the boy’s hand, careful as if he was afraid Hitoshi would turn to dust if he moved too fast.
Hitoshi held his hand gently, attempting to ground the worrying boy enough that he would be able to breathe clearly.
“What's on your mind? You're doing the cute thing where you somehow combine a scowl and a pout and it’s adorable…” Hitoshi trailed off in embarrassment, “but it also means that you’re worried about something and are way too in your head about it."
Shouto frowned, mumbling "It's nothing important."
"C'mon, talk to me,” Hitoshi said, reaching out to grab Todoroki’s other hand and hold it, “I'll keep my mouth shut and let you talk all you need."
Shouto seemed to consider for a moment, before breathing in deeply. Hitoshi mirrored his breathing, breathing just loud enough to remind the other boy to steady himself.
"I'm worried that my mom will be mad at me when I try to visit her soon,” said Shouto, turning away from Hitoshi in a way that only read as fearful, “It's been a while and I don't want her to be mad, even if it's only been so long because I've been busy and the weather has been horrible."
"She's not gonna be mad,” Hitoshi reassured him.
Shouto still seemed doubtful, so Hitoshi deliberately for a moment what to say. He was never really the best at comforting people, but he sure as hell would try for Shouto.
He looked at Shouto’s hands to avoid making eye contact, as it tended to stress both of them out in emotional moments such as this one. They were gorgeous, all of Shouto was gorgeous… that was gay of him.
Finally, he found what he wanted to say and he tapped the other boy’s palms with his thumbs to reground him once again.
“From what you've said about her,” he said, tapping a consistent rhythm on Shouto’s hands to ensure he could fully focus on what he was saying, “she's wonderful and would understand if you were busy. Plus, I'm sure she'll be happier to see you than she ever could be mad that you were busy."
Shouto paused, breathing deeply and seeming to come a little closer to where Hitoshi could reach him. The worries were at least starting to fade, which was a massive win and Hitoshi was so damn proud.
Shouto’s voice was small as he said, "I'm still worried. I don't want her to be disappointed in me."
Hitoshi lifted one of Shouto’s hands and kissed the back of it gently, before pausing and thinking for a moment.
"Do you want me to come with you?” he asked, a little too proud of himself for thinking of it, “Moral support and such."
There was a pause as Shouto seemed to consider what Hitoshi was proposing.
"That…” Shouto hesitated, “...sounds good. Would you mind?"
Hitoshi began to smile, satisfied with the solution they had come to and the fading worry lines on Shouto’s face.
"Not at all,” he said, “Wouldn't have offered if I minded. When are you gonna go?"
Shouto paused, debating for a moment.
"Probably tomorrow, I always tend to do Sunday."
"Alright,” said Hitoshi, grinning, “that's good by me."
"I appreciate it,” he said, smiling softly.
I appreciate you, he left unsaid. Hitoshi got the message.
"No problem, peppermint."
The visit was going wonderfully so far, and Rei was nowhere near mad. Instead, she seemed happy to see Shouto and repeatedly reassured him that she completely understood that he was busy with his hero training and that the weather had prevented him from leaving campus. Maybe he was a little too obvious when he was stressed, or maybe Hitoshi and his mother just paid too much attention to him.
Hitoshi and his mother were also getting along surprisingly well, and Rei was absolutely delighted to see that both of the boys were doing well in their academics and training. Shouto had also learned that Rei was not only a fan of his dry wit because he was her son, since she seemed to adore Hitoshi’s similar sense of humor and witty quips just as much.
There was a lull of silence as Shouto and Hitoshi both paused to sip at the juices they had gotten from the vending machine near his mother’s room. Rei glanced at the boys happily, and smiled in a way that was almost satisfying.
“So when did you boys start dating?”
What?
Hitoshi and Shouto paused, confusion evident on their faces.
What did she mean by that?
They had never started dating, they were not dating. Why would she have thought they were dating?
“Oh, uh.”
Hitoshi coughed.
Shouto cut in, still confused, and said, “We’re not dating, Mom.”
Rei raised a brow, a face that Hitoshi would call a spitting image of Shouto’s often-used fond eyebrow raise. When neither boy said anything, she sighed and fondly said, “Well get on it, then.”
She turned to Shouto specifically, teasing, “You better be good to that boy, Shouto, and bring him around when he’s available. You chose a good one, never forget that this boy is a blessing for you.”
Hitoshi turned to look at Shouto, and almost laughed a little as he found the boy’s ears to almost be the iconic Todoroki red color.
Then he paused and stuttered, confused because was she already approving of him? And, hold on, why would he even care about that? He and Shouto had never been dating, why would he care about Mama Todo’s blessing?
Shouto’s ears stayed red until they got back to UA, and even then the back of his neck remained flushed in embarrassment.
"Why would she assume we were dating?" Shouto wondered out loud, sitting on the couch to Hitoshi's right.
Ochako turned to face the pair, asking, "Who is she and what did she assume?"
"Oh,” Shouto began to specify, “my mother assumed that Hitoshi and I were dating when we visited her earlier."
Tenya cut in, curious.
"You brought Hitoshi with you?"
Shouto stared blankly, confused on why he would even ask.
"Yes,” he said, “he offers good moral support and I was nervous to see her after so long."
The other boy simply responded, "Huh. Reasonable."
Ochako stared at the three boys, making a tsk-ing sound and raising a hand. She pointed at Hitoshi and said, "No, we're returning to the original topic. What did she say?"
Hitoshi felt his ears reddening in preemptive embarrassment, and he coughed into his fist to clear his throat. He gestured nervously with his hands as he responded, "Something along the lines of 'so when did you guys start dating?’ and then ‘well, get on it’ when we told her that we’re not dating. Then she called me ‘a blessing’ and told Shouto to remember that fact."
Everyone paused, and both boys only seemed to become more embarrassed at Rei’s assumptions about their romantic status. Hitoshi felt mortified to even repeat what she had said, despite spending the entire train ride home letting it play in a mental loop.
Ochako blinked at them, asking, "So… what prompted it?"
Shouto stared blankly at her.
Hitoshi cleared his throat again nervously before responding, "Nothing.”
Ochako gestured for him to keep going.
“We were just sitting there,” Hitoshi continued, “the same way we are right now. There was just a small lull of silence and then she said it."
The group had a collective pause before Tsu, as curious as everyone else and ever the Sherlock, asked, "Were you guys, y'know, holding hands? Kero."
Hitoshi tilted his head at her curiously. She gestured at the boys’ arms. Hitoshi glanced down at his right hand, finding that it was, in fact, clasped with Shouto's left. He hadn't even done it consciously.
He scrambled to justify the action.
"It's a grounding touch for Mr. Sleeps a Lot here, and I get cold easily."
Shouto simply nodded.
The rest of the group stared at them in fond annoyance.
"So,” Tsu said again, “you guys were holding hands?"
Hitoshi paused, mumbling, "Yeah, we were."
Ochako stroked her chin as if it was a wise old man’s beard, humming, “Hmm, I wonder why she would ever think you two are dating. It's not like you two were holding hands and staring at each other and probably being saps."
Hitoshi scowled, though everyone was more than aware he was trying to hide the fact that he was thoroughly embarrassed. Ochako met his weak scowl with a smirk, and Hitoshi could only mutter, "Shut up."
Ochako looked at him, smug smirk still omnipresent on her face, as she said, "If you say so, homos,” in a fondly mocking singsong.
"I should report you for hate speech."
"Oh, you wouldn't,” she responded, voice still teasing, “You love me too much… not as much as you love Shouto, though."
Hitoshi groaned, moving to stand and simply saying, "Yeah, fuck y’all, I'm leaving.”
Shouto stayed seated, looking up at Hitoshi as if he was a lost puppy who was not sure who to trail after. Hitoshi smiled softly and pulled the other boy up a little by their clasped hands, saying, “C'mon, dork."
He held Shouto’s hand as they both retreated to one of their dorm rooms, but he still had a spare hand to flip off the bastards (affectionate) as he left.
"Hey, Mina?"
The other girl hummed "Yeah?" and looked up at Ochako from her spot on the couch.
"How fast could we implement the plan for getting the dumbasses together?"
Mina seemed confused for a moment, responding, "As soon as we want, why?"
"I am so done with witnessing them being oblivious idiots,” Ochako groaned, making Mina grin a little as she figured out why the other girl would even ask, “Save me from this hell.”
"How about tomorrow at lunch, babes?"
"Please."
Mina grinned smugly, "I'll start conspiring, then."
"I would die for you,” Ochako shot back, rubbing her hands togethers, “and I will do the same."
“Operation Purple Ice is go.”
A sigh.
“Please change that name.”
“Operation Mind Flames?”
A pause, then a slight grimace.
“That’s not much better.”
“Hear me out… Operation Magenta.”
“...Operation Magenta is go, let’s do this.”
Ochako and Mina smirked, shaking hands as they both began to formulate their plans for lunch.
"Oh, Hitoshi~" Mina sang, beckoning him to approach the Bakusquad's claimed lunch table. He raised an eyebrow.
Alright, this is suspicious. Mina was definitely up to some devious stuff, and he was instantly concerned that it wouldn’t end well for him.
Historically, Mina’s plots did not.
"C'mon-" Denki urged, patting Hitoshi’s typical seat with a little too much enthusiasm, "-sit down."
That only confirmed it for Hitoshi, something was definitely up. And he hates to think it, but Denki and the others are probably involved in whatever Mina’s plot is.
Based on past instances, he could only assume that this was going to end disastrously.
He should have taken Midoriya’s offer to become a member of the Dekusquad. Hindsight was 20/20. Maybe the Dekusquad might not have a tendency to tease him for the laughs.
Hitoshi sat down – albeit begrudgingly – and settled into place comfortably. Slowly, at a speed far too slow to not be deliberate, he picked up his chopsticks and took his first bite of lunch. The chatter around him was hushed and smug, and a sense of minor dread began to coil in his stomach.
This was going to end up being embarrassing, wasn’t it?
"What's up?" he asked around a second bite of soba, knowing damn well that everyone else was waiting for him to make the first move.
He was correct, an almost evil glint shining in Mina’s eyes as she set down her bowl of rice and rubbed her hands together.
Glancing around the table, there was a similar air of devious anticipation around everyone else – barring Bakugou, but that was expected – and Hitoshi was thinking he should fear what was coming next.
He chose to ignore that fact, taking another bite of his noodles and making a vague movement for Mina to go on with his free hand.
"A little birdy told me something you might be curious to hear," Mina said, smug as she clapped her hands together.
Hitoshi chuckled, calmly propping his chin up with his left hand. He absentmindedly twirled the chopsticks still clasped in his right, the only thing betraying his nerves.
"Oh?" he asked, tone careful to not reveal too much, "And what's that?"
He didn't have any secrets he feared coming out. He might be a bit more private than most, but that didn’t mean he had some dirty little secret he was hiding.
There was no way Mina had anything on him, so why was she so smug about this? There were no secrets to be smug about, practically nothing that Mina could bring up to truly embarrass him.
…
Unless she knew that he, y’know… liked Shouto. That might be a bit embarrassing if Hitoshi had to be honest.
But, then again, Mina didn’t tell him like she knew one of his secrets. She was talking like she had some gossip about someone else that she thought Hitoshi would find funny or be able to crack a joke about.
It was just that, Mina wouldn't sit here and tell him one of his secrets.
She wouldn’t, right?
He took another bite of lunch, chewing slowly to loosen the slight tension in his jaw.
“Just get on with it, then,” he pushed.
“Alright, then,” Mina said, “Can I get a drumroll?”
“Shut up, Pinky. It’s not like it’s that important.”
“Hush, Boom Boy. This is important, and I will not have you ruining the effect.”
Bakugou scoffed, and Hitoshi took another bite of soba to mask his slight smile. He always appreciated messing with Bakugou.
"I heard that Mr. Shouto 'Emotionless' Todoroki himself caught feelings for someone."
Hitoshi choked on his bite of soba, coughing as Hanta smacked his back and shouted, "Don't die on me, man!"
He recovered after a moment, looking up at Mina.
"What? Shouto has a crush on someone?" he asked, scandalized.
Mina nodded smugly.
"Who? How is that related to me? And how the hell did you learn this before I did?" he whisper-shouted, careful to prevent drawing the attention of others.
"I have a question I think beats all of those: why do you care so much?" Mina asked, smug.
Hitoshi paused.
Wait, no. Mina, don’t do this.
"Does someone…" she paused for dramatics.
Please, Mina, he pleaded internally. We’re friends, there is no need to call me out-
"...have a crush on Todoroki?"
"No!" he near-shouted.
Tsuyu, sat at the table next to them, glanced over, curious. It was impartial and not at all judging or scrutinizing, but Hitoshi felt defensive, sue him.
He flashed her a scowl, and she turned back, raising her hands in amused surrender.
Luckily, no one else at the Dekusquad's table noticed the exchange.
"No," he repeated, quieter, "I don't have a crush on anyone, especially Ice Prince. No question about it."
"Oh?" Mina teased, "Because your reaction says otherwise, honey."
Hitoshi scowled, pointedly ignoring the heat that crept up his neck and began to blanket his ears.
"Shin and Todo, sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g~" Denki started to sing because he is a bastard.
"Shut the fuck up," Hitoshi said, dropping his bite of noodles and pointing his chopsticks at the other student.
"First comes love," Sero joined in, smiling stupidly, "Then comes marriage-"
"I will stab both of you with these chopsticks," Hitoshi scowled.
"Oh, you're about as threatening as a baby cat, Eyebags," Bakugou cut in, smug.
"Shinbro, not manly," Kirishima chided, "and Katsuki has a point."
"Oh?" Mina's victim switched in a snap, "Katsuki?"
Sero paused, turning to face the redhead.
"Yeah, since when are y'all on a first-name basis? I thought it was all nicknames with you, Kiri?" he teased.
"Wait," Kirishima said, "I thought we were talking about Shin-"
"We'll get back to him," Mina ensured, "but right now, let's talk about you and Katsuki~"
"Thank you, Kirishima," Hitoshi thought, slouching and letting the attention of those at the table shift, "for taking the bullet for me."
His therapist - that is, Anthony, who was also his son and a cat - would be hearing about this. He had been put through too much emotional turmoil in entirely too short of a period.
“Hey, Shouto!”
He looked up, not even attempting to match the enthusiastic greeting Izuku gave. It would be a fruitless venture, anyway. No one was able to match Izuku’s energy.
He waved in response, sliding into his seat at the lunch table and nodding to the rest of the “Dekusquad” (he had never understood the group name, but it made the others happy when he used it).
As he settled, he let himself become distant from the conversation, appreciating his first couple of bites of soba before trying to engage with the group.
Tenya was midway through repeating something Hagakure had missed during Present Mic’s last English lecture when a shout echoed from a table nearby. Tsu raised a hand, looking over at the table Shouto knew was occupied by the Bakusquad and inspecting its occupants.
She turned back to the group as Shouto took another bite of soba, face a bit confused.
“Shinsou was yelling for some reason, kero,” she said.
“I’m surprised it wasn’t Bakugou,” Ochako laughed, and Izuku nodded.
“I wonder what that was about,” Tenya said curiously, interest lost in reciting Present Mic’s words from half an hour earlier. The neck of Hagakure’s dress shirt moved in a way that made Shouto think she was nodding, and he copied the gesture.
“Must have been something he didn’t want us to hear, kero,” Tsu said, glancing back over her shoulder for a moment, “Because he looked a little skittish and scowled at me when I looked over.”
Shouto hummed, responding, “That does sound like him,” as he took another bite of soba.
Frankly, he had little interest in the matter, since he would probably hear about the details later that night, but it would be rude to let the others know that and ruin their fun.
Hagakure suddenly gasped, a thud echoing as she likely hit her palms against the table. The interest of the group once again shifted focus, and Shouto raised an eyebrow at the invisible girl.
What was so notable about Hitoshi scowling? He did it often enough, the sight of his brow furrowing and one corner of his mouth lifting in almost a sneer familiar to almost anyone who he was friends with. It was cute to Shouto, or could at least be considered charming.
Shouto could proudly say that he probably saw it least often, not counting teachers or Eri. It wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, but he saw it as an indicator of their friendship.
“Maybe they were talking about crushes!” Hagakure eventually declared, ever-interested in possible romances between their classmates. That got Ochako’s interest too, something more than a want for gossip glinting in her eye as she asked, “Do you think so?”
Tenya looked between the rest of the group, looking for backup to tell their friends to not pry into people’s business. Izuku shook his head, interest glinting in his gaze. The same could be said of Tsu, though more minutely.
Shouto shrugged, uncaring of what was about to go down since he tended to distance himself from gossip. In a way, being a victim of it so often had lessened the appeal significantly.
But he decided to humor it, in need of a bit more harmless information to embarrass Hitoshi with. He was cute when he got embarrassed.
“Why would they be talking about romance?” he asked, metaphorically stoking the flames a little, “Hitoshi has told me before that he doesn’t like romance.”
What Shouto didn’t know was that the statement had been an only-slightly panicked lie to misdirect him from the truth.
Ochako turned to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Shouto set down his chopsticks and looked at her, confused.
“Shouto, honey-” she started, patting his shoulder lightly, “-Shinsou was most definitely lying to you.”
He raised an eyebrow, glancing at the others. Tsu made a face of agreement, and Izuku and Hagakure nodded, though Hagakure did so significantly more enthusiastically.
And then Hagakure gasped again, and Ochako looked away to listen intently to whatever conclusion she had drawn. Shouto shrugged, and Ochako dropped her hand from his shoulder without thinking, drumming them on the table.
“Thank you, Ochako!” Hagakure said, “Now, this is a final bit of confirmation that…”
She paused, Shouto found it humorous how much she committed to such theatrics.
“...Shinsou does have a crush on Shouto!” she declared, volume low enough that the other table wouldn’t hear them.
Shouto paused, blinking once, twice. That was not what he was expecting to come next.
Izuku laughed at his confusion, only smiling and shaking his head as he met his gaze to silently ask what was going on. Traitor.
"Can you please explain the context behind that statement, Hagakure?" he asked, intensely confused, "I don't think I understand what you mean."
Ochako's smirk had become incredibly smug, and Tsu's was slowly shifting to be the same. Shouto frowned.
"What context is there to explain?"
Shouto blinked at Hagakure.
"All of it?" he said, thoroughly confused.
"You're telling me that you haven't noticed how head-over-heels Shinsou is for you?"
Shouto shook his head, looking around the table to assess what was happening. No one spoke, so he assumed that was an indicator that he should.
"If you're talking about our occasional back-and-forths where he uses sub-par 'pick-up lines' on me-" he put 'pick-up lines' in air quotes, not entirely sure he was using the phrase correctly, "-then you are mistaken."
Izuku gave him a quizzical gaze, gesturing for him to go on.
"That is his sense of humor, and I get enough amusement out of it to let him."
Ochako raised an eyebrow, looking at Shouto critically.
"That's all it is? Amusement?"
"Yes," Shouto said, "He has no romantic intentions, so it has to be either for amusement or to mock me. I do not think it is the latter, so it is for humor."
"Shouto," Tsu cut in, sighing, "he's been flirting for multiple months now, so we are sure he means it. And it has not just been limited to his horrible pick-up lines."
Invisible gestures moved in the air in front of Hagakure, and Shouto assumed they agreed.
It was difficult to tell with her, but he imagined he wasn't the easiest to read either, so he couldn't judge.
"Wait, what do you mean months?"
"Shouto, honey," Hagakure sighed, and Ochako rolled her eyes.
"Huh, I thought it had started more recently than that-" he shrugged, "-I suppose I need to pay more attention."
Ochako looked away and muttered something that sounded like, "you pay plenty of attention to him," and Tenya sent her a withering stare. She smiled, and Shouto could only watch in confusion.
She turned back to him, setting her hands palm-down on the table.
"Shouto, he's been flirting with you since the moment you two met. We had all already noticed by the time you guys spared for the first time, so I have no idea how you've missed it."
Shouto blinked, taking a moment to remember the incidents she was referring to. It only left him more confused.
"Oh," he said, "that 'you have pretty eyes' bit and the 'golden boy' nickname was flirting? I thought he was joking or just mocking me."
Ochako blinked, gesturing a hand for him to elaborate.
"Calling me something like 'pretty boy' mid-sparring seems like it'd be mocking."
"He has not been mocking you, he's been flirting with you."
"Ah."
And he left it at that, intending to let the topic die.
The others did not share the same intentions.
"Hold on, you've been flirting back," Izuku said, confused, "How did you not realize?"
"I've been flirting back?" Shouto asked, even more thoroughly confused by Izuku’s addition.
Ochako sighed, reaching across the table to place her palms near Shouto’s hand. He moved his back towards himself and looked up at her, still thoroughly confused by this whole discussion.
“I am not going to try to tell you what you’re feeling-” she started, pausing for a moment, “-but based on what I and everyone have seen, you and Shinsou very much have feelings for each other and are unable to see that fact. I am opening your eyes to the possibility, but do not take that as me trying to force myself into your business. Think about it, okay?”
Shouto nodded, swallowing deeply. He’d never considered romance in his time at UA, too distracted by classes and villain attacks and training… and maybe a bit fearful of becoming like his father if he were to be romantically involved.
He didn’t want that, he wouldn’t have it.
So he’d never thought about it, pushing the idea away from his mind whenever it tried to arise. Hell, at one point he debated whether or not he was aromantic, having pushed away romance so much and for so long that he was almost convinced he wasn't capable of it.
…Now, he was beginning to think he had simply become blind to it and didn’t notice it creeping back into his head.
He sighed.
“So you think that I have romantic feelings for Hitoshi?”
Ochako grinned, glad to see that he was at least considering the possibility.
“Yes,” she said, before looking back around the table and sighing, “And, congrats, you two are the absolute last to know.”