Archive of Our Own ^beta

Todoroki Shouto's day starts like any other. 

He wakes up, takes a few seconds to appreciate getting to do so in a place that doesn’t tie a knot in his stomach whenever he steps foot in it, and where the only yelling he can hear comes from Bakugo brushing his teeth as if he were waging war on germs and cavities. He washes up and puts on his uniform, grabs his bag and heads for the common room, where he knows Midoriya will be waiting, schoolbag slung high on his shoulders and cheery smile firmly in place on his freckled face, ready to head into another day of hero training. 

Shouto can't help but let his lips quirk up a bit at his friend's undying enthusiasm, spreading around the room and surrounding him like a cloud. 

Iida and Uraraka are waiting with him, sporting similar joyful faces. 

“Morning, Todoroki !” Midoriya says, bounding up to him with a smile. “Sleep well ?” 

“Yeah,” Shouto says. He did hear some noise from Kaminari's room, probably staying up past curfew with Ashido and Kirishima to do whatever it is they did after ten o'clock, but it didn’t bother him much. 

Midoriya nods. “We have another sparring session today ! I had some notes from the last one regarding how you could use your flames more effectively in combat, you wanna talk about it after first period ?” 

Shouto nods. Though Bakugo never relents in calling Midoriya an annoying nerd, Shouto always appreciates Midoriya's observations, and his slight obsession with the inner workings of every Quirk he comes across. Every advice he's given Todoroki about how to use both ice and fire has proven useful so far, so whatever Midoriya has to say, Shouto will listen to intently. He only wishes he could offer the same brand of advice and support to Midoriya about his own abilities, especially since there seem to be new cuts and bruises on his arms everyday. But Shouto knows next to nothing about Midoriya's Quirk, and Midoriya himself seems to be figuring it out as he goes sometimes, so Shouto's kind of stuck in that department. He supposes All Might is a good help, with the amount of time he dedicates to Midoriya. Shouto's not one to pry, especially since his first assessment of Midoriya being the Number One Hero's secret son was embarrassingly incorrect. 

Midoriya's eyes light up, and he pulls out a notebook from God knows where, tapping at it excitedly. “Awesome ! I was watching the way you fought last time and had a few ideas about how you could improve your range and control of your flames-” 

He's muttering into his hand, eyes looking beyond Shouto, when Uraraka puts a gentle hand on his shoulder and shakes him. “Deku,” she says, laughter in her voice. “Let's get to class first, yeah ?” 

Midoriya seems to realize he's been rambling and blushes slightly, scratching the back of his head. “Oh, yeah, right. Sorry.” 

“It’s fine,” Shouto says, sending a small smile his way. Midoriya blushes deeper and ducks his head, but not without a smile of his own. Shouto tilts his head to the side, endeared. 

They start walking to the elevator with a few other classmates, when Shouto remembers something. “Oh, Midoriya, wait.” 

Midoriya stumbles a little as he stops, turning towards Shouto with curious eyes. Shouto fishes inside of his bag and pulls out a chocolate bar. 

“Here,” he tosses it at Midoriya, who catches it easily. “I was running errands for my sister this week-end, and it made me think of you.” 

It’s silly, really. Shouto and Natsuo had been tasked with buying a long list of ingredients so Fuyumi could make dinner, the three of them enjoying a rare evening of quiet in the Todoroki household, as Endeavor had been on a mission on the other side of the country. Fuyumi had left him some pocket change so he could buy himself a treat, something he wouldn’t have been allowed to eat as a kid. 

As he scoured the candy aisle, Shouto had despaired at the number of options and the colorful packagings, cartoon designs and crumpled heroes’ faces seeming to glare back at him, mocking him for being a sixteen year-old boy so stunted and sheltered that he didn’t even know what his favorite candy brand was. 

He was about to give up and just go home and give his sister her money back, when his eyes landed on a bright blue and red plastic packaging, the familiar shape of All Might's face rendered in a cutesy sort of style. His first thought was that Midoriya would like this design. It had milk chocolate, caramel and nougat in it, and the caloric intake in one bar alone made Shouto raise his eyebrows up to his hairline. But the wrapping was kind of funny, and since it was All Might branded, he could always give it to Midoriya if he didn’t like it, so it wouldn’t go to waste. 

Shouto ended up buying two, pointedly ignoring the wobbly smile on Natsuo's face when he tossed them in the cart. That night, after dinner was finished and he and his siblings settled in the living-room to watch a movie, Shouto tore one of them open and took a tentative bite. He finished the whole thing in less than two minutes, once again ignoring the look on Fuyumi and Natsuo's faces as he scarfed it down messily. 

Now, as he watches Midoriya study the wrapping a little too intently, Shouto feels embarrassed. It’s really silly, who offers their friend a chocolate bar with enough sugar to power an army of toddlers at nine in the morning ? Just because it's branded with said friend's favorite hero's face ? 

Shouto's about to apologize, or dismiss it, or straight up take the candy bar back and stuff it in his bag, when Midoriya's eyes light up, his smile even bigger than usual. 

“That’s so cool ! I've never seen this design, is it a new brand ?” 

Shouto blinks at Midoriya, who's looking back at him like he genuinely expects an answer. 

“I don't know,” he says, shrugging. “I just thought it was funny.” 

Midoriya chuckles. “It is. I'll have to show All Might. He looks so cute !” Midoriya then lifts up the candy bar to his face, trying to imitate the wobbly expression on the chibi All Might's face. 

That makes Shouto snort, and he shakes his head. “It’s caramel and nougat. I had one too. It’s good.” 

The smile Midoriya gives him, Shouto doesn’t want to ignore. “Nice, I love nougat ! Thank you, Todoroki !” 

Shouto watches as Midoriya carefully opens the wrapper, like he doesn’t want it to tear. Once he's done, he folds it neatly and puts it in his pocket. Shouto smiles. Midoriya probably has a binder full of All Might-themed candy wrappers, all neatly pressed and probably sorted by date. It wouldn’t surprise him in the least. 

Midoriya then breaks the chocolate bar in half, checking if the halves are even, and hands one to Todoroki, who just stares in confusion. 

Midoriya lifts an eyebrow. “You don't want a piece ?” 

Shouto frowns. “Midoriya, I gave it to you, you don't have to share.” 

“Yeah, but I want to.” 

“It's nine in the morning.” 

“So ?” Midoriya shrugs. “It’s extra energy !” 

“And a sugar crash in two hours.” 

Midoriya laughs. “Oh, come on. You said you liked it, so I want to share it with you.” 

Shouto can't ignore the loud thump in his chest at that. And now he can't refuse. 

He sighs as he takes the piece from Midoriya's hand, the chocolate already starting to melt on his fingers. Midoriya smiles, then takes a bite of his own half, sighing in delight. 

“You were right. It’s really good.” 

Shouto smiles around his mouthful of chocolate as they head to their first class of the day. 

________

Classes end early today, and as everyone hurries to their dorm rooms to change and enjoy what promises to be a long, sunny afternoon, Shouto finds Midoriya hanging back by the elevator, staring at his phone with a pensive look on his face. 

“You okay, Midoriya ?” 

His friend startles, his hair bouncing with the movement, almost whooshing in Shouto's face. 

“Yeah, I'm good. My mom just texted me. Turns out I forgot to pack some of my stuff from my room when I moved into the dorms, and she wants me to go pick it up, since she doesn’t know what to do with it.” 

“Oh,” Shouto says, hefting his bag higher on his shoulder. “You’re going now ?” 

Midoriya nods. “I don't really want to wait until this weekend and let my mom deal with my mess for a week.” 

Shouto nods. 

“Thing is,” Midoriya says, glancing back at his phone. “It’s a lot of stuff. Heavy stuff.” 

Shouto frowns. “Heavy stuff ?” 

Midoriya hangs his head low. “Please don't make fun of me.” 

“I won't,” Shouto replies seriously. 

“It's All Might stuff.” Well, nothing surprising. “A lot of pillows and comforters and…. A life-size figurine.” 

Midoriya looks back up just in time to see Shouto's eyebrows raised high, and the hint of a smirk on his face. He turns beet red. 

“You said you wouldn’t laugh !” Midoriya squawks, indignant. 

“I'm not, I swear,” Shouto says, but he can’t help the amused tone in his voice. It’s true, in a sense. He finds Midoriya's fanboy tendencies extremely adorable most of the time, and today's no exception. 

“A-anyway,” Midoriya continues, clearly embarrassed. “It’s built with detachable parts, and it takes up like two boxes, but I'll have to carry that and a bag full of pillows and blankets all the way back to Yuuei. My arms ache just thinking about it.” 

Shouto hadn’t really planned anything for the afternoon, besides catching up on schoolwork, heading to the gym, maybe calling Fuyumi to check up on her and Mom before his visit next Sunday. His schedule's clear, and he doesn’t want to leave Midoriya to deal with this alone. He went pretty hard during training today, looked about ready to collapse when they all exited the training grounds. 

“I could go with you,” he suggests, toying with the strap of his schoolbag. 

Midoriya's eyes go wide. “You would ?” 

Shouto shrugs. “Yeah. I got nothing else to do. I'd be happy to help.” 

Midoriya's smile is blinding, and Shouto's stomach does somersaults. 

“Thank you so much, Todoroki ! Alright, just let me go get changed and we're ready to go.” 

“I should change, too,” Shouto says. “Meet you back here in ten ?” 

Midoriya gives him a thumbs up and a you got it ! Before running out to his room. Shouto takes a few minutes to compose himself, hurling at the butterflies in his stomach to knock it off, before heading to his own room. 

Thirty minutes later finds them in front of the door to Midoriya's place, the boy fumbling with his keys as Shouto patiently waits next to him. 

“Think she's at work today,” Midoriya mumbles, turning the key in the latch and pushing the door open slowly. “This shouldn’t take lon-” 

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as the door opens to reveal a small, pudgy woman, looking at them with wide green eyes the exact same shade as Midoriya's. They become bright as emeralds almost immediately, and she squeals excitedly, grabbing Midoriya's face and planting a noisy kiss on his forehead. 

“Izuku ! I didn’t expect to see you !” She leans away from Midoriya and inspects his face with a frown. “Why is there dirt on your face ? Doesn’t Yuuei have showers ? You can't walk around like this !” 

“Hi, Mom,” Midoriya says softly, in the tone of someone who's used to this kind of fussing. “I got your text, about the rest of my stuff-” 

Midoriya's mother flicks his nose playfully. “You didn’t have to come right away, silly. You could have just waited until Sunday.” 

“I-I didn’t want to leave you with all these boxes for a week !” 

“Oh, sweetie, please. I can handle a little mess. But I'm happy to see you.” 

It’s said with so much tenderness, such earnestness and truth to those simple words that Shouto feels something painful spike in his heart. He swallows back the lump in his throat, subtly trying to hide behind Midoriya. 

It doesn’t work, because Shouto is a good head taller than his friend, and Mrs Midoriya notices him immediately, eyebrows furrowing as she looks at her son questioningly. 

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Midoriya says, extricating himself from his mother's hold and tugging Shouto inside. “I brought a friend to help me out. Mom, this is Todoroki Shouto. Todoroki, this is my mom, Midoriya Inko.” 

Shouto bows, low and polite like he was taught. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs Midoriya.” 

When he looks back up, Mrs Midoriya looks him up and down, recognition slowly pooling in her eyes. Shouto braces himself for the inevitable mention of and possibly unbearable gushing about his father and his exploits, as she stares at him with eyes as intense as those of her son. 

“Um, you-you saw him on TV, Mom,” Midoriya supplies. “During the Sports Festival.” 

Mrs Midoriya snaps her fingers. “Oh, right !” Then she rounds on Midoriya again, grabbing his shoulders, eyes shiny once more. “I also saw you breaking your arms on TV ! You better not be doing it again !” 

Midoriya shakes his head vigorously. “I'm not, I swear !” 

“He's not,” Shouto says, against his better judgement. “He's made a lot of progress.” 

Both Midoriyas stare at him with equally shiny eyes, full of gratitude. Shouto now knows where Midoriya gets his emotional tendencies from. 

Mrs Midoriya laughs. “Good to know. I'm counting on you to keep him in check.” 

“Mom !” Midoriya whines, red with embarrassment. 

“I will,” Shouto says, suddenly desperate for the approval of Midoriya Inko, unconsciously standing up straighter when she approaches him and grabs both his hands. 

“It’s lovely to meet you, Todoroki.” She says softly, patting his head lovingly and turning back towards the living room. “Are you boys hungry ? You must have come a long way.” 

Midoriya shuffles into the living room, Shouto close behind after they take their shoes off. “Mom, we just came to get my stuff, you don't have to-” 

“Please, Izuku,” his mom says, already pulling out plates and glasses. “I haven’t seen you in weeks, and you brought a friend ! Let me get some food in you before you leave.” 

Izuku sighs, his mother apparently being the only person capable of defeating him, and shoots Shouto an apologetic smile. “We'll probably be here all afternoon. You don't have to stay, if it bothers you, I can manage by myself-” 

“It doesn’t bother me.” 

“If you had any plans-” 

“I told you I didn’t,” Shouto says, gently, putting a hand on Midoriya's shoulder. “I'd love to stay, Midoriya.” 

Midoriya looks at him blankly for a moment, then flashes him a bright, happy smile. It puts Shouto a little more at ease.

“She didn’t know who I was, did she ?” He asks, watching as Mrs Midoriya gleefully takes out items from her cupboards. 

“If you mean, did she know you're Endeavor's son, no,” Midoriya replies, taking the plates and leaving Shouto to grab the glasses to put them on the small coffee table in the living room. “She doesn’t really keep up with heroes. Pretty much everything she knows came from me obsessing over it, and most of it had to do with All Might, so…” 

Shouto hums. There’s a strange lightness in his chest, some sort of relief that for once in his life, he’s meeting someone who sees him first, and not the all-encompassing shadow of his father looming over him. It feels nice. New, in a way that’s comforting. 

They end up eating sandwiches in the living room, lovingly prepared and cut into triangles, drinking some sort of peach soda Shouto's never had before, but finds absolutely delicious. He drinks almost half the bottle, apology ready at the tip of his tongue whenever Mrs Midoriya pours him another glass or goes to get a new bottle, apparently encouraging him to raid her fridge. Midoriya catches his mother up on everything happening at school, his training, the progress he makes in controlling his Quirk and All Might's advice, and goes into detail about their classmates’ Quirks, including Shouto's. Mrs Midoriya listens with rapt attention, nodding and smiling along. 

Shouto briefly participates in the conversation, answers when he’s asked a question, keeps the stories and anecdotes about his family to a minimum, which is easy considering Mrs Midoriya seems to not care that much about Endeavor and his status, which brings Shouto some weird kind of giddiness. But for the most part, he simply watches Midoriya and his mother interact. 

He watches as Mrs Midoriya constantly ruffles her son’s hair, pinches his cheeks, uses her thumb to wipe crumbs and droplets of sauce off his face, and straightens his wrinkled shirt every now and then. He watches as Midoriya groans and tries to bat her hands away, but ultimately accepts the gestures with a fond smile and a quiet giggle. He watches as Midoriya will sometimes bump his forehead on his mother's shoulder affectionately, and she'll card her fingers through his hair for a second before he sits back up.

Shouto watches, and chews his food slowly, and he feels a pit in his stomach. He can’t remember the last time his mother ran her fingers through his hair. During his visits to the hospital, her touches are sparse, scarce, holding his hand or the sleeve of his shirt or sometimes patting his arm affectionately. But she never touches anywhere near his face. The last memory he has of her hands on his face is cold and painful, salty with tears and heavy with regret. 

As he looks at Midoriya's mother so easily pinching his face, cupping it, planting noisy kisses on it, Shouto feels a painful tug in his heart, acid in his stomach. It’s not jealousy, or envy per se, but it’s deep and painful and it makes him want to scream and cry at how unfair it is that he never had what Midoriya has, that he perhaps never will, that it was taken away from him before he even realized how much he needed it. 

It’s not Midoriya's fault, though. It’s not his mother's fault, either. If anything, Shouto is happy for them. He's happy that Midoriya has a parent who so readily offers affection, and he’s glad that Midoriya's mother has a son who doesn’t bear the marks of a torment they both suffered through. 

So Shouto swallows the lump in his throat and listens to Midoriya talk endlessly about Yuuei, and heroes, and All Might, and he lets himself bask in the joy of what a loving family looks like. 

It’s late in the afternoon when they actually finish their late lunch, the sky already beginning to glow orange and pink. 

Midoriya glances at the clock. “I think we'd better go, Mom. It’s a long train ride back to school.” 

Mrs Midoriya pouts, which makes her look exactly like her son in a way that’s jarring. “At least have some tea first !” 

Midoriya sighs. “Mom-” 

She rounds on Shouto, eyes glinting. “Would you like some tea, Todoroki ?” 

Shouto immediately takes the hint and acquiesces. “I'd love to, Mrs Midoriya.” 

Mrs Midoriya smiles brightly, another thing he must get from her. “See, Izuku ? What kind of hosts would we be if we didn’t get your friend a cup of tea before you leave ?” 

Midoriya shoots a reprimanding glare at Shouto, who simply smirks at him. Midoriya huffs as he gets up and heads to the kitchen, fishing cups and a kettle out of the cupboards. 

“Mom, you're out of honey,” he states, frowning at the empty space in the cupboard like if he looked hard enough, a jar of honey will magically appear. 

Mrs Midoriya groans. “Oh, right, I forgot.” 

“I'll go get it.” 

She sighs. “Izuku, you don't have-” 

“It’s fine, Mom,” Midoriya says, already grabbing his keys and wallet. “The store's just around the corner. I'll be back before you even blink !” 

And with that, Midoriya is out the door, leaving Shouto alone with his mother. 

Before he even has time to feel awkward, Mrs Midoriya laughs. “This boy, I swear. Always wanting to help.” 

Shouto lets out a low, breathy chuckle. “Has he always been like that ?” 

“Oh, yes,” Mrs Midoriya replies, shaking her head fondly. “When he was little, he insisted on helping me carry the groceries all the way up to here. He'd be hefting bags three times his size, struggling up the stairs but refusing to let me carry more. One time he actually fell.” 

Shouto snorts. “Really ?” 

Mrs Midoriya nods. “Bounced down four steps on his butt. And he still wanted to carry the bags all the way up.” 

“From what I know about him, that doesn’t surprise me at all.” 

Mrs Midoriya laughs. “He's always wanted to help people. He's a good boy. But I'm not going to die or be seriously injured from lack of honey !” 

Shouto smiles, trying to imagine a tiny Midoriya dutifully carrying big grocery bags up two flights of stairs and then promptly falling on his ass. It’s a funny mental image. 

“I don't think he'll take his sweet time over there,” Mrs Midoriya continues. “But we can start preparing the tea, if you want.” 

Shouto nods. “Sure.” 

As he follows her into the kitchen, Mrs Midoriya keeps talking. 

“You know, Todoroki, I wasn’t very happy about leaving Izuku at Yuuei when the dorms were built. After everything that happened, and Katsuki being kidnapped, I was ready to pull him out of the school.” 

Shouto says nothing. It’s understandable, he thinks, something a rightfully upset and concerned parent would do. Something his father didn’t do. 

“But now, seeing how happy he is to be there, seeing that he’s made such wonderful friends,” she looks at Shouto as she says it, eyes bright and a soft smile on her face, “I'm glad I didn’t. I'm glad he has you.” 

Shouto gulps, feeling the heat creep up his cheeks and immediately using his Quirk to cool down. “I'm glad to have him. He's a great friend.” Perhaps greater than she'll ever know. Midoriya Inko doesn’t know how much her son has done for Shouto in the span of a few months. 

Mrs Midoriya wipes her eyes and sniffs. He definitely gets his emotional side from her. “Oof ! Inko, get a hold of yourself ! Don't cry like a baby in front of your son's friend !” 

“It’s okay,” Shouto says, a small smile on his face. Thing is, he really wouldn’t mind it. He's quite used to it with Midoriya. 

Nevertheless, Mrs Midoriya wipes her eyes and busies herself with preparing tea. Shouto takes out spoons from a drawer when she points at it. 

“Could you fill this up with water for me, please ?” 

Mrs Midoriya doesn’t look at him as she hands him the kettle, raising it right in front of his face. 

It happens in less than a second. 

As soon as Shouto sees the kettle, black and metallic and shining with the overhead kitchen light, he feels his entire right side freeze. His right arm shoots out in front of him, and he finds himself plastered to the opposite wall. 

He’s not in Midoriya Inko's kitchen anymore. In a flash, he's back in the Todoroki household, a whistling kettle dropping to the ground splashing droplets of boiling water, and scared, panicked eyes filled with tears looking at him as the biting burn of ice surrounds the left side of his face and makes him scream and sob in pain. 

Shouto sinks to his knees and holds his face in his hands, the memory of that burn so vivid it pulses inside his eye, like a piercing headache. 

“Todoroki ?” A soft voice calls, but Shouto can barely hear it over the sound of his own heavy breaths, and the sob desperately crawling its way out of his throat. He shivers, hot and cold swirling inside his body, ice and fire fighting for dominance with his heart in the middle, and it’s cold but it burns and he’s so scared because Endeavor will come and take Mommy away, and he won't be able to play with Natsuo and Fuyumi, and he'll make Shouto train and train until he cries and throws up and begs him to stop but it won't ever stop- 

Two warm, soft hands gently pry his own away and cup his face. 

“Todoroki.” 

Mrs Midoriya's voice brings him back to reality, and when he opens his eyes to look at her face, there’s frost over her cheek and in her hair. Behind her, a giant, spiky clunk of ice surrounds the sink and the cupboards, spilling out onto the floor all the way to the fridge. The kettle is stuck inside of it, twisted and undoubtedly broken. 

Shouto's face crumples. “I-I'm sorry-” 

“Sshh,” Mrs Midoriya says, rubbing her thumbs over his cheekbones, not reacting in the least at the scar tissue surrounding his left eye. “It’s okay, Todoroki.” 

“I ruined your kitchen. I'm so sorry-” 

“Sweetheart, it’s just ice. It'll melt.” 

“B-but the kettle-” 

“Was an old, rusty thing I had before Izuku was even born. I'll live just fine without it. It was an accident. It’s okay, Shouto.” 

Hearing his first name in her voice, without any anger, reprimand, regret or sadness breaks some sort of dam he'd erected around himself the whole day. Shouto sobs and collapses in Mrs Midoriya's arms, shaking from head to toe. He doesn’t cry, doesn’t think he has the strength to, but he sobs again when Mrs Midoriya starts to slowly run her fingers through his hair, shushing him softly, rocking him back and forth. 

“You're okay, Shouto. You didn’t do anything wrong.” 

Shouto trembles, letting her pat his head softly, run a soft thumb over his scar, and the pit in his stomach is still there, but the pain of it dulls, throbbing in his chest like a distant ache. 

_________________________

Midoriya Izuku's day starts like any other. 

He gets up, a little later than usual, since it’s Sunday and he doesn’t need to get to class. He takes a few minutes to lounge in bed, stretching out his aching limbs, dull with the remnants of hectic training from the day before, then gets up to head to the common room. 

Unsurprisingly, Todoroki is there, sitting on the couch and making scrolling lazily on his phone look elegant. Ashido is sitting on the floor in front of the couch, nodding off, and Momo and Jirou are huddled together on one of the seats nearby, a Mount Lady throw blanket draped over them as they also seem to be napping. The rest of their classmates are mingling around, either still in their rooms, sleeping the day away, or shuffling around tiredly. Uraraka bumps his shoulder with hers as she passes him, and Izuku stifles a laugh at her messy hair. 

Izuku fiddles with his sleep pants as he takes a seat next to Todoroki, who briefly looks up from his phone to greet him. “Morning, Midoriya.” 

“Hi, Todoroki !” Izuku replies cheerfully, settling more comfortably on the couch. “How was your night ?” 

“Uneventful,” Todoroki replies, stiffening just slightly when their shoulders brush, but Izuku barely has time to take notice of it as his friend gives him a small, clipped smile and goes back to his phone. Izuku presses his lips into a thin line. 

Todoroki’s been acting off all week, ever since that afternoon with Izuku’s mom. When Izuku got back from the store, he found Todoroki in the kitchen, dutifully melting a huge chunk of ice in the sink, while his mother patted his back and microwaved two mugs of water. It didn’t take long for Izuku to sort of understand what had happened. They drank the tea in silence, and then actually did what they came to do in the first place, hefting the heavy bags and boxes left in Izuku’s room to carry them back to Yuuei. Before they left, Izuku’s mom ruffled Todoroki’s hair and whispered something in his ear that Izuku couldn’t make out. Then, she pinched Izuku’s cheeks and whispered to him as well. 

“You take good care of your friend, alright ?” 

Izuku had nodded, letting his mom give him one last awkward hug through his armful of boxes. The train ride back had been quiet, Todoroki’s mind seeming to be focused elsewhere, and for once in his life, Izuku didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with his unending mumbles. In the days afterwards, Todoroki seemed to be spacing out a lot more, talking even less than usual, and even when he and Midoriya were studying together, he often found his friend with his eyes glazed over, deep in thought. 

It’s the same thing now, as Todoroki’s scrolling has come to a halt, and he’s just staring at his phone with a blank expression. Izuku is worried. He doesn’t want to push, he doesn’t want to pry, even though he’s itching to ask, at least try and find the words to comfort his friend. But he has a feeling Todoroki needs a bit of space this time. 

So Izuku doesn’t ask, he doesn’t push or pry. He fishes inside the pocket of his sleep pants, and pulls out a can of peach soda. 

“Here,” he says, handing it to Todoroki. 

He looks at it with a raised eyebrow. 

“My-my mom noticed you liked it last time,” Izuku says, scratching his cheek nervously. “She sent me a whole case of it, so…” 

Something shifts in Todoroki’s expression. His eyes go from blank and faraway to shining and aware, as if he just now realized that Izuku was there next to him. 

“Oh,” a tiny smile makes its way to the corner of his mouth, and when he looks up at Midoriya, his eyes are soft and grateful, but still a little sad. “That’s very kind of her. Tell her I said thank you.” 

Izuku just stares as Todoroki opens the can and starts drinking, itching to ask, help his friend with whatever it is that’s bothering him. 

He keeps quiet. 

______________

A knock on his door startles Izuku from his homework, and he knocks over about a dozen different pens in his haste to get up from his desk. He kicks them under his chair and turns, bumping his shoulder on the life-size All Might figure right next to the desk. 

Rubbing his shoulder, he opens the door to find Todoroki standing on the other side, fully dressed, a bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Todoroki, hi !” Izuku takes a few seconds to look at him. “Are you going somewhere ?” 

Todoroki nods. “It’s Sunday. I'm visiting my mom.” 

Izuku nods back. “Right. Is Fuyumi picking you up ?” 

“No. She’s with some colleagues of hers, and Natsuo's out of town with his girlfriend.” 

Izuku raises an eyebrow. “You’re going alone ?” 

Todoroki says nothing. He fiddles with the strap of his bag, looking down, fidgeting on his feet. 

Izuku takes a tentative step forward. 

“I-if you want, I can come with you.” 

Todoroki looks up, surprise coloring his face. 

“You don't have to,” he says immediately, gesturing towards Izuku’s desk. “You were studying.” 

Izuku shakes his head. “I can study later. I'd be happy to come, Todoroki.” 

Todoroki flashes him a brief smile. “I'll wait for you in the common room.” 

A half hour later, Izuku follows Todoroki in the hospital lobby, standing nervously next to him as they walk up to the front desk. The nurse on duty immediately gives them a bright smile. 

“Shouto ! How have you been ?” 

“Fine, Ayase.” Todoroki replies in a low tone. The nurse smiles.

“Rei just had her lunch. She’s resting in her room.” 

Todoroki nods, then points to Izuku. “I brought my friend Midoriya. Is it okay ?” 

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t be,” Miss Ayase replies, smiling at Izuku, who bows very low. 

Izuku watches as Todoroki exchanges a few more pleasantries with her, rather painstakingly, then he follows Todoroki through the halls, the scuffing of his shoes on the linoleum floor sounding too loud in his ears. 

Once they reach the room, Izuku starts panicking. 

“I-I can stay out here, if you want.” 

Todoroki turns towards him, brows furrowed in confusion. 

“I mean, this is your… your private time, with your mom. I shouldn’t- I’m not even-” 

“It’s okay, Midoriya,” Todoroki says, a small smile on his face. “I want you to meet her.” 

That strikes Izuku speechless. He lowers his head, tangling his fingers nervously. 

“Besides, I…” 

Todoroki turns back to the door, putting his hand on the handle. He takes a deep breath. 

“I didn’t really feel like going alone today.” 

With that, he opens the door. 

The room is simple, almost bare, save for a bed, a desk, a door far to the left leading to a private bathroom. There are pictures put up on the desk and the bedside table, some old, with Todoroki looking to be about four or five years old, and some recent, polaroid selfies of him and his siblings together. 

Todoroki Rei sits on the bed,  reading a book, a thin blanket covering her legs. 

The first thing Izuku thinks is that she looks tired. Her shoulders are sloped, her hair is swept over her shoulder, exposing the side of her face, where Izuku can see the bags under her eyes and her drooping eyelids. 

“Hi, Mom.” 

It’s like she comes alive at the sound of Todoroki’s voice. She straightens up, albeit slowly, snapping her book shut. When she turns, her eyes go very bright, and she smiles happily, despite the tiredness on her face. 

“Shouto,” she says, voice soft and smooth like snow. “You’re early today.” 

Todoroki nods. “Finished my homework earlier.” 

Izuku follows shyly as Todoroki walks up to the bed, taking a minute to put his bag on the desk. Mrs Rei extends her hand, and Todoroki steps forward and takes it. She squeezes it for a minute, then lets go. She then raises it, seemingly aiming it towards his face, but seems to second guess herself at the last second and drops it, opting to squeeze his arm softly. 

Izuku sees Todoroki flinch at that, a slight lift to his shoulders that’d be imperceptible if you weren’t paying attention. 

Mrs Rei then tilts her head to the side, making direct eye contact with Izuku. “Who’s your friend ?” she asks, looking back at Todoroki. 

Izuku perks up immediately and bows low. “My name is Midoriya Izuku. Pleased to meet you !” 

When Izuku lifts his head back up, he sees a spark of recognition in her eyes. She brings her hands together. 

“Oh, so you’re Midoriya ! Shouto talks about you a lot.” 

“D-does he ?” 

Mrs Rei nods. “All of his stories about Yuuei include you somehow.” 

Izuku lets out a short, nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head. When he looks back at Todoroki, he finds him with his head bowed, hiding his face behind his two-toned bangs. 

“You boys are making me nervous, standing around like that,” Mrs Rei continues. “Come on, take a seat.” There’s a small smile on her face that’s so similar to Todoroki’s usual smile, it’s almost jarring. He favors his mother a lot, Izuku thinks. 

Todoroki immediately springs to action, pulling up a chair for Izuku, and opting to sit on the edge of the bed, close to his mother’s legs. He puts a tentative hand on her knee. 

“How have you been, Mom ?” 

She smiles softly. “I’m doing alright. I sleep a little more. Natsu sent me a postcard yesterday.” 

She leans towards the bedside table, fishing out a small card and turns it towards them. It’s a picture of a beach at sunset, the gentle waves colored orange and purple, foam dancing on the edge of dark sand. 

“It’s very pretty,” Izuku says, and Mrs Rei’s eyes light up again. She nods. 

“Natsu knows how much I love the ocean. He’ll probably bring me back some shells.” 

“I didn’t know that,” Todoroki says, head down. It doesn’t sound like a reproach, just a statement of fact, but it makes Izuku’s heart feel heavy. 

Mrs Rei rests her hand on top of Todoroki’s, squeezing. “Now you do. But enough about me. How are things at school ?” 

The conversation goes on after that, focused on Yuuei and their classes, the progress they’re making. Todoroki is careful to never mention Endeavor, though he doesn’t talk about him very often to begin with. Izuku enthusiastically joins in when prompted, whenever Todoroki talks about training together, studying together, talks about their other friends. Mrs Rei listens to it all very intently, that soft, small smile never leaving her face in spite of her apparent fatigue. 

All the while, Izuku can’t help but observe the way they both interact. Todoroki is more tactile with her than Izuku’s ever seen him, constantly keeping his hand on her knee, leaning closer to her the more the conversation goes on, though his back remains in a straight line. Mrs Rei touches him too, alternating between squeezing his hand, holding the sleeve of his sweater, rubbing on his arm lovingly. She never strays from that particular area, and even though her contact is affectionate, Izuku senses some kind of reticence, as if she’s keeping herself in check, careful not to move her hands higher and keeping her touches short and light. 

Izuku can’t help but mentally compare it to his own mother, who’s never shy with her affections towards him. She constantly hugs him, wipes stains from his face, ruffles his hair or smoothes it back, pokes at his freckles, squeezes and rubs at his arms and kisses his forehead and his cheeks. Izuku’s never felt embarrassed, or annoyed by it, even though sometimes he playfully tries to push her away. But he’d be absolutely devastated if this affection suddenly stopped, and he had to live without it for as long as Todoroki’s been separated from his mother. 

At some point, Mrs Rei puts a hand to her mouth and clears her throat. Todoroki’s immediately alert. 

“Are you okay, Mom ? Do you need something ?” 

Mrs Rei nods. “I could go for some tea.” 

“I’ll go get it.” Todoroki then turns to Izuku. “Do you want tea, Midoriya ?” 

Izuku startles a bit. “Oh ! Um, no, thanks, I’ll be fine.” 

He nods and turns back to his mother, who’s smiling at him, eyes shining. 

“Thank you, Shouto.” 

She lifts her hand again, and Izuku watches as it goes higher, up, up, up until she jolts, blinking, and quickly brings it back down to squeeze Todoroki’s shoulder. 

Todoroki flinches again, but heaves himself up from the bed without a word, walking out of the room with his head down, leaving Izuku alone with his mother. 

Izuku squirms, nervous, hands fidgeting where he’s got them rested on his lap. A soft chuckle makes him lift his head, and he sees Mrs Rei smiling at him softly. 

“I apologize for this,” she makes a small gesture that encompasses the entire room. “I wish I could meet my son’s friends in a normal setting. Can’t exactly bake you welcome cookies in this tiny room, and the ones they give us at the cafeteria are godawful.” 

It’s said in such a dry, deadpan manner that is so similar to Todoroki’s own that it startles a laugh out of Izuku. He immediately slaps a hand on his mouth to stop it. 

“I-it’s okay, Mrs Todoroki,” he says, bowing a little on his chair. “I asked him  if he wanted me to come, so I already knew about…” 

He trails off, awkwardly out of words, but Mrs Rei nods, that soft smile back on her face. 

“You made quite the impression on my son, you know.” 

Izuku says nothing, pinned under her intense gaze, so reminiscent of her son as well. 

“He tells me you helped him a lot. That you still do.” 

“O-oh ! Well, um,” Izuku scratches the back of his head, fingers catching on a knot. “I don’t do much, really. Just being his friend.” 

He doesn’t mention breaking his arms at the Sports Festival in his effort to get Todoroki to finally accept the other half of his power. He will say that he’d do it again and again, a hundred times over, without any regrets. 

Mrs Rei chuckles, just a light sigh out of her lips. “Well, I’m happy he has  friends. I was afraid he’d be lonely.” 

Izuku immediately feels the need to comfort her, in spite of the smile on her face. “He-he’s not ! He’s got me, and Uraraka, Iida… the entire class gets along well too !” 

She laughs again, stopping Izuku in his panicked rambling. 

“If I may, Midoriya…” 

Izuku folds his hands back on his lap, listening. 

“I was wondering if you could help me, too.” 

That startles him. What could he possibly help Todoroki’s mother with ? 

Izuku scoots his chair forward, leaning towards her almost conspiratorially. She laughs again. 

“Shouto talks so much about you. I believe he sees you as his best friend. He told me you were the one who inspired him to change. It’s after his encounter with you that he started coming here to see me every week. I can never thank you enough for that.” 

Izuku feels his heart constrict. He didn’t think that his violent urge to help Todoroki would upturn his life to this degree. He’s always wanted to be a hero, to help people, but he never thought he’d be able to witness the ripple effects of his efforts so early, and in such a manner. 

“It took him a lot of bravery, a lot of determination. And I’m so happy that I get to see my son, to know him, truly, even though I can never take back the years we’ve lost.” 

She stops and looks at her hands, a forlorn air in her eyes, in the line of her mouth. 

“But I can sense that he’s not comfortable, sometimes. He stills, flinches. He looks at me like he wants something that he’s too afraid to ask. And I’m not proud to admit it, but I’m afraid to ask, too.” 

She folds her hands into her lap, looking up at Izuku, who gulps. He doesn’t really know how to go about this. 

“I realize this must be a lot to digest for you, Midoriya. I apologize. But you seem like a wise boy, so I’d love to hear your opinion on this.” 

Izuku takes a long minute to think. He doesn’t want his endless rambles and mumbles to take precedent here. He wants to give Mrs Todoroki a concise answer, and realizes it’s very hard for him to pour his heart out in a way that inspires and helps when he’s not in the heat of battle. 

He thinks back to that afternoon in his mother’s kitchen. The way she patted Todoroki’s back, ruffled his hair, and he let her, even seemed to welcome the touches. He remembers the smile on his face when Izuku handed him the can of soda this morning, the light in his eyes when he opened and drank it. 

“I think that sometimes, you don’t need to ask,” he says, fists clenched on his lap. “I think sometimes it’s okay to just act.” 

Mrs Rei looks back at her hands, her fingers shaking slightly. 

“I don’t want to reopen old wounds,” she says in a low whisper, and Izuku knows she means it in more ways than one. 

“I don’t think you would. I think it’d be the contrary. You would heal them. Together. For what it’s worth, I know that he doesn’t blame you.” 

She clenches her fists. “And yet, I’m the one who did it. He should be afraid.” 

“And yet, he isn’t.” 

Mrs Rei closes her eyes, breathing heavily. 

A blanket of sadness surrounds Izuku’s heart, squeezing and pinching it painfully. He already feels the tears running down his cheeks, slowly falling on his closed hands. Bearing witness to this all is already so painful, he couldn’t even imagine living it. Seeing the damage caused, the chasm dug so deeply between a mother and her son, all because of one man’s blind ambition that made him ignorant of all the hurt he was causing, all the lives he was ruining in pursuit of a goal that he was deadset on achieving, uncaring of whoever got in his way. 

Izuku kind of regrets not saying more of what he had in his mind when he met Endeavor. 

Mrs Rei seems to compose herself and when she looks back at Izuku, her eyes are shining with unshed tears. 

“Thank you, Izuku.” 

____________________

When it’s time for them to leave, the sky is already bordering on grey, the sun low in the horizon. Mrs Rei looks out the window and sighs. 

“I think it’s time for you boys to go,” she says, regretfully. “I wouldn’t want you to get scolded by your teachers.” 

Before Izuku gets up, Mrs Rei grabs his hand, taking a second to look at the scars littered on it. She squeezes his fingers softly. 

“Goodbye, Izuku. I’m glad Shouto has such a wonderful friend.” 

Izuku swallows back his tears and squeezes back, nodding goodbye. Todoroki is still sitting on the edge of the bed, a hand on his mother’s knee. 

“I’ll see you next week, Mom. I think Fuyumi will be there too.” 

Just as he moves to get up, Mrs Rei stops him by grabbing his forearm. He looks up at her, eyes wide. 

Slowly, oh so slowly, she lifts her other hand and lightly grazes Todoroki’s left cheek with her fingertips. Izuku hears his breath hitch. Then, Mrs Rei lifts her hand higher and cards her fingers through Todoroki’s hair, brushing it back softly. 

She leans towards him and kisses his forehead, right at the edge of the scar covering his eye. 

When she leans back, she smiles. She runs her hand through his hair again. 

“I’ll see you next week, Shouto. Have a good time at school.” 

Izuku has to turn around and bow his head to hide the tears he can’t keep at bay. 

_____________________________________

Izuku snaps his notebook shut, sighing heavily. He looks at the time on his phone, realizing it is way past curfew. He had vastly underestimated the amount of homework he still had left. But, even as he has to blink and rub his eyes heavily to try and get math equations and history questions out of his vision, he doesn’t regret it. 

The journey back to Yuuei was quiet, at least on Todoroki’s part. Izuku had filled the silence with his usual chatter, on heroes and Quirks and everything in-between, at his friend’s request. He knew Todoroki liked to listen to him, and to be frank, he was still getting used to having someone listen to whatever he had to say without even thinking of interrupting him, unless it was to ask a question and prompt him into even more rambling, so whenever Todoroki asks that of him, he happily obliges, even if it’s to provide his friend with background noise as he mulls over whatever’s on his mind. 

When they came back, night was beginning to fall, and everyone had asked them to come with them to the common room to watch a movie before curfew, which they’d both declined. Todoroki said nothing as he locked himself in his room, and Izuku, despite every fibre of his being itching to follow him and offer a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on or some kind of comfort, decided to let him be for now. He knew Todoroki sometimes needed his space, and would come to him for whatever he needed. 

The low rumble of his stomach startles him, and he realizes that it is, in fact, ten o’clock at night, and he skipped dinner to focus on his schoolwork. He doesn’t know if anything’s left in the kitchen, but he lets his newfound hunger guide him through the hallway and into the fridge and cupboards. He finds a pack of cookies and decides to nibble on a couple of them, and downs a glass of water. 

“Midoriya.” 

Todoroki’s deep, sleepy voice startles him, and he almost drops the glass on the floor, catching it in time and putting it on the counter. He wipes his mouth and gives his friend a tired smile. 

“Oh, hey Todoroki. It’s late.” 

“I went to the bathroom, and I heard noises.” 

Izuku looks at the pack of cookies surrounded with crumbs and the empty glass of water like he was caught committing a crime. 

“Yeah, homework took me a while. I missed out on dinner.” 

Todoroki frowns. 

“N-not that I mind !” Izuku flails his arms around nervously. “It’s my fault anyway. I shouldn’t have let the work pile up like that. I’ll do better next time.” 

Todoroki nods, looking sideways. His fists are clenched at his sides. 

“I wanted to…” 

He sighs, then takes a deep breath. 

“I realized I never thanked you. For coming with me today. So, thank you.” 

Izuku smiles, shuffling closer. “Anytime, Todoroki. Your mother’s very kind.” 

“Mh.” 

Time seems to stretch out, soft and malleable as they stand there in the kitchen, the only source of light coming from Izuku’s phone screen, casting a soft white glow around them. Todoroki’s hands are still clenched at his sides, and Izuku can see his jaw working, as if trying to form words that refuse to come out of his mouth. 

“Do you want a hug, Todoroki ?” 

In lieu of answering, Todoroki shuffles barely an inch closer, head bowed. 

Izuku meets him halfway, and tentatively wraps his arms around him. His fingers join in the middle of Todoroki’s back, and he lifts his chin up, slightly lifting himself on his toes to hook his chin on Todoroki’s shoulder. 

In an instant, Todoroki folds himself over him, hands flying up to his shoulderblades and grabbing his shirt, burying his face in the crook of Izuku’s shoulder. Izuku realizes Todoroki’s entire body is trembling. When he feels tears dampening his shirt, he lets his own fall freely, and Todoroki breathes hard against his chest. 

Izuku just squeezes him tighter.