Chapter Text
It was late at night, so late that everyone else in the class 1-A dorms was probably asleep. Typically Denki would also be asleep, but he stayed up scrolling and watching hundreds of videos on Tik Tok. The app was made to be addicting, Denki swears. Staying up that late caused the blonde’s throat to be dryer than All Might’s jokes during any particularly boring lesson.
“Two to the one, to the one to the three,” Denki hummed, hopping down the hallway, “Do you want to die, definitely..” The blonde continued to sing, without really knowing the words. The boy continued to skip, walking down to the common room. Turning the corner to see the kitchen lights on.
The blonde squinted at the fluorescent light, illuminating the kitchen counters. Denki didn’t come down to the common room often, but he was sure that no one typically stayed up late in the common rooms. It was even a school night, which meant that no student would probably be staying up-- other than him, of course.
Denki crept up to the kitchen, curious to see who was staying up late. Tip-toeing to the kitchen counter, the blonde peeked towards the kitchen.
To his surprise, there stood-- or sat -- Todoroki. In his half-and-half glory. He sat on a tall stool, his back towards Denki, in front of the microwave.
He wasn’t very close with Todoroki, but Denki didn’t expect Todoroki to be awake so late. Todoroki seemed to be like Bakugou, sleeping incredibly early. Moving slowly, making sure his steps don’t cause anything on the cool wooden floor, Denki crept closer to the other. Looking closer, the blonde could see a box of tea bags on the counter. And looking even closer, Denki noticed that Todoroki’s head was bobbing up and down.
Denki stretched his neck, peeking over Todoroki’s shoulder. That’s when he noticed the student was sleeping. He was sitting on a stool in front of the microwave, snoozing away. Denki stood back up, surprised. Denki thought back, when the class went on short trips. As far as Denki could recall, Todoroki slept on those as well. The teenager glanced at the stool Todoroki was currently sitting on. Denki was no sleeping expert, but he would assume sleeping upright isn’t comfortable, or not good for your back, at the very least. Amber eyes drifted towards the large couches in the living room area. Sleeping on the couch wasn’t very comfortable either, but it was probably better than the stool.
It was a far off journey to the couch though. Denki lifted his arms, looking at his biceps, and frowned. He glanced at the other sleeping teen, then back at his arms.
Perhaps carrying the other was probably not possible for the Denki arms.
He also didn’t want to carry Todoroki anywhere. Or carry anyone, in any situation.
Plus, isn’t touching a sleeping person, or carrying them, a big no-no? Denki pondered. Todoroki was really quiet too, so Denki would assume the other might not like people touching him whenever. Denki sighed. He would feel super guilty about this, but he didn’t want Todoroki to wake up to Bakugou’s early morning runs.
Lifting a hesitant finger, Denki poked Todoroki’s shoulder. When he didn’t receive a response, Denki shook the other as gently as possible.
Todoroki slowly opened his eyes, waking up. Denki smiled, “Dude, it’s like, three A.M., what are you doing here?”
Rotating his neck, Todoroki winced at the bright lights and Denki’s loud voice. He glanced at the microwave -- where a mug was sitting inside under the warm light of the appliance. Sighing, Todoroki mumbled, “I came down to make some tea…”
Denki hummed, looking at the cup. Luckily the microwave wasn't making any annoying beeping noises, but the water is probably not a suitable temperature for tea. An awkward silence once again filled the room, an atmosphere that made Denki want to end the conversation immediately Once again, he never really talked with Todoroki, and he didn’t really seem to be a talker either.
“Well, maybe don’t make tea so late, sleeping on a stool is probably not really good for you, man.” Denki mumbled awkwardly.
Turning towards the blonde and cocking his head to the side, Todoroki looked at Denki, eyes confused. “Aren’t you awake as well? What are you doing?”
The blonde flushed, embarrassed. He couldn’t exactly tell one of the top students of his class that he stayed up all night watching funny videos. Fumbling around, Denki opened the cabinets to grab a cup, and look away from Todoroki.
“W-Well….I-I’m not an exemplary role model -- So do as I say, and not as I do, y’know?” Denki stammered pulling out a glass.
Todoroki nodded, before glancing at his cup. The student sighed, resting his right hand on the side of the mug, heating the cooled tea back up. “Thank you for waking me up.”
Denki smiled, turning on the tap, filling his glass with water. “Anytime, dude. I’ll always be here to help.”
A short silence filled the air, before Todoroki gave a small smile and gave a small bow. Denki heard Todoroki's feet pad across the kitchen, towards the hallway that Denki had come from earlier -- hopefully with his tea. Taking a sip of his water, Denki sighed. Despite the weird awkwardness that the two had engaged in, Denki felt weirdly closer to the star student of his class. Maybe they could be friends?
Denki shook his head. That awkwardness was something that his soul was still recovering from. The blonde took another sip, before turning off the lights.