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Waking up at the crack of dawn was something that Todoroki had always done. He couldn’t even remember why he started waking up so early, but sometimes getting a cup of tea or coffee and watching the sunrise over the horizon was an amazing way to start his day.
On days like today, when the air was warm with the smell of spring right around the corner, he liked to sit out on the porch of the dorms and just relax for a while. It was the only time that he could.
“Oh, Todoroki,” Midoriya’s voice startled him from the door as he stepped outside. “I didn’t know you would be out here.”
“I normally am. It’s strange to see you up this early though.”
“Woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep,” he said, scratching at the back of his neck. “Do you mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.”
Midoriya took the spot next to him on the stairs and took a sip of his drink. A comfortable silence settled between the two of them as the sun slowly lit up more of the school.
Ever since the sports festival, Todoroki had to admit that he had been becoming closer to their fellow classmates and it was thanks to Midoriya. He now had a friendship with Iida and Uraraka that he never thought was possible when he came to this school. Being with them seemed to give him a sense of peace that he didn’t know that he needed when he was back at his house with his siblings.
They had become closer to him than his real family. He even started talking to his mother again because of what Midoriya said. For that, he felt as if he owed his new friend, but Midoriya never faltered. He refuted any dept and just laughed it off with a small blush across his cheeks.
Speaking of which, Todoroki looked to his side and saw the same pink blush across Midoriya’s freckled cheeks. It was adorable and made Todoroki smile into his cup before looking back at the school in the distance.
“UA really is beautiful in the mornings.”
Midoriya nodded. “It is. Sometimes I can’t even believe that I’m really here. I feel like one day I’m going to wake up and be back in middle school.”
“Would that be a bad thing?” Todoroki asked and after a second, Midoriya shook his head.
“I don’t think so. Back in middle school, I didn’t have any friends aside from… I didn’t have many friends. We’ve gone through a lot at UA, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. All Might is our teacher, Kacchan is finally acting like his old self,” he turned to Todoroki and smiled, “and I met you.”
Todoroki smiled back at him and Midoriya’s blush turned a shade darker before he let out, which only could be described as a yelp.
“All of you. Everyone in class 2-A, I mean. You too, obviously. You’re in class too, but-”
“I’m glad I met you too, Midoriya,” Todoroki said. “I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t. I might not have started using my fire at all. I was so scared of myself and you were the one to help me. I thought my fire would only bring pain to others.”
He looked down at his hand and sighed.
“As you said, it seems like this is all a dream, and one day we’re going to wake up and be the scared little kids we were a few years ago.”
“You know that we’re not scared of you, right?” Midoriya asked and Todoroki called a small flame to dance on his hand.
“Sometimes I think you should be.”
Midoriya took a breath and moved a little closer to Todoroki. He seemed to be thinking something, but shook his head and smiled instead. The pink of his cheeks was becoming brighter as the light grew.
He seemed to be steeling himself for something before reaching his hand out toward Todoroki’s fire. He made the flames smaller, the closer he got until Midoriya grabbed his hand and the fire vanished.
“See? Normal warm hands.”
Todoroki’s heart sped in his chest as Midoriya squeezed his hand. His hands were warm from the drink he was holding, but that didn’t explain the rush of warmth to Todoroki’s cheeks.
Midoriya kept a hold on his hand as he turned back to the school and took a sip of his drink.
“Can I tell you a secret, Todoroki?” he asked.
“Of course.” He set his cup down and looked over to see Midoriya’s eyes were blown wide. He only looked like that when he was scared, but before Todoroki could say anything, he took a breath and looked down at his cup.
“I- I’ve had a crush on you for a long time. Like… for over a year.”
Midoriya’s grip got tighter in his and the silence between them was deafening.
It only took a moment before he started mumbling again out of nerves. Midoriya’s face had turned a bright red, but Todoroki did not let him let go of his hand while he continued to process what was happening.
“I understand if you don’t feel the same, I just wanted to let you know how I felt because it’s been so long. I thought that if I never told you then you wouldn’t have to worry about it, but then Iida thought that it would be better if you were the one to decide. Then I had the nightmare where you were taken and I couldn’t stand thinking that you would never know, so-”
“Midoriya?” Todoroki’s voice was barely over a whisper, but he stopped rambling and that’s all Todoroki wanted.
He let go of Midoriya’s hand just to cup his cheeks and pull him closer.
When they kissed, Todoroki noticed how soft Midoriya was. Not only his lips, but the skin under his fingers were silky smooth, unlike his hand. The skin there was calloused and beaten to hell, but not here. Here, Todoroki could run his thumb across Midoriya’s jaw and over his cheekbones and not find anything except a splatter of freckles.
Before Midoriya’s hands could find his face, Todoroki pulled back and tried to think. It was becoming harder by the second as all he wanted to do was kiss Midoriya again.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have asked if I could do that before-”
“It’s okay,” Midoriya smiled. “Does- does this mean you like me too?”
Todoroki looked up and tried to smile. “I don’t know… I just- I think I just wanted to kiss you. I think I do, but I’ve never really considered…”
“Hey, I’m not rushing you or anything. I was just surprised.”
“Me too,” he said.
“Huh,” Midoriya picked up his cup and handed it to Todoroki. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.”
He grabbed the cup by the bottom and heated it enough to see steam rising from the tea. Then, he handed it back and did the same to his own cup.
“Thank you, Todoroki.”
“No worries, Midoriya. It took a few seconds.”
“No, that’s not what I-” he looked down and Todoroki had a pull in his stomach to kiss him again. Maybe this would become the new normal for him. “Thank you for not freaking out about my feelings. I was worried you would… hate me.”
“I don’t think I could ever hate you. I tried already and it didn’t work,” he laughed. “I think you’re too likable.”
Midoriya laughed and looked up at the school. The sun had finally come up fully and they were sitting directly in its rays, so he was wincing against the light. He looked almost angelic sitting next to Todoroki, then Midoriya turned and smiled at him and he made his decision.
“Can I kiss you again?” he asked and Midoriya sighed, putting his cup down again.
“Please.”
That’s all he needed to hear before he pulled Midoriya back to him. His hands continued their exploration of his cheeks while he tasted the mixture of their drinks on his lips.
Midoriya reached up and put a hand on his cheek. Todoroki didn’t know why he did, but he pulled back again and looked down.
“Are you okay?”
“I- my scar… It’s not…”
“Hey, look at me,” Midoriya said. Todoroki looked up and Midoriya smiled.
His hand was already on Todoroki’s cheek and he slowly made his way up to his left eye. The ghost of his fingertips sent shivers down Todoroki’s spine, but he couldn’t tear away from Midoriya’s bright green eyes staring at him with awe.
Once he got to the edge of the scar, Midoriya leaned in and kissed right under his eye.
“You went through hell and back,” he said, still exploring Todoroki’s face, “this is just a testament to you coming out the other side stronger than you were before. Plus, it makes you look like quite the badass.”
Todoroki couldn’t help but laugh at that and pulled Midoriya into a hug. He fit perfectly in his arms and Todoroki couldn’t help but think that maybe he was meant to be there. Maybe this would work.
“Midoriya?” He didn’t want to let go of him, but Todoroki wanted to see his bright green eyes again. “I’ve never had anything like this before. I’m probably not good at it.”
“Neither have I,” he shrugged.
“That being said, I really like you too.”
Midoriya’s eyes brightened and Todoroki watched his smile bloom across his face. The bright pink of his cheeks was back, beautifully exposing his freckles.
“Really?”
“Really,” Todoroki nodded. “I don’t know how these sort of relationships work though. Do I ask you to be my boyfriend or do we wait for a while.”
Midoriya looked at his hands and grabbed Todoroki’s again.
“Do you want to wait a while?”
“No.” He didn’t even need to think about the answer to that. “I really want you to be my boyfriend. If you want.”
“I would love to!”
Midoriya’s smile was contagious and Todoroki couldn’t help but smile along with him. Then, before he could think better of it, he pulled Midoriya into another hug.
“Hey, what the hell are you two doing out here?” Bakugou’s voice made both of them jump. He was already in his school uniform looking down on them and basically growling.
“Are we not allowed to sit out here?” Todoroki asked and Bakugou scoffed.
“Whatever. Kirishima told me to get you for breakfast.”
“Thanks, Kacchan.”
“We’ll be in in a moment,” Todoroki said. Bakugou just turned and mumbled ‘Whatever’ under his breath before slamming the doors shut again.
“Ready to go?” Midoriya asked, finally standing and offering a hand to Todoroki.
“Not really,” he sighed, but took it and stood. He didn’t let go of his boyfriend’s hand and instead intertwined their fingers. “Promise me though, this isn’t a dream. We’re not going to wake up and find that this never happened.”
Midoriya smiled and kissed his cheek.
“I promise. I’m not going anywhere.”
That was good enough for him, so he squeezed Midoriya’s hand and picked up their cold cups.
“Alright. Let’s go get food before Kaminari and Kirishima eat it all.”