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Midoriya was off to one of his and All Might’s not-so-secret meetings, and Shouto was left looking at the back of that dark green hair until it disappeared in the crowd.
Their little friend group consisted of two other members, an energetic girl called Uraraka and a strict boy called Iida. They were alright, and because Midoriya was friends with them, he was too.
“Midoriya’s hair looks really soft,” he said absentmindedly, taking another slurp of his cold soba.
Uraraka nodded. “It does. Do you think he’ll let us pet it?” She put her chopsticks down, done with the bowl of white rice she started just minutes ago. She leaned on one of her hands as she too imagined what it would feel like.
The thought of touching soft curls filled his mind, and he suddenly really wanted to, even though he never really wanted to touch anyone before. He could almost imagine it like a soft green cloud. “We could ask…” Bakugou’s hair was probably not as pleasant to touch, his hand twitching at the thought of petting a very angry hedgehog.
“It’s disrespectful to- well if you’re asking first… I suppose it’s fine.” Iida quickly adjusted his rebuttal, pushing his glasses further up his nose.
Without thinking he continued. “Midoriya just seems really soft in general… is it weird I want to touch him?” He asked partially to his friends, and partially himself. Was it weird? It could just be a friend kind of thing, he didn’t have a point of reference in that regard.
Iida and Uraraka exchanged a look. Shouto didn’t pay it much attention, the thought of hugging his best friend not seeming like the worst thing in the world. Then his mind immediately changed to Bakugou doing the same, in that rough way the boy did everything. It didn’t sound that bad either. Bakugou was probably warm, but not in that painful way his old man was. He felt a little warmer at the thought.
He wanted to be hugged now. It’s been a while…
“Todoroki, have you ever wanted to do that to anyone else before?” Iida asked, looking a bit red in the face. Was it just that warm in the building? It didn’t feel like it.
“Bakugou.” He replied instantly, shaking his previous train of thought away like an annoying fly.
Uraraka giggled. “Bakugou?” She glanced at the blond boy across the room. “How often do you feel like that?”
How often? “Ever or this month?”
She affirmed she meant the latter, and he started counting all the times he remembered wanting to be physically close to the two. “twelve times?”
Uraraka smiled, “you know it’s the fifth today, right?”
He nodded, eating the last bit of soba he had left.
“You know what Todoroki? Try getting closer to them, see if they mind.” She advised, getting a raised eyebrow from Iida.
Shouto nodded again, happy to hear it was okay to think. Next lunch break he joined the other table, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Bakugou.
Icy-hot started acting a lot more clingy lately, stepping into his personal space every time the chance presented itself. Katsuki would be lying if he said he hated it, but he wasn’t jumping with joy either. He wasn’t.
The little brushes against his hand, shoulders touching, stares he dared to return, it felt good. So for the first few weeks he let it happen, he let himself indulge just a little.
Each time it did happen, he questioned himself for hours after, wondering why. Katsuki had been a bit envious of what Deku and Icy-hot had, the casual camaraderie between them and the heaps of trust that went both ways. Never out loud, of course. They were just his childhood annoyance and his second rival, not much more than that. Deku and Half and Half. If he had eyes that was his issue alone.
And now Todoroki was giving him just a little of that bond, taking away from his time with Deku. It felt like revenge on the nerd, nice and sweet delivered for always looking down at him. And for not being all that with him first.
Which was stupid, since Deku was straight as a stick and he was a greedy bastard.
He didn’t truly mind Icy-hot either, even if just for the calm he brought with him, unlike all the other pesky extras in his life. And the touch. He hated himself for liking it.
Kirishima, the perceptive bastard that he was, noticed how much of his confusing nonsensical feelings turned into rage when they trained together. It was so annoying, having to tell his best friend that everything was fine. It wasn’t fine, Icy-hot was quickly turning into a guy he both wanted to push off the stairs and make out with until neither of them could breathe. Even he could admit that sounded fucked up.
Deciding he really couldn’t deal with this, he tried pushing Todoroki away subtly, but nothing ‘subtle’ worked on Todoroki. Icy-hot simply replied with a “Because I want to” when he asked why he kept getting so close to him, and that answer was enough to melt away all the anger he felt with that moment, which just made that anger hit twice as hard later.
It was a constant loop, and he was getting seriously tired of it.
So, he let it go for now, pretending like he didn’t like any of it. He wasn’t reveling in the jealous looks from Deku at all, not even one bit.
Ever since he gave Todoroki permission to touch his hair, the boy had been petting him almost everyday. At first he laughed it off, and now, now he was hooked. His day turned worse every night when he realized he hadn’t gotten his daily pets, and that was weird right? He wasn’t a dog, and his mother hugged him plenty when he was a kid so it couldn’t be that either. Why would he like it that much? Maybe it was Todoroki’s soft eyes when he did? That subtle smile? It couldn’t be right? Why would that make him feel like-
With burning cheeks he found himself shuffling to Todoroki every time they sat next to each other, hoping the boy would notice him. All the while Uraraka shot him plenty of knowing looks. He was starting to get a bit irritated.
What did she know anyway?
She shrugged off his glares, and Iida just pretended nothing was happening. He agreed with Iida, this was normal, just a thing friends did. Probably.
Kacchan and Todoroki were slowly becoming friends.
That was… something.
He wasn’t jealous, they had a right to be friends, there was no need to feel sad about it.
Kacchan rarely looked his way anymore, it wasn’t fair.
Todoroki still interacted with him, this wasn’t elementary, or middle school. It was fine.
It brought an underlying layer of guilt when he interacted with any of the two, thinking that they would walk away like the rest had. To be fair Kacchan had already tried once.
They were on their way to the USJ when Todoroki decided to sit next to Bakugou instead of him, and the nauseating wave of jealousy hit him like a truck. He averted his eyes. He still had Iida and Uraraka.
“Everything alright Deku?” Uraraka asked, noticing the anguish he was in.
The girl was the first friend he had made at UA, and she was also more emotionally… in touch than Iida, so maybe it would be better to ask her. “Not really? I don’t know…” Another glance at the pair was enough for the brunette.
“If you don’t like how close they are, just get in between.” The girl told him with all the confidence of a professional relationship therapist. Which was odd considering he knew for a fact that she had never dated in her life.
“Wha- No it’s not like that!” He defended, getting an unimpressed look.
She shrugged. “Okay, then don’t listen to me.” Uraraka brushed off, turning away. The reflection in the metal of a bar told him she was smirking.
His eyes switched between his friend and the two boys that were having a casual conversation, something unthought of until a month ago. With a groan he mumbled an, “alright,” to the brunette, her snapping back to him with a bright smile.
She gave him a light push. “Go for it! Dekiru!”
It took him less than a day to gather up the confidence to join their training group. Todoroki gladly took him in, and Kacchan only mumbled a protest before announcing that he could play victim this time. Reluctantly he agreed, enjoying the pretend game once he was in the middle of it. He liked being carried by both of them. They were such good friends.
From that day on he joined them every time he could, explaining it as good quirk training considering they were the powerhouses of 1A. It reconnected him with his childhood friend, the boy even lending him notes if he asked pathetically enough.
There was a maid outfit in his shopping cart now, just in case he ever committed murder and needed someone to help hide the body.
He got to see both of them smile sometimes, a sight so rare it might make him millions if he ever got it on camera. Not that he would ever sell something like that, that picture would hang right next to his All Might posters, after all it was nice seeing his friends happy.
“Come in.” He heard the soft voice through a wooden door.
Shouto entered, showing his mom the flowers he bought for her, something he did every time he came. They made his mother smile, and he knew she needed it. Not for the first time did he notice the eye bags his mother could never get rid of anymore, a detail he had previously forgotten from his childhood.
”So, how was school?” She asked, like she did every time he came by. The flowers were put in a vase that always seemed to be empty when he visited alone.
This time, like the previous months and unlike those at the beginning of the year, he had something to say. “Midoriya started training with me and Bakugou.” He informed, a small smile painting his face as he remembered the exercise. Bakugou’s ideas weren’t always horrible, putting Midoriya as the victim in need of saving finally gave him the chance to hug the boy. Now he just needed to make sure he could convince Bakugou into the role next time.
“Who was Bakugou again?” His mother asked, still looking at the flowers.
“The angry one. We became friends.” Midoriya was a frequent topic of conversation, he even told her that the boy was directly responsible for him coming to her again. Bakugou was not, not until very recently.
She smiled at him. “That’s nice, just make sure he isn’t too mean to you as well.”
He shook his head. “I don’t mind." Bakugou being mean was surprisingly fun. He liked irritating the blond, seeing just how much he could get away with. “Besides he used to be a lot meaner at the beginning of the year, now he’s just grumpy.”
She laughed. “That reminds me of…” Her face turned blank, eyes looking at something he couldn’t see. It wasn’t the first time it happened, his father was a particularly sensitive topic, so much so that the nurses advised him to steer far away from him. He tried his best, but sometimes the most normal and mundane topic could link back to him.
It took her a while before she came back, he deliberately turned his left side away from her, taking his mother’s hand carefully. “Where were we?”
“Bakugou,” he reminded her, keeping his voice down.
She nodded hazily, “right… How is Midoriya doing? You should really bring him along some day.”
He nodded. “Midoriya is doing fine, I think. Yesterday we did rescue training. Bakugou made him the victim this time, and I really liked it. I thought that Midoriya would be soft like his hair, but he didn’t feel very soft when I carried him.” He told his mom, having wanted to share his revelation with someone. He had somehow forgotten that Midoriya was physically stronger than him, and that that meant muscle.
That made her smile again. “Is that so? How do you know his hair is soft?”
He tilted his head to the side. “I wanted to know how it felt, so I asked him and now I can pet him.” Now that he thought about it, he could easily imagine Midoriya as a huge fluffy dog.
“Really? You two are really good friends in that case.” Her eyes were smiling at him, and her hand softly touched his shoulder. “Make sure you don’t lose him, people like that don’t come around often.”
Shouto nodded, a little confused.
Back at UA, he sat between his two favorite people, enjoying their bickering quietly.
Life just kept getting worse. He used to think Todoroki was a lot, but why did Deku have to join him??
At all times he was trapped between the two people he used to hate, unable to just push them away. He LIKED it, actually and fully. He liked the attention he was getting, he liked being around both of them. He already got over his gay revelation, now he was grappling with the fact he liked two people at the same time. Even worse was the fact that he stopped being jealous of them being together, he didn’t mind seeing it, he was just happy for them.
Happy for someone else? Him? What the hell had those two parasites done to him?
What did this mean for him? Was there something wrong up there? IF he ever wanted to start anything, who would it even be?
Todoroki was calm, in that annoyingly charming way only the ice-prince himself could be. He didn’t say much, but when he did his voice was nice, and he said something either insightful or absolutely ridiculous and then reacted with confusion when people called him out on it. He only recently realized just how desensitized he was to it, because recently they had an entire conversation about what kind of PLANT they wanted to be.
And he answered.
“Let me think about it, what would you like to be anyway? A willow tree?” He joked, thinking about how his rival’s hair reminded him of one.
Icy-hot shook his head. “No, I would like to be a rindou.”
“A rindou?” Katsuki asked, quirking his eyebrow. What the hell even was that?
”It’s a flower my mother really likes. They’re blue.” The boy answered, face blank.
Mrs Todoroki… He didn’t even know they had been talking again. His mind flashed back to a conversation he wasn’t supposed to hear. The blond knew there was another side to the story he hadn’t heard, and he still had to learn quite a lot about the boy. Deku was still better than him at something. Damnit.
For once trying to be mindful of someone else, he didn’t ask any of the questions he wanted to. “Is that the only reason?” He asked nevertheless, still a bit surprised that a member of the new big three would want to be a flower.
Todoroki shook his head again. “I think they're pretty as well, and she always smiles when I give her some… Being a flower doesn't sound that bad. I like soba, but flowers eat sunlight. How does sunlight taste? People like flowers, why wouldn’t you want to be one?”
He answered that he didn’t, he wanted to be a Baobab tree.
But still, that last bit could be interpreted in so many ways it was giving him a headache. How could one go from “is sunlight tasty” to “I want to be liked” in such a stupid way? The worst part was that because of his asshole father Icy-hot didn’t even know how intellectually stimulating conversation could be with him. If you gave Todoroki the chance he could go on and on, and it was the most interesting shit he had heard in a while.
Then you had his rekindled friendship from years ago. Deku was so stubborn, yet so agreeable. He was kind, but also sassy. Deku was forgiving in a way he didn’t deserve, inspiring now that he had some confidence, and open and ready to listen to anyone. Deku somehow made himself the beating heart of the next generation of heroes, and it made it all the harder for Katsuki to ignore the boy.
It was infuriating, how that bright smile was burned into his retinas. They have known each other for so long, and in all those years they couldn’t stay away from each other.
He wasn’t superstitious, but it felt as if the universe itself pushed him towards the boy. Their eyes always met one way or the other. God he hated it. The admiration in his eyes, genuine in a way he himself could never be.
He was starting to seriously hate his middle school self, because maybe, just maybe, if he’d been less of an ass Deku wouldn’t be such a stuttering mess. He’d have a better rival, maybe even an actual friendship in there. Why did Deku have to make him reflect on that? It was so embarrassing to think back on the prick he used to be. “Take a swan dive off the roof of a building and pray for a quirk in your next life” He’d have to apologize for that sin one day.
Liking Todoroki was easy, they had no history. Liking Deku in that way was hard, so unbelievably hard.
So now he was trapped in a love triangle. Love corner if you want to be specific. Trapped like a dog between two obnoxious dog people. How was he the only one in this mess that knew the difference between friendship and romance? He honestly doubted that Icy-hot was even aware that romantic relationships existed, and Deku would be freaking out every time they even looked at each other if he knew. Maybe both of them were straight and he was just delusional?
But would two straight guys just happen to blush that often when they were together?
Fuck, why did it have to be so damn complicated?? Couldn’t his brain just pick one dude? Why two? Greedy bastard.
He tried attacking Uraraka with all his might to make the thoughts go away, only to end up tripping in his careless attack. Hitting his head against the ground was surprisingly refreshing after all that bullshit.
“Bakugou, are you okay?” Pink cheeks asked, more out of courtesy than real consideration.
“Fine and dandy.” He replied sarcastically, sitting up. Across the field the objects of his obsession sparred against each other, quick blows being exchanged at a pace that was almost enchanting to watch.
He heard a sigh. “Bakugou, I know they’re hot, but this was supposed to be a training session.”
He jumped up, face red. “WHAT? THEM?? NO? THAT’S DISGUSTING!” He spit out, charging his opponent again.
They exchanged some blows, none of them hitting the target. Pink cheeks finally managed to touch him, marking his defeat. ”It’s less fun when you’re distracted.” She pouted, walking away.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going? Come back and let me down!” He shouted after the girl, who turned around and sat down.
“No,” she huffed.
“The fuck you mean, no?” His palms crackled with tiny explosions.
“Not until you get your head out of the clouds. Now, what seems to be the problem?” She pushed imaginary glasses further up her nose.
“Fucking nothing, I’m fine!” He caught her mouthing something that looked suspiciously like ‘denial’. “They’re just annoying me more than usual.” Katsuki reflected.
Now she took out an imaginary notepad and pen. “In what way?” Why was he getting therapy in the middle of training?
“They exist.” He stated simply.
Uraraka seemingly misheard him. “Ah, I see, a crush.” Her tone was getting slightly agitated. All his denying fell on deaf ears, as did the death treats. “Bakugou, just ask them out already. Right now you’re only hurting the three of you and me. Go, get rejected, accepted or a secret third thing. Get it over with.” She finally let him fall, face planting in the dirt.
Izuku Midoriya was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Earlier that day, just after changing, Kacchan took his hand and led him to an empty hallway. He followed along, not even asking where they were going, just happy that Kacchan wanted to get along with him again.
Unexpectedly, the older boy pinned him to a wall. At first he flinched away, remembering middle school, but then he noticed that stare. It was definitely warmer than anything he had ever seen from the blond before, kinder. Hungrier.
They stared at each other for what felt like ages, Izuku’s mouth running dry. What was happening? Did he do something wrong? Something right? Why was it so warm there all of a sudden? Why was his hand tingling, something trying to get him to touch his childhood friend? WHAT IS THIS AND HOW DOES HE GET RID OF IT??
Kacchan broke it off. “Nevermind.” The blond ran off before he had a chance to collect himself.
Later he went to Todoroki’s room to get his opinion on what happened, only to find his other friend fresh out of the shower, only a towel around his waist, looking at him in the same way intense ruby had been before. A single word shot into his mind, pretty.
He ran out, scared of what this might mean. Which brought him back to his bathroom floor, face buried in his knees.
Why was he thinking of his friends in this way? What even is ‘this way’?
He had known before that what the three of them had was special, and a little outside of traditional friendship, but what the hell was this? Why did he feel so hot? Why did his mind go back to all the times he and the two other’s touched, and why did he want to do that more? What was this burning feeling in his stomach?
A possibility ran through his head, a dangerous thought. What if this is a crush?
No, he had crushes before, celebrity crushes, but crushes nonetheless. Mirko came to mind… but wasn’t that more so admiration?
He admired a lot of people, most notably All Might, Kacchan and Todoroki. Aizawa was a close third. All of them were amazing people, but with the two boys it was something else, something all the more intense. His notebooks were evidence of that fact, weren’t they? He had written so much about the two of them, it came close to the amount he had on his mentor.
So was it a crush? Did he like his two close friends? Like like them? But, he wasn’t gay right? He didn’t think he was, he liked Mirko once. You could like both though, so maybe it’s like that?
The thought of kissing them briefly crossed his mind.
No! Bad Izuku!
Okay then, he was bi, yep. Confirmed! Never looking into it again! He slammed that book shut, set it on fire and walked away. Gone!
He stood up, shaking his head harshly. All gone! New thing learned now, time to ignore it! Yep, that was a good idea. Push the annoying thoughts away, that is healthy.
Really healthy.
During dinner both Todoroki and Kacchan sat next to him, constantly brushing against his arms and knees, leaning in close to talk to people across the table. He really, really, really wanted to just lean in, kiss-
Nope, not happening.
The whole meal he kept quiet, his entire face radiating with warmth. Multiple people asked him if he was sick. He wasn’t, but it sure felt like it.
The rest of that night was spent on google, getting answers and compiling an entire new notebook on information about relationships, queer history and more embarrassing stuff he searched up only out of curiosity. He didn’t really sleep that night, but that hardly mattered when he knew enough to be safe. It felt better having an understanding of the thing that bothered you, so now he could face both of them and find out if they like him back.
Romantic attraction to more than one person wasn’t that uncommon, even if it was heavily shunned upon in a lot of places, like for example Japan. He had found a handful of forums that accepted people like him, and provided helpful answers.
Kacchan had to like him, there was no way yesterday was a fluke.
So, with newfound determination, Izuku got out of his little goblin hole at six in the morning, having dozed off a max of thirty minutes, ready for a morning jog to get his mind cleared.
The entire run his mind unhelpfully supplied him with all the times he had been oblivious, melting his resolve only slightly. Just to let all the excess energy escape his body, he used All for One for a little boost, running a lot more than he usually did in a much shorter amount of time.
That day he had some trouble staying awake during his usual classes, but it didn’t matter. Now equipped with the power of knowledge he analyzed the behavior of his crushes carefully, yet unsuccessful in flirting back.
Midoriya looked a little pale yesterday. No one said it to his face, but it was clear the boy hadn’t slept much. He asked, but Midoriya often said he was fine when he wasn’t.
It stung that his friend didn’t trust him enough to admit that something was wrong, but he could understand. Being open to people was hard.
So because it was the weekend, and a little because he wanted his friend to feel better, he took the initiative. In the morning, once he took his usual place next to either Bakugou, Midoriya, or both of them, and in this case both of them, he asked the question.
“Midoriya, would you like to watch a movie with me?” His voice blended with the noise of his classmates, but the two people sitting beside him heard it loud and clear.
The short boy smiled. “Sure! What are we watching?”
Shouto blinked. “I haven’t thought of that yet.”
Bakugou snorted. “Don’t say that, the nerd will force you to watch All Might documentaries if you don’t choose.”
“I would not!” Midoriya argued back, his face red.
“Aha, sure.” The blond took a bite of his toast. “What else would you suggest?”
Midoriya opened his mouth to protest, but he ended up not saying anything, just turning red.
“That’s what I thought.” Bakugou grinned, in such a way it made Shouto’s heart flutter.
He leaned on the table, head propped up by his right hand. “What would you want to watch?” He asked the blond, carefully observing the boy’s facial expression.
Bakugou clicked his tongue. “With you? Mononoke-hime, I doubt you’ve seen it, and that’s a damn crime.” He said nonchalantly, ruby staring into his soul.
Midoriya’s bright voice chimed in on his other side. “I love that movie! You’ll like it too.” Vibrant green eyes laughed at him. The heat he felt only around the two of them filled every fiber of his body, for once feeling pleasant.
“Okay, my dorm?” He agreed hastily, his fire side feeling like it might burst into flames at any moment. He moved away from the table, afraid to be so close to wood.
Bakugou spoke before Midoriya could agree. “You two want to sit on the ground for two hours? Just invite me too and I’ll let you use my dorm.”
Shouto nodded, scared that if he spoke more his quirk would lash out.
“What’s wrong with my dorm?” Midoriya muttered into his plate.
”The All Might posters are distracting, and not to mention an eyesore.” Bakugou rolled his eyes.
Midoriya gasped, “you take that back!” The boy leaned in to be closer to Bakugou, hair in petting range.
The blond leaned in just as close. “Fucking make me, nerd,” he snapped back playfully.
Impulsively, he petted them both. While Midoriya instinctively leaned into the touch, Bakugou froze.
Bakugou’s hair was nice to the touch, nothing like a hedgehog. The smack was worth it.
Both of his not-quite-friends enjoyed the movie he picked. Todoroki sat sandwiched between them, close enough to touch. He and Deku both watched Icy-hot more than the movie, loving the look of awe in his eyes. During the end credits the nerd ranted to them about the movie, its director and message.
By the time Deku was done talking, all three of them moved so close together that they touched shoulders.
”I liked the romance between San and Ashitaka, I’ve never seen something like that before.” Todoroki admitted when asked what he thought about the movie.
The nerd nodded. “Miyazaki is really good at portraying romance in that way, we should watch Hauru no Ugoku Shiro if you want to see more. Howl and Sophie are one of my favorite fictional couples- actually we should just watch all of the ghibli movies together.” Deku said, a light blush forming on his cheeks.
He and Todoroki hummed in agreement, and to break the silence that threatened their movie night, the taller boy asked him what he thought about it.
“It’s just a good movie. I like the action scenes.” He didn’t have as much knowledge on animation as Deku had. “But yeah, the romance slaps, as much as I hate agreeing with Deku.”
Seeing the ice-prince smile was a rare occurrence, and every time was a marvel to behold.
It was weird how content he was with this arrangement, his middle school self wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with people like this. His middle school self was also deeply insecure and an asshole, so the opinions of that brat didn’t matter at all.
“San is kinda relatable in that way.” He continued his explanation, the scene where Ashitaka tells San she’s beautiful while the girl is threatening to kill him. It’s kind of what these two being nice to him felt like.
”T-the romance way?” Deku stuttered out, looking at him with wide eyes. Todoroki’s gaze also immediately snapped from the selection menu to him.
The perfect opportunity. “Duh, the fuck else could it be? The ‘I want to protect the forest’ type of way?” He said sarcastically, ignoring the sudden tinge of anxiety spreading through his chest.
“So you have someone you like?” Icy-hot asked directly, leaning closer to his face.
Fuck, shit, too much. “I guess.” He quickly turned his head around. Why did Endeavor’s spawn have to be this pretty? Heterochromic bastard, with his long eyelashes and soft lips. Were they soft? AAARGHHH
“Good for you Kacchan! I hope it works out!” Deku said with a well disguised sadness, a sadness he could only hear because of how long they’ve known each other.
“Good luck.” Todoroki said in his usual monotone voice, one that differed from his previous upbeat (for his standards) tone.
It struck him like lightning. Neither of them thought it could be them, even though it was blatantly obvious they both liked him, even if they weren’t consciously aware of it.
Of course mister childhood trauma and bully victim for ten years didn’t think they deserved love. Fuck, why did he have to call it love?
He pinched the bridge of nose. Katsuki should’ve predicted this. “If it goes on like this it won’t work out.”
Deku climbed over his bed to get next to him. “What? Why?” He asked, ready to play therapist. “How can we help?” Those big emerald eyes looking at him with genuine support.
Never mind, he didn’t have the energy for this bullshit. “Yeah, get your shit together.” Katsuki stood up, ready to abort the mission completely.
Icy-hot grabbed his wrist before he could storm out. “What do you mean?”
Of course Todoroki would be oblivious to his own feelings. “I mean-“ He ripped his arm free, “-that I made it so fucking obvious who I like even you two idiots should be able to put it two and two together and stop being so goddamn insecure!”
He closed the door with a loud bang. It was only then that he realized they did this in his dorm, so where exactly could he storm off to?
Shitty hair it is.
He didn’t even knock, walking in like he owned the place and startling Kirishima in the process. “Oh hey man, how did the movie night go?”
“I hate both of them.”
Shitty hair just gave him a sympathetic smile.
Izuku looked at the closed door with bewilderment. The sudden aggressive outburst was unexpected, seeing how civil they have been these past weeks.
‘Get your shit together’ Kacchan had said, after they offered their help. Why…?
He liked Kacchan, Kacchan probably liked him back, but wasn’t it more apparent that he liked Todoroki more? But, Todoroki seemed to think the same, that he wouldn’t be chosen.
Was getting their shit together realizing which one of them he actually liked? What else could it be?
But he also said that both of them should stop being insecure, so there might be a possibility that he liked them both? Does this mean he wouldn’t have to choose either? Did Todoroki also like them both?
“What was that about?” His classmate asked, face blank.
There was only one way to find out.
Izuku took a deep breath, and then took the other boy’s hand. “Todoroki, I-I like you.” He stuttered out, his face red.
Todoroki smiled lightly. “I like you too, you’re a great friend.” He said, the look in his eyes nothing short of loving.
He felt the urge to sigh. “No, I-I mean like romantically.” His voice almost cracked. Izuku just needed to make the other boy understand so his heart could finally stop racing a million miles per hour. His rushed confession felt a bit wrong, but he thought that it needed to happen. Now he regretted not going after Kacchan first so they could try together.
Todoroki stared at him blankly, like ‘romantically’ was an alien word he had trouble understanding. In a desperate attempt to make him understand, Izuku lifted the hand he was holding and pecked it. “I like you, and I want to go on a date with you.” He cleared up, seeing the taller boy’s pupils dilate after the kiss. He was having heart palpitations, the peck surprising even him.
“But, we’re both boys?” Mismatched eyes gave him nothing but confusion.
Izuku felt a sudden urge to cry at Todoroki’s sheltered upbringing, and punch Endeavor in the face while he was at it. “That doesn’t matter, boys can like boys too, it’s just not that common.” He explained, desperation slipping into his voice the longer this confession went on.
“Oh…” The boy merely replied, but some gears were definitely turning. “Then we should go on a date, to test if I like you too.”
A breath he didn’t know he was holding left his lungs, along with a somewhat hysterical chuckle. Of course Todoroki would say it like that. “Mhm, but don’t you think Kacchan should go too?” He tested the waters, trying to see if they really could make this happen.
Todoroki nodded without hesitation. “Good idea.” The taller boy petted his hair instinctively. “Are you okay with that?”
”I am, I l-like him too…” He admitted with some hardship, a hand still tangled in his hair. “And I think he likes you as well, s-so maybe we could…”
“Mhm.” Todoroki hugged him all of the sudden, rendering Izuku speechless, even though they’ve hugged before. “We should find him then. Isn’t this his room?”
He pushed his new not-yet-maybe-boyfriend away, hoping to catch some air. “I-it is, right.” He would’ve died if that continued longer. He was pathetic when it came to love, and his brain wasn’t used to positive attention just yet. ”He’s probably in Kirishima’s room. But what are we going to say? Wouldn’t it be a bit weird to barge in when Kirishima is still there? Maybe we should get him here first? It would be better, I don’t think Kacchan would accept if anyone else was around to witness it, but then again Kacchan might not accept at all if we pressure him. What if we say it like a challenge? Kacchan can’t say no to a challenge. What kind of date would we even go on? Todoroki, what kind of food do you like? Is there a good movie at the cinema right now?”
When he finally got out of his ramblings, Todoroki just stood there with that same loving expression from before, nodding along. “Aren’t you and Bakugou huge All Might fans? We could watch that new movie.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “You mean the All Might documentary about his first ten years in America? I heard it was actually pretty good, it details his first-“
“We should probably get Bakugou.” Todoroki interrupted his mumbling.
He accidentally did it again. “Sorry, I just-“
“No, it’s fine, I like listening to you. We should get Bakugou first though, he’ll want to hear this too.” The boy assured him.
That didn’t sound right. “Kacchan hates my mumbling though…”
Todoroki tilted his head to the side. “He does? I thought he liked it.” The boy put his hand to his chin, kind of like he was stroking an imaginary beard, looking way too cute for someone with his firepower, pun intended. “Let’s just ask him.” Abruptly he was being led out of the room, the taller boy leading him by his hand gently.
Were they really about to just drag Kacchan back into his own room to listen to a bunch of stuttering and bluntness, asking him out on a date? Is that really a good idea? Maybe they should be more careful?
No, he was not getting cold feet now, he already confessed to one of his crushes, doing it a second time shouldn’t be that bad. Well, his history with Todoroki was a lot less… intense, so maybe that made it easier.
Before he had the chance to voice any of his concerns, Todoroki was already knocking on Kirishima’s door. No backing off now.
Kirishima opened the door, not wide enough to see the inside of his room. “Hey, Todo, Mido, looking for Bakubro? He’s probably downstairs, sorry.”
Weird, Midoriya is usually right.
“Shitty hair, you can’t lie for shit.” He can’t? Shouto should really learn how to read people, it could help with villains in the future. But at least Bakugou was actually there.
The red head took a step back, allowing the blond to speak to them. Kirishima was smiling, and he heard a faint sorry being whispered. “What do ya want?”
He remembered how Midoriya said that it wasn’t the best idea to ask in front of other people, so instead he opted for the thing that worked with his shorter classmate. Shouto took his friend’s hand, while still holding on to Midoriya. “We wanted to talk.” With some amusement he noted that Bakugou also turned red when touched in any way.
Kirishima laughed. “It seems like they figured it out! Good luck bro.” The blond was unceremoniously pushed out of the room, right into his chest.
“Oi! Why did you…” Bakugou shouted back to his best friend, trailing off when he noticed how close their faces were. Shouto liked the proximity, it made his stomach feel warm, his fire side a little hard to control.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw how Midoriya pulled a notebook out of nowhere, simply labeled with the pi symbol, and began scribbling in it.
Bakugou finally pushed him back, scowling deeply. “What did you want to talk about?”
“W-well, would you like to g-go onadatwitus?” Midoriya stammered out with difficulty, the sentence rushed to the point even he had problems deciphering what was said exactly.
”What?” The blond snapped at their friend, who didn’t flinch back.
“He asked if you wanted to go on a date with us.” A quick turn of the head told him all he needed to know.
For a while the Bakugou looked between him and Midoriya, blinking rapidly, all spark gone. Then the blond employed one of his own methods, taking both of their hands and dragging them back to the room they were in just a few minutes ago. The door once again closed with a bang.
”I’ll go.” The boy said, not looking them in the eyes. Bakugou sat down on his bed, eyes fixed solely on the floor.
It made Shouto slightly confused. From what he knew this was how sad people acted, but why would this be sad? Isn’t dating a good thing?
“Are you okay Kacchan?” Midoriya crept closer to the blond, hands easily finding their way to the boy’s shoulders. He decided to follow Izuku’s example, even if his hands felt like they didn’t belong in that position.
“Great, just need to stop myself from murdering both of you.” Bakugou murmured. “How in the hell was it so easy? I could’ve done this month ago.”
That response made Midoriya laugh in that heartwarming way he always did. “Not really, I was clueless until a few days ago.”
He chimed in with his own experience. “I still don’t know, that’s why we’re going on a date.” Bakugou scoffed at that.
“Oblivious idiots, I figured it out ages ago.” The blond bragged. Shouto felt a smile creep on his face. Bakugou really did have to make everything into a competition.
“Sure.” He said dismissively, doing so out of habit. Making Bakugou angry was fun.
“Hah?” The boy snapped at him. ”I did! I’m not blind, unlike you two.” Nothing the blond ever said really affected him in any way, so for him the jab sounded endearing rather than anything actually nefarious.
His hand, resting so inconspicuously on his future date’s shoulder, slipped lower, to the boy’s waist, pulling him closer. “It doesn’t really matter if we’re blind, if you can look for us.”
He liked touching Bakugou’s shoulder, he liked touching Midoriya’s hair, so he did both of those things without either of them protesting it. He wanted to touch them more. Impulsively he acted on that want, pulling both of his classmates into a cuddle. Neither protested this time as well, even if Midoriya did yelp.
The trio cuddled into each other wordlessly, with some trouble fitting on the relatively small bed.
All three thanked Uraraka like she was some higher being, nodding off after not saying a word.
The class found out not even a week later.