Uraraka was planning a party. A big one.

"Jirou-san, Kota-san! You guys are in charge of music! Kaminari-kun, can you and Tooru-chan pick out some movies for later? Sero-kun! You and Shoji-san gotta hang up decorations! Wait, Aoyama-kun, don't put the disco ball there-"

Living in the Yuuei dorms was definitely interesting, Todoroki realized not long after they moved. They had big parties once every month, and every other week they'd have some sort of movie night or smaller gathering. As long as they cleaned up after themselves, behaved correctly, and it didn't interfere with their studies, Aizawa said they could do whatever they wanted during weekends.

So of course, Uraraka, being the upbeat and outgoing girl she is, took it upon herself to plan this month's party. Ashido had planned the last one, and they had turned the party planning into a friendly competition between the two to see who could plan the best party. The brown-haired girl definitely was putting out all the stops to make this a great one as she got as many willing volunteers as possible to help out.

Todoroki was knelt down in front of a foldable table. Uraraka had asked him personally to make an ice sculpture for the snack and punch table, and he agreed. He wasn't really into parties, but he enjoyed participating in the activities, if somewhat quietly. He liked being around friends, after all.

Friends...

Todoroki's hands dropped to his sides as he admired his work. He hadn't used his Quirk for something so creative before but was relieved it turned out well. It was a sculpture of a three-dimensional star. As he melted the ice that had gathered upon his arm, he saw the gravity-defying Uraraka approach him. She was floating along the ceiling - Shoji had been chosen to hang up decorations with Sero's tape since he could extend his hands quite far, but it seemed that Uraraka was too eager to help and make sure everything was finished for seven o'clock tonight.

"Todoroki-san!" She called out cheerfully from above him. "That looks great, thank you! Could I ask you to run another errand, though?" Todoroki nodded, standing up. He was offered one of Uraraka's huge smiles. "Deku-kun is going to the general store to get Mineta-san some medicine, can you tag along with him and grab some snacks? I'll give you a list. Sorry to ask for so much!" She bowed her head in thanks, which looked odd as she was currently horizontal across the ceiling. Todoroki nodded yet again as he caught a small list of snacks and some money that she dropped, then turned around quickly and found he was directly face-to-face with green curls and a familiar collection of freckles. Todoroki's eyes went wide with surprise - where did he come from?

"Oh! Sorry to startle you, Todoroki-kun. Uraraka just texted me. Are you ready to go?" After recovering, he nodded. He was doing a lot of that today. As they walked towards the entrance and got dressed for the chilly autumn weather, the taller teen asked: "How did she manage to text you so quickly? I was looking at her that entire time, I didn't see her pull out her phone." Midoriya laughed, and Shouto thought that his laugh sounded quite pleasant. "That's just Uraraka-san. She has her ways."

"Hmm." He hummed, agreeing somewhat. She was unique - in a good way. One thing stood out to him from Midoriya's explanation, though. "I thought you and Uraraka-san were close. You don't call her Uraraka-chan, even though she calls you..." He paused for a moment, unsure if saying his nickname would be okay, despite him not actually referring to him as it. "Deku-kun?"

He caught Midoriya fumbling with his fingers again. He performed that ritual often, Todoroki noticed, then winced and looked away when he saw the crooked scars along his hands. "Uraraka-san is a good friend, I just... I feel like I should be respectful to her? She's a girl, and uh... I just feel more nervous around them?" Midoriya admitted, but he seemed unsure of himself.

Todoroki couldn't understand why he felt a pit in his stomach at that statement. He was glad that he trusted him with this knowledge, however, it seemed like it was embarrassing to admit.

"I understand. I don't really call people with anything besides formality. If it's with someone like you, then it's just your name. I trust that works fine." Todoroki spoke quietly, unable to comprehend why his disappointment seemed to grow.

Midoriya shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket, and Todoroki was glad not to have the painful reminder of his injury during the Sports Festival in his view. That, and it's good that his hands aren't cold. "I'm fine with anything, you know, Todoroki-kun." He looked up and to the side, directly into his eyes, and offered a trademark Midoriya smile. It wasn't anything compared to Uraraka's bright smiles - hers were nice, but they didn't make her eyes sparkle, they didn't form dimples on her cheeks that only made the freckles easier to notice, they didn't make him wish that he could offer a smile in return with just as much intensity.

And as soon as he was hit with the sudden wave of positivity, it was gone as Midoriya stepped through the automatic doors of the general store.

He wanted to see more of that blinding smile.

"So, medicine for our friendly neighbourhood pervert, right? What's ailing him this time? A nosebleed?" Todoroki commented as Midoriya browsed the bottles of medicine. The mop of green curls turned towards him in disbelief. Did Todoroki just... crack a joke...?

He burst out laughing, shaking his head eagerly as he did so. "No, he's caught a cold!" After he recovered, he had what seemed like a permanent smile, and Todoroki found his lips aching to offer a small smile as well. He fought it for a while but lost in the end. Midoriya picked out grape-flavoured medicine, which only made Todoroki's smile more authentic. Of course he would choose that.

They both strolled together around the store, picking up the collection of snacks that Uraraka had written in her messy scrawl - multiple kinds of chips, popcorn for the movie, soda, water, and an assortment of fruit and veggie platters with dips. As they paid for their purchase, took their bags and exited the store, Midoriya - who was still smiling - looked up at his friend with a curious look. Todoroki returned the look, but regretted it as when he looked into those emerald eyes once again, he found himself lost in them for a moment. Why were so many features about Midoriya suddenly standing out to him, taking him by surprise and distracting him?

"I'm surprised, Todoroki-kun." Midoriya glanced away briefly. "You never really joke around like that. Don't get me wrong! It was funny!" He seemed frantic to correct himself, then smiled. "But I'm glad to see you come out of your shell more, if that makes any sense? Especially with our other classmates. I know how hard that can be, making friends and being social..." He went quiet as he began to ramble a little. "It might be a bit too much to say, but, w-well... I'm proud of you. For letting yourself really be a part of the class." He was hesitant, worried about what Todoroki's response could be, but his smile couldn't be wider.

He couldn't quite explain what happened next. His mind went into some sort of mild meltdown. Midoriya was so kind and *cute*- oh god, not again. He felt some heat radiate from his left side as he became increasingly nervous. How could he respond to something so considerate? He can't just say "thank you". Midoriya deserves more than just that, no matter how much he wants to just blurt it out and get this over with. What can he say-

His eyes widened as he noticed Midoriya start to walk beside him a little closer than before. They were about two feet apart earlier, and now Midoriya was toeing the line over his personal space bubble. He didn't particularly mind, he trusted the freckled boy, but... It definitely surprised him. The shock of it may have made him accidentally increase the temperature, but he had a feeling he knew why Midoriya did this, so he didn't calm his Quirk. He just averted eye contact as best he could.

Warm, Midoriya thought as he approached his friend. He was wary of personal space, he knew that Todoroki was conscious of people being too near to him or touching him, understandably. But the weather was getting colder and having a walking source warmth next to him would help bear with the cold. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even consider possibly violating anyone's personal space, let alone Todoroki's, but he was in a cheerful mood and Todoroki seemed especially social today. Maybe he wouldn't mind.

And he didn't. After around two minutes of walking together in silence, the human heater looked to his left and saw that even though Midoriya' right side was being heated, his left hand was in his pocket from the cold. A strong wind blew and he noticed Midoriya shiver. "Here," Todoroki spoke up, held out his arm to stop Midoriya from walking, then moved in front of him to Midoriya's left. He then changes his Quirk to radiate heat from his right - thankfully he in control and wouldn't make himself catch on fire. Midoriya's cheeks then grew red, not from the heat, however.

He noticed. Midoriya worried, panicking a little, praying that Todoroki wasn't mad at him. Then he noticed Todoroki bridge the gap between them and the sides of their arms touched as they walked. He glanced at Midoriya's face, then felt especially brave - Todoroki put his arm completely around his friend as they walked, wanting to ensure that he was completely warm. Midoriya felt his cheeks flush even more as he struggled not to drop his bag of groceries. Todoroki, for a moment, thought that he made his face radiate heat - but that wasn't his Quirk. He was blushing also.

Why... Why does being physically close to someone make his heart beat so quickly? He just... He doesn't understand. Normally someone touching him would feel wrong, and scary… But with Midoriya, it feels right, somehow...

"Thank you, Todoroki-kun." The freckled hero mumbled, feeling shy yet very appreciative. The cold wouldn't bother him any more thanks to the heat.

Todoroki, heart pounding, felt the smallest of smiles on his lips. He was glad he could do something for his close friend. "It's no problem, Midoriya-kun." He liked saying 'kun'. It was only for Midoriya, though. No one else gets that title. He might've imagined it, but he could've sworn he felt Midoriya almost cuddle into him.

Only to have the peaceful moment ruined by a villain attack.

A young couple right in front of them was all of a sudden blown away by a massive, unnatural gust of wind coming from an alleyway. The man's head hit the concrete roughly. A hooded figure appeared from the alley, ran towards them, snatched the woman's purse after striking her with a rough blow, and ran.

Midoriya felt the power of One For All course through him. He dropped the groceries, the grape medicine's seal breaking as it leaked everywhere all over the sidewalk, spreading its sickly sweet smell. He spared a moment to look up at Todoroki, whose gaze was cold.

Then they both charged.