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April 3rd wasn’t a date most people thought of or remembered. They may remember the way it rained; turning the fields muddy and causing Bakugo to slip when he stubbornly refused to use the indoor training area. It was for more realistic training he would always say, but Sero wondered if it had more to do with the worry of being useless in the rain; his sweat washing away or the fiery blasts of his explosions tampered by the downpour of cold rain. Regardless, the day was nothing special outside of their classmate’s usual antics.
However, for Sero, it was the first day of the worst six months of his life.
It was late, dinner already a fading memory, and a handful of them had taken to doing their homework in the common area. Well, Yaoyorozu, Midoriya, and Todoroki were doing the homework; Sero was fighting off the urge to take a 7 pm nap, pork always made him sleepy, and Kaminari, Kirishima, and Mina had taken to a rather vulgar game of smash or pass of pro heroes.
“Kamui Woods?” Kirishima asked legs stretched in front of him.
“Smash” replied Mina, before pausing, “Unless- actually, wouldn’t you get splinters?” She asked, genuine concern suddenly crossing her face as if trying to puzzle out a math question she hadn’t studied for.
“Still smash, it’s probably smooth right? Like isn’t his skin more like sanded wood than like, bark?” Kaminari chimed in, looking to Midoriya for help.
He sighed but didn’t look up as he spoke, “It’s not known whether his whole body is made of wood, and some speculate it is just his arms and legs. Especially considering he has never been seen without his mask. It doesn’t make sense for a hero to cover their entire face unless they have more to hide than just their identity. Think of any other hero who does that. It may be that he is trying to hide the more vulnerable parts of himself, such as fleshier skin.” There was a pause as if he didn’t wish to clarify further but knew who his audience was, “So if that theory is correct he probably has a normal penis.”
Sero snorted at the defeat in his voice, chiming in with his own “I mean, us country boys have to make do either way you know?” winking at Midoriya who had finally looked up to roll his eyes at Sero’s awful joke.
Sero’s eyes roamed the room as they laughed, looking around at his friends and stopping as he took in Todoroki sat in the armchair across from them all; mildly distanced as if he was still unsure of his welcome among them all. His head was down, still very clearly going through the math exercises they had been assigned, but there was a small smile on his lips. Just a small tug upwards, indicating he’d been listening to them all, listening to him, and- oh god, that joke hadn’t even been funny. And it wasn’t that he was embarrassed, but more so that he felt the need to prove that he was actually a funny dude and not just the type to make dick jokes about pro heroes.
However, as Sero looked on at the small smile on lips he’d thought far too much about, he thought that he would make every dick joke he could think of if it meant he got to see it again. Would become the leading comedian in them even, if it meant he could one day hear Todoroki’s laugh.
The night moved on as it had before but Sero was no longer tired. Now his head was filled with snapshots of a secret smile that he was fairly certain wasn’t supposed to be caught. As if he was still unsure of how to join them all, maybe even make a joke of his own. Unsure of where to sit? Okay, that last part was just Sero looking for an excuse to offer the seat next to him the next time they all sat like this. Which was stupid, he could just ask the guy. Or say something along the lines of “I promise I showered after training, you can come smell if you don't believe me.” Could make a light-hearted threat to tape him to the couch and force him to join in on the festivities, but instead, he found himself tongue-tied. For the first time in his life.
Before he knew it, they had returned to their rooms, and Sero was left staring at the ceiling with the paralyzing realization that he, much like literally half the school, had a crush on Todoroki Shoto. He blinked up at the ceiling, blowing out a raspberry to the silent room before muttering a quiet, “well fuck me”.
It would go away soon at least, it was just a crush. Part of the deal was that they were fickle and short-lived.
-
Three months in, he realized that his stupid fucking crush wasn’t going to stupid fucking go away. Which was why he had taken to calling Todoroki ‘Roki’, not on purpose of course, but a month ago he'd accidentally said Okie Roki and had to play it off like it was a fun new nickname for him and not the result of his neverending occupancy in his mind.
Not much changed between the two outside of Sero’s own mind though. They still shared manga when they found anything good, exchanged different volumes as they were bought and finished, and trained with each other when they had the chance. Which was helpful even if it had his heart racing for more reasons than just the fact Todoroki had, on more than one occasion, nearly burned the eyebrows off his face.
However, on July 17th, a handful of the more daring students made their way onto the roof, blankets, and snacks in hand with hopes of catching a meteor shower Ochako mentioned over lunch. And much to his delighted dismay, Sero found himself on a blanket with Todoroki, trying very hard to listen to Kaminari whine about his failed attempts to get Bakugo to join them. A feat that was getting exceedingly harder every time Todoroki leaned over to steal a marshmallow from the bag that leaned against Sero’s thigh. His hand occasionally brushed up against it through the bag.
“I’m always shocked at how closely the dude follows the rules for being such a “my way or you die” kind of bro” Kirishima commented, causing Midoriya to snort and Kaminari to sigh.
“It’s cute till it gets in the way of me trying to flirt with the damn idiot”
“If it helps, he probably doesn’t even know you’re trying in the first place” Midoriya soothed with a pat on Kaminari’s shoulder as the latter’s head fell into his hands in frustration.
“Oh yeah, he can’t see 5 feet past his own hands” Kirishima added, “I tried to confess in first year and all he did was ask why I would bother telling him something he already knew.” Kirishima sighed, “My bros I shit you not when I say the legend thought I meant I looked up to him as inspiration.”
Midoriya laughed, a sweet little sound laced with sympathy, “Oh man I’ve been there.”
Sero looked to Todoroki, lifting a marshmallow up on a fork for Todoroki to roast with his quirk as he’d been doing for Sero all night. “What about you Roki, ever been aboard the Bakugo train?” The question came out casually, but all Sero could think about was how badly he wanted Todoroki to say no.
“No,” Todorki said, simply blowing a lingering flame out on the marshmallow before nodding the okay for Sero to eat it.
“Me neither” He agreed, “not into the whole ‘hot-headed’ thing?” The question slipped out before he could stop it, and he mentally berated himself for not letting it go.
His friends seemed to have caught on to his misery, mischief flashing in their eyes as they took in his cheeks that were dusted with pink. And took this opportunity to try and lend a helping hand to their friend in need.
“Yeah, what is your type Todoroki?” Kirishima asked.
“You literally have your pick of the litter” Kaminari added, sounding mildly bitter about it.
Todoroki blinked, tearing his gaze from where he seemed to have been lost in thought staring into the sky. He thought on the question for a moment, before he spoke, “Someone who doesn’t make me out to be more than I am I guess.”
Sero wondered if this was something he had thought about before.
Kaminari complained that his answer wasn’t enough, that he wanted details, did he like tall, mean, sweet, pretty, rugged, etc. Midoriya seemed to be trying to steer the conversation away from Todoroki who seemed less than interested in answering any of Kaminari’s questions, with little success.
“Guys look!” Ochako yelled, doing what Midoriya couldn't, and drawing their attention away from Todoroki, up to the sky where the meteor shower had started.
What looked like stars shot across the sky, beautiful and fast. He worried that if he blinked he would miss one, so caught up in the sight that he hardly noticed that he had all but leaned intoTodoroki’s shoulder. Only when the cool brush of his hand against his reminded him of their proximity did it catch his notice. He shot up, ears burning as he moved away, despite wanting so badly to stay,
“Sorry ‘bout that bro.” He muttered, looking back up at the stars to avoid having to face Todoroki’s gaze, “they’re pretty”.
“Yeah” Todoroki agreed, sounding a little distracted. And if you asked Todoroki what he thought of the stars that night he would say that he hadn’t been able to catch them, he wouldn’t explain how he was the only one who missed them. But those who had been there that night knew exactly what had shone brighter than anything the night sky had to offer for him to miss the summer marvel.
-
July 28th was Sero’s birthday, a fairly memorable day on its own. His friends woke him up with cheers at far-too-early an hour for a Saturday and dragged him to the kitchen with promises of Sato’s pancakes. Sero’s personal favourite, and a bribe if he’d ever seen one.
He’d followed them groggily, still wrapped in his blanket, to the dining area where he sat with a stack of the fluffy breakfast towering before him. Todoroki shot a quick flame over to the candle for Sero to blow out, and his heart felt like it stopped. Too distracted with how sweet he found the gesture to care for the protests from Yaorozu that they had a lighter.
Sero blew out his candle with little fanfare before getting to the main event; unable to hold off his watering mouth any longer. The sweet smell of peaches like catnip as he brought each bite to his mouth with the vigor of a man starved, “Sato, if no one makes an honest man of you, I swear to God I will.” He said between bites of pancakes, earning himself a blush from the chef and a mumbled thanks.
“Do you feel older?” Kaminari asked.
“Wiser?” Jirou added with a fake solemnity.
“Yes, it has come to me now in my old age” Sero paused as if thinking, “Don’t eat… yellow snow.”
Kaminari and Jirou nodded, as if taking sage advice, “thank you sensei, you truly are an elder to look up to.” said Jirou.
During this exchange, Sero couldn’t stop himself from looking for Todoroki the way he had since April; curious to see if he could catch another one of those smiles. A huff of air from an overheard joke. His eyes flitted over the planes of his face, landing on lips that were successfully upturned and Sero decided then and there that he’d already received the best birthday present that year and it wasn’t even 10:00 am.
“Of course,” Sero said, catching himself before he could stare, “How could I not be with old man Roki to guide me?” He threw an arm over Todoroki’s shoulders, catching the poor boy off guard, not used to being brought in on the joke. Happy to watch from the outside in, like he was at the aquarium too scared to touch the glass.
“We’re the same age?” Todoroki said, confusion lacing his voice.
“No, you’ve got a whole seven months on me, truly an elder worthy of great respect.” He teased, earning a small cry of complaint from Kaminari.
“I’m also older than you!” He argued, as if curious as to why he wasn’t being praised the same way.
Jirou rolled her eyes with a laugh, “Hardly.”
The two argued, their voices joining the cacophony of those around him. They were good people Sero thought to himself, a grateful smile tugging on his lips. While he’d never had any trouble making friends, he couldn’t help but find himself relieved that he had these ones.
A choked noise sounded softly in his ears over the arguing and he looked down at where his arm was still strewn lazily over Todorki’s shoulders. As if it was supposed to be there as if that’s where his arm usually rested. Sero ripped his arm back like he was burned, not impossible with Todoroki but thoroughly not the case at hand. “My bad.” He breathed, hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt.
Todoroki didn’t comment either way but took a moment before saying anything else. As if he too had to compose himself once more before he gestured to the chipped yellow mug in Sero’s other hand, “Is your coffee warm enough?” He asked awkwardly, not unlike someone who had just read a how-to guide and social etiquette.
Sero looked into the mug, swirling it and then finishing it down in two swift chugs, “Meh.” He concluded when he placed it down and grinned at Todoroki who raised an eyebrow before returning it in kind.
-
In the early hours of August 18th, Sero sat on the kitchen counter, legs tucked swiftly underneath him. He absently clasped a glass of water between his hands, as he stared out the window. Watching the rain as it pattered against the window pane, illuminated by the soft moonlight that just barely managed to creep through the gray of the clouds and the harsh yellow of the campus lamps. It was beautiful, and the smell of summer petrichor floated in through the window riding the coattails of the rain's symphony as it fell upon sun-warmed cement.
He imagined walking through the storm. Wandering barefoot with the grass beneath his feet, slick and fresh. The water cool on his warm skin, washing away the summer sweat that had seemed to stick to him since June with no reprieve. Would it be worth the mess? He wondered, smiling softly at the thought of Iida and Bakugo’s incessant bitching at the water that would follow him like a shadow. Leaving traces of his late-night excursion.
“Oh,” the soft exclamation tore his attention away from the window, turning to see a familiar face standing behind him.
“Shouto dude, what are you doing up?” Sero asked, ignoring the way his heart kicked into overdrive at the sight of a sleepy Todoroki. His hair was soft and messy, his eyes full of sleep, and his footsteps little more than a shuffle as he made his way to get a glass of water. His movements were clumsy and Sero wasn’t entirely sure Todoroki knew he was awake.
“Water” He finally croaked, throat clearly dry.
Sero nodded, wishing he had more to say. Later, as this moment replayed in his mind he would blame the late hour for his silence, the sleep-infused night air that came from dark clouds. And he would desperately avoid berating himself for being too lost in the daydreams surrounding a sleepy Todoroki and lazy Sunday mornings to hold a simple conversation.
The two sat in silence, the wind joining in the chorus of rainfall, the soft howls serenading them in the dim lights. Sero spent most of the time trying to drink in as much of Todoroki as he could from his peripheral vision. Too self-aware to sit and stare as he so longed to do, he took greedy gulps from the corner of his eye as if he too had just woken up with a parched throat that could only be saved by the sight of mussed, two-tone hair, and heavy-lidded eyes.
Todoroki finished his water, loading the glass into the dishwasher before he made his way back to his room, pausing at the edge of the counter; seemingly lost in thought. He stared at Sero as if debating saying something more. His eyes shone and Sero couldn’t be sure if it was from what dim lights spilled into the kitchen from the windows or something more he wished to say. And before Sero could work up the courage to ask Todoroki had changed his mind, muttering a quick “Goodnight” before retreating back to his bedroom.
Sero sighed and followed suit not long after, feet softly landing on the cold tile as he hopped off the counter and shuffled to his bedroom. He couldn’t help but feel that his own bed was colder than normal that night as he faded off into a fitful sleep.
-
On September 1st Sero Hanta died.
Not literally, but he was certain it was as close to heaven as he would ever see.
It was movie night, something Midoriya had not so gently insisted on in their second year. As it was the first Saturday of the month so they all sat, crowded around the TV while they watched some movie or another chosen, usually, by Midoriya. The dude had taste, and Sero certainly never had any complaints.
Especially not tonight, as Kirishima babbled on about the movie being loaded on the screen, something about robots, maybe, he had lost focus the second Todoroki had sat next to him. Not simply because they were side by side, he wasn’t that far gone, but because seconds later Bakugo and Mina had crowded onto the couch as well; pushing Todoroki so close that if he sneezed he’d end up in Sero’s lap. Todoroki’s skin was warm to the touch, both of them in nothing but loose T-shirts as the late summer heat still lingered. A great excuse if anyone asked about the flush that crept up the back of his neck and over the tips of his ears like a cherry snowcone.
He spent the first half of the movie whispering quips to Todoroki, small goofs about the acting or the plot holes, or just a funny little anecdote his mind came up with as they watched. He didn’t always look at Todoroki as he said them, usually leaning in just enough to be heard as he whispered them over, getting paid in small huffs he knew were laughs. Every now and again he would look, wanting to catch a glimpse at the smiles he earned, the soft lips that pursed as he tried not to disturb the movie with a chuckle. He looked when he felt a soft pressure on his shoulder, turning to see what had fallen, perhaps a blanket, and nearly choking when he saw it was Todoroki. His eyes were closed, chest falling in a rhythm that belonged only to him. Sero couldn’t help but stare, lips parted in unconscious awe as he reached down to brush a piece of hair out of his face with a touch so gentle one would think he was diffusing a bomb.
“Good lord” Bakugo muttered, and Sero looked up, annoyed that an outburst from Bakugo could wake Todoroki. But as he looked, he saw that annoyance mirrored on the blonde, perhaps a shade more disgusted than Sero’s own, and shit-eating grins from his classmates that stared at him like a pack of hyenas that just found dinner.
Mina laughed, “you’re so obvious, dude.”
Sero’s eyes went wide and he whipped his head down to make sure Todoroki was still asleep.
“You know?” He hissed, shocked that she had figured him out.
“ I know” Bakugo snorted as if that cleared anything up, “And I actively avoid knowing anything about icy-hot”
Sero’s cheeks burned and he had never so desperately wished he’d been put in a class that didn’t have such aggressive tunnel vision, “It’s nothing like that” He tried to insist, like covering a deep hole with nothing but leaves, “We’re just friends”
It didn’t work, and Kirishima took this moment to pipe in, “Dude, we’re friends and you don’t look at me like that while tenderly pushing hair out of my face”
“Maybe I would if you fell asleep on my shoulder.” Sero tried.
“No, the one time I did fall asleep on your shoulder you and Kaminari wrote ‘kiss me’ on my forehead and drew an arrow to my mouth”
Sero and Kaminari laughed, nodding at each other as they remembered their prank from first year, “Oh yeah we totally did”
“And then that second year kissed you in the hallway after English” Kaminari reminded them, “You’re welcome.”
Kirishima flushed, “My point,” He tried again, “Is, that is very different from tenderly brushing the hair out of my face while looking at me as if I hung the stars.”
“Well, when you word it like that of course it sounds like I’m in love with him.”
“If you don’t want us saying it like that then don’t stare at him like he hung the moon,” Mina said with a shrug, throwing a handful of green skittle into her mouth.
Sero rolled his eyes, “Whatever, just don’t meddle, you guys always get way too involved”
Midoriya grunted from the floor, “I’m with Sero on that one”
He gestured to the boy like he was writing on the wall that proved his hypothesis, “Thank you”
“But they’re right,” He said, quickly losing his top spot on Sero’s list of favourite classmates, “you’re way too obvious,”.
“Didn’t you bring Shinsou a coffee every morning in our second year under the guise of it being part of a study you needed for a paper?” Sero accused, earning a wicked grin from the wannabe hero.
“Totally did, but I got laid at the end of that” Sero flipped him off as the class laughed at his expense.
“You all suck.”
“Oh look, sleeping beauty is waking up,” Kaminari noted, and Sero’s eyes shot down to where Todoroki was shuffling in further, nowhere near waking up.
Sero glared and Kaminari cackled. “I’m taking him to his room.” Sero finally announced, “You guys never shut up and it’s late.”
He moved carefully, doing his best not to jostle him as he lifted Todoroki up into his arms shocked to find he was heavier than he looked. He made a small note to thank Aizawa for being such an ass about all of them building their strength in case they got caught in a one-on-one. Without those annoying training days, he wouldn’t have been able to carry Todoroki with any sort of ease.
“Use protection!”
“Stay safe!”
“Wrap it before you tap it.”
“How scandalous, before marriage Hanta?”
His classmate's jeers followed him down the hall and despite the roll of his eyes he couldn’t help the lingering smile at their foolishness. As embarrassed as he was, at least they were funny.
-
It was 12:01 on September 2nd when Sero placed Todorki in his bed. He moved the sheets up, then down, then back up again, genuinely unsure as to whether he used the blanket on both sides. Maybe he lifted it up and then kept his arms out? Would he be too warm if Sero tucked him all the way in? Would that be weird?
Not that it mattered because all rational thought left his mind the second a whimpered “Sero” filled the room.
He looked down, Todoroki’s cheeks flushed and his hair splayed on the pillow, still very much asleep. “Yes?” He answered anyway, just in case he had awoken and was simply too lazy to open his eyes. But no answer came in return.
Sero’s cheeks burned, and his heart hammered in his chest. He had a thousand questions and all of them were about why Todoroki would say his name in his sleep. Every other thought just played the name on a loop, the soft and desperate way it seemed to leave his lips, Sero couldn’t help but want to hear it again and again and again. Like a broken record that kept its melody after years of use.
He stood there a moment longer, unsure of how long to stay before it got weird; he really had no desire to begin his journey into an Edward Cullen knockoff. But as he made to leave, he found himself interrupted by Todoroki once more. Catching him in the doorway with his hand on the doorknob like a child caught trying to look at his presents.
“Sero?” This one was a question, and despite a glance at the bed, it was too dark to see if he was awake from where he stood at the door.
“Uh, yeah, what’s up?” he asked, grateful that the dark of the room would hide the lingering pink of his cheeks.
“I’m gonna take you on a date one day” once more Todoroki’s voice was muffled and was quickly followed by a soft sigh. But Sero’s face was on fire.
He let out an uncertain laugh that rang quietly through the otherwise silent room, “Is that so?” He asked, but was met with no response.
“I look forward to it,” He said softly, a small smile playing on his lips, before slipping out of the room and making a beeline for his own. Shutting the door behind him and leaning against it, catching his breath like he had run a marathon and not crossed the hallway.
“I look forward to it” He repeated once more, nearly giddy as he finally pushed off the door.
Bonus: the time they both knew
“So when’s our date?” Sero asked the next morning over a bowl of cereal.
Todoroki paused, spoon stopped between his mouth and the bowl, “Our what?”
“Date” Sero clarified as if it was a given and his own heart wasn’t in his throat, unlike Todoroki who was certain that whatever he was tasting right now was merely the creeping flavour of his internal organs and not the leftover taste of froot loops, “the one you told me you were going to take me on last night.”
Todoroki’s face burned, and for a moment he was genuinely concerned as to whether his quirk had activated on its own. Memories of the night before went through his head, and far too slowly did he realize the dream of Sero in his bedroom adorned by a halo moonlight as he put him to bed like an angel in a poem, was not, in fact, a dream but a very real event that happened without him realizing he was awake.
However, never one to be outdone, Todoroki answered with ease, as if he was in full control of the situation, and not contemplating how fast he could get a fake ID and leave the country if this went wrong, “I was thinking Saturday.” He replied, finally taking the bite that had been sitting in midair for far too long now.
“Great, I’ll see you at 7:00,” Sero said, with a wolf’s grin.
“On the dot” Todoroki confirmed, making a mental note to ask Midoriya for date ideas.