Chapter Text
Shoto thought he could get through the battles as he had always done, no need for his left side. He knew his father was in the crowd, he had seen the vivid flicker of his flames for just a moment. It was still a moment too long, though, and it had sent him into a vicious spiral right after the second part of the tournament. He had only used his right side up until that moment, and he was actually starting to doubt he could win that way. No, I can't start thinking about this. He had to win using only his ice. He was sufficiently powerful as it was, no need for fire. Really.
And there also was another problem.
Midoriya had won the marathon and he had managed to get through the second part of the tournament, much to everyone's surprise. Shoto knew, logically, that there were other people he should have been worrying about - hell, there was Bakugou, the first of class 1-A at the moment, but it wasn't him he was thinking about.
No, Shoto was thinking about Midoriya. The green-haired boy was undoubtedly strong, everyone could see his potential, but his strength was basically useless at the state he was in currently. He couldn't control his quirk and every time he used it he ended up breaking every bone in his body. He was smart, but he was just… inferior. He lacked control and experience and he was destined to fail.
Despite this, Midoriya was one of the only sixteen first years to advance to the last stage of the tournament. He had beaten Shoto in the marathon at the last moment.
He couldn't let that happen again.
So Shoto stopped him and they talked. Midoriya just stared blankly at him when he asked if he was somehow related to All Might - so maybe that wasn't really the case. But there still had to be something Shoto was missing about him, because nothing made sense about his classmate, and without even realizing he was talking about his father and his childhood. Midoriya listened closely the entire time. And then he said something about fire being his quirk, not his father's.
He didn't really think about it, shoving whatever he was feeling at the moment deep down to keep his mind clear in the perspective of the upcoming battles.
He did end his talk by saying he was going to win against Midoriya, though. And he intended to do so using just his ice. He wasn't going to give his father any satisfaction, he repeated to himself.
His first battle ended in the blink of an eye, thanks to his ice immobilizing Sero almost immediately. Before that, Midoriya had also won his first battle. That meant the next time they'd enter the stage, the battle would be between them.
He suppressed a shiver.
Finally the time came. Shoto fought against Midoriya, he fought and he fought, but somehow the other boy was still steady on his feet. He wasn't uninjured, much the contrary - both his arms and all of his fingers were quickly turning purple. It was almost painful to watch - Shoto was on the verge of asking Midnight to just put an end to the duel and spare Midoriya all that hurt - but the boy wasn't going to give up.
"What, you think you can win the tournament without giving it your all?" Shoto jolted when he heard his classmate shouting at him. He wanted him to use his fire. Impossible. That would have been like submitting to his father.
But. Shoto couldn't lose. And what Midoriya had said came back all over again: that was his quirk. His quirk only, not his father's.
That was a comforting thought that unexpectedly calmed his nerves while he unleashed all the power he could, flames of his own erupting from his left side.
Obviously, he won the fight.
Shoto didn't think about Midoriya's broken bones, his purple fingers limp and his battered body. He really didn't. But he couldn't help wondering, if only for a moment, if he had really just caused all that damage to his body to help him overcome his issues.
The tournament kept going, and then came the final. Shoto was against Bakugou, finally, and in the end he lost, not even trying to use his fire.
Later on, staring at the silver medal hanging off from around his neck, he couldn't bring himself to think about anything else other than Midoriya.
That boy barely even knew him, and he managed to get Shoto to use his fire without thinking about his father. That was… something. Shoto couldn't think of a word to describe what he was feeling, but for the first time, he felt the need to make someone his friend.
—
Shoto wasn't good at making friends. He didn't know how to approach people, what to say, when to laugh. Luckily for him, Midoriya was the epitome of a social butterfly and, after the tournament, it was the green-haired boy that started talking to Shoto. It was a slow process, but Shoto ended up getting included in the so-called "Dekusquad". His classmates started talking to him from time to time and it seemed almost natural to sit with Midoriya at lunch, alongside with Iida and Uraraka.
Shoto kind of hated the way Midoriya made him feel. Before him, Shoto was happily doing good at being alone, and he had never felt the need for any friend. And there he was, slowly forming a relationship so strong it was starting to scare him. He hated that he loved being with his friend.
So when the internship week arrived, he felt relieved. Sure, he was going to spend an entire week working for his father, but that also meant he was going to be far from Midoriya. He felt a bit bad thinking about it that way, but he also needed a pause from everything that was changing. A pause from his feelings, in a way. Even just thinking about all of that as feelings scared the shit out of him. After all, feelings weren't accepted in the Todoroki's house.
The days started to pass. One, two. It was a quiet evening in Hosu. His father, Endeavor, wanted to catch the hero killer, the villain Stain, so they were just patrolling the streets, waiting for something.
That something came when it was already dark. Suddenly the ground beneath him was shaking, and the dark night sky was illuminated by multiple explosions. Endeavor just shot him a look and they both started running towards the source of the fire, while civilians ran the other way screaming and crying.
They were pretty close when Shoto's phone dinged once. He remembered in that moment that Iida was doing his internship right there at Hosu, and he thought that just maybe it was him. Maybe it was something important. Or maybe it was Midoriya, but that wasn't really a possibility, Shoto was just always thinking about him. He didn't stop running while he fished his phone from his pocket and he turned it on.
There was a single notification. Shoto stopped abruptly when he read Midoriya's name on the screen. It was a message on the class group chat, simply containing a set of coordinates. Uh.
Shoto quickly put the coordinates on the maps app, and was surprised when the location was only a few minutes from where he was at the moment.
"Shoto!" his father growled and looked at him impatiently. "Put away that goddamn phone!"
Shoto had only a few seconds to think, but it was enough to make his decision.
"I have to go, my friend might be in trouble. When you finish with the villains send someone at this address" Shoto sent the location to his father's phone and didn't even wait for his reaction. He just ran, heart beating so fast he could hear it, thinking about the endless possibilities. What did that cryptic message even mean? Why was there no explanation? Shoto thought that Midoriya wasn't the type to just text people things and not explain. So why, why, why…
He just hoped Midoriya was doing okay.
Please be okay.
—
Midoriya was not doing okay. Shoto swore in his mind at the sight of his friend on the ground, unmoving. There were two other corpses, one that he immediately reconnected to Iida. What the fuck is happening? Shoto didn't really have the time to think, he just unleashed his ice to create a wall between his friends and the villain who was walking towards them with a sharp knife in his hand.
Shoto ran to Midoriya, checking for any injury. He didn't find much, except from a small cut and a few drops of blood. Then he took a second look around and saw that the alley was covered in so much blood. He shivered.
"Todoroki!" Midoriya called him like he was a savior coming to rescue him. "It's the hero killer! His quirk makes him able to paralyze anyone just by drinking their blood, don't let him cut you!"
Shoto's thoughts ran frantically. So he was in front of one of the most feared villains of the moment, he had three people to protect who couldn't move a single muscle, one of which was arguably becoming really important in his life.
Yeah, he was fucked.
He should have just ran back and searched for help. His father could help. But… leaving them alone… he didn't want to come back and find Midoriya in a pool of blood, his heart not beating.
Shoto shuddered. He had to be strong and wait for his father to come search for him.
He had to fight with everything he had. The life of three people now depended on him.
Stain charged against him, Shoto avoided him and sent his ice against the villain. The cycle repeated once or twice, and then he heard Midoriya scream. "Todoroki! Watch out!"
Right after that two knives penetrated into his left arm. Shoto saw the blood starting to flow out, gritted his teeth and pulled out the knives. Fuck. He couldn't think about the pain, not now. Don't be useless.
He searched for Stain with his eyes and found him coming at him faster than before. He couldn't escape, not this time.
Was this the end?
"Todoroki!" Midoriya's voice shook him. He saw his petite figure running at an ungodly speed and throwing Stain meters away with his quirk, just before he could reach him. "Todoroki, are you okay?"
Shoto nodded. He just didn't have to think about his arm. "You can move now?"
"Yeah" Midoriya answered. He turned to face Stain, while quick glimpses of green light bolted around him. That was his quirk… but it was different from before, Shoto thought absentmindedly. It was mesmerizing, in a way.
"..or this means that the effect changes with the person's blood type" Shoto didn't grasp what Midoriya was talking about, lost in his thoughts for just a moment.
Stain at this point started laughing. "You got it right, little hero."
Midoriya casted a glance at Shoto, and they both took position in front of Iida and the other paralyzed person. They didn't listen to Iida's pleas to just run away and not interfere in his battle, they didn't falter against a villain like Stain. They started fighting together and, despite the horrible situation, Shoto felt like something was coming into place.
—
Shoto was staring at the tied man they had beaten. Him, Midoriya and Iida had managed to knock Stain out, and now that the pro heroes were on the scene, everything was going to be okay.
He was just thinking this when an inhuman sound came from above their heads.
Everyone glanced up at the sky, but no one saw the Nomu coming until the last moment, Shoto didn't see it until the creature had already taken Midoriya with him.
"No!" Maybe it was him who screamed, or maybe not, he couldn't really think much. It was happening too fast. He saw Midoriya kicking and screaming, trying to make the Nomu let go of his hold on him, without success. And then he felt a movement beside him, and Stain was suddenly free of the ropes and running towards the Nomu and Midoriya. He fought the Nomu and with just a single move he knocked it out, both the monster and Midoriya falling to the ground.
Shoto could hear his friend's strangled breathing and his yell when Stain put a foot on him. Midoriya couldn't do much other than trash around, unable to get Stain off of him.
Stain then turned around, releasing Midoriya. He started marching towards the group of heroes, yelling and laughing. He wasn't doing anything, he hadn't drank anyone's blood, but that didn't matter because no one was able to lift a finger against the hero killer. There was something in the air, something in his eyes, something that made Shoto's knees buckle as he fell to the ground, followed by everyone else.
He had never felt fear like that. He had never felt so powerless, looking at Midoriya still on the ground and trying to stabilize his breathing.
And then Stain stopped in his steps, falling to the ground with a short gasp. He didn't move.
Shoto was the first one to regain control, as he propped himself up and ran to Midoriya. His friend was still laying on the street, a few meters behind Stain, his eyes wide with an expression Shoto had never seen on him. But then again, he probably was making an expression similar to that himself.
"Midoriya" he mumbled, kneeling beside the boy, "are you hurt? Can you stand up?"
His friend was still looking at Stain's still body, seemingly in his own world. Shoto snapped his fingers, trying to make Midoriya concentrate on him.
"No" he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before looking at Shoto. "I didn't get hurt. He… he saved me. I…"
"Don't think too much" Shoto tried to smile. He wanted to see Midoriya smile as he always did. He didn't like that expression on his face. "The ambulance is arriving in a moment. We're all okay."
Midoriya nodded and closed his eyes again, moving his hand until his fingers brushed lightly Shoto's. The other boy didn't move, just watching over his friend.
—
Some time had passed after the whole Stain thing. Shoto and the others had returned to UA, they attended lessons, they trained, they studied. The final exam of the first term was coming soon and everyone had to concentrate on studying.
Which was the reason why Shoto didn't expect Midoriya to stop him after their last lesson of the day and ask shyly if he wanted to drop by his house the next day.
"I was thinking that we could study together," Midoriya said. "You know, ehm, you're really good at maths and maybe I could use a bit of help on that. In return I can help you with history! I'm kind of good at that!"
Shoto stared at him for a bit, then nodded, trying to keep his expression neutral. "That's actually a good idea. Just send me your address and I'll be coming by tomorrow morning."
Midoriya smiled, his eyes shining bright while he sent Shoto a text with all the information. Shoto couldn't help but allow a little smile to form on his face too. He just… Midoriya was adorable when he was like this.
Shoto tried to not think about that for too long.
It didn't hit him until much later that Midoriya was top of the class in nearly every single subject and didn't really need help in maths of all things.
—
He shouldn't have said yes. He should have just said something along the lines of, "sorry I have to train tomorrow and then the day after and then all the days after that until I drop dead on the ground so we can't see each other really sorry", but no, he was so entranced by Midoriya that now he was standing a few inches from his door.
Shoto could feel his heart beat, loud and dangerously unsteady, threatening to jump out of his chest. He didn't even know why he was feeling this way, they were just going to study together for a few hours and then he would go back home, then they would see each other again on monday at school and everything would be normal.
Right?
He didn't even feel his arm going up and his hand folding to knock on the door; he just saw the door instantly opening in front of him and green curls popping up in his view.
Midoriya was wearing casual clothes and only at that moment Shoto realized that he had never seen him in something that wasn't a uniform or a hero costume. His slim figure was completely engulfed in a grey hoodie, definitely too big on him, but it made him look so cute. He wore matching grey sweatpants; those were a bit small for him, barely reaching his calves.
"Uhm" Midoriya was staring at him, an expression Shoto couldn't quite place on his face, "Come in! I was just making pancakes, if you haven't eaten breakfast of course."
Shoto's stomach growled like he had been summoned by those few words and he snickered, embarrassed. He entered the apartment, leaving his shoes at the entrance. "I think I'll gladly eat one."
Midoriya seemed to beam at him and ran to the kitchen, leaving Shoto behind to catch up to him. The green-haired boy immediately got to work, a sweet fragrance lingering in the room.
Shoto sat in a chair next to the small table and just watched him move around in the kitchen.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Midoriya had two plates in his hands and he was coming to the table with a small smile on his face.
"I hope it's not too sweet," he said while placing one of the plates in front of Shoto, "I think I put too much sugar, sorry."
Shoto reassured him and took a bite. "Thank you, Midoriya. I like them."
The boy next to him smiled brightly. Shoto adored that smile. "Oh that's good! Uhm."
Well, now the silence wasn't as comfortable as before. Midoriya was staring at Shoto, his cheeks becoming a darkest shade of red every second.
"Midoriya, are you alright?" Shoto was starting to feel his cheeks heat up too, but he tried to concentrate.
"Yes yes sorry! It's just, uhm.. maybe we should move to my room and get started on homework?"
Shoto nodded and got up to put the now empty plate in the sink. Midoriya mirrored him and then started to make his way to what Shoto supposed had to be his bedroom. His suppositions were proven right almost instantly, when Midoriya pushed the door open to a room that was basically a sacred altar to All Might.
There were posters basically everywhere. The bed cover, the sheets, the pillows were All Might themed, and dozens of action figures were scattered all around the room on different shelves. In a corner of the room Shoto saw weights and some gym equipment, all tucked into a carton box.
Midoriya fished out a book from his backpack on the ground and sat on his bed. "Todoroki, do you want to start with maths?"
Shoto almost jumped at the sound of the other boy's voice. He was inspecting every single inch of the room, searching for something to help him understand Midoriya just a bit. He wanted to know him like he had never wanted to know anyone else. That was definitely new, but now his head was filled with questions about his new friend. Why was Midoriya so dead set on becoming his friend? Why did he break his hands just to help him get over some issues? Why didn't Shoto even feel the need to think twice before running to help him? Why why why.
Those questions had to wait. "Sure."
—
When he was with Midoriya, Shoto felt light. He didn't have to think about anything, his friend talked enough for the both of them to occupy their time. He honestly didn't mind all his rambling about pro heroes, quirks and training. Sometimes he listened with attention, giving his input here and there, everytime gaining a wide smile in return. There were other days where he didn't have the mental capacity to keep up with Midoriya's explanations, but hearing his voice worked wonders on his nerves, and if the other was offended he never showed it.
—
When he was with Midoriya, though, sometimes Shoto felt something else. Something like his stomach turning upside down and his brain thinking weird things, like how I wish to see him smile and I want to pet his hair it seems so soft and I wonder what it's like to hold hands - not that he would actually do anything with him, of course. When he started to think those things he shut his thoughts up and tried to do something else.
Once during lunch at UA he had to whip out his phone and start texting Fuyumi, asking her what she had taught to her children that day, in order to keep his mind occupied, because for some unknown reason he had started thinking about Midoriya's hands and couldn't stop.
Shoto didn't have a normal childhood and so he was never sure how to navigate relationships and socialization. But he wasn't that dense to not understand what he was really feeling.
He didn't really know if his crush for Midoriya was a good thing or not.