NOTE: CROSSPOSTED ON AO3

It had only been a few weeks after moving into the UA dorms when something went wrong. Well wrong for Todoroki that was - just for him. Saved special for him. The fact was, Todoroki was sick. Nothing fancy, just sick. He'd woken up feeling kind of crap, like he hadn't got enough sleep or had maybe kept waking up during the night. It made him achy and tired, feelings that sort of made him want to crawl back into bed and try to get a short whiles more shut eye. Wasn't going to happen though because weekdays dictated school - something that he didn't want to miss really because then it would be way to obvious that something was wrong.

Which it was. Not that Todoroki was going to say anything though.

He skipped breakfast, a deep feeling of general 'ick' had settled into his stomach not long after waking up and through his limited experience of being sick, Todoroki knew that the feeling was in no way a pleasant one and any consumption of food would just backfire on him later. It just led him to spending a little more time in his bedroom than socialising with the rest of his class in the morning. Not that he was all that fused, he wasn't much if a morning person to begin with so not having to deal with people was a little bit of a bonus.

He might have enjoyed it a little more if he didn't feel like complete crap - which he did.

Unfortunately.

It had been so long since Todoroki had felt. . . unwell; the whole feeling was completely alien to him. If it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't stupid, he might have been convinced that something was genuinely wrong. Which it wasn't, he probably just caught some run of the mill cold which would pass in a few days. It was a new place after all, people were still getting used to it. And schools were usually the worst places to catch colds. So many people and what not. So no, Todoroki was not that worried. At least not at first.

He'd woken up feeling a little run down, which quickly progressed to severely run down to downright abysmal and regretting turning up to class at all because he just wanted to be back in his own bed and not have to deal with the world. He couldn't do that though, because man flu was totally a thing and if he did, that's what it would seem like. So no, he just pushed through. It was pretty obvious though, because from the way Midoriya kept sideways looking at him meant that clearly, it was quite obvious he was a little more than under the weather. Nobody said anything though, and if they were going to it came out as a frank mumble that Todoroki brushed off - because he was totally not sick. Not at all, not in the slightest.

Yeah, complete bullshit that. He was totally sick.

The day progressed with an agonising amount of slowness so when lunch rolled around, Todoroki felt like he had been stuck in class for a millennium instead of a few hours. The issue was, by that point he felt pretty terrible, the 'I don't want to be here, I feel so sick' kind of terrible. And fuck was that a gross feeling. His stomach was sufficiently bothering him and the prospect of lunch just . . . ugh. No. It did not appeal. It was getting to the point that Todoroki himself was worrying that something was genuinely wrong.

Should he be afraid? Probably not, but the prospect of being sick (or actually being sick) was fucking with his head. His head was spinning that much that he barely processed Midoriya trying to talk to him.

"Are you okay? You don't look so good?"

Yeah, he was just fantastic. Totally 110% awesome. Nothing to worry about. Todoroki answered with a very brief, non-committal form of:

"Yes, I'm okay."

Instead of how he actually felt, which was his how insides felt like they were trying to rip themselves free from their bodily confines. But, y'know, fine managed to relay that information well enough. Todoroki was no idiot, he knew Midoriya didn't believe him, hell he didn't believe himself so why should any other person. But the green haired boy relented and mention something about lunch before heading off, glancing back over his shoulder at Todoroki who hadn't moved from his desk.

Midoriya was probably not the only person to have notice Todoroki's weird behaviour because for somebody who was normally so composed, he sure wasn't. His attention was everywhere except where it was meant to be, he was shivering one second and too hot the next. Fuck, his quirk which was normally so useful, really was trying to kill him from the inside out. It was a wonder how he hadn't actual set himself on fire before then. But everything was okay, he could make it through the afternoon. It was only two periods and then he could go back to his room and lie down. Plus, it was Friday, he had the whole weekend to sleep off whatever this was. He's be just fine by Monday and nobody would have to know.

He didn't join Midoriya or the others for lunch however, that just felt like it would be too much. Todoroki knew that if anything entered his body, it wouldn't las long. The churning in his gut told him that with a strong twinge every now and again and whilst it wasn't agonising, it sure was uncomfortable and Todoroki was not willing to chance his luck. So instead of eating, he stayed in the classroom and placed his head on his desk and decided that an hour or so of sleep might do some sort of good for his spinning head.

Sleeping on a desk as it turned out wasn't that easy and it didn't last long at all. Before Todoroki knew it, people were filing back in and the arduous last leg of school began. The last few hours dragged by and no matter what sort of attempt he gave, he just couldn't pay attention either from the rolling if his stomach or the pain in his head or the constant flip flopping of hot and cold as his own quirk fought with itself, the afternoon was a complete dud and a waste of time. He'd have been better off going back to his room and making up some excuse later than actually sitting through class since he had learned a grand total of 0 things during these last few classes.

The end of the day couldn't come fast enough.

Eventually it did come though and Todoroki could have cried out of happiness if he wasn't so damn tired or icky feeling because by god did he feel terrible. It was maybe in the last half an hour of class his stomach was really beginning to mess with him and if it wasn't the worst thing ever. There was one point where he was pretty much convinced he was going to have to make a mad dash to the closest toilets but the feeling thankfully passed and Todoroki was just left feeling uncomfortable and nauseated - wondering vaguely if the people around him could tell how bad he felt.

Whilst that spell of near-vomit had passed, it didn't mean it was gone entirely because, sure enough just as he was going to walk back to the dorm with Midoriya and co (with some semblance of normality intact, because after all he was just fine), his body decided that then was the perfect time to revolt and Todoroki could barely stifle the groan it caused. He turned on his heels and began to head in the other direction, informing his friends that he'd 'catch up later' and that they 'weren't to wait up' as he made his earlier prophesied mad dash (okay so it was more like a mad speed walk than a dash) to the toilets.

The downside to that being, Friday after schools meant people. And the toilets had people in them, standing about talking and waiting on friends. Todoroki stumbled passed all of them, keeping his head down and his internal organs in place. He locked one of the cubicles behind him and slipped to the floor, praying that he wouldn't throw up knowing that there were people on the other side of the door, all of which would hear him since public toilets were, unfortunately, a thing. He seemed to be doing a pretty good job, mostly by keeping his head between his knees and breathing deeply and deliberately - oldest trick in the book but it worked . . . Kind of.

It didn't completely rid Todoroki of the sick feeling but it made it easier to manage instead of having him curled in on himself and fighting his body for control. Only after he was sure that the last person was gone did Todoroki even let himself making the slightest sound of pain. Keeping that in was a challenging task, but he was alone and could complain as much as he wanted. By then, however, his second wave of intense 'I'm gonna die' nausea had died away into just another uncomfortable twinge and only then did Todoroki feel safe enough to straighten up-

Big mistake.

The moment he moved a sharp pain shot through his abdomen and sent him curling over the toilet, panting heavily as saliva dripped from his lips. So much for the sick feeling passing, it was back with even more vehemence. Todoroki was determined not to throw up though, especially not in school (the thought made him cringe) - he just needed to go back to his own room. His own space. He could make it that far. Waiting for a few more minutes, comfortable enough that he would be okay. Todoroki finally exited the bathroom stall and began to head to his room. The place he actually wanted to be.

The walk was . . . interesting. In that every now and again he'd have to stop, be it from nausea or swirling vision. So, it ended up taking twice as long as it should have. Somehow, he managed to make it back through in one piece though and even before entering the dorms he took a few measured breaths. People would be hanging around the communal area - it was Friday evening after all and Todoroki wanted to pass through without drawing attention to himself. Less people who looked at him the better. It was actually pretty easy, keeping his head down and just heading straight for the lifts actually worked and he managed to make it to his floor without disturbance - it was a small piece of bliss in a relatively annoying day.

Todoroki was so happy to finally be back in his room that all he did was kick off his shoes, undo his tie and take off his blazer before flopping inti the futon he'd conveniently forgot to put away that morning - absentmindedness actually helped for once in his life.

Sleep was even better though.

Fuck.

That was not a good feeling. The previously unhappy feeling in his stomach went from 0 to 100 in a matter of moments and Todoroki was, as fast he could, pushing himself up onto his feet and stumbling towards the bathroom. Normally with a good control over his quirk, he had no issue regulating his body temperature. But sick, heh, that just went out of the window. From hot too cold to somewhere in between sweat and steam poured off him as he pressed a hand to his mouth because if he was going to throw up, he was damn sure it wasn't going to be on the floor. Even when he felt like he was dying, he still had enough dignity for that.

It just was not happening.

Todoroki, thankfully, did make it in time to heave over the toilet. Feeling 100% worse than he had before when he'd been stuck in class. He was shaking, be it from his rapidly fluctuating temperature or the fact that he hated getting sick - well who really liked it. The gross, unsettling feeling it left reminded him too much of . . . past experiences and he hated it. Plus, it wasn't like it happened often - his immune system was usually top notch. But nope, not today it seemed because his body was intent on getting rid of every last thing in his stomach. Because, by god, was he so sick.

Maybe this was the universes way if punishing him for not getting sick. Forcing him onto his hands and knees with little chance to breathe before his body was once again shaken with tremors and heaves. It was agony as the blood thrummed through his skull, pounding in his ears, his fingernails scratching at the floor. Wrapped up in a bubble of an unimaginable feeling of pure sickness and ache. Todoroki was so caught up in his own world that he barely registered somebody else entering the bathroom - funny since it was a communal area and he should have maybe expected it. On the other hand, though, he also didn't expect to still be in the bathroom 20 minutes after he had got there.

He could feel the presence of whoever was there outside of the locked door - he had locked it right, it wasn't something he could remember - as they stood there, maybe embarrassed or grossed out because the sounds of somebody throwing up was not exactly nice. Todoroki on the other hand was probably just as embarrassed, if not more since he was the one causing that awkward silence and he just prayed that whoever was there would go away without saying anything and his identity would remain anonymous (not exactly wanting to be known as the first guy who threw up in the dorm bathroom) or if was somebody who he had enough confidence wouldn't say anything (like Tokoyami maybe).

Todoroki would have to leave eventually though. He just wanted to go back to bed and sleep for the rest of the weekend, which meant unlocking the door and possibly facing whoever was there (unless they had gone. God, he hoped they were gone because, ugh, facing somebody just after he had thrown up was not exactly something he wanted to do).

Taking a few measured breaths, Todoroki steadied himself as he stood. He wasn't shaking as bad and at least had more control over how his temperature was acting, on top of that his stomach didn't flip dramatically which, probably, meant he wasn't going to have some unsightly repeat performance of what just happened. Unlocking the door (thank god for that) Todoroki was met with . . .

Nobody.

Whoever had been there was gone. Praise for that one - just meant one less awkward foot shuffling conversation of;

'Are you okay'

'Yes'

'Are you sure because . . .' cue awkward trailing off as Todoroki hastily made his way back to his room. Well, he did that anyway, too tired to care how he probably looked like a zombie stumbling back to his room. He would have made it had his legs not decide to just 'nope' in the middle of the corridor and he stumbled sideways, throwing out a hand to try and stop himself from crashing into the wall. It would have worked if he was completely healthy but half delirious from spending nearly half an hour with his face shoved down the UA plumbing kind of meant he missed the wall and ended up hitting the deck regardless.

God, it was just not his day, was it? He just wanted to sleep and not have to deal with anything for a while. Was that too much to ask! Todoroki was content with sitting against the wall for a few moments. He was dizzy and tired and generally felt like he had been thrown off a building or blown up by Bakugou a few times - his room was only a few short feet away, he could make that! Even if he had to friggin crawl and by the (lack of) progress he was making. It seemed like the viable option.

That was until the universe decided to send him an angel (if angels wore bright red boots that was) in the form of Midoriya. Who just kind of materialised or he could have been there the whole time, Todoroki really didn't know (or care to be honest) he was, just a little, thankful that Midoriya had turned up at all. Then again it was Midoriya who worried like nothing else - which was exactly what he did.

"Todoroki! Are you okay?"

It was probably more panicked than Todoroki would have liked, he wasn't dying. His body had just decided to hate him for a short while. Not that he was going to say any of that, he was so close to just spitting out his whole 'yeah, I'm okay' spiel because he just wanted to be left alone. But by the look in Midoriya's eyes, he knew that was just not going to fly with him - especially since he was . . . well . . . stuck.

"Well, not really. Can you help me up?" Todoroki forced out weakly suppressing a sigh. He still wasn't good at the whole accepting help thing - especially when sick. God, what if he got Midoriya sick because of it. That wouldn't be fair! Midoriya didn't seem to care though since he very quickly helped pull Todoroki to his feet before quickly spilling out about going to see Recovery Girl - which Todoroki was not having in the slightest. Having Midoriya know he was sick was bad enough, let alone more than one person. He just wanted sleep

"No, please. Can you just help me to my room," Todoroki insisted.

"Are you sure. You'd probably be better off-' Todoroki cut him off.

"I'd rather be in my own room to sleep this off. I'll be better tomorrow."

Midoriya was, unsurprisingly, unconvinced but did it anyway (which Todoroki silently thanked him for) and helped the sick teen along to his bedroom. Todoroki dropped onto his bed and rolled himself into his blankets, barely hearing Midoriya say something about getting him water because by the time his bedroom door was shut, Todoroki wad dead asleep.

Double fuck.

When Todoroki awoke a few hours later he was in fact not feeling better. If anything, he was feeling 100% worse, worse than worse. Downright awful. He was dying. He had to be, there was no other way to describe the way he was feeling. Hot, grimy, sticky and his stomach was swirling in an uncomfortable mess that could only spell disaster. He had to get up from his bed because he knew what was coming and just like last time, he was still wanting to not have it be in his bedroom.

An issue with that, however, was that the moment Todoroki tried to get up and move his body just didn't. It felt like he was being pulled in two different directions as his vision swayed and his head pounded. Fuck, he was not feeling good. Fuck, he was pretty sure something was seriously wrong. Just, why! Why did that have to happen? Todoroki tried to pull himself up again but all he did was stumble and end up back on the floor again. The impact from the fall sent a jolt through Todoroki's body and he retched - hard. Before he even knew what was happening he threw up a little onto his bedroom floor.

Great. Just fucking great. There went his last shred if dignity. Todoroki, however, wasn't occupied with that as his stomach still rolled, his head pounded and he was pretty sure, in the fug if his mind, he was pretty close to passing out. Though, at that point, it might have been the more preferable option instead of suffering through whatever was going on with his body.

Coughing and retching again, Todoroki, this time, managed to crawl towards the bin he had placed by his door and pull it close enough to him to cough up whatever he had left in his body. Which was not a lot, it mostly consisted of bile and water. All sort of sustenance had had earlier was long gone now. And god if that just didn't make him feel even worse. Heat and cold were rolling off him in waves and he knew that it was not a good thing. He wasn't that in control earlier of his quirk which was bad enough but in the brief moment of clarity he had, he was able to use it to a minimal effect - now, nope, completely out of the window. He was stuck in a vortex torn between cold and heat and something in between, feeling like he was stuck in a broken AC unit.

He needed help, that much Todoroki knew. There was no way he was okay any more. Between the fluctuating heat and vomiting, he was definitely not fine. He was way beyond the point of fine. So much for sleeping it off and being okay later on, that was how it usually went. But not this time. Breathing heavily, Todoroki pushed himself up against the wall next to the window. He needed to calm down, he was fine. There was nothing to worry about. This would all blow over and he would be just fine. Another day and he would be as right as-

Todoroki threw up again, or rather went through the motion of doing so but only ended up with saliva running down his chin which he was too weak (or didn't care enough about) to wipe off. No, he was not okay and he needed help. His phone was sitting only a stretch away from him, maybe he could call somebody. Ask them to help out . . . but who? He hadn't told anybody and as far as he knew he had been pretty good at hiding his illness from the rest of his class . . . Wait a moment. Todoroki sighed, it just had to be him.

Midoriya.

The only person who knew he was sick. Bracing himself, he leant over to grab his phone and pulled it towards him despite how much the action sent his head spinning which made it very hard to seek out Midoriya's contact number and send a simple one word text:

'Help'

Dropping his phone next to him, Todoroki pulled his knees towards him, folding them up and rested his head on them. His stomach was still rolling but it was more of an uncomfortable feeling than anything else. He was just so damn exhausted. Sure, he had felt shitty earlier but this was a whole other kettle of fish. It was a deep set, aching exhaustion that he hadn't felt in a long time and it left him feeling hollow and shaky. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there when he heard his bedroom door click open. Midoriya got the message then - great.

Todoroki could barely make out what Midoriya was saying to him but it was fast and alarmed. Did he really look that bad? Maybe he did - it wasn't like Todoroki had any way if telling whether he did or not. Midoriya was still talking to him, but Todoroki barely had the energy to raise his head or answer. When he did, he could see Midoriya's worried expression soften.

"I don't think I'm okay," Todoroki admitted finally, there were tears rolling down his face which he couldn't really stop. Midoriya was talking again and Todoroki could make out the words

"Help" and "Be back"

With that Midoriya vanished again and Todoroki could barely comprehend where he could be going. He was so tired. His vision fading in and out, slight darkness permeating the edges. He felt sick again but his body had nothing else to give so he just dissolved into body shaking coughs, slumping to the aide, all energy he had gone into the void of space. Todoroki was barely keeping his eyes open when his bedroom door swung open again and a couple of people entered his room. He had no idea who it was, but all he knew was that one second he was lying on his floor, the smell of sick making him feel worse than he already did, with his head spinning, and the next he was being lifted up, his body feeling very heavy.

The last thing Todoroki could remember was Midoriya's concerned face and then . . . Nothing.

Todoroki was sick of waking up because he knew that it was just going to lead to something bad. Probably. That's how it had been for the last whole. He really didn't want to open his eyes, he could feel the world spinning even with his eyes shut. But . . . despite that, he still felt better than he had before - the weight on his chest was less than it had been and his turning stomach was a barely noticeable pain. Suffice to say he was feeling a little better than he had been for a long while.

Once he had grown accustomed to his new-found wakefulness, Todoroki let his eyes flutter open. The ceiling he was staring at . . . wait. Ceiling? Oh yeah, he had been taken from his room, hadn't he? Probably what happened since he'd been lifted by somebody, everything had been such a blur all he could remember was being tired, feeling sick, being sick and generally giving up. Fuck that was embarrassing and he'd subjected Midoriya to that - he'd need to apologise at some point. Right then, however, he was just tired.

Sighing a little, Todoroki went to sit up but a small hand pushed him back down. Looking leftwards, Todoroki caught sight of recovery girl sitting close by to him. Oh, so he was in the school infirmary, that made sense considering everything that happened – Midoriya would have made sure of that. Probably explained why he was in a bed too. God this couldn't get any worse, could it? Midoriya seeing him sick and now being in the school's infirmary, all he wanted was to be left alone but nope. That hadn't happened. He just wanted to be back in his own bed, not that it was going to happen any time soon with what had happened. On top of that he was pretty sure his legs wouldn't carry him if he tried - resigned to a gate of being watched over.

"How are you feeling?"

How to answer that now? Honest, say he felt like complete shit and then probably be fussed over because apparently, that's what you were meant to do or lie and say he felt fine, hope for the slim chance he would be let back to his own room and pray that he would just be left alone. After the last time though, Todoroki felt like his lie would not go down well and resigned himself to whatever was to come his way.

"I've been better," Todoroki admitted.

Anything after that could have been white noise, his mind slipping and sliding, concentration waning fast, bits and pieces of conversation and mildly annoyed muttering.

'High fever,' and 'improper care' and 'asking for help' and a manner of other things Todoroki knew he had neglected to care about because that's just the way he was. And normally he was fine, didn't need to worry about it. But god he was still damn tired. Fever must have been completely wrecking his system if he couldn't deal with it just on his own, what use was a quirk that could regulate your temperature when it didn't work - useless. And if that wasn't how Todoroki half felt. Completely drained and useless. But, really, he didn't care all that much.

Flu. Fucking flu.

That's what took him down. Such a trivial and stupid thing that normally passed him by (a lot of things that normally went right sure hadn't l gone right that time around) took him down to a shivering, crying, vomiting mess. Fucking flu! If the rest if it wasn't embarrassing enough, the fact it was flu. Fuck, he never wanted to come in contact with it ever again if that's what it did to him. How did people survive?

He had been stuck in the infirmary fir a few days, regaining what strength had left him over the time he'd been unwell but even after he was mostly recovered, he was still pretty wobbly but at least well enough to be allowed back to his own room. It was during Monday classes so he didn't have to worry about bumping into classmates (because no doubt the message of Todoroki Shouto, one of the strongest in the class, being hospitalised basically would have spread like wildfire). He just wanted to hide away for another day or so before returning to the rest of the world with his dignity somewhat intact. Sure, he'd have to face Midoriya again (and apologise. Definitely apologise) but at least life would go back to normal and he could put the whole awful experience behind him.

Todoroki had made it back to his room and was curled up in his bed, eyes fluttering shut at random intervals. Sleeping during the day was not something he would ever become accustomed too but he'd been sleeping so much over the last few days that it was a wonder he could do any more. He just about falling asleep when there came a soft knock on his bedroom door. Dragging himself up, Todoroki crossed the room and pulled open the door to see Midoriya standing in front of him. His school uniform was on so he'd probably came straight from class.

Well, looks like he'd be apologising sooner than he thought he would get to.

"How're you feeling?" Midoriya asked. Apologies would have to wait then?

"Better . . . Tired but better."

"Yeah, you're looking a lot better," Midoriya laughed a little nervously. "I'm glad you're feeling better though."

"Yeah . . . That's true." Sure was true, Todoroki was so done with feeling sick. "I . . . Uhm . . . Just want to apologise for the other day."

Midoriya frowned suddenly. "Apologise? For what."

For what? Heh, funny question that. For freaking him out, throwing up on the floor (which had mysteriously been cleaned up in the days he was missing) not saying anything, crying in front of him, freaking the fuck out and generally being a complete mess. What to apologise for. Todoroki didn't say any of that though and instead opted for a simple.

"Scaring you like that."

Midoriya smiled softly and it was Todoroki's turn to frown. Why was he smiling?

"It was a little scary. But I didn't mind helping and you were really sick Todoroki."

How sick was he? The past few days were a blur of pain, sickness, tiredness and unconsciousness. So, what did he have to say about it? Midoriya was still softly smiling and he looked up towards Todoroki.

"Do you want me to bring some dinner along for you? Just so you don't need to deal with all the questions. Everybody was wondering what happened to you but I didn't really want to tell them."

"Only if it's not a bother."

Midoriya sighed. "It's not. And you're not. Seeing you lime that was scary but not because you were sick but because I didn't do anything when I saw you before. You just need to ask for help sometimes. It's never going to be a bother."

How did Todoroki ever deserve somebody like Midoriya in his life? It was beyond him. He watched the shorter boy head back to his own room to change no doubt before shutting the door to his own room and sliding to the floor. Midoriya was right, he should have asked for some help. There was no harm in that.

At least he had Midoriya though. That was enough for now.

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