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The winter air felt crisp and chilly as Midoriya walked along the city streets, small snowflakes buffeting around his vision.
When a particularly unforgiving blast of wind blew at his face, he shivered and tried fruitlessly to tuck himself further into the large puffy winter jacket he had on in a vain attempt to become warmer.
He probably should’ve spent his day off staying bundled and warm in the comfort of his dorm room, studying or maybe even watching something on TV. That was how a majority of his classmates were planning on spending their weekend after all.
Jirou had even graciously offered him an invitation to join some big movie watching party she was hosting for everyone in both Class 1-A and 1-B, and yet he had still turned her down in favor of going outside right now, in these freezing temperatures.
But a part of him couldn’t help it. Ever since he had been blessed with the gift of One for All and accepted into U.A. Academy, he’d only grown more and more restless as time went on. Suddenly, the act of just sitting down and resting was more grueling than any training session, not when he felt there were more productive things he could be doing.
Hell, if he had his choice in the matter, he wouldn’t even be out here in this city located a mile or so away from the school. Instead, he would be in one of U.A’s many training areas instead, trying to get his body more and more adapted to the power of his Quirk and possibly even trying to unlock more and more of its untapped potential. He felt he was so close to figuring out something new about it…
Unfortunately however, he’d spent a good amount of yesterday and the day before yesterday and even the day before that doing exactly that, and All Might had finally put his foot down, ordering that Midoriya spend his weekend resting and recovering and temporarily banning him from accessing any of the training areas, much to Midoriya’s dismay.
The ban was serious too. Midoriya had admittedly tried to sneak into one of them earlier this morning (to practice fundamentals, that was all, he swore ), but it seemed All Might had planned for that as when he had walked towards the entrance of the training area, he saw Cementoss there, clearly standing guard.
The Pro-Hero’s beefy arms had been crossed and he didn’t even bother to hide the disapproval in his gaze when he saw Midoriya coming close.
Midoriya still recalled with mild embarrassment sheepishly giving the Pro-Hero a lame lie of sorts about why he was “walking by” before shuffling away, metaphorical tail in between his legs.
The logical part of him knew All Might was right. He had known for months now that overworking his body was the fastest way of destroying his hero career before it even started, and training intensely for days on end like that was not good for him.
But still… he was restless to do something. To move, to not feel like he was sitting and twiddling his thumbs when he knew there were still parts of his power he didn’t understand and that the League of Villains were no doubt plotting something terrible somewhere, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Midoriya just wanted to be prepared.
He knew he could’ve used the opportunity to study up on some of his homework or to replay old clip recordings of his classmates and devise possible strategies for the future, but he had felt too fidgety to do that. His body needed to move for at least a little bit, to burn off any excess energy it could.
So that was how he winded up here, walking in the city. His logic had been he would be able to get out of the school for a while, clear his mind and maybe forget all about training for a bit. The cold would encourage him to keep moving in order to heat up even a little bit, and hey, if a crime happened here in front of him, he could try to stop it from going any further. Surely even All Might and Cementoss couldn’t fault him if he did that, right? He was just doing his duty.
And even if he didn’t find any criminals out and about, being in this cold long enough would make anyone appreciate being back in the comfort of their dorm room with heating and blankets and a machine to make hot cocoa.
But he hadn’t hit his giving up point yet. He was here in the city, so he might as well enjoy it.
He glanced by the windows of the shops, trying to see if there was anything of note that caught his interest. He had fallen a bit behind on merchandise collecting since becoming busy with school and training, so maybe he could check and see if anything interesting had come out since his absence. Or maybe he could try one of the many ramen and soba shops that dotted the city, all looking intriguing and cozy in their own way. He could even just go around and try to see if he could spot any Pro Heroes or sidekicks walking around. Almost every city was bound to have a few of them walking around the premises.There were so many ways he could keep himself busy here in this bustling area.
And every shop or restaurant gave the amazing promise of warmth if he went inside, which incentivized him even more.
But as he glanced around to decide what he wanted to do first, something strange caught his eye.
Two familiar and distinct heads of hair: one spiky and sandy-blond, the other with red hair on one side and white hair down the other.
Midoriya did a double take when he spotted them.
Surely that couldn’t be…
But indeed it was. Upon further inspection, that was most definitely Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shouto walking side by side with each other, each adorned in winter garb of their own.
Confusion and a light feeling of panic immediately took over Midoriya’s form, a million questions running through his mind.
What were Todoroki and Bakugou doing here? Of course, his classmates were just as free to explore the city as him, but why were the two of them walking together? Excluding when they were under the tutelage of Endeavor, Midoriya never really saw Bakugou and Todoroki spending any time together.
Bakugou made it a point to try and not to hang out with anyone really except for occasionally Kirishima, and sometimes Kirishima’s friend group if they were extra insistent.
So if Bakugou was willingly near Todoroki and not loudly complaining about it, something serious had to be happening right?
That’s where the panic was beginning to set in for Midoriya.
Was something happening here? The city seemed rather calm for that to be the case, but maybe the chaos hadn’t reached this part yet or Bakugou and Todoroki were just remaining calm to not cause a mass panic…
Had Endeavor or one of the Flaming Sidekickers requested their presence and he had somehow missed the text? He didn’t hear the notification go off… had he somehow been excluded? Was something big going on in the city and he didn’t know? Did the school give Bakugou and Todoroki specifically a task?
Suddenly anxious that he was missing out on something important, he waved his arms and shouted, “Kacchan! Todoroki-kun!”
Unfortunately though, it seemed he was too far for either of them to hear as neither boy even glanced in his direction.
It seemed he was going to have to go to them himself.
Breaking into a light jog, he quickly crossed the other side of the street and caught up to them. Walking up close behind them, he tried once again to grab their attention, saying, “Kacchan, Todoroki-kun!”
However, as he got closer, something strange caught his eye and he found himself slowing a bit as the two finally noticed his presence, both of them turning their heads to look at him.
Then before he could stop himself, he asked, “You two are… holding hands?”
Bakugou finally seemed to register who he was in that instant as suddenly, he hurriedly wrenched his hand out of Todoroki’s own and practically snarled, “Deku! What are you doing here?!”
Midoriya blinked a bit in surprise. He wasn’t taken aback by Bakugou’s aggressiveness, he had long since grown accustomed to that. Instead, he found himself caught off-guard at the fact there was a strange defensiveness in Bakugou’s tone that he wasn’t used to coming from the other boy.
Usually, when Bakugou barked at him like that, his voice was full of annoyance or even anger. Not edging with nervousness like this one was.
Perhaps that was just him over-analyzing though.
Recovering his voice again, he calmly said, “I was just looking around the shops until I saw you two walking around.” Then deciding to redirect the question back to Bakugou, he continued, “I came up to ask you the same question.. What are you two doing here together? Is Endeavor needing us or something?” Then lowering his voice to a whisper, he added, “ Were you guys assigned a special request by U.A?”
Bakugou looked like he was about to open his mouth to say something, but Todoroki interrupted him saying, “No, we just are looking around like you are. Decided to get out of the dorms for a little bit.”
Bakugou gave Todoroki a betrayed look, as if Todoroki said something he didn’t want him to.
Midoriya couldn’t help but notice that Bakugou was beginning to look more and more distressed now, like he couldn’t decide if he should yell at Midoriya, Todoroki, or both of them. In fact, he looked like he was considering fleeing altogether, which is not a state Midoriya was not used to seeing Bakugou at all.
The other boy exuded nothing but pure bluster and confidence most of the time, so to see him looking actually caught off-guard and embarrassed was not something Midoriya thought he would see.
Something had to be up…
Trying to connect the dots, Midoriya said, “So if you two are together for not work related reasons and are holding hands…” Blinking in surprise, he began to ask, “Are… are you two in a relationsh-”
But before he could finish the word, two small explosions popped from Bakugou’s palms, the loud sound they made causing Midoriya and a few other people nearby to flinch instinctually.
Luckily for Bakugou, it seemed those other people were too frightened by that display to stick around much longer to see what was about to happen, many of them hurriedly shuffling off or going into stores.
Raising a clenched fist and looking thoroughly mad now, Bakugou snarled, “Fuck no! Don’t say something so stupid, you idiot!”
Growing a bit nervous and wondering if Bakugou was going to lash out physically, Midoriya quickly said, “It’s, uh, it’s really not a big deal if that is the case. In fact I find it-”
“Shut the fuck up, moron! Stop running your goddamn idiotic mouth with drivel! No one cares what you think!” Bakugou shouted, glaring at Midoriya with the heat of a thousand suns. Then, turning his head haughtily and crossing his arms, he continued, “I am just being strategic is all!”
Midoriya stared at Bakugou for a moment before finally asking, “Strategic? How so?”
Bakugou really did look like he was ready to punch him now, but Midoriya couldn’t help but wonder where Bakugou was going with this. Maybe they really did have a strategy, and if they did, Midoriya would like to know about it. It could come in handy after all in the future.
Refusing to let himself be intimidated, Midoriya met Bakugou’s gaze unwaveringly for an explanation. If Bakugou wanted to lash out, he would meet him right back.
Bakugou looked like he was struggling for a second for something to say before finally, his bravado came back and he snapped, “Fine, I will explain it to you since you’re clearly too pea-brained to figure it out yourself, shitty Deku!”
He lifted one of the palms of his hand, using his other hand to point at it before saying, “My palms need to sweat a lot for my ability to be at its most effective, yes?.” Then he jerked a thumb at Todoroki, who stood passively beside him and said, “And Icy-Hot here naturally runs at a higher temperature on one side, yeah?”
“Yes…” Midoriya said slowly. “But-”
However, before Midoriya could continue, Bakugou interjected with, “So naturally, in this weather, where I am likely to sweat less than normal, it is in my best interest, should a potential bad guy arrive, to have at least one of my palms run at a high temperature. And since Icy-Hot here decided to conveniently go to the city with me, I decided it was best to use him for my own benefit! There is your answer, shitty Deku! Are you happy now?”
“But-” Midoriya began again, but Bakugou once again interrupted him.
“Shut up! That’s the truth, you got it?!”
Then, seeming to change tactics, Bakugou turned to threats. “You don’t got to believe me but don’t go blithering fucking nonsense you hear me or I will knock your teeth out of your goddamn head Now get the fuck out of my face, yeah?”
And with that, Bakugou whirled around and stormed off, irritation clearly flowing off of him in waves. If he were an anime character, Midoriya imagined steam would be flying from his head.
Midoriya waited until he was a good few paces away before lamely saying, “But… you weren’t even holding Todoroki-kun’s hot side, Kacchan…”
Suddenly, Todoroki broke him out of his thoughts.
Lightly touching Midoriya’s shoulder, Todoroki gave him a small smile and nodded at Bakugou’s retreating form, saying, “Sorry, about him. He just wasn’t expecting you is all, nor is he quite ready to be uh… public about us quite yet.”
Public?
Lowering his voice, Midoriya glanced over to make sure Bakugou wasn’t going to pounce on him like an angry tiger, before asking, “So you two really are…?”
He didn’t dare finish the statement, fearing speaking the word would make Bakugou suddenly throw himself at him to invoke his wrath, but luckily it seemed Todoroki knew what he was implying as he nodded with a light smile.
‘I knew it!’ Midoriya thought triumphantly to himself.
“He’s been careful not to be too public about it. It took forever just to convince him to let me hold his hand out in public like that,” Todoroki explained.
Midoriya suddenly felt a twinge of guilt at that. He probably just inadvertently ruined what little progress Todoroki had made by calling Bakugou out like that. Dipping his head apologetically, he said, “Oh, I am sorry then. I probably just-”
Todoroki shook his head, “Don’t be. It’s actually probably for the best that he sees that no one is going to freak out upon seeing us. He will be upset for a bit but I think this will be good exposure therapy for him if you will.” He smiled fondly at that.
But turning to Midoriya, Todoroki placed a finger to his lips and said, “But if you don’t mind, for his comfort, would you mind keeping us a secret until we say something publicly?”
Midoriya jolted at that and quickly nodded, saying, “Of course. Take all the time you two need. I won’t say a word!”
“Thank you for understanding,” Todoroki said warmly. Then, glancing at Bakugou’s now disappearing form, he said, “And if you don’t mind, would you mind giving us some time to ourselves for now?”
Midoriya quickly hopped back into clarity, nodding quickly and said, “Of course. You two have fun on your own.”
Todoroki grinned and said, “Thank you, Midoriya-kun, we will. See you in the dorms.”
“Yeah, see you!” Midoriya said with a wave as Todoroki turned around and hurried off to catch up with Bakugou.
Midoriya watched them go for a moment before turning back with a smile on his face, a skip to his step as he made his way to a local bookstore that was nearby.
Who knew even the prickly Bakugou could find love? Happiness for both of his friends filled him as he walked along.
Their secret was safe with him.