Chapter Text
The smell of smoke fills his senses, and he hears a muffled whimper full of pain as if the person making it is trying to keep quiet.
A step forward and he’s at the threshold. He grips the doorframe hard, fingernails scraping at the old wood which has dried up a long time ago. Splinters dig into the soft pads of his fingers, but he only grips the doorframe firmer in response.
He peeks around the corner to get a better view, only to see his father pouring boiling water over his mother's face. Despite the woman not making a single sound, the boy can practically feel her screaming on the inside.
The sight itself is enough to make bile rise up to his dry throat in which words like: ‘Stop! You’re hurting her! Please stop!’ are forming and dying almost simultaneously. It isn’t until the smell of burnt flesh reaches his nose that he flinches out of his frozen state. He feels like he’s going to throw up, but he pushes past the feeling, past the threshold. He starts running desperately, scrambling to his mother to soothe the burn with an icy palm but the faster he runs the further his mother fades away. He calls out for her as she slips into oblivion, far past his reach.
“Mom!” Shouto woke up and bolted upright, disoriented and out of breath. He raised his hand to touch the scar on his left eye. It was still there- textured and slightly raised from the rest of his face. It grounded him, assured him that it was all a nightmare and nothing more.
The more often he had this exact nightmare the less it felt like it would ever go away. It seemed to him that he was doomed to have it forever.
Noticing that his body was coated in a thin coat of cold sweat, Shouto took off his t-shirt and threw it on the floor, not caring where it landed. He got up and started to make his way towards the dorms’ shared bathroom only to find himself standing in front of a poster-covered door, fist raised and ready to knock.
Shouto sucked in a breath and knocked two times. He didn’t pound too loudly so as to not wake up others. After a brief moment and some quiet rustling, Shouto was met face-to-face with Midoriya.
"..Todoroki?” Midoriya rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “What are you doing here?” His tone was laced with confusion rather than accusation.
Midoriya’s hair was disheveled but perfectly messy in a seemingly deliberate way. He was wearing mint green shorts and a pastel yellow t-shirt, which rode up, revealing a part of his abdomen. Shouto was suddenly very aware that he was standing shirtless in front of Midoriya in the dead of the night. He flushed, feeling exposed.
He was so used to subconsciously using his quirk to adjust his body temperature that he failed to notice he was shirtless. He felt like a toddler who had just thrown up and went to tell his mom. It was exactly like those memes Kaminari had shown him not too long ago.
“I-...Uhh..” Shouto hesitated, scratching his cheek while looking for an explanation for his own behavior. “I had a nightmare,” he said plainly.
He must’ve sounded perturbed because Midoriya’s eyes widened briefly before going back to their sleepy half-lidded state. “Come in." Midoriya moved out of the way to let Shouto in. “Do you want me to turn the lights on?” His finger was already gingerly resting on a light switch adorned with a silly All Might sticker.
Shouto lightly shook his head. “It’s okay. You don’t need to do that.”
“Okay then.” Midoriya yawned and went to sit on his bed. Shouto awkwardly stood in the middle of the room as Midoriya looked up at him expectantly. “Aren’t you gonna sit?”
Shouto wondered what he was thinking when he came here. But that was the thing— he wasn’t thinking. His legs brought him here in his nightmare-induced panic. It was like his body had moved of its own accord.
Nightmares weren’t anything new to Shouto but this particular one was always realistic enough to make him feel out of place and like he needed a minute to come to his senses fully. Hesitantly, Shouto sat down, and Midoriya slung a warm fuzzy blanket over his exposed shoulders. Shouto didn’t seem to be in a talkative mood, so Midoriya opted for reassuring him by gently rubbing his back instead of talking.
At first, Shouto stiffened at the touch, a knee-jerk reaction to touching that Shouto had developed over the years, he relaxed a moment later after he deemed the action to be soothing rather than unpleasant or intrusive. The touch was light enough to not feel like too much, but it felt reassuring in the exact way Shouto needed at that moment.
Midoriya noticed Shouto’s lips were pulled in a thin line and that he was spacing out, if his blank faraway expression was anything to go by. His heart painfully twisted at the sight of his friend in such a state.
“Todoroki,” Midoriya whispered. “We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, just know that I'll listen if you need me to.”
Shouto hummed in response, that empty and spaced-out expression still etched deeply on his face.
“I’ll listen without judgment,” Midoriya promised and gave Shouto’s shoulder a gentle squeeze that snapped him out of his reverie and sprung him back to life.
Midoriya didn’t know that much about Shouto apart from what Shouto himself had told him about his life and his family at the UA sports festival. Everything he had heard though was concerning, to say the least.
After the sports festival, they grew closer, yet there was still something aloof about Todoroki. Like he had this shell around him that was just beginning to crack but needed more time and patience to completely break.
Luckily for Midoriya the words he offered made Shouto feel like coming here wasn’t a mistake. After all, Midoriya told him they were friends after the sports festival ended like it was just another simple fact of the universe, so it wasn’t like Shouto was coming on too strong by accepting what he was given. With the newfound realization, the tension in Shouto’s body significantly diminished, and he expelled a small sigh. “I don’t want to sleep alone. Can I sleep here tonight?” He craned his neck to look at Midoriya with sunken eyes.
Midoriya gave him a small smile. “Of course, you can.” He rubbed Shouto's back for emphasis. “Don’t tell me you expected me to kick you out.”
Shouto wished he could say he wasn’t, but in truth he never assumed he could stay the night so casually. Midoriya made this whole ordeal seem so nonchalant as if Shouto had asked for a simple glass of water and not permission to invade his space.
After asking to stay he immediately regretted it, but Midoriya’s smile made him feel like everything was okay and that everything would be okay moving on forward.
“You will stay here with me, and I’ll try my best to keep your nightmares away." Midoriya grinned with confidence. Even when he wasn't training or doing hero work, he made everything he did sound like a mission. Adorable.
Shouto nodded and gave him one of his ultra-rare smiles in return. Midoriya felt like he won something as he watched Shouto’s mouth twitch upwards into his go-to timid smile.
Shouto stood up from the bed and tightened his hold on the blanket wrapped around him before laying down on the floor and curling in on himself in a fetus-like position. Midoriya’s eyes blew open. “W-what are you doing?!" He sputtered. "Come back to bed! I’m not letting you sleep on the floor!"
Shouto looked up at Midoriya and saw his bewildered face. He sat up and brought his knees to his chest. “But won’t it be too crowded if we’re both on the bed? I don’t want you to lose a good night's sleep because of me.”
Midoriya held in a sigh. “Todoroki, it’s past two in the morning. It’s too late now to be worrying about my sleep schedule.” He scooted over towards the wall alongside his bed. “There is enough space for the both of us, you’re not that fat." He chuckled lightly. Shouto didn't laugh at his joke (not that Midoriya expected him to), but he did notice that Shouto’s features softened when he assured him that there was enough space for the both of them.
Shouto laid flat on his back like a corpse in a coffin. He didn’t know what to do with his arms, and he made sure to leave some space between himself and Midoriya– as much as the bed allowed (so not much at all)– but taking everything into consideration it was better than the floor.
Midoriya shifted to lay on his side, facing Shouto, so Shouto tried his best not to turn his head and instead kept his eyes glued to the ceiling as if there was anything more interesting than a shadow dancing there. He could feel Midoriya’s body heat radiating off of him and for some inexplicable reason he wanted to scoot closer but decided not to since it could potentially ruin the silent peacefulness they managed to achieve.
The room was quiet and pleasantly chilly. The silence wasn’t overwhelming and there was something warm and comforting in the air despite the fact that the two of them were possibly the most awkward people on earth.
Shouto was a stiff and awkward guy with little experience in social interaction while Midoriya was a jittery flustered ball of energy who had numerous nervous ticks and a knack for getting himself into all sorts of trouble. As much as Shouto thought about it– almost as if he was trying to convince himself that being this close to Midoriya was awkward– something prevented him from truly believing that.
Sure, neither of them had any friends before coming to UA so being this close and essentially having an impromptu sleepover was slightly nerve-wracking if they bothered to give it enough thought, but somehow they made it work. Maybe two minuses really did make a plus?
‘This kinda feels like a sleepover,’ Midoriya thought excitedly. He never had one before, so he wasn’t sure if sleepovers were supposed to be exactly like this, but he figured it was probably close enough.
“It’s kinda boring looking at the blank ceiling. Maybe I should get some glow-in-the-dark stickers for our next sleepover,” Midoriya said.
Shouto turned his head to look at Midoriya. His eyebrows raised beneath his heavy bangs. “This is a sleepover?”
Midoriya shrugged, accidentally brushing Shouto’s shoulder with his own. “It could be. If you want it to be.” He hummed in thought before smiling. “If this counts as one then it’s my first one." His eyes bore into Shouto. "What about you?”
Shouto could have sworn Midoriya’s eyes gleamed even in the darkness of the room, which was illuminated only by the gentle moonlight streaming in through the window. “..Uh, yeah. This is my first sleepover too.”
“I’m glad I finally have a friend I can do this with.”
“Why didn’t you ever have a sleepover with Bakugou? Aren’t you guys childhood friends?”
Midoriya tucked a hand underneath his pillow as he grimaced awkwardly. “I’ve known Kacchan for most of my life, but we’ve never really been friends. I doubt he would agree to a sleepover with me.”
“I assumed you were friends but just had a weird way of showing it." Shouto hummed. "Honestly, it’s good that you’re not friends. You deserve better than him.”
Midoriya's eyes became soft as he stared at Shouto. “Thank you for saying that, Todoroki,” he whispered, full of emotion. Suddenly, he cocked his head and grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Luckily, I have you now, don’t I?” his tone implied that he indeed had Shouto now.
“Well, I mean it. You deserve friends at least half as kind as you.” Shouto watched as Midoriya’s green eyes fluttered open to look back at him. “But I guess that could be hard to find,” Shouto added, sounding more like he was thinking aloud than conversing.
Something shifted in Midoriya’s expression, and he visibly swallowed. “Kacchan isn’t that bad, you know? He’s just a little.." He fiddled with his thumbs underneath the blanket as he spoke. "-Uhh.. troublesome. But thank you for saying all of that.”
“If you say so...” Shouto didn't sound convinced.
Silence enveloped the room once again, but it was pleasant. Shouto laid with his eyes closed as he breathed evenly, completely at ease now that Midoriya had distracted him from his nightmare. He felt Midoriya shift on the bed, and he could hear his soft breathing. It was… nice. He felt himself starting to fall asleep when he suddenly got this unusual and slightly unnerving feeling that someone was watching him. Boring his eyes into him. Shouto slowly opened his eyes and saw Midoriya watching him. He felt his face warm up under Midoriya’s stare.
“Uh, sorry!” Midoriya's cheeks turned a shade darker in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was just checking if you fell asleep, so I could go to sleep too.”
Shouto gave him a puzzled look. “Why would you wait for me to fall asleep? You can sleep, I don’t mind,” he said offhandedly as if he hadn’t come here barely an hour ago because of a nightmare that left him in a distressed daze.
“I thought it'd be better if I waited for you to fall asleep first. I was worried you wouldn't wake me up if you had another nightmare.”
Shouto’s face cleared up in understanding. His expression looked more relaxed, more at ease. “You don’t need to do that, Midoriya. I’ll be fine." He smiled. "After all, you’re here. Even if I get another nightmare you'll chase it away. You said so yourself.”
Midoriya’s face felt hot as he gazed into Shouto’s eyes. He had never seen Shouto look so unguarded and sure before. He found himself being deeply moved by how much trust Shouto had in him to keep him safe while he slept.
“Y-you’re right,” Midoriya said. “I’m here. I’ll try my best to scare your nightmares away.” He watched Shouto close his eyes and then followed suit, assured that Shouto would be fine even without his doting.
And how could Shouto be scared? When he stretched and felt Midoriya was right there.
"I AM HERE!!!" An All Might alarm clock went off and started shouting like crazy."I AM HERE!!! I AM HERE!!!" Midoriya jolted upright at the familiar sound of All Might's voice and scrambled over Shouto’s head to turn it off. It was as if the sheer excitment from hearing that sound woke him up in a hurried blur.
Fake All Might's yelling and Midoriya’s commotion woke Shouto up. He groaned and threw an arm over his eyes to block out everything that was assaulting his senses. Meanwhile, Midoriya was already up and about, and took out his school uniform from the closet.
“Did you sleep well, Todoroki?” Midoriya asked with too much chipper in his voice considering it was seven in the morning and they fell asleep around three.
Shouto sat up and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up. Midoriya vibrated with energy as he put stuff into his school bag and grabbed his trusty pair of red sneakers.
“..Uhuh,” was all Shouto managed to get out. His throat was a bit dry, and he still wasn't fully awake. Before coming to live in the dorms his sister used to drag him out of bed and made sure he came to school on time. He still had the habits of a child that needed extra time in the morning.
Midoriya hummed happily . “Good. Good. I’m glad.” He stuffed his special notebook about heroes' quirks into a separate compartment in his bag and zipped it up . “I’m going to the bathroom to get dressed. Feel free to stay here until you properly wake up." He left and closed the door on his way out.
After two minutes of laying still, Shouto got up and made the bed. On his way out he took one last glance at the room and realized that he had never been inside Midoriya’s room before this. He smiled at how childish it looked now that he could see it in the morning light. There was All Might merchandise everywhere. It was somehow oddly endearing.
Shouto went back to his room and started to get ready for school. His room was a fair distance away from Midoriya's considering they lived in the same dorm. He was just that unlucky. The only real friend he had in this school and his room had to be so painfully far away.
After getting dressed for school Shouto went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. With a tray in hand, he looked around and tried to find an empty seat when he suddenly noticed a green mess of hair waving him over . He walked up to the table where Iida, Uraraka, and Midoriya were having breakfast and sat down next to Iida since Uraraka was already occupying the spot next to Midoriya.
Iida did his signature robot arms. “Good morning, Todoroki!” He was obnoxiously chipper.
"Good morning, everyone" Shouto mumbled back.
“Deku, are you excited about our hero training today?” Uraraka asked and smiled brightly at Midoriya. She was thrumming with energy as well. Everyone at class 1A seemed to be a morning person except Todoroki.
Midoriya swallowed his tamagoyaki. “Of course, I am! I can’t wait to see what All Might has planned for us today."
“I am curious as well,” Iida said. “What about you, Todoroki? I know you’re not the loud or cheery type, but you seem even quieter than usual. Did you sleep well?”
Midoriya and Shouto shot a glance at each other at the same time. Their eyes flicked away as quickly as they met.
Shouto coughed into his fist to quickly push down the food he was chewing. He wasn't the smoothest at hiding his surprise but no one apart from Midoriya seemed to notice. Midoriya wasn't much better at it either. His face was red and he oddly squiggled in his seat as he waited for Todoroki to respond.
“I slept well. Very well actually." Shouto felt his stomach prickle at his own words. "Though it was kind of hard to get up after sleeping so soundly." His answer was lengthy, but he was caught off guard, and Midoriya was clearly nervous about what he was going to say. Shouto wasn't the best at reading faces but even he could tell that much. He didn't want to say the wrong thing and disappoint Midoriya who had helped him so much.
“You have to get eight hours of sleep each day if you want to be a successful hero!” The way he spoke like an announcer grated on Shouto's ears. “You can't expect to save anyone if you slack off!" Iida waved his arms frantically and almost knocked over Uraraka’s tray. Shouto felt like he would vibrate out of his seat any second now. He always had so much energy. It must be exhausting.
“Iida’s right, you know? We should all do our best to train, eat, and sleep properly,” Midoriya chimed in happily. The topic diverting to hero work visibly eased his mood, and he continued to eat as he kicked his feet under the table. He was hyper too but in a more subdued and cute way. Shouto didn't mind him.
Everyone at the table mumbled some sort of agreement to that and got back to their food. They spent the rest of their breakfast idly chatting about school and hero work until everyone finished eating and went to class.