Shouto can't sleep. For the life of him, the more he tries to just not think the more his thoughts are consumed by Midoriya. He tells himself that it's not that strange, apart from Yaoyorozu, he doesn't think he's ever admired anyone this much. And even then, it's for entirely different reasons. Because where Yaoyorozu is ambitious, driven and the picture of perfectionism, Midoriya is, for lack of a better word, the embodiment of passion.

His best friend is passionate as well, no doubt about it, but she's focused on her form and fulfilling the routine with the utmost precision. It's beautiful to watch her dance. Yet Midoriya, for all the amazing technique he possesses, seems to care most about the feeling involved. At least, that's what Shouto gathers from the little he's seen of him dancing. But something that powerful is very hard to miss.

Cracking his eyes open, his lids heavy but apparently not enough for him to sleep, Shouto exhales deeply. He moves to his side and takes his phone from the nightstand where it's charging, pulling up his browser to search for videos. If he's going to stay awake thinking about Midoriya then he might as well do something about it and finally find out what was so embarrassing that he didn't want him to see.

As he scrolls through the same channel Yaoyorozu's video was from, he clicks on any single one where a head of dark mossy curls seems to peek from the thumbnail. And video after video he becomes increasingly mesmerised by Midoriya's movements. He starts at the oldest videos he can find and watches as he evolves, growing into something truly beautiful. His body tells stories that Shouto would love to immerse himself in, wishing he was able to tell them just as enticingly.

And then… He finds something entirely different.

At first it looks like just a bit of fun, from the first second, Midoriya's whole demeanour is playful and cheerful from the pose alone. But just as he starts moving, everything changes. The pointed and sharp manner in which every single step is taken, the way he bites down on his bottom lip as he pops his hips in quick succession, the subtle curve of his spine as he bends down and slides back up… Shouto's eyes are stuck to the screen and he thinks that his heart has gotten a heavy shot of adrenaline from the fast pace it has suddenly adopted.

His face gets unbearably hot when Midoriya runs his hands from his hair down his neck, thrusting in time with the beats and lips slightly parted. And that heat only spreads down to his very core when moments later he twirls and drops down to the ground onto his knees, his body sliding on the floor with his back arched until he rolls his upper body. Shouto feels his breath shudder, his free hand coming to cover his mouth as he stares, gawks at Midoriya flirting through dance. Because that's what this is, there's no other way to describe it. Every single move draws attention to his every asset and Shouto can't help but follow his hands with his eyes, each and every lecherous sway of his hips.

Suddenly his covers seem like too much and it's all Shouto can do to just throw them off of his overheating body, backing out of the video and laying on his back to stare up at the ceiling. His chest is rising and falling rapidly, breaths short and a little ragged as his heartrate goes wild. This… This is new…

Shouto tries to level his breathing, a hand over his chest and gripping his shirt tightly as his eyes slide to look at the discarded phone by his pillow. He should really try to get at least a wink of sleep… But as if his hands gain a mind of their own, they're suddenly reaching to go back to that video and he watches it on replay. He doesn't know how long he just lies there, watching it time and time again, and he feels himself getting hotter with each one. At this point he thinks he knows Midoriya's routine by heart, possibly even being able to mirror it down to the second. But he's almost certain he wouldn't be able to elicit the same reaction Midoriya does. He can't express that level of emotion, can't exude temptation like that.

Turning on his stomach, Shouto buries his face on his pillow after flipping it over, the cool fabric feeling like a mound of snow on his scalding cheeks. He's about to finally try to get some sleep (even though he's about 99% sure he won't be able to stop thinking about that for as long as he lives) when a thought crosses his mind.

For the millionth time that night, Shouto picks up his phone.

[Todoroki Shouto 01:02 am]

-link-

Is this what you were thinking about when you said it's less embarrassing not to know?

Izuku is just about done with closing up when he finally checks his phone and sees the text. He'd finally gotten rid of the heart at the end of Todoroki's name, seeing as it kept screaming at him anytime he got a new notification. Curious about what he'd sent, Izuku decides to see what it's about. As soon as he clicks on the link, he immediately regrets it, feeling his blood trying to simultaneously drain from and pool on his cheeks. It's a very confusing physiological reaction to say the least, and it leaves him more than just a little lightheaded.

He can't believe he actually let Ashido upload that. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't remember giving her permission to do it at all. Sure, he'd let them film the whole thing, they were just having fun with a silly song and some silly moves that he may or may not have been using to get a certain blonde's attention at the time… Better not think about that right now. But anyway, it was supposed to be kept between them and them alone. Oh god, this is what he gets for never checking the channel to see what's on there.

It feels like his face is on fire at this point, as it seems his cheeks have decided to hoard the blood instead of getting rid of it. If he didn't think I was weird before… Not that it matters, really… He doesn't care what Todoroki thinks about him… Not really… He only answered that text in the afternoon because Uraraka encouraged him to do it, Todoroki was just trying to be nice, obviously. Izuku owed it to him to at least try to be nice in return. Though he still has no idea how in hell the other had managed to figure out he wasn't doing so well and that freaked him out to no end.

Sure, it was nice to know that someone cared, but first, why did he care? And, again, how did he know? Is he psychic?!

That aside, however, there were more pressing issues at hand. What was he supposed to reply with? It's not like he could just pretend he didn't see it if he ever talked again, and honestly, he didn't want to shut Todoroki off again. Izuku did feel bad about doing it. Even if he'd said that it was fine when he finally managed to apologise. Not to mention… Despite the fact that Uraraka had been the one to push him to reply to the texts… No one told him to say they'd talk later. He just did it without thinking. And after it sent, well, there wasn't much he could do about it.

A brilliant idea occurred to him then, and he quickly tapped out a question of what he was doing awake at the time since he'd said he was going to sleep. Avoiding the question with another question, nothing easier than that.

[Todoroki Shouto 02:10 am]

I'll take that as a yes, then.

[Midoriya Izuku 02:11 am]

I hav no clu wat ur talkin bout

Denial is the next best thing, Izuku supposes. He starts finishing what he was doing to distract himself. Aizawa had closed up a little early tonight because business was a little slow and he's about done with checking the night's profits while Izuku is finishing up the cleaning. Aizawa is taking mercy on him and doing inventory himself so that he can finally take a shower to get the smell of bile off his skin. He's on his way home when he checks the reply he got just moments after he sent his last text.

[Todoroki Shouto 02:13 am]

Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anything like that. And I couldn't sleep.

Can't sleep.

Izuku stares at the text for a moment, mulling it over. He can't exactly make out whether that's a compliment or mockery. But given the nature of the video… Probably the second. Either way, he asks if there's something bothering him and the reply he gets right after (he's still awake) has him stopping in his tracks. He backs out of the text and returns to it several times to make sure it's really there or if he's imagining it.

The words 'You, if I'm honest' look back at him from the small screen, as if laughing at his face, with his mouth hanging open and eyes wide. Crap, did I offend him somehow? Izuku's mind reels, thinking back to every interaction. Was it… because of the blatant staring the day before? He hadn't mentioned it in the previous texts… Maybe he was just being polite… After all, his way of speaking is pretty proper, that's probably just how he is. But then if that was the case, why would he even want to keep talking to him?

Before he can think of how to begin to apologise without making things worse, there's another text.

[Todoroki Shouto 02:31 am]

I just realised that might've come across the wrong way. I apologise.

I meant that I can't stop thinking about you. You intrigue me.

That's… so forward. Izuku doesn't know what to do with himself then, just keeps walking slowly, careful not to take a wrong turn or bump into anything or anyone. Is he trying to imply something or is what's there just that and nothing more? And what about him intrigues someone? Not knowing what else to do or say, he just asks what he means by that. When he's told that Todoroki thinks he's 'fascinating' he's equal parts confused and embarrassed. Izuku knows that he's blushing again and once more stumped as to what to do next.

This is all such foreign territory. Izuku has never done this before. He didn't have many friends apart from Kacchan when he was younger. And all the others he's made later in life have been through the dance company and college. People he saw and talked to regularly. Not someone he met once and happened to get their number. For some reason. He still hadn't quite figured that one out either.

Plus, it was a little hard to ignore the not so little part of him that found Todoroki ridiculously attractive. That being said, Izuku doesn't want to particularly listen to that part of him. Things are still too fresh, he doesn't want to rush into anything and- Good god, why am I thinking about this again? Todoroki is probably not interested that way. Fascinating and intriguing does not mean romantic interest. Whatever it means. He shouldn't even be entertaining the idea let alone trying to think of how to avoid it.

[Midoriya Izuku 02:44 am]

I think u need sleep

U must b out of it to say dat

[Todoroki Shouto 02:45 am]

I think you underestimate yourself. You've got wonderful skills that many people only dream of.

But you're not wrong, I should sleep.

I suppose I'll try again. It was nice talking to you. Goodnight.

Izuku finds himself smiling at the texts, trying to ignore the light heat of his cheeks at the first part. Todoroki is so formal it's kind of charming. It almost makes him somewhat embarrassed about the atrocious way he writes on his phone. Almost. And besides, the other hasn't complained about it once, so he doesn't dwell on that for long, just typing out a 'sleep well' that's actually correctly spelled for once.

He has a tiny smile dancing on his lips when he reaches his apartment, the emptiness of it not bothering him as much as the day before as he quickly washes himself and gets ready to go to bed. He's so exhausted from getting back to work and having gone to the studio with Uraraka in the morning again since she had an afternoon shift, that as soon as his head hits the pillow, he's already halfway gone to dreamland.

It's the loud ringtone from a call that jolts him awake, the dreams he was having sliding right off the edge of his consciousness as he frantically searches for his phone. When he sees the caller ID, he blanches, answering it immediately and holding it away from his ear to prepare for the inevitable loudness.

"Izuku!" The shrill cry from the other end proves true to his expectations, worry and outrage dripping heavily from the words.

"Hi mom…" He smiles sheepishly, even though he knows that she can't actually see it. With everything that's been happening, it completely slipped his mind to call her to say how he was doing as he usually does.

"You haven't said anything in almost a week! I was worried sick but I didn't want to seem like a mother hen! You were always telling me not to worry so much but how can I not? Izuku, you're living all alone! I know you have Katsuki but…" She trails off with an ill-disguised sob and Izuku feels a painful pang in his chest from hearing the name alone.

"Actually…" He starts, feeling his own throat closing up. Like mother like son, huh? "About that…"

His words sound choked now, he knows they do, knows that he should be trying to mask his pain better so his mother didn't worry even more. But it's not like he can just flip a switch and stop feeling.

"Kacchan and I broke up…" Izuku manages to finally get the words out but they're immediately followed by a hiccup that he quickly covers his mouth to muffle.

"Oh Izuku, what happened?" His mother's voice softens, but he can hear the sadness behind it. Izuku can almost see the tears rolling down her cheeks and it only makes it hurt so much more.

"I uh… I'm the one who ended it…" He breaks off at the end to take in a gasping breath rubbing at his wet cheeks now that he's actually started crying too. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you… I didn't want to make you worry more for no reason…"

"No reason? Izuku, sweetie, you're obviously in pain. Why did you break up? I thought things were fine between you two…"

Izuku feels guiltier now that he hears his mother say that. He only ever mentioned the good times he had with Kacchan, all the bad he kept hidden away because it didn't seem that important, just bumps in the road, everyone had those. It took Uraraka finally making him see how unhealthy their relationship actually was to realise that those weren't just little hiccups. They were gaping holes filled to the brim with toxicity that only poisoned everything else.

"They weren't as fine as I let on… I'm sorry mom… I didn't think things would get so bad…" He covers his mouth once more as he gasps, trying not to completely break down on the phone with his already concerned mother.

"Izukkun, do you need me to come over?" She's so kind… Izuku shakes his head until he realises again that she can't see it and has to force himself to speak.

"It's okay… I've got Ocha to help me and you're working… You don't have to come all the way over here just for me, I'm fine, promise." His reassurance probably doesn't sound very convincing when he's sobbing in between every couple of words.

"Are you sure? I can take a few days off, it's no problem. And I know how hard this must be for you; you two were so close…" She trails off with a few sniffles and Izuku's heart squeezes tightly.

"I'm fine… I even met someone new recently…" Izuku finds himself mentioning Todoroki not exactly knowing why. He especially regrets it when he hears the next words out of his mother's mouth.

"Is that wise? You don't want to rush into something when you're still hurting from the last."

"Ah, it's not… It's not like that…" Izuku rubs his face into his shirt, taking in a deep breath to calm himself. "I did meet him at a club, but Todoroki-san is just really nice. We've been texting but that's about it. A-anyway… I'm fine, really. You don't have to worry. I'll make sure to call more."

"If you're sure… But I could still come by on the weekend, cook you a nice meal and-" Izuku cuts her off with a tiny laugh that feels a little hollow but he hopes she doesn't notice that.

"Mom, it's fine. You don't have to do that. I'll come visit as soon as I can."

"You always say that, Izukkun. I haven't seen you in months." He lets out a wet little laugh, wiping his face on his sleeve again as he apologises. "Just make sure you take care of yourself, okay? Eat well, get fresh air, exercise, and don't forget to have some fun too."

"Yes, mom…" A small smile plays at the corners of his lips and he's about to start saying goodbye and actually leave the bed now that he's awake, when his mother continues.

"And if you do get with someone new, make sure they treat you the way you deserve and they care for you." Izuku's a little taken aback when Todoroki's face immediately pops into his thoughts and he shakes it away, running a hand through his hair.

"Thank you for worrying, but it's okay I don't…" Todoroki's half smile teases him from the edge of his mind. "I'm not going to…" Izuku feels his stomach twist at the memory of Todoroki's concerned text. "…rush into anything. I still need to heal."

"Okay… I love you."

"I love you too, mom."

Bidding her goodbye, Izuku finally hangs up with a sigh, rubbing at his eyes to get the sleep and soreness of unshed tears away. He falls with his back to the mattress, a tiny groan at his lips as he turns on his side and curls in on himself a little. Izuku is torn between feeling miserable about Kacchan all over again and nervous about his constant thoughts of Todoroki. What results in the end, is a mishmash of depressed anxiety that just makes him want to stay in bed all day until he really has to move.

But that would be taking three steps backwards after finally taking two forwards and it's not actually what he wants to be doing. He should get out of bed and get ready to start off the day, send Uraraka a text to see if she's up for another morning at the studio today. That is, however, easier said than done and he ends up spending a good half an hour just lying there, staring off into space without actually seeing anything, occasionally shaken by a few broken breaths.

Finally, he manages to lift himself up, his body seemingly weighing more than the world itself, and nearly drags himself out of bed and to the bathroom. When he looks in the mirror, Izuku can't help but grimace at his sorry state. His hair is in complete disarray, but that's nothing new. It's the way his eyes have this dull sheen to them that, coupled with the dark circles under them, makes it look like he either hasn't slept in a week or he's been crying for about the same amount of time. Seems accurate. Izuku rubs at his face, scowling anew, before trying to slap some colour into his cheeks to maybe look less like death.

Once he's done with his morning routine, feeling a little better about himself now that he's at least up and about, he reaches for his phone to text his best friend when he notices the little light at the corner blinking. He unlocks his phone to see three new texts from Todoroki, one of which had been sent before he even woke up but he hadn't seen in his haste to answer his mother's call.

[Todoroki Shouto 07:04 am]

I'd say good morning, but I'm actually half asleep right now.

[Todoroki Shouto 09:49 am]

Save me.

It's your fault I'm like this and everyone is getting frustrated with me. Including myself. I'd say it's only fair that you fix it.

Izuku just blinks at the words on the screen as if they'd tell him anything else if he stared just a little longer. Breaking down the texts to actually make sense of them, he comes to the conclusion that Todoroki didn't actually manage to fall asleep when he said he'd try again. And, as it seemed, it was Izuku's fault. He did say that the reason he couldn't sleep was because he couldn't stop thinking about him. Izuku flushes at the memory, thinking that Todoroki seems to be very blunt. How can he just say things like that without restraint? It's equal parts unnerving (not particularly in a bad way) and admirable.

[Midoriya Izuku 10:01 am]

Im not sur how i cud help

Im sry? 😐

-delivered-

He doesn't know if the emoji is a little too much but only thinks about it after he's already clicked send and there goes that opportunity to reel himself in.

Uraraka ends up texting him herself as well, not so much asking what he wanted to do as it was more demanding he drag his ass out the door because she was waiting outside his apartment. Izuku rolls his eyes fondly, if that's even possible, but grabs his things on the way out anyway. She's waiting with her back turned to the building and Izuku wraps his arms around her waist, picking her up off the floor as he squeezes her tightly and draws a small shriek out of her.

"Deku-kun, everything okay?" She asks on the tail end of a giggle as he lets her down, probably picking up on his slightly sour mood from reopening wounds when his mother inadvertently prodded at them. She didn't even have to listen to him talk to know when something wasn't quite right. He doesn't exactly know if it's because he's just that easy to read or if it's her that just knows him that well.

Izuku hums affirmatively, a little muted and thoroughly unconvincing. "Just talked to my mom." The understanding 'ah' and sympathetic smile is all he needs, but the gentle tug of her fingers interlacing with his is also very welcome, sending a little warmth straight into his chest. They start walking side by side, a little swing of their joined hands as they do. There's a comfortable silence between them until…

"Anything else bothering you?" Izuku sighs. Maybe she could be a little less perceptive…

"Not really…" The incredulous raised eyebrow he spies out of the corner of his eye has him huffing in mild annoyance. "Apparently I kept Todoroki-san up all night?" As soon as the words are out of his mouth he realises how bad that actually sounds and starts stumbling over his words to say 'not like THAT' when she snickers at him. His cheeks are tinged a pretty deep red when he takes his hand out of Uraraka's to cover his face with both of them. "He said that he couldn't sleep because he couldn't stop thinking about me."

And now that he says it out loud, that doesn't actually sound much better. "Oh, getting that serious already, huh?"

"Stop it." Izuku whines at her teasing tone, wanting nothing more than for the ground to just swallow him whole right about now. "He's just very straight forward, I don't even think he means anything by it."

"I don't know, Deku-kun, 'can't stop thinking about you to the point that it makes me lose sleep' sounds like something to me."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Izuku looks down at his feet while begging any deity out there to just crush his embarrassment to dust. "Well whatever that something is, it's not what you think."

"I think it's exactly what I think." Uraraka shoots right back at him and just as he's about to retort with a very mature 'is not' his phone interrupts him with a notification.

His eyes widen, knowing exactly what's about to happen but not processing the information fast enough to do anything about it. Uraraka snipes his phone right out of his pocket before he can even think to stop her and dread washes over him at the near devilish grin she dons as soon as she sees what it's about.

"Looks like you have a date."

"Huh?"

Uraraka flips the phone over, flashing him the screen and his heart skips a beat (or two) in his chest as he reads it over.

[Todoroki Shouto 10:37 am]

Since I couldn't sleep because of you, I think you owe me coffee. That seems logical to me, what do you say?

Izuku swallows around the lump in his throat. It's not like he has an aversion to the idea of seeing Todoroki in person. It's just coffee anyway… And besides, if that really is the case, it actually kind of, sort of, makes sense that he'd buy him coffee for his troubles… Sure… It's only logical…

He looks at Uraraka, feeling like a deer caught in headlights and no doubt looking like one too. She just smiles encouragingly and, without thinking, Izuku takes the phone and replies asking when Todoroki's free.

There's no possible way this can go badly, right?

NOTE: I struggled a little with the end of this chapter, had something and completely rewrote it and now I'm SO MUCH HAPPIER with how it turned out!

I hope you guys enjoyed it as well, from now on I'll try to update at least once a week, and I'm trying to keep one chapter ahead for when uni gets busier once it starts up again!
Anyhoo, thank you so much for reading and feel free to leave any feedback you may have! (link to the choreography in this chapter on my profile)

Also I figured I'd leave this here, if you wanna talk to me over on tumblr I'm crzangel there ^-^