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Shouto Todoroki doesn’t get sick.
He doesn’t know why, maybe because of his quirk or the inability to take a day off when he was younger and in training. However, he has never been extremely sick. He’s seen his siblings get sick, their red faces uncomfortable and the soup supply unfortunately decreasing, but he’s never experienced being seriously sick.
So why does he feel like his heart is going to implode?
Shouto sits at a small table with his cold soba, trying to pry his eyes away from the black haired boy near the television. Sero Hanta, the boy Shouto absolutely embarrassed at the Sport’s festival and his now neighbor, was trying to teach a chemistry problem to Denki, the face of confusion dancing on Denki’s face extremely visible. His dark hair was pulled back into a short, messy ponytail, strands framing his face perfectly and the piercings on his ears perfectly on display. Sero had a faded orange t-shirt on with gray sweatpants that are attracting Shouto much more than he’d like to admit.
Sero and Shouto have gotten… close as the year went on. At first, Shouto was completely convinced Sero hated him for the fool he made him look like at the festival. However, Sero actually didn’t hold any grudge. Instead, Sero asked for his number so they could talk more. Now that their dorms are next to each other, Shouto finds himself hanging out with the boy more and more.
Introducing the problem of illness.
Whenever Shouto is with Sero, his stomach starts to feel funny and he can feel his face growing hot. Google told him that he could be getting sick, but that’s highly unlikely, right? What are the odds that every time he’s with Sero, Shouto feels like he’s going to get influenza?
Shouto turns his head back to his cold soba, the friendly noodles inviting him to relax. But his appetite seemed to disappear as the same silly feeling in his stomach reappeared. Annoyed, Shouto groaned and moved his bowl into the fridge for later. Shouto moves towards his friends, who are huddled around a chess table. He can hear Iida trying his best to explain the complex game, but poor Midoriya looks just as lost as Denki and his chemistry problem.
“Hello, everyone,” Shouto says politely as he sits next to a giggling Uraraka.
“Todoroki! Can you help me explain the unique game of chess to our friend here?” Iida begs, clearly at a loss.
Shouto turns to Uraraka, whose eyes are filled with tears from holding back her laughter. He turns back to Midoriya, puts a hand on his shoulder, and exhales before breaking the sad, sad news to him.
“I don’t know how to play chess.”
Iida and Midoriya start to groan while Uraraka laughs hysterically. Looking around with a smile on his face, his eyes meet Sero’s. Sero scrunches his nose with a smile and waves and Shouto’s heart does a flip or two. He feels his face getting heated, so he gives a quick wave back and whips his head around back to his friends.
Uraraka noticed something was wrong, though, because her giggling settled as she looked a little concerned. “Are you okay Todoroki? You look a little red.”
Shouto turns back to her before opening up about his dilemma. “I’m not sure. I have never been sick before in my life, but Google says I might have caught a dangerous illness that could be deadly if not treated.”
“Oh my god, Todoroki, that's awful! What’s the illness? I’m sure Recovery Girl can help!” Midoriya gasps.
“It is called Influenza.”
The group collectively blinks before cracking up.
“I don’t understand,” Todoroki looks around at the laughter, puzzled. “What is so funny about a serious issue?”
Iida takes off his glasses, wiping his eyes before calmly replying. “Todoroki, we do not mean to laugh, but Influenza is not an extreme illness! The short term for it is the Flu, and you have 100% been vaccinated for it. However, you still could have contracted it, so a trip to Recovery Girl would not hurt.”
Shouto pouts, slightly embarrassed by the thought that he believed it was a serious medical condition. Regardless, Shouto stands up, waved goodbye to his fellow classmates, and walked down the hallway to Recovery Girl.
—
Recovery Girl’s office was slightly more crowded than usual, but luckily Shouto did not have to wait long to be seen. He walked into the clean room and sat patiently on the bed.
“Todoroki!” Recovery Girl walks in, a smile plastered to her wrinkling face. “We don’t see you that often, what seems to be the problem?”
Shouto awkwardly fidgets with his hoodie strings. “Um. I think I may be getting sick. I’m not completely sure though.”
Recovery Girl nods and jots something down with a light pink pen. “When did your symptoms start and what are they?”
“It’s been happening for a while now, actually. It only seems to worsen when I am around a specific person. Oh, and my symptoms are feeling hot, a weird feeling in my stomach, and not being able to focus amongst other things.”
Recovery Girl looks up from her clipboard. “You said this happens around one person only?”
Shouto nods. “Yes. Maybe he is sick as well. I am not sure.”
She looks at Shouto with an expression he can’t explain before pulling up a chair and placing her clipboard down on the counter. He feels a buzz in his pocket, definitely coming from his phone. He’ll answer it later.
“With this… boy. Do you ever think about… kissing him? Or maybe just holding hands?”
Shouto's eyes grew wide before he tried to respond quickly. However, the answer wasn’t as easy as he thought it’d be. Normally, the answer would of course be “absolutely not!”, but he really didn’t mind thinking about those things with Sero.
“Um… I guess sometimes. I wouldn’t be against it, I suppose. I don’t understand how this relates to me feeling sickly, though.”
Recovery Girl just shushes him and continues to ask questions. “When this boy is around, do you stare at him a lot?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think he’s good looking?”
“Very. He has many good attributes.”
“Would you want to date him?”
“I’m unaware of what people in relationships do, but from what I have seen I wouldn’t mind.”
Recovery Girl stands up and puts her hand on Todoroki’s knee, a soft tone stretching throughout her movements.
“Todoroki, you like this boy. You aren’t sick or dying, just having symptoms of a common crush.”
Shouto pauses, realizing what she’s implying.
“You mean romantically?”
She nods.
“Oh.”
Now that he starts to think about it, that makes a lot more sense than getting sick every time he’s around Sero.
Shouto has heard of a “crush” before, but he hasn’t had them often. In fact, the last crush he had was actually on Midoriya, but it ended in Shouto never admitting his feelings and Midoriya asking Uraraka out. He’s never held anything against either of them, especially because they’re cute together, but it was probably Shouto’s first ever major “heartbreak”. He wasn’t the happiest, especially because it was his first male crush since coming out (to himself, of course).
Shouto walks out of the Recovery Room relieved but also nervous. Sure, he isn’t sick, but now he’s vividly aware he had a crush on his best friend and can’t put it off for much longer. What if Sero finds someone else to talk to? What if he’s not even into boys? What if he’s into Mina, or maybe even Jirou? The possibilities rush through Shouto’s head, making him slightly dizzy and anxious. He has to tell him. He just has to. Shouto remembers the notification, so he quickly opens his phone to see who it was from.
Speak of the devil.
Sero H :)
hey man! you okay??
heard you had to go
to recovery girl cause
you felt sick
worried about you [sad-emoji]
Shouto blushes slightly at the idea of Sero worried about him before swiftly typing back.
Todoroki S
Hello, Sero. I am alright.
I was concerned I
contracted Influenza,
but I did not.
I appreciate you being worried
about me. You are so kind.
Sero H :)
of course dude! i
don’t want my friend
falling ill on me.
especially cause we’re
watching spiderman tonight [fire emoji]
Todoroki S
That’s right, I am
excited. You talk about this
movie very highly. My dorm, correct?
Sero H :)
it’s my favorite for a reason,
trust me! glad i get to share
it with you
and yes, your dorm! [tongue-out emoji]
Shouto decides he wants to be a little risky. After all, today might just have to be the day to confess.
Todoroki S
I look forward to it.
[pink-heart emoji]
Read 4:28 PM
—
Spiderman was hot.
Maybe because he reminded him of Sero majorly, or just because he’s nothing short of ripped. Either way, Shouto really likes this movie. But unfortunately, he’s more focused on other things, like Sero’s beautiful side profile and his unique piercings that were slightly covered by his now loose hair. He was watching intently at the screen, his eyes almost sparkling as he watched Spiderman swing from the buildings of Manhattan. Without thinking, Shouto reached out to move his hair out of the way and touched the bar at the top of Sero’s ears.
Sero blinks.
“They fit you,” Shouto states simply.
Shouto thinks Sero’s face turns slightly pink, but he can’t tell with the only source of light being the computer besides the golden lamp behind Sero’s head. “Thanks,” he replies softly.
Shouto doesn’t look away though, and he feels himself getting closer. Their knees are now touching and Shouto can feel Sero’s breath on his cheek. Shouto feels the funny feeling in his chest start to churn, but he pushes it down because lord, does he want this.
“T-Todoroki? You’re kind of… um… staring,” Sero points out, his voice shaky.
“I know. I want to,” Shouto responds flatly.
“What, do I look better than Peter Parker?” He jokes, batting his eyes and giggling.
“Honestly? Yes, you do.”
This makes Sero stop giggling and hide his face in his hands. Shouto laughs lightly, poking the side of his back before returning back to the screen. He wants to talk about it, of course, but the sheer thought of Sero not liking him back or not being into guys at all gnaws at his heart. He would never want to hurt his friendship, but after realizing he wants more, it feels painful to sit back and pretend like he’s okay with just being “friends”.
Fuck that.
Shouto grabs the computer and hits pause, whipping around to face Sero. Sero’s face looks extremely puzzled, but before he could protest, Shouto vomits out the words he was trying so hard not to overwhelm Sero with.
“I wasn’t sick.”
Sero scrunches his face in confusion. “Yeah, I know?”
“No, you don’t. I felt like I was getting sick, but it was only around you. Yes, Google said it was Influenza, but I think deep down I actually knew what it was. I was just… scared. To admit it out loud. But I want to now, and I need to do it while I still have the courage and you’re still in front of me,” Shouto rambles on, trying to avoid eye contact. He continues to vomit out words.
“I would never want to make you uncomfortable and I’m sorry to tamper with the movie night we planned but I can’t just sit here and act like it hasn’t been the only thing on my mind since the afternoon. Just promise me you won’t be angry or upset with me because I promise I would-“
“Todoroki,” Sero interrupts, cutting his tangent off abruptly. “I could never be upset with you. You could literally find a way to kill my parents and I would make up an excuse for you. Seriously, just say what’s on your mind, man! I could tell you’re not the most focused and I'm honestly a little worried,” he finishes with a small chuckle and a goofy smile that makes the room seem a little brighter.
Shouto nods before taking a deep breath.
“I really like you,” Shouto spits out, ripping off the bandaid. “Like, a lot. Way more than friends. I don’t know if you like guys, or if you even like me, but I need to tell you before it chews me up inside.”
Sero stares at him blankly, so Shouto continues to rant.
“I know, this is kind of out of the blue but you are seriously such a nice guy, Sero. I love how you’re so caring and you always want to include me in activities, even when they’re with your friends and I don’t talk to them much. You’re hilarious and can always make me feel better about myself and a shitty situation, and you’re so good looking. I catch myself staring at you all the time and I would love to make it acceptable by dating. If you want to, of course. If not, I completely understand and hope we can still be good friends.”
Sero looks like a full blown tomato. He shoots up from the bed and walks around the room a couple of times, looking up at the ceiling and muttering something in… Spanish? Shouto waits anxiously for him to recompose himself, worried he did or said something wrong, but then Sero grabs Shouto by the hoodie and pulls him into a kiss.
Shouto has never kissed around before, so naturally he was as stiff as a board. Soon, though, he melted into the kiss and wrapped both of his arms around Sero’s neck. Sero’s hands danced down to his waist, wiggling his way under the hoodie and landing softly. Unfortunately, Sero broke away to catch his breath. He hopes the pout on his face isn’t too visible.
“Holy shit, if I knew we would’ve done that, I would’ve confessed a lot longer ago,” Sero pants, his hands still on Shouto’s waist.
Shouto nodded rapidly before pulling him into another kiss, his hands combing through the dark eyed boy’s hair. Sero pulled him in closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. Leading him to the bed, Sero grabbed the other boy’s hand and pushed him onto the bed, the same goofy smile plastered on his flushed face.
Just as Sero began to kiss him again, a knock on the door lifted both boys out of the intense trance they fell under. Shouto looked at Sero, panicked, before pushing Sero off to the side and flattening his hair. His cheeks were flushed and his lips slightly swollen, but it should be too dark to notice.
“Todoroki? Did you forget about Monopoly night? Iida isn’t going to be very happy…” Uraraka trails off behind the door. Sero scrambles to grab his computer from the bed and rushes towards the window.
“No, I just had to finish some, uh, homework! I will be right out,” Shouto shouts back.
Frantically, Shouto whispers “go go go!” at Sero. Sero looks back with the same, stupid smile before opening the window and swinging one foot out. Shouto grabs his face and gives him one last, big kiss before he leaves out the window.
Just like Spiderman.
Shouto runs over to the door, revealing Uraraka in her Hello Kitty pajamas and holding a pink mug with what looks to be hot chocolate.
“Todoroki, you okay? You look hot. Are you sure you aren’t sick?”
Shouto just smirks before shutting the door behind him.
“Nope.”