He heard him trying to say something, so he tried to pull away a bit but Midoriya wouldn't let him and clung to him like a koala all of a sudden, wrapping his legs around his hips and making him stagger. "What just happened?" Todoroki took a step back as he tried to steady himself so as to not fall to the ground with Midoriya.

Surprise came over him, momentarily pushing away the sadness he was feeling. He couldn't move his arms because he was using them to balance Midoriya's weight and thus not tire his legs that much. "What is he even doing?"

"Midoriya…" he whispered, brushing his nose against his cheek. "Midoriya."

He waited a couple of seconds but there was no answer. Todoroki didn't think about it before turning and pressing his friend's back to the wall behind him, he couldn't think of a better way at that moment to be able to separate a little from him to see his face. Yeah, maybe it wasn't his best idea and he could have propped it up on the bed but at least it worked.

"Midoriya," he muttered determinedly but a little scared; his friend's eyes were closed, "is everything okay, Midoriya?"

He only received a nod from him. "Midoriya is silent and I am the one talking… something is really wrong here." He moved a hand from his thighs to his chin, forcing Midoriya to see him when he opened his eyes.

"Midoriya…" He needed to understand what had happened, "open your eyes… Please!"

He didn't mean to sound so demanding when he said it but he couldn't help it, his nerves betrayed him at times like that. "Sorry". He thought, not looking away from his closed lids. All he wanted was to understand what had led his friend to jump over him like that.

A few seconds passed, although to Todoroki they seemed eternal, when he paid attention to him and he saw his green pupils hold his gaze, almost trying to tell him what was happening that way. Definitely, Todoroki had to improve his interpersonal relationships because that attitude of Midoriya was making him feel desperate.

"Todoroki…" He sighed his name as he released the air that was contained in his lungs; he felt his heart skip a beat when he heard him.

"Midoriya, tell me what's going on," he asked, still not removing his hand from his chin.

"I don't know, puff, I mean, I do know but… Todoroki, I… Ufff! Everything is very mixed up in my mind, I need... Ah! I need, I don't know, to understand myself before." It seemed like he just exploded. "First I saw you so close but at the same time so far and I couldn't ignore it, I had to get closer, I had to feel that you were fine."

"Between the blur that I saw in front of me by my own tears, I reached out to try to touch you but you were further than that so I just took a few steps forward and hugged you, I assumed you needed it, or so I wanted to think. I thought that with that you would feel better because it always helped me."

"I was very surprised when you turned around and hugged me tighter than anyone have ever done before. I didn't understand it but I appreciated it and I reciprocated, giving you all of me in that embrace, giving you all the strength that I had left so that you could feel better."

"But you were still feeling sad... You were crying and I couldn't calm you down. So I joined you without being able to help it and I'm sorry, I'm sorry if it was wrong; forgive me if I made you feel worse. I don't know; it didn't feel good seeing you like that… I felt very bad."

Todoroki lowered his face as he realized that Midoriya had started to mutter and, although he could stop it, he could just put his hands over his shoulders and press hard to get him out of his mind. He really didn't care and he was willing to listen carefully, in an effort to try and understand everything he was saying.

"I tried to apologize when you decided to get away and I, I... I couldn't leave you. Now it was me who needed you, it was me who wanted that hug. Todoroki, I don't know what happened but I wanted you to stay by my side, at least a moment more, that's why I didn't allow you to go away, that's why I looked for a way to stay close to you."

"I swear I didn't think it would be like that, in this situation, I didn't plan to jump into your arms and excuse me, I didn't mean to make you lose your balance. I… what I wanted was to be near you and hug you for a few more seconds."

"Then the seconds turned into minutes and I still have the same feeling… Now, they will turn into hours and I don't want to get away from you. I didn't want to open my eyes so I didn't meet your gaze. I thought you'd let me go when I did and no, I was just trying to delay that moment."

Todoroki began to feel bad although it was not his fault, he knew it had been him pressing himself, but he didn't want to see him like this any longer; he didn't want to interrupt him either. You could tell he needed it and he wouldn't be the one to take that feeling away from his friend.

"Yes, Todoroki! I know you don't like all this stuff. I know it makes you nervous to be so close to people. I know that physical space is as important for you as it is to Kacchan… I know that what you least wanted at that moment was to feel me closer to you but I was selfish and I didn't care; I still don't care that much."

"You rubbed your nose against my skin and I trembled, I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. Yes, it seemed like a very adorable act but I remained selfish and let fear take over. Yes, fear... Fear of meeting your gaze, losing myself in it and listening to you when you asked me to let you go. I just couldn't... Todoroki, I can't do it!"

Shouto wanted to get a bit closer to him, make him see that there was no problem in what he was saying, make him understand that he didn't have to be afraid, that he felt it too. Make it clear that he didn't have to apologize… but the words got stuck in his throat when he tried to say something.

"You said my name and I was sure you would make me walk away. Obviously I was wrong but I thought I would have to unroll my legs from your hips at that point. I deduced that you would push me aside and I didn't want to give you the opportunity, so I remained silent. If I didn't say anything, and I clung to you tightly, you couldn't do anything, right? Well, I didn't think of anything else while you kept repeating my name, Shouto."

Todoroki raised his head again when he heard it. "Did he just call me by my name or am I going crazy?" He opened his eyes, surprised by the naturalness with which he had said it, enraptured by the way his name sounded coming from his lips, fascinated when he heard it; hoping he would repeat it soon.

"No… No, Shouto, I didn't think about it. I just waited while I listened to you. I just ignored your request as much as I could when you told me to open my eyes. And, if I'm honest, I wanted to do it, I thought about doing what you were saying just to please you but my fear won over me; it won over me until I felt your hand on my chin."

"That slight contact brought me even closer to you… I don't know how to explain it, Shouto. I don't know what I felt or why I felt that way, but when you did that, you helped me see that you weren't going to walk away, that you weren't going to push me."

"It was when you already sounded desperate that I forced myself to contradict myself and listen to you… I resiliently opened my eyes to see yours. I've never seen you like this, so close and with glassy eyes."

"It was then that I realized that, during all this time, you hadn't stopped crying or sniffing. I knew I had missed a lot by being selfish and I'm sorry… I didn't mean to, Shouto, I really didn't."

"He did it again and again. He stopped calling me by my last name and, really, I am not complaining… I like when he calls me by my first name." Todoroki tried not to turn his face when he saw how Midoriya gave up and let out the tears that he had held since he had started to murmur. "Is it fine if I imitate him?"

"Izuku…" He sighed in the same way he had done minutes ago, he wasn't quite sure it had the same effect it had on him. "You're mumbling too much, Izuku."

"Are you calling me by my name?" He asked excitedly, opening his huge eyes as wide as he could.

"Yeah…" He swallowed, looking away. "You have done it too."

"Me?" He whispered, before Todoroki nodded, raising a hand to the back of his neck nervously. "I was muttering, right?"

"You've been doing it for at least five minutes," he replied softly, hoping he didn't take it badly.

"Why didn't you stop me?" Midoriya sounded strange.

"Because sometimes people need to talk, even if it's with yourself…" Todoroki replied, putting a hand on his friend's chin again, "and you were giving me the answers I was looking for, even to those questions I didn't know I had and needed to hear."

"And why did you tell me now?" He questioned under the nervous expression on Todoroki's face.

"Because it was starting to seem like you were hurting yourself with your words." Shouto brushed Midoriya's jaw with his thumb, in an attempt to stop time and see that flashing expression on his face again.

"But I could have hurt you with what I said." Midoriya lowered his face, looking away from Todoroki.

"You didn't, Izuku." He's not used to being called by his name. "You said just what I needed to hear. More than that... You said that that I was not being able to say."

"I'm sorry, Todoroki," Midoriya whispered, closing his eyes.

"Why do you apologize?" He moved a hand until his fingers were intertwined with Midoriya's. "And you called me by my last name… again."

"I thought it bothered you," he said, his gaze fixed on his hands.

"No, Izuku. On the contrary…" He sighed, squeezing his hand before continuing. "You should do it more often."

"Seriously?" He asked, his eyes widening. "Do you think it's okay?"

"I think it's perfect," he murmured, trying to put a sweet smile on his face.

"So, Shouto, what are we going to do?" He whispered, getting serious.

"Come on Izuku," he muttered as he sat down on the bed.

"What do you have in mind?" The expression on Midoriya's face was doubtful.

Without giving him more time to think, Shouto wrapped his arms around Izuku, rested his head on his shoulder and hid his face in the crook of his neck. He soon felt like he was hugging him too and couldn't help but to widen his smile. "What are you doing to me, Izuku?" He didn't want to lose that feeling that grew every time he saw him. "He is literally my hero." He breathed in the sour scent off his skin. "I don't know if what we're doing is okay, but as long as I can be near him, I don't want to do anything else."

He pulled away from him to lay his back on the bed, resting his head over the pillow and staring at his green pupils. "Are we still friends or are we something else?" He reached out his right arm and entwined his fingers with Izuku's, pulling him in, until positioning him next to his body. He cupped his face with his left hand and caressed his flushed cheek as he tried not to sigh so often. "He is so handsome… How comes I didn't realize before?" He thought, wishing Izuku understood everything that was going through his mind, all the feelings that he didn't understand yet but that he was already determined to accept. "All I want is to be with him, so I can see him smile and that makes me happy."

Todoroki closed his eyes as he hugged Midoriya tighter and moved the hand that was caressing his face to the bottom of his hairline. He felt his breath on his neck and heard their heartbeats synchronizing; it's so calm, so melodic. "For now, I'm just going to accept that this is real."

He moved a few inches away from Izuku and, opened his eyes to meet his gaze; he was just staring at him there. "What could he see in me?" He thought, kissing his forehead. His freckles stood out on his flushed cheeks, they seemed so cute that it brought him to count them until he gave up. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"One, two..." he whispered, more to himself even though Izuku could still hear him.

"What are you doing?" He was startled when he felt Todoroki's finger dig into his skin.

"I'm counting your moles," he replied, as if it was obvious, and received a smile from Izuku. "Five, six…"

Shouto couldn't keep his eyelids open after reaching twenty and fell asleep shortly after; he calmed down inspiring the acidic scent that gave off the skin of the boy next to him. "I didn't realize it before but he used a different soap… Now it smells like grapefruit."

He didn't know what time it was when he felt Izuku press closer against him but he didn't care at all. "As long as nobody kicked the door down, everything is fine." It was still dark when he opened his eyes as he felt Midoriya tremble. "What is he dreaming about?" He rubbed his back slowly to try and calm him down without waking him up.

"Could it be that he is cold?" He pulled his left arm out from under the pillow and passed it over Izuku, gently brushing his arms, back, and abdomen, until he felt that he stopped shivering. "Just in case, I'll cover us." He spread the blanket to cover him almost completely and gave him a kiss on the tip of his nose and closed his eyes again; falling asleep immediately after.

He didn't get up until the brightness of the sun pierced his eyes, forcing him to open them and realize that he was alone in bed. He stretched out his arms, seeking to fully wake up… He looked around him and remembered that he was in Midoriya's room, everything that had happened the night before came to his mind. "Where is he?" He thought, sitting down on the edge of the mattress.

Looking for his cell phone, he found a note on the nightstand: I'll be back in a moment, please don't go. "What are you doing, Midoriya?" He grabbed his phone from the table, "when did I even put it there?" Then he leaned back, stretching his back over the bed, while he went through the messages he had and waited patiently for Izuku to come back.

It had been almost half an hour when Shouto heard the door open and he saw Midoriya entering the room. "He brings a tray and is staggering... What could that even be?" He got up from the bed and went to the desk, where Izuku placed the containers that he brought.

"Good Morning!" Izuku yelled, sounding excited.

"Hello!" Shouto replied, involved by his energy. "What are all these things?"

"Breakfast," he murmured, turning his face to smile at him.

"You know it's past eleven, right?" He asked laughing and raising an eyebrow.

"It took me longer than I planned…" Izuku whispered, removing two glasses from the tray and setting it aside, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," he said, gazing in wonder at everything in front of him. "Did you prepare everything yourself?"

"Some of the things I had already bought but… yes, you could say that." Shouto was really surprised and very happy.

"It looks delicious," he muttered, turning his face until he saw Midoriya's eyes.

"I hope it is." He was nervous and didn't seem very convinced.

"I'm sure it is."

Although he knew that there was only one chair, Shouto dragged it and offered Izuku to sit on it, telling him that he would stay stand. In the end, Izuku had a better idea and they shared it, just as they did with the various dishes in front of them. "Now I'm really hungry." They ate in almost complete silence, the only thing that could be heard was Shouto's congratulations, accepting that Izuku could cook and telling him that he was very happy to be enjoying that meal with him. "I'm very lucky."

They cleared the table when they finished and stayed in the room talking about trivial things; just spending time with each other and learning new things about them. "How can he lick his elbow? It's impossible... He has to teach me." They studied for a bit in the afternoon and didn't actually leave the room until it was around six in the afternoon. "It was quite an entertaining day... I want to enjoy more days like this." Todoroki thought, closing the bedroom door behind him. "Definitely, this is the best day of my life."

And now it's over, friends!

I really enjoyed writing this story, mainly because I adore the ship and I was proud of writing something this long (compared with my standards).

I hope you all felt something with all this crazyness...

I'm excited to read all your thoughts down below!