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Todoroki groaned as the annoying beeping rang through the wall. He had been placed next to Midoriya in the dorms, after Mineta was expelled for perverted behavior and disorderly conduct.
Good riddance.
But, every night at exactly 1:30, a SUPER LOUD alarm would ring. It destroyed any hope of Todoroki getting a full night’s sleep, and he was starting to get grouchy. If this happened one more time, he was going to riot. And then he heard it.
Gentle sobbing, coming from the dorm next to his.
Well. That changed things. A lot.
Slipping out of bed, he hissed as the cold floor set the nerves on his left foot on fire. His right foot was too used to the cold to really care. Padding to the door, he stepped out into the hall and went to the right exactly one door. Midoriya’s dorm was closest to the elevator, with Todoroki, then Kirishima on their side. He hadn’t bothered memorizing where the other dorms were.
Dismissing the subject of dorm rooms, he gently twisted the doorknob and opened the door.
Inside, on the bed, a curled-up lump of pastel green pajamas and darker green hair was shaking, scarred fingers clutching at his knees. It was a panic attack, and a bad one.
Todoroki blinked, then he was sitting on the bed and gently grabbing one of the scarred hands. A hitch in the sobbing, and then Midoriya’s face lifted up, and woah that face on the normally happy-go-lucky teen was not nice. Guiding the hand to his chest, he took deep, exaggerated breaths to help the boy on the bed calm himself down. Sure enough, his breathing calmed down, and the tears streaming down his face slowed.
Todoroki just sat, letting the boy recover himself. Eventually, he heard a shaky voice.
“How…. how did you know….” He raised an eyebrow. Had this happened before?
“I heard you crying. After that awful alarm.” Midoriya’s face paled even more, and he looked like he was about to cry again.
“T-todoroki-kun, I am so sorry…. has the alarm woken you up every night?” Todoroki considered his options.
“No, I was sleeping lighter tonight.” A huff of relief. That was a good sign.
“Midoriya, how often does this happen?” A flinch. Not a good sign. The boy tried to curl back into his little ball, but Todoroki swiftly intercepted by pulling him into a hug. He seemed stunned, before shaky arms wrapped around Todoroki’s back.
“I-I have nightmares, a lot of nightmares… that’s why the alarm is so loud. I set it to wake me up from nightmares. When I get into a nightmare, I can’t escape unless something extreme is stimulating me senses, so…. yeah.”
Todoroki sighed. How long had this adorable boy, who didn’t deserve any of what had happened so far, been suffering in the silence of his own mind?
“I-I know it’s stupid, I shouldn’t have told you, I am so sorry-” Todoroki quickly shut that down.
“Midoriya, nightmares aren’t stupid.” He let them stew in silence for a bit, before speaking again.
“Come on, you’re gonna sleep in my bed for the rest of tonight.” Midoriya jerked against him, but he just held on tighter.
“Wha- Todoroki, I can’t just barge in- Todoroki, I’ll be a bother! Todoroki, I can’t just sleep in your bed, that would be rude-” They had stepped into the room. Todoroki sat on the bed, laying down, then situated Midoriya so he was curled into his left side.
“I offered. You aren’t a bother. Here, you don’t have to worry about nightmares. I’ll protect you.” Midoriya looked ready to protest again, so he spoke again.
“Midoriya. I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want you to sleep.” With that, he pulled the covers back over both of them and resolutely flopped down, holding Midoriya tightly. Gently warming up his left side, he let a little smirk out as he felt Midoriya stop struggling, snuggle a bit closer to the warmth radiating from him, then finally stop moving. He was asleep. Mission accomplished.
Midoriya didn’t need to know that he had woken Todoroki up by thrashing in the bed, sweat dripping down a too-pale face. He didn’t need to know the sweet nothing whispered in his ears as Todoroki’s left side warmed even more, eventually sending the teen back into a deep sleep.