Chapter Text
Mornings weren’t usually something Todoroki looked forward to, but this morning was substantially less thrilling than usual. He’d just gotten up at 5:00 in the morning and was preparing for a morning jog when his chest suddenly throbbed and a cough forced its way out.
The cough became a coughing fit, albeit suppressed so as not to alert Endeavor, and Todoroki felt as though something wanted to come up. He stumbled to the bathroom, leaned over the sink and coughed once more, forcefully. Something fluttered from his mouth and landed in the sink.
A green flower-a daylily with soft petals-lay in the sink, a few droplets of blood staining its petals. Todoroki felt his heart sink into his stomach, letting a foreign expression wipe across his face…fear. He leaned heavily on his palms, staring at the flower while screwing his mouth into a thin line. He’d heard some vague things about Hanahaki disease, mostly that it was fatal unless the object of the victim’s affections returned those affections, or if the plants were surgically removed. The latter option, however, came with the added downside of losing all the emotions associated with the person ‘responsible’ for the disease.
Todoroki took a deep breath through his nose, and let it out slowly through his mouth. He knew exactly who was…he didn’t want to say ‘responsible’, but that was the gist of the implications. He knew exactly who was responsible and just thinking about those brilliant green eyes made a warm feeling spread through his cheeks. He reached down to pull the flower out of the sink, rolling the stem lightly in his thumb and index finger. Who knew a simple flower could elicit such fear?
Todoroki furrowed his brow, thinking about what should be done. If Endeavor found out about this, he’d likely—no, he’d definitely—have his son undergo the surgery. That meant everything he felt for Midoriya…all the respect, admiration, and affection, would be wiped away. Todoroki’s jaw clenched. They’d go back to how they were before the sports festival—strangers. He didn’t want that to happen. He also didn’t know how to confess to Midoriya, however. He couldn’t just walk into class and go straight up to the freckled boy, proclaiming, “I’ve got Hanahaki disease, and you’re responsible! Date me!”
Although, seeing as it was Midoriya, he’d probably date Todoroki anyhow just to stave off the disease’s progression. Todoroki sighed, wedging the flower in the pocket of his sweatpants and running water through the sink to clear off any traces of blood.
He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, just as his mother had taught him to do so long ago. Once he felt his heart rate subside enough for him to think clearly again, he looked at his own mismatched face in the mirror. I’ll deal with this, he thought to himself.
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In the Midoriya household, something similar was happening to Izuku. He had gotten up around 4:30 and was about to head out the door when he too, was struck by a sudden coughing fit. Unlike Shouto, Izuku didn’t feel as though he needed to stifle his coughs, so it was no surprise when Midoriya Inko appeared and laid her hand on Izuku’s back. She waited for him to finish coughing, but both were shocked and horrified to see a red and white carnation fall from Izuku’s mouth.
“O-Oh no…” Inko whispered, bringing a hand up to her mouth.
Her eyes were growing wet with tears as Izuku kneeled down to pick up the flower from the floor. His own crimson blood stained its petals, and the green-haired boy bit his lip, brows knit into a worried line. Yes…he too knew exactly who the object of his affections was and was firmly set in the belief that the red-and-white-haired boy didn’t share the same feelings.
He wouldn’t admit that to his mother, though. He glanced over his shoulder at her with a forced smile. Inko immediately saw through it, though, so Izuku let his worry show through.
“I’ll…I’ll confess. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but, uhm, I’ll try…” He trailed off, not knowing what else to say.
Inko scanned her son’s face, searching for any bit of a lie. After a few moments, she felt as though he’d told her the truth. She straightened up, wrapping her son in a hug. He returned the gesture almost immediately…Inko could feel how tense the boy was, how stressed out he was about this latest development. She didn’t have many ideas, and she didn’t want to force her son to undergo the surgery unless the disease worsened, so she did what she could.
She waited for her son to pull away, then she grasped his shoulders gently but firmly. Two pairs of the same green eyes locked, and Inko murmured,
“You make good on that promise, you hear? I’ll go to the pharmacy today and pick up some of the disease suppression pills, but you’ll get the surgery done if things don’t look up between you and the person you love. Sound fair?”
Izuku opened his mouth as if he wanted to protest, then seemed to think better of it. He nodded.
“Sounds fair…” He mumbled.
Inko regretted having to do this with her son, but he had a habit of putting his own life in peril. This would likely be no different if his feelings for this person were as strong as Inko feared. She pulled him into another hug, stroking Izuku’s hair as she’d done when he was a child.
“Good. You’ll get through this, ok? If you need anything, or if you have a change of heart, let me know. I’m always here for you, Izuku, never forget that.” She murmured.
She felt Izuku nodding, and let a smile form on her face.
“Thanks mom.”
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It seemed that the more Shouto thought about Izuku, the more he had the urge to cough. Every glance he made in the boy’s direction caused his chest to convulse. He’d had no idea just how hard he’d fallen for Izuku until he was forced to think about it.
Class was hellish for Shouto, if he had to put it bluntly. The constant fight with the disease was exhausting enough without having to listen and take notes as well as suppress the urge to cough. However, he noticed that Izuku was also rather distracted in class today. He was muttering to himself, an intense expression on his face. This expression was normal for Izuku when he was deep in thought, but Shouto could’ve sworn he saw fear—or apprehension, at the least—in those green eyes.
About halfway through the class, Izuku and Shouto glanced at each other at the same time. For a moment, their gazes stayed locked like that. Brilliantly green eyes and mismatched blue-and-brown eyes froze in place…before Izuku quickly glanced back down at his notebook and proceeded to take down more notes. Shouto thought he caught a glimpse of a blush on the boy’s freckled cheeks…no, that was impossible. Izuku saw him as just a friend, nothing more.
Shouto brought a hand up to his left side, gently brushing his fingers along the rough skin of his scar. Yeah, with a face like this…
His chest convulsed violently, like a trapped hiccup. His sides ached from the force of it, so he raised his hand. At the front of the room, Aizawa glanced at him. A slight spark of surprise flickered in his dark eyes as he called, “Yes, Todoroki?”
“May I be excused briefly? I’m not feeling well.” He said in as flat a tone as he could manage with his throbbing sides.
Aizawa paused, then nodded.
“Go see Recovery Girl. You’re excused.”
Shouto gave the teacher a respectful dip of his head, walking casually out of the classroom and closing the door behind him. He leaned against the wall outside the classroom, head tilted back. He didn’t bother brushing the strands of red and white hair out of his face. It just didn’t seem important at the moment. For a moment, the thought crossed his mind that perhaps dying because of Izuku wouldn’t be all that bad. At least he wouldn’t need to deal with Endeavor anymore.
He coughed aloud, a hacking, wheezing cough. Two flowers fell from his mouth onto the floor, along with a few drops of blood. He kneeled down to clean up the mess, but he heard indistinct voices coming towards him down the hallway. A shudder ran through his body and he managed to scoop up the two lilies before moving down the hall at a brisk pace.
Maybe Recovery Girl can help…
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Izuku had been plenty surprised when Shouto had left the room. The boy was usually quite stoic and chose to bear pain and illness in solitary silence. For him to suddenly up and leave halfway through class was unheard of.
It seemed Izuku wasn’t the only person who noticed. Yaoyorozu, Shouto’s close friend, was glancing at Shouto’s desk in front of her with her brow furrowed. Iida also had a contemplative look on his face, not to mention the worried expression Uraraka bore. Aizawa had also seemed rather surprised by Shouto’s sudden exit, although he did go on with the lesson as normal.
Izuku was completely smitten with Shouto, and that fact had almost caused him to choke on a mouthful of carnations when their eyes met in the middle of class. He currently had a bitter flower petal in his mouth, between Izuku’s cheek and teeth. He’d spit it out later.
He also planned on telling All-Might when he got the chance. Mostly because Izuku wanted to know how this would affect his training…but also because he wanted his advice on how to approach Shouto. Perhaps All-Might had had Hanahaki disease at some point in his life and would know how to deal with it…? He wasn’t even aware of his muttering until he heard Bakugo on his left snarl, “Shut the fuck up, fucking Deku.”
Izuku was quiet then, but he kept casting glances over at Todoroki’s desk. Thoughts about his condition kept running through his head.
Is he okay?
He’s been gone a long time.
Should I go see him?
I hope he’s all right.
What if he’s not all right?
What if-
His thoughts were cut short by the bell ringing for lunch, causing Izuku to jump abruptly. He immediately tidied up his desk and tried not to bolt out the door. He did, however, notice something amiss on his way out into the hallway. To the right of the door, glittering in the natural light cast into the hallway by the windows, were a few spots of bright red blood. A chill ran down Izuku’s spine, and he turned to get a closer look. Now that he was paying attention, he could see from the color and slight presence of bubbles that it was blood from someone’s lungs. He narrowed his eyes, glancing down the hallway in that direction.
He saw something lying on the ground, very close to the wall, about ten feet down. He was hardly aware of Iida and Uraraka’s presences as he kneeled down to pick up what was, unmistakably, a green flower. It looked slightly crushed, as though the person who’d held it had tried hiding it but accidentally dropped it. More bubbly red blood speckled its petals, and Izuku shuddered.
“Midoriya! Are you all right?!” Iida’s voice came from behind Izuku, causing him to jump in alarm.
He glanced over his shoulder to see his two friends giving him worried looks. He nodded, rising to his feet. “Yeah, I’m just fine, but…”
He held up the bloody flower, which prompted shocked glances from the both of them.
“…someone else isn’t doing so well.”