"We will draw captains' names out of a hat," Aizawa announced, holding the same hat that he'd put the class's names into for their last team training activity. The class stood at the Battleground portion of the training camp in a line. Mirio and All Might stood to the side of Aizawa, each holding a bag of colored practice jerseys – Mirio's red, All Might's blue. "The first name drawn will also choose their team color."
Aizawa reached his hand into the hat and drew Kaminari's name. "Kaminari, what co—"
"Red!" Kaminari bounced on his toes. He seemed quite excited, considering he'd been chosen at random. Mirio handed him the cloth bag of practice jerseys while Aizawa pulled the name of the other captain.
"Iida," he announced, holding up the name for everyone to see.
Iida took the bag of blue jerseys as Kaminari deliberated over who to choose first. After Kaminari finally settled on choosing Bakugou, the team-picking went rather smoothly; to Midoriya's surprise, he wasn't last to be picked. In fact, it was quite the opposite – Kaminari and Iida argued the second Iida chose him for their team. In retaliation, Kaminari chose Todoroki, which is how they ended up how they were now, with Todoroki ordered to mark Midoriya during their game of soccer.
The Battlegrounds were already arranged to house several sports stadium-like setups. There were four stadiums in total, at least that the class had walked by to get here. It seemed that each of them had been set up for some sport or another; one had goal posts and end zones, another had a baseball diamond arranged, and another had basketball hoops. They stood at the line in the center of the soccer field; Iida had arranged for Midoriya to be on offense, and just past Bakugou was Todoroki, ready for him on defense.
Aizawa blew a whistle and in an instant Iida whirred up his calf engines, punting the ball nearly entirely across the field in one shot. Kirishima, the opposing team's goalie, stepped out of the box and planned to kick it back – but Iida's engines propelled him forward, and he passed the ball over to Midoriya.
Midoriya had an open shot up until the second Todoroki encased his foot in ice. He activated his Quirk and freed himself quickly, but it was too late – Todoroki sent the ball sailing up to Bakugou, who propelled himself forward quickly using his explosions. Midoriya backpedaled a bit, getting into range for his team to pass to him. Todoroki wore a victorious smirk. "That won't work twice," Midoriya said.
"What?" Todoroki asked innocently. "I didn't say anything."
Even being on opposing sides, Midoriya found it hard to view Todoroki as anything other than a partner in crime (and a little something else, but luckily Midoriya's mind ran on a single track and that track at the moment was the soccer game). Right now, though, he had a sudden drive to show Todoroki – and the rest of the class, for that matter – that he didn't fall too far behind, that he still had trained practically non-stop for this for over a year.
"Mineta!" Iida shouted from somewhere across the field, and the boy in question threw down sticky traps. Despite Bakugou's ability to maneuver quickly, he lost some of his accuracy while simultaneously trying to dribble the ball down the field. Kaminari yelled to him multiple times to pass, but the stubborn blond continued until he stepped directly into Mineta's trap. Aoyama took the opportunity to punt the ball up to Sato on Iida's right with a jubilant noise.
Midoriya had to admit, Iida made the most of his team. Even some of the students who didn't score as high in practical exams (such as Mineta) were able to play and be helpful. He especially thought placing Shouji in the goalie position was a good strategy.
Sato, who had emptied a pixie stick into his mouth shortly before the game began, artfully dodged around both Tsuyu's tongue and Jirou's earphone jacks searching to tangle his legs. He moved with precision up until the point he reached Koda playing center defense; the latter had a nearby mole run by and trip him up from underground. Ashido, playing center midfield, passed the ball up to Kaminari.
Kaminari electrified Iida, effectively temporarily paralyzing him. In retaliation, Ochaco ran by and placed a hand on Kaminari's shoulder. The sudden loss of gravity was enough to trip Kaminari up as he floated several inches off the ground. Dark Shadow swept in from the side and passed the ball up to Midoriya, who immediately activated Full Cowling and ran directly at Todoroki.
Todoroki watched with wide eyes as the boy came sailing directly toward him, throwing up an ice wall in protection at the last second – only for Midoriya to pivot with ease and send the ball directly toward the goal. Sero wrapped his legs in tape just a moment too late as Kirishima jumped up, trying to reach the ball, but it sailed just past the tips of his fingers.
"Young Midoriya has scored!" All Might boomed from his referee stand.
After that point, the match got a bit more violent; slide tackling and roughhousing were more or less welcomed by the teachers. Though, Midoriya did notice a few times that Aizawa got ready to use his Quirk when Bakugou had the ball and was close to Midoriya.
He swallowed thickly, remembering that he'd agreed to battle with Bakugou after the training camp. What would Aizawa think of that?
Bakugou scored shortly thereafter, using Ochaco's weightlessness against her and pushing her aside easily. Aoyama squealed in fear and jumped out of the way, leaving Shouji wide open. Even with the extra limbs, he couldn't contest the fireball Bakugou shot at him.
They needed a new soccer ball after that. Yaoyorozu happily supplied one.
By the time the soccer game ended, with all the students huffing and bent over wheezing for air, lunch was being prepared. The red team had won by two goals, the final score being five to three. Aizawa led the students back towards the mess hall for lunch. For the most part, the red and blue teams spoke within themselves, but Midoriya and Todoroki happily conversed with each other at the back of the pack. "You did so good!" Midoriya grinned up at him.
Todoroki flushed and looked away. "You scored two out of three of the goals for your team," he countered with a shrug. "I'd say you did better."
"But you kept me from scoring more goals!" Midoriya insisted. "With your freeze powers and stuff. It was really cool when you froze the ball in mid-air!"
Todoroki smiled to himself. "Sero helped," he said finally, attempting to dismiss the praise, but Midoriya kept giving it to him anyways.
"Yeah, he did tape my legs a few times, but so what? You were super creative!"
The compliments didn't stop there. By the time they sat down with their trays, Midoriya had relived practically the entire soccer game. What's more, they were speaking, which was more than Midoriya could have said for the day before. Things between them felt normal again, whatever normal meant for them.
They played flag football that afternoon, which the blue team dominated quite easily. Bakugou's temper may have done a decent job of scoring goals in soccer, but unfortunately, that same method of pushing through opponents just didn't work in the case of flag football. Afterwards they played a game of basketball as a tie breaker. Ashido and Hagakure became the superstars of the match – with Hagakure's Quirk, it was child's play dodging her teammates and finding openings. Even Iida's leg engines couldn't beat the speed of the passes being sent between the two, and in the end it really wasn't a fair match; the blue team lost by over twenty points.
They congregated at the mess hall shortly after. The plan had initially been to have a barbecue, but the sky had clouded during their basketball game and as they walked back the first few droplets of a heavy storm came down. By the time everyone got inside the mess hall, the rain came down heavily enough that most of them were soaked; while Mirio ran into the kitchen to fetch some towels, Todoroki had been recruited to steam some of the water off his classmates.
Todoroki laid a hand delicately on Midoriya's shoulder first to demonstrate. Midoriya watched him, eyes wide and curious, hair clinging to his cheeks that way it did when it got wet. Todoroki swallowed, remembering their jog in the rain, remembering that night in the bath—
Midoriya hissed quietly. "Shou—" he grumbled. "Hot."
Immediately Todoroki pulled away, hiding his right hand behind him as if concealing the weapon of a murder. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.
"It's okay," Midoriya assured. "My left shoulder's just sensitive."
Todoroki wanted nothing more than to be punched in the face. He'd burnt Midoriya's shoulder. He'd burnt Midoriya's left shoulder, where Bakugou had burnt him just a few weeks prior. His face contorted into an ugly grimace and he was all but ready to run through the storm and back to the cabin to lock himself in the bathroom and perhaps stay there forever. Midoriya rested a hand on Todoroki's shoulder, though, somehow grounding him even though he felt so far away just a moment ago.
"Shouto, it's okay," Midoriya assured. "You didn't burn me, or anything. I'm not on fire. It was like…" he tapped his chin. "You know when you get your face too close to a pot of boiling water?"
Todoroki nodded once.
"It was like that," Midoriya mused quietly. "What's on your mind? Usually you don't get like that unless—"
"Nothing," Todoroki shook his head. His classmates, who had formed a line and were waiting patiently to be steamed off, watched the conversation, some with curiosity and others annoyance.
"Hey," Ashido called near the front of the line, "can you steam us off now? It's cold in the air conditioning."
The rain didn't stop even after they finished eating dinner and cleaned up the mess hall. Students gathered around Yaoyorozu, who supplied umbrellas for everyone to make a run for their cabins. Todoroki had fallen back into his quiet nature again. Midoriya had been so hopeful that maybe they could go back to normal – but then, what even was normal for them? They'd never really been normal friends, had they?
Iida and Ochaco were already back to the cabin by the time Midoriya and Todoroki sprinted in together, huddling under a relatively small umbrella (Yaoyorozu had said she was running out of energy to create items, but Todoroki thought she had made it small on purpose). "Do you guys want to borrow the bath?" Iida asked while Ochaco wringed her hair out into a small cup where she'd seated herself on the floor.
Midoriya and Todoroki exchanged looks, both of their faces flushed. (When mentioned later that evening by Ochaco, they'd insist it was due to the running in the rain, but it most certainly wasn't.) "S-Shouto, you can go fi—"
"No, please," Todoroki gestured towards the bath.
"There's room for two," Ochaco supplied helpfully.
"I'm fine!" Midoriya squeaked out. "I—um, I'll just dry my hair and—"
"Alright," Iida sighed, "please. Please. Just talk about the kiss. This is painful to watch."
"Tenya and I are gonna go watch a movie with the girls," Ochaco said with that devilish lilt in her voice. "So you'll be here all alone," she added with a wink.
Midoriya felt like he might melt into a puddle of embarrassment.
Iida and Ochaco left shortly thereafter, Iida revving his leg engines to propel them through the rain as quickly as possible. They didn't bother with an umbrella, though Ochaco did bring the cup she was wringing her hair out into. Midoriya and Todoroki remained in their places by their pushed-together bed, stiff and flustered. "Ah," Midoriya broke the silence. "So…"
"So," Todoroki replied.
"Do you want the bath first?"
"I can regulate my heat," he replied. "You go first."
"Alright…if you're sure."
"I am, Izuku."
Midoriya shuffled from foot to foot, Iida's words and Ochaco's suggestive nature weighing heavily on his mind. Shouto feels it too, right? he thought helplessly.
"What's wrong?" Todoroki asked finally, and had it been anyone more expressive to make the statement, they'd have likely followed it up with an exasperated sigh. But Todoroki wasn't like that, and even though he wasn't particularly expressive, Midoriya swore he could hear a twinge of annoyance in his voice. Or maybe – maybe it was something else.
"Just thinking," Midoriya admitted.
Todoroki hesitated. "About?" he indulged the latter finally.
"Why did you say you wanted to forget about the kiss?" Midoriya blurted all in one breath, because he was certain if he hesitated even to inhale he wouldn't spit out the thought that had been on his mind since Todoroki said it.
Todoroki took a step back, as if trying to dodge the words Midoriya had said. In retaliation, Midoriya took a step closer, crossing his arms over his chest. "I thought—you know, I thought you…liked it?"
That cocky attitude that had just pushed Midoriya to cross his arms and step closer to Todoroki when he backed away shriveled quickly, and in its place stood the shell of a boy who'd just put the words he longed to hear in his crush's mouth.
Todoroki huffed and turned his head, trying to hide his own embarrassment. "I thought you were trying to get me out," he muttered, almost quietly enough that Midoriya didn't hear. But he did, and a faint giggle left his lips.
"To be fair, you dared me to straddle you," he countered with the ounce of confidence that still existed in him. That deflated as well and he threw a hand to his mouth, blushing up to his ears.
Todoroki tried to cover the steam spouting from his nose and lips every time he breathed. In all honesty, Midoriya was surprised it wasn't seeping through his skin like it usually did. He watched with curiosity as the steam drifted up into the air and dissipated.
Then, Todoroki laughed.
It wasn't that usual snicker, nor was it that beautiful lilt Midoriya had only heard a few times. Rather, it sounded bitter, maybe even defeated. "I really like you, Izuku," he admitted finally. "I just—I didn't want it to ruin our friendship."
Midoriya's mouth hung open. He exhaled, finally, and sat himself on the bed. He stared at his hands. "I'm so sorry," Todoroki said from next to him, but his voice sounded so far away, so distant and vulnerable.
"You're joking," Midoriya whispered. He looked up at Todoroki, but what the latter had been expecting – a look of disgust, anger maybe – couldn't be further from what Todoroki saw on his face. His lips quirked in a hesitant smile, cheeks dusted with a nervous blush, eyes wide and innocent and hopeful.
"When have I ever made a joke?" Todoroki countered. His feet were rooted in the spot, watching Midoriya as he let a nervous laugh pass through his lips. He chewed his own lip, an anxious habit he hadn't indulged since he was a little boy.
"You're right," Midoriya murmured. "I—um, do you think that would actually happen?"
"What would?" Todoroki replied, hesitantly sitting next to Midoriya on the bed.
"I would stop being friends with you because you liked me," Midoriya turned to face him, though he kept from making eye contact. Instead he let his eyes settle on Todoroki's shoulder.
"I don't know," he whispered. "I'm new to this…friends thing."
"Me too, I suppose." Midoriya paused. "I…I really like you too, Shouto," he admitted quietly, finally letting his eyes wander up to Todoroki's eyes, but they lingered instead on his lips, the way Todoroki chewed his lower lip. His breath hitched and of all the times Todoroki could have done something to make him feel so warm and jittery and nervous, did it have to be while Todoroki sat inches from him after just admitting to having a crush on him?
A silence settled between them, and all the things Midoriya wished to say seemed to fly directly out his ear. He couldn't think of a single thing beyond the way Todoroki worried his lip between his teeth. Todoroki watched him for a moment or two, the way his curls slowly poked up from his cheeks as his hair dried, the way his freckles peeked out from behind the bright pink blush coating his cheeks. The slight furrow in his brow as he watched Todoroki's lips, pulling his own bottom lip between his teeth.
"What now?" Todoroki breathed, the space between them becoming increasingly smaller.
"I don't know," Midoriya murmured back, his attention finally settling on Todoroki's eyes rather than his lips. A sheepish smile spread across his face and he reached up to rub the back of his neck nervously.
Todoroki tentatively reached out, cupping Midoriya's cheek with a hand just slightly cold with budding ice crystals. Midoriya made no comment of it, instead tilting his head up so Todoroki's hand fit more snugly against his cheek. "Shou," he murmured quietly, "truth or dare?"
A smile tugged at Todoroki's lips while he decided if he should entertain Midoriya's silly game. "Dare," he whispered.
"Kiss me?"
It didn't feel the same as it had the other night. Todoroki's lips met Midoriya's with much more hesitation than they did the first time, with the intent to learn Midoriya's mouth this time. Midoriya's lips fell into rhythm with his own, slow-paced and dripping with a want that threatened to swallow Midoriya whole. His hand snaked around Todoroki's neck and drew him closer. Todoroki, in turn, adjusted his body so that he loomed over Midoriya's lap, effectively reversing their positions from the first time.
Midoriya could feel steam rising from Todoroki's left side, he could feel bouts of flame threatening to poke through his skin, he could feel Todoroki's icy right side growing colder. He could also feel the mattress beneath his head; when had Todoroki pinned him there? Their lips connected with more determination, and with Midoriya's fingers knotting themselves in Todoroki's hair, the latter had to dedicate a portion of his energy into not spontaneously combusting or freezing over – or worse, both at once.
Midoriya pulled back first, huffing for breath and stifling giggles in between. "Wow," was all he managed to say, carried by his soft breaths while he recovered.
"Mm," Todoroki hummed his approval. Slowly the ice crystals and small flames receded back into his skin.
"Do you…want to do that again?" Midoriya asked shyly, his eyes locked on Todoroki's lips as he caught his breath.
"Obviously," Todoroki murmured back, connecting their lips with a fervor much closer to their first kiss.
When Ochaco and Iida returned to the cabin it was to Midoriya positioned between Todoroki's legs, humming nonchalantly as he drummed his fingers on Todoroki's thighs. Todoroki gently rubbed a towel through Midoriya's wet hair, using his bouts of steam to keep his head warm. They were both freshly clean, and briefly Ochaco wondered if they'd done something despicable in the bath – but no, their matching blushes were less likely an afterglow of sex and more likely a newfound relationship-type embarrassment.
"How was the movie?" Midoriya asked, smiled over at Iida and Ochaco as they stepped fully into the cabin.
"Pretty good," Ochaco said.
"Boring," Iida followed.
Midoriya giggled and covered his mouth with one hand. "Can't please everyone, I suppose."
Todoroki had stilled his movements during the conversation. He pulled the towel away from Midoriya's head and found that perhaps he'd dried the latter's hair a bit too much; unruly curls stood on end. Midoriya reached up and felt it, and he laughed, turning to face Todoroki. "Shouto," he said in a mock-whine, "what did you do to my hair?"
"I dried it," Todoroki replied quite bluntly. "I didn't know it would do that."
Meanwhile, Ochaco laughed at the way his hair frizzed. "This is just like that time you let Ashido do your hair!"
Midoriya laughed with her, and Iida joined in. Todoroki hid a snicker behind his hand. "I'll just shower in the morning, it's fine."
The lateness of the evening coupled with their sports' training had Midoriya ready to fall asleep even as Iida and Ochaco set up some sort of projector device Yaoyorozu made for them before they left. "It plays movies," Ochaco explained. "The girls had one, so Momo made us one, too!"
"That was nice of her," Todoroki noted.
They got it set up so that along the far wall of the cabin a movie would play. Iida and Ochaco happily adjusted their sleeping position so each of them could see the screen, while Todoroki and Midoriya shared the bathroom to brush their teeth. They bumped hips playfully as they did so, and they shared a quick (not so quick) mint-flavored kiss before returning to the main room.
Iida had turned off the lights to set the atmosphere for the movie. Todoroki and Midoriya ducked while they passed by the screen, tried their hardest not to bother the two watching the movie, but still Ochaco teasingly whisper-shouted at them to get out of the way.
Midoriya crawled into bed and Todoroki followed suit. Midoriya hesitated for a moment until Todoroki wrapped an arm across his waist and pulled him close, one hand drifting subconsciously to the nest of curly hair. Midoriya wrapped his arm tentatively around Todoroki, his hand on the latter's back. His face fit snugly in the divot of Todoroki's neck and shoulder, and he peppered soft, lazy kisses there while Todoroki combed his fingers through Midoriya's hair.
They fell asleep quickly. Though they'd slept together before, this time felt much more intimate, like they were in their own world. Midoriya had even forgotten that Ochaco and Iida were there until one of them laughed at the movie playing across the cabin, and even then he couldn't find it in himself to care. He didn't care how lovestruck he sounded; Todoroki's arms around him in that moment felt like all he could ever want.
Todoroki awoke to the sound of the intercom playing some sort of chime, like it had the previous morning. Midoriya laid across him, functioning as a weighted blanket. Todoroki was ready to ask if the boy was awake when he heard Midoriya start a slue of grumbles of it being too early and him being too comfy to want to move.
"Izuku," Todoroki whispered in that soft, raspy, sleep-filled voice. "Get up."
"Don't want to," Midoriya whispered back. "Not without a good morning kiss."
Todoroki wasn't awake enough for this level of cuteness.
He felt Midoriya's soft, hesitant lips meet his own for just a moment, and just as quickly as Midoriya had kissed him the boy pushed himself up from the bed, seemingly wide awake. Todoroki threw his legs off the other side of the bed and made a soft noise as he stretched his arms. He looked around – Iida and Ochaco were nowhere to be found, and Todoroki couldn't hear the tap running from either the bath or the washroom.
"Let's get to breakfast, Shouto!" Midoriya chirped, already tossing his pajama shirt aside and rifling through their drawers.
"Hey—warn me next time, Izuku," Todoroki turned away to give the boy some privacy, though his eyes may have lingered on Midoriya's biceps for just a moment.
"I'm wearing your sweatshirt," Midoriya announced unceremoniously as he threw it over his head. He was careful of his left arm, but still the act of pulling his arm through the hole elicited a soft hiss of pain.
"Careful," Todoroki murmured, turning back around in order to help him maneuver his arm through the sleeve.
"Will you help me re-wrap it after breakfast?" Midoriya asked softly. "Mr. Aizawa told me last night that Recovery Girl gave him a bag of stuff before we left, and that I should re-wrap it."
"Well of course," Todoroki replied, turning to dig through the drawers himself. He decided that, if Midoriya thought he could borrow Todoroki's clothes, then Todoroki had no problem wearing a sweatshirt of Midoriya's. "Is Mr. Aizawa making you participate in the extensive training for today?"
"Oh, right," Midoriya's brows furrowed. "I forgot about that."
"Is that a yes?"
"I guess I don't know for sure. Probably?"
They continued their conversation as they walked the path towards the mess hall, a bit sticky with mud from the rain the day before. Their pinkies linked, then pinkies were forgone and replaced with entire hands. Midoriya swayed their hands between the two of them with a cheeky smile, and Todoroki believed that he was quite easily the luckiest man in the world.
They found Ochaco and Iida in the mess hall chatting excitedly with the rest of the girls. Even Ashido was already there, to Midoriya's surprise; usually she was one of the last people awake, both at this training camp and at the dorms. As Midoriya and Todoroki stepped into the hall, their conversation stopped and all of them stared – looking between Todoroki, who wore Midoriya's favorite faded All Might hoodie; and Midoriya, who wore Todoroki's favorite solid green hoodie.
"No way," Hagakure said.
"That didn't take long," Jirou mumbled.
"We did it!" Ashido thrust a fist into the air.
"Actually, I think they did it," Iida added pointedly, but the girls around him had already begun squealing and he couldn't be heard. He sighed and shook his head, but still he smiled.
"What was that about?" Todoroki asked with the slightest twinge of nervousness as they stepped into line.
"I don't know," Midoriya replied with a shrug, but he knew quite well about the girls' schemes and their group chat – considering he was there when Jirou and Hagakure initially made it.
Bakugou and Kirishima stood just ahead of them in line. Kirishima was the first to turn around and make a playful whistling noise at them, followed by Bakugou turning around and making a soft noise of annoyance. Midoriya could feel Todoroki prepping to freeze Bakugou's feet to the ground (something of a trademark attack against the hothead, Midoriya thought idly), but Bakugou spoke then. He didn't turn around to face them as he asked, "You two idiots finally figure it out? Not like I care."
"Figure what out?" Todoroki asked, though his voice wasn't as cold as his right side had gotten; rather, he sounded curious that Bakugou would ask such a thing.
"He's talking about—" Kirishima had turned around again and was walking through the lines backwards as he traced a heart in the air. "—This, ya know?"
Midoriya flushed. "Is it that obvious?"
"You're wearing each other's fuckin' clothes like some married couple," Bakugou sneered. "Yes, it's obvious."
As if to accentuate how obvious they were, Kaminari from behind slapped a hand on each of their shoulders and whispered a congratulations.
"You're wearing Kirishima's sweatpants," Todoroki noted, and if Bakugou had ever lost his cool before it didn't even compare to right now. He sputtered, swirled around ready to say something, his face red and his palm conjuring a ball of fire. But whatever he wanted to say got lost in his throat and he whipped back around.
"That's different," he grumbled finally.
"Is it?" Todoroki asked nonchalantly, the ice from his right side receding.
"Fuck off, half and half," Bakugou griped finally and stormed ahead in the line, leaving Kirishima behind.
Kirishima, on the other hand, laughed at the exchange. "He couldn't find his pants this morning," he explained, grabbing at his side from the laughter. "They were hanging up in the bathroom to dry from the rain."
They chatted idly with Kirishima as they wandered through the breakfast line. Midoriya and Todoroki decided to share a tray. By the time they sat at their regular table, most of the class was already halfway through their meal. They didn't mind, though, because the mess hall cleared much quicker than it had the past couple days and Midoriya and Todoroki sat inside alone while Tsuyu and Ojiro did the dishes in the kitchen.
"How long have you liked me?" Todoroki asked nonchalantly, and the bite of cereal Midoriya had been taking decided to lodge itself in his throat in surprise. He coughed it up and blushed, expecting Todoroki to comment about how gross it was – but Todoroki just watched him intently, waiting for an answer.
"U-um, well," Midoriya fidgeted, "I figured out I liked you after we saved that kid from drowning together, you know? But that's only when I figured it out. I don't know how long I've liked you."
Todoroki hummed, putting his head back down to continue eating.
"What about you, Shouto?"
He flushed as if he hadn't been expecting to be asked the same thing. "I, well, probably the same amount of time," he said. "I think. I'm not sure, for a long time I thought friends just…liked each other like that."
"Mm," Midoriya hummed in agreement. "Me too, sorta."
They bumped their feet together under the table. "Hurry up, we're about to dump out the soapy water," Ojiro called from the kitchen.
"Right!" Midoriya jumped to his feet and took the tray to the kitchen. Todoroki managed to grab his banana from the tray before Midoriya took it.
"Training starts in thirty minutes," Todoroki said as Midoriya met him by the mess hall doors. "We should probably go wrap your arm now."
While Midoriya was given a modified training regimen due to his injury, he still felt just as exhausted as the rest of the blue team after training that day. He and the others collapsed together on the ground just on the outskirts of the bonfire. Meanwhile, the red team came up the path from the water obstacle course looking no better. Despite Midoriya's legs aching for him to never move again, he stood and found Todoroki, and together they hobbled towards their cabin to shower before dinner.
"What did you guys do?" Midoriya asked nonchalantly, though he even sounded exhausted from the breathy drawls of his voice.
"Water polo," Todoroki mumbled back. "With Quirks and an obstacle course."
"Sounds complicated."
"It was."
Iida and Ochaco were just a little ways behind. They slumped against each other while they walked, breaths heavy and ragged. "Who gets the shower first?" Iida asked, exchanging looks with Midoriya and Todoroki.
"Ladies first," Midoriya replied.
"One of us can take the baths, too," Todoroki noted.
"The shower is big enough for two," Ochaco replied smugly. "How about we go two and two?"
Midoriya sputtered and Todoroki steamed. They averted their gaze from each other, mumbling something not quite coherent.
"It's not like you've never bathed together before," Iida stated helpfully behind them.
"That's different," Todoroki whispered.
When they arrived back at the cabin, Iida and Ochaco wasted no time grabbing spare sets of clothes to change into. They disappeared into the washroom together, left Todoroki and Midoriya to stare at each other. "I can wait, if you're uncomfortable," Todoroki said finally.
"Well!" Midoriya countered quickly, his blush stretched up to his ears. "I'm not…uncomfortable, per se." He paused. "Are you?"
"No," Todoroki replied quietly.
Still, a nervous atmosphere settled between them as they gathered clothes to change into after their bath. Midoriya cursed his own nervousness – often times the boys in Class 1-A bathed together after rough trainings, and it wasn't unusual to bathe together aside from that – but something about bathing with just Todoroki made him…anxious.
The bath was large enough to fit four. Just inside the door were two shower stalls, and past them the bath covered the back half of the room. It already felt relaxing just being inside the room, Midoriya thought, and some of his nerves dissipated with the steam around them. There were cubbies to store their clothing and a few towels along the wall.
"How do you want to do this?" Todoroki asked suddenly beside him, and Midoriya jumped, having forgotten he was there. "Sorry," Todoroki added.
"U-um, I could ah…" Midoriya set his clothes down. "One of us c-could shower and get in, then the other?" he said quietly.
"Sure."
"Will you help me unwrap my arm?"
Delicately, Todoroki helped Midoriya out of his training shirt. There were fewer hisses of pain and mumbles of "ouch" than usual, and Todoroki couldn't help but hope that Midoriya would be able to put this injury behind him in the next few days. By the time he fully unwrapped Midoriya's arm, he could tell that the sickly purple it had been before they left now was a fainter pinkish color. The deep, welted handprint had subsided into a much less noticeable (but noticeable nonetheless) reddish, slightly swollen scar.
With only the sounds of their breathing between them to echo off the walls, Midoriya felt exposed already; he'd only taken his shirt off, but yet he felt naked, like Todoroki could see through him. In his concentration, Todoroki's right side had formed a few ice crystals, and with Midoriya's free hand he poked at them curiously. They littered Todoroki's face like freckles, shiny and cold and adorable.
"You can shower first," Todoroki broke the silence finally. He turned his back to Midoriya. "I won't look, I promise."
Hesitantly, Midoriya peeled away the rest of his clothing and folded it neatly, storing it in a separate cubby from his clean clothes. He took to the shower stall and washed himself quickly, dropped a few of the assorted soaps in the process. "I'm getting in the bath now," Midoriya called just after he turned off the water, and he grabbed a towel and placed it on the edge of the bath before stepping into the water. It felt painful at first on his left arm, but soon enough that pain melted into pleasure, like a sore muscle that just needed to be loosened.
"I'm going to change now," Todoroki announced. Midoriya kept his back to the shower stalls, instead focused on the view out the window ahead of him. There wasn't much to look at, in all honesty; the brush grew thickly just on the other side of the window, and between the thick tree trunks and the dark shadows, he could barely see ten feet outside. While he strained to look, the shower turned on behind him.
He tensed in the water. Todoroki would get in soon. Todoroki would get in soon, and Midoriya was completely naked.
His internal panic only grew louder when Todoroki laid a towel on the edge of the bath just a few feet away. Midoriya faced forward, despite wanting so badly to just turn and look – just like the night when Todoroki went skinny dipping for a dare.
Was that just a few nights ago? It felt like ages ago.
The water rippled as Todoroki stepped into the bath. "Nice view," he said sarcastically, and the tension that had built up in Midoriya's chest seemed to crumble instantaneously; he snorted and a hand shot up to his mouth, but the damage had been done. Todoroki laughed with him, scooted a bit closer. Midoriya felt the urge to move away but he didn't. This was normal, this was a normal thing, the only reason it wasn't normal was because it was just him and Todoroki.
That had never been a bad thing before. Why did it feel so strange now?
"Izuku," Todoroki murmured, "do you want me to leave?"
"No!" Midoriya replied quickly, and whether his blush came from the steam of the bath or his own embarrassment neither of them could discern. "It's just…"
"A little weird?" Todoroki offered softly. Midoriya sighed and nodded.
"Yeah," he murmured feebly.
"How's your arm feel?"
Midoriya visibly relaxed at the topic change. "So much better," he breathed. Todoroki felt a small smile curl at his lips.
"I'm glad to hear that," he murmured in response.
The silence between them only ruptured with the sound of the water moving with every slight fidget of Midoriya's body. Todoroki extended his arms along the edge of the bath and let his head fall back, eyes closed and lips parted. Midoriya wondered idly if Todoroki had ever taken the time to relax before; even during baths with the class, Todoroki had never looked so peaceful. Midoriya allowed him to trace every detail of Todoroki's face, almost shamelessly. After all, just yesterday he'd had Todoroki's tongue in his mouth; he felt a sudden lack of intimidation in just ogling the man.
"Are we together?" Todoroki asked finally, though his closed eyes and continued relaxed posture betrayed his outburst.
"Huh?" Midoriya replied smartly.
Todoroki cracked an eye open and peered at Midoriya. "Are we dating," he clarified. "Because, um…we haven't gone on any dates."
Midoriya snorted and let himself relax into a similar posture as Todoroki's. He let his right arm meet Todoroki's, gripped at his forearm lazily while he relaxed his head against the edge of the bath. "I…guess? Do you want to be my boyfriend?"
"Yes," Todoroki breathed almost immediately. Midoriya would have fought a blush, had his cheeks not already been so flushed by the steam of the bath. Instead he settled for a wide grin, the one Todoroki loved so much.
"Then that's settled," Midoriya murmured.
Somewhere in their bath, either Todoroki or Midoriya – neither of them quite knew – moved closer, until they were mere inches away. The prospect of Todoroki's naked body pressed against Midoriya's own both scared and invigorated him, and he felt a jolt of electricity when Todoroki's bare thigh brushed his own. He startled, activated his Quirk in his left arm accidentally and sent a tidal wave of bathwater at the window across the room. Todoroki's laugh reverberated off the walls of the bath and it sounded like bliss, like heaven, like pure happiness itself. Midoriya couldn't help but laugh, too.
Todoroki's arm casually draped itself around Midoriya's shoulders. "Izuku," he murmured softly, "can I kiss you?"
Midoriya choked on his laughter and settled for bobbing his head up and down, as vigorously as he could manage so Todoroki knew he wanted nothing more than to feel his friend's (boyfriend's, now) lips on his own.
The heat already clouded Midoriya's thoughts, but with Todoroki's lips on his, pliable and soft and a little too hot and a little too cold all at once, Midoriya practically melted into the water around him. He reached up, tangled his fingers in Todoroki's mismatched hair, heard a noise he most certainly wasn't expecting from the boy in question – a soft noise, a mix between a sigh and a moan, if Midoriya had to label it. Whatever it was, though, it sent a pang of anticipation straight from Midoriya's foggy head to his stomach.
Midoriya pressed closer, adjusting himself until he nearly straddled Todoroki's left thigh. "Izu…ku," Todoroki breathed between kisses, and if he was trying to get Midoriya to stop he was doing a lousy job at it.
"Shouto," Midoriya gasped back, his lips migrating from Todoroki's lips to his cheeks. He peppered kisses there and started a trail towards Todoroki's neck, each kiss bringing Todoroki closer to threading his fingers through that green, curly hair and forcing their lips back together.
But he complied. He tilted his head, granted access to his neck, and allowed soft, breathy sighs and moans to pass through his lips while Midoriya's tongue danced across his skin slicked with steam and sweat. "Izuku," Todoroki whimpered, and he reached forward with the goal of grabbing the latter's hip – but he missed, of course he missed, and instead brushed his fingertips along something hard and possibly hotter than the water around them. With a yelp Midoriya pulled back, eyes wide and worried.
"I'm so sorry," they gasped out in unison, and it took a moment for it to register that they'd both apologized. A nervous laugh bubbled from Midoriya's lips and he drew back, moved so he was no longer straddling Todoroki's leg.
"I, ah, don't know what came over me," Midoriya gasped out. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay!" Todoroki replied quickly, a little louder than intended. "I'm—I'm really sorry, too."
"I-I think I should get out," Midoriya murmured finally. "I—um, you can stay in here, if you want. I just—um, I'm getting a little…light-headed. Yeah, light-headed."
Before Todoroki could protest more, Midoriya was pushing himself out of the water. Todoroki caught an accidental glimpse, long enough to find out that what he'd accidentally touched hadn't been his imagination – Midoriya was hard. He didn't know why that sent such a pleasant feeling through him, but it did. He averted his gaze and shifted his attention instead to his fingernails.
He heard Midoriya towel off and put his clothes on, but still Todoroki waited until he was sure Midoriya had left to get out himself. He cursed himself for doing—that—even if it had just been an accident. He should have been more careful. He should have—
I should have kept going, a sick, gnawing part of Todoroki thought. I should have kissed him like that. I should have…
He huffed. The thoughts only grew louder the longer he remained in the bath. He sighed, sat himself under the cold shower water, willed his brain to quit thinking such things. Instead his focus shifted to calculus. He ran through memorized formulas in his head until his body cooled down, the imprint of Midoriya's lips and tongue on his neck washed down the drain. Only then did he towel off and get dressed, and upon re-entering the common area of the cabin found that Midoriya was nowhere to be found.
Most of the class had wandered back to their cabins after recovering from the equally tough training sessions from the day. So, Midoriya was surprised to find a ball of fabric curled like a body on one of the benches around the unlit bonfire. He sat cautiously, a few feet away to ensure he didn't sit on Hagakure's hand on accident. "Everything alright?" he asked quietly, not sure where to look so he settled instead for looking at the fire pit in front of them.
She sighed beside him and shifted a little. "No," she admitted finally.
"Are you and Ashido doing okay?"
"That's the problem," Hagakure replied. She sounded so…defeated, so bitter. "It's like she won't even talk to me now."
"That doesn't make much sense," Midoriya said quietly. "I thought it would be the opposite."
"Girls aren't as blunt as guys," Hagakure replied, and if there was any malice in her tone Midoriya passed it off as Hagakure's anger with Ashido, not with him. As if to affirm that thought, she added, "I'm sorry. I'm just a little confused."
"It's okay," Midoriya nodded. "I get it."
Hagakure sniffed beside him. "You do?"
"Well—not entirely," Midoriya admitted. "I'm not a girl, after all. And things between Shouto and me didn't play out exactly like that…"
She groaned. "Yeah, you're right."
They were silent for a moment. Then, though Midoriya knew he probably shouldn't, he said, "Do you want me to talk to her?"
"What would you say?"
"What would you?" Midoriya asked.
He half-expected Hagakure to shut him down, to tell him to get lost, but she just extended her legs out in front of her and sighed. "I'd tell her that…I waited four months just to hear her say she liked me the way I like her, and I want to know if I did something wrong. I want to know if that's why…if that's why she won't talk to me now."
Midoriya's lips quirked into a small, sad smile. "So why don't you tell her that?"
"Because girls don't talk like guys do," Hagakure groaned. "That's not a thing we do, Midoriya."
"It sure would clear some things up, wouldn't it?"
"I mean, maybe?"
"I'm sure she feels a similar frustration not talking to you, Hagakure," Midoriya reached out and laid a gentle hand on the shoulder of her sweatshirt. "One of you has to say something."
"Who was it for you?" Hagakure asked curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"Was it you or Todoroki?" she clarified.
"Oh," Midoriya hummed in thought, "I think both of us wanted the same thing. It didn't really take words."
"Oh," Hagakure mumbled.
They remained quiet there for a few minutes, at least, before Hagakure rose to her feet. Midoriya watched her – or rather, her clothes – with a look of concern. "Midoriya?" she said softly.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks," and despite not being able to see her face, Midoriya was almost certain she was smiling. Proudly Hagakure strutted towards the girls' cabin, leaving Midoriya alone by the fire pit.
He sat there long after Hagakure disappeared into the cabin, long after Jirou and Yaoyorozu left to give them some space and decided to stroll down to the water, long after the sun above began to set. He stared at the unlit fire in front of him, his mind free to wander wherever it pleased – but then, he jolted upright when his mind wandered to what had happened in the bath with Todoroki just a while before.
He wanted to slam his palm to his forehead. He wanted to bury himself in the ground and never come out; he couldn't believe that mere minutes after they'd officially gotten together, Midoriya went and straddled him and—and did those other things.
My mom would be so disappointed, Midoriya thought with a cringe.
His internal panic kept him from noticing that Bakugou had come out of the cabin, Kirishima in tow, until the fire pit he stared at suddenly lit itself. He jumped a bit, and Kirishima couldn't help but laugh; Bakugou, on the other hand, looked more annoyed than ever. "S-sorry, I can give you some space—" he was already in the process of standing, ready to flee.
"Sit down, Deku," Bakugou barked back.
Hesitantly, he swallowed thickly and collapsed back onto the bench he'd been sitting on. And, just as hesitantly, Bakugou across from him added in a quiet voice, "I'm not gonna hurt you."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only noise the crackling of the fire. Midoriya had to admit it was awkward, sitting there with just Kirishima and Bakugou – though neither of them spoke, they exchanged nudges and gestures that served as a conversation. He sighed to himself, remembered how he and Todoroki nudged shoulders and linked pinkies before any of this had happened – before the kiss had happened – and though he loved being with Todoroki, he wished things could be simple again.
A few others, seeing the bonfire lit from their cabins, came and joined them. Aoyama clung to his fur coat when he sat down, readying himself in case anyone tried to dare him to throw it in the fire again. Sero and Tokoyami argued between each other about which celebrities had the best Quirks. Tsuyu and Ochaco shared a bag of caramel corn (courtesy of Tokoyami for donating the snack table). Slowly yet surely, the entire class reconvened around the bonfire. Well – all except Todoroki.
When Midoriya asked, Iida shrugged. "He was taking a nap," he said quietly. "Maybe you should check on him."
Though he loved the warm atmosphere of both the bonfire and the chatter of his classmates, Midoriya rose from his spot and headed towards their cabin. He barely had the door pushed open when he noticed all the lights were on, and Todoroki was most certainly not napping.
He sat on their bed and played catch with a fireball, aimlessly staring at the wall ahead of him. The sound of the door seemed to snap him out of his trance and he looked up, offered a small smile. "Hey," he said, letting the fireball dissipate in his hand.
"Everyone's down at the bonfire," Midoriya replied. "Are you gonna come, too?"
Todoroki thought for a moment. "No," he decided finally.
"Is something wrong?"
"No."
"Oh," Midoriya crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "What is it, then?"
"I just don't feel like it tonight," Todoroki shrugged. "You can go back, if you want to."
"Mineta was just telling me about this weird Quirks porn magazine he subscribed to," Midoriya cringed as he recalled the conversation. "I think I'd rather stay here, if that's okay with you."
"Of course, Izuku."
Wordlessly, Midoriya rose again and padded over to the projector. "How does this work again?" he asked to nobody in particular, because he knew that Todoroki also didn't know how to use it. He fiddled with it, finally found a compartment for a DVD, and put in one of the movies Iida and Ochaco had left nearby. It was more for background noise than anything.
Todoroki opened his arms to him when Midoriya came back to the bed, and gratefully Midoriya let himself be wrapped in them. Those delicate fingers knitted through his hair again, combed it so gently that Midoriya felt himself wanting to drift to sleep – but he refused, busied himself with drumming his fingers against Todoroki's skin to keep himself awake.
"Izuku," Todoroki mumbled softly, his hand stilling momentarily.
Midoriya stopped drumming his fingers. "Yeah, Shouto?"
"About what happened earlier—"
"I'm really sorry!" Midoriya bowed his head, pressed his forehead into Todoroki's chest. "I, ah, I shouldn't have done that!"
"No, um, it's okay," Todoroki murmured back. "I'm—I'm sorry I—"
"Don't mention it!" Midoriya squeaked out. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have—"
"I liked it."
Midoriya froze, craned his head slowly to look at Todoroki. "Y-you…liked it?"
"Is that wrong?" Todoroki asked softly. "I thought you liked it, too, judging by—"
Midoriya laughed, a little too loudly, a little too nervously. "Yup! Uh huh, I liked it too!"
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's just—um, a little…fast?" Midoriya offered feebly.
Todoroki tilted his head and drew his hand back from Midoriya's hair. "I guess," he shrugged, "but we've been friends for so long that it kind of felt normal."
"You think so?"
"Well, sure."
Midoriya had a reponse on the back of his tongue but it was interrupted by Iida and Ochaco barging into the cabin, giggles bubbling from each of their lips. "Deku," Ochaco laughed, "I have no idea what you said to Hagakure, but Tsuyu just caught her and Ashido making out in the girls' cabin."
Midoriya flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "A-ah, I just told her she should um, talk to Ashido? Y'know, since they both like each other and everything…"
Todoroki returned his attention to the boy in his arms. "Playing matchmaker?" he teased gently, fingers threading through his hair again. Midoriya hummed in acknowledgement and let his head fall on Todoroki's shoulders.
"You two are so cute it's sickening," Ochaco said with a dramatic sigh. She flopped down onto her and Iida's shared bed and looked to the movie playing in the background; it was about halfway done now.
Iida sat down as well. Todoroki stared up at the ceiling while he worked his fingers through a knot. Midoriya's breathing leveled out shortly thereafter, and even with the light on and Iida and Ochaco chatting and the movie playing in the background, Todoroki drifted to sleep as well.