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“Midoriya is into bad boys. There’s no doubt about it.”
It’s a bright blue day, neither too hot nor too cold. Ideally, this would be a perfect day for a confession. But instead, there are only very far-fetched theories being verbally said by a very conspiring boy.
Uraraka, who’s sitting right before him during lunch, laughs so hard she spits into her hand. Iida, who is sitting across from him, slowly raises his hand, as if he’s about to robot-chop the air in silent defiance.
And Todoroki, the one who said such a bold statement in the first place, nods his head firmly, crosses his arms in front of his chest, and goes, “I have to become a bad boy for a chance at Midoriya.”
“Todoroki-kun, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Uraraka, bless her soul, says as blunt as a rock.
Iida’s hand finally comes down for an air chop. “Uraraka-san is correct!”
“He likes Bakugou,” Todoroki argues, glancing at Bakugou’s table where Midoriya is sitting eerily close to the blond, watching his every move with scarred hands accenting his words. Midoriya said earlier that they’re discussing important quirk training. He’s sure to be in the most engaging conversation, even though Bakugou reciprocates none of it.
He then glances back at his untouched cold soba. “Bakugou’s a bad boy.”
Uraraka raises her eyebrows in disbelief. “Todoroki-kun, he goes to bed at eight-thirty.”
“He still technically asks Aizawa-sensei for permission before he feeds a stray cat!” Iida adds on. His air chops are infinitely faster now, and Todoroki can nearly feel the wind from such a force blowing right in his face.
But Todoroki’s mind is made up. “If Midoriya still likes Bakugou for his awful personality, he must be into that.”
“Please rethink your decision,” Uraraka begs, hands clasped, as she realizes that her very good friend is not joking.
“I’m going to woo him, Uraraka.”
He gets up, carries his tray, makes his way over to Bakugou’s table, and dunks his uneaten food onto Bakugou’s head.
“ THE FUCK?! ” the blond roars immediately, bursting sparks on his fingertips, but he’s not very threatening when soba drips down his face.
“Hi Midoriya,” Todoroki says blankly before walking out. He decides that now is the time to step up his game, before his chances run out.
“Hi?” Midoriya responds with a crease in his brow, clearly shaken.
After all, nice guys always finish dead last.
🏍️
Yaoyorozu has seen a lot of unsavory things in her life, but this has got to be one of the most unsavory.
“Is this really happening?” she asks, hopefully as polite as she can, as she watches her good friend Todoroki put on a leather jacket from the thrift store that’s at least two sizes too small.
He turns around and poses. Lifts one hand above his head, the other on his hip. “Be honest, Yaoyorozu. How bad does this make me look?” That ridiculous stance only looks worse when paired with his emotionless expression.
“This can’t really be happening,” she parrots to herself. When Todoroki asked her if she’d like to join him for shopping, she thought they’d be buying something more...
...Well, down Todoroki’s lane. He comes from a prestigious hero family, full of privilege, wealth, and honor. Such a luxury would reflect in something like designer clothes. Hero gear. Frankly, a brand new Mercedes sounded more likely than this.
“Bad, right?” the half-hot, half-cold student asks, still waiting on her opinion.
Oh, it’s bad alright.
But she doesn’t have the heart to tell him that her definition of “bad” doesn’t quite match his. So instead, like the good friend she is, Yaoyorozu gives him a shaky smile and a thumbs-up. “Certainly, Todoroki-san.”
🏍️
“Hey Midoriya,” Todoroki says with a puff-up of his leather jacket’s collar, “what do you think of me now?”
Midoriya, with green eyes that can’t stop zeroing in on the sleeves that read “Hello Kitty” in bright pink sequins, simply says, “what?”
Todoroki tries again. He grasps the two parted sides of the middle zipper, lifts, and flicks down. Just like he’s seen the bad boys on TV fluff up their jackets. He readjusts the shades over his eyes that he bought online for 200 yen. It’s sure to make him look incredibly irresistible and simultaneously unavailable. That’s the bad boy guarantee.
He hasn’t noticed the “Hello Kitty” on his sleeves, written in bright pink sequins.
“Oh. That’s... nice. Did you need something?” Midoriya questions with a tilt of his head. He’s still got his hand gripped tightly on his door handle, peering out from his room with confusion all over his face.
It’s not the response Todoroki expected. Actually, none of this is really going how he envisioned in his head.
This isn’t bad enough. Dammit, he should have known that leather jackets weren’t badass enough for Midoriya. Bakugou wears all black every single day -- one of his shirts has a freaking skull on it -- so that’s way more metal than Todoroki’s thrift store jacket.
He still hasn’t noticed the “Hello Kitty”.
🏍️
It’s either a miracle or a sure-fire curse when Endeavor gets a text from his youngest son. Sometimes it’s a mandatory response to Endeavor’s twenty simultaneous texts sent within one minute, sometimes it’s a very laconic “thank you” to something Endeavor said or did. And sometimes it’s a prank text, which happens more often than the man would like to admit.
But this time, Endeavor is at a loss for words.
He’s never asked for stuff from me, he tells himself as he stares very sharply at the intimidating text he’d just received. Especially not something this expensive.
Hawks walks by and takes a peek. He makes a little tittering noise. “Aw, little Shouto’s becoming a bad boy.”
“Can it, Hawks.”
Something this expensive AND illegal.
🏍️
Todoroki pulls up the next day with a motorcycle.
He can’t drive (no license nor illegal experience) and he’s pretty sure a motorcycle and a bicycle don’t drive one and the same, but he looks super bad boy. Super emotionally distant with a dark, depressing past and too much brooding to sort out through therapy or anything healthy. That’s already the truth, so Todoroki doesn’t even have to try that hard in that department.
He waits for Midoriya to leave the dorm building for class, avoids eye contact with every other student in their class who casts him strange looks, and pretends his eyes don’t light up when he sees the greenet walk out the doors. He’s distracted talking to Kaminari. They’re talking about some show that was on TV last night.
When Midoriya finally looks his way, he opens his mouth and gawks.
Todoroki wiggles his eyebrows. “I take it you’re colored impressed?”
“Wow,” is all Midoriya breathes. He doesn’t look impressed. He actually looks more concerned than anything else.
Kaminari, however, sings a different tune. He slowly runs his hand along the wheel, whistling under his breath. “Dude, I knew you were cool, but this is on a whole new level of dope. You just have one of these laying around? And you know how to drive it?”
No, he does not.
But because he’s a certified bad boy now, and he’s trying to subtly and inconspicuously win over Midoriya’s heart, he lies through his teeth. “Been driving since I was twelve.”
“ Whoa! For real?!” Kaminari exclaims.
“Yup.”
Midoriya, ever the level-headed, goes, “isn’t that... illegal?”
“Nothing’s illegal if you don’t get caught,” Todoroki drawls out with a wink that looks more like a blink.
“Dude, you gotta show me, you’re probably the coolest biker out there,” says the blond in awe, completely unfazed by Todoroki’s pathetic wooing. “Can I ride this with you?”
Todoroki stares at Kaminari, then at Midoriya, who’s cluelessly waiting for the guy’s response. His big green eyes blink, lashes kissing his dotted cheekbones for even the shortest second, and that’s when Todoroki makes his decision.
“Yeah, okay.” They still have about thirty minutes before class.
🏍️
When Endeavor arrives on the scene, he brings his fingers to the space between his eyes and pinches. He should have expected this. No, he honestly should have known better.
“Hey, number-one hero,” says the blond one with the streak, his sheepish face covered in soot, scratches, and dirt. “Fancy seeing you here. Is there some sort of crime happening nearby?”
“ You’re the crime,” Endeavor grumbles.
His youngest son gives a nod. Despite the burning motorcycle discarded in the ditch just a few feet away, his expression remains unbothered. “Father.”
“Shouto, I’m disappointed in you. But more importantly, I’m disappointed in myself.”
Young hero Deku stands a close distance. His damaged hand is rubbing his temple. He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t have to; Endeavor has never related more to a child three times younger than him.
(Todoroki gets by scott-free, because his dad is the number-one hero and also stinkin’ rich. No criminal charges, no jail time, but no Midoriya affection, either.)
🏍️
“You should go blond,” Kaminari says during their first day of house arrest. Yes, they’re on house arrest. Midoriya and Bakugou apparently aren’t the only problem children in their class anymore, after the motorcycle fiasco from yesterday.
Kaminari has no idea what’s going on in Todoroki’s mind lately, but whatever it is, he’s all for it. The resident princely boy is spreading his wings, exploring options. In Kaminari’s head, that’s a noble, noble pursuit.
“Why blond?” Todoroki asks absentmindedly, having wiped the same window area for the past thirty minutes. His head’s clearly stuck in the clouds.
“Because blonds are always the hottest!” Kaminari declares with a cocky point to himself. “Think about it! Me, Bakugou, me, Mirio, me, Melissa from that time we went to I-Island, me, me... ”
He’d continue, but the list henceforth only consists of Kaminari.
“Bakugou...” mutters Todoroki.
“Also, blonds get chicks. And dudes.”
The half-and-half boy’s eyes narrow at that statement, though they’re still set on the window in front of him that he’s been cleaning for thirty-one minutes now.
Kaminari clears his throat. “Dude, Bakugou has like, half of this school drooling over him and he doesn’t even want them.”
Todoroki whips his head in Kaminari's direction so fast, it’s like witnessing a spinning top unwind. “Where can I get blond hair dye?”
Jackpot.
🏍️
Now off his house arrest, Todoroki goes to class in a ratty blond wig. He walks through the door, politely nods to all his classmates who are ooh-ing and ahh-ing, and stops before Midoriya in his seat, who’s been intently watching him.
It’s like walking down the aisle to your groom. It’s supposed to be a magical moment. Wait, is Todoroki the bride in this imaginative scenario?
Whatever. “Yo,” he greets the boy.
Midoriya doesn’t even say anything, he just stares. Worriedly.
“How do you like my new hair?” Todoroki asks nonchalantly, because that’s how the bad boys do it, while flipping some locks with the back of his hand. He didn’t want to dye his entire head, because Todoroki is more than certain that he’d look awful in permanent yellow, so instead he bought this used wig off the internet for another 200 yen.
It reaches his shoulders, so it’s a bit long. And Todoroki is pretty sure some red and white strands are sliding out from under the fake bangs.
“Well?”
The entire class’s eyes are drilled onto him and his crush. Midoriya glances around, alert, and a bit panicked.
He then leans in, and Todoroki more than willingly leans in too. Maybe this is a kiss. Maybe his bad boy persona finally worked.
Midoriya cups his hand around his mouth and finally whispers, “Todoroki-kun, please don’t take this the wrong way, but may I suggest you...”
Kiss me?
“...Get help?”
🏍️
Jirou doesn’t like to be nosy, even though her quirk is literally overhearing, but sometimes she just can’t help it. She’s been noticing pretty-boy Todoroki smuggling something in his uniform jacket after class, and she’s determined to get to the bottom of this strange mystery.
She corners him when he’s about to enter his room. “Hey, Todoroki, what’s that in your hand?”
Todoroki uncurls his empty palm. “Nothing.”
“No, the other one.”
He hesitates, before grabbing her wrist and dragging her inside his dorm. She complies, though there wasn’t much of a choice.
When the door closes, Todoroki shows his other hand.
Cigarettes.
“Oh,” Jirou starts, but doesn’t finish. She’s truthfully not sure if she expected better or worse than a pack of cigarettes.
“Bad, right?” Todoroki hushes as he starts opening the box. “It’s so bad.”
Yeah, it’s definitely bad, Jirou thinks alarmingly. Smoking is strictly prohibited in the UA dorms, but it’s also just generally a bad idea. Bad for your health, bad for your breath, bad for your teeth...
But Jirou is getting the idea that Todoroki is obsessed with a different kind of bad. Kaminari told her all about the motorcycle he brought to school (and simultaneously crashed in the same day), she saw the blond wig herself in class, and were her eyes deceiving her, or did Todoroki wear a “Hello Kitty” leather jacket the other day?
Jirou connects the dots faster than Todoroki opens that package.
“You want to be a bad boy.”
“Yeah,” Todoroki says apathetically. “Wasn’t that obvious?”
She winces when he finally takes out a cancer stick and sticks it in his mouth. “Okay, uh, you know there are other ways to be bad that don’t involve harming your lungs, right?”
“Dere are?” he asks with that stick still in between his teeth.
Jirou nods. As she pulls the cigarette away from Todoroki in fear that he’ll light it with his quirk, “bad boys have a killer taste in music, don’t they?”
🏍️
Todoroki knocks on Midoriya’s door early the next morning.
The door creaks open and a very sleepy Midoriya appears at the entrance. His hair’s a mess, more bed-headed than usual. His shirt says “sleep shirt”. Todoroki would call him adorably cute, because he is, but he’s not a sap because he’s the baddest guy around.
“Todoroki-kun?” Midoriya mumbles as a hand rubs his right eye. “What’re you doing here at four AM?”
Yeah, it’s really early in the morning. He just couldn’t wait. He spent all night making a playlist for Midoriya with all the baddest romance songs he and Jirou could come up with. After they exhausted the list, Jirou wished him luck and then reminded him that she was not affiliated with this project.
He hands the boy his phone and earbuds. “Take a listen.”
Midoriya blinks, squints, then sighs. His voice is dry when he says, “you woke me up at four in the morning to listen to some music?”
“It’s good music.”
Perhaps reluctantly, Midoriya takes an earbud and jams it in his ear. The entire time, he observes the half-and-half student with tense anticipation. Either he’s really excited or he’s really dreading this next event.
Todoroki presses start on the first song.
One second passes.
Two seconds pass.
Three seconds pass.
At four seconds, Midoriya wordlessly tugs the earbud out, chucks it at Todoroki’s face, and slams the door.
So maybe screamo at four in the morning wasn’t the greatest idea.
🏍️
🏍️
🏍️
Bakugou hates that Todoroki bastard with everything he’s got. This feeling doesn’t change, not even in the slightest, when Todoroki comes to him for advice.
Advice. What is he, an advice columnist? A gossip journalist? He doesn’t have the time to spout stupid motivational quotes.
“ What, ” he snaps as that candy cane shit walks up beside him. They’re apparently walking back to the dorm building together because there’s no justice in this world.
“How do I become as bad as you?” Todoroki asks plainly.
“The fuck did you just say?!”
“Bad,” he repeats. “Like a bad boy. You’re a bad boy, so how do you do it?”
Bakugou glares at him. Admittedly, he’s kind of lost. “The hell are you talking about?”
“The way you talk, the way you walk, it’s all so... bad boy,” says Todoroki with what sounds like a wistful sigh. The fuck is wrong with him. “See, you stuff your hands all the way in your pockets and you slouch like nobody is worth your time. And you swear constantly when you talk.”
He blinks before cupping his chin with his fingers, deep in thought. “Is that how I achieve ultimate bad boy-ness?”
Bakugou stops, causing Todoroki to stop as well. “Why are you tryna be a bad boy?”
“Because Midoriya likes bad boys.”
“No he doesn’t.” He’s surprised at himself for saying that so quickly, and so confidently too.
Todoroki scrunches his features. “He doesn’t?”
“Deku doesn’t give a shit about whatever the fuck you’re on about.”
“But he likes you. ”
Bakugou laughs harshly. Outside of the blatant lie, that’s the funniest shit he’s ever heard. “One, no. Two, I’m not a fucking bad boy. I don’t parade in a greasy leather jacket and ride some shitty motorcycle and I don’t smoke and I sure as hell don’t fuck with screamo.”
From beside him, Todoroki starts to sweat, though Bakugou wouldn’t know the reason behind why.
And then the bastard has the balls to ask, “you don’t like screamo?”
“Who does? ” growls Bakugou.
“Not Midoriya,” Todoroki responds quietly. “And he didn’t like the leather jacket, or the motorcycle, or the blond hair, either.”
“What. Of course he wouldn’t.”
Todoroki frowns. “I said blond hair, you know.”
“Yeah, and? I already told you, that shitty nerd doesn’t like me in that way. You’re just fuckin’ delusional.”
That must’ve done it for him, because the half-and-half boy splits his mouth into a big smile and goes, “Bakugou, he doesn’t like bad boys.”
“If you’re still equating me to a bad boy then you’re either deaf or you’re brain damaged.”
“Thanks!”
He runs off.
He’s definitely brain damaged, Bakugou thinks to himself.
🏍️
This time, Todoroki has no tricks up his sleeve. He wears no leather jacket, brings no motorcycle, wears no blond wig, and brings no heavy metal playlist that has a sole purpose in blasting your eardrums to hell.
This time, Todoroki is just Todoroki.
He finds Midoriya in the lunchroom. As per usual lately, he’s sitting next to Bakugou, talking about fighting techniques and hero gear. The blond’s cheek rests on his palm, but this time he’s listening, at least. They’re surprisingly alone today, not surrounded by the likes of Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido and Sero.
From behind him, Uraraka and Iida watch intensely from their own table. They might as well be munching on popcorn.
Todoroki takes a deep breath, then strolls over to Midoriya. He’s kind of nervous, but nothing can be more embarrassing than everything else he’s already done. Self-reflection taught him that he is painfully unaware of the sheer mortification he puts himself through every day just by being dense.
Whatever. Point is, he’s wooing Midoriya today, and he’s doing it the right way.
He stops in front of Midoriya. The boy looks up and takes a deep breath, caution washing over his face.
“Hi Midoriya,” Todoroki greets with fire in his veins.
“Hi Todoroki-kun,” Midoriya replies with a shake in his voice.
Bakugou rolls his eyes at the show.
Uraraka and Iida watch even more intensely.
“What’s up today?” asks Midoriya, eyes roaming over Todoroki’s person. There’s nothing physically that’s much different, so he’s probably waiting for Todoroki to pull something absolutely crazy from behind him. Maybe a bunch of balloons, or a newborn baby, or a gun... All very possible candidates.
But nope. Todoroki shakes his head, takes a step forward, leans down. He positions his hands on the table so they’re fencing his crush’s tray. He traps Midoriya’s eyes on his own.
The cafeteria doesn’t shut up for anyone, so it’s still pretty loud, but suddenly Todoroki feels like everyone that matters is in this little bubble with him.
The blond scoffs from beside them. “Jesus fuck, just say it already.”
“Say what?” Midoriya whispers, quietly enough, but it sounds like music to Todoroki’s ears.
“Sorry for being weird,” Todoroki finally announces. “I like you, Midoriya. Go out with me.”
The opposing boy’s eyes blink. Slowly, at first, then it speeds up. And then it stops, and his greens are so wide, they’re nearly popped out of their sockets.
“Huh?”
It’s a whimper, then a gasp, and then suddenly Midoriya’s entire freckled face is blossoming red. At last, it's a reaction he wants.
Bakugou stands up and leaves, but not before he dunks his lunch all over Todoroki’s head. He thinks part of it is miso soup, with the way it’s thinly damping his half-half hair.
In the background, Uraraka and Iida high-five.
Silently, Todoroki thanks that blond devil’s spawn for everything.