Work Text:
It all started on a seemingly normal Thursday afternoon.
Midoriya was working on a case; he was the head strategist for a private agency. Essentially, he’s given a mission or a villain to capture, they give him a set of heroes to work with, and he’s in charge of concocting a strategy to get the job done. And he loved his job- if he couldn’t be a hero at least he could put his love for analysis to use and assist heroes. His current job was to keep an eye on Dabi, he had been supposedly acting up and causing more trouble than usual. He walked through the streets of Kamino, looking for any clues pointing towards Dabi’s location.
After wandering aimlessly for the better half of an hour, an explosion erupted from a building next to him, a bank. Pieces of rubble shot into the air and shortly after, a black cloud of smoke flowed out of the building. Apparently having no concern for his own safety, Midoriya inched closer to the scene, looking to identify a culprit. He shuffled close to the floor as he approached the building, hiding behind fallen pieces of rubble.
Once he was finally close enough to get a good look inside, he looked through the window of the bank, and his eyes locked on the culprit. Midoriya could recognize that sloppy patchwork and musty hair from anywhere.
His target: Dabi.
He dared to inch even closer to the building, hoping to catch part of the conversation he was having with who Midoriya assumed was another league member. Unfortunately for Midoriya, he was so focused on the task at hand, he wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings and somehow failed to notice the piece of rubble falling towards him.
“Watch out!” A voice exclaimed. Confused, Midoriya looked up and was met with the sight of a person rushing towards him. A hero, to be exact.
Wait. Is that who I think it is? Midoriya wondered in disbelief, almost wistfully, as the hero approached him. Now that they were closer, Midoriya recognized the hero; the navy jumpsuit, the scar surrounding one of his heterochromatic eyes, the Pokeball hair.
Standing before him was pro hero Shouto, Midoriya’s all-time favorite hero (aside from All Might, of course).
Frozen in awe, Midoriya stared at him slack-jawed. Sure, he’s met Shouto briefly before, whether it be on the streets or at HeroCon, but that wouldn’t prevent him from entering full-on fanboy mode anytime the hero was anywhere near his vicinity. Shouto, having reached Midoriya’s hiding spot near the bank, scooped him off the floor and carried him away from the building bridal style.
And for a good moment or two, Midoriya was completely out of it because oh my god Shouto is carrying me right now this better not be a dream. However, he was immediately pulled from his thoughts as a piece of rubble the size of a grand piano fell where he had just been hiding. Oh. I was almost a pancake.
“Are you alright?” Shouto asked, still holding him. He looked over Midoriya carefully to ensure he wasn't hurt.
Meanwhile, Midoriya was on the verge of combusting, all too aware of Shouto’s arms under his legs and on his back. Get a hold of yourself Izuku! He’s just doing his job! Nothing more! “I think so. Thanks for saving me.” Midoriya said, trying to keep his voice steady.
“That is my job after all,” Todoroki responded. “Well then, I should get going.” He said, putting Midoriya down.
“Yes of course! Don’t let me hold you up!” Midoriya waved him off frantically. And it wasn’t until Shouto was far away fighting Dabi and the other villains that Midoriya realized he didn’t get the chance to get intel on Dabi as he had hoped. And he isn’t all that mad about it.
When Midoriya got home that night, he was over the moon. Never in a million years would he have guessed that he would be carried bridal style by Shouto.
He played their interaction on repeat as he got ready for bed, too joyous to notice the tickling sensation beginning to bloom in his throat.
Midoriya woke up the next morning feeling like absolute shit. He was experiencing a feeling similar to that of getting run over by a bus. Not to mention he was congested as hell and was having difficulty breathing.
That’s weird... at least I don’t have work today , Midoriya remembered thankfully. And so he decided to stay at home, rest up, and hope he hadn't caught a cold. Easy peasy.
However, after only an hour of laying in bed and watching tv, Midoriya couldn’t stay put any longer. He was used to being on the move all day, not sitting around and doing nothing. So he pulled on a pair of shoes and walked out the door, knowing the perfect place to visit.
(boba place): only the best boba shop in the city. Sure the name sounded strange as if someone had no idea what else to name the place, but that didn't take away from the fact that it sold some of the best milk tea Midoriya had ever had the pleasure of drinking. In addition, (boba place) was also the home to his best friend (more accurately, his only friend), Hanzo Tortellini.
Midoriya first met him a couple of years ago, the first time he went to (boba place). They didn't talk much during that first visit, and Midoriya didn’t think much of their brief interaction. But as Midoriya visited the shop more and became a regular customer, he talked to Hanzo more and got to know more about him. And one day, Midoriya started spending hours at the shop, talking with Hanzo about anything and everything, whether it be about their jobs, personal life, or just random things that happened during their day. And his conversations with Hanzo never failed to bring a smile to his face.
The walk to the boba shop isn’t far, it usually only takes Midoriya ten minutes tops to get there; however his body was unusually sore today, so the trek took a little longer. But alas, he finally arrived. Upon opening the shop's doors, he could see Hanzo standing behind the counter, taking someone's order. Midoriya decided to wait near the entrance until he was done.
“Welcome to (boba place) what can I-'' Hanzo started once he was finished with the previous customer’s order. He looked up and paused when he realized who’s standing in front of him. “Oh, it's just you.”
Midoriya frowned. “What? Do I not get the customer service spiel?”
“You’ve been coming here for years. I would hope you don’t need the customer service spiel.” Hanzo responded in all seriousness while beginning to make Midoirya’s drink.
“Fair enough,” Midoriya said, settling down at a table near the shop's counter. “How has business been today?”
“Slow,” he replied, adding the finishing touches to Midoriya’s drink, a matcha milk tea. He then goes around the counter, sets it on the table, and sits down across from Midoriya. “How’s work?”
Midoriya then went on to explain his adventures from the previous day, about the bank robbery, Dabi, and getting saved by Shouto. And although doing so didn't necessarily make him feel less sick, his mood had gotten a whole lot better than it had been earlier that morning.
When Midoriya got home later that night, he was thrown into a sudden coughing fit. He spent what felt like hours hunched over, catching his breath whenever he could between coughs. When the coughs finally subsided, he noticed something wet in the palm of his hand. Slowly, he glanced down at the wet dandelion in his hand, and his gut twisted unpleasantly at the sight. Because he knew exactly what this flower meant.
Hanahaki disease.
He had heard of Hanahaki before; he had even known people who have gotten the disease. But never in a million years did he think he would get it.
Fuck my life.
For the first few weeks, the disease was easy to manage. He was able to go about his day as usual, aside from choking on dandelion petals every couple of hours.
See, perfectly fine.
But the real issue was deciding how he wanted to go about curing the disease. The easiest way to get rid of Hanahaki was through confessing your feelings to the person you're in love with, because if it turns out they reciprocate your feelings, then the disease would go away on its own. But if you confess and they don’t like you back, there are two options. One: surgically remove the flower, or two: die. And while it may sound like an easy decision, there's a catch. If the flower is removed via surgery, you would lose the ability to love another person ever again.
Midoriya had no idea which option to pick. He doesn’t want to die, so he must choose between confessing and getting surgery. And considering the person who caused him to develop the disease was a famous pro hero who probably forgot he exists, the second option was probably his best bet. Also, Midoriya was not trying to humiliate himself in front of his idol. He would rather die than have Shouto reject him.
So by that logic, getting the surgery was his only option. Was he looking forward to never being able to love someone ever again? No, not at all. Midoriya had always hoped that one day he would find someone to settle down with. But now that dream was going down the drain. On the bright side, at least he won’t die; he could still do the job that he loves, and he could continue to visit Hanzo at (boba place). Even if he could never love again, at least he would be getting to do all the things in life he loves.
Having made up his mind, Midoriya called his doctor to schedule the surgery.
Hanzo noticed the signs of Hanahaki in Midoriya almost immediately, and ever since then he swore that he would find out who was responsible, because Midoriya wasn’t allowed to die, not on his watch.
He wanted to do whatever he could to help prevent the death of his friend. As sad as it was, Midoriya was one of the only people he talked to on a regular basis. If he died, Hanzo wouldn’t know what to do with himself.
But alas, he realized he doesn't know as much about Midoirya’s relationships with others as he previously thought, making it near impossible to find out who he could have gotten Hanahaki from. The only people he ever talked about were pro hero Shouto and his mom, so he had hit a dead end.
It had been a solid month since Hanzo noticed Midoriya had Hanahaki and he wasn’t any closer to finding out who Midoriya liked. Each day he noticed Midoriya’s health deteriorating more and more, and it pained him more than he could describe.
When Midoriya entered (boba place), Hanzo immediately noticed that he looked like a bag of shit (more so than in previous days).
“One matcha milk tea please,” Midoriya grunted out before collapsing in one of the seats near the register. Hanzo noticed that his voice was much more hoarse than before and was slightly concerned.
“Are you alright?” Hanzo asked as he began to make Midoriya’s usual order.
Midoriya let out a grating sigh. “Hanzo, to be completely honest, I feel like a bag of shit.”
“Are you sick? You have seemed off these past couple of weeks.” Hanzo played dumb, hoping that Midoriya would open up to him about his sickness. As much as he wanted to help, there’s not much he could do if Midoriya didn’t confide in him. And he doesn't want to force Midoriya to come clean about the disease; he would tell Hanzo when he felt comfortable enough to talk about it.
Midoriya chuckled halfheartedly. “You could say that.”
Hanzo took it back. This self-deprecating bitch doesn't get to suffer in silence, he won't allow it. He finished up Midoriya’s tea, leaped over the counter, took off his apron, threw it on a random customer, shoved them behind the counter, set the drink down aggressively on the table, and slid into the chair across from Midoriya.
“So who is it?” He asked suddenly, catching Midoriya off guard.
“Pardon?”
“You have Hanahaki. Who is it?”
Midoriya stared at Hanzo, baffled. “How-”
“You've been coughing. A lot. And your voice sounds like that green slug from Monsters Inc.” Hanzo explained, cue Midoriya beginning to cough violently, further proving his point.
“Okay fine,” Midoriya sighed in defeat. “You're right. I have Hanahaki, I’ve had it for about a month now.”
“Are you considering getting the surgery? Or are you going to confess to the person?” Hanzo inquired because he had been curious about this ever since he realized Midoriya was sick.
“Confessing isn't an option for me, and I don't feel like dying at 23. The surgery is shaping out to be my best option-”
“Why is confessing not an option?” He interrupted, confused. Did Midoriya believe confessing wasn't an option because the person didn't like him back? Absurd. How could anyone not like Midoriya?
“It’s stupid, we barely know each other. I doubt he even remembers who I am.”
“How could anyone forget you?” He wonders genuinely, and doesn't realize what he has said until he saw Midoriya averting his gaze, face flushed. Well shit, he didn't mean to say that out loud.
“I’m just one of the hundreds of faces he sees a day. Why would he remember some random citizen he saved a couple of times.”
“He’s a pro,” Hanzo mumbled in a state of absolute shock. Midoriya had Hanahaki because he had feelings for a pro hero- a pro hero Hanzo most likely knew...
Midoriya took a moment to process what he had just said, then realized his mistake. “No! You didn’t hear me say that. Nope! You heard nothing!”
“Who is it?”
“Not saying!”
“Why not?”
“It’s an embarrassing celebrity crush.”
“It must be more than a crush if you have Hanahaki because of this person.”
“Hanzo, I can’t.”
“You’ll get no judgment from me.”
Midoriya was silent, most likely contemplating his next move.
Then, he sighed in defeat.
“Shouto.”
“Yes?” Hanzo responded to the name reflexively.
“Shouto,” Midoriya said again, louder this time. “I like pro hero Shouto.”
Hanzo.exe has stopped working. View problem details here .
All this time he had been wondering what dumbass wouldn’t like Midoirya back; it turns out he was the dumbass in this situation.
“That's not possible though. I like you back.”
They both went silent and Todoroki realizes his mistake too late. Man, I need to work on my filter.
“What did you just say?”
Admitting defeat, Todoroki reached for his wig and pulled it off his head, revealing his iconic hair. Midoriya stared at him, looking like he went through every stage of grief in a matter of seconds. Then, a second later, he slowly got up and backed towards the door, booking it down the street as soon as he was outside.
Todoroki just stared at the door, his brain trying to process what just happened.
The customer at the counter stared at Todoroki, looking vaguely annoyed. “Can I stop doing your job for you now? The kids these days and their need for spontaneous pro hero cosplay… and not to mention your scar is on the wrong side. Amateur.”
With a frustrated sigh, Todoroki put the wig back on (crooked) and went back to work. “Anyway, back to Hanzo…”
Midoriya walked down the street to his apartment, trying his best to not run into oncoming traffic.
This was all a dream. That did not just happen. Hanzo wasn’t Shouto. That’s absurd. Maybe hallucinating was a side effect of Hanahaki. Yeah, that must be it. Because he most certainly did not just witness Shouto and Hanzo being the same person. Nope.
Convinced that this was all just some sick fever dream, Midoriya promptly went to bed upon arriving at his apartment. He couldn’t wait to wake up from this nightmare.
The next morning, Midoriya woke up feeling much more refreshed than he had in weeks. He recalled his dream last night and sighed in relief. Thank god, it was only a dream. He laughed at the memory of it, how could Hanzo and Shouto be the same person? Hanzo worked at a boba shop and Shouto was a pro hero, there was no way they were one person. Those two professions are mutually exclusive.
Relieved his nightmare was over, Midoriya hastily got ready for work. He needed to get out there as soon as possible if he wanted to find out any information on Dabi today. But before anything, he had to stop by (boba place) to get some milk tea.
While on his way to (boba place), someone tapped his shoulder. “Excuse me?”
Midoriya internally groaned. Why must people speak to him before there is any caffeine in his system? He turned around, planning to tell the person off and be on his way. However, there was a slight change of plans, because the said person happened to be pro hero Shouto.
“Hello. I was patrolling the area and saw you walking. I just wanted to check-in and make sure you were okay after the bank incident yesterday.”
What? What ? Shouto remembered him? And wanted to make sure he was okay ? That's it, he is dreaming. He had to be. Because there was no way Shouto would remember him, much less be able to pick him out in a crowd. It’s just not possible.
Midoriya gave Shouto a polite smile, nodded that yes, he was doing okay after yesterday, then pushed past him and continued on his way. If he got stopped by another dream Shouto, he would be late, so he chose to forgo his morning milk tea and headed straight (gay?) to work. He could always stop by (boba place) after work. And he had to tell Hanzo about the weird dreams he’d been having, Midoriya’s sure he would get a kick out of them.
“You won't believe the dream I had last night!” Midoriya exclaimed, taking a sip of his matcha milk tea before continuing. “It involves you, Hanzo. I came here to get some boba and I told you I have Hanahaki and then you told me that you're pro hero Shouto! Isn’t that ridiculous?”
Todoroki was silent, unsure how to proceed. Because Midoriya’s dream was in fact, not a dream. He was even wearing his hero costume currently, not having time to change into his work uniform before his shift started. But if Midoriya was convinced it was all a dream, maybe that meant he wasn't thrilled about the idea of him being both Shouto and Hanzo. Regardless, he couldn’t let Midoriya go about his day believing the whole thing was a dream.
“Well, yeah. Because I am. Shouto,” Todoroki said carefully.
The smile on Midoriya’s face fell instantly. He immediately leaped out of his chair and out the door, so fast that Todoroki would have thought he had some sort of speed quirk.
Oh well, Todoroki thought as he cleaned up the table he had been sitting at. He will come around eventually.
It had been days and Midoriya was still in denial. He hadn’t been to (boba place) since Hanzo revealed he was Shouto. And at this point, he honestly couldn’t tell if the whole thing was just a fever dream or not.
That was until he got to work that day. He was in his office, getting caught up on the work he fell behind on while he was sick. There was a knock on the entrance of his cubicle and in the entrance stood one of his coworkers, Light Yagami.
“Hi, Yagami. What’s up?” Midoriya asked politely.
“Well, you’ve sounded really sick these past few months. And I haven't heard as much coughing from you lately, so I was just checking in to see how you're feeling?”
Midoriya’s whole world flipped upside down. How did he not notice it sooner? He hadn’t had any Hanahaki flares in days . But he hadn’t gotten the surgery yet. And he sure hadn’t confessed his feelings to Shouto. Unless…
Oh shit.
“I have to go!” He panicked, sprinting out of the office, leaving his coworker in the dust.
His legs carried him on autopilot down the streets of Kamino. For as smart as he was, Midoriya felt like the biggest idiot right now. How did he not notice his Hanahaki flares dying out the day he dreamed about Hanzo and Shouto being the same person? He now realized it was definitely not a dream, he was just deep in denial. He had to see Hanzo (Shouto? What is he supposed to call him now?). Midoriya needed to tell him about his recent revelation because he had been ignoring him for weeks. He knew Hanzo’s schedule well enough to know he wasn’t working right now, so Midoriya made his way to Shouto’s hero agency, praying that he would be there.
Finally, he arrived at the agency. Midoriya stood outside for what felt like an hour, trying to compose himself as much as he possibly could before entering the agency. But when he found his nerves were not calming down in the slightest, he threw any hope of composition out the window and barged through the door. Putting a little too much force into the act, the agency’s door flew open and hit the wall with a loud boom. And immediately after doing so, all of the agency’s staff turned to look where the loud sound came from, most likely perplexed by the quirkless investigator who randomly threw open their front door.
“Excuse me?” Midoriya asked meekly, feeling bad for interrupting. But it's not like he had much of a choice; he needed to find Shouto as soon as possible. “Do you know where I can find Shouto?”
Melissa approached him, a less than pleased look on her face. “Unfortunately, Shouto is very busy. If you have an inquiry, I can be of assistance. But if you need to speak to him directly, I can schedule an appointment for you.” She tells him, pulling her tablet out of seemingly nowhere. “Does two months from this Thursday work?”
“What? No. I just need to talk to him real quick.” Midoriya couldn’t wait months for an appointment. He just needed two seconds to apologize.
“I’m sorry, but you need an appointment to speak to-”
“He’s fine.” A voice interrupted. A voice that Midoriya could recognize anywhere.
“Han… Shouto!” Midoriya called out, walking up to the hero. “Sorry to come so suddenly but I need to talk to you and I don’t have your phone number or any other way to contact you but I need to apologize because I’ve been an idiot and I’m so sorry that I have been avoiding you. But I know now. I know that you’re Hanzo and-”
Wait a minute.
“Oh my god is that All Might?”
“ Oh my god is that David Shield?”
“ OH MY GOD ARE THEY MAKING OUT?! ”
Sitting on one of the denim couches in the corner of Shouto’s agency was All Might and David Shield, passionately sucking face, Midoriya could even hear the loud smacking of their lips from the other side of the room. Disgusting homos.
Midoriya shook his head and focused back on Todoroki. He could worry about All Might and Dave later. “As I was saying… I know that you're Hanzo.”
“Finally,” Todoroki sighed, sounding exasperated. “Took you long enough.”
Now that the big secret is in the air, Midoriya debates how he should proceed from here. “So… since I like you, and I’m assuming you like me since I’m not dead right now, will you go out with me?”
Todoroki seemed to take a minute to consider. “I don’t know. You did ignore me for days after all. That wasn’t very nice.”
“Oh,” Midoriya deflated, feeling a sudden wave of embarrassment wash over him. He supposed it was rather rude to ignore Todoroki like that and then assume he would want to date him. Wait, did he misread the entire situation somehow? No. That's not possible. As he said, he would be dead if Todoroki didn’t like him back. “Well, can I at least say hi to All Might?” He asked, gesturing to the couch where All Might and Dave were still cantumfucknering their lipoodles.
“Give him a minute, this happens every Wednesday.” Todoroki waved him off dismissively.
Pushing All Might and Dave from his mind, the reality of the situation begun to sink in once again. So Todoroki didn’t like him? But then why did the Hanahaki flares die down? Is it possible he got the wrong person? Is that even how Hanahaki works?
Midoriya began to cry like the little bitch that he is.
Todoroki took a step forward and reached for Midoriya’s shoulder, rubbing it in an attempt at comfort. “Wait, wait. I’m joking, please don’t get sick again. I will. I’ll go out with you.”
“You really mean it?” He asked hesitantly, not wanting to get his hopes up over what could be another joke.
“I do.” Todoroki’s hand drifted up to cup Midoriya’s cheek- a touch the shorter boy immediately melted into. “And I’m sorry I never told you who I was earlier.”
“Well… I know one way you could make up for that.” Midoriya said, a smile creeping onto his face.
Todoroki quirked an eyebrow. “Enlighten me.” Then Midoriya pressed his lips against Todoroki’s- it was just a moment of contact, and it was laced with nervousness, but it was a kiss nonetheless.
Pulling away from the kiss, Midoriya gave Todoroki no time to recover before asking his most pressing question. “ Now can I say hi to All Might?”
“Only if you’ll be my boyfriend.”
“Deal.” And with another quick peck placed on Todoroki’s cheek, Midoriya bounced off to greet All Might.
Upon watching his now-boyfriend smile so wide coming face-to-face with his childhood role model, Todoroki came to the conclusion that maybe he wouldn’t mind competing with the number one hero for Midoriya’s attention. And judging by how often Midoriya glanced back over his shoulder to smile at Todoroki, maybe going up against All Might wasn’t as impossible as it seemed.