Broment

Red Riot was familiar with the phrase stuck between a rock and a hard place; he just hadn't expected it to be literal. Catching a concrete pillar before it could squash some civilians was as manly as it got, but it came with a set of problems he hadn't considered at the time. For one thing, there was no way in hell he'd be able to stop the pillar from falling. Already his arms were screaming in protest even with his quirk activated at maximum. Nor could he harmlessly roll it off to the side so it could land without crushing anyone, not with the rubble bracketing it.

All of that might have been okay if the civilian could get out of the way, but the woman looked like she had suffered a head injury. He wished he could apply some of the first aid he'd been studying during rescue training, but, again, giant concrete pillar that was making him wish Uraraka was interning with Fourth Kind. It didn't help that Fourth Kind was currently fighting the villains and that the only reason he'd been here to avoid this catastrophe was because Fourth Kind had ordered him to take Tetsutetsu out of harm's way when he'd gotten knocked out.

So: concussed or unconscious or possibly even dying woman in desperate need of first aid, unconscious team mate, giant concrete pillar that was way too heavy, and his mentor was still fighting outside. He did the only thing he could do, even as the pillar began pressing his hardened hair into his scalp. He smiled. "It'll be okay." The words were tight, he had no clue if she could even hear him, or if would do any good, but it was all he could do. "I'm here." He tried to channel Crimson Riot as he buckled, trying to pull out reserves of strength he didn't have. "It'll be okay."

The temperature dropped in an instant. He couldn't see what was happening but his blood ran cold. Had one of the villains gotten away from Fourth Kind? He couldn't even really turn around; his hair was embedded in the concrete. And then, all at once, he stumbled. His hands skidded across the stone, his hair scratched the surface, and he fell to one knee, his quirk slip away from his grasp. He looked up with the last second he had and found the pillar feet above him, coated with ice. He let out a breath that was visible in the cold. "Red Riot, are you okay?"

He turned and stared at Todoroki on the verge of very manly tears, "Shouto, bro, you are a total life saver."

Todoroki's expression flickered, but was back to his impassive stoicism in a second, "Is the civilian alright?"

Kirishima blinked and turned, willing his arms to rise so he could check, but they refused to respond. He cleared his throat and looked back at Todoroki, "I could use some help." It was awkward, pushing himself to his feet without using his arms, but he needed to get out of Todoroki's way. He felt a lot better when his classmate dragged her out of harms away. He hovered nearby, trying to check her from a distance, but felt a wave of relief when Todoroki said she had a steady pulse and was still breathing.

It was a frustrating wait for the ambulance. Todoroki refused to leave them alone, which made sense since he was completely helpless. He wasn't sure why Todoroki kept glancing at him though. He wasn't exactly subtle about it, which made sense since Todoroki didn't really do subtle. Todoroki must have realized he was caught though, because when he looked again, he did a little double take and stared. It wasn't a harsh stare, more thoughtful than anything, and after a moment he finally cracked, "Can I ask you something?"

Kirishima gave him a crooked grin, "Sure." It was the least he could do, though he really hoped it wasn't a question about what he'd been planning to do if no one came along to help. He didn't want to think about that too hard.

"Why did you call me bro?"

"Huh?"

"I'm not your brother."

Kirishima stared for a moment, but Todoroki just stared at him, completely seriously. Kirishima wanted to scratch the back of his head, but his arms still refused to move so he tried and failed to shrug. Man, his arms were so messed up. He closed his eyes and let out a breath, "I know you're not my brother. It's just… ya know. Something to call someone."

"Why?"

Once again Kirishima's arms hindered him, "It's a way of saying friend. You helped me. You're a bro."

Todoroki frowned just a little, "But not your bro."

"Not like that. Bakugo's a bro. Sero and Kaminari are bros. They're just cool. Friends, ya know."

Todoroki's frown remained, "I don't."

"Well… I'm just saying you're a bro. You saved me back there, and you almost froze the Nomu back at the USJ, and…" He trailed off and really wished he could shrug. "You're a good guy. I guess that's what I was trying to say."

"Oh." Silence descended as Todoroki mulled this over, "So… I'm a bro."

Kirishima smiled, "Yeah."

"And then… you'd be a bro too… just not my bro."

Kirishima laughed and wanted desperately to give him a thumbs up, "I could be your bro if you want."

Todoroki paused, thinking about it very hard for a moment, "Okay." He paused, "Bro."

Kirishima lit up, "Aw man! Bro hug!" He lurched forward, bumping chest with Todoroki while his arms dangled at his side. There was an awkward moment that lasted a few seconds of eternity. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Todoroki was staring at him, and he couldn't really push himself off. He felt his cheeks began to burn and had to step towards Todoroki to regain his balance, but he felt like an idiot, "Sorry. I… forgot my arms aren't working."

"Oh." Todoroki nodded and then his brow furrowed, "How are you supposed to do it?"

Kirishima bit his lip. It always came without thinking, he'd never had to explain it before, "Well, we'd lean chest to chest, but I'd usually wrap my arm around you and pat you on the back. Except, arms."

"Oh." And then, stiffly and awkwardly, Todoroki lurched forward and they were chest to chest again, but they were face to face and Todoroki patting him on the back very softly, like he'd pet a puppy. "Like this?"

Kirishima felt his cheeks burn, it was like Todoroki was leaning in for a kiss. And, ya know, don't get him wrong, Todoroki looked great, but he wasn't about to cheat on Bakugo. That would *not* be a bro move. Before he could say anything though, another voice ran out from behind him. "What. Are. You. Doing?"

Kirishima watched as Todoroki… changed. The transformation happened right in front of his eyes, bare inches away, and it was heartbreaking. His new bro stiffened, his expression hardening, the inquisitiveness in his eyes faded. It was like Kirishima saw the weight of the world fall on Todoroki's shoulders. And then a fire returned, not warmth, but fire, and he felt Todoroki finish a final pat on his back before letting go. He took a step back and Kirishima whirled to find Endeavor and Fourth Kind. His mentor looked like he'd been through a fight and a half, his costume ripped and torn from battle, but seemed fine otherwise, in fact he seemed more concerned with the number one hero.

"I was giving Red Riot a bro hug." Kirishima tensed just a little at the words. He could hear defiance in it, determination that felt out of place. Why would he need to say it like that?

Irritation radiated off Endeavor like heat, "What?"

"He was teaching me how to give a bro hug, but he was injured saving a civilian." It was like he was giving a report on why a villain had been allowed to escape. Fourth Kind glanced away from Endeavor to give him a smile, which he wasn't sure he'd earned considering Todoroki had been the one to actually save him and the civilian. But then he shifted his gaze, just a little, and smiled at Todoroki as well.

Endeavor stared for a few terrible seconds, then shook his head, "We don't have time for this." He glanced at Fourth Kind, "We're returning to our patrol. Come Shouto." He turned and stomped out of the building without a second glance.

It took a few seconds, but he heard Todoroki start to follow. Kirishima was still in front of him, still between them, and turned around while taking a step back to stay in front of him, "You didn't need to do that. You saved me remember?" His mind was racing, as he looked at Todoroki, took in how he'd changed.

Todoroki didn't quite meet his gaze, "It was nothing."

"Not to me. Not to her either." He nodded towards the prone civilian, "I wouldn't have been able to drag her to safety or check on her or call the ambulance if you hadn't been here bro." The last word made Todoroki soften, more than the others. "When I get my arms working again, I'll show you how to do a bro hug, promise."

Todoroki brow furrowed and he slowed for a second. Kirishima swore he saw something, a flicker of what he'd seen before, but then it passed. "I have to go."

Kirishima frowned, taking another backstep, racking his brain for something to say, something to make this better. He couldn't put a voice to how much this bothered him, but it did, and he wasn't great with words, and he wasn't strong enough to fix it, but he had to do something. "It'll be okay bro." The words spilled out of his mouth, and his mouth went dry as Todoroki jerked to a stop. "It'll be okay."

Todoroki met his gaze, and his expression softened, not quite to where it had been before, but better than it had been even a second before. "Thank you." His lip quirked, it wasn't quite smile, but he looked a little more alive. He placed a hand on Kirishima's shoulder, "I'll see you later… bro."

Author's Notes: This is a gift to Serenawitchwriter! They wanted a story where Todoroki called Kirishima bro. And here it is! I can see Kirishima getting along well with Todoroki after the sports festival. For reference this happened a day before the Stain fight. Also Todoroki *totally* heard Kirishima saying that to the unconscious civilian before he saved him. I thought having Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu knocked out would be bad, sure, but pulling this on Amajiki would probably be significantly more worrisome. I am also aware that they should be paying much better attention to the wounded civilian and Tetsutetsu, but, eh, it would have dragged the story away from the point. Time to scramble to get something ready for Todoochadeku week! I hope you enjoyed!