Chapter Text
The heat broke. In January.
The next week found Class A bundled in extra layers and huddled together under blankets in an attempt to stay warm.
Except for one person.
Todoroki yawned as he waited for the electric kettle to finish, vaguely contemplating what book he should read next. Through the doorway, Mina and Uraraka watched him, pouting at his light t-shirt as they pulled their hats down lower over their ears.
“Oi, half and half.”
He started to turn but found he couldn’t as a body pressed against his back, arms trapping him as they wrapped around his waist. The physical contact made him tense, spine straightened, and breath stopping in his throat like had plunged into icy water.
With difficulty, he asked, “Can I help you with something, Bakugou?” There was a welcome distraction as the kettle clicked off, and he leaned forward to pour it into his waiting cup, adding his already prepared tea infuser.
“Heat up, Icy Bastard. It’s too damn cold.”
Without a thought, Todoroki focused and activated his Quirk on his left side, warming it to what he hoped was a pleasant temperature. “Is that okay?”
Bakugou rubbed his cheek against Todoroki’s left shoulder. “Yeah.”
They stood in silence for a minute. “Would you like some tea?” Todoroki asked, knowing it was only the polite thing to do. This might be his chance to finally bridge that gap of friendship with the blond.
“Don’t want your shitty nerd drink.” Bakugou sighed, press a bit closer to his left side. “Can you warm up more?”
“Tea would help warm you,” Todoroki pointed out. He bumped the temperature up a few degrees. Bakugou practically melted against him, arms tightening around his waist. Todoroki swallowed thickly, trying not to think about it. “Are you really that cold?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” Bakugou grumbled. “The rest of us are freezing, dumbass.”
Todoroki frowned, looking over to find Mina and Uraraka still watching him, but now with shock and curiosity due to Bakugou clinging to him. He took in the hats and gloves they wore, as well as the bulky sweaters making them larger than normal. “Oh. Should I warm them too?”
The arms around him tightened again. “Fuck no. I got here first.”
“It would only be fair. I could warm several people.” Todoroki pictured himself sitting in the middle of the floor, burning, with the class gathered around him like a bonfire. Perhaps they would toast marshmallows as well. He smiled; he was sure the others would be happy with the idea.
“I’m colder than the rest of those bastards.” Bakugou lifted his head to put his chin on Todoroki’s shoulder. “I thought we were friends.”
He smiled at the idea. “So we are friends?”
Bakugou scowled, hesitating before gritting out: “Yes.”
“That’s good. I’m glad.” Todoroki carefully took out his tea infuser, taking a sip of his drink. “Anyways, I’m going back to my room now.”
The other teen was silent, but when Todoroki tried to move, he held on.
Todoroki considered what he should do, setting his tea down on the counter. His left side was still warm, but he found it difficult to keep the same temperature when he wasn’t directly focusing on it. Bakugou didn’t seem to mind, still leaning against him. It wouldn’t be bad training to keep going with this. And Bakugou did say they were friends. “Do you want to come with me?”
Another pause before the quiet, “yeah.”
“I’m just going to be reading, so if you want to as well, or do something quiet, I don’t mind.”
“Good. Let’s go.” Bakugou released him, arms curling around himself once he lost his source of heat. They walked past the two girls, now joined by a confused and disturbed Kaminari and Mineta. Bakugou shot them a glare as they waited for the elevator.
There was an odd silence as they stood waiting. Todoroki asked, “Are you going to read as well?” Bakugou didn’t answer, but Todoroki wasn’t ready to be deterred. “I just finished one, but I haven’t decided what to read next. None of the books I brought sound particularly interesting. I’ll have to decide when I get up there.”
They stepped into the elevator. Todoroki reached to press the button for his floor, but Bakugou slapped it away, sending them to his own floor. “I got a few suggestions if you want them.”
“It doesn’t seem that I have much of a choice, do I?” Todoroki tried to joke. His smile was met by a scowl. He reached out with his left hand to touch Bakugou’s shoulder, heating it. “I’d appreciate your recommendations.”
“You fuckin’ better.” The elevator beeped and opened to the hallway. Bakugou hesitated at his door, glancing back at Todoroki before pushing it open and going inside.
Todoroki paused at the doorway as well, a tremor of excitement running through him. He was going into Bakugou’s room to hang out. Bakugou only let his friends hang out in his room.
The room wasn’t that exciting. There were posters of All Might and music bands on the wall, but otherwise, there wasn’t much in the way of decoration. It was comfortable though, with a plush rug and a chair that was large enough to curl up in. Todoroki noted the piles of pillows and blankets that covered the bed, feeling like he was discovering something about Bakugou.
“Here. Look at these.” Bakugou shoved a stack of books that he’d just grabbed from his bookshelf into Todoroki’s hands. “Don’t know what you like, but those are pretty fuckin’ good.”
He looked through the books as Bakugou moved to the bed, pushing the bedding around to make space. Todoroki found his eyes drifting to the bookshelf, curious about what else Bakugou liked to read. A few of the spines looked oddly familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen them before.
“The fuck do you think you’re doing?”
Todoroki stopped, unaware that he’d taken a few steps toward the bookshelf. “Looking at your other books.”
“The ones I gave you not fucking good enough?” Bakugou’s glare was no less harsh than normal, but the pink tinging his cheeks ruined the effect. His eyes moved from Todoroki to the bookshelf and back again in a flash. “If you don’t fuckin’ like them, then get out.”
“You’re the one that wanted me here,” Todoroki pointed out. He set the books down on Bakugou’s desk except for the one that had piqued his interest.
“Yeah, to fuckin’ be a space heater while you’re reading. Don’t see you doing that.”
Todoroki smiled when Bakugou turned away from him, arms crossed and cheeks puffing up in the slightest of pouts. Something in him warmed at the sight. He walked over to the bed. “I can start doing it now if you still want me.”
Bakugou moved to the side, lifting up the blankets. “Fucking c’mere then.”
Grabbing the book he had chosen, Todoroki carefully sat on the bed, moving slowly as he tried to figure out how he was meant to position himself. Even with the friends he has found here, it was strange choosing to sit so close to someone, especially on a bed. He had just started to settle in when he realized. “I forgot my tea downstairs.”
“Too late and too bad.” Bakugou reached up and grabbed a fistful of Todoroki’s shirt, yanking him down so their sides were pressed against each other from their shoulders down to their legs. “Now shut up. You can have your fancy leaf water later.”
Todoroki wanted to protest, but he felt like his entire body was seizing up. Bakugou hadn’t shied away from getting close earlier, and so he shouldn’t really be panicking now. Except that it was so much more.
“Oi.” Bakugou’s finger poked at Todoroki’s temple. “You fuckin’ good in there?”
He sucked in a harsh breath. “Yeah. Fine.” Todoroki shifted, trying to put a little distance between him and Bakugou. The blond had stacked up some of the bedding to give them something squishy to lean again with another couple of blankets to cover them if they wanted. As he created a gap between them, Bakugou’s arm came up to wrap around his shoulders, trapping him there.
“Just read and heat,” Bakugou said, voice low. He wasn’t looking at Todoroki, focusing on his phone. “And don’t burn anything.”
“You’re pretty demanding,” Todoroki forced out. He needed to act normal, but his throat felt tight and he was acutely aware of every part of Bakugou that was touching him. It took him far too much concentration to activate his quirk, and even then, it was hard not to let his left side burst into flames. Luckily, heating was enough of a distraction for him to push the physical contact to the back of his mind. “This okay?”
Bakugou hummed. “S’good.”
Right. Okay. This is good quirk training. Just hold it steady. With that in mind, Todoroki opened the book he’d chosen and started reading. Absorbing the words on the page was harder than he had thought. And he couldn’t even blame the fact that he was using his quirk. Still, he pressed on, and as the book grew more interesting, he was able to ignore Bakugou’s presence more and more.
And then he felt Bakugou’s fingers slide into his hair.
It felt like his heart jumped to his throat where it proceeded to choke him. Flames burst out of his left shoulder, the air with the smell of burning fabric.
Bakugou jerked his arm away with a yelp. He quickly started patting at the flames that had caught the blanket that Todoroki had been directly leaning against. Todoroki helped a moment later after he’d gotten control of himself again.
“What the fuck was that?” Bakugou shouted once the fire was out. “Didn’t I fucking say not to burn anything?”
“I’m sorry! I’ll replace anything that was damaged.” Todoroki’s face felt hot, and he had to mentally check that his quirk wasn’t still on. It had been a long time since he’d lost control like that, not out of combat training. “I didn’t mean to. Are you okay? I didn’t burn you, did I?”
The blond scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “Like a little fire is going to bother me. You’re not the only one who’s fireproof.”
Todoroki nodded, relieved. He took in the burn marks on both Bakugou’s sweater and the bedding. His own shirt was wrecked, the entire left shoulder having gone up in an instant. “I am very sorry. If you let me know what needs to be replaced or fixed, I’ll pay for it.”
“I don’t want your fuckin’ pity money.” Bakugou ran a hand through his hair, sighing. His eyes glanced over the scorch mark before he picked up the blanket it was on. Beneath it, everything was fine and undamaged. “You just got that one, so I guess I won’t hate you.” He tossed the blanket to the floor. “Is my book okay?”
The book had fallen to the floor during the commotion. Todoroki leaned down to grab it, relieved to find that it had escaped being burned. “Yeah, it’s fine. It’s a good read so far too.”
“Did you fucking doubt me?” Bakugou grinned, lop-sided and cocky before he picked at one of the holes burned into his sleeve. “Get up real quick. I ain’t crawling over you.”
Todoroki slid off the bed, frowning when his shirt fell strangely around him. It had been one of his favorites from his sister. “Do you want me to go?”
“I want you to not set my room on fire.” Bakugou rummaged through his dresser, pulling out another sweater and shirt. He tossed the latter to Todoroki. “Here.”
“I could just go to my room and change.”
Bakugou had already pulled off his sweater, revealing his usual skull t-shirt. “Or you could wear that. You burn it though, and I will actually kill you.”
“You surprised me.” Todoroki held up the shirt. It was big and clack, soft to the touch and smelling slightly of detergent and burnt sugar. He pulled off the ruined shirt and put on Bakugou’s. The fabric billowed around him in an oddly comforting way.
“It bother you that much, huh?” Bakugou asked after a pause. He was looking down at the ground, lost in thought.
Todoroki felt a jolt of guilt though he wasn’t sure what he had done wrong. “I’m just not used to being… touched, I guess. It wasn’t bothersome. Just strange. Surprising.”
“Don’t you have siblings? I know your parents were… but your siblings were around, weren’t they? You didn’t do anything like that with them?”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t allowed around my siblings that much. I was meant to focus on training.”
Bakugou’s gaze dug into him, trying to reach his innermost parts. He shrugged looking away. “Human contact is supposed to be important or some shit,” he said, trying to be offhand but even Todoroki could tell he was falling short of the mark. “If you wanted, I could help you get used to it or something.”
Todoroki blinked in surprise, his mind running over the offer again. “Really? Why?”
“Because we’re friends?” Bakugou let out a short laugh when Todoroki looked at him with disbelief written all over his face. “I’m sick of being cold, and you’re a good heater.” He offered out a hand. “We got a deal?”