Midoriya plopped down beside his friend, the steamy drink and present still in hand. He could feel the worry on his face now melting away – where Todoroki's expression completely tensed up.

"M-Midoriya," he repeated, a slight rasp and congestion to his voice, "W-what are y'd-doing out here?"

Steadily, Midoriya looked Todoroki in the eye, noticing just how exhausted he looked.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing…"

Todoroki was slightly taken aback by his classmate's reply. There was a sternness to Midoriya's demeanor that Todoroki didn't often see. The green-haired young man extended his arm: holding a steaming liquid just beneath Todoroki's running nostrils.

"Y'look like you could use some warming up," Midoriya insisted, the naturally soft tone of his voice curtailing any harshness.

Todoroki kept looking straight ahead. Though somewhat hunched over, hugging his abdomen, his neck was erect. Distracted, clearly, but Izuku could not pin why. His silence allowed Midoriya to study his features more closely. The freckled boy hummed quietly.

'Definitely cold, alright.'

Tinted pink were his ears and nose. Though his scarred left side made it difficult to notice, his cheeks were undoubtedly chapped and rosy. It was hard to see – as Midoriya was sitting on Todoroki's left side – but his right was starting to crystalize. Even the steam from the beverage could not melt the fractals of frostbite.

"Have a sip," Midoriya insisted.

"N-no th-th-thanks."

Pearl white teeth, too, fought the urge to chatter incessantly. That, and his clenched jaw, made his speech abnormally challenging to understand. If Midoriya weren't looking right at Todoroki's bluish mouth, he'd miss the words completely. Midoriya continued, trying to take on a more chipper approach to the conversation.

"Y'sure? It's really good!"

"I s-said, 'No thanks', M-midoriya."

Midoriya recoiled, pulling the mug down into his lap.

'Well, that didn't work.'

Not wanting to waste the drink, Midoriya began to sip it slowly. Todoroki's frame shook more with every sweltering slurp.

"You know," Midoriya confirmed, "There's more inside, anyway. A whole party, in fact."

There was a pause. If there wasn't a coldness to Todoroki's behavior, there was now.

Flatly, Todoroki replied, "Th-then why don' y'go b-back up there?"

"Well, it's hard to celebrate without everybody there."

Todoroki's cerulean lips tightened.

'Yeah,' he thought, 'There I go. Ruining shit again.'

He blinked hard. Voices, he wished he could control, shrilled in his mind.

~" Please, father!" cried a young boy's voice.

"Let Shoto come in," the sound of a young girl added, "We can't celebrate without him!"

The sound of glass shatters to the floor. Its loudness was only rivaled by the sound of a man bellowing, "Enough! He will do what needs to be done." ~

The familiar tenor of Midoriya speaking brought Todoroki back.

"We've all been looking for you," the green-haired boy added, "The whole class! We're not 1A without you, y'know."

Again, he looked to a reactionless Todoroki. Midoriya huffed.

'Man,' Izuku huffed, 'I know Todoroki's usually stoic, but this is a new level.'

He held up Yaoyorozu's package.

"You even have gifts."

This seemed to get Todoroki's attention. Craning his stiff neck, the young hero-in-training looked at the gift. Malice stained his voice.

"Th-the Hell's'at?"

"A…A gift," Midoriya replied, a bead of sweat freezing to his brow, "For Christmas. From Yaoyorozu."

"G-get it outta my face."

"What?"

"Y-you heard m-me."

"But, it's from—"

"I kn-know who it's f-from," Todoroki lashed, his eyebrows knitting for only a second, "G-get it away from me."

Todoroki struggled hide a light fit of coughing. Midoriya could hear rattling in his friend's breathing. The freckled young man put the gift down beside him on the bench. He huffed, cursing himself for letting a warm breath escape him in this bitterness.

Speaking of bitterness, Midoriya pondered.

'He's acting so strange. Defensive, almost? But why? There's more to it. There- '

"Todoroki, is everything alright?"

His own question interrupted his thoughts. It was eating at him: he had to know! Todoroki was exceptionally good at this game. Again, another placid response escaped his chapped lips.

"'M'f-fine…"

"Y'sure? Uraraka said you've been out here a while."

"T-to g-get f-firew'wood."

Todoroki's words were slurring as he shuddered. Midoriya looked behind the bench, then back at his friend.

He asked plainly, "Where is it?"

"Mm?" Todoroki hummed, almost drowsily.

"The firewood, Todoroki. That you were getting? It's not here. Where is it?"

Still, Todoroki would not face his classmate. He responded straight ahead of him.

"D…didn't g-get it…"

"I can see that."

At that reply, Todoroki fidgeted. Midoriya held his breath. This was the first sign of movement he'd seen from him since he got here. Unfortunately, it was only to sneeze.

"hh'Hr'ishooou!"

The crook of his elbow caught the sneeze. At least he had the sense to wear a sweater today. Still, a loose-knit, navy sweater in a blizzard doesn't exactly get the job done. Midoriya winced at Todoroki's sniffles. He sounded clogged, almost pained. Midoriya fished a handkerchief from his coat pocket.

"Bless you," Midoriya commented, placing the handkerchief between them, "Maybe we should talk inside."

Despite his trembling, Todoroki remained motionless.

"'M'good right here," he said thickly.

Midoriya was getting exhausted with this, and his attitude reflected it.

"Todoroki, it's warm in there. And it sounds like you're getting sick."

"M-M'dor'ya, 'm'okay."

One grey and one blue, Todoroki's eyelids were starting to sink. Midoriya knew this wasn't a good sign. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Then prove it."

"W-what?"

"Prove it," Midoriya repeated, standing up, "Light a fire for me."

This made Todoroki focus his vision on his classmate. Again, his pupils shrunk, and his body noticeably tensed up. More shivers pulsated through him, though not from the cold this time. He wished the voices would stop...

~ "Light a fire for me, Shoto." The man's voice commanded in such a way, it made the yard shake.

"Stop!" cried a woman's voice, "It's Christmas. Do we have to do this on Christmas?!"

"Enough! Heroes don't stop because it's Christmas. Or because it's cold."

"B-but, D-dad- "

"Did I ask you to speak?"

"N-no?"

"No. No, I asked you to light a damn fire. So… where's the damn fire?!" ~

"-'Roki? Todoroki?"

"Hmm?"

Again, Midoriya brought him out of his own head. Though he, too, did not seem very happy with him.

"You do it all the time, Todoroki," Midoriya insisted, "'Doesn't have to be a big one. Just do it."

'He won't be able to,' Midoriya thought, 'But I need him to try. I need to make sure he's okay. Even a little steam would be better than nothing.'

Todoroki was frozen again. Not the temperature kind – an uneasy kind.

"I—I"

"Y'can't, can you?"

"Midoriya—"

"It's this weather."

"St-stop it…"

"I-it's not good for your quirk. And it's definitely not good for you."

"It's f-fine."

"It's not! Todoroki, why are you doing this to yourself?"

Todoroki shot up from the bench, fists clenched.

"I c-can do it'Mo—"

Todoroki stopped short, his flushed cheeks going even redder. Midoriya's brow crinkled. He almost didn't know if he should speak.

"W…what were you going to call me?"

"M…'Midoriya'."

'No, he wasn't,' Midoriya thought to himself.

The two were quiet for a time. Midoriya met Todoroki's panicked stare.

"This," Midoriya spoke softly, "Has nothing to do with firewood. Does it?"

Todoroki's eyes darted away from Midoriya's.

"Y'wouldn't understand. J'just leave me 'lone."

"No."

"Deku-"

"I'm not leaving."

Though still shaking, Todoroki's shoulders hunched. Midoriya knew this look all too well. With feet expanding, shoulder-width apart, and fists clenching once more, Shoto Todoroki was officially in his fighting stance. With the edge of his thumb, he quickly swiped at the underside of his reddened nose. Once flitting eyes were now focused and targeted. A cloud of warm breath rose from his mouth. His voice, though stuffy, took on a gruff tone.

"Th-then I'll m-make you."

Midoriya shuffled back slightly.

"Todoroki—"

"Y-you w-wanted fire—"

"Todoroki, stop!"

"I'm gonna—I'm… 'm' gonna give y'f-fire."

The grimace on Todoroki's face could rival that of Bakugo's. His jaw clenched so forcefully, purple veins in his neck were struggling to pop out. His eyes, too, were shut tight: bulbs of frozen tears poked out of the corners of his sockets. Midoriya frowned. He wasn't sure who he was looking at, but it wasn't Todoroki.

Still, the young hero-in-training continued to scowl. Midoriya noticed his right arm, clenching at his left bicep as it flexed. Usually, an effortless flame would have appeared by now. Still, the teen's arm shuddered with the urge to activate his quirk. Steam began to rise from his left side as if he were on fire. Still, no flames. Sweat continued to freeze to his whole shaking body.

"'mmm…C'c'mmmon…"

Warm vapor continued to quell from within him. All the while, Midoriya noticed his friend's right side crackling with more evolving icicles. Whimpers of frustration became hollers of rage. Tears began to form in Midoriya's own eyes as he watched.

'Just like I thought… He can't do it. His quirk… It can't handle drastic temperatures like this. That, and the prolonged exposure to the cold… He can't regulate his left side, and he's starting to overexert the right.'

This torture needed to end. Midoriya ran to Todoroki, clenching both arms.

"Stop!" Izuku shrieked, "Todoroki, stop! Please!"

Todoroki's eyes remained clasped shut. His muscles strained as he seethed.

"M-M'doriya… M-move…"

"I'm not budging until you stop this!"

Slits alerted Todoroki to Midoriya's worried expression. Tears and chilled snot dripped from the crevices of Midoriya's orifices. He looked down: Midoriya's right glove was melting into his left arm, and his left glove gathered in ice clumps atop his right arm.

Suddenly, the hands weren't Midoriya's. They were slender, delicate hands. A woman's hands, with a soothing touch, and pale skin tone. He never wanted them to let go.

~ "That's enough, Shoto. Let's get you inside." ~

With his own chapped hands, Todoroki gently removed Midoriya from his grip.

Midoriya gasped as Todoroki stopped generating his quirk. He could feel the tenseness in Todoroki's stance release. He doubled over, grabbing both knees and panting. More vapors of steam consistently evaporated from Todoroki, and crackles of ice still matured along his right side. His whole body trembled. His own muscles fought to hold him upright. As wrack of chesty coughs erupted, his frame jerked forward – bending almost unnaturally. He remained silent, save a few vocal shivers.

Midoriya, wiping streams of tears from his own eyes, removed his own coat.

"Let's get you inside," he said kindly.

Draping his coat over his classmate's back, Midoriya gingerly slung Todoroki's left arm over his shoulders to sustain his weight. A light grunt escaped Todoroki's throat as Midoriya supported his upper body.

"It's okay," Midoriya assured, "I gotcha."

Together, their boots crunched back at the new-fallen snow. Looking over his shoulder, Midoriya left the mug and present on the bench. Another groan from Todoroki recaptured Midoriya's attention.

'I'll come back for 'em,' he thought.

Luckily for them, the storm had lightened up a bit. Their five-minute walk back to Heights Alliance would have a bit of luxury to it. Without the treacherous winds and sopping snow, Midoriya could enjoy the view this time. The greenery along the campus was fully blanketed in white. Even if this was an unlikely circumstance, he still smiled despite himself: truly fortunate to be here. A muffled cough brought Midoriya's awareness back to his friend.

Looking down, Midoriya cringed: his classmate's two-toned hair was sopping wet and freezing upon his head. Having steamed up from his episode, the light flurry of snow coated his drenched, pin-straight locks of red and white. Todoroki's shoulder blades vibrated with chills, and it reflected in his breathless speech.

"'mm…mmm'm's-s-sorry, M-midoriya…"

His breath caught when another cough wretched out of him. Midoriya tightened his grip around the young man's torso. A drip of water fell from beneath Todoroki's bangs. To Midoriya, it was hard to judge from this angle where exactly it came from.

More coughs emerged. They were smallish, but they were deep, and they weren't stopping. Midoriya had so many questions: questions that would have to wait.

"We can talk about it later," Midoriya replied, "After you've had some rest."

Midoriya looked up at the Heights Alliance building. It was hard to tell exactly which window connected to 1A's common room, but he was sure his classmates had been watching…