(A/N: Returning readers, if you were here or not here for the main ship reveal, um, debacle that happened when this chapter was first posted, I want to apologize for the misunderstanding. I had no intention of misleading or 'tricking' anyone. I honestly didn't know about the pairing feature on here until someone pointed it out. Thanks again for that. This is a Tododeku fic and has now been properly tagged as such. If you decide to stop reading, I understand and thank you for reading thus far. If you decide to stay, buckle up folks 'cause this fic is gonna be a wild ride.
This note is repeated on the next chapter as well so if you already read it, you can skip it. Again, I apologize for the confusion.)
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Once the crowd cleared out in front of 1-A, Shouto made his way to the Support Studio in search of the green eyed Quirkless boy who had watched their combat training. He didn't exactly know much about the other boy, only knowing him as Hiro and that his eyes were green, but the Support student had mentioned his class was 1-H. The bi-color boy had started there but was informed that any students from the class that was still on campus would probably be in the studio. Which brought him to his current path down the halls.
As he approached the door, Shouto could hear something popping inside and only his years of training saved him as he instinctively dodged the door as it exploded open. Smoke poured out of the room and he heard coughing from within. A soot covered student wearing grubby dark blue coveralls came out to fix the door and paled upon seeing it had almost hit someone.
"Mei-chan, can you tone down the explosions? You could have hurt someone out here!" the other student called back into the room. They turned back to Shouto who was still stunned from the explosion. "Oh, hey Todoroki-kun! Sorry about that. Mei-chan likes to experiment a lot. Did you come to talk about that Support Item?"
It was strange. He had no idea who the other teen was, but they seemed to know Shouto already. Racking his brain for answers, he studied the soot covered student in front of him. Despite the soot, he could see their messy curly hair was mostly a dark green with some highlights showing in the light. They were shorter than him and had freckles on their cheeks hidden under dark smudges. But what finally helped him make the connection was their eyes. They were a calm welcoming green.
"Hiro?" Shouto questioned, tilting his head.
The greenette blushed and scratched his head embarrassed. "Heh, I guess that w-would be the only name you kn-know me by. Hiro is just a n-nickname though. I'm Midoriya Izuku. It's nice to meet you!" He bowed in greeting with a bright smile.
Cute, Shouto thought, only to pause at how fast the word came to his mind. He wasn't sure where it came from. He chose to ignore it for now, cooling the sudden warm feeling on his cheeks with his right side.
"Todoroki Shouto. Nice to meet you, Midoriya," Shouto said, returning the bow. "You're right, by the way. I did come to talk about your offer to help with my ice."
"Awesome!" Midoriya chirped, sending another smile at Shouto, making him want to squint at its brightness. "Let me tell Maijima-sensei and then we can go to one of the gyms so we can practice with your ice. I'll be right back."
Midoriya rushed back into the room, smoke still trickling out into the hall. Less than a minute passed as he came back out in his formal uniform sans jacket having shed the coveralls. He had also cleaned up as much of the soot as he could. With notebook and pencil in hand, together they headed toward one of the unoccupied gyms. Once there, the Support student readied his notebook and pencil, eager to start.
"Now then," Midoriya said, turning his full attention on Shouto. The concentrated gaze intimidated the taller boy a bit, the other's enthusiasm was clear in his green eyes. "Before I can start designing anything, I need to understand your Quirk more to figure out what will benefit you the most. To do that, I'd like you to show me what you can do with your ice then I'll ask you any questions I have. Is that okay with you?"
Shouto didn't respond right away, a bit blown away that the Support student already had an idea of how to come up with a plan to help him even though they just got there. The amount of thought he was already putting in to help with his ice made him feel strangely warm. Another blush tried to break free but he smothered it with his right side. He mentally shook himself out of his stupor to answer.
"It is. I could show you what I usually do while training," Shouto suggested.
"That would be a great place to start," Midoriya smiled, notebook at the ready. "Whenever you're ready, Todoroki-kun."
With well-practiced moves, Shouto displayed his skills with ice that spanned from close quarters to distance attacks. He showed he could manipulate his ice in a variety of ways. Such as producing a glacier of ice that could be used to capture an opponent easily or covering the entire gym in a thin layer of frozen crystals that could affect the traction of a surface. He could also do precision attacks and control the speed and direction of his ice. The control he had over this side of his Quirk was impeccable and one he had trained with since his Quirk had manifested. The only downside was if he overused his right side, his body became too cold. Leading to him having to use his left side. The side that he hated.
I will never use his fire in combat. And hopefully, with this Support Item that Midoriya offered to make, I won't have to ever use it at all and completely reject that bastard.
As he watched, the Support student noticed that the more ice the other boy produced, the more frost built up on his right side. He still couldn't understand why the other refused to use his fire when he clearly needed it to keep the balance within him. The greenette would still work on some kind of Support Item to help him with the frost build up, but he knew it would only serve as a bandage rather than a long-term solution. He needed to learn more about why the ice user rejected half his power and maybe help him overcome whatever those reasons are.
"Todoroki-kun," Midoriya called out, catching the other's attention. "Come here for a second."
Shouto stopped immediately and walked towards the shorter teen.
"What is it, Midoriya?" he asked as he sat down in front of the other.
"C-can I see your right h-hand?" Midoriya asked shyly, a blush on his cheeks.
"Sure?" Shouto replied, holding his hand out to the boy.
Tentatively, the greenette took the offered hand in both of his own, studying the ice that had built up on his skin. The touch was feather soft as the Support student gently maneuvered his hand to observe it at different angles.
"The main issue we need to deal with is this build up," Midoriya stated, his fingers carefully grazing one of the ice patches on his skin. "The more you use your ice, the more frost appears on your right side. Like I said before, I believe your left side is meant to be used to counter balance and prevent the buildup. But since you insist on not using it, we'll have to find something that works in a similar manner."
"What do you have in mind?" Shouto asked, his focus split between the other boy's words and what his hands were doing.
"I have a few ideas as of now," the Support student replied. "They're pretty vague so far but with some testing, we'll figure it out eventually. One idea I have is some sort of insulating material you could wear under your clothes. Or you could…"
As the greenette continued talking while examining his hand, Shouto couldn't help but marvel at the sensation of skin touching skin. The feel of the other boy's hands on his own was surprisingly soothing. And warm, so comfortably warm. It was something he was beginning to enjoy more and more.
Shouto couldn't remember the last time anyone had touched him like this. Not since his mother 'left'. He remembered his mother's hands were always cool to the touch. Memories of them sitting close while reading books together and his mother running her fingers through his hair, mixing the white and red together. He had found the coolness of her touch soothing and reassuring. But that ended when she…went away.
The youngest Todoroki never blamed his mother for what happened when he was six. That he blamed on his bastard of a father. When his Quirk appeared, he was no longer a son to Endeavor, but a 'masterpiece' that was destined to defeat All Might and become the Number One Hero. Once his Quirk developed, instead of blessing him with the power to be the Hero Shouto wanted to be, it became his curse, forced to be the Hero Endeavor demanded him to become.
Training, if you could call it that, became his life after his Quirk came in. Endeavor finally had a child with the perfect mix of fire and ice. He would 'train' Shouto constantly and harshly to push him further and further, not even stopping when the boy would collapse from exhaustion or was covered in bruises and burns. His mother tried to help him, but eventually the strain was too much and she…snapped.
After tarnishing his creation's face with a scar, Endeavor sent his mother away to a hospital. With the absence of his wife, the man continued to mold his 'masterpiece' with his own hands. Hands that were always too hot, burning him. The same hands that had burned Touya who had disappeared when he was still young.
Touya…the eldest of the Todoroki siblings. Shouto couldn't even remember much about how his eldest brother's hands felt. Vague memories of rough hands helping him up from the training room floor and back to his room to recover. He could remember the texture more that their temperature. Whether they skewed towards being hot or cold he didn't know anymore.
Even with his brother, Natsuo, and sister, Fuyumi, he wasn't very tactical with them. Natsuo tried to stay away from the Todoroki abode as much as possible. Anything to be away from Endeavor. As for Fuyumi, after his mother left, she tried to be there for him when she could, hands cool like his mother's. But for the most part he was left on his own and was limited on any close physical interactions.
Hot or cold. Those were really the only touches he knew. Too much hot and not enough cold. Until now.
Warm.
That's what came to mind while Midoriya held his hand. It was neither hot nor cold. Not fire nor ice. It was just…warmth. Shouto had never really felt warm before and when Midoriya eventually let go, he found himself missing the contact, not wanting the other to stop.
That's new, the bi-color teen thought. He had never wanted to hold someone's hand before.
"I think I have everything I need today," Midoriya said, closing his notebook and standing up. Thankfully none of the ice had gone anywhere near where he was sitting or he would have been stuck to the floor.
"Alright, let me clear the ice before we go," Shouto said, as he stood up as well and used his left side to melt the ice away. He begrudgingly sighed in relief as the use of his left side melted the frost buildup on his right side. Once he was finished, he made his way back to the other teen.
"Since this will be an o-on-going project, can we e-exchange numbers?" Midoriya asked slightly nervous, holding out his phone. "It'll be easier to k-keep in contact rather than trying to f-find each other in the halls."
"That makes sense," Shouto replied, taking the phone in front of him while handing over his own.
"Great! If I have any follow up questions, I'll text you," the Support student said cheerfully, exchanging phones once again. Making sure everything was put back how it was before, the pair left the gym.
"If I may ask, why did you go by Hiro when you observed our class?" Shouto asked as they headed back to the studio with Midoriya next to him on his right side.
"Oh, that's to hide from Katsuki," Midoriya explained. When he saw Shouto's confused look, he mimed explosions with his hands as a hint and the other boy gave a small 'ah' in understanding. "He and I have known each other since we were born basically. We used to be friends but he doesn't like me all that much now. Remember how I asked you to not tell people I'm Quirkless?" Shouto nodded. "Well, if he knew it was me, he would blurt it out for the whole world to hear. I'd rather be the one to tell people so I'm trying to put that off as long as possible. At least until the Sports Festival."
"I see," Shouto said simply before inquiring a tangent topic. "Speaking of the Sports Festival, do you think you might have something done by then?" He hoped to use whatever the Support student came up with during the event. Anything to show his father he didn't need his damn fire.
"Maybe? We'll have to see," Midoriya mused, a hand on his chin in thought. "I have other projects that I need to work on first. I have some catching up to do since I haven't been in the studio much, having been watching the Hero Course training sessions instead. But if I find time to work on it, I'll let you know."
"Oh, ok," Shouto said, slightly disappointed but he understood if the boy had other responsibilities that took priority. He was offering to do this for him outside of his other work after all. "I look forward to whatever you come up with. Even if you don't have anything done for the festival, I appreciate the effort."
Though classes were over, the hallways were still slightly crowded with students either heading home or staying to study, train, or work on projects. As they walked, the pair found themselves needing to walk closer together as they weaved through other students. Shouto almost froze in place when his fingers brushed against the other boy's. Without thinking, he reached over with his right hand and gently took the shorter boy's hand in his, enjoying the contact he didn't think he would already miss so much.
Warm.
Green eyes shot up to heterochromatic ones in surprise. The greenette's face was redder than usual, blushing from the contact.
"Is this okay? I can stop if you want," Shouto offered as they continued walking. Though he pointedly did not let go because he certainly didn't want to stop any time soon.
"N-no, i-it's okay!" Midoriya managed to squeak. "C-can I ask w-why though?"
"It felt nice when you were examining my hand earlier," Shouto explained bluntly, no shame at all. "I've never really held hands with someone like this before, not for a long time anyway and not with someone who isn't family. But I enjoy the feel of yours in mine. It's…warm. Is that strange?"
He glanced at the other boy for his reaction, the shorter boy was still blushing. But a shy smile grew on his face.
Is that a good sign?
"No, i-it's not s-strange," Midoriya replied, glancing up at him through his bangs. "Friends h-hold hands sometimes. W-we are friends, r-right?"
"Friends…" Shouto said slowly, as if to feel how the word felt rolling off his tongue. He glanced down at their joined hands as they walked.
The closest to a friend he ever had growing up was Yaoyorozu. Though that was only because she also came from a higher-class family and attended the same events. They had often found themselves spending time together during those times, whether happenstance or not-so-subtly arranged meetings via their parents in hopes of making a match. But nothing ever came of it other than them becoming more than mere acquaintances and leveling out as 'casual' friends.
"I've never really had friends before," Shouto continued as he looked back into the other's green eyes. "But I would enjoy it if you were my friend. If you'll have me." A slight smile managed to slip through his neutral expression.
"O-of course, Todoroki-kun!" Midoriya beamed, giving his hand a squeeze. "I would love to be your friend!"
Once again, the word 'cute' crossed his mind as Shouto looked at his new smiling friend. Before, he had been confused to associate such a word with someone, but in that moment, he realized it suited the greenette perfectly. They continued holding hands all the way to the studio, ignoring the curious looks from passing students. They weren't anyone he knew so it didn't matter. Once they reached the Support studio, Shouto stopped and turned to Midoriya, still not letting go. The shorter boy was still a little pink but his blush had toned down as they had walked.
"Thank you for your help today, Midoriya," Shouto said with a small smile. "I look forward to what you come up with."
"Thank you for letting me observe your Quirk, Todoroki-kun!" Midoriya responded, smiling as well. "What I learned today will help out a lot. I'll keep you updated on my progress."
The pair fell into a slightly awkward silence, neither making a move to let go. Shouto found himself studying their hands before looking back up at his friend.
"Midoriya…," Shouto started, orbs of grey and blue earnestly looking into green ones. "Would it be alright if I held your hand sometimes? Only if you're comfortable of course."
The greenette's blush came back in full at the request. They stood there staring at each other, the taller boy waiting patiently for the shorter one's response. He would let the other consider it as long as he needed to. Besides, it allowed Shouto to keep holding his hand for a little while longer.
"S-sure," Midoriya managed to eventually stutter out before giving the taller boy's hand one last squeeze then letting go to disappear into the studio. He managed to squeak out a goodbye before quickly shutting the door.
Shouto watched the door close before turning to head home for the day. He didn't know why the other boy left like that but he had given the 'ok' for future hand holding. The ice user looked forward to the next time he would see his friend.
His warm friend.
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Blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic
Notes extension: post/631255741247979520/chapter-32-warm