When Midoriya Izuku, about to go to sleep, looked at his phone and found he had received a message from Bakugou, he felt divided. Part of him was happy that the boy reached him, but part of him was surprised by his text. He wasn't sure it was Katsuki, but the incident that morning made Bakugou the first person on his mind when he received the message. But what if it wasn't him? Deku decided to confirm instead of just dropping the info, for safety reasons.

Kacchan?

A split second passed, then another message came from the mysterious number.

Yeah, It's me. Do you have it or not?!

Yup. It was definitely Bakugou. What would Kacchan want with Todoroki-kun? He considered asking but thought it would be impolite. It's not like he would answer it anyway. He searched through his contacts until he found Shoto's name, followed by a snowflake emoji. For some reason, he felt embarrassed. Moved by a sudden urge, Izuku edited the contact before sending it out.

Of course! Sorry, you just caught me off guard, didn't know you two were close. I'm sending it to you right now. :)

[Todoroki Shoto]

Izuku faced the screen waiting for an answer that never came. Well, nothing he wasn't used to. He settled in bed, resigned to the fact that Kacchan would never share what had made him look for Todoroki. He closed his eyes, but thousands of scenarios started to play out in his mind like a movie. Why did that bother him so much? He tossed and turned, but sleep seemed to have eluded him completely. Izuku stared at the stains on the ceiling in a vain attempt to force himself to sleep by counting them. A million questions per second prowled his mind, the lump in his throat tightening every time he dared to think about them for more than an instant. Something was wrong. Izuku had always managed his overthinking tendencies even when they flooded his mind. His ideas used to come in organized cycles but, at that moment, the simple act of trying to extract some logic from them seemed to suffocate him. As the minutes passed, the stains on the ceiling became more and more like stars, dissolved by the tears starting to form in his tired green eyes.

-God, what is happening with me?-

He reached for his phone, but he was interrupted by the almost inaudible sound of knocking on his door. He knew that sound, so familiar and polite. Izuku wiped his eyes in a hurry and moved cautiously to the door.

"Todoroki-kun?" He whispered, "Is that you?"

"Did I wake you?" Shoto whispered back "Sorry."

Izuku unlocked the door. When he opened it, he found a Todoroki with a troubled countenance. That made his chest tighten terribly.

"No, not at all. Come in."

Shoto entered the room, feeling immediately at ease at the sight of Izuku's All Might memorabilia. The room he had visited only once remained unchanged in its youthful innocence. The perfect representation of Midoriya, so honest and simple. He wanted to smile, flooded by the peace his surroundings brought, but Izuku's concerned look woke him to reality. He had come to solve something that could not wait.

"Sorry to show up at your door at such a late hour."

"Is everything okay?" Midoriya asked, looking concerned with Todoroki's condition.

For a brief moment, Shoto looked into Izuku's eyes. They were just like two big emeralds, sparkling. He noticed its red corners, and it was like a punch hit him right in his heart. For the first time, Shoto wanted to touch him.

"Have you been crying?"

"Oh, this?" Izuku pointed at his eyes "I just spent too much time facing the ceiling, you know? I ended up tearing up after a long time without sleep."

"And why couldn't you sleep? Is everything okay?"

Shoto asked, facing Izuku, serious.

"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that question?"

"Why?"

"You just showed up at my door at 2 am, Todoroki-kun."

"Fair enough. I do owe you an explanation." Shoto gave up, sitting on the boy's bed. "I have to talk to you about something."

"It's about Kacchan?" Izuku blushed at Shoto's inquisitive gaze "He asked me if I had your number earlier."

Sitting with his hands in front of his body, squeezing the knees of his pants, Izuku looked something like a cornered anthropomorphic rabbit, his big green eyes fleeing from his. Again, Shoto wanted to touch him. Instead, he simply asked

"Are you afraid of me, Midoriya?"

Izuku's eyes widened, finally facing his.

"No! Not at all, I'm sorry. I'm just... it's embarrassing, sorry. I was just curious. I was afraid it'd be nosy of me to ask. You don't have to tell me."

"But I want to. I came over here to tell you about it, Midoriya."

"Oh. Wow, it seems serious, haha... - Izuku said, facing the floor again - c'mon, tell me."

"It is. So please, face me while I do."

Still facing the floor, Izuku felt Todoroki's icy gaze piercing him. Nervous, he used every fiber of his body to lift his face, but to his surprise, the look he encountered was tender and warm. His racing heart suddenly felt light as a feather, mesmerized by the peace in the gray and blue eyes before him.

"Thank you. So yes, Bakugou reached me. He wanted to meet me to talk about something I asked him earlier this afternoon."

"At lunchtime." Shoto raised a brow and Izuku blushed again "Everyone noticed you two returning together. It was quite unusual."

"I see. Yes, I guess it was indeed something unexpected."

"So... ?"

"I approached him to discuss something that, unfortunately, only he could help me with. At the time, he couldn't help me much, but we met tonight and he was able to give me an answer."

Izuku felt his blood pressure drop.

"But the common areas..."

"At his room. He invited me over since he felt his answer wouldn't be effective through the phone, - The green-eyed boy started to feel nauseous. - because he needed to touch me."

"I'm gonna throw up." Izuku said, bolting to the bathroom and slamming the door behind him.

He opened the toilet lid and felt a hot acid wave leaving his throat immediately. Tears started forming again. The scenarios in his head were all real, after all. His childhood friend and his current best friend were having that kind of intimacy. And one more time he was out of the picture, no matter how much stronger he was now. As he started to wonder how and when everything started to happen, a knock on the door stopped his train of thought.

"Can I come in?" Shoto's usually calm voice sounded worried through the door. "Midoriya?"

"I'm not feeling so well, Todoroki-kun. I'm sorry!" Izuku said, struggling to sound normal "Must be something I ate! Go to your room, we can catch up later!"

"Please. Let me come in."

Silence. Izuku wanted to scream for him to come back and leave him alone, but his voice escaped completely. He leaned his back against the toilet wishing to just magically vanish.

"I'm coming in, ok?"

Izuku closed his eyes as he heard the click of the doorknob, how if by doing so, he would disappear and Shoto wouldn't find him lying on the bathroom floor, his face wet with bile and tears. The boy opened the door slowly, and Izuku could hear when he walked to the sink and opened the faucet. He felt something warm on his cheeks. Shoto had soaked a hand towel and was cleaning him. He felt so embarrassed he could die.

"I'm sorry," Izuku said, facing the floor. "Must've been something I-"

"The melon bread."

"Excuse me?"

"It was weird this morning. You said you ate something odd, right?"

"Y-yes. I ate some, so must've been the melon bread."

Izuku's eyes met his gaze. Crouched by his side with a tiny gentle smile, Todoroki seemed so different from his usual distant self. He finished cleaning his face and leaned against the bathroom closet behind him.

"I felt nothing when he touched me."

Silence. Izuku faced Shoto, confused.

"Tonight I visited Bakugo because I needed advice. His answer was holding my hands, so I would know how I'd supposed to feel about it. He did it so I'd feel uncomfortable, cause we're not intimate as he is with his... lover."

"Kacchan has a...?"

"A lover? Yes, you can say so. But I found out by chance, he never told me directly about it."

"And you were thinking about it? That's why you came here today?"

"Precisely."

"You didn't need to come over just to tell me this, Todoroki-kun. I mean, I'm glad you trust me to do so, I just..."

"Do you think I'm a cold person, Midoriya? Bakugo said I am. And I do think the same, but you know me better than anyone, even better than myself, probably."

"No way! You're very restrained, even formal... but with everything concerning your family, I think it's the only way you managed to be."

"Do you really believe in it?"

"100%. Even when Kacchan was kidnapped you came along and helped us. You could've stayed at UA and never get involved but you helped and even faced the consequences for doing so. Todoroki-kun is a true hero!"

Shoto smiled. Looking at him with the same convinced eyes of admiration he had when mentioning All Might, Izuku even brought his clenched fist to his chest as he spoke. Noticing the boy's attention, though, he retracted, embarrassed.

"I've come here today because I needed to know how does it feel. The real thing. Not only friendship."

"I-I'm not following, sorry..."

Shoto leaned towards him. His usual icy hands were warm as they touched his cheeks, his face coming closer and closer. Izuku was paralyzed. Part of him wanted to run, but his body couldn't move, mesmerized by Shoto's gaze. He came closer, and Izuku shut his eyes, feeling his minty breath so close he could smell it.

"The cafeteria didn't have melon bread today, Midoriya." Shoto said, getting up.

"Wait, what?" Izuku asked, still dizzy "What does it have to do with...?"

"I know now how I feel about you. Come find me when you realize how do you feel about me and we can talk about it. Good night, Midoriya. Take care."

Then, just like a shadow, he left swiftly through the toilet door.

"Todoroki-kun, wait!" Izuku asked exasperated as he bolted after Shoto "Can I at least brush my teeth first?"

Shoto smiled.

"Sure. I'll wait."