A/N: For those who are unaware, I'm posting a spinoff fic from this one. It's called Russian Winter, Broken Hearts, and it follows Chapter 22, "Super Bomb".

Deku had just gotten back from an afternoon run when he headed upstairs and took a shower to clean up. Thus far, today had been a non-notable day. Even so, he didn't mind at all. In fact, he sometimes enjoyed those days where he didn't have to worry about anything major. He had just put on fresh duds and was humming "Runnin' With the Devil" to himself when he heard knocking on his door.

"Coming!"

Deku headed to the door, and when he opened it, he was greeted by a very familiar, very friendly face:

"DEKU!"

Todoroki gave Deku a big hug and kiss. No matter how many times she laid her loving on him, it never got old. Soon enough, they broke away.

"Well, you seem to be in good spirits today!" said Deku. "How are you feeling?"

Todoroki frowned. "I'm not gonna lie; I still hurt from accidentally hitting and killing that dog, and it's probably gonna haunt me for the rest of my life."

Deku frowned as well. Knowing that Todoroki was still in pain from that incident hurt him as well, and it made him wonder if he'd done enough to comfort her. However, he knew what to say:

"Shoko, it's OK to feel whatever you want about it. None of this was your fault. Accidents happen even to the best of us."

Todoroki smiled. "Thank you for your kindness, Deku. Because of you, it doesn't hurt as much, and I can't tell you how grateful I am for what you did for me, not to mention everything else you've ever done!"

Deku's smile returned as well. "I'm glad I could help!"

"In fact, I'm so grateful that I've got a special surprise for you!"

Deku raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Let's head for your living room."

Deku led Todoroki to the living room.

"So, about this surprise…" said Deku.

"First, I want you to take all of your clothes off."

Deku dropped his jaw and blushed. "WHAT!?"

Todoroki kept smiling and made a gentle pushing motion towards Deku. "Relax; I only want to give you a massage!"

Deku smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh…OK! I mean, there doesn't have to be anything weird about it, right?"

Todoroki chuckled. "Of course not!"

Without further ado, Deku stripped down to his birthday suit and lied down face-first on his couch.

"Ready for it, Deku?"

"Uh-huh."

Todoroki cracked open a bottle of lavender/chamomile-scented massage oil, rubbed some between her hands and proceeded to massage Deku's back. Upon feeling Todoroki's hands rubbing him, Deku let out a soft gasp, and moaned softly.

"Shoko, you have no idea how much I needed this."

"Rough day, my dear?"

"I just did a long afternoon run, and I feel kinda achy."

"Well, I'll gladly take care of that!"

Deku continued to moan as Todoroki massaged him. The way she was working her soft hands over him gently yet firmly, he couldn't think of anything else but how good it felt to have his troubles melting away at the hands of such a beautiful girl. What made this even better for him was that she was giving this to him as a reward for being there for her in an hour of need. At one point, he wondered how he could possibly repay her for being so kind and loving towards him, but then he decided that he'd already paid her back enough and that he should really just focus on how sensually heavenly the massage felt. Considering all the life-threatening situations he'd been in, this did indeed feel like heaven to him.

"You're so cute, Deku," said Todoroki.

Deku let out a happy sigh upon hearing Todoroki's sweet compliment caress his ears. As for Todoroki, having felt as though she'd massaged Deku's back and shoulders enough, she proceeded to work downwards until she was massaging his feet, which caused him to moan a bit more. She smiled, not only because it gave her pleasure to have him turn to putty in her hands, but also because she was doing something nice for someone who truly deserved it. Hearing him moan also caused her spine to tingle. Thanks to everything that was going on, she completely forgot about the fact that she was still troubled by accidentally killing a dog with her car and instead thought about what a wonderful person her boyfriend was and how she owed so much to him.

"Sh…Shoko…"

"Yes?"

"I'm good now. You can stop whenever you want."

Todoroki massaged Deku's feet for just a moment more before stopping. Deku basked in the afterglow of the massage briefly before sitting up, and Todoroki sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around him.

"Thanks again for letting me do this!" said Todoroki. "You are the sweetest, smartest, sexiest boy I've ever met!"

Deku blushed at Todoroki's words, but nevertheless did his best to put on a smile as he wrapped an arm around her. "Oh…um…thank you!"

Todoroki giggled. "You're welcome!"

"By the way, Shoko, I was thinking…"

"Yes?"

"If you're still feeling hurt by what happened, there's an animal shelter in this town that not only accepts donations, but they might be looking for volunteers, too."

Todoroki nodded. "Interesting idea! Thanks for thinking of me like that!"

"You're welcome!"

Deku and Todoroki continued to embrace each other. Even if the latter couldn't take back what she did, at least she had the satisfaction of knowing that she had a boyfriend who gave her comfort in her hour of need and who permitted her to return that favor.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.