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Todoroki is in the process of making a mistake. It’s not the first time. Actually, he’s a repeat offender.
And he knows that it’s going to come back and bite him in the ass later. These types of things always do, as far as he’d seen from rom-coms and gossip magazines.
But right now, that’s not one of his priorities. Right now, there is someone actively biting his neck, and Todoroki thinks he’s going to go crazy if he does it any harder.
A breathy sigh escapes his lips as Bakugou’s teeth scrape his neck, sucking red marks on the underside of his jaw, near his jugular, and at the base of his throat.
“Bakugou…please...”
“Shut up,” Bakugou growls against his neck.
“Bakugou, wait…” Todoroki mutters, slightly pulling away.
Bakugou immediately pulls back at his tone. “Do you really want me to stop?”
Todoroki catches his breath, sliding his hands from Bakugou’s hair down to his shoulders, entirely avoiding his eyes. “Sorry...I…”
Bakugou tilts his chin towards him, looking him straight in the eye. “I need you to tell me. Do you want me to stop?”
Briefly, he feels his cheeks heat up, but the only thing really at the front of his mind is the intensity of Bakugou’s calm stare on him.
“Kiss me.”
Before he can even finish his sentence, Bakugou is already pressing his mouth to his and wrapping Todoroki’s legs around his hips. It stays chaste only for a few seconds, and then Bakugou swipes his tongue on Todoroki’s bottom lip. Todoroki bites down on his in return, and Bakugou growls at him before pressing him further down.
When Bakugou pulls away, he looks Todoroki in the eyes again. “Can I keep kissing you?”
“...Yes. But please don’t...leave a lot of marks,” Todoroki finishes softly.
Bakugou nods, leaning back in and just pressing his face into the crook of Todoroki’s neck for a moment. Todoroki takes this time to calm down his rapid heart rate, willing his quirk to cool himself down.
All of that goes to naught when he feels lips brush against the base of his throat.
“Shit, you smell good.”
Todoroki smiles weakly. “New body wash.”
Bakugou sucks another mark right above his collarbone, and Todoroki keens softly, fingers tightening their grip on the fabric of Bakugou’s sweater.
“Heh. Looks good.”
Todoroki rolls his eyes slightly, touching the sensitive spots on his neck. He’s going to have to wear another turtleneck tomorrow.
“I don’t understand why you like marking me so much.”
“Well then, why don’t you tell me why you seem to like it so much when I do?”
Todoroki huffs, and looks away, playing with the spiky hairs at Bakugou’s nape. When he turns back, Bakugou is already staring at his lips, and Todoroki leans in partially before his lips meet Bakugou’s.
Bakugou’s tongue prods at the seam of his kiss-bitten lips, and Todoroki hums before parting his lips and kissing back with equal fervor. A sharp bite to his bottom lip makes him release an embarrassing noise, which Bakugou only swallows up. Heat pools again at the bottom of his belly, and Todoroki has to pull away before they get distracted even further. He blushes at the thin string of saliva that still connects them, quickly wiping at his lips with the back of his hand.
“Shy?”
“No,” Todoroki lies. He looks past Bakugou at the clock on his wall and pushes him away gently. “And it’s getting late.”
“So?”
“It’s almost dinner time. They might come looking for us. You should go.”
Bakugou’s mood shifts slightly, and he pushes off Todoroki, offering him a hand to pull him up. “Yeah. I should.”
He gathers up his study materials, running a hand through his slightly disheveled hair before nonchalantly exiting Todoroki’s room like he hadn’t just been kissing the daylights out of Todoroki moments before.
When his door closes, Todoroki slides down his wall, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He allows himself a break before standing up again and padding over to his bathroom.
His neck is a mottled mess, and he groans at the thought of having to cover the splotches of red and purple. He strips off his hoodie and rummages through his clothes for a turtleneck. He doesn’t feel like putting on concealer.
After washing his face and cooling himself down even further, he finally decides to take the elevator down to the common room for dinner. Half of the class is already settled down and eating, including Bakugou.
Todoroki silently takes a plate, walking over to where Bakugou is. He’s immediately met with a raised eyebrow. “IcyHot. The hell are you doing?”
“Sitting. To eat,” Todoroki states a matter-of-factly.
“Do that somewhere else. Why do you have to do it here?”
Right.
Todoroki purses his lips and pivots on his heel before walking over to Midoriya and Iida.
As he settles down, he allows one more lingering glance on Bakugou. Bakugou catches his eyes for a fleeting second and then turns away to yell at Kaminari.
He guesses that even after all that, he should’ve known that it wasn’t anything more.
Maybe Bakugou was just being petty that he’d interrupted their whole…thing.
He’s not exactly sure how the whole thing started anyway. The first time was a complete accident, but he supposes the subsequent kissing disguised as study sessions weren’t accidents at all. He supposes they both found themselves enjoying it too much to stop.
Between the heated kisses they share in the privacy of their own rooms and the seemingly sweet embraces after the fact, Todoroki sometimes forgets that they’re not even really friends, even after everything they’ve been through.
It’s not that they’re enemies. But he just doesn’t think he’s friends with Bakugou the way he’s friends with Midoriya, or Uraraka, or Iida, or Yaoyorozu.
Todoroki almost laughs at the ridiculousness of it all.
Todoroki Shouto, second year student at the top hero high school in the country, one of the top students in his class, is kissing Bakugou Katsuki, notorious for his brash, rude, and sometimes explosive nature, and is someone who barely even calls Todoroki by his real name.
Todoroki is lucky that the collar of his uniform covers up most of the hickeys on his neck. Sure, it’s uncomfortable when it brushes against the bruised skin, but it’s better than having everyone ogle at his neck and pester him about where he got them.
He quietly steps into class, among one of the last students to do so. He sincerely hopes that they’re all too distracted to notice him, because even though he thinks a good job hiding them, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Yaoyorozu smiles at him as he sits down. “Morning, Todoroki!”
“Good morning.”
“Ready for the test later today?”
Todoroki nods. “I am. I’m sure you are too.”
“Oh, hey, Todoroki, you’re here!”
Todoroki looks over to see Midoriya and Iida walking over to them.
“You’re a bit later than usual.”
“Mhm, I know. Thought I might have breakfast today.”
That’s a lie. He tried putting on concealer before realizing it would smudge all over his white uniform.
And then, it did get all over his uniform shirt.
It took him a while to wash it out, and then try and find another clean shirt.
“Oh, that’s good, Todoroki. You usually never eat breakfast though.”
Todoroki awkwardly tugs at his collar. “Well...I didn’t eat much last night. So I felt hungry this morning.”
“Todoroki! Are you hurt?”
Todoroki’s head abruptly turns to Iida. “Pardon?”
“Look.”
Iida gestures to just below his jaw, and...oh no.
In his hurry to get to class, he ended up forgetting about the one place he could put makeup on.
Todoroki chokes, and claps a hand over his neck. “Oh. I guess I did hurt myself.”
“What did you do?” Midoriya asks, concern shining through his eyes.
“Would you like a bandaid, Todoroki?”
Todoroki nods a bit frantically, accepting the bandage from Yaoyorozu’s hands and quickly slapping it on the hickey.
“Todoroki, did you hurt yourself this morning?”
Todoroki flounders around for a bit. “I guess I must’ve hurt myself while sleeping. I didn’t notice it at all.”
“You should be more careful,” Iida scolds.
“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry though. It doesn’t hurt.”
As the conversation shifts away from Todoroki’s questionable sleeping, Todoroki looks over to see a pair of scarlet eyes already watching him.
The blond raises an eyebrow in a seemingly mocking way, and points to his neck.
Todoroki sends him a half-hearted glare, and Bakugou smirks before turning back around.
He fights the blush creeping up his neck, and resists the urge to bury his face in his hands.
“Hurt yourself pretty bad in your sleep, huh?”
Todoroki turns around to see Bakugou walking in. He sighs, and looks at his neck in the bathroom mirror. Pulling out the small tube of makeup from his bag, he gets to work dabbing on the skin below the bandaid.
“Gotta say, I kinda liked seeing you come up with an excuse. It was shit, by the way.”
Todoroki scoffs, and twists the lid back on the tube. He leans against the sink, and turns to Bakugou who’s fixing his uniform. “You’re partially to blame, you know.”
“Can’t say you didn’t enjoy it.”
Todoroki ignores his last statement. “Why’d you do it so high up? You’re lucky I can cover most of these with my hero costume.”
“Well, you’re sensitive there. Why wouldn’t I?”
Todoroki is deciding whether to punch him in the face or kiss him. He does neither, and just looks away. “Please be more careful.”
“Tch.”
Bakugou grabs his wrist, and backs him into a stall, locking the door. Todoroki blinks in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“Being careful.”
“We have to get going soon.”
“I know,” Bakugou whispers against his jaw. Todoroki rolls his eyes.
“Is this careful enough for you?”
Bakugou presses his lips lightly against Todoroki’s throat, worrying the skin gently with his teeth before placing another kiss on the same spot. Bakugou’s eyelashes brush against his neck as he moves further down, and Todoroki places a hand on his cheek to push him off. “You proved your point. Let’s go.”
Despite Todoroki’s words, he stays rooted to his spot with Bakugou’s arms around his waist. He finds himself kissing Bakugou on the lips, feeling a victorious smirk.
He feels Bakugou licking into his mouth, and in response Todoroki’s knees buckle, making Todoroki lean into him even further. A hand tangles into his hair, no doubt mixing together the red and white strands. Todoroki pants into Bakugou’s mouth, running his hands down his chest and digging his nails into his shoulders.
In the heat of the moment, neither Todoroki or Bakugou notice the door opening.
“Oh, Bakugou, is that you?”
Todoroki pulls away with a small smack, wide eyes staring straight into Bakugou’s own panicked ones.
“Fuck, what do you want, Shitty hair?”
“You just disappeared, so we went looking for you.”
Bakugou leans in to whisper in his ear. “Jump up. He’ll see your shoes.”
Todoroki nods, and Bakugou lifts him up by the thighs. Todoroki’s face burns in embarrassment as he wraps his arms around Bakugou’s neck.
“I hate you,” He hisses.
“Shh.”
“You been in here a while dude. Everything alright?”
Bakugou grunts. “S’ only been a few minutes. Took me a while to get here. Too many people were crowding the hallways. The hell are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’m just fixing my hair while I’m here. Don’t mind me.”
Todoroki groans. Great. He stuck like this for the next few minutes. Bakugou seems to share the same sentiment. He shifts Todoroki in his grip, and looks impatiently at the stall door. “Can you hurry the hell up?”
“What? Can’t rush perfection, Bakugou.”
Bakugou grumbles under his breath. “Your hair is far from that, idiot.”
While Bakugou continues to argue with Kirishima, Todoroki decides to brush his lips against the shell of Bakugou’s ear. He feels his body tense, and the hands around his thighs squeeze him in warning.
Todoroki ignores him, and presses his lips to Bakugou’s jaw.
“Don’t you dare,” Bakugou whispers through gritted teeth.
Todoroki decides to ignore him yet again, and starts sucking at the span of skin under his ear.
“Fucking asshole,” Bakugou mutters, pinching his thigh harshly.
Todoroki grins, and relishes in the grunt he gets when he sinks his teeth in.
“Oi, Shitty hair, hurry the hell up and get out! I can’t take a piss with you in here!”
“Oops! Sorry, gimme a sec. I’m almost done.”
Bakugou growls. “Just get the fuck out!”
Todoroki hears Kirishima laugh brightly before he apologizes and heads out of the bathroom. He pulls off of Bakugou’s neck, and Bakugou sets him down on the ground.
“The hell, Halfie?”
Todoroki looks at him innocently. “What?”
“You know what the hell you did.”
Todoroki shrugs, pushing past him and walking out the stall. “What did I do?”
“Oi, you—”
Bakugou grabs his wrist, and Todoroki turns around to press his lips to his briefly. Bakugou makes a sound of annoyance, but kisses him back.
When he pulls away, Todoroki smiles, and points to the mark on Bakugou’s neck.
“Good luck covering that up. I’d love to see you come up with some excuses.”
“Another partner project? Really?”
“We were just paired together…”
Cementoss doesn’t pay them any mind. “Just looks like you’ll have to work together again. You two did well on your last project.”
“Because I did all the damn work.”
Todoroki sighs. “You did not.”
“I did.”
“Why do I even bother?”
Cementoss shakes his head. “I’m not changing my mind. You’re still partners.”
Todoroki supposes he can’t change anything, so he just nods. “Come on. No use in trying to argue.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
Bakugou shoves his hands in his pockets, brushing past Todoroki and catching up with Kaminari and Sero. Todoroki shakes his head slightly, and shoulders his bag. Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida have already left class and are probably already in the cafeteria by now, so he leaves the classroom with a quiet goodbye to Cementoss.
As he walks the hallways, he wonders if maybe the project will end up bringing them closer together. Projects in the past had brought them together in some ways, but not exactly in the way Todoroki wanted.
“Todoroki, over here!”
Todoroki waves slightly at his friends before coming over to sit. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Not a problem. What do you have today, Todoroki?”
“Just a small bento. By the way, who are you three partnered with for the project?”
“I’m with Tokoyami!” Midoriya chirps. Briefly, Todoroki wishes he got Tokoyami or Midoriya instead. They were always very diligent and hardworking people.
“I’m paired with Shoji. He’s very quiet, but also a really hard worker.”
Uraraka groans. “You guys got good partners. I’m with Kaminari! We’ll never get anything done!”
Midoriya pats her on the shoulder. “Hey, at least you’ll have fun. When you’re in a slump, Kaminari’s a great guy to get a laugh from and move on. That’s what happened the last time I worked with him.”
“Whatever,” Uraraka grumbles. “Oh, and Todoroki, who did you get?”
“Bakugou,” he says morosely. “Again.”
“Why the long face? Bakugou’s smart.”
“I’m not upset about it. Just...I’m not sure we exactly work well together.”
Iida raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Because you two always get some of the highest scores when working together.”
“The end result may be nice, but I’m not so sure about the process getting there.”
Midoriya shakes his head. “You should have nothing to worry about. You and Kacchan have worked together numerous times! I don’t understand why you’re worried now.”
“Hey, you and Bakugou are friends, right?”
Todoroki turns to look at Uraraka incredulously. “Hm?”
“You and Bakugou are friends, aren’t you?”
“What makes you think that?”
It’s Uraraka’s turn to give him a look. “Uh, a lot of things? You went through remedial courses, internships, you guys train together, study together, I mean...come on, Todoroki, that kind of means you’re friends.”
“Time spent together doesn’t necessarily equate to friendship.”
“Well, no , but I’m just saying. Bakugou actually tolerates you. That has to say something.”
“I think he tolerates all of us,” Midoriya says, quite unhelpfully.
Uraraka shoves at his shoulder, and turns back to Todoroki. “He might tolerate you a bit more.”
Todoroki huffs. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Really, think about it, Todoroki.”
“...I’m not going to let that question bother me. I have better things to think about.”
“Whatever you say.”
You and Bakugou are friends, aren’t you?
Unfortunately, Todoroki ends up letting that question bother him.
It’s in the back of his mind the rest of the day, the next day, and even when he and Bakugou have started working on their project in Bakugou’s room.
It bothers him so much by then that he has to push Bakugou off him in the middle of a kiss.
“What? Is something wrong?”
Todoroki tilts his head slightly. “Are we friends?”
Bakugou blinks, and narrows his eyes. “...No.”
“We aren’t?”
“Friends are supposed to know shit about each other. And like each other somewhat. So can you shut the fuck up now?”
“You know, I was under the impression that one, you know quite a bit about me, and two, you like me at least a little, considering you just had your tongue in my mouth,” Todoroki says drily.
Bakugou, realizing that there’s no saving the mood, groans loudly and drops his head onto Todoroki’s chest. “Fuckin’ hell.”
“What?”
“How long have you been thinking about this?”
“Not long,” Todoroki lies.
“Liar.”
“See, I think that would imply you know me well enough to know that I’m lying.”
“You just suck at lying.”
Biting his lip, Todoroki plays with the short hairs near Bakugou’s nape. “Why aren’t we friends?”
“Tch. You’re asking me like I care.”
“Don’t you want to be friends?”
Bakugou looks up at him, eyebrow raised questioningly. “Why do you want to be friends so bad?”
“Well...I like having friends. Turns out, not being alone all the time is not that bad.”
“Damn loser.” Bakugou’s voice is muffled by Todoroki’s neck.
“You are currently hugging the damn loser,” Todoroki says.
Bakugou kicks him.
“Don’t you like having friends?” Todoroki asks, graciously ignoring the kick.
“Don’t have any, don’t want any.”
“Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and Mina would beg to differ.”
He feels more than hears Bakugou grumbling something, and takes his face to tilt his head up so he can look at him. Bakugou is slightly glaring at him.
“So.”
“What?”
“Can we be friends?”
Bakugou stares at him for a long moment, and clicks his tongue.
He says, “Friends don’t do this, idiot,” and pulls Todoroki back into a kiss.
“Shouto! We missed you! Long time no see.”
Todoroki waves, and smiles at his siblings and mother as he enters the hospital room. “Sorry I haven’t been able to visit as often.”
“No worries! At least you’re here now,” Fuyumi says. “Come sit. I made some mochi earlier for all of us to share. There would be more if someone didn’t keep eating them.”
Natsuo lets out an indignant shout. “Hey! I only ate three!”
Todoroki turns to his mother while his siblings start to argue. “Mom, how are you feeling?”
“I’ve been doing well, Shouto. Have you?”
“Mhm. Just busy. Anything interesting around here lately?”
His mother sighs. “Shouto, you know how it is here. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a new magazine. You know, all I’ve been reading lately is news about which heroes are dating and which heroes aren’t. It gets a little boring.”
“Seems more interesting than what I’m doing, Mom.”
“Really? Then could you do me a favor?”
“Yes?”
“Could you ask Hawks if he’s really dating Mirko? I’ve seen their dating scandal in every single issue. It’s getting a bit old.”
Todoroki blinks. “I’m sure he’s not, but alright, Mom.”
“Shouto, here, drink some of this stuff we got from the conbini. And try the mochi, it’s really good!”
He doesn’t have any time to respond because his sister is already dragging him to sit and placing mochi on a napkin for him. He takes a bite, and of course it’s good.
“Oi, Natsu, give Shouto the peach soda.”
“I’m still drinking it—”
“You’ve had enough—”
“Yumi, wait—”
Before Todoroki can react, liquid splashes onto the front of his sweater. He blinks, and Fuyumi and Natsuo stare at him before Fuyumi breaks out into apologies. His mother only sighs and goes to get him napkins.
“Shouto, I’m so sorry!”
Todoroki looks down at the sugary soaked turtleneck. “It’s alright.”
“Natsu, apologize!”
“I didn’t even—ow! Okay, sorry, Shou.”
Todoroki waves them off. “It’s fine. I’ll just...take this off. I think I have a sweatshirt in my bag.”
Todoroki stands up, stripping off the grey turtleneck and carefully folding it up and placing it in a plastic bag laying around. He takes the napkins from his mom and wipes down his chest. He rummages through his school bag, finding an old zip-up jacket at the bottom.
He hears a gasp, and then a scandalized “Shouto!”. He looks up to meet the wide eyes of his siblings and his mother. “What?”
“What is that ?”
“What is what?”
Fuyumi points to his neck, and Todoroki follows her finger to a purple mark on his collarbone. Subsequently, he remembers the other four or five littering the rest of his neck.
Uh oh.
Todoroki slaps his hand over the fading bruises, only managing to cover some. He feels his face start to heat up, and horrifyingly, he feels a flame flicker on his left ear. “It’s nothing!”
They are still staring at his neck, and Todoroki feels incredibly exposed, despite already being half-naked.
“You know, I...well, I...hurt myself while training, and then I guess it got worse while I was sleeping o-or something…” He stammers.
He’s still floundering for another excuse when Natsuo finally bursts out laughing, face red and tears in his eyes. “Oh my god! Shouto! Is that what I think it is?”
“It’s not!” Todoroki says, although the blush on his face must say otherwise.
He hears Bakugou’s taunting voice in his head. You hurt yourself pretty bad in your sleep, huh?
Todoroki knew he should’ve come up with something better.
Even after he slips on the jacket and zips it all the way up, the hickeys on his neck are still visible, and he covers them with his hand. “Don’t look.”
“How can we not? It’s literally right in front of us,” Natsuo manages to choke out through his fit of laughter. Even Fuyumi is giggling at him.
“...I hate you both.”
His mother is hiding a smile behind her hand, and that’s what makes it even more mortifying.
“Can we just move on? Please?” Todoroki asks desperately. “It’s not even a big deal.”
“Not until you admit what they are.”
“Don’t do this to me.”
“Shouto...come on…”
Todoroki throws his hands up in the air. “Fine! They’re hickeys! Now can we just...talk about something else?”
Natsuo wipes the tears from his eyes, and takes a few deep breaths. “Sure, sure. Who are they from?”
Todoroki chokes, and Natsuo’s annoying laughter starts up again. “Anything but that.”
“Is it from a pretty girl? I must say, Shouto, I didn’t think you were the type.”
Todoroki’s face burns brighter. He feels another flame flicker. “No...it wasn’t. And I’m not.”
“...What do you mean it wasn’t? Who else could it be?”
Today is really not Todoroki’s day. He hides his face in his hands, and tries not to start screaming. “Why don’t you just think about it for a moment?”
His mother stares at his siblings while they sit trying to figure it out. It doesn’t surprise him that she doesn’t seem fazed about it. “You two. Are you serious? Shouto is saying he got them from a boy .”
It’s silent, and then all hell breaks loose.
“Shouto! You didn’t tell us you were into boys!”
“Ha, suck it Natsuo! Now three out of four of us here like men!”
“Shut up, Fuyumi!”
Todoroki’s phone starts ringing, and he thanks it silently for the way out. “I’m going to step outside. I need to take this.”
He’s not even sure who it is, but he’s going to pretend it’s important anyways.
He ducks outside of the room, closing the door behind him. “Hello?”
“Oi, pick up some shrimp on your way home.”
“Bakugou?”
“Duh, fuckwad. Did you not look at the contact name?”
“...I was a bit occupied.”
“Whatever. You heard me, right? Buy some shrimp on your way back. Not the fucking, uh, teeny tiny packs you got last time. I’ll kick your ass, you hear me?”
“I heard you. But...uh...I…”
“Spit it out .”
“So you know how I’m visiting my siblings and my mom right now?”
“Yeah.”
“They spilt some soda on me, so I took off my shirt to put on a spare jacket in my bag. Unfortunately...the marks on my neck are not...gone.”
“...They saw.”
“Yeah,” Todoroki says miserably. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but could you bring something for me to wear?”
“You want me to get something from your room?”
“Please. If anything, it’s partially your fault too, so you should help me out.”
“...Fine. I’ll be at the hospital in 15.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Whatever. Don’t be so clumsy next time. Stupid half-n-half.”
The call ends abruptly, and Todorki pockets his phone. Bakugou surprisingly put up little to no resistance. Maybe he does feel bad for slightly ruining Todoroki’s day.
He steps back in, and Fuyumi and Natsuo are still snickering. His mother rolls her eyes. “I tried telling them to stop.”
“It’s fine,” he mutters.
“Who was that?”
“No one.”
“Sure. If you say so.”
Todoroki sighs, and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Sorry...for that.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“I didn’t mean for you to see…”
His mother shakes her head. “You’re a teenager, Shouto. It’s okay. It’s normal.”
“But it’s embarrassing. I don’t think I can look at any of you anymore.”
“You can’t look at us ? How are we supposed to look at you without thinking you’re getting bit by a vampire every night? Jesus, Shou, have you looked at your neck?”
“...I know. I keep telling him not to be so rough…” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he regrets it. “Oh, please forget I said anything.”
“Wow, Shou, we really did not need to know that. Wait, you haven't…done the do, have you?”
“No! Of course not!”
At this rate, Todoroki is either going to die of embarrassment, or he’s going to off himself first.
“Shouto, you know, it's okay if you do. As long as you practice safe—”
“Mom, please,” he says weakly.
“Shouto, it's important that you’re educated on—”
“Natsu, stop. I am not getting the talk from you.”
“Why? I'm basically a doctor.”
“Natsu, I’ll never talk to you again if you even utter the word ‘condom’ in my direction.”
Natsuo holds his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. A little snappy, are we?”
“Please stop staring at my neck. They’re not going to magically go away.”
Fuyumi frowns. “Doesn’t your school have a nurse with a quirk that heals things?”
Todoroki sighs. “You want me to look my teacher in the eye and say, ‘Can I see Recovery Girl? The hickeys on my neck won’t go away.’ I’ll never live it down.”
“You’re not going to live it down anyways, as long as the three of us are alive. Phew, be grateful the old man doesn’t know,” Natsuo teases.
“Of course he doesn’t. I generally try to avoid him at all costs.”
“Even if he texts and calls you?”
“Even if he texts and calls me,” Todoroki says.
Just then, Todoroki’s phone pings with a notification. It’s a text from Bakugou saying that he’s here.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“Again? Where are you going?”
“I got a classmate to bring me a new turtleneck. I’ll be right back.”
Todoroki steps out of the room, making sure to cover as much of his neck as possible and avoid all people walking near him. When he makes it out to the lobby, he sees Bakugou leaning against the wall with a sweater slung across his arm.
“Pft. You look stupid.”
Todoroki only glares half-heartedly at him. “I’m going to ignore that because you did something nice for me.”
“Whatever. Did you tell them about the hickeys?”
“I was forced to. But I didn’t tell them who it was from.”
“Good. You better not have.”
“Do you want to come in?”
Bakugou scoffs. “No? What the hell, why should I?”
“You’re already here. Plus, we can just go grocery shopping later.”
“No—”
“You’ve already met Natsuo and Fuyumi.”
“But I haven’t met your mom,” Bakugou hisses. “You’re just trying to make me uncomfortable to get me back. Don’t touch me.”
“Guilty as charged,” Todoroki says. “Come on.”
He takes Bakugou’s wrist, and drags him to the elevator. Bakugou is quietly arguing with him the entire way up, however he promptly stops as soon as Todoroki pushes open the door.
“Oh? Is that Bakugou?”
“Yes. He brought me the sweater and just wanted to say hi.”
Bakugou glares at him. “I did not,” he whispers.
Fuyumi smiles at Bakugou. “Come on in.”
Todoroki pulls him in, and Bakugou shifts on his feet a bit before bowing slightly to his mother. “Bakugou Katsuki.”
His mother smiles curiously at his classmate. “Call me Rei. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
This is the softest Todoroki has ever heard Bakugou. He laughs slightly before going to take the jacket off and slipping the turtleneck on.
“So, Bakugou, you know who’s giving Todoroki these hickeys?”
Todoroki and Bakugou both choke, and Todoroki wacks Natsuo on the shoulder. “You can’t just ask someone that.”
“Well, he obviously knows. And you guys are friends right?”
“No, ‘course not.”
Todoroki doesn’t say anything, opting instead to roll his eyes.
“Well, do you?”
“Not you too, Fuyumi.”
Bakugou shifts awkwardly on his feet. “I don’t know. It’s his business anyways.”
“Exactly. My business, which means you two should stop laughing about it already.”
Bakugou sends him a glance that says ‘stop talking’ and simultaneously ‘talk about something else’. Todoroki opens his mouth to change the subject, but ultimately he gives Bakugou a defeated look.
The exchange does not get past his mother, who now looks at the two of them in renewed interest. Todoroki pointedly looks away.
His siblings eventually notice how quiet they’re being, and turn the attention on the two of them too.
“Let’s get the shrimp,” Todoroki blurts out.
Bakugou blinks. “What?”
“Shrimp. Remember? Grocery shopping. I think you mentioned that to me earlier.”
Bakugou stumbles slightly as Todoroki pushes him towards the door. “Shit, r-right. Yeah, shrimp. I needed that. Eggs too.”
“Okay, let’s go get that.”
Fuyumi raises an eyebrow. “The two of you?”
“Shopping for twenty or so people. Lots of bags, you know?”
Todoroki quickly hugs his mother, sparing no hugs for his siblings. They don’t deserve it. He shoulders his bag and gives them a strained smile. Bakugou bows stiffly.
“See you guys.”
As the door closes, he does not miss his mother’s gaze on him. He pretends that he didn’t see it, though.
“That was fucking terrible.”
“Yeah, pretty bad idea on my part. It did make you uncomfortable though, which was my original goal.”
“Asshole,” Bakugou says mildly.
“I hope you know now to not do it so hard.”
Bakugou grumbles and kicks a stone at him. “Yeah, whatever.”
Todoroki pulls them to a stop in front of the conbini, and Bakugou looks at him with a confused expression. “What are you doing?”
“We were going grocery shopping, right?”
Bakugou gives him a look. “You, of all people, want to grocery shop?”
“I'm already here. Might as well.”
“Tch. Just don't get in my way.”
“Of course I won’t.”
Bakugou clicks his tongue, and jerks his head towards the entrance. “Hurry up. I got shit to do.”
Bakugou roughly grabs his wrist, and Todoroki happily follows along.
“What the fuck is this?”
Todoroki frowns in mild offense. “My drink.”
“Did you dump an entire bag of sugar in there?”
Todoroki snatches back the cup, sulkily sipping on his boba. “It’s supposed to be sweet. It’s brown sugar milk tea.”
“You’re going to die of some dumb health disease before any villains will get to your dumbass.”
“Like your drink is any better.”
Bakugou scoffs, proudly displaying his mango-raspberry concoction. “Course it is. Anything is better than that.”
Todoroki huffs, and writes down another answer on his worksheet. “Say what you will. You know, no one else would insult my drink. They’d think it’s good.”
“S’ because everyone is braindead like you are.”
“Not true. If I was braindead, I wouldn’t be able to do my homework, which I am very much doing.”
“...You’re infuriating.”
“I was just joking.”
“You suck at it.”
Todoroki shrugs, and sets his pencil down. He feels Bakugou’s foot nudge his thigh, and looks over to see Bakugou holding out his drink. “Hm?”
“Try it.”
“I’m alright.”
“I have to prove I have the better drink, idiot.”
Todoroki sighs. “Why? Just let me enjoy mine…”
“Tch. I have to do everything myself.”
Bakugou takes a small sip of the drink, and cups the back of Todoroki’s neck.
“What are you—”
He smashes their lips together, and Todoroki makes a muffled noise of surprise before kissing him back. Bakugou forces open his lips, pushing the tea into Todoroki’s mouth. Briefly, he thinks of how disgusting and unhygienic it is for a guy like Bakugou, but he supposes teenage hormones really upstage anything else. And, they’re already swapping saliva, so it can’t be a big deal.
The flavor of his milk tea and Bakugou’s fruity tea really do not mix well, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying it. Of course, the kiss is a bit messy, with the tea slightly dribbling down both of their chins, but Todoroki has been in worse situations.
Todoroki eventually pulls away because the liquid is starting to drip on his homework, and he really doesn’t want to redo it. Bakugou wipes his chin with the back of his hand, and grimaces. Todoroki huffs out a laugh, and digs out napkins from his bag. Bakugou takes them, and wipes off his face and any part where the drink dripped on. “Bad idea.”
“Yeah. Why did you do that?”
“Dunno. Think I saw it in a show somewhere.”
“Since when did you take advice from those shows?”
Bakugou grunts. “I don’t.”
“And it almost dripped all over our homework. I don’t think Ectoplasm would accept mango flavored worksheets.”
“But it didn’t. So chill.”
Todoroki stands up to go get a wet cloth, because his chin is starting to feel a little sticky. He comes back with one for Bakugou, and tosses it at his hands.
“Do you want to try mine again?”
“Hell no. I’m not drinking that shit.”
Todoroki furrows his brows. “You’re exaggerating. It’s really not that sweet.”
“You can’t really say anything. You eat weird shit. Your taste buds are all fucked up.”
“They aren’t.”
“Are too.”
Todoroki leans forward, pressing their lips together again. He swipes his tongue across Bakugou’s bottom lip, and hums. “That’s obviously raspberry.”
Bakugou scoffs and pulls Todoroki’s chair closer to his. “No shit. You know what I ordered.”
“Hey, wait,” Todoroki mumbles against his lips. “You ate a banana earlier.”
“Good job, demented candy cane. I ate it in front of you.”
Todoroki pulls back, and frowns. “At least give me some credit. I can taste them.”
“You could be lying.”
“Why would I?”
“You tell me.”
Todoroki glares at him lightly. Bakugou kisses the corner of his mouth. “Stop pouting. You look stupid.”
“I am not pouting.”
“You’re not seeing yourself.”
“I don’t need to in order to know if I’m pouting. I don’t pout.”
Bakugou raises an eyebrow. “You do. It’s cute sometimes.”
“Only sometimes?”
“Only sometimes.”
Todoroki grumbles slightly, and pushes Bakugou’s drink towards him. “Go drink your drink. And stop distracting me, please.”
“Was it good though?”
“Hm?”
“The drink.”
Todoroki eyes the half full plastic cup in Bakugou’s hand, and then looks up to meet Bakugou’s eyes. He’s staring at Todoroki, still waiting for his answer. There’s a hint of a challenge in there, which Todoroki knows he shouldn’t take because he still has so much work to get done.
Eventually, Todoroki decides to shove aside his homework and tug Bakugou closer.
“I don’t know. Want to try again?”
“Todoroki, can you go get us drinks from a few shops down? We’re going to get seats right now!”
“Kaminari, you idiot, he can’t go alone! How is he going to carry the drinks by himself?”
“I don’t mind. It’s okay.”
“I’ll go with him!”
Todoroki smiles. “Thanks Midoriya.”
He catches Bakugou’s disgruntled look, and mouths a ‘sorry’ with a shrug.
He can’t afford to go with Bakugou, or else they’ll probably end up kissing in an alleyway. And he’s really hungry, so he just wants to get the drinks and eat.
“How’s it going with Kacchan?”
“...Fine. Why do you ask?”
“You’re paired with Kacchan for the project right? And you said you weren’t friends.”
“Yeah. I don’t know. Maybe we are.”
Midoriya laughs, and takes a step further in the line. “Well, in my experience, Kacchan is probably never going to admit that you’re actually friends. So, it’s safe to assume, if he talks to you and can share a space with you without being an ass, you’re probably friends.”
“Good to know.”
As they step up to the counter, Midoriya turns to him. “Do you know what everyone wants?”
“They just texted the group chat.”
“Oh. Okay. Wait, Kacchan didn’t.”
“That’s fine.”
Midoriya frowns. “Are you sure? I can text him.”
“It’s okay. I got it. Yeah, hi. Can I get two brown sugar milk teas, one brown sugar milk tea at 50 percent sweetness, two thai teas, two peach teas without boba, one lychee tea without boba, one regular milk tea, and one mango-raspberry tea without boba?”
The cashier quickly types it into the machine, and tells him the total. Todoroki hands over his (his father’s) credit card, and pays before stepping out of line with Midoriya.
“Kacchan likes mango-raspberry tea? When we were kids, he didn’t like the fruity stuff…”
“I suppose his tastes have just changed.”
“Huh...see, I think you and Kacchan are secretly best friends.”
Todoroki rolls his eyes. “I think you and Uraraka take more interest in our friendship than we do.”
“That’s not true.”
“Actually, I heard you and her talking a few days ago about it behind my back.”
Midoriya laughs sheepishly. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
“It wasn’t really anything bad though. I just said Kacchan respects people like you.”
“And?”
“You could use a friend like Kacchan too.”
Todoroki chuckles, and takes the bags of drinks when they call his name, handing one to Midoriya. “If you really are so passionate, I’ll tell you when we do become friends.”
“Okay, I don’t really care that much.”
Todoroki raises an eyebrow, and Midoriya reluctantly sighs.
“Fine. Please. Do tell me.”
Todoroki smirks, and pushes open the glass doors. “That’s what I thought.”
“I’m not obsessed, Todoroki, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Could’ve fooled me. Is this all going in your notebook?”
Midoriya blushes slightly. “I told you, that’s for research!”
“Ah, right. Research. My mistake. So that really detailed drawing of Kirishima was—”
“Todoroki, please.”
Todoroki pats him on the shoulder as he walks inside of the restaurant. “Okay. I’ll stop. For now. You know I’ll never stop teasing you about that as long as I live, right?”
“Yeah. I figured.”
“Hey guys, over here!”
Todoroki gestures for Midoriya to walk over to the large ten-person table. Midoriya purposefully takes the seat next to Sero so Todoroki can sit next to Bakugou. Todoroki rolls his eyes, and slides in next to him.
“Alright, I have everyone’s drinks.”
He sets out his, and then hands out everyone else’s, saving Bakugou’s for last.
“I got you this.”
“Oh. Thanks, I guess.”
“But, do you want to try mine?” Todoroki says while punching the straw through.
“You already know I’m going to say no.”
“It’s at fifty percent sweetness.”
Bakugou narrows his eyes. “Fine.”
Todoroki then takes Bakugou’s drink, taking a small sip. “You know, we can always... swap later? If you want.”
“Tch.” Bakugou turns his head away, but that doesn’t hide the pink on his ears. “Whatever.”
“Bakugou, I thought you didn’t like milk tea?”
He grunts, briefly looking over at Todoroki and glancing at his lips.
“Well, you fuckin’ learn something new everyday.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be studying?”
“Shut up. I already did.”
“I didn’t think you were the type to play games.”
“I’m not. Just proving to Kirishima and Kaminari that I’m better.”
Todoroki sighs, and closes his workbook. “Of course.”
“Is that judgement in your voice?”
“No, of course not.”
“You can go back to your room if you want.”
Todoroki shrugs, and scoots forward next to where Bakugou is furiously tapping on his computer. “This is...a shooter game?”
“Something like that.”
“You died.”
“Fuck off.”
“Why don’t you just—”
“No.”
“But—”
“Are you playing this game, or am I?”
Todoroki huffs. “You are. But—”
“Oh my fucking god, just play the damn game then.”
Todoroki moves to tilt the computer towards him, but Bakugou stops him. “Don’t move it. It’s charging, and this is the farthest the cord can stretch.”
“Fine.”
Todoroki sits himself on top of Bakugou, and wiggles his fingers, ready to play.
“Oi, what the hell?”
“What?”
Bakugou sighs, not even bothering to scold him or shove him off. All he does is fall back on his bed and close his eyes. “Whatever. I don’t give a shit.”
Todoroki spends the next twenty minutes tapping away at Bakugou’s computer while Bakugou naps quietly behind him. After a few more victories and losses, Todoroki decides to call it quits, closing the laptop and pushing it aside. He sits up straight, cracking his back and stretching his arms above his head. He didn’t realize how uncomfortably he was sitting.
Bakugou stirs behind him, and he sits up, wrapping his arms around Todoroki’s torso and pulling him down.
“Oof.”
“Shut up.”
“I didn’t even say anything.”
“Now you did, so shut up.”
Todoroki turns his head, leaning in to kiss him, but then pulls away. “Your breath stinks.”
Before he knows it, Bakugou has landed a swift kick to his guts, and he’s sprawled on the floor, limbs barely cushioning his fall and slightly aching. Todoroki blows the hair out of his face, and looks up at the ceiling for a few self-contemplating moments before craning his neck to look at a barely fazed Bakugou. “Ow.”
“Eh, fuck off.”
“I’m already on the floor. I don’t know what else you want me to do.”
“Either get off the floor or stay there.”
Todoroki pushes himself up, and collapses onto the bed next to Bakugou.
“Can I have your hoodie?”
“The fuck? Why?”
“Just give it.”
Bakugou grumbles at him before stripping off the hoodie and shoving it at Todoroki. “You’re fucking crazy.”
Todoroki takes off his own turtleneck, tossing it at Bakugou before slipping on the sweatshirt. He breathes in slightly. “It smells like you.”
“No shit. It’s my clothes.”
“You can wear mine if you want.”
Bakugou picks up the lump of fabric, holding it up to his nose before pulling an overly exaggerated disgusted face. “No thanks.”
Todoroki pulls his foot back, and connects his foot right with Bakugou’s hip, kicking him off the bed. “Hm. I see the appeal.”
“You!” Bakugou seethes.
“Me,” Todoroki agrees.
“Choke, and die.”
Eventually, Bakugou pushes himself onto the bed again, glaring at Todoroki. “Who gave you the right to kick me off my own bed?”
“I did. Now come back.”
“Ugh.”
Bakugou rolls over next to him, and Todoroki sits up to straddle his hips.
“What?”
“Wear the turtleneck.”
“Why?”
Todoroki vaguely gestures to Bakugou’s shirtless form. “You’re...distracting like this.”
Bakugou smirks, and attempts to pull Todoroki down. But Todoroki just gives him a flat look, and pushes him away. “No. You’re distressing.”
Muttering curses underneath his breath, Bakugou slips the sweater on. “Happy?”
“Very.”
“Asshole.”
Todoroki leans forward, smoothing out the wrinkles on Bakugou’s forehead. Bakugou looks away, choosing to sling an arm over his back.
It’s moments like this where the easy intimacy weirds him out. Todoroki is not one for affection, but it just comes so easily with Bakugou. Bakugou isn’t exactly tactile either, so Todoroki wonders how he’s able to put up with Todoroki.
It brings the topic of their friendship to the front of Todoroki’s mind again.
“Hey, friends share clothes right?”
Bakugou scoffs. “Is that what this is about?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, in your fucking dreams, pretty boy.”
Training camp is finally over.
The few days of hell where he and his classmates get worked to the bone are finally over, and frankly, Todoroki isn’t sure if he’s more alive than dead.
The sun is already low in the sky when he boards the bus with the rest of his classmates. His limbs are lead as he slides his bags into a compartment overhead and he slides into a seat next to Bakugou.
Apparently, he’s so tired it takes him a few seconds to react to Todoroki sitting next to him.
“Eh?”
“Midoriya’s sitting with someone else.”
Bakugou perks up at that, turning around to see Midoriya sitting with Kirishima. “Fucking finally.”
Todoroki huffs an amused laugh. “I wouldn’t celebrate just yet.”
“Well, it’s damn progress.”
“You call that progress.”
Todoroki jabs a thumb in their general direction, and Bakugou shrugs. “Well. Small progress is progress.”
“Didn’t know you were so optimistic. And such a hopeless romantic.”
“I’m not , I’m just tired of seeing those fools.”
The bus eventually settles down so they can start heading back, so Todoroki and Bakugou are forced to shut their mouths. Todoroki’s feeling a little drowsy anyways. Some shut-eye wouldn’t hurt at all.
Unfortunately, everyone in his class is rowdy again once they actually hit the road, and Todoroki’s sleep is very light and frequently interrupted.
After being woken up a few times, he sighs and just decides to stay awake. He’ll sleep when the rest of them tire themselves out, which might not be for a while.
He peers over Bakugou’s shoulder, hoping to find something to entertain himself with, but all he sees is him watching an anime that looks really gory.
It’s nothing that particularly interests Todoroki too much, so he resigns himself to staring out the window. His surroundings pass by him in a blur, almost hypnotizing him into a comatose state.
He doesn’t really notice how quiet it gets, or how dark it starts to get either.
A bump in the road jolts him out of his reverie, and that’s when he realizes the moon fully revealed itself with stars dotting the dark navy sky, and that they’re finally back in the city. Only a few of his classmates are awake, judging by the screens illuminating their faces. Occasionally, he hears a whisper or two across the aisles. The others snore quietly or stir every few moments because of the bumps in the road.
Next to him, Bakugou is still awake, now abandoning his anime in favor of nodding his head slowly presumably to a tune playing in his earbuds.
He’s heard some of Bakugou’s music before, while they were studying. He’s not sure if it’s exactly his tastes.
But Todoroki doesn’t want to nap so late at night, and he’s also curious as to what makes Bakugou so calm.
He taps Bakugou gently on the shoulder and points at his right earbud. Bakugou wordlessly plucks it out, and hands it to Todoroki. When he puts it in, soft guitar and female vocals fill his ears. He hums, and leans in to whisper. “Didn’t know you liked this.”
“S’ music...you find good shit if you just open your ears.”
“Is this English?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s it called?”
“The Only Exception.”
Todoroki smiles. “It’s a good song.”
“Yeah.”
He looks over at Bakugou, who’s leaning his chin on his hand and staring out the window. Todoroki doesn’t see what’s so special about looking outside now that it’s so dark, but he really never knows what runs through Bakugou’s mind anyways.
As they get closer and closer to UA, the songs only continue to get softer, and calmer. Todoroki is now fighting off the clutches of sleep, his head dropping low before he shakes himself back awake.
“If you’re tired, just sleep.”
Todoroki yawns quietly. “We’re almost at UA.”
“We’re not. Just close your eyes or something,” Bakugou says roughly, “ I’ll wake you up.”
He only manages to protest for a few more minutes until he gives in, rubbing at his eyes and yawning aain. He drops his head lightly onto Bakugou’s shoulder, closing his eyes and letting the music lull him to sleep; Bakugou does not push him off.
“You’re up early.”
“You are too.”
Bakugou scoffs, zipping up his jacket. “I’m always up this early. What’s wrong with you?”
“I went to sleep early last night. So, I’m up. Where are you going?”
“Going on a run. Wanna come?”
“I need to get dressed.”
Bakugou waves him off. “Go.”
Todoroki runs a hand through his sleep ruffled hair, and retreats back to his room. He slips on a pair of athletic sweatpants and a simple white tee. A quick splash of water and two sips of tea later, Todoroki is officially awake and ready to go. Bakugou grumbles at him from where he’s leaning against the door.
“You take forever to wake up. Let’s go.”
“Sorry that my body clock isn’t so finely tuned.”
“You’re mocking me.”
“Why would I?”
Their pace starts off slow, with Todoroki jogging slightly slower just so he can appreciate the still steadily rising sun. It’s rare that he wakes up early enough to see the soft sunlight peak through pale clouds, so his head stays tilted up, eyes trained on the slowly brightening sky.
“You’re slow.”
Todoroki turns his attention back onto Bakugou. “You don’t have to slow down. Just go ahead.”
“That’s no fun. Just run faster.”
Todoroki sighs, and then picks up the pace so he’s running side by side with Bakugou. “Where do you run?”
“I just do a few laps around the dorm complex. Nothing too much for an early morning warm up.”
“Oh. Okay. How’d you sleep?”
“...Fine.”
“Did you eat anything?”
“No.”
Todoroki huffs. “I’m trying to have a conversation with you.”
“But I’m not. We’re supposed to be running,” Bakugou grumbles, and then speeds up. Todoroki has no choice but to follow, feeling that familiar burn in his calves. He’s forced to stay silent to conserve his breath, so all he can do is look around him and up at nature.
After a few minutes, he looks over at Bakugou, because there’s nothing else to really look at. The sunlight surrounds him in some sort of an otherworldly glow, making his vermillion eyes somewhat garnet-like, and brightening the blond of his hair.
“Something on my face?”
Todoroki shakes his head. “No.”
“Then stop staring, idiot.”
Todoroki sighs, and looks away, now choosing to observe a flock of birds flying overhead. They’re not nearly as interesting to look at as Bakugou.
After they’ve completed two laps around the entire dorm complex, Bakugou slows down to a brisk walk. Todoroki assumes it’s a cool down lap before they get back inside. Perspiration drips down both of their foreheads, beads of sweat leaving tracks down the sides of their faces and down their necks. Todoroki takes a moment to wipe at his face with the front of his shirt.
“It’s really nice out here. It’s so quiet.”
Bakugou leans over, hands on his knees, breathing in deeply and exhaling. “Yeah. Really gives you time to think.”
“What do you think about out here?”
“Tch. Anything. The rest of you idiots bother me the entire day so I don’t have any time to think.”
“Or you just don’t have thoughts.”
Bakugou glares at him out of the corner of his eyes, and Todoroki hides a laugh with a cough.
“Smartass.”
“I try.”
Bakugou kicks him, and Todoroki playfully kicks his ankle back. “You’re so annoying.”
“And yet, you actively choose to spend time with me anyway.”
“It’s not like I have a choice. You follow me around anyways.”
“I wouldn’t bother you so much if you would just admit we’re friends.”
Bakugou groans, picking up his walking pace. “Aw hell, let it go, would you?”
“Not until you admit we’re friends.”
“Fucking hell, Halfie. Could you be any more annoying?”
Todoroki hums. “I could, actually.”
“I don’t want to see it. I’ll punt you into the sun, and then I won’t become a hero.”
Todoroki huffs. “Big and strong Bakugou Katsuki, who didn’t falter in the face of some of the biggest villains of all time, even as they asked him to join their side, now falls to the clutches of villainy at the feet of one, mere, Todoroki Shouto.”
There’s a long bout of silence before Bakugou barks out a dumbfounded laugh. “Wow, you’re a load of shit.”
“Hey.”
“What? I’ve heard you say a lot of dumb things, but that’s probably the worst one.”
Todoroki shrugs. “It’s not like you haven’t had your fair share of dumb things.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Oh, Great Explosion Murder God Dyna—”
A pebble hits him in the middle of his forehead, cutting him off. Todoroki rubs at the reddening spot on his head smugly as Bakugou curses at him quietly.
“I was sixteen .”
“You’re only seventeen now.”
“Point is, I’ve fucking changed. You, on the other hand.”
Todoroki holds his head high. “What about me?”
“Still a petty bastard.”
“Consistency.”
Bakugou’s eye twitches before he storms away and starts to jog back to the dorms. Todoroki chuckles, and catches up. “What? Nothing to say?”
“It’s taking everything within me not to murder you. I can’t deal with your bullshit at ass o’ clock.”
“You act like you’re so pleasant.”
That earns him a few more curses and grumbles. And because Todoroki is obviously the more mature one out of them, he chooses to keep quiet until they finally make it back inside the dorms to avoid any further bickering.
Todoroki is about to head to the elevators when Bakugou calls out his name. “Yes?”
“Sit. I’ll make breakfast.”
Todoroki stops in his tracks, turning around with slightly wide eyes. “You? Make me breakfast?”
Bakugou’s hand clenches on the frying pan, and Todoroki learns to cut his losses to prevent a meltdown at six in the morning. He hums, and walks back to the kitchen counter. “Well, if the great Bakugou Katsuki is offering, I can’t decline.”
“Sit down, and shut up. I’m not doing this for you ever again.”
He smiles. “All the more reason to enjoy it.”
He takes a seat, and leans his chin on his hands while Bakugou flits about the kitchen, whipping something up.
Bakugou may be grumbling the entire time, but the look of satisfaction on his face when Todoroki takes a bite of his food and hums in appreciation says it all.
Todoroki has somehow been talked into having a pool party with the rest of class 2-A.
It’s not that he doesn’t like spending time with them, but also, of all things, why a pool party?
After getting dunked five times by Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima, he decides to retire to a plastic lounge chair. He sulkily accepts a popsicle from Uraraka who tries to cheer him up.
“Oi, why are you just sitting there?”
He turns to see Bakugou pulling himself out of the pool, shaking his head to get water out of his ear.
“I didn’t want to get dunked again.”
“Tch. Those idiots at it again?”
“Yeah. But it’s fine. I didn’t really feel like being in the water anyways.”
Bakugou shrugs, and opens his mouth to say something before Sero comes out of nowhere and tackles Bakugou into the pool.
Bakugou emerges a few seconds later, shoving Sero’s face into the water and unleashing profanities upon him. When he finally lets Sero go, he shakes his hair out, and slicks it back.
Todoroki almost chokes.
Suddenly, it is a little too hard to breathe.
When did Bakugou get so grown up?
Obviously, Bakugou has always been on the more muscular side, that much Todoroki knew. But some baby fat had been shaved off, his features became more defined, and he had also grown a bit taller the summer after their first year.
He’s shaken out of his reverie when he hears another splash, and it looks like Bakugou has thrown Kirishima into the pool, now grabbing Kaminari to do the same.
Without an ounce of shame, Todoroki finds himself too busy looking at Bakugou’s arm muscles to bother with his popsicle. It’s starting to drip on his chest, and he knows that it’s smeared all over his lips, so he pulls back and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. He forces himself to look away, and clears his throat to check himself back into the realm of reality.
His popsicle is nearly gone, so he quickly finishes the rest off.
“I’m going to wash off.”
“So soon?”
“Popsicle dripped all over me. I don’t plan on getting back in the water either.”
“Alright!”
Todoroki grabs his towel and the change of clothes from his bag, nearly jogging into the showers. He breathes a sigh of relief when he gets inside, stripping off his trunks and wrapping a towel around his waist before pulling back the curtain and turning on the scalding hot water.
He lets it heat up before stepping in to check the temperature. The stall fogs up, steam rising and spreading through the rest of the showers. Todoroki carefully takes off his towel and slings it over the wall before starting to shower. He works quickly and efficiently, and within ten minutes, his shower is done.
Just as Todoroki finishes up rinsing out the soap from his hair, an arm wraps around his waist, pushing him against the wall.
“Huh—”
“I saw you.”
Oh. It’s just Bakugou. Todoroki lets out an annoyed puff of air.
“Bakugou, what are you doing? Let me turn around.”
“You were staring at me.”
Todoroki clears his throat awkwardly. “Well. Yes. I was.”
“And I fucking saw you with that damn popsicle.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you seriously not know what you were doing?”
Todoroki blinks. “No?”
“God, you drive me fucking insane. Think about it, IcyHot.”
Todoroki furrows his brows, giving it a good few seconds of thought before it clicks. The realization has him blushing bright red. “Oh god, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“How could I fucking know that?”
“I’m sorry...did it make you uncomfortable?”
“Really? You’re fucking stupid. No, of course it didn’t.”
“Then...can I turn around?”
The hold on him loosens, and Todoroki carefully twists in his grasp. He’s met with Bakugou’s intense stare. Todoroki sucks in a breath. “Are you just going to stand here? Because I just finished showering, and you should shower too since you’re already here.”
Todoroki darts his tongue out to lick at his lips, and Bakugou whispers a ‘fuck’ underneath his breath before sealing their lips together.
Todoroki feels his head spin as Bakugou licks into his mouth, sliding a hand down his back and resting one on his bare hip, which occasionally travels down to his thigh. He weaves his fingers into Bakugou’s wet hair, feeling himself burn up from the sensation of Bakugou’s lips on his and from the water beating down on them.
Bakugou breaks apart for air, starting to kiss down his neck while Todoroki pants heavily to catch his breath. His head feels about as foggy as the shower stall is.
The gentle brush of lips on his neck feels like a brief reprise from the rigorous kissing, but Todoroki cries out loudly as Bakugou sinks his teeth in.
“Bakugou, be careful…”
All he gets is a grunt in reply.
He starts to get used to the slight pain of the marks, but he is not ready for when the hand on his hip moves up and brushes against his chest. His breath hitches, and he grabs onto Bakugou’s shoulder. He swallows the lump in his throat before speaking. “Fuck, Bakugou.”
Delicate fingertips ghost over his nipple, and Todoroki gasps for air before arching his back, pressing his body even closer against Bakugou’s. The back of his head hits the hard shower tile, and he whimpers slightly before crying out, “Katsuki!”
Bakugou stiffens up against him, and Todoroki’s face burns as he catches his breath.
“Sorry, I was a bit overwhelmed.”
“Say it again.”
“Eh?”
Bakugou slowly lifts his head from Todoroki’s shoulder, brushing his lips against Todoroki’s ear. “Say it again.”
“Katsuki?”
“...Fuck.”
Todoroki laughs slightly. “What?”
The tips of Bakugou’s ears are tinted pink as he mutters his next words. “You have no fucking idea what you do to me.”
“I think you said something along the lines of ‘you drive me insane’.”
“Tch, yeah. Something like that.”
Bakugou’s face is flushed, and Todoroki thinks his face is in a similar state. Todoroki gives him a tiny smile, just a quirk of the corner of his lips. “It’s really hot in here.”
“You shower with fucking lava. Why is it so hot?”
“I don’t know. I like it that way.”
Bakugou grumbles, and reaches back to feel his back. “Fucking ow. ”
“Your fault for cornering me while I was showering.”
“Shut up.”
“Hang on. Let me get my towel.”
Bakugou’s arms release him, and Todoroki almost reaches for his towel before he turns to Bakugou and slaps his hands over his eyes. “Don’t look. Cover your eyes.”
Bakugou splutters at him. “What the—I’ve seen you naked before! You’ve seen me naked before! What the fuck—”
“That’s different.”
“How is that any different?”
“That was at an onsen. This is...a very different situation.”
“Tch. Whatever.”
Todoroki pulls back his hands, and Bakugou has his eyes shut. Todoroki quickly wraps the towel around his waist, tucking it in tightly and securely. When he finishes, he leans in and kisses Bakugou on the lips. Bakugou immediately tugs him closer, tangling a hand in his still wet hair.
“Katsuki,” Todoroki tries out.
“What?”
“Do you want me to call you that?”
“...I don’t care.”
That means he does want it. Todoroki huffs, and wipes the water dripping into his eyes. “Then you can call me Shouto.”
“Fine.”
“And now I’m going to get dressed, and you’re going to shower.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
Bakugou is surprisingly complacent today.
Bakugou releases him, and Todoroki pushes past him, leaving him to wash up. When he’s a few feet away and wrestling on his clothes, he lets himself freak out a bit before gathering his bearings and stepping outside.
He sits down on one of the beach chairs, watching the rest of his classmates drag themselves out of the pool and waddling into the showers.
He sighs in relief, thanking god that they didn’t come in any sooner.
What a disaster that would’ve been.
Later that evening, Todoroki finds himself out on the pool deck, sitting on plastic stools with his friends around a fire pit Yaoyorozu produced which was lit with his flames.
“Pass the marshmallows.”
Bakugou grunts, shoving the bag into Kirishima’s hands.
“And the graham crackers.”
Bakugou throws it at him. “Get it yourself.”
“...You’re going to hate me, but can I also get the chocolate?”
“Why couldn’t you just ask for them all in one go? Idiot.” Bakugou growls, and chucks the bag of chocolate at Kirishima’s head.
Todoroki shakes his head, and yawns slightly. It’s not even that late, but he’s spent the entire day being dragged around by the rest of his classmates to do fun bonding activities.
“Don’t roast the damn marshmallows on your finger!”
“It’s convenient!”
Iida sighs, and passes Kirishima the metal stick. He hears more bickering from Kirishima and Bakugou, but the rest of the class is relatively quiet as they wait for their marshmallows to be roasted. When all quiets down, all he can hear is the quiet crackling of the fire and the winds rustling through the trees nearby, along with the occasional water splashing against the pool walls.
It’s finally starting to feel like the relaxing day that Todoroki was promised.
All around him, there are small conversations between his classmates. He could join in if he really wanted to with Tokoyami next to him, but he’s perfectly content with staring at all of their smiling faces instead.
Todoroki yawns again, head tipping over to Bakugou’s shoulder. He shivers as he feels Bakugou slide a sneaky hand down his back. His hand stays there, right at the bottom of his spine, thumb rubbing slow and comforting circles. Todoroki quickly turns his head, pressing a light kiss to his shoulder. He sincerely hopes that his classmates are a bit too sleepy and sluggish to notice.
“And done! Who wants s’mores?”
There’s chimes of ‘me’ and ‘I do’, and Kirishima and Sero get to work assembling the sweets. Todoroki blinks the sleepiness out of his eyes, and taps Bakugou on the shoulder. “Can you hand me one?”
“Sure.”
He hands Todoroki two s’mores on a napkin, and Todoroki sniffs the chocolatey smell before taking a bite. “S’ sticky.”
“What are you, five?”
Bakugou leans over, brushing his thumb over Todoroki’s bottom lip as Todoroki continues to chew. He feels ridiculous, and probably looks ridiculous, seeing as his cheeks are stuffed like a chipmunk.
“Do you have water somewhere?”
Bakugou tosses him a bottle, and Todoroki gulps it down, clearing the sugar coating from his throat.
“Hey, why are you so nice to Todoroki?”
“I’m not.”
“He just asked you to hand him two things, and you did. ”
“Yeah. So?”
Kirishima sighs. “You complained when I asked you.”
“Halfie doesn’t scream in my ear at eight in the morning. He doesn’t leave his shit all over my room. And he doesn’t fucking ask me to do things for him all the time. Maybe that’s why.”
Kaminari hums. “Okay, then, Bakugou. Kirishima or Todoroki?”
“Todoroki.”
“Ouch, that’s gotta hurt,” Ashido says, snickering behind her hand. Kirishima pouts, and nudges Bakugou none too gently with his elbow.
“Didn’t even know you were friends with Todoroki…are you even friends with Todoroki?”
Bakugou scoffs. “Well, he’s a lot better than some of you assholes.”
Todoroki blinks, surprised. “Oh.”
“What?” Bakugou says while turning to him.
“So we are friends?”
“...Whatever.”
Todoroki smiles, and turns away. Bakugou turns away too, and it’s a little bit too quiet before it’s suddenly rambunctious again, because apparently Kaminari took one of Sero’s s’mores.
Todoroki takes the opportunity to turn to Bakugou, scooting forward to whisper to him. “Glad to know we’re finally on the same page.”
“Fuck off,” he grumbles.
Todoroki pointedly does not fuck off, and Bakugou ends up pulling him a bit closer.
“We should be studying, you know.”
Todoroki turns to Iida, and shakes his head. “I don’t know why you bother trying to tell them.”
Todoroki, along with Uraraka, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Jirou, and Asui are gathered in Midoriya’s room to study for upcoming tests.
Obviously, within thirty minutes, they start talking about something else.
“I’m just not sure if I want to hear about this subject one more time.”
“Just go with it.”
“Midoriya, believe me, your crush is a little bit noticeable.”
“No! It’s not.”
Yaoyorozu sighs. “You didn’t even have to tell me. I figured it out myself.”
Midoriya huffs. “Because you’re smart, Yaomomo.”
“And I figured it out too, Midoriya,” Asui states. “I think even Kaminari knows.”
“Everyone knows?”
Todoroki chuckles. “Everyone. Except for Kirishima, of course.”
His friend groans, and buries his face in his hands. “No way.”
“It’s nothing to be ashamed about. Personally, I think it’s cute.”
Todoroki leans back, closing his workbook and focusing on the conversation. “Yeah. You all should’ve seen the drawing he did of Kirishima in his—”
“Todoroki, please,” Midoriya says with a strained voice.
He raises his hands in surrender. “Alright. Sorry.”
“You’re not sorry.”
“Yeah. I’m not.”
Uraraka snickers. “But let’s be real, Deku. Kirishima has a man crush on Bakugou.”
“Okay, we all know that. I think Kaminari has a man crush on Bakugou too.”
Jirou sighs. “I really don’t get why Bakugou of all people.”
“Should we be insulting a fellow classmate like this?” Iida asks.
“Don’t worry Iida. It’s not insulting if we don’t mean it.”
Yaoyorozu narrows her eyes. “Do we mean it?”
“No, of course not,” Jirou says. She pauses. “Actually, maybe a little. But that’s not the point. I just want to know why literally everyone has a crush on Bakugou. He’s like a magnet. What are his redeeming qualities?”
“He’s handsome.”
“Besides that.”
“He’s smart,” Midoriya throws out.
“So are we . Next.”
“He’s hard working and extremely goal oriented,” Midoriya says.
“Sounds like something from your notebook,” Todoroki teases.
“Be quiet.”
“Okay, see, we are also all these qualities. Why does Bakugou pull everyone?” Jirou muses. All of a sudden, she gasps. “I know! He must be a really good kisser.”
Oh, she has no idea.
Asui wrinkles her nose. “How are you so sure about that?”
“Come on. Think about it. He’s gotta have something. What do you guys think?”
Midoriya snorts. “Knowing Kacchan, he wants to be the best at everything. He’s probably looked up tutorials or something.”
Huh. Maybe that’s where Bakugou gets all his weird ideas. Either way, Todoroki isn’t complaining. He is an extremely good kisser. Every time Bakugou kisses him, without fail, his brain turns to mush.
“—roki! Earth to Todoroki?”
“Oh. Yes? What’s up?”
“We asked you what you think.”
Todoroki frowns. “About?”
“Do you think Bakugou’s a good kisser?”
He thinks back to all of the kisses that they’ve shared, and subsequently blushes at the mere memory of a week ago in the showers. “Well…”
“Todoroki…”
“Yes?”
Uraraka smirks devilishly. “Is that a blush I see?”
“No.”
Jirou gasps, and scoots closer. “Oh boy. That is a blush!”
“Please don’t tell me…”
“You have a crush on Blasty too!”
Todoroki shakes his head frantically. “No, no. No, I don’t.”
Shit, does he?
“Really, I swear I don’t. It’s just, he is a good kisser.”
Yaoyorozu chuckles. “Just because you have a crush on him and you dream about kissing him doesn’t mean you’ve actually kissed him.”
“...That’s the thing. I have kissed him. Several times.”
The room falls silent. Perhaps Todoroki shouldn’t have said that. He knew he should’ve just played it off as a crush.
“You what ?”
Well, it’s too late to backtrack now.
“I’ve kissed him. No big deal, really.”
All of his friends’ eyes are as wide as saucers. “No big deal? That’s a really freaking big deal, Todoroki! Y-You’ve kissed Bakugou Katsuki ?”
“...Yes. Don’t tell anyone, though.”
“How long has this been...a thing?” Midoriya looks a little pale.
“Since the beginning of second year.”
“No way. ”
Asui frowns. “Wait, so...if I recall correctly, all those ‘training bruises’...weren’t actually training bruises?”
Todoroki winces. “Yeah...they weren’t.”
“Oh my…”
“It’s best if you don’t ask any questions.”
Jirou smirks. “Any marks right now?”
Instantly, he thinks to the bite mark he has on the side of his throat from the showers. He thinks he’s never getting over that day.
“Do I have to show you?”
“Well, just think of it as payment for not telling us before.”
He knows he’s not getting out of it. He reluctantly tugs down his sweatshirt, showing off the fading teeth marks. Iida makes a scandalized noise along with Midoriya while the girls go crazy.
“Yeah...I...I don’t have anything to say about it. So.”
“Todoroki, oh my god, I can’t believe we didn’t find this out sooner!”
“...I can’t believe it either. We weren’t exactly good at hiding things.”
“So...you’re a...you’re a thing?”
Todoroki raises an eyebrow. “What?”
Yaoyorozu pushes Uraraka aside. “What she means is, are you and Bakugou dating?”
Todoroki snorts. “No.”
They all exchange weary glances. “...You’re sure?”
“Yeah.”
No. He’s not sure. Not anymore.
“Well, no, but it’s not like it’s a big deal. We’re certainly friends, at least.”
“Might be more than that,” Jirou mutters under her breath.
“It's not,” Todoroki denies.
“I don't want to overstep, but...why do it?”
Todoroki shrugs. He's never really had to think about why. “I...don't know. It was an accident at first, but…I guess we're both just used to it now.”
“It’s like you're dating, but you're not.”
Todoroki laughs awkwardly. “I guess.”
“You know, we won't tell anyone. And we'll support you no matter what. But...we don't want to see the two of you get hurt.” Yaoyorozu says gently.
Todoroki swallows roughly, and nods. “Yeah...thank you.”
“You can keep kissing Blasty all you want. We don't care!” Jirou loudly proclaims.
“Careful Todoroki, you might end up falling in love with Kacchan ,” Midoriya says.
They all burst into laughter, because that's absolutely hilarious, and absolutely ridiculous.
Todoroki of all people, would never fall in love with Bakugou. And Todoroki wouldn't even want to entertain the thought that Bakugou might be in love with him. They were just barely friends, and they were both so, so different.
How could the two of them even come to love each other?
Just the thought alone was absurd.
Todoroki doesn't have a crush, and he’s definitely not in love; at least, it's what he’ll keep telling himself until he truly believes it.
“Good job today, everybody!”
Todoroki grunts, rubbing at the bruise blooming on his jaw and wiping away the blood from his cut lip. Bakugou clutches his slightly bloody nose, and accepts the hand from Todoroki helping him up.
“Are you two okay?”
Todoroki turns to look at the rest of their classmates, who seem to be a lot less hurt than they are.
“Oh. Yeah. I guess we went a little too hard.”
“A little?” Midoriya says, handing them both a tissue to temporarily staunch the bleeding.
“Do you guys want to go to Recovery Girl?”
Bakugou shakes his head. “It’s jus’ a bloody nose. And that’s just a cut. He’ll be fine.”
Iida sighs. “Why don’t you two sit down and rest while we do our stretches then? Then you two can be partners for stretching.”
“I don’t fucking need rest. I’m fine,” Bakugou says while blood drips onto his costume.
Todoroki shakes his head, and pushes Bakugou towards the sidelines of the gym. “Just wait for it to stop bleeding. You’re dripping everywhere.”
“Shut up. You’re bleeding too.”
Todoroki wipes the trail of blood on his chin. “I guess we’re both stuck here.”
Bakugou glares at him for the remainder of the time that their classmates are stretching, and once Bakugou’s nose stops bleeding, all of their classmates have already trickled out of the room.
“Come. Let’s stretch.”
“Tch. Don’t need that shit.”
“Stretch,” Todoroki says again, a bit more firmly. Bakugou groans, and sits heavily on the gym floor.
He sprawls his legs out, and leans over, and Todoroki dutifully pushes on his back. “How was today?”
“Good. Still need to work on your close range combat.”
“I know. I think I’m getting better.”
“You are.”
“How’s my left?”
Bakugou shrugs, and shifts to his right side. “What do you think?”
“Today, I didn’t use my left much.”
“I noticed.”
“I think I strained a few muscles.”
Bakugou scoffs, and sits up, giving him a look. “You didn’t stretch.”
“No,” Todoroki admits sheepishly, “I didn’t.”
“Hypocritical bastard. Sit.” He gestures for Todoroki to take his place. Todoroki reluctantly sits as Bakugou squats down behind him.
“What are you doing? They’re already strained. I don’t know if stretching will help.”
He feels warm palms starting to knead his left shoulder, and he jolts in surprise. “Katsuki?”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Spit it out.”
Todoroki releases a tense breath, and shakes his head. “Really, it’s nothing. You’re just...surprisingly good.”
“Tch. I’ve had my fair share of strained muscles. Explosions and all that.”
“Ah,” Todoroki replies before hissing quietly, feeling fingers dig into his aching muscles. “Gently, please.”
“S’ not gonna go away if I just fucking rub at it, idiot.”
“Katsuki,” Todoroki says through gritted teeth, “that hurts.”
“I know. Just hang on, will you?”
Todoroki doesn’t bother pushing him off—and it’s not like he can either, since Bakugou has a tight grip around him.
Eventually, the pain starts to subside, fading away into a dull ache rather than the agony it had been before.
“You good?”
Todoroki nods, and Bakugou slowly pulls away.
Exhausted, he turns around, only managing to sway a bit on his knees before sending a slightly threatening glare and falling against Bakugou’s chest. He topples the two of them down to the floor, sprawled out like starfish on top of each other.
“What the hell?”
“Massages make me groggy.”
“Does it hurt still?”
Todoroki rolls his shoulder, only finding small pin pricks of pain compared to what he’d been feeling all day. He scoffs. Another thing Bakugou Katsuki is good at.
“Oi. Does it still hurt?”
“No,” he replies mournfully.
“Hah. Told you.”
Todoroki sighs, and sits up. Bakugou sits up along with him, caging him in with two hands on his sides.
“What? Something I can do for you?”
Bakugou raises an eyebrow. “Anything you want to do for me?”
Todoroki settles slowly into his lap, and lowers himself so that they’re nose to nose. “Not particularly. I’m tired.”
“Are you?”
“Yeah. So...why don’t we lay down for a bit?”
He starts pushing Bakugou down to the ground, and then properly straddles his hips. “You’re going to rest like this?”
Todoroki shrugs. “Guess so.”
“Looks kind of uncomfortable. But, I’m not gonna complain.”
“Wh — ”
A hand suddenly snakes up his thigh, taking him by surprise. He jerks, and tries to pull away, but in the midst of their movement with tangled limbs, Todoroki accidentally slots their hips together. He yelps, gripping onto Bakugou’s shoulders tightly as Bakugou chokes on his spit. “Fuck, what the — ”
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s...it’s fine.”
Bakguou’s voice is extremely strained, and Todoroki peers back at him curiously. He shifts in his lap, and Bakugou sucks in a deep breath.
Oh, Todoroki has just discovered something wonderful .
Experimentally grinding their hips together slowly, Bakugou releases a low moan into the crook of his neck. He can feel Bakugou’s chest vibrate with the noise, and pleased, Todoroki does it again.
“Shouto — ”
“Yes?”
“Don’t go there,” Bakugou warns.
“I’m going there,” Todoroki says.
“You ass, we have to get back to the dorms. We don’t fucking have time to mess around.”
“They won’t notice if we’re here a bit longer, right?”
“Shouto.”
Todoroki smiles inwardly, and presses their lips together. “Yes?”
“Fuck you,” Bakugou grumbles against his lips, before bucking up and making them both moan into each other’s mouths.
“Now who’s messing around?”
It’s probably a bad idea to get down and dirty in the gym, but they’re teenage boys, so it’s rare that they’ll ever have a good idea.
Neither of them have the courage to go any further, just choosing to kiss passionately while occasionally rocking their hips against each other’s.
Todoroki isn’t sure how his life has come to this, to be honest.
Bakugou’s hand cradles the back of his head, tugging him closer and weaving his fingers into the sweaty strands of Todoroki’s hair. It’s too hot , and Todoroki almost feels feverish as he tries to ground himself on anything , scrabbling for purchase on Bakugou’s shoulders, his chest, or his arms.
Bakugou tugs on his hair harshly, and Todoroki momentarily loses his breath, gasping out and making their teeth clash. “Katsuki — ”
“Shit, you sound so good, you look so fuckin’ pretty—”
Todoroki releases something that sounds like a mewl , which is a little embarrassing but Bakugou only groans and kisses him harder. Bakugou’s hand slips up his shirt, his rough and calloused palm settling on the burning skin of the small of Todoroki’s back, and he bites down harshly on Todoroki’s already swollen bottom lip; all Todoroki can do is rut his hips against Bakugou’s even further, moaning into his mouth.
“Shouto, fuck, you’re beautiful — ”
Something inside Todoroki melts when he hears those words, the little compliments that are too much to handle, and he slumps against Bakugou’s body, clutching him even tighter.
Before he can tell Bakugou to stop calling him those names, he hears loud footsteps running towards the gym. He hurriedly rolls off of Bakugou, who also pushes him far away. His chest heaves up and down, along with Bakugou’s, and their skin is flushed a rosy red hue.
They both scramble in a panic to try and block the door, but to no avail, as the voices only get louder and the footsteps get more determined.
“You guys! What is taking so long— ”
Sero, Kirishima, and Kaminari burst in, and Todoroki immediately wills his ice to calm himself down.
“What are you guys doing? Iida sent us to look for you. It’s been a while.”
“Extra training.”
Sero scoffs. “Don’t you think the bloody nose and busted lip were enough?”
Todoroki coughs into his fist, hoping he doesn’t look as kiss-drunk as he feels. “You can never be too sure.”
“We get it, you’re top of the class. Can you guys just hurry up? We’re hungry!”
Bakugou growls at them while Todoroki remains unperturbed. Or at least, he hopes he seems unbothered.
“Okay, just gives us a few minutes to get changed. We’ll be back at the dorms before you know it. Just start eating without us.”
“Bakugou’s cooking though…”
“You fucking heard the Icyhot bastard. In a minute.”
Kirishima sighs, and ushers the other two complaining boys out. “Fine. Don’t blame us if the kitchen is burnt out by the time you get back.”
When they finally leave, Todoroki and Bakugou collapse onto the floor of the gym. Todoroki is the first to release a breathless laugh, and Bakugou follows with his usual cackle.
“Damn. Almost got us good.”
“Yeah. Let’s never do that again.”
Bakugou turns to him. “Shit, baby, they caught you looking like that?”
Something jumps in his chest when he hears the pet name, and Todoroki distracts himself by looking at Bakugou back. “I don’t look half as bad as you.”
Todoroki runs a hand through Bakugou’s mussed up spikes, settling them back down.
“Let’s go back.”
“Okay.”
Bakugou pushes himself up, dragging Todoroki up with him. Todoroki takes a deep breath to recompose himself, and when he turns to see Bakugou, Bakugou is already halfway out of the gym, already put together and not bothering to wait for him.
Todoroki sighs, and ignores the nagging feeling in the back of his head, jogging slightly to keep pace.
“Oi, what the hell is up with you?”
Todoroki blinks. “Me?”
“Who else would I ask, dimwit?”
“...I’m okay. Why do you ask?”
Bakugou stares at him incredulously. “Why do I ask? Are you looking at yourself?”
“No. I’m looking at you.”
“Oh my—you have not fucking let go of me for the past three hours.”
“I’m not holding onto you.”
Bakugou scowls. “You know what I fucking mean. I tried to shoo you away back to your own damn room, but you won’t fucking go. It’s nine and I’m tired as hell.”
“Oh...why didn’t you say so?” Todoroki stands up, stretching his legs and rubbing at his eyes. “I’ll go now. See you tomorrow.”
Before he can go any further, Bakugou pulls him back, making him fall to straddle his lap. “What?”
“Something is really wrong, idiot. You would argue more before leaving.”
“Nothing’s wrong.” Todoroki tries to push off his lap, but Bakugou holds him still. His eyes are eerily calm.
“You’re lying.”
Todoroki raises an eyebrow. “And what’s it to you?”
“Tch. I’m trying to fucking be nice.”
“You. Be nice?”
Bakugou rolls his eyes. “I was trying . You’re too much work.”
Todoroki clicks his tongue, and looks away. Bakugou only stares at him longer.
“If you’re done, I’ll get out of your way.”
“Shouto—” Bakugou places a hand on his hip, but Todoroki brushes it off. A flash of hurt crosses Bakugou’s face, and then confusion. “Damn. Something’s got you down bad.”
“Sorry. I just...have a lot on my mind.”
“No shit,” he says gruffly. The look on his face vaguely reminds Todoroki of a kitten scorned, and Todoroki can’t help but chuckle.
“Sorry.” Todoroki leans in, kissing the corner of his lips. He knows he probably shouldn’t be doing that while doing the whole feelings realization thing, but he doesn’t know how else to exactly apologize.
“Don’t need to be.”
“Alright. Then you’re annoying. Let me go.”
Bakugou growls at him, opening his mouth to yell, but Todoroki kisses him fully on the lips, effectively shutting him up.
He’s probably going to regret this sooner or later, because it’ll probably only confuse his feelings more. But when it comes to Bakugou, he supposes he’s more of a do it now, think later type of person—which is incredibly reckless of him.
The kiss remains relatively chaste, with Todoroki pulling back every time Bakugou nips at his lip. When Todoroki pulls back, Bakugou lets out a breath. “You should...go.”
“Ah…I should.”
Neither of them have any intentions of moving.
The air is thick with some sort of tension as Todoroki stares into his eyes, regretfully so, because something tugs at his heart, or rather takes hold and squeezes with all its might.
“Or...you could stay.”
Todoroki lets out something akin to a laugh. “I could.”
“Stop with the bullshit two word answers.”
Todoroki nods, and lets his eyes hover on Bakugou’s lips before sliding off his lap. “I’m going to wash up and go to sleep.”
“You? Sleep?”
“I’m tired.”
“Okay.”
Todoroki quickly turns around to leave, but Bakugou clears his throat, and walks up behind him. “If you’re tired, you can stay.”
He doesn’t exactly know why that statement pleases him so much, but deep down, he knows he wanted to hear it anyways.
“Okay.”
Bakugou nods, and kicks at the floor. “You can sleep in my bed, or whatever. I don’t care.”
It’s not the first time they’ve slept in each other’s rooms. Maybe a few naps, or the occasional passing out on the floor or slumped over their desks while studying.
Todoroki isn’t sure if he can recall a time where they stayed the night, sleeping in the same bed.
Of course, compared to the things they’ve gotten up to before, this was way more innocent of an activity.
Somehow, he still feels a bit flustered.
“...Thanks.”
Todoroki awkwardly walks back towards his bed while Bakugou disappears into his bathroom. He settles in, pulling the covers over himself and sighing loudly.
The bed smells like caramel and that sharp smelling deodorant Bakugou always wears.
Todoroki wants to kick himself for the thought, but Bakugou’s scent actually calms him down. He breathes in the covers, and closes his eyes. The lights turn off, and he hears soft footsteps before the covers lift from behind him, and a body slides in. Bakugou presses up against his back, and puts a hand on his arm. Todoroki takes his hand, and settles it on his stomach. In a very un-Bakugou like fashion, he drums his fingers against his stomach before awkwardly humming and falling silent.
The silence is heavy, and the weight of Bakugou’s hand on his abdomen makes him feel like he can’t breathe.
“Is there something you wanted to tell me?”
Bakugou’s voice is unusually quiet.
“No.” Todoroki swallows the lump in his throat.
“Okay. Then...sleep.”
Todoroki closes his eyes, and tries to sleep, but after what seems to be years, he frustratedly releases a puff of air into the slightly chilled room. He wiggles slightly in Bakugou’s grasp, and stretches out his legs before shifting slightly.
“Stop moving,” Bakugou says gruffly, lips brushing against the back of Todoroki’s neck.
“Sorry,” he mutters.
After a few more minutes of uncomfortably moving around, Bakugou moves away from him, turning to the other side. He suddenly misses the warmth surrounding him, and turns to face Bakugou.
Bakugou sighs, and tugs him closer. Todoroki hides his face in the crook of his neck, quietly taking in his scent, and he feels Bakugou inhale above him before burying his face in his hair.
“Katsuki?”
“Yeah?”
“Good night.”
“...Night.”
Todoroki closes his eyes again, and this time, they stay shut.
Damn. Something’s got you down bad.
Yeah. Bakugou has no idea.
“Katsuki?”
Bakugou jolts slightly before turning around. “Shouto? The fuck are you doing?”
“I just woke up.”
“It’s two in the morning. Why would you wake up at two in the morning?”
Todoroki yawns. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“None of your business why.”
“Then that’s my answer.”
Todoroki shuffles over to the counter, grabbing a mug and getting a tea bag. “I won’t be here long. Just going to make a cup of tea and then head back up to bed.”
“Whatever.”
Bakugou is leaning against the sink, sipping his own cup of tea. Todoroki pours the boiling water into his mug, and dumps the tea bag in before sliding into a seat. He gestures for Bakugou to sit, and he thinks it’s too late at night for Bakugou to protest, because Bakugou sits without a word.
“Nightmares too?”
He’s surprised Bakugou’s the first person to say anything.
It wasn’t exactly the usual nightmare Todoroki got. This time, it involved Bakugou and many feelings Todoroki wasn’t ready to delve into yet.
“Yeah,” he lies.
Todoroki knows that everyone in their class has nightmares. It would be strange if they didn’t, with everything they’ve been through.
They don’t really talk about it much though.
It’s like an open secret that everyone shares.
He supposes they all show care in their own ways, like already having boiled water laid out so tea can be made in a hurry, the common room turned into some sort of a comfort zone filled with blankets and fluffy pillows, and snacks and comfort foods always stocked to the max.
Besides, it was too difficult to bring up.
He’s not even sure how to breach the subject with Bakugou. Bakugou looks like he’s struggling too, judging by the pensive look on his face.
“Was it bad?” Todoroki asks lamely.
“Nah,” Bakugou mutters. “The usual. But I guess I just needed to get out.”
“Mhm.”
“You?”
Todoroki chuckles. “I...I’m not even sure I remember what it was.”
“Happens.”
Todoroki nods. “I wonder...how much worse they can get.”
“Probably a lot worse. Don’t even know what it’s like for the pros.”
“What are...what are yours about?”
Bakugou sighs, setting down his cup of tea. “Sludge monster, from when I was in junior high. Kamino. Those are my biggest ones. But sometimes, I just get random nightmares...involving other people.”
He nudges Todoroki slightly. “And you?”
Even though tonight’s nightmare wasn’t any of them, he feels like it would be unfair not to say since Bakugou was already opening up. “My mother pouring boiling water on me. My father training me. Or...dreams where my whole family is happy, because when I wake up, it all sometimes feels like a nightmare anyways.”
Bakugou laughs wryly. “Ah. Being a hero...comes with a lot of prices to pay.”
“Are you willing to pay them?”
“Yes. S’ why I’m here. Why we all are.”
He’s not sure what other answer he could’ve expected from Bakugou.
“You gonna tell me why you’ve been acting weird?”
Bakugou is stubborn . Good thing Todoroki is too.
But Todoroki wishes he would just let it go. He would honestly be able to figure out his feelings sooner if Bakugou just let him be. He’s come to terms that maybe, it's a crush. It still feels like he's lying, like he's omitting something very important.
Todoroki shakes his head. “No. I don’t think so.”
“Jeez. You’re stubborn.”
“Wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”
Bakugou snorts. “Yeah. I guess I like that about you, as annoying as it is.”
Todoroki is a bit taken aback at the sudden compliment. Even though it might sound a little backhanded, he knows Bakugou is sincere by the way he has a begrudging smile on his lips.
“Tired yet?”
Todoroki yawns slightly, and looks down at his cup. It’s about halfways finished. “Yeah, but I’ll probably stay down here until I finish my cup.”
Bakugou disposes his cup in the sink, and nods. He goes over to the common room, picking up a blanket and sloppily throwing it around his shoulders.
Todoroki should really utilize a tired and groggy Bakugou more often.
“I’m going back to bed.”
“Feel better?”
Bakugou scowls. “I wasn’t feeling bad .”
He stomps off, almost making it to the elevator before stopping abruptly, and turning around. “Oi.”
“Hm?”
“I made...soba. Earlier. Before you came down. I don’t even fucking know why, but I just made it. Have some, or whatever. And then go back to bed, so you’re well rested enough. So I can kick your ass,” Bakugou tacks on to save face.
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Night.”
“Good night.”
Todoroki blinks, watching Bakugou’s back as he walks away, stomach sinking with the ground-shattering realization that maybe the idea of being in love with Bakugou isn’t so ridiculous after all.
It bothers him how it comes to him so plainly, how the thought just passes his mind like any other thought he might have. A small part of him wonders what even brought upon the realization.
He gets his answer in the form of a sticky note on a container of soba that says ‘ Todoroki’s. Don’t touch.’
He doesn’t know why, but he gets a bit choked up.
He’s not sure he can pinpoint the exact moment of clarity, but he supposes what better time to have a crisis than at two in the morning in a dimly lit kitchen with a pink fluffy blanket wrapped around him.
He sighs as he pulls out the soba probably made just how he likes it from the refrigerator, sitting down alone on the counter with a lukewarm cup of tea, entertaining the idea that perhaps, it’s already been love for a long time.
“Nice work.”
Bakugou nods, and gulps down his water. “You too.”
He looks like he wants to say more, but upon seeing Todoroki’s blank face, he presses his lips together in a thin line and walks away. Todoroki sighs, and sits down against the wall of the gym, watching the rest of his classmates file out. He wipes his sweat on his uniform, and leans his head against the wall not so gently, closing his eyes.
“Todoroki?”
He opens them upon hearing his name being called, and sees Yaoyorozu walking up to him and sitting down in front of him. “Yaoyorozu. Is everything okay?”
“With me? Then yes. I wanted to ask you the same question.”
The smile on his face falters a bit. “Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?”
Yaoyorozu gives him a look he can’t quite decipher. “There’s no use in lying. I think we all noticed something is going on with you. And another classmate of ours. You seem to be ignoring them. Or at least, you both are much quieter.”
“I’m okay, don’t be too worried.”
“Todoroki,” she says, placing a hand on top of his. “Something’s wrong. I know it is. Please...please tell me, because I only want to help. And so does everyone else.”
Todoroki really feels terrible for making them worry for him.
“It’s nothing. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Bakugou too?”
Every excuse simply dies in his throat, and he makes a pitiful sound—a sound that’s not too far off from a cat dying. Yaoyorozu gives him a knowing look.
He supposes the jig is up.
“Fine. After...after we talked. Or, after I told you guys about...our situation, I guess I couldn’t help but think about what you all said.”
“What...what did we say?”
“It was all jokes, and I’m sure you all meant well, but it was about...me falling in love. With Kat—Bakugou.”
She definitely notices the slip up, but she doesn’t say anything.
“And I guess it really just bothered me for some reason. At first I brushed it off, because the thought was entirely ridiculous. But then I kept thinking about it, and then I came to the conclusion that maybe I just really, really, liked him. I thought maybe that was it.”
“It wasn’t.”
“No,” he says softly, “It wasn’t. He kissed me, and then he called me beautiful. And he called me a lot of other things too, but I guess this one just really stood out to me.”
Todoroki worries his lip for a moment before speaking again. “And maybe before, he’d look at the marks on my neck and say that they looked good on me, or maybe after we kissed he’d say ‘oh, look at you’, but I don’t think he’s ever called me that before.”
“And what did that do?”
“It...it made me feel something. Like...like maybe what I felt was more than just like .”
He can’t believe he’s spilling his guts out to Yaoyorozu of all people in a hot and sweaty gym. He should feel more embarrassed, but really he’s too physically tired and mentally exhausted to even care.
“You love him,” she says, as gently as she can, but it still hits Todoroki like a freight train. “You love him, don’t you?”
Up until now, he’s never had to say it out loud, mainly because he feels as if he doesn’t say it, it’s not true. But Todoroki looks at her, and runs a hand down his face.
“Todoroki?’
“Yeah. I love him.”
She hums, and then scoots over to sit next to him. “I honestly don’t think I would’ve gotten you to admit that. But I’m glad you got that off your chest at least.”
“Yeah...I guess. But now, I don’t really know what to do.”
“You could tell him.”
He turns to her, slightly bewildered. “No?”
“Why not?”
“Well, it would be a bit terrible if he didn’t feel the same.”
Yaoyorozu blinks. “You’re already kissing, aren’t you? You two have already gone and done half the work. Just make it official.”
“That’s not how it works.”
“What do you mean? I think that’s how dating works, Todoroki.”
Todoroki sighs. “We’re kissing, but not in that way.”
“...In what way are you kissing?”
“We’re kissing, but I don’t think he likes me in that way. We’re friends, obviously, but I don’t know if he likes me, much less loves me.”
Yaoyorozu still appears to be completely dumbfounded.
“I can’t tell him. Because I...I love him, and I...don’t want to lose what we already have.”
Yaoyorozu is silent by his side for a minute, and then she puts a hand on his shoulder. “Know that I mean no disrespect, but that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Todoroki blinks. “What?”
“Todoroki, okay. I just want you to think about this. Midoriya really likes Kirishima. Right?”
“Right.”
“So if Kirishima and Midoriya were to kiss, you’d think they be dating right? Because they would definitely talk out their feelings, and then kiss, right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“So then, you and Bakugou have already kissed. Many, many, many, times. So...why aren’t you dating?”
“Hey, people can kiss and not date if they want to.”
“But you want to date him.”
“...What exactly does dating include?”
Yaoyorozu shrugs. “A lot of things. Obviously, you two need chemistry. You need to work well together, you need to be committed to making the relationship work. There’s cuddling, kissing, spending time with each other. And I think you need love.”
It’s hard to exactly want that when Todoroki and Bakugou already do that. He says as much to Yaoyorozu, who smacks her forehead with her palm.
“Then...maybe, you should tell him? I mean, you two are already sort of dating. Might as well make it a thing.”
“Just because like we seem like we are, doesn’t mean we are . I don’t know if he loves me back.”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
Todoroki frowns, and looks away. “It was already hard enough to become friends. And originally, the kissing was just a way to relieve stress, to kind of get away from everything. And besides, why would he want me?”
Yaoyorozu sighs. “Todoroki, again, I have to ask, why wouldn’t he?”
Todoroki doesn’t have an answer. He supposes that even though there's a possibility Bakugou could love him, he doesn’t want to get his hopes up just to find out that he never really meant anything to Bakugou after all.
“It just sounds impossible.”
“Todoroki, I just want you to think about one thing. With all you’ve been telling me, and with all your thoughts about why Bakugou isn’t in love with you…”
She pauses, and gives him a kind look. He has a bad feeling, somehow.
“Have you ever thought about all the reasons why he could be instead? Reasons why he probably is ?”
He stares at her, and she chuckles. “You know, the whole class knows that you two are closer than you say. I know you two use your first names with each other in private.”
“And?”
“I’m not finished. Just listen, okay? Bakugou makes you soba at eleven at night. Yes, I see the bowls in the morning, Todoroki. He knows all your drink orders at every tea shop you go to, he knows what clothing styles you like, he knows that you’re obsessed with tiny figurines and keychains, he knows that you like strawberry flavored things but not artificial strawberries, and I know that because we bought you strawberry candy for you but before we could even give it to you, he told us you wouldn’t like it. He knows you hate carrots, but you love pickles, and you cannot for the life of you fold laundry, which is why he does it with you. I know there’s probably a lot more, but it all happens between you two in private so I couldn’t say. But I think you know in your heart that maybe you’re a bit special to Bakugou too.”
At the end of her rant, she’s slightly out of breath from talking so fast. Todoroki smiles, and nudges her gently. “Is that so, Momo?”
His tone is light and teasing to make up for bringing down the mood in the first place.
She smirks, and ruffles his hair. “Oh, Shouto, please. I think he loves you. He probably loves you more than what he can fathom, which is why he hasn’t said anything to you yet.”
“That sounds a bit ridiculous.”
Yaoyorozu gives him a look, and shoves his arm lightly. “Love is ridiculous. It makes us all stupid.”
Todoroki has to agree.
“You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
“And what if I do?” She challenges.
It’s a different can of worms to open another day.
For now, Todoroki just smiles. “Then I can only hope that we are both lucky in the end.”
She drops her head on his shoulder, sighing lightly. “Yeah. I hope so too.”
“I really don’t understand how every time I come over to study, this happens.”
Bakugou lifts his head from his neck, and narrows his eyes. “You’re not blaming me , are you?”
“No. Maybe. Okay, a little.”
“Well. You’ve been avoiding me.”
Shit. He’s been found out.
“What are you talking about?”
Bakugou gives him a look. “Admit it. You almost didn’t come over to study too. Something’s been going on with you, Halfie.”
Todoroki decides he would rather be kissing Bakugou than dealing with emotions right now, so all he does is take Bakugou’s face, and deadpans, “Kiss me.”
“Are you—”
Todoroki slots their lips together, cutting Bakugou off effectively. Bakugou grunts, and kisses him harder.
Again, he finds himself throwing his head back as Bakugou sucks at the sensitive spot under his ear, kissing down his neck and leaving red marks freely.
“Ah, Katsuki…”
“Fucking hell,” Bakugou whispers into his neck, “You sound so fucking good.”
Todoroki tangles his fingers into his hair. “Katsuki, please, kiss me.”
Bakugou pulls back. “God, you look so pretty like this.”
He brushes a thumb against a mark gently. “Gorgeous.”
Something ugly twists at the bottom of Todoroki’s stomach, and he tries to press it down and ignore it by arching up and catching Bakugou’s lips in a kiss.
But it comes up like bile, not settling down and making him struggle to breathe until he can’t hold his breath any longer.
The words come out of his mouth before he can tell himself to shut up.
“Do you mean it?”
Bakugou pauses, pulling away from his lips and setting him down. “What?”
Todoroki swallows harshly. It’s too late to back out. “Do you mean that? What you just said?”
“Whatever, just—”
Todoroki pushes him off, heart suddenly squeezing painfully like never before. “Please, answer me. Do you mean it?”
Bakugou uncomfortably looks away. “Aw hell, Halfie...”
He trails off, leaving the room in a tense silence.
“Did you ever mean it?”
“Can we just—”
“Answer me.”
“Yes. I meant it,” Bakugou says firmly.
Okay. Now what?
Todoroki releases a breath. “Katsuki. I need to ask you something.”
“Yeah. Shoot.”
“Are we dating?”
Bakugou sucks in a breath. “We aren’t.”
“Why?”
“Dunno. Why do we have to?”
Todoroki doesn’t say anything, instead choosing a spot on the wall to stare at instead. Bakugou pushes off him, and stands up.
“We don’t have to...but…”
“Problem solved. Let it go,” Bakugou says, walking towards the door. “I’m getting something to drink.”
Todoroki shoots up, grabbing his wrist. “Katsuki. Don’t walk away now. Please.”
Bakugou scoffs. “Is there anything more to talk about?”
“Yes. I think so. I just want to know why.”
“Why what?”
“Why we aren’t dating.”
“Because we aren’t.”
Todoroki sighs. “That’s not an answer.”
“I don’t know what you fucking want me to say, Halfie.”
“I just want to know why we aren’t dating.”
Bakugou runs a frustrated hand through his hair. “I don’t know! Why do you care so much?”
“I don’t know what either! But I just don’t like not knowing! I don’t like not knowing if you mean what you say to me, I don’t know if we’re more than just friends, and I don’t like not being—”
Bakugou cuts him off, raising his own voice over Todoroki's, “Look, I don’t know if I want this, or if you want this—”
“I do!” Todoroki blurts out. “I really do! All I want is just to mean something to you. I want you, and I want us . I want to be yours or whatever, because I think I really love you and I want you to be mine.”
Bakugou looks shocked at his outburst, and Todoroki takes a deep breath, looking down at his feet before falling back onto the bed. “Sorry...I just...am I anything to you at all?”
His voice is incredibly tiny, and he knows he sounds so insecure, which he usually is not , but when it all boils down to Bakugou , he makes Todoroki feel so entirely vulnerable and different.
He hears a shuddering sigh, and Bakugou comes and sits down next to him.
“You are…”
Todoroki turns to him. “It’s fine, you don’t have to—”
“...My person.”
Todoroki blinks. “Pardon?”
“You’re just my person. I dunno. I never really had to think too hard about it. Well, I mean, of course I wondered if you felt the same, but I guess as long as you were around, I didn’t really care.”
“So...you...what exactly are you saying?”
“I’m saying, I didn’t really care if there was a label because as long as we were just how we were, I didn’t give a shit.”
Todoroki furrows his brows. “But...you didn’t even admit we were friends.”
Bakugou makes an annoyed sound. “You idiot, do friends kiss you like I do?”
Todoroki pauses.
Friends don’t do this, idiot.
Oh. Oh.
“So you…”
Bakugou scoffs. “Yeah. I wanted to ask you. But I thought you maybe just wanted to stay as we were. You kept asking if we were friends. Just kind of assumed that was that.”
“It was...it was like that. At the time. But you know, I didn’t plan on falling in love.”
Bakugou laughs drily. “I didn’t either.”
“I thought I was going crazy.”
Bakugou laughs. “You thought you were crazy? Fuckin’ imagine me , realizing that all I could think about was your stupid ass.”
Todoroki does imagine it, and then bursts out laughing. It’s stupid and kind of mean, because it probably was a lot of emotional turmoil for Bakugou to work through, but he thinks it’s compensation for putting Todoroki through the same. He falls back onto the bed, and Bakugou carefully lays down next to him.
“Oh, must’ve been tough.”
“Tch.”
Todoroki turns to look at Bakugou, who is already staring at him. “Katsuki. What are we?”
“I don’t know.”
Todoroki gives him a hopeful smile. “I don’t know either. But, I would have to say we’re not friends.”
Bakugou smirks. “Glad to know we’re finally on the same page.”
Upon hearing his own words echoed back to him, he takes Bakugou’s hand, and laces their fingers together.
“Do you want to figure out what we are then?”
Bakugou scoffs. “It sounds really fucking stupid.”
“You say that about a lot of things.”
“Because they are,” he sneers.
Then, he meets Todoroki’s eyes, and Todoroki can see that behind the sarcasm and confidence, there’s a bit of uncertainty too.
Deciding that he doesn’t like that look on his face, he kicks Bakugou in the shin, earning him a hiss and a nice wack on the back of his head.
“Fucker.”
“Thanks. Now let’s get this over with so we can finish studying and you can start kissing me again.”
“Tch...can’t really say no to that, can I?”
Todoroki shakes his head, and smiles.
Bakugou clasps his hand tighter, and in the face of an incoming slew of emotions, he for once doesn’t walk away.
“Hey, Katsuki.”
“What?”
“Katsuki.”
“I’m doing something, fuck off.”
“Katsuki.”
Bakugou groans, and sets aside his laptop. “What do you want, asshole?”
“Attention, but actually, I wanna ask you something.”
“...Okay? I’m listening.”
“It’s just a clarifying question,” Todoroki says coolly to not give away his true intentions of trying to distract the blond. “So don’t get mad.”
“I’m probably going to get mad if you have to say that. But go on.”
Todoroki tilts his head slightly. “So...we are friends, right?”
Bakugou blinks, and then one of his eyes twitches with irritation. “Shouto.”
Todoroki chokes on a laugh bubbling up his throat, and hides his face in his sweater. “Just checking, you know. I did eat your mochi last week, so I could’ve been demoted.”
“Demoted, demoted , I’m gonna fucking kill this nerd,” Bakugou mutters underneath his breath.
Todoroki lifts his head up from his shoulder, and raises an eyebrow, waiting for Bakugou to make a move.
He hears a deep sigh, and then a resigned sort of chuckle before Bakugou scoffs.
“This is the part where you tell me you love me,” Todoroki reminds.
“Yeah, yeah. You know that I do.”
He pulls Todoroki into his lap, pressing their foreheads together in more of a headbutt than a sweet gesture, and growls, “So shut the fuck up.”
Todoroki only laughs, and slots their lips together, kissing him long and slow— gentle and loving, all the way until their breaths run out and all they can do is huff and puff for air while desperately trying to press their lips on each other’s and any expanse of skin they can reach.
It’s not their first kiss by any means, but it’s the sweetest thing Todoroki has ever tasted before.