Author's Note: The title is... very sus. I couldn't think of one, so this will have to do. Written for Day Four of Fantasy February.
Warnings: Non-graphic descriptions of injury/poison. This is mostly silly fluff and humour though, do not be fooled by such warnings. Happy endings all around!
Word Count: 1759
The cavern winds deeply into the side of a mountain. The village is only half a day's walk away; the villagers had complained of a horde of vicious snakes living in the mouth of the cave and eating miners that had no option but to venture inside. They promised a hefty reward to any travellers that could lend them a hand, and fortunately for the village, Midoriya was one of the travellers that read the commission leaflet pinned to the tavern board.
Shouto hadn't even bothered to ask whether Midoriya was considering it. He ate his meal that night quickly and stole a bottle of mead to keep him sane after the battle. He was packed and ready to go when Midoriya knocked brightly on his door early the following morning, a disarming smile at the ready.
It's sort of normal, now. Midoriya sees a cry for help, and he turns to his friends with plans already forming inside that thick, clever skull of his, and they fall easily to his whims.
But as Shouto slams into the wall, all the breath knocked out of him, and slides into a heap on the ground, he starts to wonder whether someone should put a quota on the amount of commissions they take a week. If only for the sake of his spine.
"Todoroki-kun!"
Shouto grunts, slumping even further. The air reeks of smoke and fire as the remnants of his attack fade into nothing, the lizard coiling up in defeat. A green blur launches itself across the cave, landing cleanly in front of him with a spray of dirt and dust. Midoriya's eyes are wide as he takes in the needle-like barb sticking out of his tunic. And consequently, his chest.
"I think this should hurt more than it does," Shouto says. "I liked this tunic."
"Oh, that's not good." Midoriya kneels in the dirt and prods gently at the area around the barb. "You're being too calm, Todoroki-kun. Can you feel that?"
"I feel very calm." Shouto squints up at the cavern ceiling, where craggy stalactites point at him accusingly. "There's a poisonous barb sticking out of me, and I'm going to have to go shopping. What's there to worry about?"
Midoriya huffs a reluctant laugh, green magic pooling at his palms. It smells of sage and clean, fresh air. The mere sight of that earthy green energy is enough to make Shouto relax. He should probably try harder to hide his raging crush on his ridiculously hard-headed, self-sacrificing friend, but so far all attempts to rein it in have been unsuccessful.
"Nothing to worry about at all, Todoroki-kun. It's a totally ordinary day, isn't it?"
Shouto goes to speak, but the barb dissolves under Midoriya's fingers, and he temporarily loses his breath. His vision blurs. It comes back again, and he finds Midoriya looking at him keenly, scanning him intently as his magic works its way into his skin.
"Okay?" Midoriya asks.
"Mm. Totally ordinary day. A bit boring, if you ask me." Shouto catches his breath and lets his head thunk against the wall. "Maybe we should rebel against the crown? That would make our day less boring."
"Boring?" Midoriya rolls up the torn, dirty sleeves of his shirt and huffs, muttering under his breath as he gets to work properly. "You're starting to sound like Kacchan, and you didn't even spend that much time with him. We just fought a fifty-foot lizard with poisonous barbs, Todoroki-kun. Now you want to throw a little rebellion in?" Midoriya's voice rises and lowers in pitch, aggravated but focused. "Sure, why not. Let's just commit treason while I stop you from dying. It's not like I've got anything important to do with my time!"
The muttering goes on for a while. Admittedly, Shouto doesn't catch all of it. The numbness of poison running through his veins makes it hard to concentrate. When he does drift back into reality, his attention is caught by Midoriya's curls, slicked back with sweat from the battle, and the fierce, frantic gleam in his bright eyes. With the way he's leaning over Shouto, tending to his wounds in a not-very-tender manner, it's hard not to look, really. It's very mesmerising.
"You're very mesmerising," Shouto tells him.
Midoriya makes some sort of strangled noise, and rakes his glowing fingers through his hair.
"Thank you, Shouto," Midoriya says, sounding strained but somehow still kind. "Could you sit up a bit, so I can finish fixing the gaping hole in your chest? I think I've got the poison out, so now I just need to sew it all up before you bleed to death."
"It's more of a scrape than a hole."
But he sits up, because Midoriya looks like he might make the throttling motion a reality, and he's already in a sticky situation as it is. He can feel the hole closing up, muscle and sinew and skin meshing back together. The fresh scent grows stronger, richer, erasing the copper tang of blood from the air. Midoriya's fingers spasm as the magic fades, and Shouto relaxes against the wall with a sigh. Without the poison to numb the area, he can feel the space where the wound was throbbing painfully. He much prefers it this way.
"Thank you," Shouto says, catching one of Midoriya's hands. "I feel a lot better. That must have taken a lot of energy."
He brings as much warmth as he dares to the pads of his fingers, massaging the scars that litter Midoriya's hands. The heat helps the pain. They've discovered this through trial and error, after several trips where Midoriya was left unable to use his hands, pushing through the pain anyway and waking up in the night with impossible aches in his bones. Midoriya protests sometimes, but Shouto's happy to help. He's the one that put the scars there in the first place, and he's more than fine with easing whatever troubles Midoriya finds himself in. It's a relief to be able to do something.
Midoriya sighs, relaxing into his grip. He looks away, red-faced, but doesn't shift out of Shouto's hold. He always seems to find his own reaction embarrassing. It's endearing, if anything. It makes Shouto want to hold his hand casually, without any pain involved, just to see how red he can get.
Sometimes, Shouto can admit that he isn't the most kind-hearted person. Sometimes, Midoriya calls him insufferable, and Shouto privately thinks that he doesn't know the half of it.
"It's the least I can do, considering you saved me from a giant lizard," Midoriya mutters. His expression shifts then: Shouto can see the moment where a thought strikes him, as though a little bolt of knowledge cleaves through his embarrassment. "Although I'm surprised the fire bothered it at all, really. It was a strong attack, and your fire magic isn't anything to sniff at, but you'd think something like that lizard—which I'm pretty sure has roots in the dragon species—would have some resilience to heat."
A sibilant hiss echoes softly from somewhere in the cavern, the noise shivering off the damp walls. Midoriya straightens up in horror, his mouth dropping open. Their hands part as Shouto reaches for one of his knives.
"Oh, you just had to say it, didn't you?" Shouto mutters.
"Don't pin this on me!" Midoriya springs to his feet, poking his head out from behind the rock. "I thought you killed it!"
"I was a bit preoccupied with the poisonous barbs to see whether it stayed down or not," Shouto says, a touch dryly. "Where's Iida? I thought he was coming to back us up."
"They must still be dealing with the snakes! We need a plan for when they get here. Todoroki-kun, did the barbs detach by themselves, or did you get stuck with one when you fell?"
"It can detach the barbs," Shouto confirms. "I'm not sure how much control it has, but that one pierced me even though I dodged pretty quickly. If fire didn't kill it, Tsuyu might have more luck with water. And we'll need Uraraka."
Midoriya spins around, his eyes shining. "You have a plan?"
"I've been known to have thoughts of my own, from time to time." He ignores Midoriya's hissed protests, and points up at the roof of the cavern. "Stalactites. If Uraraka makes you and I weightless, we can work together to—"
"Oh, that's brilliant!" Midoriya bounces forward, bounding up to kiss him on the cheek, quick as a flash. "You can coat the stalactites in ice, and I can kick them free. Iida can draw fire from the barbs, avoiding them with his speed, and Tsuyu can herd it underneath the stalactites with water. With any luck, we should be able to take it out!"
Shouto nods, somewhat stunned. He's fairly certain there must still be a bit of poison in his system, as it's hard to focus on Midoriya's words again. He can't tell if it's the kiss that has him feeling so shocked, or the fact that Midoriya guessed his plan so seamlessly. His cheek feels like it's on fire. He pats it clumsily, just in case it is on fire. Midoriya spots the movement and his own actions must catch up with him suddenly. He snaps his mouth shut with an audible click, turning the very deepest red colour possible, deeper even than Kirishima's scales.
Another hiss rings out through the cavern, coming closer and closer. At the same time, shouts echo down the furthest tunnel. He recognises Iida's dulcet tones, and something in him settles with relief.
"Todoroki-kun, I…" Midoriya says, fidgeting on the spot.
He is covered in dirt, and sweat, and a little bit of blood. There are green sparks dripping from the ends of his fingers. He looks like he's halfway to running away, half-crouched awkwardly, and his expression is all scrunched up and weirdly guilty, not to mention exhausted.
But he's the best thing Shouto's ever seen, and he always will be.
"I have a bottle of mead in my room back at the tavern," Shouto says, drawing his knife and adjusting easily to the weight in his palm. "If you like, we can share it later. Just the two of us. Denki told me that it's always better to plan a rebellion against the crown when you're drunk."
"Todoroki-kun, you are the crown," Midoriya says, exasperated, but his smile is fierce and bright with excitement as he lights the way into battle, and Shouto can't wait to kiss him properly later.
