"It's your power!"
Deku sat in Recovery Girl's waiting room. He fiddled with the plain bandage around his beaten up hand. I wish she would just call me in already, so I could stop thinking. But minutes felt like hours and Deku still couldn't stop remembering his battle with Todoroki. It wasn't that long ago, but if he thought hard enough, Deku could make it feel like it was happening now. Except, with one thing different of course.
It's your power, Shouto! You can do this! I believe in you! I li- Before Deku could finish his rather embarrassing thought, Tokoyami walked up to him.
"Midoriya-kun, I came to congratulate you on your amazing performance during the sports festival but… You seem distressed. Is there something on your mind?" he asked in a concerned voice. Deku gulped.
"Congratulate me? You got third place, I should be congratulating you! Good job! And thanks for being on my team when nobody else would be!" Deku stuttered and pointed to himself with a worried smile. Sweat beaded down his forehead and he laughed nervously. Although Deku had quickly tried to change the subject, Tokoyami caught on.
"Midoriya-kun, what's wrong? I know we haven't spoken much, but after our excellent teamwork in the festival, I'd like to get friendlier. Please tell me what's bothering you," Tokoyami said sternly but also genuinely. He had noticed that Deku was fidgeting so much he was almost peeling through the bandage. Deku stayed silent for a bit, turning redder at the second. Could he say it? Could he admit it? I realize it's been this way since early in the school year but… Could this really be? Maybe if I said it, it would confirm whether it was true or not, Deku pondered. At some point he began mumbling, similar to how he acted during the written test. Tokoyami realized this was commonplace for him and sighed. He waited patiently for Deku's response, which came rather quickly. He was so flustered and his thoughts were going a mile a minute that he just spit it out.
"I like Todoroki-kun," Deku shrieked. He gasped heavily afterward, as if he was still processing his own words. Tokoyami looked unfazed and awkwardly patted Deku on the back to help him breathe correctly again.
"Oh," was all he replied. Deku turned beet red.
"Oh gosh I said it! Ahhhh I actually said it! Crap!" Deku began fretting. Tokoyami just stood there and continued to pat Deku's back, which he quickly brushed off with his bruised hand.
"Sorry to be a bother! I mean, who wants to hear a nerd gush about his feelings, am I right? Haha…" Deku muttered. His eyebrows furrowed. The bombastic, bright feeling he had in his chest when he admitted he liked Todoroki had melted into his gut as a tight, restraining, dark feeling. Tokoyami didn't really know how to handle the situation but tried his best and replied,
"It's okay. I… Know we're… Not the best of friends but… I wanna be, okay? So uhm. I'm here if you ever wanna talk about Todoroki-kun I guess?" For some reason hearing this made Deku extremely emotional. A wave of just raw feeling came over him and he inhaled sharply. Small tears formed in his eyes, and within seconds they started flying out. He rubbed the tears and snot off of his face with his bandaged hand.
"Um. Midoriya-kun. Do you need a tissue?" Tokoyami asked, getting worried. He began to dig into his pockets.
"NO, I NEED SHOUTO TO BE MY BOYFRIEND!" Deku yelled, continuing to sob. Tokoyami sighed. He leaned in and embrace Deku. His arms quaked a little as he did it, not knowing exactly how to hug properly, but he tried his best to show some sort of comfort to Deku.
"It'll be okay, Midoriya-kun," he whispered. Deku dug his face into Tokoyami's shoulder and cried some more.
"What if it's not?!" Deku whined. His fingernails dug into Tokoyami's shoulder blades. Tokoyami winced, feeling Deku's sharp nails.
"Well… Shouto… Is a very understanding person, I'm sure… It can't end too bad… Midoriya-kun please stop stabbing me…" Tokoyami reasoned. Deku gasped a bit and quickly let go of Tokoyami. Immediately after, he looked to the ground guiltily.
"S-sorry Tokoyami-kun… Anyways, you're right I guess. Shouto wouldn't be a jerk about it… I hope. Well, I feel better now, thank you!" Midoriya exclaimed confidently, wiping his face with the back of his hand. He started to get up and walk away.
"Midoriya-kun? Where are you going? Don't you have to go to Recovery Girl?" Todoroki asked, turning to Deku. Deku just chuckled.
"There's something I have to do before I go to her. I… Have to confess to Shouto. I feel ready," Deku mumbled, a guilty smile on his face. He looked down and clasped his wrist.
"Eh? Already?" Tokoyami asked. He bit back his shock, trying not to judge.
"Yes! I've liked him since the beginning of the school year, I've just been denying it until now. But now I'm sure, and I have this good feeling inside, so I'm gonna confess! Thank Tokoyami! This is all thanks to you, for helping me out," Deku replied. His smile grew wider and he had a blush on his cheeks. Tokoyami huffed, but inside he was very very happy to have made a new friend and bonded with Deku.
"Good luck," Tokoyami mumbled. Deku laughed and ran off. Tokoyami stayed behind so when Recovery Girl called Deku he could explain. Recovery Girl wasn't pleased that Deku left at first, but she didn't scold Deku when he came back hand in hand with Todoroki, smiling.
"Looks like it went well," Tokoyami said when he saw Todoroki and Deku leaning on each other and holding hands and smiling.
"Yes, it went very well. Thank you for giving Deku the courage to confess to me. I was too scared to confess too, so it's thanks to you I am happy now," Todoroki thanked. His voice was soft and he had a genuine smile on his face.
"Ah young love!" Recovery Girl commented. Todoroki and Deku turned bright red.
"Well… I'm glad… I was of much help… You're very welcome…" Tokoyami mumbled. Although nobody could see it because of his feathers, Tokoyami blushed. He was happy to have done something nice for someone, to have made a friend that was ever grateful.