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Midoriya was distracted playing on Todoroki’s phone when the message arrived.
He was sitting alone, since his boyfriend, Iida, was busy dealing with his duties as the class representative, and both Todoroki and Momo were helping him. In any other situation, he wouldn’t have read a message destined to his friend, but his mind was elsewhere due to the boredom, and for a moment he forgot that the phone wasn’t his, taping the notification before he could realize his own mistake.
THINKING ABOUT YOU HOT GUY ;)
Midoriya stared at the phone for a while, not knowing how to react. He looked at the back cover of it, seeing the small Charizard sticker he put there a few months ago as a joke, confirming that, yes, that was Todoroki’s phone, indeed.
What?
He read that single line again, feeling his cheeks getting warm. He didn’t mean to intrude on his friend’s personal life, but now that the accident had already happened, he couldn’t stop himself from looking at the sender.
Inasa Yoarashi.
He frowned a little. Yoarashi… He thought he remembered the name from somewhere, but wasn’t able to associate it with a face. Yoarashi… Yoarashi…
Where was Iida when he needed him? If that was a student, his boyfriend would know for sure. Midoriya let out a frustrated sigh. Who was Inasa Yoarashi?
He tried to control his curiosity, but failed. If he didn’t remember who that person was, it would keep bugging him for the rest of the day, but he also didn’t have the courage to intrude even more and read the rest of the conversation to get more clues. Defeated, he got up and approached Uraraka, who was in a close table, sitting beside Tsuyu, as usual, their shoulders almost touching from the proximity.
“Uraraka,” he called her, sitting on the other side, “I need your help!”
Both Uraraka and Tsuyu looked at him with curiosity.
“Ah, Deku!” greeted Uraraka, and then frowned a bit. “Is everything alright?”
“You look troubled,” said Tsuyu. “What happened?”
“I just need help with a small thing.” Saying that, he inclined in their direction, lowering his tone. “Do you remember who Inasa Yoarashi is?”
“Yoarashi?” repeated Uraraka, slowly. “It sounds familiar…”
“I know!” said Midoriya. “But I can’t remember where I’ve heard it.”
Tsuyu thought for a few seconds, touching her lower lip with her finger.
“Isn’t he that big guy from Shiketsu academy?”
Uraraka looked at her, eyes sparkling with recognition, clapping her palms together.
“That’s right!” she said. “The one who got into a big fight with Todoroki on the exam, last year… Of course, that’s Yoarashi! Mystery solved! Thanks, my love!”
Uraraka and Tsuyu exchanged smiles, and then turned to face Midoriya, who looked at them with widened eyes and a mouth half-open.
“No way…” he said in a low tone.
“Deku, what’s the problem?” Uraraka started to feel worried about her friend’s strange reaction.
Midoriya opened his mouth, but then stopped, not sure if he should talk to them about it. Instead, he repeated that information in his mind: Inasa Yoarashi, that big guy with wind powers and scary eyes, who had been the reason Todoroki failed the exam the first time… That Yoarashi had just texted his friend. And called him “hot”. And even added a winking emoji.
What was happening?
“Say…” he averted his gaze, trying to find the best words. “Hypothetically speaking, you think Shouto and Yoarashi could… I don’t know… Get close to each other?”
Uraraka snorted, waving her hand in front of her face.
“No way!” she said. “I mean, Yoarashi apologized to Todoroki and all that, but being friends is way different. I mean, they don’t seem to have anything in common.”
“Yeah…” Midoriya forced a brief laugh. “I guess you’re right.”
He hesitated a little, but again, was unable to control his own curiosity.
“Well, changing the subject to something totally different…” he tried his best to sound casual. “If someone texts another person, calling them ‘hot’, could it mean anything other than… You know… The obvious?”
Uraraka’s laugh died and she stared Midoriya dead in the eyes.
“Wait…” she said. “Did Yoarashi call Todoroki hot?”
Midoriya felt a sting of guilt: he had forgotten how perceptive his friend could be. He tried to think of an excuse, but, in the end, just accepted that he had messed up and there was no turning back.
“Please, don’t tell anyone,” he said. “But I accidentally read a message from Yoarashi on his phone.”
“Show me!”
He handed the phone to her, and Uraraka read that single line a dozen of times, her jaw dropping.
“And it wasn’t the first one, either…” she said, quickly scrolling up, seeing the impressive number of messages, controlling the urge to read their content. “It seems they’ve been talking for quite some time…”
Tsuyu looked at the screen with an amused expression.
“That was unexpected,” she said.
“You call it ‘unexpected’?” Uraraka locked the phone, giving it back to Midoriya. “From all people I could imagine Todoroki with… I mean, I didn’t even think he was interested in going out with someone. Much less…”
She and Midoriya exchanged looks, while Tsuyu, not as invested in her friend’s love life as the other two, turned her attention back to her food, after muttering a simple “as long as he’s happy”. The other two were unable to agree.
“Are they going out?” asked Uraraka in no more than a whisper.
“I have no idea,” he answered. “I didn’t even remember this guy existed until now!”
She frowned, thinking for a moment.
“Do you think he could be messing with Todoroki?”
“What?” Midoriya frowned. “Why?”
“I don’t know! I mean, he hated him, right?” she sighed. “This is too strange.”
The two of them stared at the phone’s dark screen with serious expressions, as if demanding answers from it. They didn’t come, of course.
“We should talk to Todoroki,” she said. “If this guy is messing with him, we have to do something about it.”
Midoriya agreed with a nod. Soon it was time for the next period, and they walked back to class. When Todoroki entered the room, Uraraka glanced at Midoriya, who understood the message.
“Ask him!”
He approached Todoroki’s desk, and his friend wasn’t surprised by it. Midoriya took his phone from his pocket, placing it on his desk, taking a deep breath.
“Shouto, I’m sorry…” he said. “I accidentally read one of your messages.”
Todoroki didn’t seem bothered it.
“That’s fine,” he said.
Midoriya bit the inside of his lip, uncomfortable.
“It was from Yoarashi.”
Todoroki lowered the eyes to his phone, and, with a brief sigh, took it in his hands.
“Well, I hope he didn’t say anything strange,” he said. “He does it sometimes.”
Midoriya gave a small, nervous chuckle as Todoroki read the message, making a slightly annoyed face at it.
“I told him not to call me that.”
He typed a brief answer, which Midoriya couldn’t see. He hesitated for a few seconds, and then gathered the courage to ask what had been bothering him since his talk with Uraraka.
“Shouto…” he lowered his tone. “Are the two of you going out?”
Todoroki raised his eyes to look at Midoriya, seeming a little surprised by the question.
“I…,” he thought a little about it. “I guess you could say that.”
Part of Midoriya was expecting that all to be some kind of misunderstanding or weird joke on Yoarashi’s part, so that answer left him speechless for an instant.
“I had no idea!” he finally said. “Why didn’t you tell me anything?”
“It hasn’t been that long. We still don’t know if things will work between us.”
“Ah… I see.”
Midoriya would have said something else, but, soon after, Todoroki’s phone buzzed and he looked at the screen with his calm, natural expression. Midoriya almost asked if it was Yoarashi again, but, for his own good, decided not to.
Things were weird enough as they were.
Iida looked at both his friend and boyfriend, Uraraka and Midoriya, with an inquiring air. He was sitting on his bed, beside Midoriya, while Uraraka sat in front of them, in his desk chair. The two of them had thoughtful expressions, and, for some reason, Iida had a bad feeling about all that.
“May I ask why are we all reunited in my room?” he said when the suspense became too much for him.
Uraraka and Izuku looked at each other, and she encouraged him with a nod. He took a deep breath, looking at Iida with serious eyes.
“It’s an emergency,” he said.
“And what do you mean by emergency?”
“Todoroki is dating a guy.”
Iida frowned. Was that all? He already knew that, since Todoroki had talked to him about it many times, seeking his guidance — which wasn’t of much help, to be honest — when he started having feelings for his friend from Shiketsu Academy. True, he had asked for Iida not to tell the others for a while, but despite their surprise, he couldn’t understand how something like that could be considered an emergency.
“I don’t see how that could be a problem,” he said while gesticulating in Midoriya’s direction. “We are also both men and are currently dating, Izuku.”
“That’s not the point…” grumbled Midoriya.
“The point is who he is dating.”
Uraraka made a dramatic pause, looking at Midoriya.
“Tell him,” she said.
“Inasa Yoarashi,” completed Midoriya.
They looked at Iida with expectant expressions, waiting for a surprised reaction that never came.
“I am aware of that fact,” he admitted.
Their expressions changed into something closer to shock.
“What?” asked Uraraka. “How?”
Iida let out a low sigh.
“He mentioned it during a conversation,” he said, deciding not to give many details. “Probably because I did the same when I started having feelings for Izuku.”
Midoriya and Uraraka seemed a bit frustrated, both because their amazing, shocking reveal had been for nothing, and for being excluded from those seemingly important conversations. But they knew Todoroki and Iida were closer to each other than to anyone else in the group — just like them both, in a way —, so there was no point in arguing about the things they kept between themselves.
“So…?” asked Midoriya. “What do you think of it?”
To their surprise, Iida opened a bright smile.
“That’s good for them!” he said with a wave of his arm. “Yoarashi seemed like a hot-headed, but reliable person.”
Their expressions became flat.
“What?” said Uraraka, sliding her chair until she was face to face with Iida. “That’s all you have to say about it?”
“Should there be something else?”
“Don’t you remember? They both failed the exam because they almost strangled each other during it!”
She enacted her words, strangling the air. Midoriya looked at Iida with an inquisitive air.
“Don’t you think it’s strange?” he asked.
Iida thought a bit about it. Sure, the beginning of their relationship had been far from good, but they still managed to understand each other in the end. Besides, after their second exam, they got to spend more time together and become closer. It didn’t seem strange to him in the least.
“Well…” he said. “Technically, you and Shouto also had a rough start, Izuku.”
Midoriya puffed his cheeks, annoyed by how he didn’t have a counter-argument to that.
“It’s different!” he said, and then hesitated a little, looking at Uraraka. “I mean… It is, right?”
“Of course it is!” she agreed. “Yoarashi hated Todoroki and Endeavor more than anything! What if he is doing this to mess with him, or get revenge, or something like that?”
“I hope that’s not the case,” said Midoriya, “but I know there are people who are capable of such things. And I don’t want Shouto to be hurt.”
Iida looked at them and sighed.
“I understand that you’re both worried about him, but aren’t you exaggerating?” he fixed his glasses with a broad gesture. “Yoarashi might be a good person, you just don’t know him well enough.”
Midoriya and Uraraka stayed silent for a while, thinking about his words, then looked at each other.
“He’s right,” said Midoriya, “we should meet this guy to see how he is by ourselves.”
“Maybe we could go on a triple date?” suggested Uraraka, excited by the thought. “I can talk with Tsuyu, if you agree.”
“That’s a good idea!” Midoriya’s face lightened up with the suggestion. “This way we all get to meet him at the same time.”
Iida felt a wave of relief, seeing how easily those two had changed their minds about it: they were both kind and caring, but could also be really stubborn and difficult when they had something on their minds.
“I’m glad you two are…”
“And, if he’s an idiot,” proceeded Uraraka, cracking her fingers, “we can give him a piece of our minds.”
“Exactly,” agreed Midoriya.
Iida sighed again: he counted his blessings too soon.
“You know that’s not what I meant, right?”
Midoriya approached Iida and gave him a light kiss on the cheek, while Uraraka took her own phone and typed a message to Todoroki.
“You have the best ideas, you know?” said Midoriya to him.
Iida put his arm around Midoriya’s shoulders, letting his boyfriend nuzzle his head against his chest, while silently apologizing to Todoroki for whatever was about to come.
They waited outside the train station for a few minutes before the familiar, tall and muscular figure of Yoarashi finally appeared. He had a serious expression, just as Midoriya remembered, and seeing his eyes sent a shiver down his spine. However, as soon as he spotted them, his face was brightened by a big, almost goofy-looking smile.
“HEY, TODOROKI!” he called with his loud voice, waving while approaching them with fast steps.
Todoroki groaned a little, but didn’t move, accepting his fate as Yoarashi hugged him by the waist, lifting him from the ground.
“I told you not to do that…” he complained with a slightly suffocated voice.
Yoarashi laughed, placing him again on the ground.
“It not my fault that you’re tiny!” saying that, he turned his attention to the other four, smiling in a friendly way. “Nice to see you again! I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Inasa Yoarashi, from Shiketsu Academy!”
We know, thought both Midoriya and Uraraka.
Iida greeted Yoarashi in a lively way, and after some brief re-introductions, they left the station. They planned to watch a movie together, but since the most interesting one would only begin in a little more than an hour, they decided to kill time by taking a walk on a nearby mall. It didn’t take long for Yoarashi to warm up to them, especially Iida and Tsuyu, who talked to him the most — Yoarashi and Iida made a funny duo of loud voices and louder gestures. Midoriya and Uraraka took part in the conversation, but would often whisper to each other their opinion on the newest member of the group.
“He seems a little different from what I remember…” mentioned Midoriya.
“I think so too,” she agreed. “Almost like another person.”
They looked in Todoroki’s direction, asking themselves how their quiet friend had become close to someone so… flashy.
“Wait a minute!” asked Yoarashi suddenly, when they passed in front of a game center. “I have to try something.”
Saying that, he hastily entered the place. The other five followed him, watching as he approached one of those claw machines, filled plushies and other prizes, just waiting to be fished — or not.
“Are you going to try?” asked Todoroki. “This thing seems difficult to handle.”
“I have some good skills on this, just you watch!”
“Good luck, Yoarashi,” said Tsuyu.
Yoarashi flashed a smile at her before concentrating on the game. Uraraka used this chance to call Todoroki’s attention. He approached her and Midoriya with a curious look.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“No, nothing like that!” Midoriya waved his hands in front of him. “We were just talking.”
“About how Yoarashi seems different from when we last saw him,” added Uraraka.
“Well, it helps that he doesn’t hate me anymore,” Todoroki shrugged a little. “So, what do you think of him?”
“He’s… different from what I expected,” admitted Midoriya. “You two look like total opposites.”
Todoroki thought a little about those words, while looking at Yoarashi’s broad back.
“I guess we really are,” he said. “Almost all of our tastes clash, and he can be really obnoxious sometimes. Ah, and he is really loud, too…”
He stayed silent for a few more seconds. It was difficult to know what was passing through his head, but judging by his words alone, it was hard to believe he had any romantic feeling towards the other boy. However, he soon proceeded.
“But he’s really dedicated and honest in everything he does, and I know I can count on him. Actually…” a small, fond smile took his lips. “I’d trust him with my life, if I had to.”
Those words, together with his soft expression, caught them both by surprise. Uraraka hesitated a little before proceeding.
“Shouto, you…”
…really like him, don’t you?
Before any of them could ask him that question, Yoarashi’s loud voice called their attention:
“Todoroki, look! I got it… Damn, it slipped!”
“Don’t give up, Yoarashi!” said Iida, enthusiastically gesticulating in his direction.
“You can do it,” added Tsuyu, who had her face almost glued to the glass.
Yoarashi’s dedication was entertainment enough on its own, but Iida and Tsuyu’s encouragement only helped making the scene more dramatic than necessary.
“Well, they seem to be having fun,” said Todoroki in an amused tone, facing his two friends again. “What were you about to say?”
Uraraka froze. Midoriya noticed the hesitation on her face and decided to come to her rescue.
“We just wanted to know if you’re having fun today,” he said. “You know… Since we all planned this for you, and all.”
Todoroki raised his brow, then that amused expression came back to his face.
“Of course I am,” he said. “I’m with my friends, why wouldn’t it be fun?”
“Ah… Sure!”
“Instead of worrying about me, try to enjoy yourselves too.”
Saying that, Todoroki approached Yoarashi again, just when he let out another frustrated groan. Uraraka and Midoriya glanced at each other, both slightly uneasy.
“Deku,” she started to say. “It’s just me, or Shouto seems to really like Yoarashi?”
“It looks like it,” agreed Midoriya. “It’s just hard to tell, since it’s him we are talking about. I mean, I didn’t even think he would actually date someone. He never seemed interested in it.”
“Yes…” she twisted her lips a little. “He told us not to worry, but realizing this just made it worse.”
“I know,” he said. “If Yoarashi really is just messing with him, Shouto will feel terrible, won’t he?”
“I guess so.”
They both groaned, anxious, barely noticing Tsuyu’s approach until she was already beside them.
“I think you’re wrong,” she said in a calm tone, startling them a little. “To me, Yoarashi really seems to like Todoroki.”
“Ah, Tsuyu!” said Uraraka, placing the hand on her own chest. “You scared me, hon…”
“Just because you two are being all suspicious,” added Tsuyu. “You should try talking to Yoarashi a little. He’s a nice person.”
“Yes, we can imagine,” said Midoriya with an embarrassed smile.
After two failed attempts, Yoarashi managed to get a small plush of a Dalmatian, which made him seem proud of himself. After examining the toy and smiling for a moment, he turned to Todoroki, handing it to him.
“Here,” he said. “A gift.”
“Ah, thanks.”
Todoroki took the plush with both hands, staring at its face for a while.
“I usually prefer cats,” he said. “But this one is really cute.”
Yoarashi’s smile grew bigger.
“I’m glad you liked, it wasn’t easy to get!” Yoarashi placed his arm around Todoroki’s shoulders. “You know, you should call him ‘Inasa’, and hug him whenever you feel lonely.”
“I’ll call him Spots.”
“What?” Yoarashi’s broad smile gave place to a slight pout. “No, you have to call him Inasa!”
“Spots is fine.”
Yoarashi twisted his lips, taking the plush from Todoroki’s arms.
“If you don’t call him Inasa I’m taking him back.”
Todoroki stared at him, silent for a few seconds.
“Are you really going to take him away, after I already became attached to him?” he asked in a low tone.
“No…”
With a defeated sigh, Yoarashi put the plush back in Todoroki’s arms.
“You’re evil,” he said.
Todoroki answered with a quick, subtle smile, which only added to Yoarashi’s statement. As the time for the movie approached, they went to the cinema, taking their places. The movie wasn’t anything exceptional, but fun and entertaining enough to grab the viewers attention for almost two hours. However, Midoriya found it difficult to concentrate, since most of his attention was being stolen by Yoarashi, who had sat by his side. He was the kind of person who laughed and cried and made faces during the whole thing, and during a scary part, Midoriya even heard Todoroki’s low voice:
“I think I passed my curse to you…”
“Curse?” asked Yoarashi.
“The hand crusher curse.”
Yoarashi apologized in a loud tone, which resulted in a scold from the guy sitting behind them. Other than that, everything went smoothly. The movie ended and they left the room together, Yoarashi and Iida making loud comments about what they had just seen, while the rest of the group tried to keep up with their enthusiasm. When she finally managed to be heard, Uraraka suggested that they stopped to eat something.
“We should definitely have some udon!” said Yoarashi.
He glanced at Todoroki with a slightly provoking expression, as if that was a joke they shared. Todoroki rolled his eyes.
“If you make me eat that, I’ll freeze you to the ground.”
“You just have bad taste for food!”
“You’re the one to talk.”
Saying that, Todoroki reached up, stealing Yoarashi’s hat, wearing it himself. Yoarashi complained, but not enough to seem really bothered by it. Seeing them acting in that playful, intimate manner, almost made them look like an actual — normal — couple, and it started to make Midoriya and Uraraka question themselves: maybe they really were worrying too much, and maybe Yoarashi didn’t have second intentions, after all.
They soon decided to eat hamburgers, and ended up ordering their food in the same place. Yoarashi and Tsuyu made a competition to see who ate their fries faster — he lost — while Iida repeated that eating at such speed was dangerous and could make them choke on their food. Uraraka gave Tsuyu a brief kiss on the cheek as a reward, then she then noticed Yoarashi’s gaze on them. He had become strangely serious, but before she could say, or even think anything, he smiled at her in a way that seemed a bit anxious and unnatural, and turned to face Todoroki.
“Hey, Todoroki…” he said. “Can you come with me for a sec? I have something I wanted to talk to you.”
Todoroki didn’t express any surprise with that request.
“Sure.”
Saying that, he got up, placing the dog plush in Midoriya’s lap.
“Take care of Spots for me until I come back,” he asked.
“His name is Inasa!” protested Yoarashi.
“Spots.”
They heard the two of them — mostly Inasa — arguing about that until they finally left the place. Uraraka and Midoriya immediately looked at each other.
“That guy is up to something,” she said. “He had a suspicious look on his face just now.”
“I noticed it,” agreed Midoriya. “And he seemed really nervous all of a sudden, too.”
Iida sighed, covering his eyes with his hand.
“Really,” he said in a tired tone, “can’t you both stop hostilizing Yoarashi like that?”
“He’s right,” agreed Tsuyu. “You’re worrying too much about nothing.”
“Well, of course we are,” said Midoriya. “Shouto is our friend, and we barely know Yoarashi.”
“You didn’t even try to,” observed Tsuyu.
Both Midoriya and Uraraka lowered their gazes, a little ashamed. What she said was true, but they couldn’t help but feel bothered by their first impression of Yoarashi — angry and rancorous —, together with that strange, anxious expression he showed a little before. What if he started a fight? What if he was still angry at Endeavor and wanted to get revenge using his son? Todoroki could defend himself, but fighting another student in a public place like that could easily be a problem to his career as a hero. They looked at each other, and realized both were thinking the same thing.
“We’ll be right back,” she said.
Iida and Tsuyu exchanged a tired glance.
“Fine,” said Iida. “Go, but please, don’t cause any trouble.”
“And don’t interrupt Yoarashi,” added Tsuyu. “I don’t think Todoroki will be happy if you do.”
They didn’t have the time to question her last phrase, getting up from their chairs, Midoriya giving the plush to Iida.
“Where do you think they went?” asked Uraraka.
“I saw them heading that way.”
They walked for a few minutes, until they finally found them on the parking lot. At first, seeing both in such an isolated place just made their worries grow, but it lasted nothing but a second: Inasa was leaning against the wall, with his arms around Todoroki’s waist. Their bodies were close, and their mouths touching. Kissing.
Midoriya and Uraraka just stared at the scene for a moment, a wave of embarrassment overcoming them. They hid behind a car, feeling guilty for witnessing such an intimate moment.
“Bad idea…” muttered Uraraka.
“At least they’re not fighting, I guess?” said Midoriya with a nervous laugh.
They stayed there, not knowing what to do, for a few seconds.
“Is it over?” asked Uraraka.
They glanced in their direction, at the same time as Yoarashi and Todoroki broke their kiss. They stayed in the same position, looking at each other in that subtle, intimate closeness. There was nothing but affection in Yoarashi’s eyes when he looked at Todoroki, and their friend had a small, but genuine smile on his face. A smile neither of them expected to ever see.
“They look really happy, don’t they?” asked Midoriya.
“They do,” she agreed.
They looked at each other, and with the sudden realization of how stupid they had been acting, they smiled in an awkward, but relieved way.
“I guess we should go back,” she said.
Midoriya agreed, and they both left the parking lot, entering the mall again.
It took Todoroki and Yoarashi a long time to come back, enough for Iida to scold them, change the subject, Tsuyu to make a joke about their paranoia, Iida scold them again, then changed the subject a second time. When they approached, it was impossible not to notice their joined hands, the goofy smile on Yoarashi’s face, or the more subtle, but still happy expression Todoroki carried. They stopped before the others, and instead of taking a seat, Yoarashi looked at his partner in an expectant way.
“So,” he said. “Should we…?”
“Ah, yes…”
Todoroki looked at his friends, taking a deep breath before starting to talk.
“Yoarashi and I…” he made a brief pause. “It seems like we’re boyfriends now.”
“Seems like?” repeated Yoarashi, frowning. “Did you hear anything I just said to you?”
“I know, I just didn’t know how to say it.”
Before they could keep arguing over that, Iida got up from his chair, enthusiastically gesticulating in their direction.
“Congratulations!” he said in a loud voice.
The others also congratulated them, though in a more discreet way. The two sat down again, being bombarded by questions, which Yoarashi cheerfully answered, while Todoroki pretended to be more interested in what was left of Midoriya’s milkshake.
“So, Yoarashi…” said Uraraka, calling his attention. “Since Shouto didn’t give us any detail, could you tell us how you two started dating?”
Yoarashi opened a bright smile, while Todoroki seemed to get smaller on his chair.
“Oh, no…” he muttered.
“Is it an embarrassing story?” asked Midoriya.
“Not really!” said Yoarashi.
“It is,” said Todoroki.
Yoarashi glanced at Todoroki, who sank his head in his hands, as if wishing for a quick death. He smiled fondly, placing his hand on his boyfriend’s head, playing with his hair.
“To make things short, we were both slower than we thought,” he said. “But it all worked out in the end. Right?”
Todoroki looked at him, seeming grateful for the simple answer.
“Right,” he said.
“Can we know at least when you first asked him out?” asked Uraraka.
The two of them exchanged a glance, and Yoarashi let out a brief laugh.
“I didn’t!” he said, indicating Todoroki with a gesture. “It was him who asked me out.”
That seemed to catch everyone by surprise, except for Iida — who, in fact, already knew the whole story, but decided to keep it to himself. The idea of Todoroki — their awkward, socially dense Todoroki — asking someone out was just…
“What?” said Midoriya.
“Really?” asked Uraraka.
Both stared at Todoroki, who averted his gaze, in a rare moment of embarrassment.
“It was terrible…” he said.
“It was the cutest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!” replied Yoarashi. “If I didn’t like you already at the time, I certainly would’ve fallen for you after that!”
“You’re making us more curious,” said Tsuyu.
But Yoarashi didn’t give them any other detail. They spent some time chatting and walking around, until it started to get late. They went to the train station to send Yoarashi off, and, just like when he first arrived, he gave Todoroki a bear hug, lifting him. When his feet touched the ground again, Todoroki finally returned his hat, having to get on his tiptoes to reach his boyfriend’s head.
“Why are you giving it back?” asked Yoarashi in a humorous tone. “You’ll just steal it again next time.”
“Exactly,” replied Todoroki, “and I’m looking forward to it.”
Yoarashi laughed, bending towards Todoroki, giving him a brief kiss on the forehead, then waved at the group one last time before entering the station. After that, they waited for their own bus, which didn’t take long to arrive. They took the five seats on the last row, Midoriya and Iida on one side, Uraraka and Tsuyu on the other, and Todoroki in the middle with the dog plush on his lap. They kept talking for some time, but after a while, everyone but Uraraka and Todoroki had fallen asleep, tired after that trip. Uraraka was starting to drift off too, when the sound of Todoroki’s phone buzzing called her attention. A brief look in his direction was enough to see the message he had just received, which seemed as flashy as its sender.
IT WAS GREAT TO SEE YOU TODAY HOT BOYFRIEND ;)
She couldn’t hold back a snort, and Todoroki looked at her.
“I don’t think he’ll ever stop calling me that…” he said.
“Seems like it.”
Todoroki sighed.
“What a troublesome guy…” he said.
“Indeed,” she laughed. “But he’s a nice person, and you two look good together.”
Todoroki smiled at her, typing a brief answer, putting his phone back in his pocket.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” said Uraraka, “why did you start liking him in the first place?”
Todoroki thought for a while, trying to find an answer.
“I don’t know, exactly,” he said. “I used to think he was difficult to deal with at first. But we kept contact after the exam, and when I realized, I was already drawn to him.”
“I see…”
She glanced at Tsuyu, who was sleeping with the head against her shoulder, and smiled.
“I guess it’s just how these things happen,” she said.
Todoroki agreed with a nod.
“Besides, he can be really cute sometimes,” he added.
“Well, that’s true, Spots here is proof enough of that.”
Todoroki looked at the toy, silent for a few seconds.
“Actually,” he said, “his name is Inasa.”
Uraraka raised her brow.
“Eh? But you said…”
“I know,” Todoroki averted his eyes, seeming a little embarrassed. “Never tell this to him.”
She looked at him for a few instants, then laughed. If nothing else, Todoroki and Yoarashi had that unexpected cuteness in common.
“You better pay me an ice-cream later, then,” she said, poking him lightly with her elbow.
“Mercenary.”
She flashed him a devilish smile, which soon gave place to a fond one. She placed her hand on his, squeezing it lightly, and he did the same, smiling back at her.
The ride back to the Academy was a nice, peaceful one.