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As he’d expected, the news of their relationship attracted all kinds of attention. Which, he reminded himself was exactly what they’d hoped for when Todoroki had come up with this cheap fake dating plan. It was approaching a month since Endeavor had introduced him to the woman, explaining suggestively that she was the heir to a very successful business that Todoroki didn’t care to remember the name of. He caught his father’s hint, and without skipping a beat, blurted out that he had a boyfriend.
Todoroki did not have a boyfriend.
That was, until he had picked up the courage to ask Bakugou for help. They’d become closer since leaving UA, often working on the same jobs together, their interwoven friend group bringing them together for fortnightly -if not weekly- gatherings. The new lease on their friendship only stoked the admiration and attraction Todoroki had held for Bakugou since high school. So of course Bakugou was the only person Todoroki could even think about letting in on his dilemma. With some kind of incredible, undeserved luck, Bakugou had agreed with Todoroki’s plan, the insulting rejection he’d been prepared for never leaving Bakugou’s mouth.
Media attention was their main priority, the camera clicks satisfying as they made a show of their fake affection. Bakugou taking his job seriously, slung an arm around Todoroki’s shoulders whenever they were in public, sometimes - when he was in a particularly good mood- Bakugou would even stoop lower and join their hands. The faint blush that tinted Todoroki’s cheeks at Bakugou’s acting was embarrassingly, not put on.
The newfound preoccupation the city had with the two heroes not only attracted the attention of the media. This week alone, they’d been attacked by two separate villains while out on ‘dates’. Which is where they found themselves now, their casual brunch rudely interrupted by a man with an explosion quirk that seemed to be a less impressive version of Bakugou’s.
Todoroki had helped the patrons of the coffee shop flee whilst Bakugou threw around obscenities and insults, striking forward with calculated practiced explosions in order to cause the least amount of damage. It became unsurprisingly apparent that the villain did not share the same priorities, Todoroki ducking as a table flew over his head, another blast from the man’s untrained quirk causing the building to shake.
“You fucking idiot, you’re going to bury as all!” Bakugou barked, grabbing the man by his wrist, swinging his other through to punch the villain in the stomach.
Stumbling backwards, the man coughs and raises his hand in the air in defeat.
“You got me, your quirk is much stronger than mine Mr Bakugou, how could I ever compare!”
“You’re damn fucking right it is.” Bakugou bites, stepping forward in order to apprehend the man.
Todoroki sees through the bait of a surrender too late, his ice unable to suspend in time, the villain flattening his palms to face the ceiling, focusing his quirk to shake apart the building.
He moves on instinct, barely even realising he’s pushed Bakugou to the ground, protecting them both with a layer of ice as the walls collapse around his make shift cocoon. The reverberating thunder of bricks and concrete falling shake him to the core as he curls up protectively over Bakugou, squeezing his eyes shut and praying he made his ice thick enough to keep them safe.
His ears ring loudly when its over, coughing through the settling dust that’s seeped its way into their precarious shelter.
“Ugh fuck.” Bakugou groans from where he’s laying under him.
Todoroki’s heart jumps into his throat as he scans Bakugou for injuries. He’s unable to see much aside from feint features, the rubble overhead obscuring almost all light. “Are you hurt?”
“My goddamn feelings are.”
“What?”
“Fucking asshole had the same quirk as me! What kind of counterfeit bullshit was that!”
Todoroki sighs, relieved that he’d succeeded in keeping them unscathed. Ignoring Bakugou’s griping he assesses the solidity of his ice, adding an additional layer to the inside for solidarity. There’s no way of knowing how deep they were buried under the remains of the two story building, Todoroki hesitant to melt the ice shield in case they were crushed under the rubble.
The space is.... not ideal, he hadn’t had the time to account for comfort in the moment. There’s no extra room for Todoroki to lay down side by side, arms already tiring from holding himself to hover stubbornly over Bakugou.
“The ice should hold up, is your phone damaged?” Todoroki asks, remembering he’d left his own on the table that was more than likely in pieces above their heads.
Bakugou shifts in the cramped space, fishing it out of his pocket. The screen light is blinding, his head already tender in the aftermath of the explosion.
He groans, screwing his eyes shut again. “Message Midoriya, he’ll be the fastest to get us out.”
“I’m not asking for help from Midoriya are you kidding me.”
“Now is really not the time for your elementary grudges Bakugou.”
“Kirishima lives closer.”
“Fine.”
Todoroki opens one eye cautiously, majority of the light focused onto Bakugou’s face as he types. He’s covered in dirt, a cut in his hairline leaving blood crusted in his blonde hair.
“You’re bleeding.”
“So are you.” Bakugou states, glancing from around his phone, the familiar chime of a message being sent off reassuring. At least they had service. “Can I turn the light off?”
“Please.” Todoroki sighs.
It’s deathly quiet, the occasional crumble of the rubble settling down and the low steady noise of Bakugou breathing filling silence. His warmth is inviting, the chill of the ice cocoon that protects them uncomfortable the longer they stay trapped.
“You can lay down on me.”
“What.”
“Your arms are shaking.”
Oh. Todoroki hadn’t noticed, the strain of keeping himself hovered over Bakugou taking its toll, the intensity of the explosion left his body aching.
“Thanks.”
The man below him huffs as Todoroki lets his head rest on his chest, body relaxing into Bakugou’s warmth, arms coming up to curl around Todoroki’s back for lack of better place to rest them. With his ear pressed onto Bakugou’s chest he counts heartbeats, they’re quicker than whats considered normal for a resting state. Not that anything about this situation is normal, Todoroki guesses his could probably compete for speed as he tries not to focus too hard about the entirety of Bakugou’s body pressed up against his own.
Todoroki had thought about this before, what it would be like to lay comfortably with Bakugou. His imagination obviously opting for a more stress-free environment than this, cushioning under their backs rather than cold stone slab reality offered them instead.
The crack of ice above their heads makes Todoroki shoot up, applying another layer to the inside quickly, shrinking the available space even further.
“If we die because Kirishima is too busy to check his phone...”
“He’ll come.” Bakugou reassures, pressing Todoroki back down to chest again. “S’cold.”
“Sorry.”
“If we die here, we won’t have to pretend to date anymore.” Bakugou offers in what, Todoroki assumes, is a failed attempt to keep them optimistic.
Todoroki doesn’t respond. He had figured there was nothing behind Bakugou’s fake affection act, as professional with this arrangement as he was with his hero work. This was how it was meant to be, Bakugou was doing him a favour and in a month or so when his father was off his back, they’d stage their news breaking split and go back to their relationship as old classmates.
He has no right to feel so disappointed by Bakugou’s words. His chest has no right feeling so tight, his stomach has no right feeling so twistingly empty. He has no right to be upset over his own misplaced affections.
The ice cracks above them again, their body temperature warming the structure, fracturing the stability.
In a stupid fleeting moment of pent up emotions, without consideration for the consequences, - realising at this rate he may not even be alive to face them- Todoroki digs himself a larger hole to die in.
“If we get out of here, I’d like to take you on an actual date to be honest.”
Todoroki’s grateful he can’t see his expression properly from his position on his chest, already knowing from the way Bakugou’s heartbeat sped up that he’d said the wrong thing.
Bakugou’s about to speak when a voice from above the rubble cuts in instead. “Bakugou? Todoroki? Yell out if you can hear me!”
It’s Kirishima.
Todoroki wish he felt relieved.
“Fucking finally! We’re down here!” Bakugou booms, before removing his warm arms from his back, bringing his hands forward to push at Todoroki’s shoulders, prompting him to lift up, their eyes meeting on the way.
Bakugou, with hands on either side of Todoroki’s face, pulls him forward to press their mouths together. It’s more bruising than anything else but Todoroki feels his face heat and his stomach flip regardless.
Bakugou mumbles, quiet over the sound of rubble being shifted. “I’d like that.”