Hello all,

Here's a new chaotic chapter update. Please enjoy!

For the entirety of the day after, Midoriya desperately did everything he could to avoid Bakugou during school. Unfortunately, it was impossible with their desks stationed so close to each other, so he did the next best thing and kept his head down and his feet fast, avoiding any kind of eye contact that would force him to initiate a new conversation with the blond.

That was okay, right?

Izuku figured it was, as long as he still had time to think about his answer. But with all these thoughts clouding his mind, he couldn't get a wink of sleep last night, and even with all that extra time spent awake to digest and reflect on yesterday, he still had no idea what Bakugou was thinking.

He had so many questions about the avalanche of repressed emotions Bakugou chose to unload on his lap and personally make his responsibility, but he was afraid to ask. Like, what made him decide to suddenly confess to him like this? How long had he been feeling this way towards him? And what would happen afterwards if Izuku said no? Even more worrying, what would happen if he said yes?

Midoriya hoped that none of his classmates noticed how hot his cheeks were as he internally wrestled with his thoughts about the ordeal during class. He could barely concentrate and was tempted to slam his head hard against his desk to try and silence all the nagging inner voices that played tug-of-war on his mind.

Thankfully, Katsuki didn't add to his trepidation by making any obvious attempts to confront him. Bakugou spent the day reciprocally ignoring Izuku's existence and barraging their teachers and classmates with impatient remarks, as if today was just any other day of school.

His act was almost convincing enough to make Izuku believe the happenings of yesterday was just a bizarre fever dream his mind made up to help his body deal with the overwhelming heat wave that blanketed over the city. Only if it weren't for the residual strands of his newly singed hair he acquired from when Bakugou's explosive sweat splattering on him, back when they were on the rooftop.

There was the other piece of the puzzle that Izuku struggled to understand, which was his own feelings about the whole situation. He knew very little about love and the dating scene. Because he never considered himself someone others would spare a second glance towards, especially when he was quirkless, he didn't have much of a reason to give it much thought up until now.

He knew about it through a few movies and shoujo animes. And he recalled that a few of his classmates from middle school had been going out together as a couple, but unfortunately, he was not particularly close to any of them, so he had no idea how exactly it was different from being close friends, except for all the… kissing.

Midoriya felt his cheeks grow hot again. He was in no rush to go back to the dorms knowing that Bakugou was there too. The freckled-face teenager stayed late in class after the last bell in hopes that burying his mind in his homework and studies would help to clear it. But as expected, it did not.

Feeling defeated and frustrated, he finally gathered the strength to pack up his things and head out, determined to at least go to bed early to make up for some of his lost sleep. He was so consumed by feeling of fatigue and restlessness, that when he turned the corner, he didn't notice another oncoming person and collided into them with a gasp. A flurry of papers flooded his vision as Izuku was swiftly knocked off balance and stumbled back on his seat with a jarring thud.

"Midoriya! I'm so sorry, are you okay?" A familiar friendly face outstretched their hand to help the green-haired boy to a stand, to which Izuku warmly accepted.

"I-I'm okay, thanks Todoroki. Although, I really should be the one apologizing. I'm the one who wasn't paying attention when I bumped into you." Izuku admitted with an awkward chuckle before immediately rushing into a kneel to help collect the scattered papers off the floor and organize them into a stacked pile. "H-Here, your papers!"

Todoroki warmly accepted them back in his hands, but continued to probe, "Are you sure you're okay? In class today, you seem a little… distracted."

Crap, was it that obvious? Midoriya feigned a smile and brushed off his concern. "I'm fine, really! Just didn't get too much sleep last night, but it's probably because of all the heat we've been getting all week." It wasn't a complete lie. Nevertheless, Todoroki didn't seem sold on it and narrowed his heterochromic eyes suspiciously.

Izuku needed to change the subject, quick! "Oh, t-these are all the test papers from last month, aren't they?" He gestured to the piled sheets he just returned to his red-and-white-haired classmate. "Are you on clean up duty this week?"

Shoto's expression softened slightly, seemingly taking the bait. "Yeah. It was supposed to be me and Kirishima, but he's been sick and away from school for the past couple days, so really, it's just me."

"If that's the case, I would be glad to stay and help!"

"That's really kind of you, Midoriya, but you don't have to. I'm almost done anyways."

"At least let me help you bring these down to Principal Nezu's office. It's the least I can do after all the trouble I've caused you." Izuku eagerly handled back half of the papers from the towering pile and stood on standby to assist.

Todoroki figured Midoriya wasn't going to take no for an answer and shrugged in resignation. "Well, if you insist. I guess it would be nice to have some company too."

"Great! Let's go!" Izuku beamed, following the latter's pace down the hallway.

As they proceeded and engaged in casual conversation with each other, Midoriya realized that for the first time today, he wasn't worried about Bakugou. The pair talked about how busy it was getting with studying for the upcoming final exams, how excited they were for the upcoming year-end party, and the logistics of how the hot weather had been affecting Shoto's power output.

Unfortunately, Izuku could only stay distracted for so long from the gnawing feeling of uncertainty that returned and unsettled him. When Todoroki recognized when the shine in his jade-like eyes suddenly downcast and when Midoriya started to withdraw from the conversation, he restarted his interrogation.

"What's bothering you?"

"It's nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing." Todoroki pressed firmly.

Izuku bit his lip. "It's not that I don't trust you, Todoroki. It's just… I'm really not supposed to say."

Todoroki's demanding stare was unyielding. So much so, that his pressure managed to pierce a hole through his friend's fortified barricade. Midoriya hesitated before finally deciding to leak a preview of his cluttered thoughts. "But… I guess it doesn't hurt to get your opinion about a completely hypothetically situation."

"Okay. About what?"

"About… being in relationships…"

Todoroki stared blankly before responding, "What do you mean?"

"You know, when two people really like each other, they become more than friends and start spending more time with each other along with… other things…"

Todoroki didn't notice his friend's face flush red. He was suddenly engrossed in his thoughts on what Midoriya meant.

More than friends? He pondered. The sheltered freshman didn't think there could be any relationship more important and valuable than friendship. Because of Midoriya and his other friends, he was able to find himself and his powers outside of his father and reconnect with his goals and family in a healthier way. He couldn't conceive of anything else that had the power to do that. Unless… of course, Izuku must've meant best friends? Best friends like…

"Like you and Bakugou?"

"How did you- N-No! We're not- I mean…" Shoot, Izuku froze and clamped a hand over his mouth. Bakugou was going to blast him straight into the stratosphere for this, but not before sawing off his tongue.

"Why are you so nervous? I already know how close you two are, so it's not really a surprise."

"It's… not?" Midoriya asked in bewilderment.

"Not really. I mean, didn't you two grow up together? If that's the case, you and Bakugou have probably felt that way about each other for a long time now."

"We… haven't always been that close." Izuku admitted. "Our past is complicated, but we're in a much better place now, and I just don't want to complicate what we have now by changing how we define our relationship."

"What you have with Bakugou is really special. It's made even more special by all the experiences you guys have shared together, and I think being more than friends will only strengthen that. I've never had the opportunity to have someone like that in my life before, but I know enough about it to appreciate how amazing it must be to have another person that cares for and trusts you that much."

Midoriya managed a small smile. "I guess you're right. Thanks for the advice, Todoroki. I really appreciate it!"

Todoroki returned it. "No problem. I can only hope that one day, I can share that kind of relationship with someone like you, Midoriya."

Izuku paused to place a warm hand on Shoto's shoulder and met his gaze with a strong sense of conviction. "You absolutely will, I just know it! You're so loyal and kind-hearted. Honestly, anyone would be lucky to be with you. And if you're interested in someone, sometimes all you have to do is take the first step and ask them!"

"Is it really that simple?" Todoroki asked.

"Yep!" Midoriya confirmed.

"Okay then. Midoriya, can we be more than friends?"

…

Izuku's jaw dropped and his pupils pinpricked, he took a step back and stared at Shoto like he suddenly sprouted a second head. He almost spilled the papers he'd been carrying but managed to regain his balance and shuffle them back into place haphazardly. His breath was caught in his throat, so he was only able to articulate one syllable that expressed his confusion, "… Eh?"

"I want us to be more than friends. I want to spend more time with you, learn more about you and try all the other things that only friends can't do. Kind of like… friends with benefits."

Midoriya felt light-headed. He could barely handle one confession, but two of them under in span of two days was a completely improbable bind for him to be be jammed in. It wasn't even anywhere close to Valentine's Day!

The only logical conclusion he could conceive was that a new villain must've laced the watering system with some kind of mind-altering drug that was… making close friends ask each other out? Or maybe… maybe this was all just a big joke and they both lost a bet…

Izuku shook away those nonsensical scenarios out his head and looked back up at Todoroki's genuine expression. He knew Todoroki wasn't the kind of person who would stoop to that level of dishonesty, and Bakugou… he'd long put that kind of stuff behind him, didn't he? They weren't middle schoolers anymore; they were heroes-in-training, for crying out loud. If he could handle 24/7 training with One For All battering up his body and fending off super-powered villains on a regular basis, dealing with impromptu high school romances should've been nothing. So why didn't it feel like nothing?

"C-Can you give me some time to think about it?" Thankfully, that sentence managed to come out a lot smoother that the first time Midoriya had to say it.

Todoroki nodded, "Sure, there's no rush. And if you and Bakugou are already involved together, maybe the three of us can all be more than friends together."

Izuku choked; he didn't think his eyes could bulge out any more than they had. He didn't notice when they had finally arrived at Nezu's grandiose office doors until he felt Shoto's move to lighten the weight of the papers from his hands. Todoroki continued to show no sign of insincerity as he shot Midoriya one last tender smile before entering the brightly-lit and spacious domain. "Thanks again for all the help, Midoriya. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Midoriya couldn't move a muscle to manifest a response. His feet felt heavy, almost like they were suddenly swamped by a puddle of quicksand. His throat was dry from his shallow breaths through his open jaw, and he could feel his heart racing increasingly faster through his ears.

Every thought he spent hours organizing in his head after Bakugou's confession was bowled down by Todoroki's. He had to start from scratch, and he had less than a day to figure this out. Izuku was stuck, and could do nothing but prepare himself mentally for another sleepless night.