Anonymous Person: Thanks a lot for leaving a comment! It can definitely be attributed to stress, but there are other reasons that should be clearer as the story goes on.
Todoroki gets up without Izuku's prompting the next morning, and he's glad to see him sitting at the kitchen table when he walks in to get some milk, muscles still heavy with sleep. The lights are on, lightning up the otherwise still dark flat. The rain is pelting against the window, drowning out the tapping of Todoroki's finger against the wooden surface of the table. Izuku glances at the clock on the wall. 5.20 am.
Knocking against the doorframe, Izuku clears his throat to announce his presence. Todoroki looks up, his eyebrow raised in surprise.
"Good morning," Izuku says, and pulls out a chair opposite his friend, the milk forgotten.
"Morning."
"You're up early."
"I couldn't sleep, and lying in bed awake made me restless." Todoroki looks around the kitchen and then at his nervous hands. He shrugs his shoulders listlessly. "This isn't much better, though."
Izuku pulls a grimace. He really wishes Todoroki could get some much needed rest. The bags under his eyes have gotten more prominent, sticking out against his pale skin. His lips are dry and brittle, and the inertia in his movements makes Izuku grit his teeth. "Maybe you should try some sleeping pills. Sleep is important, especially now. Your body needs to recover. You need to recover."
Todoroki opens his mouth and closes it again before a sound comes out. He swallows and nods jerkily. "Yeah, I might do that."
A smile creeps onto Izuku's face. "That's good. You'll feel better afterwards."
"Yeah." Something in his voice tells Izuku he's not convinced, but agreed anyway to either placate his friend or lie to himself.
Izuku's eyes travel to Todoroki's lips again. "You should drink something." He stands to get his friend a glass of water, but Todoroki shakes his head the moment Izuku's chair scrapes against the tiled floor.
"Thank you, but no."
"Todoroki." Izuku's voice is stern, and he doesn't intend to give in. Not when his friend's health and life is on the line. "You need water. You haven't drunken anything since last night or probably even since last morning."
Todoroki almost looks pained. "I really, really don't want to drink anything right now, Midoriya."
Izuku doesn't have any of it. He walks to the cupboard, takes out a glass and fills it to the brim with cold water from the fridge. The sound of the glass hitting the table fills the kitchen, and Todoroki flinches. Izuku really doesn't want Todoroki to flinch anymore. It makes him sick to his stomach.
"Midoriya, please. I don't think I can stomach this right now."
Izuku's heart breaks.
In that moment, he wishes he were Bakugou. Because Bakugou would take that glass of water, hold it against Todoroki's lips and order him to fucking drink the fucking water or risk having it shoved down his throat forcefully. But Izuku isn't Bakugou, and he can't bring himself to talk to Todoroki that way. Instead, he stares at him and silently asks him to at least take a sip. He begs him to at least try.
Todoroki sighs and lifts the glass. He inspects the water inside, staring at it for a solid five seconds. Izuku can't shake the feeling there's more going on beneath the surface than mere nausea. But before he can ask what's wrong, Todoroki is drinking the water, and he's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he swallows his words and stays silent.
Izuku only averts his gaze after the empty glass is back on the table. Sighing, he leans back in his chair and closes his eyes. "Thank you." He smiles weakly. "Should we go change the bandages?"
Todoroki lets out a long breath. "Sure."
It takes all of Izuku's willpower not to punch a wall when he exits the bathroom after taking care of Todoroki's wound. Seeing it makes his insides hot and his muscles taut. The eye that stared back at him was blind, and all he could think about was that he hadn't been there to stop it. He hadn't been there to help one of his most precious friends.
Izuku knows the question of whether Todoroki will be able to continue hero work with one useless eye hangs heavily in the air. Being a hero was just as much a wish for Todoroki as it was for Izuku. Knowing how it feels to have that wish denied, Izuku can't help feeling sorry.
He stops in the hallway and lets out a shuddering breath. He'll do his best to help Todoroki through this. He's going to find out what happened – because he knows Todoroki isn't telling him the whole truth – and he's going to help him.
Suddenly, Izuku feels a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he takes in a sharp breath when he comes face to face with Todoroki. His eye wanders over Izuku's face, over his shoulders and down to the fist pressed against the wall beside him.
"It's not your fault."
"I could've helped you," he presses out.
"No, Midoriya. You couldn't have helped me, because you didn't know I-"
Todoroki pauses. His eye closes for a moment before he looks straight at Izuku, unwavering. "Because you didn't know I needed help." His voice cracks at the end. "You didn't know, and it's not your fault that you didn't."
"It's not bad to admit you needed help," Izuku blurts out. Todoroki sends him a quizzical look. "Just now, when you said you needed help, you faltered." He blinks, pauses, and lets Todoroki absorb the meaning of his words before he repeats them: "It's not bad to admit you needed help." Izuku curls his fingers around Todoroki's arm and seeks eye contact. "But I'm here now, and I'm going to help you. This time, I'm going to help you. I swear."
Todoroki smiles at that, and relief washes over Izuku at the sight. "I know," he says. His smile widens as he looks at Izuku's hand around his upper arm. "You could start by releasing my arm, because that bruise still stings."
Izuku releases Todoroki as if he'd been burnt. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! Do I have to- Should I- Does it-"
"It's okay," Todoroki reassures him, and the smile hasn't left his face yet. Izuku figures it's not too bad, then.
He sheepishly scratches the back of his neck. "Still, I'll be more careful next time."
"Boys!" Uraraka's voice resounds through the hallway, bursting their bubble of privateness. "Iida and I decided to watch a movie! Come and sit with us! No excuses! We have blankets and cookies - it's an offer you can't turn down!"
Izuku shrugs his shoulder and brushes his fingers against Todoroki's shoulder. "You up for that?"
His friend mimics the shrug and follows him without another word. Back to silence, then.
Izuku enters the living room, Todoroki close behind him, and gawks at the sight that greets him. Uraraka and Iida are standing next to the couch, each of them holding out a cosy blanket. A plate filled with cookies sits on the coffee table and Izuku realizes Uraraka hadn't been exaggerating.
Uraraka sends him an expectant look, and he recovers himself. Gently playing a hand on Todoroki's back, he steers him over to their friends. His knees hit the edge of the couch and all he can do is sit down and stare dumbly at Uraraka as she drapes the blanket over him. Iida is quick to place a hot chocolate in his hands, preventing him from removing the blanket in protest. Izuku takes a seat beside him and supresses a laugh when Uraraka crams yet another pillow between Todoroki's head and the backrest of the couch.
He looks like a caterpillar in its cocoon, ready for metamorphosis.
Iida takes the seat on Todoroki's other side. Meanwhile, Uraraka starts the movie and plops down next to Izuku. He sends her a thankful smile, and she winks at him.
The movie is light-hearted and not too complicated. Izuku thinks it's a good choice, considering the circumstances. He looks at Todoroki periodically, checking for any signs of discomfort. The bags under his eyes are still there, and the bandages over his face are a grim reminder of what happened – of what still lies ahead of them. But his face seems a little more relaxed, and it's not much, but to Izuku it means the world.
Todoroki eventually dozes off sandwiched in between his friends, his head falling on Iida's shoulder. Iida stiffens for a short moment, but then his expression morphs into pride and relief.
Izuku is just glad Todoroki is getting some sleep.
Maybe a movie, blankets, a hot chocolate and the closeness of friends is better than sleeping pills, after all.