Kirishima was the first to catch his breath after hauling himself over the last ledge. "I can't believe we fell for that again," he wheezed, clutching at a stitch in his side.

"Speak for yourself," gasped Jirou from where she lay spread-eagle on the frozen ground, eyes half-shut in exhaustion. "If I never hear the words 'field trip' again, it'll be too soon."

Someone behind them clapped their hands together. "Come on, everyone, we're almost there!" came Yaoyorozu's voice. "Look, you can see the lodge from here!"

Yaoyorozu picked her way around her fallen classmates without hesitation and began heading toward the wooden building. Kendo and Shoji followed close behind.

Groans rose from the ground as the surviving members of classes 1-A and 1-B picked themselves up one by one. Some stumbled as they trudged wearily towards their destination, while others gave up entirely and began to crawl, but as a whole, the remaining eighteen were none too worse for wear. Well, most of them. Kaminari shorted out again and was dragged along by Shiozaki, who herself practically hung off of Ashido.

Shouto took one last deep breath before climbing to his feet, bracing his hands against his trembling knees. He turned to where Midoriya was seated beside him, eyes closed and head tipped up to the sky.

"Need a hand?" Shouto asked, stretching out an arm. Midoriya's eyes opened as he smiled tiredly and grasped Shouto's forearm, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Thanks," Midoriya managed, stumbling alongside him as they walked onward to the lodge. "I think I overdid it a bit today. That last snow monster really took me by surprise."

"It took all of us by surprise," said Shouto. "The first two on their own were fine, but no one was prepared for the third to show up."

Midoriya hummed in acknowledgement, shifting his arm so it rested more comfortably along Shouto's shoulders. Shouto's arm tightened around Midoriya's waist in response.

"Are you doing that on purpose?" Midoriya's eyes fell shut with a sigh of relief as Shouto heated his left side. "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

"Oh, really? I was actually just about to stop."

Midoriya's fist bumped playfully against Shouto's cheek. "Hey, stop being mean."

Their pace slowed almost imperceptibly as Shouto's steps faltered. "Oh. Sorry."

"What? Oh, no, I wasn't—I was joking, of course you can stop if you want to, sorry! I didn't mean to sound pushy."

"Oh. No, you weren't being pushy."

"No, really, I don't mind if you want to stop. I wasn't thinking. You're just as tired as me, and yet here I am asking you to be my own personal heater. That's not fair at all, I'm sor—"

"Midoriya. It's okay. I'm glad to be of help."

"I—" Midoriya broke off, his face flushed as the cold wind nipped their faces. "Okay." Quieter, he added, "Thanks."

Shouto tightened his grip on Midoriya, saying nothing. The warmth from his quirk seemed to pool in his cheeks and stomach as they walked onward.

"We're not waiting?" asked Ojiro, frowning as he accepted a bowl of rice. "Is that really okay?"

Aizawa sighed from where he stood at the corner of the table. "If the others wanted dinner, they should have been here sooner. You're all late as it is; consider yourself lucky to be getting dinner at all."

It was only because he was seated at the end of the table that Shouto caught the words muttered beneath their teacher's breath: "It's not like you have to spend the rest of the night combing the mountainside for them."

Shouto spared a solemn moment for his classmates still lost in the snow before reaching for the rice bowl and heaping a generous portion onto his plate. "Here," he said, piling an equally large serving onto Midoriya's plate beside him. "Whatever training we do tomorrow will be even harder in this environment, so you should eat well tonight."

"R-right," Midoriya stammered, picking up his chopsticks with a quivering hand. "Thank—thanks."

"Are you okay? Is your arm still sore?" Frowning, Shouto clicked his chopsticks open and reached for Midoriya's plate. "If it's too difficult, I can—"

"No!" yelped Midoriya, waving his chopsticks frantically. "That's okay, I can—you don't have to—it's fine! I'm fine. Great, actually! I am—I'm great. How—h-how are you?"

"I'm ... well."

Midoriya's face turned from faintly pink to a shade of red so bright it could have guided Santa's sleigh single-handedly. A strangled noise escaped Midoriya's throat as he buried his flaming face in his hands, muttering something too fast for Shouto to decipher. When it became clear that Midoriya would not be lifting his head again any time soon, Shouto turned back to his own plate and resumed his meal, confused and more than a little concerned.

Maybe offering to feed him was too much. But then, if one's friend was injured, the natural thing to do was to offer help, wasn't it? That's what friends did. Surely Midoriya knew he was trying to help, as any friend would do.

Then again, Midoriya was far from stupid. He could probably see through Shouto from miles away, and probably knew Shouto's true feelings hadn't abated since the incident after class three weeks ago. Shouto plucked a piece of chicken from his plate and took a bite, chewing it contemplatively. He had assumed it would be forgotten in a few weeks, or at least his feelings would fade back to normal, but he had misjudged how far he'd overstepped his boundaries. Underestimated how strong his feelings were.

The year was ending, and the only thing that had changed was that he no longer knew how to talk to his best friend.

As the frantic clatter of cutlery died down, Class 1-B's homeroom teacher cleared his throat. "Room assignments have been posted on the door to the stairs. Once you've finished your dinner, find your roommates and head to your assigned room. We'll be doing a final check-in two hours from now, after which time all lights must be switched off and all students in their rooms. Breakfast starts at five sharp, so you'd best get moving if you want a decent amount of sleep."

A chorus of indignant grumbling followed the announcement as students around the table checked the time, hastily shoving a last piece of chicken or a mouthful of rice into their mouths before rising from the table.

"Man, they're really merciless!" Ashido vented from the seat opposite Shouto, slamming her glass down. Sero nodded furiously beside her. "It's already past eleven. How do they expect us to function in the morning?"

"Oh~?" came a sing-songy drawl from somewhere to their right. As if summoned by the frustration emanating from their corner of the table, Monoma Neito appeared at Ashido's elbow, smiling serenely. "Expecting villains to wait for you to get your beauty sleep before committing crimes? I'd expect nothing less from Class 1-A."

"Watch your mouth, Monoma," Sero warned. "Don't start trouble on our first night here."

"Me, start trouble? How could I, when all the trouble in the world follows your class everywhere?"

Uraraka scoffed from Midoriya's other side, staring disbelievingly at Monoma. "You sure about that? I heard about what happened at Ground Beta last week. Seems like you're plenty capable of causing your fair share of trouble."

Monoma sputtered, face flushing. "Who told you—I didn't—"

A weary sigh interrupted their argument. "Monoma, that's enough." Kendou rubbed her face tiredly. "We'll barely be getting five hours of sleep as it is. Why don't you just head up to your room?" Monoma yelped as Kendou forced him down with a painful twist of his ear, bowing her head alongside his.

"I'm sorry about my classmate; please ignore him."

Across from Uraraka, Iida waved his hand emphatically. "Today was a long day! It's natural for everyone's nerves to be a bit frayed. Let's start fresh tomorrow after a good night's sleep!"

Ashido muttered something under her breath, but grumbled in agreement after a quick jab in the side from Sero. Iida left after they did, followed soon after by Kendo and Monoma; Uraraka, Shouto, and Midoriya were last to make their way to the stairs.

"Looks like you two are roommates!" commented Uraraka, stopping just short of the door. "Lucky draw, huh?" Glancing at Shouto from behind Midoriya's head, Uraraka winked at him.

Shouto froze. Midoriya didn't seem to notice. She knows, she knows, she knows, thrummed a voice in his head. That was impossible, though. How could she?

"We're with Ojiro and Kouda," observed Midoriya, still distracted by the list. "I think they already headed up. Oh, Uraraka, you and Ashido are with Kodai and Tokage from 1-B."

Uraraka's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Do you know them?" questioned Shouto, expression flat and composed even though his heart rate wasn't. How does she know?

Uraraka grinned widely. "Tokage and I worked together on the group training exercises last month. It was awesome!"

I never told her. I never told anyone. Except …. His eyes trailed over to Midoriya, who was happily conversing with Uraraka.

"I'm happy for you, Uraraka! You know, they should really let our classes mix more often. We can learn a lot from each other training side-by-side like this."

How did she find out?

Uraraka was about to agree when a huge yawn interrupted her. Shouto, to his credit, didn't react to the hand suddenly on his shoulder, but Midoriya nearly leapt out of his skin and Uraraka's eyes looked like they might pop out of her face.

"Hagakure!" she exclaimed, massaging a hand over her heart. "A little warning next time?"

Another yawn. "Sorry, sorry."

"Finally used to the clothes Mirio showed Hatsume how to make, huh?" remarked Midoriya, looking considerably calmer once the newcomer had been identified.

"Yeah, they're great," Hagakure mumbled. "Hey, Todoroki, can you see my name up there?"

Shouto turned to skim the list. "You're with Yaoyorozu, Kendou, and Tsuyu in Room 203."

Muttering a sleepy thanks, Hagakure patted him on the shoulder and entered the stairwell. Or tried to, anyway. She walked into the wall on her first try so Uraraka ran to her side, helping her plod wearily up each step until the sound of their footsteps disappeared through another door.

Midoriya shivered. "I know I should be used to it by know, but it's always so startling when she does that."

"Mm." It was just the two of them now, alone in a dimly lit dining room with nothing to distract Shouto from the pounding of his heart save the sound of snow battering the windows. "Shall we head up? We still need to shower and prepare for tomorrow."

Midoriya nodded, yawning. "Good idea. Which room are we again?"

"104."

"104. Right, let's go then."

Ojiro had already fallen asleep and Koda was just stepping out of the bathroom when they walked in.

"Hi, Kouda,"Midoriya said quietly, closing the door behind them. "All set for tomorrow?"

Kouda nodded, smiling shyly. The showers here are really warm, he admitted, and Ojiro said the beds aren't bad, either.

"That's good," Shouto commented as he walked towards the empty bed. The lodge only had two beds per room, and everyone was doubling up. "Have you decided sleeping arrangements yet?"

Not technically, Kouda signed. We were going to wait until you came up, but Ojiro fell asleep, and I already put my things down. But I can move if you want! I don't mind.

"No, that's all right, I wouldn't want to trouble you. Midoriya and I can share." Swallowing around a suddenly dry mouth, he asked, "Is that alright with you, Midoriya?"

It's fine if it's not, he wanted to say, but his mouth cemented itself shut as his teeth ground together. It's fine if it's not. It's fine if it's not.

Except it wasn't, because that would mean acknowledging that things weren't normal between them. It would mean he wasn't overanalyzing anything and that Midoriya really did have a problem with him now, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to face that possibility.

He didn't know if he could handle finding out where their friendship really stood.

Midoriya's face took on a shade of scarlet resembling Koda's pajamas, even though Shouto wasn't using his quirk. "Yes! No, that's—that's fine! Why wouldn't it be?"

Dropping his belongings at the edge of the bed, Midoriya hastily grabbed a set of clothes from his bag and retreated into the bathroom. "There are towels in here, right?" came his oddly high-pitched voice from the other side of the door. "Oh, never mind, found them!"

Shouto leaned back against the bed frame with a frown, listening to the shower run and his slumbering roommates' breathing deepen. Midoriya was awfully jumpy today, more so than usual. Of course, today had been a rather nerve-wracking day, so perhaps it was to be expected.

Or maybe he was the problem. After all, this was the longest amount of time they'd spent with each other since that disastrous afternoon, and it made sense that Midoriya would be uncomfortable around him if he knew how little his feelings had changed since then. If true, Shouto needed to be extra careful this week to make sure Midoriya knew he had no intention of repeating his mistake.

Whatever the case, he wouldn't solve it by lying here on the bed. He swung his legs over the side and began unpacking his things.

He finished organizing everything of necessity by the time Midoriya stumbled out of the bathroom, engulfed in a cloud of steam. Water dripped from his green curls into the towel draped around his shoulders.

"It's really warm," Midoriya said. "A bit confusing to use at first, though. There are so many different knobs and—actually, you know what? It'll be easier to just show you."

Shouto followed him into the bathroom, watching intently as Midoriya explained each knob's use and the different settings. He could almost fool himself into thinking things were normal like this. Except they weren't, because the lingering heat from the shower cast a gentle flush on Midoriya's freckled cheeks, and his brain refused to pay attention to anything else. Between that and the shine of Midoriya's hair as it glistened in the artificial bathroom light, the enthusiastic gesturing of his calloused hands, Shouto barely heard a word of what Midoriya was saying. It was all he could do to keep his heart in his chest. Stop it, stop it, stop it right now, or he'll find out, and then everything will be over.

"Also, we may have used up all the hot water, sorry about that," Midoriya said, scratching the back of his head. Shouto probably waited too long to respond, because the sheepish look on Midoriya's face morphed into one of genuine remorse.

"It's fine," he responded a beat too late. "If need be, I can heat it myself."

The sheepish expression returned with a faint pinkish tinge. "Oh, right, I guess that works too," Midoriya laughed, rubbing his neck. "Well, I'll let you get to it, then. Good night, Todoroki!"

"Good night."

After Midoriya left the bathroom, Shouto brushed his teeth and carefully set his clothes on the countertop, old beside the new. Taking Midoriya's words into account, he hesitated before stepping into the shower and turning the water on, slowly twisting the dial toward the H. Midoriya was right; the water was barely warm enough to classify as not cold, and the glass wasn't even fogging up.

It was still the hottest shower he'd had in years.

Several minutes later and feeling far more relaxed than expected, he closed the bathroom door behind him and entered a quiet room, the silence broken only by Kouda's soft snoring. Ojiro slept with his back to them, facing the window, while Kouda was curled in a tight ball with blankets pulled up to his chin. Meanwhile, Midoriya lay flat on his stomach with his arms spread out and his face turned towards Shouto. He might have been drooling, but the room was too dark to tell. In any case, he was sound asleep, and Shouto dared not risk waking him from a well-deserved rest.

The floor was old and wooden, prone to creaking at the slightest provocation, and for once Shouto was grateful for the years of practice he'd had tiptoeing around the halls of his home. He took great care to move as quietly as possible to his side of the bed, but discovered another problem upon arrival: the sheets. Whoever had prepared their room had done a remarkable job; the bedsheets were tucked into the bed frame so tightly they'd probably survive a tsunami. No amount of tugging could coax them out, so Shouto begrudgingly left them as they were and resigned himself to sliding in from atop the bed. It would be far riskier, considering the mattress's springiness, but it would have to do.

It took the better part of thirty minutes, with the mattress squeaking at every little movement. After a particularly deafening creak, Shouto winced and turned to look at his friend, an apology on his lips. However, Midoriya remained dead to the world. Limbs askew and mouth hanging open, he looked more relaxed than he had in months. Something warm bloomed in Shouto's chest at the sight, and his lips curled into a soft smile. His hand moved to tuck an especially rebellious curl behind Midoriya's ear before he could process his actions. Midoriya shifted beneath his touch with the sleepy beginnings of a smile on his face, leaning into his hand.

It was as though all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. Shouto snatched his hand back to his chest as fast as he dared, pressing it hard against his suddenly thumping heart. Blood pounded in his ears. That was too close. Far too close. What was he doing? He might have been caught. No, more importantly, he could have woken up Midoriya. That was unacceptable.

Giving his pulse a minute to slow down (and making sure Midoriya was indeed still asleep), he gingerly lowered himself against the bed, acutely aware of Midoriya's slow breathing just inches away from him.

This is too close. I might wake him up. It had been a long, exhausting day; the last thing he wanted to do was give Midoriya a poor night's sleep. Holding this thought at the front of his mind, Shouto cautiously shifted toward the edge of the bed, aware of every creak of the mattress and every shift in Midoriya's breathing. He scooted until he was sure he was out of Midoriya's personal space, leaving him with an arm and a leg pinned between the unfathomably tight sheets at the side of the bed. But if it meant Midoriya would have enough space to sleep comfortably, it was more than worth it. Satisfied, he closed his eyes and tried to focus on nothing but the sound of his classmates' breathing. Of Midoriya's breathing.

It ended up being counterproductive.

"What's up with you?"

"Hmmrrgh."

"What's up with him?"

"I don't know," fretted Midoriya. "He's been like that since we woke up. I don't think he slept very well."

Shouto felt Midoriya's and Jirou's eyes on his back as they walked toward the dining tables.

"Yeah, no kidding," replied Jirou thoughtfully. "I don't think I've ever seen Todoroki that out of it before. It's kind of freaky."

Not that two hours of sleep was particularly unnatural for anyone his age, but it had been a long time since Shouto needed to get by on so little. His extremities had yet to warm up, and it felt like someone had stuffed wet cotton into his sinuses. He could only imagine what the rest of the day would feel like once the adrenaline wore off. Midoriya seemed well rested, though, and that was what mattered.

The idle gossip faded as more of their classmates settled down for breakfast. Fruits and cereal passed around the table as everyone tried to fill their stomachs before one of the teachers inevitably kicked them out the door despite the early hour.

Shouto had hardly taken a bite of his apple before Aizawa, Kan, Present Mic, and Hound Dog entered the room with far too much energy for the hour.

"We let you sleep in an extra ten minutes, so hurry up and finish whatever you've got in your hand," Aizawa said from his sleeping bag. "Today, we'll be working on rescue operations in extreme environments. You will be split into groups and paired up, with half the groups assigned the role of hero and half assigned civilian. Once your group has rescued or been rescued by the other, you will switch roles and do the exercise again but in a different location for variability. Ideally, you'll be finished by lunch so we can spend the afternoon working on quirk enhancement."

"Anyone who doesn't satisfactorily complete the tasks will be making up for it tonight, so don't even think about slacking off," Kan threatened. "Now hurry up and gather around so we can split you up into your groups!"

The exercise sounded simple and indeed seemed quite easy as Shouto, Tsuyu, and Shiozaki waited at the bottom of a snow-filled gorge for their partner group to rescue them. To kill time, the three of them practiced refining their quirks for the harsh environment. It was more a matter of temperature endurance for Tsuyu and Shiozaki, while Shouto tried manipulating the environment to boost the scope of his quirk. Releasing his ice as small particles, he mixed it in with the snow around them in an effort to mobilize the snow itself. The result was more than satisfactory, and once their group was rescued and Hound Dog took them to their next location, he was pleased to be able to use his new trick to directly aid in the rescue efforts.

Unfortunately, sheer will power could only keep him on his feet for so long, and the lack of sleep caught up to him just as he was pulling Kirishima up the side of a waterfall. He only drifted off a moment, but when he next opened his eyes, Tsuyu was shouting something to Shiozaki, who had just barely managed to ensnare Kirishima's arm in a vine. Stricken, Shouto called out an apology to his classmates as they dragged Kirishima up over the edge of the waterfall.

"Nah, it's okay, man!" Kirishima waved him off, grinning. "Even if you had dropped me, it would take a lot more than that to break this skin!" As if to reinforce the image, he flexed his arms, eliciting relieved smiles and laughter from everyone present—save Shouto.

The mistake stayed on his mind for the rest of the day, even as they returned for lunch and headed back out for supervised quirk enhancement. To everyone's surprise but his own, he was made to attend a remedial lecture in the evening with the other students who didn't pass the rescue activity. Only after everyone else returned to their rooms were the five of them allowed a brief dinner break before continuing breakfast preparation. By the time Shouto dragged his tired feet up to his room, it was already half past one in the morning.

The lights and his three roommates were out by the time Shouto arrived, so he took a quick shower and crept quietly toward his bed, where Midoriya was lying flat on his back and snoring. Not even bothering with the covers this time, Shouto lay stiffly atop the edge of the bed, providing Midoriya with plenty of of space to roll over if he wished.

Four walls and a roof did not change the fact they were halfway up the mountains in the dead of winter, and without the warmth of a blanket, the room provided very little insulation from the biting cold. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, since Shouto could just use his quirk to heat himself up as necessary, but Midoriya had wrapped himself snugly in the thick blankets. Using it now might make Midoriya too hot, but not using it would leave himself at the mercy of the room's appalling lack of thermoregulation. In the end, the possibility of a modicum of comfort for himself was not worth the risk of interfering with Midoriya's sleep.

The night was long and uncomfortable, as seemed to be the norm these days. But, he thought with a fond smile as Midoriya rolled over and threw an arm over his elbow, there were worse ways to spend the night.

The next morning didn't turn out as terrible as he expected. He stayed awake for the entirety of their assignments and the lunch lecture about mountain survival, but sleep deprivation made his mind dull and his movements sluggish, making the afternoon's obstacle course particularly difficult. After falling into the stream a second time, Aizawa pulled him aside and handed him a towel.

"This isn't your usual performance," his teacher said, watching out of the corner of his eye as Shouto rubbed his head viciously with the towel. Despite the freezing temperature, Shouto's face was burning. "You know you can tell me if something's wrong."

Shouto watched Aoyama beam himself across the half-frozen stream. "Nothing's wrong, Sensei," he began, but then finished, because nothing was wrong ... aside from the fact he was a pathetic mess who was letting unwelcome feelings interfere with his daily functions. The fact that this week was devolving into the most awkward situation of his entire life shouldn't have mattered.

But that wasn't something to bother his teacher with. It wasn't something to bother anyone with, really. These feelings would pass with enough time. He just had to wait it out.

Aizawa sighed. "If you don't want to say, then don't, but whatever it is, I'm expecting you to deal with it by tomorrow. If it's not serious, it shouldn't be affecting your schoolwork this much."

"Yes, Sensei."

"Get back to the exercise, then. And don't think you won't be making up for this subpar performance later."

"... Yes, Sensei." He quickly bowed before jogging back to the riverbank where Midoriya dawdled, watching Shouto with concern. Trying not to feel too pleased about Midoriya's worried once-over, he waved off the concern and prepared to cross the river again, this time with Midoriya at his back. It went much better than the last attempt, and soon the two of them were making their way through the obstacle course with an ease Shouto hadn't felt in weeks.

Despite this, the problem was not dealt with by tomorrow. Remedial training and kitchen duty kept him from making it to bed before Midoriya, which is how he found himself with his cheek pressed hard against the cold wooden floor beside the bed. This was getting ridiculous, and he knew it, but Midoriya had sprawled across the entirety of the bed and there was no way Shouto could fit on it without bothering him.

It could be worse, though, he thought as he rolled onto his back. He could be sleeping outside.

"This is the lamest surprise ever," muttered Sero, and Shouto was inclined to agree.

Since breakfast, the teachers had hinted at a fun evening surprise if they worked hard during the day. And work hard they did; the all-day, inter-class activity had consolidated everything they'd worked on so far, from quirk enhancement to rescue techniques and racing down the dangerous mountainside. Rumors of a bonfire dinner spread immediately when Midnight told them to collect as much firewood as they could, and they took to the trees with renewed vigor, eager to at last spend a relaxing night roasting marshmallows and playing games like normal students.

But the fun surprise, as it turned out, was hardly more than glorified kitchen duty. The "fun" part was for the teachers, who were lounging about inside the lodge, sharing drinks and stories as they waited for dinner to be served.

The surprise was that the students were in charge of serving it.

Ashido lumbered past their station with a sack of peas in her hand, glaring at everything with eyes set to kill. "Oh, don't worry," she threatened, glowering at the laughter emanating from inside the wooden building. "We'll surprise them good, just you wait."

Kaminari shrugged from the station beside theirs, picking onions from a crate of vegetables. "I don't know, it's better than another evening lecture."

Ashido apparently didn't hear him. "They'll be sorry this time, mark my words," she muttered under her breath, wringing the sack in her hands like a towel. Or perhaps a neck.

"Um." Shouto stared, hand half-raised as Ashido swept past them and stomped over to her and Satou's boiling station. "Um," he repeated.

"Ah, don't worry, she won't actually poison them," Uraraka assured, chopping her carrots with a viciousness that didn't match her tone. "Ashido would never do anything that traceable after the last time."

Sero squawked and dropped a radish. "Last time?"

Uraraka grinned wickedly and delivered the contents of her cutting board to one of the boiling stations. Sero looked at Shouto with fear in his eyes as he reached down to pick up the radish. "What happened last time?"

Shouto shrugged as he cut his potato into small cubes. "I don't know."

The longer the day dragged on, the harder it was to stay awake, much less wonder about his classmates' potentially illicit activities. Eyes burning and mouth stretched wide in a yawn, Shouto reached for another potato to cube. Blinking tiredly, he began to chop it, but when he opened his eyes, both the potato and his knife were gone. They lay next to Sero, who stared at him with wide, worried eyes.

"Dude, are you okay? You almost chopped off your fingers."

Shouto heaved a deep sigh and rubbed his hands over his face. "Sorry, I'm just a bit tired."

"No kidding, dude. You look completely spent. Why don't you go sit down for a while? There's not much left to do, anyway."

After a minute's deliberation, he acquiesced, muttering a thanks as he wandered to a nearby fallen tree. All his energy bled out of his legs and into the ground the moment he sat down, and he slumped forward with his elbows on his knees and his forehead in one palm. He didn't even notice Uraraka sit beside him until she nudged his shoulder.

"What's the matter?" she asked, pinching her mouth into a frown.

"Nothing."

He relented at Uraraka's skeptical stare, sighing through his nose. "I haven't been sleeping well lately," he admitted, breaking eye contact. It was times like this that Shouto felt Uraraka had the ability to stare straight into a person's soul. Her eyes followed his to where Midoriya leaned against a table, talking idly to Satou as a pot simmered beside them. She sighed with a sympathy she should not have possessed.

"You do look exhausted," Uraraka agreed, "but I don't understand why. I thought you'd be ecstatic to get to spend all this time alone with Deku. Well, as ecstatic as you get, anyway. And I guess you're not really alone, with two other roommates, but still, I mean, it's pretty close. You do like him, don't you? Like, not as friends?"

Nothing made sense anymore, and Shouto was exhausted. Uraraka had to have a seperate mind-reading quirk; there was no way she should know exactly what he was feeling. Or maybe she'd seen them that day after class, watched as he had bared his soul uselessly and then fumbled to pick up the pieces.

Resting his head in his hands, he sighed, "How do you know about that? I never told anyone." I thought I was careful.

Uraraka snorted, amusement twitching the corner of her mouth. "You didn't have to. It's written all over your face whenever Deku walks into the room. You've liked him for a long time, haven't you?"

When Shouto said nothing, she continued. "Deku's been off all week, too. Did something happen?"

An agitated sigh escaped Shouto's lips and he ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know." Frustration crept into his voice. "I don't know anything anymore."

Uraraka scooted closer and bumped her knee against his. "Come on, you know that's not true. Did you have an argument or something?"

"No, not ... exactly."

She frowned, then, and turned to face him fully. "What do you mean, 'not exactly?'"

Shouto stared at the ground, then at the trees, then at the makeshift campground where their classmates were cooking dinner. His teeth ground together as he fought to think of some excuse, some non sequitur that could get him out of this conversation, but his mind came up blank. He considered getting up and leaving, but his legs were rooted to the ground, and there was no way Uraraka would let him go without answers anyway.

Truthfully, he was tired of fighting himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, sighing out all his excuses and misgivings and second-guesses until all that was left in him was the truth and a vague sense of resignation. "I asked him out a few weeks ago."

To his immense gratitude, Uraraka said nothing, merely waiting for him to continue, though Shouto knew she must have been bubbling over inside to know she had been right.

"He ..." Shouto faltered, biting his lip. His insides shriveled up and pushed themselves into the back of his throat, until even breathing was hard. An all too familiar pressure began to build behind his eyes, and he swallowed hard, hands tightening into fists against his knees. "He rejected me," he said at long last, in a voice mortifyingly small. His eyes stung as he clenched his jaw shut to keep it from trembling.

So much for moving on.

This, it seemed, was the final straw for Uraraka's valiant attempt at neutrality. "He what?!" she all but shrieked, causing a few heads to turn their way.

"Sorry," she muttered meekly, waiting until the others had turned away. Quieter, but with no less vehemence, she said, "I'm sorry, but what? He rejected you? Deku—? I'm sorry, but there's—there's literally no way. You really asked Deku out?"

"Yes." It felt ... good to say it out loud.

"And he definitely said no? He definitely rejected you?"

"Yes," he repeated, feeling a bit miffed. Why do we have to keep repeating this part?

"There's no way," she insisted. "There's literally no way. Listen—"

"What makes you so sure?"

Uraraka opened her mouth with a triumphant look on her face, but at the last moment seemed to think better of it. "It's—look, if he hasn't told you, then it's not really my place to say, but—anyway, listen. I swear on my life—no, on my parents' lives, even—heck, Deku's life, why not? I swear that there is no way Deku would turn down a date with you."

Shouto snorted. "You weren't there. You didn't hear it."

"Then tell me," she implored. "What exactly did you guys say?"

After a moment's deliberation, Shouto told her. There was a brief silence, then Uraraka threw her head back and laughed. Shouto stared with wide eyes as she clutched at her stomach, tears leaking out the corners of her eyes.

"That's what you—? Oh my god. Oh my god." She was positively howling now, laughing so hard that no noise escaped her mouth. "Only you, Todoroki," she gasped once she caught her breath. "Wow. Wow."

"What?" he grumbled, more than a little disgruntled.

"Listen. This is one hundred percent a simple misunderstanding. I swear on my grandparents' graves."

"I don't think your grandparents would appreciate that."

"Have you ever actually spoken about it to him? Like, honestly?"

Uraraka grinned in triumph at his silence. "Just talk to him. I'm sure it'll turn out better than you think it will."

Clapping his knee, Uraraka made to stand, stretching her arms high above her head. "It looks like everything's finally done. Let's hurry up and serve those sadistic monsters so we can finally eat. And afterward, sit your butt down and talk to him. I promise it'll be okay."

"Maybe the real surprise was that we get to sleep early," Ojiro said as the four of them entered their room. "All things considered, today was pretty light."

"I guess so," Midoriya agreed. "And it was fun to cook with everyone."

Kouda nodded in agreement.

As they made their way to the beds, Ojiro asked, "Do you guys mind if I shower first? I'd like to get this curry out of my hair before I lean against anything." He thanked them at their assent and grabbed a set of clothes from his suitcase, walking into the bathroom.

Midoriya was the last to shower. The others had fallen asleep within minutes of getting into bed, but tonight Shouto lay beneath the blanket, wide awake. He waited until the sound of running water stopped, and tried to calm himself enough to plan out his conversation.

Midoriya, I wanted to ask you about last last last Thursday—

Hey, Midoriya, do remember when I asked you out after class and you said—

So Uraraka was telling me earlier that—

Midoriya, please be honest with me—

Are you sick of me?

"Oh, Todoroki, you're still up?"

The sheets twisting in his right fist froze solid.

"Y-yeah," he managed, heart thumping painfully hard against his ribs as Midoriya settled in next to him. His mouth went dry and he couldn't swallow. Every half-baked speech he tried to recall evaporated like mist in the sun as he turned and stared through the dim light into Midoriya's earnest green eyes.

He'd never felt less prepared for anything in his life.

"I ... I wanted to talk to you, actually," Shouto began anyway, because heroes didn't always get to be prepared. "Do you have a minute?"

Something like apprehension flitted across Midoriya's face, but it was gone in an instant, replaced with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah, of course!"

Midoriya was pretending. To him. This was already going so much worse than expected.

Shouto took a deep breath, pretending not to notice, but before he could say anything Midoriya rolled onto his back, his jaw set and eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"Actually," he admitted quietly, "I've been wanting to talk to you, too."

Shouto held his breath.

"You haven't been sleeping very well this week, have you?" Midoriya didn't seem to expect an answer, and Shouto wasn't ready to provide one. "I figured something was wrong, but I wasn't sure until last night when you didn't come to bed. Todoroki ..."

He knows. He knows.

"I'm sorry."

… What?

"I should've been paying attention," Midoriya went on, "but I was too caught up in how fun this week has been to notice how uncomfortable you've been. You've been avoiding me, haven't you? That's why you haven't slept properly all week."

Glancing at Shouto out of the corner of his eye, he smiled helplessly, fighting a tremor at the edges of his mouth. "Is it ... that bad, having me as a roommate?"

Shouto stared. "No." Of course not.

"Then—" Midoriya broke off, closing his eyes and inhaling. He shifted to rest an arm across his eyes. "Then what is it?"

"I ..." Shouto was at a loss for words, for the first time realizing what this week may have looked like from an outsider's perspective. From Midoriya's perspective.

"When we first got here, everything seemed fine, and I was really looking forward to spending the week with you. And I assumed you were too, but ... you don't talk to me at meals anymore. You hardly even sit near me. And now you're—" his voice wobbled dangerously, "you're giving up sleep just to avoid me."

Hot shame welled in his throat. "Midoriya ..."

Midoriya appeared not to have heard him. His breath came out in shaky, halting bursts, and the hand over his began trembling. "Please, if it's something I did, could you just tell me? I just—I want to keep being your friend, Todoroki. If—if that's all right."

It was like he peered into Shouto's mind, saw the words he tried so hard to stifle, and shoved them back in his face. This was all so backwards.

And he said as much. "Midoriya, you've got it wrong."

As he spoke, the knot of unease in his chest loosened. Perhaps there was a grain of truth to Uraraka's words.

"I wasn't trying to avoid you, and I'm sorry if it came across that way. But you need as much sleep as possible because of how intense this week has been, and I've been getting back late every night because of my own mistakes. It wasn't right to wake you just to get into bed."

He reached for Midoriya's hand cautiously, pulling it away from his face. His eyes glistened as he turned to face Shouto. "I'm ... very glad you're my friend, Midoriya, and I'm sorry for making you feel any different."

He considered stopping there, but Midoriya had bared his heart to him; it was only fair he did the same. Bracing himself—and trying to channel even a fraction of Uraraka's confidence—Shouto continued. "The truth is that I didn't want to risk overstepping any boundaries with you. I thought it might be awkward."

Midoriya looked at him in confusion. "Why would it be awkward?"

The genuine puzzlement with which he spoke sent another wave of shame sweeping over Shouto. This was Midoriya. Of course it would take more than unrequited feelings for him to abandon an entire friendship. Swallowing around a tight throat, he said, "I ... suppose I was just assuming things, then. As you know, I've liked you for a long time, but I thought this situation might make you uncomfortable since you don't reciprocate. But, I'm glad we can still be friends."

It was like someone lit a match beneath Midoriya. His eyes widened with incredulity, and he sprang onto his elbows, bouncing lightly as the mattress creaked beneath him. "You what?" he whisper-screamed. "I—you—what?!"

Ojiro mumbled something in his sleep across the room. Midoriya froze, clamping his mouth shut, but quietly continued when it became clear Ojiro was still asleep.

"You can't just—with no explanation—since when do you like me?" he whispered frantically. "And why would you—why on earth would you think I wouldn't reciprocate?"

Shouto frowned. "A month ago, after class. I asked you on a date to the mall, and you turned me down. Do you not remember?"

If Midoriya's eyes widened any further, they would pop out of his face. "You asked me on a date," he repeated, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline, "and I turned you down? What did I say? What did you say?"

For whatever reason, Uraraka's voice floated into his head at that moment: This is one hundred percent a simple misunderstanding. Against his will, a tiny bud of hope began to grow in his chest.

"That weekend there was a sale at the stationary store," he began, hoping against hope. "I asked you if you needed anymore notebooks and if you wanted to go together, and you said—"

"'No thanks, I think I've got enough,'" Midoriya recalled, staring in shock as dawning realization broke across his face, "'and if I don't, I can go on my own later. I'm pretty busy this week.'"

He stared at Shouto, flabbergasted. "That was you asking me on a date?"

"Yes."

"That was—that was it?"

"... Yes?"

Midoriya laughed once, then broke off into something almost hysterical, clapping his hands over his mouth in a vain attempt to keep quiet. Tears leaked out the corners of his eyes, and Shouto grew worried as the minutes dragged on.

"Are you all right?" he asked cautiously. "Do you need me to get you some water?"

Midoriya shook his head frantically. "No—no, that's alright," he wheezed, rubbing a fist against his eye. "I'm—I'm good. Fantastic, actually."

e settled back against the mattress once he calmed down, beaming at the ceiling.

Shouto was lost. This was too many different emotions for one night. "Why do you look so happy?" he asked eventually. "I've been a jerk to you all week, and now you're laughing."

Midoriya's entire face glowed as he grinned at Shouto, his eyes warm and his smile even warmer. "Yeah, but you were just trying to be thoughtful! No hard feelings, really. If anything, I should be apologizing for overthinking things so much."

"That's not your fault; I should have made myself clearer when I asked you the first time. We could have avoided all this."

"The ... the first time? Does that mean ... ?"

"After we get back, do you want to go on a date?" Feeling his face grow warm, Shouto threw the words out faster than his mind could come up with an excuse not to. "A real date, not to the stationary store. Yaoyorozu mentioned a new tea shop on the way to school. Would you be interested?"

A strangled, high-pitched noise escaped Midoriya's mouth, and he buried his head against Shouto's shoulder.

"Yes, yes, of course!" Midoriya said in hushed delight. "Of course I'd love to go with you!"

The late afternoon sun pierced Shouto's eyes as he followed his classmates to the buses three days later. Aizawa fell asleep the moment he sat down, so Present Mic took attendance. Once everyone was accounted for, he reminded them of the rules ("No quirks, no outrageous conduct, and no loud singing—unless you invite me~!") before signalling the bus driver to head off. The week's exhaustion peeled away as they departed from the lodge, and soon the bus was filled with idle conversation.

"Demon spawn, the lot of them," Hagakure was saying from the seat in front of Shouto. "I can't believe they made us spend the night alone on the mountain! What if something happened? What if we froze to death? Do they just get a kick out of making us suffer?"

"I enjoyed it," Tokoyami responded. "It's been too long since I spent a night cloaked in darkness beneath nature's watchful eye."

Hagakure huffed. "Of course you enjoyed it." Though he couldn't see her face, Shouto had the distinct impression she was rolling her eyes.

As the pair carried on bickering, Shouto turned to the seat beside him. "What are you reading? It looks familiar."

Midoriya glanced up from his book in surprise. "Really? This is one of my mom's old fantasy novels. How do you know it?"

"It was pretty popular in its day. It's the one about the shopkeeper and the red string, right?"

Midoriya's eyes lit up in excitement. "Yeah! Have you read it before? Do you know how it ends? Wait, no, don't tell me, I want to find out for myself."

Shouto smiled. "If you say so."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Midoriya frowned in suspicion, squinting. "Does it end badly?"

"Weren't you going to find out for yourself?"

"... Fine."

The next few minutes passed in silence as Midoriya immersed himself in his book, resting against Shouto's shoulder. When he reached the end of another chapter, he looked up again. "Sorry, are you bored?"

"It's okay. Watching you read is entertaining enough. Have you gotten to that part yet?"

"What part?"

"Oh. I guess not."

"What are you—?" Midoriya broke off, grumbling. "You're doing that on purpose, aren't you? You're making this story even more nerve-wracking."

Shouto simply smiled back.

"If you've got nothing better to do, I have another book you could try." Reaching beneath his seat, Midoriya retrieved his backpack and rummaged inside before pulling out a thick, well-worn book with a beautifully illustrated cover. "It's an anthology of lots of different short stories. You might find something you like!"

Shouto accepted the heavy book with a shrug, flipping open to the first page. A comfortable silence settled between them as each became engrossed in their own stories. Wordlessly, Midoriya looped his arm through Shouto's, resting his head against his shoulder, and Shouto felt a smile spread across his face.

Midoriya was right; this was a nice story.

A/N: Hello, hello! Thanks for taking the time to read this fic! This is the full fluff piece for the Tododeku category of the BnHA Mirrors Zine, which is a huge half-fluff, half-angst zine of fifteen illustrated pieces. The talent and work that went into it is really incredible, so if you want to check out sneak peaks of the other works (or nab a PDF copy while you can!), check out the tumblr at bnha-mirrors! This fic could not have been written without the wonderful editing of both Cara (carajay1317 on tumblr, cara1317 on AO3) and Liana (one of our brilliant mods), and the stunning artwork that went with it is by Gwen (gwendolf-the-smol on tumblr). The angst counterpart was written by Salt (saltfics on tumblr, saltandburnit on AO3), so definitely check that out if you're interested! Shoutout to our awesome mods Liana and Kuuhaku for their amazing work putting together this zine so professionally and skillfully.

Anyways, I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this piece! It's my first collaboration and my first time writing for Todoroki at all, so any feedback is hugely hugely appreciated. Thanks again for reading!