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“You’ll get sick, staying out here.”
Bakugou hid, as best he could, how he startled at the sudden voice behind him. Maybe he had been too caught up in his own thoughts. Lost track of tracking his surroundings.
Bakugou buried his nose under his scarf, if only to hide his breath, as he answered, “I’m not cold.”
He was lying, of course. But he had no interest in going back in. Especially not with Todoroki.
“I brought apple cider,” Todoroki said.
Bakugou stole a quick glance over his shoulder.
Todoroki had two steaming mugs and an awkward smile (as if he hadn’t quite figured out how to make it settle comfortably on his face, yet). And on his head… antlers.
A headband with fuzzy reindeer antlers. And bells and flashing lights.
“What the hell is on your head?”
“Huh?” Todoroki said, as if he had forgotten. “Oh, right. Uraraka gave these to me before she left. She said they suited me.”
Bakugou spent a good 15 seconds drinking in the view of Todoroki haloed with antlers. He committed the scene to memory. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to imagine Todoroki any other way, now.
Bakugou held out a hand. Todoroki handed him a mug.
“The others gone?”
Todoroki nodded.
Bakugou had figured as much.
“The roads are probably icy as fuck right now,” Bakugou muttered into his cider. The cinnamon was strong. Good.
“Yes,” Todoroki agreed, “but it’s supposed to start snowing again, soon.”
Bakugou turned his eyes to the sky.
“Hm,” he hummed, considering the grays overhead.
“Come inside?”
Bakugou weighed his options.
“Sure.”
The walk was long and quiet, the sound of Todoroki’s little antler bells jingling and the snow crunching underfoot their only company. Deathly, deafeningly, hushed otherwise. Not a single bird singing in any of the skeleton-like trees. As if they were the only two living things left in this part of the woods, the rest gone or perhaps sleeping under a heavy blanket of white.
Bakugou was half-way through his drink by the time he and Todoroki finally made it to the back porch of the cabin. They kicked off their winter boots, shaking the snow and mud from the bottoms.
Inside, they shrugged off their heavy coats, pulled off their gloves and caps and scarves. The heat of the cabin sent Bakugou’s frozen face tingling. Todoroki’s cheeks had a light pink tinge to them—maybe from the cold, maybe from his Quirk overcompensating for the temperature.
They hesitated in the doorway for a moment or two, staring at the quaint little cabin’s quaint little kitchen—and not at each other.
The uncomfortable silence only served to viciously remind Bakugou why he had chosen to spend the last hour standing in the cold.
To avoid Todoroki. To avoid… this.
Bakugou shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Kept his eyes fixed on the dark wood flooring.
“More cider?” Todoroki asked.
Bakugou downed the last of his drink in a single gulp then wordlessly shoved the mug in Todoroki’s general direction.
“So when did you learn to make apple cider?” Bakugou asked a few minutes later when the silence had gotten downright unbearable.
Bakugou sat at the table while Todoroki filled their mugs on the other side of the kitchen.
“Today, I guess,” Todoroki answered. Then, he chuckled lightly. “I’m not sure it counts as me ‘making’ it, though. It’s an instant mix. I found the box in the pantry.”
“Hm,” Bakugou hummed because he had nothing to say. He watched as Todoroki dumped heaping spoonfuls of cinnamon into both mugs.
Yaoyorozu had told everyone to ‘make themselves at home’ at the cabin and to ‘feel free’ to make use of anything and everything they could possibly need in the kitchen. It was the least she could do, she said, as she was unable to attend the little class reunion—despite it being hosted at one of her family’s vacation homes.
Bakugou had certainly taken her up on that offer. He spent the past two days keeping everyone else fed and rescuing their failed attempts at holiday desserts. (The baked Alaska had been beyond saving, unfortunately).
Useless, the whole lot of them. Top heroes in the country but utterly useless at literally anything else.
Bakugou once assumed the same of Todoroki, but at least Todoroki had the sense enough to use a sensible amount of cinnamon. Perhaps Half-and-Half wasn’t a total lost cause.
“Why didn’t you leave with the rest of them?” Bakugou asked.
Todoroki froze, spoon ending its swirling in the mug and instead hovering in mid-air, shaking slightly. Caught in limbo.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Fuck you, I asked first.”
Todoroki placed the spoon on the counter.
“I wasn’t ready to leave, I suppose,” Todoroki answered in a small voice.
Then, Todoroki brought the mugs to the table. He sat across from Bakugou, but he did not meet Bakugou’s eyes.
“It’s easier here,” Todoroki continued, peering down into his mug, “in this little cabin. It’s easy to pretend that this is the entire world. That there’s nothing beyond these trees.”
Bakugou frowned. “You hiding from work?”
Shockingly un-Hero-like.
Todoroki closed his eyes. He let out a long shaking breath.
“I just needed one more day,” Todoroki said, voice nearly a whisper.
For what, Bakugou thought but left unsaid.
Instead, Bakugou confessed with a shrug, “Yeah, I like it here, too. It’s quiet.”
Todoroki finally looked up from his mug.
“Oh,” Todoroki said, his gaze focusing on the window behind Bakugou’s head. “It’s snowing again.”
Bakugou craned his head to see for himself. And, sure enough, there was snow drifting and dancing down. Ever so slowly. Ever so gently.
Nice.
When Bakugou was nearly done with his third mug of cider, he and Todoroki moved to the living room—a large room full of dark wood and chairs and quilts and a grand bricked fireplace. Todoroki crouched down at the hearth to poke at logs and coals with a fire poker. Bakugou settled into the armchair nearest the fire and watched Todoroki work.
Bakugou wondered vaguely, in the back of his mind, if Todoroki even needed the fire poker. Could he move the logs around with his bare hands without trouble? Would he have to have his Quirk activated? If so, which side? Would he even feel anything?
Bakugou sipped his cider as he mulled over the question. Todoroki turned his crouching into kneeling as he stared into the fire. The flickering firelight cast an otherworldly quality to Todoroki. Turned the ridiculous antlers into something fae-like.
Bakugou, catching himself staring, tore his gaze away and fixed it to the window.
The snow was falling faster now. Heavier. Bakugou could no longer see the trees.
“Probably gonna get snowed in,” Bakugou remarked.
“Oh,” Todoroki said flatly.
If that was Todoroki’s attempt at sounding surprised, it was a piss-poor one.
Bakugou couldn’t figure out what Todoroki’s game was, here. Bakugou had planned to be the last one left at the cabin. And, yet, Todoroki stayed. He stayed even though he knew he’d end up stuck with Bakugou.
“I just needed one more day.”
Well, Bakugou had wanted more time, too. Alone.
Of course, Bakugou could up and leave to the other side of the cabin. Stake out in one of the many bedrooms and wait for the snow to melt. Get that alone time he so desperately needed. (Fighting off a dozen hugs on all sides at all hours for two days straight had been exhausting).
But the thought of leaving Todoroki where he sat, kneeling at the hearth… It turned the cinnamon in Bakugou’s mouth sour.
Bakugou set his empty mug on the coffee table.
“Icy Hot,” Bakugou said.
Todoroki turned his head, met Bakugou’s eyes. “Yes?”
“I…”
“Yes?” Todoroki repeated.
Bakugou closed his mouth. Swallowed heavily.
Damn it. As soon as Todoroki’s eyes met his, Bakugou had forgotten what he had been trying to say. Instead, what ended up spilling out was:
“They do suit you. The, uh—” Bakugou gestured at Todoroki’s antlers.
“Oh,” Todoroki said. “Uh, thank you.”
And, maybe it was the firelight playing tricks on him, but Bakugou could have sworn that a blush bloomed on Todoroki’s cheeks.
“Move over,” Bakugou found himself saying next, rising up out of the chair before he realized what he was doing. “Quit hogging the fire.”
Todoroki shuffled over to the side as Bakugou plopped down next to him at the hearth.
Bakugou held his hands over the fire, wiggling his fingers some to encourage warmth and blood flow. His damn fingers were dry and chapped and still nearly frozen.
“Bakugou,” Todoroki said softly.
“Yeah?”
Todoroki said nothing further, so Bakugou dropped his hands and turned to look at Todoroki.
Todoroki was back to staring into the fire, his arms wrapped around himself in a loose embrace.
“Yeah?” Bakugou repeated when Todoroki still hadn’t said anything.
Todoroki’s fingers tightened on the sleeves of his sweater.
“Did you have a good year?” Todoroki asked in a whisper.
“Did I—” Bakugou repeated, dumbly, as Todoroki’s question sunk in. Then, he shook his head. “No,” Bakugou answered. “Fuck, no. This year fucking sucked.”
“Oh,” Todoroki said. Then, he laughed. As if surprised by Bakugou’s answer.
The sound caused some terribly embarrassing fluttering feeling in Bakugou’s chest. (Maybe he was developing a heart murmur. Maybe he should get that checked out).
Or…
Maybe he just needed to hear Todoroki laugh again. And again.
As much as possible.
“I thought it was just me,” Todoroki continued. “I thought I was the only one who had a difficult year.”
What?
“Seriously?” Bakugou asked. Now he was laughing, too.
“Seriously,” Todoroki said with a nod.
“I promise you: every single person that was here this weekend had a shit year, too.”
Todoroki lifted his head at that. Met Bakugou’s gaze with an arched eyebrow. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Everyone?”
“Everyone.”
“Oh,” Todoroki said. “I didn’t realize.”
And, incredibly, Bakugou suspected Todoroki was being absolutely genuine. This man made no fucking sense, sometimes.
Somehow, Bakugou didn’t mind.
“Everyone seemed so happy,” Todoroki added.
“Yeah, because they were.”
“I see.”
Todoroki fell quiet again. Bakugou turned his attention back to warming his hands over the fire. A piece of log crackled and popped under the heat, breaking into pieces, falling away.
Bakugou thought back to the past two days. Todoroki seemed more lost and out of place than usual. Barely participating in conversations. Late to every group picture. (Bakugou was in every picture, too, but not willingly—Kaminari and Kirishima had to wrestle him into each and every shot).
And Todoroki had seemed so distant, all weekend. In every way.
Bakugou supposed it made sense in hindsight. But it was a real damn shame.
“Why did you stay?” Todoroki asked.
Bakugou shrugged. “Wanted some peace and quiet.”
“Ah,” Todoroki said. “I hope I’m not…”
Then, Todoroki started to move away.
“Hey—” Bakugou turned on him, grabbing him by the sleeve, pulling him down to stop him from leaving. “Hey.”
Todoroki froze, stared at the hand on his sleeve.
“Cut that shit out, will you?” Bakugou barked at him. “The party’s fucking over, okay. So stop sitting in the corner feeling sorry for yourself because everyone else is having a good time.”
“I… I—” Todoroki stammered.
Bakugou tightened his grip on Todoroki’s sleeve and yanked him closer. Todoroki lost his balance. He fell forward, nearly spilling into Bakugou’s lap. Todoroki’s antlers fell forward on his head, nearly onto his forehead, now.
“I—” Todoroki continued stammering, his eyes darting back and forth over Bakugou’s face.
“I’m here because I want to be.”
Todoroki’s eyes widened. “Oh—”
Then, his eyes darted down to Bakugou’s lips.
Oh. Shit.
Bakugou released his grip on Todoroki’s sweater. But he didn’t push Todoroki away. And Todoroki didn’t move.
Then, Todoroki did what Bakugou had spent the last two days thinking about.
He kissed him.
Gentle and quick. Just a simple brush of lips. And then Todoroki pulled away, eyes darting back and forth over Bakugou’s face.
It was Bakugou’s turn to stammer, then. “I… I—”
“Sorry,” Todoroki said quickly. “I don’t know what—”
“No, no. It’s fine. It’s fine.”
“I didn’t… I mean—”
Bakugou placed his hands on either side of Todoroki’s face and silenced him with a kiss.
Todoroki let a out a surprised ‘Hmph!’ sound against Bakugou’s mouth. Bakugou simply swallowed the sound as he deepened the kiss.
This whole weekend… Every single time Todoroki had stood in the corner, or wandered away from a group, or shrunk in on himself as if trying to disappear…
It had driven Bakugou mad. It made him want to scream. Made him want to grab Todoroki by the shoulders and shake sense back into him. Made him want to kiss the breath right out of Todoroki’s lungs.
Made him want to stand outside in the snow for hours and hours until Todoroki left so he wouldn’t have to spend another moment looking at Todoroki and imagining there was mistletoe hanging over his head.
Todoroki broke the kiss a small eternity later. Todoroki’s cheeks were pink, again.
And he laughed.
The cardiac abnormality from before returned.
“I’ve been thinking about doing that all weekend,” Todoroki said. Sheepish, as if confessing a secret.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Todoroki shook his head.
Then, they crashed back into each other. Roaming hands and mouths and tangled limbs. And beside them the fire flickered and crackled. And outside the snow continued to fall. Blanketing the entire world. For Todoroki was right, there was no world beyond this little cabin surrounded by trees and snow.
All that mattered was the feeling of Todoroki pressed close and the sound of Todoroki’s laughter.
They ended up tangled up in one another on one of the many couches in the living room, buried under a number of quilts. They watched the fire burn itself down. They watched the snow continue to fall, rising and rising until it reached the bottom of the window. Until it was all they could see.
“Snowed in,” Bakugou remarked.
“Ah,” Todoroki said. “So we are.”
And when they kissed, it tasted like apple and cinnamon.