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Shoto Todoroki has two best friends. Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou.

And this is not news, not at all. Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shoto, in a way became a common, coherent concept for all who knew them or saw the interaction of future heroes both on the field and in everyday life. if you see one of the above boys, it is very likely that the other two will be somewhere nearby. Their unusual but very strong friendship (maximum cooperation, you nerds. p.s. Bakugou Katsuki), tempered by many hardships and battles, was known to everyone. the three of them were a perfect blend of mind, heart, and emotion.

And yet Shoto himself sometimes never ceased to be amazed at who his best friends were, at the fact that they were his best friends. And that he had best friends at all, let's be honest. Two such seemingly different and yet so similar boys with their own personal, special history, which they had initiated and even included him in. Both soft in their own way, and yet as strong as rocks to lean on.

They are associated with strength – quiet and steady, bubbling beneath the surface and ready to burst out the second it is needed – security and the word «hero». The embodiment of the virtues of heroic deeds, two living legends, courage and bravery in human form. Amazingly resilient, still teenagers, in fact, who have already fought hundreds of battles. And Shoto, with pride, with sincere happiness and delight, has the opportunity not only to watch the star couple, like many others, but also has the honor to be close to both of them, to call these beautiful people his best friends, learning from them new things every second of the day, and absorbing this presence full of security and warmth that they bring to their surroundings.

Izuku, with his softness and smiles full of sunshine, his arms always open for hugs, covered with calloused scars, his enthusiastic voice and undying optimism. Always happy, full of warmth and hope, ready to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders. And Katsuki, with his fiery nature, fierce concern, loud presence yet quiet acceptance, always listening and knowing, ready to give support and silence until the words come back. Always loud and strong, full of confidence and pride. And, of course, their joint chaos that they add to the quiet existence of everyone around them, including Shoto, which he is extremely happy about. Eternal confrontation, competition, the desire to be better, faster, stronger. The warmth of friendship and joint banter, confidence in the future and pride in the paths they have traveled and left behind.

Shoto has two best friends to whom he has no problem confiding his life and the lives of his loved ones. Any secrets and worries. He can easily share his dark past and dark thoughts, knowing that he will not be judged, but understood and accepted. Friends that will always support him, help him, listen to him when he needs it, distract him if he needs it and push him where necessary. Two best friends that in turn share their hidden fears and insecurities, the doubts that plague their minds in return, confiding the vulnerable, dark and wounded parts of themselves that others cannot show. Todoroki, for his part, always tries to dispel any dark thoughts hanging over them, offering comfort and understanding, seeking to help them as much as they do him.

And it works. All three of them, like a well-coordinated machine, a fine-tuned mechanism keeping each other afloat, glued together out of bits and pieces. Forming the shards of past traumas and horrors into something beautiful, like works of kintsugi art.

Todoroki Shoto has two best friends whom he loves and appreciates very much, smiling every time he hears their voices and familiar footsteps. And Shoto is very proud of the fact that since his first year in hero class, he has grown enough to have not one but two best friends, as well as a whole class of people who are more like family to Shoto than his actual family. He rightfully considers these changes a significant progression in the process of becoming a happy person, something he wouldn't have been able to do without the aforementioned people. Largely to Izuku and Katsuki, but still, one can't help but pay homage to the rest of Class 1-A as well. All of his classmates have had a hand in this progression by being patient and nice to him.

He is proud of them too: so strong and still able to find the strength to move on, despite the defeats and the pain and despite all the horrors these people have found the courage not to lose their ambitions, their dreams and their smiles. And Shoto is happy to have all of them by his side, even after all they had to endure. After they all survived the real war, almost coped with the nightmare that was their lives and are slowly returning to the happy existence of the schoolboys of the hero course. There was no mortal danger hanging over them now, and - at least for now - they could be ordinary high school students. so ordinary, they could be students of a school of heroes with a very specific and extensive set of traumas - that would cause a mass resignation of therapists all over Musutafu, if not all over Japan - and with their own teenage drama, spiced with spicy triggers for all sorts of things. and yet, despite all the problems that remained, they still managed to survive and get out.

Shoto is glad his family and his two best friends are still here, alive, happy, and still able to smile.

But here's the thing. Despite all the positive qualities, all the strong camaraderie and even love; despite the warm sense of kinship that Shoto feels when he's right next to Izuku and Katsuki, Shoto's two best friends Todoroki are bloody little chaotic competitive gremlins who can argue about anything in the world and take their arguments to an absurdly serious level.

Disputes of every kind and form: from the varieties of quirks to “which character would be more likely to be asked to be the face of an adult toy line and succeed”. And these were not simple “what if” dialogues and “got interesting” discussions. No, it was a confrontation, a struggle and a duel worthy affair. For both of them. For Shoto, it looked like two kindergartners decided that today the honorary title of “king of the sandbox” belongs to one of them, and they need to defeat their rival by any means necessary. They just need to assert their intellectual superiority, sometimes with physical arguments.

And if such behavior could easily be expected from Katsuki, - temperamental both in public and one-on-one, with an aggressive image and trying to be the best in everything – then Izuku was surprising. He was so sweet and calm, not at all conflicted and kind boy. Just a sweetheart. But don’t fall for this deception.

It's all just a cover for his true colors of evil genius, because God have mercy, Midoriya Izuku was a monster at this sort of thing.

His enthusiasm, usually expressed in training, hero notes, or smiles, was simply relentless, like a tsunami wave that you noticed too late.

You can’t resist it, you don’t have the power to stop it, whether you have a quirk or not. And all you have to do is watch the crash. And before you know it you’ll be sitting in the common kitchen at four in the morning next to Izuku, coffee-drinking at the tips of his green curls, waving a marker at a plastic board, and listening to him talk about how the eandeavor’s merch line of dildo would be popular with the public and detailing why. This is a day that Shoto never wants to remember again, given that Midoriya has scoured the adult toy market and reviews in detail, compiling a whole list of potentially common customer wants and requests, tailoring a non-existent collection to the standard of customers, while unpleasantly analyzing enji Todoroki himself in great detail, describing exactly why his merch would be popular in this area.

(-…I mean, in addition to being number one now, and therefore popular, he’s also pretty damn strong. And he’s just, well… huge, right? Incredibly tall! And most of the time I’ve noticed that people are looking for bigger sizes and if we compare the look of a prospector to the expectations of his pe…

-Izuku, please, it’s 4:00 in the morning. I don’t want to discuss my father’s penis at 4:00 in the morning in a communal kitchen. And I have no desire to discuss anything to do with my father and things labeled 18+. I don’t feel like discussing my father in general, let alone the fact that the sun hasn’t even come up yet. Why are we even talking about this?

-oh, right… I’m sorry, Shoto-kun, I wasn’t thinking… just, see, kacchan was very insistent that the hawks would be preferred in the sex toy market because it has a very flirty image and is more attractive to the audience. But I see flaws in his thinking, so I wanted to compile statistics to disprove it and I needed an outside opinion. We argued because obviously hawks’ toys are only bought because he is accessible and flirty, but the eandeavor is much more mysterious and that inaccessibility gives him customer points, so it’s his dild...

-can we please not talk about sex toys built on hawks’ or eandeavor’s patterns, or basically anyone? I feel like I’ll never be able to look these people in the eye again, and we can work with them in the future and one of them is my. father.

-I mean, of course! Yes, yeah we don’t have to talk about it! Although, now that I think about it… I guess kacchan is right about something… image does matter, but so does mystery… in fact, come to think of it, now that Aizawa-sensei is making more public appearances, I notice that his popularity has increased, perhaps it’s the merch with his image that would be…

-Izuku, we’re not talking about sex toys based on our class teacher’s image. Not now, not ever.

-But Shoto-kun, just think about it, it makes a lot of sense! Just listen…)

and Katsuki, the little asshole, not only kept encouraging Izuku to argue like this, (-dammit nerd, i fucking told you that hawks would be more in demand, i googled it! his products already exist and are sold out in a second at unbelievable prices. apparently the people who buy them want kfc chicken to fuck not only them, but their wallets as well!) but also actively said any bullshit out loud to get Izuku to start arguing with him again.

(-hey nerd, water is not wet.

-what?... Kacchan, what are you talking about? Of course it’s wet!

-no, it’s not. It just makes other things wet, but it’s not wet itself.

-that doesn’t make sense! How can it not be wet? It’s water! Besides, if it makes things wet, it must be wet itself.

-don’t be so narrow-minded, what proof do you have?

-water is a liquid, kacchan, obviously it’s going to be wet!

-but you can’t prove it because water will make any other thing wet and you can’t touch water without it wetting you or soaking into the thing. So you have no proof.

-you’re… you’re talking nonsense, kacchan..

-So you can’t prove me wrong?

-I DIDN’T SAY THAT!)

Whether it was a desire for attention or his personal to-do list for the day, in which “take out Izuku” was a priority, Shoto honestly had no idea and didn’t bother to analyze it. The only thing Shoto had learned was that if you saw that shit-eating, troublemaker grin on Katsuki’s face – the one that looked as if hell was coming and you were a direct participant in it – then know that it was the special face of a baku ready for a pointless three-hour standoff.

But there are situations when it gets even worse. When all Todoroki wants to do is fall face down into the nearest surface and ask him to finish him off. Even though it seems like how much worse could it get? It could. And it happens when Izuku already wants attention from Katsuki. And jesus help someone Shoto Todoroki, because with these two people he’s either going to go crazy like half the family or just go to a monastery somewhere in tibet to avoid committing murder. And all because usually when Izuku tries to get Katsuki’s attention, it ends in a fight. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a fight where they really want to hurt each other, no, not at all. The miracle duo will never get hurt in these little battles. But the environment will. How many times Shoto had to drag them out of the training halls after curfew; how many times he had to cover their asses in front of Aizawa when the rescue simulation sites were too destroyed even for simulation; and god forbid, how many times he had to help make excuses for broken pieces of furniture in the dorms, can’t count.

And what completes this sad and frustrating picture it’s the reason why Izuku and Katsuki are arguing. And the reason is as simple as it is horrifying: because it’s fun for them. Fun, damn it. It’s their hobby. It’s relaxing. But just for both of them, Shoto is just trying to keep his left eye from twitching by sheer force of will, and ignore what’s going on, no matter how much it annoys him. But it annoys the hell out of him.

For example, the last time he remembered it clearly - no, not the incident with the prospector and adult toys. that day was a traumatic experience and a taboo topic in Shoto's mind - Izuku and Katsuki argued about daikon for three hours straight, successfully destroying Todoroki's patience with the mere mention of this product in any other conversation and not necessarily even from them. It started out as an ordinary argument, although it lasted for three hours, but it quickly turned into a three-day competition that included an excursion into any dish based on radish of this variety, a detailed analysis of its flavor qualities, as well as background information and historical facts in the form of lectures, for a total of four hours. and who do you think became the test subject and reviewer? That’s right, Todoroki Shoto himself!

Although the rest of the class was also affected, but only partially, and only because Katsuki had made so many radish dishes that twenty people couldn’t eat them, much less three of them.

Shoto himself could not eat or even look at daikon for another month, falling into a fit of irritation and disgust as soon as he saw the vegetable within reach of him. Periodically this still happens again, even though he is now able to at least not leave the room every time he sees it or hears it mentioned. This is also progress, because once, he even accidentally froze his own desk and chair, out of anger, when Kaminari mentioned radishes in a conversation near him. He then had to apologize profusely to his stunned classmates, some of whom he frightened, and sit on an icy chair for half the class, at Aizawa-sensei’s suggestion, as punishment.

In general – to fully understand the nightmare that Shoto Todoroki has to live in on a daily basis – Izuku and Katsuki were literally arguing about a fucking radish while sparring, turning an innocuous argument into a war, - and Shoto could admit that he would be impressed – they managed to keep their grades and level of training at their usual level, while spending time gathering facts and constantly cooking! – if he wasn’t so annoyed because he had heard this argument before. Many times in a row. Not specifically about daikon, the subject matter of the argument usually becomes different after the first time, but the algorithm for doing so never changes. And unfortunately by this established algorithm, he was included as a referee, judge and prosecutor who definitely had to render his verdict and determine the “winner”.

The first few times, Shoto was foolish enough to actually take a side, which made him happy to choke on the spicy food “generously” provided by Katsuki, and to catch glances from the kicking Izuku puppy that periodically tripped him with a black whip in training. After these few times, Shoto developed his own algorithm of actions in case of such situations, and even a whole set of rules, the main and only one in which was “do not agree with any of them, no matter what tricks they used and what promises they did not make”.

The tactic worked without fail, although it looked quite funny from the outside, when Shoto was quietly reading a book on the sofa in the common room, and the miracle duo was hanging around his sides and whining like two children.

Their classmates found It funny and amusing, but all Shoto wanted to do at such moments was to slap Katsuki and Izuku in the face so that they would finally shut up, or to push their heads together so that the lovebirds would kiss, which would also shut them up, and so the mission would be accomplished.

This – meaning the resolution of their constant longing for each other, like characters in a cliched romantic movie – wouldn’t surprise anyone, except perhaps the Katsuki and Izuku themselves, with their perpetual over-friendship and under-relationship, where they were stuck between the two, unable to move forward or backward. Sometimes, everyone wished they could just bump heads or let shinsou brainwash them and make them kiss. But so far, it hadn’t come to that.

It's a pity, considering that, according to the rest of the class, most arguments end up in a couple’s seclusion, somewhere where there are no other people, the class dubbed the whole verbal bacchanalia “aggressive prelude” and “expression of repressed sexual tension,” hoping that the lovebirds were secretly kissing in the locker rooms. In ninety-nine percent of cases, the closest person to this chaotic catastrophe, Todoroki, would argue with all these statements, and argue aggressively.

More often than not, the arguments between Katsuki and Izuku were like a train wreck and ended not with loud vows of love or adrenaline-fueled pleasures with physical attacks in intimate way, but with the fact that Shoto had to either heroically separate the two children in the bodies of adults, literally by the scruff of their necks, or distract them with the promise of something more interesting, or stare at them tiredly with the patented Aizawa-sensei gaze – which these two had kindly fostered in him – and silently continue what he was doing before he was distracted.

Returning, for example, to the disgusting argument about daikon: when the wonder duo, after three long days, deigned to give him the deciding vote – ironically, also at one of their regular sparring sessions, when a similar sparring session was in progress that started this story – Shoto only raised his head for three seconds to look at the idiots he called friends, and continued his own flexibility training, which their “sparring” had turned into – because someone had spent three fucking days, without sleep or respite, arguing about what kind of damn radish tasted best, instead of practicing with it and living In peace – successfully ignoring the whining of the boys who didn’t like being ignored. And it was that moment of schadenfreude that still allowed Shoto to be sane long enough to endure his mortal existence.

So, yes, Shoto loved his best friends very much. With all his crippled soul, childish heart and tired brain. He would die and kill for them. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to strangle them to rest. Honestly, sometimes his hands itched, almost ready to imprison the idiots in a block of ice, but Shoto knew that wouldn’t do the trick, rather the opposite. The wonder duo would have nothing to distract themselves while they were trapped in the ice prison with nothing to do that would take their attention away, so they would either start more fights among themselves just out of boredom, or they would annoy Shoto until he deigned to let them out.

Unfortunately, he knew this for sure first hand, when one day he still couldn’t help himself and had the marvelous opportunity to sit in his room with both of them frozen into his tatami, unable to defrost them fast enough. That day, Shoto almost felt a kinship with toya’s madness and his constant pyromaniac tendencies, feeling his eye twitch at how coherently and persistently the two idiots, united, were deliberately loudly and carefully analyzing Shoto’s old costume choice. The urge to burn something was almost irresistible.

(the next time Shoto visited his brother in prison and told the story, sharing his inner turmoil and fleeting desires, toya laughed so hard that the medical team worried that the older Todoroki was having a negative reaction to the new medication he was taking, and burst into the visiting room as if distraught, only to find Toya wheezing with laughter, rolling around on the floor behind bulletproof glass, and Shoto with an annoyed face staring at the ceiling.)

And, well, yes. Maybe Shoto was being a little dramatic. In fact, the Izuku and Katsuki arguments aren't so terrible. Yes, they often drag on; yes, more often than not they are completely pointless and exist simply because the boys got bored; and yes, maybe they often turn into an overly serious, for Shoto's tastes, competition between the two that he has to resolve. But sometimes they're even fun to listen to and watch, like a strange but entertaining game. And as long as it brings them both joy, who is Shoto to take away the entertainment so necessary in today's realities?

But sometimes these arguments just happen at the wrong time.

Like during class.

***

-Kacchan, you do realize that, objectively, I could take down more buildings with one blow, since the wave would be more powerful than your blast, - Izuku muttered almost lazily, drawing circles on a scrap of paper that were suspiciously personalized to the three of them. If, of course, the oddly shaped drawing that looked like a broccoli on top and an egg on the bottom was an Izuku; the uneven oval split in half with a very flat facial expression made up of sticks and semicircles could be considered Shoto himself, and the circle with a dozen «DIE» inscriptions around it and spikes like a hedgehog was a Katsuki. Despite dozens of character analysis notebooks with their portraits in them, Izuku still wasn't good at making good drawings, he just couldn't concentrate long enough to finish them. – I literally use air shockwaves to inflict damage, of course I have to know what kind of destruction one of these blows can cause!

The three of them were sitting cramped together at one table, doing a group project for a heroics class and writing a joint essay on «the impact of quirks on the space around you during a rescue scenario». The assignment counted as an extracurricular and was a «you should take this home and do it together» kind of project, but Aizawa let them do it in class, looking them over with one healthy eye and, quote: «i better keep an eye on you problem kids so you don't cheat during the assignment and go mining in the dorms, we don't need any more charred desks and broken walls.» No one minded, so all twenty students sat in their classroom, talking peacefully while Aizawa himself was busy with his mountain of paperwork, looking at which made his face look even more tired, if that was even possible.

So, the whole class divided into their groups, moving through the assignment with the quiet noise of muffled chatter and light giggles, allowing themselves to relax a little while the three of them wrote their own. Well, Shoto was writing it, since his vocabulary and knowledge of terminology was a bit higher, due to a whole childhood spent studying everything that would be useful to a hero, and grammar was also taken into account, and the number of hours Shoto had spent reading books - even the common school dictionaries he borrowed from Fuyumi's desk (he was bored between his father's training sessions, before UA sue him) - was beyond the norm, so he volunteered to do it.

Izuku was good at coming up with ideas, but it was hard for him to concentrate on one thing long enough to stay on topic. Katsuki, on the other hand, was good at filling ideas with information, but lacked creativity in the humanities, so it turned out that first they discussed the topic among themselves, then Izuku gave ideas like a generator working on pure enthusiasm, Katsuki made the framework of the essay and filled it with facts, and Shoto finalized it by editing and correcting mistakes. Teamwork, all points of view taken into account, talents emphasized, weaknesses hidden.

But there was one «but»…

-don't get overconfident, idiot, if I concentrate my ap shot, then its power and penetration will increase and, in that case, I will be able to punch through several concrete boxes per shot, - snorted the Katsuki, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head in a sort of beachcomber's pose. – and I'll win.

-But we're talking about destroying buildings, not breaking through them, kacchan, - Izuku whimpered, resting his elbows on the back of the chair and resting his chin on his folded arms. His eyes grew comically large and he resembled a puppy mewling for treats and affection. – so that doesn't count.

-A hole in the support structure and bang, the house is gone, so that counts, nerd.

-no, it doesn't count!

…yes. The «but» was that now the wonder duo had enough time to start arguing while Todoroki was busy analyzing the text.

Shoto sighed heavily, clutching his pencil with his fingers and continued to draw out the kanji, trying to ignore the argument going on in front of his face. Unfortunately, because the three of them had to sit at a table meant for one student, it was hard not to listen to, and most importantly, not feel the conversation, - Midoriya waved his hands as if it were another argument to prove his point, - which was very, very frustrating for Shoto. He knew that such discussions didn't end well. Basically, any moment of boredom and having Izuku and Katsuki next to each other in a «I'm not doing anything, so I need something to distract me» state was a recipe for disaster.

Although, actually, it was more like reaction training for Shoto than a normal conversation. He had to constantly anticipate when to duck his head and when to lean back in his chair to avoid getting kicked in the face by Deku. Thankfully, this time, Katsuki didn't kick Izuku under the table with his feet, because then it would have turned into an even worse nightmare and bruises on his legs.

-Don't be a child, Deku, either find a decent argument or shut up, - Katsuki raised his eyebrows defiantly, flashing that same shit-eating, troublemaker grin that heralded trouble. – Or do you have nothing to say?

When he heard this comment, Todoroki had to clench his pencil so tightly that his hand began to ache from the nails digging into the flesh of his palm. Bakugou didn’t often pull this card in arguments, but when he did, Midoriya would always fall for it, no matter how many times Katsuki pulled this trivial old trick. And Shoto always, so naively, hoped that just today, just this time Izuku will finally see the light, will understand this scheme and will not condone, but on the face of the deku was already evident that today his hopes were not justified.

Which meant a mess and a headache for Shoto. Perfect.

“Is this how Aizawa-sensei feels when we do something stupid again?” – thought Todoroki fleetingly, trying not to set his pencil on fire. He did a series of breathing exercises they had been taught in psychology class to calm his irritation, continuing to write his essay, and trying to block out the way Midoriya and Bakugou were talking. Luckily, he only had a couple of sentences left that were already formed in his head, so all he had to do was…

Shoto quickly ducked as Izuku’s hand flew over where his head had just been, covering his eyes in disappointment. Yes, there it was, the delayed reaction.

-stop being mean, kacchan! – Izuku pouted his lips, quickly taking on the look of an offended hamster. Shoto felt a prick of almost doomed amusement at this sight, hiding his fleeting smile and lowering his head back to the page. In this form, Izuku was especially like a cartoon character, it even almost made it harder to get annoyed with him. Key word almost. – It’s not fair! You know I don’t have time to put my thoughts into words and you’re mocking me!

-Oh, I’m just being objective, nerd, and using the right moments to my advantage, - Katsuki rolled his eyes and pinched Midoriya’s cheek, smirking. Izuku tried to brush his hands away, puffing irritably like a tiny steam engine, but it only amused Katsuki more, and Shoto pleaded with whatever gods he could to stop teasing each other. – Put away your insulted rodent look, Deku, you know I’m right.

-You’re not! I’ll prove it to you! Today on the beta site! – Izuku folded his arms across his chest, squinting his eyes. Shoto sighed heavily, looking over their work for any mistakes or inaccuracies he might have missed, hoping this wouldn’t turn into a full-scale fight. He had no desire to explain to Aizawa why the training ground of the rescue stmulation looked like a set from a post-apocalyptic movie, and more importantly, how it had gotten that way. no, he wasn't in the mood for that today.

-There’s nothing to prove, I know I’m right, you’re just a stubborn chipmunk, - Katsuki clucked his tongue in feigned regret, and grinned briefly, knowing that Izuku was furious at the comparison between him and the small animal.

Because one day, while visiting the Midoriya residence, Inko-san showed the three of them a baby picture of Izuku eating katsudon in an almighty sweatshirt with comically round pink cheeks full of freckles. Deku was embarrassed, of course, but since then, Katsuki has been calling Izuku “chipmunk” when he wants to piss him off. (Shoto too, to be honest, but very rarely).

-I’m not a chipmunk! – Midoriya muttered, wrinkling his nose.

He had already opened his mouth to continue his argument, but quickly his eyes lit up with a strange emotion and a sly smile spread across his lips. Shoto felt his already tiny hopes for a peaceful evening shattered by that look, and, out of frustration, he broke his pencil in half, covering his eyes. Midoriya, meanwhile, completely oblivious to Shoto’s despair, leaned over the desk, tilted his head to his left shoulder like a bird of prey, and smiled sweetly, almost lusciously, at Bakugou with a truly diabolical expression. League of villains? All for one? No, the real nightmare is Midoriya’s Izuku. Remember his words. – or are you afraid I’ll beat you, kacchan? Is that why you want to leave it to words, trying to confuse me? You don’t want to lose?

-don’t play with fire, deku, - Katsuki slowly sat up straight in his chair, looking at his childhood friend with a squint of red eyes. His hands briefly clenched into fists before he gripped his desk and leaned forward with that familiar defiant smirk. Shoto suppressed the urge to bang his head on the desk when he heard that tone of voice. He had no chance to spend this evening in peace. The two boys stared at each other like predators, and Todoroki only gripped the broken writing utensil tighter and rolled his eyes at the tension between the boys, wishing that some almighty force would help him get anywhere but here right now. – I’m gonna rip you to ribbons, nerd.

-ye-e-es? – Izuku’s lips stretched into a similar smirk, full of excitement. There was a tension in the air that you could cut with a knife if you wanted to, and the stares and small movements exchanged between Izuku and Katsuki were like a very elaborate, veiled aggressive flirtation. Like two peacocks showing off whose tail was more colorful.

“If they hadn’t been such idiots and just kissed at last,” Shoto thought in passing, looking at this disaster with a hollow look on his face, “my life would be so, so much easier.”

Midoriya crossed his arms, looking Bakugou confidently in the eye, as if to incite him to fight at the same second. His lips were already twitching to say something else, probably just as inflammatory, but before he could say another word, a sharp clap and scrape made everyone in the classroom jump and look for the source of the sound. Shoto was standing in front of the desk occupied by the three of them, with a pencil broken in half in his hand, holding the assignment sheet in the other. The chair he had pushed back sharply when he stood up was the nasty sound, considering that he had almost rolled over from the force with which he had stood up.

He'd had a hard day of school, two full endurance drills, a math test, and an English quiz.

He’d had enough.

He wanted peace.

It was as if the classroom was silenced.

Not a single voice, whisper, or chuckle could be heard, and everyone seemed frozen in their seats as they watched Shoto, nonchalantly, put the wobbling chair back in place. His face expressed nothing – well, at least nothing good – as he left his seat by the desk and walked down the aisle in silence, toward Aizawa’s chair, slowly noticing that the classroom had become too quiet. Nineteen pairs of eyes followed the boy’s every move, some with sympathy, some with incomprehension, but Shoto, paying no attention, stopped at the teacher’s chair, pressing the worksheet against the desk with a slightly less abrupt hand, and stared at the teacher in silence, clutching the broken pencil in his left hand, hoping it wouldn’t catch fire.

-Todoroki? – Aizawa asked slowly, looking at his student from head to toe and wondering what the matter was again and why his children were silent as if they had seen a ghost.

-Our esse, sensei. We’re done, - Shoto forced a calm tone out of himself, but he knew that Aizawa wouldn’t miss the irritation that oozed from his voice. The class behind them came to life slowly, whispering barely audible and glancing between teacher and student as if it were a tense tennis match.

-I see… - Shota nodded, taking the essay in his hands and tapping his finger ostentatiously on the two names written at the top, in front of Shoto’s own name. his voice became considerably quieter, granting maximum, in this case, privacy, as he sighed and tucked the paper into a separate folder. – Problem children arguing again?

-Yes, - Todoroki grumbled, rubbing the sleeve of his uniform. Aizawa knew more than anyone else, except for the All-Might, the power and scope of arguments between Katsuki and Izuku, which made Shoto’s life much easier at times.

He never had to explain too much, and it always helped him when two idiots decided to test a trick or move without further notice of the training session. Aizawa knew this, which saved Todoroki many, so many hours of punishment.

-what is it this time? – teacher asked meekly, without much hope of an answer, adjusting the bandage on his face so it wasn’t pressing so hard on his injured eye, looking at Shoto with a raised eyebrow.

For a brief second, Shoto thought of not answering anything, of becoming as vague as he always was, of leaving it as unspecific as possible. Just handing in the assignment, returning to his seat and dozing off to the white noise of voices already slowly resuming. And then his thoughts went on, imagining how he would have to try his best to distract Izuku and Katsuki so they wouldn’t destroy the training ground, and then listen to them argue again and again… it was routine. Familiar. But the petty desire for revenge, the little worm gnawing at his thoughts was stronger. And then…

Todoroki adjusted the cuff of his shirt and, in an almost completely disinterested voice, replied with a shrug:

-They seem to have planned a quirk test on the beta field. Something about blast waves and destroyed buildings. Perhaps you should ask them for details, sensei, I didn’t specify.

-pain in my ass,- Aizawa muttered, clucking his tongue. He glanced quickly at Shoto again and his lips stretched into an understanding grin as he realized that, at this moment in time, Todoroki was in the mood to expose those he usually covered up for. – thanks for the information, kid.

-No problem, sensei, rules are important, - Shoto nodded confidently, as if he wasn’t ready to break those very rules any chance he got, feeling his annoyance slowly being replaced by satisfaction at his mischief. Aizawa noticed his almost smug look, and laughed hoarsely, drawing another round of class attention to them, and patted Shoto on the head.

-you’re a little shit, Todoroki, but I can understand that. Your assignment is accepted, you’re free to go to your dorm, - shota leaned back in his chair, still grinning slightly, and watched Shoto masterfully ignore his classmates’ questions as he gathered his things to leave.

-Sensei, - Izuku raised his hand, turning around in his chair to face his teacher. – Does that mean that Kacchan and I are free too?

-Did I say that? I said Todoroki is free. And you problem kids should write me an essay on “why I shouldn’t scheme unauthorized training without the teachers’ knowledge”. One sheet of text each, due tomorrow, - Aizawa saw the confusion on Midoriya and Bakugou’s faces change to realization and they quickly turned to Todoroki, who was already approaching the door.

-Shoto-kun, how could you turn us in! - Izuku sounded almost genuinely offended, but Todoroki didn't feel remorseful.

-You're a goddamn traitor, halfie, - Katsuki clucked his tongue, pointing a finger at him, but Shoto just shrugged and walked out the door with a smirk, wondering if he'd find that beautiful three-colored cat outside the dormitories today. he'd be happy to play with sushi.

***

Of course, sometimes their arguments arise from the best of motives. The purest and most righteous motives to do something good. The only problem was that they both got carried away very easily forgetting the true reason….

***

The amusement park was noisy, bright, and crowded. Normally Shoto wouldn’t have agreed to visit such a place, but Aizawa-sensei had politely asked if someone could look after Eri, - since he himself was too busy dealing with the chaos of the documentation left over from the war to care for the girl, - and if Aizawa-sensei asked, no one couldn’t refuse. Especially Izuku. Especially when it came to Eri. That’s why Shoto, along with Katsuki and Izuku himself, stood at the entrance to the brightly colored park at nine o’clock on a Saturday morning, yawning into the palm of his hand.

Was he surprised to be included in the list of trusted babysitters? Extremely. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten here at all: he barely knew eri! And although she spent a lot of time in the dormitory, both with her favorites, “dynamite and deku!” and kirishima and the girls, Shoto himself rarely interacted with her, preferring to leave her entertainment to the rest of his classmates, because he didn’t know what to say to her, and she was either embarrassed by him or noticed that he was uncomfortable, and rarely approached “Todoroki-san”, preferring the company of more socially capable students.

The only time she had approached him first was in the winter before Christmas, just before the war began. And Shoto loved that memory, it always made him smile.

(it wasn’t very cold outside, Shoto was freezing much more when using his quirk than he was then, standing outside the dormitory without a jacket and scarf. The advantages of being “half-cold half-hot” temperature meant little to him in everyday life. But the frost still pinched his cheeks, leaving his apples and nose red, even though he wasn’t freezing. He liked it. It remembered about his mother, like her hands touched his face…

That day he finally decided to talk to his father on the phone, trying to make things work between them, as he and Fuyumi had wanted. It was tedious, but Todoroki was proud of himself: he managed not to raise his voice or get irritated! They even said goodbye in a normal way, instead of Shoto just hanging up like he always did. It was definitely a good step forward. Shoto had to remind himself that he wasn’t angry or upset – which was a reflex reaction to the old man’s call, because most of the time it meant moralizing - this took a lot of emotional energy, which he didn’t have much of.

Luckily for him, the mood was set the moment one cat, beautiful, fluffy and clearly not a stray, judging by the collar she was wearing, got closer to him, probably sensing the warmth that Shoto’s left side exuded on a regular basis, regulating his body temperature in the cold. Todoroki had seen her many times before, occasionally glimpsing her in trees, between buildings, once even napping on Aizawa-sensei’s desk, so she must have been someone’s pet. Most likely belonging to the teacher, as pets were forbidden to students.

Koda was one of the exceptions, since his quirk is directly related to animal contact and to train it, you have to have an animal in close proximity, so his rabbit was allowed.

Still, back to the main thing. The cat. Shoto had seen it a few times, but didn’t know its name, if there was such a thing at all. And he didn’t try to get too close to it, deciding to let the animal approach him on its own if it wanted to. Most cats liked to walk at their own pace, he had long ago noticed. In the days before dormitories and when they were let home for the weekend, Todoroki would often walk from the train station to pet and feed the stray cats on their way home. It always calmed him down. The fluffy littles always had some sort of therapeutic effect, Shoto just couldn’t help himself.

And that day, his anticipation paid off. The three-colored beauty approached him with a quiet meow, gently rubbing against his leg. Shoto could literally feel his face softening at the sight. He bent down, slowly and gently, careful not to startle the cat at his feet, and squatted down in front of it. Making eye contact and almost without blinking, he gently stroked the cat’s furry head with two knuckles, listening with satisfaction to the contented purring in response.

Then he heard the faint creak of the door leading to the porch and turned around, meeting his eyes with the red, interested gaze of a little girl peering out of it. Shoto blinked in surprise, reflexively turning his whole body toward the girl. well, this was an unexpected development. shouldn't she, sato, and, surprisingly, Bakugou, be baking cookies in the kitchen right now?

-Todoroki-san? – Eri said quietly, opening the door wider to squeeze through. Almost immediately, Shoto had the strange urge to tell her to go back inside, because it was cold outside and she didn’t have a jacket on. But he didn’t even have time to formulate anything before the girl, obviously noticing the cat, jumped closer with muffled delight on her face. – sushi!

-sushi? – Shoto asked confusedly, wondering what food had to do with it. He blinked, confused, his eyes shifting from the cat to Eri and back again as the girl came closer and gently stroked the animal’s ear with her tiny hand.

-Yes! I love sushi, it’s fluffy, - nodded Eri, squatting down to stroke the soft fur. – And it doesn’t bite at all!

-ah, so it's a name... - Shoto shifted his eyes back to the animal, feeling oddly embarrassed that he hadn't realized it right away. of course it was a name, what else is it...well, a little awkward. sushi looked back at him slyly, as if she knew what he was thinking and was mocking him. Todoroki hummed weakly, running his fingers over the animal's nose, paying her for that mocking look and receiving what was probably a disgruntled meow in return. - so you know... sushi?

-yes! Eraser-san introduced us, - the girl nodded to him, giggling weakly when Sushi's tail hit her nose as the animal changed its pose.

To be honest, it again took Shoto an embarrassingly long time to realize that it was about Aizawa. Most of the time he acted as a teacher and class teacher to them, so his second job as an underground hero was out of sight. Todoroki cursed himself in his head for his inattention as he noticed the girl next to him flinch weakly in the cold wind. Oh, right, winter, it must be cold now. And it was noticeably dark outside, so that must be it. Shoto hummed, thinking about what he should do. Should he bring Eri back inside? Or should he call someone to bring her a jacket? Or a coat?

And then he looked more closely at the almost happy, gentle expression on Eri’s face. She was like him, Shoto realized then. She was like him, they had something in common in the way they held themselves, the way they presented themselves. In showing joy with soft faces and crooked half-smiles. In running away to a quieter place when there were too many people and everything was overwhelming. And the answer came by itself. He held out his left hand to the little girl, tilting his head to the side, and at her surprised look only pointed his head to his own hand, with a quiet explanation:

-can I hold you? It’ll be warmer and you won’t get cold while you’re stroking the sushi. I can warm you with a quirk. That’s why I’m not cold myself.

-oh… okay, - eri blinked, surprised by the offer, and then shook his hand as if they were sealing a business deal, moving closer to his left side until they slowly made contact. – thank you, Todoroki-san.

-You're welcome, Eri, - Shoto exhaled in relief as he gently put his arm around her shoulders and raised the temperature of her left side to a comfortable warmth. Eri made a surprised high-pitched sound when he suddenly warmed up next to her and quickly relaxed, snuggling against his side and scratching sushi behind her ears, while Shoto was struggling with two states inside: repressed panic from the fear of accidentally hurting such an innocent and fragile creature (both Eri and the cat, to be honest), and on the other hand satisfaction from the thought that he could so easily make another person's life easier and cozier by his quirk.

And if they sat like that until the moment when Aizawa didn't come looking for them, then only they, Aizawa himself, and smug sushi know about it).

Shoto’s thoughts were interrupted by a big yawn, which he couldn’t hold back. On Saturday, even though they were usually scheduled to train that day, he let himself sleep until eleven o’clock, so that he wouldn’t tire himself out by one o’clock, the start of the training, and fall asleep at random times, as usual. But even though he would have preferred to sleep in his own bed now, like a normal person with more free time, Shoto couldn’t complain. The look of utter delight on little Eri’s face was worth waking up early for.

Her red eyes shone with excitement and a slight wariness from the noise of the loud voices around her. She regarded everything that her height allowed her to see with close scrutiny. It was determined to be much less than Shoto could see with his height, but even so, her obvious admiration was visible to everyone. She squeezed Izuku’s hand slightly calloused from training and battles, tightly with her tiny, pale palm nodding occasionally in response to his many words and assurances that “Eri-chan, this is going to be a lot of fun! I promise you’ll love it! I’ve made a list of attractions where we could go and…” To be honest, Shoto stopped listening to him at the third repetition of “you’ll love it,” looking at the colorful banners at the entrance to the park with one eye on his friends.

He himself, as a child, had never been on amusement parks, or even in regular green parks, so this was a new experience for him, and... oh well, maybe that was the reason he was here with them.

What does Katsuki say? Making up for his fucked up childhood?

-So, okay, here's what we're doing! After we buy the tickets and are allowed in, first we should buy cotton candy….. – Through the hazy and still sleepy haze of thoughts, Izuku's voice broke into Shoto's head, with a confident and, as usual, excited tone. And of course, Katsuki's voice didn't take long to come through, interrupting the other halfway through. Because of course he did.

-no, no shit. First we have to ride at least a couple attractions, nerd, so that the sugar doesn't make us dizzy,» the Bakugou snorted, rolling his eyes and snatching the park map from Izuku, with bright markings on it. Well, the list deku was obviously not kidding about…. – especially since the unicorn hadn't had breakfast.

-Kacchan, first of all, I was still talking when you got involved, - Midoriya snorted with slight irritation, trying to grab the map back. – And secondly, I have a route and by following it we can avoid all points of interest. The cotton candy stand at the beginning of the park, it's better to buy it now than to come back later!

-yeah, well, no, your tour route sucks, - Katsuki replied, squinting his eyes over the glossy paper with a facial expression that Shoto called «bitchy» in his head, though that voice sounded suspiciously like Kaminari's. Guess it was a telltale sign when another person's voice appears in your head… - We should first try riding something extreme like a roller coaster before we eat, so that shorty doesn't throw up from fear and adrenaline. Much less cotton candy. She needs food, not a cloud of pure sugar on an empty stomach.

-A roller coaster? No way! It's dangerous and risky, - Izuku waved his hands, dropping Eri's palm, leaving her clutching her hand to her chest, batting her eyelashes in response to the argument that had erupted.

-Nerd is an attraction, an amusement. There's no danger in it, and it's designed to feel like a fucking parody of real risk, - Katsuki replied, folding his arms across his chest with a stubborn expression on his face.

-Yes, but not for Eri! What if she gets sick or scared? Or would that be a trigger for her? – Izuku replied stubbornly, mirroring Katsuki's posture. – And anyway, don't swear Kacchan!

Really? They did it now?

-Yeah, well, the little one's old enough to speak for herself. And anyway, why do you get to decide where we're going? Maybe I want to go on a roller coaster, nerd.

-then take a day and ride until you puke, and today is Eri's day. It's her first time at an amusement park!

Shoto sighed, blocking out the arguing voices. «and where are they getting all this energy this morning?» - thought Todoroki, sitting down in front of the confused girl on one knee doing, frankly the most obvious thing in this situation:

-where do you want to go, eri? – he asked softly, blocking her direct gaze at the arguing duo.

-I… - the little girl blinked dazedly, translating her wide eyes to his, still holding her palm against his chest. – But deku-san and dynamite-san haven't decided yet…

-don't think about them, - Shoto shook his head, ignoring the faint sounds of manhandling behind him and carefully maintaining what he hoped was a friendly demeanor. – Where do you want to go?

-…can we get caramel apples? – Eri asked him quietly, casting concerned glances over his shoulder at the two boys arguing behind him.

-I don't know if they're here, but we can look for them. Come on? – Shoto held out his hand to the little girl, which she hesitantly took, squeezing it weakly, but her gaze was still fixed on the arguing Izuku and Katsuki.

-but…deku-san and dynamite-san…? – she muttered worriedly, looking at him with a furrowed brow. The fact that she called them both hero names was just adorable, it drowned and melted Shoto's heart in a way he never thought he would feel. I wonder if fuyumi-nee and natsuo-nii feel the same way about him because he's younger…?

-Don't mind them, they do it all the time, there's nothing to be afraid of, - Shoto shook his head, but Eri still wasn't sure, he could see it in her eyes. Then Todoroki used all his creativity and whispered conspiratorially to her, leaning in carefully and putting his finger to his lips as if he were going to tell her a secret. – Let's turn this into a stealth game, okay? See how long it takes for Deku and Dynamite to find us. It's practice for them and for us. You know how they like to practice.

-Oh, okay Todoroki-san, - Eri visibly perked up after he called it training, which made Shoto's shoulders relax in relief. Good, one less problem to worry about.

-You can call me Shoto, - he couldn't help but smile at the excited girl looking up at the twinkling lights of the amusement park from below, less worried now. Her enthusiasm picked up again when she saw something new from behind the crowds. Shoto suppressed the urge to pull out his phone and take a picture, instead gently squeezing the pale little girl's hand in his. – I can lift you up on my shoulders so you can see better. That way you can show me the way and we won't get lost.

-Yes, please, Shoto-san! – Eri smiled happily, and at that moment Shoto realized that he would have protected this child with his life.

Izuku and Katsuki found them an hour and a half later on a bench by the same roller coaster they had already tried out, with ice cream cones, since caramel apples were not sold here.

***

…But the worst happened when they actually managed to offend each other and then they had to work together, like in the field…

***

it was a patrol.

The usual, most standard patrol, conducted by students in the absence of as many heroes as before, organized by the new hero commission and the principals of heroic Japanese schools. though on this day, things are a little different with Aizawa and his teaching experiment. In an attempt to improve the academic grades and practical knowledge of his class, he was randomly pairing students with lower grades with those with higher grades, forcing them to work together. So, since Todoroki was paired with Kaminari for the week, he was going to have to work with them to make sure that they were able to work together. Katsuki, Izuku, Shoto, and Denki were the four of them on this patrol. Normally, Kirishima would go with them, but due to an experiment by the class teacher, he had been replaced and was working with Momo, despite being a good student in general.

And, honestly, Shoto was even glad. Denki was funny and sweet. He always had a joke at the ready, eternal optimism and, well, even though he was a little silly, he was cool. A good friend and, quite the diligent, if willing student, active and bright. Also, he had an amazing ability to piss off Bakugou. And in Shoto lists, that was an invaluable quality, because if Katsuki argues with Denki, he doesn't argue with Izuku, right? And no shit.

The two idiots (Shoto couldn't think of them without that word anymore) had somehow managed to fight and argue seriously when Shoto couldn't stop them, and now, being on the streets of musutafu and helping civilians, both Todoroki and Kaminari had to listen to passive-aggressive comments in their communicators.

«oh kacchan you slipped when you landed. Did your perfect quirk fail?»

«oh deku, look at that, I think that kid is scared of you. Is the good boy aura gone?»

Kacchan, deku, kacchan, deku, kacchan, deku, kacchan, deku….

Remark after remark. Sarcastic comment after venomous politeness. Over and over and over.

Again and again.

And so on constantly. All the time. Not one damn normal interaction. Constant backstabbing, pushing at weaknesses, crude jokes. At one point their conversation became so tense that even the Kaminari walking beside him lost his usual optimism and fearlessness, beginning to worry, looking up at the rooftops the wonder duo were patrolling to take in all the views of the area.

-Hey, roki, uh… don't you want to, uh… you know, stop them? – Denki asked with a hint of worry, hearing another remark in his earpiece and a sarcastic reply following it. The venom-soaked words made him wince. – it seems to be a serious argument…

-no, just… just ignore them, okay? Don't mind them, - Todoroki advised, sighing heavily and waving at the recognized citizens, trying to hide his irritation and appear more friendly. They were at work, they were on the job, Katsuki and Izuku would never let their arguments go to far when there was a task at hand. Even though they were only sophomores, they were already professionals, considering the war and well, everything else. The diploma was a formality to them. And Shoto knew that both of his friends would never put arguments before work. That was comforting, but it didn't make things any less annoying. They couldn't just turn off their communicators, that was an important part of the patrol, since their forces were divided, so there was no way they could avoid it. They needed to listen.

-and do they do this often? – Kaminari asked quietly, eyes widening as he heard a new stream of passive aggression. Honestly, he looked frightened, which was almost amusing, if it hadn't been canceled out by his rapidly growing irritation.

These two always brought out new sides of him. And not always good ones.

-unfortunately, yes. But it's rarely this serious, it's usually just a… a joke between them. Today we were just unlucky, - Shoto answered, looking around the street. His eyes caught the suspiciously empty entrance of the bank. Usually there were always at least some people there…. It's strange that it's so empty. And the shutters are closed, even though the sign says it's open… he squinted his eyes and reached for his communicator, turning to the fireplace. – Get ready, I think something's going on at the bank. I'll let them know.

Kaminari quickly grew serious, forgetting everything else, adjusted the support items on his wrists to focus the quirk, and nodded, also scrutinizing the bank building. Shoto shook his head approvingly in response, pursed his lips, and clicked on his communicator, drawing the attention of the other two with a quiet beep.

-dynamite, deku, i think we found the problem. The bank, north of you. We don't know what's going on inside, probably a robbery and hostage taking from what i can see so far,» Todoroki reported, getting into the routine of being a hero. At least now, he could count on Izuku and Katsuki not to do nonsense. Still, they were unrivaled at being heroes…

***

The operation at the bank had gone as well as it could have. No civilian casualties, all the robbers apprehended and held in ice prisons courtesy of the Shoto, no serious injuries to any of them. It had been as successful as possible, with as few casualties as possible. This outcome was almost a soothing salve to the Shoto's burning irritation, dulling it with the flavor of sweet victory and fresh relief. In addition, the Kaminari's happiness was incredibly contagious. He was almost dancing on the spot, a smile on his face that amused both the Shoto and the civilians as they waited for the police to arrive on the scene.

Katsuki and Izuku were sent to talk to the press, like two popular heroes, behind the icy line Shoto had created to keep people away from the crime scene. The press, who seemed to always be on standby and ready to pull out the cameras at any second, showing up even before the police did. And that was a big mistake. For when, after a while, Shoto never heard their voices, only the clicks of the cameras and the muffled whispers of the crowd, the hot irritation in him woke up again. If that was what he was thinking…

Todoroki slowly turned around and suppressed a snarl of anger. Of course, of course they had to confront each other at the scene of the crime in front of dozens of cameras and hundreds of gawkers' eyes. Thankfully, at least they were whispering instead of yelling. Shoto's hands clenched into tight fists as he looked at the waving arms of Izuku and the grinning Katsuki. Even though the press couldn't hear what they were saying, they were still keeping the cameras rolling and filming, which meant that by the end of the day the internet would be filled with headlines and conspiracy theories about what was going on with the miracle duo. If these two don't reconcile by tonight, it means they'll be doubly insufferable. Izuku will spiral down to the bottom of analysis and panic, thinking this dispute will destroy his career, and Katsuki will try to drag him to spar because kirishima is at the fatgam agency late and can't help him. They'll both be annoying and cling to him from both sides, trying to steal him from each other. And then they'll start fighting about it and Shoto have to deal with it.

It's always Shoto.

One of the thieves in the ice prison, next to whom Todoroki had crouched to free him from the block of ice, leaving only his hands and feet shackled, stared at him literally in horror, almost squeaking with fear when he saw his face. He slowly rose to his feet, took a few steps toward his partner, and addressed the distracted conversation with one of the bank employees, Kaminari in a quiet voice:

-if I start hitting them, knock me out, - and then without explanation headed straight for the disputants.

-ah? What? Roki! Uh, I mean, uh. Shoto! What does that mean?! – Denki shouted after him, confused, but Shoto wasn't paying attention. His fists were clenched so tightly that his hands were shaking, and his face was probably colder and more closed than any other he'd ever done in his life, not considering his rage at his father. Although, come to think of it…. Yeah, the expressions are quite correlated. Slightly different things, different people, and yet, similar rage.

He had no more patience.

Todoroki mustered all his inner strength not to punch the Katsuki on the shoulder closest to him when he finally reached the two arguing guys, who weren't even paying attention to him, preoccupied with their passive-aggressive conversation. This only spurred the Shoto, igniting the burning, boiling acid inside him. These two had ruined his quiet patrol, frayed his nerves all week, and now they had the nerve to ignore him? Well, no.

-Stop it, Shoto said in a cold voice, pulling the Bakugou back a little, but the blond man shook his shoulder in response, trying to throw his arm off. – stop it.

-Don't interfere, icyhot, - he said irritably, not even looking at Todoroki. Not even a slanted glance, as if it were nothing. Shoto's jaw tensed. – it's not yours…

-don't shut me up, Bakugou Katsuki. – Shoto interrupted him halfway through, clutching the other's shoulder tightly with an abnormally cold hand. Every word he said, though quiet, sounded clear and serious, almost deadly serious. It caught Katsuki's attention enough to turn around. Shoto rarely spoke like that. Or rather, almost never, and almost always only to his father. Never to them. And most likely that difference, and Todoroki's face, told him all he needed to be surprised into silence, blinking in response. – Both of you, now end your… whatever it is and act normal.

-Shoto-kun, I don't think this is really any of your business… - Izuku started to speak, but as soon as Todoroki's gaze shifted to him, all words disappeared, leaving him speechless and surprised.

-you have no right to shut me up either, Midoriya Izuku, - Shoto interrupted with an icy squint of his multicolored eyes, slowly shifting his gaze from one boy to the other. His voice sounded like a glacier. And from the severity of the anger in his tone, one could guess that if he was a glacier, then if Izuku and Katsuki weren't careful, he would end up like titanic. – It becomes my business when you do it at work, and I'm sick of it. Both of you, right now, shut your mouths and act like the heroes you are, not like two schoolboys in love who can't talk like normal people, - Shoto caught the moment when Katsuki opened his mouth to argue and his voice somehow became even more harsh and cold. He couldn't even describe this rage, this unbearable feeling, as if there was a fiery hurricane hiding in a cocoon of ice, ready to tear down everything in its path. – And don't you dare interrupt me. I'm not gonna get into your personal shit. Again. I don't give a shit what's going on here. You can settle your conflicts at the academy, away from prying eyes and goddamn cameras. Then you can fuck or kill each other. I don't fucking care. Back at the academy, you can behave however you want. But right now, you're goddamn heroes. People are watching you and cameras are pointed at you, so act like it. Both of you. Am I clear?

Shoto didn't even wait for a reply when he heard the sound of police sirens. He only cast one last warning glance at the two stunned, silent boys, turned abruptly and headed for the officers and the worried Kaminari.

He'd had enough.

***

The next week had been a little tense, not just for the three of them, but for the school as a whole.

There were whispers and rumors, suspicious and worried looks, and theories of varying degrees of lousiness.

The school was buzzing.

It was hard not to notice how the three, once inseparable guys, suddenly turned into two and one. As well as the fact that the dynamics of the «future big three», as they were called by the students of other courses, had changed. And on the Internet, to top it all off, there was already a video of the very incident in the bank, when the miracle duo was reprimanded by Shoto on the field. Even though there was no sound of their voices, their faces alone spoke volumes. And that gave some idea of what had happened. But only some.

Everyone wanted to know the truth.

Class A was the first to realize that things smelled like kerosene. Immediately, the same night after the patrol, in the dormitory, they noticed a bag of oddities that were just the precursors of a nightmare. Silent and ashamed Bakugou and Midoriya, unusually closed and cold Shoto, as if he were back at the beginning of their freshman year. Short answers, aloof, and most importantly, he completely cut off Izuku and Katsuki.

That evening, he stuck to talking only to the uncharacteristically quiet Denki, completely ignoring the other two boys he had come with. He preferred to avoid the rest of his classmates as well, hiding in the safety of the gym walls.

But it didn't end there.

The next day went similarly. Although Shoto continued to interact with the class – apologizing for yesterday's cold behavior, willingly talking to them, listening, even smiling sometimes – he ignored and avoided two of its members with all the fervor of his father. He would not let them approach him, turning away and walking away whenever they tried to talk to him. He didn't read their messages, didn't take their calls, didn't listen to their answering system, and ignored any mention of them from anyone else, including even his teachers. He didn't even train with them. He personally, before training, asked Aizawa to pair him with someone else that day, and so he found himself paired with a stunned Shinso.

He'd gotten as far away from them as he could.

It disturbed everyone. And, of course, most of all, the Izuku and Katsuki themselves, who were tearing their hair out in despair.

They tried to apologize, plan after plan, spending whole nights without sleep in the dormitory, trying to get Shoto back. They wrote dozens of sheets and thousands of words of apology. They tried to catch him, one by one and together, to corner him, writing, calling, sending notes and even gifts, through other people. But nothing worked.

Shoto became inaccessible to them, like Everest they were trying to climb without equipment.

Like an iceberg had sunk the titanic.

No one, not even Kaminari, - thoroughly questioned by all the members of the class – knew what had happened. They didn't understand what could have upset Shoto so much that he had literally turned his back on his two best friends.

What did Shoto think?

He was upset. Of course he was upset. And angry. And disappointed. All the bad emotions seemed to come at once and he didn't know how to solve them. At least not that first night after the bank and the patrol.

He was angry. So angry that in a fit of rage he had beaten the punching bag at the gym so badly that it had fallen off its mount, and then nearly cried on the chest of the Denki who had come to find him and talk about everything he had witnessed that day.

He didn't know then that he was hurt, he thought it was just anger. Then he realized there was also fear. Fear that he was becoming like his father.

Ruthless, cold and terrifying.

It scared him.

But – thank the gods for Kaminari – Denki convinced him that he wasn't. He found him there, in the gym, on the edge, and hugged him until Shoto felt like a human being again, not a lump of boiling hot lava. The other boy assured him that it was okay to be angry. It was okay to not want to see the people you were angry with. And resentment was okay, too.

Shoto wasn't bad. Shoto hurt.

«roki, they literally wore me out on patrol and I was only with them for what, three hours? You put up with it all the time! Of course you'd be mad! I'd be mad. They're so stupid, really. It's not your fault. Well… I mean, a little, but hey, they could hold back too! And you're nothing like your dad. Like, I don't see a endeavor putting up with the antics of teenagers, so…»

This clothed Shoto so much that he actually could have cried. But when Kaminari saw his moist eyes, he panicked so much that he accidentally electrocuted them, causing their hair to stand up from the static electricity. Then, Shoto laughed out loud, nearly rolling on the floor.

It was a good night.

But the morning was worse. The first day, Todoroki didn't know what to think. Both boys tried so hard to apologize, looking for him, texting him, calling him, but Shoto couldn't help but feel the hot bitterness in his mouth from it. So he pushed it to the back burner. Turning off his phone and changing his mind to work.

On the fourth day, he slowly thought about what he wanted to do about his resentment. Yes, he finally realized what exactly had hurt him. He was always put in the middle. He couldn't take sides other than his own, to avoid consequences (however small), he always had to decide and cover for them. Even though he had done the latter willingly, he still couldn't get rid of the bitter taste of that thought. If he forgave them, would they behave the same way? Would they expect Shoto to go back to his old role? What would happen?

Would they even be friends if Shoto wasn't the same anymore?

Shoto didn't like that last thought either, so he just… dismissed it.

And he couldn't see them. Not yet. He's not ready.

So he didn't answer messages and calls, avoided meetings. He even changed sparring partners. It was shinso, which was nice, he and the other boy hadn't been very close since he was transferred, so it was fun to get to know each other despite the unpleasant circumstances that led to it. They turned out to be much more alike than they originally seemed, and Todoroki had a new friend to discuss cats, stars, and tea with.

Still, the weight of the absence of his two best friends was weighing on Shoto like a thousand gallons of water. It was as if he were in a fragile ice cocoon at the bottom of the ocean, and the ice was already cracking at the seams.

Luckily, Kaminari helped him here too. He spent a lot of time with him, he put Shoto in his group of friends, the so-called «bakusquad», which is funny, without Bakugou himself the name made less sense. They studied together, played video games, watched movies, even worked out sometimes. Denki had become a close friend, like Hitoshi. And Hanta, and Ashido, and Eijiro. They were great friends and he liked them, Shoto readily admitted. And yet the problem with Izuku and Katsuki gnawed at his brain like rust. Corrosion filling the corners of his mind.

The other guys were great friends, but they weren't Katsuki and Izuku, and that was the problem.

And on the night of the seventh to eighth day, lying on the futon and staring up at the dark ceiling, Shoto decided to let himself think things through. very word, interaction, and thought was carefully analyzed. He spent the entire night awake, trying to terms with his inner insecurities and fear that his silence had only made things worse. But by dawn, he had come to a decision.

He would let them talk, apologize. And then… then he would decide whether to forgive them.

although deep down, he knew that something like this wouldn't make him turn his back on Izuku and Katsuki.

They were his best friends, his most trusted and loyal people.

Shoto wouldn't leave.

It was impossible.

***

It was six thirty in the morning when Shoto came out of his room on a Sunday. It was completely unusual for him, but a night of thinking had kept him awake, so he wanted to get out of his tired room and do something.

He was just entering the kitchen, thinking about making tea and then maybe going for a run at the gym, when he was confronted by a startling sight that made him freeze in place.

Izuku and Katsuki, disheveled as if they’d just gotten out of bed, but with faces that indicated they hadn’t seen the bed in a while, sat at a table with their heads bowed over an open notebook and a whole board of conspiracy theories behind them, with Shoto’s name boldly written in black marker in the center.

Todoroki blinked dazedly, looking at the scrawled kanji, somewhere crossed out in angry red marker, and somewhere underlined in blue, though there was clearly more red.

He didn't even read the words, just stared, blinking stupidly as he stood in the passage to the kitchen, slowly lowering his foot.

-what is it? – Finally, he asked stunned, and startled the wonder duo so that Katsuki fell off the chair entirely, and Izuku caught his foot on the bottom rung of the stool and folded himself in half, hitting the tabletop with his forehead. It was a surprisingly funny sight, but Shoto was too shocked to react properly.

-Shoto-kun! Why did you wake up so early? - Izuku asked nervously, raising his head so sharply that Todoroki wondered if he had whiplash or a concussion, given the bump on his forehead. - n-no, wait, that sounds like an insult! you're already upset with us. stop, don't answer! oh, god, no, that sounded like I was shushing you! no, no, that's not right...

-fuck, nerd, board, - Katsuki hissed from the floor, leaning on the chair to sit down with a grimace on his face. Izuku's eyes widened sharply, and so much so that he looked like a cartoon character again. Scared and adorably awkward. Midoriya jumped up, getting up from the chair again, this time successfully, and trying to cover the board with himself, although his height was not enough, so he ridiculously raised his arms, trying to cover what he couldn't with his back.

-Uh, you didn't see any of that. Nah, there's nothing here at all, it's completely blank, a completely blank canvas, - Izuku laughed nervously, blushing. Katsuki let out an embarrassed groan, dropping his head into his hands and muttering something like «idiot».

Shoto just blinked stupidly again in response, eyes wide with surprise, and took a few steps forward, walking into the kitchen at last, a little wary. His eyes ran over the words on the board that Izuku couldn't have dug up even if he'd tried, finally realizing what it all meant. The messages, the calls, the gifts, the attempts to catch him off guard. It was a plan to talk. They'd used an entire conspiracy board to figure out how to apologize to him.

To Shoto.

-what...this? - asked Shoto again, this time much softer and shifting his eyes from the red awkward Izuku to the, still hiding in the Katsuki's hands.

-em... it's, well... we... - Midoriya tried, honestly tried to speak, but the excitement had turned his thoughts to mush and nothing came out but unintelligible mumbling. he often had this problem, even though he tried to fight it, Shoto knew it well. often he even had to translate to other people all the gibberish that Izuku was saying, but this time, he couldn't even make out a word.

-we realized we screwed up, okay? – Bakugou exhaled, raising his head with an almost belligerent expression, but at the same time, it was… guilty. – we screwed up. With you. And we wanted to fix it.

-we…realized that it wasn't fair to you to keep dragging you into our arguments. And fights. We…we didn't mean to, Shoto-kun, really….. – He didn't look like he was going to cry, but Shoto knew that could change at any moment. Midoriya was like a broken water faucet, pull the wrong topic and you're in for a flood. – and that's no excuse! We made you uncomfortable and maybe even hurt and we understand that you may not want to forgive us and that's okay! Of course it's okay…

-I've already forgiven you, - Shoto interrupted abruptly, so that Izuku wouldn't slip back into mumbling and lose touch with reality. Though perhaps he did it too abruptly, as both of them stared at him with surprised expressions on their faces, causing Shoto to swallow and repeat himself. – I've already forgiven you. Well, almost completely.

-you—wait, really? – Katsuki asked, slowly rising from the floor. His eyes never once left Shoto's, as if he could disappear if he blinked.

-Yeah, - Todoroki nodded, with a quiet sigh, and leaned his hip against the kitchen countertop, folding his arms across his chest. – I can't say that what you did, what you've been doing for so long, wasn't… unpleasant. But now that I've thought about it, I know that you didn't do it on purpose. I said a lot of things in anger, too. You were being yourself and fighting, and i was annoyed, and it just… It just happened. So, yeah, I forgive you.

-But we still fucked up with you, Shoto, - Katsuki said, averting his eyes to the side and pressing his lips together. The use of the name meant he was taking it as seriously as possible, which warmed Todoroka's heart a little. – A lot sooner than now. You had to set us straight on that goddamn patrol before. Many times. And we fucking took it for granted. We used you as a buffer. And it was…it was awful of us.

-so, we'd like to make it up to you. Change and apologize properly, - Izuku nodded, picking up the conversation and approaching Bakugou, leaving alone, the unfortunate board. His tone was also serious, yet soft and so familiar. – we have to. You deserve it.

-nerd is right, - Katsuki nodded his head with a deep sigh. – We've already screwed this up once. There won't be a second time. Let us prove that we've realized our damn mistakes.

-okay, if that's what you need… - Todoroki sighed with a short little smile as both boys' shoulders relaxed dramatically in relief.

Things were finally, finally getting better.

-thank you, thank you, thank you, Shoto-kun! – Izuku immediately rushed forward, hugging Shoto tightly around the waist, nearly lifting him off the floor with happiness. Only Katsuki's voice prevented him from grabbing Todoroki like a teddy bear and running around the room with him like a child.

-jesus deku, you'll strangle him, let him go, - snorted Bakugou, forcibly pulling the Midoriya, shy and awkward, away from him by the shoulder.

-ah, right, sorry! – chuckled wetly at Izuku, shaking his head. Tears began to protrude in his eyes. Tap, remember? – i'm just… so happy…

-Yeah, yeah, we get it, don't get all soggy, but that's still no reason to monopolize it for yourself, - Katsuki rolled his eyes, clucking his tongue.

-What, you want to hug me too, Katsuki? – Shoto asked playfully, hoping to get the familiar rude answer, but was met only with a smirk. The same smirk of a troublemaker. And damned if it alarmed him.

-actually, you know what, icyhot? Yes. I'll hug you too, - Katsuki reached out, squinting his eyes and while Shoto looked at him stunned, genuinely surprised, he quickly walked over and grabbed him tightly with his arms. But instead of just hugging him, he also leaned down to his ear and whispered… - I will destroy you in the next sparring session in a way the brainwasher doesn't even dream of. Prepare your ass for defeat.

Shoto blinked in surprise and couldn't hold back a cheerful laugh, his lips tightening in amusement. He leaned into the Katsuki's arms, because when else would he be able to hug him without being on the verge of death? (well, maybe until the next time Bakugou falls asleep on his shoulder on the train. His sleep is as sound as a coma, and he's very clingy and sticky in his sleep. Like a koala, but blond and in a human body. And if the Shoto is sitting on his left side… well, let's just say they had a funny dialog once when Katsuki woke up while being carried to the dormitory on his back).

-I look forward to it, - Shoto finally replied, letting the Katsuki squeeze him a little tighter before letting go and stepping back a little.

The relief that settled in Shoto's heart after this conversation was hard to describe in words. It was as if a heavy weight, the Atlas heaviness of the sky, had been lifted from his chest and shoulders, allowing him to breathe freely. His thoughts became blissfully light and his energy seemed to return to his body, making him smile softly without being able to suppress it.

Shoto couldn't even describe how much he missed his best friends until he got them back.

-Well, if that's all you wanted to discuss, I'll make tea, - Todoroki shook his head, expecting that this would be the end of it and everything would go back to normal, but he was suddenly met with a negative nod from Izuku and froze, intrigued.

-Actually, there's something else we'd like to talk about, - Deku shrugged, biting his lower lip and stepping from toe to toe, either from excitement or impatience, - are you free next weekend?

-well, I didn't plan anything, why? – Blinked Shoto, flapping his eyelashes.

-we wanted to invite you, somewhere, - Katsuki replied evasively, folding his arms across his chest and meeting eyes with Izuku. They held a short silent conversation with their gazes, and nodding to each other began to speak at the same time:

-…soba restaurant.

-…cat cafe.

For a moment there was silence in the kitchen. And when say silence, they mean complete shocked speechlessness. Well, until Izuku and Katsuki looked back at each other with confused expressions on their faces.

-What the hell? Soba? We agreed on the fluffy clumps of fur that this snowflake loves so much! – exclaimed Bakugou, waving his arms toward Todoroki.

-but Shoto loves soba too! And it was you who suggested the restaurant idea! – exclaimed Izuku in response.

They continued to talk, and it reminded Shoto so much of their usual arguments about nonsense that he couldn't contain his laughter. Loud, sincere, and relieved laughter.

That sound caught their attention, effectively shutting them up. And Shoto just couldn't stop laughing, enjoying the surprised faces and flexing with the force of his mirth.

Izuku and Katsuki don't change. But Shoto didn't want them to. He loves his best friends.

Even if they're freakin' little, chaotic, competitive gremlins.