Izuku watches as the blood drains from Todoroki's face as soon as he realises what he'd just said. Yaoyorozu's shocked gasp of his name had snapped him back from whatever world he'd slipped into and Izuku watches as he stumbles through an apology and bolts out the door. His friend sends them one last quick look, one that screams remorse, and she runs after him with a whispered apology of her own.

For lack of a better description, Izuku feels like he's been slapped across the face. There's a hand on his shoulder that forces his gaze from the empty doorway to Shinsou's mostly unfazed expression. If Izuku didn't know any better he would have said his friend didn't have any particular interest in the situation that had just transpired, but the hardness of his eyes was more than enough indication that he wasn't pleased.

"Well, that was harsh…"

"It was true though." They both turn their heads towards Uraraka, standing with her arms crossed over her chest and mouth pulled to a taut line. "Maybe I wouldn't have said it so bluntly in his place, but he wasn't wrong at all, you must know that."

Letting his eyes fall to the floor, Izuku pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, gnawing at it in earnest to ignore the dull pang that settles in his chest the longer he thinks about what just happened. He feels positively awful, a cold and sick feeling pooling in his stomach that he's become much too accustomed to, renewed tears prickling at his eyes. Sucking in a harsh breath, he rubs at his face, wincing when it turns out he's used his right hand, still sore and somewhat swollen now that he looks at it.

Shinsou crosses his arms in a mimic of Uraraka's position with a huff of a breath and a tilt of his head, his eyes fixed on Izuku's wrist and a thoughtful expression settling in his features. He walks over to him, looking him dead in the eye and making him want to shrink into the size of an ant to hide, then places a hand on his arm. Izuku stares at it for a second before looking back to his permanently exhausted friend.

"Go home." He says simply, deadpan.

"Wha-"

"You're injured, blasty's pissed and you won't make that any better no matter what you might be thinking, that guy has got the shortest fuse known to man and you're like a lighter that's always setting it off. Especially after you broke up with him. Good for you, by the way. Anyway, you're better off at home, healing, for the time being."

"I'm f-" Was everyone just going to interrupt him before he could get any words out today?

"Yes, yes, you're fine. You said that the last time, when you sprained your ankle, then you tripped into the wall and ended up dislocating your shoulder. Go home."

"I…" Izuku blinks a few times, a little dazed, trying to process everything Shinsou had just dumped on him almost as fast as he does when he goes on his rants. "What about the set for the mob?"

"We'll work it out and Uraraka can relay the info to you later. You're the best out of all of us to pick up on choreography quickly, you can do it."

Izuku couldn't really argue with that, no matter how much he wanted to. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't really want to stay and face Bakugou, but at the same time, he didn't want to keep running either. Though, trying to dance with a sprain was not really a good idea, not for him. He always ended up pushing himself too hard to prove he was fine and injuring himself further, just like Shinsou said. Damn him and his convincing logical arguments. Izuku pouts but acquiesces with a sigh.

"Good boy."

Shinsou pats his head twice and Izuku glares at him, unamused. "Stop treating me like a trained puppy."

"But you're so good at taking orders."

He smirks and the others snort around him, a groan crawling out of Izuku when Kaminari and Uraraka both agree that Shinsou has him pegged. Rolling his eyes, he shoves his friend and squawks out in pain once more having used his right hand to do so. He really isn't used to having it out of commission, which only serves to prove Shinsou right even more.

Reluctantly, Izuku says his goodbyes and goes to gather his things from the locker, Uraraka pulling him off to a side before he goes. She squeezes arm to get his attention, looking at him sternly yet with concern shining in her eyes, chewing the inside of her cheek as she looks straight into his soul.

"You're not going to beat yourself up about this, right?" Izuku avoids her gaze rather than grace her question with an answer. It's not like he could actually lie to her if he wanted to. "Izuku, it wasn't your fault."

"I shouldn't have invited him here when I knew Kacchan would be here as well."

"And why the hell not?"

"Because…"

He trails off, feeling guilty all over again. If he hadn't, Kacchan wouldn't have blown off on Todoroki, who wouldn't have gotten worked up over the situation and in turn snapped at Izuku. If he'd just thought things through instead of getting way too excited at the prospect of spending some more time with Todoroki and having him meet his other friends this never would have happened. If he hadn't broken up with Kacchan in the first place, he wouldn't have had any reason to…

"It's not your fault he wants to justify the break-up with something that isn't because of him. Bakugou doesn't want to see that the reason this happened is because he wasn't good to you…"

"That's not…" true? Why are you still trying to lie to yourself, Izuku? We weren't good for each other.

Izuku hunches in on himself, letting out a shaky exhale and Uraraka pulls him into a tight hug, careful not to stir his right hand as she does. After a moment, he returns the embrace, nuzzling his face into her hair for a second before pushing away, his eyes fixed on a particular point on the floor.

Even if the situation itself wasn't Izuku's fault, he still can't but feel bad for how it went down. Todoroki was so shaken by the whole thing, to the point that he had actually momentarily lost his temper, someone that appeared so mild-mannered whenever they were together. And after he realised what he'd said, he looked so shocked with himself, left in such a hurry that Izuku couldn't even say anything past his own surprise. He probably wouldn't want to talk to or see Izuku ever again, if this was the way things would go.

As if almost breaking down into crying when they met for coffee that first time hadn't been enough of a red flag. Now he had literally dragged Todoroki into his personal issues. He's sure that he wants nothing to do with any of that kind of drama.

"Izuku," Uraraka's hand brushes a tear off his cheek he hadn't even noticed had managed to escape the confines of his eyes "it's okay. It wasn't your fault. Just let Todoroki cool off and I'm sure everything will work itself out. Please don't go back to wallowing in self-pity all alone in your apartment… Maybe try to text him and clear things up."

Izuku nods weakly but doesn't really feel like he believes his affirmation. He'll try, of course he will, but when things are just so fresh on his mind, he has a hard time not dwelling on them. After all, he's always been a bit of an overthinker, as Uraraka keeps reminding him, and he tends to worry over the littlest of details forever, going over every scenario that did and didn't happen, everything he thinks he could or should have done differently…

He just couldn't not feel responsible when he was the one who invited Todoroki in the first place, and instead of giving him a reason to enjoy his company and want to spend more time with him, he'd instead made him upset. Well, technically it had been Kacchan but Izuku breaking up with him was the reason he was even angrier than usual. Though if he hadn't done that, he likely wouldn't have even met Todoroki in the first place and the pang of sadness Izuku felt at just the mere thought was something he was definitely going to freak out about some time when he was alone. But the fact of the matter was that him getting friendly with another guy that Kacchan doesn't even know probably didn't help the situation in the slightest.

"You're blaming yourself already aren't you?" Uraraka interrupted his train of thought and he forced himself to meet her gaze again. "Get this inside your thick head. What Todoroki said was accurate, you're not responsible for Bakugou's actions, if he's a dick he's only got himself to blame. And don't you dare think that you made things worse for making a friend. And even if you were screwing him, you're well within your right to move on."

Izuku feels a blush take over his cheeks, a scandalised call of Uraraka's name slipping past his lips. She shrugs unapologetically and hugs him again, spotting the angry blonde's posse walking back in and sending a grimace Kacchan's way. Kirishima is holding onto his shoulders, pushing him past them as fast as he can while the other grumbles something under his breath. Camie seemed to have joined them at some point since they went out, waving at him with a somewhat sad smile and Izuku returns it in kind.

When they are back inside the studio, he looks back at his best friend with as serious an expression as he can muster. "Don't go getting in trouble yourself..."

Uraraka scrunches up her nose and furrows her brow, clearly displeased with his request. "No promises."

"Ocha..." He warns, feeling guilty all over again that she was also riled up. It must have showed in his face because she huffs in annoyance but nods her head.

"Fine, fine. I'll try not to kick his ass for being an insufferable jerk."

Well, she didn't have to put it that way, but Izuku is at least relieved. Kind of. She did say that she'd try... But Uraraka isn't really well known for her impulse control. Shinsou is there too, though, and he's pretty good at defusing situations so that gives Izuku some peace of mind.

"Okay then, you'll tell me what you guys decide on later?"

"You know it. But I won't show you the choreography until your sprain is healed. I know you too well to believe for a second you won't practice it at home even if I bar you from entering the studio."

"That's fair." He admits with a tiny smile, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, with his left hand this time.

Uraraka walks back to the room where everyone else is waiting to get started and Izuku makes his way out, a little dejected. He was looking forward to today, even more so when he found Todoroki and he accepted to come with them to watch and maybe help their discussion on what they should dance for the flash mob. A fresh pair of eyes outside their crew was always welcome to give opinions on whether something would be better done a certain way. It really upsets him that things had taken such a wrong turn.

When he gets to his apartment, Izuku decides to take a shower and use some bandages he's got laying around to wrap his wrist tightly so that he doesn't jostle it too much. He takes some frozen veggies from the freezer and lays them over the injury, flopping onto the couch with a tired sigh. Handling his phone with just his left hand is a bit more awkward than he anticipated, only realising how much he relies on his right when he can't use it to type as he browses the latest news.

Izuku is trying not to dwell on what had happened earlier, like he told Uraraka he would, but it's proving much harder than he initially thought. His mind keeps drifting back to Todoroki's face when Yaoyorozu had held onto his shoulders, his expression nothing short of panic. The shock taking over his features when he caught himself overstepping a boundary to make Izuku listen to reason is burned into the back of his eyelids and he feels so awful.

He keeps opening the text app to send over an apology but then he starts thinking about how Todoroki told him that he had nothing to apologise for, and even though he disagrees, he doesn't want to anger him again. He dwells on what Uraraka and Todoroki both told him, replaying their words in his mind time and time again to convince himself he's not at fault, there was nothing he could have done to prevent what happened. Not true, you could've done something, you could've done so many things. You could have invited him another day, you could have cleared things up with Kacchan, you could have, you should have-

Izuku jumps to his feet, the nearly defrosted bag of vegetables falling with his action and he shakes his head to clear his head. No, he didn't know when Todoroki would be free again, he's been really busy lately. Kacchan isn't easily reasoned with, especially when he's still so upset about what happened, and he couldn't have avoided that in the first place because their break-up needed to happen. It was what was best for both of them, even if it was so hard to see it when the wounds were still so raw. And Izuku isn't to blame for Kacchan's actions. He isn't.

He looks at his phone, debating one last time whether or not he should just text Todoroki apologising… Uraraka did say to let him cool off and maybe that wasn't such a bad idea… Deciding to distract himself, Izuku grabs something to eat and turns on the TV, getting lost in some random medical drama's convoluted plot-line that he has no clue about. He guesses the characters' relationships based on how they interact with each other. Clearly there are two who are either dating or married for a really long time, but the guy is obviously having an affair with one of the male nurses because- Oh, there they go, kissing each other, Izuku totally called it.

In his quest to stop thinking about what happened, he actually misses the text he gets, only seeing it ten minutes after it's been sent and nearly freaking out before he sees it hasn't been that long. Either way, he starts replying, sending a stream of texts one after another, stopping himself before he goes on a tangent on all the incidents that have earned Kacchan the nickname 'blasty'. In the end, he can't help but apologise as well, offering to treat Todoroki instead of the other way around. He still hasn't gotten the chance to pay for that coffee from last time either so this is the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

All they have to do is find a time that works for both of them. He found out Todoroki's days off are on Sunday, so maybe he can push past the late-night shift exhaustion he gets on the weekends just once… He's gone through worse before anyway.

A little smile takes over his lips at the overwhelming relief that not everything is ruined, Todoroki's response just as formal as usual, but with a promise of having a better time when they next meet. They keep chatting with each other for a little while, Izuku telling him that he was booted out of practice for being injured and Todoroki completely agrees with the other's decision.

[Midoriya Izuku 8:45 pm]

Im offndd. & here i was, thinkng ud take my side

-delivered-

[Todoroki Shouto 8:46 pm]

I take the side of whoever looks out for your wellbeing. Why do I get the feeling that's not you at all?

[Midoriya Izuku 8:46 pm]

How dare u cal me out lik dis?

Ill hav u kno Ocha makes sur i get at lest 3 meals a day & shower evry day. Most of the time

-delivered-

[Todoroki Shouto 8:48 pm]

What does 'most of the time' mean? Also, that really doesn't include preventing self-inflicted injuries.

[Midoriya Izuku 8:49 pm]

Dont worry bout it.

-delivered-

Izuku can't stop the small chuckles and goofily wide smile that stretches across his face as Todoroki continues to fuss over his safety. It's honestly kind of funny, it's just a sprained wrist after all, nothing too serious and he'll probably be good in two days, three if he decides to be really conservative about it.

He catches himself before he sends the words 'if you're so worried why don't you take care of me yourself', his eyes widening as he hits the backspace so hard he's a little worried he might have dented the screen or something. He really shouldn't be saying things like that. He definitely shouldn't be feeling butterflies mutiny deep in his gut thinking of Todoroki taking it seriously and accepting the blatant offer. And most importantly, he isn't entertaining the idea that maybe he wants him to.

Shaking his head, Izuku says instead that he's grateful for the concern, but he's really okay. Soon after he gets a reply from Todoroki saying that it doesn't mean he shouldn't take care of himself, followed by excusing himself to get some rest for the full day ahead. Swallowing around the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, Izuku wishes him a goodnight and goes back to watching the predictable drama, refusing to keep thinking about Todoroki for the rest of the night.

Yet his brain seems to have different plans. Having ended up falling asleep watching the show, Izuku wakes up in the middle of the night from some strange dreams in which Todoroki is the male nurse he cheats on Kacchan with, making him feel equal parts guilty and embarrassed. The day's events really had taken a greater toll on him than he cares to admit.

"I'm really sorry Deku-kun!" Uraraka's voice sounds from the other end of the line, filled with remorse and irritation both. Izuku can almost see her bowing her head while scowling so deeply it might hurt. "I really tried to get them to back down, but those jerks weren't willing to listen. Not even that idiot Bakugou said anything, pri-"

"Can you tell me what happened? I really have no idea what you're apologising to me for…"

He says honestly, slurping down some instant noodles he'd heated up for lunch when he didn't particularly feel like cooking. He hears his best friend sighing heavily before telling him she's on her way to his place because her shift won't start until later and she'd rather tell him in person. He wonders what could be so bad that she couldn't say it through the phone but shrugs it off, thinking he'll find out soon enough.

When he actually hears what she has to tell him, he understands why she not only wanted to do it in person but also insisted he sit down before. Izuku feels his head start to spin, his blood run cold and drain from his face completely, his stomach twisting up into so many knots he might actually hurl. Swallowing down the sick feeling, he runs a hand through his hair and tries to will the corners of his vision to stop closing in.

As it turns out, the others decided through a democratic majority that, since Izuku and Kacchan were among the best dancers and their moves complimented each other perfectly, they had to dance at least one piece together for the flash mob. Dancing with Kacchan had been one of the things that made him stay for the longest time despite everything else that was going on in their relationship. It made him feel high, like they were connected on a much deeper level, one that couldn't really be put into words but he felt was seamlessly expressed in the way they moved together.

Izuku remembers the eyes of the crowds on them whenever they danced, watching with shining enthusiasm, brilliant smiles and excited cheers. He remembers Kacchan's hands on his body, pulling them flush against each other, turning him around and lifting him in the air. Izuku remembers the way it was addicting, like the most powerful drug that he could never get enough of.

And now, he has to jump right back into that feeling and risk getting hooked one more time. He glances at Uraraka, a little dazed. She's biting the inside of her cheek like she often does when she's mad that something isn't going how she wants it to.

"Maybe if you talk to them yourself… They can't force you to do anything you don't want to and I'm sure they won't cut you out of the routine entirely just because you won't do this one set."

A weak tremble runs down Izuku's spine and he looks back down to his lap. He should do what she's saying, Camie or Ashido are more than capable of dancing anything Izuku might and they both get along with Kacchan really well, they have good chemistry. But not as good as he does with him. And no matter how humble Izuku might be, he also knows that his skills are a nearly indispensable asset to the success of their promotions or he wouldn't have worked his way to the main showings they participated in. Some of them even to Yagi-sensei's request.

It would require him to be in close quarters with Kacchan for long periods of time, even if there would be more people around during their practices. Doing a piece together meant that they had to be much closer than any group routine may have required.

Izuku winces slightly when he clenches his fists around the fabric of his sweats, his wrist still a little sore from yesterday. He can ask the others to sit this one out, but he can't keep running from Kacchan forever. He'd heard of the flash mob and expected to be working with Kacchan again, he wasn't planning on hiding because he wanted to be a part of this. That hasn't changed. Izuku isn't going to keep cowering behind the 'we just broke up' excuse to keep avoiding his ex, the childhood friend he was still undeniably in love with but knows he can't be with.

"No, I'll do it." He breathes in and out a few times, calming his suddenly frantic heartbeat. "But on one condition."

Uraraka purses her lips, tilting her head slightly. "What is it?"

Izuku gulps around the lump in his throat. "I don't know what you guys decided, but I get to pick the song and the theme of our part. No one else has a say in this, not even Kacchan."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Uraraka lets out a long hum, closing her eyes as she takes on a thoughtful expression. He watches as she mulls the words over. "I have a bad feeling about this Deku-kun…"

"You're thinking that I'll go back to him if we dance together."

It wasn't a question, Izuku knows exactly what is going on in her head. He knows because it's the very same thing he is thinking about himself. But as emotional and hurt as he is, Izuku isn't weak-willed. He may not trust himself around Kacchan entirely, he may still want to fix things and try again, but he knows that he can't. No matter how hard it may be, he can't fall back into his old ways of enduring Kacchan's short tempers for the sake of a feeling that as great as it is, doesn't even begin to make up for all the grief.

If Izuku ever wants to free himself from this addicting feeling, he has to bask in it and be strong enough to walk away. So that is exactly what he's going to do.

NOTE: *raises from the dead* I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! Haha, sorry for that week without an update, I still posted a fic during that time because I'd been working on it over the course of a few weeks so... But um, uni is really cracking the whip right about now... So many assignments *sobbing* Expect updates to be a teensy bit slower, but I'll still do my very best to keep bringing them to you! Hope you enjoyed it, and as always, feel free to leave any feedback you may have! ^-^