It all started in a warm Spring afternoon, when the few Sakura on campus were in full bloom and the pretty pink petals drifted in the wind like little fairies hitching a ride with the breeze. The setting might be considered romantic and one might think it is part of what inspired Shouto to do this. The truth of the matter, however, was simply that he finally came to the conclusion that being a hero carries its own set of dangers, one of those being the high probability of not making it to see another day without any sort of warning. Sure, he was aware of this when he signed up for the lifestyle—against his will or otherwise—, but he never really considered he might fall in love along the way.

After a few months of keeping those feelings to himself, weighing his options, Shouto figured that all he really had to lose by confessing them was his dignity, considering he had absolutely no idea how to go about doing it. But perhaps if he asked for advice, it wouldn't seem so hopeless. If there is one thing he has learned in his time at U.A., it's that there's no shame in asking for help and relying on your friends.

"Ashido." He calls her before she leaves at the end of class, thinking that since she spends so much time pouring over romantic movies and manga, she must have some sort of knowhow on the matter.

"Todoroki-kun, need something?" She asks, head tilting to one side in curiosity.

"I need your help with a thing, it's important." Shouto starts, looking around to make sure everyone else has gone. Well, here goes nothing.

The gossip chain starts with Ashido. It always starts with Ashido. Why anyone still trusted her with any confidential information whatsoever would remain a mystery for the rest of eternity.

As soon as she leaves Todoroki's side, she goes to Hagakure to gush about a blossoming love happening right under their noses, an epic love story filled with tragedy and woe, but in which the star-crossed couple would end up prevailing through all the hardships the universe tried to throw their way. Or, at least, that is the narrative they are pushing.

Todoroki certainly fits most of the archetypes for these sorts of romances: mysterious, handsome, troubled past. Though most people don't know about that last part. And no one but Todoroki himself knows who the person he loves is.

Of course, that doesn't stop the two girls from listing literally any possibility available, someone Todoroki only exchanged two words with suddenly becoming a potential candidate as the love of his life. How they even know who Todoroki ever spent any sort of time in the mere vicinity of, yet another unanswered question. Hagakure certainly goes unnoticed, so perhaps that might be the root of all that knowledge.

Regardless, this new and exciting discovery is too much for her to keep to herself too, which then leads to her sighing wistfully in the halls, scaring people half to death thinking there is a ghost nearby. Well, scaring Kaminari half to death anyway.

"Fuck me sideways, don't do that! You're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days."

"Sorry… It's hard to keep these emotions inside when there is love in the air…"

"Oh?" Kaminari wiggles his eyebrows in the direction of Hagakure's voice. "Lookin' for a good ti—Ow!"

"You'll stop right there unless you want me to hit something more sensitive than your shoulder."

"Yeesh, fine. But seriously though, what is it?"

"Haven't you heard?! Todoroki-kun is going to confess to someone soon!"

"Oh shit, for real? Damn it, I was rooting for him to be ace and aro, I don't need that sort of competition."

"Competition?" Sero joins the conversation as he was passing.

"Yeah, pretty boy is in the game apparently. Which of the girls do you think he's going for?"

The only answer Kaminari gets is a scoff when Bakugou pushes past them down the stairs to go to the gym. Now, if anyone were to ask class A if Bakugou is a gossip, almost everyone would laugh in their face. After all, the angry ball of explosive energy can barely hold a conversation without blowing something to smithereens, the delicate art of spreading rumours like wildfire isn't really his style.

Truth is, Kirishima would disagree. During their training sessions, Bakugou lets out both steam and all the juicy details of anything he seems to have heard that day. Which is how he comes to transmit this newfound knowledge.

"IcyHot is gonna make a fool of himself." He snickers as he throws a punch.

Kirishima blocks it with ease. "How so?"

"Apparently the nerd is in love. Gonna confess soon."

A kick to Kirishima's side that he counters by grabbing his leg and twisting. Bakugou twists his body along with it, going for Kirishima's head with his other leg only to have him duck the blow and take advantage of him being airborne to pin him down to the floor. Kirishima flashes him a toothy grin.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Bakugou taps out with a huff before smirking in return.

"Oh, so you're not just hair-for-brains after all. Pikachu was thinking about which girl."

At that, Kirishima can only let out a bark of laughter.

And just like that, the chain continues, link after link, going from one student to another until it finally reaches Uraraka. And that, as Bakugou may have so eloquently put it, is when shit hits the fan.

"Deku-kun!"

Izuku quite literally jumps ten feet into the air when Uraraka comes running towards his little training spot, shouting his name at the top of her lungs. He comes crashing back down, as things that go high up into the air tend to do, and he is so thoroughly unprepared that he lands flat on his face, groaning as he pushes himself up with his hands. Mentally going through every limb, Izuku makes sure he didn't somehow break something with such a trivial fall.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to throw you off." Uraraka scrunches up her face as she steps closer, offering him a friendly hand.

Izuku doesn't hesitate to take it, getting up to his feet with a grunt then dusting himself off. "It's alright. I think I'm okay."

"Think?"

A little unintelligible noise is the only thing Izuku has to offer her, absent-mindedly stretching sore muscles as it seems like his training time is about to be cut short.

He has learned not to freak out right away whenever Uraraka barges in with apparently catastrophic news. More often than not, despite her tone being more appropriate for the coming of the apocalypse, it turns out to be some random thing about one of their classmates that is dubious to say the least, but definitely not cause for such a reaction. There is the occasional 'The school is being attacked' or 'Someone is about to die'—in the case of that last one it might not always be literal, but it's still cause for a healthy level of concern, especially if Kacchan is involved—, so even if he isn't exactly panicking right away, he is ready to start. Anxiety ready to brew into full-blown hysteria is basically Izuku's constant state of being anyway.

"You are not going to believe what Jirou-san told me. Yaomomo got it from Iida-kun, who got it from Tokoyami-kun, who got it from Tsuyu-chan—"

So it's one of those, then. Izuku feels himself relax, only half listening to who told who whatever it is she's going on about while he continues his stretches.

"—parently Todoroki-kun asked Ashido-san how he should confess to the love of his life."

Izuku pauses, his muscles stiffening and locking in place just as he's bent over to reach his toes. "Who asked who what now."

"I know, this is a disaster! An absolute disaster! After all the time we spent planning the perfect way for you to tell him how you feel he's going to confess to someone else. How unfair can life get?!"

Everything grinds to a halt and Izuku just stands there, staring blankly at his fingertips brushing the dirt below him. His thoughts cease for a small eternity until they suddenly explode with a series of screams, wallows of self-pity and questions of who?! and why?! Tears spring to the corners of his eyes as the blood also pools in his head and he feels dizzy, finally falling to his knees with a shaky breath. His chest feels tight and Izuku is having a hard time breathing.

They did spend so much time planning how he would tell Todoroki how he feels and now… Now…

"Deku-kun…" Uraraka whispers softly, reaching for his shoulders.

Before she can actually touch him, Izuku shoots up to his feet, eyes wide with a sudden realisation. She startles at his movement, stumbling backwards with a yelp when green lightning sparks all around him with his determination.

"Uraraka-san." Izuku fixes her with his gaze, taking a few steps forward and shaking her gently. "Todoroki-kun is going to confess to someone!"

"Th-that's what I said… Well, it's what Jirou-san said that Yaomomo got from—" She snaps her jaw shut with a click when Izuku shakes his head vehemently.

"We've been planning how I should confess to him and he's going to confess to someone else!"

"Now it just sounds like you're repeating me. Deku-kun, I know this is painful but did you break?"

A little bit, he thinks, the little voice inside his head sounding desperate, but all that escapes him is a miserable whine as he shakes his friend once again. "I can't let him do it before me! I've been hyping myself up for too long, I can't let this opportunity go to waste!"

Her expression softens in sympathy and Izuku nearly explodes into tears at that look. Right now, he needs confidence, not pity, and he knows she doesn't mean it and is only trying to look out for his heart so that it doesn't break into a million pieces but damn it, she made him give himself the pep talk one too many times to not believe it herself.

"Deku-kun, if he loves someone else—"

"Then maybe he loves me too! Or something… God, I don't know I just need to tell him before he does it, okay?! He needs to know, I deserve to hear it from him!"

Without warning, Uraraka pulls him into her arms, squeezing him tightly and lifting his feet off the ground for a moment before letting him go. "Go get him, tiger." Izuku blinks. "Too much?"

"Just a smidge." In spite of himself, Izuku can't really help the little laugh that bubbles up in his chest. "The hug was nice though."

"I know."

"Okay, I have to go now if I want to make it." Izuku gets ready to run towards the main building only to be pulled back by his friend before he has the chance.

"At this hour, it's more likely that he's in the dorms."

"Right, of course." He starts in that direction then stops dead in his tracks not even three steps away, something dawning him and making his stomach churn. "I'm all sweaty and gross."

"I could tell." Uraraka giggles, a hint of amusement laced in her voice that makes Izuku feel even worse.

"I can't confess to Todoroki-kun like this! Maybe I can take a shower first and—"

"But what if he's already on his way to meeting this mystery person?"

"Gah! You're right!" Izuku lets out a miserable noise, hiding his face in his hands. "There's no time! Ah, this is nothing like what we had in mind, but it'll have to do!"

And with that, Izuku finally feels One for All's electrifying energy take over his body as he speeds across campus. The whole way there, as fast as his legs might be taking him, Izuku curses the fact that his training site is on the exact opposite end of the dorms, each second that ticks by taking him further and further from telling Todoroki how he truly feels about him.

It's been such a long time coming, two whole years of pining, half of one spent in denial that it was anything like that while the other half consisted of his slow acceptance that it was exactly like that; maybe even worse. Izuku has it bad, so, so bad. He spends his nights dreaming about Todoroki, his days thinking about him, he is worried sick whenever the holidays arrive and each time they meet during only offers him momentary relief because he will once again be gone at the end of the day.

Izuku has a picture folder on his phone dedicated specifically for candid photos he manages to take of his friend, a little smile here, a goofy expression there, all of them Todoroki's beautiful, breathtakingly gorgeous face. Every time they are together his heart races in a wonderful way, his stomach fills with eager butterflies and all he wants to do is be close to him, to be by his side, tell him how amazing he is, how great. He wants to kiss him, and each time he catches himself staring at Todoroki's lips his cheeks catch fire.

Todoroki needs to know everything. Izuku needs to tell him everything. He has been holding on to it for so long, he feels heavy with these feelings that don't leave him alone. He doesn't want to let them go, he doesn't. But he needs to share them, he needs to get this weight off his chest so he can finally breathe, for better or for worse, one way or another.

When he makes it to Heights Alliance, Izuku speeds past the common room so fast he doubts anyone sees him there. At this time, Todoroki is usually in his room, reading, and Izuku bolts straight for the stairs, knowing he can get to the fifth floor much faster than the elevator ever could. He is going so fast, in fact, that his feet seem to forget he needs to stop at the end of said stairs, and he ends up running straight into the wall, bouncing back onto his rear.

"Ow…"

He rubs at his sore nose, thanking every deity he knows of for not getting a nosebleed out of it. It's already bad enough he is drenched in sweat and wearing a t-shirt that reads 'Hot bod'. His mother might not know enough English to actually know what that says but he can't really count on that for Todoroki. That's the least of his problems anyway.

As soon as he gathers his bearings enough to stand back up, Izuku stares at his friend's dorm door, cold shivers running down his spine. All the fears and anxiety that kept him from saying anything for so long suddenly hit him all at once, crushing the determination he had gathered moments before to dust in one fell swoop.

He's in love with someone, he is going to confess his love to them sometime soon, he has made up his mind. No matter what I do or say right now, that won't change it, will it? Isn't it a little selfish to be dumping all of these feelings on my friend just so I can have some peace of mind? It's not only selfish, it's kind of cruel. But then again, I'm not doing it out of maliciousness, I won't be mad at Todoroki when he rejects me, we will still be friends, or at least, I will still be his friend. I like him. I love him. I just need him to know, I need him to know, I need him to kn—

"Midoriya?"

Izuku snaps his head towards the end of the hall. "Sero-kun?"

"Todoroki isn't in his room." Izuku flushes, for some reason immediately assuming that Sero knows exactly what he was about to do. "He's off to confess to the girl of his dreams."

"G-girl?!" Izuku shrieks. He was certain that Todoroki… Did he perhaps… Maybe he isn't really… "I-I mean, what girl?"

"Yeah, dude went to—"

"Ashido-san, yes, I heard."

"Oh yeah? Man, news travels fast." I wonder why?

Izuku sighs. "A-anyway, do you know who it is or where he might be?"

"No one knows. I saw him going out of the dorms though, it's probably someone from class B."

"Class B?" Izuku mutters under his breath. But he hardly ever talks to any of them. "O-okay, uh… Thanks Sero-kun."

Izuku starts towards the elevators, pensive, and then his friend stops him. "Want me to tell him you stopped by?"

Mouth falling open, Izuku thinks for a moment. If he doesn't find Todoroki before he gets back then… "That's okay, I will find him." He has to.

The way down to the first floor feels much too long, beads of sweat rolling down his back only making him feel even more uncomfortable than he already does. His skin feels unbearably itchy and there's bile rising in his throat. Izuku is pretty sure this is what jealousy must feel like, but he doesn't have time to dwell on it. He will have all the time in the world to stew in it and eventually let it go once he gets rejected and works through his feelings. That's just how life goes.

Just in case, before actually going to the other dorms based on someone's unreliable hunch, Izuku actually stops by the common room, scanning it and confirming that indeed there is no sign of Todoroki. Satisfied—as much as he can call it satisfaction—, he continues to follow his only lead on his friend's whereabouts.

Halfway there, however, Monoma bars his path, laughing in that maniacal way of his that never fails to make Izuku question his sanity.

"Class A's pretty face is going off the market, huh? That means you will be down one eligible bachelor! Class B is pulling ahead in desirable and handsome heroes now!"

Izuku's eye twitches. "Right. By chance, do you happen to know where pretty fa—I mean, Todoroki-kun is?"

"So you don't even know where your classmate is? How pathetic! Class A isn't as tightly knit as they let—"

Kendou comes to Izuku's rescue, as per usual, smacking Monoma across the head and cutting his rant short. "Thanks…"

"No worries, sorry about him."

"That's alright, he's just… a strange fellow." Izuku smiles at her and she grins back.

"You're too kind." He shrugs in response. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I caught the tail end of that. I saw Todoroki-kun earlier, he was heading towards the other side of campus."

He was? She gives him one final nod when he thanks her for the information and he starts running back to where he had come from the moment Kendou turns her back to him, dragging Monoma away.

As he makes his way there, Izuku can't help but wonder where on earth Todoroki could be going. Usually the only person who comes to these parts is him and Uraraka on occasion when she offers to train with him. He picked it specifically because it was so out of everyone's way, he wouldn't bother anyone with testing his new moves. Did… Did Todoroki hear that Uraraka had gone to see him? Was she the one he…

But Izuku could have sworn that…

"Deku-kun!"

Lost in his thoughts, Izuku startles at the sound of Uraraka's voice once more and trips on thin air, falling flat on his face again, and drifting to a stop a little way ahead of her. He can almost hear her cringe, as if that were even possible. What are a few more scratches anyway? He already looks like a mess.

"Did you see Todoroki-kun?" Izuku asks as he sits back on his ankles, rubbing at all the new sore spots added to his collection.

"Yeah… He asked if you were training when I was on my way back and when I said no, he didn't even wait for me to say anything else. He just ice-surfed the other way. It was strange."

"Huh." Izuku frowns, biting on his bottom lip. "Do you think he plans to take that person to my training spot? It is private and secluded…"

Uraraka crosses her arms over her chest, thoughtful. "It's a possibility, I guess."

A sigh crawls out of Izuku's lips and he slumps. "Am I being stupid, Uraraka-san? Should I just give up?"

He looks up to her at the sound of her gasp, a little squeal dying in his throat when she glares daggers his way and picks him up off the floor, making him stand tall as she stares from below. "You, Midoriya Izuku," Uraraka pokes his chest "are not a freaking quitter. What's this talk of giving up now?"

"Well, it's just that—" She slaps a hand over his mouth, narrowing her eyes even further. Izuku feels himself shrink under her gaze.

"I'm hearing none of it. You are going back to those dorms to find that pretty candy cane and you are going to tell him how you feel! How do you feel?"

"I like him?" Izuku mumbles, voice unsure and muffled by Uraraka's hand, which she takes away to smack his shoulder.

"How do you feel, Deku-kun?!"

"I like him." It no longer sounds like a question, at least.

"That's not right."

"I l-love him." He corrects, shy, cheeks burning.

"No stuttering."

"I love him."

"Louder."

Is it weird that this is actually working?

"I love him!"

"Louder!"

"I LOVE HIM!"

It's definitely weird that this is actually working. It might be working a little too well. Izuku's heart is ready to beat right out of his chest and his breaths are kind of short. The adrenaline suddenly pumping through his veins is also making his head spin a little but the excitement underneath is firing him up beyond reason and he feels about ready to burst.

"That's more like it! Now what are you going to do?!"

"I'M GOING TO TELL HIM HOW I FEEL!"

"Yeah you are! GO GET THAT CANDY CANE!"

"I'M GOING TO GET THAT CANDY CANE!"

Not another second goes by before Izuku is speeding across campus once more, lightning streaking behind him as he runs at full speed to return to Heights Alliance. He bursts through the doors, looking first in the common room and continuing further into the dorms. A feeling deep in his gut tells him that Todoroki won't be on the girl's side, and he goes straight for the stairs yet again, taking them three at a time to the top floor and remembering he needs breaks this time. He knocks on Todoroki's door so fast the wood shakes with each punch and when he hears no response from the inside, Izuku doesn't let the cold disappointment quell the flame still burning inside him.

Without thinking, he goes all the way down to the second floor, not even sure why he feels the need to go towards his own dorm but trusting that instinct regardless. Sometimes it's the right thing to do, he has learned that time and time again.

It seems he made the correct choice, because he has to stop just short of crashing right into the one he's been looking for when he makes it into the hallway. Todoroki takes a few steps backwards from the shock, eyes widening a fraction at Izuku's sudden appearance but quickly returning to their softened default.

As soon as his eyes meet Todoroki's, Izuku feels like he's ready to just spill everything out in one breath. The problem with that particular course of action happens to be that Izuku is completely out of breath. His mouth opens but all that really sounds from it is a pained wheeze as he crumbles onto his hands and knees, panting and gasping and positively drenched in sweat.

This isn't how he planned to do this at all.

"M-Midoriya, are you alright?"

Izuku looks up, opens his mouth again and lets out a cough that sounds like he's about to hack up a furball. Charming. He shakes his head slightly in response, holding up a hand that he hopes Todoroki takes to mean for him to wait until he recovers. It takes an embarrassingly long time of him just wheezing and sucking in huge gulps of air that don't really seem to reach his lungs at all, all while Todoroki stands there awkwardly, looking like he wants to help but doesn't really know how.

Granted, Izuku doesn't think he can help in any way whatsoever, but the thought that he wants to warms his heart all the same. Thinking about how amazing Todoroki really is only seems to make it even harder for Izuku to get a handle on his emotions and his breath by proxy, because then he starts choking back tears, which leads to sobs, and—oh, yeah, he's crying.

"Should I call someone?!"

Izuku doesn't think he's ever heard Todoroki sound so alarmed. He shakes his head once again, forcing himself to level his breathing as quickly as he can without actually triggering hyperventilation. As soon as he manages to form words, he deems himself sufficiently apt to talk. Clearly a mistake, but hindsight is always 20/20.

"You can't… Whoever the girl is, I need to… Before you go…"

"Girl? What are you talking about? Midoriya, I really think I should take you to Recovery Girl."

Todoroki kneels beside him and Izuku doesn't have enough breath or energy to actually resist it, letting his friend pull him up to a standing position and leaning into his side for support. Still, he needs to get this out; it's now or never.

"Todoroki-kun…" Deep breath. "I can't let you confess." He finally manages to choke out, wiping the disgusting mix of sweat and tears away from his face.

"W-what?" Izuku can feel the way Todoroki's entire body tenses and his own heart constricts painfully.

"I heard from Ashido-san…" He starts. "Well, Uraraka-san told me that Jirou-san told her she got from Yaomomo, who got it from—"

"Midoriya." Izuku chokes on the rest of the long-winded sentence. "I don't care who you heard it from. Why… Why can't I confess?"

"B-because—"

A hiccup breaks through Izuku and he curses himself, squeezing his eyes shut and inhaling deeply once more. He had planned he wasn't going to cry while doing this—he had planned a lot of things and none of them seemed to be going accordingly, really. Izuku grits his teeth.

"You need to hear what I have to say first." His voice is strangled, but it's clear enough that he knows Todoroki will understand him. He braces himself for the rejection he already expected from the very start and he soldiers on, pushing away to stand on his own, terrified but proud. "Before you confess your feelings to whoever it is," Todoroki raises one eyebrow but Izuku doesn't allow himself a single second of doubt. "I need you to know how I feel. I love you, Todoroki-kun. As more than a friend, much more. I have done for a really long time, because you are amazing.

"You are kind, and you are caring and warm, you're such a good friend to me but I want you to be more. I want us to be more. And I can't let you confess to someone else without letting you know. Because I need to hear it from you. I need to hear you say that you don't like me back that way or I won't be able to move on while you live it all with someone who isn't me."

Todoroki doesn't say anything. For one second, then two, then three, then too many for his frantic heart to keep time, Todoroki just stares. The nerve Izuku built up slowly dwindles, it shrinks down into all the anxiety and fear he held before and he starts to shake near imperceptibly, until, finally, Todoroki speaks.

"Wait, who did you think I was confessing to?"

Izuku blinks. "U-um, I don't know? Sero-kun mentioned some girl or something?"

"This again with the girl? Where did anyone get that idea?"

Exhaling, Izuku feels some form of relief wash over him at that. "Okay, so you do like guys! That was really bothering me because I was so sure and then Sero-kun said you were out confessing to the 'girl of your dreams' and I just started questioning everything, because you just never really—you know. I didn't really think it was reliable, but then Kendou said you were going towards my training site and the only other person who goes there on occasion besides me is Uraraka and—" Izuku's thought process stops there and he backtracks. "Wait. Besides me."

He focuses his gaze on Todoroki's face and finds him sporting a little smirk. "Figured it out yet or should I go ahead and confess now?"

A little high-pitched laugh that is more akin to a whine crawls out of Izuku. "Better be safe and just do it. I hear sometimes that person is a huge idiot."

"Yeah, but that's one of the things I like about him. It's kind of cute how flustered he gets when he puts two and two together."

Another tiny hysterical laugh. Izuku brings his hands up to cover his mouth along with his burning face. "This isn't how I planned this to go." He admits, sheepish.

"To be honest, it's not how I planned it either. I expected you to at least look a little more decent."

Izuku can't help it, he smacks Todoroki's shoulder, a small chuckle shaking his shoulders. "You know what, I take it back. You're not kind at all, you're a jerk."

"I never advertised myself as kind, clearly you've got your own false expectations of me and that's really your fault."

"Point taken." Izuku giggles once more, wiping some tears away before they start rushing once again. "I'm really happy right now… I would hug you but…"

"You can shower, we've got time to talk, perhaps retry, do it a little less… breathlessly?" Todoroki suggests, smiling softly as he brushes some of Izuku's curls away from his eyes.

"Sounds good to me. Wait for me?"

"You know, after I chased you all around campus, I think I'm good to wait for a bit."

The bright smile on Izuku's lips is bound to make his cheeks hurt, but he doesn't plan on dropping it any time soon, not when he walks to his dorm with Todoroki in tow and leaves to shower, knowing he is there, that he likes him—him—, and they will be able to talk about it when he returns. For hours. Together. Alone.

Izuku squeals into his hands as the warm water beats into his muscles.

"Gay." He hears Kacchan grunt from somewhere in the communal showers.

"You have no idea." Izuku breathes.