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The class often had group dinners. The best cooks of the class, Bakugo, Sato and some helpers, would prepare the meals while the other classmates hung out in the living space.
The so-called Deku squad were playing Clue in the common area, and their more aggressive counterparts played a zombie-fighting video game on the tv.
Their other classmates split off into groups to have their own conversations.
It had been hard for them to be apart after the war. Those who fought in the same group would struggle to have their friends out of sight, constantly worrying about their friends being hurt or fighting.
Some took it much harder than others, especially those who had a hard time showing their emotions.
Iida, while worrying about all of his classmates, found himself always near Todoroki. Kirishima, who usually spent his time with Bakugo, spent his time near Ashido. The AFO duo, who couldn’t go a day without fighting before, now sat back to back while playing their groups game.
The class representative had seemed less uptight. Maybe witnessing first-hand how easily a classmates could be taken from him loosened something in him.
As Iida was zoned out, a cold hand was placed on his leg.
“You good?” the dual-toned boy asked him.
As he nodded, the other, much warmer hand dropped the dice into his own palm.
It wasn’t much longer until the angry boy in the kitchen announced that food was ready.
Everybody took their seats and said their thanks.
Plates were passed around, people filled their bowls, and glasses were poured. Iida plated an arrangement of salmon, miso-salad, and a handful of gyoza.
Everybody had began eating off of their overflowing plates. To his right, Iida noticed Shotos small portion.
It wasn’t anything new. The boy had never eaten a large portion, with the exception of soba. The blue boy always figured he was over worrying about it, that if he was hungry he would grab more. It wasn’t his business anyway.
The dinning room was filled with conversation. Iida was arguing about the possibility of another habitable planet with his classmates. It was fun, he liked when it was like this.
The turbo hero wiped his face and carried the dishes to the sink. While washing off somebody’s plate, he noticed Todoroki running up the stairs.
Was he sick? Maybe a sensitivity to something he ate?
That was his business. The class rep finished cleaning the rest of the dishes and followed suite of the boy.
He knocked firmly on the door. If the boy was in the bathroom, it was important that he could hear.
He heard a toilet flush and the sink run. “Just a sec!” he responded.
Thirty seconds or so and the door calmly opened. His classmate poked out behind the door, gripping the handle and his phone. “Whats up?” he asks, voice creaking.
Had he been crying? Maybe he is sick after all.
Tenya cleared his throat. “Is everything okay, Shoto? Do you maybe need some medicine?” he looked at the other worryingly.
The half-hot boy wiped his eyes. He had never noticed the specks of red that coated the boys glossy staring features.
“It’s fine,” he murmured groggily, beginning to shut the door.
Iida felt the unsteadiness of his voice. He couldn’t just leave him here. He placed his hand between the door and frame.
“Could I come in?”
The smaller looked up at him, seemingly weighing his options. The door creeped open and the boy nodded.
Tenya stepped inside slowly. The two awkwardly sat on the edge of the bed.
They talked for a bit about school and the dorms. It had barely been three minutes when Todoroki released a ‘frog’ sound and ran to the bathroom. Worried, Iida rushed to join him.
The half-hot had tried to shut the door behind him, but Tenya just pushed it back open.
Todoroki was knelt beside the toilet, letting the strands of thick saliva fall from his mouth.
Iida sat beside him, holding his bangs up from his sweaty forehead.
Shoto wiped his mouth and moved against the wall, looking at the class rep. “Sorry, it’s gross.” he told the other.
Tenya smiled. “It’s fine! You’re sick, you can’t help it,” he reached to hold the boys hands. “Do you have any other symptoms? Stomach pain, headaches, anything?”
He watched as the other tried to formulate words, but before anything verbal came out, the same noise happened again, and the other let a second wave out into the bowl.
Iidas lips pulled at the corners of his mouth. He stood up and found the boys water bottle to bring back.
While he was gone, he heard a similar spitting sound again.
He came back to the bathroom and sat against the cabinets. Todoroki wiped his face with toilet paper and flushed the toilet.
He looked at the blue boy with guilt in his face. “I’m sorry,” he diverted his eyes. “It’s usually not this gross.”
Iida held his classmates pruned hand. What could he say? What could he do to make him feel better?
He pulled him in for a hug. “It’s okay.” he repeated, squeezing the smaller tightly.
Todoroki must not have wiped his face good. Tenya felt his shirt get wet.
When he pulled away, he noticed that Shoto was crying. A lot, actually.
Iida wasn’t sure what the right move was. He grabbed the boys hands again and smiled. “Is there something you want to talk about?”
He was hesitant, then nodded, wiping his tear onto his shirts shoulder.
The two returned to the bed. The crying man layered himself in a wrap of blankets. Iida sat not too far from him.
“I’m sick.” he sobbed quietly into the bedding.
Iida rubbed his back.
Shoto wiped his face into the blanket. “I can’t eat anything more than 500 cals without throwing up after. I feel too guilty if I don’t.” his voice cracked periodically throughout. His tears became harder, like a storm. “I don’t want to do it anymore. I just can’t stop!”
Tenya looked at the boys details he should’ve noticed before. The scars on his knuckles, the protruding bones at every joint, the all-too apparent collarbone. But he didn’t, and never would have thought it to be a telltale sign of a disorder.
Iida tried to keep his distance, knowing of the others dislike of touching. “Do you need something? I’ll go get whatever.” The super-sonic was already fixing himself to an easier position to stand.
Shoto grabbed his arm. He lifted his head towards the other and stared through teary eyes. “Please don’t go.”
Iida wasn’t going to leave now. He shifted against the headboard to be closer to the other. As Todoroki wasn’t trying to fight the tears, he leaned back onto the others chest, nuzzling by the shoulder.
Tenya had never seen the boy be this vulnerable with anyone, not even Midoriya.
He loves caring for people, but he had no clue what to do. Naturally his hands would go to the boys back, but if that happened, he didn’t know if he could stop himself from feeling the others poking bones. And besides, what if Todoroki didn’t want too much touch?
As Shoto wrapped his arms around him, Iida knew it was okay. He placed a hand gently into the boys hair, slightly pulling at the nape of his neck.
A minute passed. Then another, and another.
Tenya worked up the courage to speak again. Still playing with the others hair, he gently asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
The half-hot boy dug his head further into his chest, tightening his grip around the larger man’s waist. “I don’t know,” he sighed. “I really want to quit but I don’t know how.”
Just like that he was crying again. This did not make Iida feel better.
Todoroki slid up a little, closer to Iida’s neck than his peck, and mumbled, “He’ll be mad again.”
In an instant, Iida blurted out, “I won’t be mad. It’ll make everybody so happy to see you healthy.”
That was strike two. Iida hadn’t noticed until the boy tensed up that he had said “he” not “you”.
Before the smaller could respond, Iida asked, “Who will be mad?”
Shoto looked away. “Dad.”
Iida had heard some stories about Todorokis family, especially his dad, but this wasn’t something the other ever talked about. He knew about the separation from his siblings, the story behind his mom’s hospitalization, and that his brother was actually Dabi (he didn’t even know Shoto had a dead brother before Gunga).
He softly stroked the others hair.
“I don’t care about him.” Shoto elaborated. “I just don’t want him to get mad at me.”
He hid between the crooks of Iida’s body as he said it, like the idea alone would harm him.
Iida sighed. “Who cares what he thinks?”
The person on his chest looked up at him.
“It’s not like he can choose what you do. You don’t even live with him anymore.” he strengthened his grip on the smaller boy. “I won’t let him do anything about it.” he assured.
The hands beneath him detached from each other and hung themselves on the blue-haired boys neck. The small, defined face met his with a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.” he whispered, letting his head fall beside the others.
Iida’s stomach did a summersault. All he could do was smile as he freaked out.
A light snore came from Todoroki as he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning Iida would make sure he made something good for his friends as breakfast. An omelette maybe, Todoroki liked those.