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Izuku sat on a green bean bag in the dorm’s lounge room. Everyone had gone to bed, and Izuku decided to use this time to read. They were now 2-A students, Mineta having been moved to 2-B and replaced with Shinso. They were allowed out later than they had been in their previous year (about 11:30/23:30), so it wasn’t a surprise when Izuku heard the front door creak open.
What did surprise him, however, was who came through the door.
Shoto Todoroki stumbled through the door. Izuku noticed his face was unnaturally flushed, which only raised his concern. Izuku hopped off the bean bag and walked up to Todoroki, who was facing the couches in the opposite direction.
“Todoroki?” Izuku asked gently. The question hung in the air for a few moments before Todoroki turned around to face Izuku.
“M-Midoriya?” he stuttered, which was strange. “Are you okay?” Izuku asked. “I’m f-fine,” the other slurred. He is not okay. Izuku walked up to Todoroki hesitantly, looking into the other boy’s heterochromatic eyes. Izuku almost had to take a step back when he saw the emotion swirling around in the seemingly emotionless boy’s eyes. Izuku noticed that Todoroki’s eyes were glossy as if he was on the verge of tears.
“Todoroki, are you drunk?” he asked incredulously. That did it. The other broke down, tears leaking from his eyes as he sobbed uncontrollably. He tried saying something, but Izuku could only make out a few words from the mess. “Some guy... quirk… came here… so stupid…”
Izuku took a few steps forward and wrapped his arms around the taller male, “Shh, it okay. You’re okay.” he murmured. Todoroki had stopped talking by this point and hugged Izuku back tightly, his face buried in the smaller’s neck as he continued to sob.
When Izuku finally pulled away, he gently took Todoroki’s hands in his and squeezed them gently. “Hey, do you wanna go to my room and watch a movie?” he asked. His voice was soft and gentle, not wanting to startle the other. Todoroki nodded and Izuku smiled.
They stood in the elevator in relative silence, except for the occasional hiccup.
“Hey, Todoroki?” Izuku asked. “Mmm?” “Why were you crying?” He noticed Todoroki flinch out of the corner of his eye before answering. “I’m just… such an idiot,” he replied, once again on the verge of tears. “I can’t even walk back to the dorms without getting into trouble.”
The elevator door opened and they walked out. Todoroki fumbled around a bit, and eventually, Izuku took pity on him and allowed him to use him for support. As they reached Izuku’s room, he asked another question, “Can you tell me what happened?” Todoroki nodded as they entered the living space. It wasn’t covered in All Might merchandise, though that probably would have gotten a laugh out of Todoroki. Instead, it was rather plain, a desk with only a few figurines on it. His bed, which now just had jade green covers, a bookshelf filled with his notebooks, and a short stand that held the TV on top of it.
Izuku sat Todoroki down on his bed and went to the TV stand to grab the remote. When he turned around, Todoroki had set up some sort of pillow barrier, which left space for two in the middle. Izuku smiled warmly as he sat down next to the other, leaning against the wall. Todoroki started as Izuku turned on the TV.
“I bumped into this guy… I think he was carrying a beer bottle. He didn’t say anything, just left. Then I started to feel weird and then I started to think about how much of a failure I am and…” He didn’t get to finish because Izuku had sent him a look. “You’re not a failure, Todoroki,” he said sternly.
“Yes, I am. If I weren’t then why did mum pour boiling hot water on my face? Why do people avoid me like I’m Bakugo or something? Why do I always feel like I’m alone, and I can’t trust anybody? Why-”
“‘Roki!” Izuku looked at him with a look mixed between a glare and worry, if that was even possible. “None of that is your fault, okay? You’re trusting me now, aren’t you?” Todoroki opted to stay silent, just giving him a hesitant nod in return. Izuku clicked a button on the remote and the movie Onwards began playing.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
About a quarter through the movie, Izuku turned to see Todoroki crying again, but this time he wasn’t sobbing. Izuku wrapped his arm around Todoroki’s shoulder, pulling him into a hug.
“Hey, ‘Roki, it’s okay,”
The two boys leaned on each other, relishing in the other’s company.
“You’re not alone anymore, okay?” Izuku said, and he felt Todoroki nod against his shoulder, which he was now leaning on.
As both boys began to fall asleep in each other's embrace, Izuku heard Todoroki say one last thing before falling into a deep slumber.
“Thank you…”