Todoroki awoke with a start, frost covering the right side of his face. Breathing rapidly, he wiped the sweat off his brow and melted the ice with a swipe of his right hand, then sat up in his bed, looking around. Relief spread through his body and he relaxed, somewhat. He wasn't in his old home. His father wasn't here. He was safe.

Gingerly, he reached for his phone to check the time - 3:24 a.m. Well, he's not getting back to sleep anytime soon. Might as well do something to occupy himself.

He descended the stairs as quietly as he could, the last thing he wanted was someone like Ashido or Kaminari to wake up and bombard him with questions. He didn't dislike them, not at all, but he just didn't want to be around anyone - especially not someone who'd bother him trying to get all the details of why in the world he'd be awake this time of night on a school night. The only person he'd be grateful to spend time with at the moment would be someone like Tokoyami or Koda since they'd respect his boundaries and offer quiet but pleasant company. He would rather do anything but talk about his personal problems.

Todoroki rounded a corner into the kitchen and stopped abruptly in his tracks. Midoriya was clutching a mug with what he assumed was tea, his posture tense as he appeared to be startled by the taller teen entering so abruptly.

Midoriya could kind of be added to the short list of people he trusted not to pry into his problems, Todoroki thought bemusedly. Sure, he was the one who sacrificed his body and victory back in the Sports Festival just to get change Todoroki's entire outlook on his Quirk and his father, the main sources of trauma in his life… But he was a great friend, despite his nosy yet kind-hearted nature.

Todoroki mumbled a quiet greeting to the green haired teen, opened a cupboard and fished around for a mug for himself. Truth be told, Midoriya was without a doubt his closest friend at Yuuei. Since the Sports Festival, Todoroki has felt nothing but gratitude towards him; now, when he uses his fire, he doesn't see the image of his father's flames burning intensely, he doesn't feel his skin searing as it burned, he doesn't hear the distressed cries of his mother. At least, not all the time.

Right now, as he heated his cup of tea with his left palm, he winced and nearly dropped it as he saw Endeavor's disapproving scowl in his mind. He thought to himself, Don't let Midoriya see you like this. He may be good company but you don't need him worrying and meddling again.

"Todoroki-kun? Is everything okay...?" He spoke up, voice soft and curious. "Why are you awake so early?"

Todoroki finished making his tea and he sat down across from his classmate, avoiding eye contact as his hair partially swept over his eyes. "It's nothing. I could ask you the same thing, though, Midoriya." He replied in a flat tone, sighing. Midoriya pouted, wishing for a reply. Todoroki shifted his gaze to look at him when he didn't reply, and he considered spilling the tea - metaphorically, of course - when he saw his friend's freckled face frown in such a cute way.

Cute...? What?

He averted his eyes as his mind suddenly went on red alert. Cute? Seriously? Where'd that even come from? He'd never thought of anyone as cute before.

Todoroki supposed he was just tired and delusional.

Before going to Yuuei, Midoriya spent his free observing heroes and villains. He took notes on every detail possible, thoroughly analyzing each situation and ensuring it was preserved in his mind by documenting it in his dozen or more notebooks.

He didn't miss a single detail.

He deduced that something was wrong with Todoroki the minute he entered the room.

Midoriya had hoped that offering a pouty frown might get him to indulge the details on what was upsetting him but to no avail. Sighing, he fumbled with the strings of his hoodie. "We're friends, Todoroki-kun, I don't like seeing you upset..."

He sighed deeply, then met his eyes again. "Fine. You tell me why you're awake, and maybe I'll... Consider talking about it. I don't particularly want to."

Midoriya then began to frantically wave his hands about in front of his face. "I-um! I-It's nothing like that! I mean, you didn't even i-imply anything, I mean, u-uh, I just have trouble sleeping s-sometimes, I, um, tried to sleep earlier, b-but couldn't, so I just came downstairs s-so I wouldn't be bored, uh..."

"I understand. You won't tell me, so I won't tell you either." Todoroki said coldly, pun unintended, then stood up suddenly as his chair screeched loudly on the floor. He had no intention of spilling his feelings out in the first place, and he certainly wasn't in the mood to listen to lies. Midoriya stood up after him, latching onto his arm before he could walk away. He wouldn't let him leave, not before fixing things. They can't have their friendship left off on a sour note, after all. "Don't get the wrong idea, Todoroki-kun! I'm sorry for lying... I would tell you if I could. I promise."

Never before had Midoriya wished he could tell someone about One For All so much.

Todoroki, surprised by the sudden contact, gently pulled on his arm after listening to him. Midoriya quickly released it, and to his relief, the taller hero-in-training sat back down, so he followed his example. "And if you don't want to talk about it, then that's okay. I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything." Green eyes glinting in the light, he offered a small smile. "Just know that I'm always here when you need it, Todoroki-kun."

As the fire and ice user stared into Midoriya's shining irises, he felt a wave of ease come over him. His shoulders loosened and he seemed less stiff. A few minutes of comfortable silence passed between them as they both sipped their tea in an irregular yet routine pattern. Todoroki gazed at his friend as the other's eyes were focused on the inside of his cup, and studied him closely. He never noticed Midoriya's immense presence of freckles all over his face. The way his green curls framed the outline of his face. How his eyebrows scrunched downwards when he noticed a crumb on the table and brushed it off with a gentle swipe. Countless little details about Midoriya that he had somehow overlooked in the past.

Midoriya's bright green eyes suddenly met his mismatched grey and blue, and Todoroki looked away as fast as he could. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Midoriya returning his look curiously. "I don't think I properly said thank you after the Sports Festival." Todoroki began, confused as to why he had so much trouble keeping eye contact throughout the night. "You... You made things a lot easier to cope with. I've been able to ignore my father more than ever, which pisses him off, but that's a good thing. And... You were right. About not using all of my power. It was wrong of me to have such high goals but not even put a strong effort into it." He felt like rambling on a little more, but Todoroki figured he must have made his point already. "What I'm trying to say is... Thank you. For making the burden of my Quirk, and dealing with Endeavor, lighter." He found himself able to meet the dreaded emerald eyes yet again, only to see that they looked surprised.

Midoriya fiddled with his fingers, nervous at Todoroki's praise. "You don't need to thank me for anything, Todoroki-kun. All I did was reassure you, and you did the rest." The red and white hairs upon his friends head moved from left to right as Todoroki shook his head, but Midoriya continued to speak. "Besides, we shouldn't talk about this. You said you didn't want to, and I don't wanna force you or anything..."

Todoroki realized he was right - he had indeed said he didn't want to bring up what was on his mind. What was said moments ago was only a fraction of it, even. He began to wonder what made him bring it up in the first place, and he recalled what pushed him to.

"Sorry. I wasn't going to say anything, but I was just looking at you and I figured that I don't have anything to lose. You're a good friend, Midoriya." He spoke with absolute honesty, then raised his eyebrows in surprise at himself. Usually, his words were calculated and predetermined - yet he had let the fact that he was observing Midoriya slip.

Midoriya suddenly flushed a slight hue of red. Self-consciously, he brought his hands up to cover his cheeks. "You too, Todoroki-kun."

Not too long after, they parted ways, bidding each other goodnight before returning to their rooms.

As Todoroki crawled back into bed, he couldn't help but envision his friend's freckles, tinged with a rosy pink before being covered by his scarred yet gentle hands. Hands scarred for him.

What was going on with him? He had never thought about anyone like this before.

In the end, Todoroki supposed having someone as bright and happy as Midoriya on his mind so much might not be so bad.

A/N: Any feedback is greatly appreciated! I have also uploaded this fic to Archive of Our Own if you'd prefer to read there, under a different name (nessquik). As well, I am looking for a potential beta reader! Message me if interested!