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"Katsuki, wake up."
Bakugou groans, being pulled out of restful sleep by a hand shaking his shoulder. Disoriented, he blinks slowly, noticing that there is barely any sunlight escaping from behind the curtains - it's probably extremely early, and yet Todoroki is sitting next to him on their shared bed, clad not in his pajamas but in casual clothes, with a bulky coat and a scarf wrapped loosely around his neck.
"What is it?" Bakugou asks, raising his head as worry begins to stir inside him. There must be a reason for Todoroki to be up at this ungodly hour.
"It's snowing," Todoroki says.
Bakugou lets his head fall back on the pillow with a thump, worry draining out of him as fast as it’d come. If Todoroki thinks this should be a reason for him to get out of bed, he's completely wrong - it has the exact opposite effect.
"So what? Not like you've never seen it before," Bakugou mutters, turning around so that his back is to Todoroki and closing his eyes again. "Go back to sleep."
It's the first time they both have a day off of work together, so sleeping in should have been a given. From their busy days at UA to being pro heroes still struggling to make a name for themselves, the past few years haven't left them much space for slacking off, so Bakugou is intent on making the most of this rare break in their routine.
Todoroki, however, seems to have other plans.
Bakugou hears him sigh, and moments later Todoroki's weight disappears from the bed. There's the sound of footsteps, and then a door opens and closes, leaving Bakugou alone in the room.
"The fuck's gotten into him?" he mumbles before rolling over.
For the next few minutes, he keeps shifting around and trying to fall asleep again, but every position feels uncomfortable. Even with the piles of blankets he's wrapped himself with, now that he's aware of the chill in the air, he can't seem to shake it away, light shivers coursing through his body.
And his main source of warmth is now outside, for who knows what fucking reason.
Bakugou groans, begrudgingly rolling out of bed while still bringing most of the blankets with him. He hisses at the coldness that seeps through his socks as he goes to the window, pulling the curtains back to peek at the front yard.
Everywhere he looks is covered by a sheet of white, and the snowflakes keep gathering at the windowsill as they fall. The sky still retains a dull orange from dawn, barely perceptible behind its grayness, one of the only splotches of color in a scenery that has turned almost monochromatic.
The other is a bright streak of red hair, which Bakugou can see from afar as he stares at Todoroki, who stands in the middle of their snow covered garden, head raised towards the sky.
Bakugou pulls the window open just a little, any remnants of sleep going away with the wind that hits his face.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he shouts. It's probably a bit too early for the volume of his voice, but their house isn't that close to their neighbours, and even if they can hear him - he doesn't give a fuck, anyway.
Todoroki swivels around, turning to look at Bakugou. He doesn't say anything, but the motion he makes with his hand is impossible not to understand.
Come down here.
"I'm dating a goddamn idiot," Bakugou mutters to himself as he steps away from the window. He keeps cursing under his breath even as he puts on layer upon layer of clothing, fishing the thickest pair of gloves he can find out of the closet and pulling his beanie down until it covers his ears.
When he deems he's prepared to face the outside, Bakugou makes his way down to the first floor, wincing as he opens the door and the full brunt of the cold hits him.
Maybe he should've put on another coat.
As he treks through the snow, Bakugou can see Todoroki with his back to him. He shows no sign of hearing Bakugou's approach; instead, when he stops next to him, Bakugou sees that Todoroki is intent on catching a snowflake on his mouth, his tongue sticking out as he tracks the white dots with his eyes.
The sight would be endearing if it weren't utterly ridiculous.
"Are you a kid or something?" Bakugou huffs.
That seems to catch Todoroki's attention, because he gives up his attempts in order to turn towards Bakugou, an amused laugh leaving his lips as he eyes his boyfriend up and down.
"Are you trying to wear your entire wardrobe at once?"
"Shut up. It's freezing out here." Bakugou stuffs his hands in his pockets, another full-body shiver making him tremble in place. He notices that Todoroki isn't wearing gloves. "Not all of us have a Quirk that lets us be our own damn heater."
Todoroki shrugs, turning to look at the snow once again. He's biting on his bottom lip, the way he always does when he's considering something; Bakugou doesn't know what's got him so fascinated.
"You never answered my question. What the hell are you doing out here, in the snow, at the crack of dawn?"
In lieu of an answer, Todoroki takes a few steps away from Bakguou, seeming to have come to a decision. He bends down to scoop a handful of snow.
"Shouto? What are you doing? Oi, don't you fucking dare-"
When Bakugou finally realizes what Todoroki is up to, it's too late to dodge the snowball that comes flying towards him. He throws himself to the side, but it still hits his ear, and suddenly the entire right side of his face feels numb.
He looks up only to find Todoroki staring at him with a challenging expression, another snowball ready in his hand.
"Oh, you're on," Bakugou growls. He doesn't miss the way Todoroki smiles as he successfully avoids the next attack, using the movement to make a snowball of his own, which he throws towards Todoroki with more force than necessary.
The ball is fast - Bakugou can see it heading straight for Todoroki's face, and there's no way the other will be able to dodge it, not when he hasn't even started moving yet.
As he waits for the moment that will signal his victory, however, Todoroki raises his left hand, and with a flash of flames and a sudden explosion of heat the snowball melts midair.
"Fucker! That's cheating!" Bakugou says, struggling to move fast enough to avoid Todoroki's counter-attack. He could use his explosions - fight fire with fire, so to speak - but that would require removing his gloves, and there's no way in hell he's going to freeze his hands off.
He'll show Todoroki that he can beat him at this game even with his dirty tricks.
"It can't be cheating when we never set any rules," Todoroki says, putting some distance between him and Bakugou to restock his ammunition.
Bakugou smirks. Todoroki should know better than to avert his eyes from him in the middle of a competition; seeing his chance, he starts running, propelling himself towards his boyfriend as fast as he can.
Todoroki doesn't even have time to raise his head before Bakugou slams into him, causing them both to stumble back, the thin layer of snow softening their fall.
With his knees on either side of Todoroki's waist, Bakugou leans forward to holds his arms down, not even caring about the way the cold seeps through his clothes where it touches the ground.
"I win," he says.
Beneath him, Todoroki is breathing hard, the red part of his hair in stark contrast against the white snow. Bakugou is suddenly distracted, eyes raking over the other's face, the realization that Todoroki is so damn pretty hitting him in the gut as it does from time to time, no matter how long they've been dating.
Snowball fight all but forgotten, he starts to lean forward, focusing on Todoroki's lips-
And then something explodes against his face, the shock of the cold making him jump to the side and away from Todoroki with a shout.
"What the fuck!?" he curses, cradling the cheek that the snowball Todoroki had still been holding hit. "I'd already won, damn it!"
"No, you let your guard down. So I win," Todoroki says, smirking.
"You stupid fucker." Bakugou shivers, aware of how damp his clothes are where the snow has melted, the low temperature starting to get to him again now that his body is cooling down. He points a finger towards Todoroki, fighting against his chattering teeth. "I'll win next time."
"Next time?" Todoroki sits up, wide eyes staring at Bakugou with a childlike glimmer. Bakugou isn't sure what brought on that reaction - it's just a snowball fight.
"Yeah. I'll beat your ass, just you wait."
Todoroki turns to look ahead, biting the inside of his cheek.
"Okay, then. I'll take that chance to beat your ass again and show you you're wrong," he says, amusement heavy on his voice.
"We'll see about that."
With that settled, a comfortable silence falls between them, both staring at the snow-covered scenery around them, the distant sounds of the waking city slowly reaching them and mixing with the wind.
Bakugou sneaks glances at Todoroki from time to time, taking in how content he looks to just be sitting there. He'll never understand Todoroki's love for winter, but Bakugou has to admit that there's something peaceful about the way the other stares ahead, his body free from any of the stress of their daily lives.
Bakugou's own body, however, can't seem to relax, his limbs already starting to feel stiff from the cold.
"I'm going inside," he finally says.
Todoroki startles, gaze slightly unfocused as he turns to look at Bakugou, as if he'd completely forgotten about his surroundings.
"Oh. I'll come with you."
He gets up, extending a hand to help Bakugou do the same, which takes more effort than usual as Bakugou wills his protesting muscles to work.
Once he's up, however, Todoroki doesn't let go of his hand, keeping it in a light hold as he puts his other palm up, watching as the snowflakes pile on it. They take a few moments to melt, despite being in direct contact with his skin - Todoroki must be using his Quirk.
"I've always wanted to know what it was like to play in the snow," he says. He's still not looking at Bakugou when he adds, "I can see now why people find it so fun. Thanks, Katsuki."
For the second time that day, Bakugou feels like his breath has been knocked out of him. He doesn't have to ask to know what Todoroki is thinking about; over the years, he's stopped regarding his past with anger, but rather with a melancholic acceptance that is clearly shown on his face right now.
The whole thing - waking up early on the first day of snow, catching snowflakes on his tongue, the snowball fight - it all starts making sense, and Bakugou's chest squeezes with an emotion that threatens to overwhelm him.
He untangles Todoroki's fingers from his own, instead raising his hands to cradle Todoroki's cheeks and make the other look at him. This close, he can see the small puffs of condensed air that escape Todoroki's parted lips and the rosy tint of his skin. If he could feel it through his gloves, Bakugou knows it would be warm to the touch.
"I love you."
It's muttered into the quiet morning air, the words as fresh on Bakugou's mouth as the snow that falls around them. For a single moment, he is terrified - of wearing his heart on his sleeve, of voicing it so openly, without any barriers.
Then Todoroki smiles. It's just a tilt of his lips and the way his eyes crinkle with the movement, but it's enough to make Bakugou's heart slow its rapid beating and remind him of why Todoroki is the only one he can be vulnerable in front of without fear.
"I love you, too," Todoroki says. His arms make their way around Bakugou's waist, pulling him closer, and seconds later his head is bending down to press their lips together.
Todoroki's kiss is as warm as the rest of him. It makes Bakugou want to wrap himself around him like a blanket, relishing in that warmth that is so him, so soft and soothing and yet intense enough to make Bakugou wonder how he managed to get so damn lucky.
Bakugou swipes the other's hair back, the strands slipping through his fingers haphazardly, until his hands settle on a gentle hold on Todoroki's nape, resting on top of his scarf. His thumb just barely grazes the line of Todoroki's jaw when he pulls back, letting his forehead rest against Todoroki's as a short laugh escapes both their lips.
They're being cheesy as hell, but Bakugou doesn't even care that anyone could see it.
Being with Todoroki like this makes it easy to forget about everything else.
Even the cold.