Notes: If you thought that the BUMP OF CHICKEN titles were only for my Danganronpa fics then you were dead wrong. (This one's title is inspired by the song "Sharin no Uta.")

Just to clarify a little chronology for those who haven't seen the movie yet/don't remember, this happens before Deku learns Rody's quirk.

Very slight movie spoilers in this one, but I'm pretty certain that I've seen screenshots of the only canon scenes referenced here floating around rodydeku twitter (either from trailers or pamphlet scans), so there should be no surprises if you've been paying attention.

No idea what the demonym is supposed to be for Otheon so I just chose the one I thought sounded best haha.

Also... this is unbetaed and it's from Deku's POV this time so he's called "Izuku" but my dog's name is "Izuru" and I THINK I caught and fixed all the slipups I made but in case I didn't, please let me know!

Anyway, please enjoy!

A Slight but Certain Warmth

"That's some nice balance you got there, Hero!

Izuku spluttered indignantly, coughing to clear his burning sinuses of the river water he had inhaled. When he glanced up wearily through his soaked bangs, Rody was grinning mockingly as he leaned out the truck window.

Sighing, Izuku brushed the wet hair from his eyes and made to stand back up. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" he called back, before noticing that the Otheonian had opened the driver-side door. Pino came flitting over to him, chirping worriedly, which commanded Izuku's attention until he heard another splash near the truck. "Rody?" he said, whipping his head up—the splash hadn't sounded loud enough to suggest the taller boy had been submerged completely like Izuku, but it still didn't do any good for them both to be wet.

Fortunately, it seemed that Rody had removed his shoes and socks before leaving the truck, and the water was shallow enough to just barely lick the hem of his shorts as he waded over. "You're really hopeless, you know?" he said with an exaggerated, confident shrug, swinging their first aid kit in one hand.

"I said I'm fine, though!" Izuku insisted, standing to his full height as if to demonstrate just how fine he was. "Don't worry about it, just get back to the truck so we can finish crossing."

Rody placed a hand on his hip, eyebrow cocked and mouth twisted into a frown. "Don't know if you noticed this, Deku, but you're soaked."

Well, yes, the rivulets of water tickling his neck and back were more than enough to make sure Izuku didn't forget that little detail. "We're almost to shore, I can put up with it until then."

"And we need to re-dress your wound." Rody patted the first aid kit. "Who knows what kind of bacteria there is in this river."

Izuku paused. That was definitely a good point; it would make their journey a whole lot harder if his injury got infected. "Let's still wait until we're back on land," he said slowly. "It would just be wasted effort if I end up slipping in the water again."

"So you're planning to fall a second time."

"That's not what I said."

In the end, Izuku managed to convince Rody that fording the river took priority, and after just a few more minutes he had guided the pickup truck to solid ground again. As soon as all four wheels were securely on the river bank, the lanky brunet parked, cut the engine, and hopped out of the cabin. "Okay, first up is bandages," he declared, settling himself in front of Izuku with a serious expression. "Then you need to get out of those clothes before you catch a chill."

Izuku couldn't help but laugh; sometimes you could really tell that Rody was an older brother. "Okay, okay," he said, sitting down as well before shrugging off his suspender straps and peeling off his shirt.

Rody quickly got to work at removing the bandages and replacing them with fresh ones from the first aid kit. Izuku knew that the Otheonian hadn't had any experience with treating an arrow wound before the previous night, but Rody seemed to be a quick study, easily remembering the wrapping technique with little extra guidance required.

Before too long, Rody had finished up the dressing and packed the bandages away. "All right!" he said brightly, standing up after giving Izuku a friendly clap on the back—which jostled his injury a bit, but he clenched his teeth through the split-second of pain and said nothing. "Now just get yourself changed, I'll hang up the wet clothes to dry behind the cabin, and we can be back on our way."

That particular wording caught Izuku's attention. "Wait— get changed?" He twisted around to look at Rody, his brows furrowing. "I can't get changed."

Rody peered at him blankly, but within half a second the corners of his mouth pulled downward as he seemed to catch on to the meaning. "You don't have a change of clothes," he said, and it was more of a statement than a question—he had been the one to purchase their disguises, after all. Their single set of disguises.

"I have my hero suit, obviously, but..."

"How likely will it be for someone to see you wearing it from inside the truck?"

"I don't think we should risk it. We could be stopped at any time as we approach the border to Craid."

"Then..." Rody tapped a finger against his forehead, as if trying to urge an idea to come to the forefront. "Oh, I know! That thing you can do!" He flicked his fingers in the air to demonstrate. "Just do that thing! You can do it bigger, right? It should get your clothes dry in a flash."

"Air Force?" Izuku cupped his chin as he considered the idea. "I suppose I could, but these clothes are already a little threadbare. Air Force is a solid burst of air, not a steady gust of wind with variable power, so I'd be worried that they'd end up falling apart at the seams..."

Rody raked his hands through his hair in frustration. "Got any other ideas, then? We're pretty far from any shops where we could buy a new set."

Izuku stood up, brushing the grass from his overalls, and sighed. "I mean, I guess it'd be fine for me to just strip down to my boxers for a bit. We're both guys here."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Rody stumbled backwards as Izuku hooked his thumbs in the waistband to pull the overalls down. "You mean not wearing anything?!"

"I'll still have my underwear on, and like I said, we're both guys. It's not that much different from being at a public bath, is it?"

"You bathe in public in Japan?! Where just anyone can see?!"

Izuku's cheeks went warm. "When you say 'bathe in public' that makes it sound like... wait, you mean you don't?!" He gaped at his friend. "I thought Westerners were way more bold with physical stuff!"

"We don't get naked together!"

"Why is that a big deal when it's just the same parts you've seen on yourself?!"

Apparently it was a big deal, though, because Rody had gone beet red. "Look... just..." He made a strained noise in the back of his throat, sighed, and then pulled his hoodie over his head so that he was only wearing his undershirt. "If you're going to strip down to your underwear, at least put this on instead," he said, holding out the pullover without meeting Izuku's eyes.

For a moment, Izuku just blinked at him. "Oh... uh, thanks," he said, accepting the shirt and letting his face relax into a smile. "I guess this will be a bit warmer than just sitting in my boxers, huh?"

"Right! Exactly that." Rody stooped and picked up Izuku's soaked shirt from the ground, though his movements seemed a bit unnatural. "I'll just, uh, I'll go hang this up on the truck. Give you some privacy to get changed. Bring me the overalls when you're ready, yeah?"

"Sure..." Izuku watched curiously as Rody disappeared behind the cabin of the truck to fashion a makeshift clothesline, his brow furrowing with concern. He hoped the other teen wasn't coming down with something after all the stress of the previous twenty-four hours.

Shrugging that off for the moment, he pulled the shirt over his head before stepping out of the wet overalls. The shirt was a bit longer on his shorter frame, with only the bottom half of his boxers peeking out from underneath, and—

The shirt was warm.

Izuku continued to stare down at himself, his face burning and his heart doing funny things. Something about feeling Rody's body heat from his clothes felt incredibly intimate, much more so than if he had just stayed in his boxers for a bit. Rody definitely had it all backwards.

He sighed and knelt down to pick up his overalls. That's what a difference in culture would do, he supposed.

And he hoped he wasn't coming down with something, too.

Notes: When you go see the movie, please pay attention to the quick shot right after Deku falls in the river. It took me until my third viewing to notice so I'm giving you all a heads up!