Chapter 9
Bakugou did what he could to make sure Todoroki rested as much as possible, but his fever got worse and by the third day, he was wheezing so hard that Bakugou took him to the doctor. The poor bastard was diagnosed with pneumonia. As if he didn't have enough to worry about, now the guy was sick as a dog!
Did the universe royally hate this guy, or what?
"I'll be okay. I've already taken the antibiotics and I have the inhaler they prescribed me," Todoroki explained from the couch. He was buried in fluffy blankets, that same damn cat making a nest in Todoroki's lap. "You can go to work today. Shiro will take care of me."
Bakugou snapped his head up from reading the pill bottles to stare at Todoroki.
"Shiro?" Bakugou asked, brows furrowing. "Who the hell is Shiro?"
Todoroki patted the cats back, making it purr. "The cat. His name is Shiro."
Bakugou frowned and felt his cheeks flush. Now he's gone and named the filthy thing! There was no way they could get rid of it. And not only that, but Bakugou was furious at himself for getting jealous of a stupid cat.
Bakugou huffed and placed the pill bottle down on the coffee table.
"How do you know that thing is a boy?" Bakugou asked.
"Oh. Well if you look here, you can see—"
"Shit, nevermind!" Bakugou said, standing to his feet and heading to the kitchen. As he got Todoroki's lunch ready, he hollered, "Alright. Don't do anything 'cept get your soba. You don't even have to heat it up, so don't even try! You'll burn yourself!"
Todoroki tried to hum but broke out into a coughing fit. Bakugou could hear him scramble for the prescribed inhaler, and the signature puff of air as he used it. He cleared his throat a few times, almost pathetically.
"Okay. Thank you, Bakugou," Todoroki said.
"Yeah, yeah," Bakugou said, setting aside the food. He walked back into the living room with a glass of water, handing that to Todoroki. "Take your meds, and take it easy, got it?"
Todoroki nodded, sliding his hand down the cat's back. Beside him, his phone screen lit up with an incoming text message, and Todoroki glanced over to look at it. His lips twisted and then turned into a frown, his eyes gazing sadly back down at the cat without even looking at the message on the screen.
Bakugou's brow twitched. "That Deku?"
Todoroki nodded silently and took in a wheezing breath. "I haven't replied to him. I don't really… want to talk to him."
Understandable, Bakugou thought. After he told Todoroki about the first text he sent, and his angry response, he was surprised that Todoroki hadn't told him off. But instead of lashing out, Todoroki nodded and thanked him. Bakugou thought he had violated Todoroki's privacy, but apparently, he didn't mind.
"Just ignore him, if that's what you think is best. Or talk to him, if you want," Bakugou said, the words tasting like vinegar on his tongue.
The phone buzzed again, Todoroki blinking at it with a tired expression on his face. He hummed and rubbed the cat's fur again.
"I don't really want to," Todoroki emphasized. "But thanks for supporting me."
"Yeah. Sure," Bakugou said hesitantly. He rubbed the back of his neck and headed to the front door, grabbing his bag and stuffing his feet into his shoes. "Call me if you're feeling worse, okay? I'll have my cell on me."
Todoroki sniffled pathetically and waved at him from the couch. "Have a good day."
Even with his face full of snot and his voice sounding like it had gone through a blender, Todoroki still managed to make Bakugou's heart do backflips off of his ribcage.
Bakugou took in a deep breath and grunted out a "yeah, whatever" as he left the apartment, unable to keep it together for much longer. He wanted to kiss those lips, run his fingers through the two-toned hair—he wanted to see if they both felt as soft as they looked.
He was going to lose his mind.
"Forget it, Katsuki," Bakugou mumbled to himself as he headed down the street to the bar. "He's still married and extremely heartbroken. Back off and calm the hell down."
He was mostly talking to his brain, but his groin really should listen, too. He was getting antsy. Maybe he should hit up Kirishima, just to get it out of his system… Gah, no, that wouldn't work. That bastard was pining after the other idiot who worked in the bar. Bakugou didn't want to ruin what they had going on. It wouldn't be right.
He let out an annoyed groan and thought of the most un-sexiest images he could possibly imagine: his mother, Deku, Enji…
He could make it through the day.
As Bakugou took out his keys to unlock the bar, he felt a buzz in his pocket. Without looking at the caller ID, he answered it and balanced the device on his shoulder.
"Yeah?" Bakugou answered as he found the right key.
"Kacchan."
Bakugou nearly dropped his keys. "The hell? Deku?"
"Ah, y-yeah. It's me."
"How did you get my number?" Bakugou asked, jamming the right key into the door and turning it. What was it his therapist would say? Deep breaths?
"We still have a few mutual friends, you know," Deku said.
"Tch. Traitors," Bakugou grumbled. He opened up the bar door and went inside, flicking on the lights. "Well thanks for letting me know you still can annoy me. I'm hanging up now."
"Wait, Kacchan please!" Deku begged. "I need to know if Shouto is okay!"
Bakugou's heart did something funny in his chest. "Why?" was all he could muster to ask.
Deku sighed, showing extreme patience. "I'm still his emergency contact, you know. I got a call about his test results." He inhaled shakily. "Pneumonia? Shouto has pneumonia?"
"Walking pneumonia," Bakugou corrected.
"Still! That means he must be pretty sick!" Deku said.
Bakugou felt his protective wall shoot up. "So what? It's not like you can take care of him anyways!"
Deku hesitated. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! You're so busy with your stupid job 24/7 that you don't even realize how neglected your own husband is!"
"I'm already taking some time off," Deku said softly. "I wanted to take time to fix things. To fix my marriage!"
"To fix it? You can't fix this, Deku!" Bakugou said. He paused. "Unless you realized that you actually love him, you can't fix your marriage."
"Kacchan, come on, I—"
"Do you?" Bakugou interrupted. "Do you love him?"
Because I think I do, Bakugou wanted to say. He had never felt something like this ever before. He had never felt something so strongly for one person. All he ever wanted to do was be around Todoroki, his job be damned.
He was in love. And he hated himself for it.
But he would stand proudly to protect Todoroki, no matter the cost. Even if it hurt.
"I... Kacchan, this is between me and Shouto," Deku said.
"You can't even admit it! Unbelievable!" Bakugou said. "Don't try to bring him back into that miserable relationship you called a marriage. He wants happiness, and he sure as hell didn't get it from you."
"Kacchan, don't talk to me like that!" Deku said firmly. "Why can't I at least try to fix it? I want to make it work!"
"Because you didn't see Todoroki come to the bar night after night and sit alone, either waiting for your neglectful ass or trying to drown himself in liquor!" Bakugou shouted back.
Deku sighed impatiently, and the sound sent angry pangs to Bakugou's chest.
"Just... please just take me to him," Deku said. "Or tell me your address so I can go."
"No."
There was a tense pause, and Bakugou could feel something change.
"No?" Deku echoed.
"That's right," Bakugou said. "No."
"But—" Deku stopped himself short as if he was trying to process being rejected. He cleared his throat. "Kacchan, I really need to see him. You're not the one married to him."
"And by the way you treat him, your marriage is nothing but a stupid piece of paper," Bakugou. "I'm hanging up."
"Kacchan, wait—"
Bakugou hung up and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. His blood was still bubbling underneath his skin at the interaction.
With a long-suffering sigh, Bakugou got the bar ready to open. The day was already ruined by his standards, but he could at least try to make it better.
Over the next few days, Bakugou received texts and phone calls from Deku, all of them ignored. It was irritating at first, but it grew to be something more than that.
Deku was starting to get under Bakugou's skin.
He wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose, but Bakugou knew that Deku had the intelligence to do so. And it was working so well.
On day 3 of Deku's obnoxious and persistent calling, Bakugou called his therapist to ask for help since his anger was starting to grow like a helium balloon. He told Bakugou to calm himself down by taking deep breaths. Don't panic, his therapist said. Always have a level head.
And most importantly, he told Bakugou not to let the anger be in charge. He let Bakugou know that he could completely control his actions. While his feelings were something that couldn't be helped, he could at least change his thoughts to divert any negative actions.
Bakugou took deep breaths as instructed and sighed, trying to let his heart calm down. He wanted to overcome this. He didn't want to start from square one with his anger issues. He couldn't. Especially if he wanted to be someone that was there for Todoroki.
He didn't want to even be remotely compared to Enji.
"Maybe I should call Izuku back," Todoroki said over breakfast one morning as Bakugou's phone lit up on the table.
Bakugou paused in eating his pancake. Todoroki looked tired just thinking about it, and Bakugou wanted to wipe that look from his face.
He swallowed down the bite of pancake. "Is that what you want to do?"
Todoroki twisted his lips and frowned down at his barely-eaten meal.
"Not really. But he keeps bothering you," Todoroki said. "I don't want you to be burdened by my problems."
Bakugou waved his chopsticks in the air and then plucked up another bite. "It's not a burden. I'm helping you, dumbass."
Todoroki grimaced. "I'm sorry you have to—"
"What was that?" Bakugou asked, freezing in his chewing.
Todoroki blinked at him, for a moment, confused. But then, he smiled warmly.
"I mean... Thank you, Bakugou," Todoroki said.
Bakugou humphed and took another bite.
"That's more like it."
The next day was when things all came bubbling over.
Bakugou got things ready for Todoroki. He had been doing much better with his pneumonia, but still had a slight fever and needed to stay home. He told Todoroki to keep his inhaler with him and to call the bar's number if he needed him. He decided to power down his phone completely for the day. He was tired of feeling the buzzing in his pocket.
Bakugou unlocked his bar and started opening up for the day, Kirishima and Kaminari coming in and being their usual selves. He was itching to be done with the day to get back home. He thought about picking up a movie on the way home. He wondered what kinds of movies Todoroki liked. Was he into comedy? Action?
"Yo, Bakugou," Kirishima said, throwing an arm around Bakugou's shoulder. "Is Todoroki any better today?"
Bakugou sighed and shrugged as he filled a glass of whiskey and placed it down in front of a man.
"Don't know. His cough has gone down, but he's still wheezin' whenever he breathes. It's freaking me out," Bakugou said, the last part muttered.
"Hm. Does he have an inhaler?" Kirishima asked.
"Yes. He's been using it, but I'm not sure if it's helping at all," Bakugou said.
"Geez. That sounds tough," Kaminari piped in as he filled a tall glass of beer from the tap.
"He'll be fine. Eventually," Bakugou explained. He rolled his eyes as he scrubbed a glass clean. "The bigger problem is his estranged husband."
"Uh oh. What'd he do?" Kirishima asked.
"He's just constantly trying to get in contact with Todoroki."
"What does he want?" Kaminari asked.
"Yeah, didn't the guy dump Todoroki already?" Kirishima asked, brows pinched.
"Hell if I know. He wants to talk or something, I dunno," Bakugou said, turning around to face the sink to scrub it clean. "Fix the marriage or some shit. As if it can be fixed."
"So, uh. What does this guy look like?" Kirishima asked.
"Tch. What an annoying question," Bakugou said. "Short, dark hair, green eyes."
"Lots of freckles?"
Bakugou froze, his hand still squeezing the rag that he had in the sink. He peered up at Kirishima out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes… Why?" he asked.
Kirishima tried for a smile, but it came out strained, and he pointed his thumb towards the front door.
Bakugou felt his heart drop into his stomach as he turned around and locked eyes with the one person he'd been dreading to even think about for the past few days.
"Deku," Bakugou whispered under his breath. He suddenly felt defensive, the hair on his arms standing on end in anticipation.
Deku looked out of breath, his eyes scanning the bar once more before landing back on Bakugou. His brows pinched painfully and he made his way up to the counter, his gait intense. He marched right up to Bakugou and planted his palms on the counter.
"The hell do you want, Deku?" Bakugou spat before the other man could get a word out.
"Kacchan, I need to see Shouto. I want to talk to him," Deku said, getting right to the point.
"Tch. Should've talked to him way sooner when he was still living with you," Bakugou said, placing his rag down on the counter and staring the other down.
Deku frowned hard, his brows pressing together angrily. His hands gripped the edge of the bar counter.
Bakugou could feel Kirishima and Kaminari shrink back a bit, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to lose this no matter what.
"Kacchan. I didn't ask," Deku said. "I know he's staying with you. Can you please take me to him?"
Bakugou folded his arms across his chest. "No."
Deku's frown turned into a threatening snarl. "Katsuki."
"Don't you dare call me that, you piece of shit," Bakugou sneered.
"I'm his husband," Deku said.
"As if that title means anything anymore," Bakugou said.
Deku slapped a palm on the counter and it curled into a fist. He leaned in close to Bakugou and muttered so only Bakugou could hear.
"Can we talk about this? Outside?" Deku asked.
There was something threatening in his gaze, and it was really pissing Bakugou off. He snapped his head to Kirishima and Kaminari, who both shrunk back at his intense gaze.
"Watch the bar," Bakugou commanded. "I have a small fry to deal with."
He stormed out from behind the bar and made his way to the front doors, not even looking to see if Deku was following him. He had a weird feeling that he knew where this was going. If his past with Deku still rung true today, he knew where they would end up.
Bakugou marched toward the nearby alley, Deku in tow, and stopped in the middle, his arms folding across his chest. He turned around and faced Deku, watching as Deku stood in front of him.
"All right, Deku. What more could you want here?" Bakugou asked. "Todoroki's already decided that he doesn't want to see you."
"Is that him speaking for himself? Or is that you speaking on his behalf?" Deku asked.
"The hell? You sure got cocky over the years," Bakugou said.
"Enough! I don't want to fight here, Kacchan. I just want to see my husband!" Deku yelled.
"And I told you that you really should've thought of that before you decided to give up on him!" Bakugou shouted back.
"I haven't given up. My feelings are just as real as they were before," Deku said.
"Oh yeah? Caring about someone isn't the same as being in love with them," Bakugou said. "So just admit it to yourself. You stopped loving him, and you've hurt him in the process."
"Kacchan." Deku's fists shook by his sides he squeezed them tighter, making his entire stance more rigid. It was irritating to see.
Bakugou could feel his blood boiling red hot at being instigated like this. His therapist's voice was ringing in his ears: Calm down, deep breaths, don't panic.
Don't let the anger be in charge.
Bakugou had to walk away from this before he lost control.
"So beat it, Deku. It's over, got it?" Bakugou said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I've got to get back to work, so shove off. And leave Todoroki alone."
He kept his gaze straight ahead and moved to pass Deku to get back to his bar, to get back to his normal day of work so he could go back home to take care of Todoroki.
Just as he was almost at the edge of the alley, he felt two hands grab at his shirt and yank him backwards. And then, he was whirled around and a fist collided with his cheek. He stumbled backward and held his aching cheek, his eyes locking on two furious green ones.
"What the hell?!" Bakugou shouted, looking at Deku with rage surging in his body. "Did you just punch me, you asshole?!"
Calm down. Deep breaths. Don't panic. Don't let the anger be in charge.
"Take me to see Todoroki or I'll do it again!" Deku said, putting up his fists.
Don't lose control.
Bakugou spit blood on the ground and rolled up his sleeves. He couldn't let this prick get away with it.
Screw it.
"You'll pay for that, you little shit!" Bakugou yelled.
And then, he charged forward.
He landed a punch right on Deku's nose, making him stumble backward and almost fall. While he was distracted, Bakugou kicked his leg out and tripped him, making him fall on his back.
Bakugou moved quickly to step on him, but Deku rolled out of the way before his foot could touch him. He sprung to his feet and landed another punch to Bakugou's face, this time his knuckles splitting his lip open. Bakugou growled and jumped forward, grabbing Deku's hair.
"Kacchan!" Deku shouted. "Hair-grabbing? Really?"
"Who says I fight fair, asshole?!" Bakugou yelled, punching Deku in the eye.
Deku reared his leg back and sent it forward, hitting Bakugou square in the stomach. The wind knocked out of him and he released Deku's hair, making the man stumble back and catch his breath.
Bakugou wheezed, rubbing his sore ribs and glaring at Deku. Deku was glaring right back, a wave of seething anger still written in his features.
"He doesn't want to see you, moron!" Bakugou said. "He told me himself! He was ignoring your texts!"
"How can I trust that you're telling me the truth?!" Deku yelled. "For all I know, you have his phone!"
"Are you even hearing yourself?!" Bakugou shouted. He sprang forward and grabbed Deku by the collar, slamming him against the nearby wall. "Where was this protective behavior when he was coming to my bar and getting half-drunk every night?"
Deku snarled and snapped his head forward, the top of his head smacking Bakugou right on his brow. He let go of Deku's collar, only for the other man to grab his arm and twist it, trying to quickly put him into a hold.
"I was trying to do as he wished! He wanted me to live my dream!" Deku yelled. "I still want things to work out!"
"Bullshit!" Bakugou yelled, twisting his arm the other direction and jumping forward to tackle Deku to the ground.
They rolled around on the ground, throwing punches where they could. Rocks were cutting into Bakugou's arms, making them bruise and bleed. Deku's face was covered in blood, but his face was still twisted into a snarl.
This was getting out of hand, Bakugou thought. He needed to end this. Now.
"Graaah!" Bakugou shouted, tensing his whole body. He grabbed Deku's shoulders and pulled him close, only to slam him back to the ground. The wind knocked out of him, and Bakugou took this as an opportunity to press his hands on Deku's face and arm, using the rest of his body to pin Deku underneath him.
"Don't lie to me! And don't you dare lie to yourself, either!" Bakugou shouted. "You and your stupid ego don't want to let him go! But you know that your feelings have passed, idiot!"
Deku winced and looked up at Bakugou with teary eyes. He couldn't speak with Bakugou's hand covering his mouth, which was totally fine by him. He needed Deku to listen instead of run his mouth.
"Don't torture him any longer! He's hurting and trying to move on!" Bakugou said. "So you should do the same, because this little game you're playing with him? It's over!"
He panted as he tried to catch his breath, feeling as Deku went limp underneath of him. He let go of the man and stood to his feet, every inch of his body aching. He spat out more blood and wiped his mouth.
"Now, get out of my sight," Bakugou sneered. "You disgust me."
Bakugou left Deku lying there in the dirt and limped back to his bar. He walked right through the front door, startling some of his customers as he passed by. He made it up to the counter and slapped a palm flat, making Kirishima and Kaminari jump and look at him.
"Whoa, shit!" Kaminari said, the color draining from his face.
"Bakugou, are you all right?" Kirishima asked, reaching a hand towards him.
Bakugou sat down on a stool and batted Kirishima's hand away. He glared straight ahead, not wanting to look anyone in the eye.
"Get me a whiskey," Bakugou said lowly.
"But, dude, you're really hurt," Kirishima said. "Shouldn't you just—"
"Now, Kirishima," Bakugou said, finally turning his eyes towards him.
Kirishima gulped and hurried to pour a glass, setting it down in front of him. Bakugou took it and swallowed down in one gulp. He slapped the glass down harshly on the counter and grit his teeth, feeling the pain finally start to take over.
Damn it, he thought. Damn it all to hell.
Bakugou managed to make it through the rest of his shift, his customers (along with Kaminari and Kirishima) staring at him curiously all evening. He closed up the bar at quarter 'til eleven and then made his way back to his apartment, his body throbbing with pains.
He was too old to fight like this, dammit. But luckily, the bar was closed the next day, so he could take a day to recover.
When he stepped in front of his apartment door, he took in a deep breath and opened the door. The lights were still on, and he could hear the TV running in the background.
"I'm home," Bakugou announced quietly.
"Welcome back," Todoroki said from the living room.
Bakugou shut the door behind him and sighed. There was no getting around this. His face was banged up and he was sporting an annoying limp that he'd probably have to go to the doctor for.
"Let's get this over with," Bakugou whispered to himself.
He toed out of his shoes and limped to the living room, where Todoroki was curled up on the couch with a blanket around his shoulders. He was focused on the show in front of him, the cat still on his lap. It was like he never moved from that spot.
"Anything good on?" Bakugou asked tiredly.
"Nothing really," Todoroki answered. He turned his head to look at him. "How was wor… Bakugou?"
Todoroki's eyes widened at Bakugou's appearance, and he shot up from the couch quickly. He moved close and lifted up a hand, pressing it delicately—damn, his touch was gentle—to Bakugou's cheek.
"What happened?" Todoroki asked, worry written all over his face. "Did you get mugged or… were you in an accident?"
Bakugou's hands started to tremble lightly by his sides. How would Todoroki react? He didn't want this man to hate him. Not after everything he realized in the past few days.
"I got into a fight," Bakugou said, his brows furrowing.
Todoroki blinked at him. "What? A fight? With who?"
Bakugou swallowed and averted his gaze. He had to tell the truth. He had to be honest. If Todoroki deserved anything in any kind of relationship, it was honesty and love. He needed to hear it, no matter how horrible.
"Deku," Bakugou answered.
Todoroki froze.
"Izuku?" he asked, and Bakugou nodded silently. Todoroki was lost for words for a moment, his gaze looking somewhere at Bakugou's chest. "Why did you guys fight?"
Bakugou tensed and he took a deep breath to keep the angry butterflies away.
"He showed up at the bar today. Was really pissed off that I wouldn't let him see you," Bakugou said. Todoroki looked up at him with a crease in his brow. "So we took it outside. I thought that would be the end of it, but he threw a punch at me and…"
You threw a fit.
You flipped out.
You overreacted.
You let yourself be angry.
You failed.
"…I lost control," Bakugou finally answered.
He couldn't look at Todoroki. The guilt that he had been ignoring all day was finally starting to eat away at him, and he couldn't bear to look at the one person he was supposed to protect in all this.
Bakugou wouldn't be at all surprised if Todoroki left right now, spitting out a, "You're just like my father," on the way out the door. He hated it. He hated that he was this way.
Why couldn't he be better? Why, dammit?
"Do you have a first aid kit?"
Bakugou snapped his eyes back to Todoroki, the man now looking over his bruises with concern.
"Um. Yeah, in the bathroom," Bakugou said.
Todoroki nodded and then gently took him by the hand. He silently led him down to the bathroom and had Bakugou sit on the edge of the tub. He took out the first aid kit and grabbed the disinfectant and some cotton swabs.
"Here. This'll probably sting, but it'll help," Todoroki said, carefully treating the open cuts on Bakugou's face.
He winced with each dab but he found that he didn't care. He was too focused on the man standing in front of him.
"You're… You're not leaving?" Bakugou asked.
Todoroki's brow rose. "Why would I leave?"
Bakugou pouted his lips a bit. "Because I basically kicked your husband's ass."
Ah, crap. Why did he have to word it that way?
"Mmn. Well, he shouldn't have ambushed you like that," Todoroki said, his finger smearing ointment on Bakugou's brow.
"You're not mad?" Bakugou asked.
Todoroki hesitated and then sighed through his nose. "No. I'm just… disappointed that things have turned out this way."
Bakugou grimaced and then lowered his gaze. His body felt heavy with shame.
"I… I didn't mean to—"
"But I'm glad that you defended me," Todoroki said. "You didn't start the fight, so you don't need to apologize for it."
Bakugou blinked at him, eyes comically wide. He swallowed thickly and bit his lip, cursing when his teeth pressed right into his cut.
Todoroki let out a huff of laughter and he carefully started to dab at the cut on his lip.
"Here. Try to leave it alone so it'll heal," Todoroki said.
Bakugou hummed and studied him. He swallowed again when he took in Todoroki's handsome face. He wanted to kiss him so badly. But now was definitely not the time nor the place.
"Do you, uh… wanna watch a movie, or somethin'?" Bakugou asked, trying to steer the conversation into something more normal. He was testing the waters a bit to see if Todoroki was truly okay with the entire thing.
Todoroki hummed and nodded. "Sure. Let me just finish up here."
After patching Bakugou up, the two of them retired to the living room where they started a movie. Todoroki sat close, and his body heat was enticing. His eyelids grew heavy but he tried to focus on the plot, desperate to stay tuned in to what was going on. But after a while, his eyes eventually slipped closed.
Just a few minutes, his brain told him.
Bakugou's eyes suddenly fluttered open with a sudden jolt. He blinked a few times to adjust to the room, realizing with a bleary start that the TV was still on and another crappy movie was playing quietly in the background.
Crap, did he fall asleep? Bakugou thought as he rubbed his eyes. He was about to stretch but his other arm was stuck underneath a weight. He glanced down and saw red and white hair.
Todoroki was leaning against him, his head on Bakugou's shoulder, and he was sound asleep. His face was soft and relaxed and so, so kissable.
Bakugou's heart immediately started hammering away inside of his chest. He leaned slightly closer to Todoroki and pressed his nose into Todoroki's hair, and damn, even with his own shampoo, the man smelled so good.
He couldn't help himself. His bruised lips pressed to Todoroki's temple, long and fond and making his heart swell with so much emotion that he could hardly breathe.
His eyes opened, not even realizing when he had closed them, and he pressed his nose back into his hair. He knew he had to be a friend first, but damn, he really couldn't help himself.
He wanted Todoroki. No. He wanted Shouto.
The room was silent save for Bakugou's soft breaths, but Todoroki thought his heart was loud enough to shake the building. He sat stiffly against Bakugou's shoulder, his eyes wide open as he stared into the darkened living room.
Did Bakugou…?
Todoroki's temple felt like it was burning, his whole body breaking out into tingles that made him want to squirm.
He did. He really did.
Bakugou kissed him.