This fanfic would be different, with Shoto and Shinso fighting over a girl, until I thought all this tension could be used between them, so let's go

[English isn't my first language, so please, be kind]

[MHA characters' belongs to Kōhei Horikoshi]

[I'm also on AO3 with the same username]


Chapter 1

Culinary Lessons

I was a failure. It wasn't too hard to believe that, just like my dad wanted. That I failed while trying to avoid his side that lived inside of me.

The return to the U.A. it was humiliating, at least for me, after failing the provisional hero license exam, with everyone saying I should cheer myself up, that I could do it next time. I was one of the only two students to enter by recommendation and I ended up falling behind. Why couldn't I do something that was expected of me?

- At least we are not alone in this - I turned to Bakugou as I said it - it's comforting to have a friend in the same situation, don't you think?

- We're not friends, you weirdo - Bakugou replied, with his usual surly face. We really were an unusual pair of friends.

I noticed that he glanced at Midoriya, who was talking to Ochaco in a seat a little far from us, so I looked back at the bus window. The city looked a little grayer today, despite all those superhero billboards.

Of course my dad sent me several messages later on, he was in a new phase, trying to be nice I guess, but it didn't work for me. Besides, the only person I wanted to talk to right now wouldn't even look me in the eye because of my past behavior, actually I think I deserve all of this silence.

I wanted to know how to apologize, but I had never done that in my life, so I typed on the internet how to apologize to your...

I was interrupted by a knock on my bedroom door so I tried to hide the cell phone like I was doing something wrong, force of habit I think, since my father used to enter my room at home without knocking, at least at first, before I started threatening him with ice blocks.

- You may come in - I said, as the person knocking on the door seemed too polite to enter without my permission.

It was Yaoyorozu, I could tell from her black hair and pink coat, even though she didn't open the door completely.

- Did something happen? - I asked.

- It's not that - she said - it's just that you've been in the room since we got back from the test and I didn't think this is healthy.

- Hmm - I grunted. I actually didn't know how to answer it, but it was true that I was locked in my room for a few days and so far no online surveys have given me conclusive results, all the advices sounded silly. Even Midoriya tried to come here and ask me to train with him, but I wasn't really into it.

- I'm going to a culinary lesson now; Sato said that keeping your hands busy is a good activity for a disturbed mind.

- Culinary lesson? - I asked. I don't remember having this in the U.A. curriculum, although now that we were in dorms it might be a good idea for students to become more independent.

Culinary lesson. I gasped when I realized the opportunity.

This could be the perfect way of apologizing. Nobody could resist food well cooked. I didn't know if I could do that, but it was the intention that counted, wasn't it?

- What are you going to cook? - I asked. If cold noodles were on the menu at least I would know how to season properly.

- I think today's class is about desserts - said Momo, looking more excited - that's why Sato really wants to go.

- You can count on me - I replied - I'll be down in a minute.

- That's great, Todoroki! - Momo smiled - We should go in uniform, so don't forget.

As soon as she closed the door, I leaned back in my chair, trying to keep my posture upright. I decided to start with the simplest advice I've seen on the internet.

"I want to apologize," I typed and sent quickly, not thinking too much, because when I did that I usually couldn't say anything, that's why we passed months without say a word, even studying at the same school and now living so close to each other.

I kept looking at my cell phone as I changed clothes. The message was delivered but was still unread.

- All right - I told myself - people can be busy at this time, so I'll cook something he likes and apologize face to face.

The words came out confidently, but I covered my face with my hands soon after, in a wave of shame and self reflection. I wanted to do it publicly, to kneel down to him publicly, and when I apologized to him everyone would know, including my father, but I shouldn't care about that anymore.

When my cell phone started ringing I hurried on without even looking at the number, hoping he was the one calling me, until I heard a shrill scream on the other side of the line. "SHOTOOOOOOOO..." I hung up right away; I didn't need to hear my dad's voice right now.

"What a waste to use the strength of your lungs for this," I thought, sighing.

It was very hard to be in love.

XXX

The extracurricular classroom building was new, as was the entire dorm system, but here at the U.A. buildings could be built in seconds, so I shouldn't be surprised by that.

- What is this? - I asked looking at Sato, who was holding a bag of flour.

- Oh - he noticed my confusion - I want to test recipes with new ingredients, my mother sent me this flour of a new market, but I still don't know if it works as good as the old one.

Sato was one of the tallest in the class, and despite being strong curiously his muscles need sugar to reach their potential. He was a nice guy and the girls seemed to appreciate his cooking skills.

Could it be that if I cooked the person I liked would also come closer to me more easily?

- Couldn't make muffins out of it? - Momo asked, in a polite tone. She had pulled her hair into a ponytail to match the school uniform.

The two began to talk animatedly about muffins and other recipes. Momo was a big tea drinker and Sato needed to cook to be a good hero. She always smiled when she was with him, so I thought they were a perfect match.

As for me and the other guy, well, I didn't know what we agreed on anymore. I don't remember being a good person to him before the end. That's why a dessert could be a good apology gift, sweet things to bring back sweet feelings.

- This is the room - Momo said.

To my surprise the class was full, with students from all courses, which made me nervous at first, but I didn't see anyone I knew while entering the room, so I shared a counter equipped with an oven with Sato and Momo, as the vast majority of students had formed trios for the activities.

I took a deep breath, everything would be fine, although I didn't know how to make many desserts, I was sure Sato would help me, and Momo was very organized, so I wasn't nervous... At least not until he walked into the room.

Hitoshi Shinso had the same disinterested look he used to have, wearing his full uniform really well-tailored despite his messy hair. The deep circles under his eyes indicated he must have stayed up till late last night.

But this time not with me.

- Here, Shinso! - I heard a girl called him to join her at the back of the room.

I think we were staring at each other until we heard her voice. Then Shinso scratched the back of his head and walked hurriedly towards her, but first glancing at Yaoyorozu.

I already had my hand raised, ready to wave at him when Shinso walked over to the girl, so I pretended I was straightening something out of the uniform. When I looked back, Shinso was helping the girl get supplies for the class. He looked at me again, then at Momo.

Could it be... Jealousy?

- It's everything all right? - Momo asked. She and Sato had already organized everything on the counter that simulated a mini kitchen, with everything we needed.

- Yes - I said, trying to keep my voice steady - I just didn't know the General Studies Course students would be here.

- But it makes sense, I think few people have experience with the school dormitory system here in Japan.

- Yeah - I cleared my throat - you're right as always.

Momo seemed satisfied with the answer, and then went back to helping Sato open his private flour sack carefully. Despite not having a teacher in the room, he separated the ingredients equally between the three of us.

I looked back at Shinso again, now he seemed to pay attention to what the girl beside him was saying. She had long brown hair, a round face and bright eyes, and I wondered if that sparkle was because of him.

I grabbed the cell phone from my pocket, ignoring my father's new messages to send a quick text to Shinso.

"Why are you doing this?"

I looked back for the third time, afraid that other people would notice. Shinso had his cell phone in his hand now, and this time I knew he had read the message, but instead of answering me he put the phone in his pocket, ignoring me completely.

I was about to go over to him when Lunch Rush hurried into the room, clapping his hands and urging everyone to stay in their seats and put their phones away.

XXX

Despite all the conflict I felt in my heart and head at the time, when the teacher announced that we were going to cook dorayaki it was a relief. I wasn't so bad at it.

We get the eggs and other ingredients from the shelves under the counter. Each student was supposed to do it alone even though we were in trios, so I imitated Sato as much as I could, even though he had added a little too much sugar along with the eggs and honey.

I ended up with some stains on my uniform while mixing the ingredients. Momo was the first to notice and handed me one of the aprons hanging on the wall. She helped me put it on as my hands were smeared with honey. I don't know why, but I instinctively looked back once more, only to see Shinso's expression. He furiously glared at me and bit the inside of his cheek as he cracked eggs with one hand.

We had to let the dough in the fridge for a few minutes, and while Sato and Momo put theirs in the refrigerator closer to our counter, I decided to follow Shinso.

- Hi - I said when he opened the fridge.

Shinso glanced at me, silent.

- Aren't you going to say anything?

He held the fridge door, letting me place my dough next to his.

Shinso was only an inch taller than me, but he was different now, he looked bigger, and his indigo hair only made him a little more intimidating than before.

The other students started noticing my attempts to try to talk to him, so Shinso walked away.

My pancakes ended up getting a little burned at the bottom, so I added a little more of red bean paste to disguise the appearance, as the taste wasn't bad. Of course Sato and Momo's pancakes were perfect, and now he seemed more satisfied with the new flour, even though he glanced at my dorayakis with a little pity look.

Lunch Rush gave a thumbs up to almost everyone, but seemed uncertain about my recipe, but ended up saying it tastes good, maybe because of my effort.

- Aren't you coming back with us? - Momo asked after we finished cleaning, she and Sato were ready, with the dorayakis packed to take back to our dorm.

- I'll be there soon - I replied - thanks for bringing me.

She smiled gratefully and followed Sato out of the room, which quickly emptied itself, until Shinso and I were left alone.

- You can stop pretending to be slow now - I heard Shinso say, he was still in the back of the room.

I took a deep breath to gather courage; I had arranged the dorayakis neatly and put a little more of red bean paste on top.

I turned and walked over to Shinso, pretending to be confident with my actions, and then held out the tray with the dorayakis to him.

- Why are you giving me this?

- I made for you - I said - as an apology, I know you like desserts.

I noticed he didn't have anything on his counter, probably his classroom friend had taken them all with her. So that could mean he wanted to be alone with me too?

- That's not enough - Shinso said.

- Really? - I asked. The tray started to get heavy, so I put it on top of the counter - I think I can ask Sato to teach me how to cook something else then...

- I'm not talking about food, Shoto! - Shinso replied, his voice trembled a little and his hands were tucked in his pockets. He could tell me to do whatever he wanted, using his quirk or not, now I would do anything for him, but Shinso never used his quirk on me, in fact, that day at the sports festival was the first time I saw how much he it could be lethal in a fight. - You never get anything right.

- I understand that I wasn't nice to you, but I promise that...

- Wasn't nice? - Shinso interrupted me; there was a lot of anger in his purple eyes.

I nodded, and with that all my confidence drained away. I wasn't using the right words or the right terms. The truth is that I had been an idiot to Shinso before coming to the U.A., and then here I realized how much I was acting like a fool with everyone around me.

But I couldn't say it out loud. And now this whirl of resentment was trapped in my throat, preventing me from moving forward.

I don't know how, but despite the anger Shinso let me hold his hand. It was an impulse, I didn't even think about it. His skin looked different this time, it was rugged, and there were calluses on his palm as well as mine.

- Are you okay? - I asked.

People in the General Studies Course weren't supposed to fight, at least that's what I thought, but now, looking at Shinso more closely, I noticed that there were some bruises on his face, almost healed, but not unnoticeable to me.

- It's nothing - Shinso said, looking away from me. That hurt more than his silence. I would rather he hated me more actively.

We were so angry with each other for different reasons, but he had the right to resent me. I left him, I didn't hear him talk about his dreams and aspirations, I wanted him to stay away, waiting for me while I sorted out the problems with my father and my family, and after all I still wanted him secretly to be there, unchanging just for me.

I was selfish, even on the provisional hero license exam; I was selfish every time I failed, but I was also very good at hiding my feelings and tears as I grew up, so my expression was the same as it always was, even now, when Shinso let go of my hand and left the room.

It took me a while to realize I was alone, so I looked at the counter and was astonished for a few moments while realizing that Shinso had taken the desserts with him.

Perhaps, in a small and almost only opportunity, we still had a chance.