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Night time had always been Todoroki's favorite time to reminisce, seeing as the boy barely had time to himself during the day. In between hero training and homework and the constant presence of one classmate or another after they moved into the dorms, Todoroki appreciated any semblance of alone time he could get. Since his life before U.A. wasn't the best, Todoroki preferred to think about the beginning of school up until this point. So there he was, lying in his dorm room staring up at the ceiling and thinking about everything that led him to where he is now.
Although it was only spoken of in passing, it was common knowledge amongst the students of class 1-A. It was a secret the whole class -minus the subject - was in on.
Some took longer than others to realize it, and on a few occasions it never happened. Some lasted a while and others moved on quickly - yet most fell victim at on point or another.
Todoroki Shouto was no exception.
The first to realize had been Kaminari. As expected, considering the boy took every opportunity he could to mention his bisexuality to anyone and everyone, even when they were all still getting to know each other. It was seemingly at random, the way he blurted "Midoriya's kind of cute, don't you think?" to no one in particular as the class watched him during the quirk apprehension test.
Although many of the students just stared at him - mostly from the shock that someone finally had the guts to say it out loud - some nodded their approval. Todoroki couldn't say he disagreed, but he also didn't put too much thought into it. A lot of people were attractive in one way or another, and Midoriya Izuku was proof of just that. The rest of the class laughed it off, but Kaminari simply shrugged. Most of his crushes only lasted a few weeks anyway. (Sero later admitted that he also realized at the same time, but he didn't want to embarrass himself with Kaminari.)
The next to realize had been Uraraka and Iida, seemingly simultaneously. The realization hit them far after Todoroki had expected it to, seeing as the two were his closest friends. It happened when they walked home together, as they usually do, and the two continued to talk to each other after parting was with Midoriya. Unlike Kaminari, however, they didn't have to say anything; The class just knew by the looks on their faces the next day. Seeing as they were all friends though, they decided to keep it that way for the time being, giving them plenty of time to wait and see if the crush passed, as Kaminari's did.
When Midoriya gave up the position as class president in order to pass it on to Iida, Todoroki had been slightly surprised. He had initially thought Midoriya was perfect for the part, but he also agreed with his reasoning for Iida replacing him. It seems, however, that Kirishima's appreciation for all things "manly" extended to Midoriya's act of selflessness, thus claiming him the next victim. His crush was shorter than Kaminari's, however, seeing as his attention was snatched by a blond with no interest in Midoriya whatsoever - yet all the interest in Kirishima himself, much to everyone's surprise.
The incident at USJ was tough for everyone. Although a lot of the students had more difficulty than others, the emotional impact weighed heavily on all of them. They were, after all, the first - and hopefully only, most of them agreed - class of first years to be directly attacked by villains.
It seems a few of the students found a bright side, however. Asui and Ashido, the latest victims of the Midoriya disease - named that by Kaminari after Kirishima realized his feelings - had a newfound appreciation for said freckled boy. Asui was amazed by his quick thinking when dealing with the Flood Zone and Ashido fell for the way Midoriya went to All Might's aid despite being the one who knew how to control his quirk the least.
Although it was very selfless, Todoroki viewed it more as idiotic as opposed to logical.
Little did he know, the illogical would soon begin to outweigh the logical when it came to class 1-A.
A short time passed where no one in class 1-A developed a crush on the resident ball of sunshine. Todoroki had begun to assume that Midoriya's control over everyone had started to fade.
This was probably a prime example of why the English language had a phrase that goes something like "you know what they say about when you assume."
During the sports festival, the cavalry battle brought about more than just the competitive side of students, but also the beginnings of new friendships. Tokoyami had been surprised, yet completely accepted his status as the next victim. Midoriya's headstrong approach and straightforward praise went straight to the shadow wielder's heart. His announcement was far more dramatic than anyone else's which was to be expected of the class's resident "edgelord" as Kaminari called him.
During the short time in between the cavalry battle and the one-on-one fights, Tokoyami found the time to wax poetic about everything he liked about the freckle-faced boy.
"Midoriya Izuku has brought color to my otherwise drab, colorless world. Today's events have caused my cold, shriveled up heart to begin beating again. As soon as this is over, I'll make him a mixtape to express my feelings."
"Shut up, Tokoyami, you're just going to put your emo bands on there." Jirou exclaimed, attempting to get him to stop.
"I don't see how that's a problem?" Tokoyami retorted, unfazed. "No normal human can put feelings into words in the same manner as Pete Wentz."
Kirishima looked thoughtful for a second before saying "Alone Together?"
Brightening up, Tokoyami replied "I was thinking Sophomore Slump but that works better!"
The two continued their conversation in private, leaving most of the other students wondering what they were talking about. Tokoyami never got around to making that mixtape either, due to Shoji's out of the blue confession a day or so later. The two of them were very compatible in Todoroki's eyes.
Ojiro revealed he found Midoriya endearing after warning the freckled boy of Shinso's quirk, yet Midoriya fell into his trap. Multiple times. Although Todoroki didn't completely understand this, he sort of understood why Ojiro would think this way.
Jirou and Yaoyorozu were some of the only students not affected by Midoriya's charm. Seeing as the two were lesbian - and not afraid to say it - Todoroki knew what it was like to not really understand everyone else's interest.
They weren't the only ones, though. In Aoyama's case, he believed himself to be the only one capable of living up to his standards, stating that he would meet his Prince Charming one day. Similarly, Hagakure was content being alone, and preferred developing friendships.
Sato and Koda both admired Midoriya, but their feelings for him were strictly platonic. It seemed almost everyone felt this way towards Midoriya.
That leaves Todoroki. He can't say anyone has ever broken a bone for him before, and if it were anyone but Midoriya, he would've thought them a fool. After all, who would jeopardize their win for the sake of an opponent?
Yet, Midoriya continued on. Todoroki could pinpoint the exact moment he realized his feelings - it was when Midoriya proved to him that his fire was his and his alone, not his father's.
The aftermath of the fight was horrible. Midoriya breaking his bones for Todoroki's sake would've been bad enough, so the added realization that he had a crush on said boy... let's just say the guilt was harsher than he initially thought it would be.
Yet, seeing Midoriya after the whole thing was over, apologizing to him, and still seeing him smile like it wasn't a big deal left Todoroki speechless and his heart pounding.
Thinking back to this part of their lives was always amusing. Todoroki initially assumed that his crush on Midoriya would be fleeting, a burst of lightning that was gone almost as soon as it was noticed.
Yet here he was, a few months later, feelings stronger than before. There was something different about Todoroki's crush on Midoriya, something that hadn't happened with any of the other students. The difference was something like a raindrop compared to a waterfall, a small crush on Midoriya and an overwhelming, all consuming infatuation with him.
Said boy rolled over in his sleep, curling up against Todoroki's side and drawing a soft smile to the latter's face. The taller of the two shifted so he was now facing his small boyfriend, kissing his forehead and closing his eyes.
Yes, things were different now than they were before, and Todoroki couldn't be more grateful for it.