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Todoroki was never really one to enjoy physical affection.
Sure, he loved it when his mom carried him when he was a baby, and he loved it when his sibling would hold him when he was still a kid, but that was a long time ago. Growing up was a hard time for Todoroki; ever since his dad trained him to be the best and only the best, he absolutely had no time for affection. He never really got it growing up, anyway. His father had treated him like a tool, a weapon made to defeat even the most powerful villains and surpass even the greatest of heroes, but who would want to come in contact with a weapon?
That was what he thought growing up, and now, nothing has really changed. He’s still the same old Todoroki, albeit being a lot more powerful than he was before. He‘s still training like always, and he still refuses to use his left side, so nothing has really changed.
Well, up until the annual sports festival, that is. Ever since that battle with Midoriya, he’s looked at life differently. He finally knew what it was like to have a friend, and he finally knew what it was like to have someone care about him.
Because of Midoriya, he had gained things he didn’t realize he needed up until this very moment. He starts to look at his left side in a whole different light, and he has gained friends along the way. He couldn’t thank them enough, but he still felt like something was missing.
It wasn’t until his group of friends each gave him a bone-crushing hug that he realized just how much he craved for physical affection. Every hug he received from the group made his skin tingle at the touch. It was as if a shock of electricity went straight up his body — it surely wasn’t Kaminari’s fault this time — and suddenly parts of his skin were itching to be touched. It was warm, cozy, and honestly comforting. When they let go of him, he could only wait for next time.
But when it didn’t come, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
i. asui tsuyu
Asui plops down on the plush couch in the middle of the common room, browsing through the channels on the led-screen television. She smiles, glad that Aizawa allowed Yaoyorozu to create a television using her quirk. He said that it was for news and hero reports so that they could all be aware of what was happening outside the academy, but they all knew that Aizawa secretly watches romantic movies when he thinks everyone is asleep.
(Kaminari once woke up in the middle of the night because of a bad dream, and just as he was about to sneak into Kirishima’s room for comfort, he spotted his teacher — the very same teacher who was known for his murderous death glare — watching the movie Titanic. He thought that Aizawa was just watching it for fun or for curiosity and he figured that the man wouldn’t be fazed by it, but as he looked closer, he realized that his teacher was crying.
Of course, being the tattletale that he was, he told the whole class about it.)
Asui places the remote beside her and settles on an animated movie in one of the channels. She then hears footsteps coming from behind her, so she whips her head around to face whoever was there. “Oh, it’s just you, Todoroki.” She says before turning back to face the television.
Todoroki comes to sit beside her, scooching a little farther from her as intended. “Hello, Tsuyu.” He says, “What are you watching?”
“Secret Life of Pets.” She says with a smile, “It’s a good movie.”
Todoroki nods, and before he turns to face the television, Asui speaks up, “What brings you here?”
He shrugs, “I just wanted to get out of my room.”
Now this was pretty unusual for Todoroki. Asui knows that the boy enjoyed the privacy inside his room and he could actually be cooped up in there for hours until someone checks on him, so this was pretty odd. It’s not that Asui didn’t want him here, but it was weird for Todoroki to get out of his room just because he wanted to. She pays no mind to it though as she turns to face the television.
Suddenly, Todoroki breaks the silence. “...Can I lie down on you?” He asks.
Asui’s eyes widen, but she nods anyway. Todoroki shifts beside her so his head is on her lap while his body rests on the couch. She stiffens at the contact, “T-Todoroki?”
“I’m tired.” He whispers, closing his eyes. Asui gulps, not knowing where to place her hands. This was yet again another unusual thing, and she wonders if something happened to her friend to make him act like this. Todoroki wasn’t usually so touchy-feely.
She decides to place them on the boy’s head, her fingers running through his hair as she calmly brushes through the red and white strands. The boy seems to be enjoying this as he nuzzles into her hands while her cheeks blush at the contact. She knows that she didn’t exactly have the prettiest hands, and unlike Uraraka and Yaoyorozu who have thin and polished hands, hers were big and stubby, so knowing that someone enjoyed her touch makes her feel all warm inside.
Asui lets Todoroki rest on her lap as she continues to watch the movie, her fingers still running through the boy’s hair.
ii. iida tenya
Todoroki’s neck is starting to ache.
They were currently on the bus ride to a specialized training center designed just for the academy, but it takes like three hours to get there, and he’s been sleeping in the same position for an hour already with his head pointing up at the ceiling, so when he faces down, a popping sound can be heard from his neck. He tilts his head from side to side to ease the muscle strain, but he was still sleepy, so he had to figure out a way to sleep without straining his neck.
Iida turns to look at him, “Todoroki, are you alright? Does your neck hurt?” He asks, noticing the pained expression the boy’s face as he grips his neck.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He says, tilting his head one last time.
“You sure? I have an ointment here that might help ease the pain!” He says in his usual brotherly tone. Todoroki smiles a little; Iida was such a big brother to everyone in the classroom, and he was grateful to have him as a seatmate in the bus.
(They did draw lots to see who would sit with who. He was grateful that he got Iida, since he could’ve ended up with either Bakugou or Mineta, which would result to a painful bus ride. He got Iida instead, and he couldn’t thank the cookie jar enough. Meanwhile, he gave Uraraka a pityful glance as she had ended up with Mineta, and he wished the best of luck for Midoriya as he had ended up with Bakugou.)
“Ah, sure.” He mutters, fingers still gripping his neck.
Iida fishes through his backpack and pulls out a small glass bottle, unscrewing the cap before handing it to Todoroki. “Here you go! Just put a little bit on your hand and rub it on the back of your neck.”
“Thanks, Iida.” He says, shaking the bottle a little bit to get some of the liquid and rubbing it on his neck. He hands the bottle back to Iida, who screws the cap shut and places it back inside his bag. “It feels a lot better, thank you.”
“No problem!” Iida turns back to face the view outside the window, leaving Todoroki to find out how he could sleep without straining his neck.
He looks around, searching for a position that might look comfortable. He spots Aoyama lying down on the whole seat, while Tokoyami sits on the chair in the middle to give Aoyama space. His brows furrow, thinking that maybe he could ask Iida to move? No, that would be inconsiderate of him.
He cranes his head and spots Ashido leaning on Kaminari’s chest with the blond’s arms wrapped around her waist, her head tucked underneath Kaminari’s chin. Todoroki smiles a little, but he can’t just ask Iida to basically cuddle with him, even if he really wanted to cuddle with someone right now.
He’d never admit that out loud though.
He looks at the seat in front of him to see Jirou and Yaoyorozu fast asleep with Jirou’s head on Yaoyorozu’s lap. The black-haired girl was leaning on the window, a travel pillow around her neck while Jirou’s feet were propped up on the foldable middle chair. Todoroki puts his hand on his chin, wondering if he has enough guts to ask Iida if he could — no, he can’t do that. He can ask Yaoyorozu to make him a travel pillow, but the girl was fast asleep and he didn’t want to bother her.
He turns around to look at the back, only to see Midoriya fast asleep on Bakugou’s shoulder while the blond boy looks like he’s about to blow up the whole bus.
Their eyes meet, and Bakugou gives him the cut-throat gesture. He nods, sitting back on his seat but not before snapping a picture of the two for safekeeping. He turns to Iida, who was still preoccupied by the view, and slowly rests his head on the other’s shoulder.
Iida stiffens a little bit and he was about to question Todoroki until Hagakure speaks up from across their seat. “Wow, you really are like the big brother of the class!” She says to Iida while Kaminari nods in agreement.
Iida decides to stay silent, wrapping an arm around Todoroki’s shoulders instead. He grins; he really likes being called a big brother, since it makes him feel like he could do anything. It reassures him that he too can protect people the way Tensei did, and that he too had a chance to follow in his own big brother‘s footsteps.
He decides that he should do the same for Todoroki, so he lets him sleep on his shoulder.
Iida’s really feeling this whole big brother thing while Todoroki closes his eyes, glad that he has someone to lean on.
iii. uraraka ochako
Uraraka wakes up and rubs her eyes, putting on her bunny slippers as she stands up from her bed. She looks out the window and smiles before rushing to the bathroom to do her business.
Once she was done, she steps out of her dorm room and into the dining area, checking to see if anyone was awake yet. The soft chirp of the birds and the trees rustling outside are the only things she could hear; there are no footsteps, nor the scream of bloody murder, so she was definitely alone.
Uraraka grabs a tea mug from the cupboard and a can of tea leaves to brew her usual morning tea. She scoops the leaves inside an infuser and puts it inside her tea mug before boiling the water. The soft sound of bubbling water reaches her ears as she leans against the countertop, resting her eyes for a little bit. She’s still tired, having to deal with yet another nightmare is a pain in the ass, and a cup of tea in the morning is the only thing that could make her forget about of all it.
Once the water is done, she pours it over the mug as the water seeps through the infuser, the aroma of fresh tea surrounding the place. With steady fingers, she sets aside the infuser after a few minutes or so before taking a sip of the tea, feeling at ease as her nerves slowly calm down.
She could suddenly feel arms snake around her waist, and just as she was about to punch the intruder, she hears a familiar voice whisper from behind her.
“Goodmorning.” Todoroki says, resting his chin on top of the girl’s shoulder. Uraraka‘s face explodes in a blush, and she squirms a little in his arms.
“T-Todoroki?” She squeals, eyes wide as she looks to her side.
“I‘m sleepy.” He mutters softly.
Uraraka smiles, “Aw, you could’ve just said so.” She places the teacup on the counter and turns around to hug Todoroki, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Uraraka is soft, he notes, as he nuzzles his cheek against hers.
His eyelids slowly droop down as he lets out a contented sigh.
iv. midoriya izuku
“Todoroki-kun, no horror movies, please.” Midoriya pleads softly, getting comfortable in his own bed while Todoroki shifts beside him. Earlier today, Midoriya had invited Todoroki with to his room to watch some movies since it’s been a long time since the two had hung out together with all the villain attacks and hero duties lately. They decided to make the most out of the little free time they had left, and so here they were, watching movies together on Midoriya’s laptop.
It’s Todoroki’s turn to pick the movie, having to tolerate three Disney movies straight in a row since Midoriya seemed to love them so much. “Midoriya, you battle even the scariest of villains. Why do you hate horror movies so much?” Okay, that might have sounded a little insensitive, but Todoroki is curious. He really doesn’t know why the boy hated horror movies so much despite having to battle villains who looked like they were straight out of a horror movie.
“I just do.” Midoriya shrugs, “Partly because of Kacchan. When we were kids, he forced me to watch them so that I could ‘prove’ to him that I was not weak.”
Todoroki thinks about giving Bakugou a mouthful later.
That sounds wrong, he thinks.
“No horror movies, then.” He says, and clicks on a movie about dogs. “This one looks good.”
“A Dog’s Purpose?” Midoriya cocks his head to the side. “I think Uraraka mentioned that movie last week. She said it was good, I think.”
“Let’s watch it.” Todoroki mutters as he delves in deeper into the All Might blankets. He grabs the long pillow underneath his feet and props it on his and Midoriya’s lap, placing the laptop on top of it. He clicks play, and the movie starts. Midoriya scooches closer to him, and Todoroki buries himself lower into the blankets so that the green-haired boy can rest his head against the plush headboard.
Halfway through the movie, Midoriya becomes a sobbing mess. Fat tears roll down his face and snot starts to clog up his nose, so Todoroki, being the considerate and caring friend that he is, hands Midoriya the nearby box of tissues. He too is sniffling a little, but the green-haired boy looked worse.
“Why did he have to die again and again? Now he remembers his first owner?” Midoriya cries out, blowing his nose.
“The dog was reincarnated, so don’t cry.”
“Yeah, but reincarnated lives do not remember their past lives! This dog somehow does and it’s making me emotional.” He sniffles, “Look at you, Todoroki-kun. You’re crying too.”
Todoroki brings a hand to his cheeks as tears splash on his fingers. “...Oh no.”
“You know, I’ve never seen you cry before.” Midoriya says, wiping away his own tears with the tissue. “I should take a picture and send it to Kacchan.”
“Don’t you dare, Midoriya!”
“Okay, fine. I won’t take a picture. Maybe next time?” He chuckles.
Todoroki doesn’t respond, choosing to scoot closer to the green-haired boy and as he wraps his arms around his waist. He rests his head on the crook of the boy’s neck and Midoriya lets out a squeak. He doesn’t complain though as he hugs Todoroki close, since his left side is warm and the room somehow became colder while they were watching the movie. He feels a cold puff of breath against his neck and he glances down to see Todoroki fast asleep in his arms.
Midoriya grabs his phone, snapping a quick picture and sending it to all his friends. He lets his notifications flood in as he plops his phone on the table beside his bed before closing the laptop and placing it underneath his phone. He lowers himself so that his head is resting on a pillow, and while Todoroki is still fast asleep beside him, he shifts his body so that he’s hugging the other boy.
He falls asleep eventually.
Todoroki’s eyes and flutter open and he smiles at the sight of Midoriya fast asleep. He didn’t expect his plan to work on his friends, but pretending to be tired and falling asleep just so that he could pull his friends close to him was one of the best ideas he’s had in a while.
They’re never going to find out anyway.
(They actually find out about it two weeks later, but that’s a story for another time.)
omake
v. the morning after
Midoriya wakes up with a feeling of emptiness, and as his eyes slowly open, he realizes that Todoroki was no longer beside him. He thinks that the boy must have left earlier, so he gets up from his bed and walks into the dining area with his phone in hand. He prepares himself some instant ramen for a quick breakfast and once the preparation was finished, he plops down on his seat to eat it. As he was eating, he feels a presence behind him.
He whips his head around to face the person, only to see Uraraka right behind him. “Ah, goodmorning, Uraraka!” Midoriya smiles, slurping his ramen noodles.
Uraraka bites her bottom lip, “I-I’m sorry, Deku-kun!” She whines, running over to Midoriya to glomp him from behind.
“E-Eh?” He stutters out, almost dropping his chopsticks. “What are you sorry for?”
Uraraka fiddles with her fingers, “I couldn’t help it! Todoroki looked so cute while he was sleeping so I had to! I just had to send it to the class chat!”
“Eh? It’s fine, Uraraka! I’m not the one who’s embarrassed.” He chuckles.
The girl lets go of him, “I-It’s not that. I think you should check it out yourself, Deku-kun. Once again, I’m so sorry!” She shouts, running away afterwards.
Midoriya cocks his head to the side, finishing up his ramen with a curious look on his face. He throws away the styrofoam cup and the wooden chopsticks and grabs his phone to check what the hell was going on. He opens the messaging app and reads through the groupchat containing his closest friends.
Dekusquad!
[8:57 PM] memedoriya sent a photo
[9:00 PM] iidad:
Is that Todoroki?
[9:01 PM] zerogravity:
duh i mean look who else could that be iida-kun
[9:01 PM] froggie:
Ah, he looks adorable.
[9:02 PM] zerogravity:
HE DOES AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
[9:02 PM] zerogravity:
HE LIKES CUDDLING WITH U DEKU-KUN
[9:02 PM] iidad:
I think they’re both asleep by now.
[9:03 PM] zerogravity:
HHHHHHHHHH IM DYING HE CUDDLED WITH ME TOO LIKE YESTERDAY
[9:03 PM] froggie:
He once asked me if he could sleep on my lap because he was tired.
[9:04 PM] iidad:
Does lying your head on someone’s shoulder count as cuddling?
[9:04 PM] zerogravity:
Y E S
[9:05 PM] iidad:
Oh, then I guess he cuddled with me too.
[9:05 PM] zerogravity:
hmmm todoroki is getting cuddly with everyone
[9:05 PM] zerogravity:
i wonder why
[9:06 PM] zerogravity:
HE LOOKS SO CUTE IN THE PIC THO OMG
[9:06 PM] zerogravity:
IM GONNA SEND IT TO THE CLASS CHAT
[9:07 PM] iidad:
I don’t think that’s a good idea, Uraraka...
Midoriya exits the chat and clicks on the class chat. He reads through a series of texts that were sent last night, and his eyes soften at the picture of Todoroki.
CLASS 1-A! PLUS ULTRA!
[9:09 PM] zerogravity sent a photo
[9:09 PM] zerogravity:
LOOK AT HIM SUCH A CUTIE
[9:09 PM] zerogravity:
thank you deku-kun for gracing us wih this blessing
[9:10 PM] kirishimanly:
dang i think i just entered heaven
[9:10 PM] twinkling★:
What’s his skincare routine? Such clear skin, I’m jealous!
[9:10 PM] denkink:
my heart is warmed
[9:11 PM] grapeballs:
eh girls look better when they sleep ;)
[9:11 PM] yaoyorozu:
Sometimes, I wonder why we haven’t kicked Mineta out of the groupchat yet.
[9:11 PM] yaoyorozu:
Also, Todoroki looks like a baby. A cute one.
[9:12 PM] acido:
my heart just went doki doki 4 todoroki
[9:12 PM] scotchtape:
is no one going to ask why he was in midoriya’s room
[9:12 PM] zerogravity:
they like to watch movies together
[9:13 PM] darklord:
I have to admit, he does look cute.
[9:13 PM] invisigirl:
he does !!!! aaaa print those out for me uraraka
[9:13 PM] zerogravity:
yes hunny i got u
[9:13 PM] kouda:
wow! ʕ◉ᴥ◉ʔ
[9:14 PM] sweetiepie:
Kouda sent a message so this is very important.
[9:14 PM] tailman:
He looks so peaceful!
[9:15 PM] octopus:
I agree.
[9:15 PM] kingexplosionmurder:
HE LOOKS LIKE A PIECE OF SHIT
[9:15 PM] scotchtape:
that’s rich coming from you
[9:16 PM] kingexplosionmurder:
HAH??? WHAT’D YOU SAY TO ME FUCKER???
[9:16 PM] scotchtape:
u really need some potty training bakugou
[9:16 PM] acido:
wtf why does he need potty training
[9:16 PM] scotchtape:
cause he shits on everything
[9:17 PM] kingexplosionmurder:
BITCH U WANNA FUCKING GO
[9:17 PM] kingexplosionmurder:
I’M DOWN TO FIGHT YOUR PUNY ASS
[9:17 PM] kirishimanly:
HHDHDJSHDHSHDHD
[9:18 PM] denkink:
I LOVE ONE (1) SERO HANTA
[9:18 PM] acido:
ROAST HIM
The rest of the messages are just Bakugou and his ‘squad’ messing with each other and Iida and Yaoyorozu telling them to shut up and go to sleep. Midoriya scrolls through the most recent messages and his eyeballs nearly pop out of its sockets as he reads through the latest texts that were sent in just this morning.
[7:15 AM] shouto:
Piece of shit, huh?
[7:15 AM] shouto sent a photo
[7:15 AM] shouto:
I wonder what this could be.
[7:16 AM] kirishimanly:
HOLY SHIT
[7:17 AM] denkink:
IS THAT A PICTURE OF
[7:17 AM] kirishimanly:
BAKUGOU AND MIDORIYA
[7:18 AM] denkink:
ASLEEP ON EACH OTHER
[7:20 AM] zerogravity:
here lies me lmao bye my soul is ascending to heaven
Midoriya suddenly hears a loud explosion go off from the hallways. He makes a mistake by stepping out of his room to see what the commotion is all about when an ice crystal appears in front of his face as he tries to maneuver his way through the ice path.
He shrieks as he loses his footing and slips on the ice. He groans, rubbing his aching back as he attempts to stand but fails to do so when he recalls just how slippery ice could be. Suddenly, Yaoyorozu comes rushing to him... on a sled?
“Trouble in the common room, and when I mean trouble, I mean trouble.” Yaoyorozu says, “Hop on!” She motions Midoriya to come closer to the sled, reaching her hand out to him. Midoriya takes her hand and hops on the empty spot behind Yaoyorozu, gripping the wood tightly as to not slip when the sled starts to move.
Once they reach the common room (he still can’t believe that he used a sled to get to the common room), he spots Todoroki and Bakugou engaged in a full-out war.
“Delete that picture, you shithead!”
“No way, this is a once in a lifetime moment. The fact that you asked me to keep my mouth shut about it just makes it even better.”
“I’m going to blow up your half and half ass if you don’t do as I fucking say!”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Midoriya sometimes wonders why life is so difficult as an ice wall forms near the windows and an explosion goes off, wrecking the common room once again.
(Aizawa enters the common room minutes later only to see it in ruins. He sighs, wondering why the world likes to make him suffer a little bit more each and every day. It doesn’t help that the television was wrecked completely, so now he can’t watch his movies every night.)