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There were many times in Izuku’s career when he had felt cornered. Facing off against villains wasn’t easy, but he always handled his struggles in stride and came out victorious. Dealing with villains was an everyday thing, typical with all things considered and all the different cases he filed and turned in to his boss, Tensei Iida.
Being cornered by Todoroki, however, was a different experience altogether. To say the polarized hero was intimidating was an understatement; as the pro hero Celsius, his ability to bring down villains sent shivers down Izuku’s spine, both from excitement to watch him succeed and an actual sense of fear because he had been on the receiving end of Todoroki’s attacks during trainings… He went all out, to say the least.
This was no training, though. No practice, no grade, no organized battle. They weren’t even outside to begin with. Todoroki had Izuku backed up against the cool surface of his apartment wall, his hands resting on either side of Izuku’s face, effectively keeping Izuku in place.
It’s not like Izuku had been naive to believe Todoroki would ignore what was going on; he had kept his distance from Todoroki for a while, after seeing various reports in magazines and the news for weeks that he may be in a relationship with this pro hero and that pro hero. He was aware of the media jumping the gun whenever two pros even stood beside each other, and how ridiculous news headlines would get. Still, Izuku’s insecurities resurfaced and made him act irrationally.
At their most recent class get-together, Izuku had attended with the knowledge of the guest list. Obviously, Todoroki would go, just like the rest of his classmates. He hadn’t intended to act like a jerk, it was just that when Izuku’s anxiety spiked, he went with the instinct of flight rather than fight. When Todoroki approached the group of friends, Izuku left it soon after with the excuse that he would go get another drink.
During other similar functions, whether it was to grab lunch with Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki; watch a movie at one of their apartments; or even bumping into each other while working; Izuku would cancel or stay away.
Reports said Todoroki was in a relationship with Uraraka one week, then Yaoyorozu the next, and even with Ashido a month later. News headlines on newspapers and magazines would have pictures of Todoroki working--looking exceptionally attractive with disheveled hair and an angry expression as he fought a villain--that read “ FIND HIM A WIFE ” or a variety of sorts. This time, the reports said Todoroki had been seen with the pro hero Zephyr, a powerful top hero with a storm quirk. Izuku couldn’t blame him...Zephyr was incredible. She always had a smile on her face when she fought and always won her battles. She was beautiful, too, and he was sure Todoroki had taken a liking to her electric silver eyes, or maybe her ability to control the weather….the lightning that crackled around her head, accentuating her white hair was also an attractive feature… Maybe he shouldn’t feel jealous. He should think Todoroki was lucky. He should feel happy for him… He should know better by now.
But how could he convince his heart that he was right?
It had been so easy for Todoroki to corral him, coming into his apartment to talk to him, the arch of his eyebrow matching the annoyance in his voice as he began his confrontation. Izuku didn’t expect him, if not he would have made an excuse to be out so he wouldn’t catch him. However, Todoroki knew his friend’s mannerism and the only way to keep Izuku from avoiding his problems was for them to slap him in the face so he could resolve them.
“You’re avoiding me.”
The statement felt heavy against Izuku’s ears. It was true, but Izuku couldn’t out right admit it. “Of course not…”
“You haven’t answered me in weeks,” Todoroki pointed out, crossing his arms as he maintained his irritated look.
“I’ve been busy,” Izuku shrugged, hoping that would eliminate his problems in the same manner as him shrugging off an injury. He wasn’t as lucky when Todoroki was persistent, though.
“I mean, I get that,” Todoroki nodded. “But...you’ve answered our friends’ messages. And you keep leaving whenever I arrive somewhere. I didn’t want to bother or pressure you...but I need to know if I did something that hurt you.”
“N-no!” Izuku shook his head frantically. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Todoroki. I’m sorry for being so unresponsive. Sometimes when I take on multiple cases, messages tend to slip my mind and with so many villains out these days, I can barely keep track of what I’m doing and they can attack at random and that also adds to my workload and so I can neglect the people I care about, unintentionally. I don’t even answer my mother at times and that makes me feel guilty so I’m sorry for leaving you on ‘Read’ so often--”
As he spoke, Izuku made an attempt to guide Todoroki to the couch, mostly so he could stop looking at him as opposed to keeping him standing while Izuku rambled about his supposed struggle to keep his life together. Somehow, Todoroki saw right through him and as soon as Izuku turned to head to the living room, he took Izuku’s hand to keep him from walking away.
To keep him from running away.
Which brought them back to their current position, Izuku’s back against the wall while Todoroki’s gaze bore into his.
“Midoriya…” Todoroki started, his voice a whisper amongst the heavy air of the room.
He hadn’t done any physical activity at the moment, yet Izuku felt out of breath and found it difficult to even catch it while being under Todoroki’s gaze.
Unsure and unsteady, Izuku focused his attention on the coffee table, on the television, anywhere except Todoroki. Even if he could feel his warm breath against his flustered face, Izuku still found every other thing in the room less intimidating. Alas, the mighty always conquer.
“Midoriya, look at me.”
Swallowing, Izuku kissed the last bit of his sanity goodbye before taking the biggest risk of his life. Fighting villains was nothing compared to Shouto Todoroki when he was determined to fulfill his objective. With a shaky breath, Izuku looked into scorching mismatched eyes as they bore into his own; he swore that with so much intensity, Todoroki could stare into his very soul and see the vulnerability in his companion. But there was softness in his eyes, no animosity or threat. He knew it was difficult for his friend to express his emotions, but his body language always gave him away.
Todoroki’s gaze pleaded Izuku to grant him access. To what, he wasn’t sure. However, this was the first time that Izuku had ever seen him so determined and stubborn, yet so gentle, and he had to respect that.
Despite his attempt at braving through it, when looking at him, Izuku was speechless.
“We’re adults, Midoriya,” Todoroki said softly. “If there’s a problem, we need to fix it.”
Izuku swallowed, blood rushing to his cheeks and ears as he tried gathering his thoughts. It was difficult to do so when he was being watched, though. “You’re not the one with the problem,” he mumbled as he looked down. “It’s me.”
Todoroki blinked several times to process Izuku’s words. “What problem do you have?”
Sucking on his lower lip, Izuku couldn’t dare look up to see him again. Not when he had to talk about it. “It’s stupid,” he said..
With a scoff, Todoroki shook his head. “Clearly, if it’s bothering you, then it’s not stupid.”
“Yes, it is,” Izuku insisted.
“Explain to me why you think your problem is stupid.”
“You may want to sit down for this, then.”
Todoroki straightened up and dropped his arms from the wall, allowing Izuku to breathe as he made his way to the couch. His friend followed him, sitting beside him as he waited for him to continue.
Izuku picked at his fingernails and avoided eye contact, considering his words as he thought about the fact he had to talk about his feelings with the person that had him lovestruck. To his credit, Todoroki was patient and gave Izuku time until he was ready. With a last, heavy inhale, he braced himself for what he would do.
“I’ve been hearing things...on the news,” Izuku began.
Todoroki nodded in encouragement, signalling him to continue.
“Things...about you,” Izuku swallowed. “And relationships.” Telling Todoroki about the headlines became easier with every word he said, mostly because if he refrained from speaking, it would get harder to focus and breathe. He had to stop being a coward, but staying in his comfort zone and keeping his feelings to himself seemed like the better alternative as opposed to baring his soul to the object of his affection. Why was he so scared?
Well...he hated to admit Todoroki was out of his league.
“Why would you stay away from me over something like that?” Todoroki asked, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head sideways.
“I thought it would be better,” Izuku shrugged again, feeling a little defeated.
Todoroki reached over to take Izuku’s hand, holding it as carefully as he could and looking at his scarred fingers. For a moment, he was silent before he looked up again. “I don’t understand your logic. If anything, I would like for you to be closer, not farther away.”
Izuku wanted to retract his hand, but the warmth coming from Todoroki’s hand was soothing and..it felt right to him. He wanted this, he wanted for this to happen for so long, yet he was fighting with himself to stop this and keep running away.
“I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your relationships,” Izuku laughed humorlessly.
“I don’t have a relationship.” Todoroki spoke firmly, his hold tightening on Izuku’s hand slightly. “None of what those reports say are true and you know that. And if I did have one, you’re the first person I’d tell.”
It may have been selfish of Izuku, but hearing that last sentence gave him a bad taste in his mouth. If Todoroki had a relationship, he wouldn’t want to know. It would crush him. “You don’t...have to do that.”
“ Of course I do.”
Izuku had no time to process time and space as Todoroki let go of his hand and reached over to cup Izuku’s face. Even as he held his face, Izuku kept his gaze downward, his vision hazy over pesky tears that had welled up throughout the exchange.
“Why is this so important to you, though?”
Izuku had the nerve to look at him then. “Todoroki…”
“Please, Midoriya...you’re my best friend and...I can’t stand having you so far away.”
God , how could he look so beautiful? It was cruel to have silver and turquoise paralyze him where he sat.
As Izuku’s tears warmed his face, Todoroki leaned forward and pressed his forehead against his own, warm and smooth and a bit clammy. He felt cool and warm thumbs caress his cheeks gently, wiping away his tears as he did so. It was so painful to have him so close yet so far out of his reach. Something in his chest was ready to burst and if he didn’t do something about it, Izuku was sure he would die from a heart attack.
‘But it’ll ruin our friendship.’
His life was already a disaster anyway.
‘He’ll hate me forever.’
It was now or never.
“I...like you, Todoroki.”
A beat passed by and all Izuku could see were his friend’s eyes searching his, as if he were to find all of the answers in the depths of Izuku’s soul. “What do you mean?” he rasped.
“I mean that I have feelings for you. Romantic feelings.” The type where Izuku wanted to take Todoroki’s face in his own hands and kiss him until he was breathless. The type where Izuku could hold his hand as they went out on a date. The type where Izuku could tell Todoroki all of his secrets and vice versa. The type where Izuku would see the color pink after spending time with him. Those feelings. “I’ve been so afraid to tell you, and staying away was much easier than admitting...all of this,” he gulped. “I don’t know...if you feel the same way. I’d understand if you don’t, but please just...let me down gently--”
It was amazing how Todoroki could shut him up so effortlessly, but when Izuku felt their lips connect, for the first time in a long time, he felt a weight fall off his shoulders. So much so that Izuku kissed him back and all the butterflies in his stomach flew in all directions, filling his body with warmth. Fireworks went off behind Izuku’s eyes as he felt one of Todoroki’s hands hold onto the nape of his neck, his fingers digging into Izuku’s curls. That earned him a groan from Izuku and if he hadn’t been so distracted, he would have felt self-conscious when he heard Todoroki chuckle.
“You fool,” Todoroki whispered, returning his forehead where it had previously rested against Izuku’s. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel something for you.”
Izuku sucked in a breath. Well- now that made sense. “I kinda do feel like an idiot right now,” he smiled sheepishly.
“You’re redeemable, though,” Todoroki said before taking a pause to think and then quickly pecking his lips.
If only he knew what effect that had on Izuku. He tried his best to hide his face by turning sideways only to have Todoroki bring his attention back by cupping his face again. “I started believing you were into someone else after hearing it so often.”
“No,” Todoroki shook his head. “It’s always been you.”
Perhaps it had been because Izuku was so sensitive at the moment, but Todoroki’s words caused him to cry again, catching him completely off guard with his declaration. “What do you mean by always ?”
The melodic laugh that came out of Todoroki’s mouth ran in Izuku’s ears. It was so pretty and it was one of those moments where Izuku’s body swelled with pride for having been the cause of that angelic sound. “I mean always as in maybe in...second year, I started liking you.”
“Maybe?” Izuku asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Fine... definitely in second year,” Todoroki clarified. “It never really went away, and I didn’t want it to. So you could understand why it hurt to have you away from me.”
“Right, I’m sorry about that.” Izuku chewed on his bottom lip feeling the guilt. Of course he hurt him. When was Izuku going to stop being so selfish?
“Well, now I know your reasons and I understand, but please...if there is something bothering you, talk to me about it first,” Todoroki begged.
“I promise,” Izuku nodded.
“Also,” Todoroki’s face flushed as he took a moment to think. “If...if you want to have a relationship, we can.”
Izuku’s blush matched his companion’s...friend’s… “Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”
“I am.”
“I’d like that.”
Izuku’s blush matched his boyfriend’s.
“Me, too.”
He straightened up to take his phone out of his pocket, Izuku observing him as he typed something quickly. “What are you doing?” he asked curiously.
“Sending an important text,” Todoroki pointed out the obvious.
Izuku’s phone rang with a notification and he hesitated to check, but Todoroki looked at him expectantly, a curve of his lips gracing his face.
[Today, 8: 17PM]
Todoroki:
Midoriya, I have a boyfriend.
Izuku burst into laughter, feeling tears sting his eyes from amusement before texting back.
[Today, 8:18PM]
Midoriya:
Me, too! He’s really cute! :)
Well, he did say Izuku would be the first person he’d tell.