Work Text:
It starts on Wednesday.
This is a lie. It starts on a Tuesday at seven years old, enviously watching Fuyimi twist her hair up from down the hall after Endeavor's youngest child was forced into a haircut for spar safety. It starts on a Thursday at eleven years old with the feeling of one of Rei's robes, left in the closet after she was sent away, ghosting over sterilized skin. It starts on a Sunday at fifteen, with blankness looking at a costume request form and school uniform slacks.
This Wednesday, the second week of Class A's final year at U.A. contains the catalyst. Their class is made up of heroes with total licenses, of children not old enough to drive a goddamn car. They've been interviewed briefly before to reassure the public in the aftermath of cataclysmic events. They've never had complete profiles.
The interviewer on Todoroki's day is familiar, a sidekick signed to both Present Mic's agency and his radio station. Midoriya, Kaminari, and Shoji have already sat with her with favorable results. Sound Byte is only twenty-two, which makes her young enough to still feel like a peer. She has an approachable smile and eyes that seem to change color depending on the volume around her. Sitting at a desk in an empty classroom in a hooded Hands Up sweater and ratty sneakers, she looks more like a student than a reporter or a hero.
"My quirk is called Audio Archive," She explains. "I can record and playback any audio I hear. Do I have your permission to use it for the duration of this interview?"
"Of course."
"Beautiful," Sound Byte smiles. She pushes on her canines with her thumbs, triggering a ripple of electric green energy to spark throughout her mouth. "My name is Shie 'Sound Byte' Ahiro and I use she/her pronouns. I'm here on behalf of Hands Up with one of the U.A. rising stars. Please introduce yourself for the recording."
"My name is Shouto 'Shouto' Todoroki. I'm a third-year student at U.A. high."
Sound Byte nods encouragingly.
"And your pronouns?"
It takes less than two seconds for Sound Byte to ask the question. They are the longest of Todoroki's life.
Nobody's ever asked before.
"Bakugou," Todoroki says, entering homeroom. The class is in the middle of a break, transferring students between interviews and lessons. This is good for Todoroki because it means Bakugou is where he always is during break-- sitting on Midoriya's desk and pretending he's not.
"Icy Hot," Bakugou says, nodding. It would look sharp and harsh from anyone else, but Todoroki has known Bakugou long enough, knows him well enough, to recognize it as an affectionate gesture.
"I am having a crisis." Todoroki says, wrapping a hand around Bakugou's wrist and tugging. "Come with me."
Bakugou does not attempt to blow Todoroki up, which is another piece of evidence for the we are friends mental list Todoroki has been curating.
"Deku is right there," He snaps, "Why are you dragging me out of class?"
"This isn't his area."
"What are you talking about?"
Todoroki stays quiet, focused on tugging Bakugou down the hallway and shoving him into an empty conference room.
"Todoroki," Bakugou growls. "What are we doing here?"
"I think I'm a girl and I don't know what to do with this newfound information."
Bakugou blinks twice, like somebody has flicked him on the forehead, finally understanding why he has been dubbed the keeper of this crisis. He sits down at the conference table and kicks out a chair, twisting it towards Todoroki. He strikes the extruded plastic twice with his knuckles.
"You're right, Deku would be shit at this. Sit down."
Todoroki sits, taking a breath. It burns on the inhale and freezes on the exhale, creating small snowflakes in the air.
"Congratulations," Bakugou says. Whatever he's congratulating Todoroki on is unclear.
"Thank you?" Todoroki says, "Again, what do I do now? "
"Right now, we're going to sit for five fucking minutes because you look like you're going to have a panic attack," Bakugou says. "You're not dying, breathe."
They sit. Todoroki listens to Bakugou tap a rhythm on the table, steady and easy to follow.
“How did I not know? It’s not like I didn’t know trans people existed. You and Uraraka are two of my closest friends.”
Bakugou scoffs, but doesn’t deny their friendship. He rubs a hand down his face, giving Todoroki an unimpressed look.
“What were we doing this time last year, Icy Hot?”
Last Spring? Midoriya was in hiding, leading the League throughout the county and buying time for heroes. Todoroki was trying to figure out the best way to take down Touya without killing him. Last spring was full of blood and terror and a pressure they were all much too young for.
“Trying not to die,” Todoroki says dryly.
“And the year before that?”
The spring of their first year, Todoroki had no friends. Home was still Endeavor’s estate. Fire was synonymous with fear.
“I was a Masterpiece, not a person,”
“You are safe now,” Bakugou says. “It’s not uncommon for self-reflection to follow safety. You didn’t have the space for it.”
Bakugou pauses for a moment, his tapping fingers still.
“You want she/her pronouns?”
Something in Todoroki’s chest settles, a loose piece of her soul finally clicking into place.
-
When she started at U.A. a year ago, Todoroki had assumed that she would leave most of her classmates behind her as she rose to the top. Now she has friends she's ride-or-die for and a partner who treats her with an affection completely foreign to her.
"Love," Tenya says, moving through the dorm hallway as quickly as he can without running. He skids to a stop inside the entryway of Todoroki's room, kneeling on the tatami beside her futon. Todoroki isn't even under the covers, simply sitting on top of the blankets in loungewear that Bakugou bullied her into changing into when they got back to the dorms, but Iida still looks uncertain. "Are you alright? I was concerned when you did not return with Bakugou. You do not make a habit of skipping class and you seemed distressed."
The words alone are crisp, almost professional save for the endearment. The warm hand that cups her cheek and soft tone show a love that Todoroki isn't sure she'll ever get used to.
"I'm okay." Todoroki says. "I just needed a break after that interview."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tenya asks.
As an answer, Todoroki shifts over on the blankets, making room for Tenya beside her. His slippers get removed and set aside before he follows her into bed. Todoroki watches as Tenya shrugs off his jacket and tugs his tie loose. Todoroki skims her fingers through Tenya's hair.
Tenya listens patiently as Todoroki talks, a disjointed Midoriya-style ramble. She talks about envy and longing and an ache that she’s never really been able to place. She'd spent so long in survival mode that she doesn't know what to do anymore now that pieces of her soul are unfurling.
It's scary in a different way than hero work, a different way from trying to manage her family.
Maybe scary isn't the right descriptor.
This summer, when the school had to break for a rebuilding period and they had mandatory rest from patrol duty, their class went to a waterpark. Midoriya tugged Todoroki along with him to a slide ten meters tall. They'd gone down it together, in a two-person innertube.
For a moment, they had to sit at the top while the slide attendant ensured that the path was clear. Midoriya tapped a drumroll on his thighs as they waited, his excitement contagious. The attendant pushed their innertube forward and energy built in Todoroki's chest. For a moment, they coasted. Then, they dropped.
It was fast and loud, adrenaline-inducing even without Midoriya shrieking excitedly. They could both use their quirks to go faster than the slide, but there was something special about the careful loss of control.
They rode the damn thing until their legs shook too much to climb the stairs again.
She feels like she's sitting at the top of that slide, waiting for the fall.
"I love you," Tenya says, pressing a kiss to Todoroki's forehead. "And I'm very proud of you. I admittedly don't know as much about gender as Uraraka and Bakugou, but I'm here for you."
-
The evening comes with a rare gift, all of Todoroki's favorite people are safe within Alliance Heights.
The Yearless Class A has an odd schedule. The format is not unlike their work-study schedules, with at least two days during the week and weekends in their respective agencies, their academic studies shoved wherever they can fit it, and very little spare time.
The whole class is not present; their agency days stagger to prevent a gap in care, but Todoroki's closest friends remain. Midoriya and Bakugou are sitting on the couch lovingly bickering, Midoriya's legs tossed over Bakugou's lap. Uraraka and Tsu lay on the floor, propped up on their elbows as they play with Animal Crossing together.
Tenya squeezes Todoroki's hand, and she feels so, so safe.
They sit down on the side of the couch not taken by Midoriya and Bakugou, Tenya sitting in the corner spot and Todoroki tucked into his side.
"Icy Hot," Bakugou says, knocking a fist against Todoroki's shoulder.
"Hi Todoroki," Midoriya says brightly, "You good?"
He's obviously a little concerned, unaware of the conversation Todoroki dragged Bakugou away for this morning, but he doesn't press for answers.
"I think so," Todoroki says. "However, I would like to ask something of you."
Uraraka and Tsu pause their game to look back at her, which makes this easier.
"I am asking for you to use she/her pronouns for me," Todoroki starts. "Additionally, I am thinking I would like to try using the name Reika, to see how it fits."
"Oh, it's pretty. " Uraraka says, "Good choice, Reika."
"Thank you, Uraraka."
"You may as well call me Ochako!" Uraraka says, "I don't know why it's taken us this long, honestly."
"It's weird that I've seen the inside of your stomach and we're not using given names," Midoriya agrees, reaching out to squeeze Todoroki's hand, "Izuku is fine, Reika. Congratulations, by the way."
"I will tolerate Katsuki if I have to," Bakugou says, more teasing than mean. "But the day you ditch Icy Hot is the day they put me in the ground."
"Okay," Reika says, smiling softly. "I can handle that."