A/N: Something self-indulgent I wrote avoiding finals. I just started reading BnHA so forgive any mischaracterization.

The uppermost echelon of heroes was nothing impressive. Maybe All Might aside, as he seemed genuinely concerned for the good of people and to Izuku. But throughout his life he was in proximity to the top five heroes with some frequency, and all he learned was that they were first and foremost human, and secondly had private lives like his father revolving around self-serving agendas.

By extension, his classmates were equally unimpressive until he met Izuku.

Izuku Midoriya, and then Momo Yaoyorozu.

He never really noticed Momo until their practical exam. She was bouncy and well-liked, if not somehow timid at the same time, but her brilliance caught his eye.

They gravitated the moment they started talking. So much so they spent their afternoons in the campus library studying together. Not necessarily as an exchange, like those study groups Momo held with the classroom-challenged, but in each other's presence. He never really had trouble concentrating but Momo's presence somehow exorcised the pressure Endeavor forced on him over the years. She smelled the books. The ambience of her highlighter squeaking across yet another molecular textbook was meditative, like rainfall on tin.

She was magnetic and meditative.

That was a fancy way of saying he was crushing on Momo like they were back in primary school, but he liked to keep things kind of classy.

He apparently wasn't the only one soothed by Momo. He briefly glanced to them, Kyouka's head laid in Momo's lap as they read. Momo was popular and affectionate, Kyouka didn't leave him with the same impression. He wasn't exactly fluent in the subtle exchanges of teenage girls, but he wasn't blind either.

But, he reasoned, he could also be jealous of their proximity. There were times flashes like film reel of Momo's hand in his, Momo's fingers in his hair as their noses brushed together, interrupted his focus. He found himself by Momo's desk in the morning just to say hi. When his phone buzzed, he whipped it out with record-breaking speed and had to bite his lip to keep himself from smiling in the cases it was Momo messaging him with a cool-looking molecule or her pet gerbil.

But, again, he wasn't fluent in girl. It could be just a friend thing. Gals being pals. That kind of thing.

His reverie was interrupted again by Kyouka stretching. "Thanks for keeping me, but I gotta go. I'll see you later Yaomomo. Bye, Todoroki-kun."

"Bye, Kyou-chan. See you tomorrow." Momo's arms slipped around Kyouka's shoulders and they squeezed each other. "It's icy out there. Don't break something."

Momo sighed as she turned back to her books. She was pretty, her dark eyes hooded as she diligently read. Her eyelashes were long, her hair was sleek and shiny in the glow cast by the LED lights above their heads. Her smile was even prettier. Momo disassociated talent from fame. She made learning pure and fun again.

"So," Momo began, "how do you feel about Kyou-chan?"

"... she seems capable." He frowned pensively. "Why are you asking me this out of the blue?"

Momo dropped her highlighter and cradled her face with upturned brows. "I-I'm in love with her. I want to tell her…. B-but you know me. I overthink things."

Oh.

Oh.

He appreciated Momo's forthrightness, especially with something generally regarded as taboo such as homosexuality, but he couldn't claim he saw it coming either.

"D-does it bother you that I like girls?" Momo asked. She almost sounded desperate, like he hadn't come to the point where he could turn her away with ease.

"Of course not. I'm glad you found someone you like. But do you know if Jirou-san is gay?" he asked.

"She is. W-we got talking about it a couple of weeks ago. But like… just because you're gay doesn't mean you're into every girl you see, you know. Wh-what if she's not into me? What if I end up making the entire class feel awkward because our friendship ends on a bad note?"

"You're kidding yourself," he told Momo. "She was just laying in your lap. You're a catch, and everyone knows it. If Jirou isn't into you now, I doubt she'd be foolish enough to turn you away."

Momo's smiled was sweet enough it could melt glaciers. "You think so?"

He nodded earnestly.

"Todo-kun… could you come with me when I tell her then? Tomorrow morning before class? Just knowing you'll be there will help me work up the nerve to tell Kyou-chan I'm in love with her."

"If you'd like."

"Todo-kun, thank you so much. I-I'll whip up an outline when I get home and text it to you to review s-so I know I won't come across as awkward or overzealous o-or something!"

He stuck a highlighter cap between his teeth and pulled. He was happy for his friend. Momo was talented enough to balance a love life and their busy schedule. As her friend, wasn't he supposed to assist in her happiness?

It didn't stop his chest from aching.

Eventually, they collected their things so they may leave. Momo hugged him like she hugged all her friends. "Thank you," she whispered, "I appreciate what you do for me."

His arms hesitantly wrapped around her waist, like sin. He liked her but Momo was gay. It felt a lot like goodbye. "Of course," he croaked.

She slipped out of his arms, like sand, he watched her back disappear. He dragged his heavy feet to his mother's hospital. That was his routine- school, study (with Momo most recently), visit his mother, sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. It was different that day though. He was accustomed to his father's fists and even the hot water his mother poured on his face once upon a time. That was a hurt deeper than that, though. Rooted in his pleuris. Like abandonment.

He'd crawl into his mother's lap like he did as a child, but she was hospitalized. Away from his father she was much better, but psychiatric wards were sterile environments. She was still very sensitive and sheltered from the outside world.

His mother smiled as he entered, leaving behind the starry-eyed folks beyond the metal door. It felt a lot like a prison in there, only with a softer bed and a tiny plant his mother tended to.

"Shouto-kun," she cooed. "Look at you, you're covered in snow. You must be freezing."

"No. It's been colder. It's only my left side that really gets cold, anyways." He shed his bag and speckled scarf onto the table. "How're you feeling today, Mom?"

"Splendid. These bags are only from age, you know. It's pretty out today. I like it when it snows."

"I do too. I can't stand summer," he said.

"Neither can I! That ball of fire always pounding down from the sky, I almost say it's pretentious," she snort as she crossed her legs. "How's school, darling?"

"Keeping my grades up. I'm still in the top five of my class."

"Making friends?"

"Slowly." It was easier tolerating people after Izuku's reality check during the sports festival. "It's fun watching them at least. Iida is still totally oblivious to Midoriya's and Uraraka's crushes on each other, but they're oblivious to it too. Bakugou is still a pain in everyone's ass. I'm not sure when anyone could find likable about him…. I'm functioning, though. He's easy enough to avoid. Predictable."

"And… and your father?"

He frowned. "... that's the first time you've asked about Endeavor," he said. "He harasses me at public gatherings, like the sports festival, but he hasn't touched me in years. I'm fine, I swear."

"That's good…."

"Y-Yaoyorozu has found someone nice." He knew where those conversations concerning his father led, he'd rather exchange more pleasant topics.

"Like a boyfriend?"

He wished.

Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned Momo. It made his chest hurt. "No, a girlfriend," he replied. "Please… if you don't like gays for whatever reason, don't go off on a tirade. Yaoyorozu is my friend and I'd hate for things to be tense between us so early into our reunion."

His mother smiled. "I don't mind. Sweetheart, I glad you have friends. So long as she's good to you I don't mind."

He returned her smile, though melancholic. "I-I'm supposed to be happy for but it… it hurts Mom. I wanted her to be mine." He wiped his face. "I'm so selfish."

His mother's hand clasped his shoulder. "Shouto, maybe you two shouldn't talk anymore. I can tell you care about her deeply, but when loving someone just hurts, it's not worth it. I learned that with your father."

Her tone juxtaposed against what he knew Momo to be, like his friend was anything comparable to his father, sounded like a load of bull. His hands balled on his knees. Momo was sweet. He couldn't give up on her so easily, however much it hurt in the moment. Even if he couldn't have her as a girlfriend, he couldn't bear to be without her as a friend.

"R-right," he said. Cue another change of topic. "A-anyways. Iida's doing a lot good. He and his brother are coping with his brother's paralysis. Midoriya and Uraraka are extraordinarily superb support pillars for him."

"It's good to know he's doing well. It's such a tragedy what happened to Ingenium. He was good, know you. A moral gentleman if ever met one. How's your homework, darling?"

"I'm keeping on top of it." Momo's company made it easier to unwind. He hoped that was the case after that day, at least. "It's still pretty basic stuff as of now. I know next semester will be more challenging, though. UA has a steep learning curve according to the senior students."

"You'll do just fine, Shouto-kun."

He nodded. Of course. All thanks to Endeavor. Perhaps his intellectualism was his own, but his power? All thanks to his father. He was working on separating himself but it would take time. "I won't disappoint you, Mom," he said. "I have to go home though. It's getting dark and I still have a lot to do. I'll come by again tomorrow."

"I love you." His mother stood and collected him in a hug. He was taller than her by that point, his nose touched her hair.

"I love you too." Even more than he loved Momo. His mother filled a hole in life, real family, despite the mistakes made. "Bye, Mom."

Out the hospital's front door, his phone buzzed in his pocket. A lengthy text from Momo, certainly her scripted confession to Kyouka. He wondered how Kyouka would react. Part of him hoped favorably to Momo, he couldn't bear to see his friend heartbroken, but he also hoped Momo would change her mind. The dynamics in their class were already good. Why ruin what they had?

He wait until he got home to read Momo's text. He locked himself in his room, his siblings cultivated without a sense of privacy apparently, and laid on his back in the dark. Momo's script was beautiful. Not only could she create elaborate and beautiful objects, but also moving and poetic writing.

It hurt how much he envied Kyouka, like the piece shoved knives in his intercostals. He bled inside. No, he could feel each blade, driven deeper with each breath. They plugged the wounds and kept him from bleeding out. He lived his life as a punching bag but to be a pincushion was a different feeling entirely. One wrong move and those knives would slip out and he would surely gush until he was but a dry sack.

"Stupid," he scolded himself. So stupid, so selfish, awfulawfulawful little boy! Who the hell did he fool that was enough for anyone, let alone sweet Momo? Only himself.

He complimented her nonetheless. He couldn't ignore Momo. But he turned into his pillow, mouth agape in a soundless, agonized wail, and turned into his pillow so he may weep without his misery passing through the thin walls.

Vibration woke him. His phone buzzed madly on his sheets. As he sat up, he grimaced. Fuyumi would scold him for falling asleep in his clothes and his crusty pillowcase. But Momo was begging him to hurry to school. He replied he would be there soon. It didn't hurt like last night- the ceaseless throb. He was just numb that morning. It was a blur dressing and brushing his teeth and combing his hair.

But he ran that morning. He supposed Momo didn't care if his stupid hair was smooth or not when Kyouka's was always immaculate.

Momo was out front. She rubbed her gloved hands together with her eyebrows knit worriedly. She practically tackled him as he approached. By that time, it was like reflex to wrap himself around her.

"Thank you so much for coming, Todoroki-kun. I-I know it's weird but just having you here helps. Can you just… w-wait behind the gate? Please?"

"Of course. I'll be rooting you on." And simultaneously dying inside.

Momo squeezed him. "Thank you again, Todoroki-kun." He hummed as she slid out of his arms. "Okay, now hide! Kyou-chan will be here soon!" Momo pushed him behind the gate and he obediently let her, like a dog told to heel. And loyally he wait, leaned against the cement walls of the entrance.

"Yaomomo!" Kyouka exclaimed, followed by the weird smell of tobacco. "What the hell are you doing out here? Aren't you freezing your fuckin' ass off?"

"Oh my god, put that away before someone sees!" Momo hissed, followed by the sound of crunching ice as she stamped out Kyouka's cigarette. "B-but I am cold, so I'd like to make this quick if we can."

"Oh… kay," Kyouka said hesitantly. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm in love with you."

What ever happened to Momo's script?

"Oh." Kyouka shuffled. "Well, this is embarrassing. I was kinda hoping I'd get the balls to tell you that I liked you, but this works." Kyouka laughed abashedly. "Does… this make us an item then?"

"Yes!" Momo squealed. "Yes it does! Yesyesyes!" The pair laughed, Momo's bubbling like a rolling boil.

He was crouched, staring at the slush and swollen salt scattered in the courtyard, his hands clasped over his mouth. Was he supposed to ache as he did? Like the knives slid out from between his ribs and blood gushed down his front? Ethically, no. Momo was his friend. His friend had a girlfriend, and he could only hurt.

He was such a selfish little boy.

Kyouka and Momo passed him hand-in-hand. Momo couldn't see his watery eyes as she craned her head to wave at him and wave him over to them. It hurt, but he stood like she summoned, wiped his eyes, and jogged to flank the happy couple.

They still held hands when they entered the classroom. Eijirou and Denki were first to congratulate them, and Fumikage slapped Mineru to the ground before he made any particularly vulgar statement. It was almost like a celebration, seeing all of Momo and Kyouka's friends surround them with big grins. It was like fingers gouged his open wounds.

Izuku nudged him. "H-hey, Todoroki, are you okay?" He and Ochaco loomed over him like a pair of mother hens. "You're looking a little sick."

"I was up late studying." It was only half a lie. He cried for something like three hours before he managed to fall asleep. Emotionally, he was drained and marveled he had anymore to still drain out of him.

Ochaco pouted at him. "You need to sleep, Todo-kun! You won't keep your title if you're sleep deprived, you know! Do you need me to tuck you in?"

"Gee, thanks Mom."

"Heya," Kyouka waved as she and Momo approached his desk.

"Good morning, Todoroki-kun." He wished Momo would just call him Shouto. "I-I wanted to thank you for your support. You're basically the reason we're together now…."

"Whoa, wait, Todoroki played matchmaker!?" Denki shrieked.

He watched in horror as his classmates devolved into renewed hysteria as if encouraging his friend to pursue her happiness was bizarre. Perhaps if they knew it was at the cost of his own chance to be with Momo, but otherwise, he was sure it was the normal thing to do.

Shouta Aizawa entered their classroom and within the blink of an eye, his classmates were in their seats and perfectly silent.

It was all a blur. His notes were messier, he could barely process a word of their lecture, his English was jumbled. Momo glanced back, brow furrowed and her thin lips dipped in a frown. He sat, hot with same, until training rolled around.

They were before the urban training ground, All Might glorious as always with his broad smile and silver-screen costume.

"Today we will be conducting another capture mission!" He presented the striped lottery boxes. "You will be sorted into teams of two and be assigned as heroes or villains. Heroes, you will be capturing a biological agent from the villains. Your goal is to both escape the compound with the agent and have apprehended both villains before your fifteen minute time limit expires. Villains, you just have to apprehend both heroes or keep them from obtaining the biological agent for fifteen minutes. Heroes, if the agent is broken, you lose. Heroes and villains will be penalized for acting on their own or causing property damage. Good luck, kids! Let's get started!"

He and Tsuyu were the first hero team, pitted against none other than Kyouka Jirou and Eijirou.

It made him itch. It made him taste copper, like anger.

"Todoroki-san," Tsuyu began, "we should take this time to plan our attack, kero."

He turned from the floor plan and nodded. "Do you have anything in mind?" He made sure to ask that before he went off on his own since the practical exams. Two brains were better than one after all. It wasn't like UA was comprised of imbeciles after all. Tsuyu was even among the exceptionally talented.

"I do, kero. This place is riddled with windows. I doubt they'll have an agent in a room by one especially since I can climb up walls, but once we secure the agent I can just crawl out a window."

"I can occupy and apprehend Jirou and Kirishima while you make your getaway."

"Maybe you can secure Kirishima, but Jirou's soundwaves can break your ice easily given the time. There's a security system I'm sure they're watching too. You'll have to rush them."

"I should apprehend Jirou first since her soundwaves will prove the greatest threat. Kirishima will be hard to get close to if I'm not careful, but I think after Jirou can't use her soundwaves to shatter my ice, I'll be able to apprehend him most easily."

Tsuyu nodded. "I'll be following behind you. Try not to freeze the walls or the ceiling so I have something to climb on without having to worry about freezing off my skin."

He nodded, they clapped on it, and he tucked his map in his pocket.

He rushed inside, skating over the icy floor. The villain team was smartly located in one of the rooms in the center of the building, away from any windows. Eijirou rushed him. It was a brilliant strategy for Kyouka to sit back. Eijirou's metamorphic Quirk better suited him for combat, and in case he just froze over Eijirou, Kyouka was still free to destroy his ice and put Eijirou back in the game.

He ducked under Eijirou's elbow and skid across his ice towards Kyouka.

The plan was to apprehend her, but it hit him like a freight train. Jealousy, like copper on his tongue.

Kyouka swung at him with her sword he caught it in his frozen palm. She swore as he swiped her feet out from under her. His fiery hand caught her jacket. Kyouka cursed again and ripped off her jacket. With a stomp, he froze her, flipped over Eijirou's charge, and landing with his left, the cool room erupted in steam with the burst of heat.

Tsuyu's tongue rocketed from the hallway and fished the three of them out in one go, Kirishima unconscious and himself squashed face-to-face with Kyouka.

They landed on solid ground and Kyouka swung at him with a punch. "You jackass, you coulda fuckin' killed us!" she howled. "You realize you coulda toned that the fuck down right!?"

He hopped over Kyouka's kick and wrapped his legs around her shoulders. He fell onto his arms and threw her in the building side. Tsuyu's tongue caught Kyouka before she collided with the brick, and suddenly he was plucked off his feet by All Might.

"Todoroki-kun," All Might's grave tone somehow made his smile more fearsome. "Visit me in my office after class. We have much to review!"

He grimaced. Nonetheless, he obeyed. He passed Momo on his walk back to campus, with the same worried look she had during their English class. He was in for more than just an earful from All Might. Momo wouldn't let him get away with being an asshole to her girlfriend.

The wall clock in All Might's office ticked away. The queasy ball in his gut churned like curdling milk as it ticked away. That was the first time he was in trouble beyond a warning.

All Might finally entered, clad in his striped suit. They sat across from each other and he feared All Might could see him sweat bullets.

"Todoroki-kun, you and I both know you are an exceptional young man and hero in the making. However, you realize people could have died," All Might said. "We are heroes. We apprehend, we turn villains in to the authorities. We do not murder people however heinous they may be. Now, I am gladdened that you are beginning to embrace the other half of your powers. But you cannot continue to conduct yourself in such a reckless fashion in or out of the classroom.

"I-I understand," he said.

"Do you? Kirishima-kun is with recovery girl for the burns he received. Tsu-chan and Jirou-chan are receiving care for first and second degree burns. You realize you can't do something like that in anything less than extringent, life-threatening circumstances, correct?"

He nodded. It felt a lot like his father's criticism. However kind All Might may be, he always took scoldings personally. He wondered when he could take them as a gesture of love like his rational side understood All Might.

"Good." All Might moved into the seat beside his and rest an enormous arm over the back. "Will you tell me what's on your mind now? You're so level-headed. I know when you lash out."

He paused, recalling his mother's advice the day before. He ached to see Momo with anyone but him, but he would be left hollow without her. He couldn't hear how happy he would be without Momo again.

"I just got ahead of myself," he answered, his fists balled on his knees.

"And why is that, Todoroki-kun?"

His eyes watered and he knew the gig was up. It just hurt so badly, it was so hard to hide. "I-I got jealous," he said. "Jirou a-and Yaoyorozu are girlfriends a-as of today but… but I like Yaoyorozu too. I promise I-I'm trying to be happy for Yaoyorozu since she's my friend b-but it's so hard when it feels like I'm being stabbed again and again. It's fucking unfair, and I'm so stupid and I'm a terrible friend to them." He dug his palms in his eyes. "It sucks so much."

"Oh, son," All Might collected him in a hug, and he felt foolish how congested and tearful he was, like a child curled in his mother's lap again. "Heartbreak is part of growing up, Todoroki-kun. I can't tell you otherwise, and I can't tell you that Yaoyorozu-chan will change her mind. But you won't hurt like this forever. You'll go back to feeling okay, and you'll go back to being their good friend. Give yourself time to heal."

He wiped his face on his sleeve. It didn't feel like he'd ever recover, but All Might hadn't lied to him yet.

"Alright, kiddo, go apologize now! You'll feel a lot better once you get that off your chest."

He would, of course, if nothing more than to preserve his friendship with Momo.

It was lunch hour by that time. Outside of All Might's office, he sent Momo a text to meet him in their classroom so he could apologize.

Kyouka and Momo were in their classroom as he requested, sat side-by-side on one of the desks. He approached them and bowed before they could utter a word.

"I-I would like to apologize for my conduct earlier, Jirou-san," he said. "I was jealous of you and Yaoyorozu's relationship a-and I let it get to me. I am happy for you two and I promise to behave myself as your friend in the future."

There were seconds of silence between them, his heart rose and rose into his throat. Momo finally wrapped her fingers around his chin and lifted his face. Her dark eyes were soft and again, finally, she was smiling. It eased his nausea.

"I want to apologize too, Todo- Shouto-kun. I haven't been completely forward with you. I-I'm in love with you like I'm in love with Kyouka. But I wasn't sure how you'd respond to my relationship to Kyouka. Favorably enough if you've come to apologize." She collected him in a hug. His heart pound with life anew, her heart and his both thundering. "If you're okay with it… I want to be with you and Kyouka."

It took him three, long seconds to put together what Momo meant, as if too good to be true. "Yes," he said, breathless.

Momo's fingers slipped through his hair and she pulled him down for a kiss. There were no fireworks, nothing of the sort. But he melt in Momo's arms. He was complete, searing with glee.

They fell away, smiling like a couple of bashful fools, and Kyouka jostled him. "Asshole," she griped with that cheeky grin of her's.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Sorry. Let's get something to eat."

"Ooh, I'm coming! Momo's lap is the softest seat, you know."

He and Momo stuttered bashfully. Nonetheless, her hands caught his and Kyouka's like nets, calloused and strong, and they walked three-wide like a bunch of assholes, catching stares from returning students and instructors alike. Nonetheless, he was happy.

"B-both of them!?"

"Pick your jaw up off the floor, Iida," he scolded Tenya. Izuku laughed nervously as they sat.

"W-we're just surprised. It's not exactly everyday people come out as gay o-or multiam-"

"Polyamorous," Momo corrected Izuku, "it's called polyamory. But I'm bisexual and polyamorous, and that's a fact that won't be changing in the near future."

"I'm surprised no one noticed," Ochaco chimed in. "Yaomomo gets this gooey look with people she's got a crush on. It's not hard to catch on to."

He, Izuku, and Tenya clammed up. That was true, he thought, looking back to Kyouka and Momo's interactions. How could he not have noticed Momo looked at him the same way? What kind of idiot was he?

"I think it's a dude thing. I mean, he got jealous! They're fuckin' ignorant." Kyouka sighed. "I need a cigarette…."

Momo combed her fingers through his hair and pressed a kiss to his temple. His face would hurt that night with all the smiling he did.

That was fine by him. Hero life was pretty good.