Their game of Uno ended with a singed deck and Todoroki handing over enough money to replace the deck of cards. Midoriya had tried not to laugh, he did, but with the way Todoroki steamed and his eyebrows furrowed over something as silly as Uno, he couldn't help himself. He giggled behind his hand, and Iida and Ochaco joined in moments later; eventually Todoroki joined in, too, with that snicker he hid behind his palm. It was nearly one in the morning and the four of them sat on pushed-together twin beds, laughing hysterically over the wad of money lying on top of the makeshift kindling that had once been a deck of Uno cards.

So, of course, when a knock came at the door, they all startled. Ochaco leapt into the air, hovering there for a moment; had Midoriya been standing, he was sure his own Quirk would have sent him through the roof. His hand, which had been on Todoroki's right shoulder, was now frozen in place, along with most of Todoroki's upper body.

"It's Mr. Aizawa!" Midoriya hissed in a whisper, though he had no way of knowing his accusation was factual.

The knock came again. "Guys?" Tokoyami's voice called on the other side of the door.

Iida leapt up from the bed and opened the door a crack, as if making sure Aizawa wasn't tricking them somehow. He pushed open the door fully when he was certain it was Tokoyami. "What's up?" Iida asked casually. "Did we wake you? Sorry, Todoroki just—"

"No, no, it's not like that," Tokoyami shook his head. "We just finished up the game."

"Oh!" Midoriya chirped. "Did you win?"

"I dared Ashido to leave a note on the snack table that said 'Property of Tokoyami'," he replied proudly.

"Clever," Iida said with a smile.

"What brings you here?" Ochaco asked, leaning back on the bed so her head rested against the headboard.

"Oh! Right," Tokoyami rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't want the snack table."

"Why not?" Iida countered.

"I'm not much of a snack person."

"See? It's not weird," Todoroki mumbled to Midoriya, attempting to nudge his shoulder, but they were still quite frozen. He activated his left side in an effort to speed up the melting process.

"I'm not sure I understand what we have to do with that," Iida replied, tilting his head curiously.

"Do you want them?" he blurted finally. "I mean – you guys were the last full cabin in the game, and stuff." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Plus I…feel a little bad."

"For what?" Midoriya asked curiously, his hand almost entirely free of Todoroki's ice.

"I don't know, I just got really into that game," he shrugged. "I feel really bad for making Midoriya—um, you know."

Both Midoriya's and Todoroki's cheeks erupted into matching blushes, and the steam that evaporated from Todoroki moved the melting process along much faster. They'd strategically not mentioned the kiss and everything that led to it. If they were sitting even closer together than they normally would, it was strictly coincidence.

"Anyways, it's yours if you want it," Tokoyami said with a small smile.

"We'll take it!" Ochaco decided. "Thanks, Tokoyami! That's really nice of you!"

Soon after Tokoyami left, Ochaco and Iida headed into the bathroom to brush their teeth. Todoroki tenderly held Midoriya's hand, now completely thawed from his shoulder, warming it gently in his right hand. Neither of them looked at each other, nor did they speak; the sound of the cool night air fluttering the window curtains and the running tap of the bathroom sink were the only noises between them.

Ochaco and Iida came out of the bathroom, holding each other's hands loosely. Ochaco had put her hair up into a bun and Iida had left his glasses in the case in the bathroom. Todoroki and Midoriya separated only to move to their own bed, where they turned on the small lantern atop their dresser. Iida turned off the main light of the cabin while Ochaco buried herself in the warm comforter, and soon after Iida crawled into bed behind her, holding her tenderly around the waist. They fell into a comfortable position quickly; Midoriya wondered how many times they'd fallen asleep together like that to know exactly how to arrange themselves.

Midoriya's hand was warm, now. A little too warm, even. Still, Todoroki continued to hold it, no longer using his Quirk to warm it in that gentle way he'd warmed Midoriya so many other times, like that day by the creek.

How long ago had that been, now?

Todoroki kept his eyes focused on Midoriya's hand in his own. He didn't look up even as he spoke, closing and reopening his mouth a few times as he tried to settle on the proper words. "We don't have to talk about it," he said finally. "We could…pretend it never happened."

Midoriya felt his heart sink towards his stomach. "Oh," he breathed. "I—if that's what you want."

Todoroki didn't reply.

"I need to brush my teeth," Midoriya excused himself, feeling the pain in his left arm returning at a rapid rate. He had put his pills in the bathroom earlier that day when they'd unpacked. Todoroki didn't try to follow him, despite the bathroom easily being large enough to fit all four of them if they really wanted. Instead, Midoriya heard the shuffling of dresser drawers and the sound of clothing being thrown to the floor. He took his time in the bathroom, taking a pill (he'd taken it upon himself to cut them in half before they left for the trip) and brushing his teeth. By the time he returned, Todoroki laid underneath the covers, head turned away from the lamp on the dresser. Midoriya laid down next to him and turned off the light.

He didn't reach for Todoroki the way he wanted to. That sinking feeling in his chest had settled itself into an uncomfortable lump, instead. His fears bubbled over as he wondered if that was the end of their friendship, if a single, stupid dare had ruined the year worth of important companionship they'd built.

But he'd been so sure. That look in Todoroki's eyes seemed to want exactly what Midoriya did, in that moment. And Todoroki had kissed him. Midoriya had dared him, but Todoroki had kissed him.

He drew the covers up to his chin. Falling asleep proved to be a difficult task with Todoroki just a half-roll away. He wanted nothing more than to have Todoroki's fingers knotted in his hair, lulling him to sleep like he'd done the night before. But Todoroki's breathing had already evened out, and Midoriya refused to wake him.

The morning began with a loud voice over the intercom at eight o'clock. Midoriya sat up and rubbed his bleary, sleep-filled eyes, surprised to find that the others were already awake. Iida and Ochaco had already gotten dressed, and the sound of the tap running from the bathroom told Midoriya that Todoroki was either showering or brushing his teeth.

His heart settled back into his stomach. Todoroki.

Honestly, he supposed he should have known Todoroki wasn't interested in him in that way. He was lucky enough to have him as a friend. Did Todoroki even think of him as a friend? Were they just sparring partners in his mind?

"Deku," Ochaco asked quietly, "did something happen?"

"Huh?" Midoriya looked up. Ochaco and Iida watched him carefully. "Was I mumbling?"

"A bit," Iida admitted. "Why don't you get dressed? We can head to breakfast."

"What about Shouto?"

"He said he was going to be a while and not to wait up," Ochaco explained with a shrug.

Midoriya dressed quickly while Iida and Ochaco waited outside, chatting with Jirou and Yaoyorozu, who had been walking down the path towards the mess hall at the same time. He'd thrown his clothes on in a hurry, hearing the tap turn off in the bathroom, and only when Jirou commented about the sweatshirt he'd thrown on did he realize that it was Todoroki's.

"You two have a good night, then?" Jirou asked casually, but the glint in her eyes referenced something truly unspeakable. Midoriya stumbled.

"A-ah, not a good time," Ochaco murmured to Jirou, though not quietly enough that Midoriya couldn't hear. Somehow it felt even more embarrassing with Ochaco having to explain for him. He pulled the hood of the hoodie up, tugging the strings.

"Midoriya?" Iida asked, a hint of concern in his voice as he watched the ordeal.

"I'm fine," Midoriya squeaked.

They had just sat down in the mess hall when Todoroki walked in, chatting with Ashido at his side. Though, it seemed more that she was talking at him and he was nodding every few minutes to make it seem like he was listening, with the way his eyes had glazed over. At least, they had been, until they locked onto Midoriya – who still wore his hoodie.

Ashido parted ways with him then, dismissing herself to the table that all the girls sat at. Iida and Ochaco had separated, perhaps for the first time since they arrived at the training grounds, and Ochaco squealed along with the others as they talked about the previous night. Hagakure and Ashido seemed to avoid each other like the plague, though; Midoriya couldn't help but notice and feel the same hurt for them as he did for himself. It was then that he noticed Todoroki in the doorway. He hadn't moved, and his eyes remained on Midoriya.

Oh, no – the sweatshirt.

"Todoroki!" Iida waved him over. Midoriya tried to hide his cringe of embarrassment by gnawing on his lip. Todoroki startled out of the trance he'd been seemingly locked in, then hurried to the table Iida and Midoriya occupied.

"'Morning," Todoroki said casually, sitting down across from Iida. He tried to hide the glances he sent Midoriya's way, but Midoriya's observant self caught him almost every time.

"'Morning!" Iida chirped back. "How did you sleep?"

"Better than I expected," Todoroki affirmed.

Their small talk went in one of Midoriya's ears and out the other about the second he noticed the way Todoroki's hair had mussed at the top. It almost looked pink with the disheveled partition between red and white, and Midoriya wanted nothing more than to reach up and fix it. He likely would have, too, if it weren't for Todoroki's words echoing in his head from the night before.

But how could Midoriya feasibly forget it happened? It had been his first kiss, and a damn good one at that. He huffed out a disappointed sigh and rose from the table just as the kitchen door opened, beating most of the class to the front of the line.

Well, most except Bakugou.

"Nerd," Bakugou greeted with a grunt.

"Kacchan," Midoriya replied quietly.

An unsettling silence fell between them, the kind that always made Midoriya wonder whether Bakugou's next move would be to threaten him with an explosion or to scoff and turn away. Neither of those things happened, though, to the analytical boy's surprise. "You and half and half finally get together then?" he asked, then followed it up with a, "Not that I care."

Midoriya sighed again. "No. He told me to forget it happened."

"What a dumbass," Bakugou grunted. He grabbed two trays and passed one casually over his shoulder to Midoriya.

"S-sorry, what?" Midoriya squeaked back, taking the tray with a look of confusion. Bakugou never did anything nice for him, even if it was a simple task like this.

"He's obviously got a thing for you, with the way he's always trying to protect you," Bakugou sounded more irritated now, more awake. "So he's either lying to himself or being a dumbass. Probably both."

"Why do you care?" Midoriya asked suddenly. He hadn't meant to sound so accusatory, but his voice presented itself that way.

"It's really fuckin' with my training," Bakugou replied, but it sounded like a lie. "Y'know. Your sexual tension or whatever-the-fuck." He waved his hand as a gesture, letting sparks dance on his fingertips.

"Is it that obvious?" Midoriya pulled at a stray curl in his hair nervously, suddenly worried that his and Todoroki's constant sparring and light-touching had gotten in his classmates' way. The worry splayed itself evidently on Midoriya's face, and Bakugou turned away – likely to avoid punching the look off his face.

"Look, it's not any of my fuckin' business," he began, "but—"

"Bakugou!" Kirishima skipped ahead a few spaces in line, much to their classmates' annoyance behind Midoriya.

Bakugou passed his tray into Kirishima's hand, opting instead to go trayless. "Hey," the blond grunted, and he was met with a kiss on the cheek from Kirishima.

"You left before I could get out of the shower," Kirishima grumbled.

"I was gonna grab you breakfast, dumbass," Bakugou griped back. Midoriya watched the exchange with wide, curious eyes, until Bakugou's attention returned to him and he shouted out, "The fuck you lookin' at, nerd?!"

"Sorry about him," Kirishima interjected quickly, cutting off the apology budding in Midoriya's throat. "Go ahead of us."

Midoriya stuttered out a word of thanks, somehow still surprised by the way Bakugou became angry like the flip of a switch. After nearly ten years of friendship, he still couldn't peg Bakugou's personality down, nor his triggers. He gratefully stepped ahead of the two in line and soon returned to the table with a tray of oatmeal, several fresh fruits, and two muffins. Iida stood in line next to Ochaco, but Todoroki remained at the table.

"Hey," Midoriya greeted nervously. Todoroki had his head resting in his arms, eyes half-lidded like he was trying desperately not to fall asleep.

"Mm," Todoroki hummed a response.

Midoriya's tray clattered in front of him on the table as he dropped it, a nervous squeak leaving his lips. He felt so – so hopeless, having forgotten what it meant to be friends with Todoroki before their kiss, despite it being just the day before. He suddenly had no feel for the boundaries that had never mattered before, and that scared him.

"Did you sleep well?" Todoroki asked, startling Midoriya out of his spiral of thoughts.

"I-I!" Midoriya replied in that nervous high-pitched voice. "I slept fine—um, thanks! H-how about you?"

"Not at all," Todoroki replied in a tone that most wouldn't recognize as different from his usual tone, but Midoriya caught onto the slight hint of annoyance. "Too cold." Midoriya remembered that morning when Iida had asked him the same question; his response had been the opposite. He wondered why Todoroki had lied.

"I-I wasn't that co—"

"Without you on top of me," Todoroki clarified. Midoriya's cheeks erupted into a mess of a red, splotchy blush.

"S-sorry?" he coughed out.

"When you sleep on me," Todoroki added, as if it was the most normal statement in the world. "How come you didn't last night?"

Midoriya had a response prepared, a you told me to pretend the kiss never happened and I don't know how to deal with that without ignoring you on the edge of his tongue, but All Might chose the perfect time to drape a hand onto his shoulder. "Young Midoriya!" he boomed, ever the morning person, and Midoriya craned his head to look up at his teacher.

"Good morning, sir," he said in a quite abnormal tone for himself.

"How is your arm?"

"Sore," he replied. "Planned on taking a pain pill after breakfast."

"Good! Mr. Aizawa asked me to retrieve you directly after. Would you mind meeting near the bonfire after breakfast?"

Midoriya nervously glanced over at Todoroki, who suddenly appeared much more awake than moments ago. "Sure," Midoriya said finally, looking back up at All Might.

"Wonderful!" As quickly as he'd interjected, All Might returned to his place at the small side-table in the mess hall that Aizawa and Mirio occupied.

"What do you think that's about?" Todoroki asked, again a slight tonal shift to indicate to Midoriya that Todoroki had some sort of curiosity following the exchange.

"Not sure," Midoriya replied with an honest shrug.

Their feet didn't meet under the table once, not even when Iida returned and started up a conversation he hoped would engage both of them at once. Either Iida managed to hold Midoriya's attention while Todoroki idly picked at the fruit on Midoriya's tray, or he gathered Todoroki's attention while Midoriya zoned out into whatever world he disappeared into when he had something on his mind. He gave up with the game, finally, putting a fist to the table suddenly. "Alright, I'm going to excuse myself to Kaminari and Kirishima's table," he announced, "while you two talk through whatever's happening here. I don't like it."

He proudly stood up, almost leaving his tray behind (and making a dramatic scene of grabbing it after he realized), leaving towards the table where Kaminari tried to electrify the orange in his hand to see if it could charge Kirishima's phone.

Midoriya looked down at his tray. He'd barely managed to eat any of his breakfast between his conversation with Iida and his overthinking of his and Todoroki's relationship status. Todoroki had eaten the apple Midoriya grabbed, but aside from that he didn't eat anything else. "I-I should probably get going," Midoriya mumbled, ready to take his tray back to the kitchen.

"You haven't eaten anything," Todoroki countered. "You'll feel sick if you take a pain pill now."

"I can go without," Midoriya said hurriedly, eager to get away from the uncomfortable atmosphere that had settled around them. He felt guilt gnawing at his stomach (or maybe it was hunger; he couldn't be sure), knowing that he'd dared Todoroki to do something he wasn't comfortable with. How could he have been so stupid?

"You shouldn't," Todoroki frowned. Slightly, again, and Midoriya cursed himself for catching on so quickly.

"I'm sorry," Midoriya blurted, not entirely sure what he was apologizing for, exactly. Judging by the confused look on Todoroki's face, the latter also didn't know what the apology was for. He sighed, running a finger up through his curly hair and snagging it in his distress. He tugged, grumbling something about needing a shower or a brush or something, when Todoroki's arm reached out across the table and his hand met with Midoriya's hair. He carefully pulled loose the little knots hooked around Midoriya's fingers, all while Midoriya wore a blush of embarrassment and partly confusion.

"You looked like you could use some help," Todoroki explained, his side steaming.

"Thanks," Midoriya whispered.

"Finish your breakfast," Todoroki urged. "I'm going to go get ready for training today."

Todoroki left the mess hall before Midoriya could call out even an "Okay" after him. He ate slowly, being one of the last people in the hall, deliberating what exactly Todoroki's plan here was, to overload Midoriya with mixed signals?

He barely even noticed when Mirio settled at the table in front of him. "Hey!" he chirped in his usual morning voice, startling Midoriya enough to activate his Quirk and slide his chair back about ten feet.

"Hey," Midoriya replied as he dragged the chair back into place.

"Mr. Aizawa just got off the phone with Recovery Girl," he explained. "She said you should be able to channel your Quirk into your left arm today."

"That's—" Midoriya nearly choked on the bite of oatmeal he'd taken. "Amazing!" he finished.

Mirio grinned in response. "It is, it is!" He paused, then looked around the mess hall curiously. Ashido had been the last one inside, but she'd since put her tray in the kitchen and strode out of the mess hall, much more awake-looking than she had been when she walked in with Todoroki. "Mr. Aizawa is having me train you for today and tomorrow, too, depending on how today goes. He wants to make sure your Quirk is functioning properly before throwing you into combat."

Midoriya's smile faltered, but only slightly. Baby steps, he thought, maybe a bit bitterly. He knew better than to overwork himself now though. "Oh, sure!" he chirped, his tone resuming the usual normal happiness it carried.

"Go take a pain pill and shower, or whatever you need to do," Mirio waved. "I'm going to help clean up in the kitchen and then I'll meet you out by the bonfire."

"Thanks, Mirio san!" Midoriya leapt up, taking the orange from his plate with him and peeling it on the way to his cabin. He rushed down the path of the mess hall towards the cabin, hearing the echoing of All Might's voice somewhere off in the distance giving orders. He sighed to himself. Of all the places he wished he was, somehow that was currently at the top of his list. Only a few more days, he thought hopefully.

Training with Mirio proved to be no easy feat.

Despite Mirio having lost his Quirk, he still had the muscle and stamina of a man who'd spent his life training. Of course, some of that training seemed for naught, now – what with his innate ability to control his Quirk to his very fingers and toes to allow him to pass through walls and floors. Still, he pushed Midoriya in their training, and by the time lunch rolled around Midoriya felt ready to collapse and go to sleep.

It seemed the others felt that way, too, as they trickled down the road from the Intensive Training Clearing. Shouji and Ojiro fronted the pack of them, bent over themselves and heaving like they'd run a marathon. Todoroki, Iida and Ochaco were at the back of the class, followed only by Mr. Aizawa and All Might. "Deku!" Ochaco called, waving her hand. "Are you joining us for lunch?"

Midoriya looked to Mirio expectantly, as if expecting him to say no, but he was met with Mirio's warm, whimsical smile. "Who am I to deny you lunch?" he grinned. "Go on. You did a great job this morning."

"Thank you, Mirio san!" Midoriya bowed his head, half-jogging to catch up with his friends.

While they filtered through the lunch line in the mess hall, Iida and Ochaco commandeered the conversation to tell Midoriya about their morning of training. "Mr. Aizawa said we're pairing up after lunch," Ochaco said excitedly.

"Sounds fun!" Midoriya chirped in response.

"What did you do, Midoriya?" Iida asked curiously as they carried their lunch trays back to their table.

"Mirio san had me lifting and splitting wood," he explained. "You know, getting me used to channeling my Quirk into my left arm again."

"Did it hurt?" Ochaco asked with a bewildered look on her face.

"A lot," Midoriya admitted with a stiff nod. "But Mirio san assured me that was normal."

Todoroki didn't speak all through lunch. Instead his focus remained intently on the tray of food in front of him. Iida and Ochaco described their training in great detail, and Midoriya would have clung to every word in any other situation; but his thoughts kept drifting to the way Todoroki's lips felt on his own, then a mental scolding. It continued in this cycle for most of their lunch break and even into his training with Mirio.

"Something on your mind?" Mirio called out to Midoriya the fourth time he fell from the tall tree he'd been scaling.

Midoriya groaned from the ground, looking up with bleary eyes at Mirio. The upperclassman offered him a hand and he gratefully took it, allowing him to be hoisted up effortlessly. "What do you do if—if someone you've been friends with for a long time says something and—" Midoriya tried to think of what to say without admitting to his crush on Todoroki.

"Is this about Todoroki?" Mirio asked. Midoriya flushed. Busted, he thought with a scowl completely foreign to his usual soft expressions.

"Is it that obvious?!" he finally shouted up at the sky, groaning again. Not only had his lack of sleep made him cranky, his friend's strange behavior was making him quite impatient.

Mirio sat on one of the log benches around the bonfire. The fire hadn't been lit that morning, but Mirio had asked Bakugou to light it on his way to his own training after lunch, and it blazed on hot and steady. "It's not obvious," he said finally, "I just recognized it, is all."

"How do you mean?" Midoriya sat next to him, drawing one of his knees to his chest.

"I've just seen it before," he replied vaguely, that chipper smile melting into something much more genuine. "I really do hope it works out for you, but right now you need to focus on your training. Okay?"

Midoriya sighed. "I know," his annoyance and impatience with Todoroki fell back in his mind, replaced instead with a gratefulness that it was Mirio telling him this and not All Might or Aizawa. "What's next, sir?" he leapt to his feet, standing stiff with one hand in a salute.

Mirio waved his hand, a laugh bubbling out of him. "Please don't call me sir. I'll make you run laps if you do."

"What's next, Mirio san?"

That evening, the class reconvened once more at the bonfire. Dinner for the evening was still in preparation. It felt much warmer than the night before, and Midoriya felt perfectly content in his tee shirt (he'd changed out of his training uniform already; it reeked of sweat and dirt from the amount of times he fell), and most of the others also wore tee shirts. Ochaco sat to his right, Todoroki on his left, and despite them being in relatively the same position as the night before, it felt like everything had changed since then.

Conversation didn't stray far from their training. Most of the time they waited for the food to be ready was spent discussing what they'd be doing tomorrow, as instructed by All Might, who sat between Bakugou and Jirou. "We're planning on having a sports tournament," he explained, which piqued the class's interests. "The team that loses at the end of the day will be doing remedial training the day after."

Midoriya had a hard time being as excited as his classmates were, what with Todoroki sitting directly next to him. He caught Mirio's gaze, who had sat himself further back from the bonfire and was currently snacking on a bag of chips (Midoriya had said it was okay for him to take from the snack table). His upperclassman smiled, gave a wink, then returned his attention to All Might's announcements.

"Quirks aren't required," All Might added finally, and his eyes settled on Midoriya. "Young Midoriya, you will be joining us tomorrow to even out the teams. Quirks aren't required," he repeated, "but encouraged if they will give you an advantage. That being said, the sports we are playing will be strictly refereed, so don't think you can cause harm to others as a way of giving yourself an advantage," he looked around the circle of students but his eyes settled on Bakugou.

Okay, so that drew Midoriya's attention away from Todoroki. He grinned, practically vibrating in his seat at the thought of working with his classmates again. It had been so long since he'd been welcomed into training with them. While he watched them all get stronger from the sidelines, he'd watched himself get weaker at the same time.

A frown settled on his face after a moment. He was probably much weaker than them, at this rate. Even a few weeks' worth of training would set him back. He'd had the thought before, but now being presented so strongly with the possibility he'd be back to being the runt of the litter put a sour taste in his mouth. He'd worked so hard to be where he was. A few weeks could have cost him everything—

He felt a nudge at his shoulder.

Todoroki watched him with a furrowed brow himself. "Izuku?" he asked softly. "Everything alright?"

Midoriya was about to respond when Aizawa came down the path from the mess hall. "Dinner is ready," he announced, and somehow even when he made his voice loud like this he still sounded so uninterested. The class leapt up from their spots around the bonfire and charged towards the mess hall, save for Midoriya and Todoroki, who walked side by side, nudging shoulders as they went.

At least this hasn't changed, Midoriya thought with a small smile.

"Are you okay?" Todoroki asked, still staring ahead at their classmates getting further and further away from them.

Midoriya tilted his head, as if letting the thoughts inside roll around until he settled on the one that made him feel least okay. "No," he said finally, because it was true; he wasn't 'okay', and he hadn't felt 'okay' since his arm got injured. The only time he felt even remotely 'okay' in the past few weeks was when he was with Todoroki.

He thought stubbornly back to the kiss. He'd felt a little more than 'okay' then.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Todoroki looked at him now, worry displayed evidently to Midoriya but likely unnoticeably to anyone else.

"I'm scared I fell behind," he admitted quietly. He felt most able to bring this concern to Todoroki.

"In training?"

"Yeah."

Todoroki snorted then, actually snorted, and threw a hand over his mouth immediately. "Sorry," he choked on a giggle, "you just—what kind of a concern is that?"

"A pretty valid one?" Midoriya replied, a little annoyed. "I thought you'd understand."

"I would, if you didn't train so much before," Todoroki replied, finally quelling his snickers. "Izuku, you've got the most stamina of anyone in the class, and you're only second to Kirishima in muscle mass. Do you really think taking a few weeks off for injury is going to set you so far back that you end up at the bottom of the class?"

"Well—" Midoriya stopped himself. In hindsight, that did seem like a silly fear. "I still probably lost some of that."

"Sure," Todoroki agreed, "but you seem to forget just how quickly you managed to climb to the top of the class. I have no doubts that you can climb the few places you fell during recovery even faster than before."

Midoriya smiled to himself. He remembered what it meant to be Todoroki's friend, then – before he realized his feelings for the other, before he would ever call Todoroki his friend out loud. He always knew what to say, despite claiming social awkwardness. He may not have spoken powerful, life-changing speeches often, but he had a knack for giving them to Midoriya when he most needed them. Midoriya had been praised before for his inspiring words during tough battles, but never had he felt the power of words alone until he met Todoroki.

"Thanks," he murmured as they stepped into the mess hall.

Todoroki reached out and linked their pinkies.