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Days in the U.A. Dorms, Heights Alliance, are never dull, and today is no exception.
Usually, though, the excitement never comes with much surprise. Their crazy shenanigans, while always fun, are mostly predictable at this point. Someone would scream, and people would start placing bets on whether it’s from one of Sero and Kaminari’s prank wars gone terribly wrong, or Mineta being thrown of out a window after peeping on the girls, or Bakugou blowing things up for god knows what reason. They're too used to it all, to the point where it's almost comfortable, how weird things could get.
But as with any comfortable routine of craziness, it’s really only a matter of time before a wild card joins in.
It’s a lazy Sunday morning, most of the class just waking up and stumbling into the common areas for brunch. Some of them have been up for a while now, but most of them used the day off from classes and training as an excuse to sleep in as much as physically possible before Iida could pound on their doors and lecture them about maintaining regular sleep schedules.
Midoriya stretches out as he finishes up the last bits of food on his plate, setting it down on the coffee table in front of him. He’d stayed up late last night analyzing some hero fight videos, and staying still at his computer for so long had certainly cramped up his muscles quite a bit.
He considers going out to one of the gyms to stretch out and maybe even spar a bit. It’s not too warm outside, he could probably go for a run too, if no one wants to join him.
He looks over to his friends, only to see all of them mostly engaged with something. Jirou, Uraraka, Mina, Kaminari, and, Hagakure are in some heated conversation about celebrities, while Kirishima and Aoyama are discussing costume modifications with Yaoyorozu. Sato and Bakugou are in the kitchen—though, interrupting Bakugou’s cooking is essentially a death wish—and he wasn’t sure where the rest are.
Puffing his cheeks out, Midoriya sighs. He supposes he could look around for the others, find someone who’s not busy and coerce them into working out with him. He’s sure some of them would agree easily, like Iida, Shouji, or maybe even Todoroki…
In a huge stroke of luck, a flash of bright red fills Midoriya’s peripheral vision, and he snaps his head over to see none other than Todoroki stepping out from the elevator.
But it's not the Todoroki he's used to. Usually when he comes down from his room, he's just barely blinking the sleep out of his eye as he stumbles in with loose but comfortable nightclothes. Now, though, he looks like he's been awake for a while, and he’s surprisingly well-dressed, for the day. Was he going somewhere? Usually, Todoroki never really goes out much, and Midoriya and co. have to drag him out just to get him to get a meal outside. Even then, whenever they go out, he’s either in his school uniform or a simple jeans and V-neck.
Now, though, he’s significantly more dressed up. He’s wearing a baby blue button-down that has the top two buttons undone. It’s not super visible though, as it’s hidden under a thin denim jacket, layered smoothly on top of the dress shirt. Both the shirt and jacket are tucked in at the waist, into tight black skinny jeans. The pants hug his long legs incredibly, with small tears and rips here and there to reveal milky white thighs and shins. The bottom hem of the jeans disappear beneath deep brown leather high tops.
And, hold up, is Todoroki wearing earrings?
Midoriya blinks furiously, but no, even after that, the jewelry is still there. It’s not much—just a black stud on each lobe, plus a few black and silver cuffs on the upper part of his right ear. But it’s enough to stun, considering how Todoroki usually never wore jewelry. Midoriya gawks at the ensemble, and from the looks of it, he wasn’t the only one stunned by it. Practically everyone stares as him as he steps out into the common room, their faces a mix of shock, confusion, horror, and attraction.
Well, all except Yaoyorozu, who simply claps her hands together with glee.
“Oh Todoroki-san!” she says, breaking off from her conversation with Aoyama and Kirishima about how she would ‘not use her Creation to make matching capes for the whole class, my goodness!’ to instead beckon Todoroki over to her. When he obliges, she continues. “Oh, it’s wonderful!”
“Are you sure?” Todoroki asks, seemingly oblivious to the stares he was getting. “Isn’t it a bit… much?”
Todoroki arches his hips a bit as he gestures to his whole body, and Midoriya flushes trying to keep his eyes above the beltline. They were, ahem, very well-fitted jeans.
“No, not at all, you look wonderful!” Yaoyorozu insists, clasping Todoroki’s hands in hers reassuringly. “Oh, he’ll love it!”
A flush blooms on Todoroki’s face at that, and Midoriya watches it in awe. To see their resident aloof pretty boy blushing set off all sorts of alarm bells in his head. A quick glance and nod at Uraraka tells him that he’s not the only one.
“Thanks, Yaoyorozu,” Todoroki says with a soft smile, before pulling his hands away to pull his phone out of his pocket. “I should probably get going, I’ll tell you how it goes later.”
“Yes, please do! And take lots of pictures!”
“Will d—”
“Wait, wait, wait, hold up,” Kirishima cuts in, the first of them to break out of his shock. “Is anyone gonna tell me what’s going on? Where are you going?”
Todoroki pockets his phone and shrugs.
“I’m going on a date, I’ll be back later.”
Even Kirishima can’t respond to that, gaping as Todoroki set off without another word.
It’s not until the front door to their dorms close, does anyone speak.
And by anyone, Midoriya means everyone.
“Yo what the fuck—?”
“Since when does Todoroki go out?”
“He’s gotta be lying.”
“Yaomomo, you knew about this and didn’t tell anyone!”
Yaoyorozu blinks at Ashido’s accusing finger, before her eyebrows furrow in a mix of concern and confusion.
“Well, yes, I did, bu—”
“The betrayal!”
“Yaomomo, how could you?!”
“It’s always the sweet ones…”
“Everyone!” Yaoyorozu exclaims, the confusion only growing in her expression. “I don’t understand, what is so shocking?”
“It’s Todoroki!” Kaminari provides unhelpfully, gesticulating wildly as though that would get their point across.
Todoroki is going on a date.
Todoroki.
Their beautiful, emotionally stunted aircon-space heater hybrid in the form of a somewhat functioning human boy. The man who received stacks upon stacks of chocolates at Valentine’s Day and, without realizing what it mean, offered it all to Sato for the sake of his training. The man who’d been dubbed over and over again as the class pretty boy, but still didn’t understand what it meant. The man who once responded to “please go out with me,” with “…we’re already outside.”
That man is going on a date, and none of them had known until now.
“I hardly see what’s so astonishing about that,” Yaoyorozu huffs, quickly getting offended on her friend’s behalf.
“I think, ah, what he means,” Midoriya says, tone placating, “is just, Todoroki doesn’t seem much the type to be interested in dating. So we’re just surprised that he’s suddenly going out, that’s all.”
His pacifying seems to have worked, as Yaoyorozu peps up happily and Kaminari shoots him a discrete thumbs up in thanks.
“Oh, yes, Todoroki-san can be quite standoffish at times, no? But even he has his soft sides, it seems,” Yaoyorozu muses, expression soft as she thinks of him. “He’s never really gone on dates before, so he’d come to me for fashion advice. It was almost cute, how nervous he was…”
“Yaomomo,” Uraraka pitches in, tone sweeter this time to avoid setting her off, “do you know who he’s going with?”
Yaoyorozu beams.
“Yoarashi Inasa-san, from Shiketsu!”
-
“This is bad. We all agree this is bad, right?”
“Uh-huh, it is.”
“I hardly see the problem—”
“Hush, Iida-kun, you wouldn’t understand!”
With the shock and disbelief past them, a very serious concern fell over some of Class 1-A’s heads as those like-minded gathered together at the couches. It’s a bit of an odd sight, to see them hunched over murmuring all suspiciously, but it’s happened often enough that the rest of the dorm knows to ignore it and move on.
Midoriya purses his lips as he looks up. Uraraka, Kirishima, and Iida have all joined him, with Bakugou eating his breakfast not too far away and pretending they don’t exist. Kaminari and Mina had been with them earlier, more there for the gossip than anything else, before they got pulled away by an exasperated Sero. Tsuyu’s here too, though she’s more there to cuddle with Uraraka than she is to contribute to their conversation.
“It’s just weird!” Kirishima says. “I mean, didn’t Yoarashi hate Todoroki’s guts?”
“It was likely just a misunderstanding,” Iida retorts. “They had to work together during their second licensing exam, they likely grew close then.”
“Hmm.” Kirishima pauses, pursing his lips before he turns to the dining table. “Oi, Bakugou, were Yoarashi and Todoroki—”
“Hah?” Bakugou snarls. “The fuck do I care if Baldie and Icyhot are getting chummy?”
“I didn’t finish!”
“Fuck off, Shitty Hair.”
Midoriya chuckles nervously, trying to ease the two, before he stops to think.
On one hand, he’s happy for Todoroki. The boy’s never seemed to show any sort of interest in romantic things like dating, what with his intense fixation on his hero training and all. It had almost been concerning, how emotionally void he seemed to be sometimes. Maybe dating could be an eye-opener for him, a chance for him to expand his interests in life beyond just getting stronger and faster.
But at the same time, it’s Yoarashi. Midoriya had witnessed first-hand just how bad their relationship was back during the first Provisional License exam. Even if they’d settled their differences during the training courses, for them to suddenly be dating… it doesn’t settle well with Midoriya.
“What if he’s trying to get back at Todoroki?!” Uraraka exclaims dramatically. “Trying to go out with him and make Todoroki drop his defenses, only to turn around at the last minute and crumble his heart into a million pieces!”
“So unmanly!” Kirishima cries.
“You watch too many soaps, Ochako-chan,” Tsuyu pitches in, and Uraraka pouts.
“No I don’t! It could totally be true!”
“I dunno, he doesn’t seem like he’s the type to do something underhanded like that…” Midoriya trails off.
“We should go!” Uraraka clenches her fists as she shouts. “We have to watch and make sure he’s okay on his date!”
Midoriya blinks as the idea sinks in. It’s a possibility. Mina and the rest had spent some time earlier interrogating Yaoyorozu on all the details she knew about the date, so they all know exactly where Todoroki’s going. Yoarashi chose to come all the way over to U.A., it seems, and so they chose a shopping center not too far from campus.
It’s not completely out of the picture. They could, realistically speaking, step out to go check on him.
But then…
“You will not be spying on Todoroki-kun and his date!” Iida puts his foot down. “It’s rude and improper!”
“But Iida-kuuuuuuun—”
“Absolutely not! Todoroki-kun deserves to go out on his date in peace, he doesn’t need you bothering him. Any concerns you may have about Yoarashi-san, I’m sure Todoroki-kun can handle it himself.”
Midoriya bites his lip. Iida’s right, they’re being ridiculous. He doubts Todoroki would much appreciate being followed on his perfectly normal date. Really, they should just be happy for him, and maybe they can ask him how it went when he gets back. Sure, he’s a little miffed that only Yaoyorozu knew about it ahead of time, but he knows it probably wasn't to purposefully exclude Midoriya or anyone else. Todoroki’s not the type to hide things like this. It’s more that he just doesn’t think to mention things unless he’s directly asked. Certainly, there’s nothing really suspicious about it at all.
Yet at the same time, he finds himself worrying nonetheless. Sure, Todoroki might not see it as anything suspicious, but he can’t help but wonder about Yoarashi’s intentions. Midoriya knows himself, knows he has a hyperactive imagination and a tendency towards wild speculation, so it’s no surprise when Uraraka’s words set off dozens of different scenarios in his head. “Getting back” at Todoroki? Surely, Yoarashi’s not so underhanded to do something like that, right?
But the fantasies were already spurring in Midoriya’s head—ones of Todoroki falling for the man who was his complete opposite, happy and peaceful for probably the first time in his life, only for his joy to be absolutely ripped to shreds. Yoarashi laughing in front of him, his voice would bellow as he told Todoroki he never liked him in the first place. Heartbroken, Todoroki would retreat into his shell once again, eyes glazed over as he fell behind in school, in training, until he gives up on the idea of being a hero altogether—
No. Midoriya can’t let that happen. Not as the closest friend Todoroki’s ever had (by his own admission, of course, not Midoriya’s).
“Maybe,” he starts, holding his chin pensively as he thinks, “we can just swing by the mall? And if we happen to see them, just check up and see what they’re doing?”
“Midoriya-kun!” Iida cries out, a look of betrayal on his face. “I thought at least you would have some sens—”
“I just mean!” he interrupts, pausing as he tries to figure out where he’s going with this. “I mean, I’m just, well, worried, I guess? It is Todoroki-kun. He doesn’t seem like the type to know much about dating and all—what if he says something wrong and gets into a fight with Yoarashi?”
He’s not entirely lying. Besides the other dramatic scenarios Uraraka had unknowingly implanted into his head, he did also consider this. After all, from what he remembers, those two are different as night and day. Even if they are more friendly now than before, there was probably still plenty of lingering tension stemming from their differences. He can easily see how a few ill-timed statements and Todoroki’s overall social ineptitude could be grounds for a disaster.
“Those two are really different,” Kirishima ponders. “I can see how they may start arguing over every little thing.”
“Yaomomo said it herself—he’s never really done this before! He’ll probably mess it up on his own!” Uraraka adds on, and even Iida seems a bit disconcerted now.
“I suppose that’s true, but still…”
“We don’t have to do anything!” Midoriya assures him, when a sudden idea hits him. “But, uh, maybe just check in, make sure it goes smoothly. Like damage control, but before the damage happens! After all, if something goes really wrong, it might distract Todoroki-kun from his training.”
That seals the deal.
“Unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable! Quickly, get ready, and we’ll see what we can do to…”
Midoriya tunes out from Iida’s spiel with a small smile.
He really hopes they don’t regret this.
-
At the end, only Uraraka, Iida, and Tsuyu come with him.
Tsuyu was more or less unwillingly dragged along by a fervent Uraraka. Bakugou had no desire to “fucking ogle at Icyhot trying to be a human,” as he said it, and Kirishima stayed behind to keep Bakugou company. They didn’t have time to think about asking anyone else in the dorms, either, because Iida was enthusiastically running them all out of the dorm so that they didn’t miss the pair.
Midoriya’s sure he saw a disapproving look from Yaoyorozu, but he didn’t have time to think about it before he was being pushed out of the door.
That brought them to now.
They’ve been here for half an hour, and so far there’s been no sighting of Todoroki or Yoarashi. They’d browsed through a few shops, as Midoriya used the time as an opportunity to get some near gear and weights, but for the most part they’ve just been wandering the whole time.
“Are you sure we came to the right place?” Uraraka whines. Tsuyu stands besides her, licking at her ice cream and watching them all in silent judgement.
“Ah, I mean, this is the only shopping center in the area. I don’t know where else they would go…” Midoriya trails off. It’s not a huge mall, but it’s big enough that it shouldn’t be too surprising they haven’t run into Todoroki yet. But Uraraka’s impatient, he can see that. “Maybe if we just—”
He’s cut off by an unnaturally loud chortle from the other side of the food court. It startles all of them, and they look over to see the bulky back and shaved head of an incredibly tall man, standing right in front of…
Midoriya’s eyes widen at the familiar flesh of red and white.
“Hide!”
He doesn’t have a chance to speak as Uraraka suddenly pulls him under the table.
“This makes you look more suspicious, Ochako-chan,” Tsuyu deadpans, but Uraraka shushes her.
“Sh, sh! C’mon, we gotta get closer!” Tsuyu just shakes her head and sighs, letting Uraraka drag her away as she glares at Midoriya and Iida to follow.
They look ridiculous, Midoriya realizes. They’re all tucked behind one of the large pillars encircling the food court, one of the ones closer to Todoroki and Yoarashi. Really, if either of them turn their heads to the side, there’s no doubt that they would see the four staring at them. Midoriya tucks his head just a little bit at the thought, but he doesn’t move nonetheless. The position is just close enough that they can hear the two’s conversation.
“…only have fifteen minutes before the movie,” Todoroki says, his voice strangely petulant.
“That’s not a problem at all! Come, we can go anywhere—your pick!”
“All the lines are too long anyway, and they don’t let food instead the theatre. We’d end up running way too late.”
“But you didn’t have breakfast! Eating properly is essential for being such a passionate hero! You can’t skip—”
“I’ll be fine, Yoarashi.”
Midoriya furrows his eyebrows. Todoroki’s staring impassively up at Yoarashi, his voice cold and flat as always while the other man looks frustrated at his refusal. Are they really at odds already? Maybe Uraraka was right, maybe they really didn’t mesh well together…
“Wait, I have a solution!” Yoarashi suddenly exclaims, and Todoroki flinches a bit at the volume. “They sell food at the theatre! Did you know popcorn counts as a healthy, whole grain food option, according to dietitians?”
Todoroki looks as stunned as Midoriya feels at the suggestion, and his surprise only grew as gaping gave way to a small smile on the usually stoic man’s face.
“Pretty sure it’s not healthy when it’s slathered in butter, but alright.”
It’s a dismissive acceptance, one that they’re all used to hearing from Todoroki, but there’s a more playful, teasing note to it this time that has them all gawking. Yoarashi, though, seems to be none the wiser, as he enthusiastically starts off a conversation discussing the beneficial and detrimental effects of fat in a healthy diet.
Midoriya and the rest don’t move for a few minutes, even as Yoarashi and Todoroki start walking the opposite direction to the movie theatre.
“Holy shit,” Uraraka says eventually, before suddenly a firm grasp is on Midoriya’s shoulder. He looks over to see her staring at him and Iida with a fiery look, and he can already tell what’s coming.
“We have to go to that movie.”
-
They do, in fact, make it to the theatre without somehow getting caught.
It’s Iida who figures out which movie they’re going to, by checking all the different screening times on display. Midoriya dutifully goes to buy the tickets for all of them. Tsuyu continues to stare at them all judgingly, even as Uraraka tries to appease her by calling it their own unexpected movie date.
The movie itself isn’t anything super interesting, just some recent horror movie that seems to have decent reviews. Midoriya feels a little skittish going into the theatre—horror’s never really been his jam, though he could usually tough it out so long as it wasn’t anything super creepy or supernatural. This one sees more about the gore than anything else, so he just hopes he’s able to make it in one piece.
By a miracle of fate, they manage to snag seats in the back not too far from the couple. They’re to the right of them, with a row of space between them. The theatre’s far from packed, though, so the whole row before them is empty, and it’s easy to watch and listen to the two. Tsuyu refuses to sit by them, claiming that Yoarashi was too tall to see past, but when Uraraka refuses to leave their “post,” as she calles it, the frog girl drags Iida away instead. They’re sitting closer to the front, and Midoriya promises to meet up with them after the movie.
Once they’re settled into their seats, Midoriya immediately turns to watch the pair. True to their earlier promise, they’d gotten a bag of popcorn from the concession stands prior, in addition to a small bag of dried sardines and even a couple candies. Midoriya had watched them buy it and, more interestingly, watched them fight over who would pay for it. Eventually, Todoroki won out, saying his credit card was connected to Endeavor’s bank account.
That had shut Yoarashi up quick.
As he remembers the exchange, Midoriya’s immediately struck by the reminder of the pair’s first interactions. They were drawn together, and eventually against each other, by a mutual but miscommunicated hate for Endeavor. He remembers just how Yoarashi had seethed at the very sight of Todoroki, referring to him only as Endeavor’s kid, as though Todoroki had any control over that. From what he gathered, their first exchanges at the U.A. Recommendations Exam hadn’t been the best, but still, it hardly excused hating Todoroki’s guts just because of his father.
All of Midoriya’s worries from earlier are quickly resurfacing. It hasn’t been terribly long since the Provisional License Exam—only a few months. Sure, those two took the extra lessons together to get their own provisional licenses, but surely such strong hatred couldn’t disappear that quickly? Yoarashi had even said it himself at the end of the exam: despite setting aside their differences and fighting against Gang Orca together, he still didn’t like Todoroki.
So what’s different now?
Amidst his mental commotion, the movie’s already started. For the most part, Todoroki and Yoarashi are just watching attentively, unaware to Uraraka and Midoriya watching them from behind. They eat quietly as to not disturb the people around them. The only time they make any real noise is when Yoarashi makes a few comments about the scenery or something of the like.
Todoroki beside him doesn’t say much, either just nodding or giving one word answers. The lack of response doesn’t deter Yoarashi at all though. Most of his comments are basic things, but he perks up at the mention of Kyushu in the movie.
“The hakata udon is incredible in Kyushu!” he whispers—or, well, Midoriya supposes the man’s trying to whisper, though his whispering is more just a regular speaking voice than anything else. “I know you’re a cold soba man, but you must try it at some point!”
The familiarity doesn’t miss Midoriya, but he quickly dismisses any strange thoughts on it. Todoroki hardly hides his love for cold soba, so it makes sense for even someone like Yoarashi to know that. He can’t help but feel surprised again, though when Todoroki actually speaks this time.
“Maybe you can find a good place, and we’ll go one day,” Todoroki murmurs, so Midoriya can only just hear it above the sounds of the movie.
He and Uraraka share and look, not missing how Yoarashi perks up at his words.
“Kyushu is quite far—we should go to local udon spots, first!”
“No thanks.”
“Ha ha ha! You never budge, do you?”
Despite the words, Yoarashi doesn’t look disheartened at all. There’s a big, bright smile on his face, and it doesn’t fall even as Todoroki says nothing else. Midoriya swears he inches a little bit closer to Todoroki, but besides that, he does nothing else as they return to watching the movie comfortably.
He and Uraraka watch them intently, but they don’t move after that. Even Yoarashi doesn’t really talk much after that, seemingly now engrossed in the plot of the movie. Midoriya sighs, and turns his attention to the movie instead. It doesn’t seem like those two will do much more now, he thinks, so he might as well try to enjoy himself for the hour and a half.
He only vaguely knows the plot from the site Iida had read off of before they’d bought their tickets. He tries to keep track of the different characters, watching as the hodgepodge gang of teenagers wandered deeper and deeper into dark forests. They’re staying in an old townhouse in the woods around Kyushu for summer vacation, having chosen the place to rent because of how cheap it is. It’s their last trip together, before they all go off to different colleges across the country, so they wanted to go all out.
They have picnics and barbeques outside, despite the nerdy boy of the bunch stating they might run into wild animals trying to steal their food if they’re not careful. They go fishing at a nearby lake, and even swimming at night. Midoriya resists the urge to look away, flushing, as he sees the female characters’ skimpy swimsuits and the males’ tight swim shorts. Fanservice is rampant in every movie, after all, and he tries to ignore the knowing smirk Uraraka’s giving him.
It’s not until the third day of their trip do things start to go wrong. Small things start to go missing, from a lighter, to a kitchen knife, to a picnic blanket. Midoriya vaguely wonders if this is a ghost story after all, and he watches at the edge of his seat as the team set off into the forest for a test of courage.
He can’t help the sour memories that come up when he thinks of a test of courage, his mind immediately going back to the summer training camp, to the League of Villains, to Bakugou—
Jumping a little in his seat, he watches as the prettiest one of the group yells out that the nerdy one, who was supposed to be the first one to return, hasn’t come back yet. The group waits, first five minutes, then ten, then thirty, but their friend still doesn’t return. Without cellphone service in the area, too, they’re unable to even try calling.
In a fit of fear and bravery, the loud one suggests they go look for their friend, who could have gotten lost on the way. It takes a little bit of cajoling, but eventually the whole friend group is going, straying away from the path they had originally taken to try and find their friend.
In the darkness of the forest, every noise and shadow seems to frighten some of the characters, and Midoriya watches as the two obvious love interests comfort each other while pretending it’s platonic. The loud one’s busy making fun of them and calling them cowards, as discordant music suddenly builds in the background until—
Blood.
Even in the dark lighting from their flashlights, it’s clear to see. Strewn on the forest floor like a limp puppet, is the nerdy boy’s body. He’s bloodied up, stabbed at multiple points on his body, as his glasses lay shattered besides him. He’s alive, but only just. When the protagonist leans in in a desperate attempt to save him, he just whispers one thing:
“Run.”
Midoriya would have frozen in his seat in horror, had it not been for the screams—both in the movie and from the audience—that made him jump.
But among the slew of yells, one voice in particular stood out, and not just because of its loudness. Midoriya snaps his head down from the movie to the pair in front of him, where he watches in shock as Yoarashi practically curled into Todoroki. He’s fervently looking away from the screen, keeping his head tucked into Todoroki’s shoulder while the boy seemingly pats his back with one of his hands.
“Th, that’s terrible!” Yoarashi hisses.
“I told you it’s a horror movie,” Todoroki shoots back, but he doesn’t make any move to push Yoarashi off of him.
“But still!”
They stay like that for a bit, until eventually Yoarashi forces himself to pull away and pay attention to the movie. He stays huddled close to Todoroki, though, their shoulders touching, and Midoriya swears he sees them holding hands.
The movie passes just like that: Yoarashi jumping and getting frightened at every bit of gore, and Todoroki comforting him with a blank voice but gentle holds. Midoriya and Uraraka have far from forsaken the film, focusing instead on the two in front of them. Todoroki’s not a tactile person—they both know that. Midoriya and his friends were all big on touch, from hugs to arms over the shoulder to cuddles, but Todoroki always kept things a bit distanced. He’s warmed up over time, but he still never indulges in physical contact as much as Midoriya would like.
But now, he seems to have no problem with Yoarashi practically falling into him. Even though his much larger frame often ends up blocking Todoroki’s view from the movie, the boy doesn’t complain and just continues to comfort his date. It’s strange, to see the boy like this, but something in Midoriya’s chest swells all the same.
By the end of the movie, Midoriya’s barely managed to pick up the rest of the plot. The killer was an old woman who used to live in that townhouse, but when her husband died and she was kicked out, she swore revenge on anyone who ever used it. She had a mind control quirk, one where ingesting blood let her control her victims and make them kill themselves. Had he been paying attention to anything besides Todoroki and Yoarashi, Midoriya might have noted how the killer was like a strange hybrid of the Hero Killer and Shinsou’s quirks.
Eventually, the protagonist and his love interest manage to kill the killer, saving themselves but not the rest of their friends. The movie fades into a bittersweet, but ambiguous ending hinting at a sequel, the credits roll, and eventually, the darkness in the theatre lifts to give way to dull yellow lighting.
As promised, Midoriya and Uraraka wait for Tsuyu and Iida to come to the back of the theatre before leaving, and they cheer for the luck when they see Yoarashi and Todoroki bantering in front of them, having stopped by the trash can where they threw away their snacks. Midoriya listens closely to the pair, ignoring Tsuyu who rolls her eyes at him before going back to discussing the movie with Iida.
“…too scary!” Yoarashi’s saying to Todoroki beside him. “I mean, that was just an obscene amount of blood!”
“It’s a horror movie, Yoarashi,” Todoroki deadpans. “That’s kinda the point.”
“You deceived me!” he continues to complain. “You know I’m not good with these things.”
“I said we could watch something else, but you said it was fine.”
Despite his monotone words, Todoroki watches the other with amusement twinkling in his eyes and the corner of his mouth lifting just a tiny bit.
“Deception! Such cruel, cruel trickery, from someone I thought I could trust!”
Yoarashi’s still bemoaning his fate, but Midoriya quickly realizes that the dramatics aren’t just his personality now—it’s actually for show, this time. While usually, Yoarashi just seemed boisterous to a fault, now, there’s a glint of something playful, even plotting in his expression as he does so.
“You need to make it up to me!”
Todoroki raises an eyebrow at that.
“And how do I do that?”
Yoarashi puts a finger up to his chin, as though he was deep in thought. The pensive look looks almost ridiculous on the huge, energetic teen, and Midoriya tries to resist the urge to laugh. He can’t risk giving away their prime hiding spot (the half-partition at the entrance to an adjacent screening room), after all.
“You let me carry you!”
Todoroki’s eyes widen at that, before he narrows them into a glare as he backs up and crosses his arms.
“No.”
“Aw, c’mon!”
“You know I don’t like it when you do that.”
“So you say!” Yoarashi’s excitement hardly seems quelled by the rejection. “But the fact is, you never let me go when I do!”
So he’s done it before?
“Th-that’s—!”
Midoriya gapes. Todoroki doesn’t just look surprised, he looks downright flustered. There’s a light flush on his cheeks, more pronounced on his left side than his right, as his lips move but no words come out. He’s struggling to come up with anything to say, while Yoarashi looks down at him like a predator that’s cornered his prey.
“I just, just didn’t want to risk you dropping me!” Todoroki exclaims lamely, not even able to keep eye contact with Yoarashi as he did.
And just as quick as it came, the beaming smile on Yoarashi’s face falls, replaced by a sort of crestfallen expression. His eyebrows are furrowed and his bottom lip juts out just a little bit as he stares at Todoroki looking like something akin to a kicked puppy. It’s a perfectly disheartened face, and the only hint Midoriya gets that there's anything disingenuous about his glum is the hand Yoarashi holds behind him.
His fingers are crossed.
“Do you trust me so little?” he asks. “I’d never put you in any danger or harm, you know that. Right…?”
Midoriya’s shocked by the quietness of his voice. Todoroki’s shocked too, though for a different reason, as he raises his hands in denial.
“Wait, wait, no, that’s not what—that’s not what I mean!” he retorts shakily, frantically trying to come up with an excuse when Yoarashi’s gloomy expression doesn’t change. “I just, I mean…”
He trails off, staring at his date with a mix of shock, guilt, and resignation. After a moment’s silence, he looks away, the tips of his ears bright red as he fidgets with hands.
“…Fine.”
The word’s hardly a mutter, just barely audible from where Midoriya stands. Yoarashi doesn’t let up yet, looking and waiting for Todoroki to continue.
“You can…y’know. You can lift me.”
Like a flip of a switch, that bright grin’s back on Yoarashi’s face as he outstretches his hands and chortles. The suddenness of his mood change doesn’t go unnoticed by Todoroki.
“Wa-wait, you asshole, you did that on purp—”
“You already said it!”
That’s the only warning Todoroki gets before hands are gripping at him, one wrapping around his shoulders while the other’s tucking under the back of his knees. The noise he lets out as he’s lifted from the ground can only be described as a yelp, and he instinctively throws his arms around Yoarashi’s broad shoulders and neck. He looks almost as stunned as Midoriya feels as Yoarashi lifts him up effortlessly, even spinning him around playfully. Midoriya’s transfixed on the scene, and if he’d looked beside him, he’d see that all his friends—even Tsuyu—were too.
“I hate this,” Todoroki mutters once the spinning finally stops.
He tucks his head Yoarashi’s neck, but not before Midoriya can see the growing flush on his face. The larger man just bellows in laughter at the action, even tilting his head a bit to accommodate.
“Of course you don’t!” he booms, and as though to prove his point, he spins Todoroki around a few more times and laughs as the boy only squeals and holds onto him tighter. “You love this as much as I do!”
Todoroki says something, but it’s muffled by Yoarashi’s shoulder. It only seems to make the man laugh more, and he pauses in his spinning finally to give Todoroki a break. They stay like that for a moment, silent, until something’s coming over Yoarashi’s face.
Midoriya stares and stares, and the only thing that can come to mind as he watches Yoarashi’s expression morph, is how endeared he looks. He stares at the back of Todoroki’s head unwaveringly. His forehead’s crinkled a bit and his eyes are upturned into little half-moon shapes as he smiles. But this smile’s not the passionate ones, or even the teasing ones, from before. This smile’s sweeter, more genuine, as he leans into to nuzzle ever-so-slightly into the red and white locks of hair in front of him.
“Hey, Todoroki,” he says, his voice surprisingly quiet but clear. “Look at me for a sec.”
Todoroki doesn’t move for a minute, keeping his face buried into Yoarashi’s shoulder. But Yoarashi doesn’t do anything to push—doesn’t nudge him with his shoulder, or even repeat his request. He just stands there, holding Todoroki and waiting, until the boy finally concedes and lifts his head from his hiding spot. He leans back, letting himself be adjusted and moved a bit so they face each other more head-on.
“What?” Todoroki asks.
Even his voice is softer than usual. The flush hasn’t completely left his face, but he’s settled comfortably into Yoarashi’s grip, as though he belonged there. There’s a gentleness on his face that Midoriya hasn’t seen very often, and the feeling of his heart swelling is back at the sight of it.
“I really like you.”
Midoriya starts at the sudden confession, but oddly enough, Todoroki doesn’t seem surprised this time. Midoriya watches in awe as his friend lifts a single hand from Yoarashi’s neck and brings it to his cheek instead. In place of his usual disinterested look, or even the flustered one from earlier, now he just stares at Yoarashi with a sweet, earnest gaze and the slightest of smiles on his lips.
“I know. Me too.”
And just like that, Midoriya finds himself tearing his eyes away from the scene. Suddenly, it’s too intimate, too personal, and he feels with full realization that he’s intruding on a moment he shouldn’t be seeing.
“Let’s leave them alone,” Tsuyu whispers, and this time, no one disagrees.
-
When they stumble back to the dorms, Yaoyorozu’s waiting for them with her arms crossed and eyebrow raised.
‘So?’ she had asked, expectantly. ‘Did you find any of this supposed proof against Yoarashi-san?’
Trust her not to deal with any of their bullshit.
After a resigned ‘no’ and a few minutes of scolding from Yaoyorozu, she’d finally let them off with a promise never to do something like this again. They were lucky, she said, that Todoroki had been too busy with his date to notice them, seeing how observant the boy usually was. Midoriya vaguely wondered if Todoroki had in fact saw them, but just didn’t say anything, but he dismissed the thought immediately—Todoroki was too blunt not to say anything, if he did indeed see them.
The rest of the afternoon passed pretty uneventfully, as did dinner. Now, it’s well past eight, and he and Uraraka are sat in the common areas again. They have plenty of homework left to do that they hadn’t started despite Iida’s numerous reminders. The boy’s sitting with them too, supervising and helping whenever they get stuck. He’s more there for Kaminari and Ashido, though, who also haven’t finished the assignments but didn’t want to risk getting Bakugou mad if they went to him to ask.
Midoriya considers it a smart move, seeing as the explosive boy’s currently getting his ass handed to him in Mario Kart. Even when they were kids, Bakugou never really did well in video games, something Midoriya chalked up to Mitsuki never wanting to buy them for him. His lack of skill irked him to no end, though, especially seeing as it was one of Kirishima’s favorite things to do to relax. And so, he agreed to play, only to lose to practically everyone as most of their classmates watched on.
Sighing, Midoriya tries to focus on his math assignment despite Ashido’s whining of wanting to play and Bakugou nearly breaking another controller. He manages to crank out almost three quarters of the problems on the page, when the telltale creaking of the front door sounds throughout the room. He perks up before he can help himself; there’s only one person it can be, he knows, that’s coming this late at night. He barely manages to keep himself from rushing up to Todoroki himself, asking him how the date went as though he hadn’t been there for at least half of it.
He’s glad he doesn’t, though, as he belatedly realizes that yes, Todoroki’s back, but he’s not alone.
“Hello, friends from U.A.!” Yoarashi greets, boisterous as always. “It’s an honor to visit the dorms of such passionate heroes-to-be!”
“Oi, shut the fuck up, Baldie!” Bakugou shouts, eyes glued to the TV.
“Ah, Bakugou-kun! Utsushimi-senpai sends her regards!” Yoarashi seems unfazed by Bakugou’s anger, stepping into the dorms easily with Todoroki at his side.
“Tell that Freakshow to stop texting me!”
“Ha ha! I will let her know! Though, I do not think she will listen to you demands!”
“Tch.”
“Ah, Yoarashi-san!” Yaoyorozu steps up, eyes glimmering. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again. I’m—”
“Likewise, Yaoyorozu-san!” Yoarashi booms before she can finish her introduction. “Todoroki has told me much of you!”
“So this is the mystery date!” Ashido says, rushing over to them before Iida could stop her. It’s not long before Kaminari, Hagakure, and an unwilling Sero are joining, crowding around them. “When’d you guys get close?”
“What are your intentions for our resident pretty boy?” Hagakure presses.
“Did you do anything wild?” Kaminari asks, eyes glinting with mischief.
“Where you go?”
“How long have you been dating?”
“Are you staying over?”
“How often do y—"
“Stop that, you guys,” Sero chides, but even he’s not able to hide his curiosity. “Did you have a good time?”
Both Todoroki and Yoarashi looks stunned, neither expecting the sudden barrage of questions. Weirdly enough, it’s Yoarashi who breaks out of his stupor first, throwing his head back with a roaring laughter.
“Such passionate friends you have, Todoroki!” he says gleefully, wrapping a large arm around Todoroki’s shoulders and tugging him close. The boy looks surprised by the action, but he doesn’t push the arm away. “I like them!”
Todoroki, finally coming to his senses, rolls his eyes and walks forward to lead him inside. Yoarashi keeps his arm on him though, even as they settle to the TV area where most of their classmates are sitting.
“Oi, Todoroki!” Kirishima calls over when they get close. He holds up a controller in their general direction. “Wanna play?”
Todoroki scowls at the suggestion, evoking a few scattered snickers from their classmates. It’s no secret he’s terrible at games, maybe even worse than Bakugou. They were both just as prideful too, despising playing for the sole fact that they knew that they’d suck at it. But unlike Bakugou, who has Kirishima to cajole him into playing, Todoroki has no such drive, so he often ends up skipping out just to watch.
“I’ll pass,” he says, before pausing as though he just thought of something. He looks up to Yoarashi. “Do you wanna?”
Eyes shining at the suggestion, Yoarashi agrees easily, settling into the couches by the TV to play with Todoroki leaned up against him. All of them notice the uncharacteristic touchiness, but no one says anything. At this point, Iida’s dragged Ashido and Kaminari back to finish their homework, which they do begrudgingly. Chuckling a little, Midoriya decides to do the same, even if his attention is constantly dragging back to the pair at the couch.
It takes longer than it should, but eventually he manages to finish all his assignments, shutting his notebooks with a heavy sigh. It’s just a few minutes past nine now, and he considers what he should do. He could join in on Mario Kart, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be the best idea. It was almost guaranteed he’d beat Bakugou, and last time that happened, they’d almost gotten into another fist fight because of how mad the explosive boy had been. Still, it feels way too early to sleep, and he doesn’t feel up to doing much else right now anyway.
After a moment’s thought, he sighs and pushes himself up to walk over to the TV area. He’ll just watch, he decides.
“Ah, Midoriya,” Todoroki greets him as he walks over, gesturing for him to sit.
He’s on the floor in front of the couch now, resting his head on Yoarashi's shoulder as he plays. Turns out, Yoarashi’s just as terrible as Bakugou and Todoroki at this, his hands too big for the controller and his general all-or-nothing attitude making him run straight into walls and barriers more often than not. Still, he doesn’t seem to mind, using the time more as a chance to chat amicably with their classmates and get to know them rather than bother with actual competition.
Midoriya nods, sliding into the empty space besides Todoroki. They watch together silently for a bit, laughing as they see Yoarashi fall off of Rainbow Road for what must have been the fifth time in one lap. It’s comfortable, and Midoriya finds himself relaxing against the couch behind him. He’s so relaxed, even, that he actually startles a bit when Todoroki talks.
“Sorry I didn’t hang with you guys earlier,” he says suddenly, not looking away from the screen. Midoriya snaps his head over to him, eyes wide.
“W-What?” he asks, and Todoroki looks over at him, eyebrows furrowed.
“At the movie theatre, over in the mall. You were there too, right?” Todoroki’s looking at him with confusion, and Midoriya stammers out a response.
“A-ah, yeah, we were! Didn’t know you saw us!”
“I saw Iida and Asui before it started, and they said you and Uraraka were there too, to hang out.” Todoroki pauses, biting his lip. “Sorry, I was gonna meet up with you guys after the movie, but I, uh, got distracted.”
The memory of Todoroki swept up in Yoarashi’s arms flashes through his mind, and he can’t help but smile.
Distracted. Right.
“It’s all good, Todoroki-kun,” he says sincerely. “We didn’t want to intrude on your date either."
He silently thanks whatever gods were out there that Todoroki hadn't seemed to realize they were spying on him.
"But, ah," he starts, eager to change the subject, "I’m surprised you brought Yoarashi-san over!”
Todoroki snorts, actually snorts, at that.
“He insisted,” was all he says, like he was talking about a stubborn, indignant child. Midoriya opens his mouth to respond, but stops as he sees Todoroki left his head a bit to look back at Yoarashi. Most of his expression is blank as always, but there’s an undeniable fondness in the way his eyes scan Yoarashi’s every move, in how his nose crinkles when Yoarashi gets a bit too loud, in how the corner of his lips quirk up when Yoarashi manages to not score last place.
Midoriya closes his mouth, and nods.
He makes a mental note to talk to Shinsou later. With how much Aizawa-sensei favors him, maybe he can do something about setting up joint practices between U.A. and Shiketsu.