"Doth my eyes deceive me? I can't believe you're like this…" Yaoyorozu's voice startles him to attention and he looks at her from the corner of his eye, still fidgeting with his phone and checking it every few minutes.

"Like what?"

"You're biting your nails." Shouto notices just then that he's been gnawing at his thumb for the past… Well, he doesn't even know how long, he hadn't realised he was doing to begin with. "You never bite your nails, not even before competitions."

Pulling his thumb away from his lips and glaring icily at it, he lets his hand fall to his side as he, for the third time in the past five minutes, checks the time and the fact that his lock screen is still free of notifications. "I am confident about my skills before competitions." Shouto reasons, letting out a huff of a breath that shouldn't sound as much like disappointment as it does. "Perhaps I pried too much? I must have, he's not answering anymore." He mutters more to himself than anything else.

"What are you even talking about?" Yaoyorozu steps closer and looks over his shoulder at the texts he's staring at with such intensity one might think he's trying to will the answer to appear with his gaze alone. "He doesn't sound upset to me, he just said 'hey' and confirmed it's him."

"Yes but…" Shouto frowns deeply, thinking about Midoriya's bubbly presence at the club, he talked and moved freely, a smile always easy to reach his lips. These texts seemed… impersonal, detached, sad. He couldn't explain it if he tried. "I just have this feeling."

"You? Having feelings? Oh my, this is more severe than I thought." Yaoyorozu's tone was teasing, but Shouto couldn't help the deadpan look he aimed at her. It only seemed to amuse her further, if the little smirk playing at the edges of her mouth was any indication. "You're overthinking this. He probably just went to sleep or something, it is Monday after all. He might have an early morning job."

Shouto only hums, thoroughly unconvinced but agrees quietly anyway, if only to stop the pleased and knowing looks she had been plaguing him with all throughout the day. He walks over to the loveseat and splays himself on it, face down and near smothering himself in the decorative pillows Yaoyorozu insisted they use up the little space with.

"One of the best ballroom dancers in all of Japan with countless prizes under his belt… I never thought all it would take to unravel the cold and unapproachable Todoroki Shouto was a pretty face and some provocative dance moves." The insufferable woman laughs into a hand, trying not to let out any unattractive snorts even though it's just them in the quiet of their shared apartment.

"Shut up. It's not like that." He quickly shoots the implication down, voice muffled by the fabric that immediately invades his mouth when he opens it. He props himself up, spitting out fibres that got stuck to his tongue. "It's just… I don't know, I liked the way he carries himself."

"Cute and barely dressed?" Shouto picks up the pillow and throws it at Yaoyorozu's face but she reacts fast and punches it right back at him. Unprepared and in an awkward position, it ends up hitting him square on the nose and falling unceremoniously to the floor.

He keeps scowling at her as she dissolves into more laughter, spluttering. "Ha-ha," Shouto says dryly "hilarious."

His phone dings with a notification and he practically dives for it, not even caring about the fact that it probably only makes her feel more justified in her accusations. But that's not it, he's just concerned. His glower only grows more dissatisfied when he stares at some message from his data provider and he throws the phone at the other side of the room, the dull thud sounding as it hits the carpeted floor.

"Not him?" He can hear the snicker in her voice without even looking at her.

"Adverts." Shouto mutters, letting his face fall back onto the couch cushions.

Yaoyorozu passes by him, patting his head as she walks past in a 'there, there' sort of gesture and Shouto groans at the mockery behind it. He could argue that she's got it all wrong all day and night all he wanted but it wouldn't make a difference so he just stays quiet. What was wrong with meeting someone who he admired and wanting to strike up a friendship?

Midoriya had come to the dancefloor with a confidence that could rival his own whenever he performed in front of judges and suffocating crowds. But he had Yaoyorozu with him all those times and the other had stood alone, uncaring and completely free. He wasn't doing it for points or trophies, for praise or glory. He just… moved. Shouto respected that kind of courage and love for dance. He wanted to be like that. And, as socially inept as Shouto was, Midoriya had kept his eyes on him the whole time. He knew an invitation, a challenge, when he saw it. It would be a flat out lie to say he wasn't intrigued.

They hadn't talked much, admittedly, just small talk over drinks. 'What's your name?' 'What brings you to these parts?' 'You dance professionally?' and so on. Some of the answers he'd gotten were decidedly cryptic, and he was willing to bet that had something to do with the alcohol. Poor guy could barely remember his own phone number by the time he had to leave, let alone form coherent responses to somewhat personal questions. In passing, Shouto wonders if Midoriya even remembered half of his answers.

They had preferred to leave their words in turn for some body language instead, anyway. That had been why Shouto and Yaoyorozu had gone out in the first place. After weeks of intense practice for cut-throat competitions, stiff routines and unforgiving tempos, Shouto wanted some freedom of movement. And Midoriya offered him just that. He was freedom incarnate, Shouto thought. As easy to read as the pages on an open book, especially when he danced. He was a story in motion, and who could blame Shouto for being captured by the exciting twists and turns of his prose?

With a sigh, he lifts himself up, noting that Yaoyorozu had already retreated to her own room to rest for the day that awaited them tomorrow. There was never any time for them to just relax. As soon as one tournament was done, they were expected to start practicing for the next. Shouto sometimes feels the urge to just drop everything and leave, pursue his true passions of dancing for himself and not his father. But then he remembers that his dancing is the only thing standing between his mother being cared for and thrown into the streets and all of his rebellion dies like a smothered flame.

With one last, fruitless glance at his phone after he picks it up, Shouto makes his way to his bed, hoping that he hasn't crossed a line with his texts before they even had a chance to get acquainted. Well, it wasn't like he wasn't used to having only Yaoyorozu by his side anyway. Sure, Iida, Ojiro and Hagakure were… Something. But Yaoyorozu had known him for as long as he could remember, they were dancing partners for their entire lives. And Midoriya… He was different for some reason Shouto couldn't quite lay his finger on. There was something… familiar about him.

Shouto lays there for the longest time, resisting the urge to keep checking for new notifications because he knows for a fact there's nothing there. He would've heard it if there were any new texts… Trying not to dwell on why it's so hard for him to just fall asleep, as he twists and turns on his bed, Shouto just knows tomorrow will be absolutely dreadful.

"Again!" Shouto sighs heavily, running a hand through his hair to unstick it from his dripping forehead as Yaoyorozu goes to take a sip from her lemon flavoured water.

Todoroki Enji was a busy man. He didn't have time to watch over Shouto's practices, which was why they had an array of coaches ready to report to him if anything seemed even remotely amiss. And because of that, at this very moment, Shouto is being stared down by icy blue eyes, suffering the brunt of his father's disapproving scowl.

This morning he'd showed up not only with bags under his eyes and sluggish movements due to not getting much sleep last night, but stopping to glance at his phone at any given chance. He was acting like a man obsessed, he knows this, but he just couldn't help it. Midoriya hadn't said anything else since that last text, and the longer it went on, the worse he felt. He wondered if maybe sending another text apologising could fix things, but then again, he didn't want to keep pushing when that was what drove the other away to begin with. So, he was distracted, he kept messing up the routine, even Yaoyorozu seemed to be getting a little frustrated with him and…

Now his father was here to make it worse. Shouto makes sure to glare daggers at the one who'd called him in. He's not a child anymore, he shouldn't be monitored like this.

"What is it with you today?" Enji crosses his arms over his broad chest, frowning disapprovingly. "You're out of tempo, your form is miserable and you're failing at doing any of the moves correctly. Are you trying to defy me again?"

Shouto, grits his teeth to stop from screaming out in frustration. "Everything just has to be about you, doesn't it?" The words are muttered under his breath but not quietly enough, it seems.

"What was that, boy? You disrespect me one more time…" There's a threat in his tone, despite their setting, everyone around them. But Shouto doesn't cower, he stares back, expression kept at a meticulous neutral as his eyes alone ask 'Or what?'. His father huffs out a breath then barks out another order for them to start over from the beginning.

With one hand on Yaoyorozu's back and another holding onto hers, Shouto tries his hardest to focus, if only to be rid of his father's presence sooner rather than later.

By the time Enji calls for them to just stop wasting his precious time for the day, Shouto is running on fumes. He just slumps into a seat and runs a towel down his face dejectedly, not even having the energy to walk the little distance to get some water. Yaoyorozu is quick to come take the spot beside him, nudging his side to get his attention and giving him a bottle in the process.

"Still nothing?"

Shouto quickly checks his phone only to feel another pang of disappointment and shake his head in response. Yaoyorozu just hums beside him and starts scrolling through her phone herself as they cool off for a while. He starts picking at the label on the bottle, scraping little bits of paper off and letting them fall down to the varnished wood floors. Fleetingly, Shouto thinks that maybe this is for the best… He's never had many friends to begin with and perhaps that was just the way things were meant to be. Yaoyorozu had his back. She was his best friend and he wouldn't trade her for the world…

There's an uncomfortable tightness in his chest at the thought of never seeing Midoriya again but Shouto tries his best to ignore it. He crushes down the hope that maybe he will still get a response eventually, not wanting to hang on to something that was never really there to begin with. As he's thinking of just keeping the memories of that night and the image of Midoriya sputtering and stumbling over his words cutely locked away forever, Yaoyorozu gasps.

"Oh wow…" She mumbles at her phone and Shouto leans over to peek at it.

When she quickly brings it to her chest, concealing whatever's on the screen from his prying eyes, Shouto simply raises a curious snowy eyebrow, wondering if it was something private. But the small smirk she offers him in return has him thinking otherwise.

"What is it?" He somehow knows that it's about him. That look on her face, it usually only happens when she's thinking of teasing him. Which is often.

"I think I just found something you might be interested in." Shouto narrows his eyes at the enigmatic message. "It's going to make your father livid." Now that has perked up his interest.

Once he repeats the previous question, Yaoyorozu rewinds the video she says a friend sent her, and holds up the phone in between them for Shouto to see. The first thing he notices is the channel's name "All Might Dance Studio". Shouto knew that his father had a personal feud with its founder, but like anything that pertained to Enji whatsoever, Shouto avoided that as much as he possibly could. Which isn't to say he wasn't interested, he liked the genres and styles they danced, he'd heard of them, seen their performances once or twice…

But when the dancers finally fade into view on screen, Shouto's eyes widen in recognition. And suddenly that sense of familiarity he felt when he first laid eyes on Midoriya makes sense. There, stepping to the very front of a group comprised of two other girls and two other guys, is Midoriya. He looks focused, ready to face an army if he has to. And when he starts moving, Shouto can't help but think Beautiful. Like the night at the club, he can't take his eyes off of him, every step, every roll of his body, every reach of his arms. Every movement is an emotion, every breath a tragic story and Shouto can only watch… Entranced. Even when the other dancers are in the frame all Shouto sees is him, because when he dances, Midoriya demands attention.

Shouto is more than willing to give him all of his.

He can't help but take the phone from Yaoyorozu's hand as soon as the video cuts off to another group, sliding the load bar back to the beginning and watching the short routine again. And again.

"Okay, that's enough." Yaoyorozu laughs, shooting him a sideways glance as she takes the little device and starts for the exit.

"He's part of All Might's company." Shouto's brain finally connects the dots, after being occupied with the image of Midoriya's body reciting the sweetest poem.

"Now isn't that an interesting development?" Yaoyorozu grins, disappearing from view to go to the changing rooms.

Shouto almost has to force himself to follow right after, not sure what he's supposed to do with this newfound information. He can't just show up there, that'd be creepy. If a text had been too much then that was restraining order material. Not that Shouto was thinking about it. Obviously not. But maybe… He could try talking again, this new topic was certain to be of Midoriya's interest. He just had to be subtle about it.

[Todoroki Shouto 04:32 pm]

You're part of All Might's Dance Company.

-delivered-

Todoroki Shouto. King of Subtlety. Thinking back, he should've prefaced that with something. Preferably with an apology. But it's too late now. Midoriya wasn't answering anyway, so it's not like he could make it worse… He definitely just made it worse. Should have just stayed quiet and waited for the other to come around (or not).

Shouto is waiting for Yaoyorozu so they can walk back to the apartment, trying not to hit himself at his appalling social skills. Or lack thereof. If Midoriya had any intention of texting him back, now he was likely deleting his number and pretending that they never even met to begin with. He sounded like a stalker. Midoriya hadn't told him where he danced. It probably looked like he'd gone specifically looking for information about him.

But that isn't the case. The company is fairly well known, it's not that weird that he'd know about it. But the way he said it kind of sounds aggressive, doesn't it? It sounds somewhat like a threat, like he's telling him he knows where he spends his time and is not afraid to use that information. Perhaps wording it as a question would have been better than just stating it as the fact it was. Damn texting and its lack of appropriate intonation. Not that Shouto did a much better job while talking to begin with…

His phone flashes him Midoriya's name, interrupting his train of thought and he immediately looks at the reply.

[Midoriya Izuku 04:53 pm]

Ye, howd u kno

Oh wow. That's… Is that a new language? It's completely different from the texts he'd sent the night before, and Shouto only feels more justified in his worries that he wasn't feeling well. This, as horrid and hideous as it is, seems like it fits the personality Midoriya had displayed much better. When Shouto answers that he saw a video of him dancing there, he's surprised to get an almost immediate stream of texts.

[Midoriya Izuku 04:56 pm]

Oh god

Wat 1

Y kno wat i dont wana kno

Its less embrsng dat way

Shouto can't help but smile at that. That and he makes a mental note to look for more videos to find which ones he's so embarrassed about. Either way, he starts to type out a reply, saying that he thought he looked beautiful and stops himself. Maybe that's a little too forward. Deleting the words, he settles for saying that he showed a lot of passion and it was impressive. When he, once again, doesn't get a response for a long time, Shouto frowns slightly. Was that still too much?

Yaoyorozu finally comes outside, her long hair falling down her shoulders still a little damp. She always takes ages to get ready because of her hair. Shouto can't imagine how hard it must be to maintain. Glancing from her back to his phone before shoving it into his pocket he kicks at a pebble on the floor.

"Momo, am I difficult to talk with?" He keeps his eyes and voice down, his hands in the pockets of his jacket and his shoulders hunched slightly.

"Oh yes." Yaoyorozu's reply is a little too quick for his liking and he throws her a dry look. "What? I'm just being honest." She laughs then pats him on the shoulder. "You're not so bad once people get to know you, though."

"Somehow that still sounds like an insult." Shouto points out, going back to staring at his shoes though there's a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"It's not an insult. It's just how you are, it's… Endearing."

"That's… not the word I would use to describe me." He's grinning now, he knows he is, and he's trying to hide it with the hair that's tipping towards his face as he looks down. The banter between them is always something that puts him at ease.

"Hmm, well, it's true. Especially when you're trying so hard to impress him." Yaoyorozu shoots him a sly smile that he can just hear in her voice.

He's not blushing. Todoroki Shouto doesn't blush. "I'm not trying to impress anyone." That was defensive, she'll definitely take it to mean the exact opposite.

"Of course not." There's the sarcasm. Shouto sighs. "But if you were… I think you should ask him out."

He looks up at Yaoyorozu with ice in his gaze. "Who are you even talking about?" Instead of replying she just smiles before turning back to the streets in front of them as they walk. "It's not like that." Shouto feels like he's going to have to repeat those words for days to come. And it still won't be enough.

When she repeats the sardonic reply from before, Shouto actually shoves her. She deserves it anyway. They walk the rest of the way focusing on an entirely different topic, much to his relief. He doesn't want to be obsessing over not getting a reply for the next hours another time.

Deciding that they're hungry after all that practice, Yaoyorozu suggests that they stop at a little bakery she's been dying to try for the longest time. She's going on about how people say this place has the best strawberry shortcake and Shouto's only half listening when he feels a vibration on his thigh.

He sits down as Yaoyorozu walks up to the pink cheeked girl behind the counter and checks his phone. Shouto has never been one to overuse electronics but since that night at the club he's been staring at the small screen more often than he thinks he's done his entire life. He gets two new texts before he has the chance to reply to the first

[Midoriya Izuku 05:20 pm]

Thx… & sry bout last nite. Im ok, ty 4 asking

I hav work soon

Ttyl?

Shouto types out a quick 'It's fine. And sure', feeling the small smile pulling a corner of his mouth up the tiniest bit. Yaoyorozu doesn't let him go without mentioning that particular fact as she sits down, setting two pretty looking slices of the cake she was going on about on the table.

"Uraraka-san says they match your hair." Yaoyorozu comments as she points at the cake with her fork.

Shouto blinks at her. "Uraraka-san?" He looks at the girl at the register and she waves at him with a sweet smile. Shouto feels his skin crawl at the sight and doesn't know why, turning back to Yaoyorozu. "Is she your friend?"

"You could say that." Yaoyorozu's lips quirk slightly and Shouto stares suspiciously at his friend.

Although, that is readily forgotten as soon as the treat reaches his lips. It melts in his mouth, strawberry and cream blending together perfectly into something that Shouto might actually call heavenly. Yaoyorozu seems to think along the same lines as him, if the little elated noise she lets out is any indication.

"We need to come here more often." She says, taking another bite and rolling her eyes to the back of her head.

Shouto can't help but agree with that. This is truly delicious… And looking at all the options on the display case, he wonders what they're all like. Especially the green tea cake that is sitting there, just daring him to eat it… He wasn't usually allowed to eat sweets when he was younger, but he'd be damned if he couldn't eat his favourite cake when he wants to, now that he lives away from his father's influence. If it is anything like the shortcake, he is already thinking of changing his workout regimen to allow it.

When they leave with a cheerful "Come again" from the girl, Shouto's already thinking of taking advantage of that invitation, be it her job to say it or not.

They spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing from their frustrating practice, him lounging with a book while Yaoyorozu catches up on her favourite dramas on TV. Just as he's getting ready to get some sleep to make up for the night before, his phone pings with a notification and he feels a little flutter in his chest when he sees Midoriya's name on it.

[Midoriya Izuku 10:47 pm]

Sum1 puked on me -.-'

P sure dud was drunk frm the nxt bar over

Shouto's a little confused by what he's reading, he admits, but he actually laughs at the mental image it provides, sending him a 'Sorry to hear that.' he feels is in part dishonest from the way his shoulders shake in amusement.

[Midoriya Izuku 10:49 pm]

O shit. I ment to send dat to Ocha

Im so sry u had to read dat

For a moment, Shouto almost considers continuing to text, but he really needs to get some rest if he wants to do anything decent tomorrow to avoid his father gracing them with his presence again. So, he tells Midoriya he's headed to sleep and wishes him luck with the rest of the night going vomit free. The misspelled 'thank you, sleep well' followed by an equally jumbled 'nice talking to you' makes Shouto's heart stutter slightly and he has to take a deep breath to calm it.

He finally gets in between his sheets and closes his eyes, willing sleep to take him over. But no matter how long he stays still, evening his breaths, he just can't stop thinking of green eyes and a mess of curly hair. He can't stop his mind from filling with the image of a slender but well-built body moving to the flavour of music so tenderly that it could make a grown man cry from the beauty of it. Needless to say, Shouto doesn't sleep that night either.

NOTE: Let's pretend for a second that there's a way to text that atrociously in Japanese xD

Hope you guys enjoyed that! Thank you for reading and feel free to leave any feedback you may have! Once again, the choreography video mentioned in this chapter can be found on my profile if you're interested!