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Shouto is terrifyingly easy to love.
It’s a thought that hasn’t crossed Tenya’s mind before, not until now. He’s racing towards the battle zone as fast as his legs can carry him, his lungs burning with every gasping breath he takes, but the pain dwells when he finally spots Shouto in the centre. He’s covered in frost and his body is trembling when Tenya gets close, and when he collapses to the ground, Tenya reaches him.
Sorry, Shouto tells him. Scratches and bruises all over his skin, eyes earnest despite their exhaustion.
And this is when Tenya’s heart aches furiously in his chest, when he collapses onto the icy ground too and holds Shouto in a tight hug, and thinks, I might be in love with you.
To love someone and to be in love with someone—Tenya is not sure if he knows the difference.
He thinks he knows love, at least. He has friends who he’d die for. He has a family he respects greatly, one he hopes to make proud. He has his routine that satisfies him when he carries it out every day, and he knows he can’t live without it.
That is love. He is certain.
But what he feels for Shouto is full of uncertainty, and if Tenya is being honest with himself, it makes him afraid. He prides himself on knowing most things, or being able to find out if he doesn’t, but this doesn’t feel like a situation where he can waltz up to Shouto’s door and ask.
Well, Tenya could, but he has more decorum than that.
Still, he’s sure a label for his feelings isn’t necessary. With the state of the country and the trauma their class is recovering from, both physical and mental, now is not the time to grapple with such confusing emotions. Now is the time to be the reliable and steady class leader he is, and to guide everyone on their steady roads to recovery.
(“That includes yourself, you know,” Shouto says when he brings this up offhandedly, when they’re eating lunch together, Shouto on the hospital bed and Tenya with a stool dragged over, sitting next to him.
“What includes me?”
“Recovering.” Shouto sets his food down, giving him a small smile that sends his heart aflame. “Take care of yourself too, Iida.”)
Shouto’s family makes it onto the news, as always.
The articles Tenya has come across are unbecoming of their civilians, in his opinion. Having a family’s tragedy put on blast, especially one as well-known and controversial as the Todorokis, is unfair no matter the situation.
Shouto, of course, doesn’t mind. He says it’s to be expected, and that the public deserves to know the rotten truth within their family history. He says transparency is the only way to rebuild trust. Tenya thinks, not for the first time, that Shouto is frighteningly mature for his age.
It leaves his mind after, but it comes rushing back when he sees an article involving himself too.
There’s not much in it. The article includes a photo of a bright, dashing light, soaring through the abyssal sky like a shooting star, leaving a trail of sparkling ice. It takes him a while to notice that it's him and Shouto rushing to the battle. The headlines refer to them as a pair of battle comrades, a sensational partnership, and Tenya stares at the screen for so long after that his eyes begin to sting behind his glasses.
He thinks he wouldn’t mind being Shouto’s partner for as long as their hero lives take them.
He doesn’t show Shouto the article. In the grand scheme of things, a blurry picture of them racing through the night together is nothing compared to the achievements Shouto has earned, but Tenya still feels giddy when he thinks about it from time to time. He thinks it’s showing too, when Shouto asks him why he’s been a bit more smiley recently, and Tenya comes up with a weak excuse of being happy to see their classmates healing.
Returning to the dorms is as chaotic as Tenya imagined it’d be.
They’re all worn out from the war, but nothing beats being in a space together with your closest friends, so their class appears scarily upbeat when they all arrive in the lounge of Heights Alliance. Aizawa is there too, standing despite his injuries and Yaoyorozu’s insistence that he sit down.
They gather around to listen to what Aizawa has to say. Shouto arrives and sits right next to Tenya. Their thighs press together. It’s so easy to exist alongside each other.
For a while, Aizawa speaks to them about U.A.’s plans going forward, and a tentative timeline for the reparation efforts. Tenya does his best to focus and take down mental notes, but it’s hard, and he hates to admit that Shouto is distracting him. He isn’t even doing anything—just breathing, soft and slow, but that is enough to captivate all of Tenya’s attention.
A testament to Shouto’s powers, he assumes.
When Aizawa is done, their classmates scatter off, some eager to get a good night’s rest, others wanting to spend time with their friends. Shouto does not move even as the crowd disperses, until it’s just the two of them left.
He turns to Tenya, tilting his head. “What are you going to do now?”
“That’s a loaded question,” Tenya quips back, watching as Shouto’s lips lift in amusement. “Do you mean with my life, or right now?”
“Right now.”
“I’m not quite sure, then.”
Shouto stands up, their shoulders brushing as he does. Tenya finds he misses the warmth immediately—he didn’t even notice he was sitting on Shouto’s left, and he can’t help but wonder if it was purposeful.
“Would you like to come to my room?” Shouto asks, quiet and tentative.
Tenya’s heart leaps into his throat, and he finds his voice struggling to push past it. “…Sure.”
They go together, heading all the way up to the fifth floor. Tenya has only been in Shouto’s room a few times. Once was to bring him a textbook he left behind in class. Another was to remind him to come for dinner, because Shouto got distracted reading some manga. He’s never been here to stay, though.
(Tenya finds himself wanting to stay for as long as Shouto will allow it. Perhaps this, too, is love?)
They don’t do much that night. They sit on the floor, some pillows for company, and talk in hushed voices about anything but the recent war. It’s a heavy topic that lingers in the corner of Shouto’s room, like a ghost that has yet to pass, and Tenya catches himself from bringing it up more than once.
But they leave it for now. Tenya speaks about his brother’s agency and how the place he usually gets his glasses at is closed down and a new phone case he’s been thinking of getting. Shouto tells him about a pair of shoes he’s finally outgrown and how he needs to get a haircut soon and letters he’s planning to write home about.
“I want to write about you,” Shouto says, leaning forward slightly as he speaks.
Tenya’s breath hitches. “Why?”
“Because you’re important to me.” He shrugs, fiddling with the floorboards. “And I’d like to introduce you to my mother properly. She said she hasn’t gotten the chance to thank the boy who brought me to them.”
Tenya’s tongue feels heavy in his mouth. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“It was.” Shouto stands, heading over to his desk and reaching for a sheet of paper. “Let’s write it now.”
Okaa-san,
Hello. I hope you’ve been recovering well. Tell Fuyumi-nee, Natsuo-nii, and Touya-nii that I said hello too.
I’m writing this with Iida today. I think you’ll remember him. He’s Ingenium, the Turbo Hero, and the Iida family is well-known for their heroic achievements. But I just know him as Iida. He’s sitting next to me and really worried about making a good first impression, even if it’s over a letter, but I’m telling him he has nothing to worry about.
Iida is one of my best friends. He’s very kind, reliable, disciplined, and smart. He’s also our class leader, and he’s always reminding me to drink water or to take a good rest. He’s also very handsome. I think he’s getting embarrassed by how much I’m writing down, but I have an endless amount of things to say about him.
We moved back into the dorms today, but before that, Iida spent a lot of time with me in the hospital. He recovered faster than me, which I thought was very impressive. Did you know he brought me from Kamino to Gunga in less than ten minutes? I haven’t told him this yet either, but being on his back made me feel like I could conquer the world. I really like being partners with him. It feels unstoppable.
Ah, he’s scolding me now. We’re not supposed to talk about the war too much. And I’m running out of space, so I suppose I should wrap this up. I hope you can meet him properly one day, okaa-san. I know you’ll like him as much as I do.
Rest well. I’ll write to you again.
- Shouto
The next night, Shouto stays over at Tenya’s room.
It doesn’t even happen on purpose, it’s just a spur of the moment thing. They were on the bed together, just Tenya’s desk lamp turned on for light. Again, they were just talking, and something about the atmosphere must’ve made Shouto drowsy, because he ended up falling asleep.
Tenya watches him for an embarrassingly long time after that. His hair is mussed all around, bangs falling over his eyes, and after a bit of hesitation, Tenya sweeps it to the side. Shouto’s cheek is squished by his pillow too, and it makes him look terribly young.
He’s carried too much burden for his age, Tenya thinks. If he could, he’d carry some of that burden as well.
Perhaps that, too, is love?
Tenya nods his thanks to the office staff as he collects the stack of mail and tucks them all in his bag.
Usually, he and Yaoyorozu take turns every week to collect any mail sent to their class. Some of their classmates receive plenty—Shouto isn’t the only one who writes letters, and many of them have been getting worried check-ins from their parents since moving back to the dorms. The stack is particularly thick today, and Tenya slowly trudges back to the dorms to distribute them.
Halfway on his journey, though, he bumps into someone, sending the letters flying. He curses under his breath, squatting to gather the mess before the wind can carry them away. Just as he’s almost done, one letter slips from his grasp.
“Damn it,” he curses again, chasing after it. He realises halfway that the flap of the envelope isn’t sealed, the contents inside fluttering dangerously. When he finally catches it, he searches for a name, but the envelope is blank except for a singular stamp.
“Whose parents forgot to seal this?” Tenya mutters under his breath in annoyance, reaching inside the envelope to pull a thin sheet of paper out. He should tell whichever classmate this letter belongs to to remind their parents—
Tenya flinches and slides the letter back into the envelope.
When he returns to the dorms, Uraraka spots him first. She bounces up to him, excited for her own letter, but she pauses when she sees his face. “Iida-kun, why are you so red?”
“It’s cold out,” he lies through his teeth, handing her her envelope. “Where’s Shouto-kun? This one’s for him.”
“Upstairs, I think! Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m feeling in perfect shape,” Tenya assures her, and heads around to distribute the rest of the letters.
The last envelope to deliver is the one he accidentally opened and read earlier. Tenya heads up to Shouto’s room and raises his hand to knock, but after a moment’s hesitation, he decides to slide the letter under his door instead.
Then he runs off, pretending he didn’t see the words You must like this Iida boy a lot written in Rei’s neat handwriting, addressing her son’s previous letter.
Shouto is, in fact, terrifyingly easy to love.
Tenya knows it now for sure, in the way Shouto’s soul feels like it’s intertwined with his now. He can barely keep the affection out of his voice when he calls his name, and he misses the warmth of Shouto in his bed when he’s alone at night, plagued by thoughts of his soft voice and sweet smile.
What Tenya simply didn’t expect is for his love to be returned just as easily.
The confession isn’t a big deal. It comes from Shouto, through his straightforward words and earnest eyes.
When Tenya asks what brought this on, Shouto admits, “I didn’t realise I liked you like that at first. But when my mother pointed it out, I realised she was right. And I just wanted to let you know.”
It isn’t baseless confidence for Shouto to be so upfront about his feelings. Tenya thinks he’s just always been painfully honest, and it’s another quality of his that he’s undoubtedly in love with.
“Stay over tonight,” is Tenya’s response, his grip on his doorframe tightening.
Shouto tilts his head. His eyes widen, as if surprised. As if Tenya hasn’t loved him for ages. He would feel a little insulted if he wasn’t so elated. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” After a beat, he adds. “And you can just call me Tenya.”
Shouto’s answering smile is the most lovely sight Tenya has ever seen. As he falls into his arms, burying his face in his chest, Tenya hugs him back twice as hard and hopes Shouto can feel the magnitude of his love.