It wasn't like it had never crossed Izuku's mind that Bakugou was handsome during that rare moment or two when the boy wasn't scowling or grinning with bloodlust. It wasn't like his heart hadn't skipped half a beat when Todoroki shared that secret smile of his with Izuku for the first time—and every subsequent time after. It wasn't even like he'd never dreamt of maybe kissing one or the other, or...holding hands. And stuff. Even if it had been just a * cough* passing * cough* thought when Bakugou finally acknowledged that maybe Izuku might be someone he could come to respect, or when Todoroki asked in that shy, guileless way of his if Izuku thought they could be friends after they'd already been for months.
He'd had those thoughts about loads of people. He had! Like Uraraka when she was being sweet, which was all the time, and—and Iida, that one time he was being super supportive. Even Kirishima had made Izuku blush a time or two with that friendly grin of his. And give him a break, he couldn't not appreciate Yaoyorozu in her hero costume. He was polite, not blind. So it wasn't like Todoroki and Bakugou were special or anything, just...happened to show up in his daydreams slightly more often than anyone else.
And don't get him wrong, Izuku was an affectionate guy. He loved a good hug as much as the next person. To have his hair ruffled made him giddy inside, little bubbles of happiness simmering in his chest to make him laugh. If he ever managed to get a significant other, he would probably ask for cuddles as often as he could get them, because who wouldn't want to be physically close to someone that made them feel good?
Despite that, he'd never quite contemplated what it would be like to be so close to someone that he could memorize their heartbeat and become inundated with their scent to the point that Izuku wondered if he'd ever existed without it. Especially when he was one hundred percent this-can't-be-happening positive that it wasn't real. Maybe– maybe –after several months of dating and getting to know each other would he allow, even desire, someone to get that close.
But this? This was not what he had in mind.
Kirishima took one look at Bakugou's face.
He took a deep breath.
"Pff-hahaHAha ohhh my god, dude, I—I had no idea your face could do th-that—"
"Oy," Bakugou said, glaring at his so-called best friend without much heat.
Kirishima either didn't hear him or was way past the point of coherency. "I mean, ooh my–you look like—" he devolved into silent laughter, clutching his middle and rocking back and forth on the floor.
"Oy!" Bakugou tried again, scowling.
"N-no, I mean, it's super manly to be so o-open with your f-feelings– pf–tch– " his sides seized, face tomato red as he struggled for air.
"OY, shut UP, SHITTY HAIR, you're UPSETTING DEKU, I'll kill you!"
Kirishima didn't even react as a shoe went flying across the room to smack him in the face, merely falling back onto the floor and doing his best to make his lungs work without mirthful convulsions. Izuku thought he could try a little bit harder. He groaned low and humiliated, burning face hidden behind his scarred hands. A sympathetic pat on his shoulder from Todoroki hardly helped matters, the other boy cooing at him as he would a small animal. It just set Kirishima off all over again.
"OH, dude, I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm the one upsetting Midoriya right n-now," he cackled. He tried to look Izuku in the eye, but couldn't, second-hand embarrassment dusting the cheeks above his muffled grin.
Bakugou glanced down at Izuku—yes, down, because he happened to be sitting on Izuku's lap —but Izuku just hunched in on himself further. Apparently finding nothing amiss, Bakugou smiled smugly before snapping his glare back at the cackling red-head. "Stop LAUGHING at Deku, asshole! What the fuck are you doing here anyway, get out!"
"Yeah," Todoroki agreed quietly, squeezing Izuku's waist and nuzzling the back of his neck. His legs were stretched out on the bed on either side of Izuku's hips, pulling him more comfortably into his chest and humming in content. Izuku let out an involuntary whimper as the movement shifted Bakugou who—did Izuku mention?— was sitting on Izuku's lap and he really hoped that was Todoroki's cell phone.
"He's here because I asked him to be," Izuku said with utmost misery, voice muffled through his fingers as he did his best to block out this entire situation with denial alone. It wasn't as if he was afraid he was in danger or anything like that...but he really didn't know how far this 'love quirk' business went, and it was the middle of the night and he was tired and he really couldn't deal with this alone right now.
"That's right, we're here to protect Midoriya, you animals," Kaminari said with thick amusement as he pushed open the door to Izuku's dorm room, arms full of bedding for everyone. Kirishima just laughed some more, which was really unhelpful, and Izuku was seriously considering how much assistance these two were actually going to be. Asking Kirishima and Kaminari over had been an act of desperation on his part. It's not like he could have asked Uraraka, a girl, or Iida. Izuku shuddered. As much as he loved Iida, he could be a bit too intense sometimes, and this situation was already stressful enough.
Bakugou scoffed. "He doesn't need protection from you weak-ass losers, he's got me. "
"Yeah," Todoroki agreed again, dreamily.
"Uuuugh," Izuku groaned, well beyond done. He was dizzy at this point by how often his blood redirected to his face, burning perpetually at this point. Todoroki and Bakugou had refused to let go of him ever since they arrived back at the dorm several hours ago from their supplemental training, the echoes of their absurd confession still ringing in Izuku's pink ears. They'd rejected every suggestion for space and other than outright throwing them through the wall, it didn't look like Izuku was going to be able to pry them off any time soon.
"You sure you don't want me to go grab Iida?" Kaminari joked, giving a still giggling Kirishima a fistbump as he found a space on the floor to lay out their futons.
Fatigue pulled at Izuku's overworked heart at the thought of straight-laced Iida seeing this. He would never hear the end of it, and he already dreaded what the next day would bring when he was forced to bring his two hangers-on to breakfast for everyone to see. That wasn't even considering what MONDAY would be like! He was insanely lucky that he'd been the only one left in the common area when the two had gotten back. "Noooo," Izuku whined.
"You guys have to the count of three to get the hell out," Bakugou seethed.
Was it hot in here? It was definitely hot in here. "Todoroki, please, it's hot," Izuku whimpered, feeling totally smothered, only to sigh as the boy behind him cooled down considerably, soothing Izuku's flushed skin.
"Oy, Half-n-Half, here," Bakugou said mildly, placing Todoroki's cool hand against Izuku's flushed neck. Izuku eeped, but instantly felt better, relaxing. Oh. That's nice.
"Hm," Todoroki hummed, pleased.
There was a collective intake of breath, then Kaminari and Kirishima were howling all over again. Izuku's eyes snapped open and he went rigid again, much to the grumbling of the boy at his back.
"That's it!" Bakugou shouted, every bit of tenderness gone to glare fiercely at his two idiot friends. "Get lost!" He leaped from his seat and threw himself at Kaminari and Kirishima, ignoring Izuku's alarmed meep and wrestling both shrieking boys into submission.
"Guys, c-come on, can we just get along?" Izuku stuttered, raising a hand to cull the violence going on on the dorm room floor. Predictably, Bakugou didn't hear a word of it, continuing his tirade. Izuku was just glad that they didn't seem to be fighting for real, Kirishima and Kaminari wrestling him right back with huge, playful grins. It was kind of nice to see, but Izuku really wished they would do this somewhere else. His head throbbed at the loud noises and he winced, retracting his hand to rub at his temple. God, he just wanted to sleep. It had been a long...couple months if he was being honest, and he was really at the end of his rope. The relief of finally getting Eri-chan back coupled with everything else had worn him out so badly that he could hardly think straight. This? This was the last thing Izuku needed; for his two classmates—one of whom barely even considered him a friend—to fall under a love quirk and refuse to leave him alone.
"Are you feeling alright?" Todoroki whispered into Izuku's ear, and Izuku jumped a little, almost having forgotten Todoroki was at his back with all the drama taking place. Todoroki pulled back a little in order to look Izuku in the face. His duotone brows pulled together in concern as he took in the bags beneath Izuku's eyes and the distress around his mouth.
"A-ah, I'm fine," Izuku assured with a weak smile, cutting his gaze away from Todoroki's much too close face.
"Does it hurt?" Todoroki either didn't notice that part of Izuku's discomfort came from Todoroki's proximity or he willfully ignored it, because he frowned and lifted his hand to Izuku's forehead. "Right here?"
Izuku's breath hitched, immediately relaxing as Todoroki cooled his hand and pressed it against his throbbing temple. "Ah, y-yeah," Izuku mumbled. His eyes drooped, fatigue bringing them down as he was comforted by the cool touch. That really was...nice…
"Bakugou," Todoroki said quietly.
Instantly, the room went silent as Bakugou jerked upright, Kirishima and Kaminari pausing in their laughter at the sudden movement. Bakugou's eyes narrowed at Todoroki's hand on Izuku's forehead and he frowned, getting to his feet. "Alright, that's it. Bedtime."
Izuku barely acknowledged him, eyes struggling to stay open. He did, however, definitely notice when Bakugou gently grabbed his shoulders and laid him down on the bed. Shocked, he didn't even struggle as he was laid on his back, Todoroki moving with him until he was nestled against Izuku's side. "Wh-what?"
"Shut up, Deku, and move over," Bakugou grumbled, pulling the blankets up to cover them both and slipping beneath them himself, the soft flannel of his pajama pants brushing against Izuku's leg.
Izuku let out several incoherent noises as both Bakugou and Todoroki settled their heads on his chest, using him as a pillow. "Uh, Kacchan? Todoroki? Are you going to...sleep in my bed? W-with me?"
"Obviously," Bakugou scoffed, throwing a possessive arm over Izuku's waist. Todoroki grunted softly as Bakugou's hand smacked into his side, but didn't complain, eyes already closed. "Now be quiet, 'm tired."
"Mm, your heartbeat sounds nice," Todoroki mumbled, and Izuku found that hard to believe when it was racing like an overworked horse, Todoroki's contented exhale was barely impeded by Izuku's thin t-shirt to warm his skin.
"Uh, dude, we brought your futon," Kaminari said, a little nervous now. Izuku sent him a pleading look, but the blond looked at a loss.
"Shut it, Pikachu. If you bother me again, I will kick your ass out."
"Wow, this is so wild," Kirishima whispered, but quieted as Bakugou made a violent gesture in his direction.
"Uh, um," Izuku fretted, still not quite certain how things ended up this way.
"Calm down, Deku, we're not going to do anything you don't want," Bakugou muttered. "Sleep."
"...'Kay," Izuku said, struggling to keep his eyes open. He didn't know if that was really true, but in the last few hours, other than cuddling him they hadn't done anything too untoward. Besides, Izuku had run out of energy to worry about it any more. With all the excitement, he thought he'd have passed out hours ago, yet here he was in the wee hours of the morning, overwarm, embarrassed beyond belief and suffocating beneath more affection than he'd received in his entire life. Whatever else came, he could deal with it in the morning.
...A morning that came much too soon. In the back of Izuku's exhausted mind, he knew he was awake, but couldn't open his eyes, not yet. Not while the horrors of the last few days still played on repeat in his mind over and over again, weighed him down so thoroughly that he felt physically heavy with it, like he couldn't actually move—
Wait.
"Mnh?" Izuku pried his heavy lids open and blinked slowly, once, twice, three times. But no matter how many times he blinked, the scene in front of him did not change.
Todoriki lay against Izuku's side, face relaxed with sleep, mouth parted gently and hair draped over his high cheekbones like the most luxurious of silks. He seemed so much more expressive in his sleep, as if the pressures of the waking world couldn't reach him here, a small smile playing at the corner of his parted lips in reaction to some pleasant dream. The sun glinted off his unfairly smooth, un-freckled skin and Izuku felt pretty pessimistic at that moment, because how was it fair that someone could look so perfect?
As if his thoughts had been projected aloud, Todoroki's dual-toned lashes fluttered open, his heterochromatic eyes focusing on Izuku's face. Instantly they lit up, softened, and he smiled this smile that had Izuku's heart racing and his head fighting to catch up, because—
"T-T-Todoroki ?" Izuku yelped, jerking backward, face flushing quickly enough to make him dizzy. "Wh-wh- what are you doing here?" He didn't get too far, Todoroki's arms around him instinctively holding him tighter. The other boy yawned widely, nose wrinkling like a disgruntled kitten, and it had to be one of the most adorable things Izuku had ever seen. But that was totally beside the point, because what was he doing in Izuku's bed?
"Whua—" someone groaned from behind and Izuku jumped at the sound of Kirishima's muffled voice. He gasped. Oh. Oh, right. The love quirk. That meant—
"'Bout time you woke up, lazy assholes." Izuku whipped his head around and gaped at the sight of Bakugou striding back into the room from the hall, shirtless and...damp? Bakugou had a towel around his neck, wet hair plastered to his forehead and pajama pants holding onto his slim hips with a prayer. Clearly he'd just gotten back from the showers. Izuku blushed, averting his eyes sharply. Even though he'd seen Bakugou shirtless countless times before in locker rooms and the like, the context of this situation was completely different.
"Don't look away," Bakugou said, and Izuku flinched as the words were spoken right into his flushed ear, the other boy having closed the distance between them in a heartbeat. The inner shrieking from the day before came back full force and he could only hide his burning face into Todoroki's chest.
Which in hindsight, wasn't helping matters.
"Ugh, ew, it's too damn early in the morning for this," Kaminari groaned from somewhere to Izuku's left, only to yelp as a foot landed in his gut, silencing him.
"It's ten in the morning, banana republic," Bakugou grumbled. "How long are you losers going to sleep anyway?"
"O-oh," Izuku said with a nervous laugh, pushing himself up from Todoroki's embrace. Todoroki blinked at him muzzily before yawning again. Izuku looked away. "Guess I was tired."
"Yeah, well," Bakugou said gruffly. "You probably needed it then."
Wait. Was Bakugou being...nice to him?
Izuku blinked and turned around, but Bakugou was already facing the other way, kicking Kirishima awake. "Oy, get up, shitty hair! Deku needs to get ready and you fucks are in the way!"
"Naaah, Bakubro, why are you so mean?" Kirishima whined in a decidedly not manly way.
...Right. Love quirk. Izuku watched numbly as Bakugou shepherded the two sleepy extras from the room, muttering all the while. When the volatile blond turned back to face him, Izuku examined him carefully, looking into his eyes for any sign of the almost punch drunk quality of his gaze the day previous. To his relief, there wasn't, just Bakugou's usual scowl—even if it was a bit softened at the moment.
It took Izuku several long seconds to realize that Bakugou was staring at him just as intently. "A-ah? What is it?"
Bakugou's eyes narrowed. "You–"
Grrrrroooooowwwwl~
Bakugou's brows climbed up his forehead as Izuku's face exploded with color. "A-ahaha, I, um—"
"It's like a little monster," Todoroki said frankly, poking Izuku in his rumbling stomach. Izuku yelped, tickled, and a small smile quirked Todoroki's lips. His sleepiness was swiftly wearing off, it seemed, eyes sharpening to their usual watchful stare. With a hum, Todoriki lifted himself into a sitting position. "We should get you some food."
"Oh! That won't be necessary, really," Izuku stammered, but Bakugou scoffed and reached toward Izuku's face. Izuku's eyes went wide and he flinched away, but Bakugou only ruffled his hair lightly before turning toward the door.
"Get ready. I'll go make some breakfast."
With his face flushed, Izuku watched Bakugou leave, not even slamming the door behind him. Maybe...maybe the love quirk was a little less intense today? Yesterday the two of them couldn't keep their hands off Izuku, but now, other than being really nice, they weren't doing anything that made him uncomfortable.
"Hm," Todoroki mused, placing a hand on his chin and looking as though he was thinking hard. "Maybe I don't have to take a shower. I don't want to leave you…"
"P-please take a shower," Izuku groaned, covering his face with both hands. Okay, maybe it hadn't after all.
Todoroki was silent for a moment, and Izuku peeked between his fingers to see what the holdup was. Todoroki looked at him consideringly, leaning in a little closer. "Would that make you happy?"
Izuku felt the flush all the way from his toes to the tips of his disheveled hair. "Y-yes! Yes, it would make me very, very happy if you left to take a shower, right now!" He didn't know how much more of this he could take!
Todoroki stared at him for a couple more seconds before nodding resolutely to himself. "Okay. But I won't be long. I know you don't really want to be alone right now." He slipped past the flabbergasted Izuku and walked lightly to the door without a backward glance, leaving Izuku finally, blessedly alone.
Izuku let his hands fall slowly to the bedcovers, staring at the door Todoroki had just vacated, face finally feeling like it was going back to normal as he puzzled out the other boy's words. What did he mean by that?
Facing his classmates was just as bad as Izuku imagined.
No, scratch that. It was ten—a hundred times worse.
By the time Izuku brought himself to go down to the common area–he really was hungry–pandemonium was already in full swing, complete with shrieking, hysterical laughter and the growling of an enraged bear. He sighed, already resigning himself to another exhausting day, although this one would be trying for completely different reasons.
Descending the final few stairs as if he were about to meet his maker and not a bunch of overzealous highschoolers, Izuku cautiously peeked around the corner.
Bakugou he found first because of course he did. The blond boy was in full-out fight mode in the kitchen, a group of 1-A's more excitable students buzzing around with expressions ranging from amusement to outright horror. Despite screaming expletives every few moments, Bakugou was making food as he'd promised, much to Izuku's surprise.
"—and then he was like, 'Hey half-'n-half, touch him here '," Kaminari said in his best Bakugou impression—which was to say, not a very good one at all. His face looked more constipated than angry and his voice wasn't nearly deep enough to pull off the blond's spectacular growl.
But that was beside the point! What were they talking about over there?
Izuku's face went six shades of crimson as the class laughed uproariously among exclamations of surprise, and Izuku knew at that moment that telling Kaminari of all people anything was a huge mistake.
"I swear to fuck, asshole, I'll murder you!" Bakugou snarled, aggressively stirring batter in a bowl, somehow managing not to get pancake mix everywhere. White powder covered his hands and front as if he'd met a bag of flour in a back alley.
"Oh, but you can't," Kaminari sing-songed, "because you have to make breakfast for your precious Midoriya!"
"Uh, dude? Maybe you should tone it down a little," Kirishima said with a placating gesture, ever the peacekeeper. Yet his face also twitched with amusement for all he tried to hide it.
"Are you kidding me?" Mina shouted at the top of her lungs, a grin so wide on her face that she might end up straining it. "This is pure gold!"
"Omg, omg, I knew there was something going on between the three of them," Hagakure gushed, and Izuku could practically hear the blush rising on her transparent face.
"But isn't it because of the love quirk, Toru-chan? We shouldn't jump to conclusions, kero."
"What! You can't tell me that's all it is!" Mina whined. "They've all been wrapped up in each other since the sports festival, we all saw it!"
"No, I refuse to believe it," Uraraka shouted, and Izuku startled, not having noticed her behind everyone else. "There's no way that Bakugou would ever love Deku, he's so mean to him all the time!"
...Ouch. That one stung a little. But...she wasn't wrong.
Bakugou froze and turned slowly before jabbing a spoon threateningly in Uraraka's direction. A bit of batter flicked off and splattered against the floor. "Oy, you don't get to decide who I love, round cheeks. And I'm the only one who can call him that, so shut the fuck up!"
Izuku's eyes widened. Did Bakugou just tell everyone that he loved—wait, forget that, he had to say that under the quirk's influence. But, did Bakugou just acknowledge that he didn't use 'Deku' as an insult anymore? Was that for real, or was that also an effect of the quirk?
The kitchen went silent for several seconds in the wake of Bakugou's confession before once again exploding in mayhem.
Deciding that it wouldn't actually be a good idea to hide in his room for the rest of the day, Izuku steeled himself and walked into the kitchen, drawing everyone's attention. All eyes turned on him like a pack of wolves to their very timid prey. "M-morning everyone," he said with a strained smile.
Instantly he found himself surrounded by the girls of the class—most vehemently Uraraka, Hagakure, and Mina—babbling questions and generally being noisy.
"Ah, um," Izuku said, lifting his hands in surrender, head spinning. "Yes, it's true. Kacchan and Todoroki got hit with a love quirk and for some weird reason, they latched onto me. Aizawa-sensei said it would only last for a week, s-so—"
Unfortunately, the din only got louder when Bakugou was set off once again by something the boys were saying to him over the counter. Izuku bit his lip, the low-grade headache from yesterday coming back full force with a heavy throb in his temple. He closed his eyes, ears ringing with all the loud voices, god, he really just wanted everyone to be quiet —
An arm wrapped around Izuku from behind, pulling him into a sturdy chest while another covered his eyes with a cool, soothing palm, drawing him away from the girls. Izuku tensed, but the room fell silent as Izuku's eyesight was blocked and instantly his headache felt better. He relaxed with a relieved sigh, a little stunned but not enough to pull away from the soothing touch.
"I would appreciate it if everyone stopped shouting. Midoriya has a headache," Todoroki said quietly beside Izuku's ear, his chin hooked over his shoulder. Izuku's heart rate picked up just the slightest bit.
Someone across the room snorted but yelped a second later. "That's enough, man," Kirishima scolded.
"Ah, T-Todoroki," Izuku said, gently pulling the palm from his eyes to meet the stunned gazes of everyone else in the room.
"So it's true," Uraraka said faintly, cheeks pink. She looked a little sad and Izuku frowned in concern. Before he could ask, though, he was interrupted by Mina and Hagakure's squeals of delight. He winced.
Todoroki must have made a face because both girls quieted a second later with mumbled apologies. Mina looked far from put out, however. "So, like, does this mean these two suddenly want to bone Midoriya-chan?" She said with stars in her eyes.
"Mina!" Uraraka complained.
"Whaaat?"
"Mina, this isn't one of those cheesy shonen mangas where the protagonist falls in love with the one who harassed them. Real life doesn't work that way, kero," Tsuyu said reasonably.
"Dark circumstances," Tokoyami said from somewhere in the back to several hums of agreement.
"Aww…"
"This is absolutely unacceptable!" Iida finally piped in. He'd been quiet up to this point, but it seemed that he could no longer hold back his thoughts on the matter. He strode to the front of the group and gestured sharply at Todoroki. "I demand that the three of you maintain a proper three-foot distance. Todoroki, remove your hands from Midoriya at once!"
"But I don't want to," Todoroki said with all seriousness, squeezing Izuku a little tighter as if he might try to get away. Izuku huffed, but despite the severe awkwardness of the situation, he found that he didn't really mind the hug. It was actually kind of nice, especially since Todoroki was cooling his neck again, a boon for the tension that had been plaguing him for months.
"Regardless, it's inappropriate!" Iida insisted. "Besides, did you even ask Midoriya if it was okay to touch him so much?"
Izuku felt Todoroki tense slightly against his back. "Um. It's okay, Iida. They can't help it–"
"That doesn't mean it's okay," Iida said seriously, brows drawn together.
Okay, well, he had a bit of a point. "That's–"
"Midoriya wants us to touch him."
Izuku's eyes widened, face freezing. "Wh-wh-wh-wh–"
"How do you know that?" Iida demanded, ignoring Izuku's mortified stuttering.
Todoroki looked stumped for a couple of seconds. "...I can feel it."
Iida's eyes widened in genuine anger this time. "Just saying you can 'feel' it is not explicit consent. Now let Midoriya go and leave him be!" He reached for Todoroki's arm and inwardly Izuku was panicking, wide eyes tracking the movement as if he was seeing it in slow motion.
He got that Iida was just trying to look out for him. He was just trying to be a good friend, Izuku knew that. And yes, Iida was absolutely correct that neither Todoroki nor Bakugou had listened when Izuku told them to leave him alone, but. Everything they'd been doing–every touch, word and gentle look–it was–
He just wished that everyone would just back up and let him think!
Iida's hand was smacked out of the air violently, the sound of skin meeting skin deafening in the silence that followed. A cloud of white flour drifted through the air in front of Izuku's face as a pair of black-clad shoulders blocked Todoroki and Izuku from a shell-shocked Iida. Izuku couldn't see Bakugou's expression, but his voice was the kind of deathly quiet it only got when he was truly pissed. It sent a shiver up and down Izuku's spine, and he wasn't entirely sure it was out of fear.
"Back. Off."
Iida reared back as if he'd been punched. He rallied quickly enough though, pushing his glasses up his nose and rising to his considerable height. Even then, he couldn't match Bakugou in sheer presence. He opened his mouth to retaliate, but Bakugou never gave him the chance.
"The fuck do you think we're doing here, ha? You think we're going to rape him? Ha?"
Iida looked just as shocked as Izuku felt.
"Okayyyyyy!" Sero said loudly, startling everyone out of their stunned silence. "That's enough, I think. Everyone, let's let them sort this out in privacy, yeah?"
"Aaaaw," Mina complained, but already the more reasonable members of the class were shepherding the busybodies from the kitchen. "But I want to see what happens next!"
"This is none of our business," Momo said sternly, grabbing Mina and Kaminari by the arms and dragging them out the door. Soon enough, the rest of the class except for Iida, Kirishima, Uraraka and the three catalysts remained. Izuku felt himself ease ever so slightly now that the peanut gallery had left, but the tension of Bakugou's final accusation hung between them all.
The door clicked shut, throwing them all into a heavy silence. Bakugou scowled as if to say, well?
"Of course not," Iida said after a short hesitation, his severe expression falling a bit. "But the fact remains that both you and Todoroki are under the influence of an unknown quirk that is compelling you to–"
"I am not being controlled by some damn quirk," Bakugou snapped, striking his hand through the air. "You think I would be doing any of this if I didn't want to be? Me? "
"Yeah, but dude," Kirishima said gently, laying a hand on Bakugou's shoulder. Bakugou didn't brush him off, but he didn't ease his fierce glare either. "Think about it; this isn't like you. You don't just... declare your feelings like this. And Todoroki doesn't hug people. Something is clearly up." Bakugou blinked, frowning as his eyes went a little unfocussed.
"That doesn't mean I never wanted to," Todoroki finally spoke, bringing attention to himself. Izuku wanted to look him in the face, but Todoroki's grip made that impossible. Instead, he had to settle with listening intently to the serious tone of his voice. "I'm not sure what exactly that quirk did to us, but...I wanted to hug Midoriya before, and now I can." He pressed Izuku closer, and Izuku's breath hitched. "Loving him feels so good."
"...What he said," Bakugou finally muttered. "We're not going to do something Deku doesn't want, for fuck's sake."
Izuku reeled. That...couldn't be true. Did they want to be with him like this before the quirk?
...No. That was impossible. That was just the quirk making them remember things that were never there.
Iida seemed to agree. "Your words are reassuring. However, the fact remains that we do not know the extent of what this quirk may compel you to do, and I'm not entirely comfortable leaving Midoriya in your hands."
Bakugou's eyes narrowed. "Listen, you–"
"I believe them," Izuku cut in, silencing them both. Bakugou shot him a look, and it might have been his imagination, but Izuku thought he might have surprised him a little. "Um. Neither Todoroki or Kacchan have done anything I don't want. I think...rather than making them l-lust after me or something, the quirk is making them do whatever makes me happy."
"Oh," Kirishima said. "So when Todoroki said he could 'feel' it, it meant he was in tune with Midoriya's needs or something?"
Iida still looked skeptical. "Midoriya, you actually want them hanging all over you like this?"
"Um...not exactly?" Izuku said with a shrug. "I think...well, I've always admired Kacchan. Having him be nice to me is kind of like a dream. And Todoroki is so reliable and always made me feel safe. A-and," he couldn't look up from the floor, god this was so embarrassing, "everything's been so intense lately and it feels like all I ever do is train or fight, I just...being touched like this feels...nice?" He bit his lip and fell silent, face burning hotly. It was the truth, after all. Well...mostly. But the rest didn't matter.
It never would.
"That makes sense," Uraraka finally said. Her hand was placed over her heart and her eyes were also turned down. But still, her expression was fierce. "I've felt the same, ever since the Mission–no, ever since the USJ."
"Uraraka," Iida said, shocked.
"No. I know we signed up to be heroes, and that it's a super dangerous occupation, but sometimes it's good to remember that we're people too. Sometimes we just want to be held." Silence met her words, and then Uraraka seemed to realize what she said. Her face went crimson. "A-ah! I—uh—I mean!" She covered her face with both hands, groaning with embarrassment.
"Ahaha!" Kirishima laughed awkwardly, trying to break the intensity of the moment. He smacked Bakugou on the back. "Th-that might be true, but not this prickly guy, am I right? My man Bakugou doesn't want all that mushy crap!"
"That's not true," Bakugou said, smacking Kirishima's hand away and completely ignoring the gobsmacked expression on the redhead's face. "I can be mushy. Tell them, Icy-hot."
"It's true," Todoroki said mildly. "He's actually super sweet when we sleep together. Like a totally different guy."
…
Izuku was positive he could have heard a pen drop off of All Might's desk halfway across the campus.
The door burst open and the entirety of the rest of class 1-A fell into a heap on the kitchen floor. Mina, on top of the pile, leveraged herself up and let out an unholy screech, stars in her eyes.
"Whaaaaaaaaaat?"
Izuku slumped back into Todoroki's willing hold as he was deafened by the ensuing chaos. He groaned. Why, why, why him?
AN:
All of class 1-A needs a hug, fight me.
Yeah, this was written by me, so it's going to get angsty and they're going to work through real problems. I couldn't write crack to save my life. I hope it amuses you anyway.
Anyway, wow, you guys were super excited about this fic, I couldn't resist. Thank you for sending your enthusiasm, it's what keeps fics alive!
Let me know what you think! If I know people are actually waiting on this and enjoying it, it inspires me to keep updating! Hmm, what will happen next, I wonder...
Find me at Lynxriderwrites on Twitter for updates or to chat or whatever ;) See you next time!